Wiltshire Escape to the Country

Welcome to a very special edition of Escape To The Country,

where Jules and I will be combining the property adventures

of two couples and showcasing the best of one county.

We'll be sharing our experience, and offering our advice,

hints and tips as we go.

Our destination today is famed for its standing stones

and stately homes.

Find out where we are in just a moment.

On the show today, I'll be helping two city dwellers

break out from the limitations of their urban surroundings

to find the perfect countryside home.

We find an unexpected hazard to country life.

I would worry a little bit about all the leaves falling in the autumn.

And I'm helping an expat couple return to the UK to find

a country home close to their family.

What do you think, though? Is it you?

It's...interesting.

'A recurring theme begins to emerge.'

-Interesting.

-Is this a good "interesting?"

-I'm not sure we've had a good "interesting" yet.

-It is.

Well, today we are hunting for houses

and peeking at property in the county of Wiltshire.

Famous for its stately homes, like Longleat and Stourhead,

and, of course, for its standing Stones at Avebury

and Stonehenge, I'd say that Wiltshire

is one of the most enchanting and mystical of the English counties.

I can only agree, and, for me, as an archaeologist,

it's Wiltshire's history that really makes it come to life.

It is, without doubt, Britain's primary prehistoric county.

Set in the south of England, Wiltshire is bordered by six

counties, including Gloucestershire to the north

and Dorset to the south.

Its sweeping chalk downs are imprinted with

an extraordinary archaeological record of its earliest

occupants, including the iconic Stonehenge.

To the south is Salisbury, described as a city in the countryside.

Its cathedral lays claim to having the tallest spire in England

and along with its surrounding meadows,

was famously captured by Constable in his painting of 1825.

With almost half of the county designated

an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it's no surprise that

house-hunters are so drawn to this beautiful part of the country.

I always think Wiltshire is slightly overshadowed by Devon

and Dorset because, of course, they have beaches,

but it's a lovely rural countryside, all that Neolithic history

and just fantastic architecture.

I've always seen it as something of a prehistoric county

and, as you say, beautiful, but, of course, all that comes at a price.

298,000 is what it will cost you for your average four-bedroomed

detached property there. That's 40 grand above the national figure.

Yes, but you and I know that those average figures are a little

bit skewed, because Marlborough, obviously, very expensive

because of the college, and the Vale of Pewsey, around there,

but if you go down to Devizes, you get much more for your money.

But it's interesting,

large chunks of the county are effectively becoming commuter belt.

We tend to associate that with London,

if you think about the draw of Bristol over towards

the West and, of course, Swindon within the county itself,

these are big economic centres that do have a draw.

We've found ourselves often going south to places like Chippenham

to find a real bargain.

Well, my buyers were looking for a bargain.

They were moving back from Spain for their retirement here

in the UK with a pretty generous budget and hopes for the future.

And I had a couple of city slickers who were looking to explore

the quieter side of the countryside.

For the past eight years,

Ian and Janet have lived in a flat in Brentford, West London -

not too far from the airport, as Ian worked abroad.

But now Ian has joined Janet in retirement,

they've decided it's time to fly from their metropolitan lifestyle.

I've been a weekend husband for almost the last 25, 30 years,

where I've had jobs around the world, mainly the Netherlands.

Today, I'm always planning where do I have to be next -

can I catch the plane, can I catch the train?

Do I have to leave now or five minutes later?

I want to move out into the country, plus the retirement,

it's going to be a far more leisurely approach to life.

The need to be closer to family has dictated

the destination for their relocation.

We're looking to move out to Wiltshire

because currently my son and his family are out there -

my only grandchild,

and, you know,

it's nice for us to be able to see them

on a more regular basis than we do at the moment.

I'm really looking forward to that,

as you can imagine any grandmother would be.

Once out in the country, Janet wants to rediscover her passion for music.

Living in a flat, it's just hopeless.

I play a flute as well as a piano.

Of course, the flat, there's no room for the piano.

No, there's no room for the piano, so that will be a big thing,

to be able to get the piano back again.

All that remains to discover is the financial details.

The budget for the move is £550,000.

Janet and Ian are looking to concentrate the search within

reasonable distance from their son in Swindon.

Before we begin our property tour,

I caught up with them on Wiltshire soil to find out a little

more about what they're looking for in a new house.

Welcome to Wiltshire, guys. Very nice to have you here.

I'd be quite interested to know a bit more about the house that

you've been dreaming about.

I'd like a house that's got a large kitchen.

I particularly would like a room/study to get

away from Ian's football and golf and all sorts of different sports.

So you can do some of your music, as well.

Then he won't have to listen to me, either!

I'd love a garden.

The main thing is to have a garden - it doesn't have to be too big,

something of a manageable size that I can potter in

and just keep tidy and enjoy.

You're both retired, so what are you going to be doing to fill your days?

I play golf very badly! I'd love to get on with that.

And we go out quite a bit.

We like to go out and do some dining, bit of theatre, cinema.

I'm hoping to get him out

into the countryside a bit more to do a bit of bird spotting.

So where in Wiltshire do you want to be, cos I know you need to be quite close to your grandson?

Yes, that's correct.

We need to be in striking distance of Swindon, really.

Presumably not too close, cos then you'll be on constant call!

That's correct, yes! Not too close.

Don't forget our daughter, though - needs to be reasonably easy to get her as well.

We've got a daughter still in London, so if we could get on a train

and easily get into London, that would be great, too.

OK, we've got three lovely properties lined up for you, interesting ones.

-I hope they're going to be to your taste.

-Looking forward to it.

Good, well, let's not hang around, let's go and look at them. Follow me.

Janet and Ian don't need to sell their London flat to finance

the move and after some thought,

they've also revised their budget

to a maximum of £575,000.

They're looking for three to four bedrooms,

a large kitchen,

a study to house Janet's piano,

a manageable garden and all within

reasonable distance from Swindon

and transport links to London.

