Suffolk Escape to the Country

Today I'm in a county famed for some of the biggest working beasts in Britain.

Where am I? Find out in just a moment.

In today's show, I'll be helping a horse-loving couple break free from their city ties

and canter off to the country to fulfil their business ambitions.

This is my dream.

And maybe they've bitten off more than they can chew with our mystery house.

-Oh, I'm a bit speechless.

-Oh!

Welcome to Suffolk, and these three burly beasts stand guard

to the busy entrance of Trinity Park,

home to the famous Suffolk Show,

celebrating everything that's great about this agricultural county.

And these three chaps are icons of that farming heritage.

You've got the Suffolk sheep, the red poll bull, yes, he's a bull,

and the famous Suffolk Punch shire horse.

But this county's not just about farming.

Take a look at what else it's famous for.

Suffolk is an East Anglian county

whose landscape is rooted in its farming heritage.

But let's not forget that Suffolk's coastline is equally spectacular.

And although it's slowly eroding,

it still offers some of the most unspoiled parts of shoreline in the country,

graced by equally charming towns such as Aldeburgh,

with its vibrant arts scene.

Moving inland, Bury St Edmunds is defined by its elegant Georgian buildings

and the remains of the Norman abbey which once dominated the town.

The 19th-century painter John Constable drew inspiration

from the expansive horizons for which this county is renowned.

Indeed, it's the very rural nature and remoteness of the region

that still entices many escapees to move here.

This is Ann, who recently retired from her job as a communications manager, and Alan, a builder.

They currently live in Shenfield, Essex,

in a four-bedroomed property which Alan has completely renovated over the years.

However, the time has come for them to fulfil an ambition they've shared for a long time.

Alan's always wanted to move to the countryside, haven't you?

I've always loved the countryside, yeah.

Just one of those things,

I suppose, to reach a dream that I've never got to as yet.

Ann owns a horse which she keeps at a livery yard

some 15 minutes from their home.

With this move, she's keen to turn her passion for horses into a rural business opportunity.

This is Archie.

He originally comes from Suffolk, and it would be really nice

if we could take him back to Suffolk where we want to run holiday lets

where people can bring their own horses to ride.

They've been scouring the Suffolk property market

for the past 18 months, however,

so far, their house-searching efforts have come up short.

Then again, there's a lot to factor in.

We'd want something of character.

Three to four bedrooms.

I've always wanted to have a farmhouse-type kitchen

where you can sit around, particularly in the winter days.

Outside, we'd like three to four acres, minimum.

Either with stabling already in place or opportunity for Alan to build stables there.

And also an opportunity to have a holiday let.

With their house currently on the market for £725,000,

they've nailed down the finances for their move.

The maximum budget is £700,000.

Alan and Ann have got a healthy budget for Suffolk,

but stables, holiday let and space for growing hops?

They're all great aspirations, but they do require quite a lot of land.

Plus we want to keep Alan's commute down to about an hour and a half

so he can keep in contact with his customer base in Essex.

So, no point hanging around, let's start looking.

Alan and Ann are keen to search in the outlying villages

around Bury St Edmunds, so we'll use that as our starting point.

But with their request for land, we may have to look further afield.

We've got three fantastic properties to show them, but as always,

I won't be revealing the price until they've had a guess first.

The last of these properties is our mystery house,

which will force them to take off the blinkers and give them a new perspective.

Welcome to Suffolk.

-Thank you.

-It's not a million miles away from where you live now.

No, it's only about an hour and 20 minutes' drive.

Now, the business plan is really interesting. Tell me a bit about that.

I spend a lot of time with my horse and with our riding club,

but I also thought we could merge the two.

-That's a brilliant idea, it's like a horse B&B.

-That's right, yes.

Any sort of form of renovation or outbuildings and such

that can be changed from whatever they are now

to whatever the requirements are for Ann's horses, then...

-You can find a man to do it.

-Yes, definitely!

