Northumberland Escape to the Country

In the 1880s, the house behind me

was known as the Palace of the Modern Magician.

I'll be revealing who that person was

and where they lived in just a moment.

On today's show I'm helping two university sweethearts

move back to the county where they first met.

One of our properties hits the right notes...

I really like this kitchen.

-It's lovely.

-That's music to my ear.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

..and there are a few surprises along the way.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting that.

I'm in Northumberland,

and all this water is flowing towards Cragside House,

home of Victorian inventor and industrialist

Lord William Armstrong.

Now, back in 1880,

it was the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity,

harnessing the power generated by the lakes on his estate.

Now, today, Armstrong is remembered as being

a leading light in renewable energy,

who also claimed that the use of coal

was both wasteful and extravagant.

Well, he was also a forward thinker when it came to picking

the perfect spot to enjoy the county's natural splendour.

England's most northerly county, Northumberland,

borders Cumbria to the west and County Durham to the south.

Beyond its northern boundary lies Scotland.

And being neighbour to Scotland has had a profound influence

on the heritage of this frontier county.

Centuries of border conflict have left behind a rich legacy

of ancient and medieval fortifications,

from the 73-mile long Hadrian's Wall

to imposing fortresses such as Alnwick Castle.

Away from the former battleground,

the county boasts two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

One of which is the entire stretch of Northumberland coastline,

with its 39 miles of wide, sandy beaches.

A quarter of the county has protected status

as the Northumberland National Park.

Formed millions of years ago by volcanic lava flows,

it's a landscape of rolling moors and grassland

stretching as far as the eye can see.

It's fair to say this tranquil county

is a land of almost limitless beauty.

The property market here in Northumberland

offers good value for money,

bearing in mind the average price for a detached house here

is around £218,000.

That's some £38,000 below the national figure.

Now, you can expect to pay a 10% premium in areas known locally

as golden spots, such as the market towns Haydon Bridge and Hexham,

both of which offer close proximity to the National Park border,

whilst also offering good access back into Newcastle.

Well, Northumberland is close to the hearts

of both of today's buyers, so let's meet them and find out why.

For the past few years, Terry and Joanne, both 31,

have lived in this three-bedroom flat in southwest London.

But they now yearn for more space and a less urban lifestyle.

We've been in London for over eight years now.

In Earlsfield for five years

and we've absolutely loved living around here.

It's been fantastic, but it is very built-up.

We live on a terraced street and there's people above us

and to the left and to the right,

and it is just getting a little bit claustrophobic.

The solution - a return to the county

where they first laid eyes on each other.

Terry and I met in Newcastle, at university about ten years ago.

We got married three years ago up in Northumberland.

We've always wanted to go back out to the country

to be back nearer to family and nearer to friends,

but also just back in the countryside.

Back up to the North East where we originally met.

Jo works as a tax advisor and Terry is a freelance project manager.

But while Jo will continue in the same line of work

and has found a job in Newcastle, Terry has a business plan.

We have a plan to start with a few holiday lets.

Maybe a few cottages or yurts or log cabins,

depending on what the land is like.

As far as the new house is concerned, the kitchen will be key.

Well, we have an agreement that I do all the cooking

and Jo does the washing.

That's been in place for quite a few years now, hasn't it?

-We did swap it once, but it really didn't work.

-It didn't work out.

We got very bad food and not many clean clothes.

The Northumberland countryside will also give Terry and Jo

more time to indulge their interests outside of work.

Over the last couple of years we've both got quite active, haven't we?

Jo managed to persuade me to do a triathlon with her last year,

so we do quite a lot of training together.

We take our bikes over to Richmond Park to train there,

but we have to get them out of the loft where they're stored

and put them on the back of the car and drive out there.

An hour's training session can take two and a half hours...

It can take you longer to get there

-than it can to actually do the training.

-Yeah.

So it'll be really nice when we're up in the countryside.

We have a garage to store our bikes in

so we can just get them straight out and get straight on the road.

All that's left is to find out how much money they've got to spend

on the new home and the new venture.

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

We also have up to £150,000 to develop the business.

Since Jo will be commuting to Newcastle for her new job,

we're concentrating our property search

in the bottom half of the county,

along the southern edge of the Northumberland National Park.

I've come to meet Terry and Jo to find out more

about what they want from their new home.

So, welcome to beautiful Northumberland.

A huge move for you, geographically, of course.

You're also looking for a new lifestyle.

Tell me a bit about that.

We want to move out into the country somewhere we can set up our new home

and also develop this holiday let business as well.

-So these are a couple of huge steps you're taking.

-Totally different.

