Pembrokeshire Escape to the Country

Welcome to Escape to the Country.

And it was here, over 200 years ago, that an historic event

as dramatic as this stunning stretch of coastline, took place.

Curious? Well, hold fire, as we Escape to the Country.

In today's show, I'll be helping a couple escape the rat race and find a relaxing retreat in the country.

-We come across the ultimate bathroom.

-Oh, wow!

You could be in there for hours!

-We find kitchen-gadget heaven.

-That looks to me like a work of art.

And there's the mystery house to pick from this colourful assortment.

Today, I'm in the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire,

near the coastal town of Fishguard.

And it was here in 1797 that the last invasion of Britain took place.

Over a thousand Frenchmen landed on these shores.

But the delights of Wales proved to be their downfall.

After three days of looting and sampling Welsh tipple, they were overthrown.

These days, Pembrokeshire plays host to a much more friendly

invasion of people in search of this truly stunning coastline.

And with 186 miles of it and more blue-flag beaches than any other county in the UK,

it's no surprise that Pembrokeshire has a booming tourist industry,

with well over £500m spent each year by more than 4m visitors.

It's also home to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, with a wealth

of protected environmental sites and historic remains.

Norman castles rub shoulders with medieval churches

and industrial buildings, and all set within 240 square miles.

Inland, there are plenty of places to explore, such as the county town of Haverfordwest,

one of the many charming towns that feature throughout this glorious landscape.

Property prices in Pembrokeshire vary dramatically

depending on the particular area that you're looking at.

A beachfront house in a popular tourist destination like Saundersfoot or Tenby

in the south of the county could set you back a whopping £1 million.

But a four-bedroom house in or around Haverfordwest would average at £270,000.

So whatever your budget, you're going to be spoilt for choice.

Take a look.

For rural splendour, there's this eight-bedroom Grade II listed

country house in Mathry for £1.25 million.

Besides its grand reception areas and games room, the west wing is currently used as a holiday-let.

Outside is a gardener's dream, with a superb Victorian greenhouse

and over 13 acres of land.

For £530,000, this five-bedroom detached house in Haverfordwest has

a large kitchen with breakfast bar, leading to a pleasant dining room,

light, spacious bedrooms and a high-spec bathroom with walk-in shower.

And there's this four-bedroom cottage in Castle Morris on the market for just under £390,000,

with an original inglenook fireplace, a well-fitted kitchen and a cottage garden.

What a great range of houses.

So let's hope we can find this week's buyers exactly what they're looking for.

Today's househunters are Selina and Jamie, who currently live in a large six-bedroom Victorian house

in Hertfordshire, within the London commuter belt.

They have three children, two who are now grown up and flying the nest, and four-year-old Ben.

Jamie has recently left his job as a fund manager in the City, but it's very much a blessing in disguise,

as they've been yearning for a lifestyle change for some time.

The reason for this move, I suppose it's to seek fulfilment and happiness.

Jamie felt he was sort of existing, going to work and coming home, and he didn't really feel he had a life.

And they're keen to build up a new business venture.

I think we're looking for somewhere with a few acres and ideally also

perhaps something that comes with some outbuildings that are either

already used for holiday-lets or have the scope to be converted to holiday-lets.

They've drawn up a clear wish list for their new home in the country.

The most important room in the house for me is the kitchen, and when we move, we would like something

similar in size, so that we can eat in the kitchen, as well as it being practical to cook in.

The study's quiet important to me, because I do spend a fair bit of my day in here.

Obviously, what I'm looking to do is invest some of the money

we might release from the property and other assets that we've got to generate a bit of an income

to fund the lifestyle that we're looking to lead in the country.

But there are some other considerations, too.

Must-haves in the next house, really, are enough bedrooms

to accommodate ourselves and perhaps visitors, so we'd look for at least four bedrooms.

Open fire or wood-burning stove in the living room.

We'd like to have an en suite for ourselves and maybe a guest bathroom, as well.

So what are Jamie and Selina expecting from their new life in Pembrokeshire?

Just enjoying some of the outdoor pursuits. You can get involved with

mountain biking, more walking, that sort of thing.

Also even simple things like taking Ben to school, as well, and being able to enjoy that and

spend more time with him and see him growing up.

Growing our own vegetables, having chickens, generally sort of, I suppose, chilling out!

