Scottish Highlands Escape to the Country

Welcome to Escape To The Country.

Behind me are the rather impressive ruins

of an early-18th century barracks that was so heavy fortified

just 13 men held off an attacking army of some 200.

So, where are we, and what's the story?

Well, join me in just a moment and I'll tell you.

Today's buyers are nature lovers who yearn for great views and

open spaces, and they're willing to move 500 miles to find them.

But as far as properties go, size is everything.

It's smaller than I expected.

And for one of our buyers, it all gets too much.

Come back! You can have a cry with me. That's all right, come on!

Come here.

Well, today we are in the Highlands of Scotland,

and these are the impressive remains of Ruthven Barracks

in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park.

The barracks were constructed in 1719

following the early Jacobite Rebellion

and were originally designed to hold 120 English Redcoats.

But fast forward to 1745 and the English troops stationed here

numbered just 13.

They had to defend it during the final Jacobite Rebellion

against an attacking force of some 200,

which they did with the loss of only one man.

Now, a year later, the retreating Jacobite army fell upon it,

set fire to it, leaving it as the ruin that you now see.

But it is, I think, a telling reminder of the once torrid history

that used to dominate this part of the Highlands.

Located at the very top of the mainland, the Highlands is

the sparse mountainous region lying in the northern part of Scotland.

Cutting the landscape diagonally is one of the most famous lakes in the

world, Loch Ness, which, in places, reaches depths of 700 feet,

around the same height as the tallest tower

at London's Canary Wharf.

Perched on a headland overlooking the loch is the impressive

Urquhart Castle, which has witnessed a turbulent history, changing

hands many times during its 500 years as a medieval fortress.

The region also hosts the largest national park in the UK,

the Cairngorms.

With its panoramic views of snow-capped mountains,

the park is visited by 1.5 million tourists a year

and is a favoured spot for skiers.

With scenery ranging from dramatic glens to awe-inspiring mountains,

this area radiates history, beauty

and boasts some of the best views in Britain.

Now, your average detached home here will set you back £213,000 and,

when compared to the Scottish national average,

that's a cool £20,000 underneath it for,

frankly, some pretty above-average scenery.

But it's also worth thinking about population density.

Within the Highlands as a whole, the number is just 250,000 people,

and that means you've got a pretty small property market

to choose from for such a large area.

Whatever your budget and whatever your plans,

you are going to have to look quite hard for it,

but it hasn't put off today's buyers.

They can't wait to get here.

Married couple David and Kathleen currently live in a four-bedroom

property in Stoke Lodge, a suburb of Bristol.

But over nearly four decades of living in the area,

they've noticed a change.

We've been here 35 years and it's just built up and grown,

and grown, and grown in the last 35 years basically.

It used to be right on the edge of Bristol

but now it feels a bit inner city.

Life moves at a bit of a hectic pace

and it would be nice to just slow down a little bit.

Kathleen is a retired school assistant and aromatherapist

and Dave works as an offshore surveyor,

travelling all over the world,

but he's now planning to wind down and spend more time on dry land.

We're moving now I'm semi-retired.

I used to work 180, 200 days a year but I've just changed my contract.

I work 90 days a year now, so we'll have lots more time,

and also, I've worked away for 30 years.

It's time we got a life together, basically.

With their two grown-up children having flown the nest,

they hope to start this next chapter of their lives by getting away

from it all in the peaceful Scottish Highlands.

It reminds me very much of home because I'm from Cumbria,

and I think Scotland is just that little bit more rugged,

the scenery is absolutely fantastic, the wildlife too.

You can go a walk there and you can walk for two or three hours and meet

nobody, whereas I can't walk for a minute here without meeting anybody.

But we'll need to get our skates on

as David and Kathleen have already sold their house.

Well, David went off to work on a Tuesday,

the house went on the market on a Wednesday

and it was sold by the Thursday evening, which was quite unexpected.

We didn't think things would move quite so quickly

and, as you can see, everything is boxed up.

There's no ornaments or anything on the walls, we're almost ready to go.

Until they find their new home, David and Kathleen will be

travelling around Scotland in their caravan,

giving the couple of a chance to indulge in their hobbies.

For Kath, top of the agenda is craft work.

My love of quilting began a few years ago.

I just love being able to put pieces of fabric together

and make a pattern, and it's just lovely

being able to create something out of what looks like nothing.

Some people are lost without a watch on their wrist,

but I'd be lost without my sewing machine.