Let's go and see some properties, and they are beautiful,

-and I know you've got a specific brief, but I think we found some nice ones.

-Oh, thank you very much.

With their £700,000 budget,

Alan and Ann want a character property which gives them a large reception room for entertaining,

a farmhouse-style kitchen/diner and at least three bedrooms.

And critically, Ann is after a minimum

of three acres of land for horses,

which might also give them scope to establish a holiday let business.

We're getting our house search under way in the quiet village of Badingham,

with a scattering of properties set amongst its country lanes.

Although there's no local shop here,

the market town of Framlingham is just under four miles away.

Its historic centre is earmarked as a conservation area,

and it's a hub for amenities.

Just a stone's throw from Badingham's parish church

is our first property, which comes in the form of a converted barn,

and might well provide enough space for entertaining.

-Oh!

-Oh! This is very different.

-Yeah.

It was converted in the '80s, done to a very high spec.

-It does have period bones.

-Oh, yes, yes.

-I like it.

-Shall we have a peek inside?

-Oh, yes, please!

-Step on in.

-Oh!

-This is really nice.

-Do you like?

-I do.

-Oh, it's grand.

There's another sort of area round there which they sometimes use for big parties.

-Ooh! Sounds like my kind of place!

-You like a party, don't you?

-I do!

The kitchen is the heart of the home, so let's go there.

-Come on in.

-Oh, yes.

-Oh, yeah.

-I like the use of the beamwork

-and the more contemporary kitchen units, it works very well.

-Very cottagey. Yes.

And here we've got the main living room.

-This is very comfortable.

-Yeah, it is.

But you've also got a nice lot of light coming through.

Well, they added this sun room, which you can explore a bit later on, all along the side here,

-so that brings in lots of light.

-Yeah, it does.

Fits your exacting building standards? Is it well done?

Yes, yeah.

The exposed timbers are a running theme throughout.

Back on the other side of the hallway, nestling behind the main staircase,

there's a dining room and a useful study.

But we'll head up the second staircase

and explore the four bedrooms, starting with their room.

So mind your heads. We're starting to get into beam territory.

-This is the master bedroom.

-This is very different, isn't it?

-It is.

And then an en suite, of course.

What do you think?

It's very different, gives us a little bit more style

than what you normally get in a house, which is just a square.

And there's plenty of period style in the two bedrooms opposite.

One, a nice-sized single,

and next door a larger bedroom with a built-in wardrobe.

The landing is large enough to house a study and sitting area,

which leads on to the fourth bedroom at the far end of the property,

complete with its own spacious en suite.

This barn would be a large, comfortable home for Alan and Ann,

but now we need to tackle their demands for the outside.

-We have some things that you want, but not everything.

-OK.

Primarily we don't have a holiday let, but as you can see,

-we do have these outbuildings.

-Yes.

Possibly turning this into some sort of conversion.

Oh, I would think that would be quite easy.

Oh, thank goodness you said that! I thought you were going to go "Absolutely no!"

So a provisional tick for the holiday let idea,

subject to the right planning.

I'm hoping they like the lay of the land too.

OK, so, we've got three acres in total. Essentially three paddocks.

At the moment they've got sheep, they're not horsey people,

so they don't have stabling.

-Right.

-So this would also have to be an investment.

So what do you think this is on the market for?

-I may be well wrong. 625-635?

-What about you?

I'm probably going a little bit more than that,

and say anything between 645 and 650.

Well, you're both just out.

It's actually a bit more expensive even than that, it's on at 665.

-Right.

-Why don't you go and explore?

-OK.

-Mind the sheep.

-Right!

Under budget at £665,000,

our Suffolk barn conversion gives them plenty of character

and provides them with four reception areas,

a large open kitchen/diner and four bedrooms, two of them with en suite.

Outside, there's the potential for the outbuilding to be converted into a separate holiday let

with the right planning consent.

Finally, there's a three-acre paddock for Ann's horses.

Generally, I like the house. I would say very, very liveable.

The house has character.

