North Cornwall Escape to the Country

Kernow a'gas dynnergh.

Find out what that means and where I am in just a moment.

Today's tale is of a dream house in a land far away.

It's like a real oasis in the middle of all these trees. It's like you're in the middle of a forest.

It's Hansel and Gretel-ish, almost.

So if you're sitting comfortably, let our house search begin.

So get your Little Red Riding Hood capes on, we're off

-to see the Three Bears.

-Brilliant.

-Wow. Fantastic.

Right this way.

I'm on the banks of the beautiful River Tamar

the natural border between Cornwall and Devon.

And kernow a'gas dynnergh means welcome to Cornwall,

which is where I am today.

Now the Cornish language is derived from the ancient Celtic dialogue

that was spoken by settlers to the British Isles,

long before the Romans invaded.

It was first recognised as a distinct language in 600AD,

but had mostly died out in spoken form by the 19th century.

But in recent times, it's enjoyed a welcome resurgence and in 2009,

Cornwall Council recognised it

as a unique cultural asset to be safeguarded and promoted with pride.

The County of Cornwall forms a peninsula to the south-west

of England with coastlines to the north and south.

The county's name is derived from its shape, with corn meaning kern, or horn.

Recognised as one of the Celtic nations,

the cross of St Piran's, white on a black background,

is the flag of the region and dates back to at least the first part

of the 19th century.

Bodmin Moor is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,

with towering granite tors, bogs and marshes.

The landscape can inspire awe as well as trepidation

and is the source for many myths and folk tales.

At the Bodmin & Wenford Railway,

it's possible to see and ride steam-hauled trains

operating along the 13 mile track.

A ride here combines the charm of a bygone era of travel

with picturesque scenery.

But as well as the sublime moorland,

there's the stunning coastline.

The north coast is particularly popular with surfers.

At Newquay, Fistral Beach is one of the best surfing beaches in Europe,

and hosts a large board-sports festival every year.

20 or so miles north, Polzeath is another wave rider's haven.

The beach can disappear at high tide,

leaving behind the pretty headland and village,

once a favourite haunt of the late Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman

who celebrated it in some of his verse.

So if you'd like to ride the wave of the unique county of Cornwall,

why not plan a country escape soon?

With hundreds of miles of beautiful coastline,

it's got to be the sea that's the big draw in Cornwall.

But when it comes to properties by the water,

expect to pay a premium of up to 50% for those breathtaking sea views.

But, having said that, the average cost of a detached property across

the region comes in at £22,000 below the national figure,

with the best bargains to be had inland and away from

the desirable north coast.

So why do today's couple fancy a slice of Cornish life?

Let's meet them and find out.

Today's buyers are Tony, a dentist, and Debbie,

a dental nurse and practice manager.

This husband-and-wife team have recently sold up their

dental practice and home in the Warwickshire town of Leamington Spa

and are looking towards retirement.

Currently we're living over the shop, as it were.

We live in a beautiful,

Grade II listed building with the dental practice on the ground floor,

which has worked really well for us over the last 10-12 years,

but there are downsides to it.

It's a busy town.

There's lots of industries moving around Leamington now,

but we are now looking forward to our retirement

in a couple of years' time,

and generally a quiet and more peaceful life.

And to find that less hectic lifestyle, they've set their sights

south-west, towards the sea.

We decided to move to Cornwall because we love the countryside.

Rolling hills, we've got the coast.

Everything is sort of small and quaint.

Once you get over the border into Cornwall, there's a feeling of...

-..we're here.

-The countryside,

the topography of it changes almost as soon as you cross the border.

Lots of interesting scenery.

It just seems to fulfil all these wants and desires one could have

for retirement.

Although currently renting and working as employees in the dental

business they once owned, they're looking forward to the next chapter

and a chance to enjoy a completely different way of life.

We enjoy cycling. You can't cycle in Leamington.

It's very busy, lots of traffic.

It's not something you really like doing.

I have a great love of horses.

I really love horse riding so it's definitely something I'd like to do

more of when we move. There's nothing nicer than having

a good gallop down the beach.

My main interest in terms of hobbies is golf.

I like to be able to play two or three times a week.

There are some beautiful golf courses down in Cornwall,

so really looking forward to that,

and maybe getting Debbie interested in playing as well.

As well as pursuing existing hobbies in the Cornish countryside,

they are hoping for a country home that will give them the chance

to get green fingered.

We're definitely looking forward to having some more land.

Because we live in the middle of the town, we have a small outside space.

It's more like a yard, but what we really want is land.

I've never really been into gardening,

but I'm quite looking forward to learning the ropes, as it were.

