Kent Escape to the Country

This charming country pub was once the headquarters of Britain's most lethal and murderous smuggler gang.

Find out where I am in just a moment.

Today, I'm helping a project-loving retired couple find a beautiful home in the country.

And our first two houses go down a storm.

It's a stunning looking house in a lovely location.

What an astonishing house! I've never seen anything like it.

But then our mystery house really puts them in a spin.

-Oh, wow!

-Wow!

I'm actually speechless.

Today, I'm in the village of Hawkhurst in Kent.

And back in the 1700s, because of expensive tax on luxury goods

like tobacco, silk, brandy, Kent was awash with smugglers.

None more famous than the Hawkhurst Gang,

20 or so men who instigated a 20-year reign of terror, extortion and violence.

At the height of their criminality, they were using 500 horses

to transport 11.5 tonnes of contraband in one night.

But eventually, the law caught up with them and in 1749, they were all hanged.

Peace came back to Kent, and, as you're about to find out,

there's a lot more to this county than just smuggling.

Situated in the south-east of England, Kent is bordered

by East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London,

and boasts over 350 miles of coastline.

To the south of the county sits the white cliffs of Dover,

which tower above the English Channel.

These iconic chalk landmarks reach a height of more than 300 feet above sea level,

and over the centuries have been seen

as a symbolic protection against invasion.

Away from the coast, there's the city of Canterbury which is steeped in history

and has a skyline dominated by its cathedral dating back to 597 AD.

Kent is also famous for its fruit produce,

and it's said that the north of the county produces the best apples,

pears, plums and cherries in the world,

giving rise to Kent's reputation as the Garden of England.

Right now, the average price for a detached house in Kent

is £316,000, which is £61,000 above the national average.

Which sounds expensive, until you compare it to some of the Home County heavyweights

like Surrey or Buckinghamshire, where for the same sort of property,

you'd be paying £150,000 over the odds.

So, quite a good deal here in Kent, but let's take a look at what you could buy.

For £400,000, this three-bedroom former coach house in Graveney

could be yours.

There's a wonderful sense of character in the huge reception hall,

which continues in the double-aspect sitting room with its exposed beams.

The kitchen features a range cooker, and upstairs, there are number of pretty, country-style bedrooms.

For around the £600,000 mark, there is this modern barn in Lenham,

which was constructed using timbers from the original building that previously stood here.

These feature in the vast sitting room and the kitchen.

Outside, there's a patio and mature borders set within the two-and-a-half acres of land.

And if your budget can stretch to £825,000,

this Georgian five-bedroom detached house in Minster could be just right.

Parts of the house date back to the 18th century

and it has its own indoor swimming pool.

There are lovely high ceilings in the bedrooms,

and the bathroom features a rather splendid roll-top bath,

with a window that provides views of the two-and-a-half acres of land.

A stunning array of Kentish properties there, but let's meet

the lucky couple who are planning to escape to this part of the country.

Vic, a former director of education, and Terri, an ex-retail manager,

have been together for 15 years

and have four grown-up daughters between them.

Making the most of their retirement, they took off round the world for two years.

But now, they're firmly back in the UK

and have set their hearts on making a long dreamed of move to the countryside.

We want to move to the country because we're both very much outdoor people.

We enjoy gardening.

I've got an allotment, so we enjoy growing our own vegetables.

We also would like to have some hens and perhaps a little smallholding.

We currently live in a town just outside Southampton,

and we're on a busy road and the flightpath to Southampton Airport.

So, we're looking for somewhere a little bit quieter in the country.

Family ties have been a key factor in their considerations,

as Terri wants to be closer to her elderly parents.

But they're at also keen to put their own personal stamp

on any property by taking on a project.

When we move, we're looking for something that we could leave our mark on,

rather than something that would be all done.

It would have to be something very unusual if it was a house that was, you know,

a finished product, if you like. We really want to make our own mark.

Initially, Vic and Terri's retirement saw them running

a ski chalet in France.

That experience provided them with a whole host of skills,

and they're keen to utilise them when they start the next chapter of their lives.

When we were skiing, we were actually running a ski chalet,

so we were entertaining eight guests

and we actually liked that type of environment.

