Devon Escape to the Country

Today I'm in a part of the country that's home to this magnificent beast.

Now he may look fearsome, but I reckon this chap is actually quite friendly.

These cattle have roamed this part of the world for thousands of years and they are still prized by

the farmers who work the land today, but which part of the country are today's buyers "mooo-ving" to?

Find out as we escape to the country.

Today we're helping a couple find a big country pile with bags of potential.

-Could you imagine creating that vision here?

-No.

They're self-confessed tough customers, so we're pulling out all the stops.

That is just so amazing, that view.

-Oh, my word! I feel like a Cheshire cat, grin, grin, grin!

-Grin, grin, grin!

But will it all end in hysteria?

-And a lot of...

-I can't stop laughing.

You're laughing, it's brilliant!

Today I'm in Devon and these are the Ruby Red Devon cattle,

so called because of the deep rich red colour of their coats.

Now although they were once popular there are now only around 300 herds

of Ruby Reds left in the country and that's because they've given way to quicker-to-rear breeds.

But the diet of Devon grass still makes this some of the best beef you can buy.

And if that's got you interested, then let's see what else this county has to whet your appetite.

Making up the lion's share of the West Country,

Devon is in fact England's third largest county.

It's a big place with some big claims.

For starters, it's the only English county to boost two separate coastlines and one of those,

the south coast, is a completely natural World Heritage Site up there with Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Wander away from the coast and the countryside is equally impressive with five areas

of Outstanding Natural Beauty and two National Parks.

The mix of stunning countryside and wild coastline makes this county a honey pot for visitors.

The tourist industry is worth £1 billion a year to the local economy,

but farming is still a mainstay of life, too, particularly dairy farming.

The wealth of period and traditional housing stock

has certainly made Devon the cream of the crop with homebuyers.

From thatched cob cottages to Victorian farmhouses,

there's something to suit just about every taste.

The money of affluent relocaters into Devon has pushed property prices right up.

In fact, some areas of the county, especially North Devon,

are some of the least affordable rural parts of the UK

with property prices coming in at nine times that

of the average local salary,

but if you do have the money, there are some great properties on the market right now.

If you have a princely £1.7 million to spend then check out

this six-bedroom Regency house near Exmoor.

A Grade II listed home of grand proportions,

it comes with a huge country kitchen and palatial dining room.

Off the first floor is a self-contained two-bedroom annexe and you could recoup a few pennies

with not one, but two self-contained holiday lets, although with 22 acres you might want to hire a gardener.

For the rather more modest sum of £595,000, how about

this three-bedroom stone barn conversion near the village of Lapford?

The 36-foot living room and galleried snug are definite highlights.

Floor to ceiling windows maximise the stunning views out over six acres of land towards Dartmoor.

If cosy country living is more your style, 375,000 will snap up

this three-bedroom former coach house in the picturesque Taw Valley.

A compact farmhouse kitchen gives way to a 22-foot living room and outside there's plenty of space

with a pretty levelled garden, stable blocks and three acres.

It's clear there are plenty of beautiful properties in Devon,

but will any of them capture today's buyers' hearts? Let's meet them.

Chris and Pat have been married for seven years.

Chris is a retired MD and Pat a freelance management consultant.

They live in this large 1930s five-bedroom house in East Horsley, Surrey, which Pat has owned for

23 years and Chris has shared for the last 11, but a complete change of scenery is now on the cards.

-We would like to move to the country, I think, for a few reasons.

-Yeah.

Particularly I think one of the things we really would like to have is a situation where,

when you wake up in the morning and throw open the bedroom curtains, there's a nice view.

So it's a room or two with a view they're looking for and East Devon is where they want to be.

Time now to pinpoint an exact location.

We haven't got a fixed view on it.

In an ideal world, yes, it would be in a fairly secluded

or quiet location relatively close to the sea.

Whether that would be possible is entirely another matter.

If it's further inland, but with some nice country views...

So, yes, really quite a lot of flexibility there, I think.

I think I've got more fixed views than you, but I'm prepared to be persuaded.

Having lived in this house for quite some time, Pat and Chris have clear ideas

on what works for them and what doesn't, so is there anything that will help us on our search?

What we'd like is not necessarily

somewhere that's smaller overall, but probably with less but bigger rooms.

We'd like the downstairs to be more conducive to entertaining.

