Shropshire Escape to the Country

Welcome to Escape To The Country, and how about this as a scene from yesteryear?

For the best part of 200 years, horses

and canal boats have been used to haul goods and materials along this

very beautiful canal,

but where have we come to to step back in time?

Well, join me in a few minutes to find out.

Today, our house hunter has recruited her sister to help her

find a new home in an area she chose rather impulsively.

-Well, it's looking promising.

-Yeah?

Yeah, more promising than when we were in the kitchen.

THEY LAUGH

And there are plenty of surprises along the way.

Oh, my goodness, I didn't even realise that was there!

Today, I'm in Shropshire, and this is the Montgomery Canal,

near Oswestry.

Finished in 1819 to join up with the Llangollen Canal in North Wales,

it was built to carry limestone direct from the quarries

so it could be heated with the Shropshire coal to make

quicklime, which was then spread on the fields to improve the crops.

The horses here could pull up to 25 tonnes on this stretch of canal,

but with the introduction of diesel engines, it meant that the

last horse-drawn barge plied its trade along here

in 1936.

However, the canal has recently been restored and reopened for

navigation, allowing Cracker here, on this barge,

to ferry pleasure cruisers along this canal,

just as the Victorians did many years ago.

Shropshire is located in the West Midlands area of England, and

is bordered by Wales to the west, plus the counties of Cheshire,

Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

The Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

covers about a quarter of the county, and within its

boundaries is Long Mynd, Welsh for "long mountain", a long, high

plateau displaying banks of purple heather and lush green ferns,

with waves of hills rippling through the varied landscape.

The medieval market town of Ludlow, in the south of the county,

described by poet John Betjeman as England's finest town, has

beautiful whitewashed buildings lining its narrow, winding

streets, with black beams and leaded windows adorning striking facades.

So with its towns steeped in history and fabulous architecture,

alongside the beautiful, expansive scenery, Shropshire is a

modest treasure in England's rich terrain.

Shropshire is one of the least densely populated parts of the UK.

Fantastic news if you're looking for some peace and quiet, and it also

means your money will go just that little bit further if buying a home.

The average price of a detached property here is

around £244,000.

Now that's about 25,000 below the national average,

as long as you steer clear of historic Ludlow,

where properties carry a hefty premium.

So what's attracted today's buyer to this beautiful county?

Let's meet her and find out.

Music composer Pam has decided to leave the four bedroom

detached chalet bungalow on the banks of the Wey Navigation Canal

in Addlestone, Surrey, and has enlisted one of her four sisters, Jin,

to help her choose her next home.

I think Jin is a very dynamic person.

She's a great motivator. She comes over in a very kindly way

and she's just a great sister.

Oh, bless you, Pam. That's lovely.

-We might fill up here in a minute!

-We might!

THEY LAUGH

Over the years we've become very close,

and I think we've become closer as we've got older.

I would say we're one of the closest families I know.

We have a lot of fun, we have lots of laughter,

so wherever I choose to go next, I want the same thing to

happen as happened in this house for the last 20 years.

Pam has a very busy life and makes the most of where she lives,

but in recent years she's seen a lot of changes.

The area is very frenetic, it's very busy.

The roads are very busy.

It's quite polluted as well, and I would like to be

somewhere where the air is a bit clearer and cleaner and just nicer.

But that's not the only reason for Pam's move.

Her two grown-up sons left home a long time ago, but the

younger, Sam, who lived just two miles away, has just emigrated

with his wife and two young children.

Because my son and his family have gone off to Australia,

that was one of the significant moments.

I've been thinking about moving for quite a few years, and I was

just waiting for the right moment, and I think the right moment's come.

I'm ready for a change, definitely.

And Pam decided on the location of her new home in a rather

unusual manner.

My daughter-in-law, she brought a magazine back from Shropshire,

cos her parents live in Shropshire,

and in the magazine were all these lovely houses you can buy

for something that I could afford to buy,

and I thought, "Wow, that looks pretty good," so I started to investigate.

And then I thought, "Well, let's have a go at moving to Shropshire."

It's an interesting and exciting time really, now, for us,

to see where she'll be next.

And she's looking forward to making the most of her new surroundings.

I want lovely scenery and beautiful rolling fields, so I can look

out the window and get inspiration, cos that's really important.

In fact, I've written some of my best tunes, I consider to be my best tunes,

when I'm in another environment, so it's quite interesting to be moving.

So, with her house on the market, her son gone and a head full

of plans, there's nothing stopping Pam moving on to the next

chapter in her active life.

I think I'm most excited about the move because it's the unknown,

and I love unknown.

