Buckinghamshire Escape to the Country

This unassuming country manor

was the nerve centre of Britain's Second World War spy operations.

Where am I? Find out as we escape to the country.

On today's show, I help a couple of city dwellers

buy their first home together in the countryside.

Initially, they're quite guarded about our houses.

I'll have to see what the outside area's like to see if we can get this one over the line!

You always need a little bit more!

But later, their reactions are positively gushing.

Yeah, it's amazing!

Amazing! Yeah!

Today I'm in Buckinghamshire at the national museum of computing.

And this rebuilt mass of wires, valves and plugs is Colossus,

the world's very first electronic computer.

It was here that British spies worked tirelessly

to crack Hitler's heavily-encoded communications

during the final years of the Second World War.

Later on, I'll be finding out more about the entire Bletchley Park complex,

which is one of the greatest secrets of British military history.

But for now, why not discover more about the wealth of delights

that make Buckinghamshire such an appealing place to escape to the country.

Covering some 730 square miles in total,

Buckinghamshire forms part of the Home Counties region.

The River Thames runs along its southern borders,

before the landscape gives way to the Chiltern Hills.

Numerous famous writers have settled in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

including Roald Dahl who lived in Great Missenden

for over 30 years and whose work is commemorated in a local museum.

The village is one of many that still retains its historic architecture.

Indeed, Aylesbury, which was granted its county town status by Henry VIII,

is home to over 170 listed buildings.

And nowadays, in order to claim a slice of Buckinghamshire rural life for yourself,

you'll need to keep tight hold of those purse strings.

Fortunately, prosperity isn't in short supply here.

The south of the county has the highest average income in the country

at £839 a week.

Now, I say fortunately because the house prices do match those high wages.

You can expect to pay around £477,000 for a detached property here.

That's some 217,000 more than the national average.

The thing is, commutability and the countryside do come at a cost.

But in Buckinghamshire you'll get a rich mix of property styles

as they really have made the most of the building materials available here.

In particular pockets of the county such as the Aylesbury Vale,

natural seams of limestone occur.

The Portland and Purbeck stone types are a feature of buildings in the area

and were often used in the construction of churches as well as houses.

This three-bedroomed Grade II listed limestone cottage in Calverton

is priced at £595,000.

Although parts of Buckinghamshire are popular with commuters to London these days,

many historic market towns were thriving commercial centres in their own right

from the 17th century.

The old town of Amersham

is home to an array of merchants' houses and smaller workers' terraced cottages,

providing something for most budgets.

This three-bedroomed Grade II listed cottage in nearby Beaconsfield Old Town

will cost just under £390,000.

So, lots to choose from there.

Hopefully today's buyers have deep pockets.

Let's meet them and find out.

Finance director Ian and interior design student Christie

have recently returned to the UK from Dubai.

Although they've loved the buzz of urban living up until now,

they feel the time has come to lay down some roots

and buy their first home together in the British countryside.

Generally speaking, we feel as though we've "been there and done that".

Now it's time to do something different

and really it's about a family home in our own space.

Having got married a year ago,

Ian and Christie are pursuing having a family.

However, in the beginning, it was work that initially brought them together.

We met at Cranfield School of Management.

I was the assistant administrator at the time.

And basically it started there, didn't it?

Yeah. I realised quite quickly that I probably needed the inside track at Cranfield,

so I thought getting a bit closer to the administrative function wouldn't do me any harm!

Since returning from Dubai,

they've been renting in Buckinghamshire whilst they research where they want to settle.

We realised we wanted to be closer to family without increasing the commute.

I know the Milton Keynes area quite well.

But it's not just the location they're researched.

As an interior design student, Christie has her eye on a home with definite style.

We're looking for a property with character, definitely.

I think we prefer detached but we'd happily go with a semi as well, wouldn't we?

And even though there are just two of them,

they both agree that they need to spread out.

We do need quite a bit of space.

I'm studying, so I need a lot of room for my course materials.

Yeah. It's not that we're falling out. There are other genuine reasons why we need the space.

