Warwickshire Escape to the Country

You'd expect to see a gondola like this floating down the canals of Venice, but back in 1904,

it was raising eyebrows on one of Britain's most famous rivers.

Find out where I am and who its eccentric owner was in just a moment.

'On today's show, I'll be helping a couple make one of our biggest escapes ever

'as they move all the way from China to find a thoroughly British abode.

-'In one property, the garden offers much more than they ever imagined.'

-That was an unexpected surprise.

-'The mystery house comes up trumps.'

-You've found my perfect kitchen.

Today, we're in Warwickshire right in the middle of Stratford-upon-Avon,

famous for William Shakespeare, but at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries,

it was also home to one of Britain's most popular female writers.

Marie Corelli was so good that at the time it is said she outsold the likes of HG Wells,

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling.

It is even thought that Queen Victoria was a fan.

She was larger than life and could often be seen taking to the water,

propelled by her very own Italian gondolier.

It's just one of those lovely colourful stories

that makes Warwickshire such an enticing county in which to live.

Landlocked in the heart of England, Warwickshire is bordered by six counties

and has a population of approximately half a million people.

Its terrain is gently rolling with outcroppings of the Cotswold Hills in the south.

The area to the north of Stratford-upon-Avon was formerly the Forest of Arden

and though much of the forest was cleared by the time of the Industrial Revolution,

the area still maintains a wooded character.

Around 5½ million visitors a year flock to Stratford-upon-Avon

where Shakespeare was born in 1564.

The county's other historic attractions include the imposing medieval Warwick Castle

that sits on a cliff top overlooking the River Avon and can trace its history back to the year 914.

Now at £271,000, your average property here in Warwickshire

will set you back a cool 17½ grand above the national average.

But things can vary across the county.

Go to southern Warwickshire and things can go up

because of its close proximity to the beauty of the Cotswolds.

Things are a bit cheaper in the north of the county,

but beware of the hot spot around Royal Leamington Spa.

Wherever you want to be in this gorgeous place,

there are plenty of houses on offer and real architectural beauties.

In the villages around Stratford-upon-Avon,

you will find a range of attractive, red-brick Victorian cottages

which start from around £180,000 for a two-bedroom home

and around the £380,000 mark for a four-bedroom property.

If you want even more grandeur, you could try the area around Royal Leamington Spa.

A Georgian property here can cost upwards of £400,000 for a three-to-four-bedroom home.

And this historic county is also dotted with black-and-white timber-frame cottages,

some Grade 2 listed and some dating back to the 16th century.

For a three-bedroom cottage, prices begin in the region of £300,000,

but can quickly soar for a particularly choice home.

So, as you can see, if architecture is your thing, this is a county that should not disappoint you.

But will it be enough to entice today's buyers to make a very long-distance move to the country?

Entrepreneurs Chris and Shirley currently live and work

in the bustling metropolis of Shanghai in China,

but are desperate to set up home in the English countryside.

Married for eight years, they're staying with Chris's parents in the West Midlands

as they ease themselves into a new lifestyle.

China has been a great home for us over the last 14 years,

but it's now coming to the time where we believe we've got to be closer to family, friends.

It would be nice to live close, not too far away from Chris's parents

because we have a very good relationship with them and they are very loving parents.

While Chris will continue to run his insurance company remotely,

Shirley has recently sold her wine business and is keen to embrace their changing circumstances.

The challenging part for me, I guess, is I have lived in a very busy lifestyle.

I run my own business,

but I realise that pace or that lifestyle is becoming a bit more... is draining myself out.

It is also not healthy for our marriage as well.

I would like to have kids, to have a family.

And wherever they choose to start their family,

it will certainly be a world away from their apartment complex in China.

Our property in Shanghai, it's on the 23rd and 24th floor.

We basically gutted the place and we've created the perfect home in Shanghai.

-Now we want...

-A city home, yes.

A city home. Now we need to create the same in the UK somehow.

-In the countryside.

-In the countryside.

