Suffolk Escape to the Country

I'm in a county that is working hard to protect the British barn owl.

Now, this gorgeous little chap is just one of their success stories.

But where was he born? Find out in just a moment.

On today's show, I'm house hunting with a professional couple

who are on the verge of giving up work.

And one of our properties is almost too good to be true.

It looks like it's just come out of a book of photographs of beautiful cottages.

It's absolutely lovely.

And expect the unexpected behind the doors of our mystery house.

Yeah, I could spend a few hours in here, that's for sure.

Today, I'm in Suffolk with a brood of month-old barn owls.

Adorable, aren't they?

But a fully grown pair of barn owls will need to hunt

over 10,000 shrews and voles a year to raise their family.

Now, back in the 1980s, their numbers went into serious decline.

But here in Suffolk they've been studying these adorable creatures,

providing homes and new habitat which hopefully will increase their numbers.

Now, I'm going to be finding out more later in the programme.

But first, let's see what else Suffolk has to offer.

The county of Suffolk is bordered by Norfolk to the north,

Cambridgeshire to the west, and Essex to the south.

Suffolk's unspoiled coastline boasts resorts

such as Southwold, Felixstowe and Aldeburgh,

which is home to the annual classical music festival,

founded in 1948 by composer Benjamin Britten, who was a resident here.

For 600 years, the south of Suffolk was a major player

in the production of woollen cloth.

Indeed, Lavenham was once one of the richest towns in medieval England,

thanks to its wool trade.

Today, it has over 300 listed buildings

and is one of Britain's best-preserved medieval villages.

The average cost of a detached property here in Suffolk is £247,000.

That's some £9,000 below the national average.

However, there are pockets of the county that command significant premiums.

Most notably, the east coast villages, such as Southwold and Aldeburgh,

where prices can rise by 50%.

Worth bearing in mind if you're seeking a rule retreat here in Suffolk.

So let's take a look at some of the properties currently on the market.

For £300,000, you could be living

in this delightful three-bedroom cottage in Bedingfield.

It boasts a thatched roof and rustic interior

with period features,

along with a third of an acre of beautiful gardens.

For sale at £375,000, there's this four-bedroom

brick and tile barn conversion in Broome.

It retains a wealth of traditional features inside,

including an inglenook fireplace.

Outside, there are stunning and uninterrupted views over the Suffolk countryside.

And if you can stretch to £650,000,

you could be the owner of this Grade II listed timber-framed cottage in Chelsworth.

It's been sympathetically modernised,

with a range cooker and granite worktops in the kitchen.

There's also over an acre and a half of grounds,

including a paddock and a pond.

Some impressive houses there.

Time now to meet today's buyers, eager to escape to Suffolk.

Kevin and Debbie have been married for 33 years

and run a mortgage broking business together in Hertfordshire.

They bought their five-bedroom house here just five years ago

and have recently brought forward their plans to retire to the country.

We had a little wake-up call with a bit of health problems earlier in the year.

And I think that's really accelerated our decision to look at other property, a bit more rural,

with an opportunity then to move down there,

or move out to that property as and when business things are right.

They've appointed new staff to take some of the load in their business,

but they want to be able to travel back regularly,

so they've picked Suffolk as their ideal location.

And they already have plenty of plans for when they move.

We're members of the National Trust,

but time has always been at a premium

so we've never really had the opportunity to fully explore

all the opportunities and properties that you can go out and see.

They've decided to keep this property as an investment,

and there's one particular aspect it has

that Kevin wants to recreate in his new home.

When we first moved to this house, the garden was very much a blank canvas.

And we've very much enjoyed getting to the stage it's at now.

We'd like to do it on more grand scale in a larger garden at the next house.

They'll also need a garage for Debbie's pride and joy.

I changed my car recently. I'm really pleased with this

and I'm looking forward to taking it round some of the country lanes in Suffolk.

It should be quite fun.

And as for the rest of their new country home,

well, the wish list is all set and ready to go.

Definitely a large kitchen-diner.

I do like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Three, preferably four bedrooms, at least two reception rooms and lots of space.

