Derbyshire Escape to the Country

This tranquil rural valley behind me contains a stream, a machine,

a building that sent seismic shock waves around the world.

Find out where I am in just a moment.

'On today's show, I'm flying high with a couple hoping for a perfect property landing in the countryside,

'but at our first destination, they can't wait to depart early.'

I'm thinking this is a bit small.

'However, the mystery house soon makes their spirits soar.'

-Wow, look at that!

-That's fantastic. That is impressive.

Today, we're in Derbyshire and this is Cromford Mill

which is one of the Derwent Valley mills that, since 2001, has been a World Heritage Site.

Quite an honour! Why? Well, because they are the brainchild of Sir Richard Arkwright,

who in 1771 created the first water-powered, cotton-spinning mill

and then built this complex of factory buildings and workers' cottages around it,

thus laying the blueprint for the modern British factory complex, then copied all around the world.

But it's not the only landmark in this county.

Landlocked Derbyshire is bordered by a number of counties,

including Yorkshire to the north and Leicestershire to the south.

And the county's picturesque setting has provided inspiration for many creative individuals,

such as the writer Jane Austen and the poet John Betjeman

who once wrote, "There is every kind of scenery in Derbyshire, except the sea."

Although there's no coastline, strangely enough, the county is famed for its watery assets

and the natural spring towns of Ashbourne and Buxton are both known

throughout the world for their mineral water.

Another county highlight is the Peak District National Park.

Over eight million tourists visit here each year

and the park contains around 500 square miles of hills, rock faces and river valleys.

With all this on offer, it's little surprise that Derbyshire remains an ever-attractive option

for those seeking a rural escape.

You might think you could get a good deal on property here in Derbyshire

because that mythical beast, the average detached house,

costs £197,000 here which is £57,000 less than the national average.

However, let's face it, who wants to live in an average detached house?

You'd much prefer to live in one of the beautiful houses in the southern fringes of the Peak District,

places like Bakewell or Ashford-in-the-Water

where the same house is going to cost you £400,000 to £500,000.

Still, there are places just south of the Peak District like Ashbourne or Matlock

where you can get a lot more for your money, and wherever you are, there's beautiful architecture.

Limestone is one of Derbyshire's most common building materials

and it's been quarried here since Roman times.

Its use has become increasingly popular

and the Peak District is now Britain's largest limestone producer.

Today, around 20 million tonnes are quarried annually,

so limestone properties are a common sight here.

And this two-bedroom cottage in Winster is currently on the market for £165,000.

Another distinctive building material seen throughout the county is sandstone.

Also quarried locally, it's been used in a wide range of houses from very grand crescents

to slightly more bijou properties.

If you'd like a slice of such wonderful architecture,

this three-bedroom, Grade 2 listed cottage also in Winster

could be yours for £197,000.

Reflecting the county's industrial heritage,

there are also many converted millworkers' cottages across Derbyshire

and this Grade 2 listed, one-bedroomed terrace in Cromford

is currently on the market for just over £102,000.

Limestone or sandstone, Victorian farmhouse or country cottage, it's all out there,

but what are our buyers today looking for? Let's meet them and find out.

Dwayne and his wife Samantha live in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey

and they like to live life to the full.

They both have successful careers. Dwayne is a management consultant

and Samantha a financial services director,

but it's not just work that makes these two high-flyers.

We sort of fly probably twice a month, possibly three times,

and you're quite a good navigator now, aren't you?

-Well, I'm getting there.

-We've not infringed any airspace, which is always a good thing.

When they've not got their head in the clouds, our couple can often be seen motoring around the countryside

and it's the scenery they've encountered that has inspired them to leave the town once and for all.

We're both really drawn to the idea of living

in hills or near hills.

It's quite good now because where we are in our working careers,

we've got flexibility, we don't have to live in a specific area.

You can build your business from a local place

and I travel the country anyway, so it doesn't really matter where I'm based.

The location that has caught their imagination is Derbyshire.

The whole of the Peak District is very attractive to us as an area because we love the hills.

We did a little bit of an exploration, so Buxton was quite interesting.

That's a spa town with good architecture, but you can see the rolling hills in the background.

And Bakewell was quite interesting.

To be able to just wander out of the house

and start walking into the hills is really attractive for us, isn't it?

When it comes to the ideal house in the hills, our buyers have a very definite idea of what they want.

What's really important to us about the property is some character.