I think it will be really good, for just inspiration

and starting just new things.

I don't think she's finished yet with new ideas.

-Oh, I'm not. No.

-No!

PAM LAUGHS

Pam's open to considering anywhere in Shropshire, so the county

is our oyster.

And before we start the search for Pam's new pad, I'm meeting

her and Jin in Shropshire to recap on exactly what it is that's

on her property wish-list.

Pam, why is now the right time for you to escape to the country?

It's been a dream. I've said, "When I get to the last part of my life,

"I'm going to end up in the countryside."

And the other thing is,

-I don't want to downsize, I want to upsize.

-Tell us a little bit more

-about the property that you're after.

-Well, I'm after somewhere where I can

create an artistic environment for the community, inasmuch I would like

-to make a mini concert hall somewhere.

-Delightful. How many in the audience?

-Between 30 and 50.

-I thought you said small.

I shall be selling tickets at the gate. OK, so we need a building for that.

-I'm presuming an outbuilding or likewise?

-It can be anywhere on the property, it doesn't

have to be attached, it can be a separate building altogether, but something which will

-adapt itself to what I want.

-Right. And you're happy to do a little bit of work, are you?

Yeah. I am happy to do that.

And Pam's really good at that. She's very good at seeing, you know,

getting the vision of what a place will look like. She's extremely good at the visionary bit.

-Oh, thanks, Jin.

-I think you are!

-Very supportive straight away, you see.

-Good job you came.

She sees your potential. Now, what about the house itself?

Well, there are two rooms that are the most important rooms.

One would be the kitchen, because my family are very gregarious.

When we all get together, it's hilarity.

-And it's noisy.

-Yeah, it's noisy.

And we need space. And the second one is, I need a

dedicated room for my baby, which is my grand piano.

What about guests coming to stay? I'm looking at Jin here.

-Yes.

-Well, yes, I mean there will be, hopefully,

-lots of guests coming to stay.

-How many bedrooms?

Well, I'd like four, four or five,

one of which will be on the downstairs,

cos my mum, hopefully, will come and stay for periods of time.

-And how old is Mummy?

-She's 92.

-Ah!

-And she's amazing.

And I'd like to have a really nice garden,

cos I love gardening, and I'm going to get a new dog

-when I move, so there has to be space for the dog to run around.

-This is going to be

a huge leap of faith, isn't it?

Absolutely a leap of faith, but I'm very spontaneous in my decisions, usually, and once

I've got something in my head that I'm going to do, I generally do it.

And remind me of the budget we're working to.

Well, I've got £450,000 to spend.

Well, £450,000, it's a healthy budget, isn't it?

You know, we've got three splendid properties lined up,

-ready to show you, so I think we should just get started.

-Yeah, let's do that.

-Let's get on with it.

-Yep. Come on, then.

Pam has a pretty generous budget for the area, but her desires are

lengthy.

She'd like a quirky property, something like a barn

conversion, with four or five bedrooms, with one downstairs

for when her mum comes to stay, and there needs to be a space big

enough to give a new home to her pride and joy, her grand piano.

She'd love a large kitchen-diner to accommodate her extended

family at gatherings, and is hoping for a room, annexe or

outbuilding, which could be used as a concert hall, to share her

love of music with friends, family and the community.

And when Pam moves, she's planning to get a four-legged friend,

so she'd like a good sized garden they can both enjoy.

Music lover Pam is open-minded about her new abode,

and we'll be showing her three fantastic properties

which will hopefully make her heart sing.

And only after she's had a good look around each one

will we tell her its all-important price tag.

The final visit will be to the Mystery House, which today

will require some creative thinking.

But with an open mind and a good vision,

it could be the home of Pam's dreams.

We're beginning our journey round Shropshire

in the south east of the county, in the hamlet of Underton,

around three miles from the historic market town of Bridgenorth.

Split into the high town and the low town by the River Severn,

Bridgenorth's pretty streets are lined with a good selection

of local business and eateries.

An eight minute drive and we're back in rural Underton at our

first house.

This impressive barn, which was once a piggery and grain store,

was converted 13 years ago into a beautiful home

in a peaceful courtyard setting.

Well, it looks really interesting.

You can see there are a collection of properties here.

Although we're out in the countryside, you're not on your own.

Yeah, that's perfect for me, because I don't want to be

stuck in the middle of nowhere with nobody to talk to.

-Shall we step inside?

-Oh, let's.

-Let's do it.

-Fantastic.

This former barn is the only detached conversion in this

group of three homes,

something I'm sure the neighbours will be pleased of

if Pam moves here. She's planning to make quite a noise,

albeit a tuneful one.

