West Sussex Escape to the Country

This could be a scene from the French countryside but, no, I'm not in the Champagne region.

In fact, I'm standing in England's wine-growing heartland.

But which county are we going to be raising a glass to today?

Keep watching to find out.

On today's show, I help a couple with six dogs

find a country home that suits all their needs,

and we dive straight in.

-That is the biggest surprise of the lot.

-Yep.

But later on in our search, there's a daunting prospect to consider.

Go on, be honest with me.

-I think you're being polite!

-Communal living is a question mark.

-Yes.

Today I'm in West Sussex, home to one of England's largest wine-growing regions.

A combination of warm climate, limited rainfall

and the chalky slopes of the South Downs

make ideal conditions for these vines to thrive,

so much so, there are over 20 vineyards in West Sussex alone,

spanning around 500 acres.

But grapes and vines aren't the only thing this county has going for it.

West Sussex became a separate administrative county from East Sussex in 1888,

and within its borders lie some great historic gems.

Along with vibrant market towns,

the county capital of Chichester is graced by its awe-inspiring Norman cathedral.

Other architectural feats hailing from this period

include the magnificent Arundel Castle.

However, West Sussex is also home to a landmark residence

that dates back to Roman times.

Fishbourne Roman Palace, unearthed in 1960,

is the largest and best preserved site of its kind in the country.

Highlights of the natural landscape fall within the South Downs National Park.

Across its chalk uplands,

the South Downs Way, which extends over 100 miles in total,

covers some of the most scenic walking terrain in the South East of England.

The average price of a detached property in West Sussex

is just over £361,000.

That's £104,000 more than the national figure.

This is mainly down to beachside properties in hotspots such as The Witterings,

where you can easily pay up to £1 million.

But if you're prepared to live without a sea view,

you can instantly shave a couple of hundred thousand pounds off that.

But wherever you choose to live,

there is a fantastic array of different architectural styles to choose from.

One distinctive feature, seen throughout the villages and towns of West Sussex, is flint.

This local stone has been used to decorate many a facade,

from Saxon churches, period farmhouses and garden walls.

This two-bedroom terraced cottage in Eartham

is on the market for £435,000.

Besides chalk, more durable limestone varieties

form part of the county's natural bedrock

and have been used as a building material for centuries.

The prices for these properties range hugely.

For £250,000,

you could buy a small two-bedroom cottage.

But if you want something grander with some land,

this schoolhouse in the popular village of West Chiltington

could be yours for £1.1 million.

A great selection of West Sussex properties there.

But can we find one to suit today's house-hunters?

Let's meet them.

Retired teachers John and Jan

live in the busy seaport town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

They first met when they were at college.

Jan was in the year above me and,

er, for a dare, I asked her out

and, er, actually, the date, from my point of view, was very successful.

A few months later, Jan graduated and they went their separate ways.

However, 42 years on,

a chance meeting brought them back into each other's lives.

I was cycling past and I said, "Hello, Janet."

I thought, "Nobody calls me Janet!" so it was a bit strange!

There was a man with a cycling helmet and a cycle standing at the top...

-In shorts, in the middle of January!

-Yes!

-I did recognise you, didn't I?

-Mm.

And then, having gone our separate ways for a very long time...

-42 years.

-42 years.

..to meet up again was amazing, really.

For the last three years, they've been living in Jan's property.

John still owns a flat, which he needs to sell,

and they're hoping to start a new chapter of their lives by buying their first home together.

The idea of two houses is great,

but there comes a point when one or other of you

is going to have to move in with the other one, and there are always issues.

"Is it your house? Is it my house? Are these your things?"

It just gives us that chance to make a fresh start.

They have their sights set on the English mainland,

as all of their children have flown the nest and are dotted throughout the UK.

They also want to lead a quieter life, as their house is on a busy road.

It is a bit noisy.

I think to live somewhere up a little lane or a quieter road

would be really peaceful and pleasant to live

and wake up and actually hear birds.

Although owning a home together is uncharted territory,

they've agreed on a location which they're both familiar with.

I was brought up in that area

and, also, because we both trained in West Sussex a long time ago

-and we go there...

