Pembrokeshire Escape to the Country

Welcome to today's Escape To The Country.

Now, we often say that an Englishman's home is his castle,

but can you imagine living in this one? But where are we,

and what other dark and mysterious tales does it hold?

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

On today's show, I'll be helping a property-developing couple

move to the country and finally find a house that they can live in.

We get off to a great start.

I'm really chuffed at the way this is going, I have to say.

-This is going too well!

-Well...

Then, at the mystery house, our buyers say the word we always long to hear.

-Sold.

-THEY LAUGH

Well, today, we're in Pembrokeshire in west Wales,

and these are the glorious ruins of Carew Castle.

Now, since it was begun by the Normans,

it's been much extended and embellished,

but it all came to a crashing end in the English Civil War.

Unusually, this castle was held by the Royalists.

Eventually, they were defeated, and the castle fell into a pretty ruinous state.

All the inhabitants have gone, it is said, with one exception - the ghost of Lord Roland Rhees,

who it's thought still walks the ramparts with his pet ape, Satan.

Fact or fiction?

Well, you never really know, but there's a lot more to this county

than tall tales of ghosts, apes and old lords.

Looking out over the Irish Sea,

Pembrokeshire is bordered by neighbouring Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.

Over a third of the county falls within the Pembrokeshire National Park,

and takes in much of its coastline,

from the sweeping beaches around Tenby,

to St David's, dominated by its 14th-century Bishop's Palace

and its cathedral.

St David's itself has always proved a major draw for the area,

being a site of pilgrimage for the last 1,500 years.

Indeed, in the 12th century, it was a rival even to the city of Rome.

And these days, Pembrokeshire as a whole still proves popular,

attracting 4.2 million visitors a year,

keen to enjoy its stunning coast and countryside.

Now, of the three counties that make up west Wales -

Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion -

Pembrokeshire is by far the most expensive.

Your average detached will set you back around about £218,000.

But the reasons, well, they're obvious.

This stunning coastline and the lovely, rural way of life attract

people here in their thousands, not just for holidays, but also to live.

So, if you fancy a slice of Welsh tranquillity,

Pembrokeshire is a good bet.

For just under £290,000,

what about this spacious cottage in the coastal village of Moylegrove?

The exposed stone wall is a real focal point of the lounge/diner,

and its three bedrooms upstairs are light and bright,

with lovely views over the attractive garden and countryside beyond.

Or for just short of £600,000, there's this three-bedroom

stone barn conversion near Mathry, which comes with three holiday lets.

They're all modernised inside, but maintain character features

such as wooden floors and exposed stone walls.

Outside, the gardens offer stunning sea views of the North Pembrokeshire coast.

For those with deep pockets,

this Grade II listed farmhouse near Strumble Head is priced at £840,000.

Its airy rooms feature huge sash windows and impressive fireplaces.

And there are fantastic views over the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Well, as you can see, the Pembrokeshire property market rarely disappoints,

which of course is exactly why today's buyers want to be here.

For them, life in this part of the world could be a dream come true.

Builder David and sales director Alison

live in Stourbridge in the West Midlands.

In the last nine years, they ploughed their energies

into renovated properties, the most recent being their current

three-bedroom detached home, which they share with their rescue dogs.

But even though they've loved the challenge,

they're ready to leave it all behind them and build a new life and means of income

close to the shores of Pembrokeshire.

I think a move to the coast...

-It would give us a better quality of life.

-Yeah.

And we're not getting any younger now, should we say.

We need to start building a business that will take us through to our retirement, really -

holiday accommodation crossed with somewhere beautiful to live.

And their ties to Pembrokeshire have strengthened over many years.

'We're down there at least four times a year.'

I actually started going down there in the mid-1970s

as a child with my family.

We find it very dog-friendly down there. The people are fantastic,

and it feels like it's more of a home-from-home every time we do visit,

so that's made us want to settle in the area, really.

David and Alison are happy to put in the hard work

in order to get a perfect home and holiday-let business.

But, they are fixed on finding a character farmhouse-style property

with countryside views in a semi-rural location.

What's more, they have a detailed wish list of what the house needs to deliver.

An ideal property would have a big living kitchen

with a range cooker, which would be ideal.

