Episode 10 Antiques Road Trip

It's the nation's favourite antiques experts...

-That's cracking.

-..with £200 each...

Wonderful.

..a classic car, and a goal - to scan Britain for antiques.

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

I'm all over ashiver.

The aim? To make the biggest profit at auction.

But it's no mean feat.

-No-brainer.

-Going, going, gone.

There will be worthy winners and valiant losers.

So will it be the high road to glory...

-Push!

-..or the slow road to disaster?

How awfully, awfully nice.

This is Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah!

We're back on our road trip escapades

with auctioneers Paul Laidlaw and Claire Rawle.

And Claire's feeling the pressure of the Laidlaw's successes.

What shop am I going to be in? Will I find anything?

Oh, my God, the Laidlaw.

The Laidlaw will just march in... "Thank you."

Do the deal, walk out, make a profit.

What am I going to do?

Come on, Claire. Paul's your number one fan.

God darn it, you're formidable.

Formidable...!

When was the last time you said that?

I don't... I'm not sure anyone's said it to my face before.

Well, someone just has.

From her original £200, Claire's purse is full,

with £466.84.

Paul also began with £200.

He's made excellent progress and is the current leader

with £611.90.

That's a lot of money.

Yeah...

The trusty 1968 TVR Tuscan is their racy little number,

getting them from A to B.

Paul and Claire set off from Wooler in Northumberland.

They began in the north-east of England

and will traverse through South Yorkshire

to finally land in the town of Stamford in Lincolnshire.

The city of Hull is our first stop,

and later, we'll auction in the city of Nottingham

in the East Midlands.

Here we go. This looks good.

Now, Claire's first to get stuck in.

-Brilliant.

-Well, enjoy, what can I say?

Good luck, it looks good.

It looks all right, a bit interesting, doesn't it?

She's been dropped off at the deceptively large

Kevin Marshall Antiques Warehouse.

-See you later.

-Oh, don't get too many bargains.

We'll catch up with Paul later.

Bye!

Every inch is crammed full.

This is an amazing place.

Isn't it just?

Great advertising stuff in here.

Big enamel signs.

These are so, so popular at the moment.

Oh, wow, another one.

Bristol Tips cigarettes this time.

And it's in its wooden frame, as it would have been mounted.

Single-sided, obviously, to put on a wall.

That's a nice thing.

I love going to the back of these places.

You are never quite sure what you're going to find.

Oh, wow, OK. I have just noticed some amazing...

Hey, fancy tripping out in that?

You know, Hull nightlife.

Very Elton John, aren't they? Aren't those fantastic?

Goldfish in your heels?

SHE LAUGHS

I hear Paul has the very same pair.

What I was also heading for is this rather nice...

We're back to luggage, now, you notice.

..rather nice domed trunk here.

It's leather-covered, brass-studded.

Handle either side for carrying it.

And then, if you lift it up, let's see...

Oh, that's nice. Original lining of...

Sort of cotton lining.

Right. That's a couple fo things to consider. No ticket prices, though.

Mm...nice Deco clock at the back.

Mm - it's got a ticket price of £70, and is worth a closer look.

If she can get to it.

That's got more damage. It's lifting quite badly at the back of it,

I can feel now.

The face is a bit dished in as well.

Aren't we all?

Maybe this will help get a reduced price from dealer Kevin.

Kevin?

It is definitely ripply.

Yeah. It is a bit ripply.

It's sucked in some damp over the years it's been hung there.

So I wouldn't want to spend much more than about 25, 30 on it.

Bold bid. Kevin has already put a price of £85 the sign,

and 135 on the trunk,

but Claire's looking for a combo price on all three. So, Kevin?

200 quid, then.

Oh, hang on a minute...

£200 for the lot?

Yeah, 70, 100, and 30 quid for the...

70, 80, 90...

-Are you happy?

-I'm happy.

-Thank you so much.

-You're welcome.

-It's been an absolute pleasure.

Blimey! A £90 discount for Claire's three lovely lots.

Thank you, Kev.

HE WHISTLES

Now, what about Paul? He's travelled west to the village of South Cave

in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Oh, yes.

Paul's visited this fine establishment before,

which you'll recall, if you're a fan.

-Hello, Mr Cheeky.

-How you doing?

-Hey, Mr Cheeky?

-We meet again.

-Yes, come on in.

-Bit personal.

Paul's £145 ahead of his compadre

and it looks like he's found something.

I do like something that is not priced.

Tell you what you've got. You've got pukka period lighting,

and you know how I feel about that.

Excited, eh?

This is a pendant gaslight.

And this would have hung in your hall or vestibule

back in the late Victorian era.

It's in brass. Now oxidised.

Between you and me...

..I LOVE it. I love it, I love it, I love it.

Why?

A, scarce, B, not been converted to electricity.

Rare survivor.

What's wrong with it?

Any fool can tell you -

I shouldn't be able to do that.

It's missing all its panes.

Which is a bit of a PAIN.

Boom-boom. He's here all week, folks.

What is that? It's more trouble than it's worth.

Do I love it?

PAUL CHUCKLES

Of course I love it.

OK, then - let's talk money with Fiona.

Pendant gaslight.

With the glass missing?

And the tab's broken, and it's black as the Earl of Hell's waistcoat.

And it doesn't have a price on it.

And I'm hoping that is something that you'd go,

"Yeah, do you know what? I can do you a deal on that."

-Take a punt on it.

-Tenner,

-and I'm serious.

-15 and it's yours.

Let me dig my heels in for once.

15 and it's yours.

The hand is there, look.

It's that you're meant to do.

Looks like I did it, then, didn't I?

THEY LAUGH This is unusual.

