Buckinghamshire Escape to the Country

At first glance, you may be forgiven for thinking this Renaissance-style

chateaux is somewhere in the Loire Valley in the middle of France.

But, in fact, it's much closer to home.

Find out where I am in just a moment.

Today's house-hunters are laying all their cards on the table.

The dining room might be a bit small.

We've got quite a big square table.

So you're going to buy a house around your dining table?

So, will any of our properties reveal a winning hand?

-Look at the character.

-I know.

-Look at the fireplace.

This is just perfect country cottage.

Keep going, Rees, keep going. She's going to break soon.

He's got his rosy tinted glasses on, I can see.

Today, I'm in Buckinghamshire and this is Waddesdon Manor

just outside of Aylesbury.

Until 1874, this was just a simple hill in empty farmland,

and then enter Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild,

who bought the 165-acre plot and set about building this fantastical

French chateaux to entertain his Victorian high-society friends.

Nowadays, the guest list extends to hundreds of thousands of

visitors who come to enjoy the house and the gardens and

acres and acres of beautiful Buckinghamshire.

One of England's Home Counties, Buckinghamshire borders

Greater London to the south-east.

The county's southern section is dominated by the chalk

escarpment of the Chiltern Hills,

much of which is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

But as well as pretty pastoral views,

the county boasts more National Trust properties than any

other, including the magnificent Clifton House and gardens,

located above the banks of the River Thames.

Also in the care of the National Trust is the historic

village of West Wycombe.

Here, it's possible to take a stroll along

a high street lined with cottages and inns dating from the 16th to the

18th centuries, before climbing West Wycombe hill

for magnificent views.

This is the site of the impressive 18th century

West Wycombe House, featuring architectural styles from early

Palladian to neoclassical and built for Sir Francis Dashwood.

But as well as these monuments to the wealthy elite,

Buckinghamshire is replete with historic churches built to

serve the village congregations.

At Lillingstone Lovell, St Mary's retains some

early 13th century features, as does the church of St Nicholas at

nearby Lillingstone Dayrell -

although this was largely restored in the 19th century after falling

into disrepair.

So if you're looking for a slice of classic English country life

packed with centuries-old villages and architectural gems,

Buckinghamshire is certainly a county to head to.

Just last week, the average UK detached house price hit

a record high of £300,000.

That's a 50% increase in the last decade, and here in

Buckinghamshire, the figures are also quite striking.

The average here is £625,000.

That's more than double the UK figure.

That is, in part, explained by beautiful countryside and

also the proximity to London but, as always,

the further north in the county you go away from the capital,

the further your money goes.

So let's meet the couple who have chosen to make Buckinghamshire their home.

Today's buyers are Rees and Cathy, who are currently living in

rented accommodation on the outskirts of Reading in Berkshire

after relocating with their two sons from South Africa a few months ago.

I came over in September last year to get the boys into school

and Rees followed through permanently in November.

We didn't want to rush into buying a house where we immediately

landed in the UK.

We wanted to spend some time looking around,

finding the place that really suited us.

Born and bred Brit Rees - who emigrated in the 1990s -

has fond memories of the UK, but for Cathy, who moved to South Africa

from Scotland when she was just two years old, it's all new.

Now they've spent some time getting familiar with life here,

they're ready for a more rural setting.

The reason that we want to move away from Reading is because

the intention was always to try and find somewhere rurally.

I grew up in a town. I really don't want to live in a town.

I'm remembering summers when I was younger and I continue to

tell my friends in South Africa that there's nothing nicer than

a summer's evening in rural England. Especially if there's a pub nearby.

For Cathy, it's about finally finding somewhere the family

can settle into British life.

I'm really looking forward to finding

a place in the countryside, finding that perfect house and

spreading our roots and just settling down. We have two boys.

Adam is the eldest. He's 14. Scott's the youngest at ten.

I think they are also looking forward to moving into their

own house with their own bedrooms, that we can finally get out all their

things and just settling into their daily life, making new friends.

When it comes to making their country move,

there are two other important members of the family to consider.

In 1995, I bought a Triumph Stag.

Always wanted one ever since I was a little boy and I'm really

looking forward to taking it out on the open roads,

driving it through the countryside, through those little leafy lanes

with the top down, stopping at a pub for a pint.

We have a little Jack Russell, Coco,

who's just the best dog in the whole wide world.

It's almost like having another child. Well, for Cathy it is.