When they of find their ideal property,

they're not just after breathing space in the house.

We'll enjoy doing what we've always done

and that's going out walking and socialising

and going out for dinner and drinks

away from the busy lifestyle that we tend to lead

eight till six every day.

Ultimately, their house needs to give them room to grow in the future.

We hope to settle down and have a family as well.

I think some of the things that I'm most looking forward to

is actually having a house

that we can call our own home.

And as a finance director, it's no surprise that Ian's worked out how much they have to spend.

The maximum budget for the move is £750,000.

Ian and Christie would like us to focus their property search

in the outlying villages around Milton Keynes,

preferably around a 15-minute drive away from the railway station.

I'm meeting our buyers to find out more about the vision they have

of their ideal country home.

-Good morning, you two!

-Morning!

-The sun's come out!

-Yeah.

-Lovely.

-How specific are you on the area you want to be in?

It's more a case - we're not so fussed about the county, are we?

It's more about not being too far from Milton Keynes central station

which is where Ian can commute to London from.

Milton Keynes feels about as far north as you can get

to still have a good commute into London, if that makes sense.

The other thing to think about is the property itself, not just the commute.

-What kind of house are we looking for?

-It's a family home we're looking for,

hoping to spend the next ten years, rather than short-term.

So three or four bed, I think.

I think we have a real preference towards big rooms,

nice high ceilings, that sort of thing.

Yeah, light and airy is nice, yep.

Outside space is important.

-A nice big garden.

-How big a garden?

Well, I wouldn't say we're going to turn into green fingers,

-but quite a nice...

-A decent space.

-Yeah.

Fantastic. Well, that's not bad for around here.

I think we've found you three very good properties including the mystery house.

-Shall we go and have a look.

-Yes.

-Definitely.

We've selected three charming properties to view

and as usual, I'll be asking them to guess the price before I reveal it.

The last, of course, is our mystery house

which will test their resolve to renovate it.

Mindful of their brief on location,

we're starting our house tour just 11 miles south of Milton Keynes

in Little Horwood.

Besides giving Ian a quick travel time to the station,

the village provides them with a peaceful countryside setting.

Amenities include a local pub, a cricket green

and the memorial hall acts as a local store and post office

a couple of times a week.

Our first property is a single-storey barn conversion.

I have confidence in our first property because this is it.

-Yes.

-Right, OK.

-A barn conversion.

-Wow.

-First impressions?

We've not looked at any barn conversions, so...

I think for me, I was probably picturing something in its own plot.

So the fact that there's three, four, five conversions all together,

probably wasn't what I was looking for initially.

Once you get inside, you'll really feel that it's a very stand-alone individual property.

-And you'll hardly notice there's anyone else around.

-OK.

-Come and have a look.

'Although there are subdued reactions to the modest exterior,

'I think the features and space inside will lift their mood.'

-Lovely floor.

-Great, isn't it? Tuscan limestone flooring,

right the way through here

into your kitchen dining room.

-Wow!

-Yeah, very nice.

-Yes.

-First "wow" of the day!

-Yes.

-It's very sort of open plan

and there's obviously some period features in terms of the beams.

You noticed the beams. This is all the original barn.

-The barn dates back to 1883.

-Right.

The conversion was done just under ten years ago.

-Right.

-OK.

-Very nice. I like it.

Very nice? OK. Come and have a closer look at the kitchen.

What do you think of this for the kitchen?

I love this. It's not an original feature.

They've put in this brick surround for the range.

-But it's a nice touch.

-Yes.

-Yes, it works.

-It's impressive.

I love the central island. That's something I've always wanted in a kitchen.

Looking out there to your guests, all the family sitting around.

-Yes. Lovely.

-Come and look at this room.

-Yep.

-I like this room.

-Hmm.

-It's big, isn't it?

-This could be another wow.

Yes, it's a big room. Lovely.

Look at the woodburner.

-I think I got a bit of a smile out of you, there.

-Almost!

-Almost!

-You must be doing well!

-Yes, it's nice.

-Just so you know, that's the only wall that's actually touching a neighbour.

