Somerset Escape to the Country

This Grade II-listed structure behind me

holds the unique claim to fame of being the last remaining

thatched windmill in England.

So, where is it? Find out in just a moment.

My house-hunt today has exacting requirements

from an aviation enthusiast.

Now, it's a big room.

-Will you fill it?

-I think we can fill it.

-I could build the wings in here quite nicely.

-Bruce!

But can we find what they're both looking for,

or will it be his flight of fancy?

It's amazing. Bruce will be building his plane in here,

-that's the problem.

-I could do that.

-Could you?

-I could do that, yes.

Today, we're in Somerset at Stembridge Tower Mill,

which dates back nearly 200 years

and was operational right up until 1910.

Recently, thanks to a £100,000 community grant,

it's been completely restored to its former glory,

and as you're about to see,

this is one of just many highlights this beautiful county has to offer.

The county of Somerset is found in the south-west of England,

with the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel off its northern coast.

Rolling landscapes include the Quantock Hills,

England's first protected Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

These reach the coast at Kilve.

Described as a delightful shore by Romantic poet William Wordsworth,

today this beautiful seascape

is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest,

with cliffs rich in oil-bearing shale and fossils.

Cheddar Gorge was formed by meltwater floods

over the past one million years.

Many of the caves here are scheduled ancient monuments,

and lay claim to being a historic site for maturing cheese.

The Somerset Levels are a low-lying wetland area,

covering 160,000 acres.

It's a largely agricultural region,

where willow and teasel are grown commercially,

and peat continues to be extracted.

As well as its contrasting natural landscapes,

it's a county of historic settlements.

Dunster Castle was built shortly after the Norman conquest,

when one of William's tenants in chief formed a feudal barony here.

By the 13th century,

Dunster was a thriving centre for wool and cloth production,

and 400 years later, a dedicated building

for the yarn market was built.

So with a strong cultural heritage, coast and countryside to enjoy,

Somerset is an enticing place to beat a retreat to.

Property prices in Somerset are holding fairly steady,

which seems to be the case across the south-west,

with rises of around 6% over the past year.

The average cost of a detached house in the county comes in at

just shy of £319,000,

which is around £13,000 less than the national average.

So, with value for money, quality of life,

and good transport links between Bristol and London,

it's no surprise that it's attracted today's buyers.

After meeting five years ago, today's buyers,

Bruce and Kerry from near Canterbury in Kent, got married last year.

As soon as I saw Bruce,

there was just something there that I can't quite describe.

It's still there now, actually!

We like doing the same things.

We tend to have the same attitudes about things.

We don't really argue at all.

It's very, very strange, but very lovely!

There's one thing they certainly agree on,

and that's the need to move from their current home.

Where we live near Canterbury is probably mostly commuter belt,

and it really is living on the edge of a rather big city,

which isn't really countryside for us.

It's time, really, for us to get on with our own lives now,

as all our children will be independent

and doing what they want to do.

We're looking for a real village feeling,

becoming involved in the community,

an area which we feel is properly living in the countryside.

Kerry is a former teacher and Bruce is a corporate medical director.

They both feel that finding a new home

in a more rural part of the country

is part of their wider plan for retirement.

We love the countryside and the West Country, we love Devon,

we love Cornwall, but it's just really too far away

for our children, so we're looking for the compromise

so we can live really in the country in the kind of environment we like,

but not isolate ourselves from the people we want to see, so really,

Somerset ticks all the boxes for that.

The hope is that their choice of county will allow their budget

to fulfil some rather high-flying requirements.

Most of my hobbies relate to aviation.

I have a home-built helicopter,

and I'm currently building another aeroplane,

and we have a damaged vintage aircraft which I'd like to restore.

One of my main aims in the new property is to be able to keep

my helicopter at home, and ideally have an airstrip

for the fixed-wing aircraft.

But it's not all about helipads and aircraft hangars.

At the heart of the move is a new life with each other.

The house we're looking for now will be our first house together,

and we want it to be our forever house together.

It's got to be totally unique, really. It's got to be fantastic.

I think we'll just be walking our dogs,

taking in the scenery and just thinking how lucky we are, really.

