Shropshire Escape to the Country

Would you believe that it was a civil engineer,

more famous for building canals and bridges,

that turned some old fortress ruins

into this splendid castle residence some 230 years ago?

Find out who that great talent was, and where I am, in just a moment.

Today we are given the challenge of finding a pair of house-hunting

fiances a rural retreat before they walk down the aisle.

We could get married here.

Yes, yes, cancel, cancel the venue and just do it here.

And emotions are certainly running high.

I'm getting choked up, actually.

SHE LAUGHS

Today we're in Shropshire

and this is Shrewsbury Castle

that was redesigned in 1790 by the great engineer Thomas Telford

as a luxury dwelling for the town's MP.

Telford showed off his architectural prowess by building this folly,

Laura's Tower, and this rooftop terrace

with amazing panoramic views over the county.

And his brilliance was rewarded by him

becoming the surveyor of public works for Shropshire.

And many of his engineering feats are now much-loved

and iconic landmarks in this impressive county.

Landlocked Shropshire is one of England's largest counties

and borders Wales to the west and four English counties.

The River Severn, the country's longest river at 220 miles,

meanders from the Welsh mountains through beautiful Shropshire

countryside, finally ending its journey at the Severn Estuary.

In Shropshire, this great river passes through the county town of Shrewsbury,

birthplace of Charles Darwin, famous for his theory of evolution.

Shrewsbury displays some of the finest preserved

examples of Tudor architecture in the country, along with tall

red townhouses and attractive shopping streets.

In contrast, Whittington Castle near Oswestry

fell into disrepair after the Civil War,

but its remains are now on the restoration map.

The more rural landscape in the region is home to hilly terrain,

including the Long Mynd, meaning long mountain.

A heathland plateau in the Shropshire Hills,

which forms an ancient natural border with Wales.

So, with its mix of architectural heritage, rich history

and striking rural scenery, Shropshire is a compelling option

for escapees looking for a change of lifestyle.

Shropshire is one of England's least populated counties,

which is great news if you're a rural property shopper.

It also has a good effect on the prices, ie downward,

because the average price for a detached house in the county is £247,000 -

that's £35,000 less than the national figure.

What's more, if you go north of Shrewsbury

and west over to Wales, your money goes even further.

You get more property for your pound.

That's exactly what has attracted our buyers here today,

so let's meet them.

HR manager Nikki and her security manager fiance Carl, from the town

of Farnborough in Hampshire, met over a decade ago.

We've probably known each other 12 years, I suppose,

because we met at work.

And relationship, 10.5 years, something like that.

Yeah, it'll be 11 years in October.

-We're going to get married in about four months' time.

-Yes.

Yes, Nikki and Carl have decided to take on two of the biggest

challenges anyone can face, both at the same time.

This is what's been amazing for us is, you know,

we made the decision to move, put the house on the market,

and it sold so quickly.

We were looking at wedding venues, found the perfect venue.

Carl's been a bit kind of, "Oh, this is moving a bit too fast."

And I think, "It'll be fine, it'll be fine."

And I'm like, "OK, OK. Can we get married now?"

Once they've tied the knot,

they've decided to say farewell to Farnborough and head north.

I'm not sort of moving because I don't like the area,

but it's getting more and more built up.

I mean, I was born in Farnborough and I've lived here for 40 years,

so I've seen it change quite a lot,

and there's just no real outdoor space that can be yours

if you want your own outdoor space more than a small garden.

And they have found just the spot to live the good life.

We're looking to move close to Oswestry up in Shropshire,

just outside of the Shropshire Hills,

very close to the Welsh border.

We've gone up a couple of times, had a look around and it's really

cemented in our minds that that's the area we want to go and live in.

Once we started looking and realised how beautiful it is up there,

it really did make our minds up that's where we want to go.

Carl has three grown-up children who won't be making the move,

but he and Nikki are not planning on living alone.

I spent a lot of my earlier years living in country,

so I'm very horsey.

I want to get a horse again, so I'll be out riding.

We've got a few chickens now, so we want to get a few more,

and Carl wants to get some pigs,

so the outdoor space is really important.

-Yeah, five acres...

-Options.

-..is kind of a minimum.

-Yeah.

To complete their country dream, they're also excited about having

a kitchen garden just a few steps away,

so keen cook Carl can make the most of freshly grown produce.

I have an allotment,

but it's inconvenient sometimes to have to drive there and it's not the

same as sort of wandering out and thinking, "Oh, what should we have for dinner?" And picking something.

That's why I'm... We're looking forward to.

To have it outside the door, you can literally, on that day,

go outside and say, "We'll have this."

With their house sold and a firm plan about what happens next,

the race is on to find them their first home as future husband and wife.

As I said, I've lived in Farnborough all my life.