I don't like converted chapels or barn conversions especially.

Other than that, I think we're fairly flexible on the type of property.

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

If everything is absolutely perfect and exactly what we're looking for,

then our maximum budget would be £500,000.

Kevin and Debbie are particularly keen on the Suffolk countryside,

close to the medieval town of Lavenham.

We've got three lovely properties for them to view, but, as usual,

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

The final property is, of course, our mystery house,

which could make them eat their words when it comes to one of their pet hates.

Kevin and Debbie, welcome to Suffolk.

I understand with your present house,

you popped out for a loaf of bread and came back with a five-bedroom property.

Yes, that's absolutely right.

We had gone shopping just to get some bread and some milk

and came back, just being nosy, went to have a look at some new houses.

And we decided to buy one. That was it, on the spot.

I'm going to take you via a supermarket to each property while we're in Suffolk.

So, do you agree on everything straight away?

-You obviously know exactly what you want.

-No, no, no.

-I don't think we ever agree straight away.

-Yes, we do.

OK, this is good, bit of honesty coming through here.

-I mean, do you argue?

-Yes, all the time.

-Seriously?

-Seriously.

How will you agree on this property,

because you bought your present house very quickly?

Do you both know as soon as you rock up to a house,

or is it going to take a bit of compromising?

I think it will be a case of we both walk in and really, really like it.

We have to both agree when it comes to buying houses.

I don't think you never find the house that is exactly perfect. It's always a compromise.

We've got three houses lined up for you to see, one being our mystery house.

-So, the sun's shining. Shall we get going?

-Yes.

-Let's.

-Follow me.

-Thank you.

With a maximum budget of £500,000, Kevin and Debbie would like:

We've travelled four miles north of Lavenham

to the village of Cockfield,

an active community with many flourishing clubs and societies.

It also has a medieval church

and a village store which sells locally-sourced produce.

In the heart of the village, house number one is a period property

believed to date back in parts to the 18th century.

So here is your very first property in Suffolk. So what do you think?

-It looks very nice.

-It has a lot of character to it.

My only concern is the windows are quite small and the doors,

how much light there will be inside.

-We won't know until we get in.

-Come on, then. That's a good start.

I'm glad to see Debbie is keeping an open mind about this property,

and I think they'll both be really delighted

when they see what lies behind the front door.

Come on through.

This is very nice.

This probably is the oldest part of the house.

-You can tell, actually, by the ceilings.

-Yes.

As you come through, you've got a utility room.

-And it leads us to this little reception space.

-Nice tiles.

Very nice tiles.

You're going to see lots of character and personality with this house.

-Let's go straight into the sitting room.

-This is a lovely room.

Really cosy.

You walk through that olde worlde part of the house into part of the modern extension.

But it still retains the character and follows through with the rest of the house.

-That's lovely.

-Good. And you're a very social couple.

-Can you imagine having your friends and family here?

-Oh, yes.

Especially in winter, with the fire. It would be lovely.

Excellent. OK, let's head off.

The year-round socialising potential of this house

would be of real benefit to these two.

So to help with that, they need a good-sized kitchen,

and I think this one might be just right.

This is very nice. It's a fair size, isn't it?

It's really very nice. I love the cooker.

Absolutely perfect for me.

It looks like it's in an old inglenook.

But I think that's probably modern and added on.

But it's been done very sympathetically.

Can you imagine yourselves in a kitchen like this?

It's smaller than the one we have.

We have a dining area in the kitchen at home,

but the dining room through here joins onto the kitchen.

You've spotted it!

'Let's see how they'd feel about continuing their social occasions

'in the next room.'

Conveniently close to the kitchen.

It's close enough without being directly in there. It's good.

It's a nice room.

Good size for a dining room.

It's a good start.

It's very nice. You've done well, first house.

I'm feeling good. Haven't even taken you upstairs. Come on.

'As we head to the first floor,

'we pass by a study area which might prove useful for Kevin,

'to keep on touch with the business.'

Upstairs, there's four very good-sized bedrooms.

Two with en suite bathrooms,

and all of them with real character,

thanks to original features and exposed beams.

