Norfolk Escape to the Country

In their heyday, 300 of these magnificent vessels plied the waterways in this region.

Find out where I am in just a moment.

'On today's show, we deal with motors and moggies as we try to turn pleasure into business.

-'While some properties are slow burners...'

-It's got me thinking.

-I'm warming to it now.

-'..others fire up our buyers straight away.'

-As soon as we walked through the gate, it felt right.

'And, finally, the cat might get the cream.'

This would be my dream country house.

Today we're in Norfolk. These are the Broads, of course.

Back in the 19th and early 20th century, they were teeming with these vessels known as wherries.

They have a forward step mast and a single sail

and they were ideal for navigating these tree-lined broadland rivers.

They were also the backbone of the local economy. They brought goods in from the coast to Norwich.

Later on, I'll find out how they're making a comeback at the hands of a dedicated bunch of volunteers,

but first let's look at the glories of this area.

Bordering Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk,

Norfolk is the largest of the East Anglian counties.

Its northern and eastern edges are fringed by over 100 miles of sweeping coast, with shingle beaches

and wide, sandy dunes.

Low-lying, but still incredibly diverse, the landscape covers wetlands and undulating farmland,

peppered by the odd windmill. There's a saying that people from Norfolk have one foot on the land

and one in the sea. Moving from its shores to the heart of the county lies the medieval city of Norwich,

which is dominated by its 12th-century cathedral.

Beyond the reach of its main road links, much of Norfolk remains an untouched, tranquil place,

the perfect destination for those seeking a peaceful rural bolthole.

Unless you're planning to live in Burnham Overy or Cley-Next-The-Sea

in the very fashionable and expensive north Norfolk coast,

this county can give you real good value for money if you shop for property.

The average detached house here costs £213,000

and that's 20% less than the national average.

Across the border in equally beautiful Suffolk, it's 15% more expensive,

so you can see the bargain you get.

Plus you get all of this beautiful countryside and a lot of heritage,

including some really gorgeous architectural styles.

Norfolk's rich natural resources have been put to good use as building materials for centuries.

The county's plentiful supply of clay and long tradition of mining stone is evident

from the many red brick and flint properties that make up its villages.

The modest-sized cottages, originally built to house fishermen in coastal villages,

are now highly desirable and typically command asking prices of upwards of £350,000.

East Anglia's abundance of reed beds means that thatch has long been used for roofing in Norfolk.

Reed is much more durable than straw, with a lengthy lifespan of up to seven decades.

Four-bedroom thatched homes in sought-after countryside locations tend to start at £400,000.

So we can safely say that Norfolk is not short of beautiful property,

but is it enough to lure in our buyers today? Let's meet them and find out.

Kevin is an ex-RAF engineer, married to Belinda, who works as a qualifications assessor.

And they live with their two cats in a four-bedroom house on the edge of an estate

in Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.

They got together when Belinda answered an ad in her local paper.

I'd been listening to this local radio station for some months with a thing called Midnight Matchmaker.

It was a bit cheesy, but I thought, "Why not?" I didn't realise my details would get put in a paper

in a different county! I was quite surprised when Belinda rang me.

We met up in a pub local to Belinda's house and that was it.

They have been happily married for nearly nine years and recently decided

to quit the 9-to-5 routine and pursue their dreams.

We're both doing jobs that require us to sit behind desks at computers, but we're practical, active people

and we're not getting the life satisfaction we want.

Their desire to change their current lifestyles has been driven by their love of travelling the country

-at a moment's notice.

-We have been on caravan holidays for many years.

We love the freedom and the open space it provides us when we go.

And it's these trips that have helped them focus on this region.

The area we would like to move to is south Norfolk, possibly even into north Suffolk.

We want to move there because with our budget we think we'll get more for our money down there.

We're likely to find the place we want with the land we want and space to have what we want.

And with all that space, Belinda hopes to turn her love of cats into a viable business venture.

My drive to have a cattery has been an ambition I've had for a long time.

I've always loved cats and that's where it's come from. I've always had cats.

I've now got two kittens. They're growing up fast.

Kevin also plans to make money from a hobby he's had since childhood.

My passion for classic cars started many, many years ago, as a young boy,

and of late, since I've left the Air Force, I've taken the bull by the horns and built a kit car

and I enjoy it and I want to get into it more and make a bit of money out of it.