-We hardly... Hardly ever use the lounge, do we?

-Or the dining room.

No, we live in the kitchen, the study and our bedroom, really.

So it would be nice to have a house with a larger downstairs for entertaining.

-Yes, and three bedrooms maybe upstairs, something like that.

-That's fine.

Well, that's all quite practical, but what's the ultimate dream?

The ideal dream property in the country would be a Georgian rectory, and I don't mind if it needs

lots of work doing on it, but I would love a feature hallway with a stone floor and a big staircase.

I don't think we will find the ideal property for us without it being some form of a project.

Sounds like DIY will be taking up a certain amount of spare time,

but what other pursuits do they have in mind for their new rural life?

For me, doing more cooking and gardening, growing herbs and peppers and vegetables.

I'd love to be able to take up riding again.

I'd love to learn how to make cheese.

And what will Chris be doing whilst Pat is whipping up some Cheddar?

One of the things I would like to do at the new house is to grow some vegetables.

This garden here doesn't really lend itself terribly well from that point of view so in the new place,

a dedicated vegetable garden would be something that I think we would be definitely looking to do.

Being cash buyers is a strong position to be in.

Let's find out what the final budget for their move is.

The budget we're really looking to spend maximum on the next property would be £650,000.

So, Pat dreams of living in an old rectory with a huge staircase and an impressive hallway.

More generally she'd like a large kitchen,

enough space downstairs to entertain and they'd like a garden big enough for Chris to tinker about in.

What I am impressed with is the fact that they want to spend some serious time

really creating their ideal home and visualising something like that takes some doing,

so I'm intrigued to see what they're thinking.

More importantly, I'm definitely up for the challenge of trying to fulfil Pat's dreams.

All of that for £650,000?

I can't wait!

Pat and Chris want to focus the house search in rural East Devon,

so we've cast the net from the Dorset and Somerset border in the east to Exeter in the west.

In today's show we've lined up three period homes to view, but I'll be keeping tight-lipped

about the asking prices until the end of each tour.

And, as ever, the last of the three is the mystery house, but will it make the grade?

I think we've picked a pretty decent day to come to Devon house hunting.

Why Devon, though? I mean, I think it's a gorgeous county, but what's the appeal to the two of you?

We used to come on holiday here quite a lot when my children were younger

and I do have family down in the area and now that we've both sort of cut back on working, it...

We want to move down to the country.

Yes, somewhere more rural that we've been looking for,

which we don't have immediately where we are at the moment.

So is it possible for us to find you your dream home or are you going to

walk into any house we show you and want to make complete changes?

It would be wonderful if you could find us our ideal house, but I would be absolutely amazed if you could.

I doubt very much whether we'll walk into a house and say everything's perfect, this is just what we want.

So, budget-wise, I understand we have 650, or maybe a bit more? Where are we with that?

Well, absolute maximum of 700,000, but that would be to include any

renovation, rebuilding, extension work that needed to be done.

That gives us lots of scope, so let's get going and get househunting.

-Fantastic.

-Great.

Armed with a budget of up to £700,000, Chris and Pat want a large period property

which they can transform into their perfect home.

Three bedrooms including at least one ensuite are a must

for when their grown-up children visit,

and an ample garden would be just great.

The fact is that large period homes in rural settings come with equally large price tags in East Devon

and I'm slightly concerned that no property will ever live up to Pat's long-held dream.

Now, Pat, I understand your ideal home is an old Georgian rectory. Tell me about that dream.

Oh, I've had this sort of fantasy for a long time, walking through the front door with a stone hallway,

a fairly large staircase, cornices and architraving and original doors,

and that's the sort of place I really wouldn't mind renovating.

-But you'd still need to do some work on a place like that!

-Yes!

-Yes.

I can't imagine finding my ideal kitchen already done for me.

No worries there, then, as Pat will have plenty to sink her teeth into with our first property.

It's situated in prime Devon countryside

four miles from Broadclyst, which is typically pretty Devonshire village if ever I saw one.

Even the bus stop is thatched!

Colourful houses sit on sleepy country lanes and the locals' needs are catered for with one pub,

a tea shop, village stores and a 15th-century church.

But we're heading out into the countryside surrounding the village for our first viewing.

-First of all, we've brought you to this amazing rural location.

-Wow!