We love the idea of a period property, perhaps a much older property,

or even a barn conversion

that's got lots of beams,

an open fire and lots of character.

All that's left to nail down are their finances.

So the budget that we've got

for our new property is £400,000.

'Dwayne and Sam are particularly keen on living in the northern area of the Peak District,

'close to their favourite towns of Bakewell and Buxton.

'This is an expensive area though as there are fewer properties and they are highly sought after.

'I caught up with them to discover more about their rural move.'

-Welcome back to Derbyshire as you know this area quite well.

-We do.

So, lovely houses we've got lined up for you, but tell us again what you're looking for exactly.

We're looking for a three-bedroom property. The downstairs living space is really important,

so the character, beams, fireplaces, and the flow of the property as well.

So I like the idea of higgledy-piggledy rooms that lead into each other.

So a period property, because period cottages, that's the sort of ballpark we're looking at,

don't tend to be hugely open-plan.

-No.

-So is there some leeway there?

-Yes, I think so.

I think you just know when you walk into a property whether it feels right, so we'll have a good idea...

Maybe you can get a sense of openness with a barn conversion with that character,

but I'm looking for an outside space for motorbikes and a projects room. That would be a good feature.

You've done quite a lot of renovation in properties before. Are you prepared to do a bit of work?

-Yes, definitely.

-That's no problem.

-We'd enjoy that.

The other important thing, because we both need an office from home,

would be to have space within the property where we can have a double office together

or two separate rooms in the property where we can both have offices.

What about outside space? You've got all this on your doorstep. Are you looking to have a big garden?

I think a huge garden is not necessarily a pre-requisite for us.

Some nice outside space where we can spend time would be lovely,

but as you rightly say, we've got all this on our doorstep.

-The nice thing is you don't have to garden this.

-No.

So we've got some nice properties to show you. Let's go and see the first one. Follow me.

'For their maximum budget of £400,000, Dwayne and Sam are looking for a detached property.'

'We found three fabulous properties we think they'll find hard to resist,

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

'As ever, the last of these is the mystery house which is certainly not your average, run-of-the-mill home.

'For our first house, we're heading about five miles west of Bakewell to Monyash.

'This small village is in the hills and dales of the Peak District

'and it's a popular destination for walkers

'which is lucky as Dwayne and Sam are avid hikers.

'One of the village meeting points for keen walkers and even bikers is the local cafe,

'so we decided to have a chat with the owner to find out

'what makes this place so appealing for would-be escapees.'

What's going on in the village? What's the selling point for...?

There's always something happening.

There's lots of different walks, cyclists all over the place, but always something going on.

In terms of your clientele, do you get any bikers?

Lots of motorcyclists, yeah.

So it's a good place for motorcyclists?

Yeah, there's lots of different routes that they like to take

and they always cross over in the village. It's a central point.

'Well, we've seen the village, so let's go and view the first house which is just down the road.'

This is the house I want to show you.

-It's really pretty.

-The first thing you'll notice is that it is attached.

-Yeah.

-If you look round the village, they're all kind of rows of old stone cottages.

It dates back to the 1700s and it was actually three,

but two of them have been knocked together,

so it's really up here until that little jutting-out bit, that's the second property.

-First impressions, it's really lovely.

-What do you feel about attached? You wanted detached.

In an ideal world, detached, but we're not averse to the idea of an attached property, are we?

No, not at all. This is in the zone definitely, yeah.

"In the zone"!

'The fact that this cottage is not detached has not seemed to put our buyers off.

'Let's see if they will remain open-minded once they get inside.'

Step inside.

-So we're coming in the back of the house as often happens in the countryside.

-Yeah.

-Straight into the newest addition which is the sun room.

-This is lovely, really light.

Let's have a look in the kitchen.

There is a light shift when you come from that very bright room into the kitchen.

-I like the beams. That's nice.

-A good range there.

What about proportions?

I'm thinking this is a bit small.

I think it's probably a bit of a smaller kitchen than I would ideally like,

but it looks like it's very well put together.

Through here, there's quite a big utility room and downstairs toilet.

Then it flows straight into the sitting room.

Here you really get a sense of the period of the property.

-Oh, yes.

-This is good, yeah.

That wall is gorgeous with the wooden beam. I love that.

-That's really nice.

-The fireplace works as well.

-Proper working fireplace.

-Yeah, great.

-Lots of details.

-You've got this little salt larder to the side where they used to cure the meat.