The big move, but also running your own business.

Yes, it couldn't be more different to what we've got at the moment,

but that's the whole excitement of doing it.

-Excitement?

-Yep.

-Daunting?

-Yeah!

All right, let's focus on the house first.

Need to find you somewhere to live, don't we?

The house itself, we're quite prepared to do some work to it.

So it doesn't need to be all completely finished.

What does it look like? How big is it?

I think we've got something that's got four bedrooms,

so it's a family house. Something that we can stay in for a long time.

We want to have the family over a lot,

so it needs to have a lot of downstairs space, room for us

to host people and host events like Christmas.

And all our friends from London.

-Right, OK.

-The style of the house, we are really open to it.

We're not fans of anything really cottagey,

low ceilings and that kind of thing,

but other than that we are open

-to all kinds of architecture and stuff.

-Yeah.

Now, let's talk about this business, then.

How much land are you after?

I think the minimum would have to be five acres.

-Minimum five acres?

-Yeah.

What exactly are you hoping to do?

We'd like to maybe start off with three or four letting units

of something maybe like wooden lodges or yurts

-or something like that.

-Right.

Possibly expand it up to maybe even 15-20 separate little units

on the plot of land, eventually.

-Potential to grow it if we're really enjoying it.

-Yeah.

Let's remind ourselves of this budget.

-How much are you looking to spend?

-In total it comes to 650,000.

About 500,000 on the property to leave us with 150,000

for development and then to put into the business.

It's a house, it's a business, it's a future lifestyle, isn't it?

-There's a lot of think about.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Well, let's get started.

-Great.

For a maximum budget of £650,000,

which includes the financial capital for the business,

Terry and Jo want a detached family home.

It has to include four bedrooms, a large farmhouse kitchen for Terry

and space downstairs to entertain when their relatives come to stay.

As for their rural enterprise, they need a minimum

of five acres of land on which to build holiday accommodation.

We've found three fantastic properties to tempt them with,

and before I reveal the price of each one, I'll be asking them

to guess how much they think it's worth.

The last is our mystery house,

and they'll need to harness their energy to look around that one.

You're ready to pull the trigger, aren't you?

-You've sold your place in London.

-Yep.

-Yep.

-Already sold.

-We move out of London to a rental place in two weeks.

-Goodness me!

You mentioned that you're prepared to do a bit of work.

Terry, that's going to be down to you, mate.

I don't quite know how I've got that skill level

to actually do it myself.

Whether anybody would want to stay in something I'd built,

-I'm not so sure.

-Look at those hands.

They look pretty soft to me, mate.

Our first house is located in a rural community a few miles

from the border with County Durham and the village of Shotley Bridge,

which is around 16 miles from Newcastle.

Shotley Bridge is a thriving village with a range of local shops,

restaurants and pubs.

It is perhaps best known as the centre

of Britain's sword-making industry,

which dates back to the 17th century,

when German sword makers arrived in the country.

It's believed they were attracted here

because of the River Derwent, which flows through the village.

Its soft water was good for tempering steel.

Five minutes' drive away, back over the border in Northumberland,

is our first property.

So here we are, the first house.

-It's lovely.

-Yeah, very nice.

-Yeah.

Now, this was the original farmhouse.

-So you've got the farmhouse and then five other neighbours.

-Yep.

Each of them face out in different directions,

so you're not overlooked. What's going through your minds?

-I think the house is really pretty.

-Yeah.

-I'm not sure it's quite rural enough, looking out over...

-Right.

It's quite built-up, the view,

-but the house from the outside looks absolutely beautiful.

-Yeah.

-Let's go inside.

-OK.

-Great.

The Grade 2 listed traditional stone farmhouse dates back to 1750.

It's been renovated and extended over the years

but you still get a real sense of its history inside.

Let's start in the kitchen.

As every good house does.

And a farmhouse should have a farmhouse kitchen.

-This has exactly that, doesn't it?

-Yep.

-It's lovely.

Really, really nice kitchen.

So it sounds like you're going to be cooking a lot.

-I think we'd spend a lot of time in here.

-Yeah.

-Good.

-Like it.

-Let's just go through here.

Right, then. The first reception room.

The lounge area. It's a big room.

-Yeah. I mean, everything's big in this house.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

But this is one of two, OK?

-Let's look in the other one just through here.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-So, reception room number two.

-A dining room?

-Yeah.

For our personal tastes we would redecorate completely, wouldn't we?

The actual structure and fabric of the building is...

-Really, it's got loads of integrity, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

They've stayed true to what it originally was.

I think you're right.

Let's go and have a look at the bedroom.