We've found three fantastic properties to tempt them with

and I'll test their market knowledge by asking them to guess the prices.

The third property is our mystery house, which gives them

an altogether different option.

For our first house, we're travelling to Durrington,

a village to the east of the county, an hour from their son in Swindon

and around ten miles from Salisbury,

with its direct train links to London.

In the old part of the village, we find house number one -

a detached, refurbished property sat in around a third of an acre.

-So this is the property I want to show you.

-Oh... Very pleasant.

-Very pleasant.

-Lovely.

-Nice and clean.

-Very quiet, private. Lovely.

-Nice.

-Very nice.

So it's a 1950s house, we're seeing it from the edge, as it were,

because there's quite a substantial 1970s extension

that's been put on the back.

Let's do it.

A positive, if somewhat reserved, reaction from Ian and Janet.

Let's hope the inside delivers what they're

looking for in terms of space.

There are two reception rooms on the ground floor

and we're heading for the larger of the two.

As you can see, the present owners have really stripped

everything back down to a very contemporary feel.

Yeah, nice.

-Nice plain colours, it looks good, yeah.

-That's a wood-burning stove.

Contemporary log burner, yes.

It's a little bit smaller than I would have liked, to be honest.

But there's a second room next door, so there's something here to be done.

Let's start exploring the back of the house.

This is the kitchen...

-This is the much more spacious kitchen/diner.

-Nice.

Really nice, yes.

Very, very nice.

And lots of this lovely work surface - a big, big island.

The downstairs continues quite considerably into the '70s extension

that way, and there's a question mark

over what you might do with that room. Let's go and explore.

The extension houses a conservatory, a utility room

and an en-suite shower room, which leads on to the fourth bedroom.

It's a rather unusual layout

because you've got at the end of this long extension

this garden room, which they're currently using as a bedroom.

Through there, you've got a little office or walk-in wardrobe.

It makes sense to either have this as a guest wing or to make

-it into more living space.

-Probably more living space.

-A little office type area, I think.

-Is it whetting your appetite?

It's whetting my appetite, yes. We do differ a little.

I like something a little cosier than Ian does.

Let's explore upstairs, then you'll know the whole house.

'Mixed reactions to the downstairs, but having seen the possibilities

'of the extension, I get the feeling they're warming to the house.

'Accessed via a landing, bedrooms two and three are both doubles.

'There's also a family bathroom with contemporary suite, including

'a double-ended bath, as well as another separate shower room.

'First, though, is the master.'

This one's got all the fitted cupboards

-and they're using it as the master bedroom.

-Very nice.

-Yes, lots of storage, isn't there?

-The storage is excellent.

In terms of the upstairs living, some people like huge bedrooms -

is that a big deal for you?

No, we need a reasonable amount of storage space

because we've got clothes everywhere!

-We need lots of storage space and this is ideal for that.

-It is.

-Giant bedrooms is not our thing.

-It's an ideal room this, yes.

The enclosed, tree-lined gardens are mainly lawn,

which hopefully should be enough for Janet's gardening aspirations,

and include a patio area just outside the conservatory.

So, you've got the garden that goes down there.

It's a sort of steep bank here into what was an orchard.

Well, it still is an orchard.

-Oh, they're fruit trees, are they?

-Mm-hm.

-Yes, very nice, yes.

I would worry a little bit about all the leaves falling in the autumn,

the number of trees that there are in the garden.

That's quite a peculiar anxiety!

How much do you think the property's on the market for?

Um, my guess would be 565.

I think it's a bit lower than that.

I think it's about maybe £545,000, £550,000.

OK, well, in this instance, your wife is the authority

cos you are spot-on.

That is exactly what it is on the market for - £565,000.

It's only been on the market a couple of weeks

and I think it's a very saleable property.

It's a lovely house. A very nice house.

Our first house comes in under their maximum budget at £565,000

and gives them four bedrooms

with the option to utilise one as extra living space.

There's a large, modern kitchen, two reception rooms,

a manageable garden and it's all within a reasonable distance

from their son in Swindon and daughter in London.

Come on out. If you pull the door behind you, Ian.

We're all done. That's our first house. Wrapped.

And now we're going to get in the car and drive across the county to our second house.

-OK.

-Follow me.

The Industrial Revolution saw a golden age of canal

construction between the 18th and 19th century.

One such canal, the Wiltshire and Berkshire, opened in 1810,

however, the onset of the railways led to its decline and by 1914, it was declared abandoned.

35 years ago, a group now known as the Canal Trust

formed to tackle the dilapidated canals.

With the help of volunteers and the local community,

the trust is fully committed to returning this historic waterway

back into a navigable state.

I've come to meet the trust's company secretary, Chris Coyle,

to find out more about the Wiltshire side

of this epic restoration project.

This canal was built to connect the Thames and Severn up at Cricklade

and the River Thames at Abingdon

with the Kennet and Avon Canal down at Semington.

We've got about 10% of it in water so far.

So, the total length is about 70 miles

so we've got about seven miles in water.

-But still another 63 to do.

-Yeah, and we're working hard on it.

We need lots of support and lots of members.

What's going on in this particular stretch?

Well, this is a very important site. What we've got here is three locks.

We've got a dry-dock, we've got a salt pit

and we've got a maintenance yard

and we've applied for planning permission

to restore all of these as an education and resource centre.

A restored canal would be extremely valuable to the county.

The Kennet and Avon Canal is worth £25 million to the Wiltshire economy

through tourism and employment

so the trust's work is vitally important to the community.

So, now we're moving on to this new section

where we've got the three locks to restore -

this lovely original dry-dock, which we're standing in, to work on.

So, this is where they'd bring in the boats to...?

To repair them.

I'm assuming that with 100 years of use,

there must be quite detailed maps of the canals.

Sadly not. We've lost all records from the original canal company.