The family bathroom is large and modern, with a free-standing bath.

'But I'm showing our buyers where they might sleep.'

So a fair-sized master bedroom.

It's very nice. Nice and bright.

It's very nicely done.

-You have an en suite.

-Let's have a look.

Go on. Stick your head in.

That's lovely. Nice big shower.

It's more of a wet room, isn't it, really?

Very nice. Perfect.

-Great.

-Good.

-The sort of thing you had in mind?

-Yup. Very nice.

Yeah. Every room you go in just seems to surprise you.

Just absolutely surprise you.

There's still one more surprise to let you in on. Follow me!

'Before I reveal that surprise, we'll head outside

'to look at one of Kevin's priorities - the garden.

'Which comes complete with a large shed and beautiful unspoilt views.'

You've got a sugar beet field right in front of us.

And you're not overlooked at all by your neighbours.

Although it's not the largest of gardens,

you do get a fair degree of privacy.

It's a bit smaller than I was hoping for, garden-wise,

but the views are stunning.

-And I did mention an additional surprise.

-You did.

Four double bedrooms with this property,

but it also has its own separate annexe.

Beautifully done.

You have a garage, which leads through into the annexe.

You've got a separate kitchen, all fitted out.

Then upstairs you have a sort of sitting room-cum-bedroom,

with its own bathroom.

Absolutely amazing.

A good start?

-A very great start.

-Lovely house.

-Yeah, you both seem very taken with it.

-Yeah, instantly.

And you are both agreeing on this property.

-Yes, surprisingly.

-Amazing!

-THEY LAUGH

It won't last!

Let's see if you agree on the price.

It's going to be interesting.

-Who wants to go first?

-He can go first.

-I'm allowed to go first?

-Just this once.

Erm, from what I've seen,

I would say probably near the £500,000.

-Debbie?

-£485,000, I think.

The current asking price is £535,000.

OK. A bit more than we thought.

Yeah, I got that very wrong!

Well, you weren't too far out,

because we've spoken to the owners, and they would look at offers

in the region of the top of your budget, £500,000.

So, if this is the house for you, it is within budget.

That's good. That's reassuring.

-Do you fancy having another look around the house?

-I'd love to.

I think you start off with the annexe.

We definitely need to have a look at that.

Have a wander, and I'll meet you out the front when you're ready.

Thanks very much.

At £535,000,

but with offers accepted at the top end of their budget of £500,000,

this property has everything on their wish list.

Including four bedrooms - so plenty of room for the family to visit,

a good-sized kitchen and dining area,

a garage, for Debbie's car,

and a pretty garden.

Even though it may not be enough of a challenge for Kevin.

This is lovely. It would be absolutely perfect,

if Mum and Dad come and stay.

They have their own section.

Even the kids, if they want to come up.

Or I could put you in here.

-Thank you very much(!)

-That would be perfect.

When we first drew up outside, I wasn't too sure.

I thought it might look a little small from the front

Maybe the windows were small, so it might be a bit dark inside.

But once I was in, the house is really nice.

Four big bedrooms, lots of space, The extension,

though not something we need,

is really useful.

I was absolutely amazed.

It had lots of beams, lots of character.

More importantly, it was very light as well.

The big negative is the garden for me.

If there's one negative, it's that.

-All right?

-Yup.

All done? Finished, that's our first house done.

-Great start.

-Good, I'm glad you're pleased.

-We'll continue.

-Next one.

The historic market town of Framlingham

is home to a magnificent 12th century fortress,

one of Suffolk's 12 surviving ancient castles.

In the past 400 years,

it's been used as a poor house, and a county court.

Framlingham Castle ranks amongst

the most fascinating medieval castles in Britain.

And is one of the first built with a ring of towers,

rather than a fortified keep.

Built by Roger Bigod,

the second Earl of Norfolk, around 1190,

it remained the chief seat of Norfolk earls and dukes

for well over 400 years.

Over the centuries, the castle changed hands on several occasions,

and by 1553, was in the possession of King Henry VIII's daughter,

Mary Tudor.