The part of this green and pleasant land they've chosen to live in is Warwickshire

as it has good links to the Midlands and London for family and business purposes.

They also have clear ideas about their dream home.

We're looking for something that really encapsulates everything

about traditional English country lifestyle, if possible.

Also, yeah, Shirley wants a purely detached place.

Using lessons learned in his move to China, Chris has some good ideas

about how he and Shirley can get to know their new community.

I'm a city boy. I've never lived in the country.

To try and integrate, we'd need to do more in the community, make them feel we're adding to the community.

Things like wine parties, cheese parties, noodle parties. Things like that.

There's a lot of socialising on the agenda,

but he also plans to spend some time on the fairway too.

I love playing golf. However, in Shanghai, although there's 40 different golf courses,

they're all at least two hours' drive away.

When you come to the UK, golf is readily available to the masses, so I want to play more golf.

Chris and Shirley are raring to start the next phase of their lives

and as cash buyers, all the finances are already in place to move quickly.

If we find a property that ticks all the boxes, we would spend up to 800,000.

'Chris and Shirley want to live in the villages in and around Stratford-upon-Avon,

'giving them that country feel, but with good access to a lively town.

'I met up with them in the Warwickshire countryside

'to get a picture of what they want from their first British home together.'

Chris, Shirley, welcome to Warwickshire. This is quite a move.

I don't think we've ever had anybody on the show who has moved so many miles.

It's hard to imagine such a greater extreme, really.

Yes, I think Shanghai is very different. Obviously, we're moving to the countryside.

Shanghai is a very busy city and always very chaotic,

so it's a very different lifestyle.

It's great for business, it's great for partying, but it's not good for raising a family.

-So raising a family is what's motivating this move, I suspect?

-Yeah, that's for sure, yes.

Paint us a picture of the property we're looking for in terms of its constituent parts.

Constituent parts are something that has character.

Instead of living in a concrete block, we have something that has some history, some character.

You look out the window and see greenery.

Good gardens if possible, but I think the most important thing is the environment,

the clean air, schooling,

all those things that you really want to give your children a good start in life.

-Water also is important, isn't it? Many oriental gardens, they have to have water in them.

-Yeah, yeah.

-It just gives you this calming...

-Feng shui, as they say.

-Feng shui. It means "water".

-OK.

-Somewhere with a bit of water would help?

-Yes.

-So how many bedrooms?

-Ideally, four.

Obviously, we'll still be working, so we need somewhere to maybe convert into a bit of an office.

OK. And the wine business that you're in is also worth noting

because a wine cellar, presumably, is going to be important?

Yeah, that will be important, yes.

And just remind us of the budget.

-About 800,000.

-£800,000.

-A bit more if it's a very nice property?

-We'll see what's available.

I would think £800,000 in Warwickshire would get you fairly close to what you're looking for.

-Let's go.

-Great.

-Follow me.

-I'm looking forward to it.

'Chris and Shirley hope their £800,000 budget

'will buy them a characterful and very British property.

'We found three beautiful properties we think they'll be impressed with,

'but I won't reveal the price of each until they have a guess first.

'The final option is the mystery house which offers our buyers the chance to immerse themselves

'in a very authentic British way of life.

'We begin our house search ten miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon, close to the village of Kineton.

'This location has a range of amenities for Chris and Shirley,

'including a butcher's shop and a number of pubs, some of which sell local ales.

'Five miles north-west of here is the thriving community of Wellesbourne,

'which is where we'll find our first property situated on a quiet no-through road.'

-That's the house we want to show you.

-With the S?

-Yeah, that big iron S.

It's an ancient wall tie that's quite common in a lot of older properties here.

At its core, it's about 1600s or so. What do you think, guys?

Nice three-storey house with, uh... Yes, it's quite interesting.

-Yeah.

-I also notice that it looks like it has a cellar.

-You've just spotted that little brick arch.

-Yes.

It does have a cellar. There's a lot of smiling going on.