Jamie and Selina need to know how much they have to spend,

so we've arranged for a local estate agent to value their home.

This is a beautifully presented six-bedroom detached home close to local shops.

Therefore I feel the value is in the order £850,000 to £875,000.

So what's their budget for their move to Pembrokeshire?

Our budget for the move is £600,000.

It sounds lovely, but finding the perfect package for home AND business can be a real challenge.

Selina and Jamie's choice of Pembrokeshire is a good one.

We'll focus our search around the tourist hot spots

of Tenby and Saundersfoot, which offers a great rural location and a healthy demand for holiday-lets.

In today's show, we'll be taking them to see three of the best houses

on offer in the area and asking them to guess the price of each after they've seen them.

The last of the three is the mystery house, to really get our punters thinking outside their comfort zone.

Well, Selina and Jamie, welcome to Pembrokeshire!

-Thank you.

-Are you looking forward to the next few days?

-We are.

-Yeah?

-Certainly are, yeah.

Got some amazing things to show you.

-But first of all, how well do you know Pembrokeshire?

-We don't know it very well.

We've been to Wales before, but we haven't actually made it down to Pembrokeshire.

So the first time to this county.

-Yes.

-Yes, that's right.

-Now, your budget.

-Are we still looking around the £600,000 mark?

-That's right, yeah.

Is there any flexibility to that amount?

Yes, there is a little bit of flexibility on that.

If we found the dream house that ticked all the boxes and really wanted to go for it,

and could push the boat out, as they say, then I think we could probably go to maybe 650 or 700.

We'd really like to try and get a place that as potential either to convert some

existing outbuildings to holiday-lets or even a property that's already got holiday-lets

attached to it, so we can earn a bit of extra income from the property that we might end up buying.

We've some amazing properties lined up for you in this beautiful county.

And, of course, we've got the mystery property, which I always find very exciting.

-So shall we start?

-Yes.

-Come on, then.

-Great.

Selina and Jamie have a budget of £600,000 but can stretch to £700,000

to convert holiday-lets if there's good earning potential.

They're looking for a four-bedroom house with master en suite, a large country kitchen for Selina,

a study for Jamie, a garden to accommodate a vegetable plot,

and some outbuildings which, subject to planning, could be used as holiday-lets.

Have either of you stayed in holiday-lets yourselves?

We did last summer, actually, and we really enjoyed it.

The whole family went along, had a lovely time and had lovely views from the bedroom window.

-That was what set you off. You were looking out - "It'd be lovely to wake up to this every day."

-Yeah.

Our first property takes us 13 miles inland from Saundersfoot, to the quiet village of Wiston.

Besides its beautifully remote location, Wiston boasts

12th-century castle remains and has a very well-regarded primary school for Ben.

This first house is a new-build, with a business proposition which should whet Jamie's appetite.

So, this is the property. It's about half an acre all around,

and if you look just behind you, to that outbuilding, that is actually included with this property.

But I'm going to show you that in a little bit more detail later on, because it's a bit blustery.

-So shall we take a step inside?

-Yes, please.

-Come on, then.

This new-build property has never been lived in, so it's a complete blank canvas.

Let's see what they make of it.

So, here we are. Straight into the hallway.

-Yeah, very spacious.

-Nice stairs.

-Beautiful oak stairs, aren't they?

A real feature as you walk in.

-Good start.

-Jamie?

-Yeah, impressive start.

So yeah, interested to see more.

OK. So with your creative hat on, let's do the tour.

We'll start by peeling off the hallway to look at the first of two main reception rooms.

So here's your drawing/sitting room.

Is it odd, looking at it without any furniture in?

It feels quite cold because of that,

and it definitely needs a fire of some kind in it, to....

-Yeah, warm it up.

-Yeah.

-Sure.

You've got an open flue there, so you could easily have a wood burner there.

Or you could actually make it even larger and have a big fireplace, if you wanted to.

Mm-hm. Well, it's a nice, bright room, although it's a modern house.

It's not like other modern houses on a big estate.

You've got countryside around and no busy roads or anything.

-So yeah, quite good in that sense.

-Well, we've done this room, then.

Let's see what we can do with the next one.

Across the hallway is a light and spacious dining room that's

conveniently joined to the kitchen, which we'll take a look at next.

It's a huge size.

Yes. It's nice.

I wouldn't have chosen it myself particularly, but I could live with this sort of kitchen and style.