What we do have is the Ordnance Survey maps

that they started producing in the 19th century

and we've got our own drawings and engineering drawings now

so our engineers have got to do some detective work

to work out what things look like,

how they worked and what the engineering was behind it

and then we try to reproduce that.

From day one, a vital part of this project has been the volunteers,

without whom the restoration work wouldn't happen.

A scheme like this doesn't come cheap

so the need to involve the community in fundraising

as well as seeking business partners is key.

So, who and what is going on here?

Well, this is Kath Hatton who is our fundraising director.

-Lovely to meet you.

-Hello.

-You don't get any fundraising from the government, do you?

-No, we don't.

No, we have to raise everything ourselves through our membership

and through donations and through applying for small grants

and local landfill tax credits,

which has given us quite a bit of money.

I feel like I need to make some symbolic...

Yeah, we're not going to let you go without you actually doing something

to contribute to the canal.

What we're doing is just repairing the wharf wall that we built.

Well, that looks pretty good.

It's been a while since I've laid bricks(!)

It's an amazing job they're doing here,

preserving the country's industrial heritage

for generations to come.

Now to return to the property hunt and catch up with our buyers.

Onto property number two

and we're heading north-west to the village of Nympsfield

over the border into Gloucestershire and just under an hour from Swindon.

On the outskirts of the village is house number two,

a Grade II listed barn conversion set on the edge of a courtyard.

So, as you can see, quite a different offering from house number one.

-Yes, it is, isn't it?

-Completely different.

So, this is the dairy, the part that I'm showing you,

which is this half of these C-shaped buildings.

Well, wow, I think, really.

-Well, it's very different to the last place.

-Very special.

Can't wait to get inside and have a look at it. Please, let's go!

'With living space high on their agenda,

'I'm banking on the sitting room delivering the wow factor.'

Into the star attraction, which is this room.

-Yes.

-Oh, goodness.

-That would suit you, wouldn't it?

-It would indeed suit me.

Yes, I think so. Lovely, big room.

Log burner, underfloor heating throughout.

There's plenty of room and it's a nice, nice room to sit in.

What about you, Janet? What are your first gut impressions?

It's a lovely big room and it's actually sort of cosy as well

if you keep the furniture in one end.

OK, well, this is the main room of the property

and off here on the right is the kitchen.

Come on through, then.

This is, again, a very different space.

-Oh, yes.

-Yes.

It's designed to cook in as opposed to eat in

and I think, to me, that's a big plus.

There's plenty of cupboard space. It looks good.

And there's still room for a chair or a couple of chairs

or a small corner unit.

-No, I like the kitchen.

-Yes, I like the kitchen very much.

Good. So, there's thumbs up for the kitchen.

Yes, big thumbs up for the kitchen.

So, one of the unusual things about this house is the master bedroom

currently is on the ground floor so let's go and have a look at that.

OK.

The ground floor also benefits from a large hall,

big enough to accommodate a dining area.

So, more positives than negatives so far,

but it remains to be seen if they will compromise

on having a downstairs master.

So, this is the resplendent...

-This is lovely, isn't it?

-It's a big bedroom.

Yes, it is.

-Makes the bed look small.

-It does, yes, yes.

And then you've got a sort of a bathroom in there - en suite.

Oh, very good.

I suppose my question when I was looking round it for you guys is

there are only two bedrooms upstairs - two guest rooms.

They use them as guest rooms upstairs.

And my question is would you want to keep this as your master bedroom

or would you want to turn this into more downstairs space

and use one of the rooms upstairs?

I could use this as my escape room as well

because there is the seating in here as well.

You could have a piano in your bedroom!

She could serenade you every morning.

I haven't actually looked round to see where else it might fit,

but I'm not sure about you on the ladder, Ian, decorating.

I think this is definitely a specialist job

for the decorating, isn't it?

-Larger than I would attempt.

-You might get someone in.

Well, I'll let you explore upstairs on your own in just a moment,

but let's have a look in the garden.

I can see the cogs whirring as they figure out

what to do with the huge master.

Outside, the gardens come with an outbuilding

and are enclosed behind a stone wall for privacy

with views over the neighbouring church -

hopefully enough for Janet's green fingers.

-A more modest-sized garden.

-Yes, it is and perfectly adequate.

This is the sort of size you're looking for?

-This is perfectly adequate, yes.

-Now I know!

I could see some nice shrubs or pots round the outside.

-You've got a tree for your birds thingy to go on.

-Yes.

A walnut tree. Yes, you'll have walnuts all year round.

What do you think the price of the property is?

Now, I was very good last time,

but I think you've got me quite stumped this time.

-Would you like to go first, Ian?

-No, I've got no clue at all.

I would put it at about £495,000.

I think that's far too low.

Um, you know, it's still got to be up at the top somewhere.

It's got to be up at...

..£535,000.

£535,000.

Well, I think your wife has got her eye in

because this is actually just a little bit under that.

It's on at £525,000.

So, if you go inside and have a look round upstairs,

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

OK, yes, lovely.

This Grade II listed barn conversion comes in under budget at £525,000,

giving them a huge master bedroom,

a very spacious and characterful sitting room,

a large, modern kitchen, a manageable garden,

within reasonable distance to Swindon

all set in the glorious

Cotswolds countryside.

-Are you all done inside?

-We are, yes, thank you.

Very good. I'll just pull the door.

Right, well, we're... all the houses done for this day,

but tomorrow is another one so we better get some rest and relaxation.

-OK.

-Off we go.

So, having waxed lyrical about the merits of Wiltshire,

you border-hopped into Gloucestershire!

And I'm afraid that I think that my evil master plan of taking

them out of Wiltshire may have backfired, and not only that,

but it's almost like the whole sheen of moving to the countryside is

waning for Ian and Janet.

One to watch there,

but, hopefully, we'll have a little more luck with our second couple.

After a successful career as a food company director, Colin and wife

Helene moved to her native Spain to enjoy their retirement in the sun.

12 years on, they've sold their house in Malaga

and are checking into a Wiltshire hotel to start their search

for a new home closer to loved ones back on British soil.

When we moved to Malaga, we had no grandchildren.

At the time we couldn't see any on the horizon, but it all happened

and now we have seven, four of those are in Wiltshire.

We do miss them all, very much so.

One way that Helene plans to embrace their new rural

lifestyle is through her passion for fitness.

When we move here, I'm hoping we will get bikes

and we can ride in the countryside. It would do him good.

Through visits to their family in Wiltshire, Colin

and Helene have got to know and appreciate the county's charms.

Some of the villages are still unspoiled and quite quaint.

It's a real throwback in many ways to England as was,

and I'm quite happy about that.

So what have they got to spend on a new home in Wiltshire?

The budget for this move is around £480,000.

'Colin and Helene's family live to the south of the county in

'Fox Holes, so to keep them within easy reach of their grandchildren,

'we're focusing our search within an hour's drive of the village.

'I'm meeting up with them to pick up some more details about their move.'

Many people looking at your story will be thinking,

"Hang on a minute, surely they're going in the wrong direction."

Don't we all want to live in the sun in Spain?

We've had 12 years of sunshine, basking in Spain

and now is the lure of the English countryside once again.

And, of course, close to our family.

Just give us an idea of the sort of property you've got your minds

set on in terms of maybe style and what it needs to contain.

Ideally, we would like large rooms, light and airy,

with a large kitchen and utility room, big bedroom, en suite bathroom.

And at least three bedrooms, and a double garage, hopefully,

-and a garden that I can...

-Not too big a garden.

Basically, what you're after is everything you've

-got in Spain, you just want it here.

-Except for the pool.

-Except for the pool.

-If there is a pool, that's fine.

And not directly on a road.

-We'd like to be a little bit back off the road.

-And not too isolated.

I guess also you would probably go for something fairly modern,

-because that's what you've been used to in Spain.

-Inside, certainly.

We like all mod cons. A nice kitchen with all the mod cons.

Just remind us of how much money we've got to play

with to find this new dream home of yours.

We've sold our house in Spain and so we've set

a budget of £480,000, which could plus or minus a bit either way.

Who's going to make all the decisions, though?

-He's got the chequebook.

-The sun is shining. Let's go spend some money.

With £480,000, Colin

and Helene are looking for a home with spacious, airy rooms,

including a large kitchen, utility room,

a minimum of three bedrooms and an en suite.

Outside, they'd like a medium-sized garden

and space to park two cars,

with, ideally, a garage.

They'd also like to be within

easy reach of some local amenities.

We've found a wonderful mix of homes to show our buyers,

but I won't be revealing the price until they've had a guess first.

The final property is the mystery house,

where the interior design could tip them one way or the other.

We are starting our search eight miles south of Fox Holes

in the hamlet of Norton Ferris, close to the Somerset border.

Our first property, just nearby, is a 17th-century cottage with

a gorgeous rural setting,

perfect for those bike rides Helene has got planned for them.

-This is property number one.

-That's pretty.

-That's pretty, yes.

-Is there a garage?

-There isn't a garage.

You have a little bit of off-road parking for at least two,

maybe three, cars there.

As you can see through the gap there, the ground rises

up behind it, but it's been rearranged in a way that

-makes it a little bit upside down.

-Quirky.

-Absolutely, quirky.

Because your main kitchen/diner is upstairs

-and it leads out into the garden behind.

-Aha.

The garden is very manageable, very lovely, full of sun.

-Can we see inside?

-Come on then.

'Originally, this property was a modest one-up/one-down cottage,

'but extra rooms were added to the ground floor around 20 years ago.'

OK. Come on in.

So, we've got two bedrooms down here.

There's a double there. Double there.

Nice big family bathroom that serves this floor with the roll-top bath,

and then through here this is the living room. Follow me.

-So, what do we think of this?

-Oh, lovely.

-Different.

-Very quaint.

I wondered if it had a slightly Spanishy feel to it with these

whitewashed beams. What do you think, though? Is it you?

It's...interesting. It's certainly worth considering.

-I'd like to see more.

-But that word, "interesting" -

I'm not sure that's telling me the whole story as to what's going on in your mind.

Well, it is interesting. It's not what I expected.

I want to take it in first.

I think the ceilings might be too low.

He's good at knocking his head on everything.

Yeah. I'm a bit challenged on that one.

In terms of ceiling height, we've got no problems upstairs.

Come and have a look at this.

'So the ground floor of this slightly topsy-turvy house offers

'the two bedrooms, bathroom and cosy sitting room we've just seen.

'But the main living space can be found upstairs where there is

'a kitchen and dining area as well as a master bedroom suite.'

Now, this for me is where our... kind of upside-down house

-really does come to light. What do you think?

-Lovely, lovely.

The kitchen units I love. They are made of reclaimed elm.

Very individual.

How's our..."interesting" barometer faring at this stage?

-It gives you a lot of food for thought.

-Yeah?

A lot of food for thought. A lot of consideration.

We have to adjust our ambitions on what we're looking for.

I don't think you have to adjust your ambitions at all.

This is a very desirable property. The question is, is it for you?

It does have this fantastic sunroom which is just gorgeous.

-Have a look at that.

-This is pretty.

This structure is what, I think, defines the layout of this place

-because they're clearly making maximum use of the garden.

-Quite.

And this really is your living floor, I would say,

-albeit that the living room itself is down below us.

-Very nice.

So, as we saw on the way in, there are two double bedrooms

downstairs with that lovely bathroom, but the master is up here.

So this is your own kind of suite, really.

Storage there, really nice kind of wet room.

And then this is...your bit.

-You like?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-I'm trying to advance the "interesting".

Yeah. It is interesting again, yeah.

-We've got a huge bed...

-Yeah.

