Herefordshire Escape to the Country

For centuries, boatmen used to cross this river

by hauling their craft across, using a rope from one side to the other.

The same way that I'm about to experience it right now.

But find out which county I'm in, in just a moment.

Take it away, Greg.

Today's couple want help leaving their city home of 27 years.

And they're intrigued by our properties.

It's very interesting.

-Interesting!

-That's interesting.

Perhaps there's also next door to consider.

We might need to interview the neighbours.

Today we're in Herefordshire, crossing the River Wye

on the Symonds Yat hand-pulled ferry.

Back in the 1800s, there were 25 such passenger craft

plying their trade east and west,

but now there's only two, this being one of them.

And for £1.20, Greg here will hand-pull you across.

Worth every penny.

Situated in the West Midlands,

landlocked Herefordshire borders the counties of Shropshire,

Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, with Wales to the West.

This landscape is scattered with sites that reflect

centuries of border conflict between England and Wales

and Herefordshire's Golden Valley was regularly fought over

by Welsh raiders looking to bring down the fortified Norman castles.

But evidence of human activity stretches back a lot further.

Arthur's Stone is a Neolithic tomb which is over 5,000 years old.

Today, Herefordshire is well known as a food-producing area,

thanks to its fertile soils.

The county capital, the city of Hereford,

is dominated by its cathedral and the pretty streets are lined

with striking black and white houses.

With the River Wye meandering through a county

with one of the lowest population densities in the country,

Herefordshire is as rural as it comes.

£256,000 is the average price of a detached house

here in Herefordshire.

That's almost exactly the same as the national figure.

But believe you me, there is nothing average about this wonderful county.

There are some pricey spots around the market towns,

like Ross-on-Wye or Ledbury, but one of the great advantages

of Herefordshire is space, because it is

one of the most sparsely-populated counties in the UK.

And let's find out whether space is one of the reasons why

our buyers want to move here today.

John and Joy live in this four-bedroom house in Bournville,

a suburb of Birmingham.

But with Joy now retired

and university professor John about to follow suit,

it's time for a change.

Other members of our family have already moved into the country.

We're probably the only people left who live in a city.

So we just want to move out, do something different

and feel that it's a new part of our lives to start again.

Since their student days,

John and Joy have hopped from one city to another.

We met at Birmingham University in 1971. Both freshers.

John was a chemistry student and I was a historian.

We then moved to Southampton and on to Stockholm.

The closest we got to the country

was when I was working in Cambridge for a while.

But even that was quite close to the city.

For the past 27 years, they've lived in the Birmingham home

where they brought up their three children.

But three years ago, tragedy hit the family

when John and Joy's daughter, Vanessa, died unexpectedly.

So leaving the family home behind, with all its memories, will be hard,

even though they're drawn to the countryside.

When we go on holidays, trips, we just love the serenity

and the tranquillity of the countryside.

You just feel you're in a different space.

It's a spiritual feeling, looking out and seeing something

that's natural, rather than something that's built up.

Herefordshire is the perfect county in which to indulge their passions.

Herefordshire itself, the Welsh Marches, a very mysterious area.

There's so much history attached to that.

There's lots and lots of archaeology, which I'm tremendously interested in.

I love walking, so the idea of being outside with Nature

with all the beauty around you, again, with that tranquillity,

I think that's what does it for me.

And with work no longer tying the couple to Birmingham,

they're looking forward to spending more time with the family.

The reason, really, that we're interested in Herefordshire

is because it is, it will reduce our journey to see

our son and grandchildren by approximately an hour,

which will enable us, actually, to go and see them for the day.

They have recently moved a little bit further away.

I'm sure it's nothing to do with us, but we feel that we need to move

that bit closer now to see them on a more regular basis.

John and Joy already have an offer on their home

and know how much money they've got to play with.

The budget for the move is £400,000 max.

Although we're starting our property search in Herefordshire,

John and Joy are open to living in the surrounding counties,

as long as they're close to their son and grandchildren in Cardiff.

I've come to meet them on Herefordshire soil

to find out more about their ideal home.

-Welcome to Herefordshire.

-Thank you.

