Dorset Escape to the Country

Behind me is a house designed and built by an award-winning architect,

but you may know him as one of the 19th century's most famous writers.

Find out who made this amazing career change and where I am in just a moment.

'On today's show, we're helping a creative couple buy their very first property together.'

-I like this room!

-You sound surprised.

'If all goes well, we could be opening the door to a completely new career.'

Oh, my goodness! Look at that!

Today, we're in Dorset and this is Max Gate, the house designed and built by Thomas Hardy.

Hardy was always passionate about architecture,

working for a local firm of architects to the age of 16

and completing his studies at King's College in London,

but Dorset was never far from his thoughts and he moved back here in the 1880s

where, on the back of the success of Jude The Obscure, he built this glorious Victorian villa

where he lived for the next 40 years.

And there's plenty of reasons why you too could fall in love with this beautiful county.

Taking a prime position on England's southern coast,

Dorset is bordered by the counties of Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire.

There are no motorways or cities, so it's a truly rural county,

with many villages seemingly plucked from the pages of a story book.

Travel from north to south through the patchwork of undulating fields

and the reward is a breathtaking view across 95 miles of Jurassic coastline,

featuring the spectacular turquoise waters of Lulworth Cove

and the iconic limestone arch of Durdle Door, 140 million years in the making.

The town of Bridport has made a name for itself as a cultural Mecca.

The streets are lined with over 1,000 listed buildings, featuring regular antiques markets,

food fairs and a vibrant art scene.

Where better to get inspired than this fascinating and peaceful county,

a place, in the words of Thomas Hardy, "far from the madding crowd"?

All that beauty and history obviously comes at a price.

The average cost of a detached house here in Dorset is around £315,000.

That's around £60,000 above the national figure,

but this also includes exclusive areas like Sandbanks in Poole

where prices of houses can hit the millions.

With the exception of Wimborne, Sherborne and Blandford Forum,

the general rule in Dorset is the further north you go, the more property you get for your budget.

And there's plenty of architectural gems to please the eye.

Dorset is full of old, stone-built farmhouses,

ranging from around £650,000 to about £800,000 for a listed four-bedroomed home

in the most favoured villages.

The coastal resort of Lyme Regis has some great examples of Georgian architecture from the 18th century,

but looking out across swathes of blue sea comes at a price.

A simple one-bed flat on the waterfront could cost upwards of £275,000.

But if it's the traditional rural life you're hankering after,

an asking price starting at around £400,000

would buy you a three-bedroom, picture postcard cottage

made from local Portland stone.

With such a wide variety of architectural styles to choose from,

there are rich pickings for today's buyers. Let's meet them.

Self-employed builder Ben and his partner Cathy who works as a nurse have been together for two years

and home is temporarily Cathy's two-bedroom flat in Woking, Surrey.

House-hunting occupies a unique place in their hearts

because it was a property search that first brought them together.

I went over to look at a property that Ben had on the market.

I really liked it and I went back for a second viewing.

And, uh...Ben was there at the viewing.

And I still really, really liked the flat,

but I sort of really, really liked Ben more.

It was passion across the property particulars, and though this move is about finding the perfect love nest,

at the heart of the decision is a desire to be closer to Ben's youngest daughter Carmen.

My 12-year-old daughter has recently started school in Bournemouth

and there are times when we will spend in excess of ten hours a weekend in the car,

and also it's not great for Carmen,

so the idea is a radius of a 45-minute drive...

..from Bournemouth.

Their respective building and nursing skills are transferable for a move anywhere,

but by freeing up time, they aim to create new business opportunities.

In the past, I used to import furniture and partially design some of the furniture from Thailand.

It would be brilliant to have an outbuilding that we can tinker

and build prototypes and generally be mad scientists.

To be able to work on the inventions and have outside space would be absolutely fantastic.

With new ventures and inventions at the forefront of their minds,

it's dictating the type of property they're after.

I think the three absolute must-haves are...

-Character.

-Yeah.

Outside space with potential either to put outbuildings or with buildings already there.

And the third thing was...

-an open fire?

-Yeah.

And while the fire could be keeping them warm,

their shared passion for food and friends could help them relax.

We'd like a nice, big kitchen.

We do a lot of cooking and Ben's really, really great in the kitchen.

I think living in the country will change our lives

in that it will give us a lot more space,

it will give us the facility to entertain friends, which is really important to both of us.