Yep. And you want another area, possibly, to eat.

-I mean, you could easily get a dining table in there.

-Yeah.

And you have the option, actually, of the sun room conservatory.

You could actually convert that either into a family room or perhaps a dining room.

-Sure.

-Yeah.

-No study down here?

No study down here. However, with the three reception rooms, you could potentially convert

one of those, or you could use one of the bedrooms as a study.

-So let's take a look.

-OK.

Leading off the kitchen, there's also a small bathroom with shower

and useful storage space in the large, well-designed utility room.

With downstairs covered, it's hard to read whether Jamie and Selina could really see themselves

living here, so let's move upstairs and see whether the bedrooms will excite them!

Now, the upstairs to this property,

it reminds me of a manor house, the way it's set out.

There are four bedrooms altogether,

including two double rooms, one of which would be great for Ben.

The third bedroom has its own en suite with shower, perfect for the older children when they stay.

Next door to that, there's a family bathroom with bath and shower.

But we'll cross the landing and look at a master bedroom for Jamie and Selina.

So, how is this? Do you think this'd be big enough as one of the masters?

-You've got two this size, remember, either side.

-We'd certainly get a double bed in here, I suppose.

But, erm, storage might be an issue, although you've got the wardrobes on the landing there.

That's slightly strange, maybe.

-I don't know.

-Not quite enough space for your suits and things, but...

Oh, well. Or my country casuals, as it might be now.

Yes, it's all change, isn't it?

You could put walk-in wardrobes... Well, you could have fitted wardrobes along here.

Yeah, sure. And you've got the view from here as well, haven't you?

-Now, that's what you want from a bedroom, isn't it, a view like that?

-To wake up to each morning, yeah.

And the en suite, which is through here.

The all-important en suite.

It's quiet large, but it doesn't have the bath. I know you like your bath, Selina.

I do like my bath, so that's a little bit of a downside.

But I suppose I'd have to use the family bathroom.

So, time to look outside and, more importantly, at those outbuildings for your future potential business.

So, Jamie, we're going to follow you down the stairs.

Thank you.

I'm not sure they're able to imagine how they could turn

this spacious blank canvas into a character family home to suit them.

Perhaps they'll find the prospects on offer outside more enticing.

Well, it might be a bit windy and a bit blustery, but it's not going to take away from that stunning view.

How do you fancy waking up every morning and looking out of your window at that?

It's gorgeous. It's what you're paying for with a house like this.

So, the outbuildings. Did you guess what they were?

Er, I guess some stables, but I guess they could be converted to holiday-lets.

So, you would need to get planning permission, but because we're

-outside of the national park, it's much easier to get.

-Good.

So that could be the answer to your holiday-lets.

So, with all that in mind, how much do you think this house is currently on the market for?

Quite a tricky one, because it's a new property but it doesn't have

that much land, although it does have those outbuildings.

So I'm going to say 550.

OK. Selina?

Needs a bit of work doing on it, so I think about 525.

The asking price is £650,000,

so quite a bit more than you thought,

although the current owners are keen to sell and they will consider offers.

OK, well, that's encouraging.

So, have a think about it.

Why don't you take a look around the stable block and a final look

around the house, and I'll catch up with you in a minute.

OK. Thanks.

At £650,000, Jamie and Selina would have 50,000 left from their maximum

budget to convert the stables into holiday-lets.

But this brand-new new property also offers two spacious reception rooms,

a large kitchen/breakfast room, four bedrooms, two with en suites,

and although there's only half an acre of land, there are spectacular views

and the stable building which could be converted with planning permission into two holiday-lets.

The question is, are they up for the challenge?

-You've got two units here that could be converted, couldn't they?

-There's plenty of space.

There you could put a nice bit of glass and make two living rooms.

Maybe take these walls down so you've got the view over the fields and that.

It could be quite attractive.

I could put my own mark on this property.

It wouldn't take quite as long as the house we're in now.

Being modern it should be a lot easier to get the decorating done.

It's interesting to find a new build property in such a rural and idyllic location.

The property sits in about half an acre which is probably less than

we were thinking of when we were thinking of moving to the country.

You envisage yourself buying a place with quite a few acres and that sort of thing.

It had quite a lot of features we were looking for in terms of four bedrooms,

holiday let potential as well. That was interesting, also.

