Nottinghamshire Escape to the Country

In this stretch of caves behind me, 200 years ago, native rhinoceros and hippopotamus bones were discovered.

Find out when and where these exotic animals roamed in a few moments.

'On today's show, I'm attempting to help a couple of ex-pats to escape the bush down under

'and relocate back to home soil. They take a trip down memory lane...'

-That's great.

-It is nice.

-Fantastic.

-When did you last have one of those?

-20 years ago.

-'And send a shiver down my spine.'

-How will YOU get out of that bath?!

-I don't want to know.

Today I'm in Nottinghamshire at Creswell Crags

where an excavation proved that the narrow-nosed rhinoceros, a species now extinct,

lived 120,000 years ago.

This network of limestone caves was also the most northerly based camp site in the world

of our Ice Age ancestors. And it's the home of the only known cave art from that period in Britain.

There seems to be an underground history embedded into this county.

I'll look deeper into that later.

But first let's not ignore the human history that's played its part in this varied county.

Forming part of the East Midlands, landlocked Nottinghamshire is bordered by four counties,

including Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

The River Trent has shaped this landscape. It runs through the market town of Newark-on-Trent

making its way to Nottingham.

Nottingham will forever be linked with its literary past.

Taking inspiration from the natural outlook is Newstead Abbey, ancestral home of Lord Byron.

With such diverse history and countryside,

small wonder aspiring escapees are drawn to this county.

Let's find out why today's house buyers want to come here.

For 20 years, Karen and David have lived abroad, spending the last 18 years in Australia.

Having sold their house near Perth, they feel now is the time to rediscover their roots.

We've known each other 22 years and been married for 20. We've never had a life in the UK.

We're moving from Beeliar, which is a suburb of Perth.

We had some good neighbours, but it was like a housing estate. Everybody was too close together.

-And family ties are pulling them back home to Nottinghamshire.

-We've got two grandchildren now.

Once a year wasn't doing it for us.

Whilst they search for a new home, they're staying with Karen's sister Lorraine in Worksop.

When I told my sister that we'd decided to come home, she said her wish had come true.

That's the only thing she'd wanted. It makes me cry thinking about it!

Now to discover the financial details for the new home.

Our budget for this move is £350,000. We've just had our 20-year holiday.

-Now it's time to come home.

-Yeah, that's right.

David and Karen have asked us to concentrate our search in the north of the county,

to be within reasonable distance of their family in Worksop.

I met up with them to find out more about this radical move.

Good morning. Welcome, both of you, back to the UK and Nottinghamshire. Good to be here?

Yes, it's marvellous to be back.

Talk me through your ideal house here in the UK.

-I would like a detached.

-Mm-hm.

-I'd like three or four bedrooms.

I'd like an en-suite, I'd like a large kitchen/diner,

two reception rooms, utility room,

a sun room... and a nice big garden.

-Private garden.

-OK.

I was thinking you might not have made your mind up on that plane journey. Sounds like you have!

-Your Australian house is quite modern.

-Very modern, yeah.

-So can the house be modern?

-Yes.

-It can be old on the outside.

-Right.

-But the inside, we must have it modern.

-What are no-nos? What don't you want?

-No beams.

-Right, OK.

-No low ceilings.

-OK.

-No dark rooms.

-Right.

The exciting thing from my point of view is you've already made this move over here.

-Your furniture is in transit.

-Yes.

-So you've sold?

-Sold.

-If we find you a property, you can go for it.

-We need to move in quick.

So we shouldn't be wasting any more time here. Let's get on with it.

'For a budget of £350,000, David and Karen are looking for a detached country retreat

'with 3-4 bedrooms, a large family kitchen/diner, two reception rooms,

'a large private garden and not too far away from their family in Worksop.

'We've got three first-rate houses to show them and I'll be asking them to guess the price.

'Our final property is the mystery house, which will really pose them a few questions.

'But with their furniture arriving in a couple of months, it's time to head for the first house.'

