Mystery Escape to the Country


Mystery

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Transcript


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Some say it's the cat among the pigeons, the needle in the haystack, the spanner in the works

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or occasionally a double-edged sword.

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It does elicit tears of joy, screams of excitement and sometimes downright disappointment.

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But it remains my favourite part of the show.

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Join me on a very special Escape To The Country

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as we go through the archive and reveal all that's best about the mystery house.

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'In today's show, we look back at some of our favourite mystery properties

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'where we make royalty of our house-hunters...'

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-Extraordinary.

-It's a slice of Camelot for you.

-It is.

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-'Create a marital divide.'

-It's got to be absolutely right.

-Hmm.

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And we're not having that argument on camera any more.

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-'And finish up with the best mystery house around.'

-Leave us here and we'll see you some time!

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-Is that it?

-We don't need to see the rest.

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'Plus I'm going to tackle a few mysteries of my own.'

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That is arguably the most complicated piece of rope work I've ever done.

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Today, we are exploring the enigma that is the mystery house -

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properties like this one behind me, a beautiful family home, complete with romantic ruin.

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But when it comes to mystery houses, there are very few rules.

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The key thing is to get our buyers to think outside of the box.

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If you enjoy a good mystery, stick around as we explore some of our most thrilling properties.

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Our search for property has taken us all over the country from Penzance to Penrith

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and has turned up some very unusual living space.

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But once we've shown our buyers the houses that fit their criteria, we present the mystery house.

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From the architecturally magnificent to a restoration project,

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the mystery house is always the exciting climax to our search

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and often changes the way our buyers see their escape to the country.

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Coming up with a short list as to which are my favourite mystery houses has been a joy and a struggle

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with so many beautiful homes to choose from,

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but we're going to kick off with a story set in Gloucestershire.

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Mark and Nicola had a whopping £850,000 to spend

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to find them and their kids their ideal country home.

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With a budget like that, we had already seen some fantastic properties,

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but when we got to the mystery house and a converted folly, they really did have something to think about.

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'The mystery house sat on the former Bishopswood Estate on the edge of the Forest of Dean.

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'The property was one of just six private houses sitting in the 1,000-acre former estate.

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'It was very different from anything else they had seen, so we were keen to find out what they thought.'

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Yes, the mystery house is a castle.

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-Lord and Lady something-or-other, yes!

-What about it?

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-Extraordinary.

-It's a slice of Camelot for you.

-It is.

-And it's coming out of the forest as well.

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-Into this massive open space.

-Look at that.

-It's incredible.

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-What a setting!

-It's lovely.

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This is the old folly to the estate built in about 1822,

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but offering the most amazing views of this part of England really.

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-I mean, it's fantastic.

-Incredible.

-Incredible.

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LAUGHTER Shocked and stunned.

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We're all a bit crazy here cos it's a crazy house. It's brilliant.

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Let's go inside and see how the madness continues.

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'I don't suppose they bargained for this.

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'It's a unique property in spectacular grounds, but I wonder what they'll make of it?'

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-Nice floor.

-Yeah?

-Look at that stonework as well.

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-That's the base of the tower.

-Really?

-You get a real sense of castle here. Look at that doorway.

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But come on through here. This is the main hallway of this building.

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Everything runs off of there.

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-And this is...

-Wow, look at that!

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-A reception room.

-Yeah.

-A reception room. It's really quirky, isn't it?

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-It gives you a sense of the shape of this building.

-This is great.

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But it also, I think, is quite a good mixture of something that is quirky,

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but it also has a very practical management to it. It does all work.

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Whether it works for you with your two bouncy children, we'll see, but come with me through here.

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'Back off the hall are steps to a basement room, probably big enough for the children,

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'but possibly not for Mark.

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'Also off the hall is the kitchen.'

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-Now, Nicola...

-This is lovely.

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When I first came round this house, this is when it started to make sense to me as a family house

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-cos it's the first sort of normal sized, shaped room you get to.

-Yeah.

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-This is lovely.

-Yeah?

-This is real country kitchen, isn't it? No, I like this.

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'The kitchen has a utility room-cum-larder, but now it's time to climb the tower.'

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-Whoa, look at this!

-A real tower staircase, this.

-Mind your head.

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Come on in here. Now, this is...

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Well, the guest room really.

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-Guest room, yeah.

-It's quite small, isn't it?

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But it's all right for a guest room.

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For guests, this might be OK. Mark, just lead through there. Let's look at the bathroom.

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-Very nice bathroom.

-Oh, yeah, this is nice, isn't it?

-Probably a bit of a surprise really.

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When you think how much is in it and how much space there is.

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-And yeah...

-Great view.

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-A bathroom and a view.

-Phenomenal. Not overlooked.

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Not overlooked at all. I mean, it is the principal bathroom here.

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It does mean that you don't have an en-suite.

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-But your room is next door.

-OK.

-So it probably doesn't matter.

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Would this do, do you think?

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-This is better. This is big.

-Lovely.

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-Look, there's a little balcony as well. Yeah, I didn't expect this at all.