While Kathleen has it all sewn up,

Dave will be adding to his portfolio.

I like taking photographs of wildlife, you can

get a lot closer to wildlife up there, it's a lot quieter.

One thing I would love to photograph is a pine marten.

I've only ever seen one, and if I've got lots of time,

I can maybe devote a week, two weeks, three weeks,

just to get a photograph of a pine marten, I would love to do that.

But after nearly 40 years of living in Bristol,

they're under no illusions that moving away is a big step.

The only concern I've got is Kath's leaving a lot of friends here.

I mean, I work away from home here. I've got friends here

but I also work with a lot of people that actually live in Scotland

and people that live all over the world,

so I haven't got the same ties to Bristol as Kath's got.

I do have a lot of friends but I know that where we move to

I'll also make a lot of new ones.

With the prospect of a new home and new friends, they're looking forward

to seeing out Dave's eventual retirement in the rural Highlands.

-We're so excited, we just can't wait to get there.

-Yeah.

We've talked about it for so long, for so many years,

but then you've got to do something about it, so now's the time.

David and Kathleen would like us to concentrate our property search

between Inverness and Aviemore,

in and around the Cairngorms National Park.

I'm meeting up with them in the village of Carrbridge,

within the National Park, to go over the specifics of their house search.

-Well, hello, guys. How are you?

-Fine, thank you very much. Yourself?

I'm very well.

So, formally, Dave and Kathleen, welcome to the Highlands.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Many people coming on Escape To The Country

want to move closer to family, but that's not the case with you two

because your family's all over the place.

Family's very spread out.

Daughter in Singapore, sister in America, son in Wales,

so, really, this is just about us.

Brilliant. So just give us an idea, Kathleen,

now that you are focusing on this move,

what should your house comprise? What does it need to have?

Ideally, minimum three bedrooms, a lovely big kitchen,

a dining space, a big family room, perhaps, it would be lovely

if there was a workshop where I could set up a sewing machine

or use it as a study, possibly views to the front.

-OK.

-That would be lovely.

And what about you, Dave?

Much the same. I'd like a garage workshop

and a garden, somewhere between a quarter and a third of an acre,

that ideally backs onto woodland,

whether that's possible or not, I don't know.

This rather feeds into your hobbies, doesn't it?

Cos I know you're a very keen wildlife photographer.

It is. Well, I intend to try and attract wildlife into the garden

and it won't happen immediately,

this could probably be a three, four, five-year project.

But let's face it, wherever you are here

you are surrounded by the most fabulous countryside,

so I can understand that you don't really need an enormous garden

because, actually, you've got...

well, the Highlands to play in, really.

Now, just remind us of the amount of money

you're prepared to spend on this move.

-The budget we have at the moment is around £325,000.

-OK.

The pressure is absolutely on.

You've upped the ante since we first met you,

in the fact that you're now here in your caravan.

So, yeah, we've got three properties for you.

You've got £325,000

and we've got a mystery house, of course, in the mix.

-Wow.

-We can't quite afford Balmoral.

-THEY LAUGH

Sadly, it's not for sale, but if it does come on the market,

you'll be the first to know.

-JULES LAUGHS

-Good. Well, look, drink up,

-and we will see what we can find you.

-OK.

For a budget of £325,000, Dave and Kathleen want their

forever home to have a minimum of three bedrooms.

They'd prefer a traditional property, Kathleen would like

a large kitchen and family room and a workshop for her quilting,

as well as good views from the front of the property.

For Dave, it's all about the outside space,

and he'd like at least a quarter of an acre of land

to attract the local birds.

We've arranged a selection of desirable Highland properties

for Dave and Kathleen to view, but I'll keep them guessing

on the price of each until after the tour.

And finally, our mystery property opens a window of opportunity

for our buyers to purchase a nature lover's dream.

Our first property is located close to the village of Glenlivet

on the doorstop of the Cairngorms National Park.

Surrounded by unspoilt countryside and pasture land and with stunning

views of the Cairngorm mountains, the area is a haven for wildlife.

The village itself is probably most famous for its malt whisky

distillery, and the nearby River Livet is a popular spot

for salmon and trout fishing.

Despite being a small settlement, there's an active village hall,

which was donated to the people by the founder of the distillery

in the 1920s, and now hosts a number of community clubs and events.

House number one is located in an elevated position in a quiet setting

around a mile from the village.

So, here we are then, in the heart of malt whisky country,

and that is property number one.

-BOTH: Uh-huh.