So, a bed and breakfast or farm shop where we were selling the produce

that we were growing would be quite nice.

When we move, we want to carry on a very active lifestyle that we've got at the moment,

and we don't really like to describe this as retirement, do we?

We call this a sort of life-changing opportunity.

As for the rest of the wish list, it seems our buyers are very flexible.

We really like properties with character,

so we like the inglenook fireplaces, we like beams,

we like low ceilings, but we also like something that's ultramodern.

We're sort of really open-minded on our next move. Ideally, we'd like three bedrooms,

a good-size kitchen, we definitely would have at least an acre.

Outbuildings, definitely a garage...

to put cars in for Vic to tinker around in.

Just one more thing to consider, and that's the finances.

Ideally, our budget would be £650,000,

but if there's the potential for a business opportunity,

we could probably stretch to 800,000.

After two gap years, Vic and Terri have been lured back

to the Garden of England, to Kent, to put down their roots again.

I'm slightly worried about how relaxed their wish list is, however,

because they seem to like everything, every style of house,

every property, and sometimes lots of hidden no-nos appear as we go on the house tours.

But they do have a very healthy budget -

£800,000 if we can find them the perfect country business.

So, let's get stuck in.

But not with a cooking apple.

Vic and Terri want to move to Kent to be nearer her parents in Sevenoaks.

So, we'll be looking for properties within striking distance of there.

I'll be showing them three fantastic homes,

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

The final offering is of course our mystery house,

a proposition that will push their imagination to the limit.

We were quite struck by the fact that you seemed very relaxed

about what sort of style you wanted. What are your absolute no-nos?

I suppose the no-go would be something that's absolutely finished.

-Right.

-But not necessarily, because it could be a wow, and the mystery house could...

You've given me loopholes everywhere I look. It's marvellous!

It could be a complete wow, and we'd say, "Oh, this beats having to do it up for the next two or three years."

But usually, the houses that we've bought, we like to make our mark on them.

And the business side?

-Are you sort of committed to the business side of it?

-We are, yes.

I mean, a bed and breakfast, which everyone seems to want to do,

seems to be the best idea because it's one that you can pick up and drop down.

A B&B was, you know, our first option,

-but we're also interested to see what else there could be.

-Yeah.

Well, we've got lots of lovely houses lined up, so you'd better like them all!

-I'm sure we will. We're excited.

-Come with me.

-Lead on.

-Lovely.

Vic and Terri have a budget starting at £600,000 for just a home,

but up to £800,000 for a property with added business potential.

However, they have a very wide brief in terms of style,

and are happy to view old or new houses.

They would also like three bedrooms, a large kitchen for entertaining,

a garage for Vic to tinker in,

and enough land to keep chickens and grow their own veg.

We're kicking off our property search in Norton,

which is around 50 minutes from Terri's parents in Sevenoaks.

In this idyllic rural spot,

our buyers will be able to have a pint at the local pub

after a spot of cricket on the village green.

This is apple-growing country, and it's no surprise

that the charming Church of St Mary stands in an orchard.

Our first property is a substantial house

at the end of a quiet village lane.

So, house number one, here it is.

-Wow!

-Wow!

-Stunning.

Tucked down a little cul-de-sac, very quiet.

Parts of it, the bit that we're looking at here, actually,

dates back from 1490.

It's very interesting.

It's a stunning-looking house in a lovely location.

-So let's go and have a look.

-Lovely.

'As with many country properties,

'I'm taking them round the back of the house,

'straight into a room which has been beautifully finished.'

Into the kitchen.

Lovely, really nice.

No room to eat, though. I'd have a table, but...

Well, it goes straight into this, which is a sort of breakfast-dining room.

-Oh, right.

-Which you can have a look at later.

The units are very, very nice.

Nice worktop.

Granite worktop with a nice big range.

-Mmm. Good quality units as well, and, er...

-Yeah.

You know, this wood, the wood finish, is particularly attractive.

The owners have been here about six years, and they've done a lot of work,

they've completely renovated it from top to toe.

Yes, it's been done beautifully, hasn't it?

Well, the layout of the house is kind of, it's... Because of its historic constraints, so...

This is the older part.