Open fires or woodburning stoves in the living room.

Yeah, an office downstairs.

A minimum of three bedrooms.

-And no more than an acre of land, really.

-An annexe would be ideal.

It would be even better if one of the outbuildings or the annexe

was already up and running as a holiday let,

but with other outbuildings for a future development.

They want to be mortgage-free, although they're not averse

to having a small mortgage if the business potential is right,

so there is a bit of flexibility in the finances.

Our ideal budget for this move would be £390,000,

but an ideal property with outbuildings or an annexe

up and running as a holiday let, we would stretch to £400,000.

So having lived in and done up three houses over the last nine years,

it seems that Dave and Alison are up for yet another project here in Pembrokeshire.

As well as a home, of course, they also want something of a business, hence the need for the annexe.

And of course they want a bit of peace and quiet.

That's where the acre or more of land comes in.

Now, their £400,000, I think, is pretty optimistic,

but here in Pembrokeshire, there's such a wealth of property on offer, who knows?

We might just be in luck.

Although David and Alison would prefer a coastal location,

we may stray inland in order to show them

the best they can get for their budget.

Our three Pembrokeshire properties all serve up very different home and business options to consider,

but I'll only reveal the price of each when they've had a guess first.

Lastly, our mystery house will take them into uncharted territory.

Well, guys, very nice to see you.

You are quite familiar with Pembrokeshire in many ways, and now,

finally, you've decide to chuck it all in and make this your new home.

Yes, yes, very exciting.

We're trying to make a business as well as a home for ourselves, yeah.

But having a holiday let down here is a well-worn path, in a way.

Competition can be quite fierce. Are you ready for that?

Yeah, because it's just not all about the holiday business, it's about the move as well.

It's living in a beautiful place like this, and I'll still work,

so David's got the hard work of building the business up!

THEY LAUGH As usual!

But just enjoy this way of life, really.

Well, we've got three properties, including, of course, our mystery house, to show you.

-Are they perfect? Do they need some work? Who knows!

-I hope so!

-I wonder. Come on, follow me.

-Cheers.

So, with a top budget of £400,000, David and Alison would like to find

a country home that would provide them with...

-Would you give it up after a while, Alison, your job?

-Yeah, eventually.

I plan on seeing myself working for the next ten years.

You are laughing, mate, aren't you? You're going to be sitting at home with the dogs,

being a househusband, Alison out on the road...

I think I'm too young to retire yet.

Now, what it is, Jules, when it's up and running nice, then she'll retire and take over.

THEY LAUGH

Balancing their business aspirations with their budget,

we're kicking off our house search by heading away from the coast

towards the village of Crymych, which, with around 2,500 residents,

offers up an array of local shops and amenities.

About a four-mile drive away in rural seclusion, is our first property,

which is a larger proposition than first meets the eye.

Well, I think this is a pretty good start to our house search.

-That's nice. Yeah, that's nice.

-And this whole little complex sits within six acres.

Six acres?

-THEY LAUGH

-Yes?

-Yeah, yeah.

That hill in the distance, well, that's the Preselis.

-I mean, Pembrokeshire National Park right on your doorstep.

-Yeah, yeah.

The house itself, the main event, is right ahead of us.

-It's very sweet, it's all been done.

-Yeah.

You know, is it going to be right for you two, though?

-Let's have a look.

-Fantastic.

Alongside our traditional Welsh cottage, which dates back

to the 1760s and is Grade II listed,

there's a separate outbuilding which we'll look at later

as a possible holiday let.

But first, we'll explore what would be their home.

Right, in you come.

Look at this!

What do you think?

Feast your eyes!

Mezzanine.

-Yeah.

-That's been nicely done.

The fireplace is beautiful.

Yeah, this actually looks like a wood burner. It's actually gas.

And there's also an open fire at that end,

again the chimneys have been relined and so forth.

They have done a very good job.

They've been very meticulous with the detail.

The upstairs mezzanine

would make a great office for Alison

or an occasional bedroom, as tucked away at the end,

is a little en suite.

'And I think they'll be impressed by the high-spec finish

'in the next room.'

Now, come on through to the kitchen.

This is of a size I was not expecting when I first came in here.

-This is lovely.

-It just gets better.

