Cornwall Escape to the Country

Today I'm in the Alps, not the Swiss or French Alps.

I'm in England.

but find out which county I'm in in just a moment.

On today's show we're helping a couple swap their modern,

urban lives for some traditional, country living

which our properties serve up from the start.

Never cooked on a range,

so it'll be interesting to find out how it all works.

-It's an art.

-Yeah.

-It's a dark art.

Then some spectacular scenery sends their heart soaring.

Oh! Oh, yes.

Wow, that is amazing, a great view.

But can any of our houses convince them

that their dream could be a reality?

This would give us the lifestyle that we want.

Today we're in Cornwall and, not far from the town of St Austell,

is this extraordinary landscape of weird peaks

and turquoise lakes, known as the Cornish Alps.

These Alps are not natural,

they are the by-product of China clay extraction.

Back in its heyday in the 19th and early 20th century, this area

was producing more than three million tonnes a year of the stuff,

making it the largest producer in the world at that time.

Now China clay is used to make porcelain and also paper

and in order to get one usable tonne of the product,

you end up with nine tonnes of waste.

It's the waste that has left us this legacy landscape of Cornwall's proud, industrial past.

Though, it's not the only thing this county has to be proud of.

Lying in the extreme south-west corner of England,

and sharing just one county border with Devon,

Cornwall is flanked by some 300 miles of wrap-around coastline.

The wild Atlantic Ocean crashes against its rocky northern shores,

where deep, blue rollers create the ideal conditions for surfing and

where the cliffs conceal caves, known only to smugglers and seagulls.

Sheltered from the Atlantic in bays along the coast,

are many fishing villages where trawlers sit alongside pleasure boats,

reflecting the county's seafaring activity of past and present.

Discover more of this county further inland by walking or cycling

the Camel Trail, linking Padstow's busy harbour to Bodmin's

wide expanse of granite moorland.

With such fabulous countryside and coastline on offer,

it's no wonder that Cornwall is so proud of its heritage.

It's the time in the show where we talk about property prices.

The average detached price in Cornwall is £263,000,

which is £6,000 above the national figure.

Although you do have to remember that includes all those super

expensive places like Rock, Padstow and Fowey.

Further inland, places like Redruth, Camborne, Bodmin,

you get a lot more house for your money

but the general rule of thumb here is that the coast is king.

You're going to be paying about 50% over the odds to get a sea view.

However, wherever you are, the bricks and mortar are beautiful

and very stylish, although they're more likely to be slate and granite.

Cornwall's history of mineral extraction is evident in its housing stock.

The natural Cornish stone, with added redbrick detail used to build this three-bedroomed terrace,

in the village of St Teath, gives it real heritage kerb appeal.

It's currently priced at £335,000.

Another common sight, are village properties built from cob,

which is a mixture of clay, sand and straw.

Eco-friendly and durable, it's become a fashionable choice for new builds,

but old cob houses, built centuries ago, still stand the test of time.

Granite and slate are also a recurrent theme.

Granite being incredibly hard wearing and perfectly suited

to coastal properties, exposed to the corrosive sea air.

You'll also find slate used on both the roofs

and front facades of traditional Cornish homes.

You can't beat Cornish granite and slate but is it going to be

enough to magnetise and hypnotise our house buyers today?

Let's meet them.

Mark and Sandra have lived in their modern four-bedroom

house in the busy Sussex town of Burgess Hill for the past 12 years.

Sandra's career involves working in the travel industry

whereas Mark has spent the last 28 years in the police force

and, of late, by Royal appointment.

I moved up to London about ten years ago.

I've worked in the centre of London since then.

Just recently, I've been posted out to Windsor Castle

and now I'm looking after the Queen at Windsor.

Number one, Sandra, number two the Queen and so...

Then number three, Ruby, the dog.

We've come to stage where Mark's come to the end of his career.

He is on a very flexible shift, so we could move somewhere else

quite far away from here.

He could still commute for the last 18 months of his career.

So with one chapter nearing a close, and without dependents,

the focus is less on work and more on combining holidays and home life.

We are dinkies, as they say, dual income, no kids

so we basically, we love to travel.