Probably a mixture of relief and optimism, I hope.

-Obviously.

-Yes. I look forward to visiting inside.

-Come on then. Let's have a look.

'So from the outside, this property appears to have all the bases covered - character,

'good dimensions and a cellar, but let's see if it continues to deliver inside.'

Right, Shirley, come and tell me what you think of this.

Wow!

Very, very impressive.

That's a very nice fireplace.

-It's sweet, isn't it?

-Yes.

This is a classic inglenook fireplace.

It's the way that it disappears into the wall.

-All the original beams.

-It really starts to betray the origins of the place.

And unusually, so high. That's what's nice about it.

-It doesn't feel claustrophobic.

-No.

Then it goes on into this area here.

-So this is the old, original part. We're now...

-New extension.

-New extension. When was this extension built?

-Five years ago. It's a great party space.

-Nice and bright.

-Through there, downstairs loo, utility room and door out to the garden.

Then the whole thing is overlooked by the kitchen here.

I think this range, Chris, is just the sort of thing that you were imagining.

This is the sort of cooking facilities that I really wanted to look at.

-It's a very different way of cooking.

-Hmm.

It's very, very good for traditional baking and for roasting,

but for Chinese cooking, you can't cook on here.

-A wok does not go on there.

-LAUGHTER

So, luckily, over there I've just noticed there's a gas hob,

so you can still cook your Asian food.

-In terms of kitchen space...

-It works exceptionally well.

'Chris and Shirley both seem to love the layout.

'Down here, there's also a further reception room or snug for those cosy winter nights,

'but we'll look at the first floor to check out the master bedroom which has a surprise in store.'

What's nice about this room is that the high ceilings we saw downstairs continue up here.

-Very bright.

-Yeah.

Initially, I think it's a little small, but maybe I just need to get the feel of the place.

-It goes on.

-You haven't seen that part.

-You've got this bit too

which is a really well appointed dressing room.

Oh, yeah, this I like.

That makes a huge difference, yeah.

-It's a beautiful feature as well.

-Yeah. I'm just wondering where is the bathroom?

Ah! It's not en-suite.

-The bathroom is down the corridor.

-OK.

'There are actually two options for bathing on this floor -

'a family bathroom if you prefer a bath or an adjoining shower room.

'Up on the second floor, there are three more bedrooms in the eaves.

'They're all a good size and very characterful with exposed timbers.

'They would be perfect for visiting friends and family. Time to head outside to the garden,

'which is mostly laid to lawn.'

-What we do have is a bit of grass, but is it big enough?

-The garden?

-Hmm.

It's more for Chris.

Yeah, it's workable. It's smaller than I expected, but...

-You're thinking "putting green", aren't you?

-I was thinking, "Where am I going to hit my 18th?"

-But it's a lot to think about.

-It is a lot to think about.

-As indeed is the price.

-Oh, the price.

Yes, let's think about that, shall we? You've got, what, 800,000 or so, if you had to go that far.

What do you think, Shirley, this is on the market for?

-I have no idea.

-Go on, Chris.

You start.

I would hazard a guess at around about 795.

£795,000. Do you want to just agree with Chris?

Yeah, but Chris generally is the generous one!

LAUGHTER

OK, so we'll go with £795,000.

Well, now I can be generous to both of you

because you could have property number one for £659,950.

Wow!

-That surprised me.

-You see? Chris is always the generous one!

-It's great value for money.

-That surprised me. That has surprised me.

-Go and explore. Have a look at the cellar as well.

-I'll catch up with you a little bit later.

-OK.

-Off you go.

-See you later.

So well within their budget at a fraction under £660,000,

this imposing property is bursting with character features

that offers them a spacious country kitchen with range and gas hob,

two good-sized reception rooms for entertaining,

a cellar for wine storage,

four double bedrooms, one of which includes a dressing room,

and a courtyard garden with lawn.

The first house from our side when we first arrived is very impressive.

The kitchen is very nice.

It is a typical English, country house kitchen.