-It's better. Yeah, yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

-It's exactly how we'd do it, Jules.

-I wouldn't change a thing.

-It's beautiful.

-You could just move in here tomorrow.

And certainly if you were thinking of cooking for guests, you know,

making things you could sell on and so forth, this is a great kitchen.

And you can eat in it and that's what's so fantastic.

It's nice to put the dogs. We have the dogs as well.

I can imagine the dogs, stable door open, dogs running around, yes.

At the other end of the hallway is the utility-cum-boot room

that David and Alison asked for.

Also leading off the main hallway is a spacious family bathroom.

But let's take a look at the sleeping arrangements.

This is one of the two double bedrooms on this ground floor.

There's another one, same sort of size, just over there,

across the hallway.

-But they've both got these lovely altered ceilings.

-Exposed beams.

-That's nice.

-I'm surprised how light it is.

If we went for the option of making the mezzanine an office,

one of these would be your master.

-This would be a nice master bedroom, this would, yeah.

-Good.

I'm really chuffed at the way this is going, I have to say.

This is going too well.

Well, we're now going to get to the project,

-which is the little byre or barn outside.

-Oh yeah?

This is where you're going to have to work your magic

-and use a bit more imagination.

-So it's not retirement just yet?

Not just yet. Follow me.

The high-quality finish and space that this cottage offers

has both surprised and delighted our buyers,

so now let's turn our attention

to the holiday let possibilities of the adjacent building.

-There we go.

-Wow!

-What would you do with this, then?

This is a nice space.

Yeah?

The timbers have all been changed.

Just looking at the roof, it's all been clad, tongue-and-grooved up there.

The painstaking work has been done already on this.

Not going to cost you an arm and a leg.

Cosmetically, two months, you could turn this round.

And it could be...

Two months, two months.

That's what he said.

-Did I?

-I think you did.

I think we might have recorded it as well!

David seems to have worked it all out.

There's also a huge steel frame workshop which would no doubt

be useful storage space while getting the holiday let

up and running. And let's not forget

the two enormous paddocks they get

which amount to six acres.

'The big question is - at what price?'

Let's talk about the money, then, shall we?

That's the hard part.

Well, might not be that hard. You never know.

It's an awkward one.

The value of this has increased as I've gone round really.

So it's er...

-I'll let Alison go first.

-Go on, then.

I think the house with the land,

I'm going to pitch for about 375.

I'm going slightly higher because the quality that's been done...

-385.

-385.

-Yeah, yeah.

OK, so 385 would leave you

£15,000 left over

to do some work on that and what...

-ten grand?

-10,000 would be achievable, yes.

I think you'd go a lot further if you got this for £350,000.

-That's amazing.

-That's a good price.

That's a very good price.

You get an awful lot for your money.

Let's face it, a picture of a Welsh cottage,

you couldn't want better.

-Fantastic.

-Off you go. I'll catch up with you later.

Very good! What a price, what a property. Absolutely fantastic.

If you're looking for a picture of Welsh serenity

here in the countryside, you're going to struggle to beat that.

Under their budget at £350,000,

David wouldn't have to lift a finger in the main house,

which has been beautifully renovated

and provides them with a sitting room, giving them not one,

but two fireplaces,

a large farmhouse kitchen/diner

along with three possible bedrooms

including the space for Alison's study.

Outside there's the potential for a holiday let if they get

the right planning permissions.

And it's all wrapped up on a six-acre plot

in a stunning rural location.

When we drove up to the house I just thought, "Wow!

"Picture-postcard perfect."

I thought the kitchen was absolutely fantastic,

but overall I've a tendency to think it's too perfect for David

and he will get bored with not having enough work to do.

The inside of the house is absolutely immaculate.

You cannot fault the decor and the quality of workmanship.

It's been done to a very high standard,

even the outdoor potential to make as a holiday home.

Overall, you could just really move into tomorrow

and start living there.

Now then,

-have you worked it all out?

-Easy.

-Easy, easy!

"Two months", you said!

-But what two months?

-Come on!

That's an easy project.

Being close to the natural spoils of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path

is a driving factor behind David and Alison's move to this county.

Along the route sits the historic town of Tenby

which has 14th-century walls

and the remains of its fortified castle,

dating back to Edward III's reign.