'Off the kitchen is a handy utility room, with the same oak finish,

'but now let's take a look at the heart of this home.'

Through here, we are in the kind of historic centre of the house.

This is really old, isn't it?

-Just about stand up.

-You can!

-THEY LAUGH

-I'm all right. Just about.

-Just about.

-On the beam.

This is magnificent.

-Yeah.

-All the original panelling's still in place.

-Mmm.

-Which is really nice.

And through there, there's a very lovely downstairs bathroom with a shower.

-It's got lots of, sort of, nooks and crannies and stuff.

-Yeah.

-It's quite a surprise to come into this, isn't it?

-Yeah.

You know, in so many houses, all of this woodwork would have been taken out.

-Yeah.

-It's been left in here, and all the wood panelling has been left up.

And this is the kernel of the house, you know, everything grows out of this,

which would have been the original little cottage here, around the hearth.

-Mmm.

-Oh, I think this is absolutely wonderful.

-It looks like it's a working fire, too.

-Yeah. Absolutely.

-Which is really nice.

-Good.

This is a log burner, and there's another one in your sitting room,

which is through here.

'On this floor, tucked behind the staircase,

'is a dining room, which is currently being used as an office.

'But I want to see what they make of the bright reception room.'

See, this would have been a 19th century extension.

Oh, wow.

So this is the more modern part of the house.

What do you think?

It's a light... It's extremely light in here, isn't it?

It's got windows on three sides.

And a good aspect, a good view of the gardens.

I think our first impressions are, it's a little on the smaller size.

-It was originally two rooms, so you should count your blessings!

-THEY LAUGH

They took out the separating wall, which had a fireplace in the middle.

They've done it really effectively.

I think they've done a super job on it.

Right, I detect a little dip in your enthusiasm...

Well, only that...

No, I think we would be churlish if we were saying

that we didn't think it was a lovely house,

and always it's going to be a compromise,

and...and maybe this is the compromise, this...the sitting area,

because the other rooms are... I think are stunning so far.

Upstairs you have four bedrooms, all good size.

Let's go and explore them.

'There's been a measured response to this room,

'so I wonder what they're going to say about the bedrooms upstairs.

'At the top of the landing

'is a stunning modernised family bathroom.'

The bathroom here, but we're going up here.

'Then it's up another couple of steps

'to reach the room where they would sleep.'

So...this is the biggest bedroom.

The master bedroom.

None of them have en suites, though.

No.

It's a little bit disappointing in a house this size.

Well you do have, next door, you have some steps up to a little, er...boy's room.

-Mmm.

-Erm...not a little boys' room...

-THEY LAUGH

..but you could make it a little boys' room if you wanted to turn that into an en suite.

-SHE LAUGHS All right, OK.

-Of course, then you'd sacrifice a...

-A bedroom.

-A bedroom.

-But you said you only wanted three.

-Yeah.

-This is a lovely room.

-Yeah.

-It's got super views out onto the garden as well.

-Yes.

A lot of the house does revolve around the views of the garden,

cos the gardens are quite spectacular.

-I look forward to seeing it.

-They're stunning from here, so what are they like from outside?

Mmm. Instant gratification, I'll show you.

Lovely.

'Also on this floor are two spacious double bedrooms,

'both with exposed timber beams.

'Outside this property is a double garage situated across the driveway.

'And the entire house sits in an acre and a half of garden

'that I think will especially appeal to Terri.'

You're clearly going to be busy in the garden. Is there enough in the house for you to do?

I don't think so.

I think...

It's very much done, I mean, I don't think there's anything we'd change.

But first you need to know the price.

Or rather, I need to know your guess for the price.

Mmm. Now, then.

Who's going to go first?

-Go on, then.

-Looks like it's you.

-Well, looks like me!

-THEY LAUGH

Er... Probably about 625.

My inclination is to say just under 600.

So... 599?

599. OK.

So this house is on the market for 695.

-695? Wow.

-Really?

-So it's up above your budget.

-Above. Mmm.

But the owner has made signs

that she would be happy to sell it in your budget.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-So there's always space for negotiation on these country properties.

-Yeah.

Have a look round inside, see what you think, again, there's bits we didn't show you,

-so have a wander round, and then I'll meet you at the front when you're done.