-Goodness!

Let's look upstairs because actually it's quite spacious upstairs.

'As we head to the first floor, we pass through the family dining room.

'Upstairs, there are a total of three double bedrooms

'with one currently being used as a study.

'There's also a large family bathroom, but now we're viewing the main bedroom.'

Oh, yeah, that's really nice!

-Good wardrobes.

-Loads of wardrobe space.

-There's lots of storage which is nice in a period property.

-Good-sized room as well, I think, nice proportions.

-Yeah.

-I'll let you explore all the rooms a bit later, but let's go outside and talk about money.

-OK.

'Out here, there's a garage which is next to a pretty landscaped garden

'and it's all surrounded by stunning countryside.'

Well, first off, look at the views!

-Yeah.

-That's fantastic.

-We promised you views. You get your views.

That is really lovely.

You've got your work cut out to keep this garden up to scratch, Samantha,

-because it is a beautifully maintained garden.

-It is, isn't it?

What do you think from the outside? What are your thoughts about the potential here?

-My overall feeling is it's just a little bit...

-Squishy.

-..small.

You are the great renovators, so are you thinking about expanding it in any way?

There's potential there. It depends on how much it costs

because that gives us our budget if we did that sort of thing.

So what do you think it does cost?

I'm going to take a guess at...365,000.

Mm-hm. What about you, Dwayne?

I'm going to go a bit lower than that. I'm going to go 335.

335. OK, well, you're both a bit optimistic.

This is on the market just over your budget at 415.

Oh, right, OK.

Monyash is a very popular village.

-She's open to offers, so you might get it within your budget, but it's at the top end of your budget.

-OK.

It might not be the property for you, but I'll give you more time to look around inside and outside.

-I'll meet you out the front, then we can press on to the next one.

-OK.

-In you go.

That's always a barometer, what people guess.

It's usually code for how much they like it,

so it could be a bit of an ambivalent one, this one,

but we'll see what their feedback is. Have a listen.

On the market at £415,000, this cottage is just over their budget.

From the outside, it's really nice.

I think it's got the sort of stone construction that we are looking for

and the conservatory is really nice as well, a great entertaining area.

Given the budget, I think, for myself, probably not a real contender at this point in time.

I thought it was a really pretty house. I think the character of the house is fantastic.

And the way it's been decorated and lived in looks absolutely lovely,

so that fits for us really well.

-Are you done?

-We are.

-All happy?

-Yeah, very interesting.

"Interesting" is what we like to hear. That's property one done.

-Let's go and look at house number two.

-OK.

Nestled in the Derwent Valley in the foothills of the Peak District is the historic village of Hathersage.

This ancient setting, cocooned by miles of moorland,

is thought to have been the inspiration for Morton,

the fictional village of Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre.

Here, dramatic rock formations like the Higger Tor and the hill fort at Carl Wark

make these moors a particular draw for walkers and climbers.

But the unpredictable landscape and isolation here

means you can sometimes encounter problems when walking these routes, especially if you're ill-prepared.

The Edale Mountain Rescue Team was formed in the 1950s

to come to the aid of stranded and injured walkers

and as our buyers are extremely keen to explore the area on foot,

we arranged for them to meet volunteer rescuer, Trevor Lawton.

So what's the most common call-out the team gets?

The most common injuries we deal with are lower leg fractures, which are mainly walkers.

-Is it a 24/7 service?

-Yes. Everybody on the call-out list is on call.

Over the last 12 years, this team has been called out to around 900 incidents,

making them one of the busiest crews in the UK.

Team members perform training sessions regularly

in order to refresh and improve their first-aid and rescue skills.

Most of the volunteers are already members of the emergency services

which is invaluable experience as Dwayne and Sam are about to find out

as they watch a training exercise take place.

OK, what you see happening now is the first two people that have come in to sort out the casualty.

Pippa is holding the head because this person has fallen ten feet

and Judith is just assessing to see what injuries the casualty has.

There's quite a lot of kit they use.

This is why we need so many people, 12 to 15 people for a normal carry just a short distance.

How long would it take to get him out of here, do you think?

To the road, probably about an hour.

From getting the call, getting here, getting him out, an hour to an hour and a half.

The casualty is nicely packaged now into all our equipment that we've got here.

They're in a vacuum mattress which keeps them nice and secure for the carry which will be quite tricky.