As well as the kitchen and two reception rooms,

the ground floor also includes a generous study

and a utility room off the kitchen.

Upstairs there are four bedrooms, all of them doubles

and each overlooking the front of the property.

The two smallest doubles have built-in wardrobes

and they're all serviced by a fully-tiled family bathroom,

which just leaves the largest bedroom for Terry and Jo.

This is your master because it has an en suite just there.

Oh, OK.

-That's a big room, isn't it?

-It is, yeah.

-Really nice size for a master.

-Yeah.

-It's got quite a nice, big window in here as well.

-Yeah.

-With views out over the valley.

-Yeah.

Let's go outside and have a look at some of the business options, maybe.

-All right?

-Yeah.

-After you.

Terry and Jo seem to be able to look beyond the decor

and can appreciate the heritage of this house.

As far as the business goes, the property comes

with half of this outbuilding, which could be converted

into a holiday let.

But let's talk land.

-You get quite a bit of it.

-OK.

-In total,

-three and half acres.

-OK.

How much do you think this place is on the market for, then?

Erm, I think 535?

-OK.

-I'm going to a bit lower than that. I'll say 500.

Well, it's on the market for offers around £550,000.

-OK.

-So not bad guesses.

So I reckon you should go back into the house,

have a good scout around,

and I'll meet you out the front, basking in sun,

whenever you're ready.

-OK.

-Great.

-See you later!

At offers around £550,000,

our first house still leaves our buyers 100,000 for the business.

It's a traditional, 18th-century farmhouse built of local stone

with four double bedrooms.

Downstairs has separate reception rooms

and a large country kitchen for Terry.

Outside includes an outbuilding and three and half acres of land,

which, subject to planning, could be ripe for development.

The house is really nice. It's got a really nice, traditional feel to it.

The proximity to the town, although convenient,

possibly isn't quite rural enough for us.

There's some lovely features within the property,

so the beamwork and some of the flooring is really beautiful.

From a business perspective, I think that, actually,

there would be quite a lot of work to do.

For example, getting the neighbours onside

in actually setting up a business here.

It's a nice home.

-I'm not so sure whether it works from a business point of view.

-Yeah.

That's right.

You'd be in danger of getting a suntan here today, wouldn't you?

-Now, you've had a good look around.

-Yep.

-Have you seen enough?

-Yes.

-I think so, yeah.

-OK, time for the next one. Let's go.

-Great!

Terry and Jo couldn't have chosen a better county

for their new holiday business.

Tourists flock to Northumberland to visit its generous offering

of historic monuments and to take in the unspoiled scenery.

One of the county's most popular landmarks is Hadrian's Wall.

So that they can pass on local knowledge to their future guests,

we sent the keen cyclists to navigate

the Hadrian's Wall path via bike,

the perfect way to see it in its entirety.

Along the way they made a stop at Vindolanda,

a Roman frontier fort which is the site

of an active archaeological dig.

They're meeting the Director of Excavations.

-Hey, guys.

-Hi.

-I'm Andrew Birley, nice to meet you.

-Hi, I'm Jo.

-Jo, nice to meet you.

-Terry. Nice to meet you, Andrew.

Nice to meet you, Terry.

This is Vindolanda behind you here,

which is one of the most impressive archaeological sites

really in the Roman world.

Mainly, because this place produced, underneath the stone remains,

amazing artefacts called writing tablets, little documents

which give us the entire nitty-gritty of everyday life.

The first one that was ever found is somebody's mum, we think,

sending a package to the frontier and she's just saying,

"In the package you've got two pairs of socks, two pairs of shoes

"and two sets of underpants."

Which is awesome, because we've never found

Roman soldiers' underpants

but at least we know they had them!

And they had a clean pair too, which is just great.

There's a lot of people here today excavating.

On the excavations throughout the year,

between 500-600 people take part, volunteers from all over the world.

And can anyone have a go?

Anybody can have a go.

Why don't we pop down there and get you filthy

and give you a chance to find something.

OK.

-Follow me.

-The fort of Vindolanda was occupied for 300 years.

As well as the proof they wore pants,

the Romans left behind a wealth of other material

which is being uncovered on a daily basis

by volunteers such as Anthea Smith.

OK, guys. Well, welcome to the heart of the Vindolanda excavations.

-Got anything coming out of this area?

-Yep.

I've just found part of a quern-stone. The top part.

It's what the Romans would have used to make their bread.

So that's a very exciting find,

so it would be nice if the rest of it popped out!

So we've got something left to find in here, which is great.

Archaeology is a meticulous process.