I'm easy. I'm easy to deal with.

-Yeah.

-I bought something. Yeah, magic.

I thought you were going to dig your heels in.

The Victorian pendant lamp for £15.

Meanwhile, Claire has travelled north-west

to the village of Barmby Moor in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Now, is Bar Farm Antiques ready

for the rummaging hands of the lovely Claire?

-Hello, Greg.

-Claire?

-Hi, I'm Claire.

-Nice to meet you.

-Good to meet you.

Nice beard, Greg. He's from Louisiana, you know.

Welcome to Bar Farm.

There's a lot of outbuildings here, stuffed full of juicy plunder,

and she's going to have a good sniff around.

Right, this is the treasure chest I'm looking for.

Oh, what's that? Oh, dear.

Oh. Leg of mutton gun case.

Nice old one, leather.

Nice brass clasp on it, got a bit of age.

In quite good order.

Um... £85. OK.

Need to do a bit of a deal on that.

That's one possible - what's next?

Familiar territory again. Back to the suitcases.

That's the best one. That's the leather one.

Typical of its type. Good brown leather, solid...

Stitching's good.

Let's have a look inside.

Bit mouldy, but... Fairly standard. Handle's good.

Most important - handle must be good.

It's priced at £46. Time to talk money, Greg.

Well, I just, I found...

Leg of mutton gun case, which I quite like.

-Oh, right.

-You've got 85 on it.

-Uh-huh?

I'm wondering if you can come down a fair bit on that.

Like, what's a fair bit?

Well...if I could get it for much nearer, sort of, 50, really,

sort of just under, it would see me with perhaps a bit of profit.

But...

55? It really needs to be...?

-If I could, yeah...

-Yeah...

But there is another thing I want to ask you about,

so we could always come back.

Yeah, that's... We've got a general idea.

Yeah.

Now, will Greg give a good deal if there is a multi-buy in the offing?

Both of them for 70, yeah. Take both of them for 70.

Gosh.

Now you've put me in a quandary.

So that would be counting that as 50 and this as 20, really.

-Yeah, I think I'll do it.

-That's all right? You like that?

-Good.

-Thank you very much.

-Well, good luck.

-Thank you.

Gee, she does love leather goods. That's £70 for the two.

Hey, what a wonderful day.

But it's time for a much-needed rest.

Nighty-night, you two.

It's a misty morning

as our pair tootle about in the West Yorkshire countryside.

You know what we've done, Claire, don't you?

-We've broken the weather.

-Yeah. I blame you for this.

I blame you entirely.

Paul is getting things underway today

in the market town of Pontefract.

Here we go.

-Do you like my cat?

-Yeah, that's good, isn't it?

Big black pussycat and the sheep and the cockerel.

Enjoy yourself in the farmyard, there.

-Bye.

-Have a good 'un.

-Thank you.

-See you later.

He's certainly not short of cash, with a little under £600 to spend.

Oh, look, a nice horn, he's spotted.

Come on, Paul.

You've only bought one item.

Get a wiggle on.

That's rather grand, is it not?

It does not have a price attached to it,

so it's an unknown quantity in that regard.

Well, it looks perhaps more grand than it is.

It dates to the late 19th century

and I think this was probably rather affordable in its day.

This isn't for the big house.

This is a middle-class piece, is it not?

This is for the professional.

Shall we test it? You want me to test it, don't you?

Go on, then. Test it.

CLOCK CHIMES

Not exactly Big Ben, but it works.

Ta-da!

What a testament to 19th century engineering.

Right, where's Mark to try and STRIKE a deal?

Ha!

Well, I would ask 50.

Would you haggle on 50?

-To what?

-Let's see.

-I'll show you something else.

-Go on, then.

Paul fancies having a go at the hunting horn he spied earlier.

So copper, brass and nickel hunting horn.

Not a really early one.

But it's named and it's not been abused.

-Yes.

-It's not got dents and bends.

What's that priced at? Or what could it be?

Somewhere around 50 for that.

That seems too much for me.

Well, I'll offer you 20.

Could you go a little bit more?

-Why don't we join them together, then?

-All right, then.

50 for the pair?

But that might be too hard to swallow.

Could you go to 60? Could you stretch to 60?

-Yeah, I could.

-Go on, then.

-That's fair. Meeting in the middle.

-OK.

-Mark, what a pleasure.

-Thank you.

We're gathering momentum, Paul.

The mantle clock for £35 and the hunting horn for £25.

Well done, boy.

Meanwhile, Claire has travelled to Leeds.

And, as a special treat,

she's off to find out about a pioneer of steam power.

Oh, goody!

The invention that changed the world,

the steam railway locomotive, has been around for over 200 years.

Names such as James Watt and George Stephenson

are synonymous with steam locomotives

but ingenious engineer, and adopted son of the county of Leeds,

Matthew Murray is a forgotten hero

of this once ground-breaking industry.

Without him, things could have been very different.

Claire is meeting with historian Neil Dowlan

at the Middleton railway.

How lovely.

Matthew Murray has no small role to play

in the development of what we would now think of

as classic Victorian engineering.

Greek and Roman columns on beam engines,

all beautifully cast, beautiful lines.

A lot of that is down to people like Murray

and he's one of the very earliest who are doing it.

By the year 1810,

the Napoleonic Wars were gripping Europe.

There was a block on imports of grain

and with the burgeoning war effort,

there's a high demand for horses and hay.

Horses were vital to the local mines,

therefore an alternative to horsepower was greatly needed.

The estate manager at the time for the colliery,

a man called John Blenkinsop, had to find a different solution to that

and the solution he came up with was a locomotive railway.

