Warwickshire Escape to the Country

Built in 1632, this magnificent structure is the oldest

stone-built windmill in Britain.

Which county is it in? Find out in just a moment.

On today's show, my mission is to find a dream home in the country

for one buyer and her beloved dog.

And she's brought along a good friend to help make the decision.

Our property search gives rise to a curious question.

-Is this a real house?

-It is a real house. It's really for sale.

Oh, my, my!

As well as some very enthusiastic reactions.

Ohh! Maggie! (LAUGHS)

Ohhh!

Today, we're in Warwickshire. And this is the Chesterton Windmill.

Attributed to the architect Inigo Jones, it has these rather amazing six arches underneath,

not just for architectural merit,

but also to help the flow of the wind, which then aids the speedy turning of the sails.

It also has a very ingenious cap which could be manually moved to face the wind.

And it really worked. It was in service for 278 years and only closed down in 1910.

But it's not the only amazing thing in this county.

Landlocked Warwickshire lies in the heart of England

and is bordered by no less than seven other counties

including Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.

The county has some of the most attractive towns and villages in England

set among beautiful countryside.

Leamington Spa, named after the River Leam which flows through the town,

was originally a village known as Leamington Priors.

But in 1784, its mediaeval saline springs were rediscovered

and a public bathhouse was built for the great and good to take the waters.

This fashion led to its growth into a town in the 19th century.

To the south, the landscape is characterised by the gently rolling Cotswold Hills,

which start in the historic village of Ilmington,

known for its wealth of period architecture built from the region's honey-coloured stone.

Above the village, Ilmington Down is the highest point in Warwickshire

and gives a 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding countryside.

Let's talk money. The average price for a detached property

in Warwickshire is just over £271,000.

That's £17,500 above the national figure.

But as so often in a county like this there's a north-south divide.

In the south of the county, close to the ever popular Cotswolds

and with good transport links up to Birmingham and down to London, this can be more expensive.

However in the North, particularly around Bedworth and Nuneaton, you get more for your money.

Although there are pricey little villages around Leamington.

But wherever you are north or south there's a wide selection of architectural styles.

The south of the county is home to a number of villages and small market town's

lying among the northern Cotswold Hills.

Properties here are built from the local limestone

and often date back to the 16th century, when the region's wool trade was at its peak.

A typical three-bedroom cottage in Ilmington would cost you around £325,000.

Around the Stratford-upon-Avon area, you'll find many stunning examples

of timber-frame properties dating back to the Tudor times.

It was during this period the chimney stack first came into common usage.

This two bedroomed end of terrace period cottage in Henley-in-Arden

is on the market for just under £300,000.

Plenty to please the architectural palate there,

but will it tickle the taste buds of our buyer today? Let's meet her.

For the past 14 years, Norma has lived in her two bed 19th-century house

in the London commuter belt town of Walton-on-Thames.

She previously resided for some years in a countryside home in Canada

and now she's planning a return to a rural lifestyle.

I'm happy to say I took early retirement in March

and now it's time to move to be somewhere else.

You know, be around farmland, just the whole bit.

Going along with her will be seven-month-old puppy Kerry,

who has helped Norman meet friends in the town while out walking.

Not least neighbour, Maggie, who will be accompanying Norma in her house search.

I've always liked going round looking at show houses.

I just find them fascinating, actually.

And, you know, it's just lovely to see places

-for Norma to look at that could be exciting.

-That could be exciting.

-Yes.

I think Margaret will be a great benefit to me.

I think she'll help me to keep my feet on the ground.

Margaret admits to being frugal

and I can get carried away from time to time.

So I think she'll be a great balance for me.

Norma will still be doing occasional freelance work for her own training and development company

and having a friendly community base around her is important.

So she's picked her new destination with this in mind.

I'm a member of the Baha'i faith, so we have many communities around England,

and particularly there's a large community in Warwickshire.

So I know that, were I to move to Warwick,

I would instantly be established in a connected community, which is terrific.

Entertaining will be important to Norma in her new home,

but she's also got a few creative hobbies she wants to immerse herself in.

I think being in the countryside, closer to the countryside than I am now, will really inspire me.

And I'll likely want to paint in situ, I'll want to paint outdoors.

And recently I noticed some basketry work was on the television

and it dawned on me that years ago, I used to do that.

And I'd love to see if there's willow work going on.

So I'll be investigating that and seeing what's going on.

I would imagine in that area it's likely there would be some.

