Chilterns Escape to the Country

This magnificent hilltop has views over swathes of southern England.

It's from this viewpoint that you can make out one of Britain's foremost buildings.

What is it and where am I? All will be revealed very shortly.

Today I'm looking for a high and mighty property

for a couple who have great expectations.

In our first house, we run headlong into trouble.

-Uh-oh, we have a problem, Houston.

-That is a problem.

But thankfully the mystery house provides some light relief.

-You've been smiling...nearly all the way through, haven't you?

-I know.

-It's a first for you anyway!

-Definitely.

I'm in the Chilterns, a range of hills

that stretch for around 47 miles and actually take in four counties.

One of them being this one, Buckinghamshire.

Just behind me, you can probably make out

the Prime Minister's country retreat, Chequers,

and very nice too. It's been used by prime ministers since 1921

when it was gifted to the nation by Lord Lee of Fareham

who believed that regular exposure to the high and pure air

of the Chiltern Hills and woods would lead to a saner government.

I think we should take a vote as to whether that's actually happened!

Situated to the north-west of London,

the Chilterns are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

which begin in Oxfordshire's Thames Valley and stretch north-east

through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and into Hertfordshire.

Swathed in beech trees and chalk downland, the Chiltern Hills

are a haven for wildlife watchers, ramblers and cyclists.

To the north-east of the region are the Dunstable Downs

which feature the famous chalk lion carved into Bison Hill.

It's a landmark that pinpoints the zoo at nearby Whipsnade.

For beautiful places to live, there's villages like Haddenham

which is one of the most picturesque in the Chilterns winning

the Best Kept Village accolade several times.

It's also the home of the much-loved Aylesbury duck.

Of the four counties that the Chilterns straddle,

Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire are the most expensive.

Here, an average detached property will set you back around £480,000.

The same sort of property in Oxfordshire...

Well, it's £100,000 cheaper.

But the best value for money comes in Bedfordshire

where a similar property is £190,000 cheaper than those in Bucks and Herts.

So here's what's currently on the market.

This three-bedroom period property in Wheeler End Common,

a conservation area, could be yours for £320,000.

Dating back to 1750, it boasts original features

such as exposed brick and stonework and a pretty cottage garden.

For £650,000, you could be living in this three-bedroom property

in Chalfont St Peter.

With a large, attractive, modern kitchen and generously-sized reception rooms for entertaining.

It also comes with planning consent for a two-storey side extension

and half an acre of land.

And if your pockets are deep, you could be the owner

of this character four-bedroom cottage in Chalfont St Giles.

At £835,000 and with a superb family room converted from an old barn,

it's been beautifully modernised throughout whilst retaining

every bit of its time-honoured charm.

A lovely selection there, don't you think? It's time to meet today's buyers and find out

why they want to escape to the country.

Michelle and Robin have spent 30 years

living the city life in Hereford.

While Robin has retired from his job working with adults with learning difficulties,

business coach and trainer Michelle is still racking up miles behind the wheel

commuting to London and the Chilterns.

So a move is definitely needed to get a better work-life balance.

We'd like to move to the Chilterns

because we've been there a few times for various reasons and it's beautiful.

Its proximity for me for the M40 is absolutely perfect

so we can be in the countryside and in two minutes' time, I can be

on the road to work so it's got the best of everything for us.

So if Michelle can reduce her driving time in this move,

she'll get more time to spend with Robin and their two Dalmatians.

And they'll both have the chance to indulge in hobbies old and new.

I want to get involved in the local community.

I love farmers' markets, going round looking at nice, new food shops

and finding local sources for really good quality food

so there are lots of things I want to do once I have the time to do them.

Once we get to the country,

I would like to continue with some of my current pursuits,

i.e. shooting, that sort of thing.

And perhaps I would love to go back to horse riding again.

Robin does a huge amount of cooking and I do loads of baking.

He makes jams and jellies and pickles

and we would love a bigger kitchen so that would be great.

They've been in their large four-storey family house

for almost 20 years but now their children have flown the nest

they're planning to downsize although I'm not actually sure

they've quite got their heads around it as big still seems to be better.

I like space and I'd like a big bedroom with lots of wardrobe space,

which I have currently.

And I would like a large garden.

I've got quite a small garden here but I am a very keen vegetable gardener and up until this year

when I couldn't do it for health reasons,

I had about a third of an acre of land

as a vegetable garden somewhere else.

And with the wishlist nailed down,

there's just one more thing to confirm, and that's the finances.

Our budget for this move is £500,000.

So we have the length

and breadth of the Chilterns to focus our property search.

With one of Robin and Michelle's favourite locations

being Thame in Oxfordshire.