For the master bedroom, I guess I always wanted to have one bedroom with en-suite,

so the bathroom, the fact that it is not linked to the bedroom

is probably one small disadvantage.

Oh, wow!

-Oh, wow!

-So...

-Little cellar.

-It would be quite unique for wines.

You can even have a tasting table.

My initial impression coming through the front door with the inglenook fireplace was just stunning.

The cosiness, the wonderful lounge area.

Overall, for a first property to see, very impressive.

This is a great value-for-money property.

Whether it would be the perfect property is yet to be seen.

-Out you go, Shirley.

-Thank you.

-After you, Chris.

-Thank you very much.

-There are times when I feel like a butler.

-You look a lot like a butler.

-You think so?

-Yeah.

I might dress up a bit more.

-Right, so that's house number one. Two more to go.

-Yeah.

-And it's raining.

-Unfortunately.

But it's English weather. You've got to get used to this.

I guess. You have to carry an umbrella all the time.

'It's the afternoon of our first day's house-hunting

'and we're heading five miles south of Stratford-upon-Avon,

'close to the village of Newbold on Stour.

'It has a range of amenities, including a shop with a post office

'and a traditional country pub dating back to the 16th century.

'Just a mile away is the pretty and very quiet hamlet of Crimscote

'and the location of property two, a thoroughly British, 17th century barn conversion.'

Here it is. Come on in.

Come up here and we'll get a better view of it.

There we go.

-What do you think?

-It's quite a big place.

-It is.

-Very impressive.

-There's a lot of it.

-So this is your whole yard, basically?

-Yes. You don't get this building. This is the neighbour's.

But you do get that.

-Oh, quite interesting.

-And that is a 16th century dovecote.

Now it's just a storeroom, but it would make a great wine cellar

-because inside the walls are the holes in which the doves used to perch.

-Oh, how interesting!

-I'm told there are 987 holes in it. Apparently.

-That's a lot of wine!

LAUGHTER

Come on then. Have a look inside.

'There's been a great deal of renovation in this stunning house,

'but it still has plenty of wonderful original features which I hope Chris and Shirley will love.'

-What do you reckon?

-Wow!

My kind of kitchen.

It's just got that rural, rustic sort of element about it. It's nice.

A lot of the beams you can see have been put in to kind of create that feel that you describe.

-Is this the sort of space you would be happy to work with?

-Yes, sure.

I don't need a big kitchen, actually. Chris always wants that.

One element in this kitchen that is missing though for Shirley is a gas hob.

-A gas hob, yeah.

-Because in Chinese cooking, you've got to have a lot of heat and flame.

There's plenty of room for a gas hob.

-You could even swing that bar round and have one over there with a hood over it.

-I'm a tinkerer.

-Immediately, I can see a gas hob, there's the extractor.

-Yeah.

-No problem.

-'That should keep them both happy.

'Adjoining the kitchen, there's also a very stylish utility room with exposed timbers

'and a downstairs shower room.'

So out of the kitchen, you've got this central hallway that leads on to the conservatory.

-OK.

-Then into here, the dining room.

-It's very nice.

-It's a very nice room.

-Yeah.

The fireplace...

Yes, that's a nice trick, actually, because not only does it serve this room,

but it also serves the living room next door.

It really sets it off. Yeah, it's nice.

-This is the main living room.

-Oh!

-Like?

-Very nice.

-It's a nice size.

-The nice thing is you can move in here tomorrow because it is immaculate.

-Yeah.

Let's go upstairs then. There's plenty more space up here.

'On the first floor off a timbered landing with room to sit and read,

'there's a selection of three spacious double rooms, perfect for visiting family and friends.

'This floor also has a boxroom currently being used as an office that could be very useful for Chris.

'And next door is the family bathroom.

'But I'm taking Chris and Shirley to see their potential main bedroom.'

And then last, but not least...

Your master suite with an en-suite.

-Oh, that's...

-Wow!

-Yeah.

Very modern. Nicely done.

