Mystery Escape to the Country

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

or occasionally a double-edged sword.

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

But it remains my favourite part of the show.

Join me on a very special Escape To The Country

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

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

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

-Extraordinary.

-It's a slice of Camelot for you.

-It is.

-'Create a marital divide.'

-It's got to be absolutely right.

-Hmm.

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

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

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

-Is that it?

-We don't need to see the rest.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

and has turned up some very unusual living space.

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

From the architecturally magnificent to a restoration project,

the mystery house is always the exciting climax to our search

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

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

with so many beautiful homes to choose from,

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

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

to find them and their kids their ideal country home.

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

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

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

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

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

Yes, the mystery house is a castle.

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

-What about it?

-Extraordinary.

-It's a slice of Camelot for you.

-It is.

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

-Into this massive open space.

-Look at that.

-It's incredible.

-What a setting!

-It's lovely.

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

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

-I mean, it's fantastic.

-Incredible.

-Incredible.

LAUGHTER Shocked and stunned.

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

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

'I don't suppose they bargained for this.

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

-Nice floor.

-Yeah?

-Look at that stonework as well.

-That's the base of the tower.

-Really?

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

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

Everything runs off of there.

-And this is...

-Wow, look at that!

-A reception room.

-Yeah.

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

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

-This is great.

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

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

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

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

'but possibly not for Mark.

'Also off the hall is the kitchen.'

-Now, Nicola...

-This is lovely.

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

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

-Yeah.

-This is lovely.

-Yeah?

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

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

-Whoa, look at this!

-A real tower staircase, this.

-Mind your head.

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

Well, the guest room really.

-Guest room, yeah.

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

But it's all right for a guest room.

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

-Very nice bathroom.

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

-Probably a bit of a surprise really.

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

-And yeah...

-Great view.

-A bathroom and a view.

-Phenomenal. Not overlooked.

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

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

-But your room is next door.

-OK.

-So it probably doesn't matter.

Would this do, do you think?

-This is better. This is big.

-Lovely.

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

-Good.

-Go and have a little look out there.

-Have a look out here...

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

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

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

-Oh, yes.

This is amazing.

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

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

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

-Finally...

-Finally...

This is the top.

Oh, my goodness, look at this!

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

-Check it out.

-Yeah.

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

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

Is it a listed building?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-It's amazing, isn't it?

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

-Very different.

But worth showing it to you.

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

-Buy this one.

-No question.

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

I'm a bit perplexed by this one.

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

-As usual, feeling his way in the dark.

-Absolutely.

-Nicola?

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

Do you? Interesting.

-Are you ready?

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

This is on the market for £850,000.

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

-Yeah.

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

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

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

-if it's for you.

-Yeah.

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

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

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

The outside area is lovely.

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

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

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

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

might prove a bit difficult further on down the line.

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

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

But that's the thing about showing these houses.

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

Mystery houses come in all sorts of shapes and sizes,

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

is the guy that converted this wonderful windmill.

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

-Hello, Bob.

-Hello.

-Nice to see you.

-And you.

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

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

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

Quite a project to take on because this was completely derelict

-when you bought it?

-It hadn't been used for decades.

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

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

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

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

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

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

-OK.

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

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

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

Let's see what you've done.

Come through.

-Nice sort of stable door.

-Yes.

Solid oak.

This is the kitchen.

-I love it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is fabulous. Look at that.

-So this is your principal living room.

-Yes, this is it.

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

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

It is a joy and up on this first floor,

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

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

-Yes, you do.

-It gets even better as you go up.

-Come on, let's continue.

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

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

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

-Ah! OK.

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

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

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

-Do you want to see that?

-Yeah, come on.

This is what it's all about.

This is absolutely extraordinary.

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

-Yes.

-..of the entire landscape.

-Effectively, you've created a lighthouse.

-It is like a lighthouse.

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

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

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

You can see it for miles.

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

-How did you create this space up here?

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

Of course, that was taken away.

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

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

So the first task was to get a roof on.

We had a structure made, a steel skeleton,

that was made off site in two halves.

It was brought on site, bolted together,

then a crane craned it into position.

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

we put the other windows in as well,

so the whole building became watertight.

