Carmarthenshire Escape to the Country

Now, of course, we all know what the Romans did for us,

but what did we ever do for the Romans?

Well, for one thing, we gave them these little boats.

It's said that when Julius Caesar came here in the 1st century BC,

he saw them for the first time, and he was so impressed,

he got his troops to manufacture them

and use them in subsequent campaigns right across Europe,

but what are they called and where are we today?

Well, join me in just a few moments and I'll tell you.

On today's show, I'll be helping an adventurous couple find

the perfect pitch in the country for their luxury camping business,

-and they approach our house search with real gusto.

-Oh, that's cute!

That's cute! It's really cute!

But, with our Mystery House, no-one will hear them scream.

-Whoa!

-Ohh!

Well, today I'm in Carmarthenshire on the River Teifi,

and this little thing is called a coracle.

Now, coracles have been in the UK for thousands of years,

but they've always been particularly popular

here on the rivers of south-west Wales.

You know, back in the day, hundreds of fishermen would have used

these to catch their daily supper. Now, as you can appreciate,

the nice thing about them is that

they're very simple to make and very light.

When you've finished your day's work, you simply come ashore,

put it on your back, and go home for tea.

Now, a little later on in the show,

I'll be back here at Cenarth learning a little more about them,

but, before then, here's a little taster of what

the rest of this gorgeous county has to offer.

Carmarthenshire shares its borders with Ceredigion to the north

and Powys to the east.

The county is the third largest in Wales and is often dubbed

the Garden of Wales, and it seems with good reason.

From the lush pastures

and meandering river that make up the Teifi Valley, to the

remote wilder landscapes on the edge of the Brecon Beacons,

this county remains wonderfully unspoilt.

Toward the coast, the numerous medieval castle ruins

such as those at Llansteffan and Llan remain as vivid reminders

of this region's turbulent past.

But, with swathes of sandy beaches

and a population of just 170,000 people,

it's easy to find a peaceful retreat in this glorious part of Wales.

It's no surprise that today's buyers want to be here.

David and Latvian-born Madara currently live at

David's mother's house in Stoneleigh, Surrey,

having spent the last two-and-a-half years restoring and living on

a 25ft schooner boat in Spain.

But now, this dynamic duo are ready for their next challenge

and have decided that a house in the Carmarthenshire countryside

is the new way forward.

Depending on the property that we find,

this really is going to dictate what we do, um, certainly campsites

and tepee or yurt villages, um, something eco-friendly, growing

our own food, raising animals, chickens, um...that sort of thing.

If we are close to the coast then, I'm a yacht master instructor,

so, I'd like to get back to doing some sort of yachting.

As well as business interests,

they want to buy into a completely different way of life,

which will give them the opportunity to live

out their dream of being surrounded by wildlife.

We would like to move to the countryside

because we like the lifestyle, being close to nature, surrounded

by animals, perhaps of our own or just if there is nature parks.

-It would be nice just to get out of the rat race, wouldn't it?

-Yes.

After the project of restoring a boat, they're not keen on doing

up a house, but other than that, they're pretty open-minded.

We're so flexible about the type of property, something is just going to

come along and smack us in the face and we're going to go, "That's it.

"That's got everything we require."

So, it could be love at first sight when they see their new home,

but there are some boundaries.

For our next house, we would like it to be completely detached...

-At least with an acre of ground.

-A minimum of two bedrooms.

-Large kitchen though.

-Reception room...

-Yes.

-Some water features, maybe a pond...

-Some trees.

-Yeah.

A few outbuildings.

Yes, that would be nice.

With money from the recent sale of their boat going

towards their move, they're flexible on their finances.

We've got a budget of about £250,000,

but if we're buying something that's already generating an income,

a small business,

then we could probably push that to about £300,000.

Well, there's no doubt that David and Madara

are the adventurous types.

After all, they've sold their boat

and chucked it all in to come here to Wales to start a whole new life

and a business in the tourism industry

and they've certainly picked a good county in which to do it.