My children are here, so it's going to be a big change

that I'm not going to be living somewhere where I can see them quite readily.

I think that side of it has always kept us here as well,

wanting to be close to them, but I feel like it's the right time.

They've grown up now, so they've got the ability to come and visit.

You know, I grew up in the countryside,

so I just want to find that experience again.

Nikki and Carl are keen on rural areas around the town

of Oswestry, close to the Welsh border,

but are open to viewing properties elsewhere in Shropshire,

so the county's our oyster.

Before we begin hunting for their country home,

I'm meeting them to discuss exactly what it is they're looking for.

-Welcome to Shropshire, you two.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

You're living in lovely Hampshire. Why the move to Shropshire?

The lovely countryside, it's so peaceful up here.

-We want some land, so...

-I know you do, five acres.

-Five acres.

-Well, yes, that would be ideal.

What are you going to use that for?

Yeah, we'd like to be a little bit more sustainable.

So what are you looking for in the house?

I'm looking for quite a large kitchen area,

so I could do some entertaining in there.

If you are cooking, people could be in there with you.

-What about the bedrooms?

-Ideally, three.

-Three.

-Yeah.

But, I'm going to be working home,

so I need...either a home office or a fourth bedroom.

And what about the location? Are you fussed about where you live?

Um, we're not too fussed, really.

There's some really lovely locations in Shropshire.

So you want to be kind of remote on your own,

not in the village or...?

-No, we...

-No.

-We don't need to be near people.

It will be nice to know that there's people out there,

but, you know, we don't want to be able to reach out

and touch them like we do at the moment.

Remind us, how much money have you got to play with?

We've got a budget of £475,000, roughly, less the wedding.

Oh, you're going to take the wedding out of that?

-Well...

-Maybe.

-Could be.

Well, depends what the house you show us is like.

-And then you get married in a sort of service station?

-Yeah! Could be.

Could be.

So you want five acres, which is a big plot of land,

which tends to bring a big house with it,

so...that kind of pushes the price up.

Would there be a compromise there?

We understand that maybe, to get what we want, we'll have the

big work or something, which we're willing to do.

-So it's land first, house second?

-We say that.

-Yeah, we say that now, but...

-We say that now.

Until we show you a lovely house?

Until you show us a lovely house that needs no work.

Well, of course, being our show, we do have lovely houses lined up,

-so let's go and look at them.

-All right, thank you.

-Thank you.

Our buyers' budget of £475,000 is a substantial one for this area,

but the less the house costs,

the more cash they'll have for the wedding.

They want a large kitchen-diner and three bedrooms, plus a study.

And outside they're looking for five acres of land,

so they can be self-sufficient in a location that's rural

with no near neighbours.

We've picked out a wonderful variety of properties for them to visit,

but they'll only find out the price of each one after the tour.

Our final visit will be to the mystery house,

which throws a couple of surprises into the mix,

but gives them the chance to live the country life in style.

For our first property, we're off to the village of

Ellerdine Heath in the northeast of Shropshire.

It's a couple of miles away from the village of Waters Upton.

Here, all the essentials are to be found, including a post office

and store, a dining pub, and a handsome red sandstone church,

all serving residents both near and a little further afield.

A five-minute drive takes us to rural Ellerdine Heath

and our first property, which majors on rural seclusion and land.

-What do you think?

-It's a bungalow.

-It is a bungalow.

Yes, it's a... Yes, built in the 1980s, or in 1980 in fact,

and then the present owner's been here 17 years.

They've completely remodelled and they added this huge outbuilding.

There's also a lot of land.

So, you know, you did say you wanted land, not necessarily the house.

Yes, well, I don't mind a bungalow.

It just looks a bit small from the front.

Have you got the extra buildings there because it's small inside?

Let's have a look and see if we can win you over.

This property may only be on one level,

but there's certainly plenty of space here.

The front door leads to a long hallway that divides

the property in half.

We're heading straight for the lounge-diner,

which runs from the front to the back of the property.

You pop your self here, then you can see both sides.

You've got this big sitting room here, with a log burner,

and then a big dining room with the double doors out into the gardens.

It's nice and very much our style.

-That's good because you were kind of wrinkling your nose outside.

-I know.

-Bungalow.

-Bungalow! Pleasantly surprised, yes.

-I'm excited to see more.

-Come through and look here.

OK, Carl, this is your domain. What do you think of the kitchen?

It's very nice.

A little bit smaller than we were looking for,

but it's a very nice layout.

It's got everything you need. There's plenty of space to work in.

And it does go through here. You've got a utility room through here.

And also, behind us, there is a double garage,

so you could eventually knock through that

and make this one huge kind of kitchen, dining, breakfast room.

Yeah, it's definitely an idea.