-Right.

-OK. I'll bear that in mind.

-We'll look at the other side to the house.

There's nobody on the other side. Just a little courtyard.

So you're not that close to people. Come on.

'Christie seems taken with what she's seen so far.

'Although Ian, I fear, may need more convincing.

'On the opposite side of the property,

'there are three doubles in total,

'all of which are spacious, light and airy.

'There's also a family bathroom.

'But we'll explore what could be their room.'

Back with this lovely oak flooring

into the master suite.

-Ooh!

-Mm.

Yes, a good size again.

Loads of storage.

They've had all of this built in.

It's got a huge en-suite bathroom, roll-top bath,

-walk-in shower.

-Yes.

-Lots of space in there. And a lovely touch, the French doors.

-Lovely.

Yeah, it's a good-sized room.

I'm hearing a lot of "nice" and "I like it" but I'm not feeling much of an emotional connection.

It just feels almost a bit too new, if anything.

One thing I haven't mentioned is with my coursework I need a lot of space.

-So we're probably lacking a room, aren't we?

-I think so.

You need an extra room. You need it to not feel so new.

So the second point maybe you can fix with the interior decor?

-Yes.

-And maybe the first point you can fix?

Maybe I can. Shall we go and have a look outside?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-That way.

The property as it stands is a blank canvas

to which Christie could add her creative touch.

Outside, as well as having well-stocked mature gardens,

delivers another important element for Christie.

It's still raining, I'm afraid.

-Yes.

-Unfortunately, but there you go.

-And if you look that way, beautiful views.

-Stunning.

-It's a wonderful view.

You'd never grow tired of that view. It's fantastic.

What do you think of this as a garden?

-I think it's a good size for us.

-Manageable and it's a reasonable size.

I brought you out here on the promise of more space.

Down that end you've got what looks like a shed.

But of an outbuilding, it's boarded and got electricity in it.

It's currently used as a gym. It could be a space for your study for the interior design work.

You know everything there is to know about this property now

-except how much it costs.

-Why don't we let Christie go first?

Thanks(!)

OK. Um... I reckon...620,000.

I genuinely think that is a decent guess.

I'll go for 650,000.

You get the first point!

This is on the market bang on at 650.

-There you go. There you go.

-Well done.

-Lucky guess.

So, with that it mind, you probably want to get out of the rain anyway,

why don't you head back in, have a look at the shed maybe,

-and I'll see you later on.

-Great.

-OK.

-Thanks, Denise.

Comfortably under budget at £650,000,

this immaculate barn conversion

is a good opening gambit for our buyers to consider.

It delivers on many fronts.

-We weren't expecting this, were we?

-No.

What do you think?

Well...

I'm not sure if I could use it for my studio

-because I'm not sure if it's light enough.

-No.

It probably is a little bit dark.

-We'd probably end up using it for storage.

-Yeah, I would have thought so.

Character was really high up on our list.

And this property does have character,

but there's just something, there's a new feeling about it, actually.

So even though it's got the beams and fireplace,

it feels like it's lacking character, somehow.

I think my first impression was that the barn conversion

was done very tastefully.

I think that was quite striking when we first walked in.

But I think perhaps in the back of my mind

I was already beginning to question, well, would I prefer a detached property

with a bit more privacy on its own plot.

I'm not convinced this house has got enough space for us.

Well, it's still raining, so I definitely think it's time for us to make a move.

Hopefully, they've seen enough now.

-Seen everything?

-Yeah.

-Yes, absolutely.

It's time for us to get out of this rain. Come on. Let's go.

Surrounded by countryside and the Chiltern Hills

is the historic market town of Marlow.

Its gentrified Georgian character can be attributed to its prime location

on the banks of the River Thames

where for centuries goods for trade were loaded and shipped downstream to London.

The Thames is also at the heart of Marlow's sporting heritage

as Olympic hero Sir Steve Redgrave honed his skills here as a young rower.

And just a mile down the road is the home of the British Olympic Institute

at the ancient site of Bisham Abbey.