She loves to go for a walk and we love to walk the dog so,

you know, nice leafy country lanes, walking through fields,

footpaths, all those sorts of things.

I don't quite know how she's going to handle seeing all the

squirrels and rabbits.

With two sons, a dog, a classic car and Rees' job for a technology

company in West London to consider,

there's only one county they have their eye on.

We're looking to move to the Buckinghamshire area.

We think it's going to give us the balance of what we're looking

for in terms of location and proximity to where I work.

The lifestyle is quite different, moving from South Africa to here.

Never mind just moving into the countryside,

I think it's just moving to a whole new country.

It's a massive move for us but it's a challenge and it's going to be fun.

Yeah, it is.

Rees and Cathy are open to living anywhere in Bucks within

commuting distance of Rees' work in West London.

But before we start looking at houses, we're meeting up in

their chosen county to discuss what they want from the move.

-Welcome to Buckinghamshire.

-Thank you.

When was the last time you bought property on the UK market?

It would have been about 1989.

-Wow, so the market has changed a lot since then.

-Sure has.

Tell me about your wish list, because it's quite extensive.

For me, I'll be working from home some of the time

so it's important to have a nice study.

I love fires, so a nice fireplace is important for me, too,

and a double garage for the car that we've brought with us.

What about you, Cathy? What's on your wish list?

Ideally, four bedrooms. I'd like a nice large kitchen.

Probably three reception rooms if possible.

That's quite a wish list in terms of space.

Is there any room for compromise?

The right house, we'd compromise on anything, really,

to be honest with you. None of it is really cast in stone.

We've brought a lot of our furniture over with us

so, ideally, we'd like to keep as much of it as we can.

-So how much stuff did you bring from South Africa?

-Two container-loads.

Two containers?

I probably should have sold a bit more before we moved.

In terms of choosing a house together, I get the

impression that you're not so keen on the little cottagey things.

I got the impression that you MIGHT like that.

I don't mind nooks and crannies. Cath prefers more open space.

So that might be a challenge that we'll have to get through.

It's as long as their windows aren't these pokey little things

that you barely get a bead of light coming through.

In terms of your budget,

remind us again of how much money we have to spend.

Absolute maximum is £700,000.

A lot of the viewers who watch the show regularly will be going,

"Buckinghamshire?"

Naive when it comes to Buckinghamshire, I have to say.

-We wanted to set you a challenge.

-Yeah.

Well, hopefully we have risen to the challenge and that you'll love

some of the properties.

We've got some lovely properties and the rain looks like it's

easing off a bit, so shall we head out and see them?

Sounds great.

For a maximum budget of £700,000, Rees and Cathy would like a large

kitchen, three reception rooms, a home office and four bedrooms.

A double garage and dog-friendly garden are desirable and whilst Rees

likes nooks and crannies, Cathy is after clean lines and bright spaces.

So quite a demanding wish list but we've found three great

properties to tempt them with.

At each, I'll be getting them to guess the price before I reveal it,

and the final tour is our mystery house which could just polarise opinion.

Our search is starting on the outskirts of Stowe -

a civil parish famous for an independent school of the

same name, with the hamlet of Chackmore located a couple of miles away.

Once lined with timber-framed thatched cottages,

just two remain but there are still plenty of the leafy lanes

Rees is looking forward to exploring in his classic car,

as well as a traditional country pub.

Back on the outskirts of Stowe, the house we've come to see is

located down another country lane and holds a rather horsey history.

-Here we have house number one.

-Wow. OK.

-It's the stables of the much bigger manor house just over there.

-OK.

-Brilliant.

-What a fantastic area.

We're right next to Stowe school which is one of the finest

schools in the country and this is a charming property.

-What do you think of the outside?

-I like the brickwork.

It looks really nice. Nice colour. It looks very nice on the outside.

A little bird tells me you're not so keen on conversions.

Historically, I've not been a fan.

-Maybe there's room for some movement.

-We'll convert him yet.

-Convert him to conversions.

-Yes, absolutely.

-It'll happen.

-Shall we go inside?

-Sure.

-Let's do that.

The building of this former manorial stable block dates back to

the 19th century but it was converted to a home 20 years ago.

It retains some period features including its clock tower

complete with bells, but it's clear the interior is more about the

clean lines Cathy has asked for.

Here we have a nice kitchen.

The inside of the property is very beautifully maintained.

This is a totally bespoke kitchen. There isn't a handle anywhere.

-I love the stone tiles.

-I like the tiles. Lovely feature.