Every year, Carmarthenshire attracts about three million people,

spending between them £332 million,

and with views like this to spoil them, it's not surprising.

As David and Madara are happy to be flexible on their precise

location, we're going to cast our net wide and even cross the odd

border to give them the best options for their budget.

We'll be serving up three very different properties for them

to consider, but, as ever, I won't reveal the price of each

until they've had a guess first.

Our final offering is, of course, the Mystery House, and I can

safely guarantee you'll never have seen a property quite like this one.

Hi, guys. Nice to see you. How are you, Madara?

-Nice to meet you, David.

-Hi, Jules, nice to meet you.

Now, in terms of the sort of property you're after,

-your requirements are fairly flexible, aren't they?

-Yes.

Yeah, really flexible. You know, if you show us something...

equestrian, you know, it'll lead us in that direction.

If you show us something, you know, camping and that sort of thing,

we'll go in that direction. Why restrict what we want to do?

I mean, Carmarthenshire, I think, does offer

fantastic value for money, which is great with your budget.

So, yeah, I'm relatively optimistic, but, again, we are

going to have to work quite hard to get you

-the sort of accommodation and land in particular...

-Yes.

-..that you're after. But let's give it a go.

-Fantastic.

-Really looking forward to it.

-Follow me.

With a baseline budget of £250,000, David and Madara

would stretch to 300,000 if the business proposition was right.

They're looking for a home that gives them a large kitchen

and living room and two bedrooms.

Critically, the house must sit in at least a one-acre plot

in the right natural setting to develop their new venture.

For our first property, we're taking our buyers to

the Carmarthenshire village of Llanllwni.

Set back from the road, it was built in the 1950s,

but has recently been tastefully renovated,

and, crucially, it sits on a very generous plot.

Normally, we like to keep land as something of a surprise,

actually, but, because it's important to you,

I'm going to tell you that this has got a couple of acres with it...

-Right.

-OK.

-..which is all that way behind the house.

-Mm-hm.

Madara, what are you thinking?

Um, I'm going to reserve judgment at this point in time.

Oh, OK, fine! Well...

My first impression is it looks like

the sort of place we could retire to.

It does have that rather sort of post-war retirement bungalow feel.

-Yeah.

-True, but, inside, I think you'll find it quite surprising.

If you look at the roof space, I mean,

-that's completely redundant at the moment, that's just loft.

-Yes.

-It doesn't always have to be a bungalow.

-No.

You could, potentially, push up into that.

-You know how much I like attic rooms.

-Yes. Yes, you do.

Well, let's get inside and see what you think. Fantastic, let's go.

We had quiet initial reactions to the exterior of this bungalow,

but the room sizes are surprisingly generous inside.

Let's start in here then.

Obviously, it being a bungalow,

all the bedrooms are on the ground floor.

-So, we've got two bedrooms for you.

-Yes.

This one is mirrored across the hallway with another one.

-The same size?

-Same size. Exactly the same size.

-I mean, it's a square box, basically.

-It is.

For the two of us, I mean, this size room is fine.

But it's nice and tall.

-Yes.

-Oh, yes!

-You've got the ceiling height there.

-Good.

All right, come on, follow me.

And then this sort of opens up into your main, you know,

-living space, as it were.

-It's a cute little room, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-That multi-fuel burner, I think, really sets it off.

-It does.

-Isn't that nice?

-Your requirements in terms of bedrooms are modest...

-Absolutely, yeah.

-..which is the good thing.

Whatever we buy house-wise is going to be bigger than the boat we've

-been living on for the last two years.

-Well, there you go.

Behind us is a second reception room, which is

currently used as a separate dining space.

Also, leading off the hallway is a sleek, modern family bathroom,

so no work needed in here.

But let's see if the next room lives up to their expectations.

This is the kitchen, obviously.

-You're thinking it's not big enough...

-Yes!

There are things that could be done.

Well, that means that we have to go into renovation and...

-It's that mess and dust again, isn't it?

-Yes.

Perhaps they'll change their opinions about the property

when they see the potential of the land.