Marrying Ian's keen interest in sport with Christie's keen aesthetic eye,

we arrange for them to meet up with Zoe Dixon from Sport England

to find out more about the story of this impressive Grade I listed site.

-Welcome, guys, to Bisham Abbey.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

This is the flagship National Sports Centre for Sport England.

The most ancient parts date back to 1138.

But the Knights of the Templar occupied it until 1308 when they were disbanded.

There must have been some interesting people that have lived here and visited.

Yes, and some very notable guests.

Henry VIII escaped here from London when one of the plagues was in London.

He resided here.

-Shall we have a look?

-Yeah.

The abbey entrance is one of the oldest surviving parts,

dating back to 1338 when it was a priory and home to Augustinian monks.

Its rooms resonate with signs from its past.

Here we are in the Great Hall at Bisham Abbey.

This is now used as our main dining room to feed our athletes.

But originally it was the main room for the Knights Templar

who resided here until 1308.

Is this room as it was, or has it been restored at some point?

A large restoration project took place in the 19th century.

Originally, when the Knights Templar were here,

there would have been a fire hearth in the middle of the room.

That has blackened some of the timbers above us.

Zoe, I noticed a very small window in that corner. What's that about?

Remember I said Henry VIII came here to escape the plague?

He used a suite of rooms upstairs as his area.

He would look down from that window and watch people being entertained in the Great Hall

and he would choose his wench that was to accompany him for the evening!

Alongside the preserved features inside,

this manor house has substantially changed in size and function

over the past 800 years.

And it's enhanced by its timeless riverside backdrop.

Here we are at one of my favourite spots on the site.

We're by the River Thames

and we've got the abbey behind us.

So Ian and Christie, that's given you a bit of the history of Bisham Abbey

as well as understanding what we now use it for in the National Sports Centre.

It's been fantastic. Thanks so much for showing us round. We've really enjoyed it. It's been great.

You're very welcome.

Having gained an insight into this historic building's links to monarchs and elite athletes,

we need to return to their house search,

where hopefully one of our remaining properties will emerge a winner.

In a bid to deliver as spacious a property as possible,

we're nudging over the Northamptonshire border

to the village of Syresham

which extends Ian's travel time to Milton Keynes to half an hour.

This village is in a quiet, rural setting,

one local landmark being its Grade II listed church

dating back to the 12th century.

Our next house lies on the outskirts of the village

and certainly has that kerb presence that they're after.

-You wanted a stand-alone detached property.

-Yep.

And that's what we've brought you for property two.

What do you think?

-Yes, it looks nice.

-Quite an impressive building, I would say.

-It is.

-Looks good.

How old do you think this property is?

Fairly recent, perhaps, but I don't honestly know.

It is a 2006 build,

so it is pretty new.

But I have to say inside it's chocker-full of great features.

-Right.

-Which I think will impress you.

It's not a period property, but keen to see inside and then I'll let you know!

Come on, then. I get the hint. Let's have a look!

'New build it might be, but I think the inside

'evokes quite a different feel to what they might be expecting.'

First feature, a little gallery there.

-Yes.

-Nice.

-Second, through the hallway into the dining room.

-Ooh.

-Woodburning stove, yes.

I wasn't expecting to walk into the dining room, to be honest.

-I'm perhaps a little bit...

-Has that thrown you?

-..taken aback.

But it's a nice area, isn't it? A nice room.

I think to put this house into context, you need to see a bit more.

-Let's have a look at the kitchen.

-OK.

-Yeah.

If you don't want your dining room out here, there, even,,

what about in here?

-Yes, OK.

-It's completely different to out there.

This is much more the style we were thinking of.

The pine tops and the country Shaker-style kitchen units.

But round the back there is a utility room.

You definitely get a lot of space with this property. Let me show you the next room and see how you feel.

Okey-doke.

Come on through.

-Ooh.

-The light shining in there.

-The main living room.

-It's huge.

-The sun's come out. Come in and have a good look.

Yes, it is huge. Have you ever seen an inglenook fireplace that big?