Even though Norma loves the home she has now,

she also has a clear vision of how her house in the country must be.

In my mind's eye, I see the chocolate-box cottage.

You know, the rambling roses and maybe even a picket fence.

Inside the property,

a wood-burning stove would be a must for charm and effect

and preferably a bigger kitchen with room not so much for table and chairs but a sofa.

There's the dream.

With this picture-perfect home in mind there just remains the matter of money.

The budget for this move is £300,000...max.

Norma is most interested in living in a village community

close to the towns of Warwick and Leamington Spa,

so she and her friend Maggie are meeting me in Warwickshire

to give me a rundown on what she wants from her new rural home.

-So, ladies, welcome to Warwickshire.

-Thank you.

-Thanks for having us.

It's a great pleasure. And the sun is shining.

-Warwickshire is very happy to have you too.

-Great.

-Now obviously, Norma, it's you that's moving.

-Yes.

-And, Maggie, you're going to be given moral support?

-I am. I'm going to be given moral support.

Tell me a little about the spec of the house you're looking for, what is it that you're dreaming of?

I'm dreaming of my house that I live in now reappearing in Warwickshire.

In that case, remind us what your house in Walton-on-Thames has?

Right, well, it's a little labourer's cottage, it's got two bedrooms,

it's got a little conservatory which I added.

-I'm hearing little, that's good.

-Yes, I'm very modest in my taste.

-And you need a garden.

-I need a garden.

-Definitely need a garden.

-And what's your budget?

-300,000 max.

-Max?

-Don't push me.

£300,000 is a big budget,

but unfortunately here it gets squeezed a lot because it's an expensive place.

-We have found you three, I think, really lovely properties.

-Wow!

-I have no doubt. Let's go.

-Brace yourselves.

-Absolutely.

-Follow me.

For her budget of £300,000,

Norma is seeking a character home with roses round the door.

It should also have a kitchen that's large enough to fit a sofa in,

at least two bedrooms

and a spacious, secluded, dog-friendly garden.

We've found three fantastic rural properties

that we think Norma could really fall in love with.

At each one, I'll be asking her and Maggie to guess the price before I reveal it.

The last will be our mystery house,

which could present Norma with an inside versus outside dilemma.

But now let's hit the road to our first property.

Now, Norma you're not from England. I mean, you're Irish by descent.

-Irish by birth.

-Yeah. So what is it about this corner of England that attracts you?

It's near Wales. THEY LAUGH

So it's almost not England.

I very much enjoy Wales but I'm afraid the weather

and I have a feeling Warwickshire has slightly better weather.

Plus, although I'm looking to leave London,

I can still get to London should the mood take me and all my good friends that live near where I live now.

We've made the journey just six miles south-west of Leamington Spa

to the village of Barford.

Set in beautiful dog-walking country, this lively village

offers a choice of pubs for eating out and some individual local shops,

one of which is the community shop run by volunteers.

We paid a visit to find out from Barford resident, John Murphy,

what it's like to live here.

So Norma may or may not, I don't want to jump the gun, might be moving into Barford.

This would be of great interest to me, can you tell me how you

join or what happens to a resident when they want to work here?

Well, it's a volunteer shop, it's a community shop,

so we have one employed manageress

-and about 80 volunteers.

-Right.

What else goes on in the village? Tell us a little bit about Barford.

What else can we do apart from run the village shop?

-It's a very busy village. There are over 1,000 adult residents.

-OK.

About 600 houses, lots of clubs and organisations.

It's a fantastic community village, it really is. If you don't like people it's the wrong village,

if you do like people it might be the right village.

John, I need to get you at the beginning of every single house tour that I do.

-I have to whisk these ladies away, but thank you very much.

-Thank you so much.

-Nice to meet you.

-You may be seeing him again.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you. Thanks.

Our first offering is a real slice of history.

A Grade II listed Elizabethan property that was originally two yeomen's cottages

with some surviving walls made from wattle and daub.

-House number one...is this thatched cottage.

-Oh, my gosh!

-You're joking?!

-You're joking?

-Ohh, Maggie! SHE LAUGHS

-Amazing, isn't it?

-What are your first impressions?

-It's just the thatched cottage.

-It's chocolate box!

-It's chocolate box.

-It's beautiful.

-I never thought that you'd find something like that, I must admit.

Alistair, my heart's pounding!

-It's absolutely sweet! May we go in, please?

-No.

-It's just the facade I'm selling you. Of course we can. Let's go.