-Yeah.

-And then we can go and look at the next one.

-OK.

-Right, thank you very much.

-In you go.

-Let's go.

On the market for £695,000, this Grade II listed property

gives them a spacious family home which requires no work.

It features four reception rooms, four bedrooms,

outside, there's a large garden with a well-established vegetable patch,

and of course, that double garage.

If I had a reservation, it's about the fact that it's been done too well.

There's nothing in there for us to do, but overall, I thought the house is lovely.

I love the allotment and the greenhouse.

I can see myself pottering around there for hours.

Beautiful apples, there's a lot of Bramleys.

-Mmm.

-You'd better start baking right now!

All good?

So you're going to pull the door behind you,

we're going on to the next house.

-Right, love.

-Right. Lead on.

The number of farm shops in the UK

has blossomed in the last decade to over 1,000,

and the Kent countryside is home to around 100 of these small outlets,

dedicated to stocking local produce.

As Vic and Terri have toyed with the idea of running one themselves,

earlier in the week, we arranged for them to meet Helen Baird,

who quit life as a City lawyer, and now runs her own village store.

Helen aims to keep food miles to a minimum

by sourcing as much of her produce as she can from a ten-mile radius.

She sells a wide range of products,

including meat, veg and home-made cakes.

Helen, I'm really interested in the range of produce that you've got.

Well, we like to have continuity on the shelves,

because we can't compete unless we do,

but, um, we're just changing seasons, so we have lots of new things that are coming through.

And there's no waste from the shop,

as everything gets recycled in one way or another.

Now these sausages are actually from about a mile from here.

And we feed the pigs

on our scraps of fruit and veg which is past its best.

-And they come back as sausages.

-Brilliant.

-VIC AND TERRI LAUGH

-Complete the cycle.

-Yes, recycling at its best.

-VIC CHUCKLES

The area has a great food network,

and to see where Helen sources her sausages,

Vic and Terri went a mile down the road to the farm,

to meet local pig farmer, Carrie Anning.

These are my pigs, this is Honeysuckle and Bluebell, which are saddleback pigs.

Want to give them some food?

-Love to!

-There you go. There you go. They like a marrow.

-Mmmm.

So tell me, why are these rare breeds?

These are rare breed pigs, basically because they grow slower.

Um...so they don't mature as quickly,

and a rarer breed pig generally will only go in to breed twice a year.

Small producers like Carrie

are vitally important in maintaining the survival of good local produce.

And it's not just the pigs that need support.

20 minutes away in Sutton Valence

are the orchards of fruit grower, Roz Day,

who's been making award-winning juice and cider here

for the last five years.

Here we have part of today's harvest.

Now, these are called bins,

and we've just worked out that probably there are about

in the region of 16,000 pears in these bins.

-Wow!

-So how many pickers would you actually have for this amount of pears?

We've got five pickers, and they'll each pick about five bins a day.

-Wow.

-So it comes to about 25 bins a day.

-And if you'd like to try some...

-Yes!

-Please have a glass.

-Thank you!

-Love to!

Kent was once known for its wealth of orchards,

but these have been in decline

due to the influx of cheaper imported fruit.

Oh, that is really nice. Can you taste the honey?

Absolutely delicious.

It's small farmers like Roz who are working to reverse that decline.

She has 30 acres of orchards, yielding 150 tons of pears per year.

But for now it's time to get back to the house hunt,

and see if we can tickle our buyers' tastebuds for a potential home.

For our second property, we've travelled to the village of Marden,

which is 40 minutes east of Terri's parents in Sevenoaks.

Around 11 miles from Marden is the town of Cranbrook,

a peaceful location

full of the county's renowned white weatherboarded houses

and winding medieval streets.

There's a charming old-world feel here, with no chain stores

and just an eclectic mix of independent shops.

Cranbrook also features Union Mill,

which is the tallest smock mill in England

and looms over the high street.

Set near a road, the house I'm showing them

is an amazing property with an exterior in true Kentish style.

OK, house number two!

-This is a VERY quirky house.

-Wow.

THEY CHUCKLE

Essentially, you do have two houses.

You have a house from the 1600s

and then stuck on the front

you have a Georgian property,

and they're literally just stuck together.