-Really great.

-That's a real feature.

-That's a great feature.

-Yes.

How about having two additional reception rooms downstairs that you could take your pick on?

-Wow. Sounds good.

-You've got a walkway through there, the other side of the dining room.

Then you've got two more rooms. One currently being used as an office/study

and the other one is a family room with a TV and a corner sofa.

-It's quite cosy.

-Ooh.

You've got all that extra space.

Yeah, sounds like lots of space.

'The same can definitely be said of upstairs,

which provides five bedrooms all generously sized,

light and airy, along with the bright family bathroom.

But I think we'll really raise the roof when we see the master.

-Goodness!

-Oh, your eyes lit up straightaway.

Ian, tell me. Is that a good high ceiling?

That, Denise, is a good height for a ceiling, I can tell you.

And an en-suite.

-Hooray. Can we have a little look?

-Yes, have a look round.

Ooh, big shower.

-Wow.

-Hmm.

-Got enough space in this one!

That's a really good genuine smile there.

-From you.

-This is a super room, isn't it?

They've kept the beams, which is a really nice feature.

Perhaps I'll have to see what the outside area's like

to see whether we can get this one over the line!

You always need a little bit more, Ian! Shall we go out and have a look

and start thinking about how much this will cost.

-Mm.

-Okey-doke.

'The front of the house benefits from a large driveway

'which offers plenty of parking space.

'And there's also a detached double garage,

'which has a self-contained studio and shower room above.

'However, they might feel the pinch of compromise at the back.'

OK. This is your garden. Call it small but perfectly formed!

OK.

They've really thought about it. It's not huge, granted.

What are your thoughts?

It's on the small side.

You've seen everything there is. The question is, how much would you have to pay for this property

and Ian, I'm going to start with you.

Definitely a more expensive property than the last one we looked at.

So I'm going to go for...

..725.

-OK.

-I had a figure in my head for the same reasons as you, really.

So I'm going to go for 710,000.

It's near the top of your budget. It is more expensive than the last one.

But it's actually on the market for £685,000.

-Right. Interesting.

-Yeah, that's surprising.

-Has that changed the way you think about it?

-Interesting.

-Interesting.

Ooh, it's hard to get anything out of you, isn't it?

Can't give anything away at this stage, Denise!

Go up there and have a look at that annexe. See if we can warm you up.

685! 685, what a bargain!

They guessed over 700.

As they said, five bedrooms and a fantastic location in a great village.

I think it might take a little bit more time for this to warm to Ian.

Priced substantially under budget at £685,000,

this huge family home is beautifully presented.

Funnily enough, the previous property was older and felt new.

This one's newer, but it doesn't feel new.

Again, I really like the kitchen. I think we could do with it slightly bigger,

but the style is really nice.

It really does feel like a country kitchen.

When I first saw the house outside, I was quite impressed.

It was a plot all on its own,

so it had that element of privacy.

Overall, I think the garden was on the small side.

I think they've made good use of the space that's available.

So I guess, overall, for the size of the house,

I was probably a bit disappointed with the garden area.

A-ha. I was getting comfortable here. The sun's finally come out.

-It's stopped raining.

-Best part of the day.

And you've got a smile on your face! Can't be bad!

-Seen enough?

-Yes.

-Come on, then, let's go.

As evening falls, our buyers can now sit back and reflect on their first day's property search.

Having moved back from Dubai,

Ian and Christie have £750,000 to spend

on their first country property in the Buckinghamshire countryside.

Our two offerings so far have tried to meet their brief

of a stylish character property that delivers space inside and out.

Coming up, the mystery house is bordering on perfection.

Almost, not quite, but almost speechless.

Don't go speechless yet!

And I piece together the county's secret military heritage.

The start of day two and it's raining again!

This weather can't make up its mind.

But we got off to a winning start yesterday.

Two great properties, the first of which offered everything Ian and Christie were looking for

on paper, but in reality it was a little bit small for them.

The second gave them more rooms than they could have wished for,

but the garden just wasn't enough.