Terry and Jo need to be careful not to damage any artefacts

hidden under the soil.

But it's not long before our buyers find their own piece

of Roman history.

-ANTHEA:

-Oh!

Wow!

-Now, that's a pig knuckle.

-Not a person?

-ANDREW:

-No, no. It's a pig.

So you're all right.

So, likely to be pigs that they were eating

or pigs that they were keeping?

-I'd imagine that's been in a stew at some point.

-Yes?

So, delicious. Somebody's had a nice bit of pig.

Put that to one side.

If you give it to Anthea she'll put it somewhere safe.

And we need to find the rest of the pig as well now,

so let's keep going.

Archaeologists estimate there's at least

another 100 years-worth of digging to be done at Vindolanda,

so plenty of opportunity for Terry and Jo

to come back should they move up here.

With that in mind, it's back to the house hunt

to see if I can unearth their perfect property.

We're venturing 50 miles further west for our second property

to the hamlet of Roweltown, which is just over the border into Cumbria.

We're now an hour and 20 minutes away from Newcastle

and that could be a struggle for Jo's commute.

This is as rural as it gets.

Aside from a couple of local watering holes,

the closest amenities are a 15-minute drive away.

Enveloped by rolling hills and farmers' fields,

it's the perfect spot for a couple of urbanites

who want to get away from it all.

If Terry and Jo felt that house number one wasn't rural enough,

then our second property should deliver on that front.

It's an isolated smallholding, the heart of which

is this detached farmhouse which dates back to the 17th century.

Now, you might be thinking, "Oh, look at all these building."

-A little bit!

-Well, we will be looking at all of these building.

-OK. Wow.

-That's quite something.

-Yeah.

-There's still lots to do.

-Yeah.

-Great.

It's either going to have you running to the hills

or running to the town, or you're going to be thinking,

-"Yeah, I could see ourselves doing some more work here."

-Yeah.

Yeah.

-Well, so far I love it.

-Yeah.

-How are you, Terry?

-I like it.

-Yeah?

Really good. Lovely setting.

Might be getting those nice little office hands dirty.

Let's look inside.

Right, then.

Come right in,

cos I want you to see this farmhouse kitchen in all of its splendour.

-Oh, wow.

-Deceptively modern in here, actually.

-It's got this real earthy feel to it still.

-Yeah.

I don't think I'd change that much in this kitchen.

I really like this kitchen.

-It's lovely.

-That's music to my ear.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Let's keep looking around.

The old-style appearance of the kitchen,

which also includes this utility room,

has gone down well with our buyers and that cottagey feel continues

in the adjacent room, which is currently being used as a snug.

But there's a very different look to the next room we're heading to.

-More impressive.

-Oh, wow.

-Oh, wow.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting that.

-Much lighter, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's beautiful.

-Really lovely room.

-It has so much light coming in. So many windows.

I don't think I'd do anything to this room either!

-No.

-Wow!

-Very individual.

-So, we're pretty happy so far.

-Yeah, it's lovely. Really lovely.

-OK.

Are you surprised?

-Yeah.

-Very surprised about the inside.

Like you said, they've clearly done a lot of work

and it's a functional family home.

Yes. Good. Let's take a look at the bedrooms.

Upstairs there are four bedrooms in total, all good-sized doubles

and a family bath and shower room.

One of the bedrooms, ideal for guests,

has a vaulted ceiling with exposed beams.

Another has a built-in wardrobe and there's wooden flooring throughout.

That just leaves the master,

which is accessed via this en suite with roll top bath.

Mind your head.

Oh, very nice.

Yeah.

Worth ducking for?

Yeah!

-Very quirky, isn't it?

-Yeah, it is very quirky.

It's got a lot of character.

-We've got so much to see outside, so let me at least make a start.

-OK.

Mind your heads again.

And it's only when you get outside that you start to appreciate

the scope of our second property.

There's a variety of outbuildings,

all at various stages of development.

They include two barns, which could be renovated in the future.

And with Terry's holiday business in mind,

there's also a more immediate potential for income.

So, into this cottage.

First room, the living room, needs nothing but decorating, really.

-Yeah. That's great, isn't it?

-Yeah.

You've got three bedrooms and a bathroom behind us

that need refurbing, and then there's the kitchen.

Now, there's more work to be done in the kitchen

-but more work has been done, if that makes sense to you.

-Yeah, OK.

It's clean, it's dry. It all just needs a little bit of sorting out.

-25 grand should get this up and running.

-OK.

What, with planning you're 90% there.

It's the home straight for this.

-Exactly. This is more than I expected.

-Oh, yeah. A lot more.