Kerry and Bruce are open to living anywhere in Somerset

with good transport links to London,

but before I start showing them houses,

we're meeting in their chosen county

to hear more about what they expect from the move.

So, Bruce and Kerry, welcome to Somerset.

-Thank you.

-Now, it's a beautiful part of the world.

Why have you chosen this county?

Well, we want to retire to somewhere

where we feel we can be on holiday every day, basically.

Have you retired yet, or is this a long-term plan for retirement?

-Who's working, who isn't?

-I'm retired, and I am working on Bruce!

Congratulations!

I'm trying to scale down, but I'm still working.

What do you need to be close to,

transport hubs, train stations, motorways, airports?

-Internet.

-Internet!

Well, fantastic, OK.

So what exactly are you looking for in a house?

We have two cats and two dogs, so we can't live on a main road

or where the traffic is busy,

but at the same time we don't want to be isolated,

because we want to really engage in village life.

What about the specifics?

Bruce, you've got specifics in mind.

I have specifics. I need a home for a helicopter

and I need a workshop to build my aeroplane.

These are not words I normally hear!

It's a home-built, two-seater helicopter,

so really an enlarged garage would work.

It's obviously something that if we don't find a ready-made solution,

if the footprint is there,

if there's something I can work on to reconfigure it,

to work as a heli house, that'll work fine.

What about the style of house itself?

In style, we don't mind, as long as it's nice and bright and light,

but we'd like an annexe.

Or a house that we could split, and then, looking forward,

we thought if we had an annexe, we could have a carer live there

and we could stay in our own home for longer.

Now what about around the property?

I suppose you need quite a bit of land for these aircraft.

You need open approaches, probably two...

or half an acre is enough.

That's enough to land a helicopter on.

The important thing from that perspective

is being able to make friends with the guys in the village

so they don't see the helicopter as a nuisance and a threat!

OK.

Let's talk budget - how much are you looking to spend on this new house?

We're thinking somewhere in the region of about £900,000.

If we found totally the place of our dreams, possibly a little bit more,

but if you can find it for a lot less, that would be brilliant.

And are you prepared to maybe make some compromises

or put in place things that aren't there,

-such as these buildings, or make amendments?

-Definitely.

-Yes, definitely.

-All right, let's get started.

Thanks.

So, for a budget of £900,000 plus some wiggle room,

Bruce and Kerry would like a main home for themselves

with an annexe for guests.

Bruce needs a home office,

and a workshop for his aviation projects,

plus enough outside space to land a helicopter.

It should be in a quiet location away from a main road,

but close to village life, and they are happy to take on a project.

We've got three very different options to show them,

each with their requirements in mind.

After every house tour,

I'll be seeing how close they can get to guessing the asking price.

Our final property is the mystery offering,

designed to test their expectations.

When you first met, did you know he was this into flying, Kerry?

No!

When did he break the news that you were going to soon be airborne?

I can't remember exactly.

"Come and have a look at my garage."

You were thinking, "Great, two-seater sport...

"Oh, my goodness, it's got rotor blades!

"I'm not going up in that!"

Our Somerset search is starting out in Kingswood,

a hamlet just a mile from the village of Stogumber.

The station here is an immediate stop on the West Somerset Railway,

now operated as a steam heritage line.

Other facilities include a shop and post office, as well as a pub,

whilst the parish church of St Mary's dates from the 13th century,

and is a Grade I-listed building.

Just a mile away, in countryside overlooking the Quantock Hills,

we find our first property.

Property number one, guys...

-Yes.

-..is all of this.

-Wow.

-Wow. There's a lot there.

A nice-looking house.

Looks good, yeah.

There's no big project here for you,

unless you really don't like it,

but I'd suggest we just look at another house then.

-OK!

-Shall we look inside?

-Yes, please.

-Come with me.

Built from local sandstone,

the property is thought to have started life as a mill,

with parts dating to the 17th century.

Offering a somewhat sprawling, unconventional layout,

the front door leads to a flight of stairs and a corridor,

where we start our tour

in an impressively proportioned reception room.

-Oh, wow.

-Lovely. It's very nice.

-Look how thick the walls are.

-Yes.

I like the timbers, it's a natural oak colour I like very much.

Now, it's a big room.

-Will you fill it?

-I think we can fill it, yeah.