Between the 14th and 16th century,

Tenby prospered as a major port

and earlier in the week,

we arranged for our couple to meet Marion Davies,

a Blue Badge Tourist Guide, to discover more about the town.

This is the Tenby harbour

and you can see,

this is one of the most photographed harbours in Wales.

It's the jewel in Pembrokeshire's crown. It's a great beauty.

And of course this is where the wealth of Tenby

was actually made, really, in the heyday of the trading era.

We had all sorts of exotic luxury items coming in here

from the Continent. The first citrus fruits ever to arrive

in a port of Wales came into Tenby, when in 1566,

oranges arrived from Aveiro in Portugal.

This is still a very busy fishing port, in actual fact.

So, it tends to be a more locally based kind of business nowadays.

The colourful villas that line the harbour

are a reminder of when Tenby became a popular seaside resort

during the Victorian era. Today, Tenby attracts

around two and a half million visitors, many who come

for the breathtaking scenery.

A short walk up to the top of Castle Hill

provides spectacular panoramic views

of the beaches and outlying islands.

A couple of miles offshore

is Caldey Island,

which is home to a unique set of entrepreneurs.

It's actually owned by monks.

They're reformed Cistercians and they've been there

since the 1920s, really.

They run it as a business,

not only do they live there but it is run as a business.

They have a herd of beef cattle

and they make chocolate and fudge

and, inspired by the wildflowers of the island,

they've also created a perfume

and toiletry industry for themselves.

I think it started, as far as I know, from selling bunches

of lavender and from there

progressed into quite a successful business.

There is wildlife here too,

with about 5,000 grey seals living in

and around Pembrokeshire's coastal borders.

This beautiful county has certainly been a favourite holiday spot

for David and Alison, but let's hope we can find them

a permanent home here as our house hunt continues.

For our second property, we're moving closer to the coast,

near the Llenai Estuary, to the rural hamlets of Martletwy.

The nearest hub for amenities is seven miles away in Narberth,

which has gained a reputation for its varied mix

of quality independent shops.

'Our second property gives them

'a more substantial project on the holiday-let side.'

Well, as you can probably tell, it's a converted barn,

but it does offer a lot of accommodation.

It's got a huge footprint, as you can tell.

You've got this... currently a workshop/garage,

with a bit of a gap between it and a wood store

and I'm thinking if you could continue that roof right across...

-Holiday accommodation.

-Exactly.

There's a lot for you to build round, I think, Dave.

I love this.

-It's all about keeping you busy, isn't it?

-That's right!

Now, we haven't got acres to play with

and I'm not sure that's such a problem.

-No, it isn't. I prefer more property and less land.

-That's right, yeah.

OK, well we've certainly got that for you. Yeah? Come and have a look.

This barn conversion definitely gives them space

and scope to add their own personal touch.

OK, now the finish in here is perhaps not what you'd have expected...

-No, not at all.

-..from the outside.

No, it's a lot more sleeker.

We've also got two of the four bedrooms that are on offer here.

One small child's one in there and that one, which currently

is a sort of guestroom but would make a fantastic office/study...

-Right.

-..if needs be.

-Yes.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Well, let's see how they react to the main lounge.

Now, this is really where this house starts to come together really.

In terms of giving you that sense of cosy cottage

but with a contemporary feel.

This is a nice room. Nice and bright.

Nice size as well.

-The fireplace is nice.

-And you've got a multi-fuel burner there.

-Yeah.

This is a good room, a nice size.

You see, I'm worried that we spoilt you with the first one.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's not quite grabbing me in the same way as the first one.

But this is a bigger footprint

so it's nice to see what we've got to work with.

Off the hallway is a cloakroom with the added benefit

of a sleek shower unit but will the size

and style of the kitchen be to their liking?

Now, this is a comparable size to property number one, I would say,

-kitchen-wise.

-Yeah, more contemporary.

-Yes, a lot more.

-Then again, they've got a sofa in here as well.

-Loads of space.

There's a little utility room in there.

So it probably offers you more in terms of a kitchen than the other one.

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

I know it's not grabbing you as much as the first one

but are we getting there?

I think I've got to look through the contemporary design that's in here.