-Good.

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-Go and have a little look out there.

-Have a look out here...

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Ah, the turrets! This is beautiful, isn't it? Look at this.

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There's a touch of the Harry Potters about this place.

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-The kids will probably think you're buying Hogwarts! Look at that view up there. It's lovely.

-Oh, yes.

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This is amazing.

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This isn't the best bit. No, no, no. Come with me.

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'Higher up the tower are two identical sized rooms which would suit both of the children,

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'but I've saved the very best until last.'

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-Finally...

-Finally...

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This is the top.

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Oh, my goodness, look at this!

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-Wow, look at that view! That is phenomenal.

-Check it out.

-Yeah.

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'It certainly is breathtaking landscape and you get a clear view

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'of the one and a half acre garden which surrounds this tower property.'

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Is it a listed building?

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You would have thought so, but the good thing is it's not, which is a real bonus.

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You'll see why when I take you down to the garden.

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'If Mark and Nicola want extra space, they could apply for planning permission

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'to build a further reception room where the old conservatory stands.

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'In the garden, an outbuilding could be made into an office for Mark

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'and there is plenty of space in the garden for the children to play.'

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So that's it, that's the final one, the mystery house, your own castle in Gloucestershire.

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-It's amazing, isn't it?

-Very different to everything I've shown you before.

-Very different.

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But worth showing it to you.

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-I suspect if your children were here, they would be insisting that you...

-Buy this one.

-No question.

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Regardless of how much it's worth. But that is the question - how much is it worth? Mark?

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I'm a bit perplexed by this one.

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I don't know. I'd probably put it at 750 or something like that?

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-As usual, feeling his way in the dark.

-Absolutely.

-Nicola?

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I reckon less than that, actually. I reckon about 700.

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Do you? Interesting.

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-Are you ready?

-It's probably gonna be massively out. Go on, yeah.

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This is on the market for £850,000.

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-I can kind of see that because it's just unique, isn't it?

-Yeah.

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I think that's what it is. It's not because of its space, clearly.

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It's because of what it is, its age.

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And it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy something like that

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-if it's for you.

-Yeah.

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Go and have a look around and I'll catch up with you a bit later on. Go and be kings of the castle.

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It was quite surprising when we came round the corner and saw the castle standing there.

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It looks very romantic and the whole idea of a castle was very appealing to start with.

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The outside area is lovely.

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I think Mark likes this place perhaps a little more than I do.

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The garden is quite nice. It's much lighter than I thought it would be because it's just out of the forest.

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I think someone's gonna fall in love with this property, but I don't really think it's for me.

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I think the practicalities of living in something that's as different as this

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might prove a bit difficult further on down the line.

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There's no doubt that Mark and Nicola did have a lot to think about with that property,

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but the folly was a little bit too small for them and they decided not to go for it.

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But that's the thing about showing these houses.

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You're never sure if you'll strike the right note or end up with a real clanger.

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Mystery houses come in all sorts of shapes and sizes,

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but one man who knows what it is to live in a very unusual property

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is the guy that converted this wonderful windmill.

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Let's go and meet him and find out what it takes to live in such an extraordinary building.

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-Hello, Bob.

-Hello.

-Nice to see you.

-And you.

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What on earth inspired you to want to live in a windmill?

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Impulse. I happened to be driving by. There's a local pub down the road.

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I went for a pint. I saw a "for sale" sign and made some enquiries.

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Quite a project to take on because this was completely derelict

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-when you bought it?

-It hadn't been used for decades.

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What was the hardest part about bringing it back to life?

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The hardest part was, being a round building, nothing is regular.

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Nothing at all. So everything is head-scratching along the way.

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But with a good architect and good contractors and craftsmen, it all came together.

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On Escape To The Country, normally it's my job to show people round houses,

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-but today it's your job, Bob, so go on, give me the guided tour.

-OK.

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Bob, it's not often we see lightning rods like that on Escape To The Country.

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That's the original lightning rod, 40 or 50 feet high. That was on there for many years.

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That'll look after you in a thunderstorm. And you want it in a building shaped like that.

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Let's see what you've done.

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Come through.

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-Nice sort of stable door.

-Yes.

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Solid oak.

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This is the kitchen.

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-I love it.

-Which really, I suppose, is one of the centrepieces of the windmill

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because it presented all sorts of challenges, not so much problems,

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but you had to really think outside the square, as it were.

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People talk about thinking outside the box, but you've got to think inside the circle.

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Inside the circle! This has got a conical shape to it, as well as a round shape.

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So it's every plasterer's nightmare, really.

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But you achieve some wonderful shapes. You can see here the curvature of the stairs.

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Let's explore the rest of it. It looks absolutely fantastic.

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You get an idea of the curvature here with the hand rail and the tapered walls as we go up.

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This is fabulous. Look at that.

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-So this is your principal living room.

-Yes, this is it.

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Originally, the plans were to have a wall here and a door where we're stood,

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but I felt it would look a lot better if we could open the space up.