-I could build the wings in here quite nicely.

-Bruce!

I like windows on all sides.

Lots of light, very nice.

You might have noticed, there was some ground-floor accommodation.

Now, we're stood on top of what could be

a completely self-contained annexe.

With kitchen, living room, bedroom and shower room all on one level.

Fantastic.

-But I'll let you loose on all of this later on.

-OK.

Let me squeeze past you here.

Thank you very much.

So, plenty of space for hosting guests

or even assembling an aircraft.

Back along the corridor, we find a cloakroom, along with a study,

and then a characterful country kitchen

which flows through to a dining room.

This is an impressive room too.

It is. I think it's really nice that you can be cooking,

and having the dining table where you can all talk with each other.

-Yeah.

-I like this. Beautiful.

-This is good.

-Yes.

There's so much to see, I'll whip you round this place.

-Come with me.

-Let's go.

The corridor leads to a utility room,

which provides direct access to the garden,

whilst opposite the dining room,

an additional wing houses a cosier feeling reception room,

plus the first of the main home's four double bedrooms,

with en suite facilities.

The rest of the sleeping accommodation

is found on the floor above.

Here, a family bathroom sits between two guest doubles,

one of which has a bay window aspect over the garden.

And that leaves the largest bedroom, a spacious en suite,

which could be Bruce and Kerry's.

Now, master bedroom. Good size, yeah?

Yes, good size.

Now, would you use this room as your master?

Because I think it's still got some decent views, hasn't it?

Yes, it's nice to have a window on both sides.

-Lots of light.

-Lots of light.

If we take to a nap in the afternoon...

Naps?! You haven't got time for a nap, you're building aeroplanes!

But where would you be building those aeroplanes?

I think there's some really good options for you outside.

-Let me go and show you.

-Brilliant.

-Brilliant.

Kerry and Bruce seem really taken with this 17th-century

sandstone home on the inside, but they've said land is important.

The space outside is perhaps more than they'd bargained for,

with a substantial 16-acre plot,

including paddocks, a chicken run, vegetable and fruit-growing,

as well as ornamental gardens with two ponds,

and an area of outdoor seating next to the house.

There's a large outbuilding currently used for stabling,

but I'm thinking it has aircraft hangar and workshop potential.

Now, also, you want somewhere to land the helicopter.

-Yes.

-I don't think it would take too much to probably get a digger

-up here and terrace it a bit better than that.

-Yeah.

I think it's lovely. It's much bigger than I was expecting

in terms of building, and certainly in terms of land,

but it's very beautiful.

The setting's lovely.

We weren't looking for that much land,

but certainly if there are options to rent it out,

or lease it out or whatever, then that's a possibility.

I don't think we should have closed minds to that.

No. Well, there's a lot to think about, but try, if you can,

to guess the price.

Well, I think it'll be all the budget,

and maybe a little bit more,

so I'm going to start at...

-..£920,000.

-OK.

I would add 25 to that.

The asking price is £895,000.

-Wow.

-Gosh.

-OK.

So I would say go and have a look around this place on your own,

-and I'll catch you whenever you're done.

-That's brilliant.

-See you in a bit.

-Thank you so much.

-Off you go.

-Cheers.

Priced within their budget of £900,000,

this former 17th-century sandstone mill

provides four double bedrooms in the main part of the house,

and an additional one-bedroom annexe.

There's a sizeable outbuilding

and it's all set in 16 acres, with countryside views

and a village community within walking distance.

So, this is a massive structure.

-It is, yeah.

-And the walls can just be insulated,

that's all one really needs to make it good for storage of the aircraft.

I thought the house was great,

it had all the elements we're looking for.

The annexe is perfect.

I liked the soft stone, I thought it sat nicely into the landscape,

and I liked the way that the garden is semi-wild, semi-tamed,

it's not too manicured.

The land is a lot more than we anticipated.

We'd need to look at how we're going to manage that.

Landing zone for the helicopter not ideal,

but those things we can work around, so overall, great first property.

Don't tell me you walked all that land in that time!

-There's a lot of it.

-There is a lot of it, yes.

Well, that's all we're going to do today,

there's been so much to look around.

Why don't you sleep on it?

-Lots to discuss tonight.

-Lots to discuss.