You'll see this when we walk round inside.

And to give them

a little bit of continuity,

they've put on this very typical Kent weatherboarding.

And as with many grand houses built by the rich farmer,

it used to be on a busy cart track,

which is now, sadly, quite a busy road.

-Yeah.

-So a little bit of traffic noise, which is an obvious downside.

Mm-hm.

Let's go inside.

'First up, the kitchen, the most important room

'for keen cook Terri.'

-So, you really have to mind your head here.

-Yeah. Oh, yeah!

This is definitely a working

-farmhouse kitchen.

-It certainly is.

-Superb.

Look, they've even cut the table round the island.

-It's brilliant! What a clever idea.

-It's very tailor-made, this house.

What's lovely, I think, are the bones of this property,

although some of them are slightly crooked.

You've got this amazing proper old inglenook -

this would have been the original from the 1600s -

the big beam across the top

and a log burner, which throws out loads of heat.

The old bones continue through here.

'Next door to the kitchen is a splendid living room.'

-Much more headroom here, but equally old.

-Wow.

Quite a few beams here!

-Yeah.

-This is lovely.

So, this is obviously still the Tudor part, 1600s.

Very unusual that it's got such ceiling height,

especially when you compare it

with the kitchen,

where the ceiling height is probably half this in places.

It's a stunning room, this one.

-It's definitely got the character that we like.

-Yeah.

Yeah, I can see our furniture in here.

Again, what's curious about it is that this is a very big...

17th-century cottage, farmhouse,

but at the front...

..this is very different.

Oh, wow! Oh!

This is very grand.

So, we didn't notice you carrying us off to another house,

to house number three.

-It's so abrupt, the change of style.

-It is.

-What an astonishing house.

I've never seen anything like it.

So, you'll know that this room is pretty much exactly mirrored

on the other side, with a lovely big staircase,

which takes us upstairs.

'On the first floor are two large double bedrooms

'and a modernised family bathroom.

'But I'm taking them to the master bedroom,

which is in the old part of the property.'

Back in the 16th century!

-So...

-Back in time!

-Completely back in time.

-Yeah.

More beams.

-And a little en suite through there.

-So an en suite as well?

-Mm-hm.

That's a plus, then, because I didn't think it would here.

Yeah, they wangled one into what was a cupboard, I imagine.

No, this is a nice room. Lots of storage.

A little sort of dressing-up...

platform there.

"Unique" isn't the word for this place!

I've never seen anything like it.

-Mm.

-That strange sensation of going from one period...

..you know, jumping 200 years, 300 years.

Shall we do it again?

Is this Doctor Who, or is it...?

'No need for a TARDIS here.

'A few steps up a half-landing takes us to another large bedroom,

'this time in the Georgian part of the house.'

-Out the other end!

-Back again.

A few more centuries.

-Oh!

-They're lovely, these arches.

-I love the arches.

-Big alcoves.

-Yeah.

Lovely-size bedroom.

There's lots of space without being, you know, without being too big.

There are four bedrooms.

Three are, as you say, really good. One is smaller and more...

wobbly. Got a very slopey floor.

But it's a very unusual property.

Definitely got a lot of potential.

Well, if you think that,

wait till you see the potential in the garden!

'Outside, there's a large expanse of well-tended lawn

'and the garage they asked for.

'But I'm keen to show them

'a building in the garden which could provide

'the business opportunity they wanted.'

So...

-Wow!

-Very sweet.

-It's VERY sweet.

It's a sort of self-contained...

Well, whatever you want it to be. An annexe for your parents.

-Mum and Dad, yeah.

-A granny annexe.

Or, erm... Or a holiday let.

Mm-hm. You've got one big bedroom upstairs with a double bed

and a little toilet upstairs, and there's a bathroom down here.

Well, let's go outside and talk about money, then.

-Oh, dear...

-Yes...

'Well, hopefully they won't need to be despondent,

'but there is only one way to find out.'

-So, you get the full view of this hybrid beast.

-Amazing.

Absolutely amazing house.

What do you think it all costs?

I think it's round about...

850,000.

And I think...erm...

775?

Split the difference.

It's on for 800,000.

Wow!

-So, that's the price...