Overall, I felt that Ian was struggling to see past the owner's furniture.

So for our mystery house, we're going to force him to use his imagination a bit more.

This property is all about the potential.

So what do you think we might show you with the mystery house?

I can imagine it might be something that needs some work,

for me to sort of use my interior design skills.

I don't know. I was thinking the possibility of a big project.

-Would you enjoy that?

-Um, I would do, yeah.

It depends on the extent, I think!

As long as there wasn't too much work to do, it would be good fun.

Yeah, I think your definition of a project and mine might be a bit different!

We'll keep them guessing a bit longer.

One thing that will please Ian is that our mystery house is less than a 15-minute drive

from Milton Keynes in the village of Deanshanger, Northamptonshire.

Along with a very active community, amenities include a post office and a choice of local pubs.

For the mystery house, we've found a property steeped in history

but it's going to need a little bit of work.

Now...

-Oh, my goodness!

-Look at this.

The mystery property.

-Wow.

-You did guess fairly well

that it may be a bit of a project.

-You didn't guess how old that project would be!

-It is a project.

-This is 14th-century Grade II listed.

-Wow.

-It was originally a monastery.

-Really?

Just like the Christian properties then, it was in the shape of a cross.

Over the centuries there have been some additions.

And then it was modernised inside in the '80s.

I'm intrigued to know just how big a project it is,

but my first impressions are it's just hugely impressive.

Fantastic.

But will you be impressed by the inside?

One thing you'll be impressed by, the front door. Come this way.

'Our mystery house has sparked their interest and intrigue.

'So let's move inside and discover what lies behind these historic walls and door.'

Look at this door!

This tells you it's 14th century, doesn't it?

-Lovely front door. And it's kept Cromwell's men out at times!

-Really?

During the dissolution of the monasteries, this was a place where priests would come to hide.

Oh, wow. Yeah, it's amazing.

Yeah!

I think it's just full of character, isn't it?

And there's a real wow factor here,

almost, not quite, but almost speechless.

Don't go speechless yet!

You are coming alive! I like it. You're very excited by this. Come this way.

So you have another living room.

-Wow.

-Wow indeed.

-More beams.

Lovely again.

The current owners have a conservatory there.

It's dated and in need of work.

Definitely opportunities.

The one thing you really can't touch is that staircase.

Jacobean with a preservation order on it!

-Oh!

-Really?

-Wow! Fantastic!

-But the thing that is important to you still is the kitchen.

-Yes.

Shall we have a look at that? I'd love to get your thoughts. It's back up that way.

I'll lead the way.

'Let's see what Christie's design vision might be in here.'

Come in. A very traditional style kitchen.

-Yes.

-It's not the kitchen you described to me, the big open plan.

But there's still a lot in here. Great features.

A range-style cooker and an electric one, so you can cook in both methods.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-And you have got a larder pantry over there.

-OK, yes.

There is another option, I think.

There is another reception room off the main living room.

Which opens out. That's potentially a space where you could swap the kitchen to over there.

-It's a bit bigger.

-OK. Good.

-Still happy?

-Yes, still positive.

-Excellent. Let's head upstairs and see the bedrooms.

-Show us the way.

'There's plenty of scope for updating the decor

'although they'll obviously need to go through the planning process

'if they want to adapt the internal living spaces as it's listed.

'Also on this floor is a laundry room and bathroom.

'We're now making our way upstairs.'

Four bedrooms. And this is the master and the biggest.

Wow. That's a huge bed. Nice.

For a property of this age, it comes with an en-suite, which is great.

Oh, goodness. I was just thinking it wouldn't.

I think it's older than we'd initially envisaged

or were perhaps looking for.

But I don't think that's a bad thing.

-All good.

-So that just leaves the outside and the price.

OK. That's going to be very interesting.

-Fascinating.

-Very. Start thinking. After you.

'The first floor also provides two family bathrooms for the three other bedrooms,

'all of which are good-sized doubles

'and have spectacular views.

'Time to survey the extent of the land our mystery house comes with.'

So this is the garden.