-Yes.

-..I think we feel comfortable.

-We feel comfortable.

Besides giving our couple enough space,

their new home must be able to accommodate Jan's award-winning dogs.

For me, my biggest wish is space outside for my six dogs

and I'm used to being able to let them go out and gallop.

Finally, they've settled on how much they want to spend.

The budget for the move is £600,000.

John and Jan may be keen to break free

from living in a coastal town on the Isle of Wight

but they still want to be close to the sea,

so we're focusing our search in the south of the county.

I met our buyers by the water's edge

to find out more about their planned move.

-John and Jan, welcome to West Sussex!

-Thank you.

Hopefully, we're not going to get too wet today.

Life, in a way, has gone full circle, hasn't it?

-This is where you met and hopefully where you'll end up together.

-Yes.

-That would be good.

-It would be interesting if that happened.

I feel like I've got Cupid's arrow ready for this search!

-It is the first house you've bought together.

-Yes.

-That's right.

With my romantic head, we're going to find a fantastic property for the two of you.

But it's not just the two of you, is it?

-It's not just the two of us.

-How many dogs, Jan?!

We have only six!

-And they're not small, are they?

-They're not small.

Are they going to be living in the house with the two of you

or do they have their own wing, shall we say?

-They do have their own wing.

-Yes.

They're not particularly kennelled. They do like to come in with us, as well.

-They play a huge part of your lives.

-A huge part of our lives.

-So we've got to consider their wants, as well.

-Absolutely.

This property that you're looking for together,

ideally, what's it going to consist of?

Primarily, it's quite a bit of land that we need, three bedrooms.

-We do like our bathrooms, don't we?

-Yes.

-Yep!

-We like to have...

-As many bathrooms as possible!

-Yes!

That's new! OK, let's see how many we can find you.

And we have a few children that might come and visit us, so we do need space for family

-and new baby grandchildren.

-Excellent.

We've got three properties lined up, one is our mystery house,

which will certainly get you thinking.

-Shall we get started?

-Yes, please. Come on, then.

With a budget of £600,000,

John and Jan have given us a clear brief

on what they're after from their country home.

They'd like a light, airy property, with a minimum of three bedrooms,

as many bathrooms as possible,

a separate living area for the dogs

and around two acres of land.

We've selected three tempting properties

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

Lastly, there's our mystery house,

which challenges them to take on a lifestyle overhaul.

Janet, it would be fair for me to say you're a bit rusty when it comes to house-hunting.

-I am. I've been in my house a very long time.

-How many years?

35 years. NICKI LAUGHS

I hate to warn you, but the prices are going to have changed just slightly in that time!

Will you be sad to leave your home or are you ready?

I'm ready. It will be very sad, I'm not going to say it won't be.

I've brought the family up in it

and it's been quite a monument to me,

but I think I'm ready to move on now.

Mindful of getting them as close to the coast as possible,

we're starting our house hunt seven miles southwest of Chichester,

near to the seaside village of East Wittering.

The area offers wide-open spaces for walking the dogs

and also provides a range of useful amenities,

including a butchers and a couple of pubs.

Three miles inland from East Wittering, in complete rural seclusion,

is where we find our first property,

a farmer's cottage, built back in the 19th century.

Here's your first property in West Sussex.

-What do you think?

-It's big.

-Big!

Maybe a bit close to the road.

We are on a road, but we are still surrounded by the country.

-Yes. I like the idea of the sea not being far away.

-Yes.

-Shall we get started?

-Oh, yes!

-Yes, please.

-Come on, then.

'Although their first responses are quite muted,

'as we move inside the house, I hope they'll warm to the interior.'

I wanted to bring you straight into the kitchen,

-the heart of the home.

-Absolutely. I like it very much.

-It's very welcoming. Cosy, warm feel to it.

-It's bright.

-I like the floor, too. Lovely floor.

-All Chinese slate.

-Beautiful floor.

Very nice coming in, very friendly and warm.

To the right, you've got a little utility room fitted out in the same style,

with access to the garden.

If you didn't want the dogs to come through the front door,

-you've got a back door there.

