North Yorkshire Escape to the Country

I'm standing in front of the highest unbroken waterfall in England.

Inspiration for poets and painters, from Wordsworth to Turner

and all this amazing cascading water carves out a basin in the limestone

that forms all the Dales that surround us in this area.

And if that's not a big enough clue as to where we are, keep watching.

In today's show I will be helping a couple break free from city limits

and make a one-way trip to the country.

It's not long before they grab our house hunt by the horns...

-Fabulous.

-That is AWESOME!

..but our mystery house could put them in a quandary.

-That's a very nice office.

-Dining room.

-Office, very nice office!

Today I'm in north Yorkshire and this is Hardraw Force,

whose 100ft sheer drop is one of the many spectacular sites you can see in the Yorkshire Dales National Park

and the Dales were scooped out of the landscape by glaciers two million years ago,

leaving all these wonderful sites.

It's not just landscape that brings people here,

the Yorkshire folk are pretty colourful too.

Every year they troop up into this rocky amphitheatre

and have a brass band competition.

As England's largest rural county, spanning some 3,000 square miles,

north Yorkshire is often dubbed, "God's Own County," by its people

on account of its vast landscapes,

many of which fall within its two national parks,

the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales.

Stretching over 680 square miles,

the Dales scenery has been shaped by farming past and present,

with its rich pasture land bounded by the distinctive dry-stone walls

and the locally hewn limestone is a strong feature

of the county's solid and impressive buildings,

which sit harmoniously in the surrounding countryside.

And with beautiful vistas like these,

it's easy to see why north Yorkshire is such a compelling place to escape to.

Regular viewers of this show will know that buying a beautiful bit of Yorkshire is never cheap,

particularly if you're looking in the golden triangle around York, Harrogate and Leeds.

So, it's a wonderful idea to move out into the Dales.

Firstly, property is significantly cheaper,

secondly, there's an amazing stock

of fantastic stone buildings to choose from

and thirdly, planning and regulation is very strictly controlled in the Dales National Park,

which means you're not going to get a flyover or bypass spoiling your view.

If that's not reason enough, take a look at what's on offer.

For £1.4 million,

this listed four bedroom country house in Marton cum Grafton

has a lavish sprawl of reception rooms,

a rather plush games room and a garden room,

complete with exercise pool, which looks out over landscaped gardens.

And this 400-year-old four bedroom converted barn,

on at £575,000 at Appletreewick, still has its character in tact.

Beamed ceilings and inglenook fireplace in the living room

and a beamed master bedroom.

Outside the dry-stone walled gardens look out over the pastures of Upper Wharfedale.

This three bedroom barn conversion in Aldbrough St John,

for just under £400,000,

has been carefully restored to offer surprisingly light living areas,

a welcoming country kitchen

and a tastefully refitted bathroom upstairs.

Well, there are plenty of beautiful properties to buy out there,

but can we find something here in, "God's Own Country,"

that will stir the hearts of today's buyers? Let's meet them.

Brian, a business consultant and Anne, a clinical nurse specialist,

have lived beneath the suburban skies of Liverpool,

a stone's throw from the famous Penny Lane, for the last 22 years,

but now that their three grownup children have left home,

Brian and Anne want to leave this five bedroom semi-detached house

and move on to pastures new.

It's a good time for us to move now because I've semi-retired,

the children are settled at university, or in their careers,

Brian can work from wherever we are, and although we've loved Liverpool,

we just feel we'd like to experience something different

and would like a move to somewhere more rural.

It just seems to beckon us though, really, doesn't it?

You go there for a weekend and it just seems to say, "Come back and have some more."

Although they're hankering after rural life,

they're not cutting off all their ties to Merseyside.

We're in the fortunate position that we don't need to sell.

It's our choice not to sell. We love the house and we want to keep it,

so we're going to rent it out.

We're looking for a place that is no more than an hour and a half drive from Liverpool

because it is the intention that short-term, Anne will carry on working in Liverpool.

Without needing to sell, our couple are in a powerful position as they are chain free,

but what kind of property is going to convince them to up sticks?

When we think of leaving our current house,

you think of all the memories created in 22 years living in this house,

but wherever we move we'll create new memories

and that's what we're looking forward to.

I think it is difficult, not just talking about moving house, this is our home

-and it's replicating that feeling of home somewhere else, really.

-Yes.

Finding a dream home that measures up to years of cherished family memories

is going to be a challenge for our property search.

Putting emotions aside, what are these two looking for?

I think if I think of the absolute must-haves for the move

I would look at five bedrooms.

I would love a water feature, either the sound of water from a stream,

or a water feature. A large kitchen.

Ideally, we'd have a detached property

and I think, wrapping the whole thing up,

-it's got to be a place that gives us those country views.

-That's right.

We have a lovely garden here, it's done us well for 22 years,

but now I want a bigger garden where I'm looking at hills, not roofs

and I can grow vegetables and just enjoy the scenery and the setting.

One of the things I really do need is having a space inside.

My office is too small,

this is just a small sample of the books that I've got.

I need more space.

And if we can find them that perfect country pile,

Brian and Anne are clear about what this move will mean for their life.

I think, for me, it is a complete lifestyle change.

Erm, you know, we escape to the country of a weekend

and I really want more of that seven days a week.

For me that really does mean just being able to chill in the garden

and listening to country sounds, not city sounds.

I want to be involved in village life,

there's things I'd like to do and to be part of that life.

Get involved in pensioners' lunches, mother and toddler groups.

Just general village life community.

And now the big question, what's the budget for this move?

Our budget for the next property is £650,000.

OK, it seems like we are looking for a big traditional country house

with at least four bedrooms, space for Brian to have his office

and also a lovely set of views for Anne to appreciate

and I think that's probably feasible within their £650,000 budget.