In addition to this cottage,

there's a further one-bedroom cottage that,

with a bit of work, could also be let

as a holiday getaway for couples.

But if that's not enough to satisfy Terry's entrepreneurial appetite,

there's even more on offer.

You've got land here as well. 14 acres.

-OK!

-Wow!

-All right?

From what you've seen so far,

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

I think it's the very top end of our budget, so...

..650,000?

I'm going to hope that you've left us

a little bit of money in the budget

for some renovations, so I'll say 625.

Well...

..this place is on the market for

-offers around £595,000.

-Wow!

Yeah.

That's a lot of stuff.

Walk the land, do whatever you want.

-It's the last thing we're doing today.

-OK.

-OK.

-I'll catch you whenever you're finished.

-Thank you!

-Thanks.

On the market for offers around £595,000,

this remote, rural smallholding

is still under Terry and Jo's maximum budget.

The price includes the detached 17th-century farmhouse

with four double bedrooms and a large, traditional kitchen.

The 14-acre plot includes numerous outbuildings

and two almost-ready holiday cottages,

as well as land on which to build log cabins and yurts in the future.

It's a lovely family home,

and something that Jo and I could both see ourselves living in.

With all of the buildings and the land that's available,

it feels like almost the ideal thing

that we could get ourselves stuck into.

I love the way that the family that live here now have done

all the main rooms and would really to keep them exactly as they are.

On the negative side of it,

I have quite a serious concern about just how far away it is from my job.

This bench looked lovely when I first sat down,

but I daren't move in case I broke it.

So I'm glad you came. How'd you get on?

-Yeah, good.

-Yeah, there's a lot to see.

-There is so much to see, isn't there?

-Yeah. It's lovely though.

Just think, of an evening, if you bought this place,

-sunsets with that view.

-Yeah.

Stunning.

-Something good to finish on, isn't it?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Yeah.

Let's go back to the hotel.

It's Day Two of our property search,

and with a maximum budget of £650,000,

we're helping Terry and Jo from southwest London

find a home and a business in Northumberland.

Coming up, we harness the power of the mystery house.

Look around. No power cables! Beautiful!

And I discover modern art at one of Britain's oldest homes.

So yesterday, Terry and Jo

certainly showed that they're after rural,

which is why I think house number two was the clear winner,

albeit with reservations over Jo's commute time back into Newcastle.

Now today, I'd really like to show them both a property that,

well, shortens the travel into work for Jo, back into Newcastle,

but doesn't compromise on the rural location.

And as we're about to see the mystery house,

I think we can afford to take a gamble.

Because if they want rural, we can give them that,

as this one is off the grid.

Quite literally.

What you're looking for is almost most people's mystery house.

-Yeah!

-Isn't it?

-So we've seen two normal houses.

-Yep.

-Normal propositions.

And we're now on the way to the mystery house.

-What do you think we might show you?

-I have absolutely no idea.

As you say, property two in particular

-was a mystery house candidate in itself.

-Yep.

So we actually really have no idea what's going to come next.

Maybe it'll just be a two-up two-down, normal house!

What would you like it to be?

I would like it to be

commutable to Newcastle.

OK. All right. Noted.

Slight dig in the ribs there, but never mind.

For the mystery house we're back into Northumberland

and heading to the northern side of the National Park

to the hamlet of Catcleugh,

which is just under an hour's drive from Newcastle.

Before we get there,

we're making a stop in the village of Otterburn,

as I want Terry and Jo to meet a local business owner

who deals in the hospitality trade

to get a feel for the tourism industry here in the North East.

Carol, good morning.

-How are you?

-I'm fine, thank you.

-This is Terry and Jo.

-Hi.

-Hi.

-Hi.

These are the guys that I spoke to you about.

Nice to meet you.

Carol, you run a different kind of business

but certainly in the same sort of field,

and you've made the move back up here to the North East.

Similar to you, actually.

How did you find the big move, what was it? Five years ago?

Yes, five years ago. It was great.

Coming back to Northumberland, it's just a great place to live.

And running a business up here, where are the tourists coming from?

Well, many of our tourists, the British tourists,

come from mainly Yorkshire, south Yorkshire, Midlands.

-North of London.

-Oh, OK.

We get lots of visitors from the Netherlands and Australians.

A few Americans.

We get a lot of walkers here

-because we're close to one of the stages for the Pennine Way.

-Right.

-Cyclists, yes.

-That's good, actually, isn't it?

You've got a real mix of tourists as customers here as well.

Yeah, more than I would have thought, actually.

More international tourism than you would immediately think of.

What's it like living here?

You're right out in the countryside here, aren't you?