-Look at these views.

-The views are absolutely fantastic, aren't they? Yeah.

-Absolutely incredible.

And this way is the house.

Oh. It's different.

Oh, we went from, oh, wonderful views! To, ah...

Yes, I thought you might say that.

Now, this property is really to test how far you want to go in terms of rebuilding and creating your dream.

-OK.

-I think location-wise, it would be hard pushed to ask for much better.

-Yeah, it's fantastic.

-But the property is a 1930s build.

-Yeah.

-The current owners have been here three or four years

and they came with the intention of doing some extensive work.

-They have planning permission to build... Add an extra third to what's already here.

-Right.

-OK.

-Circumstances mean they're moving on.

I know it can all be changed, but I just wonder if we're going to rebuild and extend this house,

we're just going to end up with a newer house than a 1930s and that's not really what I wanted,

but, you know, again I'm prepared to be persuaded.

Yes, it doesn't immediately hit me as "wow" in that sense,

but let's see what it contains and what possibilities there are.

The current owners did think about knocking it down and starting again...

Well, that might be an option.

..building a Georgian-style house, or just extending and they've got planning permission for both options

-so bear that in mind and let's take our imaginations inside and see what we come up with.

-Right.

I think that when it comes to potential, this house has it,

and then some, but will Pat and Chris buy into the plans?

So, we're starting in the kitchen and,

come on, Pat. Now...

-Right, OK.

-This is the side of the house where

the current owners were thinking of extending that way, so adding an extra third on to this property.

The idea... Their idea being to create a huge kitchen-diner space...

-Sure.

-Looking out on to the views.

-That would be great.

-Yeah.

Could you imagine creating that vision here?

No.

I had a feeling you were going to say that and I'm a bit disappointed, I must say, Pat.

The ceiling's quite low. It feels a little bit closed in, to be honest.

'That was a definitive answer! Pat clearly isn't afraid to tell me exactly what she thinks.

'However, this house has real scope so I hope she sticks with it.

'Next door is a dining room, currently used as a study,

'and I'm hoping the living room will prove more inspirational.'

Now they've managed to fit a big dining room table in here as well as a living room.

This is actually a nice room, isn't it?

It's actually quite a good-sized room.

Yes, I don't think we would have it as a combined lounge-dining room,

but yes, the room is quite a good size.

I like the effect of the bay window and obviously that's capturing the views, which are magnificent.

This room could be really very special.

I mean, it's very nice now, but you can see how you could make it even nicer.

'Could they slowly be warming up to the possibilities this house offers?

'There is a lot they could do with it, so it's onwards and upwards.'

Now, I need you to keep your imagination going up here.

There are four bedrooms.

Now, three of them are on the smaller side.

-OK.

-Let's have a look at one so you can get an idea.

-OK.

But do remember, I mean, the idea with this house was to extend and create more.

Right, OK.

-Is this the smallest room?

-No.

-Right.

-It's not the biggest either. It's not the master...

-All right.

-If that's what you were thinking. "If this my bedroom?" No.

-OK.

-Oh, silence.

-Yes.

No, I mean, it's...

It's difficult to imagine what you would do with this room, to be honest.

I think the thing is...

It doesn't work for me at all, the room, but for somebody else, maybe.

'I'm surprised. I thought Pat and Chris would see this as a totally blank canvas

'and with the extended floor plan, they could create an amazing space up here.

'I think Pat needs some more help visualising the end result.

'Perhaps looking at the rest of this floor will help.

'There's a stylish family bathroom and a single bedroom.'

-Now, imagine waking up...

-Oh, my goodness!

And looking out at that every morning.

That is just so amazing, that view.

And that was exactly one of the things we said, a view that each morning you wouldn't get tired of.

Just behind there they do have a small sort of shower room, so it is ensuite, but behind this room

they've got the fourth bedroom which is sort of a single room at the moment, so I think it would

probably be better to extend and create a bigger ensuite, something more comfortable.

-Yes.

-That's a possibility, yeah.

-But there's options again,

-but I think as a base, looking out on that, you can't go far wrong.

-Yeah.

-Pretty good dimensions.

Yeah, yeah. This is actually quite a nice room, I would say, yes.

'Well, the interior of this property might not be for them, but I think the garden will get top billing.'

This house sits in a plot of around about two acres and it's surrounded

-by National Trust property from the Killerton Estate.