Earlier in the week, Kevin and Debbie met up

with local historian Robert Halliday,

to discover more about Mary Tudor,

and her role in the castle's history.

When Edward VI dies in 1153,

the Earl of Northumberland thought he could hang on to power,

by installing his cousin, Lady Jane Grey as Queen.

And he sent his bodyguard to arrest Mary.

Now, Mary got wind of the plot,

and fled to Framlingham Castle.

When she got here, she raised her standard and said,

"If anybody supports the justice of my cause, join me at Framlingham".

Within a few days,

20,000 people were camped around Framlingham Castle,

all ready to defend Mary's right to become Queen.

And Mary, of course, did go on to become Queen,

after this pivotal stand-off at the castle.

One of the many impressive features of this fortress,

along with its magnificent gate tower,

is the large number of brick Tudor chimneys dotted across the roof.

And there are many tales about their construction.

There is one rather amusing story about how all these chimneys

came to be built at Framlingham Castle.

I should add it is just a story.

When the Howards were renewing the castle,

there was a mason there.

He fell foul of... He committed a crime.

He was sentenced to death, and he said,

"Please, before you kill me,

"how about giving me time to finish the chimneys?"

The Howards were well in with the judge,

and they said, "All right, could you postpone his sentence

"until he finishes modernising our castle,

"and building all these chimneys?"

After that, he kept building chimney after chimney, after chimney,

so he wouldn't have his head chopped off.

And that story might explain why most of the chimneys

are strictly ornamental, with only two having functioning flues.

Whatever the reason,

they are the earliest ones of their type in England.

Now it's time to head back to our property search,

and see if Kevin and Debbie

can find a slice of Suffolk history to call their own.

We've travelled five miles from Lavenham

to the remote agricultural village of Hitcham,

home to wheat farms, the very grand All Saints Church,

and amenities such as a pub and village shop.

Our second property is a thatched cottage,

typical of the region, and dating back to 1450.

Here we have our second property.

A quintessential Suffolk thatch.

It certainly is.

It looks like it's just come out a book of photographs

of beautiful cottages. It's absolutely lovely.

Have you ever seen inside a thatch before?

No, we'd never considered a thatch, so we'd be very interested.

It is an intriguing house.

It has so much character bursting the seams.

-Shall we start the official tour?

-Good idea.

'Wow, they love the outside,

'but are they ready for their first thatch experience?

'In typical style, the door frames are low, the kitchen is rustic,

'and not as large as they're used to.'

-Come on through.

-Goodness me.

So, here is the kitchen.

Interesting. Interesting.

-Very different from the first property.

-A bit small.

-Yes, it is.

There's lots in here, so I suppose if you take everything out,

it's going to make a difference.

It's actually how you would picture a thatched cottage kitchen.

'A cottage like this can take a little bit of getting used to,

'if you're more accustomed to a modern house.

'But it also has its advantages,

'with gorgeous period features, like in the next room.'

-This is a lovely room.

-It's impressive, isn't it?

Yeah, very nice.

Stunning, this. Absolutely stunning.

Lovely fireplace.

Really nice fireplace.

That's what you'd call an inglenook.

It is, with the traditional bressummer beam.

But that wouldn't have been there when this house was built.

The fire would have been right in the centre.

There wouldn't have been this floor above us.

It would have reached right to the top,

and they'd have lived in this part of the house.

-So, just the one room open to the top?

-Huge room.

If you look inside, you've got timber mullion windows here.

So they're original. Then you can see here

where they've added these timbers.

This is where the flooring's put in.

To put the other floor.

I've never seen that before.

'And I don't think Kevin and Debbie

'will have seen anything with quite so much charm

'as the next room, either.'

-Here's your sitting room.

-Very nice room.

Really cosy and comfortable.

Cosy, isn't it?

Are you agreeing with me?

Yeah, I know!

SHE LAUGHS

Have we not had an argument, or disagreed at all, on anything?

You're in danger of being united here!

Two houses, and we haven't had a disagreement.

It's not going to happen.

So you've got the exposed beams here.

Fantastic fireplace. Look at that.

If you wanted, you could put a wood burner in there.