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It is a joy and up on this first floor,

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you start to get a real sense of what a building like this gives you, which are the views.

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-Everywhere you look, you've got these wonderful views of the landscape beyond.

-Yes, you do.

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-It gets even better as you go up.

-Come on, let's continue.

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'As we head up, we pass Bob's study which is an imaginative use of space

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'and there's just room to fit in a shower room on this floor too.'

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-OK, we're moving into the master bedroom now.

-Ah! OK.

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You do get a sense that everything is getting a bit smaller.

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It is that tapering effect. It doesn't taper more from here on, but it is small.

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This room is dominated by this staircase which must lead to the crowning glory of this building.

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-Do you want to see that?

-Yeah, come on.

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This is what it's all about.

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This is absolutely extraordinary.

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-You've got a full 360-degree panorama...

-Yes.

-..of the entire landscape.

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-Effectively, you've created a lighthouse.

-It is like a lighthouse.

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This would have been a dome with all the workings of the windmill

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and the sails would have come through to working gear that was mounted here.

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I'm not sure if I'm in a lighthouse, a windmill or the bridge of a ship!

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You can see it for miles.

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In any direction, whichever road leads to this windmill, you see it.

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-How did you create this space up here?

-Where we're stood now was originally the roof.

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Of course, that was taken away.

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If you stood at the bottom, you'd look up and see the stars.

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It was like a chimney. That was the shape of it.

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So the first task was to get a roof on.

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We had a structure made, a steel skeleton,

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that was made off site in two halves.

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It was brought on site, bolted together,

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then a crane craned it into position.

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Once we got the roof on, the windows at the top that you see here,

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we put the other windows in as well,

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so the whole building became watertight.

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We could work from the floors up then.

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It's a wonderful space in here, but you don't have a lot of storage.

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-How have you managed to get around that problem?

-Well, we've built a garage here that is underground.

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The plans were to hide it from the road, so you could only see the windmill and not the garage.

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You could put easily four cars in there.

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So you've got two double garages, and nicely hidden, so it doesn't interfere with the landscape.

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It's sympathetic with the surrounding area.

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How long did it take you from contractors arriving on site to moving in?

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I bought it four years ago. A year later, we got the roof structure put in place.

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But the paint dried earlier this year.

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-OK, about three years in total from start to finish.

-Yes.

-Well done.

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And thank you so much for letting us have a wonderful look around this extraordinary building.

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-And congratulations.

-Thank you.

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What a wonderful renovation project this has been!

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But if you don't think you can take on something quite this big, don't despair.

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There are other wonderful houses on offer and here are a few more.

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For a windmill that's already completely converted and extended,

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why not be blown away by this £650,000 home in Scopwick in Lincolnshire?

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The rooms in the extension are large and the vaulted ceilings certainly add beauty and charm.

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Or if you loved your schooldays so much, you fancy a converted school,

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take a look at this one in Torksey in Lincolnshire.

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Renovated to a high standard,

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the family home offers colour supplement living and a terrific beamed master bedroom.

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Or finally, if you can dig deep to the tune of just over £3.1 million

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or simply want to see how the other half live, feast your eyes on this superb new-build house,

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enjoying an elevated position overlooking the River Dart in Devon.

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The architecture and heavy use of timber is breathtaking, not least in the spectacular pool room.

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Mystery houses can often provoke some fairly extreme reactions

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and none more so than when Pete and Melissa from Balham in South London

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were shown around a rather extraordinary bungalow conversion.

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They had £700,000 to spend which is all well and good,

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but heavily pregnant Melissa was just six weeks away from giving birth

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and having sold their current property, they had to move out in just ten weeks.

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So, as far as Alistair was concerned, no pressure then(!)

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This mystery house was in Chilmark, a quiet village in the Nadder Valley in Wiltshire.

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The village has a church, pub and a very good primary school.

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The nearest shops are two miles away in Tisbury.

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We were taking a risk as this was a new build, not something our buyers were keen on,

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but it offered much of what they were looking for.

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This is an extraordinary, unusual and wonderful property.

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I'm very excited to show it to you.

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-What do you think of the property from the outside?

-Speechless.

-It's unusual. It's very, um...

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It's not the usual shape of house you would expect.

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It's a complete labour of love. The couple who live here built it themselves.

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It's built around the vestiges of an old 1950s bungalow.

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They've decided to move to Australia, so having just completed it, they've put it on the market.

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-It looks great.

-Yeah, different, unusual. Not what I was expecting.

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It's a treasure trove of surprises. Let's have a look inside.

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'This house has been converted to the highest of standards and would offer a fantastic kitchen,

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'lots of living space and three big bedrooms,

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'but I know Melissa likes character properties, so how will she feel about it?'

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Thank you... Great hallway.

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-Oh, fantastic.

-Wow!

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Wow!

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-Goodness me!

-Yeah, this is a kitchen!

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-That's really special.

-I told you it was special.

-I'm very excited now.

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-Can I just point out two things?

-Yeah.

-The range.

-I had noticed that.