Definitely the sort of effect we're looking for.

And they've got a nice little utility room there with all your white goods,

your washing machine and also another door so you could

bring in Coco and clean her paws.

Yes, she does get muddy.

It's kind of the spec we were looking for.

Nice older-style house with a modern-ish interior.

Is it bright and big enough for you?

It is a very nice bright kitchen, thank you very much.

Let's look at some of the other reception rooms.

Back across the hall and past a useful cloakroom,

the dining room includes the home's feature staircase. Come through.

You've got the dining area here and then this big living space.

-Do you like the fireplace, Rees?

-Yeah, I like the fireplace.

You wanted modern interiors - this is actually very sleek and modern.

It's very nice. I like the amount of light coming through the double

doors leading to the garden.

In terms of size, is this going to be enough?

I'm concerned that the dining room might be a bit small.

We've got quite a big square table.

Yeah, we'll have to see whether that will fit in.

So you're going to buy a house around your dining table?

There is certain furniture that we won't compromise on and that

-is one of them.

-It's a lovely piece.

So when you said three reception rooms,

you meant the kitchen/diner as one of them.

No, we had two lounges so we've got two furniture suites.

-You might have to scale that down.

-We might have to scale it down, yes.

Rees and Cathy may need a little readjusting to the typical

dimensions of English country living.

The central feature staircase splits to give access to two upper

wings in the eaves of the house.

One side is the family bathroom, which serves

a bedroom currently used as a single but large enough to

accommodate a double bed, and a further small bedroom.

The third bedroom on this wing is a good size and has en-suite facilities,

then over on the other wing, we're checking out the largest bedroom.

This is the master suite. A little shower room here.

And then that's the little door that goes up into the clock tower if

-you're brave enough to take that challenge.

-Really.

-OK.

-A bit cobwebby.

-I like the way it's split.

I like the way you've got the divide and the staircase up.

-It's quite nice.

-You can't hear the children.

-That, obviously, is a benefit.

-It's got a high, airy feel.

Yeah, everything is at a decent level that you're not going

to be ducking.

You don't feel like you're in the attic.

An upbeat finish to the layout of this converted stable block,

and outside there's the double garage Rees

has asked for as well as off-street parking for six cars.

Leading up from the largest reception room,

there's patio dining plus some mature shrubs and trees

surrounding the garden, which is mainly lawn.

It's not a huge garden but I got the impression that you're not

such a mad keen gardener that you want a huge garden.

That's right. A smaller garden where we can spend the same amount of time

in but do more with is probably what we're looking for,

so less time mowing the lawn, more time beautifying the garden,

getting some nice flowers in, that sort of thing.

What do you think this one is on the market for?

I think up near the top end of the budget. I think around about 685.

I think Cathy is pretty much on the mark with that.

-685, maybe a touch higher.

-He likes to agree with me.

All right, it is up towards the top of your budget, but even higher.

-It's right at the top. It's 700,000.

-OK.

Why don't you've another look inside, see whether it enchants you,

-and then we'll go on and see the next property?

-OK.

-We'll do that.

It is a lovely house but maybe a bit squishy for two container-loads

of South African furniture.

But that's the price of property in this very lovely part of the

world, so let's see what they think.

This converted stable block combines

a period exterior with modern living.

There's a bespoke kitchen/breakfast room

and two further reception rooms, whilst upstairs there are four

bedrooms, two with en-suite bathrooms.

Outside offers a double garage and gardens in

a secluded country location.

-What do you think?

-It's very nice.

I do like the wood. I love exposed wood.

The house is absolutely lovely. It's got a nice, light, airy feel to it.

There are elements I really like.

I think the kitchen is a great kitchen,

the sort of thing we're looking for. I love the stonework on the floor.

I think the clock tower is a fantastic feature.

The bedrooms, lovely, but the small bedroom is really,

really small and I can feel a big argument between my two boys

as to who would get the en-suite shower and who wouldn't.

Overall, I think the house is just a little small for what we're

-trying to get to.

-Slightly damp but beautiful gardens.

-Maybe not for them. All right, guys?

-Hiya.

-Have we done?

Great, Cathy, you pull the door.

-We're going to head on to the next house.

-Okey-dokes. Let's do that.

As in many parts of the UK, bright yellow fields of oilseed rape

flowers are now a familiar part of Buckinghamshire's summer patchwork.

It's likely the plant was first brought here by the Romans

and used in the Middle Ages as a soil improver.