So, as you come through the front door, it's a bit drier in here, thank goodness.

-You've got this wonderful living space.

-I like it.

Very high ceilings, leading to this beautiful fitted kitchen.

Oh, this is a good kitchen, because you can have a nice sitting area over there,

-and you can talk to your friends as you're cooking. I mean...

-The whole of the house, really, for you?

-It is for me, yeah.

-And everybody congregating in the kitchen, rather than anywhere else.

This is definitely how I would do it. So that's a good start.

It's a very good start. And there is somebody else in the family that we've got to think of and consider.

Next door... Let's see if you think she might like this.

-I'm talking about Mummy.

-Ooh.

-Yeah.

'This beautiful home has the five bedrooms Pam's hoping for,

'and there's one with an en suite on the ground floor.'

So the good news is this barn has downstairs...

Oh, it's perfect for Mum. It's a real Mum room, this.

-That would be just lovely for her, wouldn't it?

-She'd love it here.

-But is there a toilet attached?

Can actually do a little bit better than that. We can give you

-your own en suite.

-Really?

Cor, wasn't expecting that here.

'Well, that's Pam's mum sorted, but there's another very important

'family member to accommodate, too.'

So, as you can see, you've got a dining area here,

but it's upstairs I want to show you.

Ooh. Exciting.

'I'm taking Pam and Jin to the top of the house.

'Most of the second floor is currently used as a living

'area, and there's a bedroom-cum-study at the other end.'

Now this is the room that I've been very excited about showing you.

Oh, this is a fantastic room!

-Ooh! Yeah. Gosh!

-Wow.

What a wonderful space.

It is! Amazing area.

I'm thinking piano's up here.

Well, you see, you could have the piano in that downstairs

dining room. However,

what about this to put the piano, this room?

-Well, it's possible. I'm just a bit worried about the stairs.

-Yeah.

Well, luckily, if you just look to the side, there is

a stable door, so you could take the...

You could take, you could manage it, if you...

-You could get it here, could you?

-You could.

So I don't know if I could quite get the 50 people that you wanted

to up here. However, you could have a lovely soiree, couldn't you?

-You could.

-A more intimate concert.

-Yeah, you could.

Well, Pam definitely knows what she wants, and she has given me a

rather tall task with her wish-list, but in this barn she could

find almost everything she asked for.

On the first floor is a family bathroom, two bedrooms, both

at the front of the house, and lastly there's the master,

which also has access to the bathroom.

Oh! NICKI LAUGHS

-I like showing you houses!

-It's nice. It's really nice.

-This is a cosy room.

-It is, yeah. Really lovely.

-I like it.

-Yeah.

-I like the whole house, so far we've seen.

-I know. I was hoping we might see something we didn't

-like, actually.

-It just has such a nice... It does have a nice feel about it.

-Have we surprised you with our first property so far?

-Yeah, you have. Yeah.

It's just house one of three, and we've already got two happy

customers. Let's see what they make of the garden, somewhere Pam's

planning on spending plenty of time.

It's a lovely little space, isn't it? I mean, you've got lots of lovely beds.

-You've even got a pond behind us as well.

-A pond?

-Pond!

-Got a pond, yes.

-So, manageable size garden.

-Yeah, this is perfect, really. Enough for the dog to run around in.

-There must be something not quite right with this house.

-It's almost too good to be true.

-Well, is it going to be the price?

-Oh, wow.

Well, this is the big question.

What do you think this barn is on the market for?

I would say it's over my budget. I would say...

-465.

-Just over your budget.

-Yeah.

Well, I think it's over budget too, but I was thinking more in the area

-of maybe 460.

-It's actually

-under that.

-Oh!

-Never!

-445,000.

-Oh, my goodness!

-Wow.

That surprises me a lot. Does it you?

Absolutely does.

So why don't you now have a second viewing, if you like, on your own

-this time, and come and find me when you're ready.

-OK. Thanks.

-Absolutely.

This fabulous detached barn is on the market just £5,000

under Pam's top budget,

but it's in great shape,

doesn't need any work doing to it,

and has the number of bedrooms she'd like, including

one downstairs with an en suite,

ideal for when her mother visits.

It's also got a spacious kitchen-diner, big enough to

accommodate Pam's large family, and most importantly, there are

options to give a home to her beloved grand piano.

The great space on the second floor would be perfect for a recital

or two, and the pretty garden has

enough scope for Pam to plant

to her heart's content.

OK, this is an interesting room. I mean, as well as a bedroom,

you could use it as a little practice room.

I think the house is a real surprise to me.