Personally, I wouldn't change it.

As long as you clean it out, cos I'm not cleaning it.

-As always.

-As always.

He's got the extra time on his hands.

Oh, it's brewing. I wonder if I can get this fire going?

Before I have to step in and referee,

I'm going to take them upstairs.

There are two staircases in this fascinating property.

Both dating back to Tudor times.

One rather steep set, leading up to a characterful bedroom

with its own bathroom.

'The other, the main staircase,

'which leads directly into a study area.'

-Ha-ha! This is interesting.

-Very different.

Isn't this unique?

When I said to you when this house was originally built,

in the medieval times, it was a whole house.

Yeah, you can see how.

The brickwork in front of us is the original Tudor fireplace

that was added in.

All of this is a great feature, the beam and the brickwork.

But it makes use of the room difficult.

Well, the beam does.

But it is great as an office, as they've got it here.

Yes.

'So, a useful office space, where they can gradually

'wean themselves away from work.

'But now, let's have a look along the hall,

'where there are two further bedrooms,

including the one they could be sleeping in.'

This is the master bedroom.

-Very small.

-It IS small.

It doesn't have an en suite, either.

-Or storage.

-But there's a family bathroom next door.

Good point.

Very little storage.

There's nowhere to actually put a wardrobe.

There isn't here.

But there is, in the centre of the property

where their study is.

You could potentially...

-.. Make it a sort of dressing room?

-Yeah.

You could have wardrobes built in there, perhaps.

-That's true.

-That's a thought.

It's nicely done. It really is nice.

I think it's a bit small.

Downstairs is lovely,

but this is perhaps a little small.

This is frightening, cos I totally agree with her!

-Frightened that you actually are agreeing?

-Yeah.

While peace reigns,

I think this might be a good time to show them the garden,

which is where Kevin may want to spend most of his time.

There's a secluded patio,

which could be a lovely place to socialise.

'And nearly a third of an acre of garden,

'with mature beds and fruit trees.'

You do have the most beautiful cottage-like garden,

with loads of flowers and mature plants

wrapped around the house itself.

Then you walk through here, and you have all this additional space.

It's exactly what we were looking for.

And the hidden garage, I notice, for my car.

There is a garage,

hidden away, surrounded by shrubs and beautiful plants

So, you've seen the house. How much is it on the market for?

I would say £490,000.

£490,000. OK.

It's a slice of history, and I think about £510,000.

Very good guesses, I have to say.

The current asking price is, for this medieval home,

£495,000.

-So you're just £5,000 off.

-Doesn't surprise me.

Do you want to have another look around, have a wander,

check out the garden,

-and I'll catch up with you later?

-That's great.

-Thank you.

Just under their budget, at £495,000,

this wonderfully characterful property

has three bedrooms,

spacious reception rooms for socialising,

a cute kitchen,

loads of garden space for Kevin,

and a garage for Debbie's car.

Well, this is, erm, interesting.

Oh, my word!

If we were going to use this for guests, it is a lovely room,

but people we have as guests, especially my parents...

Dad's 80.

As nimble as he is, he'd never get up those stairs.

Great-looking house. Obviously a lot of character.

The gardens, overall, are absolutely beautiful.

I could see myself spending many an hour out there,

getting it looking really, really nice.

It's an absolutely beautiful-looking house.

Inside, the kitchen was a bit small.

The lounge and dining room are absolutely beautiful.

Upstairs,

not so good.

The rooms are really small.

Although it's full of character, and really lovely,

I'm not sure that we would be able to live here.

This really is a very special house.

-OK, you two?

-I think so.

-Good.

This is it for the day.

Great.

As dusk falls over the Suffolk countryside,

the first day of our property search comes to an end.

Kevin and Debbie currently run a mortgage broker business

near their home in Hertfordshire.

But, with plans for retirement on the horizon,

they're looking to move to the Suffolk countryside.

'So far, we've had mixed responses to our two properties,

'but, coming up, we go all out to change Kevin's perceptions

'as we reveal our mystery house.'

It's a converted barn.

Oh!

-Your mystery house!