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-In blue.

-And an island.

-An island!

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You're really going for gold stars!

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There's so much to point out, I can't go through it all, but this is such a great space

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-because while it is a separate dining room, it's also part of the kitchen.

-This is lovely.

-Very nice.

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I like the long windows. That's a really clever touch.

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I can't wait to see the rest of the property. There must be surprises in every room.

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And finished to an incredibly high spec.

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-And another wonderful thing - the whole house, throughout, under-floor heating.

-Oh, wow!

-Is it?

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Let's have a look in the garden.

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-Wow!

-Nice patio.

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-Lovely.

-It's not a vast garden.

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It's not acres and acres. The whole property is surrounded by it.

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-But it's a beautiful garden.

-Yeah, it's lovely.

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-It's so well stocked.

-Yeah.

-It's got just about everything, as well as a greenhouse. Very nice indeed.

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'At the side of the house, there's a large double garage with a loft above it

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'which could be Peter's office.

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'Let's continue with the rest of the house tour in the living room.'

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It has quite an Australian feel because the lady is Australian - big panes of glass and long windows.

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There's a lot of light coming in.

0:21:100:21:12

-Yeah, imagine it with our furniture in.

-Hmm. It's very tastefully done.

0:21:120:21:17

They've got a great eye on the proportion of the building as well

0:21:170:21:21

-and the layout of the room is very homely. It feels very homely and cosy.

-Shall we move on through?

0:21:210:21:27

Ah!

0:21:310:21:33

Bedroom on ground floor.

0:21:330:21:36

Bedroom on ground floor. This is one of the quirks of the property.

0:21:360:21:41

-Yeah.

-Much of it is single storey.

0:21:420:21:45

So you've got two bedrooms down on the ground floor.

0:21:450:21:49

I don't have a problem with that because the whole feel and quality of the house is quite something.

0:21:490:21:55

I think when it feels right, it doesn't matter if the bedroom is in the basement or in the attic.

0:21:550:22:01

-It works here certainly. It's a lovely room, a great size.

-I know.

0:22:010:22:06

-But I have this weird thing about having bedrooms on ground floors.

-You're not the only woman who has.

0:22:060:22:12

-I don't know why.

-It's strange.

-There's an easy answer to that.

0:22:120:22:16

-Guests. And we don't live on the ground floor.

-I know.

-Problem solved really.

0:22:160:22:21

-But I know it's there on the floor.

-There is a compromise involved with everything.

-I know there is.

0:22:210:22:27

This house does have it over and above everything we've seen in the last seven months.

0:22:270:22:32

'Pete is working hard on Melissa to like this house.

0:22:320:22:36

'Next to the bedroom is the family bathroom and another bedroom,

0:22:360:22:40

'but it's the second reception room that I'm keen for them to see.'

0:22:400:22:45

Oh, another office.

0:22:450:22:47

Exactly. This is another possibility for your office. It's really the separate wing of the house.

0:22:470:22:53

You would have total peace here.

0:22:530:22:56

-Nice and quiet.

-It's so peaceful and tranquil.

-It is.

0:22:560:22:59

-You get the nice evening light here.

-It's a good size room.

0:22:590:23:03

-It could also be a bedroom, depending on what you decide to do.

-Or a playroom.

0:23:030:23:08

-Lovely.

-It's got a good feel, hasn't it?

0:23:080:23:11

'Across the hall, there is a utility area and a cloakroom,

0:23:110:23:15

'but now I want to show them the master suite which even has its own staircase.'

0:23:150:23:20

It's lovely. Oh, wow!

0:23:200:23:23

That's really clever.

0:23:230:23:26

-What a huge room!

-Wow!

-It's an extraordinary piece of architecture.

0:23:260:23:31

Again it's inspired by a room in... a gallery in Australia.

0:23:310:23:35

-Central pinioned...vaulted roof.

-That is so unusual.

0:23:360:23:40

It's a very unusual bedroom in the sense that you've got sort of 360 almost views.

0:23:400:23:46

-Yeah.

-Quadruple aspect.

0:23:460:23:48

But this very unusual en-suite.

0:23:480:23:51

-Very different.

-I really like that bathroom.

0:23:510:23:55

I've never seen anything like that.

0:23:550:23:58

Wow, a proper bath! Great. I really like this.

0:23:590:24:04

I really like this. I don't have a problem with the fact that there's the bed.

0:24:040:24:10

You're not enclosed in a room with a door that shuts. That doesn't bother me. Does it you?

0:24:100:24:16

Hmm. Maybe.

0:24:170:24:19

-Might take some...

-Yeah.

-Might take some getting used to, but I don't, you know... It's only me.

0:24:190:24:25

-It's not as if there's anyone else.

-I know, I know.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

0:24:250:24:29

-It's lovely the way it's done.

-You don't sound convinced.

-I don't know.

0:24:290:24:33

-I'd have to think about that one.

-You need to let it sink in a bit.

-Yeah.

-OK. I think it's fabulous.