Ben has already sold his flat and Cathy's is currently on the market,

so our buyers have a clear idea of their finances for this dynamic Dorset move.

The budget for the new property is £500,000.

'Ben and Cathy have requested a location within a strict radius of 45 minutes from Bournemouth,

'so we'll concentrate our property hunt in the beautiful villages in the northern half of the county,

'steering well clear of the coast to get the most for their money.

'I met up with them both on Dorset soil to get better acquainted.'

I know you're looking for a more rural existence, but why have you chosen Dorset?

We've chosen Dorset. Both of us have got family in this area.

We're looking for a property with a bit more space.

We want to be more out in the country and possibly a slight change of lifestyle, business.

You mentioned a business opportunity. Talk me through that, Ben.

Part of the idea is to buy a property that has space,

that we can increase that space and add to the capital value.

-You being a builder, that comes in handy.

-That might help somewhere along the line.

-OK.

-And then we have plenty of other ideas,

which again, with a bit of space to work in, that we can carry those through.

So it might not just be a home, but a potential business opportunity.

How big is this character property in your mind's eye?

I think both of us have been looking along the lines of three bedrooms, possibly four bedrooms.

-Family living nearby to come and stay with you?

-Yes, definitely. And entertaining.

And obviously, the outside space, a bit of garden.

Are you likely to agree on everything that you see?

-We...

-Hmm.

-Oh.

I'll answer that for you. Perhaps no.

There will be a few things, I'm sure, which will...

-But mostly we do agree on...

-The big things.

-The space and the big things.

-Let's find out.

Let's go.

For a top budget of £500,000, Ben and Cathy are after a detached, three-bedroom character home

with space for entertaining, a large kitchen and an open fire.

They'd also like a good-sized garden with an outbuilding or workshop,

but more than anything, they want to find something with potential both inside and out.

We have a great mix of homes to show our buyers, but I won't reveal the price until they've guessed first.

As ever, last orders finds us at the mystery property,

and this home might have a lot more taps than they could ever have imagined.

Our first destination is Compton Abbas, a 45-minute drive from Bournemouth.

Meaning "village in a narrow valley", Compton Abbas is a peaceful, rural hamlet,

dotted with thatched cottages and farmhouses all wrapped up in lush countryside.

Ben and Cathy are looking for a house with bags of character and our first property doesn't fall short.

Accessed through a gate on a quiet lane, the entire grounds lie to the front of the cottage,

taking full advantage of the setting with spectacular views across the hills and valleys.

Here we go.

Lovely. Really pretty exterior.

Nice bit of thatch.

There's an interesting spectrum of time here.

-That is 1750.

-OK.

-1850...

1980.

They've managed to use some decent stone,

but although there's so much time between all these different parts of the construction, it ties in well.

The first impressions are good.

-Is it the sort of character you were after, Ben?

-It's getting there. I'm not sure about the dormers.

That's the whole thing. Because it's such an old cottage, the dormers, I think, are necessary.

-To give it some height?

-To get you the bedrooms.

-Yeah.

-Right.

-OK, now, let's look inside.

-Excellent.

Down these stairs.

Leads you straight into your main living area.

This is a cosy little room.

-Decent fireplace.

-A really nice fireplace.

This is the 1750 part of the cottage and I thought it was quite a grand fireplace for a small cottage.

-It's cosy.

-"Cosy" can mean bad news, can't it?

-Oh, can it?

-I'm not putting words in your mouth.

-It's not claustrophobic cosy, though, is it, do you think?

-No, I reckon when you get the fire going and lots of heat going through the room...

-It's a big fire.

-Yeah.

-The window is a very basic 1980s style...

-What do you want to do? Have a quick look at it.

-What would you want to do to that?

-Take it out.

-Take it out completely.

-Put in a nice oak window.

-And not paint it?

-And not paint it, no.

-To me, that doesn't really match in.

-It sounds cosmetic.

-To a builder, sticking a new window frame in is cosmetic.

-Yeah.

-They're things that can easily be changed.

-OK. This is good.

-Is it good?

-Excellent. It is good. It's cosy.

-Let's keep going.

Right, this wood floor continues. What do you think of this kitchen area first?

Um... I'm not massively impressed, I have to say, on the kitchen area.

But that's probably again a cosmetic thing with the units.

