Cotswolds Escape to the Country

Today, I'm standing on a 1,600-year-old mosaic floor and I'm 1,200 miles from Rome.

Where am I? Find out in a moment.

'Today, I'm helping a couple who have no plans to take it easy, even though they've retired.

'But as our house tours begin, we find it hard to impress them.'

-Has this got the wow factor or still not really?

-Not the wow factor again, I don't think, no.

'And could the mystery house prove to be a little too high and mighty?'

-Who's doing the dusting up there?

-Well, I've got a stepladder for you.

I'm in the Cotswolds and this is Chedworth Roman Villa.

It was discovered by chance back in 1864

when a gamekeeper stumbled upon a piece of mosaic here in the woods.

What remains is being painstakingly uncovered by a team of modern-day archaeologists piecing together

what Roman Britain would have looked like.

Later, I'll be unearthing more on this story, but here are some other treasures this area has to offer.

The Cotswold Hills refuse to be restricted by boundaries as they cover parts of six counties,

including Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire,

the largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England.

It's also home to the Cotswold Way,

a national trail from the Georgian city of Bath to the historic town of Chipping Campden.

At the second highest point on the Cotswold Escarpment, some 312 metres above sea level,

stands the Broadway Tower, a Capability Brown folly

that gives unrivalled views across a stunning landscape.

For a landlocked region, there's no shortage of the wet stuff for water lovers.

The Venice of the Cotswolds, Bourton-on-the-Water, is built around the River Windrush

and is as full of tourists as it is bridges.

And with a population of under 85,000 people in an area of over 400 square miles,

it's no surprise the Cotswolds remain so peaceful and unspoilt.

Property in the Cotswolds is highly sought after.

For an average detached house, you're looking to spend in the region of £500,000.

That's double the national figure.

There are also property hotspots within the Cotswolds itself.

To live in a desirable village like Lower or Upper Slaughter, you'll pay a minimum of £750,000.

But all is not lost. If you head west towards Stroud or Nailsworth, property is a bit cheaper

and for a similar sort of house, you'll be spending £350,000.

Whatever your property passion, there are plenty of styles on offer.

Cotswold houses and cottages often date back between 300 to 600 years

and are built from locally hewn limestone which varies in colour, depending on where it was quarried.

In the north of the region, many houses are constructed of Cotswold stone, a honey-coloured limestone.

This two-bedroomed house in Bibury is on the market for £225,000,

while this 17th century, three-bedroom cottage in Chedworth

could be yours for £600,000.

In the south towards Bath, the stone takes on a creamier colour.

Villages such as Minchinhampton, which dates back to the 12th century,

have good examples of this lighter limestone.

And for £375,000, you could be living in this four-bedroom home.

Some very charming examples there of what the Cotswolds has to offer,

but what do today's buyers want in the area? Let's meet them and find out.

Andrew and Brenda have lived in their five-bedroom, Victorian house

in the West Sussex town of Horsham for the past 18 years,

but now their daughters have left home, they're ready for a move to the country.

-At this stage of our life, we've got the prime time to move out of this area, haven't we?

-Yes.

Horsham has grown as a town and it's lost that market town feel.

We'd like to be somewhere where we could be involved in community life.

They've given themselves a flavour of rural life by keeping chickens in the garden,

but they'd like their new adventure to have the glorious backdrop of a village in the Cotswolds.

And having taken early retirement from his job as a quantity surveyor,

Andrew is keen to keep his design and construction muscles moving.

I'm quite practical and I like to do things with my hands, construct things and do things.

That's something I'd like to try and do in the coming months and years

as we move to a new phase of our life.

The idea would be to have some outbuildings on the land that you could maybe convert into holiday lets

-and then we could make some income to supplement our pension on that.

-Absolutely, yeah.

While Andrew is hard at work outside, Brenda will indulge in her hobbies indoors.

I've recently taken up a new hobby of patchwork and quilting and have made three complete quilts

and I've got three on the go at the moment.

I also love cooking and any cookery courses I would really enjoy going on.

One of my daughters bought me a breadmaking course for Christmas and now I make all my own bread at home,

so just to try new experiences of cooking and learning new things would be lovely.

But one thing that unites our couple is the occasional glass or two of the white and red stuff.