0:24:330:24:40

There's more to come. Once you've had your morning cup of coffee prepared for you by your husband,

0:24:400:24:46

come out in your bath robe...

0:24:460:24:48

-..and you step out on your own private...

-Lovely.

0:24:490:24:54

-You can't complain about this.

-No, that's lovely.

-You can't complain at all.

0:24:540:24:59

What a very clever use of the space!

0:24:590:25:02

-Isn't it great?

-You've always wanted decking. Now you've got it.

-That's lovely.

0:25:020:25:07

-Any thoughts about whether you can afford it?

-It's a difficult call.

0:25:070:25:12

But because of the quality of the finish of the property, I'm coming in at 695.

0:25:120:25:17

-Melissa?

-I'm very unsure, but it's only got three bedrooms,

0:25:170:25:22

so I'm gonna go a bit lower at 650.

0:25:220:25:26

You say three bedrooms. One of those studies could be used as a bedroom.

0:25:260:25:30

In the spec, that's how they're labelled.

0:25:300:25:33

And it is finished to an extremely high spec and it is an extraordinarily popular village.

0:25:330:25:38

So this is on the market, just between the two of you,

0:25:380:25:42

-it's on at 685.

-OK.

0:25:420:25:45

Very reasonable, considering the quality and the standard of the whole build

0:25:450:25:51

and the uniqueness of it.

0:25:510:25:53

It really appeals to me, just knowing that no-one else owns something like this.

0:25:530:25:58

-Have a look around. There's lots of design details to explore. I'll meet you out the front.

-Thank you.

0:25:580:26:04

I was really pleased, really surprised to see this property. It's so unique.

0:26:040:26:10

I love the kitchen, dining room area.

0:26:100:26:14

That's absolutely spectacular, just what I was wanting.

0:26:140:26:17

-This is beautiful.

-This is a beautiful room.

-And a beautiful kitchen.

0:26:170:26:22

-I just sense that your enthusiasm has dropped a bit.

-Yeah.

0:26:220:26:26

It has a bit.

0:26:260:26:29

And also us being over there with a new-born baby in a completely separate part of the house.

0:26:290:26:35

-It isn't entirely practical.

-With the baby being down here, you mean, and us...

0:26:350:26:41

It's only gonna be a new-born baby for how long? Not for 18 years.

0:26:410:26:46

I wouldn't let that affect your judgment on the house.

0:26:460:26:50

My slight reservation is having a couple of bedrooms on the ground floor.

0:26:500:26:55

Pete's very into it and I'm going to be... I'm gonna have to be persuaded a little bit, I think.

0:26:550:27:03

-There's always something that's not quite right.

-But I don't want to talk myself into buying something.

0:27:030:27:09

-Hmm.

-It's got to be absolutely right.

0:27:090:27:12

And we're not having that argument on camera any more.

0:27:120:27:16

For a moment, I thought Alistair was going to have to get his boxing gloves out to referee that one.

0:27:170:27:23

Peter had fallen in love with it quite early on, but it took a long time for Melissa to warm up,

0:27:230:27:29

especially to get her head round the idea of those downstairs bedrooms,

0:27:290:27:34

but with property hunting, you're never quite sure which way it'll go.

0:27:340:27:38

They went back for a second visit, put in an offer, had it accepted

0:27:380:27:42

and moved in just in time for the birth of their baby daughter.

0:27:420:27:46

That's the joy of the mystery house. You never know what you're gonna get.

0:27:460:27:51

On paper, it was just a converted bungalow, but in reality, it turned out to be the house of their dreams.

0:27:510:27:57

For all of us who work on Escape To The Country, picking the mystery house is always great fun.

0:28:030:28:09

We are always looking for something unusual.

0:28:090:28:12

Over the years, we've had all sorts of shapes and sizes, styles and ages,

0:28:120:28:17

but we've never quite had anything like this.

0:28:170:28:20

In the immortal words of Monty Python, now for something completely different.

0:28:200:28:25

When it comes to unusual dwellings, you can't beat a traditional Mongolian yurt.

0:28:280:28:33

These sturdy nomadic structures date back to the time of Genghis Khan in the 12th century.

0:28:330:28:39

Since then, they've protected people from the Arctic winds of Siberia to the burning heat of the Gobi Desert.

0:28:390:28:46

People are even living in yurts in the UK and if you're interested in trying before you buy,

0:28:460:28:53

why not come down to Monmouthshire where Amanda and Peter run a campsite with a twist?

0:28:530:28:59

-Well, hello, hello.

-Hello.

-Hello!

0:28:590:29:02

-Hey, Peter, nice to see you.

-Hi, Jules.

-Hello, Amanda.

-Hi, Jules.

0:29:020:29:07

I'm interrupting some very industrious work in progress.

0:29:070:29:10

Well, we're just getting the next yurt up ready for guests to come and stay in.

0:29:100:29:16

Just tell me about your set-up here because it's very unusual.

0:29:160:29:21

You've got a yurt campsite.

0:29:210:29:23

Where did you get the idea to bring in Mongolian yurts into Britain?