I think this is a great size. Your big bed, I think, would fit in here.

-The master room is...

-Very spacious.

-Very spacious, very nice.

-And the en-suite as well which was missing in the last place.

-Exactly.

So we've got you a bigger bedroom, we've got you an en-suite, we've got you a bigger kitchen.

And we've also got you a much bigger garden.

-Hmm.

-In the rain. Come on.

-Let's go and have a look.

'Yes, it's raining, but the outlook is very sunny for the outside space

'with more than enough room for Chris to practise his putting and something extra for Shirley.'

-I think it's proving to be of interest, this one.

-It's got a lot of potential.

-Yep.

We've got the immediate garden and it's bordered by this fence.

Let's have a think about the golf. What about the field beyond it?

-You've got quite a few pathways.

-You've got six acres following the line of the river.

It also includes a little island in the far distance by those very tall, mature willow trees.

-So he gets a golf course, Shirley, and you get your feng shui.

-I get my river!

-Your river.

-How about that?

-Wow.

-That was an unexpected surprise.

So how much do you think it's on the market for?

I think it's above £800,000 because of the land. Six acres. So I would think...

-it will be approaching £900,000.

-£900,000.

-OK.

-I'll plump for a little bit less. As I said at the last property, 795.

-795.

Oh, this time I'm the generous one.

Feel the love, the generosity.

-This could be yours for £795,000.

-Wow.

-That's interesting.

-Isn't it?

-It is.

It's even more interesting when you get into the dovecote. Go and have a look at that.

So for just £5,000 under their top budget at £795,000,

this property really delivers. It has a spacious and characterful living space,

a huge country kitchen, five bedrooms, one of which could be used as a home office for Chris,

six acres of land with river access and a dovecote that could be used for wine storage.

Well, house number two has been quite a surprise.

The striking thing is the grounds that it sits on, the dovecote and everything else.

It's a very, very nice property.

Potentially, I could see myself living here.

The house is very, um... beautiful from outside.

And the kitchen is nice and spacious and warm.

My only question is I need to ask myself, am I prepared to live in the countryside?

I mean, I was just thinking there's not so many neighbours, you have a small neighbourhood.

It's going to be a huge change for me.

It's typical. The rain stops and the house tour is now over!

-Out you come, Shirley, Chris.

-It's very good.

-Yeah? Happy?

-Yes.

-Excellent.

-Wonderful.

-It's your first barn conversion. Maybe it's converting you to them.

-Shall we go and dry off and find a pint somewhere?

-Let's go!

-Brilliant. What a good first day.

-Wonderful.

As the sun sets over the Warwickshire countryside,

it marks the end of a very encouraging day of househunting.

'Chris and Shirley are undertaking one of our biggest moves ever

'with a massive lifestyle change from the city of Shanghai to the Warwickshire countryside.

'They hope to find a traditional British home to settle down and start a family.

'So far they've been impressed by the three storeys of property one

'and dazzled by a barn conversion with a dovecote in house number two.

'But still to come is the mystery property, which gives them a taste of British life like no other.'

Now, Shirley, I don't think you're going to see many buildings like this in Shanghai.

For sure not.

'And I visit a free-wheeling Warwickshire factory with an 80-year heritage.'

It is the start of our final day of househunting and it's almost time to introduce Shirley and Chris

to our mystery property. Before we do, let's just take stock of the situation.

Yesterday went well, but I'm not sure we've really quite clinched it.

But there's an awful lot to do here and I'm constantly reminded that Shirley, in particular,

is making a massive move. She's grown up in a city of 24 million people. To put it in context,

that's a third of the population of the UK alone. Busy? No wonder she wants some peace and quiet.

So are there any kinds of elements of yesterday's properties that you would take forward today?

I think all the elements that we would take forward

are that the ground floor of all the properties had a lot of features, great kitchens, lounges.

If we could find something with slightly better layout upstairs, it would be perfect.

OK. Let's see how we do with the mystery house. It's quite sort of...manorial,

which I think you'd quite like, really.