Well, you've had a final look around the house, Jamie, marks out of ten?

-Eight.

-Eight. That's very good.

-Selina.

-Eight, maybe nine.

Even better! On that positive note we're gonna keep going.

Let's go.

Pembrokeshire's a clever choice of location by Jamie and Selina,

especially if they're serious about running a holiday let business.

The National Park is a real pull for the tourist industry

and would be a great day out for their holiday guests.

At its heart at the Teifi marshes, an enchanting 246 acre conservation site, close to the town of Cardigan,

which attracts around 20,000 visitors a year.

I've come to meet Nathan Walton, Pembrokeshire's Wildlife Trust's

officer to find out more about the conservation work they do here at Teifi marshes.

-Hi, Nathan.

-Hi, Nicky.

-Great to meet you, what an amazing spot.

-It is, isn't it?

What type of conservation work do you do here?

It's quite varied actually, Nicky.

We do a lot of survey work, so we do butterfly and floral surveys and then scrub management.

That's one of the things preventing scrub from encroaching onto other valuable habitats.

Nathan, I've heard you've got some unusual helpers here.

-Yeah, and I'll show you them now.

-OK.

The River Teifi and surrounding woodland areas are home to a rich

variety of wildlife, including badgers, otters, water shrews and red deer as well as migrating

ospreys but I'm dying to find out who Nathan's special helpers are and what they do around here.

So here we are, Nicky, let me introduce you to our groundsmen and women.

-Are they water buffalo?

-They are, we've got five females and one male here.

So what exactly are they doing here in Pembrokeshire?

They're helping to keep the marshland in the correct

condition and pristine state that we need to help conservation on site.

How do they actually do that for you?

A variety of ways, really, mainly by keeping areas of

open water open, so they like to wallow a lot in the muddy areas.

They help also to graze the grassland and actually push through anything encroaching on that grassland.

Why would you use water buffalos, why couldn't you use horse, cattle or even sheep here?

We have tried horses and ponies and cattle but with the horses and ponies they don't tend to

go into the wetter areas too much and with the cattle, they were getting in there, but they're

more prone to waterborne diseases and other symptoms which the water buffalo don't seem to be affected by.

They're the best animal for the job.

When I came to Pembrokeshire I didn't think I was going to see water buffalo!

No, it is an unusual sight and again it attracts many people to the area, which is great.

-Nathan, thanks very much.

-You're very welcome.

As the sun sets over Pembrokeshire, the first day of our property search draws to a close.

Selina and Jamie are looking to quit life in London's commuter land and head for the peace of Pembrokeshire.

With up to £700,000 they're after a four-bedroom home in the country,

with the scope to make holiday-lets into a money spinner.

So far they've seen one property, but coming up, Selina has a plan to escape the kitchen.

-I might have to eat out a lot more.

-Oh, yes!

And they meet one of Pembrokeshire's most passionate gardeners.

-Whoa, down boy!

-Finally there's the mystery house which will give them a completely different perspective.

Yesterday was a very interesting day.

One thing I did find out is I wouldn't want to play Selina

or Jamie at poker because they give very little away.

So you can imagine I was pleasantly surprised when they rated what they'd seen so highly but today

it's a new day and we've got some aces up our sleeve, including the mystery house.

So we're heading to the remote village of Cresselly, only five

miles from the coast and within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

This remote landscape is not only great walking territory, but home to many historic landmarks

such as the remains of the nearby Carew Castle, a restored tidal mill and a medieval bridge.

I wasn't convinced yesterday that the prospect of a holiday let

project filled them with excitement so our next house is a family home,

with no work to be done and enough money left to invest elsewhere.

And this is it.

At the heart of it is a 200-year-old cottage,

which you can see in front of you, and then extended at the side.

It's like a barn at the back and that was completed just two years ago.

-So shall we go and explore before we get too wet?

-Mm.

Come on!

So we'll go round the old cottage to the side entrance and I'm sure they're going to like what they see.

Come on in.

This part is the oldest part of the property, this is the 200-year-old bit and this is the extension.

It's a lot brighter than I would expect from the outside.

-Yeah.

-A bit dark, but it's very, very bright.

Next to me you've got the utility room which is of good size and a downstairs cloakroom.

You've got the most amazing larder there.

It's a cook's dream. And, on this side of the property you've got the stairs leading to the bedrooms.

