West Somerset Escape to the Country

This memorial behind me was erected to honour one of the countless acts

of heroism that occurred during World War II.

But who exactly does it commemorate and where am I?

Find out in just a moment.

Today, our house hunting couple is hoping we're the final stop

in their ongoing search for their dream country home.

Fantastic, this is a Christmas tree hall.

Isn't it just?

And there are plenty of surprises along the way.

Oh, I didn't expect this.

-The windows are gorgeous.

-Yeah.

Today, I'm close to the Devon-Somerset border.

And this is the Maclaren Memorial in Exmoor National Park.

Now, during World War II, Exmoor was under military control

and was used as a weapons testing and training area.

But in May 1941, when a prototype rocket malfunctioned

during a demonstration to military and government personnel,

Colonel R H Maclaren of the Royal Engineers

threw himself on the device and was killed instantly.

Remarkably, due to his swift and selfless action, nobody else

was injured. And this memorial, erected in his honour

as it says by his brother officers,

stands as a poignant reminder to all those whose service

to king and country included the ultimate sacrifice.

The counties of Somerset and Devon lie in the southwest of England

and share a border that covers around 75 miles.

The Somerset and Devon border is home to some of Britain's

most picturesque countryside.

From the gentle hills of the Quantocks

and traditional seaside villages, such as Porlock

and nearby Porlock Weir,

to the spectacular beauty of Exmoor National Park.

Exmoor is a potent mix of moorland, woodland and farmland

with high cliffs that plunge straight into the Bristol Channel.

The fast flowing River Barle runs through the national park.

And deep within its woodland valleys,

there's a unique way to cross it.

These tar steps, thought to be at least 600 years old,

are what's known as a medieval clapper bridge.

They cross the 55-foot river in 17 spans of flat stone,

each weighing around two tonnes.

The nearby village of Dunster

is another well-preserved medieval example.

The octagonal yarn market in the centre still remains as testament

to the area's days as an important centre of the wool trade.

Today, tourism is a big part of the local economy

and perhaps no-one helps visitors enjoy the area more

than the West Somerset Railway.

England's longest preserved steam railway regularly carries

over 200,000 passengers in a season and its beautifully kept stations,

run by volunteers, make the perfect starting point for an outing

in this beautiful part of the countryside.

The Devon-Somerset borders are a popular choice

for those looking for their own slice of country life.

But as you might expect, that's reflected in property values.

In Devon, the average price for a detached house

is just over £300,000.

That's around £25,000 above the national figure.

You do, however, get more for your money over in Somerset.

In fact, prices there are around 8% cheaper

than back over the border in Devon.

So which part of this corner of England are our buyers

looking to make their own?

Let's meet them and find out.

Chas and Debs have been married for 26 years

and have two grown-up children.

They're currently living in a rented flat in Bristol

after selling their house in the Midlands.

It was just meant to be a temporary base

before they escaped to the country.

We lived in the Midlands for 25 years. And we started living here

a year ago, and we've been desperate to move.

-Getting a bit frustrated.

-Yeah.

City's lovely...but the country's nicer.

With most of their things in storage, they're desperate to move

somewhere with more space.

In this flat, there's no room for...

well, for us to get involved in the things we want.

And they're craving tranquillity

away from the city's hustle and bustle.

There's a siren going past at least once an hour.

The city never stops because we're right in the middle of the city.

It's noisy all through the night.

Chas is a copywriter who can work from home.

And now their children have flown the nest,

they feel it's the perfect time to move somewhere new.

We can move anywhere and we feel that we're young enough to, sort of,

start over again in a different place

and get friends and just enjoy life, really.

So a mixture of, sort of, work-life balance would be better.

Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I want to spend more time away from my desk.

Debs is not only a keen gardener but also a keen cook,

and she hopes a move to the countryside

will finally allow her to realise her dream of self-sufficiency.

I've been gardening for about 30 years now

and had an allotment where we used to live for about 20 years.

And I'd really love to, sort of, be growing more vegetables.

And develop her seamstress skills.

I've made a lot of clothes for myself and my daughter.

And I'm hoping that when we move,

that maybe I might be able to turn that into a small business.

For Chas, it's the chance to pursue his love of foraging.

We're always out looking for...in the autumn, for fruits,

for fungi...things to eat.

And he's even going to buy a dog to help him.

Well, Debs wanted a dog. I'd be in my element.

So with plenty of plans up their sleeves, Chas and Debs can't wait

to leave the city behind them and start living out

their country idyll.