Lovely weather we have. Very nice setting.

But we are going to go off on an odyssey,

so are you ready to see some properties?

-We certainly are.

-Very excited.

Thinking about the house,

what is it that you're looking for in terms of the property itself?

Well, we want somewhere that has character.

But by that, we don't necessarily mean the oldest house.

It could be modern but still have character.

How much space do you need for people to come and stay,

realistically?

I think we probably do need two rooms for my oldest son's family

and one room for my younger son, at Christmas, particularly,

so that would be four bedrooms in all.

What are you looking for in your kitchen?

Well, size, definitely, that's important.

A fantastic view would be an extra bonus, a big bonus.

So let's talk briefly about the garden.

What sort of garden would you like?

Well, I think I quite like wildish gardens.

I like gardens that look after themselves a little bit,

but I don't mind riding one of those little mini-mowers.

Everybody likes a mini-mower.

They're such fun, aren't they?

That's the whole point of moving to the countryside, is to get one!

-Exactly!

-How good are you at sort of making decisions?

Is it a sort of impulsive thing or do you use your head rather than your heart?

We know what we want, obviously,

-but the heart has to follow, very much so.

-Yes.

And I think that feeling of passion about somewhere.

Well, we've got three lovely properties lined up for you

and I hope that you like them all, but do feel free to tell us

what you like and what you don't like.

-OK.

-So let's get started.

For a maximum budget of £400,000, John and Joy want a house

with character, but don't mind whether it's old or new.

It must have four bedrooms to accommodate visiting family,

a spacious kitchen and a garden

with a view of the surrounding countryside.

Location is also important,

as this move is about being closer

to their grandchildren in South Wales.

I'm hoping our buyers will be pleased with

the selection of properties I'm going to show them

and I'll be revealing the all-important price tag

at the end of each house tour.

And our mystery house will offer John and Joy

the chance of a different life to the one they've planned.

John, I hear that you're into indie music.

Oh, absolutely, partly to Joy's chagrin,

-but, yeah, you don't mind too much, do you?

-I like some of it.

Usually I tell him when I don't, and he turns it off.

So, John's going to be sort of like raving away in his room.

What are you going to be doing, Joy?

Oh, lots of things.

I want to sort of join the community a little bit.

I quite fancy trying things I've not done before.

-I might even join an am-dram society.

-Really, yeah?

For our first property, we're heading to Great Brampton Park,

which is about seven miles from Hereford.

The closest village for amenities is Madley,

which has a range of shops and services,

but also a 16th-century coaching inn,

a Norman church and a quirky luxury hotel with its own art gallery.

Just a mile down the road,

surrounded by Herefordshire countryside, is our first house.

So, OK, it's a little disorientating because clearly,

-not all of this is up for sale.

-Aww!

This is slightly different from what you asked for,

but we couldn't resist showing you this property,

because it's a beautiful, beautiful home.

-But, as you can see, it is part of a complex.

-Yeah.

So this used to be a cider farm, built in the 19th century, 1870s.

And converted ten years ago. Any thoughts about that?

Yeah, I like the idea in many ways,

because they're all fairly individual.

And it gives a sense of a community, which is never a bad thing.

So it's certainly not a deal-breaker by any means.

-Yeah, I mean, we might need to interview the neighbours.

-One by one!

JOY LAUGHS

John and Joy seem open to the idea of living within a community

and this long barn conversion is one of 13 properties on the site.

So, come in and have a look at the kitchen with its very fine rafters.

They look quite old, don't they?

Yes, it's a bit of sort of agricultural archaeology.

Although you don't have to dig much.

-Perfect!

-That's true. Nice, tall ceilings.

-Gives a great feeling of space.

-Yes.

-Very nice on first impressions.

And come in here.

I think this is a lovely, this is sort of heart of the home, really.

-Oh, I like this.

-I love the floor.

-The floor, and just the whole feel.

-Yes.

And is that a wood-burning stove I see?

-Yes, it is, quite a modern one, sort of raised off the ground.

-Excellent.

It does give off quite a lot of heat. And what about the space?

The space is good, the space is very good, actually, I mean,

you could easily get our family into here with no problem at all.

And it's not just physical dimensions,

-it's the, it's that feel of space.

-Yes, it's bright.

-It definitely has it, yes.

-Yes.

OK, well, let's go and look at the sleeping quarters.

Hmm, so far, so good.

And the ground floor living area also features a utility room

and a family bathroom off the kitchen.

There are four bedrooms in the property.

Three are on the ground floor.

Of those, two are doubles and there's one single.

But there's also a double bedroom upstairs

with its own adjacent bathroom. A perfect suite for guests.

Let's hope the positivity continues in the master bedroom,

which is on the ground floor.

I think this is not much bigger than our bedroom at home.

And one of the things I rather like the idea of

is increasing the size of our bed.

You snuck that in, because you didn't mention that before!

LAUGHTER

Well, it's an interesting property because, obviously,

most of them are all on one level.

-This one does have an en suite shower room.

-Well, that is a plus.

OK, well, let's go outside and talk about the price

-because then you can explore it properly.

-Thank you.

I fear we may have hit a wall with the size of the master bedroom,

but there's still the garden to see.

It's all at the front of the property

and includes this sunny patio seating area.

But will it be up to size?

-Compact.

-Compact?

Is that code for "not big enough"?

I think, to be honest, it is. I have to be honest.

-And not simply not big enough, we do not have the views. That's for sure.

-That's true.

And possibly, we don't even have the privacy from the other properties.

-No.

-Well, it is all much more communal than private.

What do you think it's on the market for?

I would say about £320,000.

Uh-huh.

I would say close, 330.

330. Well, you are both in the right ballpark.

It's actually a little bit more expensive.

-It's on the market for 350.

-OK.

-OK.

You haven't seen the space upstairs,

so have a look round inside and just get the lay of the land,

and we'll meet out the front and then we'll push on.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Yes, it was always a bit of a gamble coming here because, really,

the garden and the dimensions, but it's a beautiful property

and it's a good starting point for our discussions and our adventures.

Under budget at £350,000, our first house is a converted barn

which was once part of a working cider farm.

Renovated ten years ago,

it retains much of the fabric of the original building.

The accommodation features a kitchen, breakfast room,

and a spacious living room with vaulted ceiling.

There are four bedrooms in total,

including an upstairs guest bedroom with an en suite.

And as one of a number of properties on the former farm complex,

you're living amongst a friendly community.

It feels a little bit small

and I would be concerned about people banging their heads on these beams.

Particularly our two tall sons.

Yes. I like the decor.

I think they've got an amazing eye.

This room in particular is absolutely beautiful.

I like several things about the property,

and perhaps one of the things a little bit at odds with Joy is the kitchen.

I think that's a really open area, it breathes space.

We could consider this house

if it had some bigger rooms in terms of bed space.

That would be good.

It's ingenious what the owners have done with the space up there,

but I think it's going to be too cramped for John and Joy,

-because it's already feeling a bit squeezy here. All right, guys?

-Yes.

-All done.

-Very good. So, pull the door. Let's head to property two.

Excellent.

Herefordshire is a place rich in history,

but the story of the county can be best told by visiting its capital.

With Joy's passion for archaeology in mind, we sent our couple

on a tour of the city of Hereford to discover its hidden historical gems.

Their first stop is the 1,200-year-old Saxon city wall

to meet an expert on urban archaeology, Nigel Baker.

This is part of Hereford's Saxon defences.

What you have is the Saxon town wall, as it was excavated

30, 40 years ago, whatever, preserved for perpetuity.

And you would have something like this circling the whole of Hereford?

All the way round. Some parts of the Saxon defences

run right under the town centre,

and they're only ever found by excavation, when new shops

-and new buildings are put up.

-Yes.

The city was declared an area of archaeological importance

back in 1979, one of only half a dozen in the country.

Based purely on the quality and

quantity of the Saxon discoveries.

After the Saxons came the Normans.

Now, this is Hereford's modern commercial heart, as it were,

and it's also the Norman marketplace,

established in the 1070s, right outside the old Saxon town.

So, if you look at the row of shops behind me,

that's where the Anglo-Saxon defences

we have just come from looking at, that's where they run.

But, we're standing looking at the Old House,

which was built by a butcher in 1621. We had a row of shops here.

This was known as the Butcher's Row.

Not just because they're butchers' shops

but because there was a shambles here,

and that means that, not only did they sell meat, but actually,

they slaughtered the cattle right here in the street.

It's a really nice Jacobean building.

It's got the most wonderful carvings all over it,

the brackets under the windows.

Can I ask about what, to me, appears like bunches of grapes hanging?

-Are they?

-Yes. It was a fashionable ornament in Renaissance decoration.

You are seeing here just little bits of neoclassical decoration

coming into what was essentially a medieval,

very English school of timber-framed architecture.

As well as revealing Herefordshire's building heritage,

archaeologists have discovered a wealth of materials

which piece together the story of the county.

Many of these objects are housed in the city's own museum,

and John and Joy are meeting collections officer Judy Stevenson

and some of the area's earliest inhabitants.

-I believe you're particularly interested in archaeology, am I right?

-Yes.

We're quite keen, when we move,

possibly to volunteer and help out a little bit.

Well, that's perfect!

We have quite a few volunteers who come here and they might be re-boxing things

or doing inventories and cataloguing, that sort of thing.

Let me show you some examples of some of the work they've done.

These are examples of early people who lived in Herefordshire,

and there are some cave sites which were occupied.

And not only by humans, but also by animals at different times as well.

I see hyenas' teeth.

Yes, there were hyenas here in Herefordshire.

That's right. That's a hyena's tooth.

-There's also rhino teeth. There was woolly rhino here.

-Goodness me!

And this is a woolly rhino bone as well, part of a leg bone.

That's almost impossible to imagine here!

-No, you just cannot imagine these wild animals.

-No!

As well as prehistoric animal remains

the collection includes man-made objects found nearby,

from Bronze Age tools to Roman measuring instruments.

More than enough artefacts to keep Joy happy when she moves here,

and, with that in mind, it's back to the house hunt.

For our second property,

we're crossing the border into Gloucestershire

and venturing 25 miles south-east

to the village of Ruardean Woodside,

which is on the edge of the Forest of Dean.

Although we've left Herefordshire,

we're now even closer to John and Joy's family in Cardiff.

The Forest of Dean is a unique place,

one of the country's last surviving ancient woodlands,

which has been shaped by coal-mining,

and I'm sure its history will interest our buyers.

We're making a stop at Pan Tod Beacon,

the highest point in the area, to take in the scenery.

Well, look at the view.

Oh, yes. Wow! That is a view, isn't it?

So the Forest of Dean's a very interesting place.

We're over the border into Gloucestershire.

It is the oldest national forest park, founded in 1938.

If you are born into the Forest of Dean, born within the Forest of Dean, then you have mining rights.

And you're close to lots of things.

Gloucester's over there. Hereford's straight ahead.

And then over there, you've got Abergavenny and the hills there,

and the Malverns there on the horizon.

-And we've got a lovely property. Follow me.

-OK!

And that lovely property is just a short drive down from the Beacon,

in rolling countryside just outside the village of Ruardean Woodside.

This is the property I want to show you.

-Interesting! Wow!

-Taken aback?

-Yes.

-What are your thoughts from the outside?

-It's very cute, isn't it?

It's very cute, unexpected, and intrigued.

I love the stone. I love the colour of the stone and the rocks

and all the higgledy-piggledy sizes. It's absolutely gorgeous.

It's holding a lot of promise. Let's say.

-Let's see if the promise is fulfilled inside.

-Well...

Built in the mid-19th century,

our second property was at one time a schoolhouse, then a chapel,

which fell into dereliction before the present owners converted it.

-Come on in.

-Oh, this is lovely.

-Oh, yeah, I agree. Hmmm.

-Yes.

-It's got a good feel. A very good feel.

-Yes, it has.

Describe the feeling. What are you feeling?

Warm and fuzzy. Tender moments.

Yes. It's got lovely views from the windows.

This is the old part of the house which went back to the 19th century.

-Yes.

-They've been putting this great wooden floor throughout,

and a lot of the materials are local to the forest.

That's good, isn't it? I like that.

And the fireplace is quite stunning.

Yes, we'll see what comes next.

Come into the kitchen.

Oh! Yes.

It looks like a lovely oven there, doesn't it?

-Fantastic range, that's for sure.

-Yes.

It's got a cottagey feel, but modern-ish at the same time.

You've got the original flags here. Which are worth a fortune.

Is that right?

So, you've got all the handmade bespoke oak cupboards,

and this is all local oak, hand-picked by the present owner.

And there is outside a sort of outbuilding. Again,

like the last house, there's a small room for all the white goods.

Right, OK.

-Yes. It has a good feel.

-It does, yes, yes. It's very interesting.

You've said that word a lot. What does the word "interesting" mean for you two?

-It means I haven't quite made up my mind.

-Oh, good.

-I'd love to see a bit more.

-I'm afraid not, no.

JOHN LAUGHS

Come with me.

This is all the new bit.

This is the extension.

Sort of garden room or a sitting room.

And that sort of entrance into the garden...

-Is lovely, with the trees behind.

-Yes.

Yes.

Good. So far, not a grumble. Let's see what you think of upstairs.

Upstairs there are three bedrooms,

one less than our previous property,

but they're all big enough for double beds,

and there's a good-sized family bathroom.

So, we come into the master bedroom.

Oh, this is lovely. Very spacious.

Windows strike you straightaway and are very pretty indeed.

-And size is good as well.

-Yes.

-Yes, it feels spacious, doesn't it?

-Yes, yes.

And you've got this very nice sort of walk-in wardrobe.

-Oh, yes.

-Oh, yes.

And if you have a look in the bathroom,

-this is a particularly good one.

-Ah!

Oh, this is a lovely bathroom, isn't it? Look at the shower.

Oh, now, that's what we're after, isn't it?

Well, this is much more the idea I had in mind.

The drawback with this property is that it only has three bedrooms.

But let's have a look at outside, and the garden.

As well as a double garage, the grounds include this large

landscaped, terraced garden set into the hillside with a patio area

with more flagstones, a vegetable patch and a pond.

What are your first impressions coming out into the fresh air?

I think the house looks really sweet from this angle, actually.

Sometimes with the extension, it looks like an add-on,

-a stick-on, but that is really working, isn't it?

-Yes.

I think this garden has a real wow factor.

If you brought people here, they'd be like, "Wow!"

-Yeah, I'd agree with that.

-And how much would you think it all costs?

I would say...

probably about 360,000.

I was going higher, 385.

OK, well, the truth is a little in between.

-It's on the market just a shade under 380.

-Both quite close.

So it's a fair package of land,

of very nicely decorated gardens.

But there is space inside that you haven't quite explored,

-so if you want to have a pootle round inside.

-OK. Thank you.

-Yeah.

On the market for just shy of £380,000,

our second offering is still under John and Joy's top budget.

It's a converted 19th-century former schoolhouse then chapel, retaining

many of the original features, including stained-glass windows.

There is a large dining room and separate kitchen

and it has three double bedrooms.

The rear garden is large and landscaped

with views of the surrounding countryside.

I love that window,

because it's like the sun is shining in and illuminating the whole room.

I think this house is intriguing.

There's a lot about it I like.

The immediate outside, the back of it, the rear of it,

I mean, the look at the house itself, that garden is wow!

Inside, I was warming to it

the more and more I looked around.

I love the way the stairs branch. Very characterful.

And going into the master bedroom, yes, it really is stunning

when you first walk into there.

I think that the small rooms in the middle

are very small and almost cupboard-like.

It could be our home, but I think that we would have to have

quite a change in our mindsets if it were to become our home.

Anyway, that's our houses for the day. Let's go and rest and regroup.

Good idea.

It's the final day of our property search here, in Herefordshire.

With a budget of £400,000,

we are trying to find John and Joy a home to retire to.

Coming up, we get more than an "interesting" at the mystery house.

-Oh, this is lovely, isn't it?

-Oh, wow!

And I sample an aperitif

made from one of the county's home-grown fruits.

-That's nice.

-It is nice, isn't it?

It's apple blossom time here, in Herefordshire,

on our second day of property shopping,

but I'm not sure that day one really yielded much fruit for John and Joy.

I think Joy, particularly, is struggling with

the compromises necessary to get what she wants.

And, of course, the mystery house is just upping the ante.

We're really putting a challenge in front of them,

because we could give them all the space that they want,

but they're going to have to put some finishing touches

on what's on offer.

You know, of course, that the mystery house is always quite challenging.

What do you think the challenge might be?

Well, there's a range of options that have certainly gone

through our heads. I wonder if we're talking ultra-modern?

Yeah, we've already said that we don't want a project. So...

Probably is a project!

So I hope that it isn't too much of a project, if any.

We're crossing back over the border into Herefordshire to find

our mystery house and travelling to the village of Blakemere

at the foot of the Black Mountains.

It's ten miles from the historic market town of Hay-on-Wye,

which is famous for its second-hand bookshops

and annual literary festival.

Hay is naturally popular with tourists and that's

one of the things I want John and Joy to bear in mind when

I show them today's mystery house, as I hope it will challenge our

retirees to consider a new business opportunity here in the country.

A 20-minute drive from Hay-on-Wye, and we're here.

This is a mystery and a half, this house.

You speculated that it might be a modern architecturally designed property.

-Anything but!

-But it's not.

Yes. It's not. It's a very old property, the oldest property we've shown you.

It goes back to the 1640s and it was a cider house, like a pub.

-What are your first thoughts?

-That it's old.

-It certainly has got character in spades.

-Yeah. So far, so good.

Joy, I can see that you're thinking deeply.

No, I'm being Yorkshire!

So far!

Well, I'm actually not going to show you the house straightaway,

because first of all, I'd like you to point out the beautiful garden.

I tell you what, I love that bush there. I'm not sure what it is.

-It's a Chinese tree peony. You've got a fantastic magnolia.

-Yes.

-I love magnolias.

-Yes, yes.

There's some beautiful trees planted in the garden

-and you have an acre of garden.

-Goodness me.

-That's interesting.

But the thing that makes this the mystery is not that, but through here.

Our mystery public house comes with an outbuilding,

-but it's one with a few strings attached.

-Ooh!

-Something is under construction.

-Something is under construction.

My goodness.

Now this makes this property very unique, because bearing in mind

we're ten miles away from Hay, one of the most popular destinations.

-We love it.

-But actually, what you have here is a really

substantial second property in the grounds of your house.

With access from the road and planning for a holiday let.

Basically, it's being sold as the sort of planned shell

-for a property that you would complete.

-Mm.

So when you said you don't like to do DIY, this is the challenge.

-Ba-doom!

-Massive challenge.

-Well, that is the mystery.

-It certainly is.

-It is a mystery.

-Yes.

-Shall we go and look at the main house?

-Yes.

Let's do that.

The current owners of the property believe that this half-built

three-bedroom holiday let could make £500 a week at full capacity.

But John and Joy are after a house and they need to fall in love with that before they could

consider the business potential of our mystery property.

And there may be some work to do there, too.

OK, so this is... This is the old kitchen.

Yes. Yes.

Bear in mind that this is an old cottage and it's sort of,

you know, has been kept sort of as it was

so you've got the lovely black and white beams.

-Which are gorgeous, I have to say. I do like...

-And good head height.

But I think this wouldn't be the room where you'd want the kitchen.

-Ah! That's interesting.

-Follow me.

-This room, however...

-Oh, this is lovely, isn't it?

-Oh, wow! Yes.

-This is...

-Loving it.

-This is lovely. Yes.

My first thought was, you know,

this would be a lovely kitchen/ dining room.

I agree with you. Yes.

-Actually, that could then be your utility room.

-Yes.

-You could put a big range here.

-Yes.

-And some, you know, some sort of sympathetic units.

-Yes.

-That could be rather nice, yes.

-It would, wouldn't it?

So the thing to remember with this property, however,

-is that it's a Grade II listed building.

-Ah.

So that limits what one can do.

It limits what you can do, but it doesn't mean you can't do anything.

It's a great area.

I mean, the actual size of the room is perfect, really, isn't it?

There are two further reception rooms downstairs, a cosy living area

with a log burner, and a breakfast room off the current kitchen.

There are three good-sized bedrooms upstairs, all in the eaves,

with exposed timbers and they all share a large family bathroom.

This is the master bedroom.

-A sort of classic cottage upstairs.

-Oh, it is. Yes. Yes.

-Beams aplenty.

-Like it. Yeah. First feeling.

-Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

It feels like a lovely little house in the sense that it's got

-a good atmosphere.

-Oh, it has. Oh, yeah, and this room, definitely.

Yes. Well, you said you wanted something different from what you've got.

-It couldn't be more different, could it, really?

-This fits the bill.

Our buyers have already said they liked the front garden,

but there's so much more round the back, including a substantial

lawn area, a summer house, and a large veggie patch.

One acre of land in total.

But there's still the price of the whole package to consider.

What do you think it's going to cost? Clearly you're going to have to spend some money.

Well, yeah. This is our big concern, really, I think.

Well, I just...almost finding it impossible,

but I know I have to give a figure.

For it to come into budget with the sort of work we would need

to do, I think the bottom line price would need to be 320-330.

Yeah, I probably think I would go probably with 300,000

and I know I may be a bit low, but that would give us

a clear 100,000 to do the garden, the barn and everything else.

This is, actually, I'm afraid, quite high in your budget,

-actually, over your budget. It's on at 410.

-Mmm.

-I'm not surprised at that figure.

-Yeah.

-I'm really not.

-Yeah.

I suppose you have to factor in that it could be potentially

-a sort of £15,000-a-year income.

-That's right.

Well, why don't you have a wander round because it is a sort of, you know, challenging proposition.

-It certainly is.

-Have a look upstairs and I'll see you at the front.

-OK.

At £410,000, our mystery house is slightly more than what John and

Joy originally wanted to spend,

but does offer them a potential income.

It's a Grade II listed former cider house,

parts of which date back nearly 400 years.

The accommodation includes three large reception rooms

and three double bedrooms.

It's set in one acre of gardens

and comes with a half-finished holiday let,

offering business potential in the future.

Very tempting. I've sort of fallen in love with it, I suppose.

The more I think about it, the more I would love to be able to buy it.

The barn was a huge surprise.

But already, you know, within seconds, the old brainbox was

starting to tick and think through, well, what could this mean?

How could we do it?

You know, it would bring about the change of life

and the lifestyle that we are really after.

I love the story of this house,

the fact that it was a cider house

and people came here, probably to enjoy themselves and have a

lovely time and I think you can actually feel that within the house.

I can see all the benefits of this,

but I can also see potential stress as well.

And I'm not sure that that was what we were after.

OK, guys. That's done.

All properties seen.

-You head to the car, I'll catch up with you in just a second.

-OK.

Of course, we've been looking at properties through

the lens of Joy and John's budget, but here, in Herefordshire,

your money can go in either direction,

cheaper or more expensive, and look what you can buy.

For offers around £250,000, how about this traditional red brick

Herefordshire cottage in the village of Portway.

It's a detached property which offers four bedrooms

as well as this sitting room with a brick fireplace

and exposed beams and a long galley-type kitchen.

For a little bit more, there's this four-bedroom

property in the village of Broad Oak,

which is on the market for £350,000.

The accommodation here includes

this sitting-room with tiled fireplace

and wood-burning stove and a spacious kitchen-diner.

The house also comes with this small paddock and stable

and views of the surrounding countryside.

Further up the price scale,

the £650,000 could get you this

black-and-white detached property and adjoining barn in Madeley.

It has five bedrooms including this master with a vaulted ceiling

and a large sitting room with an impressive inglenook fireplace.

Herefordshire is perhaps best known as a food-producing region,

famous for its apple orchards and beef.

Its rich and fertile soils also make it a popular location

for growing soft fruits.

30% of the UK's blackcurrants are grown in the county,

the vast majority sold on to make a well-known British cordial.

But in these tough economic times,

Herefordshire farmers are diversifying and some

are using the blackcurrant to make something a little more potent.

I've come to meet one of those entrepreneurs, Jo Hilditch.

-Welcome.

-Hello. So this is your family blackcurrant farm?

-Yeah.

-How long has it been in the family?

-Four generations.

Oh. It's quite an impressive field.

Is this the only one, or do you have many?

No, this is about 25 acres and we've got about 125 acres.

The soil suits it, the weather suits it and the way the land lies,

the frost runs away down the hills.

Obviously, we're a bit early in the year, cos these are clearly... Are these just flowering?

These are in full flower and this is really good flower.

I mean, they're plastered with flower,

but obviously, they've got to be pollinated and set.

Do you suffer from the lack of bees, the much-talked-about lack of bees?

Er, yes, but we've planted a lot of margins around the fields to

encourage bees, so around every field,

we've got two metres of margin that is unmown

so that the wild flowers can grow up in it.

So how many tonnes of currants do you produce?

Depending on the season, something between 300 and 350 tonnes.

We do keep a bit back for ourselves

because we've diversified into making our own cassis.

Cassis originates from France, where the blackcurrant liqueur is mixed

with wine to make the cocktail kir, or champagne to make kir royal.

Jo first came up with the idea of producing it herself after

trying the drink when she was 18 on a French exchange programme.

-So this is the bottling room.

-Oh, it's very petite. Hello.

And this is James, the juice master. James Moss.

So James, what's the process? I mean, how do you make it from the...

Well, once we've got the juice back from the press,

we just ferment it with a champagne yeast and British sugar. That's it.

Use a champagne yeast because you get a higher alcohol yield over a time.

And are you the only er...cassis producer in Britain?

There are other people who make blackcurrant liqueurs, but

I think we're the only ones who make something that is actually marketed

to be drunk with champagne or used as they use cassis in France.

Before being bottled, the juice stays in the barrels for up to

six months until it reaches an alcohol level similar to wine.

And then, it's ready to taste.

Well, here's to your alcoholic fruit empire.

Mmmm!

That's nice.

It is nice, isn't it!

It's good to see that diversification here, at least, is paying off.

But now, it's time to find out

if our house search has paid off and whether John and Joy

are ready to embrace the move from the family home.

Usually at this point,

I have a pretty clear idea about which properties you don't like.

I have to say, with you two, I have a slightly sinking feeling that

you may not like any of them.

Is that...is that fair?

I think I can speak for both of us for once in saying that we

-both loved the third property.

-Well, there's a turn up for the books.

The house proved a bit of a surprise, because as we were standing

outside the front door, I thought, "This is going to be so small."

But it actually turned out to be bigger than I'd thought.

The views from there were absolutely tremendous.

How lovely to live at the foot of the Black Mountains.

-Now, what's happening next, because obviously, your house is pretty much sold.

-We hope so.

Seems to be, that's right. Close to exchanging contracts.

I think we are going to think further about that third one.

I mean, it has potential.

It would be a lot of challenges

and ones that we need a bit of time to get our heads around.

-Do you feel that, actually, you want to leave Bournville?

-Hmm.

Yes. It's more than just a normal move.

For us, Bournville meant a part of our lives when we had our family.

We haven't got all our family now and we need to move.

At the same time, we will be very sad,

-so leaving memories behind is a double-edged sword.

-It is.

-Very much so.

-It's very much a double-edged sword.

We're only going to do this once, I think,

so we've got to get it right now.

-Well, it feels like we've given you a little shove.

-Definitely.

-I think so.

-Towards the country

and I hope that the rest of the journey goes very smoothly.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

It's been a really interesting show because, of course,

John and Joy are very excited about moving to the countryside,

but I also sense there's great tenderness for the family home

they're leaving behind in Birmingham.

So I hope that we have ignited their joy for the beauties

of Herefordshire and I hope that you'll join us next time for more Escape To The Country.

John and Joy were very tempted by our mystery house

and all that it offered. However, after careful consideration,

they decided they didn't want to take on the holiday let.

They've since moved into rented accommodation in Herefordshire

and are continuing their search.

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