It'd be a really good solution to getting that large

space for entertaining.

This is definitely a house where it benefits from, like, exploring

and looking around at all the possibilities,

but I want to take you through to the sleeping quarters.

Across the hall are four bedrooms, all off another long hallway.

There are two that could be used as doubles,

one at the back and one at the front,

along with a larger one, currently used as a study,

with doors to the garden.

These are served by a smart family bathroom,

but we're heading to the master bedroom, which overlooks the front.

It's interesting because the house is much bigger

-inside than you think.

-Yes.

-It's a good size.

-Yeah.

-Quite easily fit our bed.

-Yeah, and lots of cupboards.

-Lots of cupboards and a little en suite shower here.

-Oh, fantastic!

Sweet.

-I'm really surprised, actually, yeah.

-It's very nice.

-Very, really good size as well.

-Yeah.

-Is it growing on you, this house?

-It is, very much, yes.

So, don't take the quiet as not liking it,

it's surprise, I think, more than anything.

It is surprised, yes.

So the monolayered dwelling doesn't bother you?

No! I'm...warming to it.

Most of the bungalows we've seen in the past are in towns

and so on, so this is...

And small.

There's nothing small here,

and especially not outside, where the land's the star.

There's a huge front lawn with mature borders and trees.

Round at the back, there is also a great garden with numerous

outbuildings and fields beyond.

So, a big plot of land. You've got five acres in total,

probably a bit more including the house,

and this whole field here is yours.

And then you also have this paddock

and all of these agricultural buildings,

so the Dutch barn, this workshop,

-and then that's the new bit here.

-OK.

-Wow.

-Yeah, it's a lot. It's good though. It's...

-Enough?

-Yeah! Good land.

-Yes, definitely good land.

-Yeah.

-Yes, I'm liking it a lot.

-I'm liking it.

The only missing part of the puzzle is of course the price.

So what do you think this is on the market for?

Oh, over budget, definitely over budget because of the outbuildings.

I'm going to say it's on at £485,000.

I'm going to go a little bit lower than that,

but say right at the top of our budget, £475,000, hopefully.

Well, in this instance, Nikki is uncannily correct.

-It's actually on the market for £485,000.

-Oh!

But it has been on the market for a while

and they did reduce it to that price,

so, you know, there could be leeway to get it down to your budget.

Go and explore the outbuildings, since they're a real special part of this property.

-And then, when you're done, take your time and I'll see you at the front.

-OK, thank you.

-Thank you.

This expansive farm property may be £10,000 over budget,

but it would be worth seeing where a sensible offer would get them

as it gives them just about everything they've asked for.

There are options to turn the kitchen into a great

entertaining space and they get their three bedrooms, plus a study.

The land on offer, with the outbuildings, gives them

the opportunity to have plenty of animals, including horses, so

there's real scope for them to lead the good life they're dreaming of.

-This is really good size, isn't it?

-I like this.

It's good hay storage for you.

-Duck house.

-Oh, yeah.

-Oh, chicken house!

Chicken house. Yeah, it's good.

-Yeah, you could have the pigs in here.

-Yeah, definitely.

Wasn't what I was expecting.

I saw the outbuildings as we walked in and thought they're great,

but the property, a bit worried because it was a bungalow.

But once we walked inside and I could see the layout of the place,

really good space, really nice, light, airy, lots of windows.

Yeah, it really kind of alleviated any fears I might have had.

The land is perfect, really. It's a good-sized plot.

And the garden, well, it's just a blank canvas, really.

We could do so much here - put in a veggie plot.

Yeah, it's exciting. It's making me...yes.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hello.

Good, OK. Well, that his house number one,

so don't be too excited/disheartened because of the price...

-because I've got another one to show you.

-OK, thank you.

-Excellent.

A prominent landmark in the East Shropshire landscape, which

has also garnered World Heritage status, is the Ironbridge Gorge,

birthplace of Britain's industrial heritage,

which was kick-started

by iron factory owner Abraham Darby in the 1700s.

Darby's factory, called the Coalbrookdale Foundry,

is still in use today.

It started life producing pots and pans for sale to locals.

Nikki and Carl have come to meet foundry manager Eddie Lindsay,

who's been with the company for almost 40 years,

to find out more about the foundry's history.

Why is this place so important?

The bridge that we see there was the first major structure

that was produced in cast iron

and the discovery of cast iron was really the spark that ignited

the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain.

And what is the connection to the area?

The Coalbrookdale Foundry was where Abraham Darby discovered

the process of smelting iron - cast iron - using coke

and producing castings that were able to be mass-produced,

and that was where we took the leap into the Industrial Revolution.

And how were the materials sourced?