However, where I think the real work is going to be is persuading them

to leave their emotional ties to their house in Liverpool

and really to commit to living in the countryside.

Our house search will be centred on the tiny Dales town of Ingleton,

where Brian and Anne have holidayed for years.

And some of our properties are close to the Lancashire border,

which brings Liverpool into easy striking distance.

I'll be showing them some attractive homes around the Yorkshire Dales

and there's our mystery house, which they could get very attached to.

-Here we are, the Yorkshire Dales.

-Fabulous!

-But this is not an unknown quantity to you, is it? You know it quite well.

-We certainly do.

We do, we've been holidaying in a particular area around here called Ingleton.

-We've been coming here for 20 years.

-Ingleton's a bit further west, isn't it?

-It is, yes.

-That's right.

-It's a lovely big area.

-Fabulous.

-And you're moving, but you're not selling your house.

-That's right.

-We're not, we're not.

Now, let's talk about that,

is that because you've got cold feet about moving to the countryside?

Not at all, no. It's not the best of times to be selling houses

and we absolutely love our house,

so we thought it would be a good idea not to sell it and to rent it out.

Are you committed to the country life?

-Or are you, do you have any reservations?

-We'd like to experience it.

We've never been here for more than a long weekend, or two weeks

and it'd be nice not to go home to Liverpool after two weeks.

It'd be nice just to stay a bit longer.

What happens after three weeks, you're like, "Ah, I want to go back to the city!"

That's a possibility, but I don't think three weeks.

I think we'd go a bit longer than three weeks.

-I have a feeling that it will be a move for life.

-Good, OK.

Well, that's kind of what we want to explore

because, obviously, it's unusual for people to have both options, so, it's nice for you,

but we want to explore whether we can really persuade you to commit to the countryside.

-Hopefully you can!

-Mmm.

Now, your budget, has that gone up?

-Our budget is 650,000.

-Right, and is there any leeway at the top of that?

Erm, if you find the right property

with just that little intriguing thing that says, "Come here, come here."

-Come hither property.

-Absolutely.

-Well, shall we go and look at some? I've got some nice ones lined up.

-That would be great.

With a budget of £650,000,

Anne and Brian would like a detached house with at least four bedrooms.

A large kitchen is important, as is an office for Brian.

Along with views,

they want a couple of acres of garden to grow vegetables

and it MUST be around an hour and a half's drive from Liverpool

for Anne's work.

Our first property takes us close to the village of Malham.

Set in the dramatic landscape

of the southern Yorkshire Dales, this is a walkers' paradise,

dominated by the limestone cliff of nearby Malham Cove.

Five miles down the road in a gloriously rural setting

is this stone farmhouse on the doorstep of the Dale.

So here we are,

-first property.

-Yes.

-What do you think?

-I like the daisies!

Like the daisies, they're just the flowers. What about the bricks and mortar?

It, it looks a bit odd from the outside.

Whether that's compensated for on the inside, we'll see.

-Why do you think it looks odd?

-I just think it looks like two separate houses.

The building is in two parts, as you can see.

This is probably from about 1850, and then the farmhouse

is turn of the century, it's rebuilt in sort of the 1900s.

What about the aesthetics? Are you looking for dry-stone walls...

-Yes, this is fabulous.

-Lovely.

-Beautiful.

-And the views?

-The views tick the box.

-It's second to none, it's absolutely stunning.

-Excellent. Lovely views.

-Shall we have a look inside?

-Yes, please.

-That'd be good.

Brian and Anne love the location, so let's see if the internal space

of this combined farmhouse and renovated barn can work its magic.

-Come on in.

-Thank you.

This is the farmhouse side of the cottage, of the house, rather,

and this would've been the living room, and is indeed their living room.

-It's square.

-Yeah, it's a good-sized room.

-It's a reasonable size. Fabulous views.

They've certainly got the view.

It's a blank canvas in some ways, isn't it,

looking at the whole package and saying, "How do we live? And how would we live here?"

-How would you live here?

-That remains to be seen if we look at the rest of the house.

-Ah.

'Good point, Anne, so let's keep exploring.'

-Come in here.

-This is nice.

-I thought you'd like this.

-This is a nice size.

Come through into the kitchen, to get a view of all parts.

-This is a lovely room.

-Yes.

-It is, yeah.

-I imagine this would be the heart of the home.

-Very much so.

-I'm sure.

-This is nice, this is a nice area.

-It's wonderful. You've got fabulous views.

-Yeah.

-To the garden, and down the Dale.

-Can you imagine having your family in here?

-Oh, certainly.

-Yes, definitely.

-Yes.

Hooray, things are picking up.

Brian and Anne are starting to imagine themselves living here.

And there's yet more useful space in the pantry and the large utility room.

'So, with a resounding thumbs-up on the kitchen,

'we'll go through to the living space on offer in the converted side of the house.'

We're coming into the part of the house that was developed.

-Right.

-This was where the barn and the agricultural bit of the property was,

-and a sort of snug, really, off the kitchen.

-Yes.

-Your lovely wood-burning stove.

-Fabulous.

And there's also the hall that goes upstairs with the second staircase.

When you describe a snug I expected something quite small,

but this is bigger than I thought.

-There's still another half of this building undeveloped.

-Right.

-Right.

-They have it as a sort of store room, but it's,

-it's got planning permission to be developed into another room.

-Right.

-And it's a good-sized room.

-That sounds interesting.

So there is the potential, if you don't do it, of getting someone in to do it.

-That would be the potential for an office, a study.

-That'd be good.

-For you to base yourself.

Yeah. There are potentials upstairs for studies.

Oh, right. We're getting ahead of ourselves.

-OK. We could go up here, but I want to take you up the main stairs.

-Oh, right, OK.

-OK, thank you.

'There's also a cloakroom tucked away behind the family snug.