Along with the rear garden stocked with fruit trees

and a polytunnel, there are also two stables.

All they need to buy are the horses.

Right, then, here we are in the middle of your two acres.

-It goes right up to that hedge line at the back.

-Yes.

-You get the field with the ponies in it.

-Right. No ponies?

-You don't get the ponies.

-Unfortunately.

-But you do get the view.

-But look at the view, isn't it fantastic?

-Oh, it's really nice.

-Spectacular.

-There's Carmarthenshire for you.

How much do you think this is on the market for, Madara?

Go with him first.

No, I'm going to put you on the spot. Go on, you go first.

OK, since I have no idea, I'll just say 238.

238. £238,000, yeah?

-David?

-220.

-220.

You're sort of in-between, actually, the pair of you,

it's just under 230.

It's 229,950.

-OK.

-All right?

-OK.

-So, giving you, well,

20,000 underneath your proposed budget of 250...

er, if you wanted to improve it.

If we wanted to extend...we could do that.

Priced just shy of £230,000, this spacious bungalow, on paper,

addresses many of the elements on their wish list,

and includes a good-sized sitting room with a wood burner,

a well-furnished kitchen, two bedrooms,

and a two-acre plot of land, which would give them

lots of scope for their business aspirations.

-It's a good start, yeah.

-OK, we've set ourselves a benchmark.

-Absolutely.

-Let's see if we can better it. Come on.

-Thank you.

At the edge of the Brechfa Forest lies the Teifi Valley with

a river that has been navigated and fished

since the pre-Roman era using small, lightweight boats known as coracles.

I've come to the National Coracle Centre near Cenarth Falls to

meet expert and museum curator Martin Fowler.

-Nice to see you!

-And you.

Wow! Look at this.

It's a great treat for me to get a real chance to see how these

-boats are actually produced and what their history is.

-Yeah.

It really is a basket made from the local wood, which they

would have covered with one animal skin,

-and then tied together with horsehair.

-Yeah?

And covered with animal grease.

Most of the main rivers in Wales, including the River Teifi,

were navigated using their own unique design

and Martin's going to let me get to grips with his.

Animal skins have now been replaced by a covering made of calico cotton,

which is then waterproofed with a hot pitch paint.

'Used as a fishing vessel, the Teifi coracle has

'a willow and hazel frame and is flat-bottomed.

'Now I've carried it, the challenge is to get in and not get wet.'

So, put your foot in the middle. That's it. Hold the handle.

Now, bring the other foot in with it. Turn...that's it.

Now, transfer your weight so that you've got a foot in each corner.

OK, now. JULES LAUGHS

-Now, you ready for this?

-Yeah, go for it. OK.

-All right!

-JULES LAUGHS

-Oh, my...! How about that?

Now, you need to scull across the front of you.

-Right, hang on. There we are.

-There, that's more like it.

-That's it.

-Ah!

-Yeah?

-OK.

-And now you're moving forward.

When you think that the man in the next village crossed

the English Channel in one of those...

Do you know, I'll be lucky to cross the river,

-let alone the Channel, Martin!

-MARTIN LAUGHS

Help!

It's time we returned to the house-hunt.

We're hopping over the border into neighbouring Ceredigion

to the village of Llandysul,

with a useful array of amenities on its high street.

Situated in a rural spot outside the village,

and approached by a driveway, is our second property,

which comes in the form of this beautiful detached cottage.

OK, now, this is property number two,

-and I think this is a bit more like it, isn't it?

-Oh, that's cute!

That's cute! That's really cute!

Well, we've just pressed a button, haven't we? Look at your smiles!

-Absolutely.

-I think this is the sort of character that you were

-perhaps dreaming about.

-Absolutely hit the nail on the head, mate.

-Fantastic.

-Happy?

-Yeah.

-Yeah!

-Course you're happy. Have a look inside.

-Oh, by the way...

-Yes.

-It is a cottage.

-Oh, no!

-Ceilings are a bit low. OK?

-OK.