We've got some stunning houses to show them

but as ever, they'll have to guess the price before I reveal it.

The last offering is, of course, our mystery property, which I'm hoping

might make them think again about heading for the hills.

-Robin, Michelle, welcome to the Chilterns.

-Thank you.

-How are you?

-Very well.

-Looking forward to this?

-Excited.

-Very much.

Imagine yourself here with the house of your dreams,

-how will you be spending your days?

-Well, I've always wanted to fly so I thought I'd have flying lessons.

-Wow. What do you want to do?

-I love to garden.

I also love to cook so if I can have a good-sized garden and kitchen, I'll be pretty happy.

Sounds idyllic. What are you looking for in this house?

High ceilings, obviously.

She's not that tall!

Not the little thatched cottage look whatsoever.

Somewhere detached would be nice but we don't know how much

we can have for our budget.

Has it changed at all?

-No, the budget's still roundabout £500,000.

-Roundabout.

I guess we might be able to stretch to £525,000 at a push

but we would be happiest at 500,000.

We have two properties to show you

and the mystery property, which you'll either love or hate.

So shall we get going? Let's fly, come on.

'So with their maximum budget at a potential £525,000,'

space is the main priority for Robin and Michelle's wishlist.

They'd like a large kitchen to bake and create in,

a dining room for entertaining, three to four bedrooms,

lots of wardrobe space for Michelle

and a large garden for Robin.

This downsizing malarkey. Do you reckon you honestly will be able to do it?

I think we have to so... Yeah, I think we will be able to do it.

It might be a little painful at times but we will do it.

So you're not hoarders?

I'm one of seven children.

You can imagine what my childhood household was like

so I'm actually a very tidy person.

We're starting in Oxfordshire

five miles south of Thame in the village of Pyrton.

A community consisting of only 60 houses.

It's just five minutes from the M40 for Michelle's commute.

There's also a church and a market garden for all of Robin's vegetable supplies.

Our first property is a uniquely shaped cottage

in a very peaceful setting.

-So what do you think of this quiet, country lane?

-Lovely.

-You can stop in your tracks. Come over here.

-Pretty good.

-This is it.

-Wow.

-200-year-old flint and brick cottage.

-Oh, great.

-Used to be called Cheese Cottage.

-Did it?

-Yeah.

-Because...

-Because it's an unusual shape.

It's a triangular shape and it used to serve the old vicarage next door.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-What, with cheese?

-Servants, dear!

-Oh, right, very good.

-What do you think? First impressions.

Not at all what I was expecting so I don't really know actually.

I'm just keen to get inside and see what it's like.

-Big smile on your face.

-Mmm?

-Big smile on this one's face.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm just very practical,

I'm already looking at very small windows.

-And we do like natural light.

-OK, do you want to go in and have a look?

-I'd love to.

-Let's go.

'I'm not sure about Robin but Michelle's first impressions

'of this property are quite positive.

'Let's see if they're happy with the space inside.'

-Come on in, bit of a tight squeeze.

-Thank you.

-He's still humming.

-Sorry.

There's one big test now as we move you forward.

-Yeah.

-Oh, he can clear it.

-Yeah, I can indeed.

-Excellent.

-What do you think? They've got it as the dining room.

As a dining room, a bit small.

-It's nice as an entrance hall.

-Yeah.

-Bit small as a dining room.

It's quite difficult for us cos our current one's five metres by five metres.

-You'll have to forget that.

-We are, I know.

-I know.

-That'll be really hard.

-It's difficult to put it behind you.

Yes, you've got to close that Hereford door. Yeah. Firmly.

-But nice. Let's see some more.

-OK. Yes, Boss!

-I thought he was the bossy one, not you! Role reversal.

-I know!

'Well, now I know who's in charge. I can only hope she's impressed with the next reception room.'

-I always love your nervous smile. You're not quite sure what to say.

-No!

-It's lighter.

-It is lighter, isn't it? See, I told you.

What do you think?

-Um... A little bit underwhelmed.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-I thought you'd really like this room.

-Did you?

-No.

-What don't you like?

-It feels a bit claustrophobic to me.

-Gosh, OK.

Would your furniture fit in here?

-Mmm...

-Er...yes, it probably would.

-No.

-No?

-The sideboard is...

-The sideboard.

I can tell I'm going to need counselling after this!

-I can provide that.

-Oh, can you?

-Yes.

-Brilliant.

Well, you're the cause of it so you might as well help me out as well.

All the furniture apart from our one sideboard, which is 12 foot long.

-OK.

-Yeah, will fit.

-Plenty more to see so come on.

-OK.

-Let's go.

As the kitchen in this property leads straight into the garden,

we'll be looking at that a bit later.