My only downside is we'd have to put in a lot of work

to create a stable yard, and I'm not quite sure whether we'd get planning permission for that to start with,

and also whether it would be value for money.

Hopefully we can unearth a rural retreat

as we continue our house search in the village of Polstead,

near the Suffolk-Essex border.

Many of its traditional properties, some of which are colour-washed,

skirt the perimeter of the lovely village pond.

Along with a post office and a renowned pub,

its Grade I listed church dates back to the 14th century.

On the outskirts of Polstead is our second property,

which if they don't mind the water tower nearby,

will give Alan and Ann a home with character and land.

I'm very excited about showing you this property,

-because I think this one could be giving you everything you want.

-Right.

What do you feel about the whole thatched cottage experience?

Well, I really like a thatched cottage,

and I know Alan always wanted beams and a thatched roof, didn't you?

That's always been the way, yes.

Let's go and look at the main house.

Well, our charming cottage has created a good first impression.

Thought to date back to the 15th century,

and Grade II listed, its interior has been sympathetically restored.

-Come on in.

-Thank you.

-It's a box of surprises, this house.

-Oh! Yes!

-It certainly is.

-Were you expecting this?

-No, not at all.

A big boot room, washroom, through there, utility room.

-It works, doesn't it?

-It does.

-And...nice view.

-Ah-ha, you've spotted the horses already! Yes.

-Yes.

-Well, this is the kitchen.

You go across the hall into the living room.

-Mind your head. There is a bit of a low beam.

-I think I'm all right!

-You're all right! Alan? Oh, you're all right, too.

-Yeah, that's good.

-Yes, that's very cosy.

-It is.

-Nice fireplace there.

-There's a bread oven there.

-Oh, yes.

And they put in this brand-new rather swanky log burner.

Behind you...

-Oh!

-..are the stairs, which take us to the bedrooms.

'There are two bedrooms, both of which are doubles

'and take wonky to a new level.'

Mind your head.

-Yeah.

-Mind your balance.

You've got the original, slopey, cottage floors here.

So this is, erm, this is as far away from...

you know, a modern house as you can get.

How do you feel about all these wonky lines?

-Don't mind the wonky lines at all.

-It's different and nice.

-Shall we explore?

-Yes, please.

Both bedrooms can make use of the small family bathroom up here.

And back downstairs, leading off the rear hallway, is an extra room,

which could serve as a study or third bedroom.

But the next room is the real eye-opener.

-Ooh.

-I didn't expect this.

SHE LAUGHS

Didn't expect this at all.

Now, that is very, very good.

I'm... I'm a bit speechless...

-Wow.

-..which is strange for me.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

-Oh, good thing.

-It's good, yes.

And you step out into a really lovely, sort of, er,

-terraced area.

-Yeah.

So you can sit out there in the sunshine.

-Yeah, you've got the outdoors coming in.

-Yeah.

Something that I really like.

Well, the tour of the main property has ended on a high

which I hope we can build on outside.

There's a separate out-building which, with some vision from Alan

and the appropriate planning consent,

could give them the holiday let they asked for.

So, this is my great offering for this property.

Yeah.

They were using this as a farm shop for a while

so it has all the water, electricity, heating...

Possibility.

-Possibility?

-Yes.

-Right, well, er...

Sort of hesitantly ticking boxes.

Erm, and the final one is with your horses.

'There's plenty of ready-made accommodation

'for horses in the stable block complete with four stables

'and an adjoining store room.

'But it doesn't end there.'

-So, do the stable blocks look up to scratch?

-They certainly do.

You've got another two emergency stables here and a big outhouse.

-OK.

-That's also ripe for development and, what's this?

Oh, this is my dream, it's a menage.

It's a beautiful one, it's very well equipped.

You've got lights and, basically,

your paddocks stretch right up to the railings.

So, all around as far as you can see.

And it's five and a half acres.

What do you think all that is on the market for?

I would say it's on the market...

for £700,000.

I'll go 6...

25.

-625?