They'll carry now to the road head where, hopefully, we'll have an ambulance waiting

or an air ambulance, depending on what's available, that will have landed somewhere close.

With the exercise coming to an end, it's time to leave these hills behind

as we head back to our property search.

'We're travelling around 11 miles south-east of Munyash to the village of Winster.

'This former lead-mining district is full of charm, as well as history.

'The centre of the village is a designated conservation area and boasts notable buildings,

'such as the Tudor Winster Market House.

'It was the first property the National Trust acquired in the Peak District back in 1906

'and it's a reminder of a time

'when the weekly market of locally produced goods took pride of place in village life.

'Our second property is a true rural retreat

'and is a former mineworker's cottage in a lovely, secluded setting.'

So a long way down...a drive

into a much more secluded place

-and actually two properties next to each other.

-Yes.

-This is the one that we want to show you.

-Wow!

-Oh, my goodness!

-That is a proposition!

-That looks really, really interesting.

-Yeah.

Just at the bottom of this section of this dry-stone wall, there's a footpath that goes up this hill.

It's 100 metres, then you come into the middle of the village.

-You see the top of the buildings through the trees, so it feels more isolated than it actually is.

-Yeah.

-Shall we take a peek inside?

-Definitely!

-Look at their faces!

'This limestone cottage has caught Dwayne and Sam's imagination.

'Let's hope we can keep them intrigued as we head inside.'

So come on in.

-Ooh!

-Just see what you think.

-Oh, yeah, yeah, this is nice.

-Oh, this is lovely.

Oh, lots of "yeah, yeahs".

It's a real country cottage kitchen.

-Yeah.

-With lots of character.

The kitchen is one of the newer parts.

The old parts have got lovely features.

-Take a look at these wonderful tiles.

-Fabulous, aren't they?

-Look at this.

This is again an original feature, almost certainly of the period.

It's a baker's oven, so you light the fire in here. And they do light this in the winter.

These ovens on the other side get hot enough to bake in.

-Right.

-That's great, isn't it?

-That's good.

This is the main sitting room which is again very charming.

-So, here we are, sitting room.

-Oh, yeah, lovely room.

-And a great beam.

-Yeah, that's an old ship's mast.

In the original deeds, it's listed as a ship's mast.

Oh, goodness! I think this house has got a lot of appeal.

-Good. Well, we haven't finished yet. Let's look upstairs.

-OK.

'Just off this dining area is another space that could be used as either a bedroom or study,

'but we're now going to take a peek at where they could be sleeping.'

This is what they're using as the master bedroom.

-See this great view over to Matlock.

-Oh, that's lovely, isn't it?

Yeah.

-This is a nice-sized room.

-This is really nice.

-Dual aspect.

-It's very light.

-Again, it's surprising in an old building to have all this space upstairs.

-It fits well.

-This is a really spacious bedroom.

'There are two other bedrooms up here, which are light and airy, and a good-sized family bathroom.

'Moving outside, you can fully appreciate the beautiful setting.

'Out here you'll find a good-sized garden with a timber store, a shed

'and there's also space for a greenhouse.'

-You actually own more than two acres of land.

-Really?

-That's very good.

But then behind, your land continues basically up the hillside

and then right down to where we came in, in a way.

So you basically have this huge tranche of woodland.

Goodness! I wasn't expecting that.

-I'm pretty drawn to this place.

-Well, how much do you think it costs?

I would say just over our budget. I'm going to go 405, 410.

I think maybe just a little bit higher, so I would guess 420,000.

Well, this time you were both a bit pessimistic.

-Actually, this is on the market at £399,950.

-Wow!

-Really?

-So a smidge under your budget.

-Go back in for a look, then wander round the grounds.

-OK.

-And I'll see you on the drive.

'That was a welcome surprise for Dwayne and Sam with this charming cottage coming in just under budget.

'It has a large sitting room, a farmhouse-style kitchen with a range cooker,

'three bedrooms with potential for a fourth on the ground floor,

'and it's all set in a pretty walled garden with two acres of woodland.'

So coming down that long pathway and finding this house here just tucked into the hillside

is really lovely.

And the fact that there is two acres of woodland

was a great surprise.

I think for me the big challenge with this house is the location.

That's quite a long drive and I think in winter that could become a problem for us.

-Hey, guys. Seen everything you need to see?

-Yeah, lots to see.

Lots to think about. Let's give you some space to think and take you away from the properties.