But first we're heading upstairs. Off the hallway on the first floor

there's one double guest room with traditional exposed timbers.

These also a feature throughout the other two slightly smaller bedrooms

and even put in an appearance in the large family bathroom.

But I'm showing Robin and Michelle where they could be resting their heads.

Come through here, this is the master.

-OK.

-Double aspect, what do you reckon? Uh-oh, we have a problem, Houston.

-That is a problem.

This will be your bedroom, er...Michelle!

Oh, please! It wasn't that...

-It's all right for you!

-He's trying to elongate himself.

-OK.

-What do you reckon?

-It's light.

-It is.

-For me, it's a little bit small.

-Right, OK.

So although I guess, for the type of cottage,

I suppose it isn't a small room. If it were our bedroom,

it would feel like it was too small for us.

Sadly, the bedroom hasn't scored too highly on the size front

but maybe they'll be happier in the high-ceilinged kitchen

with its garden access.

-So this is it, your kitchen.

-OK.

-Wow! Nice and light.

-It is.

-High ceiling.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, ceiling's good. Best ceiling we've seen so far.

-Absolutely.

-Can you imagine yourself creating a masterpiece here?

-No.

-Do you want to think about it?!

-No.

-What's the problem?

Er... It's a strange shape, it's not big enough.

I think it's a nice space, I think it's a nice size room.

It's not huge but again it's in keeping with the cottage.

I like the fact it's light and the fact you've got doors straight out into the garden which is really nice.

-Let's head out into that garden.

-OK, fantastic.

-And we can talk some money.

-Fantastic.

'Outside I'm not sure there's enough space to squeeze in a small vegetable plot for Robin

'but it's a pretty and well cultivated garden so I'm hoping it might appeal.'

-I'll say now, it's not going to take long to tour the garden.

-No.

-No, very small. Absolutely beautiful.

-Isn't it just?

-It's lovely.

-Tremendous, lovely little garden.

-Too small for you?

-It is.

-Miles too small but it is a lovely, little garden.

-OK.

-I think we should talk money.

-OK.

-Who's going to go first?

Knowing our budget, I would've thought...£450,000?

-Right.

-360.

-Thousand pounds?

-Yeah.

-You're both way off the mark.

-Right.

-It's the top end of your budget. £525,000.

-Wow.

-Crikey.

-OK.

-That is a surprise.

-Mmm.

-It gives you an indication of what your money gets.

-It does.

OK. Listen, you haven't seen all the house so go and have a good look around.

-One room might change everything.

-OK.

-I'll be by the front door, I'll meet you there.

-OK.

-Take your time.

-All right, see you later.

-OK.

Right at the top end of their budget at £525,000,

this property has everything they're after

if on a slightly smaller scale than they might like.

There are four bedrooms, characterful entertaining rooms,

a high-ceilinged kitchen and a pretty cottage garden.

Overall I thought the house was beautifully presented.

I can see it would appeal to a lot of people, it just doesn't really appeal to me.

One of the things I suppose concerning me now is

if this is the typical price for a Chilterns property,

then we may have to rethink.

I thought the house was a lovely little cottage but it's not for me.

It's extremely depressing to hear the value of properties in this area.

So I would think if that's fundamentally the range of prices,

or what we get for our range of price, we're in the wrong area.

I hope Robin hasn't banged his head. Let's get them out.

BELL RINGS

Oh, here they come. Don't tell me - too small?

-Yeah? OK, listen, there's plenty more to see.

-OK.

So onward and upward. Follow me, come on.

Situated on the south Buckinghamshire border of the Chilterns,

the town of Marlow prospered thanks to its position on the River Thames.

Once the power behind the town's mills,

today the river is home to a yearly regatta

that typically features around 200 crews.

The local rowing club founded in 1871 has produced many Olympic oarsmen

including five-times gold medallist, Sir Steve Redgrave.

Just outside Marlow is Wycombe Air Park.

As both Robin and Michelle are keen to learn to fly,

we've sent them to meet experienced pilot Sandra Haine of Airways Flying School,

for their first ever flying lesson.

-Hi.

-Hello, I'm Sandra.

-Hi, Sandra, I'm Michelle.

-Hi, I'm Rob.

-Hi, Rob.

-There are lots of different flying machines around.

-What are they all?

-There's lots of helicopters based here

and gliders, there's over 100 gliders based here

and a lot of fixed-wing aircraft as well. That's what you'll be flying today.

-It's a Piper Warrior fixed-wing aircraft.

-Fantastic, how exciting.

-Yeah.

With the weather only allowing for one lesson, it's Michelle who's elected to take the hotseat.