This is what Murray gets involved with.

The project itself, if you like, is masterminded by Blenkinsop.

He patents the rack motion

which actually allows the locomotive to adhere to the track.

The year was 1812.

Along with Blenkinsop's innovative rail design,

Murray manufactured the first commercially successful

steam locomotive in the world, the Salamanca.

However, Murray wasn't quick to patent his ideas

which meant others had free rein on his ground-breaking creations.

His locomotives were apparently seen by people like George Stephenson

and, as a result, Stephenson takes some of Murray's ideas

and uses them to create Puffing Billy.

And...

..he becomes famous for locomotives, perhaps more than Murray is.

Murray's role slightly forgotten

but still absolutely vital in the development of these machines.

It is the kick-start for the development of Leeds

as an engineering site as well,

and particularly locomotive engineering.

And within a mile of here, by the late 19th century,

there are about half a dozen locomotive manufacturers.

Without Murray's inventive mind,

Leeds wouldn't have been on the right track for steam power.

The cutting-edge developments here were leading the world

in replacing beast with machine.

And now for the bit Claire's been waiting for.

WHISTLE BLOWS

-So, Neil, this is really where it all started, isn't it?

-In a way.

Every railway line around the world starts here.

This is the first steam railway

but he's forgotten because his name isn't on the patent.

But, without Murray, it probably wouldn't have happened.

He's not bothered about whether he's famous.

He's more interested in the spread of ideas.

His legacy is actually that he created something

that would change the 19th century.

Humble and modest,

Matthew Murray cared more about the development and progress of man

than profits and patents.

His designs and skills proved so innovative

that he created the blueprint

for commercially successful steam locomotives.

Paul, meanwhile, has travelled 15 miles

to the town of Barnsley

in South Yorkshire.

He is on the hunt to harpoon some antiques booty.

Can he find it in here?

And he's got the Laidlaw eye on something.

What am I looking at? A broken pot priced at £225.

Why exactly?

Well, this is no ordinary pot.

You are likely to know, but you may not,

that that's a puzzle jug

which has a tradition certainly going back to late medieval times.

This vessel has one, two, three spouts.

Do you know what this is?

This is Russian roulette for drinkers.

Because if I go to have a wee sup out of here

and pick the wrong one,

it's going to pour all over me out of the other.

We don't want that.

The medium here is tin-glazed earthenware

and that accounts for all the damage

because if you look here, there are glaze losses everywhere.

I would call that fritting.

And worse still, there's a spout detached.

But the fritting is a hallmark of authenticity

and confirms an 18th-century date of origin.

What a lovely thing.

The very helpful Rachel is phoning the dealer

for the very best price on the £225 jug.

PAUL LAUGHS

I'm not an optimistic man.

What was the damage on that? 200 quid.

No. Slightly better.

OK. It would need to be a lot better but slightly is interesting.

OK, it would be 180.

I don't think it's dear, but it's not for me.

Right.

OK, no success there.

What's this, then?

I've no idea.

Yes, you do.

Well, I might have an idea.

I think it's a smoke bell.

It is indeed a 19th-century smoke bell

to be hung over a candle lamp

to stop the soot staining the ceiling.

He knew that all along.

No price tag.

I'd buy that as a curio but I wouldn't pay much for it.

-Should I ask?

-Go on, then.

I should ask, shouldn't I?

It would be the only one in the auction.

-Yeah, come on.

-Well, there you go.

-There's no price tag on this. Shall I show you where it was?

-Yes, please. Thank you very much.

It was sitting precisely there.

On our sale shelf, Paul. It could well be your lucky day.

It's a sale shelf! It's a sale shelf.

This could be exciting for you.

That's going to be no money, I guess.

-I guess you're right.

-Single digit, just to take it away.

-Right, fine.

-Fiver.

Five quid.

You know what? I think we could do that for you.

I'm going to buy it and stick it in an auction and see what happens.

-OK, go for it.

-Before I do that, I'll shake your hand.

-OK.

-Magic.

Interesting, but not what you'd call a big-money buy,

but something is still on his mind.

Oh, yes. He's asked Rachel

to phone the owner of the puzzle jug once again -

this time, with a death-defying bid of £100.

Steady...

Wow, that was quick. Was it shockingly quick?

-I know.

-Never phone me again.

I didn't expect this at all.

-OK.

-But...

Yeah.

He's actually agreed to 100 quid on it.

Didn't expect that at all, but he has.

What I'm trying not to do here...

What I'm trying to do is maintain a professional demeanour,

but what I want to do is along the lines of, you know,

fist pumping and all that, so...

THEY LAUGH

-Understood.

-Let's stick to plan B, shall we?

We'll do this professionally and say, "Thank you very much, Rachel, very kind of you",

as opposed to, "Get in, give me a hug!"

SHE LAUGHS

There's no word I can say, is there? Apart from, get in, give me a hug!

I don't know what you have on that person

but it's obviously very powerful.

Well, one tries, one tries.

Can't imagine what.

I think you could say he's pretty joyful about his purchases -

the smoke bell for £5

and the fascinating puzzle jug for £100.

Meanwhile, Claire has made her way to her final shopping emporium

in the town of Featherstone.

She already has five lots

but still has almost £200 to play with.

-Hello, Linda.

-Hiya, Claire. Pleased to meet you.

Good to meet you.

Claire is under no pressure to buy, but something's tickled her fancy.

OK, crested china is not exactly doing what it used to,

but it's the more unusual pieces that are still quite collected.

This is a Scarborough piece, a bathing hut.

The Shelley potteries were renowned

for producing china souvenirs of British holiday resorts

for over 100 years.

There's a fish round here. Let's just see where that was...