But definitely these get much more of a flow if you carry it straight through,

and then sweep it round to a really nice island unit

-and actually, I would suggest, bring the cooking area out to the island or peninsula.

-Yes.

That's a good idea. To a lot of people, putting in a new kitchen is a major thing,

but to an expert builder, it's everyday life, I suppose.

This room comes into its own when you consider what it has here.

-You've got an amazing patio. This is west-facing. The sun sets over there.

-Oh, nice.

I really like the wood effect that they've got here along the window ledges.

All in all, it's a nice, big kitchen.

Is this the sort of space you could work with then?

We always feel that we would like to stamp our ideas and tastes on a place

because it very, very rarely fully transfers.

-I shouldn't be downhearted by what you're saying to me.

-Not at all.

'The utility and cloakroom are on the other side of the house next to the entrance hall

'where the stairs lead up to the bedrooms.

'There are four in total - one double bedroom in the oldest part of the house

'and two smaller ones under the thatched roof beside the family bathroom.

'The largest bedroom is across in the more modern wing.'

The master bedroom sits at the end of this property because you've got those two wonderful views.

That is a beautiful view.

-Lovely view.

-I like this room!

-You sound surprised.

-You did, actually. Your voice went up a couple of octaves.

-Dead give-away!

Yes, I like the...

-It's very airy.

-..arches.

I love the height.

It hasn't quite got the walk-in wardrobe that you were hoping for.

-Absolutely.

-Walk-in wardrobe?

-Am I springing that one on you?

-Yes, a little bit. It's a worry.

-We've got four bedrooms up here.

-Ah!

-You said a minimum of three,

so you might have a dressing area, a dressing room.

-I like the sound of that.

-For an old set of cottages, you have a decent amount of upstairs space.

-Yeah.

-And the view is beautiful.

-We should have a good look at that view.

-There are a few aspects outside I'd like to chat to you about.

-OK.

-Think about price as well.

'Back downstairs to the front of the house is the access to the garden

'which gently slopes over three lawn terraces.

'And apart from the truly uplifting views,

'a real highlight is a one-bedroom timber annexe which could make for a great workshop.'

So, all in all, not a bad package, this, I didn't think.

-Mm-hm.

-But what do you think this place is worth? How much is it on the market for?

-I'm going in at a price of about 460,000.

-OK.

-I'm going to go a tad under there. I'm going to go 450.

-Right.

This place is on the market, it has been for around a month,

at offers around 499,950.

-OK.

-OK.

-Right.

-Interesting.

-So it's slightly above what you were thinking.

-Yeah.

It's an asking price, but it's maybe something to bear in mind for the other properties,

-as much as anything else.

-Yeah.

-Benchmark.

Why don't you guys go back into the house, see if it will work for you with some changes, if you like,

-and I'll meet you back here in ten or fifteen minutes?

-Excellent.

-I'll catch up with you in a bit.

-OK.

-All right.

-Thank you.

Just £50 under their maximum budget, the first property is an extended, detached period cottage

with an organic history spanning over 200 years.

There's an open fireplace in the sitting room

and a large kitchen/diner, perfect for entertaining,

with countryside views that pour into the room.

Upstairs offers four bedrooms, one more than our buyers asked for,

and the garden has an annexe room which they could use as a workshop.

Oh, this is a cute room.

Could you almost put a bathroom, do an extra...?

You could do. It's almost too big.

I love the exposed stonework here.

Yes, it's a really nice little room.

The frontage of the house comes in sections

and the older section I really liked, but I wasn't quite so keen on the bit that goes to the right

which is the extension.

I like the size of the sitting room and then a really good kitchen/dining area.

With a few cosmetic changes,

I could envisage Cathy and I living here,

so food for thought.

-All done inside?

-Yes, thank you, yes.

-The weather's on the turn, so let's get in the car.

-OK. Good idea.

Dorset spreads itself over some 1,000 square miles,

of which 10% is made up of woodland, both ancient and modern.

And these 28,000 hectares of woodland are important

for the county's wildlife, landscape and economy.

Keen to develop their interests in craftwork when they move to Dorset,

we sent Ben and Cathy to a coppice wood in Holditch

to test their design skills with master woodworker, Guy Mallinson.

Good to meet you. Come on.