Yeah, a bit more exposed wood. A bit of timber.

I like a barn to look like a barn.

Well, the two bedrooms upstairs might deliver some of that

homely cottagey feel they're after.

-This is quite nice too. Oak staircase.

-This is beautiful.

-This is a nice feature.

-Nice features.

-But this is a great size.

This is the master.

-This is lovely.

-This is more...

-This is lovely.

-This is more country style.

-Yeah.

Through that door there's a walk-in wardrobe so all your clobber can go in there.

But you've also got a very generous en suite.

-Gosh, yeah.

-That's good, that's good.

-This is more like it.

-This is a lot more...

-This is where this house scores

over the previous one.

-Yes.

-It's in the bedroom accommodation.

-Yeah.

The bedroom next door, equally has an en suite,

not quite as generous as that one.

-But you know...

-That's fantastic. That's good. Two en suites.

-It's very nice, very nice.

-It's a grower.

Happily, upstairs has scored us few points but let's see

if the holiday-let project outside is enough to excite David.

Well, as I said when we arrived, the garden is not acres.

-That's pretty much it.

-That's enough.

-There's enough there to keep us busy.

-And you got the side garden around the back.

There's a patio there and so forth,

with a bit of a vine growing over it or something.

And then here, we've got another angle on this outbuilding.

This outbuilding. Yeah, that could be made very nice into a holiday let.

More work for you to do.

THEY LAUGH

Yes, indeed, but all of this is going to cost, isn't it?

So, what do we think this is on the market for?

We're a bit close to the coast here.

-I'm going to go for about 315, Jules.

-315.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-I would like to go a little bit lower, I think. I will say 305.

-305.

-I'm being cheeky!

-Very cheeky, very cheeky.

Well, this one could be yours...

for 325.

Obviously, the nice thing about that is it leaves you with 75.

-For another £100,000, you could have that one too.

-Right.

That's interesting. That's interesting.

So, you know, we're talking about an overall figure of 425.

-That's interesting.

-I'm going to let you have a quick look at it now.

-Fantastic.

-And see what you make of it. You get to it that way.

-Yeah.

-Follow the road round.

-Yeah.

Make sure you find the front door. Off you go.

Well, this is a property with a twist, isn't it?

I can't wait to see what they make of that little building.

It does need a little bit of work doing to it

but certainly nothing that Dave and Alison can't do.

If they got it right,

they could have two or three houses for the price of one.

Under budget at £325,000, our second property gives them

a spacious four-bedroom period home with a large kitchen/diner.

With the right planning permissions,

the outbuilding is ripe for David to convert into a holiday let

and if they really wanted to go for it, they could also negotiate on the up and running

let next door which then pushes the total cost to £425,000.

What's more, it's all in the coastal location they asked for.

-This has got bags of potential.

-Yeah, this has.

This could make an ideal let, holiday let.

Even a long-term let.

Will we be biting off more than we can chew? I don't know at this stage.

I think the problem I've got, property number one is still

quite strongly in my mind and that's maybe blurring my vision on this one.

When we drove up to the property, at first,

I didn't think it had the kerb appeal as the first property.

However, the outbuilding is a fantastic opportunity.

It's what we're looking for.

-A-ha! What did you make of the barn?

-That is very interesting.

-Yeah, that could work.

-Yeah? It's going to take a bit of work...

-Yeah.

-..and a bit of money.

-Well, we don't mind the work.

The budget may be expanding slightly, but it is easily possible, yeah,

-to do something there.

-OK, so two potential candidates on our list.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Excellent. Follow me.

So, as evening falls over the Pembrokeshire coastline,

the first day of our house search draws to a close.

Armed with their budget of £400,000, David and Alison

want to up sticks from Stourbridge in the West Midlands

and settle down in a country home with a holiday let in Pembrokeshire.

Although they really loved our first property,

and would consider the second, our search so far

has highlighted the tricky job of finding the perfect house

with the right business potential in the right location.

But could they make the mystery house work for them?

-Save you knocking a wall down.

-Yeah.

-He can't wait - look!

THEY LAUGH

And I gain first-hand experience of one of the great Welsh folk traditions.

Excellent, lovely.

Well, for me house hunting in Wales is always great fun,

but here in Pembrokeshire, it's just sensational

and on a day like this, where else would you want to be?