Their current house is on the market, so they've got a clear idea of how much money is available.

Our budget for this move is up to £450,000.

For the best chance of finding exactly what they're looking for and to get the best value for money,

we'll be concentrating our search inland, away from the pricey coast.

Time for us all to meet up in Norfolk to lock down their property wish list.

-Welcome to Norfolk. Are you ready for the remoteness of living in the country?

-Yes, we are, definitely.

I think our liking of the rural countryside is reflected in the holidays that we take.

We caravan both in the UK and France and we always choose somewhere that's rural, so it's what we want.

What are you looking for in terms of spec for this property?

What's the minimum numbers of bedrooms, for example?

The minimum number of bedrooms would be two. The most important thing is to develop the business

-that we want to.

-So thinking ahead about the business is most important.

-Absolutely, yeah.

-You need space for a cattery. How many acres?

-A minimum, probably, of half an acre, we've decided on.

-I know you've got classic cars to look after, but are there any other money-making ventures?

-Indeed.

We'd like an opportunity for a holiday let, whether an annexe or an outbuilding to convert.

-A real dream would be a fishing lake as well.

-Steady, steady! You've got the cattery and the holiday lets!

Would you then put money in to develop a place?

Absolutely. It's a long-term vision. It doesn't have to be all there today.

We've just got to be able to see it, to get some ideas about how we could develop it for our future.

Well, let's go and see it. We've got three lined up and Norfolk awaits.

For a maximum budget of £450,000,

Kevin and Belinda have set their hearts on a new enterprise in the Norfolk countryside.

They're after a house with a minimum of two bedrooms, in at least a half-acre plot

that has scope for Belinda to run a cattery business, as well as an outbuilding or annexe

which could serve as a holiday let.

Lastly, Kevin needs space to indulge his passion for restoring classic cars.

I have to admit that sounds like a tall order. However, we love a challenge

and I'll be showing them three great homes, each with very different selling points.

The property price tags will remain a guessing game until the end of each tour.

Finally, there's our mystery property, which will challenge them to reconsider what their dream is.

So with a new business venture in mind, we're starting our house hunt in Mundham Common.

The tiny village of Seething is the nearest place to pick up essentials,

served by a convenient store and post office, as well as a flint church with a round Norman tower.

'But back in the rural outskirts of Mundham Common is where our first property lies.'

So up a long private drive to house number one.

-This is the property I want to show you.

-Oh, right. Has it been more than one house at one point?

-It has.

-The oldest part of the house is this white bit at the end. That's from the 1780s.

-Is it?

-This is a Victorian extension from the 1800s.

-Yeah.

-And this was put in in the '80s.

-Right.

-It's interesting, I'll give it that. It wasn't what I expected.

-Is it currently one house?

-It is.

-OK.

-It'll be clearer when we go inside.

-OK.

'This property's mix of historical styles has our buyers a bit bemused,

'so let's see how the character unfolds inside.'

So come on through, straight into the sitting room.

It's a lovely fireplace.

-Wow.

-Great big...

-Cosy, isn't it?

-..fireplace.

-And it's got some beams.

-This is the Victorian extension.

This would have been the main living area, all based around this fire.

In terms of the living space, you haven't talked about how you want the space for living.

-How do you use your space?

-Em, the lounge area is big enough for us.

We would like a good dining/kitchen area. Sort of social area.

-Well, this house has both. You've got a dining room in the extension.

-Right.

And a kitchen area.

Come on in.

Ha ha.

-Oh, I like this.

-You like it?

-Yes. This is more like I would have imagined a kitchen.

-This is the really old part?

-This is the 18th century part.

-Yeah.

-Oh, this is nice.

-It's great, isn't it? You've got the beams, the lovely tiles.

-They've kept the beams, which is nice.

I'm very interested in what's out there, so that might make my mind up more, but I do love this part.

I think you're right. What's outside is going to sway you, but first let's have a peek upstairs.

OK.

'Back off the sitting room is the large dining room I mentioned

'with double doors out into the garden.

'Just off the entrance hall is a handy utility room, which lies next to the staircase.'

So this is the master.

-Again, over the oldest part of the house. Creaky floorboards...

-Yeah!

-The 18th century part.

-That's definitely got character.

-I love that ceiling.

-Nice.

-So this is the biggest room. There are two bedrooms which are over the new extension.