Now, in the woodland workshop, we're going to make a spatula,

using some ash which we've sourced locally from the woods.

It's an ash tree that fell down in the storm last week,

so we're using unseasoned wood which is softer and much easier to work.

Green woodworking is completely man-powered using just simple hand tools.

The first part of the process called cleaving splits the log with a large wooden mallet called a beetle

which is hit against a metal froe.

-The split follows the grain to get the maximum strength from the wood.

-The moment of truth...

Let's see what we've got.

-That's it. It's gone.

-Done.

Once the bark has been removed from the split sections of wood, it's up to the workshop to shape them.

OK, so we've got our blank and we're going to use the shaving horse

-to make it into a plank that we can then draw on for our spokeshave.

-Right.

The shaving horse is like the old version of a Black & Decker Workmate.

It's for gripping your wood and it's a very, very efficient way of gripping your wood.

So with a straight back and elbows in, time for our buyers to have a go.

So, remember, nice, long shavings.

Once the wood has been shaved to the desired thickness, the design is drawn on

and after a demonstration from Guy, it's back to the shaving horse to create the spatula shape.

That's looking really nice there.

The final stage is some whittling to refine it and then the tool is complete.

Let's have a look.

-One spatula.

-One fantastic spatula.

-Well done. That's great.

-Thank you very much.

-Ta-da!

With the hand-made utensil from their day in the Dorset woodland,

it's back to the hunt to find the perfect kitchen in which to use it.

'For our second stop today, we're actually venturing out of Dorset

'and crossing the county border to the most westerly village in Hampshire called Martin,

'but Bournemouth is still within a 45-minute drive.

'Lying in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Martin is a very quiet village,

'home to many houses of architectural delight.

'The streets have immaculate thatched cottages and picturesque timber-framed farmhouses,

'some of which date back to the 15th century.

'Amenities include a not-for-profit community shop run by volunteers

'and offering a free delivery to all village residents.

'Despite the rain, we can see there is a lot of pride in the village

'and our second property is no exception, but will it meet Ben and Cathy's expectations?'

-How about this for a character cottage?

-That is really pretty.

-Very.

-Character bursting out.

-Clean and crisp.

Thatched cottages and houses frighten some people off and other people fall in love with them.

I like that one because it's quite high off the front of the house.

-It doesn't impose down too much.

-Exactly. Good word.

-It's fairly new. It's less than a year old.

-Ah!

According to the thatcher, to re-thatch, you'd hope to get maybe around 25 years out of this.

-It looks petite, but I'm hoping it's a bit of a Tardis.

-Let's talk about that inside, out of this weather.

Right, then.

-Thank you.

-What are we thinking?

-Aww, I like it, actually.

-Very characterful.

-Yeah.

-Character is what you asked for.

-Yes, I think this has lots.

-The beams are lovely.

-Quite a farmhouse-type kitchen.

Yeah, yeah, really nice range.

It was built in the mid-17th century with a mid-18th century extension.

-We are standing in it.

-This is the external original wall?

-You've got it.

-No, it's lovely.

-Good. All right. Next door is your living room. Let me just lead you there.

-Now this... I'm hoping if you like character, this is the kind of character you like.

-This is lovely.

-Really lovely room. Beams are great.

-How fabulous is that?

-That's really good, isn't it? We've often said about...

-Yeah.

There's a funny little thing. In the old oven, there's an old Victorian boot they found

-when they were doing the place up. There are some recent additions.

-But it's a beautifully-shaped room.

There's so much to it. It needs lots of thinking about configuring it.

Also to appreciate lots of the history that's here, nooks and crannies you'd find months later.

'With all the exposed beams and history, the sitting room's a really characterful room to entertain.

'Upstairs, there's a family bathroom and three bedrooms, including a pretty double

'and a cosy single.'

-This is your master.

-OK.

-This is a lovely room.

I like the flow, the way the ceilings go and the chimney breast.

-This is, again, just bags and bags of character.

-Loads.

-It's a beautiful room.

-Is it big enough?

-I think it's what I would expect in this type of property.

-OK.

'Ben and Cathy seem suitably intrigued, though they're not giving away too much just yet.

'Every room in this cottage has been beautifully finished. Back downstairs there's a utility room

'and a small garden room which overlooks the back.

'Immediately to the rear is a paved patio and the garden, which is mainly lawn enclosed by hedges.