The coastline here is one of this region's absolute sweet spots.

One more property to come of course. It's mystery house time.

Will that sway our buyers? Well, as ever, we'll just have to show them.

One thing that struck me over the two previous houses

-is that you've approached them very positively.

-Yeah.

But they're not quite extensive enough to keep you busy.

You know, it might be worth - given that essentially you've got

the budget in cash - I know you're trying to be mortgage free,

but if you just tipped over...

I totally agree, Jules.

To get our long-term goal, what we're looking for,

I think we've got to broaden our horizons.

Our mystery property stays in their budget comfort zone.

But we're ditching rural isolation

and heading to the outskirts of Pembroke.

This is a coastal market town with a mediaeval castle that

provides an impressive local landmark.

It's also a popular draw for tourists, which all adds

to the attraction of our mystery house.

Although it's just a mile from the town centre,

you'd never know it from its setting.

'And it's a substantial package, consisting of a home for them

'and the potential for two holiday lets.'

Now then, very different to what we've seen so far.

-Currently, the whole thing is a holiday let.

-Yes, yeah.

So it's not furnished as a family home might be, for example,

but what we're thinking is that this would be your home...

-Yeah.

-..and then you could develop the other bits.

-That sounds fantastic.

-First impressions, I like what I see.

-Yeah, I do as well.

-OK.

Let's have a look then, follow me.

'With Dave and Alison's personal stamp,

'our mystery house would make a lovely family home.'

Grab the door, Alison.

-As you can tell, it hasn't got that lived-in feel.

-No.

-It's a bit echoey.

-Yeah.

But have a look in here. This is rather nice, I think.

-The kitchen.

-This is lovely. This is a lovely size.

And the nice thing about it is it's a blank canvas really, to work with.

The glass doors, that's a nice touch.

The nice thing about this is that the neutral theme, in terms of decor

and so on, flows throughout it.

It's not incumbent with lots of different colours and thoughts.

It all joins itself together quite nicely.

'Across the hallway, the reception rooms give them lots of options.'

So this is the dining room.

Fairly, sort of, sparsely furnished, in a way

but I think it sets the scene, obviously.

-I love the fireplace.

-That's a lovely feature.

-It's a big room.

It's such a big room. It's kind of at odds with the living room.

-Right.

-I wonder if you wouldn't sort of swap the two around, in a way.

I might even be tempted to take this wall out.

Because you've got this lovely feature here, this garden room.

-That's lovely.

-That's a lovely feature that.

The only other thing is, Jules, as you've got the eat-in kitchen,

I don't know... I would probably have that

as a sitting room and this is an office-come-study space at the back.

-That's something else we could look at.

-Yeah.

-Save you knocking a wall down.

-Yeah.

-He can't wait, look.

THEY LAUGH

'Well, David will have to hang fire for now.'

'Tucked away under the staircase is an attractive'

and spacious family bathroom.

Upstairs gives them a generous four bedrooms in total -

two doubles, one with an en suite, and a third single.

And next door to the nicely fitted family bathroom is the fourth,

which I think would be ideal for them.

For arguments sake, we'll call this the master.

It's kind of interchangeable with one that's a similar size

at the other end of the corridor.

I think this is as good a room as any to show you.

It's lovely and light. The window is lovely. Yeah.

Vaulted ceiling, that's nice.

No, it's a smooth, plasterboard... Ready to go, isn't it?

'As we head outside and look at the outbuildings,

'it's worth bearing in mind that, as a holiday let,

'our mystery house itself pulls in as much as £900 a week.

'So it might be worth decamping during peak season, to maximise their income.'

Set away from the house

is an existing let,

sleeping two people, with an open plan living room and kitchen,

plus a bedroom and bathroom.

And next door, there's a project in the making.

-This is what I wanted to, kind of, put your builder's mind to.

-Yes.

As you can see,

it's a pretty dilapidated shed-come- greenhouse-come-garden store.

How daunting an idea is it?

That's the project that really you were looking for.

Yeah, that's a project to get your teeth into.

Obviously, the planning would take time, but you know,

-it doesn't have to happen overnight.

-No, exactly.

-Yeah.