-Definitely. Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

The choice of Somerset could not be better for keen pilot Bruce,

as the county has strong links to Britain's aviation industry,

and now boasts the world's largest dedicated helicopter museum.

Located on the former site of Westland Aircraft Limited,

in Weston-super-Mare, helicopters were manufactured here for decades.

We're sending our house-hunters to meet the museum's founder, Elfan ap Rees,

to find out about the 100-strong collection,

which includes rare examples from Russia, America,

France, and Germany, as well as the UK.

Why is this collection here in Somerset?

Well, of course Somerset is where the major helicopter industry is,

and they used to have a factory here at Weston-super-Mare.

The first helicopter that we had, or I had, was from that factory,

so there was that combination of there was a factory here,

there were people here who were interested in helicopters,

and this land used to belong to the company,

and we managed to persuade them to let us have it for a peppercorn.

With 100 to choose from, have you got your favourites?

Have you got any real highlights of your collection?

Well, clearly the Queen's flight helicopter is very important.

The Hind attack helicopter, which the boys like,

but probably most of all, the world's fastest helicopter,

which we have here, which is the Westland Lynx.

This Somerset-built Westland Lynx

set the helicopter airspeed record at 249 miles per hour

during an attempt conducted over the Somerset Levels in 1986.

It's an achievement that still stands today.

So what is it about this helicopter that makes it go so fast?

Pure helicopters, all the power has to go through the rotor blades,

and the problem then is that they start reaching supersonic speed,

and then you lose control.

This helicopter has special blades developed

which allowed it to go faster,

and that's why it's never been beaten.

Would you say that that's one of the landmarks

in aeronautical engineering in the British aerospace industry?

Absolutely.

You can't do better than have a world beater,

and it holds an Engineering Heritage Award as well,

so it's up with Concorde and the Mallard railway locomotive.

-Oh, gosh.

-They're icons of British engineering history.

-Amazing.

-Amazing.

The museum relies heavily on a team of over 80 dedicated volunteers,

many of whom are retired airmen, just like Dick Cavill,

who for the last eight years has helped to restore the collection.

Some of the aircraft here are certainly one-offs.

That must really be something special, to be able to work

on these aircraft.

It's a privilege in a way, because I find, when I first came here,

I'd probably flown and worked on what are now museum exhibits,

and one of them in particular,

the Wessex, which I remember being pulled out of the Persian Gulf in

by a Wessex rescue helicopter - it was only an exercise, by the way -

and I come in here, and there they are as museum exhibits now.

Dick is currently restoring a Fairey Ultra-light,

one of only two in existence.

The other is in a museum in the Midlands,

and it's photos of this that's helping the team

know what to aim for.

As you can see, we've got lots of photographs here, so basically,

we're reverse-engineering what we see,

but we're not reversing it physically,

we're doing it from photographs.

-Brilliant.

-At the moment, we're working on the seatbelts.

This, we found, is one of the original buckles,

so that we can be as original as we can be

when we build it back into the aircraft.

The restoration of this 1950s prototype started here in 2011,

but with lots more work to be done,

additions to the team are always welcome.

Thank you so much for making us welcome here today.

It's been absolutely fascinating.

-It's been amazing.

-I'm glad you've enjoyed it,

and once you've moved down here, we're always looking for volunteers!

I'll get my hands dirty!

Thank you so much.

Well, Bruce's flying hobby could certainly take off here,

but let's see if we can get their move off the ground

as the search for their country home continues tomorrow.

I'm in Somerset, helping Kerry and Bruce from near Canterbury in Kent

make their first joint house purchase with a budget of £900,000.

There are two more options to see,

including our mystery house, which could have their search

reaching new heights.

-It's amazing! Totally amazing.

-Wow.

This is just wow!

Plus, I'm getting an Olympic masterclass

in a popular country pursuit.

Pull!

Frightened the life out of me!

That is so quick!

I think Kerry and Bruce were really impressed

by house number one yesterday, but if anything,

they may have been a bit daunted by the sheer size and shape

of the land on offer. So for today's two properties,

we'll show them houses with maybe more practical land.

Our second house lies on the rural outskirts of Nether Stowey.

This large village offers several shops and services,

and also boasts the former residence of a leading light

of Romantic poetry, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Other well-known names include 19th-century clockmaker James Coles.