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-..they're asking.

I think that's actually very fair.

Have a look around,

-and I'll see you at the front.

-Thank you!

'For £800,000,

'this fascinating property more than delivers on their wish list.

'There is a large farmhouse-style kitchen AND dining room,

'which should provide enough room for entertaining.

'It has four bedrooms plus a detached cottage in the garden

'which could make a ready-made business for them.'

It's the most amazing house I think I've ever seen!

Enormous potential and not a lot of money needing spent on it

to bring it up to the sort of thing that we'd be interested in.

And I could really see us putting our mark on it

and being very comfortable.

Guys? A-ha, there you are.

-We're here.

-Thank you.

-Can I drag you out?

-Just about. Dragging and kicking!

-That's a good sign.

So, two houses down. Time to have a little reflection.

'As the sun sets over the Kent countryside,

'day one of our property search draws to a close.

Former director of education Vic

and his wife Terri, an ex-retail manager, are hoping to use

their experience running chalets

to find a home with business potential in the countryside.

So far, out of the two properties they've seen,

it's the quirky nature of house number two

that's been their favourite.

This is lovely. I think this is really us.

'But I might be about to change all that

'when I show them our mystery property.'

How astonishing is that?!

'And I get to walk in some very famous political footsteps.'

He always insisted there was a Dundee cake on the table,

otherwise he wouldn't sit down.

Day two of our property search, and I have to say,

I was quite worried yesterday

about the road outside the second property.

But Vic and Terri are incredibly positive about everything.

We thought that maybe they were just being nice

and actually they had this hidden agenda of no-nos,

but they see the best in every house we've shown them.

So I think...

..they're going to love the mystery house.

So, we're off to see the mystery house.

What do you think it will be?

Well, we've gone from perhaps just a barn

to I think it possibly could be a shop, a business

already set up with living accommodation.

Potentially falling down!

How would you feel about that,

if we were to give you something that required lots and lots of work?

-Oh, I think we'd be excited about that.

-Oh, yes, yeah.

Well, I'm not showing them a ruin,

but they will have to use their imaginations

for our mystery property.

It's situated in Chislet on the North Kent coast,

around an hour away from Sevenoaks.

The nearest hub for amenities is the seaside resort of Reculver

that became popular in the 1930s,

and the most famous landmarks here are the towers -

known as the Twin Sisters - which are all that remains

of a church demolished in the 19th century.

The property I'm showing them is a real eye-opener

and I'm hoping they'll understand just why I wanted them to see it.

So.

-Ha-ha!

-Oh, wow!

Oh, God. This is stunning.

Absolutely.

How astonishing is that?

As you can see, it's a building site so we've got all our gear.

It's still being built - it's not actually on the market yet.

-And this is a completely new steel-frame construction.

-OK.

It's a work of art.

It's more than a work-in-progress, it's just fantastic.

Are you good at walking round building sites

and imagining what goes where?

-Oh, yes.

-Oh, yes.

-Oh, yes!

-THEY LAUGH

Right, well, I'm going to have to ask you to put these hats on.

Well, that's an improvement for me. THEY LAUGH

Let's go.

'I'm glad this property has gone down so well,'

as I think this extraordinary building offers Terri and Vic

an amazing residential home AND a tremendous business opportunity.

I'm taking you straight into the master bedroom...

-Wow.

-..because you have four bedrooms.

It's obviously on one level, this bit.

-You have four bedrooms, this is the master.

-The view!

Because of this amazing view.

-Stunning view out over the sea.

-Yeah.

You've got the Reculver Towers,

which are the ruins you can see on the horizon.

But what's lovely about it, I think,

is all the finish is so beautifully done.

It's lovely green oak throughout.

-And no expense spared.

-No expense spared.

Let's look at the main room.

It's back along the corridor, which is the spine of the house

and holds three double bedrooms, but we'll take a look

at the impressive double-height reception room.

-This is a fabulous room.

-Gosh.

-Huge.

-Oh.

-I can't believe it.

-Pretty spectacular, isn't it?

-Fabulous room.

-Have you ever had anyone cry? Cos I'm actually moved.

-Aw...

I think it's lovely. It's absolutely...

What is it you...?

