Norfolk Escape to the Country

This beautiful engine is a 1927 Foster Showman's tractor

and this corner of the country is home to what's believed to be

the world's largest collection of traction engines and roadrollers.

But where am I?

And how did one local boy's love of steam grow so big?

Find out in just a minute.

TRACTOR HISSES, RUMBLES AND SQUEAKS

'Today's escape is all about horses for courses.'

Ta-da!

MAN LAUGHS

Stables underneath the accommodation.

LAUGHTER

-Absolutely ideal.

-Yeah.

It's fantastic.

'But will any of our houses be first past the post?'

Could you see yourself living here?

-I think so.

-Yeah, I definitely think so.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

ENGINE RUMBLES

Despite what it says up there on the canopy,

today I'm actually in Norfolk,

and vintage engines like this form part of the Thursford Collection,

started by George Thomas Henry Cushing as a young man

and now home to more than 30 steam engines,

ten mechanical organs,

and a multitude of fairground memorabilia.

Born in 1904, Cushing developed a fascination with steam engines

as a child whilst working on the farm here,

where the collection is now based.

And later on,

I'll be meeting the next generation of Cushings to discover what other

wonders they have hidden away.

Norfolk is a county in East Anglia,

with both the Wash and the North Sea off its coastline.

Largely rural, with a low population density of just over 400 people per

square mile, the flat,

fertile lands of the region make it ideal for growing crops

such as wheat and oilseed rape,

and one in five jobs here are in agriculture or food production.

The Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

includes the cliffs at Hunstanton.

Now towering up to 18 metres above the beach, millions of years ago,

these stark layers of brown carrstone

and red-and-white limestone were under the sea.

They're now a rich source of fossils,

as well as home to colonies of sea birds.

Other coastal wildlife includes seals,

with both common and grey being readily sighted

on the county's beaches,

including this growing colony at Horsey.

Another big draw for visitors are the Broads.

This vast and unique network of largely navigable rivers and lakes

is popular for boating.

The tranquillity and charm of the waters are known as

Britain's Magical Waterway.

A local tradition for quirky signage was started by King Edward VII,

who suggested them to focus the identity of the villages

around the Royal Sandringham estate.

The idea spread

and the eye-catching signs are well worth watching out for,

as many have a tale to tell, such as this one

showing King Canute who gave Ludham Manor to St Bennet's Abbey.

So, if you're looking for peace and serenity

alongside coast and country,

steeped in the traditions and history of bygone eras,

Norfolk is a county that's hard to surpass.

The beautiful waterways and quiet woodlands of Norfolk are lucky

enough to remain undisturbed by motorways,

and, believe it or not, until the railways arrived in 1845,

it was actually quicker to get from Norwich to Amsterdam by boat

than it was down to London by road.

Such rural idyll is often assumed to come with a hefty price tag,

yet the average cost of a detached home here is around £245,000.

That's an impressive £55,000 below the national figure.

So, what expectations do today's buyers have of this lovely county?

Let's meet them and find out.

Keith and Karen made their first bid to escape to the country when they

moved to their current Hertfordshire home 12 years ago.

We live in a village called Chipperfield.

It's a very nice area.

We live on a small, private road,

which has a wonderful community spirit, which you don't get

in many places nowadays.

But now that Keith has finished work in the insurance industry

and their sons have left home,

it's time for an even more rural lifestyle,

away from the London commuter belt.

So, a lot of people who live here do commute into London.

We just feel like there's something else -

a new challenge waiting for us.

I've always wanted to live in the countryside,

and I've always felt a big part of the countryside

and I'd just like to have it around me.

It's not just the countryside they want directly around them -

these animal lovers will be bringing a few four-legged family members

along for the move.

Karen has two horses,

and one of our dreams, if you like,

has always been to have the horses right outside the back door,

so you can just walk out to the horses.

We've got six whippets, which we keep at home.

They're racing whippets and we used to race them

quite competitively at one time.

They're a massive part of our lives, you know?