They're looking for rural tranquillity

around the Somerset-Devon border and are happy to settle

in West Somerset or East Devon.

They've already seen more than 30 houses over the past 12 months.

So before we start our search, I'm going to dig a bit deeper

to find out exactly what they're hoping to find.

What has brought this big move about?

You've lived in the countryside

before, in the Midlands, haven't you?

We just wanted to be nearer really nice countryside and...yeah.

The kids left home as well, so it's a chance to start afresh.

-Coastline?

-Yeah.

Being within striking distance of the coast would be nice.

What do you call striking distance?

Getting there within an hour would be fantastic.

Took us three hours from where we lived before.

Course it does. That's why I'm a bad swimmer, I'm from the Midlands too.

Do you want to be on the edge of a village or do you want to be

in the middle of...well, rural Devon or Somerset?

Oh, it'd be fantastic if it's on the edge of a village cos

we've come from a community and we really want to be part of one again.

Yeah, there'd be no other way of getting to meet people

unless we're in the middle of a community.

Talk to me about the property itself, what does it look like?

We have no preconceptions about the house.

You say that, come on, everybody says that.

-Well, I don't want to have a modern house.

-OK.

Wouldn't want to be on an estate, be a bit unhappy about thatch.

If we could avoid listed, we'd be happy with that.

We don't want anything that looks like an executive house.

That would be horrible. That's a nasty term.

If it's got some character and period features, that'd be lovely.

What about conversions?

Like barn conversions or anything like that?

-Ohh.

-I'm keener than Deb -

she doesn't like them at all and I don't mind.

Yeah no, no. A lot of them were done in the '80s

and they tend to have very dark '80s windows.

How big does it need to be?

Two bedrooms, a work room for Deb, two rooms downstairs

and an office somewhere for me, which could be a double garage

converted or an outbuilding, I think we'd be there.

-Deb's dead keen to have a garden, half an acre at least.

-Yeah.

-I need somewhere to work from.

-Stop there.

-Half an acre of garden?

-Yeah.

What are you going to do with all this?

I'm going to grow vegetables, fruit.

I've been doing that on an allotment before,

but I'd kind of like to have it all in one place now.

If there was space, I'd have a meadow and just, sort of...

Oh, right...

-OK, all right.

-You can find it.

-So half an acre of garden...

Yeah, where is this house?

Or even a meadow. Right, OK.

Now, Chas do you need some outside space, any interests you've got?

I'm a keen woodworker.

If there was a workshop somewhere, that'd be fantastic.

I'm fairly keen to grow some Christmas trees, as well.

If there's the tiniest plot, I could have half a dozen Christmas trees

and trim my own each year - that'd be fantastic.

I'm sorry I even asked that question.

-We've got a lot of outside space now, haven't we?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Christmas trees...

Only a small plot...gardening plot.

OK, then, let's talk through the budget.

All this, of course, comes at a price.

What are we looking up to?

Well we could possibly spend up to £475,000,

but we'd really rather spend about £450,000.

OK, that's fair enough.

And that's a good budget for what you're looking for.

Devon - not a cheap part of the world.

Somerset's slightly cheaper.

I think maybe for our search, these three properties,

we could have skirmishes either side of the border.

-How does that sound?

-Sounds good.

-Sound.

Yeah? Let's get started, shall we?

-Yeah.

-This way.

-Yeah.

For their top budget of £475,000, Chas and Debs are looking for...

And they're not keen on modern houses, listed houses

or thatched roofs, but character is good.

We've found a trio of houses to tempt our buyers.

And at each one, I'll be asking them to guess the price

before I reveal it.

The final stop will be our mystery house.

And today, I'm hoping Debs and Chas will award it full marks.

The first house we've found for Chas and Debs is in West Somerset,

in the heart of West Bagborough,

a small village just eight miles away from the county town of Taunton

and around a half an hour drive to the sea.

Just 350 people are lucky enough to call West Bagborough home.

This charming village lies in the Quantocks -

the first area in England to be accredited

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1952 -

and it remains unspoilt today.

The local pub serves hearty fare that provides good fuel

for a walk up to the Quantock Hills that can be accessed directly

from the bridleway that runs beside it.

And if your feet fancy a break, the local trekking centre offers

the chance to enjoy the views by horseback.

Our first house lies in the heart of the village.

-Right then.

-Ah, OK.

-So lovely little village.

-Yeah.

And house number one is this.

Fantastic. Yeah, no, looks good so far, the village looks great.

We like the village, we know this area.

You know this area? You've researched this before, have you?