-Sure.

-That is good.

Right, we will continue. If I can squeeze past you,

let's go through to the drawing room.

My word!

-Yep.

-Yes. Beams.

-Beams are good.

-Plenty of beams. A forest of beams.

I've never had beams before. The beams feel a little bit low and perhaps a little bit dark.

-I have seen beams painted white...

-Yes.

-Mm.

-..and it really worked.

-Yes. I might have to think about lightening them.

I'll let you mull that over.

Let's see if this cottage can work its magic upstairs for you.

You go through this tiny little door and up the stairs.

'There's plenty of space for visiting family.

'Leading off the landing there are five bedrooms,

'one is set up as a twin

'and another as a single with a skylight.

'The third is a small double, whilst the fourth is being used as a study.

'They're all served by a spacious family bathroom.

'But we'll explore their generous sleeping accommodation.'

This is the most important one, with en suite,

because this is the master.

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

-Yes.

-Really attractive.

So, the layout of this cottage and the rooms and the space,

how does it feel for you? You've got to think of the two of you living together.

-Two of us is fine.

-Two of us is fine, yes.

Er, six dogs...

That's the question downstairs, to see where we're going to put them.

-We haven't shown you everything in the cottage itself so far.

-Ahh!

-So there might be an answer there for you.

-Right.

Let's head back downstairs and I'll show you the last bit.

-John, you lead the way.

-Thank you.

Set to the side of the main cottage is a one-bedroom annexe,

which could either be turned into a doggie den

or used for the family when they come to stay.

What we haven't shown you is this part of the property.

Oh, my word! I thought we'd run out of rooms.

It's self-contained. You've got a fantastic sitting room here.

You've got a kitchenette in here.

-Here's your bedroom and shower room next door.

-My word!

Blowing me away, this is. It's absolutely amazing.

-Great for families and children.

-Yes.

-This is your wing.

-"Don't come in ours without permission!"

There is another option for this part of the property.

It could be the dog area.

-Yes.

-Mm. Yes.

They need a kitchenette!

-They do, actually.

-They do!

'So with that extra accommodation up for grabs,

'we'll brave the weather outside and see what size of play area the dogs would get.

'It amounts to three-quarters of an acre of well-maintained gardens.

'And as if we weren't wet enough,

'there's one more feature I have up my sleeve to show them.'

-NICKI LAUGHS

-Now, one last thing...

..I wanted you to see...

Your own swimming pool!

-That is the biggest surprise of the lot.

-Yep.

-That's a surprise, yes.

-Even more than the annexe!

-Do you need a swimming pool in your lives?

-I would love a swimming pool in my life.

So we are going to need to talk how much it's on the market for.

-Ten minutes from the sea...

-Mm.

I think you've gone over budget. I think 645.

-OK.

-625, I think.

The asking price...

-..is below that.

-Ooh!

-Right.

-£565,000.

-Oh!

-OK.

-That's reasonable, isn't it?

-Yes.

-I'm quite surprised at that.

-Yes.

At that price, why don't you have another look around,

see how you can make it work for you and possible kennels for the dogs.

-Thank you.

-See you in a minute.

-Yes.

Comfortably under their budget at £565,000,

our first property provides a substantial amount of accommodation

for family and the dogs.

It includes a kitchen-diner, a spacious living room,

five bedrooms in the main house, along with a one-bedroom annexe.

Outside, the garden extends to three-quarters of an acre

and there's even a heated swimming pool.

I didn't like the beams at all to start with,

I thought they were a bit dull, something I'd not even considered,

but the whole place took off when I went upstairs. I thought it was charming.

The thing that really amazed me was when we came downstairs and then went into the annexe part.

I didn't even realise that was there. That was fantastic.

The biggest surprise, of course, was the swimming pool at the end,

which wasn't in our specification at all.

But the drawback is the fact that the land is not open.

The dogs would need the running space

and, at the moment, I don't see how we could actually run the dogs

and accommodate them here successfully.

-What do you think?

-I'm overwhelmed with the building and the cottage itself.

It doesn't feel cottagey. It's a house but it's so pretty. It's lovely.