What I want to show you straightaway is the living quarters through here.

When you look at this property, from the outside looking at the old

part of the cottage, you would never think it's like this inside.

-No, absolutely not. They've done it very well.

-It's obviously very well equipped.

You just look at the appliances, the double Butler sink.

I mean, look at that as an extractor fan.

That looks to me like a work of art.

I think it's fantastic, it's pretty special. I wouldn't change a thing.

It's perfect.

You've got the dining area there and, over here...

This is where you'd relax in the evenings.

-Have you lived in an open plan space before?

-No, we haven't actually, no.

Our current house is traditional rooms.

This would be completely different for us.

I find this could work better for us, actually.

It all flows together well and the social aspect lends itself now to

a family that's got a bit smaller and we can be together a bit more.

I love the window, I love the light the way it sort of floods in.

You've got your wood burner there.

You could open it up to make it into a fireplace if you wanted to.

It's very nice.

One thing you do need, Jamie, is a study.

So you lead the way back through, we'll follow you and we've got the answer.

Selina loves the convivial, open plan kitchen/sitting room and it looks like it could be

a step forward to how they live as a family.

We're going back through to the old part of the cottage to see if Jamie likes his study.

So would this work as an office study?

It looks like it would do, yes, cos it's tucked away from the main part of the house.

If I need to do some quiet work I could get in here

-and get some serious work done.

-That's good.

-I could see my desk fitting in there.

-Good.

Lovely fireplace, adds to the character of this house.

There's plenty more to explore with this house. Let's keep going.

Brilliant! The downstairs of this amazing house gets a thumbs up from both of them.

I'm sure the three bedrooms upstairs will please them too.

Here we are upstairs, you've got the oak throughout the whole house including all the doors.

So you've got cloakroom here, you've got a shower room, it's like a wet room.

Let me show you this because this could be Ben's room.

Big enough for him?

Yes, very much so. He's only small as well.

-The ceiling's not going to be a problem.

-Yeah.

I'm sure he'd like the windows as well, especially the one at the end.

I could see him climbing up there when we've got visitors coming.

Off the landing is also a single bedroom and a tip-top guestroom their older children

could enjoy when they come to stay, with its own oak-panelled bath in the bedroom and en-suite.

But the real icing on the cake is waiting downstairs in the fourth

bedroom where Jamie and Selina could sleep which has some breath-taking extras in store.

So here is your master bedroom but it is downstairs.

-It's a good size.

-This would work for you? Yes?

-Yes.

-I've got no problems with it.

-It's reasonable light and bright as well.

-So this works

but something else really works here as well.

I'm guessing an en-suite.

It is an en-suite but it is an en-suite like I have never seen.

In all of the times of Escape To The Country this has to be my favourite bathroom ever.

Let's take a look.

And this, this is it.

-Wow!

-I've never seen a bath quite like that before.

That has to be the ultimate in indulgence, it's a copper bath.

They use copper to keep the heat in.

You could be in there for hours.

What about you, Jamie, is that shower gonna be quite big enough?

It's big enough for me I should think, yeah.

I think this is fantastic. I wouldn't change any of it.

I just hope they're not gonna take the bath with them.

Well, I think, it's time now I showed you the rest of the property.

Let's go outside and explore the grounds.

Jamie, we're gonna follow you.

Oh, the sun's come out to show us this garden in all its glory.

You've got an acre. If you look through the shrubs and trees, you can roughly see the border.

It's quite a wild garden, it's been left quite natural down there.

You've got a raised vegetable patch and I don't know if you've spotted

the building at the end, that's a piggery which has been restored.

So if you fancy getting a few animals, pop them in there.

Now I've shown you all there is to see so it's crunch time.

How much do you think this house is currently on the market for?

They've spent a lot of money doing it up, so I suspect they're asking over budget on this.

-I'm gonna say 700 they've put it on for.

-OK, and Selina?

I would think more like 595.

You're both way out.

The current asking price is £499,950.

Selina you were closer but still 100 grand out.

Not only is it a fantastic property, it would also leave you

-quite a lot of money to play with out of your budget.

-Sure, yeah.

So, if you wanted to consider leaving home and business separately, you could actually look

-for a holiday let accommodation, not too far away, to run your business away from your home.

-Yeah.

Have a wander around the grounds and I'll catch up with you in a minute.

So under budget at just shy of £500,000, that's £200,000 under Jamie's guess.