0:29:230:29:27

Well, it all started a few years ago.

0:29:270:29:30

We had this farm. We had spare land which wasn't being used.

0:29:300:29:34

It wasn't suitable for farming use and we were looking for something to do with it.

0:29:340:29:40

It was a remark by somebody at a party who said, "On our smallholding we have a yurt campsite."

0:29:400:29:46

-This was towards the end of the party?

-It was after a glass or two!

0:29:460:29:51

-Like all the best ideas.

-Absolutely.

0:29:510:29:54

-But there is a distinction here because your yurts come from Mongolia, don't they?

-They do.

0:29:540:30:00

We had to wait quite a long time for planning.

0:30:000:30:03

We started researching yurts, came across these Mongolian ones and thought, "Why not?"

0:30:030:30:09

-Have you ever been to Mongolia?

-I have, yes.

-Now.

0:30:090:30:12

Once we had found the Mongolian yurt source, I then went out there to discuss with the makers

0:30:120:30:19

and I've been a couple of times since. It's a great country to go to.

0:30:190:30:23

On my way up, I noticed the finished article down there which looks a bit warmer.

0:30:230:30:30

-Yes.

-Than what we've got here. This will be lovely when the curtains are up, I'm sure,

0:30:300:30:35

-but give me a little house tour of that yurt.

-That one is a lot warmer inside.

-Come on then.

-OK.

0:30:350:30:41

Look at this!

0:30:440:30:46

It just looks so...at home, bizarrely.

0:30:480:30:52

-I suppose it does really.

-Even though we're in Wales.

0:30:520:30:55

It is a Mongolian home. This is how they live full-time in Mongolia.

0:30:550:31:00

-You've seen it first-hand.

-Yes.

0:31:000:31:02

All natural materials. The walls are all tied together with rawhide.

0:31:020:31:07

And all the ropes that you see are all horse hair.

0:31:070:31:11

-So it's an organic building.

-Very organic.

0:31:110:31:14

-The key thing about these is there is very little environmental impact in terms of where you put it.

-Yes.

0:31:140:31:20

I love it. Let's go inside and have a look.

0:31:200:31:24

It really is fantastic, isn't it?

0:31:300:31:33

-Yeah, it's beautiful.

-Come on, let's sit down, let's enjoy...

0:31:330:31:37

-Enjoy the ambience.

-Yeah, go for the whole experience. Have yourself a foot rest.

-Look at that. I love it.

0:31:370:31:44

There is something really lovely because the fact that it's in the round

0:31:440:31:49

means it's a very communal space.

0:31:490:31:52

-It is. It's lovely.

-You've seen these things kind of in the wild, as it were, in Mongolia.

-Yeah.

0:31:520:31:58

-A whole family in here?

-A whole family would be in here.

0:31:580:32:01

When the children grow up and go off and get married,

0:32:010:32:05

they are given by their parents, traditionally, a slightly smaller version to go and...

0:32:050:32:11

-Start their family.

-Start their family. Then they gradually...

0:32:110:32:15

I assume there's an element of inheritance of the next size up.

0:32:150:32:20

'But you don't get a cosy yurt by sitting on your backside, so it's time to get back to work.

0:32:200:32:26

'I've been assured that these structures can be put together in around three and a half hours,

0:32:260:32:32

'so let's put it to the test.'

0:32:320:32:34

-That's it.

-Ah!

0:32:340:32:36

-No, no.

-Oh. Ah!

0:32:370:32:40

-Yeah, OK.

-No.

-No.

-This one here.

0:32:400:32:43

-Is it working?

-It's perfect. Look at it.

0:32:440:32:48

Lovely pattern runs all the way down.

0:32:480:32:52

'You don't need to have a campsite to own one of these.

0:32:520:32:55

'They've become popular as yoga huts, unique classrooms and they crop up at festivals,

0:32:550:33:01

'so if you fancy an alternative lifestyle, why not pick up a family-sized yurt for under £5,000?

0:33:010:33:07

'You know, I don't think that's a bad effort. All that's left is for the canvas to go on.'

0:33:070:33:14

We've done the hard bit. Thank you very much for showing us around

0:33:140:33:18

and for giving us a real taste of Mongolian life in South Wales.

0:33:180:33:23

-Thanks ever so much.

-OK.

-Thank you.

0:33:230:33:25

We are about to view my favourite mystery house of all time,

0:33:250:33:29

but first, here's a round-up of some of the other fantastic examples we've had on the show.

0:33:290:33:35

A good mystery house should always catch our buyers off guard

0:33:350:33:39

as Pat and Richard found out with this luxurious barn conversion.

0:33:390:33:43

-It's not all of it, is it?

-Yes, all of it.

-All of it?

-All of it could be yours.

0:33:430:33:48

-Is this a disappointment as the master?

-Is this the master?

-No!

0:33:480:33:53

Just teasing. Come through here.

0:33:530:33:55

Alistair, you little tinker!

0:33:570:34:00

Sometimes it's not the house that holds a surprise, but rather what comes with it.