-So, you might need to duck a bit.

-OK.

-Come and have a look.

-Come on.

This house has been refurbished to a very high spec

and the inside is a real eye-opener.

Now, like I said, Madara, you'd better duck.

JULES LAUGHS

-Oh, wow!

-Yeah?

-Whoa!

-Oh, wow!

-It's a great space, isn't it?

-Yeah!

-Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.

-The mezzanine's lovely, stairs obviously going up to it.

-Yeah.

They've got it as something of an office space,

-but it'd make a great little den.

-That's perfect.

A nice twist of, you know, old feel, but modern open-plan living.

It's great. In terms of sort of heating,

you've got that multi-fuel stove there, which is...

-DAVID GASPS

-..going to give you lovely focus.

-Oh, to die for.

-Yeah.

-Fantastic.

Yeah? Good. Right. Follow me through here, have a look at this.

Now, I love the way this...

operates in its own little world, if you like.

-You've got the old stone wall of the barn here...

-So, that's original?

-That's original. Two bedrooms here. That's one of them.

-Oh, wow!

-Look at the size of this!

-Yeah?

-And the view!

-Yeah! How about that?

-It's a view to die for.

-Wow.

-And then at the end of the corridor...

-No way!

-Come on!

At the end of the corridor, we've got you a double shower,

-bathroom and so forth in there.

-That's good.

And then a second bedroom in here.

-They've both got the views.

-Yes. Fantastic views. It's just right.

Even from the outside, it just looks right, as a country house should be.

And it feels right.

It feels right rather than just looking right, it feels right

when you walk in here.

It seems like this house is pushing the right buttons,

so we'll head to the other end of the cottage where, next to a very

stylish bathroom, is the kitchen,

which will hopefully keep those warm reactions coming.

-This...

-Oh, my God!

-..I'm quite excited about you seeing. Yeah?

-What do you think?

-Two cookers!

You've got the range there, that's oil-fired.

-So, you've also got this dual-fuel range cooker there.

-Wow!

Two for the price of one. Fantastic.

The property is set in a stunning one acre of land

and also includes a woodland glade.

At the end of the drive is a readymade veggie plot

and polytunnel.

Or, they could replace it with a purpose-built washing facility

for their guests, if they wanted to get

their business idea for camping with yurts off the ground.

So, let's check out where these yurts might go.

So, you've got all this area right in front of the property itself

and that lovely woodland area and so forth...

-Well, this is a lovely little area as well.

-Yeah.

I mean, it's not acres, let's face it, but, you know,

it would allow you to at least have a go with certainly one yurt...

-Absolutely, yeah.

-..if not two. Um...

-Oh, no, I think we'd get half a dozen on here.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Well, you're packing them in.

No...especially with the small area up there, without a doubt.

It's going to be Happy Valley here, isn't it?

-By the time you two have finished!

-That's the whole idea.

OK, well, um...

As you were so good at guessing the price last time, I'm going

-to let you go first again on this one, Madara.

-Beginner's luck!

-Yeah.

I will say...

-247.

-247? OK, interesting. David?

-275?

-275.

-Bearing in mind you've said you'd go to 300,000...

-Yeah.

..if it had business potential, would you pay 275 for this?

I would be incredibly tempted.

Well, let me tempt you with this then,

cos this could be yours for just under 250.

Oh! Wow!

-MADARA LAUGHS

-Yeah?

So, our second offering has just

sneaked in under their £250,000 budget,

and is an attractive proposition, as it would provide them

with a fantastically presented home.

The huge reception area with mezzanine floor is

a real show stopper and, along with the farmhouse kitchen,

gives them two spacious bedrooms.

What's more, the one acre of land is a beautiful natural setting

for their luxury camping business.

-Very impressed.

-Good.

Well, so you should be, it's a nice one, but, it's not over yet.

Of course, the Mystery House is still to come!

-BOTH: Woo!

-Follow me.

THEY LAUGH

Well, the introduction of the Mystery House is always

one of the most anticipated parts of any Escape to the Country,

and, of course, this one is no exception.