They're almost like children, is what I would say,

and one of the reasons to move to a new location is

to give them a bit more space to run around in.

And when it comes to finding a rural retreat for two humans,

two horses and six dogs,

there's just one county Keith and Karen have in mind.

North Norfolk is the area we're looking to move to,

around the King's Lynn area.

It's an area that...

we've holidayed with the children when they were younger.

Our pound goes further in Norfolk than it would do in the area

in which we are in.

It'll give us an opportunity to live the dream that we've

always wanted to have, and that's to have the horses and animals

and grow our own vegetables and things like that.

Having it all in one place and in a nice rural location

in an area we know and love would be our real dream, really.

Part of the Norfolk dream is having time to be creative.

I do enjoy painting.

I have a studio in the garden at the moment

and I'd really like to be able to spend more time doing that

in the new house.

I'd quite like to learn a new skill, and learn about gardening

and growing vegetables.

I've not had much time to devote to it when I was working,

so I want to spend more time doing that.

But, most of all, it's about realising a lifelong plan.

It's always been our ambition to have a place with land,

and to have the horses at home,

and to have other animals, as well, if we can.

And now's the right time.

We want to have a new experience in our life

-while we're still young enough to enjoy it, really.

-Yeah.

Keith and Karen want to concentrate their search

in the north of the county, in the area around King's Lynn,

but before we start looking at property,

'I'm meeting them in Norfolk to talk about their hopes for the move.'

Keith and Karen, welcome to Norfolk.

-Thank you.

-What's attracted you to this part of the country?

We're just drawn to it, really.

We've had holidays here for many years now,

and it just seems a natural progression to, sort of, move here.

And why are you making the move now?

I mean, it's a time of life where our children have left home.

I left my job recently.

So now's the right time for us to move to find

a new life in a new location,

and we hope that you're going to find it for us today in Norfolk!

I hope so too. Let's get down to business.

What are you looking for in a property?

We're mainly looking for a property that's got some land,

-because I've got two horses, so that is really important.

-OK.

And we've got six dogs as well.

We're looking for something that's got stables and land for the horses,

and plenty of space for the dogs.

What about the property itself?

Well, we're quite open-minded.

I quite like Georgian-style properties.

And I don't mind a barn conversion -

that would be interesting for me to see.

You know, we quite like modern style inside,

but that's not to say if we found a house that needed some work,

we would definitely consider, erm, you know,

thinking about doing some work if we had to.

We'd like an en-suite bathroom for our room,

but not bothered about whether that's the case or not.

So, fairly flexible, I think, is what, you know, you'll find us.

How important is location, community around you?

That's fairly important, actually, yeah.

We don't want to be completely isolated,

but, on the other hand, we don't want near neighbours.

Traffic noise would be an issue for us, for example,

so that would be the other thing...

But I guess whenever you are going to look at a house,

there are always compromises, and we know that you have

to compromise quite often to get what you want.

OK, remind me of your budget.

Our budget is £850,000.

OK, well, let's go and find you a house.

-Lovely.

-Thank you.

So, for a top budget of £850,000,

Karen and Keith are flexible on the accommodation in the house,

but must have enough land for their two horses,

as well as a dog-friendly garden.

They want a private location away from a main road,

but with easy access to a community,

and they are open to doing some work.

We found a real variety of incredible properties

to meet their needs, and, at each, I'll be getting them to guess

the asking price before I reveal it.

And the final offering will be our Mystery House,

which could really test just how far they'll go

to get the land they're after.

So you both already know this area fairly well, don't you?

We've got a holiday home on the north coast, and so

we've been coming here for a few years to visit that.

We've had many holidays here, so we do know the area reasonably well.

Will you keep your holiday home if you move here?

That's the plan, yes.

We enjoy that so much, being on the coast and everything else,

so the plan is not to sell it.

We just use it for family at the moment,

but I guess we've got an option to rent it out if we wanted to.

It's a lovely day to be house-hunting.

-It is.

-It's a beautiful day, isn't it?