The whole feel of the house, the area...

I think it's just really, really nice.

It's a stunning house with some fabulous touches.

We haven't been to the...

to the windmill yet.

Let's look at the kitchen.

Vic and Terri have said they wouldn't mind quirky,

and what could be more unusual than an octagonal kitchen

set in a windmill?

Now, this...is the windmill.

-Wow.

-So exciting!

-Oh-ho!

And as the plans stand, what you're going to have

is you're going to have a transparent, glass-covered walkway

that goes from the sitting room

up into what's planned to be the kitchen.

Oh, I... I'm actually speechless.

-How are you with heights?

-Oh, good.

-Oh, good.

That's what I wanted to hear.

Another option for our buyers could be for Terri's mother

to come and live with them - especially if they gave her a room

in the main part of the house while keeping the rest for themselves.

Time to show them what could be their bedroom

at the top of the windmill, which will be finished off

with sails and dark timber weatherboarding.

Until the house is completed,

we have to access the top room from the outside,

and there are four storeys to climb.

Give your hand.

-Thank you.

-Nearly there.

Ooh!

Come on in.

Mind this big gap.

Ooh! Quite deep.

So...

A room with a view.

Yeah. This will be a big glass panel.

These'll be windows.

-I can see the bed here.

-This has got to be a bedroom.

It's got to have something up here, something special.

So the developer has it that this is actually a sitting room

and underneath is a small room which will be a library and then,

underneath again, a bedroom or a study.

Let's talk price. What do you think it's actually on the market for?

Erm, 900,000.

Out of our price bracket.

And I think it's right at the top as well, so I'm going to say 850.

Just because I want it, so...

SHE LAUGHS

It's on the market for £795,000.

Ooh, wow!

THEY LAUGH

How are we doing here?

I'm really bowled over.

I didn't think you would come this close to something

that we really are very excited about.

I think it's fantastic.

Well, we're going to have to make our way down.

And we can take it from there.

Priced at £795,000,

the main building in this unique home

has a wonderful double-height reception room

and a total of four double bedrooms.

Attached by a glass walkway is the windmill,

where the kitchen and breakfast room will be.

And above that, a study and further sitting-room,

all with stunning views.

I can't believe that they've found something that's an original piece!

It's absolutely, really...

Totally unique, yes. Absolutely stunning.

Hat hair! Hat hair. You got hat hair? You don't have hat hair.

No, I think I'd like to leave my hat on!

Well, time to leave the worksite, I'm afraid.

You excited?

BOTH: Very excited. Yep.

Pleased with the mystery house?

-Very, very pleased.

-Gold star?

Double gold star.

Excellent. Come with me.

Kent, as a county, is well-known for its superb architecture,

and has an astonishing 17,229 listed buildings entries

However, perhaps one of the most characterful and colourful

is this unique, originally Elizabethan manor house,

which was home

to one of the country's greatest statesmen, Winston Churchill.

Churchill made Chartwell House,

here in Westerham, his home from 1924 to his death in 1965.

It was his private retreat from the world of politics.

I've come here to meet the house and collections manager, Alice Martin,

to find out more about this great man and his love of this property.

Alice, so this is Churchill's family home.

Yes, this is where he raised his family,

and they moved here in the '20s.

Why did he pick this one? It's not the most, sort of, imposing.

He fell in love with it because of its amazing views

over the Weald of Kent.

He bought this house in 1922

and did not tell his wife until after he'd bought it.

Clementine never really liked the house, not like Winston did.

She knew it was a bit too much for them

and it would get them into financial trouble.

-And did it?

-It did. They had to put it on the market a few times.

It was eventually saved for Winston by a group of friends and admirers

who actually purchased it, with the proviso

he could live here for the rest of his life.

The central section of the house

is a hunting lodge that dates back to the 1500s,

with the wings on the end added in the Victorian era.

Alice, this is a beautiful room. It's very 1930s.

Churchill bought the house, and had it hugely renovated.

So, this is a '20s extension.

Oh, it's beautiful, because you can see the whole view.

He bought the house for the view. That's what he fell in love with,

and they would've spent a lot of time in here. Having tea.

He always insisted there was a Dundee cake on the table

otherwise he wouldn't sit down.