We go on holiday when we can and it would be nice to have a place

somewhere where we feel like we're on holiday, even if we're not.

We've holidayed in Cornwall for the last four or five years

and each time just fall more and more in love with the place.

But it also has good links on the train, straight back into Paddington.

Despite winding down the work routine,

this move is not about taking life slowly.

I've never surfed but it would be fun to have a go.

All I'd like to do is jump off the cliffs into the sea, really.

I hope to take some of my tourism experience down there

and hopefully get a job down there.

If not, I can just while my days away painting and eating,

which I love doing.

A good thing about Cornwall is there's lots of local produce down there

which will link in very much with my cooking.

I love having friends round, cooking big meals.

When it comes to the property, entertaining is high on the agenda.

We're quite sociable. So although we seem to moving away from friends and family,

what we're thinking is when they come, they have to stay.

We'll get to see them for a bit longer.

There's a certain thing I really want to do is to have

massive big open-up doors with a view.

So that's what I'm looking for in my next house.

But before we can start searching for their new home, we need to

find out what figure they have in mind for their Cornish property.

The budget for our move would be £350,000

and that will hopefully be a house that's already done.

If not, we need to go a little bit lower

-so that we've got money to do the work.

-Yeah.

Ideally Mark needs a location near to the town of Bodmin,

which has a direct train line to London for

when he has to travel back to Windsor for work.

So we'll be trying to focus our search on countryside

locations within a 20-mile radius of the town.

And it's in such a setting that we're meeting up to discuss

the details of this Cornish move.

-Here we are. Welcome, you two to Cornwall.

-Hi.

-Hi.

-You know it quite well, don't you?

-Yeah, we do. We've been quite a few years on holiday.

Always enjoyed, it's a lovely county, nice feeling.

That's good to hear since you're about to move here.

In terms of the house, what are you looking for?

What we would like is a view.

Erm... Ideally, like this.

We're going to be quite close to the seaside but we understand that, with our budget,

we probably won't be able to afford to have a sea view as well.

It doesn't necessarily have to have a lot of land.

We're looking for three, four bedrooms.

-And a nice big, open kitchen/diner?

-Yes.

-Hopefully.

So we can look out on the view, hopefully, that we've found as well.

-You're going to do this crazy commute back to London.

-Yes, that's right.

I still work in London, I work in Windsor.

I work four days on, four days off.

The days off, I'll be back here.

What about the location? Are you looking for super rural, or more in a village?

Edge of a village, probably.

You know, not totally isolated because when I'm working Sandra

will be on her own in the middle of the country.

-What's your budget?

-350 max.

So, we'll do a bit of juggling but we have found three very beautiful properties.

-Thank you.

-Excellent.

-Very different, as well.

-Oh.

-I hope they can spark some interest.

-I can't wait to see them.

-Come with me.

-Thank you.

For a top budget of £350,000,

Mark and Sandra would like a country home with potential for further development,

that has at least three bedrooms

and a large kitchen/diner for entertaining.

The location needs to be within reach of a direct train line

into London but, above all, they long for somewhere

that gives them a fabulous view.

And the selection of beautiful Cornish homes we've got lined up

certainly have the upper hand when it comes to the surrounding scenery.

I won't reveal the prices until they've had a guess first.

Then, to top it off, we've got the mystery house

where there's every chance the tide could turn.

Mindful of Mark's need for a good train link,

our property search gets under way in the rural hamlet of Rescorla,

which is a 20-minute drive to Bodmin Parkway railway station.

Essential amenities, as well as a pub, are allocated in the nearby

village of Bugle, but Rescorla itself,

delivers a quiet country setting,

with traditional granite houses lining its winding streets,

one of which we've earmarked for them.

This is our first property.

Lovely.

Welcome it doesn't have great kerb appeal at the moment, I would say.

It could do with being a bit spruced up but, yeah.

But, this is a great property.

It is an 1800, stone built Cornish cottage.

-OK.

-Shall we look inside?

-Let's do it.

-Looks big.

This substantial granite semi-detached cottage also

comes with a double garage and inside has great character bones.