-Yeah.

OK, so it's on the market for...

-689.

-Right.

-Hmm.

-Cos you have a lot of land.

-Oh, yes.

-Yes, I appreciate that.

-Why don't you have a wander around?

-It's a lot to take in.

-It is.

-Explore all the facilities...

-OK.

-..and I'll meet you at the front.

-OK, thank you very much.

-OK, thank you.

Under budget at £689,000, this listed property

answers all the main elements on their wish list.

Firstly, we've delivered an authentic character cottage

with a superb extension which took Ann's breath away.

Then there's the outbuilding which gives them

the potential for their holiday let.

And the equestrian facilities are spot on for the livery business.

The house, again, I think is very nice,

but the main concerns are...

that it is only two bedrooms.

Er, situation of the house, for me, is not quite right.

The water tower - whether I can sit in my garden

and walk around and actually accept that, I'm not sure.

What I like about the house is that beautiful extension

and how it opens up onto a patio area and to the garden

and then you just sweep round and you can see the paddocks and the horses.

It's wonderful to wake up in the morning,

go outside with a coffee and just see them there.

It's something I've never had and it's always been my dream.

As evening falls over the Suffolk skyline,

it marks the end of the first day of our property search.

I thought we'd found their dream home with the second one yesterday,

but there were lots of things that Alan didn't like

which is fine because we've got the mystery house.

Typically, we take something away from the wish list

and, in this instance, we've taken away...period.

We can't get them everything that they want, so we're not giving them

any beams, no thatch, no twisty Tudor floors,

but we're giving them something big and modern

and lots and lots of land.

Now, the mystery house is, er, you know, often a curve ball.

What do think we might be showing you?

I think you're going to show us something which...

was one of the options that we spoke about.

Not necessarily having equestrian facilities on site,

but maybe some close by.

Well, we shall see. We shall see.

Our mystery house is situated a couple of miles

from the village of Mildenhall

whose 16th Century market cross is the focal point

of its historic centre.

Home to an array of local shops.

There are two RAF bases in the outlying area,

which is where our mystery house is located.

And if they're prepared to be flexible, this house

might well provide the home Ann wants for her beloved horses.

So, a very different proposal.

Yes.

As the mystery house always is.

Lots of space and lots of potential.

-First impressions?

-First impression,

I guess I don't mind looking at modern property.

The only small problem would be the sound of the aircraft.

You're quite noise sensitive.

I am a very noise sensitive individual.

Let's have a look inside.

'Perhaps when they explore inside our mystery property -

'which is built in a chalet style - they'll be more convinced.'

-In you come.

-Thank you.

So, it's a big central hall,

you've got a downstairs room, which is used as a bedroom,

then there's a study sort of sitting room at the front here.

What are your thoughts about the interior?

It's quite different from what we've shown you before.

I quite like a nice hallway,

it's something I've always thought makes a house.

-Let's have a look in the kitchen.

-Thank you.

-This is a very different kitchen, isn't it?

-Very different.

Yeah, very different.

I think it's probably the biggest in terms of square footage.

It most certainly is, yes. It's a very nice kitchen.

I like it, I actually like the square units.

'Hopefully, they'll also like the spacious dining room

'and sitting area next door.'

More of the same, this is the extension put on a few years ago.

What do you think?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, very nice.

I like the sort of split level.

I do like the fireplace.

Good, I'm glad you're liking it, because it was a gamble

-because it's so different from the other ones.

-Yes.

The last property stumbled on the fact it really only had two smallish bedrooms upstairs.

-This one's not going to stumble on that.

-OK.

'Along with the bedroom downstairs, there are three upstairs,

'including a generous option for guests.'

Here we go.

Couldn't be more different from the bedroom yesterday afternoon.

Straight lines everywhere.

-It really works.

-Yeah, it does.

Another great thing is that it has loads of storage, cupboards everywhere.

Storage in the hall, storage here, and then...

what would be your room.

The grand room.

-Oh, yeah, it is grand.