-and a big dressing...

I'm just trying to visualise.

I'm just not feeling the kind of excitement

I would have expected this house to have generated.

-We're surprised, I think.

-Yeah.

It's a lot older and quainter and quirkier than we expected...

-Than we've ever had.

-..than we have ever had.

-Is it?

-Yes.

You're walking into a time warp, really, and it's different.

This is, as I say, a toe in the water for us, to get an idea of what

you like and for you to get a sense of what the market here can offer you.

The key thing, I suppose, is the price.

Let's talk about that in the garden.

Come on, and it will give you a good idea of where we're going.

'It seems our buyers aren't convinced this house offers them

'the space they're after,

'but maybe the garden will offer a glimmer of hope.'

-Oh.

-Nice, isn't it?

-Gorgeous. Look at the trees.

You've got lots to play with here, but not, you know, masses of work.

-COLIN LAUGHS

-There's the kind of rear-view,

-that lovely garden room that dominates it.

-Lovely.

The garden is what you see. Is that manageable enough for you?

I think it's big enough without being too big.

You've got this nice little terrace here and behind us

some very well-kept vegetable beds.

There's nothing in them at the moment but at least they're weed-free.

Let's have a think about the price then, shall we?

-I'd pitch it at just under 400,000.

-Would you now?

That's quite optimistic.

We're not familiar with the market, of course.

Perhaps we have something to learn on that front.

-HE LAUGHS

-OK. Helene?

Well, to me, only 375.

This is currently on the market at £465,000.

-Yeah. But this has been a very interesting first impression, I think.

-Wonderful.

I think it's food for thought. We'll have to think about it.

Just under budget at £465,000,

this period cottage with its peaceful rural setting offers

a large kitchen,

a dining room/conservatory, three bedrooms

and a characterful downstairs sitting room.

There's no garage,

but there is parking for two cars.

Good. I think that has been, in many ways,

-more revealing than many first property tours.

-Yes.

-So, we've got quite a few things to consider.

-A lot to think about.

-Space, ages of property and prices.

-Of course, absolutely.

-Come on, then.

'Four years ago we met Chris and Helen who were living in Newbury.

'They'd taken early retirement and, like Colin and Helene,

'they planned to spend it in the sun.

'But when their circumstances changed,

'plans for a dream home in Madeira got shelved

'and they chose to put down roots here in Wiltshire, instead.

'We offered them three great properties

'but our mystery house in Great Cheverell was a bit of a punt,

'knowing they weren't wildly keen on bungalows.'

I've always considered bungalows to be a total waste of space.

It's quite nice sometimes to have a separation between living

and bedrooms.

'But by the end of their tour with Aled Jones,

'the four-bedroom 19th-century bungalow had worked its charms.'

-Have we won you over?

-Yes.

-I'm impressed.

So, four years on, I'm here in Great Cheverell to catch up with them.

-Well, hello. Nice to see you.

-Hello, Jules.

-Chris. Helen.

-Nice to meet you.

-Welcome to the mystery house.

Thank you very much indeed. It's rather nice, this.

A little treat for me to be shown around a property.

-We are very proud of it.

-So you should be.

It looks absolutely gorgeous. The garden is a picture.

It's changed a bit.

There wasn't much here when we got here, apart from weeds, obviously.

But there is one very obvious change to four years ago, Chris.

It's that Zimmer frame. What happened to you?

About two months ago, I was descending a steep cliff path

and I didn't make it all the way down in the usual manner.

And I broke my ankle quite badly.

This country life is a dangerous business, isn't it?

When they moved, one goal was to immerse themselves in the local community,

so I'm wondering if that's something they've managed to achieve.

I'm on the committee of the garden club.

We help out in the local shop and newsagent whenever they need us.

I helped with the hog roast at the pub last week.

-I've been elected as a parish councillor.

-Have you?

That really is embracing the community.

-But is this a vision of a couple living the dream?

-Yes.

-Absolutely.

Obviously it's not Madeira. We didn't make it there

but there's a lot here we wouldn't have had over there.

'The couple have made a few changes to the place since they bought it.

'So, while Chris rests that ankle, Helen will show me around.'

This is what we call the atrium.

-It was very low, very sloping, very asbestos.

-I love it.

-I absolutely love it.

-Thank you very much.

'One of the rooms on their wish list was a book-lined den.'

I can imagine sitting here, a couple of nice armchairs.

Loads of books around. Roaring log fire.

-THEY LAUGH

-Paradise on Earth.

-Can you see it?

-I can see it.

Oh, this is cosy.

-Isn't it lovely to have such a snug den?

-Yes.

You've got to have your little cosy hole, I think. It's very important.

And this room, I suppose, hasn't really changed that much.

No, except for the bookcases. We've had a wood-burning stove put in.

When they first viewed this place,

the spacious kitchen was functional but in need of a freshen up.

-Oh, yes.

-HE LAUGHS

-You really have transformed it beautifully.

-Thank you.

Absolutely beautifully.

It's a lesson to anybody who's interested in taking on a project.

-It's worthwhile. It's all worth it.

-Yes.

'It's pretty clear that moving to Wiltshire has been a really

'positive experience for this pair and hopefully

'we'll have the same effect on Colin and Helene.

'Our second property takes us half an hour's drive

'north of Fox Holes to the village of Neston.

'And the house we're showing our buyers was built for a local

'quarryman and his family back in the 1870s.'

-Lovely.

-That's different. That's lovely.

Very different proposition in terms of location.

Obviously, we've got neighbours and so on.

-I know you don't want to be isolated.

-Quite.

So it's kind of the other end of that scale, one would say.

-But easy access to the countryside.

-Feels quiet.

-It's a nice little spot.

-It's a good solid-looking house.

-It is.

But there are obvious compromises.

I guess the main one being there isn't a dedicated garage for you.

-That is, yeah...or parking spaces.

-Yes.

-But, who knows? Is it the one?

-We shall see.

-Come on, then.

'This four-bedroom Bath stone house has been completely

'renovated over the last few years by the current owners,

'and I'm hoping it is to Colin and Helene's taste.'

Well, let's start with this living room. This being the principal one.

-Right.

-This is cosy.

-Nice.

-Good size.

-Is this a bit more like it?

-Yes.

-Indeed.

-A bit more conventional. I love the detailing.

They've revealed these stone reveals around the windows.

-It's got a nice country feel as well.

-Well, it has.

And it's made the best of the material, the stone it's built from.

-Bath stone.

-Bath stone, exactly.

-The little details...

-Nice touches.

-..really make it.

So this sets the scene. Let's continue through here.

So, dining room here with another multi-fuel burner there.

-Now, I promised you a fitted kitchen. Here it is.

-Very nice.

-Yeah?

-This was a local guy who built it.

-Very nice.

An in-frame kitchen, as we like to say.

You've got the island, the marble and so on.

So there's a lot of money in this, actually.

Will it be big enough? Because I know size is the thing with you.

Well, we are both big.

I didn't mean it in that respect. I meant in terms of the space you're

-used to and are aspiring to.

-It would need adjusting.

-In what respect?

Getting used to smaller space.

-OK, but you wouldn't be adjusting the kitchen?

-No. It's liveable.

All right. Let's go upstairs because we have got you four bedrooms there.

Oh, good.

'Also on the ground floor there's a utility room with a toilet,

'and of the bedrooms upstairs, there's a single and two doubles,

'one of which is currently being used as a study.

'But we've earmarked the fourth and largest bedroom for our couple.'

-So, finally this would be yours.

-Master.

-Very nice.

-Nice and bright.

And, again, the detailing just coming out there with the stone

and plaster mix. Fireplace and so on.

A lot of thought has gone into it. Any wardrobes?

There are no built-in wardrobes in here.

Storage would be a mixture of other bedrooms where there are wardrobes

-and so on.

-Is there just the one bathroom?

-There is. On this floor.

So it's not en suite. However, you have four bedrooms

and the one next door, which isn't massive, you could go through there

and put an en suite onto here and you'd end up with a very,

very generous en suite. Plenty of room for a bath and shower.

-And dressing room.

-And a dressing room. You could do that.

Let's have a look at the back garden and talk about the price, Colin.

-How about that?

-OK.

'It's pretty clear that the house doesn't provide the space

'our buyers were hoping for, but outside there's plenty to offer,

'including an immaculate vegetable garden,

'fruit trees, ponds and even a shed where they could stash some of those

'bits and bobs they're bringing over from Spain.'

Right, let's take advantage of this lovely bit of seating

-and sunshine, shall we?

-Yes.

As you can see, you've got this quite heavily landscaped rear garden.

-It's beautiful.

-Lots of water features.

-This little rill runs under our feet, can you see it?

-Yes.

-Follows the curve of this extraordinary seating area.

-Very clever.

Let's have a think about the price, because I think

we're all learning a lot about prices and properties here.

-Helene, go on.

-I think 425.

-425.

I'd have to go along with 425, purely

because of the lack of garage and adequate parking space.

This is on at £475,000.

Below budget at £475,000,

this meticulously renovated stone property has a bespoke kitchen,

a generous reception room and a separate dining room.

Upstairs, there are four bedrooms.

There's no en suite

but there is scope to create one by knocking through to the single room.

Outside, there's a beautifully landscaped garden, complete

with water features and a veggie plot.

This is nice. Look at the fruit trees.

-Full of fruit.

-How are we doing?

-There's more to it than meets the eye.

-Love the garden.

-It is immaculate and I love that view of the house.

-Yes.

Well, we've got one more to come. It's mystery house time next.

-Very exciting.

-Have we saved the best for last?

-Hope so.

-We hope so.

-Come on, then.

So quite a challenging search.

It was, and it was a real shame,

because neither property at that stage was doing it, but I was

-still hoping that the mystery house would come to the rescue.

-Me too.

Cos Janet and Ian had £575,000 buy, do you know, I think

they were just really attached to London.

Do you think country life was really for them?

Well, we needed to persuade them and the mystery house...

It was a risky option.

But for it to work, they had to take to it like ducks to water.

We're staying in the Cotswolds with our mystery house,

travelling east to Howells Mere, half an hour from Swindon

and its transport links to London.

Now, this is a very mysterious mystery house,

so I needed to bring you here to set it up.

This is called the Lower Mill Estate

and it's a huge development around the Cotswold Water Park.

Basically, it's 550 acres of nature reserve.

One of the reasons we brought you here,

we got the impression, actually, there's lots of things

about living in London that you quite like and in an ideal world, you might

like to keep the place in London, but have a country of residence as well.

These are second homes.

For a month a year, you have to vacate this property.

But it does have this huge community, so behind us is the village,

there's a shop and a spa and a swimming pool and a sauna...

I like the sound of the spa and the swimming pool.

So let's take our brollies and find it!

'The mystery house is a detached lakeside property

'of contemporary design over three floors.'

So, this is the house I wanted to show you.

-Very nice.

-It is very nice, yes.

Lots of open space, isn't there? Nice view.

Unfortunately, we're seeing it on a slightly overcast day,

but, I mean, the whole point of this property

is that it's got all this lovely outside space.

You see all the balconies on the three levels.

Can't wait to have a look inside.

'The property seems to have caught their eye on the outside,

'but it remains to be seen if it's the house

'or the thought of spending more time in their London flat that appeals the most.'

Nice to be in from the chilly summer air.

Step into this lovely new space.

Yes, very nice. Very light, isn't it?

And you get a bigger dimension of space

cos of the window going out that way as well

so it creates an illusion of more space than there actually is,

even though it is quite spacious.

You've got the big kitchen,

lots of work surface, granite worktops,

all the mod cons, lots of light coming in from all directions.