-Oh, yeah, yeah.

So that means unspoiled views, no chance of any developments going up.

'It is hard to put a price on views like that, but I'm going to ask Pat and Chris to have a go anyway.'

I need a figure. I'm going to start with you, Chris.

Right, well,

my view would be that this perhaps would be on the market for somewhere between 500,000 and 550,000.

Oh, there's a lot of renovation, or in fact redevelopment, so I actually wouldn't go any higher than 500.

Well, this house, are you ready, has been on the market for two months...

-Yes.

-And the asking price is £625,000.

You know, I can understand it's got lots of land, but at the end of the day,

if you can't create the house you really want to live in, you know... But fair enough.

-I'd like you to go back in there and have a final look around and decide what you'd do. Off you go.

-OK.

With a price tag of £625,000, this 1930s property is 75,000

under their top budget, so hopefully that's enough spare change to tackle the renovation work.

The approved plans for the house include a two-storey extension,

increasing the floor print by a third.

As it stands...

A house can always be changed, but you can't add a view

and as far as views go, those are pretty spectacular.

It's clearly in a fantastic location and the views are just amazing.

And then we turned the corner and, to be honest, my heart sank

because it's a pebble-dashed 1930s house, which isn't really what I'm looking for.

The style of the building here I think is such that even by extending it,

we're not really going to finish up with a whole house that is really of the design that we would want.

Hey, there. I think you're so disappointed, you've relegated me to the doghouse,

but I'm hoping I can be unleashed because we've got more houses to see.

-So, shall we go?

-Yeah.

-Fine. OK.

Now, together with thatch, the vernacular architecture of Devon

is characterised by the use of cob, an Old English word meaning mud wall.

From the 13th century right up until the early 19th century,

it was the building method of choice until industrialisation and the arrival of brick

reshaped Devon's architectural landscape and the technique all but died out.

However, at the forefront of a 21st century cob comeback is builder and teacher Kevin McCabe,

who in 1994 built the first cob house in the UK for 70 years, so I've come to meet him

to find out more about this back-to-basics building technique.

So, what have we got here? What are we going to be doing?

Basically, the pitchfork to move it up on to the wall, and these thumpers, these sort of mallets,

are useful for sort of shaping it.

-They look like fun to use.

-Yeah. And then the other tools, the sort of

adze and mattock and spade are all for paring it down, which is usually done a day or so later,

when it's just stiffened up a little bit, to hold its shape.

Looking at this mixture it looks quite wet, and then we've got this structure here which is quite dry,

so how long does it take to dry out?

Basically we'll go up about two feet in one day.

That'll need about a week of good weather before we can go up again.

It won't be completely dry, but it'll seem dry on the outside.

Tally in the shrinkage time needed to allow the construction to settle before adding windows and doors,

and the general build time for a cob cottage or house is around 15 months,

but cobs come with plenty of benefits to make the wait worthwhile.

So how environmentally friendly is this type of building?

This is as environmentally friendly as you can get.

I mean, the thing is it is of the local environment.

It performs very well in terms of its thermal insulation and, you know, general comfort to live in.

'In fact, cob houses tend to lose 20% less heat than a brick or wood-built house.

'And in terms of sustainability, well, the fact that there are around 20,000 cobs still standing

'in Devon today, with some dating back 700 years, should say it all.

'However, if a whole house seems like a challenge too far,

'why not start with something simple like an outdoor cob oven?

'It takes around a month to build and dry out,

'and the pizza it produces would make any Italian proud.'

Bon appetit!

As the sun sets over the Devon countryside, day one of our property hunt comes to an end.

Pat and Chris want to swap suburban Surrey for really rural East Devon.

For 700,000 all in, they're after a period property they can seriously put their own stamp on.

Our first viewing missed the mark, so coming up - we're on a mission to find the dream house.

This is so lovely. I'm so excited!

Or will today's mystery house have them completely rethinking their wish list?

I'm just amazed, given that this was everything I was never going to have!

Pat and Chris have put me into a bit of a dilemma.

On the one hand, they say they want a property that they can redevelop

and really put their mark on, but what I think they really want, after yesterday, is the ideal home

that they can just tinker with, and for Pat that's a very specific dream, an old converted rectory.

And, guess what? Today, I think we've found it!