The grounds would also make a great backdrop for the guests,

amounting to 1.1 acres, they wrap around the property and are

predominantly made up of woodland, with the added feature of a pond.

-So, what do you think?

-I think it's lovely. I think it's really lovely.

And it's something to get your teeth into.

Yeah, it's a longer-term project.

There are a few projects to be getting on with there.

Just starting to panic a bit now!

Don't panic! Never panic.

Let's have a think about the price, though.

-It's our final guess of the week.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Alison?

Oh, gosh! I think it's probably over budget, Jules, if I'm honest.

-I will go for about 425.

-425.

Yeah, that's a similar figure to what I had in mind.

-I will go 420, slightly less, just to be different.

-420. OK.

So, if it was £364,950...

THEY LAUGH

-No!

-Yeah.

Now that puts a different perspective on it.

-Does it?

-I'm shocked, if anything.

-£364,950 for the mystery house - and it could be yours.

-Sold!

ALL LAUGH

Off you go. Enjoy the moment. Brilliant.

There we are. They're absolutely right,

this is fantastic value for money. It is in a fantastic spot

and it does offer all the scope that they're after.

Has the mystery house done it again, I wonder? Fingers crossed.

At just shy of £365,000, our mystery house provides them

with a comfortable home.

There's a huge kitchen/diner, along with two other reception rooms,

which gives Alison scope for her study.

Upstairs offers them four bedrooms and outside,

in just over one acre of grounds, there's an existing holiday let,

with the possibility over time to develop a second.

The two outbuildings are absolutely great for development for David.

The house itself is lovely.

We could move in straight away, put our own stamp on it and the added

advantage of two reception rooms and a fourth bedroom is fantastic.

To me, this is the best contender of the week.

It's an unusual feel.

It's quite a central location to the town,

but it's totally got a rural feel,

when you're in the property with an acre or so of land.

It does open up possibilities with the lets.

The house itself is ideal for us to live in.

As an overall package, it ticks a lot of the boxes for what we've asked for.

Ah, the chitter-chatter. Have you figured it all out yet?

There's a lot to figure out, Jules,

but it does tick a hell of a lot of the boxes that we've asked to be ticked.

-It's a great property.

-Yeah.

-For what you're after, I think it's terrific.

But they've all been good, they've all been interesting.

They've all been different, but this one does stand out, I must admit.

So what happens next?

-We're going to have to sit down and talk about that.

-I think you should.

Having lived in Wales for well over 20 years,

I've always been interested in its heritage.

With a history dating back to the 17th century,

the lovespoon is synonymous with Welsh folk tradition and I've come to meet Ceri Thomas,

a local wood carver, to find out more about their significance.

-Ceri.

-Hello, there.

-Nice to see you.

No trip to Wales is complete without taking home a lovespoon, I suppose.

-You've made it into a family business.

-That's correct.

We started in 1975 and we've been here ever since.

What's the story behind them?

There is a whole range of possibilities that

go into any one spoon, aren't there?

The main belief is that they were carved by the young men,

as tokens of engagement or betrothal,

and then offered to the young ladies that they were courting.

Ceri has charted his own romance through the spoons' designs.

That one, the first one, has got an empty heart.

It's quite important, cos the next one I did, the following year...

-..is this one.

-Ah!

This time, you see,

you see you've got the Cupid there, of course,

the love birds and then promising my fiancee a cottage, you see.

-Did she get the cottage, as well?

-I'm afraid not, but there we are.

No harm in promising.

I love the fact that you can really create your own.

I guess it's up to your imagination, as to how it finally ends up,

but I can't wait to see how you do it.

-Is there a simple design that I could get cracking with?

-Yeah, we could start on one now.

'In the family workshop, Ceri's son David is grafting away.

'They've picked out a simple spoon template with a heart and daffodil,

'which I first need to carefully trace around.'

-Right. There we are. The moment of truth. There it is.

-Great.

-What do we start with first?

-What we do first is to cut the bowl.

-This is this end, here?

-Yeah, you want to cut the bowl.

So we put him in the vice, there.

-I love working with wood.

-It's a lovely material.

I kind of envy you, actually - all day long, just creating.

Historically, it's thought that sailors filled their many

laborious hours aboard ship whittling away in dimly-lit cabins, making these love tokens.