I'd actually like to think I could grow my own veg and fruit as well.

But most of all, it's about the peace and quiet of rural living.

For me, moving to the countryside means we don't have car horns.

We don't have party goers at 1am coming out of the pub.

Fresh air.

Freedom, space, quiet.

Yeah, just freedom, basically.

Tony and Debbie would like to concentrate their search

in the north of the county. But before we start looking at houses,

I'm meeting them in their chosen location to find out what they want

from the move.

-Good morning, you two.

-Morning.

-Hi.

-Welcome to Cornwall.

-Thank you.

Now Cornwall is a huge and very beautiful county.

What is it about this particular part that makes you want to move

-here so much?

-You've got access to the very south, and Land's End.

You can go to the north coast.

Everywhere is pretty much accessible from this part of Cornwall, really.

Now I understand that you are sold and ready to go.

-Is that right?

-Absolutely.

We are cash buyers, so that makes it nice and easy.

We're still committed to working in Leamington for the next two years

but we just want to put our money into the property now.

So let's talk about the house that you're hoping to find here.

What do you have in mind when you think about this lovely home

-you're going to share together?

-Very much a character property.

A country property, somewhere with some land.

-Space to breathe.

-We don't want a nice, neat lawn.

We want land, like an orchard, or a spinney, or woodland.

Just to have that feeling of space around us.

The kitchen's probably one of the most important parts of it.

You know, big farmhouse kitchen, so if you're coming off your land,

or you're coming in, you can throw your wellies in the corner and not

worry about walking into your kitchen.

Nice inglenook fireplaces.

In terms of location, nice village pub to walk to

on a summer's evening, that would be great.

We do want edge-of-village so that we're not completely isolated.

To have a stables nearby, I don't mind having to drive to it,

that would be ideal.

Well, remind me of the budget we're working with for the search?

We did up it slightly to get the house of our dreams.

So our budget is £525,000.

Well, you'll be pleased to hear that we've got some very nice properties

-to show you.

-Excellent.

-Are you ready?

Yes, definitely.

-More than ready.

-Let's go and look.

Thanks.

So with a budget of up to £525,000,

Debbie and Tony would like a character property with some land.

They'd like features including an inglenook fireplace and beams and a

large country kitchen at the heart of the home.

Ideally, they are after an edge-of-village location.

We've got three wonderful and very different homes to show them,

and at each I'll be getting them to guess the price before I reveal it.

The last property will be our Mystery House,

which could offer our couple a fairy tale future.

Our search is starting in the outskirts of Lostwithiel.

This small market town at the head of the Fowey Estuary dates back to

the 12th century and was once a stannary centre where proceeds from

the tin mining industry were collected on behalf of the Crown.

Now known as the antiques capital of the county,

its vibrant community hosts many regional events,

from vintage fairs to a cider week.

The town bridge features five pointed arches with parts

thought to be 13th century, whilst in the countryside outskirts,

Restormel is one of Cornwall's four Norman castles and has

a notably circular design.

And in its own delightfully rural edge of town setting,

we find house number one.

It's really pretty.

-That's a great start.

-It is, isn't it? It looks great.

First impressions are really nice.

-Yeah.

-Love the look of the land, really, really rustic.

-Really nice, yeah.

-Yeah.

-Plenty of space to park your cars.

-Loads of trees, fantastic.

-Are you keen to explore inside?

Looking forward to seeing inside, yeah.

-Certainly am.

-Well, there's a lot to show you, so let's go and explore.

Brilliant.

This brick and cob cottage with slate roof is believed to have been

a tannery and dates back three centuries.

And inside, the period charm has been retained.

So we are through that pretty little entrance hall into...

..a very, very cosy living room.

Yeah, it is. Beautiful fireplace.

-Look at that stonework.

-Yeah.

-That's fantastic.

And the walls are really thick.

It's really quiet.

I think in here, you really get the character and the feel.

-Yeah.

-It's lovely. Really nice, yeah.

Could you imagine yourself in here, Tony, on a cold winter's evening?

Yes, absolutely, with the log burner going.

Now I know that, for you in particular, it's the kitchen,

-it's all about the kitchen, the heart of the home.

-Yeah.

-So I think you're going to like this one.

So let me squeeze through and just follow on.

I'm going to take you through.

To the other side of the entrance hall, we pass through a dedicated dining room.

Again, packing in those period features,

and taking us through into a century-old extension

running the length of the property, home to a classic country kitchen.

Well, I think it's quite a nice kitchen, personally.

-Very nice, yeah.

-Yeah.

-Really nice.

-You're smiling.

-Yeah!

I love the range.

It's an oil-fired range, which, of course,

is really practical but that's operating the central heating as well.

It's really nice.

-Really nice.

-So just off the doorway there,

you've got a little utility and a downstairs toilet.

OK. It feels quite nice and simple, it's not busy.

Very warm, homely feel to it, I'd say.

-So is this a good start?

-It's a good start.

-It certainly is.

Because we've got four bedrooms upstairs to go and have a look at.

-OK.

-So follow me, let's go and take a look.

Well, a warm response to this 300-year-old cottage on the ground floor.

And upstairs are four bedrooms,

which should be more than enough to suit Tony and Debbie.

Above the kitchen is the family bathroom,

flanked to either side by two smaller guest bedrooms -

a double with countryside views as well as a skylight window.

And the smallest bedroom, again with side and roof aspects.

Then to the front of the house is the largest of the guest doubles.

And we're making our way to bedroom number four.

So here's the master bedroom.

-Nice.

-Love the beams, again.

Really nice, very nicely done.

Again, you can see the older character in here.

-Yeah.

-You've got the maker's marks up in the beams.

Everything about the house so far is really quite nice and country

-but simple.

-Yeah.

-They've done it really nicely.

It's got lots and lots of good points, this place.

Everything is a little bit smaller than we expected.

But by the time you've seen the whole property and you put it all

together, it doesn't need to be any bigger than this and it is

a good contender. What we've seen so far is really nice.

-Yeah.

-OK, well,

I think the garden and the outside space is what could possibly swing

this from being a good contender to THE contender.

-Yeah. OK.

-So come on, let's go and explore it,

cos there's a lot to explore.

Well, they said they wanted land and this country cottage comes

with plenty. In fact,

there are four acres of gardens and woodland as well as a summer house

and patio seating off the kitchen.

Certainly a far cry from their tiny town centre yard.

It's just so pretty and peaceful in this garden, isn't it?

Beautiful. Absolutely lovely.

It's really lovely. It's exactly what we asked for -

we didn't want a nice, neat lawn.

This is perfect.

-Really nice.

-It's like a real oasis in the middle of all these trees.

It's like you're in the middle of a forest - it's sort of Hansel and Gretel-ish, almost.

Fantastic riding locally, good stables that you can go to, to ride.

The nearest is ten minutes away.

-Yeah.

-That's really handy.

-That's really nice.

-Ten minutes

-to the golf club.

-Sounds good.

-So that's your Monday sorted out,

-golf and riding.

-Yeah, no, perfect.

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

My best guess is 460,000.

OK, Debbie, over to you.

I'm going to go a bit higher.

I think I'm going to go 490.

-I'm afraid you're both wrong.

-OK, no surprise there.

So we're going to meet in the middle of both of you -

it's on the market for £475,000.

-Oh, OK.

-It's been on the market for about a month.

I'm pleasantly surprised because I thought the land and the location

would bring it a little bit higher than that.

More and more, I like it.

-Yeah.

-Particularly now we've seen the land.

The more you walk around, the more you then come out, the more I see,

-the more I like it.

-OK, why don't you go and have another look around?

You said you wanted to be able to come in, off your land,

-through the back door...

-Throw the wellies in the kitchen...

You can't throw your wellies in the kitchen,

but off you go, off the land and through the back door.

Thank you very much.

Leaving £50,000 to play with in the budget,

this 300-year-old brick and cob cottage comes with two

charming reception rooms, a kitchen with a range and four bedrooms.

With its own rambling four-acre plot,

it's well located on the outskirts of a small market town.

Look at this ground, look at this land, four acres -

I can't believe the size of it.

I mean, you know, all this will belong to this one house,

-it's incredible.

-Yeah.

I'm really pleasantly surprised.

The more I walked around, the more I liked it.

It's very pretty.

The location is perfect.

It's perhaps a little compact.

The kitchen is fantastic, it goes out into the garden,

which I really like.

The land with it is just amazing.

That is a big, big bonus.

The house itself is lovely, very old, full of character.

Full of exposed beams.

The fact that there's only one bathroom is a slight drawback.

We were ideally looking for an en suite with the master bedroom.

I could see myself living here with a few changes.

But I'm looking forward to seeing the next property, just in case.

The fact that it's under budget obviously means that it's quite an

attractive proposition, but price isn't the be all and end all.

It's really where we want to be for our retirement.

This is a lovely spot, listening to that brook, it's beautiful.

It is, isn't it? It's gorgeous.

-Have you seen enough?

-Yes.