But will Pat like it? I do hope so.

We'll find out soon enough, I guess, as it won't take us long to reach the village of Dunkeswell.

Cob thatches on country lanes, a Victorian church and a pond are all part of the village make-up.

Our next house is situated off one of the roads going out of the village.

It's not totally isolated, but rectories rarely are.

And I've brought you to the village of Dunkeswell to show you your very own converted rectory.

Oh, well done!

Well done.

Now, it dates from about the mid-19th century so it is just Victorian,

but it's got a very Georgian style.

-I'd call it a Georgian-style rectory, so...

-Yeah.

We got fairly close.

It was converted about 1991. That's when the church could no longer afford to keep it.

-OK.

-So it's been in private ownership since then.

-Fabulous.

-Good, excellent.

'Fabulous? Good? Excellent? That's what you call a positive start!

'Fingers crossed inside won't disappoint.'

Come on through. Tell me what you think of the hallway, which I know is big on your list of requirements?

Absolutely.

-Can't complain about the ceiling height, that's for sure.

-Yeah.

I don't think you could quite reach there, could you?

No, no. No, all positive.

-Really good, well done.

-Great start.

Let's keep going.

Through here. We'll start with the dining room.

Goodness, this is really nice.

Nice room, yes. Real spacious in here and I think always with the

higher ceiling it always creates this extra feeling of space.

Yes, it's lovely, actually.

-Well done.

-Lovely? Great?

Well done? I'm so happy!

The only... The only thing I would say is it's a pity there isn't,

you know, a proper fireplace there, but that's no big deal.

You can get one from a reclamation yard or whatever.

-It gives you something to do, you did want to...

-Yeah, DIY.

Exactly. You did want to put your own mark on the property a little.

-I don't there'll be much to do in this one, but little areas like that. And look at these.

-Well done.

By my count that's my third "well done" in as many minutes!

I think we could be on the right track here and if it's a fireplace Pat's after, well, just next door,

the morning room has a lovely example, as does the living room.

-The house that keeps on giving!

-Oh, my goodness!

This is a fantastic room.

This is so lovely. I'm so excited!

Pat's excited, I'm excited, how are you feeling, Chris? Join the party!

Look, sash windows, original locks on the windows.

No, the... The...

This is stunning.

These rooms are really nice.

Absolutely stunning. Really, really lovely.

-Did you expect this...

-No, I didn't.

-From the outside?

-No. no.

-Did not expect it to be so beautiful.

-Well...

-I feel like a Cheshire cat, grin, grin, grin!

Grin, grin, grin! And I am so happy.

So far so good, but we still need to check out the all-important kitchen.

It's 25 feet long, but that's no guarantee it will live up to Pat's big expectations.

Voila! The kitchen.

What do you think, Pat?

I think it's... I think it's a nice kitchen.

For me, I would...

I would do it differently, but the space is definitely here and that's no big issue for me at all.

In fact, I'd rather do my own kitchen, so, you know, everything...

Nice walls, nice skirting, great door, lots of light, great place for the range.

Well, it provides the space, doesn't it?

-Yes, it does.

-Yeah.

-Back that way you've got a huge utility room.

-OK.

-And a walk-in pantry.

-Oh!

Pat's pantry for all those products!

For all the products, the jam-making and anything else that you want to do.

Now we've got to check that the upstairs delivers in the same way.

I'm confident it will. Let's see if we can keep you happy!

'This is going very well.

'I think our Victorian rectory could be turning a property dream into a reality.

'Let's just hope upstairs won't hold anything in the way of nightmares.

'There are six bedrooms in all, so over and above their requirements, but first, a family bathroom.'

What a great amount of space for your bathroom.

-It's a lovely size, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Really nice size.

And they put in this roll-top bath and you could sit in there

with some bubbles going, looking out surveying your land.

Ah, but you forgot the champagne!

Well, I mentioned bubbles... of both varieties!

'Pat's mind is on the champers already.

'Could that mean we're definitely on to a winner?

'They haven't even seen the seemingly endless amount of bedrooms which I think have lots of scope.

'There are two doubles, a single currently being used as a study and another double

'masquerading as a sitting room, and the room next to the master

'has been transformed into a dressing room.'

So this, at the moment, is the master, but I think...

I think it's fair to say with this property there's not one room out of

all the bedrooms that really feels like the master bedroom, as such.