'But we'll go back through to the main staircase on the farmhouse side to the first floor.

'At the top of the stairs is the first of five bedrooms,

'a nice-sized double, and the family bathroom.

'But I want to show Brian and Anne this bedroom.'

This might make a nice study.

This would be a very nice office and study.

-Lined with bookshelves for all your books.

-Yes.

'With Brian sorted, we'll move on.'

-Another very good-sized room.

-Yes.

-This is actually... You walk through, you can lock this door, there is the back staircase.

-Right.

-Uh-huh.

-I'll just take you through.

-Oh, right.

'This third bedroom leads through to the back staircase, and just off it is yet another bedroom.

'Down a few stairs further to the master bedroom.'

Aha!

-Oh, right.

-Oh, fantastic.

Just in case you were worried about the size of the rooms,

this is your playing field bedroom.

-Dear me.

-This is nice.

-A bedroom with several postcodes.

Absolutely, absolutely.

And you've got a lovely en suite.

-Oh, excellent.

-Have a look inside.

-Oh, excellent. Nice size.

-It is, isn't it?

-Shower.

And you've also got this incredible walk-in wardrobe, which I'm sure you'll want to have a look at.

We certainly do.

-It's huge!

-Oh, wow. It's lovely!

-We'd soon fill those.

-I think we would.

-So that's all the space inside.

How does that sit with your kind of dreams?

-It's got better as we've gone through.

-Yes, definitely.

-You've warmed up, you've started smiling.

-Definitely.

-I like that.

-Yes.

-This is super. It really is.

Well, let's see if the outside space

makes this property an even rosier prospect.

-Step into the garden.

-Wow.

-Nice big garden you've got here,

but very workable.

You've got quite a lot of land, that paddock is yours.

-Oh, right!

-Right.

-Right up to the side of the thing.

-Good grief.

-And then this fence at the top, that's all yours too, and this little chunk of wood.

-Excellent.

-Wow!

So it's a good old plot of land you've got. Certainly space for a veggie plot.

And there's a nice little stone-built garage as well. So yes.

You've always wanted a sit-on tractor, Brian.

I think I'd need to really, wouldn't I?

-If you wanted to keep it trim.

-Yes.

This is the plot. It's a very sizeable property.

-I think it's more attractive from the back than from the front.

-Much more so, much more so.

I love the stone lintels round the windows, they're beautiful.

-I should have brought you in the back.

-Perhaps so!

-How much do you think it's worth?

-I think probably just under. Shall I go first?

-Go on, you go first.

-I'm going to pitch in at £640,000.

I'm going to say £655,000.

-Well, you're both wrong.

-Right.

-But pleasingly wrong, because it's actually on at £635,000.

-Oh, right.

Oh, right. So you were fairly close.

-I was, I was.

-Right!

So why don't have a look inside, wander round without me,

-and then we'll meet at the front and talk about what happens next.

-We will.

-That's excellent, thank you.

Thank goodness, I thought they were going to hate it when they first walked in,

but it seems like the house has won them over.

Under budget at £635,000, our first property delivers the space inside

and out that Brian and Anne are looking for,

with money left over for them to make their own mark.

It offers them a large kitchen/dining room,

two sitting rooms with a large storage area ready for conversion

into more living space, five bedrooms with a master en suite,

and over two acres of land,

and incredible countryside views.

-Oh, wow, it's a good-sized space, isn't it?

-It is, isn't it?

Have you thought of having a study, an office...

This would be really good.

My first impressions of the house,

as I walked towards it was, it was quite a mixed bag.

When we came through the front door into the living room,

no doubt the views are spectacular, but the living room was,

it was a living room.

We walked through into the kitchen, lovely. It was good.

There were a few light bulbs starting to go on then.

It's an interesting house.

It's a house that I could see we could use as a family, and that we could live in.

The house has really grown on me. It really has.

Right, the first impressions, not great here.

But it's a hidden secret.

It certainly is, it certainly is.

Come on, let's press on.

Brian and Anne have holidayed regularly in the Dales,

and Hawes in the Wensleydale Valley is a favourite spot.

But today they're in uncharted territory, on one of the historic paths leading into Hawes,

with local farmer William Lambert, to find out its significance in days gone by.

Well, here we are on the, the main road from Swaledale

over to Wensleydale, known as the Buttertub Pass.

And the Buttertubs are, it's a rock formation where the rock

is vertical, and we have these deep crevasses, almost, between the rocks.

Traditionally, farmers would come here with butter and cheese

that they'd have made in the farmhouse kitchens to sell on the local market,

and this being the midway between the two dales it'd be a rest point.

They would lower them down into these holes in a basket with some rope,

and it would stay cool while they waited.

So what sort of temperature does it get to down there?

It's like almost being in a cave or a mine

where it's ambient temperature throughout the year, it doesn't change,

so it's about eight or nine degrees colder than the surface.

So a bit like having a fridge on the moor.

And it's still going on. It's market day today, so we can go and have a look at the market.

Great.

It's time to head into the centre of Hawes, whose streets are filled

with limestone buildings and a raft of independent shops.

The rain hasn't dampened the spirit of visitors

to the local market, which dates back over 300 years.

No trip to Wensleydale is complete without sampling the local delicacy, Wensleydale cheese,

whose recipe was originally developed by local 12th century Cistercian monks.

Today, around 20 cheese varieties are made here in Hawes.

This is where you can taste Wensleydale cheese.

This is Wallace and Grommit's favourite bit of the shop.

There's a range of flavours, they put all sorts of different flavours into the cheese.

Wensleydale were the first people to put fruit in cheese as an additive

to give it a special flavour, so Wensleydale with cranberries

-is one of the best cheeses they've made and it's the best seller.

-Excellent. And they won first prize.

Yes, it wins awards all over the country.