-I can feel a "but"...

-The problem is the dogs.

-You've got to have a think about that.

-Yes.

-It's been a good start, hasn't it?

-It's been a very good start.

-Good.

-Come on, let's go.

-OK.

Set in Sussex's ancient landscape

are many historic reminders of invaders from the continent

who have come and conquered over the past 2,000 years.

The Romans established the City of Chichester

as an important fortified settlement

and set out a formalised street plan of its centre,

which can still be seen today.

In fact, just a couple of miles outside Chichester

lies one of the most important Roman archaeological sites in Britain.

We sent John and Jan to meet its curator, Rob Symmons

to discover how such a great display of wealth

came to be unearthed here.

When was this site discovered and how?

It was in 1960. They were digging a water main through the field where the palace was built

and they started digging up mosaics.

Fortunately, somebody stopped the digger

and the archaeologists were called

and, eight years later, this is what was discovered.

Why do you think the Romans chose this particular place

to put up such a wonderful palace as this?

Our favourite theory, if you like, is that the palace was built for a local client king

called Tiberius Claudius Togidubnus.

He was friendly with the Romans and let them sneakily in through the back door to Britain

and, as a reward, the Romans built this massive palace

and sat him in it so that he could rule the area for them as a sort of a puppet king.

The palace houses the largest collection of in situ mosaic floors in Britain.

Many of these were laid at the time the palace was constructed, around 75 AD,

which makes them some of the oldest mosaics in the country.

The early ones are almost exclusively black and white

and very geometric in their design.

The later ones tend to be multi-coloured and more figurative,

so they've got images of people, animals, plants on them.

So, Rob, what's happened to all the artefacts found on this site?

-Do you want to come and have a look?

-We'd love to, thank you.

Once an artefact has been excavated from the site

it's taken to the laboratory, where the archaeologists work on the object

to stop it from deteriorating any further.

I've got one of the coins. This was actually found in 1992.

See that bright green colour? That's bronze disease.

What we're trying to do is go through all of our coins

and clean away that bronze disease. It's like rust.

It's a very laborious, mechanical process,

very, very gently scraping away

tiny, tiny particles of rust.

Every item found is labelled, catalogued

and stored for researchers in the future.

Held within those artefacts is information

that you or I might not be able to read,

but there'll be a specialist who's spent their life studying imported Roman pottery

and they'll be able to look at sometimes tiny pieces

and they'll be able to work out what the complete pot looked like,

when it was made, where it was made.

With a fancy chemical analysis, you might even be able to work out what it was used for.

There are around 200,000 objects housed in an enormous artefact store

and each one builds up a picture of life at that time.

-It's a piece of pottery.

-Right.

It's a fragment of one of those enormous amphorae that you get, and they're storage jars.

We know that this one is from Rhodes.

This little point on the shoulder tells us that.

I'm just wondering what part it would be.

This is a modern replica,

but you can see...

..it would've come from the little point on the shoulder.

But that's part of the handle.

They're useful things because they tell us about trade.

They tell us that there was enough wealth here to be able to import something.

The cost of importing the amphora alone must've been quite expensive.

Thanks very much for showing us your treasures.

-That's my pleasure!

-It's been absolutely amazing.

-Good to meet you both. Best of luck with your search.

-We've really enjoyed it. Thanks.

Having enjoyed a behind-the-scenes visit to this unique historic site,

it's time we fast-forwarded to the present day

and continued our property search.

For our second house, we're majoring on outside space

as we jump over the Hampshire border to Swanmore.

This rural village gives them a quiet location

but also useful amenities, such as a local shop,

a post office and three pubs.

Many of the buildings here date back to Victorian times.

However, our property, which lies on the edge of the village, is modern,

although it's built in a period style.

So, what do you think?

-It's a very imposing house.

-Yes.

This house was only built in 2,000, so it's 12 years old.

-I'm surprised.

-But it doesn't look overly modern.

-No.

-It's in character.

-It is very much in character.

So the weather is pretty dire.

-Shall we start off inside?

-Yes, please.

-Come on.