The more I see, the more I like.

That's good, that's perfect.

But hold those thoughts, because we've got two more

-great houses to see. Come on.

-Great.

Britain's history of domesticating horses goes back over 4,000 years.

By the time the Romans invaded in 55BC,

they were met by proficient horsemen, ready to do battle.

But modern riding styles were really developed in the 18th century,

when the growing popularity of fox hunting combined with the enclosure

of land required horse and rider to jump fences and hedges.

Over a million Brits now ride and Cornwall,

with its variety of trails through wood,

moor and coast, is one of the best places to enjoy the pastime.

Debbie and Tony plan to make the most of the horse riding opportunities in the region,

so we're sending them to find out about an equestrian craft

from Cornwall's first master saddler, Jane Talbot-Smith.

Can you tell me a little bit about what you actually do here?

Anything to do with horses.

So I do side-saddle girths and reins.

And then because it's a country area, branched out,

and I do human belts.

Horse people have dogs, so we do dog collars and dog leads.

And then shooting people come in and, "Can you mend my cartridge bags?"

You name it, it comes in, I take a pattern, make it again.

How did you actually get into saddlery and working with leather?

I actually went and worked for horse-drawn vehicles

and built horse-drawn vehicles for two and a half years.

Started doing the leather on them.

Then went to saddlery college,

which was a one-year course at that time in London.

It has a certain skill.

A strap is a strap. Whether it goes round a human, on a horse, on a dog,

a strap is a strap.

Techniques just vary slightly.

We buy the leather and then you cut it into strips, edge it, stain it,

crease it, punch a hole for the buckle,

put the buckle in, stitch it up.

-Well, I can't wait to see your workshop.

-Good, well,

-let's go in, fantastic.

-Thanks.

In her compact workshop, Jane crafts hundreds of items a year,

from specialist harnesses involving over 100 hours of work,

to smaller items.

This is a saddlebag.

On the back of the saddle on there, to take your sandwiches

-or binoculars.

-Mobile phone.

-Whatever you want.

These are really useful, I think, with riding as well,

cos you're not really supposed to put phones and things

-in your pocket.

-Absolutely. Well, I also do a front one

-which was designed for phones.

-Nice.

But it's not all about saddlebags for smartphones.

Some of Jane's pieces hark back to a bygone era.

Bellows like this, which I do the carving on.

Wow. Goodness.

That is beautiful, so intricate.

Unfortunately, the market for bellows has dropped a bit

-cos everybody has wood burners and they don't need bellows.

-Yeah.

Demand for bellows may be waning,

but Jane's beautiful hand-stitched strap work sells as far afield

as the United States, Germany and Zimbabwe.

If you want to check whether it's hand-stitched or not,

always look at the back, because the back is never as smooth...

-It's uneven.

-..as the front.

You get some who are really good stitchers, better than me,

and every so often they'll throw a stitch out, like that,

to prove that it's hand-stitched.

-Really?

-Because a machine can't do that.

-Can't throw a stitch.

So what can we do today?

Well, I thought you might like to try a bit of plaiting.

Oh, OK, right, let's have a go.

Jane is plaiting in the round,

using four strips of leather that are kept under tension to create

a really tight finish.

The theory of plaiting is always you work from the outside over one to the inside.

-I see.

-Hold that knot there...

..and with that hand, pick that one up, pick this one up

and put it over the middle one.

Take that one. Yes, you want to keep the top of the leather always

-on the top.

-On that right.

-Now you're getting there.

-It really is...

It's not as easy as it looks.

I would imagine if you don't concentrate,

you would totally lose your place.

-Oh, you have!

-Yes.

THEY LAUGH

Well, Tony will have to brush up his tack-making skills later,

because one of Jane's horses is ready to take them for a ride

in a handmade carriage.

Good girl, and walk on.

Good girl.

-Good girl, walk on.

-But it's time to get back in the saddle for their

house-hunt here in the beautiful Cornish countryside.

We're heading to the village of St Cleer.

Situated on the south-eastern flank of Bodmin Moor,

this former mining village has an impressive Norman church at its heart.

There are also two pubs serving food,

a grocery store for provisions, along with a hairdresser.

And located just under a mile west from the village centre,

set back from a country lane, is the house we've come to see.

Oh, wow!

This is stunning.

This is absolutely stunning.

-It certainly is.

-So it's what you imagined from your

-Escape to the Country, is it?

-Yes! Yes!

-It is.

First impressions are absolutely spot on.

-Incredible.

-Really nice.

-This seems to really fit the bill for what you're looking for.

-Oh, I think so, yes.

-Yeah.

-It is stunning.

-Am I tempting you?

-Yes!

-Very much.

-Do you want to come and have a look inside?

-Yes, we do.

-Come on then.

-Thanks.

This impressive barn conversion was completed in the year 2000.

With a sprawling ground floor layout,

the entrance hall leads to a

huge multifunctional kitchen

and living space

at the centre of the home, showcasing the building's

agricultural heritage with contemporary finishes.

No way!

-What is this?

-Oh, my God.

-This is to die for!

Oh, this is just amazing.

-Look at these.

-It's this massive open-plan living, kitchen, dining,

chilling out space and then there's a garden room through

the double doors, which is currently used as a dining room.

-There's quite a lot to talk about in here.

-I'll bet.

Are these basalts?

They're granite pillars and they go way down into the ground.

-Yeah?

-So they would have held the roof up.

-Yeah.

-This was actually parking for the farm vehicles.

I've never seen anything like that in a house before.

It's fantastic, absolutely fantastic.

Is it big enough for you, cos I'm very worried?

Oh, yeah, it's definitely big enough. It couldn't be more perfect.

-So are you keen to see any more of the house?

-We'd like to see the rest of it now.

-No, we're keen to buy it!

-Steady on.

-So if you let me squeeze through the middle of you, follow me.

-Lovely.

Tony's already reaching for his cheque-book, but back across

the entrance hall to the rear of the property

is a further reception room with yet more farming heritage.

So come through into my parlour.

And this actually used to be the old milking parlour.

-Oh, really?

-So you see what I did there?

-Yes, very good.

I mean, it's a really cosy space.

In winter, this is probably where you'd want to hunker up.

The only thing I would be missing is my inglenook.

But whether there is something you could do with the fireplace...

-Probably create one.

-Yeah. But it is a lovely room, still.

-Yeah, really nice.

-Lovely beams. So much character.

OK, good, well, you're still smiling.

-Yeah, I know. Really nice.

-Try taking this smile off my face.

Shall we head upstairs and see if we can, you know, keep this vibe going?

-Definitely.

-Let's go and take a look at the bedrooms.

There's a lot to grin about on the ground floor,

which also includes further accommodation off the entrance hall

with a study, utility room

and downstairs shower room.

At the other end of the house is the first of this home's five bedrooms,

a double with an en suite bathroom.

The upper floor is arranged

across two distinct sections,

reached by separate staircases.

One set of stairs leads to a huge double bedroom

with a feature wood burner.

Then, from the other staircase in the entrance hall,

we find a cloakroom with wash basin and three further bedrooms -

a single to the rear and an L-shaped room with a built-in bed.

Lastly, bedroom number five is a generously proportioned master,

with both en suite bathroom and dressing room.

Really gorgeous.

And fabulous views over the countryside.

And there is so much room.

And I've never had a dressing room before, so that's quite nice.

Well, I know the garden and the outside space is just as important

to you as the house. So let's go and explore and then I need you to start

-thinking about the price.

-OK.

-Have you got ideas yet?

-No.

-Not really.

It's great that Debbie and Tony are already thinking of ways

to tweak this barn conversion's interior to make it work for them.

Outside, there's a double stone garage and workshop space,

plus a section of stream running through over an acre of grounds.

It's not too manicured.

No. But very manageable, actually.

It is. Right, you've seen it all, now.

So Debbie, it's you to go first.

Oh, no.

I'm going to say 515.

OK, she said, hopefully under budget.

I would think it's pushing to the top end, 525.

I'm afraid you're both wrong. You're both under.

It's on the market for £550,000.

So it is over your budget.

-Yeah.

-However, we've had a conversation with the owner,

and they have said that they would seriously consider an offer

from people who are in a strong position,

which of course the two of you are.

Yeah. It's good that they're willing to negotiate.

Go and think some more about this.

OK, we'll go take another look.

-Go take another look and I'll catch up with you.

-Thanks.

This beautiful barn conversion may stretch the budget but it offers an

incredible amount of space inside and out,

including an extensive open-plan kitchen and living space,

five bedrooms and a total of three bathrooms.

There's over an acre of grounds, all in an edge-of-village location.

I have to say I love this garden room.

-So do I.

-I think we'd live in here, wouldn't we?

-Yeah.

-You'd have your breakfast in here, your dinner in here,

you could just chill, you could have a dining table,

you could have comfy wicker furniture.

-Yeah.

-Absolutely fantastic.

Beautiful surroundings, great garden.

I love the garden room.

The kitchen is absolutely phenomenal.

And it couldn't be better downstairs.