We both love wine and are members of a wine club here, which we have been for many years.

It's a real social event for us. We have six or seven meetings a year.

It became a nice part of our lives because it's a nice way to meet people.

Definitely a must, I think, for wherever we move to.

Even though these two have a joint love of wine, they aren't always in perfect harmony.

I've always longed for a big living space.

We have a bit of a conflict here because I'm very much a person who opens all the doors in the house

because I love the doors open, and Andrew goes and shuts them all.

Well, doors may be an issue, but the money certainly isn't.

The budget for the move is £750,000.

'As long as they are in a Cotswolds location, Andrew and Brenda are pretty flexible,

'so our search area can extend from around Cheltenham in Gloucestershire down to Malmesbury in Wiltshire

'and east towards Witney in Oxfordshire.

'I caught up with them to find out more about their plans for their new rural home.'

-Brenda, Andrew, how are you?

-Fine, thank you.

-Looking forward to this?

-Yes, very much so.

You want to live in Gloucestershire or West Oxfordshire or North Wiltshire. That's the Cotswolds.

-Perfect.

-Here they are.

-Beautiful.

-Wonderful scenery.

-Let's get down to business.

-What are you after in this house?

-I would like a minimum of three bedrooms,

a large kitchen, open-plan living area.

Outside, what would you like?

A reasonably large-sized garden and some outhouses that need renovating.

-You don't mind getting your hands dirty?

-I love getting my hands dirty. Brenda doesn't, but I do.

-Is he allowed to get his hands dirty inside as well?

-No. Not this time.

We've had 33 years of renovation, so it's got to be outside this time.

How much have you got to spend?

We've said 700,000.

We would push it to 750 if it was perfect and nothing needed doing.

But if there was an outside project for Andrew to do, 700, then we've got some money to play with.

-Let's hope we can find you something. Let's jump in the car.

-Lovely.

-OK.

For a maximum budget of £750,000, Andrew and Brenda would ideally like to find...

They'd like enough garden space to keep chickens

and an outbuilding with potential to convert into a holiday let.

We found three impressive properties which could be just what they're looking for

and at each one, I'll ask them to guess the price before I reveal it.

Last but by no means least is our mystery house which might push them to the limits of that project,

but first, let's go along the road to house one.

'We're starting our property tour in Gloucestershire in the town of Winchcombe,

'sometimes called "the Jewel of the Cotswolds".

'A hub for walkers, it's located at the intersection of five hiking trails

'and its charming streets have all the pubs, tearooms and shops a visitor could want,

'but how about life as a resident? We stopped off to find out.'

-It's quite a busy town.

-It's lovely.

-Very nice.

-Pretty immaculate.

-Very clean.

-Hi, guys. Sorry to jump in. Who have we got here?

-Terry.

-Hi, Terry.

-Jean.

-How are you, Jean?

-What are you up to?

-We're part of a volunteer group, greening up the town.

We're volunteers for the town council and we're tidying up and doing things round the town.

-Is it a town that always looks this pretty?

-Of course.

Seriously, it is. We're a great working community.

There's a lot of life in the town. It's good.

-They're in a wine club. Also, you like your quilting.

-I do like quilting.

-There's a quilting group that meets...

-Is there?

-Yeah.

-A good community?

-We retired here eight years ago and we wouldn't go anywhere else.

-A good recommendation.

-Do you know any cheap property?

-LAUGHTER

-No.

-In the Cotswolds, no.

'Luckily for our buyers, they have a pretty generous budget.

'The setting for our first house is hard to beat. A mile outside the town, it has gorgeous views.

'A 17th century worker's cottage, it's constructed from traditional Cotswold stone.'

-So this is it.

-Lovely. Lovely from the outside.

-I like the stone, don't you?

-Yeah, it's good.

-It's semi-detached. I don't know if that's a problem.

-I don't think we were anticipating a semi, but if it's perfect inside...

-Open mind.

-We're open-minded about that.

-And your nearest neighbour then is a farm down there.

-The view is just never-ending.

-It's beautiful. A lovely setting.

-Anything you don't like?

-Not so far.

-I'm still taking it all in at the moment.

-Too much to take in.

-There's plenty more to take in. Let's get in.