'It doesn't look like the weather has dampened their spirits

'as they seem impressed by the exterior.

'Long may it continue and we explore inside.'

So come into the dry and the warm.

We'll start off with the kitchen because I brought you through the back door.

Very different from the kitchen we saw earlier,

different style, different layout.

-What do you think?

-It's small.

-Yes.

-It hasn't got the dining space,

-but it's a good kitchen.

-It's very nice.

-It's a functional kitchen.

-It works as a kitchen.

It depends what else we've got to go with it.

-Good point. Shall we continue?

-Yes, please!

To complement the kitchen,

-you've actually got a separate dining room.

-Right.

Or an extremely large hallway, because there's your front door!

-Yes.

-It's dual-purpose, isn't it?

Very happy to sit down and eat my meal there.

-You seem more in unison with this property.

-BOTH: I think we are.

It feels more like home in a funny sort of way!

-Perhaps it's more in our zone.

-Yes.

-I love it.

-Yes?

-We're doing well.

-Right.

We'll go through.

We've got a beautifully presented sitting room.

Oh, that is really lovely. Look at the ceiling.

The first thing that hits me is the ceiling and the light.

-Multi-fuel burner there.

-I love that.

-Lovely fireplace.

The house has character. It doesn't look like it's only 12 years old.

-No, it doesn't.

-You've got a massive conservatory, a really good size.

That was built in 2003.

Now, every time I look at a room, I'm thinking,

-"Is this suitable for the dogs?"

-I'm sure you are, yes.

They would probably love it in there. I would fight them for it

but it could be perfect for the dogs.

Just a thought.

-Let's see if we can keep this good mood upstairs!

-OK!

'The clean lines and modern feel of this property

'have struck a chord with them so far.

'Upstairs gives them the number of bedrooms they asked for,

'the largest of which would be theirs.'

Amazing views from every window.

-Yes.

-And here is the master.

-Right.

-I like the, er, arch there.

-The little dressing room.

-It's like a little dressing area.

And lots of storage space, which I need!

-THEY LAUGH

-There is a drawer for me!

-Very nice.

-You've got two other bedrooms,

one which is being used as a study-come-bedroom,

and a family bathroom.

-These award-winning dogs haven't even been thought about yet, have they?

-No!

-They haven't got a home.

-No. OK.

-The bedroom!

-I think we should go outside,

take a look at the land

-and what you could possibly do for them.

-OK.

'The house comes with around an acre and a half of grounds,

'so a perfect area for their six dogs.'

I think it's time to talk champion doggies.

We've got to get it right for them, as well as for the two of you.

-As we came in, you probably saw there was a double garage.

-Yes.

There's loads of space above.

Planning permission hasn't been given for that to be converted, but an option.

-And then you have all of this.

-Mm.

-It's an acre and a half.

-It's lovely. A delightful property.

Let's get it over with. Let's talk about how much this house is on the market for.

-I'll have a punt.

-Go on, then, you go again.

-595.

-Mm.

-OK.

You have the face of a poker player, can I just tell you that, John?

-Very good!

-Poker-faced.

I don't think he's far wrong, actually.

I'm going to say 575.

Jan, it's you.

-£575,000.

-Really? I'm right!

-Well done.

Go and have another look around, please do.

I can see you're very taken with this property.

And now you know the price, you can work out, potentially,

-the adjustments that you might make to make it right for you...

-Yes.

..plus those six dogs!

-Off you go!

-Thanks.

-See you in a while!

Under budget at £575,000,

our buyers have £25,000 left over

to make any changes to this property.

It gives them a large main living room with multi-fuel burner,

a conservatory, three bedrooms

and a round 1.5 acres of land for their dogs to roam free.

Very imposing as you come in the beautiful sweeping drive. It's almost like a mansion.

I'm a bit concerned about there's only one bathroom upstairs,

that we haven't got an en suite in the master.

I think we need something like that to think about.

Outside is amazing.

The grounds are well put together, well kept, easy to maintain,

and the whole house sort of exudes quality and quality of build.

The problems, if they are problems,

are going to be how we accommodate the dogs.