-Nobody's really sure how old it is.

I'm going to take a guess at about 1850...

-Really?

-..or so.

But as you can see, we are not short of views

and wildlife here is plentiful.

Red squirrels, roe deer, even an eagle they spotted from the garden.

Really? Brilliant.

-Hopefully it'll give you something to get your camera out for.

-OK.

But what do you think of the property?

Looks quite small from the outside but we'll wait and see,

-we'll have a look.

-Can't wait to get inside and have a look.

Come on, then, let's see what you make of it.

We'll go round the back.

'Our first property is an old crofter's dwelling,

'which was extended at the rear in the 1980s,

'and the current owners use this way in

'as it leads into a boot room and then the dining room.'

Now, it has been extended and this really is

the meat of the extension, I suppose,

and it gives you this dining space.

Come over here and take it all in.

It's not as large as I expected.

-OK.

-It's a first impression, but it's very nice.

The view is...view's incredible.

Very old, rustic and, like Dave,

it's not as large as I expected it to be.

I think you could potentially extend this yet further if you wanted to...

I'm sure you could, yeah.

..in the future because, in a way, you can glimpse the views,

but it'd be lovely to have something that was much more open here.

-It would if you had a conservatory or something out here.

-Yeah.

But it does all flow rather nicely into the kitchen,

and I'm quite keen to show you this, Kathleen.

And I know, Kathleen, that you do want one of those to have.

-Oh, it's lovely.

-Huge range.

-It is, it's huge!

Yeah, ever had one before?

No, I wouldn't have a clue how to use it.

Well, I have exactly the same one, and I can tell you

-it's pretty straightforward.

-Oh, good.

This, for me, is where the house really starts to come together

because it does feel much bigger now, I think, once you get through

here, cos it's all so open and it flows quite nicely through

those double doors to the dining room.

And you've got the nice features of the stone and so on.

Yeah, I like the exposed brickwork, it's lovely.

It's so cosy and so traditional... traditional Scottish.

It's certainly a reasonable-sized kitchen, this here as well.

Well, let's have a look at the living room, that's through here.

Better reactions to the generously-sized kitchen space.

Downstairs also features a small utility and shower room.

How about this, then? A bit more cosy charm for you.

-Hmm. Yeah.

-It certainly is.

Lots of character to this room, isn't there?

-Another gorgeous wood burner for you.

-Yes, lovely.

It's smaller than I expected.

The ceiling in here is quite low.

I do like the exposed brickwork but it makes the room quite dark.

I mean, I'm thinking of you two in here, during those long

winter nights, fire roaring away and there you are, Dave,

with a glass of the local good stuff.

-I mean, you know, that's the picture I'm seeing.

-Yeah.

Let's get upstairs and look at these bedrooms

because that's all important too.

The upstairs landing provides access to three decent-sized double

bedrooms, with two situated in the older part of the house

overlooking the front.

There's also a family bath and shower room, as well as the master.

And this is for you.

-Yeah, this is a bit larger.

-Bigger than the caravan.

I'll say. I'll say.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, it's a lot bigger than the caravan.

I've noticed every room we've been in has got the views. Every one.

The last bit, really, is to finish off in the garden.

Oh, that would be lovely, yeah.

Let's go look more at those views and we'll talk about the price,

-cos that may be quite interesting.

-OK.

-Come with me.

The land comprises a well-maintained lawn, mature trees and a patio,

but there's also an outbuilding

which could make an excellent workshop for Dave.

All in all, the land amounts to around a third of an acre.

So, there is one final bit left - who's going to go first, then?

Um, I would estimate about 270.

270, yeah.

I think I'd probably go a little higher than that,

getting up to 290.

If it was around the 290 mark, it would leave you with quite

a lot left over from your £325,000 to make a few tweaks here.

If it were closer to £210,000,

you could go nuts here and keep a load in the bank.

-We could, yeah!

-Goodness.

£210,000, and all of that is for free.

-On the doorstep.

-Goodness me.

-Oh, that's wonderful.

Off you both go. I'll catch up with you a little bit later.

Our first property leaves Dave and Kathleen at least £100,000

to make further extensions to this former croft house.

It gives Kathleen her big kitchen, two reception rooms and the three

bedrooms they asked for, as well as land and those all-important views.

-There's certainly a lot of room in here.

-There is, yeah.

Well thought out, lots of shelves and very well organised.

You could use it as your workshop or I could have it as a sewing room.