Darby was very lucky that he was sitting on top of the Shropshire coalfield

and in those days, where there was coal,

there was also iron stone, or iron ore,

and the limestone was actually quarried just across the river.

So all the basic materials were very close.

Did Darby's creation lead to the construction

of the bridge we see here today?

Darby himself wasn't responsible for the building of the bridge,

but his grandson was running the foundry,

so Coalbrookdale Foundry made all the cast components that were

ferried down on horse and cart and then constructed over the river.

The last Darby in charge of the company died in 1920.

Now, it's owned by Aga.

Today, the Coalbrookdale Foundry has expanded

on Abraham Darby's first ventures and makes parts for range cookers

and stoves, a central feature in many a country kitchen.

Although the process is largely mechanised,

much of the work is done by skilled workers, using the manual techniques

employed in the 1700s and handed down over the course of generations.

The huge melting furnace is where the molten iron is created.

A mixture of scrap iron, limestone, and coke,

a product derived from coal,

is heated to over 1,500 degrees centigrade before being poured

into a transfer ladle, which holds up to 800 kilos of the molten iron.

This liquid metal is then taken to the casting factory

next door, where the range cooker parts are cast from moulds.

These parts then travel to the enamel shop six miles away,

where production manager Dave Thorpe is going to show

Nikki and Carl the next step in a range cooker's creation.

This is the colour part of the process,

where the cast iron is having the coloured enamel added to it.

Why is it that you enamel the product?

Enamel is basically like, for aesthetic reasons,

obviously giving the cooker its colour,

and also giving it a very hard gloss surface...which is very durable.

And how does the enamel actually work?

We actually take the mixture of clay,

a pigment to give its colour and glass to give it its durability -

we mix that together.

It's then sprayed onto the surface of the cast iron.

It is melted onto the surface at a high temperature,

cooled down, and that gives you the actual finish of the enamel process.

Now there's an opportunity to get up close to the process.

Carl's going to try his hand at enamelling a door himself.

He's using a hand-held spray gun to evenly distribute the enamel

onto the door to give it a cream finish.

Each part is given three coats, so it can take several days to

finish before it's ready for assembly.

Having got up close to Shropshire's industrial past,

it's time to put our best foot forward

and return to our house hunt in the beautiful countryside.

For our second stop, we're travelling around 40 miles west

and hopping just across the border into Wales,

to the village of Meifod in the County of Powys.

It's five miles from the market town of Welshpool.

Meifod is a pretty village, where charming stone

cottages are surrounded by tree-topped hills.

Conveniently, there is a store, a pub and a church in its centre,

and the scenic River Vyrnwy flows through it.

Just on the outskirts of the village, we find our second house.

Now we may have crossed borders,

but it means we can balance that equation of spacious house and land.

-Take a look at that killer view.

-That is a lovely view.

-Yes, it certainly is.

-And all of this is yours.

Those fields there, with the horses, that's yours.

There's two more fields that go down, all the way down to the road.

This beautiful garden. The vegetable garden.

You've got a massive barn here, and a lovely stable block,

and the chicken house.

Right behind the property is Forestry Commission woodland and, you see,

you can get on your horse and you can ride straight off into the woods.

-Oh, fantastic.

-It's got it all going on outside.

-It has.

-It certainly has, yes.

It's nice, it's broken up as well. It's...kind of works that way.

At the top of the garden is the house itself.

Feast your eyes on this!

-A very different offering.

-It's very different.

-It...yes!

The thing about this property is the house,

-I think, will need a bit of work.

-OK.

Originally you've got to imagine a two up, two down

-late Georgian cottage.

-OK.

And everything else that you see, kind of,

spreading that way out are extensions.

-Right.

-OK.

-OK.

-What are your first thoughts from the outside?

I think, coming up the drive, you see the side of the house.

I was thinking, "Oh, God. It's going to be a small cottage."

But, actually, you can see that it's extended out.

Once you get round this side, you see the full scope of it.

Quite surprised once we get round here.

-We are, of course, over into Wales.

-Yes.

-How do you feel about that?

That's fine. We've been over this way a little bit before.

I have a little bit of Welsh heritage as well - my granddad's Welsh.

Was Welsh.

Coming home.

Yes, yes! Just about.

There's little sign of the humble abode this property began life as.

It's thought to have been extended twice,

once in the 1950s and later in the '80s.

We're heading straight to the kitchen and breakfast room.

Right...

OK, so this is the oldest part of the house, where you're standing.

Behind you there, Carl, is the original full extent of the cottage,

so this would have been the back wall.

Down there, where we came in,

that would have been the staircases - that's now a boot room.

And then, on the other side, there's a big walk-in larder.

So you can see it's a bit sort of higgledy piggledy in here.

-It needs a bit of love.

-Yeah.

Yes, but it's still a good size.