Mind your head.

Nice wood burner, which is good.

It feels warm and cosy.

Yeah, it's quite small that sitting area,

you couldn't get a large piece of furniture in

because that staircase is right there.

In terms of light, there's not a lot of light in here.

-But it does make it cosy.

-In the winter this would be a lovely room.

I think you're going to be interested in the kitchen

and outside space but before we go there let's peak up these stairs.

We're going to check-out the bedrooms next as I'm saving

the property's best selling points until later.

That's not to say there's anything lacking upstairs,

as along with a large, light family bathroom,

there are four bedrooms in total.

These include a bright double with a deep inset window,

giving them the rural outlook they want.

There's also another well proportioned double,

decked out with bunk beds and a cosy, but charming, single.

But we're heading for the master bedroom.

-A nice size.

-A lot of space in here.

Is this going to be big enough for you as a master?

They use this one as the master.

Yeah, it's a shame because the views are out that way.

-You could swap them round.

-It's still big.

-You can move in straightaway, you would want to do a few extras.

-Yeah.

So that's upstairs. There is a good offering upstairs

but it is downstairs that we particularly wanted to show you,

so let's head to the kitchen.

Back down on the ground floor, to the rear of the property,

there's a second reception room being used as a snug,

which takes in those far-reaching views.

And it lies right at the end of the kitchen.

Come on in, into the kitchen.

Lovely, yeah. Nice range.

-Yeah, lovely, isn't it?

-And farmhouse kitchen, yeah.

-And a view.

-Beautiful view.

I've never cooked on a range,

so it'll be interesting to find out how it works.

-It's an art.

-Yeah.

-It's a dark art, I think.

MARK LAUGHS

But the whole thing about this property, I think,

-is what's out there.

-Mmm.

And what's out there, I think, has amazing potential.

-Lovely.

-Let's go, then.

Wow!

So, if I'm honest, I think the whole house,

it's not a great beginning but it all builds up to this.

It's a really nice space, actually.

As you say, it all focuses you into that view.

Lovely.

What are your immediate thoughts, bearing in mind that the kitchen isn't too big

and you wanted a kitchen/diner?

Well, there's obviously a lot of potential here, as well.

What's in all of that lot

and how easy would it be to make that into more accommodation.

Yeah, let's go down and have a look.

Really good solid, they're not terribly wide

-but it's a very robust building.

-Yeah.

This is the boundary of the property, this lovely old wall.

Yeah.

You can see the potential here. They're substantial outbuildings.

-Yeah, it's beautiful.

-It's a big garden.

-You get all of this as well.

-It's huge.

All the way down there and you could clear a space between those trees,

or have that as a more shaded area, or a veggie patch, even.

It's straight onto the fields, which is what we were after.

That's just lovely.

It's unusual because it doesn't have the enormous "wow" of the front

-but it definitely has...

-But it finishes off on a "wow" so that's good.

So what do you think it's worth? What's on the market for?

I'm thinking around 315.

I'll go for a little bit more, 325.

It's actually on the market for offers over...

-..330.

-Ah.

-I think it's a strong contender just because of the potential.

-Definitely.

-Particularly with these outside buildings.

-It is huge inside.

-Yeah.

Why don't you have a look around because we rushed round upstairs

and have a good nosy around in these and think about what you might want to do to them.

-Yeah, lovely.

-I'll see you the front.

-OK.

-OK, thank you.

For offers in excess of £330,000,

our first property is a 19th century cottage that comes

with two reception rooms, four bedrooms

and a stone built barn that has got potential written all over it.

Being under budget, they have money left over to develop it

and take advantage of those uninterrupted, countryside views.

OK.

I think we would use this as the master bedroom

-because we've got the view.

-Definitely.

And all of this is just partition walls so you could take that down

-and maybe...

-En-suite.

-En-suite.

The downstairs is a lot bigger than I anticipated from the outside.

Erm, it's got lots of potential.

It hasn't got our kitchen/diner but I think we could extend out

and we could get exactly what we want, incorporating this view.

The real potential of the property is back here

and the view that's behind me and it's gorgeous.