It's another Shelley one.

"Fleetwood."

I reckon, if I can get those really cheap,

I might just have a stab at them.

The bathing hut is priced at £10

and the little fish doesn't have a price.

Linda, where are you? Claire wants to make a deal.

I picked out things that, you know, weren't expensive.

That's fine. We'll do the pair for 12.

-Is that acceptable?

-Oh, I was hoping you might come down below the 10,

sort of, 5 or 6.

If I do that one at... I'll do that one at 7 and that one at 3.

£10 is my best.

Could we throw in, for good measure,

Whitley Bay?

How about throwing that in to add to it at a tenner?

-That's fine.

-Is that all right?

-That's fine.

Brilliant, thank you very much. Thanks.

Claire adds the three pieces of crested pottery

to the rest of her haul -

the advertising sign, the travelling trunk,

the Arts and Crafts wall clock,

the gun case and the leather suitcase,

which makes a total of six lots.

Claire has dug deep and spent £280 exactly.

Paul has a total of five lots -

the Victorian hall lantern,

the 19th-century metal clock,

the hunting horn,

the smoke bell

and the 18th-century puzzle jug.

Paul has spent a total of £180.

Right, my darlings,

thoughts on one another's collections, please.

Am I worried? Well, I would be

if I wasn't in the lead and I hadn't bought five excellent lots myself.

I'm absolutely going to thrash him.

Yeah, look out, Paul, I'm coming along, yeah!

Oh, I'm excited about this!

We're heading south for the penultimate auction

in the city of Nottingham.

Arthur Johnson and Sons have been in the auction biz

for over a century.

Philip Poyser is wielding the mighty gavel today.

What are your thoughts on Paul and Claire's gaggle of goodies, then?

The crested Shelley jugs, I think we're going to struggle a bit.

There aren't that many buyers of crested ware at the moment.

My personal favourite is the Delft jug.

Yeah. It's 250 years old.

They're easily damaged, yet it has survived.

Thanks, Philip. The auction's about to begin

and we're live for Internet bidding, too.

It's a packed house.

And Paul's 18th-century puzzle jug is up first.

Various bids on the book to start.

Going to start at 75. 75 bid, 80? 90, 100.

110, 120, 130, 140, 150,

160, 170, 180 190, 200.

210...220.

230, 240, 250. 250.

In the room at 250. 260 online. 270 in the room.

In the room!

280 online.

290 in the room.

300 online.

She shakes her head. Don't shake your head.

OK... 320.

-God bless that woman.

-At 320.

350. 350.

At £350 online...

Being sold, then, at 350.

Very well done.

And to you.

OK. What a way to start.

A phenomenal £250 profit.

No pressure on me now, then, eh?

Well, you never know.

Someone might really want your crested china. Maybe.

£10.

Well, I'll take five.

Oh, no!

£5, anybody, for the crested ware.

Thank you, £5. £5 bid.

This is going well, isn't it?

£8, thank you, sir.

One more will do it.

At £8, bid at eight. Make it 10?

-At £8, bid on my right, it goes.

-Ooh...!

-Done.

Sold at 8.

Oh, no, that'll teach me a lesson.

I'm saying nothing.

Just bought them to wind you up, really.

I thought they were quite sweet.

Backfired, that one, Claire, didn't it?

Yes, won't do that again.

It's Paul's hunting horn next.

I'm going 25 to start.

30, in the room now.

At 30. £30 bid. At 30.

5 online.

40 in the room. 45 online.

It goes online, then, at 45.

All out in the room.

-Did think it'd get more than that.

-That's enough.

"That's quite enough from you, Laidlaw."

Absolutely!

Yeah! Claire needs a fighting chance, Paul,

but it's still a £20 profit.

Next up, Claire's 19th century travelling trunk.

£65 bid.

At 65. 70? 70. 70 in the room, 75 online.

Then it's coming in, the room's in, commissions are out.

85 online. 90 in the room.

95 online.

-100 in the room.

-There we go.

110 online.

120 in the saleroom.

130 online.

140 in the saleroom.

-It's determined.

-150 online.

150 bid.

Oh, they've stopped. Oh, keep going.

Last look around. It goes at 150.

That's more like it, Claire.

A profit, long may it continue.

That's a good buy by you and by the next buyer.

Paul's next with the unusual smoke bell.

£12, I've got. 12 with me.

At 12. 12 bid, 15.

18, 18 bid, 20.

20 bids in the aisle at 20.

I'm looking for 25, now.

£20. At 20.

Last call, then. It goes.

Done. Sold at 20.

Well, it's not exactly practical but it's still a beauty.

And a profit, to boot.

Claire's leg of mutton gun case is next to go.

£20.

Well, 10. 10 I've got, 10.

-10 bid, 10.

-Well, this is going well.

12. 12 bid. This is for nothing.

At £12. At 12.

15. 18. 20.

Five? 25 at the back now.

At 25, 25 bid.

This is not good.

-At 25, make it 30, please.

-Gee...

-At 25, at the back.

Sold. It goes. Done.

-At £25.

-Oh, that's cheap.

-That was cheap, wasn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

Someone's definitely got a good buy there.

It's Paul's mantle clock next.

I've got five absentee bids here.

I can start the bidding at 75.

No! You jammy toad.

-GASPING:

-Madame!

At 75. £75 bid.

Well, it's going to the highest of the absentee bids, then.

At £75. I sell at 75.

-Well, fainting in shock.

-I'll take that.

Of course you will, Paul.

You're having a consistent run of profits so far.

Claire loves a suitcase.

She's tasted success at two previous auctions.

Fingers crossed. Well, everything crossed, actually.