An example of his work still strikes the time every ten minutes.

A couple of miles from here, in the surroundings of the Quantock Hills,

it's time to view our next property.

Right, then, house number two.

-She's long, isn't she?

-Very long.

And look behind you here.

Yes, absolutely beautiful scenery.

All of this makes it very easy to bring a helicopter in here.

Good. Let's go inside, come on.

OK.

The rendered half of this home dates back to 1635,

and started life as a classic long house.

An extension built from Quantock stone was added in the last decade,

forming two distinctly different sections.

We're kicking off in the older part,

where period rustic character hits us with full force.

A very traditional old farmhouse kitchen.

-Yes.

-That it is.

-Very beautiful.

-You live in an executive home at the moment,

-don't you?

-Yes.

-This is a long way away from that, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Probably about 400 years away!

-Could you get used to it?

-Yeah, I think so.

-I think so.

-I quite like it, strangely enough.

Yeah. It's obviously taking a bit of getting used to, isn't it,

this house? But the history does continue,

and I think it's something to be enjoyed.

Come with me, through this beautiful old doorway.

A tentative response to the period style

of the four-centuries-old part of the home,

which continues into a formal dining room.

The character just hits you everywhere, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Loads of character, and I like the aeroplane!

It's not really what I was expecting,

so I'm just trying to adjust.

It is very, very characterful.

-OK.

-It would take a bit of a change of mindset, I think.

Well, you know... I can see you thinking, "I wasn't expecting this.

"Can we make this work?"

I think you could. Let's keep looking, come with me.

Now, I, for one, love this room.

Yes, I really like a square room.

Do you think that fireplace would be impressive enough?

It feels very impressive. I like it, yes.

It also looks like a lot of work, though.

Houses like this, they do require a lot of work.

You're used to living in a contemporary house.

-Yes. Very easy to keep clean.

-A couple of hours' cleaning, bang.

I lived in a Tudor house once before.

-Oh, did you?

-With beams and things,

and I don't know where the dust came from!

Do you want to go back in to such a period property?

I'm not sure.

I like this room very much.

-This room.

-You do?

-I do, yes.

I get the sense that the character charm of this former long house

might be a bit too much for them.

Completing the ground floor of this older half

is the first of this home's seven bedrooms,

currently used as a snug.

Stairs from the dining room take us up to the rest

of the sleeping accommodation in this half,

all served by a family bathroom.

Next to this is a good-sized double,

an additional guest double with feature beam,

and at the far end, there's the room

that could be Bruce and Kerry's master.

-Mind your heads!

-OK.

Right above the living room,

so pretty much the same proportions, and a similar fireplace.

Beautiful plasterwork again.

You can see the craftsmanship,

and you can see the beams and you can see the detail,

and it's lovely. It's not what we had in mind at all.

It is a little bit...

I guess period doesn't really do much for us.

Maybe this should be the annexe - I can't believe I'm saying this -

and you should be looking at the modern part!

-Let's go and take a look.

-OK.

-Mind your head.

Well, this historic part of the home is clearly not winning them over,

so let's see if that modern extension

can convince them of its potential.

On the upper floor of the extension are three further bedrooms,

a single with skylight window

and two further rooms currently set up with bunk beds,

all served by another family bathroom.

On the ground floor, there is a reception hall

opening into a conservatory, plus a utility and kitchenette.

There's also a very large modern reception room,

with not a beam in sight.

Windows on both sides, loads of light.

Yeah, lovely.

So it really is two houses, two quite decent-sized houses.

If you want it to be.

Maybe this could actually be where you live full-time.

You've got such a contrast between the two halves of the house.

Chalk and cheese, yeah.

I think we could make it work for us,

but I think it would probably cost too much.

Start thinking about prices as we go outside, OK?

-OK.

-Come with me.

It's been a tour of two halves,

but we've ended on a positive with those modern interiors,

so let's see if what lies outside can build on that.

There's an attached garage and additional parking,

plus a one-acre garden with areas of seating,

but the majority of the land is made up of nine acres of level field,

which certainly provides the space for landing a helicopter.

All in all, ten acres.

Wow! That's a lot of land!

-It is a lot of land, flat land this time.