-And then another little box room and family bathroom.

-OK.

But, interestingly, there is this...

-You ready?

-Yeah, go on, then.

-Ta-da!

-Ah!

-My goodness!

-Wow! Not been developed yet.

-No.

-What could you do with that? Gosh!

'That completes the house tour, but there's much more outside to get their cogs whirring,

'starting with a modern open barn.' It was built by the present owners,

so it's got three big areas at the bottom, ideal for cars.

Upstairs is this mammoth space of storage.

-It's a huge amount of potential there for turning into a workshop or doing something else.

-OK.

Is this going to be enough for your classic cars?

Yeah. Yeah, definitely.

-More than enough, actually.

-This is only the half of it.

So come on in. This...is all yours.

-Oh, wow.

-2.35 acres.

-Wow.

-Is that what it is?

-Yeah.

These buildings also belong to you.

-So we were thinking: can you turn that into a cattery?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-And most excitingly, this...

-That as well?

-..is yours, too.

So, exhausted walking around your potential estate.

-This is a fully-functional holiday let.

-Is it, really?

Two bedrooms upstairs. You'd need to bring it up to scratch, but then you could earn money fairly swiftly.

-OK.

-That's a real surprise.

-It's got me thinking, that's for sure.

-I'm warming to it now.

-So, plucking a figure out of the air, how much is it worth?

-350,000? It needs a lot of work,

-although it's got a lot of land.

-I would go 410.

You were very optimistic with 350.

-It's actually on the market for 459.

-459, OK.

I'll send you to have a look in there. And then you can have a look around everything.

We'll meet at the front, then take it from there. In you go.

Nudging just above their budget at £459,000,

our first property gives them a detached character home with the business potential they asked for.

It sits in just over 2 acres of grounds that include a two-bedroom cottage,

which could be their holiday let, a barn which could house Kevin's classic cars

and other outbuildings that Belinda could turn into a cattery.

Inside, I love the kitchen area. I love the old beams, I love that.

I think there's good character in the lounge as well. The downstairs living area has a lot of space.

It's got a lot of potential. It wouldn't need too much work.

The setting is perfect. It's not too rural. It's just right. It feels just right.

Initial thoughts when we walked up the drive and saw the house were that it was a mismatch,

which it was because of the three different ages. Then you've got the outbuildings.

The barn-cum-garage needs work. Great space upstairs. It's just the time it would take

and the money on top of the asking price to pour into that would be maybe a little too much,

too much asking of us, I think.

-Here you are. All done? Seen everything?

-Yes, thank you.

-Your inspiration going?

-Yes. Lots of inspiration.

-Thoughts.

You're very cagey. I like your style.

-OK, we're going to leave this one behind and look at number two.

-Excellent.

Whilst it would be fantastic if we could offer Kevin and Belinda the fishing lake they desire,

the next best option is to take them to experience the end product - fish. With Norfolk's coastline,

it's no surprise that for generations fishing has been an economic mainstay of this county.

Glen Weston is a second-generation fisherman who has now turned his hand to running a smokehouse

in Cley-Next-The-Sea. So we sent our buyers to meet him and to learn more

about this traditional method of fish preparation and preservation.

-I've got some salmon here ready to...to brine up.

-Fantastic, that.

Now all we do, generally, is lay these out nice and flat...

To start with, the freshly-caught fish is cleaned and filleted

and then covered with salt for around 12 hours, which draws out excess water from the flesh.

We'd then take the salmon out, we wash all the salt that's left on the flesh,

completely away. And then we'd hang it up to dry for a little while before we put it in the smoker.

Smoking is an ancient way of conserving food that was vital before refrigeration

and the wood smoke also adds flavour and colour.

Then we just hang them up in here and let them gently smoke overnight.

Glen uses oak sawdust for a subtle, mellow flavour.

All we do is lay down a thin wedge of shavings, first.

And then we lay a layer of sawdust over the top.

The fish is smoked for between 12 and 24 hours over a gently smouldering fire.

Then the hard, salt glaze on the exterior is trimmed away and it's sliced, ready for the customer.

-And this is the finished result.

-That's how it comes out?

-If you'd like to try some.

It looks a bit juicy.

-It hits the spot, that, doesn't it?

-Yeah, that's really good, isn't it?

After savouring some local cuisine, it's high time we got back to the house hunt for what we're serving up

with our second property.