-OK, Michelle. You'll be flying the aircraft today.

-I am.

-This is a picture of the cockpit here.

-OK.

-We're on runway 3-5 today.

I'll do the take-off and the initial climb-out

and having done that, I'll hand over control to you

-so that you can fly the aircraft.

-OK!

-OK?

-Yes. Will it be obvious, what I have to do?

-Yep, so I'm going to tell you what you need to do.

-OK.

When I'm flying the aircraft I'll say, "I've got control."

When I want you to fly the aircraft, Michelle,

-I'll say, "You've got control."

-OK.

What I want you to do then is to rest your feet

-on the bottom bits of the pedals there.

-OK.

-And take control with your left hand of the control yoke.

-OK.

And when you've done that then you can say to me, "I've got control."

The plane is controlled by the elevator at the rear

and the ailerons under the wings and the rudder on the tail,

all regulated from the cockpit.

Moving the central control yoke back brings the nose of the plane up

and moving it forward alters the pitch so the nose goes down.

With her briefing complete it's time for Michelle to take her place in the cockpit.

Golf X-Ray Tango, roger. Enter and backtrack, runaway 7-6, line up and wait.

Heading down the runway, Michelle's plane will reach a speed

of up to 90mph before ascending to 4,000 feet and cruising at around 125mph.

Michelle, put your feet on the bottom bits of the pedal.

-Yep, they're there.

-OK, push with your left foot.

SHE GIGGLES

-That's it. Push with your right foot. OK, so that's how you steer the aeroplane.

-OK.

If Michelle and Robin decide to become fully-fledged pilots,

they'll need to have at least 45 hours' flying experience,

the minimum required by the Civil Aviation Authority.

But if you haven't got the thousands of pounds

and the amount of time needed to become a pilot

you could just opt for a trial lesson, which costs under £100.

And just use the controls - left to go left, right to go right.

Just keeping the attitude. That's good, excellent.

OK, we're going to close the throttle now.

We've stopped the descent and we're trying to hold it level,

then we're pulling back just to try and stop it from landing.

Well done.

There are currently 137 licensed airfields in the UK

and planes like this one have the range to get you to France for lunch and be back home for dinner.

-It was wonderful.

-Survived?

-Absolutely fantastic.

-Glad you enjoyed it.

-I really did.

And with Michelle safely touched down,

it's chocks away for the rest of our property search.

We've travelled close to the historic West Hertfordshire town of Berkhamsted,

which is just off the A41 around 26 miles from London.

It has all the necessary amenities such as a pub,

shop and a post office.

Just a few minutes away in the hamlet of Northall

stands our second property, which is Grade II listed

and dates right back to 1540.

-So...

-Wow.

-This is it.

How do you fancy living in a house from when Henry VIII was on the throne?

-Whoa! This looks amazing.

-Before we go in, a little quiz for you.

-What do you reckon this place was originally?

-Pub, inn.

-Yeah, coaching inn.

-It's been a coaching inn.

-Yeah.

-It's been a farmhouse.

-Right.

-Post office?

It hasn't been a post office, actually.

It was a house of ill-repute, by all accounts.

-Was it? Excellent!

-Any ghosts?

-Well, we'll find out, won't we?

I don't know if we will at this time of day.

-We'll be able to lay a few ghosts to rest.

-Lead the way.

Come on, let's go.

'Good to see they're both in high spirits about this property,

'but will it be big enough inside to keep them smiling?'

-Come on in.

-Thank you.

-Mind your head, OK?

BELL RINGS

That's a warning. Mind your head.

-Oh, wow!

-Good, isn't it?

-It's fantastic. Amazing place.

I think that's the first genuine happy smile I've seen from you.

-I wanted to say wow, but I haven't been able to.

-A feeling of space.

Yeah, definitely.

Lots to tell you about.

-200-year-old flooring.

-Amazing.

-Original beams.

A good-sized office through there,

-which doesn't have to be an office.

-I need an office.

-Right, handy.

-Lovely light and airy reception room.

-Yeah, that looks lovely.

Then this multi-fuel burner which heats the house through the winter.

-Fab!

-What do you think?

-Yeah, good.

-You've gone a bit quiet.

-I'm thinking.

-Go on, tell us what you're thinking.

-Fantastic room there with all the sunlight.

-Yeah.

-It feels spacious and much more right. Much more like us.

-OK, good.

You're saying all the right things and you almost are as well.

You might have two out of two.

'Well that sounds suspiciously like full marks to me.

'Can we keep it up, I wonder?'

You've got another good-sized reception room here

with the other side of the wood burner.

That's an addition from the '80s, which they use as a playroom.

-A great size.

-Yeah.

They use this in the winter as a reception room.