Not this village, but we know this area.

Quantocks is right behind, we know that, absolutely.

The pub we just walked past, it was lovely.

-Let's talk about the house.

-Looks all right.

-Quite homely looking, I'd say.

-Yeah.

Yeah, yeah...come on, give a bit more.

No, it does...it does look quite nice...yeah.

Of course, it's what's inside that counts. Let's go and take a peek.

-Yeah.

-OK.

This detached cottage was built in the 1960s

and its exterior is giving nothing away.

We begin our tour of the inside in a large sitting room

just off the entrance hallway on the right-hand side of the house.

Well, let's start off with this...very bright living room.

-Oh, yeah. Nice.

-Yeah.

Yeah, dual aspect, which is good.

Yeah, and a lovely view of the garden. That's very tempting.

Just through that doorway, they've got a really nice sun room.

Yeah, we could see that from outside. It looked quite nice.

I can see from here, it looks very nice,

that looks thoroughly light and airy.

I don't know whether that would be suitable for your office,

maybe too bright and probably not enough storage especially for books.

-Mmm, don't know about that, OK.

-But it's an option, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's an option.

-So first impressions?

Actually, it's nicer inside than it is on the outside, I think.

Yeah, I was kind of getting your luke warm...

I think it feels quite homely.

Yeah, I think, on the outside, it looked more modern

than maybe we like, but inside, it feels much more homely.

I'm glad Debs and Chas have warmed up.

The outside of the house might not have delivered,

but the inside certainly has...so far.

Across the hallway is the kitchen, also very bright and airy.

-Yeah, it's...good.

-I quite like that as well.

I like the space again.

Dining room's just through there.

Yeah, it's a nice family room, this, actually, isn't it?

No, I like this kitchen a lot, space works for me.

Yeah, it's lovely, actually. Yeah.

'Just off the other side of the kitchen from the dining room,

'there's a good size utility room, offering more storage

'for the kitchen overspill.'

Let's go upstairs,

maybe look at some bedrooms or even an office, Chas?

-OK.

-Yeah, OK.

'As we go upstairs, the first room we come to is a study

'which could be a work room for Debs or Chas.'

Now, Chas, obviously a lot smaller than the conservatory...

-Whoooa.

-..but a dedicated office.

-I'd struggle to work in here, actually.

-Yeah.

You've got three other bedrooms.

-Is this the smallest of the bedrooms?

-Yes.

-Oh, well, if that's the smallest, that's not too bad.

-Yeah.

If this room doesn't measure up as Chas' study,

there's also another bedroom at the front of the house

as well as a good size double.

On the other side of the landing,

there's a contemporary family bathroom.

And next door is the master, with its own en-suite

running the width of the bedroom.

-Now, I think you might like the master.

-Oh, yeah.

Yeah, that's a nice, good size.

A lovely view.

I quite like this, nice big cupboards, not a huge room but...

No, it's big enough though, I think, as a...

We don't want a monstrous bedroom but...

Two- to three-bedroom houses don't have two or three big bedrooms.

And that... I think that's something we'd remind ourselves of.

Debs and Chas might feel the bedrooms

are a little on the small side,

but they do have one more to play with than they asked for.

Next stop is the garden, complete with mature trees and shrubs.

And on a clear day, there are stunning views of the Brendon Hills

and Exmoor in the distance.

-No, too small for me...sorry.

-JONNIE SIGHS

-Bang down to earth.

-It's not overlooked.

South facing, views of the hills and the valley but...not enough of it.

No, it's not a gardener's garden.

It's a lovely garden if you just want to sit and relax.

And there's a nice patio. And if you just want to sit

and look at the garden, then that's fine.

But when you're a gardener, you actually want to be gardening.

So let's have a go at guessing the price, who's going first?

-Deb's going first.

-OK, um...

-She's so keen.

About 375?

Right...OK. Chas?

I'm in the same ballpark. Maybe the village adds a bit,

so let's say, I don't know, a bit more 380, possibly.

This place is on the market...

For offers around £465,000.

My goodness!

It's an asking price, who knows where it'll settle,

don't be disheartened too much.

-We're not.

-Yeah, no, no.

All right, but do go back into the house and have a look around.

I'll meet you out the front whenever you're finished.

-OK.

-Brilliant.

-See you in a mo.

-Thank you, thanks.

This detached house is almost half a century old.

And although it's £10,000 under

our buyers' budget,

there's a possibility the vendor

might accept an offer even lower.

It's nice and airy in here.

It is, yeah. Could it be an office?

Yeah, I can see coming in here on a winter's day, it'd be nice.

The house feels quite nice and homely, it's very simply laid out,

so I could feel like I'm at home here, and I think Deb could too.

Inside, it's quite a nice house.

I like the space. But the garden is far too small for me.

Well, I know you didn't get lost in the garden,

but you got to see all the internal accommodation, yeah?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-We're happy.

I think it's been a bit of a learning curve, hasn't it?

For me, finding out what your priorities are,

but also for you guys, I suppose, finding out what you get

for your money in this part of Somerset.

-Onwards and upwards, let's go to property two.

-OK.

-OK.

When they make their move, foraging fans Debs and Chas

are looking forward to getting a four-legged friend

which could help them sniff out truffles,

a prize fungus which grows underground and is better known

for being searched out by pigs.

So to give them a master class in hunting for this delicacy,

we've arranged for them to visit Martock,

on the edge of the Somerset Levels, to meet Marion Dean,

who runs truffle-hunting classes for canines on her three-acre farm.

And is this a proper truffle-hunting hound?

Yes, she is. This is my most experienced dog.

She knows lots about truffles.

And what breed is she?

She's an Italian lagotto. Because of their excellent noses,

they were drafted into truffle hunting.

Truffles have been described as the diamond of the kitchen

and black gold, and don't come cheap at over £2,000 per pound in weight.

Marion has 650 trees here whose roots have been impregnated

with truffle spores so she can grow her own truffles.

It's not an easy crop to grow.

They can take five to 15 years to appear

or they might not turn up at all.

So do you need this breed of dog to go truffle hunting?

Absolutely not.

I think temperament is the biggest thing to go for.

When training begins, dogs like Mufty are first introduced

to the truffle scent so they know what they're searching for.

Are you starting out with pieces of real truffle or truffle oil

or something doused in truffle oil or what?

Yes, I train so that when Mufty

smells a truffle, she sits down,

and often the truffle's between her paws.

To see Mufty in action, it's off to some shady woodland nearby.

Marion has permission from the owner

to search for and harvest truffles here.

The illusive fungus grows wild here courtesy of mother nature,

and this patch is full of beech trees,

which makes it terrific truffle territory.

They're an extremely generous truffle host.

She's obviously getting keen now that we're in the woods,

what sort of signals are you giving her?

Well, obviously, I give her the command to start working.

And then she goes off looking for a truffle.

She'll keep looking back at me for eye contact as if to say,

"Are you paying attention?

"If I tell you about a truffle, are you listening?"

OK, shall we see if we can find any?

-Let's go, yes, yes.

-Come on, Mufty, this is up to you.

Sit...working...truffle.

So will she always stay within sight of you?

She's fairly well trained to work at close quarters.

Truffles are very popular

with squirrels and other woodland animals,

so hopefully the locals here have left some for Mufty to sniff out.

Wait. Clever girl.

It looks like Mufty's hit the jackpot.

That's so good. She's actually knocked it out of the ground.

-That is fantastic.

-Yeah.

-Fantastic.

-Wow.

So is this your first wild truffle?

It certainly is, that's amazing.

If you're hunting for truffles, you need to do your homework

so you know what's safe to eat, as some fungi are poisonous.

A truffle that feels heavy for its size and is hard

with an unbroken coat is a good sign.

Is it a good one?

It smells very nice indeed.

I'm a little concerned because it's got some give in it.

A soft truffle isn't a good trait as it could be the beginnings

of it going off.

They're best eaten fresh and don't last for more than around

seven to ten days maximum.

They're usually used in pasta or risotto dishes,

but Marion uses them in a slightly more unconventional manner.

Today, she's got bread and butter pudding made with truffle

that's cooking at home.

Right. Now, then how is that?

Cor, the smell is intensified, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's fabulous, isn't it?

-There we are.

-Thank you.

-Tuck in.

Well, we'll start with a small portion.

Off you go, Debbie, have a try. And tell me what you think.

Mmm...it's really lovely.

Mmm that has changed bread and butter pudding completely.

Fantastic. Well, let's tuck in. Don't let it get cold.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

For our second property, we're crossing over the border

to Devon and driving nearly 60 miles from house number one

to the village of Roborough.

It's about a 40-minute drive to the sea and just 13 miles away

from Barnstable, North Devon's capital.

Chas and Debs would find a welcoming community to join

in the village of Roborough.

At the heart is a 16th-century pub which hosts live music.

And there's a village hall that holds a number of events.