Give me £20 to start this please.

10? Bid.

Thank you. 10, 10, I've got.

10 bid. At 10.

Front row at 10. £10 bid, at 10.

-I'll take 12 now.

-Oh, goodness' sake.

-Oh...

It's going to the opening bid then.

At £10. Being sold, and it goes.

Done at 10.

-Bombed out in Nottingham.

-Gone on holiday.

-It has.

Cheer up, Claire - things might get better.

Right. That's the last time I buy a suitcase.

It's not, though, is it?

No. It won't be. No, no.

Claire's Art and Craft clock next,

with the biffed-in face.

£20, then. Bid. Thank you. 25.

25 bid. 30. 30 bid.

35. 35 bid.

40. 40 bid. I have 40.

Gentleman's bid at 40. Against you online, as well.

At 40. 40, and I sell.

It goes at £40.

Good on you, Claire. A much-needed profit.

I'll try and take that as some sort of hope for the future.

Up next, it's Paul's hall lantern.

£40 bid. 45.

50. 55.

60. £60 bid.

-At 60.

-It's a good day for you, isn't it?

What did I tell you?

On the hall lantern at 60.

£60 bid, and I sell.

It goes, done at £60.

Cor! Profit's with Paul today.

Yet another goodie, eh?

Looked like an elephant had sat on it, but it was fine.

Did really well.

THEY LAUGH

Claire's feeling the pain.

Can her advertising sign rescue her from the doldrums?

With me at 70. 70 bid, 75.

80. 85.

90. 95.

100.

-£100 bid.

-Some bidders... Net.

At 100. At 100 bid.

The bid's on commission. £100.

I'll take 10. At £100.

I sell. It goes. Done at £100.

-Well, it made a profit.

-Can't argue with that.

And a pretty good one, Claire.

Let's tot up the sums, eh?

Claire began the penultimate leg with £466.

And, after auction costs, she's made a tiny loss.

£6.94.

Claire begins the final leg with a respectable £459.90.

No shame in that.

Paul, though, began with £611.90

and has made a whopper of a profit of £271.

Nice work, that man.

The mighty Laidlaw has a hat-trick of auction wins

but what will he do with his king-sized £882.90

as we dish up the final portion of our road trip spectacular.

I've got to win!

Claire seems focused.

I'm not desperate or anything.

-No, not that I'm competitive, she says.

-It's not about the winning.

It's not about winning. No, no, no.

Yeah, it's the taking part(!)

Huh!

The town of Matlock in Derbyshire

is where we shall begin and we will have the grand auction finale

later in the town of Stamford.

Claire's getting things underway in Quirky Antiques.

Now, what's this you've found?

It is Chinese cloisonne

and I noticed another little vase on my walk round.

Some of the early stuff makes huge money now.

This has got a biff on the shoulder.

Which makes a lot of difference to value.

But the intricate work where they have the copper body

and then they lay down lines and then fill it with enamel,

these wonderful intricate decorations,

then fire it to give it a final glaze.

Lovely work and they've been doing it for centuries in China and Japan.

Priced at £12, it could be a good little purchase. Anything else?

That's really pretty. I'll probably not be able to afford this one.

-You might be surprised.

-Whoops. Didn't see you there, Kelvin.

Please have a look at the price ticket.

Oh, OK. Oh, and it's yew wood.

At £195, though, it'll be a considered purchase.

Claire checks out vase number two.

You've got the similar type of decoration,

butterflies amidst flowers.

Now, then. We've got some age here.

Might be able to do something with the two of those, maybe.

Kelvin? Where are you?

Kelvin, I spotted a couple of small things.

This little cloisonne vase

-and there's a little cloisonne pot over the other side.

-Yes, yes.

The pot has got damage to a couple of places on its shoulders.

-That's correct.

-That's marked up at £12, this is marked up at 18.

With my sort of grasp of maths, I think we're about 30, aren't we?

-That's correct, yes.

-So what would your very, very, very best price be?

I think around about £25 for the pair.

OK. Would you consider coming down to 20?

Can I tweak it down just a little bit more?

I think if we said 22 I'd be happy.

-22.

-That's £18 for that one and £4 for the other one.

You're virtually getting the other one for nothing.

Suddenly it's sounding a whole lot more attractive.

OK. I think I'll do that.

-Lovely, thank you.

-Thank you very much indeed. Thank you.

One deal down.

What about the writing desk?

I mean, that's at 195. What would your very, very best be on that one?

I think I know where we're going here, Claire.

Shall we just say 150 now?

I'm not going to split at that. 150 it is. Thank you very much.

A £45 reduction on the Victorian writing desk

and £22 for the couple of cloisonne vases.

Nice work there, Clairey.

Paul, meanwhile, has made his way to the city of Sheffield

and he's on the prowl for antiques.

He's rolling in it. He's just a few pounds shy of 900.

Oh, loving the waistcoat.

And it looks like he's found something.

The label says "Unusual monkey devil candlesticks."

That's not a monkey devil,

that's a Lincoln Imp.

Is it not? I sincerely hope so, or I am a Scottish berk.

Ahem. The Lincoln Imp comes from a 14th century legend

where a pair of imps caused mayhem at the city's cathedral.

Danny's on hand to help you with the price.

Ordinarily, Lincoln Imp on your souvenir door knocker

or letter knife or keyring fob is junk.

These aren't quite junk.

If you look at the base,

at the quality of the casting in these almost Green Men type masks.

-That's good work.

-Good quality.

You couldn't model that.

-Good quality.

-Date, no later than 1920s.

Probably 1920s, but potentially

-Victorian.

-I would say late Victorian.

-Yeah.