-Yes.

'With the spectacular scenery getting us off to a great start,

'there's just the "semi-detached" hurdle to overcome.

'Let's see if the fantastic original features inside this cottage can win them round.'

Come on through straight away to the living room.

-Right.

-Lovely.

-It's nice. Although it's got beams, they're not low beams for you.

-No, good height.

-You've got loads of space.

-Yeah, I could grow a bit more.

-And a nice woodburner in that nice fireplace.

-A real focus point in the room.

-It is.

-It's a good-sized room.

-I love the furniture.

-It's nice and square.

-It is.

-So you can imagine yourself here?

Yeah, I can, in front of that log fire with a glass of wine looking out of the windows.

-Very nice setting. That's what makes it, that view out there.

-Yeah.

'It's always good news when our buyers can picture themselves in a house,

'so after that great reaction, let's see how the next room fares.'

-That's a nice kitchen.

-Yes, good size.

-Has this got the wow factor or still not really?

-Not the wow factor again, I don't think, no.

But I think it could be made into a perfect kitchen.

-It's the right shape, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-You've also got a utility room there with a separate door, very handy for dog.

-Yeah.

-When it's messy.

-And you've got under-floor heating.

-Lovely.

-And again the view...

-That is a spectacular view.

-Shall we go upstairs?

-Yes.

-Three bedrooms to see. I'll take you to the master.

'It seems it's the views outside that are keeping this one in contention at the moment.

'Meanwhile, upstairs, the first single bedroom is light enough to be used as a sewing room for Brenda.

'A further single could be used for guests or as a dressing room.

'Both of these share a large, modern family bathroom with wood flooring,

'but we're looking at the biggest bedroom.'

-This is the master.

-Right.

That's a nice-sized room, double aspect. The views again are lovely.

-Is there an en-suite in here?

-There is an en-suite round the corner and separate storage as well.

It's possibly on the small size.

You can extend. There's planning permission in place for you to extend out over the utility,

so it gives you about another quarter of this room again.

-For me, this doesn't work unless you extended it.

-Right.

But also I should tell you, the property's not listed.

-Right.

-So you're not too restricted on what you do.

-No.

-That's good.

-Look at his face. He's like that, "Hey, bring it on!"

-You're not restricted any more.

-"Where did I put my cement mixer?"

-We have one of our own!

LAUGHTER

'That's got Andrew's construction muscles flexing,

'but that's not the project I had in mind for him.

'Outside in the grounds, which have enough space for them and their chickens,

'this property has an annexe that his name all over it.'

-Oh, wow, this is an unexpected space, isn't it?

-It is, isn't it?

The current owners are keen cyclists, so this is where he keeps his bikes and his gym.

There's a little office behind you and there's a bathroom/shower room through there and storage.

-Right.

-So this would make an ideal space to convert, subject to planning.

-I'm sure it would be.

-It's certainly got potential.

-Yes.

-And it's not too big a project for you?

-No.

But, you know, for overnight accommodation or whatever for ramblers or whoever to use it,

if you put the kitchen in there, this is an amazing living room.

-Yeah.

-It's a bit bigger than the one you've got in the main house!

-That's the slight worrying bit. Perhaps we should have this bit.

-Move in here and rent out the rest.

-Yes.

'I'm not sure if it's good news or bad news that they're more enamoured by the annexe than the house.

'Time to find out how much they think it's worth.'

-Let's talk money. What do you reckon all this is on the market for?

-I'm going to be a bit cheeky.

I think it's still a semi-detached house. There's still some work you could do to it.

-So I'm going to say 645,000.

-OK.

I'm going to be even more cheeky than you. I'm going to say slightly less than that - 625,000.

-OK. This could be a little bit of an eye-opener for you.

-Yes.

-Here in the Cotswolds...

It's a big house. 700,000.

-Gosh!

-Wow!

-I think probably that's a premium price because you're paying for this setting and the views.

-But I think we're going to have to have a think now...

-We'll have to compromise and look at these things.

-Just go and have another look around. I'll be by the back door.

-OK, lovely. Thank you.

-No problem.

We heard "potential" and "possibility" a lot. I wonder what that means?

Does it mean potential or possibility or that they don't like the property? Only time will tell.