I think we've got ideas there.

Well, that seemed to go rather well.

-Big smiling faces. Happy?

-Yes.

-Seen enough?

-Yes.

-Yes. Seen lots.

-I think, as it's pouring with rain, we're going to make a move.

-I think so.

As evening falls over the West Sussex countryside,

our first day of house-hunting draws to a close.

With a budget of £600,000 and their beloved dogs in tow,

John and Jan are making strides to leave the busy seaside town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight

and buy their first house together in the West Sussex countryside.

Our first property scored on location,

whilst the second won our buyers over with its large amount of land.

But will the mystery house be a challenge too far?

-I'll put the dogs up for sale!

-Do you mean that?

And I meet some of the important native-breed residents of the Goodwood Estate.

For Jan and John, plus the six dogs,

this move represents an exciting new chapter in their lives.

Now, so far, we've shown them a period property,

complete with self-contained annexe, a swimming pool and land.

We then crossed the border to Hampshire,

where they saw a modern country home with plenty of scope for those dogs.

Today, we want them to consider perhaps life for the two of them -

just them together.

Now, I say this as just a suggestion.

But let's see if the mystery house can convince them of this new way of life.

Our mystery property takes us to the village of East Dean.

Set in the South Downs, the village pond is surrounded by charming properties

and in that sense, our mystery house is totally in keeping.

It's a barn conversion, which forms part of an award-winning development.

Although it lacks immediate outdoor space,

it does give the dogs the complete run of the South Downs.

With the mystery house, we do change things slightly

-and we have a fantastic property to show you.

-Right.

Here is your mystery.

Mm...

-What, all of it?

-THEY LAUGH

I would love to give you the whole development,

but in actual fact, it's this part of the barn here.

So the set-up - it's communal living within a village.

You've got two this side, the same on the other.

In a way, it's like a horse shoe

and then there's sort of a paddock in the middle,

-and then you're surrounded by the Goodwood Estate and the South Downs.

-Yes.

What's going through your minds?

Go on, be honest with me. I think you're being polite!

-Communal living is a question mark.

-Yes.

-Communal dogs...

-Communal dogs...

I'm not sure whether other people would appreciate us with so many.

-That's a good point, yes.

-Perhaps one or two.

It's something we're going to need to discuss as we're walking around.

-I'm very open-minded.

-You're so polite! Come on.

'Despite that reserved reaction outside,

'I'm sure the space and high-spec finish inside

'will lift their mood.'

Welcome to our mystery house.

There's a section of old barns, a granary actually,

and as you can see, it's been done to a really high spec.

-Absolutely lovely.

-Amazing light.

-Everything is light and bright.

-And flowing.

-Yes.

-I like it because I like the open aspect, the open plan...

-I like the open space, too.

-I can't wait to get in the kitchen. It looks absolutely amazing.

-Come on, then. Let's take a look.

An island! A big island!

No shortage of space with this kitchen.

Again, because of the way it's been converted,

you have so much light.

What about that open-plan feeling?

-We like open plan.

-Yes.

-It's convenient and pleasant

and you feel more together in some ways.

-Let's keep going!

-Let's keep going.

-What do you think of this?

-My word! That is a bit unusual!

Is it making you think...

..about the possibility of how you could live your lives?

-Yes.

-Put the dogs up for sale!

-Do you mean that?

-Do you really mean that?

-For a split second, I might!

-They'd love it here.

-They'd love to be in this room.

-They'd be very happy here.

-I'm going to be very practical - easy-to-clean floors.

-Yes.

-You normally say that about children but we can say it for dogs.

-Yes.

And you have your multi-fuel burner there.

You've got the double-height ceiling with the Victorian truss A-frame.

I've never seen anything like this before.

I've been in a few barns but never seen anything like this, not so attractive or well finished.

-It takes your breath away, doesn't it?

-Yes.

So on this floor you've got...

..well, it could be a downstairs bedroom

-because there's a bathroom next door.

-Right.

Or you could make that into your office.

Shall we head upstairs because there's more to see there.

'Despite their first impressions,

'the pristine yet practical layout of our mystery house

'could lend itself to them living alongside the dogs.