And it's quite extensive. Definitely the biggest of the three properties.

It doesn't just go to that fence, it extends beyond there.

So that paddock beyond would be yours as well.

-Oh, wow.

-Yes.

And back down this way you have this orchard.

-I thought, yeah, wow!

-Apples and greengages.

-Up to the gate?

-Up to the gate there.

-Wow.

-And you get this double garage which comes with a loose box

-so you could have a little pony.

-Oh.

-Sounds good?

-Fantastic.

So, taking all that into consideration,

how much do you think this property is on the market for?

-That is a tough question.

-Really tough.

Um, I'm going to go for...

720,000.

I'm going to go for...

..735.

OK. At that sort of price is this in contention potentially?

-You'll have to ask him!

-Possibly. Possibly.

That's good to know. Because you could get your hands on this house

for £650,000.

Oh, my goodness! I'm very surprised by that.

-Hmm.

-Hmm, indeed!

So, armed with that information,

have a real wander and explore around this property.

And I'll see you later on. Because this is the end. That's it.

It's decision time after that.

-Yes.

-OK.

-Off you go.

-Thanks, Denise.

-Thank you.

Ooh, they're so hard to measure.

They really like this property.

It offers them the history, the space, the outside acreage.

And it comes in at a great price.

And yet they're still holding back a little.

Priced at £650,000,

our historic mystery house leaves them a £100,000 pot

to renovate and update this into a fabulous family home.

It retains a wealth of original features.

The large kitchen has great potential.

But given that it's listed,

it does beg the question if it's a project too far.

-Ooh. This is another nice room.

-It is, yes.

There's a beautiful fireplace there.

What would you use it for? A study? They've obviously got it as a sort of study.

-Yes.

-It seems to lend itself to that.

-Yes, it would be quite good for my coursework, cos it's quite light in here.

-Yeah.

A very light, big room.

-I can't help thinking...

-That's a theme around this house.

-Yes.

From the outside, the mystery house looked very impressive.

Quite an imposing look about it, but I like that.

A really grand-looking house.

Just bags of character and a real feeling of space.

I think we were both really impressed.

I do keep my cards close to my chest.

And that's the way they're going to remain, firmly close to my chest.

I'm not going to go as far as to say I love this house,

but it's a great house, hugely impressive,

and you'd struggle not to be impressed with this sort of property.

I think this is exactly the sort of property that Christie's looking for for a project.

But will it work for Ian?

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hello, hello.

-Enjoy that?

-Yes, very much.

-Fabulous property to wander round, isn't it?

-Yes.

-You've seen them all, now.

-We have.

-It's all about making decisions.

-Let's find somewhere to sit down.

-OK.

Buckinghamshire's market towns, quaint villages

and agricultural landscape conjure up an image of traditional rural England.

However, during the Second World War,

hidden within its countryside, the stately home of Bletchley Park

became the nerve centre of Britain's ultra intelligence network.

Known as Station X, it was here that the infamous Enigma machine was decoded.

Invented in 1918, it was used by the German military

to encrypt messages that at that time were impossible to decipher.

Historian Ian Standen kindly offered to show me how it works.

Now, this is one of the infamous Enigma machines, isn't it?

-Indeed it is.

-What would a German officer have to do to use this?

First of all, they had to set it up properly.

They had a set of instructions, a code book,

which told them the various bits and pieces of the machine.

The first thing was to select which of the various rings -

you can see inside the machine here.

There are three in there. These are the two spares so you can have any sort of permutation.

Absolutely. They were told which ones it had to be.

They were then told which of these cables were to be linked between which of the sockets.

It says on here S to X, et cetera.

How many different permutations are there,

given all the different settings?

158 million million million permutations!

-Wow!

-Which I'm told is about a million more than the National Lottery.

So, once you've set it up, you've got all these permutations.

What would you do next? You want to send your message.

To send a message, the first thing we need to do is find the message. What would you like to send?

-How about escape?

-Sounds good.

-Seems fitting.

-Absolutely.

OK, so we've set the machine up. We've set it all to the ones there.