'For our innovative duo, there's also an outbuilding in the form of a large summer house,

'which could easily double as a studio.'

Now the weather isn't helping, but I think this is a much more usable garden than the first one.

I really like the garden, actually. It's bigger than I thought from the front.

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

-Oh.

-Shall I go first?

-You go first.

I'm going to say...

445.

445. OK, cheaper than the first one.

Yeah, I...

Three bedrooms. I'm going to go a bit lower than that, actually.

-So I'm going to go 430.

-Right. This is getting worse!

-This property is on the market at 495.

-Oh, OK.

-Right.

Some of that might be partly due to it being in Hampshire

with good access to the coast and it's in the village.

Go back in, have a good look around. This is the last thing we do today, so take your time.

-See you in a bit.

-Thank you.

Just shy of their maximum budget at £495,000,

this second property is a homely three-bedroomed thatched cottage in a beautiful Hampshire village.

Brimming with character features, it has a farmhouse-style kitchen/diner

and an original inglenook fireplace in the sitting room.

In the well-maintained garden sits a small timber-frame studio.

The property looked really tidy, lovely garden. Generally, really positive.

-Ah! This is...

-This is cool.

Yeah, really cool. A little burner.

Yeah. Office/studio. A little workbench over there for your curtain-making and other things.

Living room, absolutely beautiful. That is a stunning fireplace.

Love it. I just feel it is a little bit small

for the lack of space to grow into.

-Here they are. All done?

-Yes.

-We're all done here.

-Were you waiting for it to stop raining?

-Not as stupid as I look!

-That's all done today. Good day?

-Lovely.

-Really good day. Really positive.

-OK, let's go.

As the day draws to a close, it gives our buyers a chance to mull over their property search so far.

Woking-based Ben and Cathy have set their sights on a move to the Dorset countryside

to be closer to Ben's daughter. They want character and potential

and so far we've shown them two different options, neither of which has lit their entrepreneurial fires.

Still to come, the mystery house leaves them lost for words.

And I'll be discovering the delights of an unusual Dorset delicacy.

Well, Ben and Cathy reckon they wanted a character property.

Both of the houses yesterday delivered that in droves, with wonderful period features.

Today the weather is pretty much the same and we're off to see the mystery house.

As I'm sure you'll all expect, it's going to be very different. This one is not actually a house!

We're off to the mystery house.

Now you know what's coming, or do you? What are you expecting?

-A huge, rambling shack of some sort.

-Yes, yes. Something that we've really got to put our backs into.

I think that's what you're hoping it to be! You especially, Ben. There's some effort required.

-I'm on for a bit of effort.

-Yeah.

-And possibly a bit of vision?

-Vision, yeah. You'll need vision.

The mystery house is our final stop and we're heading to the very heart of Dorset to Buckland Newton.

However, this takes us 15 minutes out of our buyers' comfort zone, an hour's drive from Bournemouth.

Surrounded by attractive countryside, Buckland Newton has a few small businesses,

with an old chapel converted into the village store and Post Office, for fresh produce and essentials.

And there's a close-knit community here, most of whom are rather familiar with the mystery property.

I know you had a few guesses in the car as to what the mystery property might be. You can see now - a pub!

-Oh, right!

-The Gaggle of Geese.

-Yeah.

-It's the only pub in the village, so you've got...

-a captive audience.

-Right.

-And a good reputation for food and drink, which we'll learn about later.

-Oh, great.

-What's your thoughts?

-Excellent.

-Really nice looking.

-You've mentioned the idea of wanting to do a business.

-Yeah.

-This is a business you could run together.

-You happy?

-Happy! Let's go!

-Let's have a look.

-You're beaming more than the other two properties.

Yeah, because it's different and I can immediately see the frontage is great.

-There's work to be done.

-I see.

-But it would improve this as a building and a business.

'Smiles all round on the outside and the best is still to come.'

In we come. I'll adopt my usual position.

-At the bar.

-Propping up!

-Ah. Initial feeling, really lovely.

-Yeah, yeah.

Bar shape good, open fire, always good.

Almost like you'd sit for hours and have coffee...

-and alcohol.

-Yeah.

-All afternoon.

-If you like it and it feels customer-friendly, they'll like it.

And they do.

-This pub turns over around £245,000 a year.

-Right.

-So it's a good, modest turnover.