Although we begin our search in the eastern side of the county in the village of Wigsley,

we're still only around 40 minutes from their family in Worksop.

The nearby village of Eagle with its leafy lanes is just over the border into Lincolnshire.

House number one, an extended Victorian cottage, can be found in a secluded spot in Wigsley.

-What are we thinking?

-It's gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful.

-Fantastic.

-Excellent first house. Excellent first house.

-It's looking real good.

-It really is.

-Let's go inside.

'Fantastic first impressions to house number one, but that's just the exterior.

'Bearing in mind they're used to large, open-plan houses in Australia,

'are their expectations realistic?

Now, Karen, you were very prescriptive about what you're after in a kitchen. Let's start in here.

This kitchen is beautiful.

It's gorgeous. It's just what I imagined a country kitchen to be like.

I do like this. It's bright, it's cheerful.

You've got a nice family room. I think that is really nice. What do you think?

I like how it leads onto the garden, but just not 100% sure about the kitchen.

-I like it.

-Why is that?

-It's not got that modern...feel.

-It might have. I might not be seeing it properly.

-I think that's a fair comment.

It is, as Karen described it, a country kitchen.

-But it's not an old one.

-No.

-Bespoke units, but it's done in that country style.

Now living room, you'll need to use your imagination, I think. OK? Follow me.

Oh, yeah.

Now I'm going to ask you first, David. I know what you'll say.

Em...

-Go on.

-It's not for me. Not the darkness of it.

Whether or not it could be different if we painted them white.

One thing you could do is if you plasterboarded over these, you could put downlighters inside.

-One thing that you wouldn't want in Australia is some open fires.

-Yeah, that's great.

-It is nice.

-Fantastic.

-When's the last time you had one of those?

-20 years ago.

There's another reception area on the other side of the kitchen and a small office area there.

Let's take a look at the master bedroom. I think you'll like that.

'The downstairs is completed by a utility room including a shower and WC

'and the fourth bedroom. So, divided opinions as we head upstairs.

'There is a study or possible single guest room and two double bedrooms,

'all served by a modern, stylish family bathroom, including a steam and shower cubicle.

'But first, the master.'

Now, three double bedrooms on this floor.

Nice size.

-Nice size. Nice en suite.

-A bath and separate shower in there.

-Oh, wow! This is nice.

-I love the balcony.

-It's cracking, isn't it?

-It's like an extension to the bedroom.

-You get the morning sun as well.

-Awesome. Very nice.

Awesome is a word I love to hear. Let's go look at the garden.

Start trying to get your head around how much

this house might be. All right?

'The secluded lawned garden is at the front of the property

'and includes a summer house, ornamental pond and a patio area.'

So.. how much do you think this house is on the market for?

-You go first, Karen.

-I'd say this house is 335.

-Thousand.

-OK.

-I'd say 300.

-300?

-300.

Well, it's on the market for offers around £329,950.

See how close?

Coming in well under budget

this extended Victorian cottage has the privacy they're looking for

along with four bedrooms, the master with en suite, a large kitchen/diner,

a lounge/reception room, all set in a quiet village in the Nottinghamshire countryside.

-Had a good look around?

-Yes. Fantastic.

-All right. On to the next one.

-Thank you.

The city of Nottingham is built on a sandstone outcrop

and this gives it quite a unique architectural heritage below ground.

Underground caves were recorded here as far back as the 13th century

and today I'm meeting Dr David Strange-Walker from the Nottingham Cave Survey,

who is mapping some of the 500 man-made caves to encourage the city to appreciate their importance.

David, here we are, right in the heart of Nottingham city centre.

-Hustle and bustle everywhere, then this huge sandstone rock.

-Sandstone rock, that's right.

We're looking at three or four of Nottingham's 543 caves that we know about. There's probably more.

-I notice you have a map.

-Yes.

-What's this?