They sport a ticket price of £30.

Do you think 20 could buy them?

22. I'll squeeze 22.

Do I want to just plump for them and then that's one in the bag?

Yeah, I do.

Job done. Sweet.

A pair of Lincoln Imp brass candlesticks for £22.

That's the first of the Laidlaw purchases.

Claire's travelled south to the town of Belper in Derbyshire.

The Gatehouse has over 12 dealers selling their wares

and Claire's ready to spend.

That attracted my eye. Unusual things in this cabinet.

Sort of photograph holders.

I like those. Sort of Deco look about them.

And it's priced at £75.

Now, we know you're partial to a walking stick or two.

That's a nice one.

It's got a silver collar on it.

And actually, it's just a little like what's known as a Sunday stick.

If you're not playing golf on a Sunday and you're going for a walk

but you feel like tapping a ball around

when you're not really supposed to.

Ticket price is £40. That's two things to consider.

Let's get dealer Charles in.

Oh! Charles, I've seen a couple of things I'm quite interested in,

-so I wondered if I could get your help on them a bit.

-Yes?

Both are in this corner at the moment.

There's the Art Deco French...

-Picture frame.

-Picture frame.

Also, I quite like this walking stick.

Let's get a closer look at the Art Deco photo frame first.

I like the fact it's actually in good order,

that the base hasn't been damaged or chipped,

which it so often has been.

I like the colour of the leaping gazelles and the shape of them,

they are very Deco.

Charles contacts the dealer for the best price on both items.

Good luck, Claire.

Good news, if you take the two,

-you can have that for 60 and that for 20.

-Excellent.

That's a deal. Thank you very much.

-Excellent.

-£80 for the Art Deco photo frame

and the unusual walking stick.

Meanwhile, Paul has travelled to the town of Chesterfield in Derbyshire.

It's here that the country's largest church has a curious,

world-famous landmark studding the horizon.

The aptly named Crooked Spire

perches precariously on the medieval church tower

and is a hot topic of folklore as to why its form should be this way.

The church of St Mary and All Saints

hails from the days of the 13th century,

and although there are several crooked spires throughout the world,

Chesterfield's is the only one in the UK

and boasts the greatest lean and twist of them all.

Paul is meeting with church warden Colin McKenna

to get to grips with this quirk of medieval engineering.

Well, look, I have beheld that spire from a distance but, my word,

upfront it is a sight to behold, is it not?

Spectacular, isn't it?

And Paul's got the question that we've all been wondering.

It wasn't intended to look like that?

Now, that's where the stories start because there is a degree of opinion

that says this is completely accidental.

And there are other opinions that say, no, actually,

it was intended to be twisted.

The one thing that's for certain is the lean was not intended to happen.

Currently the spire leans just under three metres to the southwest.

That's nine and a half feet in old money.

Time to venture inside.

Oh, Colin, what an interior.

I can smell the incense.

Well, it's interesting you mention that, Paul,

because therefore brings in one details about the spire.

One day the devil was on his way

somewhere and he stopped off at the spire

-to get his breath back.

-Right.

The smell of the incense wafting off from the service made him sneeze so

violently that he spun round and twisted the spire as he twisted.

Oh, fantastic!

Feeling brave, Paul?

-Who does not want to...?

-Do you want to go first?

I think I do. My word, spiral staircase!

We've lost our handrail and it's getting a bit cosy now, Colin.

It gets narrower, Paul.

Don't tell him that, Colin.

I can see through the floorboards to the belfry.

Is this right, Colin, yeah?

It's very safe, don't worry.

I think he already is.

Oh, my word, look at that!

The inside of the famous Crooked Spire.

There's a forest up there.

Actually looks like a jungle, it's difficult to discern the geometry.

The spire was built not long after the Black Death,

which is likely to have meant a loss of skilled craftsmen - leaving the job

to be completed by novices.

So nobody knows for sure whether

this is what it would have looked like,

had it been built by the master craftsmen right from the beginning.

Or is it a result of that mixture of skilled and unskilled work.

But the inside only tells half the story.

But to get a true sense of what the spire looks like

we need to go outside.

You're a brave man, Paul.

-OK, that's a bit high.

-Very!

Hold on, let me just get my bearings.

OK.

It's a view, I'm going to give you that.

It's a beautiful view, isn't it?

-Come this way.

-I'm getting sensations in my legs.

Telling my brain, "You shouldn't be up here."

This is better, the further away from the parapet.

That's it. That's it.

-Ohhh...

-Paul?

-Have I got to do this?

-Yes.

Oh, my word, that's amazing!

Oh-ho-ho!

MUSIC: Theme from Vertigo

It is something else.

I'll never forget this experience and I thank you for it.

Fascinating.

And borderline overwhelming.

Sir, thank you very much, but it's time to head south.

It's a pleasure, Paul. Let me lead the way for you.

-Please.

-He's got some pluck. Dear, oh, dear.

Whatever the reason for the formation

of this unique church spire,

whether it be the sneeze of the devil

or unskilled medieval workmen,

it has survived for over 700 years and is quite rightly a global

phenomenon. Best appreciated from terra firma, though.

Right, Paul?

What a truly exciting day.

But the evening is upon us and our duo really need their beauty sleep.

So, nighty night.

G'oh! What a beautiful morning.

And our pair are up and at 'em.

Paul's travelled east to the town of Louth in Lincolnshire.

He's got over £800 to splash.

This shop is huge!

Oh, hello.

Here's something I luuuurve.

Look at the furniture.

Behold, a pair of interwar cinema folding benches.

I love. Yes!

Look at this.

I want my popcorn.

Star Wars!

Uber cool, are they not?

Price tag...