Probably not one that we would have looked out but given what we've seen,

and the potential that there is in it, I'm glad we did see it.

A bit of blue sky now.

Just enough to sew a pair of sailor's breeches, as they say.

Hello. The sun's come out.

If the sun comes out during a viewing,

-it means you have to buy it.

-Oh, excellent.

-Possibly.

-I'm going to show you the second house.

-OK.

The atmospheric light conditions in Cornwall have captivated artists since the days of Turner,

who was known to have toured the county in 1811.

Today the seaside town of St Ives, set on the northern coast,

is widely renowned as an artistic hub.

But, it was some ten miles away on the southern shores,

that in the 1880s many of Britain's most talented landscape painters

founded an artists' community, collectively known as the Newlyn School.

That legacy continues over a century later,

as Newlyn has recently opened its doors to a new school of art,

the brainchild of local artist, Henry Garfit.

Earlier in the week we sent Sandra, who's a keen painter

and Mark to find out more.

Lovely to have you here at Newlyn School of Art.

There were 130 different artists working in Newlyn around 1900

and they had to introduce a new train from here to London

for all the paintings that were submitted

-to the Royal Academy summer show every year.

-Really?

A huge number of people working here.

And, all the cobbled streets around are very much as you

would have seen them then, actually. Have you done much painting before?

I've done a small amount at home,

just messing about with different acrylics and watercolours.

I'm a complete beginner. I do a bit of photography.

It'll be interesting to see what I could paint,

I haven't done that since school.

We do courses here of one to three days, in drawing, painting,

stone-carving, print-making, all sorts of different things.

-We've got 20 well-known local artists teaching here.

-OK.

All levels of experience are welcome.

The school is a not-for-profit venture, founded to help Cornwall's

artistic residents supplement their incomes from creative work.

Landscape artist, Paul Lewin, is one such painter who teaches

a mixed media course.

What I'd like to get you to do is to free up and to use colour

and mark-making in a mixed media on paper.

I'm going to show you some techniques that I use for finishing it.

One of my favourite tools is actually a Stanley knife blade,

which I will use in the paint.

After a demonstration of paint techniques from the expert,

it's off to an inspiring cliff top to put paint to paper.

The dramatic effects of both light and landscape mean that Cornwall

is home to the largest concentration of artists outside of London.

-So how have you got on? That looks great.

-Well, it's a start.

-It is a start.

-I've gone a little bit haywire over here.

Yeah, haywire's good when you're painting the sea.

It is a very difficult subject, the sea. I'm sure you've found out.

It's always moving.

That's good, you've mixed some of the colour from the sky into the sea here.

There's a great energy about it.

Great, well done.

Now that they've had a chance to Cornwall's natural qualities,

let's see if our properties paint an equally pretty picture.

For our second house, we're venturing towards the northern coast

to a cliff top hamlet called Treligga,

about half an hour's drive from Bodmin.

Within easy reach of everyday essentials in the neighbouring village of St Teath,

the entire hamlet of Treligga lies within a conservation area,

on a rugged and enchanting bit of coast between Port Isaac and Tintagel.

And it's here, with commanding views over cliffs and sea beyond,

that our second property sits.

-This is the house.

-Yes, I like.

-Lovely.

-Beautiful.

-And you get a distinct sniff of the sea.

-I certainly do.

-I can smell it.

The views coming in were great as well.

-You thought you wouldn't get sea views, but maybe...

-Maybe we will.

-Maybe we will.

-What do you think about the property?

-Love it.

-Yeah, looks nice.

-Really nice.

It's in a very nice little village.

You certainly feel right in the country here.

-Enough chat, shall we go and have a look inside?

-Yes, please.

Although the traditional hung slate tiles hint at this being

an historic property, it was actually built in 2005.

Perhaps its more modern feel inside will appeal to Sandra and Mark.

So, come into the kitchen/diner.

Ah...

Very nice.

It's a great space. Because they could design it as they wanted it, really,

they were able to put in everything that they want.

There's a lovely, big, tiled area here.

A wonderful utility room with all the white goods

-and lots of storage there.

-Great.