Our couple could land themselves this perfect family home.

This amazing country cottage conversion offers...

A huge high-spec kitchen/lounge,

four bedrooms with an incredible master en-suite,

a stunning location within the National Park

and up to £200,000 of their budget left to invest

in a holiday let close by.

What do you think of the garden? Pretty wild?

Yes, it would need quite a bit of work doing on it.

It's the sort of house I could be quite happy in.

It ticks some of the boxes we were looking for in terms of bedrooms

and a bit of garden for Selina to do her growing vegetables and things.

It doesn't have the outbuildings, that's why it's not the perfect ten

but I suppose the positives against that would be the fact that

it's fantastically appointed and it's been done to a high spec.

Sometimes when you walk into a place you get a feeling that you could possibly live there.

This does have that feeling.

So it's time to say goodbye to this beautiful house. Let's make tracks.

Selina and Jamie are keen to grow their own vegetables so, to find out how to get started, we've arranged

for them to meet Christina Shand, a local resident, who leads the good life and has transformed six acres

of forgotten bog land into the stunning Dyffryn Fernant Gardens.

-Have you grown vegetables before?

-No, we haven't.

Aspect, site is very important.

If you're looking at properties and you want to grow vegetables you must have light.

Second to that is shelter. As you can see it's pretty windy here and it comes straight off the Atlantic.

That's why I've got a shelter belt over there, a willow hurdle.

What's the climate like here in Pembrokeshire?

It's very soft and you've got a lovely, long growing season.

You can start things off early and carry them on late and very, very mild winters.

Now I'd like to show you another part of the garden.

-OK.

-Great.

-If you'd follow me, thank you.

In addition to her vegetable garden, Christina has also developed a lovely floral garden full of exotic

plants where the likes of lilies, agapanthus and a rich variety of dahlias and alliums flourish but

Christina is taking Selina and Jamie down the garden to see the crowning glory of her horticultural efforts.

There's a lot of things that like it seriously wet.

I made this garden because I really wanted it to flow into the landscape.

Is it hard keeping the garden looking so lush?

No, it's really containing it and sort of going, "Oh! Down boy!"

It's very, very verdent (??) here.

What's this obelisk here for?

The obelisk was designed by my partner, David, and it's a kind of energy point

into the middle

of what is really quite a primeval area and very verdent and shows the

lush kind of growth you can get into this county.

Now I've got a surprise for you, follow me.

Not only is Christina's garden a complete inspiration but she's going

to show our couple how they can reap the rewards from a business venture close to their hearts.

-This is my holiday let.

-Oh, wow, excellent.

I made this a few years ago from an old cow shed.

-How do you find running it?

-Oh, it's a complete joy.

I meet all sorts of creative, interesting people.

The income supports the garden, basically.

Well hopefully Selina and Jamie feel this visit has brought them one step nearer to moving to the country.

So, it's mystery property time.

Is there anything you're hoping to see or anything you're hoping we're not gonna take you to see.

I know there's lots of castles in Wales so I hope we're not gonna see

a broken down castle that we need to renovate completely.

Oh, Jamie, we wouldn't make you rebuild a castle but they will have to get their

head round a complete lifestyle change with our mystery house.

We've lined up a property slap bang in the middle of a seaside town.

What's more there's no land except for the stunning beach.

So we're heading to the coastal town Saundersfoot,

a perfect location for our couple to have a holiday let bolt hole.

Over 70,000 tourists per year flock here to enjoy its blue flag beach and strolls around the harbour.

Our mystery house is one of the oldest buildings in Saundersfoot and has wonderful views over the bay.

Just take a look in front of you because your mystery house is one of those.

If you just look up the hill, you'll see a pink house with a verandah.

That is your mystery house.

-Right.

-Surprised?

-Yeah.

-A bit of mystery.

-Yeah.

-We've done our work.

-Come on, let's take a look.

-Let's take a look, yeah.

So now we've pinpointed our mystery house, let's take a closer look at this 200-year-old property.

Formerly two captains cottages, now knocked into one and with some very quirky features.

So come on in to your very unique mystery property.

I can see you taking it all in.

You've got the skylight which gives you that lovely light.

You've got the open, exposed stone there.

It's not on one level, not on two, not on three, it's actually on four.

So are you ready to explore?

-Yes, I am.

-Let's start.