On the market at £700,000, this house with stunning views leaves them

with £50,000 spare for Andrew's project. All in all, it has...

The outbuilding offers Andrew scope to develop into a holiday let.

I thought the outside of the house was very attractive,

but was slightly disappointed when I learnt that it was a semi-detached house.

The location is absolutely perfect. Beautiful views.

A mile down the footpath into that wonderful town. The location is perfect.

I think the outbuildings are a good space.

If you wanted to convert it to rented accommodation,

I think you could convert it reasonably easily, so it's something we would look at seriously.

-I just thought I'd help them out with a bit of gardening.

-I'm sure they'll appreciate that.

-Seen enough?

-Yes, we have.

-The rain's on its way, so we'll jump in the car and onward. Let's go.

Lying on the edge of the Cotswolds close to where the River Severn meets the River Avon

is the medieval town of Tewkesbury.

It's a warren of delightful, narrow alleyways running between black and white, timber-framed buildings.

It's dominated by its 12th century abbey with the largest Norman church tower in existence,

measuring 14 metres square and 45 metres high.

Earlier in the week, we sent Andrew and keen cook Brenda to the abbey grounds to meet Robin Ritchie

who is responsible for reviving traditional Tewkesbury mustard production here in the town.

-Now, this is mustard growing wild.

-Right.

The flowers aren't open yet, but they will, by August, form pods, a bit like small peas.

And the little seeds would then be crushed by the women of Tewkesbury with a cannonball.

-Gosh, they must have been strong women!

-We shall see how strong YOU are.

There's a record of every cottage in the town having its cannonball for making this local mustard.

The Mustard House in the town was where it was held before being distributed throughout the country.

Tewkesbury mustard dates back to medieval times and even gets a mention in Shakespeare's Henry IV.

Robin will show our buyers how it was made. It was sold in the form of balls, mustard balls to you and me.

This is what we're going to be making.

That is a genuine Tewkesbury mustard ball.

But what was the idea of making them like this?

Was it a way to dry them to preserve them or it made it easier to transport them?

It was purely for transport. You could pop it in your pocket and when you went to an inn,

you could put it out, cut off a slice, reconstitute it with your beer,

pop it on your meat and eat it.

The inclusion of horseradish is the defining ingredient nowadays for Tewkesbury mustard,

but in medieval times right up to the 19th century,

-Tewkesbury mustard was only ever sold as balls, never in jars.

-Never in jars.

While Andrew grates the horseradish, Brenda will do the traditional woman's job

which was crushing the mustard seeds by using an iron mortar

with this cannonball doing the work of a pestle.

So the mustard seeds actually change colour once they've split.

You're breaking the husk and the inside is yellow.

Then you must sieve it afterwards and just take the powder out and leave the husks behind?

Once it's been sieved, it needs to be crushed several more times to refine it.

This results in the bright yellow powder that Robin has already prepared.

It then gets mixed into balls using the horseradish and local cider.

-Lovely.

-It's making my eyes water.

Now we have to divide it up and, traditionally, they would be the size of hens' eggs.

-Right.

-I make them the size of snooker balls.

-And that is genuine Tewkesbury mustard.

-Right.

-A mustard ball as Shakespeare would have known it.

To serve, slice the mustard ball and mix it with some more cider before eating with ham.

-Is that hot enough for a spice lover?

-Very nice.

-Very hot.

Once served covered in gold leaf to Henry VIII,

the mustard ball lost its popularity in the 19th century

with the advent of a new production process developed by a certain Colman of Norwich.

The only place it can be found today is here in Tewkesbury.

Now we've spiced up their lives with this traditional dish, let's head back to our search

for Andrew and Brenda's dream home in the Cotswolds.

'For our second house, we've travelled towards South Gloucestershire to Tresham,

'a couple of miles south-east of Wotton-under-Edge.

'Deep in farming country, Tresham is close to the footpath called the Monarch Way,

'a 615-mile-long trail from Worcester to Shoreham-on-Sea.

'It has plenty of gorgeous scenery, but you must go to Wotton-under-Edge for the nearest shop.

'Set in two-thirds of an acre of land, our second property is a former corn barn

'that dates back some 200 years.