Hopefully we're going to see some lovely houses...

I'll guarantee you'll see some lovely houses!

Our search is heading to Emneth,

a fenland village close to the border with Cambridgeshire.

There's an active community here, as well as good facilities,

including pubs, a post office and stores,

and a butcher's.

St Edmund's features a bellcote with six bells.

Former vicars of the church include the Reverend Wilbert Awdry,

creator of Thomas the Tank Engine.

It's said the tracks of the reverend's model railway

remain in the attic of the neighbouring vicarage.

And less than a mile away, we find our first house.

It looks interesting.

Yeah, it looks quite old.

It is quite old. It's a Grade II listed Jacobean manor house.

Yeah, I like the look of it. It's got a nice symmetry about it, hasn't it...

-Mm-hmm.

-..with the two wings on either side.

Yeah, it's handsome. Nice big windows.

-Yeah, it's nice.

-Tick, tick, so far!

LAUGHTER I'm glad to hear it.

You'll definitely feel the history of the house,

-when we go inside.

-Yeah.

I won't take you through the front entrance -

as with a lot of these houses in the country,

we'll go in through the kitchen.

-Lovely, thank you.

-Thank you.

'Built in the early 17th century,

'with extensions to either side added around 100 years later,

'we're heading to the left-hand wing,

'which leads straight into the rather rustic kitchen-diner.'

Come in.

Thank you.

If you want to move to the country, you need a country kitchen.

It is a country kitchen. Very homely.

It's fantastic, isn't it? Quite lofty ceilings, as well.

I wasn't expecting that -

being a Jacobean house, I thought it might have lower ceilings.

And the range over there, I can see in the archway.

Yeah, it's a real feature, isn't it?

And room for a big table.

Yeah, which is fantastic, yeah. For the family.

And you've got a utility room as well,

which you could use as a boot room, too,

-so, another place where you can clean up the dogs...

-Very useful.

And there's a really nice conservatory over there,

where the dogs can chill.

They'd like that, yeah!

They'd spend a lot of time out there, no doubt, I'm sure!

Yeah, but there's plenty of other rooms to have a look at.

'Off the kitchen, there's also a handy cloakroom,

'then, to the front of this wing is the first of four

'large reception rooms.'

So, this is the main sitting room.

It's a nice room, nice and bright.

The fireplace is a real feature, isn't it?

-And this is where you see the history of the property...

-Yeah.

..because this is the old exterior.

Yeah, I really like that.

-It's a nice feature of the building.

-Yeah, and they've kept that.

-Yeah.

-It's a good-sized room.

-Yeah, very nice.

It's not too small, it's not too big -

-it's just right.

-Big size.

I can imagine spending some nice evenings in here

in front of the fire.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Lovely.

-No, but this isn't the only reception room.

-OK.

-There's plenty more. Follow me.

-All right.

There's also a formal dining room.

-What an amazing room.

-It's beautiful.

The fireplace is just incredible.

It's got a lot of history to it. You can see that. Hasn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yeah, it's lovely.

-Yeah, I like it a lot.

And then, next door, they've got what they call a music room,

because there's a piano in there.

-At the end...

-Right.

-..they've got a study.

-Right.

-But you've got a lot of options.

Would you use this as a dining room?

-Don't know.

-It's up to you.

-I don't know.

Yeah, it's a beautiful room, though. Very nice.

-Shall we head upstairs? Yeah?

-Let's do that.

'So, bags of character and space on this floor.

'Stairs lead up to the four-bedroom accommodation.

'Over the kitchen sits a large guest bedroom with en-suite facilities.

'Next to this, the family bathroom, with a roll-top bath,

'serves two further bedrooms.

'One is currently used as a twin,

'and the other has its own wash basin.

'That leaves the entirety of the other wing for

'an extremely generous suite for Keith and Karen.'

In here is the master suite,

-so you've got the en-suite over there.

-Right.

-Mm-hmm.

And then...the master bedroom.

It's a big room, isn't it?

It's great. It's dual-aspect.

Great views out the front, there.

We weren't expecting we'd get a big bedroom,

as big a bedroom as we've got at home,

so it's fantastic to have that.

Could you see yourselves living here?

-I think so.

-Yeah, I definitely think so, yeah.

I'm surprised at how nice it is.

It's a good start.

It's a good start, because now it all comes down

to the garden, doesn't it?

Yeah, absolutely.

-Yeah.

-The outside space is as important as the inside space, so...

-Let's head outside, then.

-OK.

-Thank you.

'Well, we've agreed space is not a problem inside the house,

'and outside, the grounds are pleasantly landscaped

'with formal lawns, as well as alfresco seating options

'and even a substantial outbuilding, housing a swimming pool.

'Whilst there are currently no dedicated paddocks,

'there are a total of four acres to play with.'

-Four acres is plenty of space, isn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

So putting up posts and rail wouldn't be too much

-of an issue, I guess.

-Yeah, and it's nice and level.

-It is, very, very flat, isn't it?

-Yeah, exactly.

You don't have to level anything out.

You've got the space, as you said,

-if you section off a little bit as a paddock.

-Yeah.

But it's nice - it's a nice big area, isn't it?

Yes, it's beautiful. Yeah.

-And very nicely landscaped at the moment.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-There's lots of possibilities.

-So, how much does it cost?

-Right.

-Good question.

-It's time to guess the price.

You go first.

Erm, well, our budget's 850.

I mean, it's a lovely house, so I reckon...

795.

I'm thinking more, a bit lower...

750?

It's actually currently on the market for...

£650,000.

-Wow!

-Really?

-Yes.

-That's exciting. Yeah.

-Yeah, it's amazing.

-Yeah.

I didn't realise, you know, you could get so much for your money

-in this area.

-No.

Well, do you want to have another look around the house

and then I will meet you out the front?

-OK.

-OK. Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Shall we go and have a look at the pool house?

-Mm-hm.

I'm so pleased they love it,

because it is a real opportunity when you consider their budget,

so fingers crossed.

It's a great start.

This Grade II listed Jacobean manor house

is an incredible £200,000 below budget

and offers lots of period features,

no fewer than four reception rooms,

and a large country kitchen.

There's a utility room for the dogs and plenty of space for horses.

Not something we were looking for...

-Big area, though.

-Yeah.

-Massive room, isn't it?

Maybe convert it into stables or use it for some other purpose.

Yes. It's got possibilities.

I love the house. I'm pleasantly surprised.

The room sizes are very, very good.

The ceiling heights are good - plenty of space.

I hadn't thought of something quite so old, but it grew on me

I think it's a very imposing building.

It has a lot of symmetry about it.

I like the two wings with the central piece and clearly it's got a lot of history.

The grounds are a great asset to this house.

And, although we'd have to build stables

and put paddocks in, it's definitely a contender.

It's a nice house and I know Karen likes it.

She feels it's got a nice, you know, feel to it.

That counts for a lot, doesn't it?

It's a lovely first house, isn't it?

Very nice house.

Beautiful, yeah.

And there's plenty more to come.

Thank you.

Norfolk's low population density and unique habitats make it

a haven for wildlife.

One of the rarest seals in the world, the grey,

lives along the county's stunning coastline.

Almost half of the world's grey seals are found in the UK,

so caring for them is of global significance.

The good news is that this breeding colony saw

record numbers of births last season,

but with over 1,000 pups born here at Horsey,

there are now more seals needing support.

So, we're sending animal lovers and fans of all things horsey,

Keith and Karen, to a wildlife rescue centre

to meet RSPCA supervisor Jo Meade,

who's helping orphaned, sick or injured seals

from Norfolk and beyond.

How many seals do you have here at the moment, Jo?

We've got roughly about 50 seals at the moment.

-SEAL MOANS

-Some of them are still quite poorly in our isolation unit.

Some of them, like these guys out here,

are just fattening up, ready for release.

So why are they here, Jo?

For a variety of reasons.

They can get separated from their mums.

Many of them have come in where they're bit older

and they develop lungworm, so we treat them for that.

And members of the public kindly phone us

and we take them in and rehab them.

We do really well with seals.

They're very resilient animals.

Obviously, not all of them make it.

Sometimes when they come to us, they are so sick that they don't make it,

but a majority do.

The centre manages to rehabilitate 80% of the seals that come here,

with most staying for three to five months before they're released

back into the wild.

There are three stages prior to release.

The first is the isolation unit,

where injured seals are treated,

before they move on to stage number two.

OK, so come in. These are our intermediate pools.

So, this is where the seals come when they're well enough to come out

of the isolation unit,

so they come here for a bit of exercise, fatten up a bit and...

-before they go outside.

-SEAL MOANS

We have a very strict regime on how we deal with them,

so it's vital that we move them through the system

as quickly as possible,

because we've always got new seals coming in,

and it's very labour-intensive.

They're really hard work.

And what care do they need?

Obviously the regular feeding,

regular weighing,

and just keeping a health-check on them.

Our aim is just to build them up and get them nice and fat for release.

SEALS BARK

The final stage is the outdoor pool -

here, each seal is fed three kilos of mackerel per day.

Right, so if you want to just grab a few each and throw them...

If you try and move them around the pool...

Throw them right at the back, then they'll...

Throwing the fish around helps get the seals

fit and ready for the wild.

Each week, the pool is drained and the seals are weighed.

Once a seal achieves its target weight, it's time for it to leave.

Right, that's the last couple now,

so that'll be it until dinner time.

Nearly finished!

I wonder who's going to get this one, then!

LAUGHTER

And it's time for us to leave the seals to fight over that final fish,

as Keith and Karen turn their attention to

their Norfolk property search.

Our house-hunt is taking us to Dersingham,

a village close to the coast.

Highlights include St Nicholas,

one of the great churches of the 14th century,

and nature lovers can enjoy Dersingham bog reserve.

Facilities here include pubs, a bowling green,

a variety of stores and a garden centre.

The village also features a pottery and art gallery

located in what was originally

a stable block of the Sandringham estate.

The property we've come to see is on a hill that enjoys far-reaching

'country and coastal views on the outskirts of the village.'

Welcome to the farm cottage.

Beautiful. It looks lovely from the outside.

Yeah, really lovely.

I like the stone and the typical Norfolk roof tiles.

-Especially from this side.

-It must be deceptive.

It is deceptive.

It's a substantial home.

-They look really fantastic.

-And the outlook's great as well.

-Yeah, the views are to die for, aren't they?

-And the setting.

-The setting is fantastic.

-Beautiful.

-I can see some outbuildings as well.

You've already spotted them! LAUGHTER

What do you think so far, then?

-I want to see more.

-It looks really attractive.

I would say it is a very typical Norfolk-looking property

from the outside.

Very attractive, so I'm looking to see more inside, definitely.

-Let's go in.

-Yeah.

Built in the 1800s,

this property was originally two farm cottages

which were joined to create a sizeable home

that extends considerably behind.

Still essentially two wings,

the majority of the living space is found in the right-hand wing,

with the front door leading directly into an open-plan living area of the

house, which is currently unoccupied.

Oh! Right, OK.

-It's unfurnished.

-It's unfurnished.

That means you just have to use your imaginations.

Maybe it makes it easier to imagine your own things in it.

-I don't know.

-Yeah, certainly, I can do that.

-You've got two reception rooms here...

-Yeah.

..and they've got the dining room there,

but, again, it just depends.

I think these rooms, you can use them for whatever you'd like.

-And I like the brick exposed...

-OK.

-Mmm.

..and clearly a wood-burner, which is fantastic for the winter.

Yes, so it's got that open-plan feel, really.

Yeah, it does.

And then we come into the kitchen.

Nice, big space.

-It's much bigger than I thought it was going to be, actually.

-Yeah.

It looks reasonably well-decorated and it looks like it hasn't been

empty for very long, doesn't it?

-No, and it hasn't been, no.

-So...

-So far, so good?

-It looks nice.

-I like it.

-Fantastic.

There's a utility room and a downstairs loo there.

-There's also a home office just through there...

-Right.

-OK.

-..so you don't have to worry about space with this house.

No, I can see that. It's got plenty of space in here.

Now, I did say there were two parts to the house.

There are also two staircases. I'll take you up the main one.

OK.

'So, lots of versatile space in this period property.'

The rest of this floor also has a downstairs bathroom

and rather a big surprise,

but before I reveal that,

we're taking one of two staircases up to the six-bedroomed sleeping

accommodation, which, again, is split into two sections.

To the left is a self-contained annexe with two bedrooms,

but we're heading to the remaining four bedrooms in the other wing.

Above the downstairs living space is a family bathroom that serves

three guest bedrooms - a double, and two smaller rooms,

one with built-in storage,

'and then there's the largest bedroom, with en-suite facilities.'

There are four bedrooms in this part of the house.

I will emphasise "in this part of the house".

-This is the master...

-Right.

-..with the en-suite.

-Pop your head through.

-This is a nice-sized room as well, isn't it?

For me, this room and the selling point is the view.

-Yeah.

-I can picture us laying in bed and you bringing me a cup of tea up.

-Well, that's normal, isn't it?

-OK. LAUGHTER

It looks lovely. Really nice, actually.

Yeah, I really like it. I'm a bit worried.

What are you worried about?!

-I'm worried we can't afford it!

-LAUGHTER

-I'm glad to know you like it that much!

-I do.

And I've not even shown you the other part of the house.

Let's go there.

OK, thank you.

'Yes, there's even more to see,

'as connecting doors to a corridor and stairs lead through to the

'potentially self-contained top-floor annexe.'

Blimey, where are we going?

I don't know!

Through the tunnel is the second wing.

Wow! This is amazing, isn't it?

Look at this ceiling and everything.

So this is the, sort of, main living area of

-the second part of the house.

-Right.

-That's actually a kitchen, a kitchenette.

-Right.

And there are two decent-sized bedrooms in this part,

also a bathroom,

and what you could call a seventh bedroom to the house,

or a dressing-room.

-I don't think you'd need a seventh bedroom...

-No.

..so shall we call it a six-bedroom house in total?

Was it separated as a holiday home?

Yeah, they used to have it as a holiday let.

I like the lofty ceilings in here and it does feel really nice,

it feels good.

How do you feel about this much space?

Six bedrooms and this much property to deal with?

It's much more than we wanted. We didn't feel we needed that much space,

There's only two of us.

I could have this as my studio.

It's a bonus. Definitely a bonus.

So what's underneath this part of the house?

Ah-ha!

Now I can show you.

OK.

Let's head down the stairs.

'Taking the second staircase from the sitting room of this annexe,

'we reach the sneaky surprise I've been keeping

'from horse-lover Karen.'

So, the main entrance to this part...

And then...

Ta-da!

KEITH LAUGHS

Stables underneath the accommodation?

KEITH AND KAREN LAUGH

Absolutely ideal.

Yeah, it'll keep the people above warm.

I wasn't expecting this at all!

Yeah, they would like it in here.

-Would they?

-Yeah, they would.

They'd have to.

And there's a garage through there as well,

-storage or whatever else you needed, all the horsey stuff.

-Right. Yeah.

This house just keeps on giving, doesn't it?

Shall we see what land comes with the house, then?

-Oh, yes, please.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

So, plenty to cater to Keith and Karen and all four-legged members of

their family in this 19th-century hilltop cottage.

But there's more!

A selection of outbuildings includes a garden room as well as a workshop,

and it all lies in 1.6 acres of grounds,

with that all-important paddock,

featuring distant coastal views to the Wash.

You wanted a paddock -

how about a paddock with a view?

Yeah, that's amazing.

They're going to be the most spoilt horses in the country.

-They are.

-Too right. Yeah.

So, this paddock is three quarters of an acre -

is that enough for two horses?

-Not ideally, no.

-No.

The other paddock area's outside the stables,

that belongs to your neighbour,

-so you might be able to negotiate just renting that off them.

-Right.

They don't use it for horses,

-so it's just there, sitting, free.

-Sounds like an option.

Yeah, that's something we'd like to explore.

-Yeah, definitely, yeah.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-You like the house.

-I do.

How much will you have to pay for it?

I think you've gone over our budget.

I think this would be 880.

I'm not going to go that high,

-cos I don't think you'd be that cruel to us, so...

-He has faith.

..so I'm going to say 830.

OK.

You're lucky - Keith is closer.

-Is he?

-He is.

It's on the market for £795,000.

-Wow.

-Is it?

-Wow!

-I wasn't expecting that at all.

No, it's fantastic news. It really is.

-Definitely worth us having a long, hard think about, definitely.

-Yeah.

You're itching to go and see that sea view, aren't you?

-I am, yes.

-Go, go, I can't stop you.

-OK, thank you.

-Thank you.

Let's go and have a look.

£55,000 below budget,

this substantial 1800s hilltop cottage has open-plan living spaces,

six bedrooms and a self-contained annexe.

There are integral stables and a paddock with coastal views.

So...

Wow, that's a view and a half, isn't it?

Fantastic. Lucky horses.

-Yeah, the icing on the cake.

-Yeah.

It's a very pretty cottage -

a very traditional-looking Norfolk property.

As soon as I walked in, I could see...

that this is a place that we could make our own.

You go through the first part of the house and it's very traditional

and then you open another door and it's almost like going into another house.

It's finding another exciting part to the property.

The further you went in, it just kept giving and giving and giving.

I think it's in a fantastic location.

It's on the top of a hill and the outlook is fantastic -

you know, all your fields all around you and a view to the sea.

It's a beautiful setting. Absolutely lovely.

If we could think about how we could make the land work for the horses,

we'd definitely be interested in the house.

I could see us living here, definitely.

It certainly offers more than this facade suggests, doesn't it?

-It does.

-Absolutely, yeah.

-It's very surprising.

And you both look very at home, already, may I say?

Yeah, we are.

-Not bad for a first day of house-hunting.

-Yeah.

'We're in Norfolk,

'helping Keith and Karen from Hertfordshire find a house

'with land for their two horses and six dogs.'

We've already shown them some amazing property,

within their budget of £850,000,

but there's more to see.

And our Mystery offering could be the outsider in the field,

but will it have a winning finish?

It has potential, yeah, and it doesn't faze me, at all.

-No?

-No.

-You look very calm about all of this.

-Mm-hm.

-Yeah.

-Fantastic.

'Plus, I get into the groove with a very special Norfolk collection.'

-All you do is put it in the frame, like that...

-Right.

..and pull the frame down.

ORGAN PLAYS LOUDLY

Well done!

Today we have two more houses for Karen and Keith.

Later, I'll be showing them our Mystery House,

which will test their willingness

to put in some work to create their dream home.

But first I have a property which is the most modern of them all.

Day two of our house hunt is taking us to Hillington.

One and a half miles away, the Sandringham Estate village of Flitcham

has a community centre which was extensively renovated and reopened

by the Queen in the year 2000.

The 12th century part of its church are largely in ruins,

but the 19th century sections still serve the community.

A short distance away, Hillington's church of St Mary's

is built from blue carrstone from the quarries of the royal estate.

A 300-year-old coaching inn is now a hotel, restaurant and bar

whilst elsewhere, the village provides post office facilities.

Then, located well back from the main road is our next property.

You said you liked barn conversions,

I do.

It's not quite a barn conversion because it never used to be a barn,

but it's a house that was built 17 years ago in the style of a barn conversion.

It does look very much like a barn conversion.

It looks interesting.

What do you think about the setting?

-Yeah, so from the gate, this is all yours.