-Bless you, Nicki(!)

SHE LAUGHS

And I discover how conservationists in Suffolk

are helping rejuvenate the county's barn owl population.

Well, we haven't been blessed with quite the same weather as yesterday.

But it's not going to put us off.

We're on our way to the mystery house.

Kevin, I'll start with you.

Anything that you're really hoping to see today?

Yeah, our ideal property with a nice garden, well-located.

What about things you're really dreading,

in your heart of hearts you hope aren't just round the corner?

Barn conversions. I've yet to see one that I like.

But, hey-ho, there's always a first, I suppose.

What about you, Debs?

You never know. You might find something you do like.

Well, let's hope so.

We've travelled some distance out of our target area.

to the village of Metfield,

which is about 30 miles northeast of Lavenham.

The village has a church,

a community-run stall which sells local produce,

and a weekly market.

The mystery house is a style of property

that tops Kevin's list of dislikes,

a barn conversion.

'But we think this one might just make him change his tune.'

We're not going to let this weather dampen our spirits,

because it is mystery house time.

It is quite secluded. You can see the walls, but through there...

-is a converted barn.

-Oh.

-Your mystery house.

-Bless you, Nicki(!)

THEY LAUGH

And you've always wanted to see one, haven't you, Kevin?

Yes, of course I have(!)

As I said, I've never seen one that I liked yet.

But never's a long time, isn't it?

So, open mind.

'I think Kevin took that quite well,

'but I expect this place still has some convincing to do.

'Let's get out of the rain,

'and see how they both react to the inside of this property.'

So, let's start off with the sitting room.

-Very nice room.

-It's very nice.

The beams are great. Lovely fireplace.

It's very nice.

It's a nice shape to the lounge, as well.

Plenty of light coming in from all those windows.

The barn actually dates back to the 1830s.

You can see how old the barn is.

There's your A-frame, there.

-That's an original.

-That's a great feature in here.

This room actually leads into a bedroom.

'And this bedroom could easily be converted

'into a room for them to work from.'

It would make a good office. Especially on the end of the lounge.

-Light, spacious, airy.

-It's good.

Plenty of storage.

Lots of room to put wardrobes and everything in.

Pleasantly surprised.

Well, that's a result from Kevin!

Have we found a barn conversion he actually does like?

We're going to try and make Debbie happy now,

as we pass through the dining area

to one very impressive kitchen/diner.

Wow, this is brilliant. Really lovely.

-Fantastic, yeah.

-Really lovely room.

Just my thing. This is really great.

Love the tiles, like the floor. Units are great.

I think the floor is absolutely beautiful.

It is great, isn't it?

If you picture a farmhouse-type kitchen,

for dining in and entertaining,

it's fantastic.

It works. Perfect.

Through that door to the right is a huge utility room.

The tiles go all the way through, and they have a huge fridge-freezer,

and their white goods there, as well.

-Absolutely brilliant.

-Lovely.

-Good reaction on the kitchen!

-THEY LAUGH

-We all love this kitchen.

-Love the kitchen.

With a great response on the kitchen,

we'll head for the other side of this barn conversion.

Off the hallway are four more very generously-sized double bedrooms,

with loads of light and character.

As well as a big family bathroom.

But I'm going to show them the potential main bedroom area,

which has its own en suite shower room,

but is currently being used for something other than sleeping.

-How is this...

-.. This is different.

.. for a boys' room?

You'd be happy in here, wouldn't you?

I could spend a few hours in here, that's for sure. Really unusual.

In all honesty, this could make a fantastic master bedroom.

It would.

Would you convert it back?

Yeah, I'm afraid so. Sorry, Kevin!

I think there'd be a bit of a battle there.

I think there might be.

But I think it would make a really lovely bedroom.

Especially with the windows out, and the door to the garden.

-Who's going to win this one?

-I am.

-Oh, OK, then.

No question!

-We'll talk later.

-Yeah, we will.

Wow, it's great that they like this house so much,

they're debating how they'd actually use the space.

And with Debbie in love with the kitchen,

let's see if Kevin will feel equally at home in his domain, the garden.

Outside, there's a terrace with raised beds,

a pergola and a lawn,

as well as a car port tucked away at the side.

It's warm but very wet today, so, the garden.

As you can see, it's set out as a courtyard.

Perhaps could do with an overhaul.

Bit of TLC, yes. Very attractive.

These are very positive comments you're making to me.

Dare I ask, are you converted with a barn conversion?

I must admit, I'm going more round towards liking this.

I've never seen anything like it on just one level, wrapped around.

It's superb. Absolutely superb.

This is Mr "I will never live in a barn conversion, I don't like them."

-Yeah.

-OK.

I'm a bit concerned he's already moved in.

This could end up in words, I have a feeling.

Jokes aside, we'd better get onto the price,

haven't we, before we get too wet?

How much do you think the barn conversion's on for?

525,000, I would say.

I think just over budget, about 505,000.

The asking price is £535,000.

You've won again!

But, we have spoken to the owner.

We've double-checked it

and they would take offers in the region of £500,000.

That's good news. That's good news.

That certainly puts it in the discussion point, doesn't it?

Please don't argue.

Off you go, go back in the drive.

Have a wander around, have a think about it again

-and I'll catch up with you later.

-Great.

-Thanks very much.

At £535,000 but with offers accepted at maximum budget of £500,000,

this property has certainly got them

thinking outside the barn-shaped box.

It has five bedrooms, space to use as an office, a huge kitchen/diner,

a courtyard garden for Kevin and a good-sized carport.

As a mystery house, this was really good.

All of the rooms are really nice.

The courtyard, garden, everything is done very nicely.

I'm just not sure if it's really for me,

and I think Kevin is going to really like it.

I think he's going to love this house.

And I think we could have words over this.

I thought it would be a no-no.

Because my initial reaction, looked at it and thought,

this is a barn conversion.

And I've never liked one yet. But I must say,

I'm now converted.

Certainly impressed by a barn conversion at long last.

That's it. Mystery house is finished.

-Shall we go somewhere dry and have a chat?

-I think that's a good idea.

For almost 50 years,

the Suffolk Wildlife Trust has been working to protect

the land, flora and fauna of the county,

with projects devoted to the preservation of such species

as sparrows, harvest mice and barn owls.

The county's population of barn owls has declined markedly,

due to the loss of readily-available nesting sites.

One factor has been the prevalence of Dutch elm disease,

which has reduced the number of trees where the owls might nest.

While another has been the issue of barns being boarded up

or converted into dwellings.

In an attempt to reverse the decline,

a team of volunteers formed the Suffolk Community Barn Owl Project.

Their work providing nest boxes is relieving competition

for the few remaining natural nest sites.

I've come to a local nature reserve to meet founder member

Steve Piotrowski who's going to tell me more.

We were looking at putting up

90 boxes up in five years

but we completely underestimated the enthusiasm of the farmers

and the general public, and their love of barn owls.

And after the first year, we already had 250 boxes up.

And now we've got 1,300, which we monitor every year.

And can you guess

how many more barn owls there are because of this project?

When we started the project we have an estimated 125 breeding barn owls.

Our ultimate aim is to get to 450 by 2015.

So far, we've got halfway because we're now

at around about 250 from 125.

So you're on track. That's an amazing achievement

in such a short period of time.

Obviously our little feathered friends love these nesting boxes.

They really do, they take to them very, very well.

The project's work involves checking the nesting boxes twice a year,

so I've joined Steve and his colleague Andrew

to see if we could find any.

Andrew moves in with a device called an includer,

that's placed over the entrance

to ensure that any owlets are kept inside

to make examination easier.

Once the includer is set,

Steve moves in with the ladder to see if we're in luck.

-So, are there any in there?

-Yes.

-How many?

-At least three.

-Oh!

-Are they old or very young?

-I think they're round about five weeks,

by the look of it. We might have four.

-Look at that one.

-Oh!

-Fantastic, look at that.

-Look!

-So we put them in the bag.

So you're delighted with having four.

That's very good, yes, that just goes to show

how good the habitat is here because

the more successful the owl is, the better the feeding area it's got.