'It was actually converted around 20 years ago

'and it's safe to say it certainly has an impressive approach.'

I don't know about you, but I could do with a lie-down after walking up what could be your drive.

-Lovely. Very nice.

-You've probably gathered there's a bit more land with this.

-Much nicer-looking.

-Very nice.

-Yeah, it's nice in proportion.

-So first impressions, you like?

-Yes, very much so.

-Shall we have a look?

-Yes, please.

-Come on.

'Who could resist the allure of this fantastic conversion?

'I'm hoping the beautifully crafted inside gets their pulses racing.'

Come on in.

-This is nice.

-Yeah?

-Very nice.

-Those eyes darting around everywhere!

-Trying to catch everything.

-Got the wow factor for you?

-It is almost a wow, actually.

It's not what you expect when you come through the front door.

-Almost a wow!

-Almost a wow.

-What have I got to show you?!

-She's a hard one to please.

-She is.

'Brenda might be hard to please, but I'm hoping the next room comes up to scratch.'

That's a nice, bright and light kitchen, isn't it?

-Well fitted out.

-It is well fitted. Room for a range.

-Nice.

-Is it big enough for you?

-It's probably smaller than I envisaged,

-but...

-Just behind us, there's a really good-size utility room and downstairs loo.

The washer, dryer, the lot. All that out the way.

-That's good.

-I like this.

-That's nice. Breakfast bar.

-Yeah.

-Yes. I presume there's a dining room somewhere else.

-I tell you what, she's quick!

-Her demands...

-Do you know where it is?

-No.

-Next door!

'The question just about squeaked through under Brenda's critical eye.

-'Can the rest of the downstairs meet her exacting standards?' Lovely dining room.

-That's nice.

-And then...

-A lovely room.

-Isn't it just?

-And a wood burner?

-It's gas, actually.

-Oh, is it gas?

-Look at that lovely stone fireplace.

-Beautiful.

-Yes.

-Fits very well.

-Very nice room.

-Look at the curves.

-The curved wall.

-If you look down that hallway up to the stairs.

-Yes.

-Absolutely beautiful.

It's very nice. And the lovely view down the garden and beyond.

I'm delighted that you like it so far. We should head upstairs. Follow me.

'So things are hotting up downstairs at last, thanks to that lovely fire.

'Now we'll see what the first floor has to offer. Off a fabulously light and spacious landing,

'there's a bright double guest bedroom with windows on two sides,

'a single room, currently a study,

'and large, modern family bathroom. I'll show them where they could sleep.'

-The master bedroom.

-Oh, that's a master bedroom.

-Beautiful.

-Good size, isn't it?

-It's a lovely size. Double wardrobes.

-A proper master bedroom.

-And is that a little en suite?

-It's a pretty big one.

-Is it?

-A good size.

-Lovely. This is a very nice room again.

-You can imagine yourself here?

-I definitely can.

'So we seem to have cracked it with the bedrooms and there's more sleeping space on the second floor.

'Alongside a useful storage area, there's a generously-sized room currently being used as an office.

'And an immaculate twin room, perfect for friends and family.

'Next door, there's also a shower room, so with more than enough space inside,

'what about outside? The plot is 2/3 of an acre,

'but also beautifully tended and landscaped, with mature shrubs and trees,

'and enough room for those chickens.'

-What a garden. Very attractive.

-So, one thing you haven't talked about...

-The holiday lets.

The holiday lets. This is a house to make you happy.

-Right.

-What about me?

Sorry to let you down.

-But can you do without that?

-That's something we have to think about.

-We can discuss that.

-Shall we talk money?

-Yes.

-What do you reckon it's on the market for?

-£725,000.

-How about you?

-I'm going to go a bit higher. It's probably towards the top end of our budget.

-I'll go 740.

-£740,000. You're closer.

-Am I?

-It is top end.

-750.

-750.

-Fair enough.

It is a lovely house. You can imagine yourself living in there, can't you?

You're saying all the right things. Did you say YOU can imagine living here?

-Are you trying to persuade him?

-No, I think you felt the same.

-Compared with the other place, this is much...

-Much nicer.

-Good.

-Well, go back in. Have another look around. I'll be out the front.

-OK.

-See you later.

-See you later.