-ALL LAUGH

Teaser.

I couldn't have hoped for a better reaction to this gorgeous thatched cottage.

And I know that as we take a look inside, Norma and Maggie

will be thrilled by huge amount of character features in this property.

-Let's have a look at the main living space.

-Ohh!

-Wow! Isn't that cute!

-My goodness! It's a real piece of history.

-It is, isn't it.

-This is a slice of Elizabethan England for you.

-Wow!

Is that a working fireplace?

-It's a working flue, yes.

-So at the moment it's a fireplace,

but you could put your beloved log burner in there.

-Sure.

-Gosh, it would be nice and warm, Norma.

Look at the windows and the lead! Gosh!

-So, of course, it's quite small.

-Yeah, that's fine.

-It's only me and my dog.

-I think it's absolutely gorgeous, though.

-Uh-huh.

-Absolutely gorgeous.

-It's certainly charming.

-Yes.

And we would have to see, would the charm wear off?

But, yeah, I'd love to see more.

Well, there isn't an awful lot more to see, but we'll go and see the kitchen.

-There's the kitchen and then there's that little room at the front.

-Right.

The small room at the front of the house is a useful study which Norma had on her wish list.

And we're about to deliver on another of her demands.

So, mind the step, mind your head.

-Oh, my goodness! This is a surprise.

-Nice space, isn't it.

-Unexpected space.

-You thought it was going to be smaller?

I thought it was going to be twee, twee.

I have to say that I was thinking when I was in there,

"Gosh, I hope there's a dining room."

-Of course, cos it didn't really allow for dining space.

-But this is amazing.

It's interesting, historically this has a whole cottage,

-so a family of seven lived in this side.

-This was?

-Yes.

When the lady who owns it now moved in it was a garage,

so she revealed all of these beams, decorated it all and opened it all up and put in the kitchen.

-Behind this is a separate staircase.

-A second staircase?

There goes up into what is essentially a guest wing.

A guest bedroom and a little en suite.

-Ohh!

-So I can let you explore the guest wing a little later.

-Super.

Quite a tight staircase up there,

-so you have to have slightly nimble guests.

-Right.

-But let's go and explore your bedroom.

-Right.

-Great! After you, Maggie.

-After me.

To reach Norma's enormous sleeping domain, which is adjacent to a modern family bathroom,

we're heading back through the sitting room and through a thumb-latched door,

up the other set of stairs which are quite a tight fit,

but that's what you get with period properties.

-Oh, the history.

-I know.

-History is everywhere.

-It just reeks of history. My goodness!

-Oh, look at this!

-Gently perfumed.

-I love this room! Oh, it's delightful!

-I love the colour.

-And the headroom here is more than you would expect.

-Yeah.

It's a fantastic bedroom, Norma. Wow!

The beams actually still have bark on them, they're that rustic.

-Yes.

-And unusual.

-Is this a real house?

-It is a real house. It's really for sale.

THEY LAUGH Oh, my, my! Thank you, Alistair.

-My pleasure.

-Is this it, then?

-We don't bother with the other houses, we leave it here.

-We could well do.

-Perhaps.

-We could show you the garden and talk about money.

-Yes.

OK. Oh, thank you.

This Elizabethan beauty is a win-win both upstairs and down and the garden is equally charming.

It's got everything Norma could want,

such as outbuildings which could be converted into an art studio with the right permissions,

plus a lawn at the end for her dog to run around safely in.

-Come on into your garden.

-Oh, wow!

-It's lovely!

-Oh, my goodness me!

-Goodness!

-So it goes on quite a long way, right to the back.

-It's a long kind of ribbon of garden.

-Gosh!

-Let's stop in this little patio area.

-Alistair!

-Is it what you are looking for?

-Awfully close.

Awfully, spookily close.

-It's fantastic!

-The question is, can you afford it?

I'm going to guess 298,000.

-Very specific. Maggie?

-Well, I would have to say 299,000.

ALL LAUGH

It's actually on the market for offers over £300,000.

But if you've only got £300,000 to offer,

then that's what you should offer.

Well, we're going to keep it on the list.

-You're going to keep it till you've seen the others.

-It's just amazing.

-Yes.

Well, what I'd like you to do is have a look in these outbuildings and explore the end of the garden.

-Yes.

-And I will meet you out front.

-Fabulous. Thank you.

On the market for offers on or above Norma's top budget of £300,000,

this charming 16th-century cottage definitely appears to have won her heart

with its cosy sitting room, a useful study,

a sociable kitchen/diner, two bedrooms

and a long dog-friendly garden with outbuildings.