-In the summer they use that one.

-Cosy.

-More pretty, isn't it?

What did you say about the kitchen in the last property?

-Too small.

-Yeah. You're not going to say that here.

-OK.

-Ah, now this is a good-sized kitchen. This is lovely.

-It's great, isn't it?

Ah, fantastic.

-Isn't it amazing?

-Yeah.

-Pretty good.

-Yeah.

-Nice height ceiling.

-Yeah, I can walk under it.

-Light.

-Terrific.

-Fantastic.

-So you just ticked the box and said, "Yeah, fine."

-So far so good.

-A big tick in this box.

-Definitely. We love it.

Absolutely love it.

'So it's top marks downstairs,

'which really piles the pressure on upstairs.

'Can this house deliver? Well, I think so.

'There's three good-sized bedrooms with exposed timbers.

'One currently being used as a study.

'There's also a family bathroom with shower cubicle and three windows.

'Surely enough for light lovers, Robin and Michelle.

'But I've left the fourth and best bedroom till last.'

-Oh, wow! Did Anne Boleyn sleep in there?

-Last night apparently.

-She had a very comfortable sleep.

-Did she? Absolutely amazing!

The current owner says it's very, very romantic lying in bed -

don't worry, I'm not going to get rude on you -

with this nice, big fire there.

And Cupid over your head.

And your sound system here belting out Aled Jones' greatest hits.

-Absolutely, what else?

-Wouldn't that be lovely?

-Or Tina Turner.

Oh, thanks a lot! You had to go and spoil it, didn't you?

-What do you think?

-I think it's very unusual.

And look high up the ceiling is, Robin.

Might be a little difficult to appreciate that

when I'm out cold from hitting my head on that.

-Apart from that, it's a fantastic room.

-It is amazing.

-I'm glad you like it.

-Yeah.

'So that's probably as much high praise as we'll get from Robin.

'We're heading off back downstairs - Mind your head, Robin -

'to have a look at the potential for growing vegetables outside.

'There's about a third of an acre here with plenty of out-buildings

'for gardening equipment as well as two good-sized lawns

'but will that be enough?'

So this is as close as I can get to my friends in the field there.

-Would this be big enough for your vegetable plot?

-This bit here?

-Yeah.

Probably not, but there's plenty of other space around.

You've seen the plot now, basically. What do you think?

Absolutely fantastic. For me, it's pretty much as we'd like it to be.

-Yeah, an amazing house.

-We need to see if you can afford it, of course.

-Well, we can dream.

-You may not have to dream.

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

-495.

-£495,000, OK.

-I would say 500.

-500,000.

It's a kind of hopeful 500.

You're bang on the money. Well done. Take the rest of the day off.

-Oh, thank you.

-£500,000, which gives you money to do what you want.

-Yeah. I'm quite encouraged.

-Listen, you go and take it all in.

-OK.

Go and have a good look around and I'll catch up with you later.

-How's that?

-Perfect.

-I'll be out here sunbathing.

-Enjoy yourself.

-I will.

-OK.

Well, I think if it was up to Michelle,

we may have a sale on our hands.

She's gone round that property really being ruled by her heart.

But it's Robin. He's really concerned about the low beams

and I suppose quite rightly, being a six foot five man.

But I also get the impression

that our Robin isn't ready to fly the nest just yet.

The nest he's in, that is.

'So, well within their budget of £500,000,

'this property has four characterful bedrooms.

'A very spacious entertaining area. A large kitchen-diner.

'And a third of an acre of ground for growing Robin's veg.'

-Robin?

-Yeah.

-I've just found your workshop. Come and see this.

Yeah, look.

-Oh, crikey! This would do.

-This would do, wouldn't it?

-Old Land Rover wheel.

-It would be brilliant.

-Yeah, it would do.

-Yeah.

An office for me and a workshop for you. How cool is that?

-There's another building over there as well.

-Is there?

-Yeah.

Amazing.

'I thought the house was absolutely amazing.

'It's got so much about it.'

It's light, it's bright, it's very big.

It's so good, I'm kind of wondering if we've missed something

and there's something not right about it.

You seem to get so much for your money here. It's incredible.

I can't think of anything I don't like about it.

Tremendous. Fantastic house.

Sadly, we seem to have had a deja-vu with the doorways.

And some of them are very low.

Not a little bit low, but VERY low.

You took your time. I gave up on sunbathing. It got a bit nippy.

It is a little bit nippy now, yeah.

I'm not going to ask what you thought on the second look around.

Two very different properties today, so I think we'll call it a day,

go back to base and start again with joy in our hearts tomorrow.

-OK, very good.

-Come on.

-Excellent.