"Sale." The price tag says sale!

£100. £100 in the sale.

Where's Sandra to talk cash?

They are priced at £100 at the moment.

Right. I can phone the dealer.

Fingers crossed, then, Paul.

Thanks, Mel. All right, then, bye-bye.

The best she can do is 95.

I love everything about this place

and I also love the fact that I've just bought

a pair of interwar movie seats.

-Well done.

-I love them.

-Good choice.

-I kid you not.

Thank you.

One purchase down.

Fuelled by his excitement, he's got his hands on something else.

Why is there no price on that?

Well, there is. "Halberd, £10."

Well, a halberd is what I thought that was,

but...

your...

ash, I guess, shaft,

fits it frighteningly well.

Now, if you're wondering what the heck a halberd is, I'll tell you.

It's the melding of two weapons,

the axe and the spear.

Back in 1700, 1680, your town guardsmen,

or your militiaman, would be standing there, yeah?

And if you're causing a disturbance,

or you're threatening my town's kin...

-Crumbs.

-And I think at some stage, this was found and somebody thought,

"You know what? That'd be pretty handy for clearing the weeds."

So they just put this shaft on it.

And I have no doubt - there is wishful thinking -

this is not what you're seeing now.

That's what that is.

That, at £10, is sold.

No messing about there, then.

And you won't believe it, but he's found something else.

That one tickles my fancy.

-Yes.

-Can we run the numbers?

-75 on that?

-I can take off 10%.

-So...

-67 and a half quid makes that...

-67.50?

-67 and a half quid. Which rounds to 65 nicely.

-We're not dealing in two-and-a-half quids, are we?

-Possibly.

-But I'll have to check.

-Can you firm up on that?

-The dealer's here at the moment.

-Oh, brilliant.

-So I'll just go and check.

-Brilliant.

While Sandra finds out a price...

what have you got there?

A big Victorian plant pot. Who cares, Laidlaw?

You should care!

Oh, lordy, really?

I'll give you a name. Burmantofts were tile manufacturers.

In the late 19th century, they moved into what we can call art pottery,

based out of Leeds.

Actually highly collectable.

Quite an important name and no condition issues.

-Paul?

-Sandra.

OK, I've spoken with the dealer

and the dealer has agreed to round it down to 65.

-Dealer just sold... a Burmantofts.

-Burmantofts.

What a mighty haul of treasures.

As well as the Burmantofts hunk of pottery,

he's also got the cinema seats for 95 and the halberd head for £10.

Claire's travelled to the Lincolnshire village of Stickney.

Clutterbugs is the next emporium

for this Road Tripper to have a gander in.

So, Alan, this is my last shop of the week.

Oh, right. You can have a bit of a rest now.

-This is it.

-Yeah.

-No, no, I've got to find the thing.

-Indeed not.

Claire wants to take a good fight to her chum Paul.

That has caught my eye.

It's brass, would be very nice if it was silver, but then

it would be very expensive.

It's the beginning of the 20th century into that Edwardian era.

OK, yeah. Edwardian ink stand, £45.

I'm just going to have a very quick look at the base.

Yep, nice quality.

Should be nicely finished.

Time, then, to chat money with Alan.

-This little desk stand.

-It's a pretty little thing.

You've got £45 on it.

-Yeah.

-I wondered what your very, very, very, very...

-My very, very...

Um, I'll touch your hand for 30.

Could we get nearer 25?

Could we go a bit higher than that?

I'll meet you... 28.

28. 28's a deal, then.

Yeah. That's great. Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you.

-And the brass ink stand is Claire's fifth lot for £28.

Meanwhile, Paul's travelled south-east

to the seaside town of Skegness in Lincolnshire

for his last shop of the trip.

Paul's pockets are jangling with £690.90.

What can he find in here?

-Hi, how are you?

-Is it Des?

-Yes, it is, yeah.

-Good to see you.

And look, he's rooted something out.

Des, could I have a look at your wee toy projector?

-Of course you can.

-'50s thing, do you think?

'50s? I think it's '50s, yeah.

If I remember right, there's a couple of slides in with it.

My word. I did not expect that.

-What on earth?

-It's got more than a couple.

Well, I'll put that there for now.

So, it is...

Film Stips projector.

In the 1950s,

Bedfordshire company Film Stips made pocket viewers along with their

exciting film strips that featured everything from the Royal Family

to gunfire westerns.

It's Laurel and Hardy.

Yeah, it's not for sale.

LAUGHTER

Way Out West!

It's just stills from Way Out West.

-Oh, Des, it's just getting better for a geek like me.

-I told you.

The Mystery Of Flying Saucers.

Come on!

LAUGHTER

Oh, it's proper flying saucers as well.

Des, what was the price tag on that?

It's gone up since you started looking.

Pair of jokers.

Ten film strips, 18 quid.

What could that be?

What about 15?

I think you've got me, Des.

Superb.

Well, that was a joyful experience

and our shopping trip is now at an end.

Along with the little projector and film strips,

Paul has a total of five lots.

The pair of Lincoln Imps brass candlesticks, the cinema seats,

the halberd head, and the Burmantofts pot.

Paul has spent a total of £207.

Clare decided to have fun on her Road Trip finale.

She also has five lots.

The Victorian writing set, two cloisonne vases,

an Art Deco photograph stand,

a Sunday stick, and an Edwardian brass ink stand.

Claire has spent a total of £280.

Thoughts, please, on one another's goodies, or baddies.

The walking-stick-cum-golf-club.

Pleasing. Delightful.

His brass candlesticks, the Lincoln Imps.

Well, could just be a bit like coals to Newcastle,

we'll have to wait and see.