The steam engines of the Industrial Revolution were kept well lubricated

with its oil, but for all those centuries, a naturally occurring

acid made the plant poisonous and unpalatable for humans.

Then in the 1970s, Canadian scientists developed an edible

strain and canola - standing for Canadian oil, low acid - was born.

In the 1980s, subsidies encouraged many European farmers to switch to

the crop and at one such farm, sixth-generation farmer Simon Mead

is going to show Rees and keen cook Cathy the process from soil to oil.

Welcome to our crop of Chiltern rapeseed oil.

Our family has been here since 1850s.

I've been farming since I left school but it wasn't until the

-'80s that we started growing oilseed rape.

-What's the growing process?

-Does it grow all year round?

-Well, it starts its life in August.

It's been in the ground already nine months.

It's at the pollination stage at the moment so all the pods are being

formed and we've got another two months to go before we harvest it.

Some people think it's the flower that we get the oil from but, in

fact, the flower gets pollinated and produces these pods and then these

pods, there's some seeds and it's the seeds that we get the oil from.

British production of oilseed rape has doubled in the last

decade alone, making it such a common sight that during the

flowering season, coach-loads of tourists regularly stop off

to aim their selfie sticks at our canary-coloured fields.

If you look at the label of low-cost vegetable oil,

chances are you'll see it's rapeseed.

It's the Artisan single estate cold-pressed varieties that

really get those gastronomic tongues wagging.

Cold pressing is an extraction process that keeps the heat

below 40 Celsius and it can be done by hand, but here, a machine uses

high-pressure to literally squeeze the oil from the seed.

There's still lots of sediment in the oil once it comes off the

press but in here, it passes through the filter and all the little

particulates stay in the filter and we're left with something like this.

-Wow.

-The cleaned oil is then bottled at a rate of up to 2,000 bottles a day.

-Come on, speed up.

-It's a race? OK.

-These guys are good.

-A pourer and threaded cap are added to the top of each...

-Marvellous.

-All done.

-..and finally a label is added.

That's the bottle ready to be boxed.

Rapeseed has half the saturated fats of olive oil and ten times as

much omega 3.

Plus the high smoke point makes it suitable for frying and roasting.

As well as the plain oil, this farm produces a variety of infusions.

Rees, Cath, I've got some flavours that I'd like you to try.

We've got some lovely porcini oil.

It's good for enhancing a risotto, pastas and cooking chicken.

Wow. You can really taste the porcini in it. Straightaway.

-That's delicious.

-Next up, it's the basil/chilli infusion.

Takes a little while to get going.

I'll tell you what, I can feel it now.

That can be used on any food that you wanted a little buzz to it.

-Nice kick to it.

-That works nicely.

-And lastly, it's the basil-flavoured oil.

-Good all-rounder.

-That'll be good for salads.

-Taste the basil?

-Very much so.

Nice rocket, mozzarella salad. It goes really well.

-That would do a good salad.

-These are really nice.

I think the flavours are awesome.

-I'll tell you what, if they all taste like this, I'm converted.

-Good.

Rees and Cathy may be converts to English rapeseed oil but

let's see if we can find the missing ingredient in their move -

their dream home here in the Buckinghamshire countryside.

We're taking our search to the village of Granborough.

In 1833, this largely agricultural settlement was considered such

a tough place to live that the vicar of St John the Baptist's

appealed to the local squire to create alternatives

for the poor, to spending their winter evenings in the pub.

Despite his protestations, The Crown is still going strong.

But other activities do regularly take place in the attractive

half-timbered hall built in 1910.

The nearest shop is a community-run affair about a mile away in

neighbouring North Marston and the house we've come to see is

back in Granborough, located in a close at the heart of the village.

-A very different offering in a great village.

-Yeah.

Again, it was stables. Seem to be a theme.

These were the stables to this house -

-one of the bigger houses in the village.

-OK.

I'll tell you one thing that is different, is how quiet it is here.

-Will it tick all the boxes?

-Will it?

-Fingers crossed.

-Will there be space for the dining room table?

-Will there be space?

-We'll have to see.

-It's nail-biting stuff. Let's have a look inside.

Converted from Victorian stables in 1992,

the front door leads to an L-shaped corridor,

to the left of which is something that should please Cathy.

The first of three reception rooms.

I'm just going to stop off in the dining room.

-Is this big enough for the table?

-Do you know, I think it might be.

-I think this is good, yeah.

-It's a nice big square room. It is.

-It's quiet.