As evening falls over the Chiltern Hills,

it marks the end of an enlightening first day of house hunting.

Retired Robin and his business coach wife Michelle are looking to

improve her work-life balance with a move from Hereford to the Chilterns.

We've found what they don't like in a property, low beams top of the list, but coming up,

our mystery house could give them everything they want.

-Oh, wow, come and see this.

-That's a lot bigger than I thought.

Isn't it lovely?

And I have a spooky experience under the Chiltern Hills.

It's a brand new day and our search continues to find

Robin and Michelle their dream property here in the Chilterns.

They really loved the location of the first property yesterday

but not the house itself.

And even though the second location wasn't ideal,

Michelle did get quite excited about the house.

The big problem has been big Robin.

He keeps banging his head when he walks through any door,

so for the mystery property, we're going to give him a helmet(!)

If only life were that simple!

We're going to find out if they have set their minds on the Chilterns

and whether Michelle's heart can rule Robin's bruised head.

-Here we are, brand new day, fresh as daisies.

-Yes.

What do you hope the mystery property's going to be?

A small, detached castle on high ground with a lake

and perhaps ten acres would be fantastic.

-Yeah.

-Let me just tell you it's not that.

-Oh, OK.

-Now I am disappointed.

-Well, all will be revealed very shortly. We're close.

-Are we?

-Yes.

'For our third house,

'we think we've found exactly what our buyers are after in a property.

'To get the size garden they want for their budget,

'we have to move further up the M40 away from the Chilterns

'to the historic Warwickshire village of Ladbroke.

'It's home to a 13th century church

'and offers amenities like a pub and a village hall.

'While it's outside our search area some distance from the Chilterns,

'the mystery house is only ten minutes from the M40,

'useful for Michelle, although her commute will be much longer.

'It's a gamble but it will be worth it if we found the perfect home.'

The one thing you said to me was, "Don't want a thatched cottage."

-Yeah.

-Absolutely correct.

-It's not that then.

-It's this one.

-Ah, very good. That's a relief.

-A relief? This is it.

-It looks very nice.

-Yeah, great.

-Used to be a two-up, two-down.

1640 it dates to and the current owners have been here

for 32 years and have renovated and extended.

-OK.

-I must say it's absolutely immaculate inside.

-Is it?

-Yeah. Shall we go in?

-Let's go in.

-Come on.

I hope you're smiling at the other end.

'And I'm sure they will be when they get to see inside this cottage.'

-I like the way you gingerly walk into a room.

-Not quite sure.

-Step into the unknown.

-It is, a bit.

This is one of the reception rooms. There's another through there.

This is the eldest part of the house.

-As you can see, it's been really well done.

-It has.

-What do you think?

-I quite like it. It seems nice.

While you're there, why don't you pop your head round there.

OK, good idea.

Oh, wow! Come and see this.

That's a lot bigger than I thought.

-Isn't it lovely?

-Yeah, terrific room.

-This would suit us.

Also, this part of it feels quite snug.

-You've got that huge dining room table down there.

-That's lovely.

-I like it.

-It's done beautifully.

-You could move in straight away.

-You could.

So, this room seems to suit them.

I think the kitchen has potential to make them feel at home as well.

So, smiler...

-Yeah, I like it.

-Do you?

Yeah, I do. What do you think?

Yeah, it's great.

-And...

-It is quite small.

-It is small.

-If you didn't want to have this as an eatery...

-Take the table away.

And have this as one big kitchen.

-That's gorgeous.

-It is nice.

-Don't you think?

-It is lovely.

It's got the range, which heats the water in the house.

-It's a top of the range kitchen.

-I think it's lovely.

It is on the small side, but there's another plan.

Through there, there's an equally fantastic utility room,

-food preparation area.

-OK.

You could knock through.

That's definitely a possibility.

I like it.

I think that it's a workable kitchen.

There's also room for Michelle to work from home,

in a study off the main hall.

So it's looking good downstairs.

Robin hasn't hit his head once.

Let's see if he can keep it up as we go upstairs.

There are four good-sized bedrooms,

with features such as thumb-latched doors.

One of them even has space for an office,

as well as a double bed.

They all share the family bathroom,

but we're heading for where they might sleep.

-I was thinking of you here.

-Right. Oh, this is nice.

-Georgian windows. Again, very bright.

-It is really bright.

Not double glazed, so you can open the windows.

I know they use the expression "light and airy" a lot, but this is.

It is, isn't it. Yeah, it definitely is. It's a very airy room.

-Good ceiling height?

-Yes, excellent ceiling height.

Oh, she's spied it!

I was wondering how long it would take you to see that.