-No, you're right.

-But you've certainly got the opportunity.

I mean, the room behind here is fairly small. These walls can be taken down.

-Put an ensuite in there because, again, you've only got the one family bathroom.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Which you'll tend to find with a property like this.

-Of course, yes.

No, certainly it seems to me that there's clearly the opportunity to probably

finish up with maybe four bedrooms, but bigger rooms, certainly ensuite added into at least one of them.

'It's obvious the house is an unqualified success and I think the garden will be a big hit, too.

'At just over an acre there's room enough for veggie plots, but it's

'not unmanageable and there's a very countrified added extra.'

And here you've got your very own duck pond!

-Isn't that amazing?

-How fantastic.

-I bet you didn't expect to see that with this property!

-No.

-No, no.

-What do you think of it as a garden and a space for you?

I like it because it's... It's not organised.

It's not manicured, it's a bit wild and yet it's got lots of lovely features and to have...

And to have the pond like that, it's fabulous.

I love the sort of massive boundary at the back with those huge trees.

That's lovely.

-That's lovely, yeah.

-But have we got it within the budget?

How much do you think it will cost you to get your hands on this beautiful house?

I would put it, yeah, probably around 670,000.

I'll go for 685.

This property is on the market at £650,000.

-Well, that makes it even more attractive!

-Yeah.

-I got a smile out of you.

-Yeah, that's...

Yeah, that's quite attractive.

-But, as you can imagine, it's just come on the market and it's quite popular.

-Of course.

It's a great property in a lovely area. How much did you like it?

Liked it very much, very much.

Then I think you should go, have a wander round and start considering whether it's one for you.

-OK.

-I'll see you later on.

-OK.

What a result! And at £650,000, this Victorian rectory comes in 50,000 under the top budget.

It has three reception rooms, a 25-foot country kitchen,

six bedrooms which could be knocked through to create three,

and it's all set in 1.3 acres.

For most people, it wouldn't even need a lick of paint,

yet it gives Pat the opportunity to put her own stamp on it.

Being a rectory, it is on the edge of the village, though, so how do they feel about that I wonder?

I'm glad that it's not really done

to perfection. If it had custom-built units and things and I wasn't that keen on them,

I'd feel dreadful for ripping them out, yeah.

-No, it's...

-Overall, I'm dead impressed with what they've found.

Obviously, in an ideal world we were looking for

something that was fairly secluded out in the countryside.

Having said that, there's only a couple of houses nearby.

The house itself is lovely.

The location is... is actually not too bad.

Gosh, I never believed they would find me this, so I was incredibly chuffed to find they had.

Hey, there. Now, I've got some ideas. I was thinking rip this down,

a couple of windows there, a bit of wisteria, Bob's your uncle!

What do you reckon?

I'm sure you've got your own list of changes, but the journey's not over yet.

-Come on.

-OK.

For most people, the idea of a Grade II listed cottage in the middle of a gorgeous village

would be their idea of heaven,

but for Pat and Chris, I think the concept of something they can't tinker that much with

much with will be quite hard to grasp, but I'm hoping the charms of this house will win them over.

Now, what do you think

we could possibly show you to entice you away from your dream of a converted Georgian rectory?

How about a huge chateau!

-I can see where you're coming from. A castle, perhaps?

-Maybe, yeah.

We can work miracles on this show, but I'm not sure we can go that far, but you never know. Here's hoping.

All will be revealed soon, but first we're escaping the county

as we're hopping over the border into Somerset to the wonderfully named Haselbury Plucknett.

It's a typically lovely Somerset village with a population of around 700.

There's one pub, one church and one shop catering to the community,

and there's no shortage of period properties, including the mystery house, a 16th-century traditional

hall house which isn't in a secluded rural setting, it's slap bang in the heart of the village!

So let's see how that goes down.

So this is our mystery house. Come on!

Now, I'm betting that this is a property you would prob...

You wouldn't have looked at without us.

No, I wouldn't.

I wouldn't. I wouldn't have considered it, but, you know what?

-It's actually really...

-Initial...

-Lovely. It's a lovely-looking house.

-Initial impressions is it's a very nice-looking house.

-Isn't it gorgeous?

-Yes.

It's been renovated by the current owners.

When we get inside, they've done a lot of work in there.