'So right at the top of their budget at £750,000,

'this house doesn't offer an obvious project for Andrew.,

'but it has everything else they're after. There's a generously-sized living space,

'a large kitchen/diner, five bedrooms, one that could be used for quilt making,

'and two-thirds of an acre of land for them and the chickens.'

Aled's shown us this house aimed at what I wanted and he's got it just right.

I don't know how Andrew would cope with not having a project to do.

That's something we'd have to discuss. One of us must compromise.

The lack of a project and outbuildings for me is a real negative.

I would feel disappointed.

If Brenda comes out first, they like it. If it's Andrew...

Ah!

I just said if you came out first I reckoned you liked the house.

If not, there was no hope. She came out first!

-She's always in charge.

-It's been a busy day. We should head back and start again tomorrow.

-Lovely.

As dusk falls over the beautiful Cotswold countryside,

it marks the end of a day of contrasts in our property search.

Recently retired Andrew and Brenda are free as birds since their daughters left home

and they're seeking a move from West Sussex to a dream home in the Cotswolds,

preferably with a project for Andrew to get his teeth into.

They've both been stunned by the panoramic views at a semi-detached,

while our second property could be perfect, at least for Brenda.

Could the mystery house suit both?

-We could do something with this.

-We could. You could.

And I find out what the Romans did for us at a villa here in the Cotswolds.

It's a brand-new day and we're here with Brenda and Andrew looking for their dream property.

Brenda really liked the second house, the one we chose for her.

Andrew, bless his heart, dutifully followed suit, even with no project.

Today we should spoil Andrew. Bring on the mystery property, which is in Gloucestershire

and is a house where he can get his hands dirty. I wonder how Brenda will react.

So what about the mystery property? What would you like?

I'd still like it to be a beautiful home with a stable block or old building in the garden

that Andrew could convert, but you'll probably show us a brand-new house!

You reckon? OK.

I think it's going to be a set of derelict buildings, a real project for me to get my teeth into.

-How would you feel about that?

-Oh, I wouldn't mind!

And I'd have to give in, I imagine.

For our mystery house, we've travelled a little bit west to the market town of Thornbury.

We're not in the Cotswolds any more, but to get Andrew a big project we had to go further afield.

We think we've found it in the village of Rockhampton.

The property dates back to the 18th century and comes with outbuildings,

all needing work and the permissions to convert into holiday lets.

It might steal Andrew's heart, but can Brenda put her needs aside?

-Oh.

-"Oh," she says.

Looks promising.

-Well, this is it.

-Right.

-Right.

-I do like the arrangements.

-Yeah.

-Andrew's going, "Bring it on!"

-A lot of building.

-It's a nice little complex.

Potential for quite a few holiday lets. This was the old coach house, 18th century.

-And the rectory next door.

-Right.

-It's been redeveloped 25 years ago.

-Right. So it needs modernisation.

-It does. It's definitely a job for you.

-Right.

-Let's go and have a look.

-OK.

'As expected, we've definitely piqued Andrew's interest,

'but let's see if he AND Brenda take to the features inside.'

Come on in.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

-Hey.

-Big space.

-It is a big space. That would make a very nice kitchen.

-No, I like this space. You could do something with this.

-You could.

-Well, YOU could.

-We'd have to do things to bring it up to scratch.

-But the basic shape and size is here, isn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Wonderful, excellent. Let's get through to the living room.

-OK.

'Could it be that Brenda might just be OK with the project after all?

'Let's see what they think of the next room.'

-So...

-My goodness.

-Wow.

This is very interesting.

-You wouldn't expect that in here.

-No.

-Big space.

-Huge!

-Nice vaulted ceiling.

-Nice feature.

-Loads of room for a dining room table or keep it as a huge living room.

-Or break it into two.

-It could be made into a beautiful room.

-It could be.

There's scope for doing things, which is unexpected from outside.

-I wouldn't have said this was here.

-No.

-Who's doing the dusting up there?

I've got a stepladder for you.

'With Brenda already planning to get the cleaners in, that's a good sign.

'As well as a mezzanine bedroom above the living space downstairs,

'with its own en suite, there are two more first-floor bedrooms. That's where we're heading now.

'There's a bright single next to the sunny family bathroom and then the bedroom for them.'