You've got storage all along this wall,

then you've got your own ensuite,

which I think you should look at.

-I take it I get the chest of drawers!

-One of the drawers.

Oh, wow, this is good!

Shower and a bath. It's nice and light.

-Absolutely. Shower for me, bath for you. Great.

-Wonderful.

-You've been smiling nearly all the way through, haven't you.

-I know.

-Which is a first for you.

-Yeah, definitely.

While they're all smiles, it's time to head out to the garden, to see

if it's large enough to meet Robin's vegetable-growing requirements.

Oh, my goodness!

-Nice, isn't it?

-This is amazing!

What I love about this garden,

you've got that fantastic seating area there,

and it's east-west, so you get the sun all the time.

The whole plot is quarter of an acre.

Lots of the plots of land around here are very large,

because the neighbours keep horses.

It is your typical shootin', huntin', fishin'.

-Do you think you'd like it?

-It's lovely. It's quiet.

So let's talk money. What do you reckon it's on the market for?

-450.

-Right, £450,000.

-550 I would say.

-£550,000? Big difference.

Why do you think 550?

Because, I think, there's a lot of house,

the grounds are nice,

where it's located is good, and it's to such a high spec.

-Why do you say 450?

-Because I like to get value for money.

-You do, don't you.

-I do.

Let me tell you, it's currently on the market for £550,000.

But it's been on the market for at 550 since Christmas,

so the current owner will take sensible offers.

That's good to know.

Anyway, go and have a look around,

find out exactly which doors you're going to bang your head on,

and I'll be around the front somewhere.

OK. Perfect.

-You get the coffee on.

-I might do, if you're a good boy.

-Go on, go and and enjoy it.

-OK.

So at £550,000, this property is £25,000 above their budget.

But if they really like it, then maybe there's a deal to be done.

It's got the four bedrooms they asked for,

loads of wardrobe space for Michelle.

A kitchen diner, with good potential for expansion,

and a third of an acre of garden for Robin.

House is great, yeah. Really liked it.

Love the garden. Would like there to be a flat area, without trees,

where I could grow vegetables.

And some concerns about geographical position.

I really like this house. It's got lots going for it.

The only thing I would change would be the location,

because it's not in the ideal spot.

I would like to move it a little closer to the part of the Chilterns we want to go to,

because we're actually outside of that, we're in Warwickshire.

If it were there, it would be perfect, and I'd be putting in an offer.

-Ah. You made it. No battling.

-No battling.

You've seen three very different properties.

I reckon we should reconvene and talk about them all, how's that?

-Perfect.

-That would be fantastic. Will it be somewhere they serve coffee?

You're still not a good enough boy!

The highest points of the Chiltern Hills are both near Wendover, in Buckinghamshire,

at Haddington hill and Coombe Hill,

both of which rise to over 850 feet.

As to the lowest, I have a fair idea about where that might be.

Underground.

The Dashwood Mausoleum stands close by St Lawrence's Church,

which was built in 1765 for Sir Francis Dashwood,

as part of his West Wycombe Estate.

It's a vast hexagonal monument, built of Portland stone and flint.

300 feet beneath it lie the caves of the notorious Hellfire Club.

The club was a select and secretive gathering of influential and wealthy 18th century gentleman,

including Government officials, such as the Earl of Sandwich,

and the artist William Hogarth.

Their meetings took place twice a month in this spooky setting.

Here to guide me on the descent through the quarter mile of tunnels is expert Lisa Sheehy.

This is Paul Whitehead's cave. Incredible character.

He was the steward and the secretary of the Hellfire Club.

-So he kept all the minutes of these notorious meetings.

-Right.

Just before he died he actually burned everything,

so hence we've got this gap of information as to what went on.

The urn that sits in there actually used to take his heart.

When he died, he left in his will £50 to Sir Francis, who was a great friend, to buy this urn,

to provide a housing for his heart, that he also left in his will to him.

Right. So the heart's in that urn?

It used to be. Unfortunately, it got stolen.

It was taken out and shown round groups of tourists,

and unfortunately one day it did go missing.

About 1829, we understand.

But then it goes on to the next chapter of Paul's story,

and he's seen walking the tunnels of the caves looking for his lost heart.

It's been nice talking to you!

The club was originally known as the Friars of St Francis of Wycombe,

a spin on mock religious ceremonies.

However, rumours abounded about black magic and debauchery,

which resulted in their Hellfire Club nickname.

-This is our banqueting hall.

-Wow!

-It's an incredible structure, isn't it.

-Isn't it just.

This is where the parties would have been held.

It's an amazing place. It's 40 feet wide.

We're about half way down the caves now.

So why have we got these tiny little rooms?

It's recorded there would have been curtains here.