-Ooh, yes.

'The master has a bright, spacious ensuite.

'There's also a third bedroom large enough to be a double.

'Off the landing, there's a nice sized family bathroom

'which Alan might want to apply a little updating magic to.

'But Anne's chomping at the bit to know more about the outside.'

I have a personal vendetta against this plant,

so I would cut all of this down, because look what you're missing -

the view of your paddock.

OK. How big is this paddock?

This paddock is about an acre...but, oh!

We've got so much land to show you here.

This property comes with 13 acres.

Dear, oh dear.

'And out of those 13 acres,

'hopefully Alan will like the little pocket we've saved for him.'

All of this fenced area is yours.

-But, I know you're a big fan of trees, Alan.

-Yes.

It includes four acres of woodland.

Well, I never did!

All right.

So, how much do you think this is on the market for?

Er, well, I've got it wrong other times by large,

so I'll say...

oh dear, 640?

I think it's probably a bit less than that...

at £620,000.

The price is just between the two of yours,

so it's actually on at £650,000.

That gives you £50,000 in your pot to do quite a lot of work,

-but also you've got lots of scope.

-Yes.

I'd like you to both go and look at the woodland,

and then we'll meet you back at the house.

-OK, that's fine, thank you.

-Trot on!

Under budget at £650,000, the gamble of our modern mystery house may have paid off,

as it provides them with a large sitting/dining room,

a stylish kitchen/diner and four potential bedrooms.

Outside, there's a timber barn they could potentially convert into a holiday let,

but best of all, Anne gets a jawdropping 13 acres,

which fulfils her equestrian dreams.

I think the house is very nice,

it's a bit, say, newer than we were originally looking for.

Internally I think it's fine,

outside, again, aesthetically it looks very, very good.

I think if I had a plan of the property

I could then start marking out areas where there's potential

for a stable block, things like that.

It's quite exciting, and I've never been able to do that before.

So, yeah, quite a challenge.

Well, Anne and Alan have really put us through our paces today.

It's like property three-day eventing with all the hoops

we've had to jump through to please them,

but I think we've done pretty well.

We've shown them three interesting options for what they want.

So, now's the moment of truth to find out which one they're going to go for.

I've really enjoyed showing you two around,

because you had a challenging brief.

It was a really unique thing, the horses and the holiday let -

obviously a headache -

but I think we found some properties that fit the brief.

The first property, if you can spin back your minds that far,

What are your thoughts about that one now?

That is one property I think we want to go back to and see.

What about the second house?

I quite like the property, but I know Alan has his...

quite fixed ideas of what he likes and doesn't like.

If one did actually move to that property -

OK as far as the land goes,

and the house itself was quaint and nice.

Now, the mystery house, that was a quite different property,

threw up lots of thoughts.

Alan and I have discussed it.

I liked the house, even though it was a modern house,

-and I think Alan did, as well.

-It was fine, yes.

Also, one would have to do soil tests on the land

to make sure it would be good enough to grow grass.

I think we'd like to go back

and have a look in the area of the first house.

You really did like the area.

-I liked the area.

-And you liked the house.

-So number one seems like it's the front runner.

-Yeah.

-Without a doubt.

-Excellent.

Well, it's been a real adventure going through these with you,

you've got different perspectives on what you're looking for -

horses and the building side of things -

I really hope one of them comes up trumps,

if not one of our properties, somewhere in Suffolk. Thanks very much.

It was a wonderful time we've had, thank you.

One thing I've learnt on this show is you can never predict

which of your beautiful properties will wow the buyers.

And we on the Escape team were convinced house number two

would wipe all the others out of the water,

but Anne and Alan had other plans, and good for them.

That's the point of the show, we're constantly surprised.

And if you'd like to be surprised next time somewhere in Britain,

make sure you tune in to Escape To The Country.

And if you'd like to escape to the country in Scotland, Wales,

Northern Ireland or England and need our help,

please apply online at bbc.co.uk/beonashow

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd