South Cambridgeshire Escape to the Country

400 years ago, this entire landscape for miles and miles

to the coastline was absolutely boggy swampland. But this building

is part of the story why now my toes are completely dry.

Find out where I am in just a moment.

'On today's show, I have my work cut out

'fulfilling our house hunters' dreams.'

Look at that.

A friend of mine commented the other day, "So, Jacqueline,

"what you're basically looking for is your nan's house."

'But I still manage to serve up some properties that impress.'

That's a huge living space!

-That's absolutely incredible.

-Extraordinary.

Wow.

Today, we're in Cambridgeshire and this is Stretham Old Engine,

a pump house built in 1832,

one of 100 examples scattered over the north-east of this county.

They were originally constructed to take the strain off the 800 existing

windmills that had been pumping water out of the Fenland

since the 17th century in order to turn it into good, arable farmland.

This is the only existing example still standing

and it's a wonderful piece of Fenland history,

but it's only the beginning of our tour of this historic county.

The county of Cambridgeshire is located in East Anglia,

with eight bordering counties, including Lincolnshire to the north,

Suffolk to the east, Essex to the south and Bedfordshire to the west.

The county capital is the city of Cambridge,

whose university, founded in 1209, is amongst the very best in the world.

Properties here are sought after and pricey

at 150% over the national average.

You don't have to travel far to experience a wealth of rural scenery.

Wickham Fen is Britain's oldest nature reserve,

taken on by the National Trust in 1899.

Houses in this northern Fenland region are much more affordable

at nearly £100,000 lower than the national average.

With cultural centres and wide open countryside, there's no doubt

that Cambridgeshire is an appealing county to escape to.

So let's meet our buyers and see whether they're willing to pay

that premium and stay south or are looking for a bargain in the north.

Today's house hunters are London-based teachers

Jacqueline and Alastair, who met each other through work.

We teach English as a foreign language

and we also train teachers to do that.

What we were sent on a training trip, where they needed two trainers

to go to Peru and our boss, we think he was a bit of a matchmaker,

he sent us both.

And the rest is history, as they say.

They got hitched two and a half years ago

and have spent a large part of their married life

on an incredible journey.

We've just recently come back from a year overseas.

We had a sabbatical from work

and we went round the world without flying.

-It's been a great adventure.

-Yeah.

With their travels over, they're now living in Alastair's London flat

in a development on the Isle of Dogs.

It's a property which is a little compact for their needs.

The flat we live in is actually quite a small one-bedroom flat.

In our kitchen, we can just about cook together,

but we do end up kind of choreographing around each other

because it is a small kitchen.

An obvious need for living space is not the only thing driving this move.

Our dream of escaping to the country is something we've actually been

wanting to do for quite a long time,

pretty much since we actually started being together.

And the need to continue teaching

has played a huge part in where they plan to move.

We were really looking for a county that would allow us

to still work and have the variety of work that we enjoy at the moment

and Cambridgeshire is perfect because of Cambridge,

the university as well as all of the schools.

I'd like to take up gardening, particularly growing vegetables.

With the flat already on the market,

life in the country can't come soon enough.

We've both lived in London a long time and I know that, when

I've been, for example, on a train heading off to the countryside

for the weekend, as soon as we hit the green fields, it just lifts me

and I want that in my life.

As Alastair and Jacqueline want a slice of the rural life

but will be working every day in central Cambridge,

we'll be concentrating our search on the villages around half an hour

from the city centre.

I'm meeting our house hunters at the largest house in Cambridgeshire,

Wimpole Hall.

-Morning, guys.

-Good morning.

Sadly, Wimpole Hall is a little bit out of your budget.

-I'm afraid so, yes.

-Slightly.

But the right part of the countryside.

So this is Cambridgeshire.

You're heading to the south, why particularly to the south?

North of Cambridge, it suddenly becomes very flat and fenland-y,

which is beautiful in its own way

but, in terms of actually somewhere for us to live, we actually prefer

the more gentle rolling countryside that you get south of Cambridge.

-Quintessentially English.

-Yes.

I don't need to tell you that you have chosen the most popular part of

Cambridgeshire in terms of property buying and the most expensive.

So what is your top budget?

325,000 for the right place.

Obviously, you'd like a bargain,

but that's how far you could stretch if you needed to.

It might be that there's quite a pressure on that

because if you want the sort of ideal location and the period property...

We realise that we're asking quite a lot and therefore we might have to

make some kind of compromise.

In terms of the property itself,

what are you looking for in this house in Cambridgeshire?

We'd love a period property.

We'd love a lovely old fireplace with a wood burning stove or...

I think that's very important, to have a fireplace.

Yes, that's essential. And other period features, I think,

maybe creaky floorboards or a little secret staircase

in a cupboard off the dining room or little windows.

Yeah, I need to feel in touch with the past, I think.

And then two or three bedrooms

and then a slightly bigger kitchen than we have at the moment.

At the moment, we're having to kind of squeeze around each other.

-I've got three lovely properties lined up.

-Fantastic.

And, you know, there's some things that match, some things

-that might have to be compromised on.

-Tantalizing!

But I'm looking forward to showing them to you.

-Lovely.

-We can't wait.

-Let's head off.

-Wonderful.

For a maximum budget of £325,000,

Alastair and Jacqueline are looking for a period property

with lots of character, two to three bedrooms,

a garden to start cultivating a vegetable patch,

located in a village,

with a reasonable commute to Cambridge city centre.

And we have three promising properties to tempt them with.

And after each house tour,

I'll be asking them to price the house before I reveal it.

One, of course, will be our Mystery House,

which gives our house hunters something new to think about.

Our first house is in the village of Weston Colville.

Located in the south-eastern part of the county,

it's 14 miles from Cambridge city centre and a half-hour commute.

It's a small village with a population of less than 500

and typically English in feel.

-Come in through your own white picket fence.

-Thank you.

-Here's property number one.

-Lovely.

I love it, it's double fronted, a lovely little garden at the front.

Yeah, it's fantastic, it looks absolutely lovely, doesn't it?

It's a terrace building, these were farmers' cottages back in the 1860s.

-Yes.

-Lovely period property.

-Let's look inside.

The period features on the exterior

of this three-bedroom Victorian cottage have struck a chord,

and I think inside won't disappoint either.

-Come on into the warm.

-Wow.

See if you can take it all in.

-There's a lot to take in straight off the road.

-It's wonderfully cottage-y.

It's lovely, isn't it? I love the beams and the fireplace.

-Is that open?

-Yes, it works.

-It's an open, working fireplace.

-Tick!

It's a new floor, so it would have been... They had some actually

really nice Cambridge white bricks on the floor,

-which have been resettled elsewhere.

-Right. It looks very authentic.

-And this would be a lovely living space.

-Yes, it certainly would.

-Definitely.

-If, indeed, this is the only living space.

-Oh!

-Ooooh!

-Go on, then!

-THEY LAUGH

-Shall we explore a bit further?

-Yes, please.

-Absolutely.

This house is deceptive as the current owners have remodelled

and extended the property to create an unexpected rear space.

Ta-da!

-Oh, my goodness!

-Oh, my word!

-That's a huge living space!

-That's absolutely incredible.

-Extraordinary. Wow.

-And there's a range.

-Oh, yeah.

-And another living room.

-A second living room!

-Isn't it great?

-Is it somebody else's place?

This is way bigger than I expected.

The brick work there looks really nice,

but is that the brick work that was taken from the living space?

-So the white brick is quite characteristic of Cambridge.

-Yes.

And those were originally on the floor and they were resettled here

and also, you see in the inside of the hearth...

Oh, that's a lovely idea!

I can't believe we would have this much living space.

No, I know, I kind of didn't expect it to be quite as big as this.

And it's got a lovely feel to it, hasn't it?

-Let's have a peek upstairs because you wanted bedrooms.

-Yes.

It's got bedrooms.

It seems the spacious downstairs has taken our house buyers by surprise.

The upstairs is smaller, but still has room for three bedrooms.

There are two to the front of the property, a family bathroom

and then the master suite.

You have three lovely bedrooms.

-Three?

-Three.

-Wow, OK.

And they're all sort of the same size, none of them are massive.

-Right.

-This one is being used as the master because it has an en-suite.

Ah, right.

What's interesting for me is I'm really thinking about this place

and would I live here, so it's really making an impression.

That's what we like.

Good, well, there's one more thing to see and that's the garden.

Let's go and see that.

The house itself has got the character,

space and cottage-y feel they're after.

And outside, the good news continues

with a garden that caters for all their needs.

-Oh, it's gorgeous!

-It's quite a long garden.

-It is.

-Wow.

-Great - vegetable patch.

-Yes, I can see it all!

What's nice about this, I think, is that you do have the variety.

You have a nice sitting area and also a space to do things,

but it's not overwhelming,

so we won't be having to spend our entire free time doing the garden.

-No.

-Exactly, it's not...

-It would be quite low-maintenance.

-Yeah.

But let's turn back to the house and talk about the price,

-the all-important price.

-So...

I'm going to be an optimist and say £310,000.

Actually, I think it might be even slightly more than that,

-so I'm going to go for 315,000.

-315,000.

-Oh, fingers crossed!

Well, this is good news for you cos this is on the market for...

-£300,000.

-Excellent!

-Oh, fantastic.

-Great.

That's really good to know.

Well under their top figure of £325,000,

this characterful Victorian workers' cottage

has period features throughout for Jacqueline,

an unexpectedly large amount of living space and a garden,

which means Alastair can start on his veg-producing plans.

And all this located a half hour's commute from central Cambridge.

-So pull the door behind.

-OK.

-Because we have got another house to visit.

-Great.

-Wonderful.

The Cambridge countryside is peppered with traditional family-run farms,

farms like Johnsons which, for the last 100 years,

has been producing meat from cattle, pigs and sheep.

But this farm, unlike most of the region,

is diversifying into a highly unusual type of livestock - crocodiles.

I'm meeting fourth-generation farmer Andrew Johnson to find out more.

-Morning, Andrew.

-Morning.

You've got some beautiful livestock here

and I did notice some rather exotic...buffalo?

Are they buffalo on the way in?

-Yes.

-But that's not the most exotic thing you've got. You've got crocs.

-Yeah, it seems to be one everyone picks up on.

-Unsurprisingly!

Presumably, long-term, you want to breed them to sell them as meat.

Yes, that's what we're hoping.

Crocodile meat is white, it flakes, it's very high-protein

and it's got all the value of fish.

From an economy point of view, it could turn into a large industry.

-Can we go and see?

-Yep.

Crocodile meat is high in protein

and lower in cholesterol and fat than chicken.

And it's believed there are anti-carcinogenic

and anti-arthritic properties, too.

Keeping crocodiles requires a Dangerous Wild Animal Licence,

obtained from the district council,

who inspect for animal welfare and safety of enclosures.

Are they in here? Oh, gosh, yes, they are!

How many are in here?

There's four adults in here, three females and a male

and then the two babies separate in the corner.

So how old do they grow?

They should live in captivity well in excess of 100 years.

Of course, in the wild, when they're eventually going to die

is when they run out of teeth. They grow about 2,000-2,500 teeth

in a lifetime. In captivity, we're feeding them smaller bits of meat,

-so their teeth last much longer.

-Are they quite placid?

Yeah, nine times out of ten,

they're quite happy to get on with their life.

And that tenth time, what do they do?

-That's when you go a little bit faster.

-I am very impressed.

I'm particularly impressed

that you're going to go in there and feed them.

The crocs are used to Andy being in their enclosure,

but he still takes a safety board to protect his legs.

Come on.

These cold-blooded predators can digest pretty much anything,

making them very cost-effective to feed.

They can also go for many months without eating.

Known as brumation, they lower their metabolic rate

and don't require food - perhaps one of the reasons they have survived

from their prehistoric ancestors over 65 million years ago.

This is the first time these crocs have been fed in six months.

Not so hungry.

Six months and still no appetite.

Learning how to breed these animals has been Andy's focus

and, in 2011, he became the first British farmer to successfully

breed crocodiles in captivity when two hatchlings were born.

And now is my opportunity to meet one of these unique critters.

-BABY CROC CROAKS He's making a funny noise.

-Yeah.

-He doesn't like being out?

-He's calling out for his mum.

-He's a bit whippy, isn't he?

-Yeah.

I don't think I'll be holding on to him.

So what's the future with these chaps?

This is going to be the next generation?

Yes, this is our proof that we can get them to copulate

and we can hatch eggs in our environment.

And is the idea that we're all going to be eating croc steaks for dinner?

Yeah, cod's getting more expensive, crocodile is very versatile,

it works very well battered for chip shops.

So you've tasted it. What does it actually taste like?

Nearest thing to say is going to be monkfish.

So do you think the British public will ever overcome

their sort of squeamishness about eating crocodile?

-Yes, I don't see it being a problem.

-You're the future, do you know that?

-You're the future... with very sharp teeth.

-Yep.

With his proven breeding record, Andy now hopes to import

50 crocodile babies from Kenya to start farming for public consumption.

His modern farming venture could make Cambridgeshire

the future croc capital of the UK.

For our next property, we're heading to the village of Waresley

on the western edge of Cambridgeshire,

with a commute to the city centre of half an hour.

It's a charming place,

not least because of all the thatched properties throughout the village,

each with their own individual thatched animals.

Look at that.

This is a thatched property, it's a big thatched property.

-And actually, it's not all up for sale.

-Right.

-It is actually a semidetached property.

-Oh, OK, right.

These 200-year-old farm workers' cottages have a decorative porch

to the front, but the entrance is actually around the side.

Come in here first. This is the kitchen sort of dining room.

And actually, this feels quite modern, this doesn't really have

-the period features of the other parts.

-No.

What do you think about the size of the kitchen?

Because obviously it's a different layout.

It's smallish, I would say, but it's not horrendously small.

If we go into the other part,

-you get to see a bit more of the history of this house.

-Yes.

That would be good, more of a connection there.

The kitchen may not have the character they're after,

but I don't think that will be a problem elsewhere in this cottage.

-So step back 200 years.

-Yeah.

-Gosh!

-This is very different from the kitchen.

-Isn't it!

-Do see what I mean about this...

-Totally different feel.

-Lovely proportions in this room, aren't there?

-Yeah.

So is this a bit more in terms of the scale that you're looking for?

What I felt about the other place was that the space downstairs

was overwhelming, in a way,

it was more than we could possibly have hoped for, which is great.

But we would also be happy with less, I think. Is that fair to say?

I think so, yeah.

Definitely, it is cottage-y, it ticks that box, definitely.

Next to the living room is the other main living space,

currently used as an office area.

Oh, I could just sit there all day,

I wouldn't want to commute to Cambridge.

I just get some work from home and not move!

Even though it's a much smaller property,

you seem to be more sort of taken by the periodness of it.

A friend of mine commented the other day, "So, Jacqueline,

"what you're basically looking for is your nan's house."

And there are lots of things about this property that,

although it's a different age,

there are lots of things, like curved wood and not rendered walls

and things, that remind me of my nan's house in here.

-Just the general feel of it.

-Let's take a peek upstairs.

Upstairs, there's a landing connecting a bathroom

to two double bedrooms - one at the back and one at the front.

-So this is the master bedroom.

-Right.

It's small, but I guess it's just about big enough.

I think so. You can get round both sides of the bed.

I'd say Jacqueline's nostalgia has made her fall in love

with this property much more than Alastair.

Let's see if the garden can swing things for him.

So the outside layout is quite unusual in this property.

You've got the tail end of this outside building,

-then you have this, which is one of your gardens.

-One?

-Gardens?

-OK.

-Gardens.

-We like a house with gardens.

-We do!

So this is the bit that's obviously attached to the house.

You've got the patio area.

If you take a long walk through these woodlands,

you get to your own little quarter acre of...

-It's actually allotment space.

-Yeah. A veggie plot.

-Fantastic. Yes!

What do you think the price of this puzzling property is?

I reckon this is probably on the market for 285,000.

I hope it's under budget as well. £280,000.

It's actually on the market for five English pounds short of 290,000.

-OK.

-OK, interesting.

-Lots of food for thought.

-Yeah, absolutely.

For £35,000 under their top budget,

this thatched farm workers' cottage offers two quirky living spaces,

tonnes of period features -

which Jacqueline has completely fallen for -

two compact double bedrooms and a variety of garden spaces,

both near the house and across the village.

So that's this household done.

-In fact, all our house tours for the day done.

-OK.

Now it's time to mull it all over.

-Yes, I think we need lots of time for that.

-Come with me.

Day two of our property search here in Cambridgeshire

and we have hit a slightly unusual dilemma

because yesterday it became clear that Jacqueline and Alastair really

are not that interested in space, which is very unusual on our show.

And we had rather been banking on going further away

from Cambridgeshire and giving them more space, more land, more privacy.

So the Mystery House might be quite a problem.

But we love jeopardy on the show.

In terms of the Mystery House,

as you know, it's always a bit of a curveball.

-What do you think we might show you?

-We've been speculating about it.

So there are a number of different options

that we think might be possible.

One is that it might be quite a lot further away.

Another is that it might be north of Cambridge

rather than south of Cambridge.

I'm backing...we're going out of the county.

For our Mystery House, we are indeed taking the house hunt

in a completely different direction,

heading 25 miles north of Cambridge to the hamlet of Alconbury Weston,

where the budget will stretch a bit further.

At the centre of the hamlet is a brook and its ford crossing,

which is home to a number of water birds.

Come in to the Mystery House!

So you were right in one sense, we are further away from Cambridge,

but wrong in the sense that we haven't left Cambridgeshire.

-We're still here.

-OK.

-We're up by Huntington.

It's about a 36-minute drive into Cambridge's city centre.

But look what you get. This is a detached property.

-It looks extensive.

-It's big, it's old, it's quirky.

-How old is it, in fact?

-Goes back to the 1600s.

-OK.

And the ford's quite charming, isn't it?

It was interesting yesterday that it became apparent that, actually,

usually everyone wants space, space, space.

But actually, you're not so interested in space, more cosy.

For me, cosy rooms are lovely, but there needs to be just enough space

because I'm quite tall, so having to stoop for low ceilings,

that sort of thing, is a sort of issue for me, actually.

-I don't want too much of that.

-Right.

-So it'll be interesting to see what this property offers.

-It will.

This three-bedroom 17th-century house,

which is currently unfurnished,

is full of the sort of character Jacqueline is after.

But there's no getting away from the one period feature

that could be an issue.

Oh, I'm having to say mind your head, I really don't want to say that.

-It is quite low-beamed, Alastair.

-Wow!

-Gosh, it is.

-It's charming.

-I mean, they're lovely beams, but...

-on the low side, definitely.

-It's incredible.

-It's a fantastic fireplace, though, isn't it?

-It's wonderful.

It's the best I've ever seen. It's gorgeous.

There's some really extraordinary period features and this fireplace

-is one of them.

-Yeah.

-Yes, well, it is very period.

-Yes, thank you.

But it's not period everywhere, so let's continue.

The 17th-century part of this property houses the two large

and low-ceilinged living rooms.

But a spacious L-shaped extension gives modern-day room heights

to the rest of the downstairs.

-Finally, you can stand up straight.

-Yay!

This is a good size, isn't it?

It's a lovely sized kitchen.

I mean, in terms of a kitchen, this is great, I think.

It is a big space, we can move around it quite easily,

we could quite easily put a table in here or an island or something.

Without feeling you're inching around, you'd have loads of space.

Yeah, I'd love a kitchen like this.

Beyond the large kitchen in the modern extension

are three further living rooms.

One is currently used as a bedroom,

another is a potential dining room

and finally there's a bright sitting room.

So the unusual thing about this property is that, a bit like

-the first property, upstairs, there's really just two bedrooms.

-Right.

Three rooms in this wing and then three big rooms in the other one.

-We've got wings now.

-We have got wings.

Let's look at the ones upstairs because they're very charming.

With no bathrooms upstairs, the final rooms on the ground floor

are a shower room and the property's main bathroom.

Back in the old part of the house

are the stairs to the two first-floor bedrooms.

-So it's a little bit wiggly.

-Oh, wow!

But it's worth the climb, I think.

-Wow, what a room!

-A little window.

-Yeah.

-It's adorable.

-It is charming.

-And what does it overlook?

-It overlooks the river. Fantastic.

-The

-ford! Yeah.

I love the brickwork of it, the fireplace, the chimney breast.

-But what's great, of course, is the chimney breast would heat up.

-Yes.

-So this would then act as, like, a giant radiator.

-Yeah, absolutely.

-That's really good.

-And you have another room over the other side

which you could have as your dressing room,

so this could be your floor and guests could stay downstairs.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Fantastic.

-Make sense.

-Let's go into the garden and talk about price.

-OK, great.

The land for the property is mostly at the front.

To the side of the large driveway is a picket fence and wooden gate

to an enclosed garden area, just big enough for a vegetable patch.

It's not a huge garden, but pretty and private.

Yes, these trees are screening there.

I love the little kind of gardens over here

-behind the sleepers as well.

-Yeah.

-What is it on the market for, do you think?

-I'm going to go quite low.

I'm going to say £275,000.

I think probably a bit more than that, maybe. It's quite big.

So maybe 285,000.

-This is actually on the market for £325,000.

-Oh, really?

We were way off. Clearly, we don't know this market at all.

-We clearly don't, no.

-OK, so Huntingdonshire. OK.

For the top end of their budget, this 17th-century house

has all the old beams and fireplaces

to satisfy Jacqueline's connection to the past,

but comes with challenging ceiling heights for Alastair.

There's ample space, with three bedrooms and four living rooms,

and outside there's enough room for a veggie patch.

But located in the more affordable north,

it is a little further out from Cambridge.

-So time, I think, to regroup and discuss all the houses.

-Yes.

-Fantastic.

-Let's head away from here.

-Lovely.

-Somewhere out of the wind.

Well, we may have put Alastair and Jacqueline through the mill

this week, but I think it was very useful,

particularly the last property, even though it wasn't

in the location they wanted it, it has crystallised their thoughts.

So let's find them and see where they are right now.

-Hello, guys. We found a bit of shelter from the wind.

-Yes.

Now, it's been a great week. Lovely looking around the county.

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I think what's been so interesting is actually the very first one

we saw, I think we were both quite inspired by that.

I think one of the things for me is there's a winning combination in a

property that has daytime space with lovely light, like the dining room

and the extra room at the back, and then, for the evening,

it has some kind of cosy room that you can go in and put the lamps on

and sit by the fire,

and that has that combination and that's perfect for me.

Well, your flat will hopefully be sold in a couple of months,

so what's going to happen next?

Are you going to revisit house number one?

I think we probably will. We talked about this and the property itself

is really suitable for us.

Our question mark was always about whether it's just a bit too far out

and what the journey into Cambridge would be like

and to see exactly how long it would take and what it would feel like.

That's it. How long it will take.

I think maybe even before visiting the property,

we might just go there, cycle to the nearest train station,

get the train into Cambridge and cycle to work.

-But it seems like you are very enthusiastic about this move.

-Yes.

And wherever you move up, do let us know,

because it would be great to see you settled in.

-Yes, thank you.

-Absolutely.

-Best of luck.

-Thank you.

It's been lovely looking around Cambridgeshire,

it's not a county that I've been to very often on the show.

So thank you to Alastair and Jacqueline for bringing us here.

And also it's been quite interesting showing them around

because, unlike most contributors on the show,

they've decided they probably want less space for their money

instead of more.

But the UK is very varied, as are the property buyers in it, as are you.

So I hope that you join us next time for more adventures

on Escape to the Country.

And there's been good news.

Jacqueline and Alastair decided the commute from the first property

wasn't going to be a problem and put in an offer, which has been accepted.

All things being well, they should be out of London

and living in Cambridgeshire in a matter of weeks.

If you would like to escape to the country in Northern Ireland,

Scotland, Wales or England

and you need our help, why not apply online?