-Yes.

And this is all agricultural?

All agricultural land, yes.

OK.

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

I would probably put it at about...

Well below our budget, but I'd say about 750.

Oh, no, I would think it's nearer 850.

Good guess!

This house is on the market for offers around £825,000.

The land is a lot of that price.

-Yes.

-The owners appreciate that not everybody wants land,

so they would take off nine acres

and offer it for £725,000.

I've enjoyed showing you this house,

-and I think I've learnt a lot, as you have...

-Yes, definitely.

..on what you're looking for. Go back into the house,

have a good look around, and I'll catch you later on.

-Brilliant, thanks.

-Thank you.

Below budget, this extended 17th-century

former Somerset long house provides two homes in one,

packing in period features in the older half,

including the farmhouse kitchen.

There's a total of seven bedrooms and two bathrooms,

as well as the option of ten acres of land,

or a reduced asking price for a one-acre plot.

And it's all in the beautiful surroundings of the Quantock Hills.

Well, I thought the setting was absolutely beautiful,

with the hills behind all the way around.

It had some features which were fantastic, they were lovely.

I liked upstairs in the old section and downstairs in the new section,

so diagonally, the house works for me.

Other people looking at those wonderful old features,

particularly the plasterwork around the fireplace,

will think we're crazy not to like it ourselves!

-So, that's it.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

The big character features didn't work for you.

-Sadly, no.

-Sadly, no.

Where do I go from here? There's only one place we can go

-and that's the mystery house. Come on.

-OK, let's go.

Our mystery offering is in the hamlet of East Lydford.

Lying along the ancient Roman road of the Fosse Way, this is

one of the historic administrative divisions of Somerset,

dating from Anglo-Saxon times.

Quiet country lanes are lined with character properties

from across the ages,

whilst amenities include a traditional country pub.

It's just a short stroll to our final property.

Now, when it comes to having kerb appeal,

I think this house has it in spades.

Yes, it looks beautiful.

I love this glass here.

-Yeah.

-It looks really nice.

Fantastic, clean lines, nice modern features, but good use of timber.

-And interesting.

-Look at the front door.

-It's lovely, isn't it?

-Do you want to look inside?

-Yes, please.

-Come on, then.

Thought to date back to the mid-1800s,

and once serving as a post office, that's all now literally history,

because the mystery house has been fully renovated and extended

over the last eight years to very contemporary standards,

which I'm hoping will please Bruce and Kerry

as we start our tour through the entrance hall

and into the first reception space.

Let's start with the snug room.

One thing that doesn't jump out at you is old beams everywhere,

which probably suits you, doesn't it?

Very happy with no beams!

Interesting fireplace, that.

-It is.

-You like this, don't you?

-Yes, it's nice.

-There's loads to see, so we'd better get going.

-Come on.

-OK.

The snug leads through to a further reception room

at the rear of the home, and then into a side extension,

housing a very impressive kitchen diner.

This won the best domestic extension award from the local council

and it's easy to see why.

-It is quite lovely.

-It is amazing, isn't it?

This is really good.

We love all the glass, it's brilliant.

This is a really nice kitchen.

It's very much to our taste, it's lovely.

Good, at last, we arrive!

We arrive in potentially your new home.

-Your first new home.

-Yes.

So, that's one half of the ground floor covered.

In the remaining half, we find a reading room, a cloakroom,

a great utility area,

and then space designed to offer the option of a one-bedroom annexe.

Beautifully decorated throughout,

there's a living area with kitchenette,

bathroom, and a bedroom currently used as a home office.

But the rest of the main house, including six further bedrooms,

is arranged over two floors.

On the top storey, the largest of the guest doubles

provides a view over the garden,

whilst the smallest one is next door to a family bathroom,

with a light-filled reception room under the eaves.

Below this, on the middle floor, are the four remaining bedrooms -

a double with single aspect, and a larger double with twin windows,

both served by a family bathroom.

A further double has en suite facilities.

Last, but certainly not least, on this middle floor,

is a spectacular master en suite.

It is amazing!

-Totally amazing.

-Wow.

This is just wow!

-Look at the view.

-Yes.

Now, if you look around the corner here,

you've got a big walk-in shower unit here, a separate bath.