So lots of positive features.

I think the house is fabulous.

There's so much character to this property as well -

all the exposed beams,

granite pillars in the kitchen -

that's something you don't see every day.

Definitely could see myself living here.

I don't know about you two,

but I found my favourite spot in the house.

-It's perfect.

-You're looking very chilled.

Very at home here. Well, I think that's two really good viewings.

Yeah, really good.

-Absolutely.

-Can't thank you enough for finding two properties so far

that have been excellent.

-I think it's time to go and mull them over. OK?

-Absolutely.

We are in the county of Cornwall,

helping soon-to-retire dentistry duo Tony and Debbie swap town-centre

living in Leamington for a house in the country.

We've already shown them two great properties

for their budget of £525,000.

But for the Mystery House,

I'm about to whisk them away to somewhere very different.

You've been completely transported from a Cornish woodland

to the Mediterranean.

And at the Royal Cornwall Show,

I'm meeting some of the county's loveliest livestock.

These are the Valais Blacknose sheep, and they are deemed

the world's cutest sheep.

They are such little sweethearts, they really are.

We had a great day with Tony and Debbie yesterday and I think our two

properties certainly gave them plenty to consider.

Now, I'm not sure that we've quite sealed the deal yet,

but I do think that Tony in particular was quite taken

with that barn conversion that had plenty of wow factor.

And of course there is still the Mystery House to view and this one

is going to test just how game our couple are to really

escape to the country.

So you two, we are off to see the Mystery House.

-We are.

-Excited?

-Very.

-Oh, yes.

What are you expecting to see? Have you got any ideas?

Something unique, something a bit quirky, something different.

It probably won't tick all the boxes.

Bit outside the box, as they say.

Oh, yeah, we will definitely be outside the box.

Our Mystery House is located in Cardinham Woods,

a three-mile drive from the town of Bodmin.

Once the county capital in the 15th century,

the town was the starting point for a 15,000-strong Cornish rebellion

march on London, protesting increased taxes on tin mining.

Although the uprising was quashed,

Bodmin continued as an important mining centre into the 19th century.

Then, in the 1950s, it provided a training facility for linguists

working on Cold War intelligence.

But just a short drive away in the tranquillity of Cardinham Woods,

today's mystery location is a real one-off.

So I wanted to bring you here to such a beautiful woods.

It's 650 acres, and there's just miles and miles

of walking trails and bike trails.

You've got streams and little brooks running through it,

and there's a fantastic woodland cafe as well.

It would be nice to have this on the doorstep, wouldn't it?

Totally. I mean, you could be in Canada, somewhere like that.

-It's really lovely.

-Take the bikes out.

Yeah, well, I'm really pleased you've said that

because our Mystery House...

-Yes?

-..is right in the middle of the woods.

Of the woods? Oh, Little Red Riding Hood country!

Get your Little Red Riding Hood capes on because we are off to see

-the Three Bears.

-Brilliant.

-Oh, wow. Fantastic.

-Come on, Goldilocks.

Right this way, Goldilocks.

Well, I might have got my fairy tales mixed up,

but down a single-track forestry road,

there's no confusing the picture-book credentials

of our Mystery House.

So this is what I've brought you to see.

Goodness me.

Look at the roses growing up the wall.

-Absolutely stunning.

-This is almost a unique spot, isn't it?

In the middle of Cardinham Woods.

Wow. It's really gorgeous.

One thing I do want to point out...

..is just over there, you will find your heated outdoor hot tub.

No way! No way!

So are you keen to have a look?

-Absolutely.

-OK, let's go and explore.

Let's hope this 1920s woodland home continues to deliver on the inside.

Leading from the entrance hall,

we pass through a dedicated separate dining area,

which features a log-burning stove,

and continue into a recent rear extension where we find

the L-shaped kitchen.

So you come through the dining space,

into the kitchen which is at the back of the house.

Oh, yeah. It's lovely. I love this room, the fact that it's open

into the dining area is fantastic.

Yeah. It is gorgeous. It is small.

So the layout is, you've got a good-sized family bathroom there,

and then here is a store room and study.

If it was me, I'd be really tempted to take all this out and completely

open this up which I think would give you the feeling of

a much larger kitchen space.

Now that sounds like a good idea and it would definitely open it out.

-OK. Good. Let's go through and explore the living space.

-OK.

Retracing our steps to the other side of the entrance hall,

we reach the final room on this floor.

It is the main living space.

It's a little compact.

It's a small, cosy house in the woods.

So it's a lovely cosy room, you've got an open fireplace.