The rooms aren't too small.

Sometimes you get, with the older buildings, and the rooms

sometimes feel a bit claustrophobic,

but you don't get that in here, which is good.

I think there's definitely potential. Definitely.

Well, I'll let you see the rest of the house

-because there's a lot of space elsewhere.

-OK.

-OK.

Moving from the oldest part of the house towards the extensions,

which have more than doubled the footprint of the property,

there's a square hallway leading to a large dual aspect sitting room.

It's a change of pace when you come into this part of the house.

Yeah, you can see that it's not the same building, if that makes sense.

-Yeah, it's nice.

-It's a good-sized room though.

-Yeah.

It's really bright.

It's difficult coming from the bungalow

because it was so nicely done, and this is a little bit dated.

But in some ways that's nice

because you'll be able to put your own stamp on it...

-Yeah.

-..if it's in the budget.

-Yes, obviously...

-You worried me now that you've said that.

-I don't want to jump the gun.

Come through the back here and then you can get an idea of the rest of the layout.

I just want to stop here

because this will give us a bit of bearings.

There's this fantastically light and bright room here. Huge volume.

-My initial thought was, "That will make a lovely kitchen."

-Yes.

-It's big.

-There's an island in the middle.

Oh, yeah. I like your thinking there. Yes.

And then you've got this massive sort of hallway with a huge landing.

-Wow.

-Yeah! Wow, indeed.

Shall we just have a peek upstairs and see the one of the bedrooms?

On the first floor, there are three bedrooms,

all back in the original part of the house.

There are two bright doubles, both serviced by a neat family bathroom,

and then the largest of the bedrooms is the master,

which overlooks the front of the house.

It's got nice views out over the valley...

and it does have a little shower room en suite.

-OK.

-OK. It's a good space, again.

-Good size, yeah.

-Again, definitely...

-Needs updating a little bit.

-Yeah, definitely potential.

The reason we brought you here is not because of the house, although the house has amazing potential.

-Yeah.

-It was because of the land.

The property may need a little TLC and creative thinking,

but the land and outbuildings here

couldn't be more suited to what they've asked for.

The house is a bit of more of a conundrum.

-Yeah.

-I take that on board.

-Yes, but...

-Potential, lots of potential.

-Yeah, potential and that view is...

-That keyword again.

-That view is winning.

-Yeah.

-It really is.

OK, now... What do you think this property,

with the view and the land, is worth?

-Oh, you can go first this time.

-Oh...it's a difficult one, this.

I'm going to go four... 400...and...

40 thousand.

I think it would be 400 and...

20. 430,000.

Well, in this instance, you're both pretty close.

But if you split the difference, you'd be spot on.

-It's on at £435,000.

-Oh! Hey, that's a good price.

-It is a good price.

Well, I want to urge you to go and explore

because there's lots to see.

Go have a look in that barn, it's incredible.

It might take some time, but that's fine. It's a lovely day.

-I'll be sitting, waiting for you. In you go.

-Thank you.

-OK, thank you.

This is a real head scratcher, isn't it?

I can see that this one really does come up trumps on the land,

but it's a bit more problematic with the house,

but they do have more money to spend,

so I wouldn't like to make that decision.

This smallholding has come in a generous £40,000

below Nikki and Carl's budget, leaving them plenty of spare

change to bring it up to date if they choose it as their new home.

There's already a dining kitchen and the potential for an even

bigger space, with a little thought and reorganisation.

There are the three bedrooms they want and, outside,

the six acres of land and outbuildings are just the job

to give Nikki and Carl that idyllic country life.

-Big enough for you?

-Yeah. Oh, yeah.

It's huge. Buy a little tractor, ride-on mower,

we could all live in here. That'd be great.

This is a really...

unusual house. It's a fantastic house,

but it's going to take some work, I think,

to get it to what we would want it to be,

but it's definitely got the potential there.

This house has sort of thrown me a little bit because it's

so much different to the bungalow.

You know, it needs a bit of TLC,

some modernising.

As an overall package though, with the view, the land,

the outbuildings, I'm certainly struggling not to just keep

looking out the windows because of the views and everything.

Oh, the outbuildings are amazing.

Everything's set up for having a horse already,

so you could literally just bring two horses in

and ride off into the woods. That's amazing.

It's really quite exciting.

I want to buy it.

And we can afford it, it's in budget! Even better!

-I think I may have found you all a G&T spot.

-This is lovely.

HE LAUGHS

-The only thing is - you have to buy this house.

-Hmm.

-Yes.

-That may be an option.

-May be an option?

-May be an option.

I know it's difficult, but don't worry because we've got the mystery house tomorrow,

-just to confuse you even more.

-Just what I need(!)

-Come with me.

It's the second day of our Shropshire search for a remote

retreat for Nikki and Carl from Farnborough in Hampshire.

They're armed with a healthy budget of £475,000

to spend on a house where they can begin married life

and live off the land.

We've still got a splendid mystery house to unveil.

We weren't expecting that!

I think we're a little bit speechless, actually, yeah!

And I'll be finding out how a grain from a faraway continent has

made its home over here. I like the fact it grows in Shropshire.

It's a bit unusual, I suppose,

but under our climate in the UK it's absolutely perfect.

I think we may have jammed Nikki and Carl's property brains yesterday with those two houses

because they like them so much for different reasons, and I was particularly happy that

they were willing to rise to the challenge of doing up the house, yesterday afternoon,

in order to get those lovely Welsh views.

But the mystery house is a different challenge because here

we're testing whether they would give up their dream of land

for a really beautiful property.

So what are you thoughts about the mystery house?

-What you think we might serve to you next?

-I think this might be...

-..a really nice house, but maybe not so much land.

-Oh.

We're sat here and we can't work out, between us,

what it's going to be.

-Right. Well, good jobs it's a mystery then.

-Oh.

-Mmm.

For our last stop, the mystery house takes us

nearly 40 miles northeast and back over into Shropshire

to the hamlet of Ash, just outside the town of Whitchurch.

Historic Whitchurch is the county's most northerly market town.

It's vibrant with an eclectic mix of architecture,

from grand redbrick townhouses to whitewashed,

beamed and decorative facades.

It houses a good selection of independent shops and eateries,

and the Grade 1 listed neo-classical St Alkmund's Church

overlooks the town.

A couple of miles away in Ash is our mystery property,

standing resplendent in the sun.

-Ooh!

-Ah-ha!

-This is a good mystery house.

-Wow.

We weren't expecting that!

I think we're a little bit speechless, actually, yeah!

-It's not the whole house.

-Oh.

-Aww.

But it is this whole front portion and all of this is yours.

So the mystery about it is - one, that it's attached.

It's a big, old 1850s house and now it's split into three,

so there's two houses at the back, but it's completely private.

The other part of the mystery is -

-you were right, you don't get as much land.

-Right. OK.

So it's all about the house here.

You do have land, there's an acre's garden,

which is including that woodland,

and then you've got an acre's paddock

and an orchard down right back to the drive that we drove up.

What you think of the house though?

-Wow.

-Yes, it's stunning.

-Yeah. Looks amazing.

-It's a special house.

-It is.

-It is, yes.

Yeah, I can't wait to see inside, actually.

Well, it's all about the house, so let's get inside.

This gorgeous mid-19th-century house has been refurbished by the

current owners with many features in keeping with the era it was built.

In the past, it's been a hotel, a children's home

and the summer residence of a Lord.

-Carl, this might be your...

-Ooh!

-Big kitchen, diner.

-Wow.

-OK, sold.

-LAUGHTER

This is fantastic.

Yes, this is exactly what I had in mind.

There's amazing views.

More of the sort of mid-Shropshire...

-I'm a little choked up, actually.

-Are you?

-Yeah!

-Oh!

I just... Yeah, not going to be able to afford it.

We've only seen one room? We can maybe compromise on the land.

We've only seen the hallway and the kitchen,

-and already blown away.

-Yeah.

And what's lovely is they've re-established...

The conservatory was knocked down,

but the owners re-established it according to the plans,

the original plans, so it's an exact replica of what was there.

-It's quite overwhelming, actually.

-It is.

But then the more grand part of the house is this way.

The rest of the grand floor leads off a very impressive hallway.

-Oh!

-Oh, wow!

-This is the living room.

-Wow!

-Yes, wow.

-Too small(!)

-Wow.

-That view is amazing.

-It's all about the views with this house.

-Oh, we've moved in.

-Ah.

-Don't really know what to say.

-That's the third house you've moved into.

-I know.

You've done a bit too well.

What's lovely about it is all these original features,

you've got the deep windows. All the walls are about 18 inches thick.

And through there you can see the archway, it takes

you into a similarly sized dining room with similarly fantastic views.

We could get married here.

Yes, yes, cancel, cancel the venue and just do it here.

LAUGHTER

Also on this floor of our magnificent mystery house is

a utility room, a cloakroom and a study.

And because of the thick walls, there's no hint of the neighbours.

The winding staircase takes us up to the sleeping quarters.

Wow!

Servicing the bedrooms, there's a rather grand bathroom

and an additional shower room, both at the rear of the house.

Then there are four bedrooms, all at the front.

There's a decent-sized double, another in use as a twin,

and another large double with a sloping ceiling,

but we're heading to the smartest of the four.

Well, here we are in the master bedroom.

-Wow!

-Wow!

It really is a master bedroom, isn't it? It's huge!

-And the great view.

-Yes.

So the house is top marks?

-Yes.

-Oh, yes, top marks.

So let's see what we can do with a comprise about the land.

Now, the grounds here may not extend to five acres,

but they are pretty breathtaking.

There's a perfectly manicured lawn with established flowerbeds,

a raised patio,

plus a paddock behind with views across fields.

There's also a vegetable garden

and a double garage.

Oh, that is such a great view!

-And there really is all that...

-So is that one!

-Yeah, it's true.

That's pretty good as well, isn't it?

You've got very lovely features,

a beautiful kind of old Victorian greenhouse,

a stable block right at the end here, and a cellar.

You've got a wine cellar.

What do you think of the outside?

I mean, is it a deal-breaker?

For me, it isn't. I love it.

That was always going to be our point of compromise,

wasn't it, land versus house?

I'm really battling with this one.

Well, I guess we need to know how much it costs.

What do you think this is on the market for?

I think it's on budget.

I think it's 475,000.

I think it might be over budget.

I think about 490.

OK, brace yourself.

The house has only been on the market for two or three weeks

and it is marketed at

-£500,000.

-OK.

But the vendor has said he will sell it to you

for your top budget of £475,000.

-HE LAUGHS

-Oh!

You've shown us three houses now.

How do you choose?

-Lots to think about.

-Yeah.

Why don't you go and have an explore and chat?

-OK.

-OK.

-Thank you.

This mystery mansion may be on the market

for £25,000 over their budget but,

as there's room for negotiation,

this house and all its splendour

could be theirs.

The cook's kitchen is

perfect for chef, Carl,

and there's plenty more

space downstairs to entertain,

including the superb conservatory.

Here, they get four bedrooms

for when Carl's children visit.

Outside, although there's less land

than they had hoped for,

there's around two beautiful acres,

ample scope to be self-sufficient.

When we walked around the corner and saw the house,

I couldn't believe that this was the mystery house

and just the whole grandeur of the place.

I didn't think it'd be anywhere close to our budget.

Carl is so in love with this house.

It's going to be a really difficult decision.

I feel that you're going to be discussing this for quite some time.

-It's going to be an interesting car journey.

-Yes, the journey home.

Some long discussions.

Well, before you go home, let's find a little place to get a cup of tea

and talk about what you've seen.

Shropshire's rural landscape has a rich farming heritage

and, today, around 85% of the county is used for agriculture,

but a new kid on the block is quinoa, a protein rich grain

traditionally grown in South America for thousands of years.

It's gluten-free and has become increasingly

popular in Britain as a rice or pasta substitute.

Steve Jones's family owns a 700-acre farm

and produces around 700 tonnes of wheat a year.

But ten years ago, he wanted to diversify

and decided to try his hand at growing quinoa.

-Steve, good morning.

-Good morning, hello.

-How are you?

-I'm very well, thank you very much.

-It's a proper grain mountain.

Absolutely, it's a big pile of wheat, but what we're looking at today is our quinoa

that we've been growing on the farm.

I was just opening a bag up here,

just to take a look at what we produced last year.

I'm already a little confused because you are saying kwin-noah.

Yes, I say kwin-noah. It's a throwback from when I first started producing the crop,

when most people didn't know how to pronounce it properly.

So I suppose that the proper pronunciation is the keen-wah

but, for me, I stick with kwin-noah. It's the more Anglicised version.

Well, Steve says quinoa and I say quinoa,

but however you say it, I'm very excited that

one of my favourite grains has made it over to British soil,

meaning zero air miles to get his great health

food from the field onto my plate.

Steve produced 80 tonnes of quinoa last year

and is expecting to grow around 200 tonnes this year.

This nutritious grain is certainly making its name known here.

I like the fact it grows in Shropshire, that's a very unlikely combination.

Absolutely. It's a bit unusual, I suppose, but...

under our climate in the UK,

it seems like the fact that we don't get too hot,

we don't get too cold and it's got just to do with the right

amount of rain for it, so it's absolutely perfect.

Steve's got 230 acres of quinoa growing on his farm,

with most of it sold to food retailers who cook it and add it

to their own salad ranges.

We're visiting a 50-acre field that's got the crop growing

as far as the eye can see.

The quinoa fields of Shropshire, I'm quite excited.

Absolutely. This is one of our larger fields

and this crop here is looking, at the moment, to be really healthy.

I'm very pleased with this and you should be able to see that the crop is now starting to get a lot taller

and, when it comes to harvest, it should be about bellybutton height.

Hopefully, in about a month's time,

we'll start to see the crop flowering, which is the period

from after which we start to see the actual grains forming in the head.

Once those grains are formed,

the plants will start to mature and this is what we end up with.