-A good-sized room, this.

-Gosh, that's a master bedroom, isn't it? Lovely size.

-Nice beams.

-They are very nice.

-You'll just about clear them.

-Just about, yes.

-Just about.

-This is a nice room. The beams are lovely.

-They are.

-Could you imagine it as your master bedroom?

Em, with a little work.

-A bit of work.

-Yeah.

'The character features are helping this house feel like a home,

'but will Brenda be happy to live in a project? While there's some work to be done in the house,

'the biggest part of the renovation would be in the 1½ acres of grounds.

'These hold a variety of outbuildings. As well as the stables and spacious garage area,

'there are three storage sheds and a workshop. Plenty for Andrew to get his teeth into.'

-Let me bring you to this little courtyard. I'm thinking this would be the obvious holiday let.

-Yes.

-Still a big job.

-Yeah. I haven't looked inside it, but the outside looks reasonably sound.

-But it has potential.

-Definitely got potential.

-The whole place has.

-And you've got a canvas here to do what you want.

-You have, Andrew.

I have got a canvas. Is that authority to proceed?

-Well, we'll see.

-Bring in the cement mixer now!

'Before Andrew gets cracking, there's just one thing extra I'd like to show them.

'As well as a paddock and vegetable plot with room for the chickens,

'there's a secluded swimming pool, a great asset for a holiday rental business.'

-Oh, my goodness!

-I think this is beautiful.

-Yes.

-A nice bonus.

-What a lovely enclosed area.

-A walled pool.

-Yes, fantastic.

-It is a project.

-It is.

-A huge project.

-It is huge.

-Not just the outbuildings. It's the house as well.

-Refurbishing.

-Are you up to it?

-Yeah, I wouldn't mind a challenge.

It would be dependent on the price. You'd have to spend a fair amount.

Looking at all this, the house, looking at the lets,

-it's all starting to ramp up in terms of money.

-Let's talk money.

-What do you reckon it's on the market for?

-You'd hope it would only be 600, 625.

-Something like that, I think.

-OK.

-I think it's about 650, as an educated guess.

-I think there's £100,000 to spend now.

-Is that what you're hoping?

-Yeah, that's what I'm hoping for.

-To make it work for us, it would have to be that.

-Go on, spoil it.

It's currently on the market - it just dropped - at £645,000.

-Oh, right.

-645.

-Gives you £105,000 to play around with.

-Yeah.

-I was pretty close.

-You were. Very close.

-Well done.

-Well done. You get to work on the project!

You get to do all the work yourself!

Exactly! Whether you want to or not, I'm not quite sure.

-Go back in.

-Have a look around.

-Formulate a plan.

-I'll have a quick dip and see you in the courtyard.

-Lovely.

On the market at £645,000,

this property is a huge £105,000 under budget

and provides a large construction project for Andrew.

It also has a lovely spacious living area, a kitchen/diner,

three bedrooms, over 1½ acres of grounds with a swimming pool

and a selection of outbuildings for conversion to holiday lets, with the proper permissions.

From the outside, I thought this was the best of the three properties we've seen to date.

I liked the way the building was set out - the style of the property, the courtyard.

I actually like a challenge and a project, so I'm more excited by this than Brenda will be.

From the outside, it looks a nice house,

nice brickwork. The kitchen and living room areas are massive.

And they could be made into beautiful rooms.

I just don't know if I'm ready for that at this stage of my life.

This is a great plot. Terrific potential, especially for a rental property with that pool. So private.

Whether it's too much work, we'll find out now.

-So, guys, what do you reckon?

-It's a lot of potential,

but there's an awful lot of work to be done in there. I'm not sure I'm up for that,

-but you seem to be a lot keener.

-Oh, he's been working on you!

-He has.

-Don't go any further.

We've shown you three very different properties. A lot to talk about. Let's find somewhere to do that.

The Cotswolds were once heavily occupied by wealthy Romans.

Their unearthed villas are popular visitor attractions.

Evidence of Roman dwellings is being revealed every day in places like Great Witcombe and 30 other sites.

It's the Chedworth Roman villa, dating from the 2nd to 5th century, that is the most intricate.

Much of it is still being uncovered under the guidance of the National Trust.