I think you could put in planning permission to remove that wall

completely and go out certainly as much again and then you could put

lovely bi-folding doors or doors out onto the garden.

I don't know if that would faze you, but there's definitely

an option here, if you got planning, to do that.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-I think you'd have to in a room this size.

We wouldn't even get our couches in.

You'd have to do something, I think, to make it a bit bigger.

It's all doable.

So Tony's open to adapting this unique woodland home,

but I'm sensing that Debbie has yet to be convinced.

Upstairs, we find a second family bathroom and a total of four bedrooms.

Two smaller bedrooms are above the rear extension,

one of which is currently used as a nursery,

and the second is being used as a workroom and office.

There are also two good-sized guest rooms both featuring built-in

floor-to-ceiling storage and each with enough space for double beds.

But I'm really keen to show off the outside space.

At around a third of an acre,

it's been extensively landscaped by the current owners

who have also added an idyllically located summerhouse -

the perfect spot for self-contained guest accommodation.

So up here at one of the highest points in the garden,

you get a really good sense of the layout.

It's all been done in these terraces and you've got raised vegetable beds

and a greenhouse and then you've got this kind of tree-top decked area.

You are up at the tree tops.

It is very nice.

They've made great use of space with the land they've got.

Absolutely fantastic.

But it's very tiered.

It's... Yeah.

Yeah, a lot of up and down. I think another ten years,

we're probably going to regret having something like that.

So I've still got one trump card that I haven't played yet

and it could be the perfect antidote to all the walking there is up and down these terraces.

-OK. Ready to have a look?

-Yeah, have a look.

So you come down here,

you've been completely transported from a Cornish woodland

to the Mediterranean.

With your hot tub, your outdoor shower,

-you've got an outdoor oven, sunbeds.

-Yeah.

-You're really not convinced, are you?

-No. No.

Again, I think it's done really nice.

I can see little tea lights and cushions, but...

-Just the wrong setting.

-Yeah.

I don't want Spanish hacienda in the forest, so it just, for me,

-doesn't work.

-OK.

So it's time for me to ask you to guess the price.

Go on, Tony. Over to you first.

OK. It's a very unique situation, without a doubt.

I'm guessing 475.

Again, I agree with Tony. It's very, very pretty.

I do think it's very rural.

It's quite compact.

I'm going to go slightly lower and say 465.

I'm afraid, Tony, the drinks are on you

-because Debbie is absolutely bang on.

-Boom!

Shake my hand!

Excellent. And I thought I was rubbish at this.

Go and have a look around, come and find me when you are ready.

-OK.

-Off you go.

-Lovely.

-Thanks.

At £60,000 below their top budget,

this 1920s woodland home comes with a semi-open-plan dining room

and kitchen, two bathrooms and four bedrooms.

There are extensively landscaped gardens,

all in a unique forestry setting.

It is a beautiful little country cottage.

For me, it's too unique.

The garden's very tiered and the space outside really doesn't

fit the bill for me. I just wanted that outside space.

So not for me, I'm afraid.

The setting is just phenomenal.

I know it's not quite the right house for us.

This is more a young person's house.

A lot of running up and down quite steep steps.

Slightly flatter land and slightly bigger house,

I'd be very tempted to live in the middle of the woods.

It's just a lot of work and too much for us, I think.

Well, you can't deny it's a lovely spot.

Oh, absolutely.

Shall we go and search for the Three Bears then?

Do I bring Goldilocks with me?

Yeah, I think we need to go and find somewhere and have a chat.

-OK.

-OK.

If you are looking for a flavour of what the Cornish countryside has

to offer, there's perhaps no better place to head

than the annual Royal Cornish Show.

Located in the Wadebridge Showground and featuring local food and drink,

a flower show,

tractor displays and competitions for the best livestock and produce,

over 100,000 people attend the three-day event,

making it the biggest in the county.

It's a truly rural spectacle dating back over three centuries

and to tell me more about it, secretary of the show, Chris Riddle.

So Chris, the Royal Cornwall Show, it's got quite a history, hasn't it?

-You've been going for a fair few years.

-Yes, we were originally founded in 1793.

At the end of the 18th century,

there was a real move away from living in the country.

The farmer in the country had to produce more food.

Food meant agriculture had to be improved,

and agricultural societies such as our own were created

to feed that need.

The first year was purely a couple of ploughing matches.

Livestock were added in the second year and look to what we've got now.

What do you think its enduring popularity is?

I think it's because people's daily lives are perhaps ever more slightly

removed from the reality of the rural world.

To come here and see it and have a real fun day out is what they love.