Surrounded by beautiful countryside, there could also be plenty of places

to dig out those truffles.

House number two is just a seven-minute walk

from the centre of Roborough.

Actually, this is quite nice.

Definitely much more positive than the last one.

Look at these reactions, these are so much better

than the first house, aren't they?

-This feels like the kind of place we'd live.

-It does.

Whereas the other one didn't much.

-Say no more. Let's go inside.

-OK.

This substantial house was originally a cottage built in 1952.

It was then extended and converted into a family home

around 40 years later.

It's set out over three floors. And the front door leads straight

into a large entrance hall.

First impressions?

Fantastic. This is a Christmas tree hall.

Isn't it just?

All the Christmas trees in here.

I'm liking this a heck of a lot and I can imagine inviting

several families to come and stay at once in the summer here,

our friends from the Midlands.

Off the back of the hallway down a few stairs

is an expansive square reception room.

So the owner calls this the party room.

I think it's fairly easy to see why.

Yeah, nice.

-It's big.

-It's big, isn't it?

Yeah, it is, yeah, you'd get loads of people in here.

Underneath this flooring is under floor heating.

Got two French windows opening out onto this balcony that overlooks

beautiful southern landscape there.

Yeah, a lovely valley down there.

OK, so this is good, you've ticked a few boxes already.

Well, we've definitely kicked things off on the right foot,

so it's all smiles as we head to the kitchen-diner

back on the ground floor

with its impressive bi-fold doors opening onto a decked balcony

offering breathtaking views.

It's lovely, really nice, yeah. Another big tick.

I like that throw-open effect there.

Yeah, I've always wanted that.

And to open it out onto that lovely countryside...

It's a picture frame, isn't it?

It is, it is.

I feel as though I ought to be in the Alps or something so that...

I don't know, something about this is quite nice, definitely.

A lot of the brick you see is reclaimed brick

from a cottage that was here.

Through there, where the cottage was, you've got a utility -

separate utility - and a downstairs loo and shower room,

somewhere to wash the dog off after foraging, maybe?

Fantastic, yeah.

It feels like it could be our home.

Also on the ground floor, there's an office and a dining room

both of which could be put to different uses.

And on the first floor, in the beamed eaves,

there's a large landing leading to two of four bedrooms -

one with an en-suite and another next door to a bathroom.

Then down a few stairs, there's a third smaller bedroom

next to the bright and spacious triple aspect master,

which is en-suite.

-Views, views, views.

-Yeah, definitely.

Whoa, OK, we've got three views and we've got a dressing room.

-And a balcony.

-And a small balcony.

-This is brilliant.

-We like this room.

-Don't you?

-Yeah.

-It's got masses of character.

It goes on and on, this house, doesn't it?

-We're liking this a lot.

-Yeah, a lot, yeah.

I hope so, yeah, cos after your reaction to the first house,

I thought the next one has to be about the outside space

as much as the inside space.

-Yeah.

-Good.

There's so much room in this house that it offers lots of options,

plenty to think about as we head outside.

Now, I imagine this is probably more what you had in mind for a garden.

Definitely, definitely. It's fantastic. It's a blank canvas.

This all in all...plot size is around an acre,

but this garden's south facing. I mean it's beautiful...

Behind that hedgerow, you've got nearly two acres...

-Oh, that field is...as well?

-..of paddock. Yeah.

-Do you like that?

-Yeah.

Yeah, we like that. Not sure what we'd do with that, but that's...

Lots of things we could do, I'm sure.

If you just come round here a bit more with me...

You've got, well, essentially, it's like an annexe, isn't it?

It is.

-First floor...office.

-Yeah.

Ground floor...workshop.

-Fantastic.

-Anything we want to do, we can do here.

There's no question about that.

Yeah, masses and masses and masses of space. Great.

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

Well, it's got everything we want and much, much more.

I think it's way over the budget. And I'm going to guess £500,000.

All right, Chas?

Well, I don't think you'd push us that far, so...

so I'm going to say it's right at the top - £475,000.

OK, well, I'll put you out of your misery.

It has previously been quoted on the market closer to your guess -

£500,000 - but having met the owner,

he's now quoting an asking price

of £475,000.

-Not bad news?

-No, that's...

-No, no, that's quite good, yeah.

I mean, it stretches us to the limit,

but we get everything we want here.

He would be prepared to reduce the price further

if you didn't take the paddock or the field.

There's so much of this property you haven't seen.

See, we'd never feel cramped here.

Go and explore it then, I'll catch you whenever you're finished.

Thanks very much.