I've come to meet Guy Salkeld to find out what life was like all those centuries ago.

What a place, eh? Is it normal, having a Roman villa just outside Cirencester?

It is in this part of the country. Think of it as a country estate.

-So who actually lived here?

-We don't know for sure, but probably a very high-status, native British

member of the aristocracy. Clearly, they would have been embracing Roman culture.

So they lived in Roman buildings, Roman-style buildings, with the mosaics, the bath house,

and they would entertain important guests.

In Roman times, the bath house wasn't just somewhere for a quick wash.

It was an important social hub for entertaining or conducting business.

It wasn't unusual to have poetry recitals, singing competitions and even libraries here,

where people could spend hours on end.

You said bath. This is pretty impressive.

These are Roman baths, Aled, and the walls are lower so we can see the whole thing.

In Roman times, these would have been solid walls, but we get the feeling of going into the gymnasium

or the changing room, then you would have walked through. This area is the tepidarium,

the warm area. You'd gradually get warmer, the slaves would cover you in oil.

You'd come through this well-worn step into the hot room here,

where slaves would pour water onto the charcoals and really get a steam up. It was very hot.

-How did the water come in here?

-Well, one thing about Chedworth is that there's a spring

just on the other side of that wall. It was important religiously,

but also served a very practical purpose, too. The drains still work. That's why the villa doesn't flood.

Naturally, being a Roman villa, it's covered in wonderful mosaics,

most of which were locally produced at the workshops in Cirencester.

They form one of the largest collections still in their original position in Britain.

Guy is showing me one of the most recently excavated sites.

When we put the new building in, on the line of the original Roman foundations,

we put this suspended floor in so people don't walk on it.

During the construction process, we excavated this end of the corridor here.

We'll come back in the future to do this bit.

-So the mosaic is underneath us?

-All the way along.

-Wow.

-One of the most stunning features.

30-40 metres of mosaic,

as long as it keeps on going. We don't know it does, but it should be fantastic when it's done.

The site of this villa was first uncovered in 1864 by James Farrer MP,

guardian to young Lord Eldon who owned the estate.

Nearly 150 years later, his work at the site is nearing completion

and will hopefully remain on view for many hundreds of years to come.

I can definitely see myself living in Roman luxury in the Cotswolds,

but have we found Andrew and Brenda their new home?

-I feel like we've seen quite a bit of the Cotswolds.

-Yes.

-That view in property one, you couldn't beat it.

-You couldn't.

-Spectacular views and the whole town was beautiful. Just what we were looking for.

-A perfect start.

-The house itself, I thought, wasn't quite right.

-I didn't like it being semi-detached, did you?

That's part of the problem. I liked accommodation at the back,

which we could do something with.

It had lots of nice things, but it just didn't hit all the buttons, I don't think.

-Let's move on to the second house, then. Again, a beautiful house.

-It was.

-Finished very well.

-Lots of nice features.

-The hallway and lounge were lovely.

-And that beautiful stone fireplace.

-Yeah, lovely garden.

Lots of space. But there was no project for me.

I think as much as anything we want something to produce an income for us in retirement.

-That didn't have any possibility for that.

-No.

-In that small village,

-there was no possibility of building on the land.

-A slight drawback for us was the location.

In a nice little hamlet, but not much going on inside it.

-There was not a community to get involved in.

-And what about the mystery property, then?

We took you away from the Cotswolds.

-And there was a project for you.

-Absolutely.

This is my favourite house. The outside, the layout.

I liked the opportunity with the buildings outside to do some work in terms of holiday lets.

And the swimming pool. So, for me, it was a really nice property

-which had a lot of opportunity to do things with.

-You'd be living there on your own, though.

-I would be on my own!

-He would. 20 years ago I may have considered it, but I don't want to now.

-Will you pursue the mystery property further?

-I'd like to, but Brenda doesn't want to,

so the discussion will take place and I'll lose out.

On that note, good luck! It's been lovely meeting you

-and I hope you arrive here very soon.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

So have we found their dream house?

Well, I don't think so. They liked aspects of all three.

Their dream home would have the view of the first, the interior of the second

and the challenge of the third. But will they find that here? I don't know, but I wish them well.

See you next time.

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