Winston and Clementine loved entertaining

and the dining room is very much the heart of the house.

The rooms Churchill added all have large windows

to take advantage of the views across the Weald of Kent.

And who, famous, would've sat around this table?

Let's get a roll-call of names.

Obviously, a lot of the generals during the Second World War.

-Einstein visited.

-That's a big name!

Sadly didn't sign the visitors' book, which is a great shame.

Charlie Chaplin came here. He did sign the book. Yes.

The great and the good!

Churchill was a prolific writer, who relied on his books

and journalism to provide an income all his life.

He wrote in this study.

He did most of his work standing up at the desk.

He liked to pace backwards and forwards

and he dictated to either a machine or a secretary.

Really? And is it full of, are there gifts?

It seems like a very modest family home.

It doesn't seem like a big, stately home.

It is, but everywhere you look, there's something.

We're standing on a carpet which was a gift to Churchill

from the Shah of Persia, for his 69th birthday.

It actually used to have tassels round the outside,

but as I said, he liked to pace up and down,

and he actually used to trip over them,

so he cut them off with scissors.

-He cut of the Shah's tassels?

-He did, yes. Indeed.

Churchill was also an enthusiastic painter,

and Chartwell holds over 170 of his works.

He retreated into this world later in life,

after he was forced to resign from the Cabinet.

There's a huge number of pictures. Are they part of the National Trust?

Some things belong to the National Trust.

Others belong to private lenders to us.

The copyright of the images belongs to Churchill Heritage,

which is administered by the family.

So, he was a great painter, and this was therapy for him, wasn't it?

It was. He came to it quite late in life.

When he was about 40,

he had a disastrous event happened to him,

the Dardanelles campaign, which he was partly blamed for.

And then, it really knocked him back,

and he thought it might actually end his career,

and it was suggested that it might be therapeutic to do painting.

He needed painting as a solace to keep his mind active.

Chartwell offers a fascinating glimpse into the private life

of one of Britain's greatest statesmen.

And as Vic and Terri are keen history buffs,

this could be just one of the many historic houses

they'd like to visit when they make their move to Kent.

But for now, it's time to find out

whether any of our properties have hit the mark.

Well, the first house in many ways was picture-perfect

and nearly perfectly ready to move in.

My only reservation for that one was possibly the land.

I would like perhaps a little bit larger.

But that was the only thing I could fault it on.

-It was very nice, wasn't it?

-It was a fantastic house.

It had all of those really interesting features.

The main reception area with the wood panelling.

It was a stunning house.

And as Terry said, we could have moved in tomorrow.

But the issue for us was, it really was a bit too perfect.

There was really nothing for us to do. It would've been difficult,

other than change the colour -

that's probably the only thing we could've done.

The second house, there were lots of things you could do to this.

What about you living there? Was it an option?

The options are all there. As far as a bed and breakfast is concerned,

we couldn't see where we could fit the en suites into those rooms.

So lots of concerns,

until we got to the mystery house, where suddenly the sun came out.

THEY LAUGH

Certainly did. And a tear!

Yeah, I think we were both blown away.

So, it's quite an unusual property. How do you think you would use it?

It is very unique, and the mill, itself,

I think would be a very nice self-contained unit for holiday lets.

-So, lots of options.

-Lots of options.

-What happens next?

We've already started talking to the builder,

because we've got lots of ideas.

Wow!

You've practically moved in?

Almost, yes. We could be in for Christmas.

I'm assuming that the mystery house was your favourite.

Absolutely. Yeah.

The mystery house just blew us away.

It took us into an area that we didn't think for one moment

that we would have been interested in. I mean, geographically.

Best of luck.

Thank you so much!

What a lovely couple Vic and Terri were.

I was a bit worried that they wanted so many different things

in the beginning of the show,

except "not being too far away from Sevenoaks",

and all of our properties WERE far away from Sevenoaks.

But it did open their eyes to bits of Kent they hadn't looked at,

and that turned out to be a very good thing.

So, if you've fallen in love with rural Britain,

make sure you come back next time, for Escape to the Country.

Vic and Terri remained keen on the mystery house,

but are waiting with bated breath for it to be finished

before they decide whether to make an offer.

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