We could work from the floors up then.

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

-How have you managed to get around that problem?

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

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

You could put easily four cars in there.

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

It's sympathetic with the surrounding area.

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

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

But the paint dried earlier this year.

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

-Yes.

-Well done.

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

-And congratulations.

-Thank you.

What a wonderful renovation project this has been!

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

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

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

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

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

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

take a look at this one in Torksey in Lincolnshire.

Renovated to a high standard,

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

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

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

enjoying an elevated position overlooking the River Dart in Devon.

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

Mystery houses can often provoke some fairly extreme reactions

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

were shown around a rather extraordinary bungalow conversion.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The nearest shops are two miles away in Tisbury.

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

but it offered much of what they were looking for.

This is an extraordinary, unusual and wonderful property.

I'm very excited to show it to you.

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

-Speechless.

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

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

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

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

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

-It looks great.

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

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

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

'lots of living space and three big bedrooms,

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

Thank you... Great hallway.

-Oh, fantastic.

-Wow!

Wow!

-Goodness me!

-Yeah, this is a kitchen!

-That's really special.

-I told you it was special.

-I'm very excited now.

-Can I just point out two things?

-Yeah.

-The range.

-I had noticed that.

-In blue.

-And an island.

-An island!

You're really going for gold stars!

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

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

-This is lovely.

-Very nice.

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

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

And finished to an incredibly high spec.

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

-Oh, wow!

-Is it?

Let's have a look in the garden.

-Wow!

-Nice patio.

-Lovely.

-It's not a vast garden.

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

-But it's a beautiful garden.

-Yeah, it's lovely.

-It's so well stocked.

-Yeah.

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

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

'which could be Peter's office.

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

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

There's a lot of light coming in.

-Yeah, imagine it with our furniture in.

-Hmm. It's very tastefully done.

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

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

-Shall we move on through?

Ah!

Bedroom on ground floor.

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

-Yeah.

-Much of it is single storey.

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

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

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

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

-I know.

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

-You're not the only woman who has.

-I don't know why.

-It's strange.

-There's an easy answer to that.

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

-I know.

-Problem solved really.

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

-There is a compromise involved with everything.

-I know there is.

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

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

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

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

Oh, another office.

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

You would have total peace here.

-Nice and quiet.

-It's so peaceful and tranquil.

-It is.

-You get the nice evening light here.

-It's a good size room.

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

-Or a playroom.

-Lovely.

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

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

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

It's lovely. Oh, wow!

That's really clever.

-What a huge room!

-Wow!

-It's an extraordinary piece of architecture.

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

-Central pinioned...vaulted roof.

-That is so unusual.

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

-Yeah.

-Quadruple aspect.

But this very unusual en-suite.

-Very different.

-I really like that bathroom.

I've never seen anything like that.

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

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

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

Hmm. Maybe.

-Might take some...

-Yeah.

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

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

-I know, I know.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

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

-You don't sound convinced.

-I don't know.

-I'd have to think about that one.

-You need to let it sink in a bit.

-Yeah.

-OK. I think it's fabulous.

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

come out in your bath robe...

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

-Lovely.

-You can't complain about this.

-No, that's lovely.

-You can't complain at all.

What a very clever use of the space!

-Isn't it great?

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

-That's lovely.

-Any thoughts about whether you can afford it?

-It's a difficult call.

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

-Melissa?

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

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

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

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

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

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

-it's on at 685.

-OK.

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

and the uniqueness of it.

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

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

-Thank you.

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

I love the kitchen, dining room area.

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

-This is beautiful.

-This is a beautiful room.

-And a beautiful kitchen.

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

-Yeah.

It has a bit.

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

-It isn't entirely practical.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Hmm.

-It's got to be absolutely right.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We are always looking for something unusual.

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

but we've never quite had anything like this.

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Well, hello, hello.

-Hello.

-Hello!

-Hey, Peter, nice to see you.

-Hi, Jules.

-Hello, Amanda.

-Hi, Jules.

I'm interrupting some very industrious work in progress.

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

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

You've got a yurt campsite.

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

Well, it all started a few years ago.

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

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

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

-This was towards the end of the party?

-It was after a glass or two!

-Like all the best ideas.