David and Madara can't wait to see what we've got in store for them,

but, I have to say, I think this one is rather special.

For our mystery property,

we head towards the tiny village of Gwernogle set deep in the heart

of the Brechfa Forest, a natural haven for wildlife and walking.

Our Mystery House is hidden away in complete seclusion

and the only way to find it is across a footbridge.

In terms of isolation...

-and being away from it all...

-Spot-on. Absolutely spot-on.

-The view is giving me goose bumps.

-Goose bumps?

Well, wait till you see the Mystery House.

Now, to get to it, we're not using a four-by-four,

but we're going to go for a three-minute walk.

Yeah, the longer the better. JULES LAUGHS

What they're about to see is truly spectacular.

OK, come here. All right, come here. Keep them shut.

-Now, turn around to your right...

-OK.

Open your eyes.

THEY GASP

-I don't believe it!

-Now, you said you like timber houses.

-Yes.

-There's your timber house.

And as a boat-builder,

we thought you could look after this one quite well.

-Speechless.

-Wow! Me too.

-Yeah?

Our Mystery House comes with a unique architectural style

of its own, comprising two linked hexagonal timber buildings.

The oldest section, built back in the 1960s, is in need of a bit

of attention, but I'm hoping that won't put them off.

Right, let's start in here.

This is the original bit, the original hexagon.

Words cannot describe this, this is just...

-That's what I'm thinking.

-It's home!

-(I can't speak!)

She can't speak! You're lost for words!

Yes, I don't know if to be really happy or to be like,

this needs so much work.

Well, you know, it does need a bit of attention,

but the thing about it is, it is all timber.

-It's all there.

-It's all easy to do.

The quirky hexagonal dimensions continue upstairs on the

mezzanine floor, where there's one of the three potential bedrooms.

There's also a bright, modern family bathroom back downstairs,

but we'll check out the six-sided rooms in the newer wing.

Now, you wanted a big kitchen.

I think this is big enough.

-Wow!

-Oh! DAVID LAUGHS

-It's not only big...

-It's huge!

-..it's beautiful!

I mean, it's a huge family room! It's anything you want it to be.

'Leading off the kitchen is where they would sleep.'

OK, now, I would love this. I have to say.

-Wow is all I can say.

-It's lovely, yeah.

You've got these double doors there and these...

-Huge sliding sash box windows.

-Yeah!

Imagine waking up and just having that,

literally having wildlife right outside your front window.

-That's exactly what we were looking for.

-Happy?

-Yes.

-So, we like it?

-Oh, yes.

-No, no, "like" doesn't even come close.

-You see, I think the best bit's yet to come.

-I love this.

-What?

Upstairs.

-JULES LAUGHS

-Come and check this out.

Yes, they'd better compose themselves,

because upstairs takes those windows to a new level.

Well, come and check this out, cos I think this is rather good.

SHE GASPS

Come over here.

-Look over here.

-Look at that!

-Yeah.

Now, we've got another kind of mezzanine here...

Another mezzanine floor above?

..with a double bed on it and this amazing kind of...

you know, elevated position to, you know,

have a look at what's around you.

-We can isolate ourselves on this side of the house...

-Yeah.

-..and let the other side immediately and generate some income.

-Yeah.

You'd have to think about bathrooms.

You'd need another bathroom, I suspect.

There's a river at the bottom.

THEY LAUGH Details, details.

Details, details, indeed,

but one thing that is a dead cert is the beauty of the outside space.

THEY LAUGH

It just goes on and on, doesn't it?

Out there, you've got...

three acres.

-MADARA GASPS

-Oh!

-This is perfect!

-It's flat as well.

Yeah, you've got three acres over there,

but, with a bit of management, you could, you know,

carve yourself some fantastic locations for yurts and camps...

Yeah, I mean, that's it. That's perfect.

Dare I say it, they seem bowled over by the endless opportunities that

come with our Mystery House and Madara's early concerns about

home improvements have been completely forgotten.