-I can't stop laughing!

-You're laughing, this is brilliant!

Is it a good laugh?

I just had a... I thought you might go for something like this and I...

But, you know, we talked about it being small, pokey, duh duh duh duh duh...

And it's actually it's not small, pokey.

-It doesn't look small or pokey, does it?

-No, not at all, not at all.

It's a Grade II listed house.

Right. Well, you'll have to talk us through what we can and can't do in that case.

OK, be prepared for this - not a lot, Pat.

There aren't that many changes you can make.

-OK.

-But the current owners have done a lot of work.

OK. A lot of renovation, and they've worked really hard to do it

sympathetically and to go back to local craftsmen. OK.

I can't wait to see what you think of what they've done! Come on.

OK.

Well, tickled pink wasn't a reaction I was expecting, but I like it and I'm going with it.

Come on through.

-Oh, my word!

-Oh, your word, indeed.

-Come in.

-Oh, my word!

-Right.

-What do you think?

Well, all the...

All the period features are fabulous.

It's a bit dark, that's the only thing that worries me.

I thought you might say that. It's a little dark, but warm still.

-I mean, look at these windows here. The...

-But how...

I mean, look, the original features.

-I mean, oh, gosh!

-They're screaming at you, aren't they?

Your own bit of history.

Exactly. That's an amazing room to start off with.

-It is.

-But let's keep going because there's a bit more.

-OK.

Come through to the living room.

-Oh, isn't this a lovely room?

-Take it in.

Again, not what we would have gone for, but...

You just seem so surprised, Pat.

-You're looking... You can't believe that a property like this could have this feeling, can you?

-No.

I'm surprised at the ceiling height.

I'm surprised I like it.

It really does feel cosy.

No, it feels lovely.

'Well, this is a turn up for the books - a definitive thumbs-up from Pat!

'Let's see what she'll make of the kitchen, just next door.

'If she wants to change this one, I give up.'

Now, look at this for a kitchen and tell me what you think of what they've done.

Gosh! These are all bespoke units.

They're lovely. Look at those hammered pewter handles.

Eye for detail.

I know. These units were handmade up in Yorkshire and then brought down here and...

It's beautiful wood, isn't it?

Commissioned by the current owners.

And not only did they do this work here, over there, the structural work they did was take

down a wall and open that up so you've got a breakfast room that looks out onto the garden.

-Isn't that lovely?

-And hasn't it been done in keeping?

They've created a beautiful space.

'And the space goes on.

'The garage has been converted to create a study and a sunroom.

'Pat and Chris have clearly been charmed by the downstairs. Let's see if the magic continues upstairs.'

Step into the room that's currently being used as the master.

What a nice room. How tall!

-What do you think, Chris?

-I think it's a nice room.

I suppose possibly just the first slight negative is I guess...

There's no ensuite.

unless you're going to surprise us, there's no ensuite attached.

'Well, I do have a surprise up my sleeve.

'The solution is at the opposite end of the hallway

'past a single bedroom, a cosy double and the family bathroom.'

Through here

is another bathroom.

-Oh, this is very nice.

-It's lovely.

-It's absolutely lovely, yes.

-You do surprise me.

This is the mystery house - it's supposed to be something you wouldn't like and you love it.

-I know.

-And as an added bonus, this isn't just a standalone bathroom.

Oh, no, it connects through to what I think should be the master.

My word.

In we come. Now, don't you think this should be the master bedroom?

-Oh, definitely, definitely.

-Yes. I mean, it's plenty big enough, yes.

Gosh, there's even room for a sofa in here, look.

It's a bit novel, coming through the bathroom.

-It's slightly unusual.

-Would you be able to live with it that way,

using this as your master and coming through the bathroom?

-I mean, it's quirky, isn't it? It's just different.

-I don't see that as a big issue.

-No, not at all.

-In fact, I think it's quite novel.

Is there anything that could make this property any better?

-Well, we haven't seen the garden yet.

-That's true, we haven't seen the garden, but I'm just amazed,

-given that this was everything I was never going to have.

-You said it!

But it's everything you could want.

Well, it's feeling that way.

'It just goes to show when it comes to househunting,

'keeping your options open can sometimes deliver the dream.'

Now, this garden just keeps on going.