I thought it was magic. It's a real country cottage.

And it was in such a lovely village, it seemed to tick all the boxes from the outside.

Well, I was speechless.

It was almost exactly what I ordered, a chocolate-box cottage.

Beautiful!

I was delighted with the kitchen,

because my own kitchen at the moment, you could only swing a ferret.

In this one you could swing whatever you wanted. This is a definite contender.

-Out you go, ladies.

-Thank you.

-So we're all done in this house.

-Right.

-Now brace yourself for house number two.

-All-righty.

The Warwickshire landscape is defined by its ancient woodland.

The Forest of Arden covered much of the north-west of the county

at the time when the Domesday Book was written.

Today, the county has over 800 woods within its borders.

And there are still many traditional craft skills related to them.

The prime example lies in the village of Stockton.

Lawrence Neal has been using local wood and rushes for the past 46 years

to create handmade chairs in his village workshop.

And as Norma is keen on learning skilled crafts and would like to try rush weaving,

we sent her and Maggie along for a hands-on experience.

Lawrence, I'm really interested in this, it's fascinating.

You know, these beautiful chairs,

-how do you begin the process of creating such lovely things?

-Well, you start off

with timber in the round, like small trees. You split it down

to manageable size so that I can get on my saw.

And then I turn the back legs up, then they get bent and put into these frames.

They're boiled in electric copper over there and put in the frames for about a week to dry out.

These chairs are made in the tradition of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the 1880s,

when architect and designer Ernest Gimson

revived the craft of making them from ash with seats made from rush.

Lawrence gathers his rushes from the local rivers Avon and Leam in the summer

and stores them in sheds to dry them out until he needs them.

We're going to do just a little demonstration of how you to do a rush seat.

-These are rushes, which have been dampened the night before just to keep them supple.

-Sure.

I take a couple out to start the chair.

You start in the corner and just...

-Forget the tiny knots or anything, you just twist them in.

-Twist.

-Twist it in and then you start twisting the rush.

-Ah!

-And you always twist away from yourself.

-Yes.

Round the corner.

Twist and tighten it.

Always get the twist going in the same direction.

-Add another rush in if you need to.

-How do you know when to add?

-It's just experience rarely.

You just know when you need to add one to keep a strand the same size.

-Of course.

-So you want the strand to be the same size?

-Yes, that's the real trick.

-The combination of the twist and the thickness.

-It's just picking up the right sized rush really.

-Wow!

-It's basically a very simple pattern.

Just sort of a figure of eight almost.

-You just go round and round.

-And then it starts to fill in.

-Yeah.

Practice makes perfect, doesn't it. It's like anything, isn't it.

The chap that used to work for us when I first started,

-he used to say you had to do 100 seats before you could do a good one.

-Really?

-Wow! Yes.

I'd buy the 101st one then. THEY LAUGH

To complete on seat can take between 4-5 hours depending on the quality of the rushes

and of course the expertise of its weaver.

So let's see how our enthusiastic novice gets on.

-This is going to wrap under?

-Yeah, go round and then back up to there.

-But you need to twist it more than that. A lot more.

-OK, because it's too loose.

-Yeah. A little bit more. Yeah, that's it.

-Lose it in the chair.

-That's it. Go underneath now.

-Take it underneath.

-Under I go.

As the rush in this traditional pattern is woven around the four seat rails,

the end result is four distinct triangles in the seat.

OK. I really love this.

I can see, Lawrence, how once you're skilled at it, how you would get lost in it.

-It's wonderful.

-Yes, it's a bit like meditation, isn't it. I would think.

Now that Norma and Maggie have been furnished with an insight

into a skill that's woven into this county's craft heritage

there's no time to sit back, as we forge ahead with our property search.

We've travelled just over 12 miles south of Leamington Spa

to the historic village of Loxley.

Community life is based around the local pub and the 8th-century church,

which is adjoined by an ancient meadow, a protected site of special scientific interest.

Lying opposite the pub, our second charming property puts Norma at the heart of village life,

and dating back to the 16th century is offset by a pretty front garden.

Come on down the path to house number two.

-What do you think of this?

-My goodness! Whoa! It's amazing!

-That's all I can say.

-So this part is the older part, that's 16th century.

-Wow! Is it?

And then this is a 1980s extension.

-Gosh!

-And this one has a lot of the garden out front.

It's a very different offering inside, cos it feels more...