They may have fallen in love with the beautiful, natural setting

enhanced even further by a wildlife pond.

But now it's time to get back to reality.

-Now then, the difficult bit, I'm afraid...

-I don't want to know.

..is upon us and it's the, erm,

it's the guess-the-price moment.

Now, you've done them all so far in terms of going first, so, David?

-Go on, then.

-350?

-£350,000.

-290.

If I told you that it was...

£240,000...?

-I wouldn't believe you.

-Have you got a pen?

LAUGHTER

Well, you should believe me because that's what it's on the market for.

-240?

-240.

Speechless. Everybody's speechless.

Under budget at £240,000, our Mystery House is one of a kind.

And comes with an adaptable layout which includes...

It's all wrapped up in the spectacular setting

of the Brechfa Forest.

Let's go and, erm, relax somewhere and, erm...

-figure out what happens next, shall we?

-Yeah, absolutely.

We've given David and Madara the chance to sleep on it

just in case they were tempted to make a hasty decision.

So there is one final part of the show to come here on this

glorious morning in south-west Wales, we just need to ask them

if we have indeed managed to find them their escape to the country.

I think it's been a really exciting house search, actually.

-Complete roller-coaster ride.

-Yeah, absolutely. 100%.

Let's talk briefly about the properties that we saw

cos I think we all know where we're heading with this one.

Our first property, a kind of toe in the water really,

-in terms of what the market had to offer you.

-Yes.

What did you reckon to that one?

Well, just didn't have that feel for us.

-Had no feel to it at all, really.

-Yeah.

-Too small.

-Yeah.

-And the road, of course.

-Road right outside.

-In the middle of the road.

OK, well, let's not labour it, erm, because then we took you off

to our second property, which - I have to say - I had great hopes for.

I think you really responded to it rather nicely.

That lovely little stone cottage.

It certainly had potential, I think we all agreed that.

Yes, it was certainly a step in the right direction.

There wasn't quite enough land there for what

we want to do to generate some business.

But the house, it was a lovely house.

Well, let's cut to the chase, shall we? And, erm...

talk about the Mystery House, cos that's what we've all been

waiting to do this morning.

Erm, what were the thoughts that were coursing through your mind?

It was a flood of emotion...

for me and for you, wasn't it? You...

It was really... You know, to find something like that, in that location.

We're a quirky couple, really, and to find a quirky property that

matches us and our personalities and, you know...

just awesome.

It was just like a fairy-tale house.

-I thought it was a very enchanted place.

-It was!

It wasn't a Mystery House, it was a mystery tour.

-It was an absolute one-off.

-Yeah.

-I know you've fallen in love with it for all the right reasons.

-Yes.

I couldn't sleep last night, phoned the mortgage company first thing this morning.

-You phoned them this morning?

-Yeah, yeah.

-That was an early phone call.

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Where are we now, then?

Are we ready to go and pick up the keys?

It's an odd construction.

It's not standard, it's not brick with a slate roof,

so we have to talk about raising the mortgage on a wooden structure.

-Yeah.

-And I'm hoping to get an answer this afternoon.

-You're waiting for a call...

-Yeah.

-..which will get you into your perfect...

-Our dream house.

-You've done it.

-You've done it. You've done it.

I am absolutely delighted.

Well, this is one of my favourite bits

of the Carmarthenshire coastline.

It's where the great River Towy meets the sea

overlooked by the ruins of Llansteffan Castle behind me.

It's one of the places I first visited

when I moved to South Wales over 20 years ago.

And it's therefore fitting, I think, that it's where David and Madara

should have decided to start their new life here.

We've had some fantastic countryside,

some great properties and a Mystery House which, quite frankly,

has surpassed all of our expectations.

And on top of that, there's a very good chance that I am going

to have some new neighbours and I am very, very happy about that.

Although David and Madara loved the Mystery House, sadly they found

that raising a mortgage on a timber building proved too tricky for them.

So in a surprising move, they've since bought a place

with 250 acres of forest

in Madara's homeland of Latvia.

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