Erm, you get used to it. It's a way of life.

The benefits of living here far outweigh anything else

and the countryside is fabulous

regardless of the weather conditions.

It's just a lovely, lovely place to live.

And Northumbrian people are just amazingly friendly

and helpful, so it's great.

Carol, thank you so much for your time.

-You're welcome.

-Maybe see you again. Bye-bye.

The village of Otterburn itself trades in its close proximity

to the Scottish border and a short drive away

is the Catcleugh Reservoir, which is the backdrop to our third offering.

Although the mystery house cuts Jo's commute time,

there are a few practical issues to tackle with this property.

So, the mystery house.

-Beautiful.

-Yeah?

-Yeah!

-Look at this.

-Look at the setting.

-That's awesome.

-Amazing.

-Commute to Newcastle...

-Yeah.

-..both the owners commute daily.

-OK.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-OK. That's good to hear.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Big plus point.

Big plus point. But, also, there's reason to come here, isn't there?

You're surrounded by beautiful countryside.

But I do want to tell you one thing.

We're off the grid.

OK!

You wanted rural! You're thinking, "Why is this the mystery house?"

Well, it's because...

Look. Look around. No power cables. Beautiful!

-This isn't your traditional way of life.

-OK.

Does that worry you?

-We can still have lights and stuff?

-Yeah, yeah! Of course you can.

-This runs as a normal home. It runs automatically.

-Yeah.

-Then it's fine.

Good! All right. Let's go inside.

The nervous laughter suggests Jo in particular

might be slightly worried by our mystery property's

unconventional power supply.

We're heading to the main farmhouse,

which was built just over 100 years ago.

Let's have a quick peek in the living room.

Mmm, OK.

-Probably the smallest we've seen so far.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Big enough?

It is a small room, but...

It depends on what the rest of the house is.

If this would just be the main living area then maybe not big enough,

but if there's an other kitchen, big kitchen or something like that.

You've got a decent-sized kitchen, yeah. But this house is...

Well, it's actually probably the smallest

-of all the houses we're seeing.

-OK.

-But it grows elsewhere.

-OK.

-All right.

-Let me just squeeze past you and we'll go to the kitchen.

-OK.

-So we're back to our farmhouse dimensions and proportions.

-Lovely.

Oh, yeah. That's big.

Really nice kitchen.

I think everything we see probably needs a bit of updating.

It's perfectly liveable, of course, but for your own taste,

over the coming years you'll want to do something with it, won't you?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Let's squeeze past and we'll go up to the bedrooms.

The kitchen also has a handy walk-in larder,

and there are four further rooms on the ground floor.

A study currently being used as a music room, a utility room

with a spiral staircase leading up to one of the bedrooms,

a wet room off the utility

and, finally, the ground floor is also home to this,

the only bathroom in the house.

Upstairs, there are four bedrooms in total,

three doubles and one single.

Two of the doubles are currently being used as children's bedrooms,

and the single for storage, which just leaves the remaining double.

So three double bedrooms up here on the first floor.

-This is clearly a master.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Lovely view.

-Cracking, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Amazing view out there.

-Really pretty to wake up to every morning.

-Mmm!

I've got to hold my hands up here.

There is something that could be an issue for some people.

-Bathroom is downstairs.

-OK.

-Ah, OK.

Yeah, it's not ideal.

For some people it's a definite no-no.

But that's relieving.

-No, it that's the worst thing about the house then...

-Yeah, I'm fine!

Good. I think whilst the house might be the smallest we've seen,

outside I think you've got maybe the most amount of potential

-for you specifically.

-OK.

-All right.

-Great.

Let me just squeeze past you there, Jo, and we'll go have a look.

Terry and Jo seem to be up for making sacrifices.

This move is also about the business and any limitations inside the house

are more than made up for by the business opportunities outside.

So, little bit like the property yesterday,

-we have barns to convert.

-Yeah.

-Big barn.

-Yeah. Really good, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Still in good nick.

-Yeah, it is in quite good shape, actually.

You weren't put off by the thought of converting a barn yesterday,

so hopefully nothing has changed overnight.

No, as long as we can afford to do the work.

Unlike anything we've seen before, which is, again,

another reason why it's the mystery house,

-there's work to be done outside as well as in your home.

-Yeah.

-Don't forget we're looking for a home for you to live in.

-Yeah.

You're going to be working hard in Newcastle.

-You want to come back to something comfortable.

-Exactly.

But you also want to be thinking, "What's Terry doing.

"Is he busy?"

And I tell you what - yes, he will be. Follow me.