I wasn't expecting something to be so perfect as this.

It's got pretty much everything I've asked for on my wish-list,

and my only concern is where the piano will go,

but I think the dining room downstairs could solve that issue.

It's got a great feel, it feels like Pam.

She likes nice, light, airy spaces, and it just feels, you know,

as if it could be really a home for her.

I hope so.

Right. Well, that is it.

You've seen our very first property.

How do you think we've done so far?

-I don't think you can better that.

-Really?

-No, I'd be really surprised.

-Jin?

-Really astounded.

-Wasn't expecting such an amazing property to begin with.

-Yes.

It's brilliant.

So we've got our work cut out with our second, haven't we?

-Absolutely.

-Let's see how we get on. Come on.

-All right.

Pam's hoping to use her new surroundings to provide

inspiration for her music composition, and we've arranged

for her and Jin to meet a Shropshire local

who enjoys mixing nature with art.

Author Andrew Fusek Peters uses the countryside to get his

creative juices flowing.

He loves swimming in the wild.

Pam and Jin are meeting him in the grounds of Walcot Hall, a

Georgian country house in the heart of the Shropshire hills,

whose great lake is a mile and a half long

and was built by prisoners of war from Napoleon's grand army,

after the Battle of Waterloo.

So what makes Shropshire such an attractive place for wild swimming?

There are rivers and there are lakes and there are tiny waterfalls

and there are hidden places and clean water

-and minnows to nibble your toes.

-You're saying all the right things at the moment.

-This is exactly...

-We were brought up doing wild swimming,

-and we learned to swim in sort of, you know...

-In clay pits.

And in rivers, and it was just normal for us.

So how many good swimming places are there?

I'd say there must be 20 that I know of, in certainly a 10, 15, 20 mile radius.

I mean, water's important to you. I can't see Pam being anywhere not near to water.

No, I've got to be able to get to water because I live on the canal at the moment.

You can never get into water in a bad mood and come out not in a better mood.

-That's true.

-It's absolutely right, cos I swim three times a week on average...

-Yeah, yeah.

-..in a swimming pool.

-Yeah.

-But I always feel so amazing afterwards.

But Pam's not only looking forward to the peacefulness and

refreshment of dipping her toe in the water when she makes the move.

When I move to Shropshire, I'm looking for somewhere which

will give me a lot of inspiration in my work.

How does it inspire you, this area?

It is absolutely inspiring to respond to the landscape.

There's something about creation and nature, and the bigness of everything.

-Definitely. Definitely.

-So how do you combine creativity with actually producing

something for people?

I've not only been a writer for nearly 30 years,

I also run a lot of workshops, I've done a lot of work in schools.

And we've had a really fun project this summer, where we have invited

people to come to swim for a day in eight different wild swimming spots.

Following that, there are all sorts of arts activities.

-It looks really idyllic, doesn't it?

-Yeah, I can't wait to get in now.

Wild swimming is becoming increasingly popular in the UK,

with the Outdoor Swimming Society's membership at 18,000,

and still growing.

It's important to always swim responsibly in the outdoors,

and never alone, and always take steps to stay safe, and get

permission, as we have today.

One, two, three. Go.

-Whoa-ho!

-Ooh!

-Whoa ha!

-Oh, whoa!

THEY LAUGH

-Beautiful!

-Isn't that good?

-Phoof!

-How often do you do this, Andrew?

Well, in the summer, pretty much most days I'm out.

If I'm working on the computer, I want to get out and have a swim.

If I play squash, I'll come here after a game of squash. There's different spots I go.

In the winter, less so, but I will go for it, if the day is right.

-Have you ever broken the ice?

-No, I've never broken the ice.

I love it, I love it. You're engaging with the landscape.

You can see things on the tops of the water that you don't notice

-when you're just looking down into it.

-Yeah.

Fantastic.

We could stay here forever.

Just lovely.

For our second property, we're travelling just under 29 miles

north west, past Shrewsbury, to the small village of Kinton,

which is less than two miles from the larger village of Nesscliffe.

Nesscliffe is dotted with houses built from smart red brick

and sandstone, and there's a post office here, plus a family-run pub,

serving locally-sourced food, where Pam could get to know the locals.

And at the village hall, she could really get immersed in her

new community.

There would also be plenty of opportunities to take her

dog-to-be for long walks in the country park, to appreciate

the beautiful scenery and fresh air.

A three minute drive takes us away from Nesscliffe to Kinton,

where there may not be a shop, but there is a local wine club.

Our second property is this handsome detached barn conversion.

In front of us you've got the barn, which is

-about 250 years old.

-Wow.