Each owlet is placed in a cotton bag,

which helps to keep them calm.

Before they can fly the nest,

they are weighed, measured and ringed,

and the data carefully recorded.

And after that, I finally get my chance to see

a baby barn owl at close quarters.

-Oh, look at all that down!

-OK, yes...

they're losing their down now.

You can see it's blowing off as we're talking.

When they first hatch, do they have anything on their skin at all?

They're completely naked when they first hatch.

Then they grow this down within a week.

That protects them for the first five or six weeks,

-then the feathers, as you can see, are growing now.

-Yes.

-They're still very much in pin.

You can see the lovely silver and fawn and creams.

For the ringing process,

a light metal tag carrying a unique reference number

is placed around the bird's leg for easy identification.

Once it's in place, all we have to do

is measure the wings of these beautiful young birds.

-What is this going to tell us?

-It's going to tell us how old this owl is.

So we have...underwing,

we've got 28. Now, if you just pass me the book there,

we'll have a look at this particular bird.

So this is your reference in the book?

-Yes, if you go to that card there.

-Right.

If you look at 28 here,

so it's 33 days old.

Halfway to fledgling, sex can sometimes be deduced now.

It can, yes, because what we could do, if we just have a look,

yeah, we can see. What we need to look at, see these spots here?

-Yes.

-That shows it's a female.

-So, one down, three more to go.

-That's right, yes.

Adult barn owls have exceptional hearing

and can find prey by sound alone.

And as to the noise they make, well, it's not actually a hoot,

but more of an eerie long screech,

which accounts for their alternative name, the screech owl.

Well, it's been a wonderful experience

to see these baby owls up close,

but now it's time to find out

if Kevin and Debbie will be adding to the human population here,

as they give their verdict on their three properties.

Well, you two, Suffolk has shown us three very different properties.

Let's start off with the first house we saw in Cockfield.

Tell me what you thought.

It was a nice house,

it offered what we were looking for in terms of bedroom space.

Main downside for me was the garden because that's

the big thing that we said we wanted, a larger garden.

So moving to the second property, we went south of the county.

-What about that medieval house?

-To look at it,

it was beautiful.

Everything about the outside of it was wonderful. Inside,

loads of character. Very nice.

But to all that beauty and history, the functionality upstairs...

It just wasn't practical.

The rooms were smaller than we really wanted, in terms the bedroom sizes.

The big thing was lack of storage.

But the garden was just what we wanted,

so it was a shame the house didn't offer all the other bits and pieces

we wanted on our checklist.

Which leads us to our mystery house.

We decided to show you a converted barn. But, Kevin, you were the surprise here.

Yes, it was a lot, lot better than I'd imagined a barn conversion.

Because the property was all on one level, that appealed to me.

And being in a horseshoe, I thought

each room lent itself in some way to what we were looking for.

I thought it was really good.

That was one of the problems I had with it,

the fact it was on one level.

I'm not really sure that that's what I would want.

Having said that, I thought it was lovely inside.

So, where do you go from here?

Can I answer that?

You can answer that.

-You can disagree with me afterwards.

-I will.

I would like to do a trial drive,

to see what the time's like to get back to Hertfordshire.

If that stacks up, we could have another talk

about my plans, what I think we could do with the house,

then see where it goes from there.

But I never thought I'd be saying that about a barn conversion.

Are you happy with this course of action, Debbie?

Um...maybe. We'll...

we'll have a look and we'll have a few discussions

and we'll go from there.

-That's probably as near to yes as you'll get from Debbie.

-Is it?

Well, you never know, that house may be the one for you.

Whatever happens, we wish you all the best with the move to Suffolk.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Well, that's it from beautiful Suffolk.

Now, Kevin and Debbie have left us with a bit of a cliffhanger.

Will the mystery house get Debbie's final support,

because it's certainly convinced Kevin?

I think we're just going to have to wait and see.

Until next time, bye-bye.

After viewing the mystery property again

Debbie won the battle and they've decided not to make an offer.

However, they are still house hunting in the Suffolk area and,

lo and behold, are considering barn conversions.

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