Can you see yourself...?

Cos we were worried that it might not be cosy enough for you.

Oh, yes, I could do.

Yes, with the doors shut, the stairs are separate.

I suppose what we're interested in

is whether this whole idea of keeping the place in London,

having this place as a sort of second home

really appeals to you or would work for you.

It does appeal, I think, yes. And it would work.

We thought about it walking down and it does appeal to us.

-I mean, a lot of questions to ask.

-Shall we have a mosey upstairs?

'The first floor has three double bedrooms.

'Bedroom one comes with en-suite bathroom,

'bedroom two has an en-suite shower room

'and both have access to a lakeside balcony.

'A stylish family bathroom serves the remaining bedroom on this floor

'so they've got options here,

'bearing in mind they're after extra living space.'

-Very nice.

-That's a cupboard to the right, I'd imagine.

And each one has its own cupboard as well - wardrobe - built-in.

-There's the landing to go with it.

-Yeah, the lovely balconies.

-So, there's plenty of sleeping space.

-Mm-hm.

You'd probably want to change one of these into a music room or a study.

This isn't awfully big because there aren't any bedside cabinets in at the moment.

We'd need to buy some small ones, wouldn't we?

-Or you could use it as a study.

-Yes.

-Sort of a nice room to work.

Because I think you might...

Well, let's have a look. The room upstairs is very impressive.

'Up on the second floor is the master bedroom

'with an en-suite walk-in shower room

'and access to the wonderful roof terrace

'where I'm going to see how accurate their valuations are.'

Can you imagine having a barbecue out here?

Yes, it would be lovely, wouldn't it?

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

This is going to be difficult.

I've never seen anything like this before,

but I think I would say £475,000.

-OK.

-I think it's lower than that.

-I think it's near the £460,000 mark.

-£460,000?

Well, you're both quite out.

This is actually on the market for £540,000.

-Wow.

-£540,000. Whoa!

So, that is the price for a Cotswold Water Park second home.

'The stylish mystery lakeside property

'comes in under budget at £540,000

'and gives them four bedrooms,

'one possibly to use as Janet's piano room,

'a spacious, open plan living area,

'a decent-sized kitchen, a wonderful roof terrace

'all within reasonable distance

'to Swindon and London.'

So, with that rather unusual offering, you guys are done.

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

So, it seems to me that the first two houses didn't quite fit the bill,

but the mystery seemed to throw up some ideas.

Yes, you're quite right.

We found the mystery house a far more interesting possibility.

What do you feel about this idea of hanging onto the London place

and having a sort of second home, as it were, in the countryside?

I like the idea a lot, actually, yes.

It does suit us down to the ground, really,

to be able to get back and enjoy theatre and restaurants

and, of course, visit relatives as well there.

It appeals a lot, that idea, yes.

We really have had enough of living full-time under a flight path

on the way to Heathrow.

We've had enough of being in a cramped London flat all the time.

-And traffic jams, parking runs.

-And we really do want to get out.

What do you feel happens next?

We will be looking for something else,

possibly, as you say, on the two lines -

be able to keep the London flat and to move to the country as well.

Well, I hope that we've provoked some thoughts

in our perambulations this week

and it's been very nice showing you around.

Thank you very much. We've enjoyed it a lot.

Yeah, thank you very much. It's been great fun.

I can't believe that didn't float their boat.

It's awful when you get that sinking feeling!

Indeed it is, but all is not lost with Colin and Helene.

Although our first two properties hadn't impressed them,

don't forget they were retiring back to the UK,

with a reasonable budget of £480,000,

so I was hoping that our mystery house with a little added extra

might finally accelerate their move.

'For our final property we're heading 16 miles south to

'Market Lavington.

'Our buyers shouldn't feel isolated here

'because our mystery house is right in the heart of the village.'

So, what have we got for you with our mystery property?

This used to be an old builder's yard in the heart of Market Lavington.

-And which is it?

-It's that one. It's that corner.

It belies its real size, actually,

because, effectively, you get all of that red bit, and you've got no

-garage but you have got two dedicated parking spaces behind there.

-OK.

And a bit of surprise, which I'm going to keep till the end.

-OK. Another mystery.

-So, shall we?

-Yes, please.

And it really is a cracker.

I'll reveal all at the end of the tour,

but, first, let's look inside this semi-detached courtyard development.

It's very different from what we've shown them

so far, but I'm hoping that might be a good thing.

Follow me. Here we go.

-There.

-Wow.

-Beautiful.

-That is a "wow".

JULES LAUGHS

-It's the first "wow" of the week.

-HELENE LAUGHS

-Well, it is a "wow".

-It is different.

That's a beautiful kitchen.

-This is more you, isn't it?

-Yes.

It also has a dining corner which is probably

best viewed from over here.

-You can configure this space how you like.

-Yes, indeed.

-Interesting, very interesting.

-Very modern.

Is this a good "interesting",

-because I'm not sure we've had a good "interesting" yet.

-Yes.

THEY LAUGH

-Has it got a utility room?

-It does. It's off of the downstairs loo.

-It's not massive but it does contain the washer and dryer.

-Good.

Hopefully, this is painting

-the right kind of picture.

-It is, indeed.

Right, let's continue through the hallway. Lots more to show you. Excellent.

Now, we haven't talked much about studies,

-but this has a dedicated one.

-Wow. Another "wow".

We're stacking them up, aren't we?

It's sort of compact as a ground plan, but because it's open plan...

-It feels more spacious.

-It does.

-This works, this is good.

-Upstairs, what have we got for you?

-Let's see.

-I think it gets better.

-Good.

-I'm going to stick my neck out.

'Well, I'm delighted that Colin

'and Helene seem taken with this contemporary open plan style.

'Let's see if the upstairs continues to impress.'

-Now, we have four bedrooms for you.

-Good.

There's a great big double in there with loads and loads of storage.