-To our right, you can

see the extended buildings, still part of the barn.

-They've been converted.

-Right.

If that wasn't enough, just behind us,

over our shoulder there, is another barn.

Yep, oh, right.

And then, cos I like to give you just that little bit more,

we have, well, I would say it was a barn, but it seems to have lost

its roof over the years, but ripe for a little bit of love and care.

Yeah, it's a good space, isn't it? That's a good space...

-And some outbuildings.

-Wow. You've done well.

So let's step inside and I'll explain more as we go round.

Okey doke.

This 18th century converted barn, built from local red

sandstone, has had an array of uses in its time.

Once used for storage, it's also been a mill, plus there were

stables here.

We're starting our tour in a large, open-plan area.

There's the kitchen, which was a sheep-shearing storage area

in its day, and a dining room leading to a living room,

which has no clue to the bull who once lived here.

Is it a bit small?

Well.

It's only the lay out that makes it look small. It's a bit like a railway station.

-There's a platform, and another platform.

-Yeah. Yeah.

Are we on the train? I'm not sure we are, are we?

-We haven't boarded, have we?

-No.

-We'll see where the journey ends.

I'm not mad keen on the layout.

-No, but let's not be daunted with it.

-No, let's just get the full view first.

-Full view. Overview.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

So we haven't got off to a great start on our trip round this

barn, with its colourful history, but I'm not feeling defeated just

yet, as I've got a rather special room to show Pam and Jin.

A spectacular, semi-circular sitting room, with a fabulous vaulted

ceiling, which was once home to a mill and working horses.

-Gosh, this is a huge room.

-Isn't it just?

-What a nice shape.

-Dramatic is what it is.

You're not expecting this when you come out of the...

Not at all.

Now, how about this to have your parties in?

Well, yeah. It's a big enough space.

-And the orchestra could be in here, and enough room for your guests.

-Oh, gosh, yeah.

You could have a small orchestra in here and it would be all right.

And you could fit your grand piano in, absolutely.

It could go anywhere, it could go in any place.

The acoustic is really good, yeah.

-Ooh, things are looking up.

-Really something.

-Yeah?

-Absolutely.

Also on the ground floor are two bedrooms, both with doors to

the outside.

There's no en suite for Pam's mother, but there is scope to

put one in.

Then moving upstairs, there's a family bathroom and three

further bedrooms,

including two doubles, both in the eaves,

and one with a skylight letting in plenty of light.

This part is the master en suite.

There's your en-suite shower room, bath.

-Beautifully done.

-Yep.

Here is the master bedroom. Down a couple of steps.

Oh, this is a nice room, isn't it? Yeah, lovely.

-So you've got your own wing, in a way.

-Yes.

It's quite nice.

-Well, it's looking promising.

-Yeah?

Yeah. More promising than when we were in the kitchen.

THEY LAUGH

Well, this lovely home seems to have won back favour with both Pam

and Jin, so although the weather has changed, I'm glad that spirits

are still high, and I've got plenty more to show them.

So, you've seen this splendid property,

but when we walked in, I pointed out a barn on our right.

That barn has had planning permission already granted.

Now it has expired, but it was given to make it

-a three bedroom dwelling.

-Wow.

-Crikey, that's quite an asset on the end of your house.

-That puts something else into the mix.

-That's really confused me now.

-And then behind me,

you also have this building, so there's electricity and power in there, there's light.

I mean, it could be a music studio even. There's all sorts of possibilities.

-There is, isn't there?

-Yeah.

-All sorts. So how about the garden space?

Well, the garden space is not as big as I would have wanted,

but it's big enough for a dog to wander around in.

We've got to put a price on this barn.

How much do you think it's on the market for?

Well, I think it's probably just a bit over budget.

By how much? Probably 4...

460.

I'm going to say 455. Still over budget, I think.

And in actual fact, this barn is,

again, under budget.

Asking price is £439,000.

-Gosh, that does really surprise me.

-Really?

So you two ladies have a lot of exploring to do,

and then when you're ready, let me know what you think.

-OK, thank you.

-That's great, thank you.

-Thank you.

This historic barn conversion, with its assortment of

outbuildings, is on the market at £11,000 under Pam's budget.

The kitchen may not be the large entertaining space that's so

important to her, but the home does give her the number of bedrooms

she would like, including one on the ground floor for her mother.

There's a wonderful space to house Pam's precious grand piano

and hold concerts, plus the various additional rooms and buildings

mean that, with a little work, there are plenty of options to

transform this property into more than a home.

Oh!

Gosh, this is another big room.

The ceiling's really high.

-This is a very acoustically nice room.