-Windows from floor to ceiling.

Nice, natural light coming through there.

A great start and the dining room leads straight into one large

kitchen/breakfast room. What about the proportions?

Very nice-sized kitchen.

Through there you've got a utility room with

-a tumble dryer and washer and a downstairs loo.

-OK.

The layout is good and the finishings are really nice.

I wouldn't walk in here thinking I needed to do

a huge amount of work straightaway.

You've got the nook over here so it's still

a fully functional area for breakfast and things like that.

-Good.

-It's looking good.

-Smiling.

-We're smiling, yeah.

Still more good stuff to come.

Let's have a look at this room which is the lovely double doors

-out into the garden.

-With a view.

-Yeah, this is nice.

-And an instant fire.

-Right, OK.

Fires are always good, yes. Obviously, first prize would

be wood - wood or anthracite - but a fire is a fire.

It looks the part. It's a nice-sized room, isn't it?

Nice-sized reception room.

In terms of bedrooms, there are four bedrooms.

One of them - the main one - is downstairs.

I'd probably keep that as a guest wing because it's got

its own little bathroom.

-But I'm going to show you one of the ones upstairs.

-Upstairs, yes.

Heading back to the stairs in the corridor,

we also find the third reception room which completes this floor.

Then upstairs there is a family bathroom serving three

further double bedrooms.

The first is located above the ground floor master,

next to which is another with an inset window and then the

largest of the upper floor bedrooms makes bedroom number four.

This is a nice, bright room. They're all sort of the same size upstairs.

In fact, they are quite a nice size, all the bedrooms.

So the boys won't have to arm wrestle to get them.

-They won't have to arm wrestle for the biggest one.

-They'll find a reason.

They'll find something else to arm wrestle over.

I like the fact that there's the one en-suite bedroom downstairs.

I would've preferred that upstairs but you can't have everything

-that you wish for.

-I like this space, I like the layout.

It's got lots of potential.

The nice thing about this property is the scope for expansion

-because we don't have, as yet, a suitable office for you.

-Right.

-Maybe we do.

-Lead on.

Cathy and Rees are both seeing plenty of potential in this

generously laid-out home.

Outside, there's a third of an acre of garden as well as patio

seating to enjoy the extensive countryside views.

Plus a large double garage with power that could just offer

them another option.

Now my thought about your study,

since it's nice to have a work space that's outside of the house.

The present owner was suggesting going up into the roof of

-this big double garage. It's a huge space.

-Yeah, it is big.

The roof space could quite easily be converted.

-That could potentially be an idea.

-There is absolutely enough space.

This one is starting to look more like what we're after.

-What do you think of the outside space?

-The garden is lovely. Great size.

The entertainment space is just right.

We've got some patio things we're bringing with us.

I think this garden is really, really lovely.

What do you think this one is on the market for?

Right, it's pretty tough considering the previous house.

We pitched low on that and I was quite surprised at the price tag.

I would say 660, 665.

No, I would go 685.

It is under budget but you're a little optimistic.

-It's actually on at £695,000.

-OK.

This one seems like it's got longer legs,

so why don't you go inside and I'll see you later?

This converted semi-detached stable block offers a generous amount of

accommodation with a large kitchen/breakfast room,

three reception rooms and four double bedrooms

including that ground-floor en suite.

There's also a detached double garage and it's all in a

central village location.

Yes, what I like about this is there's plenty of space

up here to put an office. I think it's nice and high.

From the cars perspective,

you got enough space for two big cars here and some extra.

Some work space. I think this house is really, really nice.

The rooms are lovely and spacious, like the size of the bedrooms.

I like the three reception rooms, the size of them is really good.

The location is pretty good here.

The garden is absolutely gorgeous and everything we want from

a garden in the house that we're looking for.

Nice space for the kids to run around in, the dog to enjoy,

like the fact that it looks over onto farmland which has given

us the real sense of being in the country, which is what we wanted.

It's a contender, I think. The price was a bit of a surprise.

We're beginning to realise that we're going to have to seriously

think about making some compromises to find the house that we need to.

Come on out of the garden.

I'm going to have to drag you away from this one, I'm afraid.

You will have to drag us away.

So that's it for today, so you can have time to sleep on these.

Ponder over it.

Then we've got the mystery house tomorrow. Excellent.

We're in the Buckinghamshire countryside helping Rees and

Cathy, who have recently moved from South Africa, to find their

dream family home.