It's like a house in itself in terms of different rooms, the way it's been laid out by the current owner,

so you've got a pond area over there,

behind is a children's play area, a vegetable garden, sheds, pathways, secret garden walls.

-I don't know what else you'd need.

-Gosh.

-How much do you think you'd have to pay?

Golly, this is difficult. I think it's right at the top end of our budget.

-Give me a number.

-All right, 695.

-Chris?

-I would go just a fraction under that and say 690.

It's on the market at £695,000.

Oh, my goodness, I got it right!

-You were spot on.

-Oh, gosh!

-We've given you so much to think about.

-It has.

-Why don't you have a wander and explore this amazing garden and I'll see you later on?

-OK.

-OK.

That is why I love the mystery house!

We've shown them something that was completely not on their list and, do you know what?

So often they fall in love with it.

It just goes to show you don't know everything, even Pat.

This is at the top of their budget at £695,000, but what a property!

This beautifully restored 15th- century hall house is crammed with character.

On paper it shouldn't work for them, but it so obviously does.

I'm not sure that this is a property we would have looked at.

I guess, well, you can maybe not take too many judgements without actually inspecting things.

This is a listed house and it's not really going to offer any big projects,

which is one of the things that you were perhaps looking for.

I was thinking that when I was walking round the garden,

but, you know, this feels such a welcoming home.

I... I'm just going

to have to think very hard on that.

It just feels... It just feels right.

The dilemma is that I do want a project, and I'm saying do because I really do.

I don't really know how we're going to arrive at a decision on this because the head says

"get on and do your project," and the heart's telling me "this house is just so you".

I've got to drag you away, but I've had a thought - we rename it Pat's Palace!

That's, of course, if it's the one for you and right now you've got a lot of thinking to do.

-I know.

-Come on.

Well, that mystery house certainly brought out a different side of Pat.

She got really emotional and stopped thinking with her head for a change, but now it's decision time.

Which way will they go? Is it the head or the heart?

-Hello.

-Hi.

-Denise.

-Oh, we've reached the end of our journey, haven't we?

Well, we started with the 1930s house. What did you think?

When we first arrived we couldn't see the house at all and there was a long drive,

but I got a feel for the views and we walked round the corner and my heart sank.

The views were everything we were looking for, but for the reasons

of the house we would have to say that that one wouldn't be for us.

Now, very specifically, you wanted to live in an old Georgian rectory.

We searched high and low and I can't believe we

pulled it off, we brought you to a Victorian Georgian-style rectory.

Well, you certainly made me eat my words because I said I didn't think you'd find one and you did,

and that was fantastic and it's a lovely house.

When we went inside, we went from one room to the next room

to the next room and it sort of almost got better and better.

-Better and better.

-Well, having shown you

a property that pretty much fulfilled every wish on that list,

including giving you scope to put your mark on it,

we took you to the mystery house which was everything you didn't want and yet what a reaction!

And I have to eat my words again.

I know, it... I can't describe it.

It blew me away, actually.

There's cottages and cottages and the way that it had been restored and renovated had been done both...

-With so much love and care.

-Extremely well and sympathetically and to a high standard, as well.

-Yes, yes.

-Given how sure and certain you were about what you were looking for,

-showing you something that was so opposite...

-Yes.

I didn't have high hopes, I've got to be honest.

Well, if it was a shock to you, it was an even greater shock to me.

So, what's going to happen next?

Are you going to go for any of the properties we've shown you?

Well, I don't think we'll be immediately putting in an offer, but I think what we want to do

is there's two houses there that interest us enough

that we would want to go back and have a second look.

And the two properties are, just to be clear, the old rectory and the mystery house.

The old house. Yes.

Yes, so we'd be going back to see them a second time, very much with a view that one or other

of these could be something that we might want to purchase.

Well, any house that could bring out Pat's smile like that, I think has got to be a winner!

So, let's not jinx it, but fingers crossed it's not too long before

-you're moving into at least one of our houses.

-Thanks a lot.

-Best of luck, take care.

-Thank you.

I remember at the start of this journey Pat told us she didn't think we could find

her ideal home, but oh, how she was wrong!

We found her two and, most surprisingly, the one

that she's fallen in love with and opened her heart to is something she would never have looked at.

And do you know what? I think Chris likes it, too.

Hopefully it won't be too long before they're moving in

and I will see you next time on Escape To The Country.

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