-Very.

-You could sing in here, you could get a small choir in here singing.

-You could.

Well, this house is really something very different, and it's got

so many possibilities, I'm actually a bit blown away by it all.

I haven't quite sort of processed it yet,

but, generally, I think it's an amazing house.

I feel a mixture of emotions really.

I feel quite daunted with the whole thing.

I also feel very excited with the whole thing.

I can feel her fizzing with enthusiasm already,

and it is the potential of the place that will swing it, I think,

for Pam, one way or the other.

A successful day?

-Really successful. Very interesting.

-Yeah, very.

-Good.

-Very successful and interesting.

-And more to show you tomorrow.

Oh, well... SHE CHUCKLES

It's the second day of our trip round Shropshire, looking for

an inspirational home for composer Pam from Addlestone in Surrey,

who's brought sister Jin along for the ride.

Pam has a healthy budget of £450,000

to spend, but she also has a long list of requirements to go with it.

Coming up, I'll be lifting the lid on our Mystery House.

Just look at these struts and all these beams.

Oh, you could do something with this.

And I'll be raising the roof in an English country home.

Now this is quite something!

Yesterday, having shown Pam and her sister Jin two wonderful

properties here in Shropshire, I think it went rather well.

Both homes gave her everything that she asked for,

although, on reflection, perhaps the second property could be

a project too far for this very busy lady.

Of course, house-hunting is all about either following your head,

or following your heart, so today, with our Mystery House,

I'm hoping that, although this home doesn't give her

everything that she wants immediately,

with a bit of time and effort it could be the perfect musical home.

For our third and final visit, we're journeying 34.5 miles

south west, deep into the heart of the

Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,

to the rural hamlet of Whitcott Keysett,

which is just under two and a half miles from the small town of Clun.

Clun, which gets its name from the river that runs through it,

was once described by the poet

AE Housman as the quietest place under the sun.

Its peaceful setting and stunning scenery surrounds a thriving local

community, that Pam could really get stuck into if she moved here.

A six minute drive takes us to the sleepy hamlet of Whitcott Keysett

and our Mystery House, a recently

converted 18th century cow shed.

Oh, what a lovely place.

NICKI LAUGHS

-It's a little bit special, isn't it?

-It is a bit special, it's a lot special.

And this is our Mystery House.

-Mysterious.

-It is.

-Very.

Any idea why this is the Mystery House?

Well, I'm thinking about this behind.

Could this have something to do with it?

Oh, my goodness, I didn't even realise that was there.

-A rather large barn behind us.

-Yeah.

Because with our Mystery House, not only do you have a splendid

home, but there is also scope...

-Yeah.

-..to have that little something extra...

-Wow.

-..right on your doorstep.

-Absolutely right. Crikey.

This unusual home is built from stone

with wood cladding covering the majority of its exterior.

So, like the owners, come through the back door.

-Right, OK. Bright and cheerful.

-And it leads straight into

this, I think, rather large kitchen.

Mmm. Large-ish. OK.

-I might be wrong.

-THEY LAUGH

I might be wrong, but I'm not feeling quite love.

-Just needed to be a little bit bigger, maybe.

-Really?

I'm just thinking about where we would eat.

You could take that away,

-because I've got something else to show you next door.

-OK.

Oh, this is a lovely room, isn't it?

-I like this one.

-It's big, big space.

Pretty impressive, and what do big spaces need?

-Furniture.

-And?

-Pianos.

-Pianos.

You would also need to have a dining table, if that's all right.

-Yeah, we would like that one there.

-Because you don't like the dining table in the kitchen.

-No.

-That would cut it up a little bit, wouldn't it?

-Yeah. Really nice.

-Could work.

-Yeah.

-Special room?

-It is.

-Yeah.

-Very special room.

My slight concern would be where are your guests going to sit?

-Because this is the main sitting room.

-Oh.

Well, is there anything else they can sit in, further along?

-THEY LAUGH

-You want this as your music room.

Well, it would be a nice music room, but if there are other options,

we could have the music room somewhere else.

-Well, it would be an amazing...

-Like over there.

-That's what we're thinking.

-Maybe.

So how would you feel about having that

as your designated music room/barn?

And then this is for you, for your guests.

You could still have a smaller piano in here.

I could have a smaller piano in here, yeah. There is enough space here, definitely.

And also on the ground floor is a bedroom with an adjacent

shower room, suitable for Pam's mother.

So up a couple of stairs... you've one bedroom up here.

Lots of natural light, and then another bedroom just here.

They're not the widest of bedrooms. They call them cattle bays

because that's exactly what they were.

'And up a few more stairs...'