They would have been used for the friars' private devotions.

They had a secret pact between them.

They were influential men.

By 1762 the majority of British Government was friars.

They had a pact that agreed what went on in the club stayed in the club.

These caves and tunnels were dug on the express orders of Sir Francis Dashwood,

by local workers, who were paid a shilling a day

to create this secret meeting place for him and his brotherhood of friars.

And the huge amount of chalky rubble they excavated was used to build what we know as the A40,

the road between High and West Wycombe.

Congratulations, you've spooked me.

We're part of the inner temple.

We are at the inner temple now. This is the heart of the caves.

And this is where the meetings allegedly took place.

We have some influential men surrounding us here.

we have Sir Francis Dashwood,

we've got Lord Sandwich, the first Lord of the Admiralty,

and we have John Wilkes,

who really brought down the club in the end.

What do you mean by that?

1762 was the time when English Government was mostly friars,

and of course we were at war with France.

1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed, and John Wilkes was against that,

so they became on opposite sides of the political sphere, and arguments started.

So then they started personal attacks on each other, which went on publicly in the media.

Really, although they were personal attacks,

what it represented was the fact that the secrecy of the club,

the bond they'd all had as brothers was then blown apart.

You've mentioned ghosts and the like quite a lot,

-has anything happened to you?

-A lot's happened in here.

-In here?

-Yeah.

There's lots of odd things, you know. Padlocks get left unlocked when we know we've locked them.

-Just odd things happen.

-Great.

I feel a bit spooked, do you?

It is a little bit spooky.

-Thank you very much.

-You're very welcome.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

After the club's demise, the caves fell into disrepair.

They reopened in the 1950s as a tourist attraction,

although the local vicar was heard to issue a warning about the eeriness of the place.

He certainly got that right!

It's great being back in the open air, but I really did enjoy that.

Now then, time to find out whether Michelle and Robin

have been enamoured by any of the properties that we've shown them.

Well, look at us, guys - on top of the world.

It's nice, isn't it?

-It's lovely.

-Absolutely beautiful view.

-Have you enjoyed it?

-Really enjoyed it.

-Yes, it's been good.

-Let's talk about the first property.

-Great location.

-Yes. Very good location.

-Just not the property we're looking for.

-How come?

-If I visited someone there, I'd think it was a really nice place for them to live.

-Right.

OK, the second property, you really liked the house itself?

Yes, the second one was a fantastic house for us.

The size of rooms were beautiful, it was unusual...

I know that you loved most of the house, actually,

but you were really blown over by the kitchen.

Yeah, terrific kitchen, yeah. Yeah, really good.

But again, the location wasn't as good as the first property.

No, the location wasn't good,

and because the principal reason for moving,

above and beyond anything else, is location,

if we compromise on location we might as well stay where we are.

So that is really crucial to the move.

Let's talk about the mystery property.

-A bit of a drive to that one.

-It was a mystery.

-A bit of a trip.

-A mystery why it was two counties away.

-But still...

-Fabulous house.

-It was, wasn't it?

-It was a really lovely...

-Furnishing all done with really good taste.

-I loved it.

-And also, you were so close to M40?

-Yes.

-Another 30 minutes up it.

-Yeah.

I suppose at this stage, we need to try and tick as many boxes as we can.

I think that house, again, if it was in a slightly different location,

we'd have put an offer in. It was fabulous.

The reason we showed you it

was because the further away from the perfect location...

-Yes.

-Absolutely.

-..the cheaper you'll make it,

but if that property was in the first location,

you would literally be paying £200,000 more for it.

Yes. So I think what we want to do from here on in

is have a good look and see if we can get the best of everything...

-..in the Chilterns.

-and so I think we have to go away

and talk about the compromises

and decide where the compromises will be, and then carry on looking,

but I think that we've really enjoyed looking at the houses.

I thought the house today was absolutely lovely and, actually, it heartened me.

That's why watch the programme, because we love looking at houses.

And although it was further away from where we wanted to be,

some of the houses we've seen I wouldn't have thought of looking at,

so it's opened up lots of avenues, so, actually, I'm quite excited.

Well, good. Well, I wish you all the best. It's been lovely meeting you.

-It's been lovely meeting you too.

-You've been great fun.

-And I hope you end up here one day.

-Thank you. I hope so too.

It's been great meeting Michelle and Robin.

I wish them well in their hunt to find their dream property

but I think that Robin is already living in his

and unless he finds an exact replica here, he won't budge.

The problem is, for their current budget,

I doubt this county will come up trumps.

So Michelle may be on that dreaded commute for some time yet.

I wish them well in their search.

I'll see you next time on Escape To The Country.

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