-Mm, that's excellent.

-That's beautiful.

-Beautiful, it's like sweet, isn't it?

-You must take some home with you.

-Oh, yes.

'Well, hopefully we can whet Brian and Anne's appetite with our line-up of properties.'

Our next house takes us to the village of Thoralby

in the heart of the Dales national park.

Surrounded by magnificent countryside,

Thoralby's country lanes are lined with traditional sturdy stone cottages

and a handy post office and village inn.

There's a very active local community

and our next property would put Anne and Brian right at the centre of village life.

I've brought you into the heart of a village just for a change.

-All right.

-A-ha.

Before we were out in the fields.

Which of these houses do you think I'm going to show you?

Um, not sure really.

-Where is it? Where is it? It's there.

-Ah.

-All of it.

-Right.

-All of it is yours.

-What do you think from the outside of this one?

-Looks nice.

-I'm impressed with this.

-Shall we take a look?

-Yes, please.

This Grade II listed Georgian house certainly occupies

an impressive position.

I hope inside has that feel of home that Brian and Anne are looking for.

This is the sitting room, I suppose you'd call it.

The end room, would have been the formal room of the house.

This fireplace looks a bit later, sort of Victorian.

-But it's a very fine house.

-Yes.

-First impressions are very good.

-I like it.

-What about you, Anne?

-Yes.

SHE LAUGHS

-Bit quieter.

-It's the first room.

I'm hoping that you're going to warm up. We're going to go left here.

-This one's for you, Brian.

-Wow!

Wow! This is great.

Your own personal library.

-Excellent.

-This is a surprise, really.

A lot of these long houses are quite long and narrow,

they extended ten years ago, beautifully done.

-Lots of light. Views out into the garden.

-It really is superb.

-Can you imagine working here - as your office?

-Oh, I can. I really can.

This is great. I'm taken.

What about you, Anne?

It's a nice room, I'm not sure I'd let him have it as his office,

but it's a very nice room.

There are other options for you.

Let's take a look at the main body of the house. OK?

'I think Anne might be more convinced by the next room we see.'

We're back to the long part of the house.

-This is the dining room.

-Nice size.

-It is, yeah.

Big arch over the fire.

Often dining rooms fell like they're a bit trapped off on their own,

it's quite a big spacious room.

Nice room, this is a nice room.

'And the dining room conveniently leads through to the kitchen.'

It's a reasonable size. It's got some nice details.

This inset for the stove is very nice.

-Fabulous views when you're washing your dishes.

-Absolutely, yes.

-Or loading the dishwasher.

-There's lots of potential.

And it continues through here.

'Off the back of the kitchen,

'there's a whole host of rooms leading off the rear hallway.'

Including a large pantry and cloakroom with WC.

There's an annex which holds one of the five bedrooms

in this house with its own en suite.

Next door there's a useful laundry room, and a good size garage.

Now we'll go upstairs on this side of the house

to size up the master bedroom.

Now, you have to remember that this is an older house.

It's been lived in for a long time and it hasn't been updated.

-This is the master bedroom.

-It's a good size room.

-A good size room.

-And you've got an en suite here.

-It's got a bath with a shower.

Can you see yourself tackling a project like this,

it's a lot of re-styling.

Thinking of the house as a blank canvas, as it were,

I think we could certainly do something with here. For sure.

-What about you, Anne?

-I'm not quite as sure. It's interesting.

It's looking at the potential and trying to visualise

your own things that are important to you in that environment.

-I'm trying.

-Try harder.

Come on, Anne, see that potential.

There would be plenty of space for the children to stay.

At the other end of the house is a large twin room.

A good size double with an equally floral en suite

and a further bedroom currently used as an office.

So, with the house covered, we'll go outside now

and explore the gardens which stretch to just over an acre.

-And this is all yours.

-Right.

-A ready-made veggie garden.

-Excellent.

-Very good.

Around the back of this building, you've got this paddock that goes up the right-hand side of this field.

-Up to the dry stone wall at the top.

-And what's this building here?

-This is an old outhouse.

It goes all the way back. There's a chicken run at the end.

-They just use it for storage of garden equipment.

-That's useful.

It is, but better than all that, you get your own walled garden.

-A little orchard there with an apple tree and plum tree.

-This is fabulous.

You can see the back of the house more clearly.

Is this the sort of space you were thinking about?

-This is lovely.

-Really good.

-Great.

-Look at the views.

-Amazing, aren't they, yes.

-Superb.

-What do you think it's worth?

I think this is probably under budget.

So I think 625.

I think a little more than that, I'll go for 630.

You'll be surprised to know it's on at 595.

-Really?

-Oh, right.

-Very surprised.

And that would leave you quite a lot of money in your pot

to really substantially renovate inside and, I think,

turn it into a beautiful property.

Whether you'd be up for that...

We all look at Anne at this stage.

Why don't you walk around with those figures rattling in your head

and that might make you think differently.

-We will do. Thank you.

-There we go.

Well, I have to say, this is a very handsome property.

For that money, £50,000 in your pocket,

you could completely gut the inside and make it absolutely beautiful.

I think they'll be missing a trick if they don't see the potential of that.

Under budget at £595,000, this superb Georgian property

has some great selling points starting with its location

in the heart of Thoralby village which will enable our couple

to get stuck right into village community life.

Something that Anne is keen to embrace.

The house itself has two fabulous reception rooms with period features.

An office/library for Brian and his books.

The five bedrooms they wanted

and over an acre of land with spectacular views over the Dales.

I think the outside space is fantastic.

The setting is beautiful.

First impressions were superb.

I was really taken with the ground floor.

Probably a little less so when we came upstairs and had a look around

but when we came back downstairs and out into the garden that, for me,

was bringing it back above the threshold again.

-So, this is the annex room?

-It could be a really good guest annex.