-I won't steal my thunder, I'll show you.

-OK. Right.

It's another instant hit with our second house

and inside we'll be able to deliver on what Norma has been longing for from a kitchen,

enough space for a sofa.

Enter your potential new kitchen.

-My!

-It's sunny, isn't it.

-It's very bright and spacious.

-Lovely.

-Indeed, a very different kitchen layout for the last one.

-Yes.

-So this is a much bigger build.

-This is the 1980s extension.

-Yes.

Quite sensitive, though.

Yeah, they've kept the beams. You could put a sofa here.

-# Sofa in the kitchen! #

-Yes.

-Yes, you could. Exactly.

You're meeting my specification. Excellent.

And through there there's the study, also the white goods, the washing machine and stuff.

-It could be a utility room.

-Yes, nice.

-I obviously need to see more.

-You will see more through here.

-Oh!

-Ta-da!

-Look at that!

-Oh, my goodness!

-A huge space, isn't it.

-Look at the size!

-And there's a dining...

-Fantastic! Maggie, look at it is!

-I was wondering where the dining bit was.

-How interesting. And now we're going into the older...

Yes, this is the old part. So you can see that even though it's a long house,

it isn't a very wide house. You've got the entire width of the property here with windows on both sides.

-And it has that cosiness that I love.

-It feels warm.

-What's nice is that it flows very nicely. Lovely little windows, original windows.

-I think it flows.

-Deep windowsills, you can see the depth of the wall.

-Nice wood.

Which I adore. I love this. Yeah.

-And look how sunny and bright it is.

-Oh, wow!

-And, Maggie, that's just marvellous.

-It's lovely, isn't it.

-You said you wanted an enclosed fireplace.

-Absolutely. I love that.

-It's all about charm, isn't it.

-Isn't it.

-My, my!

-Ohh!

-Often in these historical properties,

particularly when they're been extended, there's a compromise upstairs.

-OK.

-In terms of the layout.

-This is a warning.

But in this house not.

-I thought you were going to say it's a one-through-one.

-I'm such a tease.

You are such a tease. You're a scallywag.

There's certainly more than Norma and Maggie would expect upstairs

with a total of three bedrooms.

One a very good sized double and the other a single which Norma could use for her study

alongside a compact family bathroom.

But we're heading for where Norma could be resting her head.

-Come on in. So this is the third bedroom.

-Gosh!

-Wow!

-That's a surprise.

-This is the master. Three bedrooms.

-Three bedrooms!

And all of them really nice, good sizes.

-I think this is a gorgeous room.

-High ceilings.

Yes, it is a high ceiling, isn't it.

But remember this chimney stack is right above your log burner,

-so when that's going full tilt it's like a radiator.

-It's going to be warm.

-I like it.

-I like it, too.

-It's stunning.

-Sounds like another contender.

-Unfortunately, yes.

-Hmm! Well, let's do the drill. Let's go outside and talk about money.

-Uh-huh.

-All right.

-Money, money, money!

While the house gives generously on space, the grounds are on the smaller side,

although they are beautifully landscaped.

There's a walled terraced backyard for relaxing in and a small lawn and plenty of planting at the front.

So, as you can see, the lion's share of the garden is here in the front, but it's a very pretty garden.

-It's beautiful, isn't it.

-Indeed.

-Absolutely gorgeous.

And a pub across the road.

There is a pub across the road, is that good or bad?

-Traffic. A little bit noisy, comings and goings.

-OK, so cars and revellers?

-Hmm.

Maybe the price will be the deciding factor.

What you think this property in this village is on the market for?

My guess would be to 292,500.

-Very precise. What about you, Maggie?

-299,000.

Well, this property is actually marketed above your budget.

-It's on at 325,000. Yes.

-Oh, OK.

It's been on the market for a while, so they would definitely negotiate,

-but that is the price.

-OK, I'll take that on board.

OK, well, why don't you have a look around inside,

peek into the places you haven't had a chance to peek at and I will see you later on.

-Thank you.

-OK, thank you.

-We'll do that.

Granted, at £325,000 this generous property does tip over Norma's budget,

however, as the owners are open to a conversation, a lesser offer could well bring it within reach.

It provides her with a large reception area with log burner,

a kitchen big enough for her sofa,

three bedrooms one of which she could use as a study,

and beautifully landscaped gardens.

My impression of this house is that it's got a fantastic downstairs, it's got a really good flow.

-I think it's very charming.