In a way it has a lot of the traditional features

with the slate and the wood.

There's a lot of wood in the property, but it has all the mod cons.

-Which is kind of what you were looking for.

-That's right.

They've turned the upstairs into the sitting room to maximise the views

-but there's also a winter sitting room down here.

-OK.

-I like this room.

-Oh... yes.

-That is very nice.

-It's stylish, isn't it?

Sandra's thinking a lot of about this house, actually,

already getting that feeling.

Sandra maybe warming to this house

but I sense we need to keep going to feel good vibes from Mark as well.

Down on the ground floor there's also an attractive double bedroom

with fitted wardrobes, ideally placed as a guest room,

as there's a stylish tiled wet room down here too.

Then upstairs, along side a contemporary bathroom

are the other two bedrooms and we're going to check out the biggest one.

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

-It's a nice size.

-Yeah.

It's got a lovely skylight and there's some built-in storage.

Is the bedroom a big thing for you? Does it need to be big and spacious?

-It's quite tight, isn't it?

-It's quite tight.

But you've got to balance the whole thing up.

Where it's situated, the view.

You can't have everything.

The other bedroom up here gives them extra storage space.

It's currently being used as a hobby room and offers a glimpse of the sea.

But it's in the main living area that those views really come into their own.

-Oh, yes.

-Wow, that is a great view.

-That is lovely.

You thought we couldn't give you a sea view.

-We found you a sea view.

-You've done well.

It's clear that this house has swept Sandra away.

Let's have a look outside at the paved garden

and try and put a price on those picture-perfect views.

-So you've got the little path that goes down to the sea that way.

-Yeah.

Then the road out that way

-and these charming, little clump of cottages around you.

-Mmm.

-But somehow it's still quite private.

-It's lovely.

What do you think this is worth?

I'll go first. I think...

..340.

I actually think it's more than that because of its location.

I think...

..370.

Well, you obviously think we're nastier than we are

because, actually, this is on the market at 350.

Oh. Good.

I think it's a lovely contender.

This would give us the lifestyle that we want.

Well have a look inside. We've seen most of it.

-In you go.

-OK.

Come on!

This is a great house. I would buy this house, it's gorgeous.

So I just hope that their desire for something bigger

doesn't get in the way of what's affordable.

Bang on budget at £350,000,

this sympathetic new build has some topsy-turvy

elements in the layout but provides them with a perfect

kitchen/diner, two reception rooms,

two bathrooms and three bedrooms.

As it requires no work, they could just move in

and soak up the coastal setting and views.

Overall, I think for me, I could live quite comfortably here.

I would really like it.

I think I'm going to have to persuade Mark a little bit.

I do know his priorities are a little bit different.

I think the down sides are definitely outweighed by the location.

The approach down here from the main road was fantastic.

You could see the rolling fields and the sea shimmering in the distance and it really is lovely.

The hamlet here is beautiful little small Cornish hamlet,

you couldn't expect anything better. It's a lovely house.

Whether it's right for me, I'm not sure.

Sandra really likes it so, you know,

I'm going to have to think long and hard about it.

-Hello.

-Hi!

-The wind is picking up.

-Sure is.

-Time for you to maybe have a little bit of discussion about the houses we've seen.

-Yeah.

-Rest your head and get ready for tomorrow.

-Perfect.

With the last rays of the sun glistening on the water,

the first day of our Cornish house hunt draws to a close.

With a budget of £350,000,

Mark and Sandra want to leave behind their busy lives

in Burgess Hill, Sussex, and realise their country dream in Cornwall.

So far we've tempted them with two attractive rural properties,

the second of which really appealed to Sandra.

But coming up, our mystery property goes out on a limb to give them a room with a view.

SHE GASPS

-Wow!

-Now, that is good! That is good!

And I see what happens when design and sport

come together the Cornish way.

I'm wondering after a night's sleep

whether Sandra's enthusiasm for house two has won over Mark's big reservations.

And I can understand he was a bit worried about the space in the property.

So for our mystery house, we are giving them the potential

to expand and we're also giving some thought to Sandra's isolation.