It's a lot of house. It's got a lot of potential.

It's whether I'm up for developing it in the way that I would want to live.

Yorkshire - so beautiful - wherever you look it's just like,

perfect views.

-I was just saying - amazing views here.

-Fabulous views.

-Everywhere in the Dales, but particularly this house.

-Yes.

Not that I'm putting any pressure on you.

And so, with our first day of house-hunting over

Brian and Anne can take a well-deserved rest and reflect on what they've seen so far.

Well, it's been a good day, hasn't it?

Been a fascinating day.

So, go on, let's have the verdict.

What was your sort of feelings about the converted farmhouse?

I have to say, when we first arrived and we looked at the outside,

I thought, "No, this doesn't do it for me."

It just didn't tick the box at all

but then when we started to go through the property it just got better and better.

So, I've been very pleasantly surprised with the first one.

That kitchen, that living area.

The snug, the potential for the end room.

The bedrooms I thought were great and that master bedroom

was just really the piece de resistance.

I thought that was excellent.

The setting, the views. You've got no-one to sort of invade your privacy

but there are people close by. There were houses nearby.

-I have to say I like that bit.

-Yeah.

So, what were your views on the house in the village?

That, for me, was a real surprise cos I thought beforehand

that I can't really imagine us living actually in a village

but the actual house itself, certainly looking from the outside,

I thought was great. I was really surprised.

I think the first time that I went in, I just thought, "hm",

but as I went round it and thought how it was but then how I could make it and how we could have it

to suit how we live. I think it grew on me. I think I liked it better.

I thought the garden, I really thought that was something special.

I think the garden was superb and I have to say I'm really intrigued

-to see what we're going to see tomorrow.

-Yeah, it should be a good day.

-I'm really looking forward to it.

-Me too.

Anne and Brian have spent 22 happy years in their large family home in Liverpool.

But now their children are grown up, it's time to head for the hills of North Yorkshire.

For £650,000 they want a four-bedroomed detached country home,

with a large kitchen, an office for Brian and land to grow vegetables.

So far they've seen one house, but coming up, it all gets a bit overwhelming.

-You're welling up, aren't you?

-No!

Some places give you a warm handshake when you come in.

This place is giving you a warm hug.

And there's our magnificent mystery house, which comes with a catch.

I think yesterday went quite well. Handsome properties, under budget, very attractive.

The only thing that slightly worried me was that Anne didn't seem able to look through the cosmetics

to the bones of the property and that's a bit of a problem.

I wonder whether it's a symptom of her reluctance to commit

to the countryside and is hankering after her lovely house in Liverpool.

Brian's much better at it so I'm hoping that he's going to

hold the day and that today goes swimmingly well.

Our next house is in the small hamlet of Hawkswick, deep in the Littondale Valley.

Hawkswick bears all the hallmarks of a traditional Dales village.

Close by is Arncliffe, and no prizes for guessing which soap opera

was first filmed here, and whose name was inspired by its village hall.

Our property is on the edge of Hawkswick, looking up the sweeping slopes of the Dales.

This is the property I want to show you. But rather unusually there's a feature here

that I can't resist showing you straightaway.

Right.

'So we'll take a slight detour round to the back of this Grade II-listed conversion,

'and I think they'll be hooked by what I'm about to show them.'

Take a look what's at the bottom of your garden.

-Oh, fabulous.

-That is awesome.

-I love the sound of water.

-Absolutely fantastic.

-It's the river Skirfare.

-Skirfare.

-Skirfare.

-It's not the most famous river in Yorkshire, but I think pretty beautiful.

-Amazing.

-Stunning, it really is.

And that's the key feature of this whole house, which I have to say looks absolutely beautiful.

-It's beautiful.

-I think you've hit the jackpot.

-Beautiful.

-I really do. It's beyond description.

-It really is fantastic.

-Good. So I'm glad I've got you on side from the outside.

-Oh, you have.

-Now, inside you need to get your X-ray specs on and look through the decor,

-and see what you can do with it. Let's have a look and see what you think.

-OK.

'Anne will be pleased to know that this early Victorian coach house

'has played a historical part in community life

'as the venue for the local village dances in the late 19th century.'

-Look, you've got a hot tub as well.

-Oh, excellent.

Very nice, even more water.

'The village hasn't flooded in the last hundred years, so they'll be warm and dry inside.'

Oh, right.

-So this is the kitchen.

-Uh-huh.

This is nice.

-It's nice.

-Nice size.

Nice views, nice location.

What's lovely about it is, you're right, you've got triple aspect all the way down the river, yes.

You can see it in the morning, you can hear the river, you can see the river.

What a way to take breakfast, to have that as well.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Fantastic.

I think that's the thing about this house, that it's, a lot of it is about the views out.

-Yes.

-And the bones of the house are so good that you could do almost anything with it.

-Yeah, yeah.

I think sometimes when a house is right you make it fit how you live.

-Sure.

-When everything else comes together.

-Sure. Is that how you're feeling about this?

-So far, yes.

We love that! That's great.

Some places give you a warm handshake when you come in.

This place is giving you a warm hug.

-That's good.

-Aw.

Better write all this down, it's wonderful.

Just off the kitchen is a small utility room and cloakroom with a WC.

There are also two more rooms downstairs, waiting for Brian and Anne to take them into their arms.

In true Yorkshire style we've come in through the back door.

Cos this is the front of the house, obviously, onto the street.

And this arch... I told you it used to be the coach house for the farmhouse,

-this is where they bring the coaches and the agricultural vehicles in.

-Uh-huh.

A lot of the house, it would have been just one big space, so it's been remodelled in a certain way,

but there's lots of remnants of the agricultural,

you can see down in the hallway here, these huge slabs.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-Great.

This is the main room.

This is the living room.

Oh, wow. This is nice.

-This is a lovely room.

-Nice size.

-Great proportions, isn't it? High ceilings.

-Yeah.

Thinking of it as a blank canvas, the detail, the windows, the views out of the windows,

-this is a nice-sized room.

-It's a lovely room. It is.

You can see how thick the walls are, and these lovely sills, and beautifully made wooden windows.

They are, they're really nice.

I'm very impressed with what I've seen so far, very impressed.

-And I think what's nice about this is that they're, the outside space is very accessible.

-Yes, yes.

So that for great chunks of the year, you know, you'll be able to

just open those, and use the kind of the patio, use the barbecue.

Yes. I can see myself enjoying living in this room. It's a lovely room.

It feels nice. It has a nice feel to it.

The hug's getting a bit tighter now,

-I'm well taken.

-Well, the hug's good.

Now, upstairs, let's head upstairs.

OK.

'It all seems very positive so far.

'We'll go back through to the main reception hall

'and head up to the fist floor, and see if we can make that hug a little bit tighter.'

-It's interesting, there's probably a stone staircase underneath here.

-Right.

Years ago all this was remodelled when it was, it was converted 20 years ago.

-Pity I don't, I'm not so keen on this type of wood.

-Yeah.

And the open staircase, I would prefer that all filled in.

Yeah. This is where I think you need to have your remodelling hat on.

Off the landing are four of this property's five bedrooms,

including a twin room, a light double room with wonderful views...

..another double currently used as an office, and a family bathroom with shower cubicle and bath.

Brian and Anne may need to give these rooms a new decorative lease of life

to suit their own personal taste, but are they up for it?

We'll find out as we take a look at the master.

It's a bit of a disappointment coming upstairs.

There's plenty of space here,

it just doesn't feel as though it's been thought through as well as downstairs, perhaps.

The expensive things like the windows are all good.

You have got an en suite all plumbed in, again you might want to remodel it.

It's a good size again, nice window, and I think, you know, the size is everything, really.

You could easily change the fittings.

One thing you can't get normally in a master bedroom

-is the sound and the view out of the master bedroom window, such as that. That is just beautiful.

-Exactly.

'And upstairs again in the attic is a potential fifth bedroom, currently used as storage.

'But we'll retrace our steps and go out into the garden

'for Brian and Anne to take stock of what this property gives them.'

Back outside.

-It's definitely the high point of this property.

-Oh, yes, for sure.

How much do you think it costs?

Well, to put a figure on it, I think for all that's involved,

despite the issues we've got, particularly with the upstairs in here, I think

you've probably gone slightly above our budget, and I'm going to put a figure of £660,000 on this property.

I think you're probably just on budget, so I think 650.

Well, that's very interesting, because this property,

for all its amazing setting, is on the market for 595.

-595?

-Oh, right!

-I'm amazed, I really am.

And that's where, you know, does that extra 55 grand,

convert the inside to something that you want.

Get back inside, start sketching some plans about what to change

and what it's going to cost, and then we'll meet outside.

-Sounds like a plan.

-Thank you!

Under budget at £595,000, this impressive listed Georgian property

leaves Brian and Anne a £55,000 chunk of funds for the internal refurb work they'd like to do,

and offers them two large reception areas, a spacious kitchen,

which was at the top of Anne's wish list, five bedrooms,

with a master en suite,

and gardens with a river running by,

and amazing views up the Littondale Valley.

I think the setting is just stunning, it really is.

I, you can't put a figure on that.

The garden, again, immaculate.

As we went through the house and went upstairs I didn't feel it, it fulfilled its promise.

The benefit of it being under budget is that it gives us some money to be able to spend on it,

and so there is the potential to make it the house, the house of our dreams.

-I can see how we could make this work.

-Yeah.

I can easily see us living in here.

This is a really nice room.

I personally believe it can and would give us what we're looking for.

The question is, can we do that within the budget we have remaining.

That's what we would need to discuss.

But I hope we can, because what a setting, it's tremendous.

Hey, hiding in the arch.

-You all done?

-Mm-hm.

Let's move on.

Anne and Brian are keen walkers, and as the Dales National Park

will be on their doorstep, they might need to find their way around this vast landscape.

Besides the map and compass in their pocket,

they could also use the countryside as a natural compass,

using the skills of natural navigation - something expert Tristan Gooley knows all about.

Natural navigation is the art of finding your way

using only nature. The sun, the moon, the stars,

the wind and weather, the plants, the animals, the land, and the sea itself.

So the first place we'd probably start to try and find our way

is to look up into the sky.

-And we've chosen quite a day for it!

-THEY LAUGH

Haven't we just?!

We won't get too many clues from the sky today,

but don't despair, because the elements leave marks on the land itself,

and it's these clues that we'll be looking for.

So if I explain to you that the prevailing wind in Britain comes from the southwest,

I'd like you to just step up here and have a look at these trees.

What are you seeing when you look at these trees?

-They're leaning.

-Yeah. Excellent.

-They're blowing in this direction.

Great. So, what conclusions could you come to?

-Well, if the winds are blowing south-westerly...

-Yeah?

-..then that's south-westerly.

-Very, very close.

-What are you going to say, Anne?

-That's south-westerly!

-Excellent!

That's why I follow Anne!

Yeah, so we've got our first piece of the jigsaw.

-Natural navigation is really a jigsaw puzzle.

-Right.

You can with the sun find exact directions,

but for the most part, we're trying to get lots and lots of little pieces,

little clues, put them together,

then we can find our way without looking at a map, looking at a compass or a GPS. It's a good idea

to have them with you - and I've got them on me to be safe -

but every time you look at a map, a compass, or a GPS,

-you've stopped looking around you, and that's why we go for walks. Shall we head off?

-Let's follow you.

And the general lie of the land could help point them in the right direction too.

OK, we use the trees to get our bearings,

but whether you've used the sun and the sky, the trees or the ground,

once you've got some idea of direction, you need to have a really good look at the land around you

and try and build a picture of the lie of the land.

So, the land drops away into a valley here

and it rises up on the other side of the valley,

and the valley runs along in a line in front of us,

-what do you think the alignment of that valley is, then?

-I got that completely wrong last time,

-so ask Anne.

-OK, Anne, you're on the spot.

-I think it's west to east?

Exactly. Perfect.

Yes, we've got the Wensleydale itself, the valley running all the way

west to east. And it stretches for miles down there.

So we've a compass in front of us that stretches for miles and miles.

We talked before about the wind as a provider of clues,

-can we use water as well?

-We can, yes. We can see in front of us

-the results of that heavy rain we were enjoying earlier!

-Yes!

-And flowing downhill,

so that will meet the River Ure down in the valley.

There's a lovely quote by one of the past masters of this rare art - Harold Gatty.

He said, "Nine times out of ten, if a river doesn't lead to your home, it will lead to somebody else's."

So if we follow this water that's come from all the heavy rain we've been enjoying,

we're likely to find the river, and the river should take us to somewhere we can get a cup of tea!

-Excellent.

-Shall we go for that, then?

-Why not? Why not?

Maybe we're a step closer to bringing Anne and Brian home and dry,

as our house hunt continues.

Brian's been very polite about the houses we've shown him so far, Anne much less so,

which is probably good, because now we know that we have to pull out all the stops with the mystery house.

It's a bit of a gamble, because in many ways it's exactly what they're not looking for,

but desperate times call for desperate measures.

What do you think the mystery house might involve?

Well, I guess that by the very nature of the title,

it's going to take us out of our sort of normal comfort zone, whether it is going to be something

that is the opposite of everything that we've described to you, and therein lies the challenge maybe.

What would that be, the opposite?

I guess it would be small, attached, with no land.

That's not mystery, that's just a rubbish house.

And our mystery house is a far cry from that.

It's just outside the village of Burton in Lonsdale,

right on the county's border with Lancashire.

Burton in Lonsdale has a community-owned post office and shop, one of only 150 in England,

which forms the hub of village life, and would be a great place for Anne to meet the locals.

There are some beautiful country houses dotted around, and five minutes' drive away,

our mystery property is just that, a lovingly restored 17th-century listed farmhouse.

-Oh...

-Oh, wow!

That looks incredible.

-Ah, it's a goodie, isn't it?

-It certainly is, yes.

-Intriguing.

And pretty. It looks fascinating.

-You're welling up.

-No! Shh!

Got tears. So it is attached. How do you feel about that? Cos you share at the moment, don't you?

That's right, yeah.

But I guess that's one of the things we were looking for, more of a detached property.

But hadn't been banking on something this unusual and unique.

-So that's the mystery.

-Aha.

There's always a catch.

Let's look inside.

'Our mystery house is something they never would have considered on paper.

'We'll venture inside this beautifully restored farmhouse and take a look at the sitting room.'

I have to say this whole house has been a complete labour of love for the present owner.

Oh, you can tell.

This is incredible,

-it really is.

-Beautiful mullion windows,

and all this oak, you see the oak sills here,

and these oak beams, these all come from the forest just down the road.

So everything has been locally sourced and made to measure.

-It's beautiful.

-It's just amazing.

I'm sure we're supposed to speak now, but I feel speechless.

What's nice about it is that it's not old-fashioned.

If you go through here, you'll see what I mean.

Wow!

-Good grief!

-And this is a good-sized room.

-Yeah.

It was an old lean-to, and it's only in the last year, actually,

that they've opened all up, put these beams in, taken it right up.

-These would have been the upstairs windows.

-Oh, right.

-Right.

-So they've lifted the whole ceiling.

Somebody's put their heart and soul into this place, and it comes through in the craftsmanship.

-Yeah.

-It's a really very nice room.

I really wouldn't have a snooker table in here.

This'd be a living area where you're out into the garden.

It's bright, it's light, it's spacious.

It really is very impressive.

Good, very good. Let's continue the tour downstairs.

'Well, I hope there won't be squabbles over this third reception room.'

Lovely travertine marble through here.

Oh, right.

-Ah.

-Very nice. This is a very nice office.

-Dining room.

-A very nice office!

Office, I was thinking.

-For sure.

-But it would make a nice dining room as well.

It would make a much nicer office.

I mean, look at the wood above the windows, the detail, it's just lovely.

This is great, it really is.

So it's ticking boxes upside down.

-Well, it's ticking boxes I didn't have before, so...

-The sound of ticking is overwhelming.

Here's the kitchen.

-Oh, my goodness.

-Oh, wow.

It just gets better and better, doesn't it?

-Just unbelievable.

-It's certainly big.

Beautiful kitchen. This is unbelievable.

A log burner, beautiful features, lovely work surface.

'Just off the kitchen is a utility room which is practically a kitchen in its own right.

'So, with top marks for the downstairs of our mystery house,

'we'll head upstairs, where there are some more splendid features to admire.'

So if you look to your right, Brian, you'll see the windows I was talking about.

-Oh, right, yes.

-Oh.

-And, rather quirkily, they continue into your guest shower room.

-Oh, wow! So you can actually watch snooker while you're in the shower.

-Shout comments.

Off the landing are all the four bedrooms, a nice-sized double room,

a twin room, and another which could easily be a double.

But we'll take a peek at where Anne and Brian would sleep.

Oh, wow!

It's what you wanted, huh? Space for a four poster.

Certainly did.

That's incredible, it really is.

-It's a beautiful room.

-So thumbs up for upstairs here?

-Oh, yes.

-Certainly.

-For sure.

Well, I think outside might seal the deal.

Wow.

'Attached it might be, but they love this house so far,

'and I'm confident that Anne and Brian are going to be bowled over by what's on offer outside.'

Outside's quite a package.

-It certainly is.

-Voila, the veggie beds.

-A vegetable garden.

-Voila, the greenhouse.

Voila, the formal gardens.

But beyond the wall, that's still your land, all the way along,

all the way along to the forest...

-Good grief!

-..which is also yours.

-Oh, my goodness.

-In total, you've got about four-and-a-half acres.

Four-and-a-half acres?

Shall we explore some more?

Yes, please!

'We'll take a stroll over the stream that Anne wanted to the pond and have a think about the price,

'and whether they can overlook the minor snag of such a fabulous house being attached.'

-From here, you get the real view of the whole house.

-I think it's amazing.

It's breathtaking. It really is.

Well, there is one minus, or at least it seemed a minus when we arrived, that it is attached.

-How do you feel about that?

-I think that's become less of an issue

as we've gone round the house and as we've seen outside,

and in some ways because of the solitude of the place,

I feel it actually could have some pluses to have a close neighbour.

I suppose the big question is, can you afford it?

I think you've shown us a premium property, I fear there's a premium price attached to that as well,

and I think this is going to go comfortably over our budget.

So, with that in mind, I'm guessing this property is 675.

I actually think it would be higher than that.

I'd say 695, but I think it could even be higher.

Well, it's interesting that you say that, because, brace yourselves,

this property is on the market for £695,000.

-Oh, right.

-695.

But...

that includes two enormous outhouses,

-which is where the present owner runs his business from.

-Yes.

They can be detached from the property

and the property would then be worth £650,000.

And at £650,000, I can say yes.

Well, I'm delighted to hear that.

-Maybe you'd like to stroll round and mull it over.

-I think so.

-And then we can see where we go from there.

-Thank you.

-Let's go.

With the outbuildings out of the equation,

our mystery house is bang on budget at £650,000.

And Brian and Anne are giving it a great big bear hug,

despite it being an attached property.

This stunningly restored listed farmhouse would give them

three reception rooms,

a large beautiful kitchen-dining room, four bedrooms,

and over four acres of garden and woodland.

Look at this, Anne, they've even got their own stream and bridge across it.

-It's fabulous, isn't it?

-It really is.

It was just overwhelming.

I think it was impressive, interesting, special, unique.

I was really bowled over.

It's a dining room, it really is the dining room.

No, dear, it's just, it's got office written on the door.

I could really see us, our family, our friends, having, you know, some fantastic times together

in the kitchen. It's idyllic.

I have to ring them out of this house, I think. Grown too attached.

Can I drag you out?

Reluctantly, yes.

Like winkling out a shell.

Now that Brian and Anne have seen all our properties,

they need to get down to some serious thinking about where to go from here.

As mystery house viewings go, that probably counts as one of our most successful.

But we can never rest on our laurels.

Let's find out what they really think.

-Hello, guys. So we're in from the Dales.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-And now we have to think about all the properties we've seen.

It seems like a long time since we started.

Can you throw your mind back to the very first property we saw? That was the converted farmhouse.

I think we were quite disappointed when we saw it from the outside,

but as we started to move through the property, particularly the kitchen, the snug, and we moved our way

up the stairs to the master bedroom, which was the piece de resistance, that was a lovely room.

-The garden was lovely, it was really nice.

-I think

there's a lot of potential as well to put our mark on it.

-So, overall, from that initial disappointment, I felt we got to quite like that house.

-Mmm.

And then the house on the green, what are your thoughts about that?

It was a very surprising house, just how big and grand it looked from the outside. It drew me in.

Going into the property, we saw some lovely rooms downstairs.

They were really enchanting rooms that we went through. Upstairs, it did seem a bit higgledy-piggledy.

-Disjointed.

-It took a bit of a shine off, but I do recall the office.

That was a stunning room, it was a lovely room.

Brian's making an assumption that the office would be his!

I could potentially have other plans for that.

My initial reaction was not favourable, but I have to say,

the actual garden, the walled garden, the vegetable garden,

that was beautiful, it really was. That was... That was stunning.

-But I've got a few reservations about the actual house.

-Yeah.

-The converted coach house that we looked at got a very big thumbs up from the outside.

-Yes.

I thought, "This is it, this is just beautiful." The setting, the garden, the river.

And I really wanted the property to say - come inside, and let me seal the deal.

A warming reception in the kitchen, but just as we went through the property, particularly

as we went upstairs, it just let go.

-And then we saw the mystery house.

-Ah.

-Boy, what a mystery house that was.

-That was really something special.

And it was really not what we expected.

It was just a real wow factor, initially.

I think for me, there was a disappointment when I found out it was attached,

but I have to say as we went through the house,

I actually started to feel quite positively about having such close neighbours.

And it's something I don't think we'd have even thought of looking at, to be quite honest.

-I'm sure we wouldn't have done.

-No.

-It really did say welcome. I mean, the kitchen was just unbelievable.

I'm still in heated debate over an office, but we're in no doubt over the kitchen.

I don't know if I need to ask, but which of the houses do you feel that

you have most affinity with, and would you proceed on any of them?

I think certainly, we'll be going back to look at the mystery house.

That's wonderful, I'm so pleased, because it is interesting that the mystery house

-does turn things on their heads, because it's not what you asked for.

-Not at all.

But it's been wonderful showing you round, you're so enthusiastic, and such a lot of joy.

-Thank you.

-And I hope to see you in the Dales very soon.

Thank you, and thank you for all your help.

I think we did a pretty good job in helping Brian and Anne

make their move from the blue suburban skies of Penny Lane to this, the delights of the Dales.

And if you've been inspired by our rural ramblings,

make sure you tune in next time for more Escape To The Country.

See you then.

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

please apply online.

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