0:34:000:34:05

-My God, what's that?

-Our own personal lake!

0:34:050:34:08

Not one. Not two.

0:34:080:34:11

-Three.

-Three?

-Lakes?

-Of course. Fishing lakes!

0:34:110:34:15

-It's a farmyard conversion.

-Oh, I'm excited!

0:34:150:34:19

Now, oast houses make great mysteries

0:34:190:34:23

and Rebecca and Paul weren't disappointed inside either.

0:34:230:34:28

For Mary and Alan, the thought of having a mystery house

0:34:280:34:31

within this beautiful beech wood was a mouth-watering prospect.

0:34:310:34:36

-You're licking your lips.

-I am.

0:34:360:34:38

But they'd have to build it first.

0:34:380:34:40

-Does that excite you?

-Not half. It certainly gets the juices flowing.

0:34:400:34:45

And a glamorous school conversion certainly got the right reaction from Lucy and Jeremy.

0:34:450:34:50

It's just...

0:34:500:34:53

-It's just amazing. It's certainly got the...

-The "wow" factor?

-Yeah.

-The "woof" factor?

-The woof...

0:34:530:34:59

For my final and favourite mystery house, we are taking a trip down to Dorset

0:35:020:35:08

in the company of a lovely couple, John and Jill.

0:35:080:35:11

They had £600,000 to spend to find their ideal retirement home,

0:35:110:35:15

but also a house that would allow keen trombonist John to make as much noise as he wanted.

0:35:150:35:21

All in all, it was the perfect mystery house, a fantastic location and a very unique property.

0:35:210:35:27

Our final mystery house was set in the village of Poundbury

0:35:270:35:32

on the western outskirts of Dorchester.

0:35:320:35:35

Poundbury is the brainchild of Prince Charles. It's an experimental village created 15 years ago

0:35:350:35:41

and located in the Duchy of Cornwall that's owned by the Prince of Wales.

0:35:410:35:46

As a strong believer in ecological planning, designing and building,

0:35:460:35:50

Prince Charles commissioned architect Leon Krier to design his ideal village

0:35:500:35:55

that mixes traditional architecture with modern town planning and thus Poundbury was born.

0:35:550:36:00

So here we are. This is what all the fuss is about. That building there.

0:36:020:36:07

It's taken us a bit to get into this, I have to say. We're completely taken aback.

0:36:070:36:13

-What do you think, John?

-I think it's absolutely fascinating.

0:36:130:36:17

I love it. I love the look of the house from the outside. I like it very much.

0:36:170:36:22

I love all the different textures. You've got natural stone frontage here, rendered masonry there.

0:36:220:36:28

The whole place has an atmosphere to it that is very, very pleasant.

0:36:280:36:33

Would it make it more unusual

0:36:330:36:35

if I told you that Prince Charles took special interest in the design of this particular building?

0:36:350:36:41

-How about that? By royal approval.

-By royal approval!

0:36:410:36:45

-Where's the crest?

-Let's go inside and see if we can find one.

0:36:450:36:49

'The outside has certainly piqued their interest.

0:36:490:36:52

'The front door leads into an entrance hall that takes you through to the dining room.'

0:36:520:36:58

-This is what your guests will see when they walk in first of all.

-I like it very much.

0:36:580:37:04

There is the faintest chance I could be speechless here.

0:37:040:37:08

You can't be speechless. I want to hear your thoughts. Come in here to the kitchen.

0:37:080:37:13

-The original round kitchen!

-Come in.

0:37:170:37:20

-What do you think?

-You couldn't have done better than this. This is so unusual, really mind-blowing.

0:37:200:37:26

Well, let's go and see some more because if you think this is crazy, wait till we go upstairs.

0:37:260:37:33

'Also on the ground floor is one of three bedrooms, a study and a downstairs shower.'

0:37:330:37:40

Now, of course, in a round house, no surprise, you're going to get a spiral staircase.

0:37:400:37:46

This one is made of oak and it leads us very nicely into that.

0:37:460:37:51

-Oh!

-In you go.

-Oh, oh, oh!

0:37:510:37:55

-Would this work for you? Round rooms aren't for everybody.

-Certainly for me.

0:37:550:38:00

If you want to be different, let's be different and this is different.

0:38:000:38:04

Leave us here and we'll see you some time.

0:38:040:38:07

-Is that it? Is the deal done?

-Yes. We don't need to see the rest.

0:38:070:38:11

I can't wait to show you the rest!

0:38:110:38:13

Your master bedroom, you like somewhere big, I get the feeling?

0:38:130:38:17

-Yeah?

-Yes.

0:38:170:38:19

-Ah, here!

-Oh.

0:38:190:38:22

Well, I have to say, you wouldn't have expected anything less, would you now?

0:38:240:38:30

-The whole thing is just...

-John?

-Yeah.

-..amazing.

-Gasp.

0:38:300:38:34

-Yeah.

-Gasp in admiration.

-Very nice.

0:38:340:38:36

As a master bedroom, it's fabulous.