As well as the outbuildings, the grounds also include lawned areas

to the front and rear of the farmhouse.

But more importantly for the business,

a perfect spot for Terry's plans.

Right, then. Outside.

-You get over ten acres of land.

-OK.

-Wow.

-All right?

-Everything that doesn't look like it's being farmed, basically.

-Yeah.

-And needs something doing to it.

-Yes.

So more than enough room for a number of yurts,

-and what better place to have a yurt here?

-Yeah, beautiful, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It would really work here as well.

-Yeah.

-Now, in order to have these yurts, obviously you need facilities.

-Yep.

The owners did look into that.

You need to upgrade the entire power supply system here, the generators.

-And that could cost up to £60,000.

-Oh, wow.

-OK.

-All right?

-Big investment.

-Yes.

So how much do you think this place is on the market for, then?

I'm going to say...

575.

-OK.

-I'm going to hope it's a bit cheaper. 500.

-Well it's actually for sale for offers around £450,000.

-Oh, OK.

-Wow.

That leaves us a big pot of cash.

-We'll need it!

-Yeah.

-Yeah, you'll need it.

-Already spent.

-Yeah. You've got ten acres to enjoy.

-Yeah, great.

-I'll see you whenever.

-OK!

-Take a coat, it might rain. All right?

For me, this mystery property, it's a bit of an ask.

It's a bit of a leap of faith. You're coming off the grid.

But Jo and Terry both seem intrepid anyway

in what they want from their business,

so maybe it's the perfect fit.

At face value,

the mystery house is our cheapest property of all at £450,000.

The smallholding includes a detached farmhouse with four bedrooms,

various outbuildings, which could be converted into holiday lets

and around ten acres of land on which to build yurts or log cabins.

But if the business is to develop,

it will require some money to upgrade the power supply.

-That's the wind turbine there.

-Oh, yeah.

Wonder if you can hear that inside the house.

Only single glazing.

-Look at the view though from here.

-Yeah.

-With the sun coming out across the tops.

-Yeah, gorgeous.

-So it's all the land right the way...

-Yeah.

A real beauty spot no matter whether it's sunny or rainy.

Yeah, it's true.

Lovely.

The mystery house is beautiful

in terms of where it's set and its views.

Driving up to it was really fantastic because it's just so pretty.

It's 360-degree beautiful scenery everywhere you look.

There needs to be a fair amount of money spent on it to bring it up to

a home that you'd be able to live in for a long period of time,

although the work itself seems to be work that we could carry out.

So new kitchen, new bathroom.

It's not anything too structural,

although we might look to try and extend.

Not London, is it?

Which is the beauty, isn't it? Exactly. Well, look, that's it.

-Three properties in the can, isn't it?

-Yep.

So some thinking to do, hopefully.

So why don't you go away and do just that

and I'll catch up with you both later on?

-OK.

-All right? Good luck!

So, that's it for the house search

in regards to what Jo and Terry are after,

but there are still plenty of houses

on the market here in Northumberland to suit all budgets.

So let's take a look.

At the lower end of the scale, the village of Allendale is the location

for this three-bedroom detached stone cottage just shy of £260,000.

The interior includes this dining room, which comes with

an original cast-iron range and multi-fuel stove.

For £500,000, this five-bedroom Grade 2 listed farmhouse

in Haydon Bridge is set in the middle

of a spacious landscaped garden.

The accommodation includes this large kitchen

with three arched windows

and a cosy living room with inglenook fireplace.

At the upper end of the price scale,

this four-bedroom Edwardian townhouse in Hexham

is on the market for offers around £745,000.

Many of the rooms inside retain the original features

and have high ceilings and large sash windows.

They include this contemporary kitchen and breakfast room

and a double-aspect master bedroom.

But the star of the show has to be

this magnificent stained-glass window on the stair landing.

One Northumberland home that sadly isn't for sale is this one,

Alnwick Castle.

The Dukes of Northumberland have lived here for 700 years.

Known as the Windsor of the North,

it is the second-largest inhabited castle in Europe.

It's both an impressive fortress and a stately home.

Like many across the country, Alnwick Castle comes with

a formal garden attached, but this garden is like no other.

The vision of the current Duchess of Northumberland,

Jane Percy, the Alnwick Garden combines cutting-edge design

with traditional landscaping.

I've come to get my fingers green with head gardener Trevor Jones.

-Trevor, how are you?

-Very well, thank you.

-Good to meet you.

-And you.

-Well, Trevor, very impressive gardens.

How long have they been in this form, if you like?

They've only been in this form for about ten years.

Prior to that, this area was completely derelict.

What are the influences here, then?