'Once the spoon has been shaped, it's time to carve the basic design

'with a little help from the odd machine.

'But the finer detail needs to be carefully worked by hand.'

-So there's our heart taking shape. Next, the daffodil.

-Yes, please.

If you make a little start, there. If I just start it off for you.

Hold that one, there. Nice and gently. Notice the angle of the chisel going back, now.

There we are. Excellent. And again. That's fine.

This looks like it could be a dangerous part of the process.

-This is the make or break now, this is. Yes.

-Ready?

-Yes, please. Excellent, lovely.

The range of designs on the spoons all have different meanings.

For instance, a carved twist symbolises growing together,

whilst a cross represents faith or a sign of memorial.

Pembrokeshire spoons often feature a wide,

flat panel, although as Ceri's commissions show,

they all convey a personal message and can vary hugely.

This fairly basic spoon design typically takes two hours to make.

'The last stage being to varnish it to bring out the grain of the oak.'

Well, guys, thank you very much, indeed.

It's been a real treat, getting a window on your world

and just seeing how these lovely things come into being.

-Of course, this does mean I'm going to have to get married, now.

-Yeah.

And the other little tradition, of course, which is the nice bit,

you can tell the young lady that she has to polish the spoon every day.

-I like that idea. That's great.

-HE LAUGHS

It's decision time for Dave and for Alison and something tells me

that their horizons might be expanding a bit.

Well, guys, here we are again, overlooking Tenby in the sunshine.

Have you had a good week?

Yes, fantastic. Really good. Really good.

Let's just remind ourselves of where we started, that lovely cottage

which you said, I think, was a classic picture postcard image.

Most definitely. You couldn't have wished for a better approach.

-And the finish inside was absolutely impeccable.

-The setting was great.

The six acres was absolutely fantastic...however,

I just felt that there was not enough work to carry us forward there.

-The second property, much bigger footprint to that converted barn.

-That's right, yeah.

And we had the possibility of doing something with the garage/workshop.

But then I threw in the added bonus of the little barn next door.

Yeah. That was a surprise in itself, really.

Alison, I think,

was worried about the size of the actual plot it was all on.

I thought once it was developed, the land itself wouldn't justify

the plots that were there,

so it was the reverse from property number one.

Our mystery house - that, I think, has gone down rather well.

The overall feel of that property was a nice feel. Flowed well.

The ground it stood in was just in proportion to the house

and the outbuildings were ideal for a long-term project, there.

-And you loved the price.

-Oh, gosh.

-The price was a shock.

A pleasant shock, yeah. THEY LAUGH

But I definitely want to investigate that one further.

-This brings me onto my next question...

-Yeah.

..of what happens next? Because in a way, we've played safe.

-BOTH: Yes.

-You're cash buyers.

We've tried to bring our properties comfortably in under budget...

-Yeah.

-..and leave you mortgage-free.

-Yeah.

But my sense is, you want a little bit more now.

I think so, Jules, and I think also,

when I first came to the search, land wasn't a priority, really.

Now after seeing the six acres,

I'm now thinking I would like something with a bit more land

-and the development opportunity for a few more outbuildings, really.

-Yeah.

That then takes us to the level that we start to increase our budget,

-which is also a possibility now.

-Guys, it's been a great pleasure.

I think any one of the three we've shown you, you could go to

and play safe, bring it in under budget.

But I suspect if you want that bigger project you can really sink your teeth into...

-Go for it.

-..and get something you can really go for.

-Yeah.

-It's been a fantastic experience.

-We've enjoyed every minute of it.

-We've loved having you. Best of luck.

-BOTH: Thank you.

You know, it's funny how some of these house searches turn out.

When we set off with Dave and Alison,

they were very keen play it safe, as they said,

to keep everything within budget and let's face it, who could blame them?

But as it's turned out, they are keener than ever to bite off a much bigger chunk of Pembrokeshire.

The idea of having a small holiday let,

something of a cottage industry,

that's all been transformed into a fully-fledged business idea.

I think that is really exciting.

Of course, they're going to have to borrow a little bit more money,

but when you're blessed with scenery and beaches like this,

is there a price you can put on it, I wonder?

I'm not really sure you can.

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