These are the heads of the plant,

which has the seed already formed in.

If you gently rub one of the flowers,

-you'll find that the grains come out fairly easily.

-Wonderful.

Um, let's skip ahead to the eating bits, to the bit where you've

harvested...presumably you're interested in that part as well.

We can go back and make a little quinoa grain salad...

with grain that we grew last year,

but first what we might do is take a few little leaves from the crop

to put in the salad because the leaves are fantastic for eating as well.

So if we pick a couple, we can throw those in

and they taste absolutely fantastic.

It should be, almost, a bit like pea shoots crossed with spinach.

Oh, yes, nice.

Nice nutty flavour to it.

And back at the farmhouse, we're ready to get cooking.

Ah, from the fields to the kitchen.

-Absolutely.

-Nice.

So what we have here is a small spread to help us

create something with plenty of flavour in it.

A cup of quinoa and a cup and a half of water go into the pan,

which is then heated.

After around ten minutes, the water has been absorbed.

So it's still quite firm,

so, if you want, pop that all into the bowl

and we can mix it up with a few other ingredients.

In go the quinoa leaves,

some chopped cucumber, tomato, pepper and sweetcorn.

A squeeze of lime and a quick stir,

and all that's left is the salad dressing.

So what have you been doing here?

This is a bit of sauce I've made for the salad,

a bit of creme friache in it,

some smoked paprika and some chipotle paste.

So I hope this should really have

some pretty good, strong flavours in there.

In it goes

and we're ready to give Steve's Shropshire quinoa a taste test.

So it should be a very nice, healthy salad and,

with all different flavours we've got in there as well,

it should have some really good taste.

You're preaching to the converted because I love quinoa.

You're a fan already, that's brilliant.

People are certainly finding it's

one of the ingredients they're really turning to instead of rice.

-It's good because it's protein.

-Absolutely, plenty of protein.

This seems like a super successful idea

that's kind of come to fruition in a very short time.

Hopefully, onwards into the future, we should carry on well

and produce a whole load more quinoa for people.

That is a good thing.

-Perfect.

-Thank you very much, Steve.

-You're very welcome.

-I'm going to have some more.

-Dig in.

I have to say, usually when everyone likes the houses, it's good news,

but I spot a little bit of tension between Carl and Nikki

because he loves the mystery house, she loves Wales.

What's going to happen?

-Nice spot you've found.

-Yes.

-Yes, lovely.

-Very nice.

OK. So usually, at this point, it's very obvious to me

which house you're going to go for,

but I'm sort of in the dark

because you've kind of loved them all.

Yes, it's been a bit of a challenge for us.

Well, you've got a definite favourite, haven't you?

I have now, after the mystery house.

That's my favourite. It really is.

Am I smelling a little bit of kind of division here?

I think there's going to be a really big, long argument coming up.

-Discussion.

-Discussion! We'll have a discussion!

OK, so, Nicky, tell me about the Welsh house.

Well, that's my favourite.

I...that's got so much potential.

The location was fantastic,

the views were amazing,

it's got the acreage we were looking for,

it's got the outbuildings,

and the garden was amazing.

And, Carl, what about the mystery house?

I still can't believe it's within our budget.

It's just such a grand house and the space within the house is amazing.

But, you know, I appreciate what Nikki wants as well,

with the outside space,

so, you know, it's making that work

and finding how we can find the balance for both of us.

For me, what was missing was the land for the horses.

Um, it's definitely a lot to think about.

I think the properties warrant a second visit.

So you look terribly troubled.

I feel like we've...

-It's good troubled.

-Oh, good.

You know, you've definitely opened our eyes to

some other prospects that we maybe wouldn't have seen before.

-Right. OK.

-Yeah, I think the wedding might be off.

Oh, no! Don't say that! That's the last thing we want to happen.

Well, I hope you do go and you find a house in Shropshire,

-preferably one of ours.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Because we kind of came up trumps with all three, so...

-You did.

-You certainly did.

-You too did good a job.

-Yeah.

Thank you.

It's pretty rare on our show

that the buyers like all three properties in equal measure,

and usually that would be a cause for rejoicing,

but in this instance I'm a bit worried that it's

set Carl and Nikki at loggerheads because they can't decide

which property in Shropshire they want to move to.

I mean, you can understand it's a very magnetically beautiful county,

but I do hope it ends peacefully

and I do hope that you join us again for more Escape To The Country.

Nikki and Carl revisited both

our second property and the mystery house.

And the good news is,

they've had their offer accepted on the second house

and are looking forward to their upcoming big day and moving into

their new home as husband and wife.

If you would like to escape to the country in Wales, England, Scotland or Northern Ireland

and need our help, please apply online at BBC.co.uk/beonashow.