And the views are spectacular, there's no doubt about that,

360-degree view.

Once we walked inside, I thought there is room

in here but, again, it could be a little larger.

With the price and amount of money left over,

there's lots of work I could do on it.

I think it's a lovely house.

When I approached from the exterior of the property, it looked small

but, inside, it's surprisingly quite big.

I think more could be made of the property.

The dining room could be extended along the back quite considerably.

The garden is large enough to allow that. I think it could work.

Well, my two happy house hunters. How are we doing?

-Oh, it's lovely, plenty to see.

-Isn't there just?

And I think this is a really nice one to start with,

a classic bit of Highland architecture.

So, the next one's got a bit of a view to beat, hasn't it?

It's certainly got a view to beat, there's no doubt about that.

-But we're not short of them in the Highlands.

-No.

-Come on.

The spectacular Highlands landscape has borne witness to some of the

major events in Scottish history, not least the Battle of Culloden,

which was fought on moorland overlooking Inverness in 1746.

The Jacobite defeat was a disaster for the region and the

aftermath saw government forces effectively dismantling

Highland culture and society,

which included the outlawing of tartan and the kilt

for almost 40 years.

Today, the city of Inverness is the undisputed centre of Highland dress

and home to many kilt makers,

including the Highland House of Fraser.

With Kathleen's passion for textiles, we sent her and David

to find out more about the history and design of this

world-famous emblem of Scotland.

They're meeting manager Matthew MacAskill.

Hi there, welcome to Inverness

and the Scottish Highlands, which is the home of Highland dress.

As you can see, there are lots of different examples of tartan.

Are the colours of any relevance?

Yes, they are. Clans' tartans have changed over time

and the colours have gone from being quite light in colour

to a much deeper colour.

And the significance of that is that before the Battle of Culloden,

tartan was dyed using vegetable dyes.

And then, in 1747, after the Battle of Culloden had ended,

tartan was outlawed for a period of between 35, 36 years.

-Goodness.

-In 1782, when the abolition and proscription of Highland dress

was repealed, people then began to dye tartans with chemical dyes.

And you can see a good example of this just behind us.

The pattern has remained the same but, over time, with the vegetable

dyes producing such light colours, they now look very different.

Just as the tartan colours have changed through history

so too has kilt design.

This is an example of feileadh mor,

which is Scottish Gaelic, meaning 'great kilt'.

And this is the earliest example of kilts.

It originated in around about the 16th century

and it was made from about eight yards of material.

How is it all put together? I mean, I can't see any stitching.

No, you're right, there's absolutely no stitching.

You would have actually had to lie on the floor to put this on,

pleated it by hand and then it would be held in place with this belt.

Nowadays, we don't have this portion that we have at the top here.

And all the excess cloth that was from the bottom

would have been thrown over your shoulder

and held in place with a brooch.

Although kilts are still often made from once piece of material,

the introduction of tailoring in the 18th century

saw the kilt evolved into a fitted skirt-like garment.

In the 19th century, Queen Victoria's love of the Highlands

helped boost the kilt's popularity.

David is trying one on for size.

-Here we go.

-OK. Thank you.

So, Kathleen, has Dave ever worn a kilt before?

No, never, this is a first.

Oh, wow.

-How do you feel?

-I feel fine, it's quite comfortable.

You're almost finished, but there's a couple of finishing touches

which I've got in my sporran here, so we've got your sgian-dubh

and then we can move onto the kilt pin.

-OK.

-So those are the two finishing touches we need to make.

With the sgian-dubh, that's Gaelic and it means 'a black knife.'

Long ago, people would have been able to take one weapon with them

into somebody else's house, which sounds a bit silly nowadays

but, in those days, I'm sure it was needed.

And this just goes into your sock, so if you're right-handed,

you can just pop that into your right-hand sock there.

-OK?

-OK.

-And then the other part is your kilt pin.

-So I'll pop this on for you.

-Yeah.

With this final decorative flourish...

-And that's you.

-Perfect.

David looks every part the Scottish gent, so the pressure's on

to find our buyers a Highland home.

For our second property, we're heading southwest

into the National Park and the village of Laggan.

Surrounded by mountains, including the Cairngorm and Grampian ranges,

the village is most famous as the filming location for the popular

TV drama series Monarch Of The Glen, and is frequented by its many fans.

Amenities include a hostel and coffee shop.

Our second house is situated just outside the village,

in the small hamlet of Catlodge, and benefits from an elevated

position with far-reaching views of the Cairngorms.