It's the entire width of the building.

Yes, it's a lovely room.

-Excited?

-Yes!

I'm just wondering where he's going to put his helicopter!

-Well, let's see if it'll fit! Come with me.

-OK.

Well, the outside plot reveals just why this is our mystery property.

It's clear that it's the least remote and smallest plot

they've seen so far. Planted with several mature trees,

the question is whether they can make this 1.5-acre garden

work for the helicopter.

But before we consider that

there's something else I want to show them -

a two-bedroom summerhouse

that could be turned into a hobby space or guest accommodation.

So, who out of your family is going to live in here?

It's unbelievable - another bright, airy, really spacious room,

full of light, beautiful views from every window.

It's a complete house.

It is. It's two bedrooms self-contained on the ground floor.

-Wow.

-It's amazing.

Bruce will be building his plane in here, that's the problem.

Yes. I could do that.

-Could you?

-I could do that, yeah.

Now, we do need to talk about flying your helicopters in and out,

-so let's go back outside.

-OK.

Well, you tell me, are there spaces here

where you can land your chopper?

There's one tree that would need to come down,

but otherwise there's access to the garden there for the helicopter.

Excellent. So, how much, then,

do you think this mystery house is on the market for?

I'm going to start...

..with a very optimistic...

£960,000.

OK.

Because I'm a bit of a cheapskate, I'll go for £950,000.

You do think I'm mean, don't you?

And, yes, I am a lot of the time,

but this place is on the market for £877,000.

-Wow.

-My goodness.

-We'll take it!

-Done!

Well, I think you should now go and enjoy this fantastic property.

Look around everywhere that you haven't yet seen,

or maybe remind yourselves of the bits you love,

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

-Could be a long time!

-You've got the rest of the day, fill your boots!

Thank you very much.

Below budget, our 19th-century mystery proposition,

formerly a post office, offers an award-winning interior

with that contemporary kitchen diner.

There are seven bedrooms in the house,

including the one-bed annexe.

In addition, there's a two-bedroom summerhouse.

It's in an edge of village location with 1.5 acres of land.

All the elements that we're looking for, clean lines, lots of glass,

nice woodwork.

Those all came together in this property.

I was just amazed that you get so much for your money.

It was really a much lower price than I anticipated,

because it is just such a quality property.

I like the location, I absolutely love the house,

I love the style of the house.

Bruce and I could move in here

and I can't see anything I would want to change.

I'm blown away, really.

It's wonderful.

This property certainly gives more than enough space

for the extended family,

and my only concern is that they'll want to move in for good!

They've been here a while, I think they've moved in!

It's getting late.

Oh, at last! Can I drag you away from this lovely house?

-No.

-We wouldn't mind staying!

Well, there's one way you can stay, that's going via an estate agent,

but I think we should cool off a little bit

-and give you some thinking time, yeah?

-Yeah.

-Come on, let's go.

Countryside shooting in Britain stretches back

to the development of the shotgun in the 18th century.

As gun design evolved,

game shooting for birds, from partridge to pigeons,

became a popular pastime, especially for wealthy Victorian landowners.

Alongside this, trap shooting developed

as a form of target practice,

and it's now a competitive sport.

Farmer Ed Ling is a trap shooting Olympian.

I'm meeting him on his 1,000-acre Somerset holding,

to find out how his rural childhood

led to a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

-Ed, how are you?

-I'm good, thanks.

Rio must feel like a million miles away from here,

but this is your life, isn't it?

And obviously you love this farm, don't you?

Yeah, farming is my life, shooting is my life,

and I'm really lucky to be able to do both, I think.

So, how did you first come about shooting?

Well, Dad always shot from a young age, and as I got older,

we had a manual clay trap in the back of the farmyard,

started throwing a few clays about, and I enjoyed it,

and it basically grew from there.

Ed also met his wife, Abbey, a five times British champion,

through their shared interest in the sport.

Abbey, hi. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too. How are you doing?

Very good, thank you very much.

They now have an Olympic-standard practice range on the farm,

where as well as training themselves, they teach others.

This is a wonderful example of rural diversification, isn't it?

You've set up a training facility here, and a school now,

-haven't you, Abbey?