We've already shown them two takes on converted stables for

their £700,000 budget but we've got something completely

different lined up for the mystery house which could prove the

-adage of opposites attract.

-It's a very low ceiling.

I feel quite claustrophobic in here, yeah.

I'm feeling completely the opposite.

-I know, I knew you would.

-This is lovely.

Plus I'm taking things at a snail's pace at one very unusual

Buckinghamshire farm.

-So snail shoot love arrows at each other?

-Yeah.

I feel like Cupid.

This is a fascinating house hunt because it's really

interesting to see Rees and Cathy's bamboozlement at what's happened

in the housing market in the UK in the 20 years they've been

away in South Africa - particularly since they calculated that

their £700,000 budget is 14 million rand.

The mystery house, however, well, it's a bit of an offering for Rees,

playing to his desire for an old-fashioned English fantasy

country house, but in the garden,

there's a slice of South Africa that is going to appeal to the two boys.

Our mystery offering is located in the village of Nash.

Five miles away, the small market town of Stony Stratford includes

a high street with a range of traditional shops but it's

also the source of a few tall tales.

This is historically a very important town in the

coaching roots up and down the country.

It's interestingly the beginning of the cock-and-bull story.

-Are you familiar with that?

-Yes.

-Your nonsense story.

-The nonsense story.

-Because you have two hotels.

The Bull, and down there is The Cock and

so when the coaches used to go through, they used to compete

-about who had the most outrageous stories from London.

-OK.

Fascinating.

That's not a little bit of cock and bull you've just told us?

No, it's true.

Between you and I, many believe the phrase really

originates from old fairy-tales around cocks and bulls and back in

Nash, the mystery house is something you might also find in a fairy-tale.

-Here we have it. It's the mystery house.

-It's a thatch.

-It's thatched.

It's old, it's all the things you don't like.

But it is kind of what you were asking for.

It is, I think it's very pretty.

It really is old English history here. You can see that.

Unlike my wife, I don't mind the thatched roof.

I've not fond of thatched.

It's essence of countryside, yeah.

Actually, thatch is an incredibly green,

-ecologically friendly and very effective insulator.

-Okey-dokes.

And there are no more spiders than in your normal roof.

-OK.

-Shall we have a look in?

-Yeah, let's go and have a look.

-Tight-lipped.

-I'll smile soon.

Dating back at least five centuries,

this Grade II-listed cottage has a recent addition on the near end,

whilst a Victorian addition at the far end was once home to the

village shop, but it's now a classic country kitchen which I'm

hoping will sell itself to Cathy.

-Oh, dear, I've already got a rolling eye.

-Oh, dear.

It's a very low ceiling. I feel quite claustrophobic in here, yeah.

-I'm feeling completely the opposite.

-I know. I knew you would.

-This is absolutely lovely.

-The kitchen itself is lovely.

I can appreciate that there's lots of things in here that I do like.

You've got me the gas cooker which was on my list.

I love cooking with gas.

We've got lovely granite tops which was something that we both love.

-Well, it gets more historic as we go around.

-OK. Lead on.

-Excellent.

From the kitchen,

we enter the oldest part of the house and pass through

a dining room with fully beamed ceiling and inglenook fireplace.

So through the dining room into the main sitting room.

Look at the character, just look at the fireplace.

Look at the stone, look at the wooden lintel.

I mean, this is just perfect country cottage.

Keep going, Rees, keep going.

She's going to break soon, she's going to break.

This is what we're looking for.

He's got his rosy tinted glasses on, I can see that.

I think it's a fantastic find, guys. Well done.

I think I could be sold but I need to think about it.

-It's not vast, though.

-OK.

-It doesn't have a third reception room as it stands.

-OK.

I think this is a lovely little house.

Obviously, Africa has the oldest history of all humanity but

they didn't build houses that lasted as long as these.

No, we certainly don't have anything as old as this that I know of.

-Let's have a look upstairs.

-Let's have a look upstairs.

You can explore later all the nooks and crannies.

This period cottage might not have that third reception room but

the new extension does offer a ground-floor utility as well as

the first of four bedrooms which is served by a ground-floor bathroom.

Stairs at this end of the house lead up to

a rather intriguing trap door double bedroom, meaning Rees and

Cathy's two boys might enjoy having the run of this wing of the house.

We're taking the stairs from the dining room to the rest of

the accommodation in the other wing where we find the part tiled

family bathroom, a guest bedroom with feature timbers and then

in the centre of the home is the largest bedroom, number four.