This is all the caves that we know about on a map of Nottingham. They spread far out of the city.

In the city centre, you can see we've got this tremendous density of caves.

Nearly every property has one under it. 500 caves plus.

-With so many caves littering the city centre, can you access these?

-We can. We can see some of them.

-I'll take you next to Peel Street, just up here. Shall we go?

-Yes, please.

'Many of the caves have been used for commercial purposes or visitor attractions.

'This one at Peel Street, once a sandstone mine and air raid shelter, is not yet open to the public.'

-So these caves being dry and safe from the weather, they became living places.

-Some did.

Yeah, at the start of the 19th century Nottingham started to industrialise in a massive way.

Unlike a lot of cities, it didn't expand outwards. There were ownership issues with the fields around.

So it expanded inwards.

So a lot of the cellar caves that existed from the medieval period started to be used as dwellings

by families, slum landlords really.

-It's one of the grimmest bits of Nottingham's history.

-So you've got a project on the go of mapping them.

That's right, yes.

'By mapping the caves using 3D technology, they aim to record, archive and promote them.

'We're off to the Salutation Inn, a 13th-century building, to map the medieval caves that lay below.'

-This is our laser scanner.

-Can we see it in action?

-We can.

-Right, if you're happy.

-Yeah.

-Let's press go.

Look at it survey. It's taking beams of laser light

and then it rotates all the way round so we get a full 360-degree survey.

-There we are. Done.

-So what do you do with this information that's now collected?

-Right.

We download it onto the computer, do a bit of processing and what we end up with is on the laptop.

This whole process of going into a cave, mapping it all out,

-you can then start to understand more about what they were used for?

-That's right, yes.

We learn a lot more about spatial relationships.

You've got a lot of important and fascinating work to do. I won't delay you any longer.

It's been a pleasure. Thank you.

'It's fascinating to experience these caves and we wish David and his team success

'in opening up Nottinghamshire's underground heritage for all to see.

For house number two, we travel north-west to Treswell,

a little closer to their family, about half an hour from Worksop.

Close by is the village of Rampton, largely a rural farming community with a 15th-century church

and a country pub.

House number two is found on the fringes of Treswell

and is a period country property recently renovated with a mix of contemporary and character features.

So a converted barn that was finished about 18 months ago.

-I'm not that keen.

-Not keen on barn conversions?

-Not keen on looking at it.

-It don't look what I like.

-Right. These are very different reactions to the first property.

-Yeah!

-Which is fine. What about you, David?

-I don't mind it!

-In a minute, we'll find something you agree on(!)

Well, let's go inside and see if it grows on you. Come on.

'Not the reaction I was hoping for, but this is all about managing expectations.

'A modern interior featured high on their agenda, so is there something to catch their eye inside?'

-So...

-Oh.

This is different.

This is more my taste. It's very bright, airy, clean, modern.

-Lots of nice lighting.

-This is a cook's paradise.

You've got a double fan-assisted oven, induction hob.

-Do you do much cooking?

-No.

-Good!

-I like it to look like this.

-So you want all this stuff, you're just not going to use it?!

-Takeaways!

-At the moment it's set up as a bit of a day room. Would you keep it the same?

-I would.

I probably wouldn't. I'd make it a kitchen/diner.

-Would you?

-Kitchen/diner, yeah.

-Well, we'll see.

Well, why don't you make your mind up what you'd use this room for after you've seen the living room?

OK.

Oh. Oh, this is nice. There's the dining room table.

-Oh.

-That could be your dining room.

-OK, that's changed things.

-This would be our end of day. I'd keep a couch in that room.

-A night-time room, this one.

Yeah. I like it. I could work with it.

It is nice.

You said the last place was awesome.

I get the feeling that this is... OK for you, but not brilliant.

-This is OK for us, but not brilliant.

-Well, let's go and see if the bedroom is "nice", shall we?

'A utility room and toilet make up the downstairs. So far, we're getting mixed reactions.

'Upstairs, bedrooms two and three have a modern Jack and Jill bathroom with a stylish double-ended bath.

'But now it's the master.'

So the master bedroom.

-Nice, innit?

-It is nice.

-It's OK. I think the ceiling's a bit low.

-Oh.

-Yeah.

-I thought you'd like this.

-Did you?

-Yeah, because it was quite light and modern.

-It is light and modern, but there's no feel in it.

-What do you think about it?

You've got a lovely en suite. Have a quick look, actually.

-Oh, this is fabulous.

-I was going to say the great thing is the walk-in wardrobe here.

It could also be a home office.

-No.

-You see that? She's got an en-suite and not even a walk-in wardrobe can woo this lady!

I don't like the ceiling. I feel as though I'm being crushed.

-Claustrophobic.

-Yeah.

-You use big words. I prefer crushed.

I could work with this bathroom.

-You sit in the bath.

-How are you going to get out of that bath?

I don't want to know! Let's go outside and guess the price.

Yeah.

'David almost seems willing to compromise, but Karen remains unconvinced.

'As we head out to the lawn and patio area, compromise is the key word, as they wanted privacy.'

So the garden.

-Mm.

-Modestly proportioned.

-Small.

-Yeah.

-There's no character.

-At all.

-There's no privacy at all.

-No, it's not what I expected.

Well, the gamble was to show you the barn conversion, this was the compromise.

-But the barn conversion hasn't paid off, has it?

-Not really.

-No.

-And the garden is definitely no good for us.

-The garden's put the nail in the coffin for me.

-Really?

-Yep.

-Let's look at this house. Let's have a talk about price.

How much do you think this barn conversion is on the market for?

299.

-Straight in there. David?

-290.

Right.

Well, it's on the market for offers around £335,000.

This stylish barn conversion is under budge.

It gives them three double bedrooms, including master with en suite,

a modern kitchen with family area,

a very large lounge and dining room, a contemporary bathroom

and an edge of village setting with glorious countryside views.

Now then...

-Seen enough?

-Seen enough.

-Bit of an up and down day.

-I'm glad you've seen that. Something to compare the first house with.

-Yes, absolutely.

-It were different.

-Good. That's all we're doing today. Let's go back.

-OK.

It's fairly clear David and Karen are keen on retaining their privacy, so we'll run with that theme.

Looking back on yesterday afternoon, in that second house Karen thought the modern interiors were bland,

which surprised me because I thought that was exactly what she was after. Modern, clean lines.

So today at the mystery house, it's here to challenge expectations,

and I'm going to show them something completely the opposite of property number two.

Something with bags of character and history that maybe they won't have seen when living in Australia.

I reckon it will evoke one of two responses. They'll love it or they'll loathe it.

Certainly, they won't be thinking it's "nice".

For the mystery house, we head south to Normanton on Trent, still around half an hour from Worksop.

The village offers heritage in the shape of a Grade 2-listed church dating back to the 13th century.

The mystery house is a charming renovated property full of character overlooking the church.

-Look at this.

-Not bad, eh?

-Nice.

Nice private garden. Very beautiful.

-Old.

-Very old. The original part is from the start of the 1700s.

The modern extension is 19th-century. So it's period and period.

-First impressions of outside. Karen?

-Beautiful. Pretty.

Welcoming.

Very nice garden.

It is. I'm glad you like it. But it's still private.

I didn't know what to expect, but it's an excellent start for us.

Good. All right. Let's see what you make of the inside.

'A cracking start to the mystery house. A thumbs up all round,

'but - and here's the but - let's see if they will compromise as we head for the kitchen.'

Now then, straight into the kitchen. What are your first impressions?

Beams, low ceiling, but a really pretty kitchen.

It's quite modern. Nice tops.

Love the windows.

It's very workable. It's got a nice family feel.

-I'm going to kill myself

-on that beam, I think!

-I'll reserve judgment. If everything else was good, I could work with that.

-OK.

'Heading for the lounge, we pass through the dining room with more beams and an inglenook fireplace.'

So here's your main reception room.

This is pretty.

This is cute.

I say cute, but it's a really nice size, isn't it?

-This is OK. I can handle one beam no problem.

-I didn't notice that!

It's high enough.

I do like the beam, actually.

Paint it white.

-I am...I am, actually, taking to it, this house.

-Are you?

-Yes, I am.

-Let's go and take a quick sneak peek at what I think could be the master bedroom.

'Apart from the obvious issue with the beams, I'd say it's so far, so good.

'Bearing the question of ceiling height in mind, I'm heading for a roomier option for the master.'

So this is one of the four bedrooms.

Beautiful size.

-Very bright, quite large.

-Not the master, though?

I wanted to show you this room because it was the tallest.

This is in the 19th-century part, right above the living room.

You've got lots of natural light, but at the other end of the building,

you've got a similar-sized room. Slightly smaller, but with an en-suite.

It could be the master, but that has lower ceilings. Let's have a quick look at it

and I'll show you what I mean.

-So I don't have to duck.

-No, I don't.

I have to duck. I don't walk like a soldier every day.

So on this floor you've got two good-sized doubles, which you've seen,

a small single,

but then on the second floor there's a really lovely double with storage on either side.

-Oh, OK.

-Let's go back out to the garden and let's start thinking about price.

-OK.

-After you.

'The upstairs is completed by a modern family bathroom with double-ended bath.

'As we head outside, I feel if it was down to Karen, we'd have a sale,

'but David seems yet to be convinced.'

This is a good spot, really, to have another peek at the house,

but also see the garden from another angle. So what do you think?

I think the house is very pretty,

very homely. It's got a lovely feel about it.

It's pretty awesome, actually.

I am a little bit colder towards it. There's so much wood.

With all this in mind, how much do you think it's on the market for?

-I think it's on our budget. 350.

-I'd say it's 330.

-You've always gone in low.

-He's tight.

-Do I win one this time?

-You're spot on, Karen. 350.

The mystery house is bang on budget and comes with bags of period features,

giving them four bedrooms, one with en suite, a kitchen/breakfast room,

a characterful dining room, a large lounge, a beautiful private garden,

all in a pretty rural village.

-Well, all done in there?

-Yes.

-Did you bang your head?

-No!

Well, that's it then. Let's buy it!

Right, all done, let's go and have a chat.

It's been a cracking couple of days, but I'm here to find out what your favourite property is.

-I did like the mystery house.

-Why?

-It had a nice feel.

It had got a large living room, the bedrooms were nice.

The kitchen needed some looking at. It were a bit small for David.

The low ceilings and beams did it for me.

How much of a compromise is it for you to have house number one, then?

You must have seen our faces when we walked on to property one.

It was just brilliant from the outside. It were perfect.

And then when we sort of got inside, we started compromising a bit.

I think at the end we just hit one or two compromises too many.

-Your next step is...?

-To investigate the areas you've shown us already.

And then see what else is on the market.

I wish you both the very best of luck. You're running out of time!

-How long have you got?

-9-10 weeks.

-10 weeks to find somewhere, do a deal and move in. Think you'll do it?

-Yeah.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-No matter what happens, please let us know where you end up.

-We definitely will.

-Good luck.

Thanks.

David and Karen have been nothing but candid throughout this.

It's funny. In just three viewings Karen's gone from looking for open-plan modern interiors

to falling in love with a cottage that's centuries old.

I'm not sure David's quite got there yet, but he'll need to and soon!

Let's face it, in a couple of months all of their furniture arrives, so they're up against it.

But when David says he'll do it, I actually believe him. I wish them both the best of luck.

See you next time.

Whilst David and Karen loved some aspects of house number one and the mystery house,

the overall package wasn't there, but they've been back and had an offer accepted on a property,

moving in just in time.

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