-I was very surprised when Alistair took us

across the road at the size of the property.

I thought, "Is this the first part? Oh, no, it's the whole thing!" That really took me by surprise.

And then when the door opened into the dining room and lounge,

it took my breath away.

The garden in the front is a beautiful garden,

not useful for me with the dog, it would need to be dog-proofed.

But nonetheless very, very pretty.

Ah! It's turned out a nice day, but it's the end of the day.

-Indeed.

-We've seen two properties today and we've got one more tomorrow.

-Terrific!

-Let's rest.

As the sun sets over the beautiful Warwickshire countryside,

it marks the end of a very exciting and enthusiastic day of house hunting.

With a budget of £300,000, recently retired Norma

has decided to make a move from the London commuter belt to the piece of the Warwickshire countryside.

And she's brought along her friend Maggie to help her judge the houses we're showing her.

So far they've been in raptures over a thatched Elizabethan property

and impressed with the size of the rooms in a house with rather less outside space.

But coming up, Norma's looking on the bright side at the mystery house.

-Yes, plenty big enough for me. Oh, yes.

-Good.

Yes, cos there's a pub across the road where I can go and dine.

And I find out more about a heritage seed project that we can all get involved in.

Day two. And usually at this point I'm filled with joy that we've picked the right mystery house.

However, with Norma, she is a lady who knows her mind.

And yesterday afternoon she was very clear that she didn't want to live opposite a pub

and she wasn't going to settle for a small garden for more space.

Now, the mystery house might be quite close to a pub,

and actually might give her lots of liveability with less garden.

So I'm hoping that the goodness of her heart will give us... the benefit of the doubt.

Our mystery property lies nine miles south of Leamington Spa

in the village of Lighthorne.

Set in a valley this community has a Grade II listed church with an 18th-century tower

and a good pub which serves traditional food.

The pretty village green is a focus for local life

where Norma could walk her dog and have an impromptu chat with her neighbours.

The pub is, for better or worse, opposite our mystery property,

a Cotswold stone-build dating back for the most part to the 1700s.

And originally a cowshed to which a storey was added in the 19th century.

While it looks large from the outside,

there's a certain amount of compromise in the land that comes with it.

And the mystery house, quite controversially, is this one here.

-Oh!

-OK.

-It looks big.

-It's big.

-Wow!

-It's big and controversially it's right opposite the pub.

-A pub.

-A pub.

-Yeah, a different kind of pub perhaps.

-I'm liking the way you say that, because we didn't know that you were quite so averse to pubs.

-No.

Concentrating on the house, this is, I think, a great property for you.

-It's a good mystery house. But what do you think of the house from the outside?

-I like it.

-I like it, too.

-There's character. I like the colour of the window frames.

That green is attractive. Yeah. The sturdiness.

-What do you think, Maggie?

-I think it's lovely, actually.

-I really like it.

-I like the stone. Shall we look inside?

-Sure.

There's a super atmosphere to this little area.

-It's got a good feel.

-A beautiful feel.

-I like it.

-Let's look inside.

-Great.

Thankfully, Norma doesn't seem concerned about the proximity of a pub.

And as we step through the front door into the hall-come-dining area,

I think she and Maggie ill like the atmosphere inside the house too.

-It's very tasteful.

-What are your first impressions?

Yeah. And the beams...original.

-I love it.

-You love it?

-You love it, Maggie?

-I do. I love it.

I think what's nice about this house,

there are lots of nice things about this house, is that it's a bit bigger.

-Than it looks on the outside.

-And it's got three very good, usable spaces.

Through here... a lovely big sunny sitting room.

-Oh, it's lovely.

-Oh, it's delightful!

-It is lovely, isn't it.

-Unusual shape, it's a sort of triangular room.

-Attractive.

But around this lovely big hearth with a working fireplace.

So we're also dealing with much higher ceilings.

This is a Victorian 19th-century addition.

So you've got a picture around, higher ceilings, bigger windows.

Yes I like the picture rail effect. I grew up with a picture rail. It's nice to have something familiar.

-Right, well, this is the sitting room.

-Yes.

-We've still got the kitchen to look at.

-Great. Thank you.

-Thank you.

So far the original features and fireplace are giving Norma and Maggie a warm glow.

The kitchen, however, won't fit a sofa, as Norma would like.

But it does have many other redeeming elements.

-Lovely wooden lintel.

-Isn't it lovely?

-Then step down into this...

-Beautiful floor.

-Nice black slate.

So this is the one thing that the present owner has put in.

-He's done a big revamp of the kitchen.

-Yes.

-He's done almost exactly what I've done in my kitchen.

-Ah, great.

Lovely. I love the two windows.

-Is it big enough?

-Yes, plenty big enough for me. Yes.

Yes, because there's a pub across the road where I can go and dine.

-So that's everything downstairs.

-Yes.

-Upstairs we have three bedrooms.

-Wooh!

-Mm, let's have a look.

-Golly!

-I do like this kitchen, my dear.

-Yes, I do.

So far, so good downstairs.

Nice steady staircase. I like this.

And upstairs should continue the positive theme

as there are three bedrooms - one more than Norma was after.

One bedroom is reasonably sized.

And another is currently set up as a convenient office.

And they all share a modern tiled family bathroom.

But I'm going to show them where Norma could be sleeping.

Right at the top of the stairs you've got the master bedroom.

Right. Pretty colour on the walls.

-It's nice.

-Fabulous window.

-Isn't it lovely?

-They're wonderful.

-You could move into those cupboards!

-You could.

There's room for a small family.

The compromise is the outside space.

-You've already guessed that.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-So let's go and deal with that.

-OK, let's have a look. Break my heart.

-After you.

I hope that the garden here isn't going to be a deal-breaker, let alone a heartbreaker.

But it will take a bit of work for it to be made dog friendly.

The compromise, as I'm sure you've guessed,

-is that this is your garden.

-Mm, yeah.

There's a very small little garden at the front.

-Is that a dealbreaker?

-For me, it's a lack of safety for the dog.

-Well, the mystery house is always a bit of a gamble.

-Mm.

But I suppose we do need to know how much it costs.

Maggie, what do you think it's on the market for?

Well, I've been low in the last two houses, so I'm going to up my price.

-And I think it's worth 315,000.

-Really? Wow!

I'd come in at the 293,500.

I love the precision of your guesses.

-So very precise. But so very wrong.

-Aw!

-Both of us?

-Maggie, you are absolutely on the money.

-It's on the market at £315,000.

-Get you, girl!

-Mm.

So, do have a look inside. Have a look round and I'll see you at front.

OK, Maggie, let's have a look.

Priced at £315,000,

our well-situated mystery house nudges over Norma's budget.

But as it is currently a buyers' market,

she's in a strong position to make a competitive offer.

It has a cosy reception room with period features,

a large modern kitchen, three bedrooms, one set up as a study.

And although the garden is small,

the village green is just a stone's throw away.

I thought it was really lovely. I really liked it.

I like the village it's in. You can walk in and it feels as though there's a good flow to it.

And there's lots of windows. You've got good views.

There's a wonderful ambience in here. There's a familiarity.

Um, it's charming. The interior of this house,

there's nothing to complain about.

But the garden would take a little bit of work to dog proof.

-It's a glorious door.

-Lovely door.

If you can shut it behind you, that would be great.

-Time for us to regroup. You seen all your houses. Time to think.

-Indeed.

In a leafy part of Warwickshire not far from the city of Coventry

lie 10 acres of display gardens,

which are all managed entirely organically,

the headquarters of the National Charity for Organic Growing,

which opened its Ryton Gardens site back in 1986,

to advise visitors on every aspect of organic horticulture.

It's also the home of a project that's proving vital

in preserving our vegetable heritage.

It's thought that since the 1970s,

some 2,000 varieties of vegetable have been lost here in the UK,

mainly due to the standardisation of our vegetable types by supermarkets,

seed companies and the EU.

Since 1991, the Heritage Seed Library has been amassing

the seeds of around 800 rare and endangered vegetable varieties

that would otherwise have been lost for ever.

I've come to meet Chief Horticultural Officer Bob Sherman,

who's going to show me some of the preservation in action.

I can see here these are all run to seed.

Usually in a garden we would have deadheaded all these.

Yes, or eaten them, preferably, if they're vegetables.

But we want to show people in this display

just what seeding vegetables might look like.

You've got a whole variety of things. You've got carrots in the foreground.

-These are carrots?

-These are carrots here.

And then the bigger, taller things in the back, those are parsnips.

-It's amazing. You would never let them go to seed.

-You wouldn't.

And some of them, it's extraordinary.

-The flowers of beetroot smell like sweet peas.

-Really?

That's extraordinary. I suppose because we're so used to thinking they just come in packet.

Yes. This is growing it yourself. This is nature in the raw.

Back in the heyday, just imagine the golden era of gardening,

would people have let things go to seed

and then collect the seeds and then planted them again?

At one time it was the only way to get seeds.

Seed companies are a modern invention,

relative to the history of agriculture.

Seed companies only start to appear really in the 18th century

and reach their peak in the 19th century when they were just loads!

What has happened is, of course, that commerce has meant

that everything has shrunk down to the biggest, most successful players,

and there are far fewer seed companies than there used to be.

As the charity can't physically grow every type of vegetable,

they also rely on people they call seed guardians -

a network of around 200 volunteers,

who take on the responsibility of producing the seeds for them.

And it's also volunteers like Rob here who sort the 40,000 packets of seeds

that are annually distributed to the charity's 8,000 members.

Over the decades, many varieties have been dropped from popular seed catalogues.

The seed library collection contains many of these -

but also a large number of family heirloom varieties.

I went to sample one such variety with the help of a volunteer, Sally.

This is Mr Gupta's Mustard.

-It's a traditional...

-Indian?

-Yes.

-I'm guessing, by "Mr Gupta".

-Yes.

It's used in Punjabi recipes. A very traditional thing.

Now is it called Mr Gupta's because Mr Gupta sent it in?

-Yes, he gave it us.

-Ah.

That's great.

So, say I've got Mr Gupta's delicious mustard...

What do we do? What's the procedure?

I harvest a bit, dry them, and then send them in to you?

If you think you've got something interesting that we may not have,

then send them in as clean and as dry as you can.

We will then check them out, grow them to see what they're like,

and see that they're truly different, and interesting,

and we want the back-story if we can get it, too,

because that's all part of the history and heritage.

And then we will make them available to other people.

-And so the library goes on.

-Does!

What's great about this scheme is that it directly involves

our nation of gardeners in nurturing and sharing rare vegetable varieties,

ensuring they remain part of our country's horticultural heritage.

I'm sorry to have to leave, but I have to find my home-buyer

and find out what she's been thinking. But it's been a great day.

It's been great to have you here.

Norma and Maggie, it's been a joy showing you around Warwickshire.

A joy. And I think we've showed you some nice houses.

-Very nice houses.

-They've all been exceptional.

Without fail. All of them.

Let's spin back the clock and look at the houses one by one.

-Yes.

-The first house - yesterday morning -

-that was the thatched cottage.

-Yes. Simply beautiful.

-Absolutely what I ordered.

-Chocolate box. Very English.

Delightful.

And what about the rooms inside?

I found them very charming. Slightly larger than I expected.

-I did think they'd be more closed in.

-What about the garden?

Well, the garden is the thing that made the house, I think.

I feel that if the garden hadn't been so spectacular,

it might not have rated quite as highly.

-The house was superb, but the garden topped it off.

-Yes.

-Delightful.

So for the second house - we took you to another very nice village.

You had reservations about the location.

I did. In terms of approaching the house,

I was pleasantly pleased with the expanse of it.

Very sweet garden, everything was great.

But the fact it was situated directly across from a pub...

It concerned me a little bit... Noise-factor.

What about the inside of the property?

Because it seemed a different layout from the first one.

More spacious in some areas - very beautiful, very attractive.

-Very attractive. Very sunny.

-Yes.

But I did find, again, the ceilings very low.

-So the mystery house had high ceilings.

-Yes.

-Which pleased you.

-It did. I really liked the atmosphere in that house.

I felt that I could live in that house.

-From a personal point of view.

-Sure.

-But I knew that the garden was going to be a...a no-no.

-A deal-breaker.

It was very welcoming,

and felt very much immediately like a family home, which it is.

And the interior - fantastic - really nice.

Looking at all three properties, what have you taken from the week?

Well, I will revisit that first house.

-So the first house you might act on?

-I'll take SOME action.

I've got to find out how much it would cost to re-thatch it,

and based on that being manageable over the years,

I'm arranging a re-visit.

Well, I wish you all the best, it has been a real pleasure,

because you've both got lots to say about all the properties

and it's been really interesting taking you to these villages,

which are new to you. And I hope you move in soon!

Big thanks to you and the team.

Yes, it's been great, thank you.

Well, I have to say Norma kept us on our toes this week.

Because although she had a healthy budget -

£300,000 is a lot of money -

it does get stretched when you get close to Leamington Spa.

So I'm quite proud that we managed to find her that thatched cottage,

that I think will be a dream property.

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then do join us next time for more Escape to the Country.

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