You've got a study/dressing room on that side.

Family bathroom on this side, which leads

-into the master bedroom.

-OK.

Oh, it's a nice, cosy room.

I think it would be fair to say with this property,

-the bedrooms are more functioning.

-Yeah.

You know, the space has actually gone into the kitchen

and also that wonderful huge sort of sitting room.

Yeah, that's true, it's true.

The kitchen and bedrooms in this house might not be the size

Pam was hoping for, but this is the Mystery House, and unlike the

previous two homes, the house is not the star here.

It's the cavernous stone barn outside.

It may require rather more work than Pam was hoping for, but it's

a blank canvas just waiting for her to bring her visions to life.

-Mind your head!

-Oh, look at this!

Wow! It is quite something. Just look at the roof.

I mean, just look at these struts and all these beams.

You could do something with this.

-It would make a very nice, small theatre, wouldn't it?

-It would.

There's enough space for people to sit in it, people to perform it.

-It's exactly what I had in mind...

-It is.

-..to actually convert

into my mini concert hall.

The house and barn sit in a beautiful country garden,

with bursts of colour provided by flowers and a variety of

fruit and vegetables growing here, too,

all with a spectacular outlook.

-Beautiful, isn't it?

-Isn't it gorgeous?

-Yeah.

-Wow.

-Really is nice.

-Enough land for you?

-Yeah. About right, this is, yeah.

-It's not too much.

-No, it isn't.

-But enough to just, you know, keep your imprint on it...

-Keep me busy. Yeah.

Well, we've now got to put a price on all of this, haven't we, on our Mystery?

So what do we think it's currently on the market for?

I think it's probably on for about 399.

That's interesting. Jin?

I think it's more likely to be about 430.

Well, I'm hoping you're going to be pleasantly surprised, because the asking price is

£369,500.

-PAM CHUCKLES

-Just not very good at guessing.

-Gosh, that's really below budget, isn't it?

-Amazing.

-It is.

-I can see you're really thinking about this one.

-I am, my cogs are going round now.

So I'm guessing you two would like to have a bit of time together,

have a chat, go and take a second look.

OK, thanks a lot.

This property may have begun its days as a lowly cow shed, but it's

grown into somewhere I hope that Pam could well imagine calling home.

And although in our Mystery House the stone barn is the main focus,

and it might need a bit more work than she was planning

to transform it into a concert hall,

at a staggering £80,500 under budget,

there's plenty of cash to play with.

The kitchen may not be huge, but the large room next door is perfect

for entertaining Pam's extended family.

There are four bedrooms, including a ground floor room for her mum,

with a shower room next door.

And the garden, with its far-reaching views,

would allow Pam to make the most of the stunning Shropshire countryside.

-Oh, this is a nice room.

-I like this.

You could get two grandchildren in here without too much of a do.

Oh, they'd love it. Kids would love this space.

Well, I'm a bit confused about this property.

The barn is definitely the one I think is going to be fantastic,

but I'm not so...100% on the house.

The price of the house is under budget. That would give her

plenty, you know, to restore the barn

and make it absolutely splendid.

And she'd do it, she's a visionary.

The garden's got a really good cottage garden feel to it.

The aspect of the garden is so beautiful, overlooking the hills.

I mean, you couldn't ask for a better landscape than that.

-How are we, ladies?

-Oh, excited.

Have we confused you?

Totally.

Never thought you'd find three properties with all

the things on my wish list. Extraordinary.

-So we've now got quite a lot to discuss, haven't we?

-Yes.

-Made it much harder now, cos you've really done the business.

-NICKI LAUGHS

Let's go and have a chat. Come on.

Close to Shrewsbury

and sitting in 4,000 acres of parkland

is Attingham Park,

a splendid Neo-Palladian mansion,

built almost 230 years ago

and owned by just one family for more than 160 years,

before being bequeathed to the National Trust in 1947.

Currently eight years into a conservation project, the

estate is managed by Mark Agnew.

Now this is one imposing building, isn't it?

What's the history of this house?

There used to be a house here called Tern Hall,

and the first Lord Berwick decided that wasn't good enough for him,

now that he was very successful and had been ennobled,

and he built Attingham wrapped around the original Tern Hall.

It does remind me of Buckingham Palace.

John Nash, the regency architect, did actually come here

to work for the second Lord Berwick, and Nash, of course,

went on to build Buckingham Palace. So it's similar period,

similar appearance, just without the traffic.

'This fine house greets around 370,000 visitors a year,

'which helps fund the ongoing conservation project on site.'

What are you concentrating on now?