For our mystery proposition, we're heading close to the village of Ettington,

a small community of pretty stone-built houses with amenities such as a shop and Post Office

that even offers a laundry service.

The mystery property is a couple of miles away in the conservation area of Pillerton Hersey.

Part of a Grade 2-listed manor house dating from the late-17th century,

its original features include the arches of an old orangery which really add to the charm.

While Shirley really wants a detached house, hopefully we can convince her

-that a section of British history is more than enough.

-Wow!

How about this?

-Yeah? Come on in.

-This house is such a big house!

-Unfortunately, your £800,000 won't buy all of it.

-Oh.

-Oh, OK.

But you do get a fair chunk. Let me explain. Come over here.

The bit that we want you to consider is that bit.

-OK. It's still significant.

-Absolutely.

-It looks very nice from outside.

The building itself is about 1600, but it's had a 19th century makeover, which is that bit

-which is the neighbour. So it's a place of some real history.

-Very interesting.

-So far, so good.

-Impressive.

-Yeah? Come on.

'Well, the awe-inspiring facade of this property seems to have done the trick.

'The inside is just as impressive.'

Now then, Shirley, I don't think you're going to see many buildings like this in Shanghai.

For sure not.

-Come on in.

-Wow. It's quite big, huh?

-It's really big. You've got another inglenook fireplace that we saw in property one.

-Wow.

It's very bright and it's got this depth. With a low ceiling you expect it to be dark,

-but this is very bright.

-Yeah.

-Very nice.

-Lots of smiles.

Yeah. Initially, it's... it's hitting the mark.

'Well, Chris and Shirley seem very taken with this place.

'Across the hallway, there's a grand dining room with stunning original cornices, moulding and panelling.

'This could be the perfect place to wow friends at dinner parties,

'but as the kitchen is so important to both our buyers, that's where we're going next.'

-Now I think this room really does combine...

-Wow.

-..the best of what we've seen so far.

-Yeah, this is a massive kitchen.

-This is a...

-chef's dream.

-It's beautiful.

This is incredibly impressive.

-And you've got that.

-You've just found my perfect kitchen.

Well, the nice thing about this is that, similar to my first property,

they've added this garden room onto the kitchen.

-And it really does add to the footprint of this space in a really impressive way.

-Very nice.

Now one of the bonuses, Shirley, of a house like this is that, historically,

they also kept wine cellars.

-Wow! A cellar.

-Yeah. It's through this door.

'This next space needs to really inspire Shirley and wine cellars don't get much better than this.'

-This is a lot of space.

-Wow. This is a proper cellar.

-Perfect for wine and cheese tasting.

-Yeah.

-Yes, it's very nice. And it's very dry as well.

-Yep.

-It's good.

-Perfect cellar for you.

'Also off the kitchen is a utility room, which is as spacious as everything else in this property,

'with a long walk-in pantry at one end. But now we're going to see if this scale continues upstairs.

'On the first floor is the family bathroom and a very generous guest bedroom, which is charming.

'On the next level, under the eaves, there's space for a bright home office just off the landing

'and a good-size double bedroom with beamed ceiling.

'At the other end of this floor is another double bedroom with an adjoining en suite shower room,

'so it could work as a potential master.

'But I'm going to show them the room currently set up as the master back on the floor below.'

-A nice bright room again.

-Very beautiful.

-I think what's nice is it offers the most space upstairs

-that we've been able to give you.

-Absolutely.

-I think there's a bit of upgrading to be done.

-Yes.

-I like to tinker, so I think just a bit of upgrading.

-Yeah.

-And I think it'll be superb.

-Garden!

-Garden.

-Let's finish off down there.

-Wow, yes.

-'Outside,

'the various original outbuildings include old stables

'and there is also a large patio area overlooking the lawn.

'Overall, there are around 1.5 acres of grounds, which slope down into a brook feeding the River Avon,

'providing a fantastic bit of feng shui for Shirley.' Come and survey what you might own.