-Yeah, that's right,

we run it for ladies, youngsters, experienced shooters already

that want to shoot the Olympic discipline.

We try and encourage it as much as possible,

because it's not just something that is available every day

to the members of the public.

It's actually a sport where it doesn't matter

if you're male, female, older, younger.

As long as you put the lead shot in the right place

and you break that target, your score is on the board.

And who better than an Olympic medallist

to demonstrate putting the lead shot in the right place?

Pull!

Frightened the life out of me!

That is so quick!

Clay discs are fired anywhere within a 45-degree angle of the ground.

Pull.

And there's just 0.5 to 0.7 of a second to react.

That was so quick!

I didn't even see it come out of the trap.

I've got to say, Ed, that was fantastic.

That was so impressive.

I can't believe just how quick you have to react.

Yeah, it's pretty quick, but let's see how you fare now.

No pressure, then(!)

We're going to just walk to this corner.

-OK, ready?

-Yes, Abbey, let's go.

-So, are you right-handed or left-handed?

-Right-handed.

OK, so the stance is your left leg needs to be slightly forwards

-with a little bit of weight on that front leg, OK?

-Yeah.

That little red bead on the end of the gun,

you're going to move the gun up to the clay.

As it reaches the clay, I'm going to say the word, "Now,"

-you're going to pull the trigger. OK, ready?

-Yeah.

OK. So, you're going to pop it into your shoulder, take hold of the gun.

That's it. Head nice and down on top of here,

finger just to touch the trigger, that's it. OK, gun's ready to go.

Starting about here, when you see the clay,

move up to it and then pull the trigger.

Here we go, up to it, there.

-Oh, yes!

-There you go.

I think it's a fantastic way of coming to the countryside

and doing a completely different sport,

and as you say, all walks of life coming, having a go at it,

I think it's a great idea.

So, Ed, how'd I get on?

Not bad, very good.

-Really?

-I can see you perhaps getting one of these one day.

-Oh, you've got it, have you? Fantastic!

-There we go.

It's as heavy as I'd hoped it would be!

Wow, an Olympic bronze medal.

That is sensational.

Well, I think I've got some honing to do to get reactions

to rival Ed and Abbey, but let's see if we've hit the target

of a house for Bruce and Kerry here in the Somerset countryside.

Well, the mystery house is clearly the runaway winner,

but remember, for Kerry and Bruce,

it'll be the first home they buy together,

so let's find out what they want to do.

Well, you've had a bit of time, I think, not to make your mind up,

but to maybe cool off, haven't you?

But I think we know what your favourite house is, don't we?

What do you like so much about the mystery house, on reflection?

Clean lines, lots of glass, the craftsmanship.

You seem to have the knack of giving us much more than we expected

and asked for. For now, I couldn't imagine living anywhere

more wonderful than that, really.

Is it where we still want to be when we're 80?

-Good point.

-And that's what we need to just think about.

I think we need to go back to the village,

spend more time in the village,

look around, talk to the people,

spend more time in the pub, maybe.

Yes!

I am overqualified in that to some extent,

but I think that is your next step, actually,

because we've spent a bit of time in the mystery house,

and you liked it.

Yes. There's nothing we didn't like it about it at all, really.

So, when do you think you might want to go back?

I think we might wander about a bit tomorrow morning.

Oh, great! Things happen quick with you two, don't they?

Wow. You don't hang around, do you?

We're also the kind of people that when we make a decision,

-we make a decision.

-Yes.

The ball is in your court, just let us know what you decide.

-Certainly will.

-We will.

-Good luck.

-Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

It's great when our house-buyers have a firm favourite,

as it really gives them something to focus on.

And for the mystery property, for Kerry and Bruce,

it gave them everything they're after -

those clean lines inside the house,

the flat, practical land for Bruce's helicopter,

but I think most importantly, and which is why it's the favourite,

it had the edge-of-village location,

and a wonderful spot it was, with that nice pub just down the road.

And I think that's exactly where they should head -

go to the pub, meet some locals, chat it through with them.

Maybe that will help them decide.

I'm not sure which way this is going to go,

but I do wish them both the very best of luck.

See you next time.

As planned, Bruce and Kerry did go back to the village

of the mystery property, but on reflection,

they decided the house was just too big for them in the long term.

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