This is what they're using as the master bedroom and

a little slice of history up in the beams.

Higher ceiling. I was expecting to see thatch on the inside.

They do that in South Africa and that's why you have your

eight-legged friends inside the house.

No arachnids in this thatch.

I like the configurations.

Kids at one end of the house, us at the other end of the house.

That makes a lot of sense. Nice and airy, as well.

I think you get a lot of light in here.

-Yeah, I think this fits the bill quite nicely for me.

-I know.

You're loving this.

This characterful cottage has clearly captured Rees but

perhaps the outside space will help to win Cathy over, too.

Set in three-quarters of an acre of grounds, there's lots of

space for a kick about as well as plenty of parking.

A garden room offers versatility, plus an outdoor pool with

pool house is a real bonus.

We couldn't bring you here without giving you

a little bit of South African luxury. A swimming pool.

-A swimming pool. For that one day in summer when the sun shines.

-Oh.

It's actually a really nice touch because we had

-a pool back in Johannesburg.

-I know you did.

-We enjoyed it a lot.

The kids are still young enough to enjoy it.

What do you think of the garden? Is this a good size?

I think it's the right size. Looks like relatively low-maintenance.

I'll take the lawn because I like the house.

What do you think the price tag on this one is?

I think that we're looking at about 675, 685 on this one.

-I'll give it a 10,000 leeway.

-I would say 680.

-680.

OK, in this instance, interestingly, you're both

-a bit pessimistic because this is on the market for £650,000.

-OK.

OK, that sounds like a good number for a house with so much history.

Why don't you guys go and have a look inside?

There's lots of nooks and crannies.

Don't get stuck and I'll see you outside in a few minutes.

-We'll do that.

-Thanks, we'll shout for help if we get stuck in

-a tiny hidey-hole.

-I will come and rescue you.

Well, that went better than I expected because I thought

Cathy would hate this house and she kind of did at the beginning,

but Rees is quite persuasive.

The history is quite persuasive and hopefully...she might be persuaded.

Coming in £50,000 below budget,

this Grade II-listed thatched cottage has a large country kitchen,

two reception rooms, four bedrooms and two bathrooms.

It also comes with three-quarters of an acre of garden,

the pool and outbuildings.

Ah, Rees, a nice little sewing room.

For when you're finished in the kitchen. This is very good.

I think we could do something with this.

This last house really does tick the major box that I'm looking

for and that is a historic, old house.

You know, Grade II listing, 500 years old.

There are lots of features in the house that really appeal to me.

I think I've got a bit of work to do convincing Cathy that this is

the sort of thing that would suit her as well as me.

I think Rees is loving this house.

I think it's exactly what he imagined he was going to find.

The kitchen is quite unusual but I do love the granite tops,

I love the cooker. It's a nice square kitchen,

it's got lovely light.

I must admit, it's quite a quirky house. It could grow on me.

If we compare and contrast a little bit with where we've come from,

we're looking at a budget of £700,000.

That would buy us a house probably twice the size on two,

three times the size of land.

That's what we've given up but it's something that we're really

happy we've done and if we can end up with a house like this,

it'll be totally worthwhile.

There you are. Great. Tear you away from your new-found love.

-Yeah.

-Still not quite convinced.

-Not convinced.

-You've got some work there.

-I know.

Let's go and find a spot where we can gather our thoughts about

-all the houses.

-Excellent.

Buckinghamshire's desirable location close to the capital means

over the years, many former farmsteads have become

spacious homes for city commuters with little agricultural activity.

As traditional crops and cattle farming have taken a back seat,

the most common farm type in the county is the specialist

category and I've come to meet Sophie Wharton who, for the last

seven years, has been producing a decidedly unusual harvest from

what's now the biggest commercial outdoor snail farm in the UK.

-I want to know how on earth you got into snails.

-It was an accident.

I wanted to grow micro herbs, got distracted, bought a few snails.

We had them in the front room in a big plastic box.

-Trying to feed them all kinds of things.

-Really?

-It was amusing us.

They'd been mating and before we knew it,

the snails had started us a business rather than us starting

a business, so it was a massive learning curve.

So how many snails are you producing on this little plot?

This park will produce three tonne. It's about 340,000 snails.

Oh, my goodness. What kind of snails are we talking about?

They're not garden snails.

To you they would look very similar to the garden snail, however,

ours are quite a lot bigger.

Ours are faster-growing because a typical garden snail in the

UK would take two years to come up to being an adult size,

whereas our snails will come up to size by September.

To help her snails grow as quickly as possible,

Sophie feeds them a diet of rapeseed plants supplemented with snail

flower - a special mix of grains enriched with calcium and vitamins.

This batch is just nine days old but come the autumn,

they'll be fully grown and ready to be harvested.

Obviously, you breed some snails to eat?

Yes, some of these snails will go as chef snails for the table and

some of the snails we hold back, then go on to produce for our caviar.

Yes, you heard it right.

Snail caviar and those selected to make this diner's delicacy

are destined for a polytunnel nicknamed the Tunnel Of Love

by Sophie and she's offered to show me the action.

A-ha.

The Tunnel of Snail Love.

Snails are hermaphrodites and when these are ready to

reproduce, they develop a hard calcium shard, known as

a love dart, which they fire into a fellow snail.

This causes hormonal changes making pairing more likely to succeed.

-So snails shoot love arrows at each other?

-Yes.

-Like Cupid.

-Yes.

If you look on the back of here, you can see a couple of arrows there.

Someone must have been stood on the edge and missed.

Once mating starts, it can last from four hours to two days.

They decide how long and it's usually dependent on the

weather conditions, so if it's going to bucket it down with rain,

they'll actually speed it up and then again when they produce their

eggs, it'll take them up to two days to lay their eggs.

So these snails are already mid-flow of laying.

See what this one has done. There's one just coming out now, look.

-Look at him squeezing it out.

-They are like little pearls.

Each clutch contains anything from 60 to 120 eggs which are then

collected to be cleaned and cured.

At £40 for 30g, this snail caviar is definitely a luxury item

and I'm about to have my very first mouthful.

Snail caviar.

It's nothing like what you're going to expect it to be like.

-It's like caviar but not quite as fishy.

-Yeah.

-Who knew?

Then you can serve it in these fancy little...

Yeah, some canapes that we've made up.

It's black pudding, monkfish, creme fraiche and poppy seed breadcrumbs.

-So this is how they serve it in the posh restaurants?

-Yeah. Enjoy.

That's very good.

So what's really lovely about this, is this is so high-end,

but, see, the way that you're so delighted by the snails still.

I mean, they do their job for me and I have to do

-a good job to look after them.

-Thank you, Sophie. It's so wonderful.

Good, glad you enjoyed it.

Rees will have to have pulled out all the stops to persuade

Cathy that that period thatched, very higgledy-piggledy

property is her dream home, but stranger things have happened.

So let's find out what this couple think about their week in Buckinghamshire.

Here we are, it's a typical little corner of Buckinghamshire.

The Claydon Estate.

So, what are your thoughts about Buckinghamshire,

about this move after our week of house-hunting?

We've seen three lovely houses. Really nice.

Perhaps not quite fitting what we're looking for.

It's like a knife through my heart to hear that.

The mystery house clearly struck a chord with me.

I think we had a view that we'd be able to easily get everything

we were looking for and that's probably a bit naive.

The question is, what are we going to compromise on?

I think I'd possibly give thatch more of a chance now than I would've

done before, mostly because it's not thatched on the inside, as well.

Having the ceiling board does stop Mr Eight-Legs coming down at night.

I still think that these period houses might still be

a little bit too quirky for me.

I've still got some work to do to convince Cathy that that's

exactly what we're going to end up with.

What happens next? What's the next step?

I think it's now a lot of weekend work to go out there and see

what's there, what else is there.

Well, it's a bitter disappointment that we haven't managed to

get you the house of your dreams on the show, but it's been really lovely.

Very fascinating, actually, to see your South African eyes

on our housing market.

I wish you all the best and I'm sure you'll find the perfect house.

-Keep on looking.

-Thanks very much.

-Thanks for your time.

-Very enjoyable.

-It's being great, yeah.

It's really fascinating seeing the UK property market through the eyes

of a homecomer, particularly someone who's been away for 20 or more

years, and I guess property prices in Buckinghamshire do look pretty

shocking when you feel that you've got 14 million rand in your pocket.

Nonetheless, I think also that this week

has focused Cathy and Rees' eyes on the prize and they'll find

that house with a little more searching.

And I hope you join us next time for more Escape To The Country.

Rees and Cathy continued their search and eventually found

a property in the village of Nash, the location of our mystery house.

They put in an offer and it was accepted.

We wish them all the very best for the future.

And if you'd like to escape to the country in

Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales or England and need our help,

you can apply online at...