There's plenty of potential there, but you've got a good basis to start from here.

Let's look through the trading areas. Really decent-sized bar.

They have a whole range of beers, loads of guest ales.

Now the dry trading areas, if you like, are still plentiful.

Restaurant area there, but also double doors that open out onto...

You'll like this.

Oh, my goodness! Look at that.

-Cor.

-A little skittles.

-I bet that gets some people in.

The split between food and drink, or wet and dry, is 50/50,

which is quite rare. You've got a continuous flow of drinkers, which is easier trade,

-and a lot of that is because you've got this fantastic skittle alley. A winter league plays here.

-OK.

-As it's the only pub in the village, this is the function area.

-Yes.

'Off the dining area is a small games room and the ground floor has the food preparation area,

'which is more of an industrial catering zone than country kitchen. But it isn't just a business.

'Time to look at the living accommodation. The present landlords use just two of the bedrooms,

'but there are four double bedrooms and two bathrooms in total,

'currently split into owners and staff quarters either side of the landing.

'We'll look at the master bedroom.'

What do you think about living above your business premises in not such huge quarters?

I think it's something that, at the start...

-I was going to say that.

-Good.

-..we'd be prepared to do because you throw yourself at it.

-Hands on, get in.

-You make the compromises and get on.

And then all the easier bits when it all settles down and the changes have come in,

-you can relax back and maybe change things.

-I couldn't agree more.

Get in here, get bedded in, see what changed you'd like to make.

I'm going to let you look around because there's lots to see.

-And we'll look outside, where you'll be pleased to hear there is lots to see.

-OK.

Follow me.

'Despite the somewhat limited living quarters, it's encouraging that they're staying on track

'with the idea of a publican's life.

'And when they're not serving the happy locals at the bar, they can enjoy the beer garden.

'But that's not all when it comes to the land here.'

So...outside space.

-Wow. There's a lot of it.

-Four and a half acres.

Oh! Goodness.

The members of the public, your customers, can come here. It's like a menagerie.

You've got geese, chickens, goats, a pony.

How much do you think this country pub is on the market for? Toughie, I know.

Em...

I'm going to say... somewhere in the region of £700,000.

OK.

-I'm going to go less, but I'm going to go 650.

-OK.

You should have gone with your first bet. It's 325.

-Freehold?

-Freehold.

That's a good face! Hang on.

Em...

No!

I think even those geese are included. £325,000 for the freehold of this pub,

as a going concern, turning over about £245,000 a year. With 4½ acres of land.

-It's just come on the market.

-I'm speechless.

Absolutely speechless.

-Lots to think about.

-Yeah.

-When you go back inside you might meet some customers,

maybe have a chinwag with them. Go back inside for a look around.

I love showing people businesses, it's no secret. But when you maybe realise some people's dreams

like that, and at such a competitive price, it's a wonderful job.

I think I've given them something to really think about.

Hugely under-budget at £325,000,

the mystery proposition combines business and home in the form of a lively village pub.

It has a cosy lounge bar, a dining area for 70 covers and the skittle alley,

as well as extensive living quarters. And outside,

the acreage makes the potential here endless.

But are they willing to live an extra 15 minutes' drive away?

When Jonnie said it was 325, I think,

I was completely taken aback

because it just seemed you would get so much for your money - a business, living accommodation,

lots and lots of outside space. It's fantastic.

The outside space, it is absolutely fantastic.

And incorporated more into the business, your functions,

I think there's a huge demand for rural good wedding venues.

-I think your idea of having it for weddings and...

-Great.

-..parties...

-It's just a fantastic idea. There's so much space.

-You could incorporate this brilliantly

and make it a real attraction.

-So that was a mystery property with a difference.

-It certainly was! It took me by surprise.

-A lot to think about.

-Good. Let's go.

Almost three-quarters of Dorset's countryside is used for agriculture,

producing some of the finest food in the land, but in a commercial farm near Wimborne,

a mere 37 square metres are dedicated to a new wave of farming, not normally associated with us.

'During the week, I went to meet Tony Walker, one of the UK's leading suppliers of gastropods.

'That's snails to you and me. The farm is actually a huge polytunnel where snails are bred

'and kept in a protected, heated environment.'

Well, first off, Tony, this isn't what I expected to see.

I don't know why, but I almost expected to see something resembling a mushroom farm.