-That's your family bathroom.

-Very nice.

-Shower and bath.

-This is one of the bedrooms that's become a dressing room.

-Great.

I thought you'd like that.

And this is another guest room,

-and then lastly you can see why we've been very excited...

-Oh, wow.

-..to show you this bit.

-It's gorgeous.

-This is good.

-Yeah?

-Oh, very good.

-Now, the en suite was an issue in our last property.

-Very much so.

Look at this one.

Tell me what you think. It's not bad as they go.

Gosh. Wow. That really is a "wow".

-Must be another "wow". Fantastic.

-Yeah?

-So, we like this one, don't we?

-We do indeed.

There is a little garden to look at

and there's that surprise I promised you.

-It gets better and better, this one.

-Come on, tempter.

JULES LAUGHS

'It's looking like we might just have found a house with

'the kind of style and space that really appeals to our buyers.

'The outside is a lot more compact than the other two properties

'they've seen, but fingers crossed it won't take the shine off it.'

Modest garden. Well, courtyard garden, I suppose.

But a bit of a suntrap, which is nice.

And that's your car parking area over there.

-Right across?

-Right across.

I did promise you a little bit of a surprise.

-Currently, as I understand it, you are carless in the UK.

-Oh, yes.

Well, if you bought this house, you get that car as well.

HELENE LAUGHS Wow.

-That's a double "wow".

-I don't believe you.

-That's all thrown in.

-Gorgeous.

I don't think I've ever had an Escape To The Country where a car,

let alone one like that, has been thrown in as a sweetener.

What's it going to be for our mystery house and our sports car?

-Colin?

-I would have said it's spot on budget, 480.

-Helene?

-I'd say just under five.

Just under five? So you've upped your game a bit, haven't you?

Well, here's the thing. He's right.

-£480,000 for our mystery house and the motor.

-That's superb.

-Amazing.

-Really is. Wonderful.

'Bang on a budget at £480,000, our mystery house offers a contemporary

'open plan living space that includes

'a sleek state-of-the-art kitchen.

'There's also a utility room, a study and four double bedrooms.

'And let's not forget that exceedingly spacious en suite.

'Outside there's a courtyard garden and two private parking spaces,

'complete with a bonus sports car.

'And its heart of the village location means Helene will be close

'to those fitness classes she loves.'

It's amazing, isn't it, how quickly

-these house tours fly by really?

-Yes.

-Yes.

But that's it. All three are done. That's the end of the mystery house.

-So, I think we might have a contender.

-I think we might well.

We might, if I were a betting man, which occasionally I am.

Let's go away and have a good think about it

-and we'll see what happens next.

-Thank you very much, Jules.

-It's been quite an eventful few days.

-It certainly has.

Certainly has.

Despite odds that I was beginning to worry were really stacked

against us, in terms of getting you something that was going to work.

Well, we started off with houses that were interesting, very nice,

very nice for certain people with certain lifestyles,

but it just lacked one or two features that we really need.

A traditional sense of country life clearly wasn't

working for you in the way I perhaps had expected,

so for our final property, our mystery house,

-we went for something completely...

-Modern country life.

-..off the board.

Completely modern country life

and that gained an extraordinary response.

It was beautiful, wasn't it? Just beautiful.

It was absolutely perfect in many, many ways.

I liked the environment, I liked the location, I liked the security

of the place. It was superb.

And, of course, it came with that extraordinary

-bonus of the sports car.

-Incredible bonus.

I don't know whether I'm ready to go back to being a boy racer

again at my time of life, but I would have to think about it.

-It's very, very exciting and very attractive.

-Very tempting.

Very tempting indeed.

Clearly our mystery house is the contender,

so my final question, really, is what happens next?

Can you take it forward?

Have you fallen in love with it enough to make it your new home?

-We're going to discuss it.

-We've got to talk a lot, obviously.

-In terms of this move, it is a massive relocation.

-Indeed.

At our time of life, it's got to be our last, has it not?

We've got to get it right.

But I suppose it's been quite revealing in terms

-of the kind of property market here and the price that things go for.

-Yes.

We've obviously been out of touch with prices in the UK

and certainly in the area.

We've got a fair idea now what the property market is here.

Well, it does put everything into context.

But I am delighted that the mystery house is of interest to you.

I'm crossing everything that these discussions

and deliberations that will go on for the next few days

are going to deliver the kind of answer you're hoping for.

-Who knows?

-Well, let us know how you get on.

-We will indeed.

And we look forward to hearing from you.

Let's face it, you wanted to be in Wiltshire.

When you look across that landscape on a day like this,

-why wouldn't you want to call this place home?

-True.

-Been a pleasure.

-Best of luck.

-Thank you very much.

A house that comes with a sports car - now I have seen it all.

It was a first for me, I have to tell you.

But what about Ian and Janet, how did they get on?

It was interesting because I think they so were looking forward

to this rural dream, but they were very tied to the London life as well.

It's very interesting - when you're thinking of moving into the countryside from a big city,

it's all very romantic,

but, actually, getting out there in the field makes a big difference.

I think that is great advice for anybody thinking of a rural life, actually.

If you're not used to it, go and rent a cottage for a week,

two weeks, three weeks, a month - as long as you can.

Immerse yourself in the area and get used to it -

check out the local amenities, the doctors, the shops.

Beware of the holiday romance.

We all want to move to places we've been to for a week, but, actually, what's it like in reality?

It sounds harsh, but you have to acid-test your dreams.

In a busy city, you really might think you want to live at the bottom of a lane

with no-one for miles, but the reality might be quite unsettling.

I think that sense of isolation can catch people unawares.

Well, that's it from us and Wiltshire,

so join us next time on Escape To The Country.

See you then.

Janet and Ian did finally find a property in the village

of South Marsden and have already moved in.

Whereas Colin and Helene moved their focus to Suffolk

where their budget stretched further.

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