As the sun begins to set across the Derbyshire countryside,

our buyers get the chance to take some time out to reflect on their first day of house hunting.

'With a maximum budget of £400,000, Dwayne and Sam from Walton-on-Thames in Surrey are hoping

'to break free from suburbia and settle in the heart of the Derbyshire countryside.

'So far we've shown them two lovely properties and while Sam has taken to the surroundings,

'Dwayne has remained rather pragmatic. But can our mystery house finally create a shared vision?'

Wow!

-Oh, this is a lovely room.

-'And I discover how girl power ensured the future

'of one of Derbyshire's most stately homes.' There she is. That's the famous painting.

Slightly showery weather for house hunting today, but generally I was very pleased

with Samantha and Dwayne's responses to the first two stone-built properties.

Samantha positive, Dwayne playing his cards closer to his chest.

He was a bit worried about how remote the second house was.

The mystery house? Very different proposition. The one thing it does give them is community.

So how are you feeling today about our property search?

Could this be maybe a new build, but with traditional features?

A barn conversion. We said we quite liked the idea of that, so that might be nice.

I'm getting the impression that actually the period aspect is less important than the flow aspect.

-Is that fair to say?

-Yeah, I think so. It's all about space and being able to move freely.

If we get the period features, that's a bonus.

'We're travelling to the other side of the county, close to the town of Buxton, for our mystery house.

'Built on the River Wye and overlooked by Axe Edge Moor, Buxton has a long history as a spa town

'thanks to its geothermal spring, which rises at a constant temperature of 29 degrees Celsius.

'One of the most important periods in Buxton's history occurred in 1780

'when the Fifth Duke of Devonshire began the construction of the town's crescent.

'Costing what was a huge sum then of £38,000, it took some ten years to come to fruition.

'Our mystery house is around 13 miles east of Buxton and also has connections with water.

'As usual, we're taking a bit of a risk because with this property

'Dwayne and Sam will really have to get their heads around the idea of sharing.'

Here it is. The mystery house.

Oh, wow! Look at that.

-That's fantastic. That is impressive.

-You mentioned a barn conversion. They don't do them here,

but they do do very good mill conversions.

-This is amazing.

-It's a really impressive piece of mill and house.

It's a proper slice of Industrial Revolution history. It's a Richard Arkwright mill.

He built a whole chain of mills along the rivers in this area.

It dates back to about the 1780s. Our bit is right at the end.

The extension. That's the accounting house for the mill. It's the last two windows.

-There are two town houses. Yours is the one on the right.

-Very good.

-What about communal living?

-Obviously, it's a great big converted block.

-We wanted a bit of a community,

so we'd be a part of whoever's here. So that's encouraging.

-Very keen to have a look inside.

-I really like it.

-Let's go and look inside.

'On first impressions, it seems the idea of sharing their space could be right up Dwayne and Sam's street.

'Let's see if we can keep the momentum on the inside.'

Slightly unusual to start in a room like this, but it's an upside down house. Three bedrooms on this floor

and a lovely big family bathroom. But we were thinking this room would be a nice office.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Obviously, it's upside down for a reason, which you're about to discover.

'Now we're heading for the living space on the first floor.'

-Wow.

-Oh, this is a lovely room.

-Really lovely.

-Four aspects. Well, four windows.

-Four windows.

Basically, the walls are windows. And no wonder. Look.

-Well, that's a view, without a doubt.

-The Wye Valley.

-I love the window seats, too.

-Yeah.

-I could see myself sitting there, having a cup of tea

-and looking up at the hills.

-It's a great mix of old and new.

A modern living space in this very beautiful old building.

We thought, judging by your responses to the old cottages,

that this might be more in tune with what you were looking for.

-Good.

-Smiles?

-Yes.

-Yes.

Bright eyes. Let's have a look at the kitchen. It's next door.

Here we are. A lovely sunny room as well.

-Yeah, nice.

-Oh, lovely.

-Very well finished.

Yeah, this is a great space, isn't it? And the flow. Just the simple walkthrough.

-It really works well.

-It's got the flow.

-It has.

-The magic flow.

-I think it really works having the upside down.

-Yes.

-Here you've got the back door that goes out

-and that actually goes out onto the street.

-Uh-huh.

-Oh, OK.

-It's multi-level.

-This is a great sociable room. Cooking, people sat there drinking.

-That's nice, I think.

-I really like this room.

-Yeah.