This substantial detached house

is right at the top

of Debs and Chas's budget,

but happily there is room

for negotiation.

Wow...got a...workshop, as well.

Yeah, it's big enough for any project I could imagine doing here.

It's just exactly what I expected of a house.

It's...the space we could easily work with.

And having a meadow, as well,

it's just above and beyond what I expected.

It's not the sort of place we would ever have come to look at,

too Swiss, too...I don't know. But when we got here...

I think we've fallen in love with it.

But we have been searching for quite a while and of all the places

we've looked at, this is probably the most intriguing.

It's probably the biggest we've ever looked at and...

it's the place we could most easily, yeah, lose ourselves in.

-I thought you pair had gone foraging.

-Yeah, definitely.

So much to see in the house, but outside, as well, wasn't there?

-Brilliant.

-Masses.

-Masses and masses to see.

We like this place a lot.

Well, there's something to think about tonight then over dinner.

Then tomorrow's a new day. I'll take you back.

Thanks.

It's the second day of our journey around the Somerset-Devon border

on the hunt for the perfect property

for Debs and Chas from Bristol to call home.

They've got a good budget of up to £475,000 to spend

on their country retreat.

And they're looking for somewhere with a fabulous garden.

Coming up, will our mystery house be top of the class?

-This is the kitchen I've been looking for, actually.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

And I'll be getting bogged down on Exmoor.

Goodness me it's, literally, like a sponge.

Yeah, it's very absorbent.

Well, yesterday, for Chas and Deb, big was certainly better, wasn't it?

But I do think we've got a clear contender now with house number two.

So much so that for the mystery property, as usual,

I think we can afford to take a bit of a risk.

Now, there are a few areas of concern here.

First of all, they've said they're not particularly keen on conversions

and listed properties.

Guess what, the mystery property is both of those.

But the other area of concern for me now is I think we might have

spoilt them with all that outside space with house number two.

For the mystery property, they're going to have to think

laterally about how they use the gardens.

For our final property, the mystery house, we're travelling back

to Somerset, 45 miles from the second property,

to the hamlet of Yarde, which lies on the edge of Exmoor National Park.

It's under a 15-minute drive to the coast and just a five-minute

drive from the nearby town of Williton.

Originally a small Saxon settlement,

today Williton is home to over 3,500 residents.

It's on the West Somerset Railway line and has its own newspaper,

which was founded in 1860.

There's a farm shop selling local produce, a number of cosy pubs

and a great fish and chips shop.

The mystery house is just three miles away, in the small

but perfectly formed hamlet of Yarde.

This is our mystery house. What's your thoughts?

Pretty unusual.

A converted school, built around 1819,

it was then the village hall and is now a very impressive house,

I think...right up your street.

But at the moment, what are you thinking?

It looks nice from the outside. I quite like it.

I like the look of it.

It's intriguing, that's lovely. That one appeals to me immediately.

-Good. All right, let's go inside.

-Yeah.

This extremely unusual 19th-century building is Grade II listed

and a conversion - not what our buyers wanted -

but this is our mystery house.

It was converted into a residential property in 1972.

And at the back, there's a smaller house attached at one wall,

which isn't part of this sale.

We're heading straight to the kitchen-diner to begin our tour.

Now then, prepare to be amazed.

-Oh, wow.

-Look at the size of this.

-Yeah, this is the kitchen I've been looking for, actually.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-It feels lovely.

-It does.

-I quite like the look of the kitchen.

It feels really homely already.

-Great start.

-Yeah.

-Let's keep walking through.

-OK, lead on.

Next stop is an equally spacious sitting room.

I wasn't expecting this cos I thought having a big room next door, the...

-Might be compromised here?

-Yeah, yeah, no this is...

Even bigger. You can do anything you like with this room.

And having the doors that go onto the garden is brilliant.

Just off the sitting room is a single storey room

which could work well as a study.

And as we go upstairs, we're heading straight for another big space,

which could be...well, whatever they want it to be.

Is this an office? Is this a hobby room?

Who gets first dibs?

Oh, I didn't expect this.

Or is it a bedroom? It'd make a fantastic bedroom.

The windows are gorgeous.

-This is more joyful than the room downstairs, actually.

-Yeah, it is.

I don't know whether this would be a place where you'd sit

most of the time and watch telly or whether it's a bedroom.

On this floor there's also a family bathroom and three double bedrooms.

Two are good size doubles, both with fabulous arched windows.

And at the other end of the landing, there's the master.

You got an en-suite, lovely en-suite as well, actually.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, no this is good.