Our big focus at the moment is repairing the roof,

replacing and putting a new roof in on the picture gallery.

And I know it's unusual, because members of the public can,

at certain times, actually see some of that conservation

work in progress. You've whetted my appetite. Can I take a look today?

-Yeah, of course. Come inside and have a look.

-Thank you.

This stunning property has over 80 rooms, and it's a lengthy,

and costly, process to keep them in their splendour.

The price tag is a cool £1.2 million a year, just for the house

and estate to be able to open its doors.

And one of the most resplendent rooms here is the imposing

picture gallery, with its glazed roof which, like Buckingham Palace,

was also created by rising star of the time, John Nash.

-Welcome to the picture gallery ceiling.

-My goodness!

'But it's hard to see its beauty right now.'

Now, this is remarkable.

So all of this is glass?

Yep, it's individual panes of glass.

And then you're looking through, into the outside world there,

where we've got our protection on to stop things coming through.

So the wood that I can see, that's the outside?

That's the outside, yeah.

When it was first built over 200

years ago, this roof may have looked spectacular, but it had

design flaws, due to its curved structure, meaning plenty of leaks.

Mark's hoping that the problems will be ironed out once and for all

with a new glass roof covering the existing one.

The joined panes of glass will be supported by steel beams,

floating above the existing roof and acting as a canopy to protect it.

The new roof will keep the water out, the old Nash roof will

carry on being the wow factor when you walk into our picture gallery.

Great. OK. One more floor, up we come.

Up we go, yeah.

Above us there are up to 20 skilled workers at any one time,

painstakingly restoring this roof, not only to its former glory,

but with a shiny new addition,

weighing in at a hefty 20 tonnes.

How long, Mark, do you think this new roof will last for?

Well, we expect it will last about 100 to 200 years, but with

regular maintenance we expect we can make it last a lot longer than that.

So here we are, 200 years after John Nash designed this beautiful,

intricate ceiling.

It's finally going to be waterproof.

Yes, that's what we're hoping.

One of the things we really agonised about was whether we wanted

to introduce a new element to this historic building, but we recognised

the only way that we can safeguard Nash's incredible picture gallery

and the roof and the structure was actually to build an entirely new

roof, and for us to be building a new element on a historic structure,

that was a very, kind of, radical breakthrough for us, to realise that

was going to be the solution to all of our rather wet interior problems.

-And preserving his legacy.

-Yes.

-Exciting times. Thank you so much.

-Thank you very much.

So we've shown Pam three incredible properties here in Shropshire,

giving her nearly everything she asked for, but has one

house in particular tempted her to make this important move?

Let's find out.

It's been an interesting few days, hasn't it?

I'm not really sure which way you're going to go.

Well, property number one, that was an absolutely stunning property.

And that, to me, summed up all the things that I want in my home.

Property number two was a difficult property,

-in that there was so much of it.

-Yes.

-And property three.

The barn, fantastic. House, not so wonderful.

So out of everything we showed you, it sounds like our first property

suited you the best, but could you see yourself living there?

I could see myself living in that house. I just have to do a little bit

-more researching about the area. It's quite daunting, actually.

-Yes.

And the more I looked at everything in the area and

the houses we looked at, the more daunted I became.

This move is a huge leap of faith,

-it is diving into the unknown.

-What was going through my mind was,

at the beginning Pam was so absolutely sure that this was the

right place, and she was full of enthusiasm and she was going to go

100% to it, and I was just thinking, "Whoa a minute."

-I think it is time for a bit of a reality check.

-Yeah, definitely.

And see whether the property might be right, but what about your lifestyle.

And I'm concerned about that.

-Perhaps there is a bit more thinking to do.

-It's cos I'm not really sure,

I'm not sure in my head, in my heart, whether that is...

-whether Shropshire is the right place for me.

-Right.

If I'm completely, brutally honest about the whole thing.

-And I think you have to be.

-Yeah.

-Well, whatever happens,

-you're going to be happy, I know you are.

-Oh, I will be.

-Wherever you

decide to go. Jin, thank you so much for all your support,

invaluable support. It's been a delight, ladies.

-Thank you so much.

-And we've loved being with you too.

-It's been a pleasure.

-A real pleasure.

-All the best for the future to both of you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Well, I certainly didn't see that one coming,

but I really respect Pam for her honesty.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our dreams that we don't take

a minute and think about the reality of what we're planning.

So, although we didn't find Pam her perfect property here

in Shropshire, I'm hoping what we did do is give her some clarity to

work out what and, most importantly, where

her next move is going to be.

Whatever happens, we wish her all the best.

I'll see you again on Escape To The Country.

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