Our next stop takes us out west to the quiet woodlands of Drymere,

just a five-minute drive from the historic market town of Swaffham.

Along with a weekly market, it offers a good range of local amenities - shops and restaurants,

housed in fine Georgian buildings.

'And just a few miles from Swaffham into peaceful countryside, it's time to present our second house,

'which comes with a ready-made business that should have Belinda smiling like a Cheshire cat.'

Property number two... We have excelled ourselves.

-Haven't you just!

-We've brought you to a cattery!

-Good grief!

-Come on in.

-Fantastic.

This is an up-and-running cattery, licensed for 30 cat chalets. You can have 68 cats.

-Fabulous.

-It's all built to the highest feline standard.

-I see that.

-Wow. You have surprised me.

-Let's go and have a look.

So here you go. I've done my cattery homework.

-They all have their own little chalets.

-They're well set out.

And they all have a two-foot gap in-between. You've got a block of 21 here, another block of 5 there.

-Really?

-And then some extra ones.

-It's fabulous.

-Look at them!

And it's a very successful business.

-It turns over about... It can turn over about 30 grand.

-Really? As much as that?

-Any thoughts?

-I think you're just speechless, aren't you?

-I am!

I wasn't expecting that, really. I expected a house with some land,

not to see an established business.

'As well as giving Belinda a creme de la creme cattery,

'we've also got accommodation for Kevin's car.'

So not one,

-but two gigantic sheds, workshops.

-No way.

-Don't look in there. Look here. This one is even better.

-Good grief.

-Same size,

-but this one has a pit.

-Oh, even better!

-Ah, yes.

-Incredible.

-You'd never see me!

So if you come in a bit. Mind the step.

You can see the chassis of an old Volkswagen Beetle. So you get an idea of the scale of it.

-they have had six cars here and space to work.

-Have they, really?

You can see that, can't you, yeah?

-And this is just one of them.

-Yeah.

-Next door is equally large.

-What did they use next door for?

-They had that as a home cinema.

-Did they?!

Absolutely. I'm speechless like you!

'The cat may have got their tongues, but the grounds offer yet more money-earning potential

'as there's a licence for five caravans to stay on-site.

'And plenty of space for them to camp out in their own caravan.

'Let's not forget that we do have a house for them to explore.'

Come on in.

It's a very simple layout.

You've got a little sitting room here with a log burner.

-Right.

-And through into the kitchen which goes out into the sun room, conservatory here.

OK.

-Yes, pretty, isn't it?

-Yeah. Functional.

-Yeah.

Also when you come in, by law you have to have a cat kitchen.

-Yes.

-You have to have a kitchen to prepare their food. That is already there.

-And a toilet and a little office for your business.

-Is there more?

-Or is that the living space?

-No, there's a living room.

Over this side, there's another good-sized sitting room.

-Oh, that's nice. It's cosy.

-That's a nice surprise.

-Can you imagine the two of you living here?

-Yes. I'm starting to feel that we can.

-I felt at the gate that it felt right from the outside.

-Yeah.

Upstairs, this house gives them three bedrooms. They include a small single,

a twin room and a bright double, all served by the family bathroom.

'And now we've got the business, hobbies and accommodation sorted,

'they just need to figure out what it's all worth.'

-How much do you think it costs?

-You go first this time.

-I'll go first this time.

I would go... with the business as well, the cattery business, 425.

I'd put slightly more. 440.

440. It's very interesting psychologically. You like this one more than the first one

because you've over-guessed it here. This is on the market for 410.

-OK.

-Is it?

So you would have some money to put into the cattery

or the house or to do those few tweaks. I can things working out...

Maybe explore into the second shed and go and say hello to the cats.

-Then I'll see you out the front.

-OK. Great, thank you.

Aww. See, that's why I do this show. It's wonderful when you manage to get exactly what people want

in one property for the right price!

Aww!

At £410,000, the second property does a remarkable job

of delivering all of Kevin and Belinda's key elements and, what's more, comes in under budget.

Along with a three-bedroom house for them, there are two huge timber out-houses,

a mini-campsite

and, most importantly, an up-and-running cattery business that can house up to 68 cats.

Think you could find me in here? I could put my garage in here six times, couldn't I?

-You could.

-Yeah, easily. I'll have to get some more cars. Get some more cars!