It's a really nice master bedroom.

It's a very nice, cosy room, actually.

And you probably need the odd cosy room in this house,

cos everything else is so big.

Yeah, exactly, yeah.

It's hard to imagine this 200-year-old building once had

the sound of the school bell ringing through it.

It's been converted into a truly fabulous home which could

offer Debs and Chas a country retreat with so many options.

Let's find out if the outside space gives Debs the garden paradise

she's dreaming of.

So garden's... Well, not conventional for you.

You're going to have to create one, I think, with this house.

You can see, you've got quite a bit of space here.

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

The house has got loads, the garden...not so much, I think.

So let me explain what else you get here that you haven't yet seen.

Big double garage, with power, most importantly.

-That's good.

-That's workshop for you, I imagine.

Just there you get a good deal of that shed there, if you like.

It's an old skittle alley.

-Ha.

-Ooh.

-OK, yeah, no that's good.

OK, it's a lovely looking building.

Now, price wise, how much do you think this mystery house

is on the market for?

I wouldn't be surprised to see this on the market for half a million.

But I don't think you're going to push us that far. I trust you.

So let's say £470,000 this time.

OK, Deb?

I'm going to hope...you've gone under budget,

so I'm going to go £430,000.

All right, well this place is on the market for

offers around £450,000.

OK, yeah.

-That's a lot of house for £450,000.

-Isn't it just?

-Yeah, yeah.

Now is your opportunity to have a look around this place on your own.

You got the outbuilding there, the skittle alley,

you've got this garage, you've got all the other rooms

you haven't yet seen.

Have a walk round everywhere you want

and I'll meet you whenever you're done, all right?

-Let's look at that skittle alley.

-OK.

-See you in a bit.

This striking old school is

a generous £25,000 under

Debs and Chas's budget

giving them a healthy kitty

to spend as they wish.

There's the potential to have

four bedrooms here plus a couple

of options for Chas's office and workshop.

The kitchen-diner is the perfect

entertaining space for Debs.

And the garden is just waiting

for her to make it her own.

Wow, another big space in here.

You'd get the table tennis table in here.

Yeah, absolutely.

It really is quite a fantastic house, actually.

Inside is just more than I could ever dream of.

I think this place is fantastic.

It's the biggest house we've looked at since we started searching,

about a year ago.

More space than you know what to do with here.

This house has given us a lot to think about.

It's almost... Inside is almost our dream house.

Outside, it's not so big. So there's kind of a dilemma.

And this garden isn't a couple of acres, it's much smaller,

but could work really well for us, I think, if we use the space

a little bit differently.

So has the mystery property at least challenged house number two?

-Definitely, yeah.

-Yeah, yeah.

Difficult to choose between them at the moment.

And that's exactly what you need to do now.

I'm going to find you somewhere to have a bit of a confab

and we'll catch up later on, how's that?

-OK, that sounds good.

-OK.

-Let's go.

Exmoor National Park covers 267 square miles and straddles

both West Somerset and North Devon.

Its Uplands are home to around 5,000 hectares of bog land,

formed over 5,000 years and made up mainly of peat,

which is mostly water and partially decomposed plant remains.

In the early 19th century, thousands of drainage ditches were cut

into this naturally waterlogged land

by entrepreneurial landowner John Knight

in the hope the water would run out and the great expanse of moors

could be used as farmland.

His mission was successful and he got the grass he wanted,

but there were devastating consequences to wildlife.

The bogs dried out causing vegetation to die,

and with it, the birds and insects that relied on it.

Maddie Davy is part of a project to re-wet and restore

2,000 hectares of peat land by 2015.

So, Maddie, standing in this huge swathe of land,

I mean, first of all, it doesn't really feel much like a peat bog.

You're about to tell me otherwise though.

Well, there is peat under our feet, but it's probably not what

you would call healthy peat, so the peat is dry and degrading.

I can see this big machinery going on here behind us.

What are they doing?

They are blocking the drainage ditches.

So what they are doing is they are putting in wooden planks

across the ditch, supported by upright posts,

and then covering the whole structure in peat.

So you're basically undoing the drainage work that was done before?

Yes, yeah.

What makes peat bogs so important then in the world?

A healthy peat bog can naturally filter the water.

Rainfall runs down the surrounding hills and into this moorland.

The restored bog will store the water before it slowly makes

its way to nearby streams, where it ends up providing drinking water

to the southwest of England.

Water running through a dried out bog turns brown,

as the decomposed peat is washed along with it

and has to be removed before it can be used to drink.

The re-wet land here is not only valuable to two-legged locals.

Will that be useful to farmers, as well, some of this work that

you're doing? Will they be able to graze animals on a peat bog?

Yeah, the blocks will create little pools which will be ideal,

in this weather anyway, for the livestock to drink out of.

A team of volunteers come here once a month to help maintain

the peat blocks plugging the ditches.

Wendy and Ken have been offering their services here

for the past four years.

You two guys look like you're earning your lunch at least.

Certainly are, yes, we're busy today.

-There's two spades over there.

-Oh, oh.

OK, well tell me what you're doing then.

We're creating what we call a ditch block.

-These are drains that were put in in the 19th century.

-Yeah.

All the water runs off...runs off down the hill to Exeter

and floods Exeter.

The surrounding towns and villages in Somerset are particularly

prone to flooding, so anything that helps prevent such devastation

is hugely valuable to both the land and the locals.

I want to get my hands dirty. Where do I start?

You pick a bit along this side and you take off a piece

so that we can take it over there and put it onto the ditch block

and help to stop it up.

Feels like a building block, Wendy.

Yeah, exactly, that's exactly what it is.

Right, if you could pop it in there, that'd be perfect.

Just right in this hole here?

That's right, stop that bit up, stop it running through.

-Am I just...?

-And just stamp it down a bit, that's it.

-OK.

-Then Maddie's can go in next to it.

That'll block that hole up nicely, won't it?

This area's a work in progress, but nearby, there's an area

of bog land that is fully restored.

So this is potentially the end result.

How long has this been restored?

This is one of the first sites that we restored, so over ten years ago.

At the heart of this is a certain type of moss, is that right?

-Yes, sphagnum moss.

-Sphagnum moss.

-Yeah.

Here, this is what we'd call an aquatic version of sphagnum moss,

-so it lives in the water.

-Right.

Sphagnum moss can be up to 70% water.

So would you like to give it a squeeze?

Goodness me, it's literally like a sponge.

Yeah, it's very absorbent. Yes.

-Up to 70% water?

-Yes.

Does it have any other properties to it?

Has it been used for anything in the past at all?

Well, interesting fact, World War I, they used it to dress wounds

because of its absorbent properties.

Oh, really?

When they ran out of bandages on the front line, that's what they used.

Fantastic, what a beautiful environment to work in.

Well, I wish you a steady and regular flow of volunteers.

-Thank you.

-And best of luck for the future.

I'm going to go before I fall in. I think I almost have.

Well, after great reactions yesterday afternoon

at house number two and today at the mystery property,

I think it's between those houses.

It's funny though, isn't it? They couldn't be more different.

But I don't think we've necessarily split the camp.

But I do think we've got Deb and Chas scratching their heads.

Let's find out their thoughts.

Now then, I'm all ears,

cos I think there's a big decision here, isn't there?

I've set my stall out and I reckon it's between house number two

and the mystery property.

It's not a big guess, is it really?

-No, definitely house number one was ruled out straight away.

-Yeah.

So what's it to be?

I think we're going to go and see both.

-Yeah, we're going to see both of them again.

-Right, OK.

-Both of them have got things in their favour.

-Neck and neck.

So does either of you favour one or the other?

I don't favour one or the other at the moment.

-Neck and neck for you?

-For me, yeah.

I would go for the mystery house more than house number two,

only because the house itself didn't need any work doing to it.

The garden was smaller, so I've compromised quite a lot on that.

It's great that you've got two favourite houses.

What's going to help you make your minds up then?

What's the next step?

Look round both areas fully and check it out.

Yeah, see what goes on in the community.

-You're not in a bad position are you?

-No, no.

No, there's a nice choice, good position to be in, yeah.

Look, whatever you decide, do please let us know, won't you?

-We shall.

-We will do.

-Definitely.

-Good luck with your viewings.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

So after a year of looking in vain on their own, Chas and Deb

are now in the enviable position of having two houses

and they can't choose between them.

On the one hand... Well, it's funny, isn't it?

..you've got a house that's almost too big for them -

property number two - versus the mystery property.

And certainly in terms of outside space,

that's on the cusp of being just big enough.

So hopefully their second viewings will help them decide

which of the two properties comes out on top.

I wish them the very best of luck.

Debs and Chas decided to re-visit the mystery house.

They still loved it, but concluded that the garden

was a little too small and were worried about the large windows

letting in the cold and what it would cost to double glaze them.

They're now continuing their search in the area, hoping to find

their country home.

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