So, press your first letter, which is E, and I'll take down what the coded message is.

'The Enigma Code was actually first cracked in 1932

'by a group of Polish mathematicians,

'who went on to make a replica machine and passed on their knowledge

'to British military intelligence.'

Alan, what did the British do to intercept this?

What we had to do was first of all intercept, through a series of Y stations.

They were listening to the Germans' transmissions

and got that and we had lots of ladies sitting down

taking down this random text.

It came in, it was given to the code-breakers

who started off with this.

Very, very clever. British ingenuity. I like it.

'The race to solve the Enigma Code was won when in early 1940,

'the English mathematician Alan Turing designed a pioneering code-breaking machine

known as The Bomb.

This meant that Bletchley Park cryptanalysts

were able to intercept and decode up to a staggering 84,000 messages a month.

It was a machine like this that Ruth Bourne, a Royal Navy wren,

operated during her war service.

When you were operating this machine, you would have to be given a menu.

And the menu would have two pieces of information.

One would tell you how to set the wheels, or rotors,

which are equivalent to the Enigma rotors.

The second piece of information would tell you how to plug the machine up at the back

to emulate the plugs on the Enigma machine.

Did you ever know the results of any of the code you'd cracked?

No, we were never told what was in it.

What a privilege discussing code-breaking

with a veteran wren who actually worked on one of The Bomb machines.

Let's hope that some of Ruth's skills have rubbed off on me

so that we can crack the code of Ian and Christie's property problem.

We've had a good couple of days, haven't we?

-Looking at properties.

-We've had a super couple of days.

So we've shown you three very different properties, really.

Let's go through them one at a time.

We started with that barn conversion.

I remember walking up to that and your face going...

.."This is not detached. I've got neighbours touching me!"

But talk me through your first impressions.

Unexpected, I think. Perhaps the lack of a second floor was something as well.

It still had a nice look about it, I felt, though.

And I don't have such a problem with neighbours.

I was really impressed with that.

And the kitchen diner and the living space were gorgeous rooms.

I agree with all of that.

But it was actually a comment that Christie made to me

when she said, "We'll grow out of this property quite quickly."

So overall a little bit too small for you.

Second property, size wasn't an issue. It was huge and detached, but quite modern.

Yes, it was surprising. And yet inside,

it almost felt older than the first property.

The thing about the second property for me

was that the upstairs was fantastic

and I just felt it worked that little bit better

than the downstairs did.

I was really taken with the upstairs, I must say.

I don't know. Maybe if I live upstairs and you live... No.

-Cheeky!

-No, we won't do that just yet.

-Not now.

-Not now!

But the mystery house was something different altogether again.

A real period property with loads of history.

I thought the building was a really impressive, imposing building.

You couldn't help but be impressed.

The living area was a fantastic room.

Big, high ceilings, period features.

Fantastic fireplace.

I thought, to be honest, the outside area begged as many questions as it answered, really.

Because I just wondered what you would do with that piece of land

all joking aside.

So that was it. That was all the properties.

You've had time to think about it.

Were any of our properties the right one for you?

I think property three, the mystery property is a definite maybe for me.

That's the one for you. What about you, Ian?

I think I'd like to return to properties two and three.

You surprise me, you two.

You played those cards close to your chest all along!

But to have two out of three that you're interested in is fantastic.

What are the next steps? Are you heading back there soon?

I think probably next steps are to revisit the villages

that these properties are actually situated in,

to work out exactly what the commute times are

and to probably have another look round and really challenge ourselves.

-Yeah.

-Overall, it's been fun.

-Thank you.

-We've enjoyed spending time with you.

We'd love it even more if you get a property.

-Let us know how you get on.

-We will.

-Best of luck.

-Thank you.

-Thanks ever so much.

There's a surprise. We seem to have hit the mark with two of our properties

although the jury's still out until Ian and Christie have done a bit more investigation.

I have a feeling, though, that it's the mystery house that will win out at the end of the day.

The big question is will they have enough courage to take on a project like that.

See you next time on Escape to the Country.

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