Because if she moves down here and Mark is away in Windsor,

she's going to be all on her own

so we're taking her a bit closer to civilisation.

Did you sleep well after all the excitement of yesterday?

I slept like a log!

And I was planning what we were going to do to the second house.

And what do you think we might show you for the mystery house?

-Really haven't got a clue.

-I think some sort of conversion.

An old tin mine.

In need of a little work!

Our mystery proposition does force us into uncharted territory

as we are straying outside of their preferred search area

into the town of Saltash.

Set on the banks of the Tamar estuary,

the river forms a natural border between Devon and Cornwall.

If our buyers are after a lifestyle of leisure

that involves connection to water,

Saltash is well placed for that as it's home

to a well-regarded sailing club.

One of its members, local resident Peter Payne-Hanlon,

gives us an insight into what life by the water's edge is like here.

You couldn't find a better place to come and live.

It does look beautiful. So Davenport is right down there.

That's right, yeah. The centre of Plymouth is about 4½ miles away.

And there's a train. This is the Brunel bridge they are renovating.

You can get the train into Plymouth from Saltash

and then it goes on and beyond and up to London and other places.

It's a great area for sailing and it covers all the sort of aspects.

What about for beginners?

Well, the club does a certain amount of training.

People are always looking for crew

and you can get introduced to sailing that way and it's a great place.

-It's very sociable.

-Lovely.

-The house we're showing them is not a million miles away so thank you very much.

-You're welcome.

You guys, follow me.

The mystery property invites our buyers

to let go of their sea view aspirations

and consider a completely different waterside experience

which it's ideally located for.

-Here we have it. The mystery house.

-Ah!

-This white one with a blue door.

-OK. Not quite what we were thinking.

-Mystery.

-Certainly is a mystery.

-That's the nature of the mystery, the curveball.

-Then you've got this green and the river.

-Now that is beautiful.

-It's certainly got views.

-It certainly has. Absolutely.

I've always liked north Cornwall and the north Cornish coast

so that was where we were looking but

it's good to open your eyes up to somewhere else. It's not that far away.

Another thing about this property is you've been wanting to extend

and you haven't really been able to do that,

-certainly in the one yesterday.

-No.

And there might be possibilities here.

-OK. Interesting.

-Let's have a look.

The mystery house is a terraced cottage with panoramic views

over the estuary and beyond.

It's believed to date back to at least Victorian times

and as such is full of traditional character.

-Come in here.

-That's nice and light.

-That is nice.

-Cosy, as well.

Lovely fireplace and I like the way they've taken the brickwork all the way back.

The present owners have been here about nine years and they've done a lot to it.

That is a nice outlook, actually.

-The floorboards all taken back.

-Original floorboards.

There's an extraordinary story that apparently Lawrence of Arabia,

after he came back from Arabia and was so famous,

became a bit of a recluse and lived around here.

And would sail up and down the Tamar and once one morning broke down

and was rescued by the fisherman who lived in this cottage.

-This was a fisherman's cottage.

-Really?

And he came in and then he became friends

and would come and stay in this room.

This was Lawrence of Arabia's bedroom.

-He was a fisherman's friend?

-Yeah. He was a fisherman's friend.

It's a great pun.

THEY LAUGH

So this is the front room and the back of the house, I think, is going to be interesting for you.

-This is the kitchen as it stands now.

-Galley-type kitchen.

-Quite small, but nice.

-Not unusually small.

No. And beautifully done.

Great big thick granite tops.

-Gas hob for you.

-Yes. Like that.

And the big utility room with all the white goods at the back.

So this is, I think you'll agree, a perfectly workable kitchen.

Definitely. Yeah.

But I'd like you to cast your eyes out the window to this to this return that goes up the side.

Long-term, you could,

as neighbours have done further down the road, push out.

-And that, I think would be just gorgeous.

-Yeah.

Although there's scope to expand the kitchen,

our mystery property as it stands certainly isn't short of space.

On the ground floor there is also a separate dining room

featuring patio doors out to a pretty paved courtyard garden

with lots of pot plants and room for dining outdoors.

However, this mystery cottage provides accommodation set out

over not two but three levels.