The house didn't jump out at first. We were looking more at the cattery, which is what we wanted.

It looks superb. The way it's set up, the whole place,

where you drive in and the cattery is in front of you, is exactly as we imagined it.

The garage space is more than I ever imagined.

It'll give me so much scope to do what I want to do. I'm so hampered,

not to be able to expand to the car business I want to be in.

It's a total surprise. I wasn't expecting an established cattery.

It was a total surprise. I didn't think we could purchase one with our budget.

The house is a little bit of a compromise area, if we were to go for this.

The house is probably just a bit smaller than we thought.

What do you think about the property market in Norfolk? Miaow.

Catastrophic!

-Hi, guys!

-I see you're getting on with the locals.

-Making friends! Are you still speechless?

-Yes. It's fantastic.

-That's good, right?

-Yeah, it is.

-We were not expecting to find an established business in our budget.

And it has the added bonus of the campsite and workshop space.

Absolutely. What can I say? Great plot. Lovely place.

-It's purr-fect.

-Ah!

-Sorry!

Let's get away from this before I tell more terrible cat jokes.

We can decompress and think about what you've seen.

Leaving our buyers to reflect on the two properties they've seen,

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

Kevin and Belinda want to quit their office jobs in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire,

and with their £450,000 budget move to Norfolk to earn their living from cats and cars.

So far they've seen two very different propositions that marry a home with business options.

Still to come, we turn their wish list on its head with our mystery property.

I think it's gorgeous to look at. Stunning.

And I'll be sailing back through time on the marvellous Norfolk Broads.

I think the English summer may have caught me a little underdressed.

I was hoping for sunshine. But we have a mystery house that will put a cat among the pigeons.

I'm not at all convinced that Belinda is really sold on this all business, no house.

Or a house that's not anything more than just functional.

There were a couple of comments where I think she would quite like a period property

or something a bit more stylish, so for the mystery house we've pulled out all the traditional stops.

Cattery? We'll have to see if we can squeeze that in somewhere.

So day two. Have you reflected over the cattery?

I think we're 75% there. Like we said, it's a strong contender.

-I'm wondering if you've saved the best for last.

-Intriguing.

-Any guesses?

Out this way, you think of a disused windmill

-or an old boathouse.

-That might not quite work with the cattery and a caravan.

-No, maybe not!

-We shall see. We're almost there.

-Excellent.

-The wait will be over.

For our last property stop on this tour,

we're travelling right down south to the village of Garboldisham.

'The village contains a Post Office with a convenience store selling a range of groceries

'and we head there first to find out more from Jan and Pauline.'

-Hello, ladies.

-Hello.

-Kevin and Belinda are hoping to move into the area, maybe,

depending on the next house. You run the heart of the village.

-Very much so.

-Helping to.

Is all this produce made by local farms and local companies?

All East Anglian.

And the meat's local. Fresh meat and the frozen.

-Norfolk County ice cream.

-Yes.

-I like baking. I noticed your cakes. Are they...?

-They're local.

A lady in the other side of Diss makes those.

-Do you sell cat food?

-Yes.

-And we have a cat.

They're thinking of setting up a cattery, so if you need a holiday.

-Thanks very much for taking your time.

-It's been a pleasure.

After our quick pit stop at this cat-friendly local shop, it's mystery house time.

-It's not a windmill!

-No, it's not!

-Thatched.

-Thatched.

-It's a beautiful cottage.

-Kevin? Big sigh there.

-I think it's gorgeous to look at.

-Stunning.

-And you may well have noticed a little something in the back garden.

-I see that.

-Which we will explore later!

-OK.

-I wanted something with character.

-It has bags of that.

-Wait until you see inside.

I'd say that's the most positive reaction I've seen from them.

Our mystery house is an 18th-century, Grade 2-listed farmhouse,

which has been renovated to an exceptional standard.

We're going in using the side door, via a utility and shower room that leads right into the kitchen.

So into the very country kitchen. Lovely wooden surfaces throughout.

-Yes.

-Bespoke units. And round there you've got a very lovely dining room area.

-A little alcove that goes through with double windows.

-OK.

-Is it your kind of kitchen, Belinda?

-It's lovely.

-It's surprisingly light considering it's an old property.

-It IS light, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Leading through into this space, which I think is really charming.

It's a lovely open area for entertaining, dining. It's really sociable.

-You do like to entertain. One of the drawbacks yesterday was not enough entertaining space?

-Right.

-Yeah, indeed.

-Will this do it for you?

-Yeah, this would be perfect.

Well, actually, there's a bit more.

-Here we have another room.

-Oh, wow.

A very nice formal dining room.

-And look at this great fireplace.

-See that fireplace?

-They've sandblasted the lintel.

-This would be my dream country house.

-That's what we want to hear.

-You're looking slightly anxiously at Kevin.

-I can just see the kittens swinging off the beams.

I think they'd love it!

-We need to go outside to talk about the cattery, but let's go upstairs. They've got bendy floors!

-OK.

'This charming mystery farmhouse has sent Belinda into a spin.

'Let's hope the historic bones upstairs seduce her even further.'

-Very tight, these stairs. Might take a little bit of practice.

-A pleasant challenge!

-It's like going upside on a ship.

-Good grief.

-Yes.

-This is where you notice the age of the property.

-Yeah.

-Tight stairs.

-Very slopey floors.

-It is, isn't it?

-Do you like it or...?

-Initially, I love it.

-Yeah, it just...

-The bedroom reminds me of going to a country house hotel.

-Yeah.

-In here, you've essentially got two bedrooms and one of them has an en-suite.

-Oh.

-It's a little bit tricky with the bathroom. There's no family bathroom as it stands.

-OK.

So this is the house. You've already sniffed out the secret in the garden. If you had guests,

they wouldn't have to use this shower.

'The farmhouse has been presented immaculately throughout and guests will be equally spoilt

'in the detached annexe which they could make into a holiday let.'

This is a huge asset to this property. It's a beautifully-finished holiday let.

Two lovely bedrooms upstairs and a bathroom and a lovely space downstairs.

-And obviously a great location.

-Yeah, beautiful.

-It's very nice.

-Very nicely done.

-Very, very nice.

It's a slightly smaller plot. It's 0.83 of an acre.

Around here you've got a veggie garden, protected by this hedge. Now I have the idea what a cattery is,

you could perhaps put a small one there and spread it as and when.

-OK.

-What do you think this is on the market for?

-I don't think we can afford this.

-No.

470.

You stole my thunder there. I'll go 465.

This is on the market for... £449,500.

-Is it really?

-So you have £500 to play with!

-It's the second contender.

-I want you to go and look inside this beautiful holiday let.

I think that's going to wow you. Have a look around, see if you can squeeze a cattery in as well.

-And I'll see you out the front.

-OK, thank you.

-Off you go.

Result! The mystery house stirred up the pot. Fantastic!

Everyone thought it was all plain sailing with the cattery, but no, the thatch has done it.

Love that.

Just shy of their £450,000 budget,

the mystery property is a beautiful, Grade 2-listed, thatched farmhouse

that comes with a large kitchen/breakfast room, two separate reception rooms

and a detached two-bedroom annexe, which could be turned into a holiday let.

The plot extends to around 0.75 of an acre,

so with the correct planning consent, there's scope for them to house both cats and cars.

-Oh, look at this.

-Oh!

-It's a lot bigger in here than it looks outside.

-It is, isn't it?

There's room for a kitchen area. You could make it a self-contained place. Plenty of space.

A thatch. That was my first thought. It was one of the things that we didn't want to have.

But it struck me with its stunningly beautiful... You couldn't fault the look of it.

It's a chocolate box little house, isn't it? It's beautiful.

We always spoke about a character home. That's just full of charm.

It's beautiful inside.

Oh, I thought what a beautiful house! A beautiful country house.

I did see the thatched roof. It's a little chocolate box cottage. Beautiful.

I didn't think I'd ever be able to aspire to own one, but it would be within our budget again.

I think we've induced a full-scale dilemma of house buyers here.

-Hello!

-Hi!

Your head full of the cottage?

-Full of thatches!

-I bet you weren't expecting to say that sentence.

-No!

-Last thing.

-Right, let's go away so you have a bit of perspective to think about all the houses.

150 years ago, the broadland waters of Norfolk would have been silhouetted with the sails

of numerous vessels known as wherries, carrying cargo from the coast into the port of Norwich.

The arrival of the railway network from the early 19th century marked the demise of trading wherries,

but enterprising owners converted many of them into pleasure boats to carry holidaymakers.

It was, however, the advent of the motorboat that eventually signalled the end of the wherries.

Today only eight survive.

So I've come to Wroxham to meet volunteers from the Wherry Yacht Charitable Trust,

who are working hard to save and restore the last few remaining examples.

'Hathor is a pleasure wherry built back in 1905 and now skippered by Peter Bower.'

What a beautiful old boat! So this is a wherry.

-What makes a Norfolk wherry?

-The distinguishing feature, I suppose, of the Norfolk wherry

is the fact that they had a single sail with a mast that's counter-balanced to come down easily

so the boat can get through the numerous bridges

-and be easily handled by two people, a skipper and a mate.

-Hathor needs some love and care.

-Any chance of getting White Moth on the water?

-I suppose there's a chance we might just manage.

'While Peter gets White Moth ready to sail, trustee Andrew Scull shows me the boats being restored.'

-I'm assuming this is one of the ones you're working on.

-It is indeed. This is Olive.

We pulled Olive out onto the slipway here about three or four weeks ago

and she's very much at the early stages of her restoration.

'Dean Howard is an apprentice volunteer, working to get Olive ship-shape once again.'

-What are you doing here?

-We're just taking out the old planking.

-It's wooden hull. This is all... That's a bit soft. Will it be repaired?

-Yeah, that will be.

-Presumably, modern boat-building doesn't involve so much wood.

-No, a lot is fibreglass now.

Basically, plastic hulls. Yeah, this is definitely more traditional.

-We're using the same skills as 100 years ago.

-Amazing.

'At 58 feet in length, with a sleek white hull,

'White Moth was one of the later wherry yachts built.

'Originally launched in 1915 and now restored to its full sailing glory,

'it's a wonderful sight to see her back on the Broads, keeping East Anglia's cultural heritage alive.

'And though it's most definitely a pleasure to enjoy a journey along Norfolk's beautiful broads,

'we do have the pressing matter of property to get back to on dry land.'

Good work on the Broads and from the Wherry Yacht Charter Trust,

but I have to hang up my safety jacket and find out what Belinda and Kevin are thinking about our houses.

It's been fun showing you around, but also interesting to see how your priorities have shifted somewhat.

Maybe we could talk about the three houses in order. There was a little story arc that came out.

The first house had a lot of business potential,

but maybe not the style you were looking for?

I think it was more the amount of work in order to get it to a position

-where we could start earning income.

-And the time that would then take.

It really made that not feasible for us.

-The second house gave you a lot on the business front.

-It had the cattery. That was fantastic.

An established business already. That was fantastic.

The scope for car work for you, classic cars, was fabulous as well.

But we wanted a house with some character. That was a reason to move down here and we just felt

-that the house was...

-It didn't grip us.

Such a shame because the grounds that it stood in were superb.

-Then you saw the mystery house!

-When we saw it, well, a thatch first of all...

-But I don't know. I think it swung us a bit, didn't it?

-It did.

-Especially with the holiday let, which was just superb.

-Fabulous.

Yeah, yeah. And, of course, the land it had with it

which lent itself to a small cattery in the corner, maybe.

If you had the cash in the bank, would you buy the mystery house?

-Would we get our chequebook out here and now? We're too sensible for that, I think.

-Oh...

We'd have to go away for a few days and discuss it.

I think for me the house was always, to a degree, quite important.

When Kev said it wasn't important, a little part of me went,

"Maybe it is important." And I think that's now become clear.

-It has to me.

-To you, too, now.

-Yeah, more so. More so.

So we did our job.

-100%.

-Yes.

-It showed us some things that we didn't like and some things that we did like.

-So now you have to sell your house.

-We do.

-Buy a cattery. I'll buy a cat and come and lodge with you.

You're welcome to visit any time.

I think we can give ourselves a pat on the back for our work here in a not very summery Norfolk

because not only did we manage to give Belinda and Kevin their feline fantasy here,

but also we managed to shake it all up a bit and get them to ask themselves, "What is more important?

"House for the cats or house for ourselves?"

That's the sort of thing we do very well on Escape To The Country.

Make sure you join us next time for more of our sterling work.

Much to our surprise, Kevin and Belinda actually decided to make an offer on property two -

the cattery - once they've sold their house. So fingers crossed that that happens quickly.

If you'd like to escape to the country in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or England and need help,

please apply online:

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd