Suffolk Escape to the Country

This 18th-century flint building

may look to you like a classic country church,

but there is another side to it

that proves it to be something quite different.

Find out more in just a moment.

On today's show, I help a jet-set couple put down roots in the country.

Oh, it is just like something out of a magazine. It's beautiful!

But there is an issue they struggle to get their head around.

I can see Mike bumping his head a bit.

I can see crash helmet wearing becoming a...

Today we're in Suffolk in the village of Tattingstone

and this, as you can see, is not the parish church

but in fact a folly, known locally as the Tattingstone Wonder.

It was the brainchild of a local eccentric landowner

called Thomas White who lived nearby and didn't like the look

of the farm workers' cottages he could see from his house

and so had them topped off by a false three-sided church tower.

However, it is not the only wonder in Suffolk.

The East Anglian county of Suffolk shares its border

with Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex.

Through the Middle Ages, the county enriched its fortunes

on the back of a thriving wool and textile industry.

Evidence of that prosperity lives on today through

the immaculate Tudor and mediaeval architecture of its wool towns.

One of the best preserved is Lavenham,

which is home to more than 300 listed buildings.

To the west of the county lies Newmarket, home of horseracing.

It was King James I who brought the sport to the town

after discovering the surrounding chalk heathland

offered the ideal terrain for one of his favourite equestrian pastimes.

Forming the border between Suffolk and Essex is the Stour Valley,

birthplace of famed British artist John Constable.

In his paintings, he loved to depict this special pastoral landscape,

whose appeal continues to enchant many to this day.

Let's talk property prices here in Suffolk.

Despite only being a 90-minute train journey back into London

and with stunning countryside - although not always with poppies -

prices are pretty competitive here.

The average price for a detached house is £242,000,

which is 5% less than the national figure.

There are, of course, expensive spots -

along the coast, naturally, but also those beautiful mediaeval wool towns

like Lavenham and Long Melford.

The smart money is heading inland.

There's hotspots around Saxmundham and Leiston

which offer good value for money.

But what about our couple this week?

Where are they looking to buy in Suffolk? Let's find out.

Now they've stopped jetting around the world,

music teacher Jenny and her husband, Mike,

find themselves permanently living in Theydon Bois, Essex.

Conveniently close to London airports,

their house has served as a great base

during Mike's 30-year career in international health development.

But it's not somewhere they want to be tied to now.

We want to move now

because I've had a very long career as a teacher

and we've worked abroad and had a wonderful life,

but now we're retired

we feel that we would like to get more into the countryside

where we can pursue our interests of cycling and bird watching.

This house has been useful for my work and to live in it

does give us access to the countryside,

but we've decided now that we would rather be IN the countryside

rather than on the fringes of it.

And they want to reduce the size of their current family home,

which is a substantial 1950s property.

We're not getting any younger.

We feel that this house is just uneconomical to run for us.

It is much too large.

We have five bedrooms and we don't need them any more

because all our family have flown the nest.

The plan may be to downsize the home,

but they are taking with them a super-sized 7m-long motorhome.

The house would be our home and our base,

but it has got to have space to accommodate the vehicle

in a way that doesn't offend the neighbours.

We like our motorhome and we've had it for the last five years

and we've travelled all over Europe.

This is because we lived in Africa for some many years

and we hardly visited Europe.

With their children settled and the chapter closed

on their rather nomadic international lives,

the new plan takes on a more rural focus

in the East Anglian countryside.

I think the countryside there is beautiful.

We would like to have views.

That's our major, major concern that we don't have here.

We would like to be able to look out of our windows and see countryside

and possibly have a dawn chorus to wake us up in the mornings.

Binoculars at the ready, but when it comes to birds,

both Jenny and Mike have their ears pinned back and their eyes peeled.

Birds just fascinate me. One - they're beautiful.

Two - they're incredible creatures.

A thing that you can put in your hand

and that you wouldn't feel the weight of

can navigate from Cape Town to a barn in Epping.

I'm looking forward to having more opportunities

and more close opportunities to indulge in this activity.

But before we can take flight with the property search,

we need to find out about the finances for the move.

Our budget for this move is £400,000.

Our buyers are keen to keep connected to their children and grandchildren,

so we are concentrating our property search

on the attractive countryside surrounding Bury St Edmunds,

which has good road links out of the county.

Time for us all to step into Suffolk

to find out more about this planned move.

Welcome to Suffolk.

It is a slightly overcast day but that's not going to hinder us, is it?

-Course not.

-Not at all.

-Now, why Suffolk?

Because you've travelled all round the world - Africa, Caribbean.

What drew you to Suffolk?

I think it is near enough for our family to be able to visit us

and we like the idea of being in the countryside.

It is much more of a county for beautiful, agricultural

and natural scenery,

so we would prefer that to where we're living at the moment.

Tell me a little bit more about the actual specifications of the house.

What does the house need to be like?

For me, I want to have it nice and light and airy,

possibly two bedrooms, three bedrooms, no more.

I think we would like to still have a study and in the study,

I'll have my electric piano and I think we...

I would like to keep that as my music room as well,

so a room big enough for that would be fine.

I don't have a problem with quirkiness.

I quite like houses with a bit of quirkiness about them.

Something that is a bit different and unusual.

We would like a fairly moderate-sized garden,

not too big we don't want.

We're not very keen gardeners and not very good gardeners either.

We've got some lovely houses lined up.

I think they're really interesting. Tell me again your budget.

£400,000.

And is that sort of absolute top limit

or does it have any flexibility?

I think it could have flexibility.

-I think there could be some wriggle room, yes.

-Yeah.

Well, no time like the present.

Let's go and look at some of these wonderful houses we've lined up.

-Follow me.

-Thank you.

-Come with me.

With a budget of £400,000 or thereabouts,

Mike and Jenny plan to downsize

and are seeking a quirky, characterful property

with two to three bedrooms, a study-cum-music room

and a low maintenance garden.

A key requirement on their wish list is space to park their 7m motorhome.

We found some lovely Suffolk homes that will take our buyers

on a tour through a variety of property styles and ages,

but I won't be revealing the prices straightaway.

And finally, we present our mystery house,

which comes with a cashback guarantee.

So, without further ado, we're hitting the road.

So, I understand that you are very outward bound

with cycling and motor homes.

Is that going to be part of your lifestyle here?

Oh, definitely. We always are going to do that, I'm sure.

So, when you say go for a ride, how far do you go, Mike?

7, 8 miles is a good day for me.

I have done 20 or even 50, but normally between 4 and 10.

So, Suffolk is good cycling country because it is quite flat.

-Yes.

-Well, that is of course another of the major advantages.

But for the time being,

the highlight for our buyers is being shown the houses

and we're kicking off proceedings in the village of Stansfield,

12 miles from Bury St Edmunds.

There are a couple of hundred residents in Stansfield

who are served by a country pub and surrounded by unspoiled countryside.

And in this village lies a charming, newly-thatched cottage,

which we have chosen as our first home.

I'm excited to show you this one. This is house number one.

-Wow, this is amazing.

-Good gracious.

-It's impressive, isn't it?

-Isn't it incredible?

-It is picture postcard, isn't it?

-It is certainly striking.

It is a 17th-century property, but at the back there's a modern extension

which we can explore later on.

Wow. And the double garage.

The current owner is a musician,

so it is actually a totally rigged-out music studio.

-SHE CHUCKLES So, it is your music room.

-Designer.

Let's take a look inside.

The gravel driveway that fronts the property

has plenty of room to park a motorhome.

We are starting the tour in the extension of the main house.

Come on in. Straight into the kitchen here.

And this is the new extension, so this was put on in 2008,

completely new-build at the back of the cottage.

As you can see, very contemporary.

Oh, it is just like something out of a magazine. It's beautiful.

I think it is a really nice space, nice liveable space.

-So, a good vibe so far?

-Very good vibe.

-Yeah. Can you imagine having breakfast here?

-Oh!

-Yes, certainly can.

-Absolutely.

It'll certainly be big enough for me looking after the grandchildren.

-Exactly.

-Perfect.

The next part of the house is much older,

so it's a bit fairytale for the grandchildren.

With no main hallway to speak of,

the property flows from one room to another

and we're making our way past a shower room and utility

to the main sitting room, which is a step back in time.

So, you come through a little corridor into this,

like through a time machine, time tunnel.

SHE CHUCKLES

To this bit of 17th-century cottagery.

My word.

-Aha.

-This is just...

-Just crazy. You're on tip-toes there.

No, I'm not, no.

Is that a wood-burning stove?

This is a wood-burning stove in a proper inglenook

with a bread oven in the corner.

-So, you really do have the...

-That works?

I don't know if it works

but it certainly that's what it was used for originally.

You've got Suffolk clay tiles throughout this part of the house

and these are the original beams.

What are your thoughts about this sort of period property?

I can see Mike bumping his head a bit.

I can see crash helmet wearing becoming a...

-But I do think it is very, very beautiful.

-Yes, I do too.

Yeah, it's lovely.

I think it really is the kind of room, once you've been...

-You're going to remember this.

-Yeah.

A large formal dining room lies behind the fireplace,

which in turn leads to a good-sized study.

Then upstairs, the main family bathroom

sits alongside two double bedrooms in the older part of the property,

which all feature exposed timbers.

The largest bedroom is the master,

which is in the extended part above the kitchen,

with access via a spiral staircase.

So, after all those low beams,

you come into this room with a big high ceiling.

Wow! This is a very light room, isn't it?

You were talking about waking up to the sound of birds,

but here you could wake up and actually see the birds.

And the sun shining in.

It worries me getting a tray of tea up to this room.

-Not getting any younger.

-I'm certainly not getting any younger.

At the moment, I'm pretty nimble

and could cope with everything this house could throw at me,

but I'm thinking 10 years on.

So, it's throwing up lots of thoughts, which is good. SHE LAUGHS

Let's step outside because I know that the views and the outside space

is important and then we can also talk about the price.

-Ah. Aha.

-Follow me.

Both Jenny and Mike are clearly enjoying

the historic character of this property,

but they raise a good point about the navigation.

So perhaps a simpler layout might be more practical.

However, the south-facing gardens are a more straightforward option,

with a paved terrace, level lawns, as well as a summer house,

which could be ideal for bird watching out over open farmland.

Look at these beautiful fields. Very well-manicured farmer's fields.

Well done. This is beautiful.

-This is the garden you don't need to maintain.

-Yes.

-Yes.

Someone else does it for you. SHE CHUCKLES

This is the garden that you do. Is this about the right size?

I think this is well within our competence.

Yes, we can cope with this. Mostly grass. Wonderful.

This gives you everything that you want

in terms of views and birds and a quirky property.

-Very quirky.

-So, how much do you think it is on the market for?

I don't know. About £395,000 possibly?

I think maybe a bit lower. Maybe £375,000.

ALISTAIR INTAKES BREATH SHARPLY Split the difference and you'll be spot on

because it is on the market for £385,000.

So, the two of you sort of hovered around the price.

-Not too bad.

-Very good.

So, it's in your budget but we haven't really seen everything,

so it would be quite nice if you wander around, have a look inside

and then I will meet you out the front and we can take it from there.

Thank you.

Kicking off with a property under budget

with a guide price of £385,000,

the first house is a characterful thatched cottage

featuring a kitchen/breakfast room, three receptions and three bedrooms.

What's more, it already has a detached music room

and space to park their motorhome.

Well, I just thought it was everybody's dream cottage.

It is very, very pretty and picturesque.

When I first stepped into the house,

I was somewhat concerned about the quirkiness,

the lowness of the ceilings.

In fact, I grazed my head more than once.

The outside space is tremendous.

I mean, we like the fact that it's laid to lawn,

it has got some well-established shrubs.

I think we could cope with it.

The views to the front and the back are just absolutely

more than I think either of us had hoped for, certainly me.

I could actually feel that I could live in a house like this.

It is a beautiful spot.

All I can hear is skylarks in that field opposite.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Are you all done with your exploration?

-Yes, thank you very much.

-Yes.

-Very good.

Well, that is house one finished. Time for house two. Follow me.

-Excellent.

-OK.

The Gipping Valley in the middle of the county is home to Needham Lake.

Back in the 1970s, it was an empty gravel pit.

Now it is a thriving nature reserve,

providing habitats for a wide variety of flora and fauna.

Another local haven for wildlife is the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary.

Since 2001, this charity has championed

the care and conservation of owls along with other birds of prey.

Over 20 different species are bred here in the centre's aviaries,

including ferruginous buzzards, Harris hawks,

red kites and tawny owls.

Mindful of Jenny and Mike's passion for birds,

we have arranged for them to meet Andy Hume, the general manager,

and Spirit the barn owl.

How easy is it to get the birds to breed in captivity?

It is all about them being compatible.

It's the same in the wild. They've got to like each other.

Spirit here was bred not more than 20m away.

Her mum and dad are in the aviary.

The wild birds that come to us tend to be for the hospital

and, sadly, most of them are road traffic accidents.

That makes up the biggest majority of injured birds.

But we do all we can to get the birds back into the wild

through rehabilitation.

Birds like Spirit, who perform regular flying demonstrations,

need daily weigh-ins to monitor their flying weight.

This ensures they have plenty of energy to fly

but are still just peckish enough to return to their handlers

for morsels of food.

And with Spirit's weight spot on, she is ready to spread her wings.

Well, this is where we exercise all of our birds

and you guys are going to fly Spirit this morning with us.

In the bag is the glove. I'm going to ask you to put the glove on.

-They are left-handed. Mike, if you put that one on.

-Thank you.

-Jenny, yours.

-Thank you.

Now, in the bag here,

I've got the little titbits of meat that she will fly to.

As she comes towards you,

all we'll ask you to do is if you put your arm out straight,

she will fly and land on here and get the titbit of food, OK?

So, if you want to drop your arm and I'm going to go that direction

and we'll get her ready for her first flight.

-OWL CROWS

-OK, Jenny.

Put your arm up and whistle at her.

JENNY WHISTLES

That was perfect.

MIKE WHISTLES

This beautiful, isn't it? Are you going to take her home?

I certainly am, if they'll let me.

Before Mike and Jenny get too attached

to their new feathered friend,

we better return to our search for a nest they can call their own.

For our next property, we're travelling north-east,

making for the village of Finningham.

The neighbouring village of Gislingham

has a Suffolk pink public house, as well as a convenience store.

And in Finningham itself there is another pub,

which is two minutes walk from our second house.

A very different offering for house number two,

but I'm quite excited to show you.

This is a barn conversion.

Ah! Nice big drive too.

-Big drive, plenty of space for the...

-Motorhome.

-..motorhome.

It doesn't look like a lot of barn conversions I've seen.

Well, actually this was the barn

and it was extended to have a cattle shed at the back,

which was actually then extended again.

You can see the sort of history of the structure of the barn

from the inside, so shall we go inside?

Oh, yes. Lovely.

Converted in 1999, at first glance this sprawling barn conversion

may not seem like a downsize.

But this property will give Jenny and Mike options,

which I'll reveal later on.

So, into the kitchen at the back of the house.

Oh. This is very different.

-Yeah.

-Isn't it? Very spacious.

-Very high.

-Yes.

You're not going to bang your head on these beams.

JENNY AND MIKE LAUGH

This is not traditional but it is unusual.

-There is still a quaintness about it.

-Yes.

That's the kitchen.

But next door is the main sitting room

and there you can see the bones of the house very clearly.

Right.

Step inside here.

-Oh, wow!

-And take a spin upstairs.

Oh, my word! This is amazing.

-It's a big space, isn't it?

-I like this. Good for singing.

Yes? Want to give it a spin?

SHE TAKES A DEEP BREATH

-No.

-Aw, I was getting excited there.

Mike, what do you think?

Well, I just think it's a lovely room. And very different.

Quirky?

A bit of the quirkiness again, yes. You know I'm up for that.

-Less of the concussion.

-Less need for a crash helmet.

The upstairs is like a mezzanine.

It is a floor with three bedrooms and a family bathroom and not much else.

Mm-hm.

Downstairs, as we're about to see,

there is all your living quarters that you need.

-So, you could effectively just live downstairs.

-I see.

So, no stairs up and down, which is something you were considering.

Put the relatives upstairs.

And then upstairs you could just leave as a sort of guest suite

which you use when you need it.

Wonderful.

Well, I think the layout of the house will make more sense

-when you've seen the master bedroom, so let's have a peek.

-Thank you.

Back of the main hallway, there's also a downstairs shower room,

as well as two more reception rooms.

So with either the dining room or the study,

there are possibilities for Jenny's music room.

And up a small flight of steps, we come to the last room downstairs.

This is the master bedroom because it is on the ground floor,

so it's all on one level.

You've got an ensuite bathroom through there

and loads of hanging space.

Wonderful. Actually, this is a very nice room, isn't it?

The stairs in the last property would never be, you know,

-an easy thing to surmount.

-No.

So I was wondering whether the idea of living all on one floor

would be appealing to you?

It does make sense. It does make sense to us.

But with all those bedrooms upstairs and three bathrooms,

-it is difficult to imagine this is downsizing for us.

-Hmm.

Well, I take that point, but let's have a look in the garden

and see whether that piece of the puzzle adds up

and then we can make some decisions.

Fine, thank you.

Despite the choices here,

I fear they may not be fully on board with the space this barn provides.

But outside, the low-maintenance garden

would suit the not-so-green fingered

and is framed by a lovely vine-covered walkway

backing onto the river.

At the bottom of the garden...

-..is a river.

-Wow.

Not any old river either.

The River Dove, which flows into a town called Eye.

And then this lovely sort of wooden pergola walkway

with wisteria this end, grapevine at that end,

clematis over the front and roses.

Yes. Beautiful. That is lovely.

But a very manageable garden.

-Absolutely, yeah.

-The right size for us.

-This is the right size?

-Yes, definitely.

Very easy. Bit of lawn to mow, few beds to water.

-Places to sit out.

-Yeah.

Looking at the garden itself, if this is about the right size,

the house you are thinking might be a bit big.

You haven't explored all of it.

But before I let you inside to have a look around,

how much do you think this big Suffolk barn conversion costs?

Well, I think it is a very large property,

so I think it will be over £400,000 I would think, possibly £440,000.

I would agree with over £400,000 but not quite so much.

-I would go for £420,000.

-£420,000.

So, this is on the market for £400,000.

-Ah.

-It's been on the market for a while so they might accept an offer.

I think it might be a good idea to explore inside

and think whether this sort of two-level living might work.

So you have one sort of day-to-day level,

which is all on the ground floor,

and then the upstairs is for special occasions and guests.

-Good thinking.

-Have a look. Go and explore.

-Thank you.

Give me a holler if you get lost.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Fine.

So, a very different offering, very different house.

Yes, maybe it's a bit too big. Time will tell.

Right on budget with a guide price of £400,000,

this fascinating converted barn is a generous offering

chock-full of character.

The versatile accommodation lends itself to two separate living zones,

but as a whole offers three reception areas,

an impressive kitchen/breakfast room, four bedrooms

and comes with the all-important

off-road parking for the motorhome.

The living space downstairs is an interesting option

but there's still a large house to maintain.

You can just forget about the rest of the house.

Ooh, very nice-sized room.

It would be good to have living space just on one floor,

but I think it's almost equivalent to the size house

that we have at the moment.

This is not meeting our requirement for downsizing.

So many rooms. What's up here?

It is a lovely house. There's a lot of very good things about it.

But I thought that probably it was not what we're looking for

in terms of size.

I think, sadly, we have to say that this house

doesn't score as highly as the first one.

-All done?

-All done.

-Not left anything behind?

-Nope.

-Nope.

So, let's have a little rest.

Armed with a budget of £400,000,

housebuyers Jenny and Mike want to leave the London suburbs behind

and find a country home in Suffolk in which to enjoy their retirement.

Coming up, our mystery house has some definite pluses...

That is truly a big surprise, those numbers.

And I get to the root of what's growing on a local estate.

Look at the colour!

Slightly overcast here in Suffolk on day two of our property shopping

for Mike and Jenny and I have to say,

I am slightly anxious about showing them the mystery house

on the basis of what they said about house number two

being too big to represent a downsize.

The mystery house is... Well, it's not small.

But it is bright green.

Our mystery property takes us to the village of Elmsett.

Amenities here include a general store and post office,

a traditional pub, along with an accessible network of cycle routes.

But before we reveal the house itself,

we're taking a pit stop here so that Mike and Jenny

can familiarise themselves with the location.

So, do you know this part of Suffolk?

-No, we don't.

-It's the heart of Suffolk.

It's very rural, which is what you want, and pretty well-connected.

You can get to London in 90 minutes. Elmsett is an interesting village.

It's a typical Suffolk central village

with these lovely thatched cottages.

-Yes.

-That is not the mystery house. Don't worry, it's not that big.

But I wanted to talk a bit about some of the things that you can do here,

because I know that you're very interested in music.

The village has a brass band, always looking for new players.

I thought you could maybe take up the tuba, Mike.

BOTH LAUGH I can see you playing that.

-Yes, hmm. Hmm.

-It's not that difficult.

But in the village next door, Hadleigh,

they've got a very fine community choir.

Oh, that sounds interesting.

Would it be something you'd be interested in joining?

Oh, I would, yes.

Also, this is on a very famous cycle path

that goes pretty much all the way up into Norfolk.

-Ahh.

-So, this is a really well-connected cycle route.

That would be very interesting for us.

And most importantly, it is where the mystery house is. So follow me.

And our colourful final offering

is a modern and mysterious one-of-a-kind build

that lies right in the heart of the village.

-This is the mystery house.

-Wow.

-It is a beautiful construction, isn't it?

-Do you like it?

Yes. It is new, isn't it?

-It is 15 years old.

-And it's lovely.

-It looks fairly sort of low-key from the outside.

-Yes?

Nothing shouts out, because the mystery about this house

will be revealed when we go round the back.

-OK.

-So, I'm not going to say anything more

but I'm going to ask you to come with me.

Come round the back.

I'm going to do a brief detour into the garden. Lovely garden.

-Wow.

-Beautiful planting.

-Lovely garden.

Come onto this little terrace here.

-Ha!

-And take a look what's on top of the house.

Oh, my word.

This house is a green house.

One of the things you were worried about about your big house

and the big house that we saw yesterday it is the running costs.

-Absolutely.

-Mm-hm.

This house makes you money.

Last year, the owners spent £800 on their electricity bills

but they made £1,800 selling back electricity to the grid.

-Aha.

-SHE CHUCKLES

So, they made almost £1,000. And then if you take out the water bills.

Now, they only get the water in

because they have a reed drainage system in the garden,

so they don't pay for any water flowing out.

That is truly a big surprise, those numbers.

No question.

-Let's take a tour of the house.

-Right.

Dating back to 1998, the aim of the architect who designed this property

was to save energy and, as a consequence, save money too.

Inside, the unconventional layout

should appeal to Mike's wish for quirky

and wraps itself around a generous hallway.

Come into the main room.

-Oh, wow.

-Talk about light.

So, you can see now some of the features of the house.

From the inside you can see how thick the walls are.

-Ahh, yes.

-Amazing concrete build.

So, the walls are all concrete,

the floor is almost 0.5m of concrete with insulation.

So, what happens is that the sun comes from these giant windows,

heats up the concrete and then the concrete,

the heat in the concrete is retained pretty much all through the day

and through the night.

You've also got triple glazing.

The secret of the house really is that no heat leaves.

-It's clever, huh?

-Very clever.

I mean, it is a bit of a shock and you're right to call it a mystery

because compared to the other houses we've seen, this is...

..you know, very, very, very different.

So, this is the heart of the home.

It is also the heating generator because of these big windows.

But obviously, there are other rooms, including the kitchen.

Ah-ha-ha, the kitchen.

-Come in here.

-Oh, wow!

I'm loving all these 'wows'. That's great.

-This is the sort of size kitchen that I love!

-Really?

Oh, it's beautiful.

OK, so this is downstairs. It's pretty much a simple layout.

You've got an amazing washroom with all the white goods.

Let's look upstairs because that is interesting too.

The combination of light and space in this unique home

appears to be winning over both our buyers.

And the brilliance continues upstairs,

where a four-piece family bathroom serves four bedrooms.

Two are spacious double rooms,

and a single is being used as a study.

That just leaves the one earmarked for Jenny and Mike,

which also benefits from both the views and daylight

coming in from the huge double-height glazing in the sitting room.

This is an interesting room.

-Yes.

-Wow.

It is the mezzanine above the living space.

It is very, very good for a bedroom. It's got plenty of space.

Have you ever seen a bedroom like this before?

Nope. But I could definitely do something with it, I feel.

I'm confident about that.

Or the alternative is that you use this as the study

and don't have it as a bedroom.

-Oh, that's a possibility. That would be lovely.

-Yeah.

-Good idea.

-And music room.

-It's true. This would be a lovely music room.

-Yes, it would too.

-Echoing round the house.

-Yes.

I'll let you explore the other rooms upstairs,

but I want to show you the rest of the garden.

-Oh, right.

-Come with me.

That concludes the internal tour of our super-efficient mystery house,

so we're heading back down to the kitchen/diner,

passed a sunny paved patio and into the south-facing rear garden.

-It's got paths.

-Oh, my word.

It's been immaculately landscaped

and has a small lawn with hidden walkways

that wind themselves through a variety of beds and borders.

So, as you can see, it is a garden of paths.

There's decking pathway throughout,

the raised decking so you don't get your feet dirty,

in the midst of all these bushes and shrubs and trees,

which, of course, are bird paradise.

I can imagine.

It's the sort of garden I've never even thought about

that I might have.

It is very, very unusual.

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

I'd go for £440,000.

And I think about the same - £440,000.

-You're both wrong.

-Oh.

This house is on the market for £425,000.

Wow.

And with the bit of give-and-take that the market allows,

you might even get it in your budget.

-Wow.

-So...

-Well, that is a real surprise.

-Strike me down.

And indeed, a mystery.

Ah, that's why it's called the mystery house, Mike.

I suspected as much.

Why don't you two go and look upstairs,

cos we didn't finish the tour upstairs,

-and I'll see you out the front?

-OK.

-OK.

Surprisingly closer to budget than expected, on the market for £425,000,

the mystery property is a modern, one-off, detached eco house

with a range of energy-efficient features

that make it cost-effective to run.

The accommodation features a double-height sitting room,

kitchen/diner and four bedrooms

with an enchanting landscaped garden.

It's a most beautifully built house. Very sturdy and good to look at.

I absolutely adore the kitchen. I think it's just perfect.

I think it's lovely.

I think it would be very easy for us to maintain.

I think the sort of mezzanine bedroom is really quite quirky.

-I think this one has the nicest feel about it, don't you?

-Yeah.

I don't think the open balcony

would be a good choice for a bedroom for us.

When I saw the solar panels and the water heating system,

I was really quite amazed

because it does have some great economic advantages.

The only thing is it doesn't really have a view.

I know the garden is simply beautiful,

but it doesn't have views over rolling countryside,

which is something I imagine will be part of what we were selecting.

Ooh, did you notice how snugly fitted that door is?

-Absolutely.

-No draughts.

-Oh, and no letterbox.

-No.

Indeed, the letterbox is in the garage

for exactly the same reason - no draughts.

Good house, huh? Follow me.

With its vast areas of low-lying arable land,

farming is a major part of rural life in Suffolk.

A county speciality is the growing of root vegetables,

thanks to the light, sandy soil

which is perfect for producing smooth, straight tap roots.

I'm visiting the Elveden Estate,

which has a long history of large-scale root vegetable farming.

However, in recent years they have been cultivating

a more localised artisan approach with their Kitchen Garden project

that focuses on more unusual heirloom varieties.

Farm manager Andrew Francis is going to tell me more.

What's the idea behind the Kitchen Garden?

We have a passion here for local, seasonal food,

so we looked at how we could bring

different colours of vegetables and salads,

different shapes of vegetables and salads.

Your reputation lasts a day in what we do with this fresh produce

because it is literally pick it, wash it, chill it,

deliver it to the kitchens and it's straight on the plate that day

or the next day.

So, what sort of thing are we growing here? Is this fancy carrots, or...?

Yeah, we'll have different coloured carrots in here.

So, we have purple,

a slightly purple haze one as well as a deep purple, different shapes.

It's like a rock'n'roll canteen of carrots - Purple Haze, Deep Purple.

-Yeah.

-Can we pull any? Any of them ready to pull?

Yeah, we can go into that section over there and pull some out.

Lead the way.

Growing and selling food locally offers a host of advantages.

Reducing the financial and environmental costs

of transporting it means both farmers and the local economy

reap the benefits more directly.

-Whoa! Look at the colour.

-Yeah. So, these are the Purple Haze carrots.

The colour gradually bleeds away as you go down the root.

So, that is the speciality of the Kitchen Garden,

that actually we pull it out of the earth,

you wash it on site and then you serve it on site.

Absolutely, yes.

And who have you got involved in the serving?

We have Peter McBurney, who's our development chef.

He's very involved in menu creation and looking at new dishes.

He sounds like a man who is going to give me some food.

-He is a very clever man, very talented.

-Can I go and find him?

-You can indeed.

-Very nice to meet you. Thanks very much.

-OK.

Purple may seem an unusual colour for a carrot,

but for centuries it was the norm.

The orange carrot, as we know it today,

only appeared in the 17th century,

when Dutch growers cultivated it as a tribute to William of Orange,

who led the struggle for Dutch independence.

-Hey, Peter.

-Hi.

-Very nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

Ah, I see. You have some of those.

Andrew was plucking some out of the ground.

Some of Andrew's vegetables.

There's a fantastic array of vegetables, really.

Everything from the three-coloured carrots to the different beetroots.

I mean, amazing what you can do with them for the colours.

-That's beetroot, is it?

-Yeah, globe beetroot.

Coloured like a carrot.

-Wow!

-It's like a kid in a playground when you've got produce like this.

So basically, you've got this lovely setup where you have all these

extraordinary heritage vegetables growing in a field next door.

What is it, less than half a mile travelling?

Exactly, so there's no carbon footprint.

It's all local, all comes straight to us.

I think one of the reasons we're so popular

is because people know that a lot of the food has come locally.

And what do you do with it? I know you're famous for making chutneys.

One of the ones that we do do is a thing called 'Elvedenilli'

using our main crop vegetables,

which are parsnips, carrots and onions are our main crops.

-Elvedenilli, that's a take on piccalilli, is it?

-Exactly.

Have you got some I can taste?

It just happens I've got a nice little platter.

We actually call this the 'mmm' chutney

because people taste it and just go, "Mmm".

It's a beautiful colour as well.

-Mmm.

-Mmm.

-BOTH LAUGH

It's great that you're kind of championing this fresh use of food.

-And you're obviously having fun as well.

-No, I love it.

-You're beaming.

-Yeah, I love it.

It's a dream job for me and as long as we're getting the results...

ALISTAIR MUMBLES

-As long as people are happy.

-BOTH CHUCKLE

Tempted as I am to stay and sample more of the local produce,

it is time to get back to our buyers and find out

if any of our properties have tempted them.

OK, I don't have to be a mind reader to know that

you didn't really like the second house yesterday.

So, I am still not sure in my mind which of the houses you prefer.

The mystery house on the one hand or that lovely romantic first house?

I think the romantic first house

was just something anybody would dream of

and the views were what we really, really like.

It did have a little problem with the height of the ceiling.

Yes, Mike, your poor head.

Have you got bruises?

Yeah, I had a little bit of difficulty

-combing my scalp this morning.

-ALL CHUCKLE

-The mystery house was probably sensible.

-Ah, it was.

And it was beautiful and perhaps right in the sense that, you know,

we would be doing the kind of things that people should be trying to do,

which is live a more green life.

Sensible, however, does come with the sort of...

HE TUTS "Well, it's sensible."

Does your heart really kind of warm to the mystery house?

I thought that it was so well built but it didn't have the view.

That's not quite perfect for us.

OK, so what happens next?

I mean, are you thinking of revisiting any of the properties?

I think we should investigate that mystery house more

to see how economical it really is.

So, yes, we would probably go back

and discover a bit more about that area,

which we know absolutely nothing about.

So, what has this show done for you in terms of the whole process?

It has really opened my eyes to what it is like

to live out in the country.

This is a very, very lovely part of the world.

And it has shown what vast contracts there can be

within our own price range.

All three were vastly different properties at or around our budget.

So, finally, do you think that it's that fact

about what you get for your budget has given you hope

that you actually can get what you want for your budget?

-Oh, yes.

-I definitely think so.

-Yeah.

Well, I really hope that you do proceed on one of our houses.

That would be wonderful.

But that you get to Suffolk very soon

cos it's been a great pleasure showing you around.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

I think we set the wheels of moving in motion for Jenny and Mike.

I think they're going to visit the mystery house

or maybe the first house,

do some cycling and Suffolk will work its magic

and they will be packing up their belongings and moving here very soon.

My money is on the mystery house, but we'll have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, I hope you join us next time for more Escape To The Country.

After considering all their options,

Mike and Jenny decided not to proceed on any of the houses and instead

have put their house search on hold for the time being.

If you'd like to escape to the country

in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland,

or even further afield to the continent and need our help,

please apply online at bbc.co.uk/beonashow