Among the highlights here are the livestock events where farmers

compete in a variety of categories for coveted prizes.

This year the sheep section has a record number of 1,292 entries.

And I'm meeting Emma Collison whose rare breed sheep have been awarded

third places by this year's judges, but for me,

they certainly get winning marks for adorability.

Well, Emma, in a tent that is absolutely packed with different

breeds of sheep, I've definitely found the cutest.

They are gorgeous. What are they?

These are the Valais Blacknose sheep

and they are deemed the world's cutest sheep.

They are such little sweethearts, they really are.

Emma was the first to import this breed from their native Switzerland,

bringing 25 ewes and two rams to her Cornish farm two years ago.

And how have they been received over here?

They've taken the UK by storm and also the internet.

All kinds of countries...

I get e-mails from America on a daily basis asking for these sheep.

The thing for me that really stands out is their fleece. It's beautiful,

isn't it? Is that something the judges would have been looking for?

Yeah, so the judges are looking for black knees at the front,

black nose, black all the way around the eye with no break,

black ears all the way to the top, and on the females, a black bottom.

As you can see, there's a little black bum there.

Is it your hope that their popularity will grow?

Yeah, definitely. I mean, we've been from just me to 50 breeders

in two years which is a massive amount of people taking them on.

They are just an amazing breed and everyone loves them and they make

good pet sheep. It's a good breed for everybody.

As well as the county's cutest sheep, the variety of tasty fare

on offer in the food pavilion is sure to tempt.

Gourmet delights from cider to sausages assail the senses,

and it's here I'm meeting Cornish cheese maker Catherine Mead

who makes a local variety I'm particularly fond of.

Yarg is one of my favourite cheeses.

-Thank you.

-But I don't know much about it,

so what kind of cheese is it?

It's a naturally-matured, naturally mould-ripened cheese.

We mature it over five to six weeks and so we would call it quite young.

It is young, fresh, quite lactic, semi-hard cheese.

Around two tonnes of nettles and wild garlic leaves are hand-picked

each year and used separately to wrap and create

two distinct products,

both unique to Catherine's award-winning Cornish dairy,

something which has left me with a question.

I always eat the nettles.

Is that what you are supposed to do?

Absolutely. Oh, gosh, we spend that much time and that much effort

putting nettles on cheese, we want people to eat them.

The nettle leaf is permeable so you've got

this natural movement of oxygen and also of moisture.

I mean, my mouth is watering, actually.

-Can I try it?

-Have a taste.

What I love, you are almost getting three cheeses in one with it.

And that is the way it is maturing,

So that it is creamy under that rind and slightly crumbly in the core.

And here is the wild garlic Yarg.

This one, this is interesting because the leaf is not sticking

-to the cheese.

-That's absolutely beautiful.

I can't believe that they are the same cheese.

-Exactly the same cheese.

-That's really hard to imagine.

-That is the leaf.

After such an appetising introduction to country life

in Cornwall, it is time to find out if we've come up with something

for Tony and Debbie to get their teeth into

in our Cornish house-hunt.

Well, I'm pretty sure I know what Tony and Debbie are thinking

at this point, but let me have a talk to them and find out.

Well, if you had any doubts about why you are moving to Cornwall,

that view's going to put them to rest, isn't it?

It certainly is.

So let's talk about the last couple of days and our house-hunt.

What are your thoughts now? What are you feeling about the properties

we've seen? Is there a "what next" with any of them?

-Erm...

-I don't think any of the three actually match totally

what we need and what we want.

But interesting that there are certain things you liked about

-various ones.

-Yeah, I think house number one had perfect land.

I loved the meadow, really, really pretty.

Location was fantastic, right next to Lostwithiel

which is a beautiful, beautiful place.

The one you are actually most drawn to in terms of location

is not on the edge of a village as you were convinced you wanted,

it is actually on the edge of a fairly small town.

Yes. Yeah, I think that did change our minds completely.

Yes. To be involved in a small village community was possibly

slightly idealistic from our point of view.

I think we would still rather be near more facilities,

more amenities. Moving our search area around Lostwithiel,

I think would be fantastic.

Yeah, completely worth coming, worth the visit.

Well, I'm sorry that we didn't manage to find your dream home,

but, look, it's all out there, it's waiting for you.

-I'm sure of that.

-Thank you so much.

-Thanks a lot.

-It's been absolutely fantastic.

Well, it's the end of our search here in Cornwall and I think

it's wonderful that we've introduced Tony and Debbie

to a part of the county that they've fallen in love with.

We wish them all the best with their search

and their new life together here.

Join me next time on Escape to the Country.

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