-This is a lot of beautiful garden.

-What would you do here, apart from the obvious driving range?

Actually, a driving range, I'd lose a lot of balls, I think!

Do you like the set up? I know it's not completely detached. There is a neighbour, obviously.

But that said, there's so much property to go with it, does it bother you?

Well, if it's not... if I don't have a neighbour, it probably is perfect,

but I think it's very difficult to find the perfect house.

-But it's very good.

-Very wisely said. Let's think about the money.

That will obviously have an influence as to how much interest this house really has for you.

-Chris?

-Wow. The million-dollar question. I don't think it's quite that expensive.

I would say it's pushing 850, 860.

-I'll go for 860.

-860. Yeah?

-Shirley?

-Yeah, 850, I would think.

-Around that.

-OK.

-That price range.

-The mystery house could be yours for 765.

-Wow.

-Ah, OK.

-That's very, very good.

-Well, look, I think you should spend the time

looking around the rest of these lovely grounds, explore the outbuildings. I'll catch you later.

Explore away to your heart's content!

Lovely. There we are. The mystery house might have done it once again. It is technically a semi,

but, as you can see, it's a semi with a difference.

This intriguing slice of manor house could have been tailor-made for Chris and Shirley

and it's well within their budget at a price of £765,000.

It offers them very grand baronial-style living spaces,

a huge country kitchen, a large wine cellar for Shirley,

four bedrooms, a study area and a garden with a brook feeding into the River Avon.

The mystery house is a good surprise, I would say.

Really in an exclusive location, beautiful surroundings.

Upstairs, all the rooms are so spacious and lots of light

and both windows you see nice views. So it's really beautiful.

From the moment of walking through the front door, to the kitchen, upstairs, out to the garden,

it just has so much potential. And really gives me the chance to put my signature across this place.

So for me, I think you've found me the ideal property.

BELL RINGS

I can just about hear it. The question is can Chris and Shirley?

Because the bell means it's time to go.

So has it worked, I wonder?

Yes, indeed it has. How about that? You came to the bell. Brilliant.

-It's like being back at school.

-Yes.

-Happy?

-Very happy.

Very happy. I think you've knocked yourself out with this one.

-This is a fantastic property.

-OK. Well, they are all interesting.

They've all given you plenty to think about. Let's go away and sit down somewhere quietly

-and mull it over.

-Absolutely.

-Come on. Follow me.

Britain is one of the best places in the world to see by bike.

Its hills are challenging and its varied landscapes mean the scenery is constantly changing.

Sales of bikes in the UK have soared in the past few years

and counties such as Warwickshire provide the perfect terrain for exploring on two wheels,

especially in locations like Stratford Upon Avon, which are investing heavily in cycling.

'Stratford Upon Avon is also home to Britain's longest-established bike manufacturer.

'For the last 80 years, Pashley have been building bicycles at their factory here.

'They also make specialist bikes for business, including Post Office deliveries and ice cream sellers.

'I've come along to meet John Connard, part of the Pashley team, to find out more about the company.'

When you listen to the news and hear all about the doom and gloom,

here you are still going strong in a time-honoured way.

We benefit from a renaissance in cycling itself, so the market's growing anyway.

-This would be my favourite. What's its story?

-This is based on a bicycle from the Second World War

by BSA called the Airborne. Originally, it was a folding bike.

They would drop it in with the paratroopers behind enemy lines and they would reassemble it.

Can I get on and have a go?

-Actually, it's got a lovely feel.

-Absolutely. It's that straight back, sit up and beg feel.

-Yeah.

-It's not a speed machine, but has a good range of gears.

-It's nice to the simplicity of it.

The bicycle frame, in its original design, was one of those things that hit the nail on the head

first time round almost. The classic diamond frame or loop frame doesn't need too much doing to it

to make a comfortable bike.

'Here at the factory workshop, every separate part of production is done by hand.'

-This is a frame going together now?

-Yes, this is Ben getting the basic element of the frame together.