Up on the first floor, a bright, fully tiled family bathroom

serves two double bedrooms,

one themed in cream and the other in blue.

You can take your pick from which one you want as your master.

-OK.

-This one has the views, obviously.

-It has the views.

Very nice. And again, very tastefully decorated and you would want to just move straight in.

So you don't really need a lot in here, other than a bed and a chest of drawers

because you got all the cupboard space.

This first-floor bedroom looks out to the front

of the property across the water

but upstairs again on the second floor, the third bedroom

'has been turned into a sitting room to make the most of that outlook.'

Love this!

Ah!

A little hideaway! This could actually be a bedroom.

It could be a bedroom but then you wouldn't be able to appreciate this!

Oh, wow!

-SHE GASPS

-Now that is good.

That is good!

-This is a great feature, isn't it?

-SHE LAUGHS

So when I'm out sailing and Sandra's done my dinner, she can just...

If you come back in there, they sit here.

-You can sit there.

-OK.

With a glass of wine chilled in their own fridge.

-Yeah.

-And they watch the racing on the river at the weekend.

They've got the best seats in town. Very seaside-y.

-It's a good mystery house, no?

-Yeah, it is a good mystery house.

But of course it all depends on how much it costs

and whether it is budgetable.

-So, what do you think?

-I think about 300.

I would think a little bit below you, 285.

This house is on the market for...

275.

You know what, I'm going to leave you two here

to admire the view and maybe have a little discussion, heart-to-heart,

-about what you think about it.

-OK.

And I will, as usual, see you out the front.

That is a great view. Can't fault that at all.

In fact, I'll think I'll have another look at it.

A huge £75,000 under budget,

the mystery property is a wonderful waterside period cottage

with great travel links, ideal for Mark's commute.

The cottage has versatile living spaces

laid out over three levels

that include two ground floor reception rooms,

two first-floor bedrooms and the potential for a third

up in the eaves to take in those river views across to Dartmoor.

Although this isn't a location that we would have considered firstly,

looking closely at it,

there are a lot of activities that we could use around here.

We could have a really good lifestyle and...

Yeah, so location-wise, it's great.

When you get through the door, it really is a lovely property.

Going to have to give it some thought in terms of what it lacks,

does what's in there make up for that?

I don't think it does at the moment but it's been very interesting looking around and...

..you've certainly got the view that we were after.

It's lovely. It really is nice.

It's not the far northern coast of Cornwall

but it's not any worse for being a bustley.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-All done? If you just pull the door behind you,

-we're going to collect our thoughts.

-OK.

The Cornish Atlantic coast has some of the finest surfing beaches in the UK.

It is estimated that the millions of surfers who dive into the waves

each year contribute over £60 million to the Cornish economy.

The most popular surfboards in use today

rely on man-made materials which are more buoyant

and flexible but impact considerably on the environment.

In light of this, young furniture designer

and passionate surfer, James Otter, has spent the last

couple of years developing an environmentally-friendly

alternative to the mass-produced foam and fibreglass boards,

using locally sourced wood.

I've come to James' workshop in St Agnes to find out

how his boards evolve from tree to sea.

-Morning, James.

-Hiya. How are you doing, Alistair?

-It's like the school workshop.

-Being back at school.

-I imagine initially they were wooden, historically?

-Yeah.

Historically, back in ancient Hawaii, the Polynesians all rode solid wooden boards.

And then in the early 1920s,

a Californian guy, they used to have paddle races,

and he drilled a load of holes in his board

and slapped plywood on the top and bottom

and he started winning all the races so he was onto something.

From then, hollow wooden boards has been a small undercurrent

through the whole of surfing.

-It's like a kind of classic, classic board, back to the roots.

-Yeah.

'Using digital software for the design,

'a marine ply skeleton is cut out

'by a computer-controlled router,

'which is hand assembled and then sandwiched

'between the top and bottom skin.'

So that framework goes into the board, here.

Once it is all popped together, you start to see the shape.

This is the beautiful thing that we see.

That's kind of the finished skin, yeah.

These hollow boards are made from locally grown Western red cedar,

then inlaid with strips of hardwood.