And this is our property for you to feast your eyes on,

which I rather like, actually.

It's rather nice.

It was two cottages once upon a time,

and they were both sort of two up, two downs.

It's now one huge property.

It's all done, it's immaculate. Nice little garden behind with

some woodland surrounding it for the wildlife.

And we showed you views this morning,

but I think they're even better, actually.

Quite spectacular, aren't they?

They really are. Let's have a look, then.

The house was, at one time, the local shop and pub.

It has been fully renovated by the current owners,

who retained many original features

but also built an extension, replacing the old wooden garage.

So we'll start with the kitchen. Very much the kitchen-diner,

much more in the mode of what I think you've been thinking about.

It's very nice, but it's still smaller than I expected it to be.

-I haven't got much room for my head.

-THEY LAUGH

The kitchen is smaller than I expected, yes.

It's...you know, it's not bad.

It's not bad.

-You have got a separate dining room as well.

-Really?

Yeah, further down there. So maybe that will make a difference.

-So perhaps we need to explore more.

-We'll have a look, yeah.

-I think so.

This way.

-This is a lovely room.

-I was waiting for you to say something good, yes!

-It is a lovely room.

-Oh, I love that feature fireplace.

-Yes.

-It's lovely.

-It's got lots of features, there's no doubt about that.

-Yeah.

It wasn't built last week.

It certainly wasn't built last week. In fact, it was built about 1840.

-Really?

-There you go. So, probably a similar age

to property one, really. This is currently a sitting room.

It could be a dining room if you want it to be.

This and the room next door, which is currently the dining room,

are pretty interchangeable.

They've both got wood burners that are a similar spec.

So, you could have this right next to the kitchen as your diner

and put the living room beyond.

The ground floor also features a family room with a double-height

ceiling and a utility room, both housed in the timber extension,

as well as an additional shower room in the older part of the house.

Also on the ground floor is the main bedroom.

And then, as promised, this is your master.

-It's a nice, big room, isn't it?

-This is a good-sized bedroom.

It's really nice. Again, another wood burner...

THEY CHUCKLE

..and a really pretty en-suite, have a look at that.

Oh, my, it's huge!

-Yeah.

-Oh, very nice.

The first floor is home to three further bedrooms, including a

large triple-aspect room accessed by its own staircase.

One of the other two bedrooms could make an excellent sewing room

for Kathleen.

Outside, the grounds are mainly laid to lawn and bordered by

mature trees with views over the surrounding countryside.

Though I do happen to know, Dave, that, um...

you're quite keen to have some trees around your garden to attract

the wildlife to allow you to get the camera out.

Would this work?

This garden, I would say, is...

possibly as close to perfect as you can get.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Why?

It just is. It's about the right size, there's two tiers,

you've got the trees around.

Excellent. Does it work for you?

-I thought Dave would have said it's a bit small.

-Ah.

Well, all in all, you've about 0.4 of an acre,

so actually a little bit more than property one, actually,

because there's a parking area through there.

So it's not as obvious, you can't see it all from one place.

No, probably because it's a different shape.

And, of course, you've got much more of a front garden here as well.

It's also got that building over there which, hopefully, might

give you somewhere in which to tinker around.

Fair enough.

So, is the price perfect, I wonder?

-I think you went first last time, didn't you?

-I did.

All right, Dave, your turn.

I was so far out last time, it's very difficult.

I'll stick to 290.

290, yeah.

I'll go just a tad lower and say 285.

285. A cheeky 285.

Actually, you're not far off the pair of you, it's offers over 295.

-Oh, so fairly close.

-Yeah, not far at all.

What do we think about that?

The garden really impresses me, that's just perfect.

Off you go. Go and explore.

-Thank you.

-And I will catch up with you a little bit later.

Interesting one, this.

I really like it and I sort of think they do too,

but there's a lot at stake here, it's a bit move

and it has to happen in hurry, but could this be the solution?

It might.

£30,000 under budget, our second property gives Dave and Kathleen

a larger kitchen than our first offering,

one more bedroom than they asked for,

three reception rooms, including a modern family room

and nearly half an acre of land.

This is a nice, light, airy room, isn't it?

Both are light, again. In natural light, yeah.

It's a nice guest room, or it could possibly be a sewing room.

In this house, there's lots of room downstairs

but, upstairs, I find it difficult

because I'm quite tall and I bang my head.

The view and garden are absolutely perfect.

As I say, I'm a bit concerned about the height.

I think it's a very lovely home.

There's certainly things you could do with the downstairs

in terms of chopping and changing what each room would function as.

Upstairs doesn't appear to have as much room.

I like the house but,

unfortunately, I don't think it's going to work for us.

Well, you know, I think we have been really spoilt today.

Beautiful views, fantastic houses.

Happy?

Brilliant day.

It's been a long day.

Who fancies a Scotch, then?

Come on.

It's the second day of our Highland property search

with Dave and Kathleen from Bristol, who have a budget of £325,000

to spend on their Scottish idyll.

Coming up, who's dropping in at the mystery house?

Red kites, oystercatchers, curlews, lapwings, plovers,

salmon dancing around in the water, sandpipers, house martens, owls.

And I sample a Scottish brew of a very different kind.

Very refreshing and, actually, as an iced tea,

I can imagine that's absolutely delicious too.

It's a great idea.

You know, in scouring the country for property

we also come across some fabulous bits of local history.

Take this, it's the old packhorse bridge at Carrbridge.

And since it was built in 1717,

an awful lot of history has passed over it and it survived some

potentially catastrophic floods, one of which took the parapet off.

But the good news, of course, is that it's still here,

as are we on our final day of house hunting here in the Highlands.

We've got an awful lot still to do. It's mystery house time.

For our last property, we're heading towards Inverness and to the

small village of Tomatin, which is around 16 miles from the city.

Situated on the banks of the River Findhorn, the Highland

mainline and the A9 cross nearby, and the village has a number of

amenities, including a shop with discreet signage.

The house itself is located just outside the village

in an elevated position, surrounded by woodland.

A more modern affair than our previous properties,

it's quirky to say the least, but offers one of our buyers the chance

to partake in their favourite pastime without ever having

to leave the comfort of their armchair.

There you go. What do you reckon?

Wow, unusual shape.

From the air, it's effectively an octagon, but they've removed

this central section to create a more sort of formal entranceway.

But, in effect, it's a bit like an enormous hide, because the wildlife

around here is extraordinary. Can you hear all the birds?

-I can.

-Uh-huh.

-Above us. I was talking to the owner, and one of the

beautiful things about it

is that, because it's an octagon, it has these huge picture windows

on most sides of it, designed to take in everything you can see.

The list of species here is so long I had to write it down.

-This is to whet your appetite, mate. You ready?

-Yeah.

Merlin, red kites, oystercatchers, curlews, lapwings, plovers,

salmon dancing around in the water, sandpipers, house martens, owls.

They have occasionally seen an otter,

-roe deer and, of course, red squirrels.

-Wow.

THEY LAUGH

Excellent. Well, we've got the reaction I was hoping for.

And wait till you get inside, I think there'll be one or two more

-'wows' as well, so think of it as a house that's a hide.

-Yeah.

Come on, let's have a look inside.

So, Dave and Kathleen can spy on their wild neighbours from

this uniquely designed octo-house which was built in the mid 1970s.

Due to its shape, the room proportions are somewhat

unconventional and arranged off a central hallway.

Wow, look at this, you've got this sort of galleried hallway.

And then, in here, we've got you a sort of dining entrance way.

-That's interesting.

-Isn't it?

-Interesting shape, isn't it?

All the rooms are that shape, which means you get these enormous

windows letting the light and the view in.

Oh, what a view. Oh, isn't that wonderful?

-Goodness.

-Gosh.

-Happy?

You can see the salmon jumping in that stream.

Well, they do regularly. I mean, that's the joy of it.

You can sit here all day long and just soak up the wildlife.

And through here, it's even lighter. Look at this.

A certain sort of...almost baronial feel to it

cos they've incorporated a nice bit of stonework there,

a nice kind of hint to the architectural heritage of the area.

But this lovely high ceiling

-and, you know, as much light as you could want.

-Uh-huh.

It's lovely.

Really lovely.

I get the feeling this is a house that you genuinely

could see yourselves enjoying?

I think I could.

Certainly up to now, yeah.

Yeah, from what we've seen so far.

Let's continue though here, back across to this lovely dining hall...

..and into the kitchen, Kathleen.

Nice range there for you again. So does this one work?

This is a lovely kitchen, especially the outlook as well.

It also leads on into a snug area there, which offers you a bit more

informality, I suppose, you know, supper on your lap or whatever.

And, of course, you've got the dining room next door.

Yeah, yeah, I think this would work.

Finally on the ground floor, there's a workshop and utility room,

somewhere for Dave to tinker.

And what's lovely is that the octagon shape, I think,

really reveals itself in the staircase and this hallway.

The upper landing gives access to five bedrooms, all with great views.

Two of those are doubles and then there are three singles.

The smallest is being used as an office

but could easily be turned into a sewing room.

There's also a family bathroom with three-piece suite.

And, of course, the master.

And this is your room, we're thinking,

because it has a lovely little en-suite in there.

-Lovely.

-And again, views for the wildlife.

Breathtaking.

-Stunning.

-This is incredible.

Nobody's interested in the en-suite, are they?

It's that that's really captured your imagination.

-Yes.

-Yeah, it's lovely, and it's a nice size.

-Yeah.

So I think this has all gone down rather well.

I think so.

But it is our mystery house. Can you afford it?

I don't know.

Let's go and see, come on.

The house is surrounded by a garden, which is mostly lawn,

with a selection of fruit trees providing privacy.

Now, in terms of outside space, it's 0.3 of an acre,

but what you own, I think, is kind of irrelevant

when you're surrounded by all of that.

So, it's our final price guess.

The all-important question.

Well, I think this one is particularly important for you two.

Kathleen, you've got £325,000 to spend.

How much of it would you need to let go to get our mystery house?

I think it must be pretty close to our max, so I would say 320.

I'd say we might even have to add a little bit to it,

so I'll say top of the range, 325 plus five, ten maybe.

OK. So, over budget?

Just about, yes.

-Well, here's the good news, it's not over budget.

-Really?

-Goodness.

-It's under budget.

And remember that we are in Scotland,

so it's offers over...

290,000.

(Good heavens.) JULES LAUGHS

How about that?

-Goodness.

-Yes.

-That's amazing.

And all this on the doorstep too? It's wonderful.

-That's incredible.

-CHOKED UP: Got to go off camera.

-JULES LAUGHS

-Oh, Kathleen, come back!

Come back. You can have a cry with me, that's all right.

Come on! Come here, come here, come here.

Come on. Come on.

Now, then, this is obviously a big move for you,

and it's quite an emotional thing buying a house.

It's OK to have a little bit of a tear, when it's a good tear.

All right?

Go and enjoy it, go and explore it

-and I will catch up with you a little bit later.

-OK.

-OK.

Brilliant.

Well, there we go, our mystery house could well have done it again,

and why not? For these two, who love their wildlife,

this could be the perfect hideaway.

Under budget by £35,000, our unique octo-house gives our buyers

panoramic views across unspoilt Highland countryside.

The accommodation is generous and gives Kathleen her large kitchen,

plenty of options for a sewing room in one of the

five bedrooms whilst, for Dave, there are windows all the way

around the house to capture the wildlife in the secluded garden.

I think the mystery house is incredible, pretty much everything

you want. You've got the views, the woodland, the location is ideal.

At the moment, I can't find anything wrong it.

It's basically what I'm looking for.

It's very unusual but it just flows inside, it's really lovely.

Lovely and homely, and we've got all that wildlife on the doorstep.

It's brilliant.

Well, I think it's fair to say

our house hunting has ended on something of a high?

I think it has.

And I think you've got lots of thinking to do.

-Lots of thinking.

-I think we have.

The rugged Highlands produce Scotland's

most famous liquid export

but as well as malt whisky, the region could soon be

adding a less potent dram to the menu - home-grown tea.

The Wee Tea plantation in Dalreoch is the first commercial tea

plantation in Scotland and is already home to 2,000 plants,

making it one of the largest in Europe.

I've come to the plantation to find out what's brewing

from tea blender Derek Walker.

Derek, when I think of tea, I don't think of Scotland,

I think of India or China.

So what is about the climate here that makes tea possible?

There's a lot of things that are engulfed in the plant

from the soil, the air, the actual...

the weather round about here.

All of these things contribute to this beautiful tea

that we grow here in Dalreoch Estate.

You could liken this place here to Darjeeling, couldn't you,

-in the Himalayas.

-There's the plantation.

Can we go and take a closer look at what you're growing?

Come on, let me show you.

Derek is also using growing techniques to ensure the tea plants

can survive the often extreme Scottish weather.

Plastic covers protect the plants from the frost until they're

big enough to cope with the harsh winters.

Now, Derek, these look like very young plants.

Are they big enough to be producing tea yet?

Well, sure, let's have a look at them.