-Absolutely.

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

-They do.

We had to wait quite a long time for planning.

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

-Have you ever been to Mongolia?

-I have, yes.

-Now.

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

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

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

-Yes.

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

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

-That one is a lot warmer inside.

-Come on then.

-OK.

Look at this!

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

-I suppose it does really.

-Even though we're in Wales.

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

-You've seen it first-hand.

-Yes.

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

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

-So it's an organic building.

-Very organic.

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

-Yes.

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

It really is fantastic, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's beautiful.

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

-Enjoy the ambience.

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

-Look at that. I love it.

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

means it's a very communal space.

-It is. It's lovely.

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

-Yeah.

-A whole family in here?

-A whole family would be in here.

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

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

-Start their family.

-Start their family. Then they gradually...

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

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

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

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

-That's it.

-Ah!

-No, no.

-Oh. Ah!

-Yeah, OK.

-No.

-No.

-This one here.

-Is it working?

-It's perfect. Look at it.

Lovely pattern runs all the way down.

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Thanks ever so much.

-OK.

-Thank you.

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

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

A good mystery house should always catch our buyers off guard

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

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

-Yes, all of it.

-All of it?

-All of it could be yours.

-Is this a disappointment as the master?

-Is this the master?

-No!

Just teasing. Come through here.

Alistair, you little tinker!

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

-My God, what's that?

-Our own personal lake!

Not one. Not two.

-Three.

-Three?

-Lakes?

-Of course. Fishing lakes!

-It's a farmyard conversion.

-Oh, I'm excited!

Now, oast houses make great mysteries

and Rebecca and Paul weren't disappointed inside either.

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

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

-You're licking your lips.

-I am.

But they'd have to build it first.

-Does that excite you?

-Not half. It certainly gets the juices flowing.

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

It's just...

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

-The "wow" factor?

-Yeah.

-The "woof" factor?

-The woof...

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

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

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

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

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

Our final mystery house was set in the village of Poundbury

on the western outskirts of Dorchester.

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

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

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

Prince Charles commissioned architect Leon Krier to design his ideal village

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

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

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

-What do you think, John?

-I think it's absolutely fascinating.

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

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

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

Would it make it more unusual

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

-How about that? By royal approval.

-By royal approval!

-Where's the crest?

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

'The outside has certainly piqued their interest.

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

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

-I like it very much.

There is the faintest chance I could be speechless here.

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

-The original round kitchen!

-Come in.

-What do you think?

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

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

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

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

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

-Oh!

-In you go.

-Oh, oh, oh!

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

-Certainly for me.

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

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

-Is that it? Is the deal done?

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

I can't wait to show you the rest!

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

-Yeah?

-Yes.

-Ah, here!

-Oh.

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

-The whole thing is just...

-John?

-Yeah.

-..amazing.

-Gasp.

-Yeah.

-Gasp in admiration.

-Very nice.

As a master bedroom, it's fabulous.

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

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

-Brilliant.

-So far.

-So far?

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

-I'm excited!

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

-Well, exactly.

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

-It's made him happy.

-I thought it might.

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

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

-There you go.

-Would you have them here for that long?

-Yeah. We could charge them.

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

-That's pretty much it.

-Is that it?

No, it's not it!

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

I knew there had to be something up here.

Now, this is mine! LAUGHTER

Before we have any discussion!

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

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

-Yeah.

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

We might even play the trombone up here sometimes.

-The famous trombone made an appearance at long last!

-It had to.

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

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

-That is the inside of this property so far.

-It's amazing, isn't it?

-Happy?

-I love all of it.

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

'so will the garden seal the deal?'

-It is very secluded and very nice, yeah.

-This is just right for us.

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

-Yes, it does.

-It's just very, very nice.

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

-Yeah.

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

-It is an extraordinary place.

-Go on then.

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

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

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

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

-675?

-Yeah.

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

-The bad news is it is over your budget.

-Yeah.

-The good news is it's not 675.

-Right.

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

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

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

-In poverty, of course!

-LAUGHTER

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

-Do the trombone test.

-OK.

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

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

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

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

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

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

PLAYS LOUD, DEEP NOTES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

then contact us through our website:

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2009

Email [email protected]