Just loads of snails everywhere! But this is immaculate. This is clean, isn't it?

-Well, it has to be.

-Does it?

-Yeah, for the standards that we need to keep up.

-OK.

-The hygiene.

-So they're all in these boxes. How many have you got here?

-In this section here, 20,000.

'Each box houses 100 snails so it's possible to manage vast numbers with a fraction of the energy needed

'to produce other meat, making the mollusc an economical and sustainable product to farm.

'The climate in this country isn't suited to outdoor snail farming,

'but the snails here are regularly washed and fed every day with a mix of chalk and high-protein grain.'

-So what are these? They're huge.

-These are our breeding snails. These are roughly six months old.

-How often do they breed?

-All they need to do is breed once.

They can mate once and that's it. They can then reproduce eggs every two weeks.

'There are over 80 different species of land snail in the UK and this farm breeds a common garden variety

'called helix aspersa maxima. The snails are distributed to a wide range of customers

'including Michelin-starred restaurants.

'I followed the trail - pardon the pun - just 50 miles away to a hotel in Beaminster

'to sample the chef's speciality of Parma snail rarebit.'

Look at that!

I want to try it with a bit of bacon as well.

The sauce...

A magic mouthful.

I forgot they were snails. That is beautiful. And then they come into their own. Excuse me.

Where a mushroom is defeated, the snail comes out and you feel that really nice, meaty texture,

-almost like a shellfish.

-Yeah.

-I love that.

-Glad you enjoyed it.

'And after savouring some of Dorset's gourmet slow food, let's pick up the pace

'and get back on track.'

That's hopefully something to tempt your tastebuds. Time to catch up with today's buyers

and see if they've been tempted with any of the properties I've shown them.

So how have you found this whole process of looking for properties over in Dorset?

-Very enjoyable, really.

-Enjoyable and sort of interesting.

-I think it focused our minds a lot as well.

-Right at the top of your shopping list was character.

The first two properties gave you that. What about the first house?

Externally, a bit bitty. Not really flowing,

period to period to period.

I left there thinking, "They liked aspects of it, but not enough to go for it."

-No, definitely not.

-That's fair.

In the afternoon we went to another character property and you reacted really well inside.

-And outside.

-Yes.

-Yep.

-That thatch puts some people off, but you loved it, didn't you?

Oh, the thatch was lovely. It was tidy and it was new

and it made the whole cottage just look really sort of cosy

and, as you said, bags of character.

So internally, externally, you could just move into that house and do very little to be very comfortable.

So even though it was immaculate inside, with wonderful period features, it was too finished.

-There wasn't much scope.

-Well, yeah. No scope.

-And...too finished.

-OK. But if you wanted something that wasn't finished, and wanted scope,

it played into the hands of the mystery property perfectly. Plenty of work running a pub!

-Loads.

-Absolutely.

-And refurbishing a pub.

-Yeah.

-First impressions, very good.

-Yes. A really good bar area

and possibly getting some tables, chairs, make the dining area wider.

-Slightly informal dining at the front, more formal at the rear.

-So when I left you to look around,

-you did a bit of planning!

-Oh, yes. We had it all worked out.

-We weren't wasting our time.

-I take it that's your favourite?

-Yes.

-Definitely. But, sadly, the furthest north-west.

-Yeah.

That was a gamble there.

-It's just too far away?

-Yeah.

-That is a shame.

-Genuinely, if that was 15 minutes south,

-then we would be putting an offer in tomorrow. Wouldn't you say?

-Yes.

-Absolutely.

-Sorry. That's a bit of a strong thing to say. Potentially! Isn't that right?

-Yes.

You now concur! Good. Do please let us know how you get on.

-I'd be very interested to see what you eventually buy and where.

-Yes, definitely.

-We'll be in touch.

-Definitely.

-OK.

-Thank you.

-I've really enjoyed this, so thank you for your patience and candour.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Excellent.

Ben and Cathy haven't opted for any of the properties we've shown them,

but they've come on leaps and bounds in their search. I think they're really focused on finding a business

they can both run together. And maybe, just maybe, we've unearthed

one of Dorset's new landlord and landlady pairings for a pub here. Who knows? See you next time.

It turned out that the mystery property was too tempting

and Ben and Cathy did go back for a second viewing, but after some serious consideration

they decided running a pub wasn't for them.

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