We begin our tour by going upstairs to the second floor to look at the main reception room.

So here's the main living area.

-Really good space, actually.

-Yeah.

And they use this side as the dining part.

A nice balcony with views over the sea, yeah.

Fantastic view of the sea which I'm gonna show you in a minute.

What do you think of this as a living space?

-It's workable.

-It's spacious.

-Yes, this would work. Definitely, yeah.

-It's big enough.

You've got a kitchen through there.

I'm gonna let you admire that view.

How's that for a million dollar view.

Surely you're never gonna tire of that.

No, definitely not, it's fantastic.

It's gonna change all year round as well, different seasons, people coming and going.

There's always something going on, yeah. Fantastic.

So you're keen on eating outside?

Yeah, I do like to eat outside as long as the weather's good

which, hopefully, we'll get lots of good weather here.

-And lovely for breakfast in the morning, first thing.

-Oh, definitely!

Talking of breakfasts, shall we take a look at the kitchen?

Seems like Selina is already picturing herself eating on the balcony.

I wonder whether she'll picture herself cooking in the kitchen too.

So hopefully we can all squeeze in.

It's not that big.

-I can't dress it up in any other way.

-It's certainly small.

We might have to eat out a lot more I should think.

Yes, a girl after my own heart.

Anything to get out of cooking!

I quite expected to come into a little bit larger kitchen than this.

-We'll see what else there is.

-OK, well we've got three more levels.

So Jamie you lead the way out and we're gonna go upstairs.

Don't worry, Selina, I've got another kitchen up my sleeve for later in our house tour.

We'll head up to the top floor which is completely

given over to the master and is one of the four bedrooms in this house.

I'm glad you're used to stairs in your current property cos there's quite a few here.

-This is the master.

-Right, the beams, that's nice.

Lots of character.

-And the views, of course.

-Great views from this bedroom.

So you've got a walk-in wardrobe there. The current owners have divided

it up and they keep their computer and office stuff in the other side.

Would this room be right for you two?

Yeah, it'd work as a bedroom, yeah. And is this an en-suite in here?

It is, a large en-suite in there which I'll let you to investigate in a little while.

I want you now to go downstairs to the lower part of the house.

Jamie, we're gonna follow you.

With the top two levels covered we'll go back downstairs past the living areas on the second floor

and pass the first floor with the other three bedrooms.

A large, light twin, another good sized single, currently with bunk beds and a comfortable double room.

There's also a sweet little bathroom with shower and bath.

Now time to check out the ground floor where there's a pleasant surprise in store.

So here's the other living space.

Oh, and another kitchen.

-And (??). Quite a bit bigger.

-That's better, isn't it?

-Yes, it's more like it, it's more workable.

-Yeah.

-For the family, so.

You've got a downstairs utility room and there's a shower and toilet in there as well.

The way the house is set up, when the current owners have their family to stay,

they use the top part of the house and the family use the bedrooms and this part as their living area.

So they've sort of separated it.

Yeah. That could work for us as well, I suppose, if our elder children came to stay as well.

Not only does it have loads of space, but it's also quite unique.

Many of the properties on this part of the front, they don't have gardens but this one certainly does.

With the tour of the inside complete, Selina and Jamie aren't giving away too much.

What will they make of this low maintenance garden?

This is a great outdoor space.

-It's not the biggest of areas but I'm sure we could have some fun here.

-Yeah.

So standing here

-I would normally ask you to guess the price.

-Right.

But on this occasion I'm gonna hold back slightly because you've seen

the house but what I haven't shown you yet is the holiday let potential that comes with this property.

-Are you surprised?

-Mmm, yeah.

-Intrigued?

-Yeah, let's go have a look.

Excellent!

Not only do they get two living rooms and two kitchens

but also two properties in our mystery house package.

Less than a minutes walk from the cottage is our mystery ingredient.

Besides the garage they'd get this ready to let holiday apartment.

The entrance hall leads through to an open plan area which creates a

real impression of space with its A-frame ceiling.

So this place sleeps four.

You've got the double bunks as you come through, you've

got the shower room and you've got the pull out bed there.

How much, roughly, do you think you could make renting this out? What would you think?

I reckon you'd probably get 5,000 to

8,000 a year for it.

The current owners don't let it go out at Christmas or New Year because they hold it back for friends and

family but they do during the summer months and they get a minimum of £12,000 a year, net.