0:38:360:38:39

Go through there. You've got an en-suite and a dressing area.

0:38:390:38:44

Just like the rest of the house, surprising and wonderful.

0:38:450:38:49

-Brilliant.

-So far.

-So far?

0:38:490:38:52

Your face... He's so excited, isn't he?

0:38:520:38:56

-I'm excited!

-He's found a little bit of Knightsbridge in the middle of Dorset.

-Well, exactly.

0:38:560:39:03

That's true. It's just like a smart London apartment in the beautiful Dorset countryside.

0:39:030:39:10

-It's made him happy.

-I thought it might.

0:39:100:39:12

'There's a third bedroom on this floor which has an en-suite bathroom and would be ideal for guests.'

0:39:120:39:19

-You'd have guests who'd never want to go home.

-There you go.

0:39:190:39:23

-Would you have them here for that long?

-Yeah. We could charge them.

0:39:230:39:28

Quite a lot, I suspect. You may have to charge them even more if you want to buy it!

0:39:280:39:33

-That's pretty much it.

-Is that it?

0:39:330:39:36

No, it's not it!

0:39:360:39:38

'Of course, I've left the best till last and it's up one more flight of stairs.'

0:39:380:39:43

I knew there had to be something up here.

0:39:430:39:47

Now, this is mine! LAUGHTER

0:39:480:39:51

Before we have any discussion!

0:39:510:39:54

What would you use this space for, do you think?

0:39:540:39:57

-This, to my mind, is a sort of day room where all the daytime activities take place.

-Yeah.

0:39:570:40:03

So we can eat lunch up here if we want to, we can certainly do our hobbies.

0:40:030:40:08

We might even play the trombone up here sometimes.

0:40:080:40:11

-The famous trombone made an appearance at long last!

-It had to.

0:40:110:40:15

There's room for both of us. It would be nice to be together. When John's writing, I'm painting.

0:40:150:40:21

We're both listening to music and reading. That's what this lends itself for.

0:40:210:40:26

-That is the inside of this property so far.

-It's amazing, isn't it?

0:40:260:40:30

-Happy?

-I love all of it.

0:40:300:40:32

'I just knew they'd fall for this amazing space,

0:40:320:40:35

'so will the garden seal the deal?'

0:40:350:40:38

-It is very secluded and very nice, yeah.

-This is just right for us.

0:40:380:40:43

-This is just the right size for us. This aspect lives up to the rest of the house.

-Yes, it does.

0:40:430:40:49

-It's just very, very nice.

-I suppose we ought to talk about the difficult bit.

-Yeah.

0:40:490:40:56

-How much is it gonna cost you? It is an extraordinary place.

-It is an extraordinary place.

-Go on then.

0:40:560:41:02

I volunteered to go first. I think this is gonna be over our budget.

0:41:020:41:06

I'm gonna go for something like...645.

0:41:060:41:10

My feeling for this type of house, I would even go higher.

0:41:100:41:14

You might have taken us a lot over our budget and I would say 675.

0:41:140:41:19

-675?

-Yeah.

-Well, I'm afraid it's good news and bad news.

0:41:190:41:23

-The bad news is it is over your budget.

-Yeah.

-The good news is it's not 675.

-Right.

0:41:230:41:29

It's currently on the market for £650,000.

0:41:290:41:33

I'm not surprised at that. It's a fabulous house.

0:41:330:41:37

There's a lot of house for that money. I could see myself very happily living here.

0:41:370:41:43

-In poverty, of course!

-LAUGHTER

0:41:430:41:47

I get the feeling that to really know if this is gonna work for you, you need to get your trombone out.

0:41:470:41:54

-Do the trombone test.

-OK.

0:41:540:41:56

OK, Jill, it's time for the trombone test.

0:41:590:42:02

That's fine. I'm just gonna go and have a look around downstairs.

0:42:020:42:07

When you come into The Round House, you're immediately excited because it is a unique house.

0:42:070:42:12

That room at the top is absolutely unique, beautiful views,

0:42:120:42:16

but also a very nice room to share, do your daytime hobbies and enjoy.

0:42:160:42:21

Underneath all this excitement is a house that would work very well for both of us.

0:42:210:42:26

PLAYS LOUD, DEEP NOTES

0:42:260:42:29

When houses produce reactions like that, my day is complete.

0:42:430:42:48

Houses, if they're right, do speak to you and that one had an awful lot to say to Jill and to John.

0:42:480:42:54

But sadly, their tale brings us to the end of this very special edition of Escape To The Country.

0:42:540:43:00

As I said at the outset, picking the best of the best was always going to be a bit of a challenge,

0:43:000:43:06

but when it comes to property and, in particular, mystery houses,

0:43:060:43:10

approach them with the eyes wide open because you never know what you're gonna get. See you next time.

0:43:100:43:16

If you'd like to escape to the country and would like our help,

0:43:160:43:20

then contact us through our website:

0:43:200:43:22

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2009

0:43:440:43:49

Email [email protected]

0:43:490:43:52

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