'We'll change tack now and head upstairs,

'which gives them their ideal in terms of en suites.'

We have three bedrooms in total with this barn.

You've got the one downstairs and then you've got two up here.

-They're all en suite, all three of them.

-BOTH: Oh!

Gosh, look at these small windows here, are they?

I think they're either for the dovecote or ventilation.

It could've been for drying, to let the air go through.

-Very attractive.

-How clever. If you look closely, they've put mirrors round the edge

-so it reflects all the light.

-Even more...

Let's head back downstairs.

It's also going to get a little bit grubby.

-I'm not talking muddy boots. I'm talking money.

-Money!

-Yes.

It's not going to be cheap.

My lips are sealed so far! We're going to follow you, John.

Outside, apart from having direct access to the South Downs' pathways,

the immediate shared grounds amount to around two acres.

This part is the communal land

and then you've got the whole estate around here of the South Downs.

It's very beautiful, isn't it?

And then if we look back,

you can actually see the whole development.

-Absolutely wonderful.

-It's heaven, isn't it?

But how much does this slice of heaven cost?

That is quite a difficult one, isn't it?

-What do you think?

-SHE SIGHS

£650,000.

Mm...

I'm going to go slightly lower and go for 595, I think.

OK. The asking price is £625,000.

-Not too far off.

-No.

-I knew it'd be top of our range.

-Do you fancy having another look around?

-Yes, I do.

-It gives you some fantastic ideas...

-So many ideas.

-..about what you can do with your next property.

-Yes.

-I'll catch up with you when you're ready.

-BOTH: Thank you.

Granted, our mystery property is over budget at £625,000,

but we couldn't resist tempting them to consider

whether a different living arrangement with the dogs is possible.

If so, they would enjoy a stunning and unique first home together.

They love the flow and features of the contemporary kitchen

and open-plan living areas.

It gives them the three bedrooms and the numerous bathrooms they asked for.

Outside, along with two acres of shared grounds,

the South Downs is right on their doorstep.

I think the property is absolutely stunning,

I love it to bits,

but I think it's just when I saw it and I realised

that there was nowhere I could have my dogs here.

And I still think that probably the top of my list

is not to have neighbours at this point in my life,

not neighbours quite so close.

We turned the corner and I saw the barns,

I was a little bit disappointed.

However, walking into the building itself,

I was amazed by the standard of the fit,

the layout was amazing.

It's just pure luxury.

-OK, you two? Happy? Seen enough?

-BOTH: Yes.

-Can we take it with us?

-Put in your pocket and take it home!

-Jack it up and take it away!

-I'm going to take you two away now. Come on.

-All right.

Set in the Sussex Downs, just north of Chichester, is the Goodwood Estate,

which covers some 12,000 acres

and is a renowned horse racing and motorsport venue.

In complete contrast, it's also home to its own ancestral farm,

which, as well as supplying food to the Dukes of Richmond for the last 300 years,

is also one of the largest organic farms in the UK

and includes the country's very first dairy herd

to be completely organically fed.

I went along to find out more about their organic farming ethos,

and the native-breed livestock, from manager Tim Hassell.

-It's a huge set-up, isn't it?

-It's a huge farming operation.

We farm 3,200 acres. Not only do we farm, we add value to what we produce.

Historically, is it right the farm came about

-because it was producing food for the Duke and Duchess of Richmond?

-For the estate, yes.

-And that goes back, what, 300 years?

-Something like that. It's been in the family a long time.

So we are in West Sussex today. Do you have any native breeds here?

We do. We have the Southdown sheep and the Sussex beef.

We rear them as a local breed because they do well on the local grass.

-How long have you had them here?

-The Duke, back in the early 20th century,

was one of the leading lights of the South Down Society, so they've been here for a long time.

-Is it possible to see them?

-Sure.

-Great.

The Southdown sheep is a breed which thrives here

and helps maintain the downland pastures.

These are our pedigree Southdowns.

We've got 40 pedigree ewes and about five or six males.

We breed these for going over our commercial flock.