-And this flooring just works all the way through, for a sense of uniformity.

-Yeah.

-Good.

-You might be wondering where you sleep.

-I was wondering that.

-Come with me.

'A space to sleep is always high on the agenda, so it's up another flight of stairs to the mezzanine.'

-Oh, very cute stairs.

-Did you say cute stairs?

-Even cuter, en-suite.

-Oh, yes!

-Yeah, that's great.

-That's really nice.

-That works.

Then you step over this very industrial beam. You'd have to get used to that.

-And here we have...

-Oh! So you can see over to the lounge.

-It's the mezzanine.

-Right.

-It's built up above the sitting room.

-Yeah.

Again, unusual character.

-Yeah.

-But a nice space, definitely. I think that's why it's got the flow. It's so open.

-It is open.

-That's really, really nice.

-Yeah.

-What do you feel about the mezzanine bedroom? Not everybody's mad keen on that.

-No. I should think

-if you've got a busy house, it could be quite a challenge, but for us...

-No, that works.

Again, not something we considered or have had before, but great feature.

Well, that's the inside. Now outside, obviously, it's communal living so there are issues.

-Let's go and have a chat about that.

-OK.

-Mind the big beam. Head on down.

'Dwayne and Sam are clearly very keen on this house, but what will they make of the shared gardens?'

So here we have the heart of the mill. There was a giant - up to the first floor - mill wheel

in that housing there. A wooden one.

-At the turn of the 20th century, they put in this proper steel turbine.

-Yeah.

That really does it for me. A nice bit of industrial archaeology and history. Very nice.

In terms of your garden, though, Samantha, this is it.

-There is no private garden with the property.

-OK.

-So that means I don't have to do any gardening.

-It means that.

-But still enjoy all of this.

-Yes.

There is a service charge. It is a communal space, so you pay £760 a year.

-Mm-hm.

-OK.

-But it's a very substantial plot.

You've got all this stuff by the waterside, a bowling green,

-a games room, football pitch.

-Yeah?

-Gym.

-There's a gym here?

-Yeah.

-All of that's for £760...?

-Yeah. It's not too bad.

-A good return.

-Obviously, it is a leasehold property.

-And how long is the lease?

-About 118 years, so a good long while.

-OK.

-Long enough.

-Yeah, long enough for us, isn't it?

-What about the price? What do you think it's on the market for?

-Oh, wow...

-It's tricky.

-It's really hard, isn't it?

I think this is going to be more than our budget. So I'm going to take a guess at...

£450,000.

I'll go 425.

It's on the market for...

-£400,000.

-Ah, right!

-Really?

-Yeah.

-That's a surprise.

-Gosh.

-Spot-on.

-On the money.

-Yeah. Indeed.

-£400,000?

-Yeah.

-I like that price!

Maybe have a look around. If you go down there, you can see the space and take in the architecture.

-I'll see you out the front.

-OK.

It was a risky proposition because it wasn't what they asked for,

but if you're going to live in Derbyshire and you want a bit of character,

this is character.

On the market for £400,000, this townhouse has certainly caught the interest of our buyers.

It has a stunning sitting room with exposed timber beams,

a spacious bespoke kitchen,

four double bedrooms including a master with an en-suite situated on the mezzanine

and it's surrounded by countryside with direct access to walking and cycling tracks.

Well, when we arrived at the mystery house, it was just breathtaking.

Just coming round that corner and seeing the facade of the mill house was really amazing.

When we came inside, it didn't disappoint at all. I liked the dual aspect of the character of it,

coupled with the modern aspect and lightness. When we found out the price of the house,

we were both pleasantly surprised.

We definitely need to go away and have a conversation about it.

There's so much to think about in terms of the communal aspect and not having a garden or garage,

which is quite important. We need to think about whether those things will still work.

Well, the setting for the mystery house is excellent.

It's everything that we were looking for in terms of the geography, the views out the windows.

The way the house is set is pretty much spot-on.

The shared space is good also. The sense of community would work well for us.

British summer continues. Charming(!)

-It's still raining.

-Still raining.

I'm going to get you somewhere warm and dry so you can mull over all the properties we've shown you.

Often dubbed the palace of the Peak District,

Chatsworth House is one of England's most impressive stately homes.

Since the 1690s, it's been home to the Dukes of Devonshire

and has been passed down through 16 generations of the Cavendish family.

It's not just been men at the forefront of its remarkable history.

I've come to meet Christine Robinson, Chatsworth's head housekeeper for over 35 years,

to find out how this place became an incredible seat of female power.

One thing I'm interested in particularly is the powerful women that this estate seems to have bred.

-At a time when women didn't have much power, there have been really strong women here.

-There have.

The first one was Bess of Hardwick, Elizabeth Cavendish. She was a very shrewd woman.

-She married four times. Each husband was wealthier than the one before.

-Canny!

Husband number two was William Cavendish, who came from Suffolk.

He'd been a commissioner for Henry VIII, acquired land all over the country. She got him to sell that

-and buy land in Derbyshire.

-The nucleus of the Chatsworth Estate.

-It is here now.

And this house was built when?

This house was built at the end of the 1600s, early 1700s, by the First Duke of Devonshire.

'Moving forward to the mid-1700s, the Duchess here at Chatsworth was Georgiana Spencer,

'who in 1774 married the Fifth Duke of Devonshire. She was renowned for her charm and fashion sense.'

-There she is.

-Yes, Georgiana.

-That's the famous painting.

It's painted by Gainsborough. So quite a stunning picture with her trademark hat.

She was one for flamboyant hats and a real trendsetter in her day.

She did a lot of unusual things. for a woman of her day.

-Because, perhaps, she lacked the affection at home she'd have liked...

-She'd a lousy marriage.

She didn't have a very happy marriage and she became involved in politics.

She was passionate about education for poorer people.

There was a lot more to her than a woman of fashion, although she did set the trend with these hats.

-Spinning forward again, we've got the Dowager Duchess.

-She had an incredible influence on Chatsworth,

with her husband the 11th Duke. When they took over in 1950, they had to pay 80% of everything

they owned in death duties. Some things had to be sold, but they were very shrewd and careful.

It was the drive of the Dowager Duchess, as she is now, that made the house what it is today.

'We're now heading to the library, which is not usually open to the public

'as it is still used on a daily basis by the Dowager Duchess' son, the current Duke of Devonshire.

'He is the 12th Duke and continues his mother's legacy of preserving the family home

-'and its unique contents.'

-There is a fine line between being businesslike and succeeding.

Chatsworth has succeeded in keeping its integrity and an awful lot of that is down to her

and the way in which she's influenced her son. The current Duke has always been closely involved

with the management side of things, so he's had a really good grounding from a very good teacher.

'The story of Chatsworth's ladies has spanned many centuries, but even today it's still clear

'to see why they remain such prominent figures in its history.'

Probably a little over Samantha and Dwayne's budget, but let's leave this splendour behind

and go and meet up with the guys and find out what they think.

So if it's OK, we'll go through the three houses. It's always nice to hear your thoughts about them.

The first property was right in the heart of a very popular village. What do you think?

I think it was a very nice house, very traditional.

It had the sort of period features that we thought we wanted.

There's no question it was a beautiful house and it felt really nice to walk around.

I think there would have been a compromise or two in terms of the third bedroom

becoming a study, although we could have done that.

The other option was putting the study outside,

above or next to the garage, which could also have worked.

Either way, it would have been a compromise of one sort or another.

What about house number two? Much more embedded in the landscape.

Quite an isolated position, a long drive to the house.

The views were great, but again lots of rooms going off rooms.

It didn't really have that flow that we were looking for.

I think it had a lot to give and a lot of potential,

but I think, on reflection, when we looked at the price of the property

and what we would need to do to make it our own, it came out a little too much over budget.

The mystery house, also down a valley, that seemed to please you enormously.

That was a totally different proposition. A really nice surprise.

Yes, the house had a serenity and a calmness that really appealed to me.

-I think in my head I've probably already moved in.

-Well, that's what we like to hear! What next, then?

-Would you put an offer on?

-I would definitely revisit

and make some more inquiries. There's things about the garage and the lease and the communal gardens,

-but certainly worth more investigation and discussion.

-Yes.

-Good.

I very much hope that you pursue it and, ideally, move in,

-but whatever happens, it's been a real pleasure showing you round.

-Thank you. We've had a lovely week.

It's testament to Derbyshire's good bones that even in a shroud of drizzle, it still looks beautiful.

Sunshine or rain, it doesn't seem to have dampened Dwayne and Samantha's enthusiasm for moving here,

particularly into that little slice of the Industrial Revolution.

If you've enjoyed our jaunt up here, join us for more next time on Escape To The Country.

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