The level of quality control you can manage when someone like Ben is building each frame by hand

and inspecting by eye means that at any point in the process, someone's taking real care.

'The workshop is keeping alive traditional skills such as welding.

'By working closely with local colleges, young apprentices are recruited and taught these skills

'by old hands with years of experience, like Dave on brazing,

'a metal joining process that involves using a filler or flux to melt two metals together

'at a temperature of 800 degrees centigrade. And today Dave's apprentice is me.'

-So the flux is going to help the brass flow over the join?

-Yeah. Start fluxing the joints now.

-I just sort of paste it on?

-Yeah, wipe it over the joint.

You can see the flux melting into the joint in there.

Now put the rod back in and turn it so the tip is touching.

-It's amazing. You see the brass flooding round the joint. Is that it?

-Fine.

Then I take it out.

-Needs a bit of cleaning up?

-No, it's all right. Quite good.

-There you are.

-There's some more here if you want another go.

'Once built, these bikes are exported to over 50 countries, including the USA and Hong Kong.'

-Guys, keep up the good work.

-Thanks, Jules.

'So, as the Bard would say, all's well that ends well.

'But now it's time for the final act in Chris and Shirley's property search.'

Well, guys, here we are at the end of our little journey through Warwickshire,

but have we managed to find you somewhere to move to? Let's remind ourselves.

-We started with that lovely red brick house with the cellar.

-Yes, absolutely beautiful.

Ground floor, very nice.

-The kitchen was exquisite.

-Yeah.

-And the way they extended out at the back was very, very nice.

Very bright, very fitting with the property.

And we really, really liked that.

It would be lovely just for us to live there. If we have kids,

I think probably it will be a little bit small.

The garden was a bit limited. It was the smallest of the three.

And also the upstairs was not ideal for kids, so that was a major downfall on that one.

Then we took you to property number two.

The barn conversion. It's very different.

And I liked the settings.

I guess the challenge will be me living there

if Chris is travelling. It would be a little bit challenging for me

because I feel it is really sort of isolated a little bit.

You see, it's only... I say "only". .. a couple of miles from the nearest main village.

For us, that's quite convenient, but if you're used to living in the heart of a city,

-I can see why you'd feel a little bit...

-Just a little bit of isolation.

That was, again, the major downfall from our perspective on that one.

-But you seemed to enjoy it, Chris.

-For me it was great. 6½ acres.

On the River Stour. A dovecote.

I like it, but the thing for Shirley is it just felt, for her, the isolation.

So, finally, then, it was time for our mystery house.

-A semi with a difference, one might say.

-The key to this property is it had everything

that we thought we wanted. The fact it's a semi-detached actually isn't a distraction at all.

In fact, for me it actually enhances the fact that if I was away

Shirley's got somebody next door.

Huge potential. And it's just a phenomenally attractive property to me

-to put a signature across it.

-And would you, Shirley?

Yes, yes, I would be very happy there. It's a very nice house, yes.

So it sort of almost pre-empts my final question, which is what happens next?

It ticks 99.9% of our boxes and we just have to sleep on it, think about it,

-but we will definitely be in touch with the agents on this property and see what happens.

-Brilliant.

-Guys, thank you very much. Best of luck.

-Thank you.

-And welcome to Britain, albeit in the rain!

-Thanks.

-It hasn't put us off.

-Good. I hope you're very happy here.

This has certainly been quite a trip, all the way from Shanghai,

one of the world's most vibrant and fastest-growing cities,

to the quiet splendour of our mystery house. There's no doubt in my mind

that if they eventually buy that property, they'll be in good company because it's just down from here.

These are the ruins of the church that once served one of Warwickshire's most famous families

and their name, well, it was Shirley.

It's a small world.

After exploring Warwickshire, Chris and Shirley decided country life was a stretch too far for now

and decided to buy a city property in London first.

However, an escape to the country is still on the cards in the future.

If you would like to escape to the country in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or England

and would like our help, then please apply online:

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