So we've got over 1,000 ewes, a cross-bred type of mule

and we use our Southdowns as a terminal sire to cross over all those and that produces our Goodwood lamb.

-So, this is a strong blood line, is it?

-That's right.

We've picked blood lines that we've had around for quite a long time.

We're trying to perfect the type of animal we're producing.

The main purpose of the arable land

is to provide the animals with organically-grown cereals

to balance home-grown forages, fed during the winter months.

The rough grasses here are also perfect grazing terrain

for the traditionally deep red-coloured Sussex cattle,

which is a hardy, stocky, native breed,

normally reared for its beef.

We've got 38 cows with calves-at-foot.

That means the calves were born in April

and they're rearing their calves up until Christmas.

We've also got some maiden heifers. That means they've never had a calf.

We've got a very attractive black variety here. Why is that?

She's a first Sussex cross out of a black and white cow.

With the black gene dominant over red,

you'll get a black one, even though she's half-Sussex.

Eventually, we'll breed that colour out of her.

You must have to keep an eye on them 24 hours a day.

Our stockmen work long hours.

We're always on call, checking calves and cows at night.

We can be doing 12, 13-hour days for 12 days and then have two days rest.

-It's a passion. We're farmers. It's a way of life.

-Yes.

-Hard-working, as you say, very passionate about what you do.

-That's right.

Tim, thank you for taking the time to give us this tour. It's been fascinating.

-I could watch your animals for hours.

-I'm glad you've enjoyed it.

-You don't have that luxury! You're working hard!

-That's right.

-Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

What a fantastic day out on a historic farm!

But it's time to get back to the properties.

So after rekindling their romance after 40 years,

John and Jan feel the time is right to buy their first home together.

But have we found them and their dogs

their perfect rural retreat?

Let's find out.

John and Janet, I've really enjoyed the last few days,

apart from getting wet!

So that first property we took you to see,

-you expressed an interest in seeing quite modern properties...

-Yes.

..so we started off with an old one! But it was quite well received.

I didn't think too much of it when I first arrived, from the outside.

Different altogether inside, and it got better and better as we went round.

It's not often we show someone a property

-that has a separate annexe...

-Yes.

..a swimming pool, a fair bit of land with the property,

but wasn't quite right for the dogs, was it?

The shape of the land and the size, it just wasn't big enough.

So doing the search, we spread it out a little bit.

We crossed the border into Hampshire.

This time, we showed you quite a modern country home, with an acre-and-a-half of land.

The layout was OK, wasn't it?

But it would've needed some work, from our point of view,

-to make it dog-friendly.

-Yes.

I don't think I took to the area as much as I thought I would.

-We retreated then back to West Sussex...

-Yes.

..for our mystery.

This time, we decided that it was such an outstanding property,

but what was different was the way that you would live your lives.

-Design magazine at its best, wasn't it?

-Absolutely stunning.

-Wouldn't have wanted to change anything.

-No.

Now, set within the Goodwood Estate,

but you did have neighbours either side of you

-and more, in a way, didn't you? That was the sticking point.

-Yes.

We both thought that it wasn't quite the right timing for us

to live in that sort of community, with people so close

-and not having our own little patch of England.

-Mm.

-It wasn't quite right. We're not ready for that yet, even without the dogs.

-Yes.

But with the dogs, impossible.

I do think, with a little bit more research,

looking at a few more properties, you'll get there very soon.

What's come out of it most for me is the location.

I do like West Sussex. I've always felt at home in West Sussex.

The house will come, I think. We've got to keep looking.

That's fantastic news. We really hope you find that house

and that you're happy and the dogs are, as well.

-Thanks very much.

-BOTH: Thank you.

We've had a great few days here in West Sussex

and John and Jan have thoroughly enjoyed exploring this beautiful county

all over again.

It's such a shame we couldn't find them their dream home.

What is apparent, they're happy to compromise on their needs

but when it comes to the dogs' creature comforts,

it's got to be just right.

We wish them all the best with their future together.

Until next time, bye-bye.

If you'd like to Escape to the Country in Scotland, Wales,

Northern Ireland or England and need our help,

please apply on line at...

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd