Devon Escape to the Country

400 years ago this incredible gorge was a treacherous place

where travellers feared to tread. Intrigued as to where we are?

Find out in just a moment.

On today's show we are helping two dancing enthusiasts find

a new groove in the countryside.

One of our properties struggles to find rhythm...

Do you like the location?

No. Too rural.

..but then we get into the swing of things.

I could live here. Easily.

Today, I'm in Devon and this is the amazing Lydford Gorge,

the deepest of its kind in south-west England.

It runs a mile and a half course, all the way down to the 90 foot

drop of the Wyatt Lady Waterfall,

passing through the Devil's Cauldron just behind me.

Though, back in the 17th century,

it wasn't devils you had to worry about.

It was the notorious band of Dartmoor outlaws called

the Gubbins Clan who were famous, or indeed infamous, for murdering

and robbing travellers brave enough to pass this way.

Nowadays, it's perfectly safe to enjoy this beautiful bit of Devon.

Sitting in the southwestern corner of England, the county of Devon

is bordered by Cornwall to the west and Somerset and Dorset to the east.

Devon is the only county in England with two separate shorelines -

the Bristol Channel in the north and the English Channel in the south.

The southeastern seaboard forms part

of the Jurassic Coast, England's first natural World Heritage site.

Its rocky cliffs are over 185 million years old.

You'll also find a scattering of seaside towns along this coast,

including Seton, which has a mile long shingle beach -

a popular tourist hot spot.

Inland, Devon is home to two national parks,

one of which is Dartmoor with its moorlands and hardy breed of pony.

But it's also home to pretty thatched villages such as Lustleigh.

With such a variety of landscape and coastline, it's no wonder

Devon is so attractive to those wanting a taste of the rural life.

When it comes to that mythical beast, the average detached house,

then Devon's quite expensive - 20% above the national

figure and currently standing at ?290,000.

But apart from a little blip in the 2008 recession,

house prices here have been on a steady increase for over 20 years.

Now, investors know that it's very pricey by the coast.

If you want a sea view, then you're going to have to

add 50% of the county price.

But the smart investors are heading inland to towns like Okehampton

and Holsworthy where your budget will get a considerable boost.

But what about our buyers today? Where are they looking to invest?

Let's meet them and find out.

Matthew and Anita have spent their 13 years together

living in the West Midlands.

Home is currently a rented three-bedroom house in Coventry.

They've had enough of urban life.

We find cities too drab, too much concrete.

We do find that the rush-hour times, it's almost impossible to get

out of this close, the traffic is bumper-to-bumper.

So, that's a real downside to living in Coventry.

With the children having flown the nest and Matthew leaving

his job at a major car manufacturer, they are free to hit the road.

We both feel that Devon would be good for us.

It's interesting rolling countryside, there is

an awful lot to do down there. It's just a lovely part of the country.

The couple met through work.

Anita was looking for a lodger and posted an ad at the office.

Matthew saw the notice, applied and moved in.

We got to know each other more and more

while I was lodging there and...

You know, we took it from there, really.

Moved from the east wing to the west wing. And the rent went up.

And the rent went up!

It was a good match as the couple share many interests.

We're both very, very keen motorcyclists,

have been since we were very young.

I've had a motorcycle since I was 17 and we still have motorcycles.

W have several motorcycles, too many, maybe.

And we just love motor cycling in all its forms.

When they are not riding, they are jiving. We love dancing.

We love rock 'n' roll dancing. Salsa, merengue.

Anything dancing, we love, but we find that rock 'n' roll

dancing especially is a good way of meeting people and we are

hoping we can find other rock 'n' roll clubs where we move to.

I find with rock 'n' roll, you can

really put your whole character into it. You can have such a laugh.

And with work no longer an issue, they are keen to fill the time

when they move and for that, they will need space.

We would ideally want an annexe so that we can do a holiday let,

but we are looking for a good-sized plot so we can have chickens

again, gardening, vegetable patch, fruit trees would be wonderful.

The outside space is really important to both of us.

I've been keeping bees for the last 18 months.

They are fascinating creatures.

And I would like to expand that a little bit.

In this garden, I've only got room really for one, maybe two hives.

There'll also be a hive of activity in the kitchen.

I have always enjoyed baking, cooking, making sweets.

I enjoy using produce from the garden - honey from the bees.

My idea would be to have a large kitchen where

we could entertain in as well.

With their house now sold, all that's left is to find out how much

is funding this dream move to Devon.

Our budget for this move is ?500,000.

But we could stretch it a bit further

if there was an income from a holiday let.

We're concentrating our search in East Devon, close to the

border with Dorset, as it offers the best value for money

and I've come to meet our buyers to discuss the specifics of the house.

Good morning. You've brought beautiful weather with you

down to Devon. Well done. What's the attraction of Devon?

Why are you coming here?

You can't help but love it down here. It's just a no-brainer.

What are you looking for in the house? What's the spec?

The house, I'd say three bedrooms, a quarter of an acre.

Not on a main road.

A large garage, workshop.

You want a man cave!

A man cave. Somewhere to tinker. About 30 foot square, though.

30 foot square. Quite specific! Or more! A man hangar!

I heard a little property bird who told me you were looking

for an annexe. What are you going to do with that?

An annexe would be really useful just for a bit of income.

It would help us to buy a larger place, you know,

if we could have a bit of income from the holiday let,

a holiday cottage, something like that.

You're planning to use it as a holiday let, B

or as an actual let? Not a B, a let would be useful.

A B would be too much... too much hard work, I think.

What's your budget, because it is quite an expensive county?

Budget is around ?500,000 but we could stretch it up to ?530,000.

If we had a bit of an income from it.

We always like to take the top! 530,000.

Possibly. Good. We've three lovely properties lined up.

I hope you'll like all of them,

but at least one of them, so, come with me.

The car is this way. Thank you very much.

Matthew and Anita have a budget of ?500,000.

They could go up to 530,000 if the property comes with

an income generating holiday annexe.

The house needs to have three bedrooms

and a good-sized kitchen for cooking and entertaining.

They want at least a quarter of an acre of outside space

and a large garage or man shed for the motorbikes.

We've got three fantastic houses to show our buyers here in Devon,

but I won't be revealing the price until the end of each tour.

Our mystery house doesn't give them everything they asked for,

but there is lots more to consider instead.

For our first property we are heading to the hamlet

of Tower Cross.

The closest settlement for amenities is the attractive Georgian

market town of Honiton,

best known for its lace, which has been made here for 400 years.

The high street is lined with shops, cafes and antique dealers,

as well as two parish churches.

Just a mile outside the town is our first house. This is it.

House number one. It's absolutely beautiful. We aim to please.

Good job. All of it?

All of this and then have half of the big building as well.

So, it's attached to something else, another house. Yes. Absolutely.

Ah, right, OK. So, it's not detached. It's not detached.

It's very characterful though. It's beautiful, isn't it?

It's a typical brick and flint Devon cottage. Probably from the 1800s.

This has, if you can see, you have this extraordinary

tower in the building next door which is a folly, really.

It was built by a local bishop, but it is a lovely addition

to your garden even though it does not belong to you.

Is it what you were... Is this the garden in its entirety?

This is the garden in its entirety. It's not a massive amount of land.

That's one of the compromises you'd have with this house.

There are always compromises. It oozes character. I love it.

Spot on. It's beautifully built and beautifully decorated inside.

Shall we have a look? Yes, please.

Despite the size of the garden, our semi-detached former coach

house has created a good first impression.

But for Anita, in particular, it's all about the kitchen

and I'm keen to see if we've got that right, too.

Straight out of a magazine, really. It's lovely.

Beautifully done. Nice and light. Good size.

So, you've got the staircase that

comes down into the kitchen, which is the old-fashioned way. Smashing.

Lovely. Oak floor. Lovely. This would be the centre room.

If we had people round for a meal, we would use this room.

Well, you haven't seen the other options. No. Come with me.

Thank you.

Come in. This is the house that keeps on giving,

because this is a lovely room, too.

This would have been the extension.

This is a small extension that they put on the end with a

nice door out into the garden.

But this is the main sitting room.

And then you've got the sort of dining area here

if you want to have some formal dining. Smashing. Very good.

Very good. It's quite a modest footprint.

In the sense that it's not an absolutely massive house.

Would that work for you? It would.

As it's only the two of us, apart from occasional visitors.

As long as there is space for us

to get away from each other occasionally. Man shed. Man shed.

I think you might need to build a man shed, although there is

another option which we'll explore later on. Good.

So, thumbs up for this room? Yes. Yes. Falling in love? Yes.

Well, let's pop upstairs and I want to show you the added extra.

The downstairs has options for a holiday let which

we'll explore later.

But in the meantime, the upstairs of the property has two double

bedrooms, and a family bathroom built into the eaves.

This is the master bedroom upstairs, at the back of the house.

Does this fit the bill? Bigger. Looking for bigger.

It's beautifully laid out, but on the small side. OK.

But there are other rooms.

Yeah, it's lovely. Workable.

I don't think you need a big bedroom really, personally. No? OK.

That's because you don't have as many clothes.

But, the great thing about this house is that it has

your annexe/holiday let all built in. Lovely. Yes.

Shall we go and inspect? Curious. Please. After you.

Back downstairs, a ground floor wing beyond the kitchen could make

excellent accommodation for holiday guests.

It features a small study area, two further double bedrooms

and an additional bath and shower room.

And at the end of the corridor you have this rather nice guest room.

They have it as a guest room. It could be anything.

That's a great guest room. Yes. Really great.

So, it's a very charming property. It is.

And this is, I think, a lovely addition so you could put a door

halfway down the corridor and have it completely self-sufficient.

That's a good idea. Yeah.

And have this as a very simple sort of holiday let. Yes.

Of course, the decision to run a holiday let or keep

this section of the house for themselves will depend on the price.

So, it's back outside to reveal it,

giving Matthew and Anita another chance to take in the garden

which includes a well-kept lawn, decked area for entertaining

and a summer house.

So, you've flagged the fact that the garden may be a bit small,

but you do have this rather huge gravel carport area

and in the original photos of the property there was a double garage.

So, it wouldn't be difficult, I don't think, to get planning to put one in.

A man shed. A man shed. How much do you think it's on the market for?

You go first. Me first. I would guess at 480.

I would say, because it's quite close to Honiton, I would say just

under 500,000.

Well, you're just about right.

It is on at ?495,000. Ah!

It's been on a while, so there might be a bit of wiggle room there.

It'd be nice for you to explore the inside more thoroughly, so if you

want to go back in, have a mosey round and I'll see you

out the front. OK. Thank you.

On the market for ?495,000

our first property comes in under budget.

It is a 200-year-old brick and flint former coach house.

The contemporary interior includes a light and spacious kitchen

and triple aspect sitting room.

The property comes with four good-sized bedrooms,

two of which are in a ground-floor wing of the house

and could make an ideal holiday let.

And there's space outside to build a double garage subject to the

correct planning consents.

My first thoughts - I was blown away by the outside impression.

Absolutely oozes character. I loved it.

Inside and outside, I'd say from a percentages point of view,

85% of it is fantastic.

The only downside is the size of garden

and general storage space within the house.

First impressions were wonderful.

When we first walked into the garden I thought,

"What a beautiful house."

To me, the annexe area wouldn't really

work as an annexe in that it's so attached to the house

and there is no separate garden area for any guests.

But because of the price, it wouldn't need to be an annexe,

so I think that would just become part of the house.

I can understand why Anita would be reluctant to restructure this

garden, because it does look so beautiful as it is. But needs must.

Hello. Have you seen everything you need to see inside? Yes, thank you.

We have. But we have another property for you to look at.

Thank you. Come with me.

Away from the granite moorlands of Dartmoor, much of Devon's

landscape is given over to farming

and there's a strong agricultural tradition in the county.

It's perhaps not surprising then that the Devonshire

countryside is home to a unique school

offering courses in eco-friendly sustainable gardening and farming.

With Matthew and Anita's desire to grow their own produce

and live off the land, we sent them to meet Jonty Williams at the

School of Husbandry in Bickington

to learn some practical rural skills.

What does the term husbandry actually mean?

It's not only looking after the land, looking after animals,

looking after plants, looking after the ecology that goes in the soils,

looking after the water,

it's making the connections between everything that sustains us.

But it's also vitally important that we sort of get a...

Us modern urban people get an understanding of agriculture

as something that is a human-scale thing

that we can all be involved in.

One of the most important aspects of husbandry is good soil management,

getting the most from the land and ensuring nothing is wasted.

Matthew and Anita are joining Jonty's wife Carol in the garden,

to find out more about one of these principles

called three sisters planting.

Hi, Carol. Hi! So what are you doing here?

Hi. Well, I'm planting up a three sisters bed.

Yeah, three sisters? Three sisters, yeah.

So this means that the sweetcorn and the beans and the squash

are all good companions. Yeah. They're all good for each other.

So the sweetcorn provides the nice strong stem

for the beans to climb up. Ah!

The beans add the nitrogen to the soil

and the pumpkins and squashes run underneath,

keep the moisture in, the weeds down.

So they all work very well looking after each other.

For a beginner doing this,

is there a good all-rounder plant

that would make a good companion for this companion planting?

They tend to be quite specific.

So you need to have your pollinators in the garden.

So anything that's going to encourage bees and pollinators.

Bees, yes. Like, borage, I'd say, is the best all-rounder.

Smashing. Oh!

So how about we do some planting and plant some three sisters? Yeah.

Yeah, sure. So here, we've got some pumpkins to go in, in here,

and some sweetcorn.

And then we've got some lovely Indian climbing beans, as well,

to go in. Right.

As well as mutually beneficial planting techniques,

Carol uses some inventive and environmentally-friendly

means of pest control.

Looking after them and keeping off pests,

we can use vegetables that we're growing in the garden.

So we can make a spray from garlic.

And we just chop it up, add it into water,

either into your watering can to water on your crops

or as a spray, as well.

Matthew and Anita

are enthusiastically embracing the art of husbandry.

But we need to find them their own plot of land to tend

and it's time to get back to the house hunt.

For our second offering, we're heading four miles south

to the hamlet of Northleigh.

It's located three miles from the small town of Colyton

in the Axe Valley,

with its wealth of attractive stone and thatched houses

lining the narrow streets.

Colyton has a reputation for being a rebel town.

During the reign of Henry VIII,

the locals managed to retain a degree of independence

from national government.

The impressive church was built in the 15th century,

when Colyton was one of the richest wool towns in the county.

Around ten minutes drive from the town,

located in a former farm complex,

is our second home.

So we've travelled about three miles down the Coly Valley

and up and down the vale.

Amazing views. Mm. Yeah, fantastic.

Are these the sort of views you were hoping for? Stunning.

Yeah, stunning.

But, as you can see, you're in this little kind of commune of houses.

There are six properties and the one I want to show you is...

this one!

Oh! Oh. All of the stone house... Yes.

..and this house as well.

Do you like the style of it? Yes. Do you like the location?

No. Too rural for me.

What do you think of the style of it?

Lovely - natural stone, natural slate.

So there's a bit of a tussle about the location? Yes.

But maybe the house will win you over once we get inside.

Yeah, we will see. In we go. Thank you.

Our second house was at one time an old cider barn

and although the location might be a sticking point,

I'm pretty sure the property's refurbished interior will impress.

Coming in from the heat, into the kitchen.

Yeah, lovely.

So it's been, sort of, done up to a very high spec.

You've got a gas oven,

although the actual house is heated with underfloor heating.

So what do you think?

Yeah... Beautiful. It looks good. Pleasing, very pleasing.

So you can open the doors out into the sort of terrace.

Yes, I love it. Yeah, yeah. Could feel at home here. I like it.

You like it? Yes. Do you love it?

I could love it.

Let's continue down these steps into the main living space. OK.

Yes...

This is lovely. Yeah.

Again, you've got a galleried step

but this time down into this raised dining space.

And again you've got underfloor heating here

and another step down to the lounge space

with a big log burner.

I'm feeling it. You're feeling it?

Ah! It's lovely.

I could live here, easily.

Well, you've got a utility round here.

If you go through the door,

there's a smallish utility with all your white goods and stuff.

Or a boot room out into the garden.

That's good. Are you warming to it?

I love it, yes, I do. Good.

Let's have a look.

And of those three,

two are good-sized double bedrooms

and there's one single, along with a family bathroom.

This is what they've used as the master bedroom

because it has an en suite and a walk-in wardrobe. Oh.

Of course, they all have

but this one particularly has amazing views.

Yeah, fantastic views.

Yeah, wonderful. And it's a good size.

What do you think about the size? It depends how big the walk-in wardrobe is.

Quite big.

Have a peek.

Eh...yes. This is one of the reasons we brought you here.

Partly because of the views and partly because of the, sort of, size.

But obviously, one of the big selling points

is what's next door.

So let's check that out. OK. Thank you.

As well as the main house,

which, with permission, could be turned into a holiday let.

Come on in.

What you've got here is a totally self-contained holiday let. Oh!

Oh. That's really neat.

Kitchen, sitting room.

Upstairs you've got a lovely bedroom

with skylights and a bathroom, obviously.

Downstairs toilet. Mm-hm. Yeah.

And doors opening into their own private garden.

Lovely.

Absolutely lovely. Already up and running. Yeah.

Does this mean you've stretched the budget then?

Well, let's talk about budget. Let's step outside.

To the rear of the annexe,

decking leads on to a reasonably-sized lawn area

with far-reaching views over the surrounding countryside.

So obviously this is a big selling point - the view. Yeah.

And your guests would have this decked area to step out to. Yes.

But the whole of this plot is yours.

So all the way up to the shed there, to the garages. Yeah.

And then down to that...

beech hedge at the bottom. Yes.

Is it enough for you? No.

No?! THEY LAUGH

It's on the small side.

I think that you...

This house is not suiting you because of the location.

Yes... So what are your thoughts about that?

I would guess that because it's a little bit out-of-town,

a bit of a distance away,

around 465,000.

I would say ?480,000.

Well, you are almost exactly right.

It is ?50 short of ?480,000.

Yes. If your heart is set against the location,

that's not going to win you over. No.

It's interesting property, though.

Why don't you have a look around cos we haven't looked upstairs? Yes.

There are some more rooms in the main house. Yes.

I will see you out the front. Thank you very much.

Take a step through.

It's very interesting.

I think when there's a reason why you don't want to buy a house,

there are then 100 reasons why you shouldn't buy it.

I think that might be what's going on.

Well below budget at just under ?480,000,

our second property is part of a former cider farm.

The accommodation features generous living spaces,

including a large kitchen

and a combined sitting and dining area.

It has three bedrooms

and a separate annexe that could be easily turned into

a holiday let with its own private garden.

All set in a rural location,

with far-reaching views of the surrounding countryside.

That's bigger than you think, isn't it? Yeah, lovely and light.

It's good. Wardrobe space. Yeah.

I love it. Really love the property.

The annexe is wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

And I can see that it would rent easily.

The main house is less glamorous than the last house

and more functional, rustic,

which really suits our style, our lifestyle.

The interior of the property was beautiful.

The whole layout.

Very, very nice indeed. Very modern, clean, light.

A good percentage of my feeling deflated

was due to the location of the property.

It was just too far out.

Oh, there they are.

Ah! Too many houses, I couldn't find you! Yes!

Are you all done? Yes, all done. Yes, thank you.

That was great. Well, that's your lot for the day. Yeah.

We've seen both properties. Yeah, OK. Yeah, thank you. It's time for some reflection.

It's been an interesting day. Good.

It's day two of our property hunt

and on a budget of ?500,000,

we're helping Matthew and Anita from Coventry

live out their rural dream in Devon.

Coming up -

the mystery house gives them less of what they originally wanted,

but more of something else.

My goodness. "Oh, my goodness," you said.

Yes, it's just wonderful, isn't it?

And I discover Britain's maritime past

through the power of song.

# Diddly-diddly-dum Diddly-dum-dum-diddly

# Diddly-diddly-dum Diddly-dum-dum-day! #

Day two of our property search here in Devon

and I'm realising that Anita, at least,

is experiencing moving goalposts syndrome,

which is perfectly natural

when you start looking at houses on the ground

after thinking about them on paper.

So, some things become more important and some less.

For example, the annexe -

probably not as crucial as we imagined

and the garden much more important, as is location.

I think Anita found that house yesterday a little too remote.

So the mystery house, well, it could go either way.

It does have more land...

it has a question mark over the annexe

but it is more remote.

So let's find out.

I was interested in the annexe, the holiday let.

I got the impression yesterday it wasn't quite as important

as perhaps we'd pegged it as.

Is that a fair comment or...?

No, it's not...not overly important.

It could be a useful way of...

..meeting people, socialising.

It could be a little bit of an income.

But no, it's not important. We'd be quite happy without it.

For our mystery house, we're leaving the east of the county

and heading to the north of Dartmoor,

to the village of Zeal Monachorum.

The closest settlement for services is the market town of North Tawton,

with its range of independent shops and eating establishments.

Former poet laureate Ted Hughes

lived in the village for much of his life.

A short drive away is the location of our mystery house,

in a village whose Latin name means cell of the monks -

Zeal Monachorum.

It's just as well Matthew and Anita aren't fixed on the annexe,

as our mystery property doesn't come with one,

at the moment.

But it does offer them land.

And it's a thatched cottage, dating back to the 15th century.

You wanted some land!

Oh, boy. Here it is.

Absolutely stunning.

The view is phenomenal.

It's an enormous plot of land.

It's an acre. Yeah. It's just over an acre at 1.2 acres...

Yeah. ..plus the land... plus the house.

And you've got these incredible views. Mm.

This is the Tor Valley.

And right on the edge, on the horizon,

you can actually see Exmoor.

Ah. It's a little bit hazy here.

Yeah. So you can see a big clear swoop over Devon.

It's fantastic.

Matthew, are you equally enamoured? I love it, I absolutely love it.

It couldn't be better. We're going to explore these outhouses

but I will want to show you the house as well. Yes.

So come with me. Thank you.

Well, we seem to have got it right with the outside space

but there's still the house to consider.

And it's one that's packed with character.

We're going straight into the kitchen,

because that's the country heart of the home. Oh!

Yeah! My goodness.

"Oh, my goodness," you said. Yes. It's just wonderful, isn't it?

It's just lovely. The perfect country kitchen. Yeah.

Flagstone floors... Yeah. ..table in the middle.

Smashing. Wonderful.

This is the most modern part of the house, actually.

We're going backwards to history.

This used to be a sort of corrugated iron tin shed

where they stored vintage cars.

But the present owner has done quite a lot of work.

They put up these lovely rafters.

Good. So this is all good?

Yes. Fits the bill?

All right. Well, we'll go and look at the old side of the house. OK.

It's a bit low, you might have to mind your head. OK.

Also on the ground floor there's a utility room off the kitchen

and a downstairs family bathroom, with a freestanding roll-top bath.

As we make our way to the other end of the house,

we pass further reception areas -

a cosy snug

and a dining room with a log burner.

Coming through right into the old part.

Actually, that's the oldest part.

Matthew, can you clear it? Not quite. Not quite.

So dip under. He'll learn.

So you've got the low beams and you've got a great big fireplace.

Love it. It's cosy but not small. Yeah. It's lovely.

Well, what's great is that through here

you've got a little bedroom and an en suite. Oh!

It's got great options, this house. Yes, it has. Yeah.

So you could have this as a sort of little guest wing... Yeah.

..for people who were staying so they could... Yes.

..keep from under your feet. Yeah. Very, very good. Yeah.

Well done! All beams!

I mean, you're all beams

and there are all beams here as well. Yes!

This rabbit warren of a property has two flights of stairs.

One leads directly to the master suite.

Now, this is an interesting room because you can see it's galleried.

There's actually a little sort of loft space up there,

where you could...

put your clothes. Yeah.

Through there is a sort of Jack and Jill en suite. Right.

And in here,

is a walk-in closet. Oh!

Right, now let's go through the rabbit hole.

Now, this is low so you will have to duck.

As we weave our way through the house,

we pass two further bedrooms,

one double and a single...

..before heading back down the other flight of stairs

to check out the grounds again.

Well, this is the cherry on the cake, really.

This is... Well, it's not an annexe.

It is a garden shed

and it's for storing, you know, your bits and bobs

and your bikes.

And you might want to keep it for that. OK. So this is...

There is the possibility further down the line, maybe,

that you could convert this.

It looks quite big, big enough for both.

Maybe to fit in some accommodation into it

and to use it as a workshop, garage, storage.

You might just want it as your massive man cave!

Yeah, why share this with anyone?!

But if it's maximum budget,

then we need some income

to justify the expense. Yeah, that's right.

Well, you have brought us on to the thorny subject of the budget. Yes.

So...

what do you think the mystery house is worth?

?530,000?

Top of the budget.

I would say more than that.

I would say it's over budget. No! Yes.

I would say ?560,000. Oh!

Oh, no. Put us out of our misery. Heartbreak!

This property is on the market for...

..?525,000. Oh!

So it's in budget... I'll have it.

..with ?5,000 to spare. Thank you.

THEY LAUGH That's it then. That's great.

A great look of relief on your face. Job done. Job done. Yeah.

I don't know whether you need to look around any more... Yes.

..but there are some lovely buildings at the bottom,

which you could also think about doing something with. Yes, please.

And also a couple of rooms upstairs. Yeah.

So head back in, have an explore. Thank you. Yes.

I'll see you outside with the cheque book. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, we'll see you later.

Our mystery house, priced at ?525,000,

is just under Matthew and Anita's maximum budget.

It's a 400-year-old thatched cottage with four bedrooms.

The downstairs features a modern kitchen

and three further reception rooms.

And the 1.2 acres of land

includes a substantial garden, paddock

and a large shed that could be converted into a holiday let,

subject to planning permission.

I absolutely love the mystery house.

Everything about it -

the character, the garden.

The downstairs rooms, I think,

have been very tastefully added on to this property.

It just brings all the flavours -

contemporary style, rustic

and the genuine 15th century style.

It all moulds together really well.

As a mystery house, this is,

my goodness, this is a big success.

We've just loved it, absolutely loved it.

I know that Anita really has and I've fallen for it as well.

Here they come!

All smiles?

Still enthused? Yes. Good.

Well, I'd like you to ride the wave of your enthusiasm back to the car

and I'll catch up with you later. OK. Thank you.

As the only English county with two separate coastlines,

Devon is proud of its strong seafaring heritage.

But the leisure vessels and appealing fishing boats

that populate the historic harbours

belie the hardship of a working life at sea

at a time when the country relied on its sailing fleet.

And the story of Britain's maritime past

can be told through its sea songs, or shanties.

I've come to the fishing town of Brixham

to meet a group of local fishermen and singers

who are rediscovering this unique musical tradition.

I'm meeting their spokesman, Kevin Sessions.

Have a seat.

Oh, great spot! Tell me all about the sea shanty.

Because I grew up by the sea

but I'm actually not very familiar with the history of them.

Well, basically,

they're songs to keep guys in time,

just maintaining a rhythm

when they're actually doing a job that required 'em working together.

And they all have a slightly different...

a short, jerky rhythm or a long one,

just depending on what the job was.

They would make them up as they go along and, I mean,

most of it is unprintable!

So it's been sanitised dramatically for the market nowadays.

In the 19th century, the arrival of steam-powered ships

meant fewer manual tasks on board

and the shanties lost their practical purpose

so the tradition slowly died out.

But the maritime work song is undergoing a bit of a revival

and a number of groups have sprung up, including Kevin's -

The Old Gaffers Sea Shanty Crew.

And they have some unusual nicknames.

# Oh, a night with the girls wouldn't do us any harm

# Oh, a night with the girls wouldn't do us any harm

# And we'll all hang on behind

# So we'll roll the old chariot along

# We'll roll the old chariot along

# And we'll all hang on behind. #

Well done, Old Gaffers! Thank you. Good to meet you.

You've all got your own names.

We've all got our own nicknames, yeah.

Master Chunder? That's not your real name?

That's not my real name. That's...

We all decided we was all going to have nicknames,

add a bit of fun to it.

And obviously I don't do boats very well.

Oh? I feel a bit of a farce, really, singing sea shanties

and I don't do boats! He gets sick on a wet mat! Yeah, I do, yeah!

Now, the song we just heard, Roll The...?

Roll The Old Chariot.

What would they have been doing when they were doing that?

What sort of a shanty is that?

It's a... I think it's a halyard shanty.

I think they were, you know, pulling up the sails... Right.

And when the boat was actually travelling,

they said it was rolling along.

And so they're actually getting the sails up

and getting the thing on the move.

Let's have some more music. Is there anything I can join in on?

Well, we could do Willie Taylor. Willie Taylor, yeah.

Willie Taylor's got a simple chorus. And what can I do?

Is there a part? Join in the chorus! You can join in the chorus.

Ah! It's dead easy. Dead easy, yeah.

"Diddly-diddly-dum, diddly-dum-dum-diddly."

Very good, I can manage that. "Diddly-diddly-dum, diddly-dum-dum-day."

I think I can manage that. I'll sing along.

# Willie Taylor and his true love

# Full of mirth and loyalty

# Were going to the church to be married

# He was pressed and sent to sea

# Diddly-diddly-dum Diddly-dum-dum-diddly

# Diddly-diddly-dum Diddly-dum-dum-day

# Diddly-diddly-dum Diddly-dum-dum-diddly

# Diddly-diddly-dum Diddly-dum-dum-day

# Diddly-diddly-dum Diddly-dum-dum-diddly

# Diddly-diddly-dum Diddly-dum-dum-day. #

Woo-hoo! Aren't we good?!

THEY LAUGH

That is a great story and it's a beautiful song.

Well done, guys. Lovely.

And the sun's come out. And the sun's come out for us, yeah.

'It's clear that Kevin and his crew

'are proud of the traditional sea shanty

'and long may it continue.

'Now it's time for us to find out

'whether we've been in harmony with Matthew and Anita

'during our house hunt.'

So it was touch and go yesterday

whether we would find anything that fitted Anita and Matthew's bill

but we pulled it out of the hat with the mystery house

and got a bull's-eye.

All we need to do now is to find out what happens next.

Cutting to the chase, have you bought the mystery house yet?

Not yet. In my mind I have. Have you? Yes.

That is great. Cos I have to say, yesterday, I thought we'd lost you.

I thought, "Oh, dear, we're not able to give you anything that you want."

And what turned it around?

It had everything,

especially the outside garden space.

And oozed character.

The inside of the house was laid out nicely,

which helped.

Good-sized rooms.

Everything was good.

It is slightly more rural than I would have chosen

but all things considered,

I just love the place.

What are your plans for the next few days?

We've got to go back to home tonight.

Then we're going to have long discussions...

telephone conversations.

Obviously there are a few questions we've got to ask

about various practicalities.

And we'll take it from there.

Yeah. Probably come down again during the weekend.

Were there any things along the way that sort of fell out of focus?

I'm thinking particularly about the annexe.

We were quite serious about having an annexe,

with some income potential,

when we first came down here.

But, yes, thinking it through in the last few days,

it's, sort of...yeah, fallen off the shelf.

We're not so worried about it now.

And we know that we have the possibility with this house,

if we do go ahead with this house.

Um...

there's the building.

Permission should hopefully go through, if we want to do it.

And what's the first thing you're going to do with that land?

Cos that really moved you when you saw the land.

Turn it into a flower meadow for the bees

and get some more beehives going.

Hey, power! Yes. Bee power, we love that. Yes.

Flower power.

I have to say I was a bit startled

by the intensity of Anita's reaction to the mystery house

but having spent the week with her and Matthew,

I realised that they're a couple that don't do shades of grey.

It's black or white.

So although we have lots of people who say they'll put in an offer,

I actually really think they will end up buying it.

Watch this space.

And make sure you watch it next time for more Escape To The Country.

After returning home,

Matthew and Anita thought long and hard about the mystery house

and though they loved our thatched cottage,

they were worried about the maintenance of it in the future.

So I'm happy to report

that they've since found a property in neighbouring Dorset.

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