These are about four years old,

and it's these fresh leaves that we are looking for

for our tea. It's what you do

once you've plucked the leaf that makes the tea.

Whether you add a flavour,

if you bake the leaf, for how long you leave the leaf to ferment

perhaps, or for how long you leave the leaf to oxidise.

And the longer you leave it, the more caffeine is actually formed

within the leaf itself.

What we'll do here in the plantation is we'll take these fresh leaves,

we'll leave them for a very short period of time,

we bake them and we have our Dalreoch white tea.

-White tea?

-Sure.

White tea is the least processed of all the teas

and has the highest levels of anti-oxidants

and the lowest quantity of caffeine.

Black tea, on the other hand, has been fermented and baked,

producing a stronger colour, but higher caffeine levels.

I'm joining Derek for a cuppa.

Now, we've got our white tea over here.

So that's just straightforward green leaves?

It looks very, very simple,

and I'm going to put in a nice heaped teaspoon.

Now, I'm not adding boiling water to this.

Because it's much more delicate, I'm going to add kind of tepid water.

We don't want to cook it, you know, we want to extract the flavour.

So, in a way, you're coaxing it out, you're not forcing the tea out?

That's exactly right.

With the white tea we want to give it a chance just to brew.

Three minutes later, it's ready to drink.

Now, it's a very pale-looking liquid in there, isn't it?

Let's take a look.

We're not putting any milk or any other nasties in here,

-it's just good old-fashioned tea?

-Absolutely.

The way it was designed to be drunk.

-Well, cheers.

-Cheers.

Here's to you.

Oh. Gosh.

A lot of people say they can taste almost like a nutty fragrance.

Very refreshing and, actually, as an iced tea,

I can imagine that's absolutely delicious too.

That's a great idea.

Well, here's to you. I absolutely love it.

I suppose the big question remains,

do you think you'll ever sell your tea in China?

-I think we should watch this space.

-THEY LAUGH

-Well, best of luck.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

Well, there is one more important conversation

we need to have with Dave and Kathleen

and that is to find out if they have indeed made any firm plans

for their future,

and where better to have it other than at their place?

Let's hope they've got the kettle on.

Well, this is a first for me on Escape To The Country,

coming round to your place to have our final chat.

And now we see the problem.

-This is where we live.

-THEY LAUGH

How is it that any of our houses offered anything

that was remotely too small?

So, let's think about it.

Our first two properties - very traditional.

We thought they might fit the bill, but not quite, Kathleen?

Not quite. The first one, although the kitchen was lovely

and flowed straight into the dining room, they were a bit small.

And, Dave, you weren't convinced by number two?

Number two, I wasn't convinced.

My head was two inches below the roof

and when I walked upstairs to the upstairs, my head was in the roof.

-OK, but we kept, arguably, the best till last.

-I'll say.

Our mystery house has had quite a profound effect

upon both of you, I think.

It certainly did. It blew me away, for want of a better term.

I was really, really impressed.

And, Kathleen, it all got a bit too much didn't it, in the end?

Totally overwhelmed. Totally. Yeah, yeah.

It was a bit of an emotional time.

Now, you have suggested that you don't need to look any more?

And that maybe you're going to go and see it again.

That could possibly be our future home.

So, what happens next?

I think we've got to go down to the selling solicitor,

check out the home report, which is the Scottish equivalent of the

English surveyors report, and take it from there, see what happens.

In Scotland, the process is quicker than it is in England,

and they reckon you can...from saying, "Yes, I'll have the house,"

it's six to eight weeks to moving in.

What about you, Kathleen,

are you surprised that it may all happen now quite quickly for you?

I hope it does happen quickly.

I would be relieved not to have to spend a winter in the caravan,

and the thought of being able to unpack the boxes so quickly

would be a very welcome result.

Well, you do make a very fine cup of coffee, it has to be said, Kathleen.

-Thank you.

-But I hope, in due course,

you'll be drinking champagne.

-Hmm.

-Let's hope so.

-Well, here's to you, best of luck.

Cheers.

Well, our trip to Scotland with Dave and Kathleen has been

an awful lot of fun but we have had to work quite hard along the way.

We began we a couple of properties that were full of history

but, as it turned out,

it was the mystery they wanted and we gave that to them in spades.

So, all in all, our trip to the Highlands has ended on a high

and I am delighted. I'll see you next time.

Well, I'm delighted to say that Dave and Kathleen returned to our

mystery house for a second viewing and made an offer which was

accepted, so we wish them all the best for their new adventure.

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