My goodness, the auction is upon us.

Claire and Paul are travelling to the Lincolnshire town of Stamford.

Batemans auctioneers is a well-established firm in the area

and sells up to 10,000 lots per annum.

The colourful David Palmer is our gavel-basher today.

Spill it about our duo's lots, please, David.

Two old cinema seats.

I mean, the time for those has gone.

The gazelle photograph stand of the 1930s, I guess, mid-1930s,

is wonderful.

I hope that this makes the most money of all the items today.

This is it. The auction finale is about to begin.

We're also live on the internet.

Oh, it's a bit harder than I thought it was going to be.

It's like a correction chair.

-It's good for the posture.

-Very good, yes. Yes.

Well, we don't like slouching.

Paul's pair of Lincoln Imp brass candlesticks are up first.

Anyone 20? 20 quid. 20, I'm bid. Down there at 20.

22 here. 25?

25. Goes at 25.

28, 30. 30.

Net goes 32. 32, 35.

-No chance.

-At 32.

At £32 now and I sell at 32.

Anyone else?

Well done, you.

The little Imps made you a good profit. Well done, Paul.

Claire's Edwardian ink stand is next to go under the hammer.

Anyone 20? 20 I'm bid.

Down here at 20. Anyone else?

Goes at 20. In the sofa at 20.

You at 20.

A cheap buy.

Don't worry, Claire, you've got another four lots to go.

Paul's projector next.

Do you predict a profit?

£20. Come in at 20 again.

And the original box. 20.

Anyone 20? Are you bidding on the phone?

Phone bidding? It's probably from another planet.

At 20.

I'm selling on the phone at 20.

-A phone bid.

-You could possess this and take it home.

Hours of fun. I sell there at 20, then.

With the phone at 20.

Done and finished at 20.

Someone loved it enough to give you a fiver profit, Paul.

Oh, wow. That was really exciting.

It didn't go anywhere but telephone bid and then nothing.

Tumbleweed. Whoosh.

Come on, it's still a profit.

Claire's cloisonne vases next.

£30. Oh, 30.

Wish I'd said more. Take a two.

Anyone else? I sell at 30.

Two if you like. These are rare.

All done at 30. Is that it? 32, net.

Underbidder, go again.

At 32. Original bidder, have another go.

At 32...

Well done, Claire. Nice little earner.

-That's all right. It's a profit.

-Nothing to grumble about there.

No, that's fine.

-That's fine.

-It surely is.

Paul's Burmantofts jardiniere is next.

Oh, gosh. It's like a big old strawberry.

At 50, 30. 30 I'm bid. 5.

40. At 40 now.

Take 5 again. At 40.

5 if you like. Are you bidding over here?

At 40. Is that it at £40?

The strawberry pot goes at 40.

Nobody else at 40?

-And I thought that was cheap.

-Yeah.

Someone's definitely got a good buy there.

Claire's Sunday stick is next up.

Start me at 50. Straight in at 50.

40 then. 40 I'm bid.

40. 5. 50 now.

At 50. Take 5.

At 50. And 5.

This is probably someone really famous.

55 on the phone.

The phone at 55 now.

And I sell at 55.

It's still a result.

Stating the obvious, Paul.

And it's the best profit so far.

Wait for it. Paul's beloved cinema seats next.

Come in at £40. 40 I'm bid.

40. 5. 50. 55 now.

The bid's at 55. I'll take 60.

At 55. Anyone else?

All done at £55.

Oh, dear. Sad face for Paul.

That bidder has got one heck of a bargain.

Claire's photo frame is next.

Come in at £30 for it.

30 I'm bid. 32. 35.

38. 40. 45. 50.

You at 50. 55. 60. 65. 70. 75 now.

At 75. You, are you bidding again?

Take 80. At 75. Done at 75.

Anyone else? At 75...

80.

-85.

-The internet is coming.

-I know.

At 85. Done at 85.

They look almost alive.

At £85.

-That's more like it.

-That was good.

Another chunky profit, Claire.

Well done.

Paul loves the next lot.

It's his ancient halberd head.

Anyone 30? £30.

30 I'm bid. The net at 30. Take a 2 now.

And I sell at 30.

2 if you like. 32.

In the room at 32. 35. 38.

At 38. 40. The net at 40.

Take your 5. Are you bidding?

If you breathe, I'll count it as a bid.

45. At 45.

50. The net at 50.

Breathe again, sir. At 50.

I'm selling on the net at £50.

That's more like it, Paul.

Well done.

There, you made money on it.

Now it's Claire's Victorian writing desk.

-And it's the last lot.

-Of the whole thing.

80 for it. Try 80.

Net straightaway.

80 on the net. You go 85. 85 in the room.

Room at 85. 90. 95.

At 95. 100. 110?

At 110.

Back in the room now, 110.

Sell, then, in the room at 110.

Well, that's not too bad.

Loving your optimism, Claire.

Claire began the Road Trip finale

with £459.90

and, after auction costs,

she's made a small loss of £32.36.

Claire's final earnings are £427.

Despite winning the auction,

she doesn't have enough in her kitty to match the mighty Laidlaw.

For the fifth and final leg, Paul began with a colossal £882.90.

After auction costs, he made a loss of £45.46.

Although today's auction loser,

he takes this Road Trip crown,

with a spectacular final total of £837.44.

Remarkable.

All profits our experts make will go to Children In Need.

Claire, victorious in the last auction.

-Oh, thank you.

-Thank you for being a magic travel companion.

Oh, it's been an absolute joy, it really has.

I am going to buy us a beverage.

-Oh, yes, please.

-A nice, cold drink.

Bye-bye, Road Trippers.