So knowing this holiday let could earn them quite an income,

it's time to go outside and take a punt on the price.

So there you have it, you've now seen the mystery property with the additional holiday let.

How much do you think it's currently on the market for?

Selina's turn to go first, I think.

I think with the holiday let, 650,000.

I've come up with 560 as a figure myself.

Well, Selina, you're actually closer because the asking price for both properties together is £670,000.

The top end of your budget was £700,000 if you found the right holiday let accommodation.

Lots of things to think about, why don't you take one final look and I'll meet you at the front.

Our mystery proposition stretches Selina and Jamie's budget to their maximum

but offers up two properties, one a unique seaside family home,

and the holiday apartment as a guaranteed source of income.

For £670,000 they would get...

Two self-contained living/kitchen areas, useful when the older children come to stay, four

bedrooms with a master en-suite, a spectacular coastal location

and views and an annual income of around £12,000 for the holiday let.

It's a relief

there's another kitchen here.

I don't think you'd be too happy about paying for meals every night!

The mystery house was a little bit of a surprise,

especially from the outside, it looked like a tiny little cottage.

The mystery house was interesting because it had a lot of character and quirks.

Being on four levels is quite unusual.

I was hoping there might be a holiday let, we had that here.

I love the views but the house, I'm not quite sure it's me.

-Have you seen enough?

-Yes, I think so.

Well that's it, guys, that the final properties.

Let's take you somewhere quiet where you can have a think about what you've seen.

OK.

Time now for Selina and Jamie to enjoy the fresh sea air

and have a think about their options here in Pembrokeshire.

We've shown Jamie and Selina all that south Pembrokeshire has to offer.

Now this is the first time the couple have

actually ever been to this county and, if I'm being honest, I found them very difficult to read.

So I'm intrigued to find out if they've actually made a

final decision and the only way to find out

is to ask them.

So Jamie and Selina, how have you found the last

few days, and, more importantly, what do you think of Pembrokeshire?

Pembrokeshire, I think is fantastic.

It draws you in.

Let's talk property.

We showed you a new build property, what did you think of that house?

I thought the view was fantastic.

That really appealed.

-It did have the advantage of the stable block which had been built with conversion in mind.

-Yeah.

Did that appeal to you at all?

It was quite interesting because it was nicely set aside from the house and you had the potential to turn it

into two separate units which, I guess, could have been quite lucrative.

It was only half an acre with the new build.

I think the price didn't really seem to reflect that.

That was the end of day one.

We started off our second day with that 200-year-old cottage.

-It was beautiful.

-It was really, really fantastic.

Then inside was quite a surprise because it was done out in such a way it was quite modern.

-It was very, very nice.

-So you liked it?

-Yes, I liked it.

What about you, Jamie?

I liked it as well but...

I slightly struggled with the appearance on the outside being very

old and cottagey and then the ultra-modern interior.

Then the land, it was an acre, but it was quite wild, I suppose.

It perhaps needs a fair bit of work doing to it.

It did have the potential for the vegetable patch for Selina.

Finally it's time to talk about the mystery house.

The house itself was really, really lovely.

The views were spectacular, I couldn't fault that at all.

The only issue was living on so many levels with Ben

and, I think, we were looking for something a little less built up.

What did you think about the holiday let accommodation?

It was separate from the main house.

I thought that was excellent, actually.

It had been done really well and I was pleasantly surprised the amount of revenue they generated from it.

So, finally, it's decision time.

Did any of those properties whet your appetite?

I would have said the 200-year-old cottage was the nearest. If we could

get our head around the land side, and think about if

you could do something with the acre, perhaps level it up a little bit, that would be almost spot on.

It was a very wise surveyor who said to me once, "If you're

looking for the perfect house, then you'll never buy a house."

I guess we're gonna have to make some compromises along the way.

You never know, we might do on that one.

Well, guys, thank you so much and if anything changes

please keep in touch and tell us how you get on, won't you?

-We will do, yeah, thanks very much.

-Thanks very much.

It's been quite a journey for Jamie and Selina but

we've shown them the beauty of the county of Pembrokeshire

and some stunning properties to match but it's a huge decision for anybody wanting to move.

Will Jamie and Selina ever make it here? Who knows...

Until the next time.

If you would like to Escape To The Country and would like our help, please apply online at...

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]