The influences here are all from the designers, Jacques and Peter Wirtz.

They're from Belgium, so very much a European style of gardening,

so unlike other gardens in the UK,

much of the planting here is in straight lines, like behind us.

I imagine you must have full-time people like yourself here.

-Do you have volunteers?

-Yes, we do.

We have a hardy band of volunteers that work with us in the garden.

It's very much a people's garden. It needs people in it to come alive.

The centrepiece of the garden is this cascading fountain,

one of the largest water features in the country.

Beyond that is a walled ornamental area

and a series of water sculptures

made from mirrors of stainless steel.

But despite the modern twists,

the Alnwick gardeners are keen to practise traditional techniques.

One of them is Alistair Dodds.

So this is pea-sticking?

Yeah, this is the old-fashioned method

of supporting herbaceous perennials.

So it's an old method using birch twigs,

weaving them in and out of each other and creating a frame.

At the end of the day,

when all the herbaceous plants are finished flowering,

we can cut them all back, everything goes in the shredder,

including the birch sticks.

That then all gets composted

and it's returned to the garden at the end of the day.

-Rather nice little cycle.

-Definitely.

Not being much of a gardener myself, I'm keen to have a go.

-I find the best way is to get three bits together like that.

-Yeah.

And then just cut it off then just wind those in like plaiting hair.

-OK. Can I borrow your secateurs?

-Yep.

Right, then. Thank you, sir.

So...

-Take a bit here?

-Yep.

Oh. Got them? Right, so I'm going to... This is like plaiting?

So the big branch...

..in the middle like this?

Yeah, you just weave it in and out, middle to middle.

TRADITIONAL MUSIC

I think it's safe to say that when it comes to pea-sticking,

I'm just clutching at straws.

Well, it's not the best, is it? So this just goes over that?

You stick the bottom in the ground.

But within about three weeks you won't see any birch twigs at all.

The garden here at Alnwick is still work in progress

with five new areas planned in the future,

adding even more to this unique horticultural masterpiece.

Now I reckon Jo and Terry have got their shortlist down

to two properties, the second house yesterday afternoon

and the mystery property this morning.

Well, they've had time to chat things through,

so let's catch up with them both and find out their thoughts.

Well, hope you've had some time to think about the houses. Have we?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Yep.

Which one of the three properties is your favourite?

-Property number three was clearly the favourite.

-Clearly?

-Yeah.

-The mystery house?

-Clear winner.

-Yeah.

It seems to have everything that we were looking for

in terms of what can be a long-term home for us

but also really work from a business perspective

and commutable to my work as well.

And the views out there were just spectacular.

To be able to have both the views of the Northumberland National Park

and also the water in front of you, the reservoir as well,

then there's not many places that you can get both of those things.

Right from when we first had this idea,

the single most important thing was that the setting

was a real beauty spot, so it gave people a reason to come to it,

and the mystery house just delivered on that

far more than the other two properties.

We're looking for a home as well, and there was some work

to be done to make it what you wanted from a home.

What would be your first job?

The bathroom!

That downstairs bathroom, yeah.

We looked to get maybe some outline plans

for an extension to the house as well.

What was so good about the mystery house

that you're not even talking about property number two?

The scenery at property number two was stunning,

though it was much prettier at the mystery house

and then the key point is exactly where it's located.

The mystery house is in Northumberland.

It's very close to the National Park.

It's commutable to work.

So, you've got a favourite property

but it's a big, huge leap for you guys.

What's the next step?

We're moving up here anyway into rented accommodation

-in just a few weeks.

-Mmm-hmm.

That will give us the breathing space we need

to develop more detailed plans.

I think we'll definitely go back and see property number three,

the mystery house.

Does that mean you're seriously interested in this place then?

-Oh, yeah. Definitely.

-Yeah.

-We are quite interested.

-Good!

Well, this is one huge step I think you've taken,

but with many more to go.

So I wish you both the very best of luck.

-Thank you. Thanks for all your help.

-All right.

And let me know when you're up and running,

cos I would love to come and stay opposite that reservoir.

Well, Jo and Terry said to me that they thought

this particular trip up here to Northumberland

could be maybe a bit of a fact-finding mission,

but I'm confident it's turned into more than that.

These past couple of days seem to have

cemented their thoughts, if you like.

And the way they both reacted so well to the mystery property,

I think we could have found them

not only their first new home in the countryside together,

their big escape to Northumberland, but also a location from which

to base their exciting new enterprise from.

Let's hope so. See you next time.

Jo and Terry have now moved into their rented accommodation

in the North East and intend to revisit our mystery house very soon.

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