-This is the cedar, is it?

-Yeah, that is the cedar down there.

And then the different hardwoods are in various sized strips

-that I kind of go and raid people's offcut bins for.

-Really?

-So you can use recycled bits that people don't use?

-Yeah.

Cos long, thin strips are pretty much useless for everyone else

but they are great for me.

The average board takes about 60 hours to build from scratch

with much of the process done by hand.

James runs workshops, giving surfers the opportunity to get involved

in building their own boards.

This is beautifully...

Is this one of the ones that your apprentices are doing?

Yeah, the workshop guys.

This is one a chap from London called Ian's come down...

Feels... You can imagine...

So they come and do this to make their own surfboard.

So they must become very tactilely attached to them.

And the wood lends itself really well to the old shapes.

So the much smoother surfing, more stylish surfing, rather than quick,

snappy performance surfing, because they are that little bit heavier.

'The surfboards are then finished with a laminate fibreglass coating,'

then lacquered to give them a glossy finish

that not only makes them watertight

but also highlight the natural beauty of the wood.

So we've got the finished boards here.

-They're so beautiful!

-Yeah.

-They're like works of art.

-They do finish up nicely.

-Can I see how heavy they are?

-Yeah, go for it.

Gosh, they're really light!

They're about 25% heavier than the foam equivalent.

'Although surprisingly lightweight, these boards are tough

'with a longer lifespan than their man-made counterparts.

'And since no two bits of wood are the same,

'each one is visually unique.'

But they weren't made to stay on land

so it's off to hit the beach and see them in action,

demonstrated by fellow wooden board enthusiast, Matthew Arney.

Conditions aren't ideal to create massive waves

but there's no doubt this locally crafted board

cuts a graceful silhouette in the water.

For now though, it's time to find out

whether the surf's up for any of our three properties?

So how's it been, your Cornish week?

Really interesting.

You've done what you said you would do,

that is showing us three totally different properties.

I keep my promise.

Let's go through the houses one by one. The first house.

It was a grey day when we went to see it. It was a grey morning.

But it did have amazing views at the back of the house.

Although the view was great, I didn't really like the location that much.

The front of the property was quite bland.

Go through the front door

and there was lots of lovely parts to the house.

It didn't quite add up as an offering?

-No.

-Not really.

So the second house. This was, had a lot more curb appeal.

-Was a beautiful looking property.

-I fell in love with that property.

The view, again, was amazing. The upstairs was beautiful.

It's been done out exactly to our taste

-so we could literally move in there.

-Mark, you were more...

You, from the start,

seemed to be sort of stubbornly resistant to its charms!

I just didn't get a feeling when I went in through the door

that I really loved it and sometimes that's the most important thing.

I've given it a lot of thought since then

and I'm coming more round to Sandra's way of thinking.

-But we'll see.

-And the mystery house.

It was really nice but just not quite what we're looking for.

And it wasn't your part of Cornwall.

And I do love the north Cornish coast

and the beaches and to have those in easy reach,

anywhere from Bodmin across that way...

Is the draw.

..is one of the big draws for coming to this part of the world.

Is there something you've learnt or is there one property

you would pursue and visit again? What happens next?

Well, that second property, for me, had a feel about it

that would really make me want to go back for a second viewing.

-So it's still a contender, that property?

-It certainly is, yeah.

-I wish you all the best. It is a tough place to shop...

-It is.

..for property, because it's got so many second homes

and there's a lot of pressure on the market here.

But you've got some time and you've got a good budget so I wish you all the best.

Thank you very much. We had a really excellent time.

You've brought the sun out so we like you.

I have actually just finished a Cornish pasty

climbing up here to deliver these thoughts about this show

and partly to celebrate three great properties.

I know that Mark and Sandra probably won't go for any of them,

but we did deliver an important service in making them

think about what they can get for their budget

and also where they're going to buy here in this lovely county.

So I hope you've enjoyed our perambulations around Cornwall

and join us next time for more Escape To The Country.

If you'd like to escape to the country in Scotland, Wales, England

or Northern Ireland and need our help, please apply online.

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