-Yeah.

So there's obviously the driveway.

There is the issue of the main road out the front.

Yeah, how much of an issue is that?

We'd have to give it some serious thought.

Whenever you buy a house there's always compromises, so maybe this is the compromise.

It's the newest property I'll be showing you.

-New's not bad. I don't mind new.

-No, modern is good.

Modern is good, yeah.

Purpose-built in 1999, this spacious single-storey property

reveals its contemporary proportions in the entrance hall.

-OK.

-It's a grand entrance as you get with this style of home, generally.

Yes, it's a wonderful space, yes.

And you can see it's new, can't you, as you come in?

It feels quite modern.

But the real showpiece, I think, is here.

So in the sitting room you've got the double high ceiling.

-That's interesting.

-Wow. I didn't expect that, I have to say.

I love the vaulted ceiling with the beams up there.

-And it's nice and light.

-Yeah, beautifully light, yeah.

-Cup of tea area.

-Cup of tea area, that's right, yeah.

And I like the fire as well, it kind of works both sides, doesn't it?

Absolutely, so if you're having dinner and you've got people round

-you see it and come here.

-Yeah, it's nice.

It does look like a barn conversion and it feels just like that.

-It's quite cosy.

-Do you like it so far?

There's also the conservatory which looks out onto the garden.

-Yes, I like the conservatory.

-Yes, it's good, yes.

It's good, I like that you're warming to this house. This way.

HE LAUGHS

Off this central open-plan living space we find the large,

well-equipped kitchen.

This house comes with a very good sized kitchen.

-Here's a good space.

-It's massive, isn't it? It's huge.

In fact, you could put your dining table here.

You could definitely live in here and not move out of here for the

-whole day, couldn't you, really?

-I really like it, it's a good space.

So the house has surprised you as you've come in?

-It has, yeah, pleasantly surprised me.

-Yeah, it's nice,

it really is, it really is a lovely house.

It's beautiful. You'd move in and it will be fantastic, wouldn't it?.

-This house is completely ready for you to move into.

-Yeah.

To one end of the kitchen is a utility and cloakroom

and then to the other end, a hall leads through to an annex

containing a further reception currently used as an office

and an en-suite double bedroom.

But the additional three bedrooms are in the remaining wing

at the far end of the main house.

Here there's a guest double with an en-suite bathroom,

another double with an en-suite shower room

and then there's the fourth and final bedroom.

If you were to buy this house, this would be your master bedroom.

I could see us in here, Keith. It's really nice.

It's lovely, I love the doors out onto the garden.

And I could see that the horses would be just there.

Good spot. You really want to live with your horses, you can with

-this property.

-And it's got

-an en-suite. It's a suite.

And a little walk-in closet, walk-in wardrobe.

It's very nicely done, isn't it?

Ticks all the boxes, doesn't it? Yeah, good.

-All right, let's head on outside.

-Yeah.

Keith and Karen certainly like the contemporary single-storey

living on offer in this barn conversion style property

with just over an acre of land there are formal gardens,

a double garage and workshop

and a paddock with a stable block for the horses.

It's a very nice set up out here.

It is a nice set-up, I was hoping you'd say that,

because as you spied from inside the house, you've got two stables here.

But if you don't think that space is enough for the two horses,

what is also an option and what the current owners do

is they lease out nine acres from the farmer.

-Oh, wow.

-Interesting.

-Exactly.

Because I don't think you would have come to see this house.

No, we wouldn't have done. Definitely not.

Everything you've asked for exists in this house and it's ready to move

into, you and the horses and the dogs and some chickens if you want.

HE LAUGHS

How much is this property on the market for?

-Around 650.

-OK.

I reckon it's worth much more than that and I reckon 795,000.

You're closer, you'll be pleased to know.

-It's actually on the market for 599,950.

-No!

So just under 600,000.

-That's put a smile on our faces, hasn't it?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Go and have a wander round.

-OK.

Have a think now you know the price of the property.

-It's a very attractive price.

-It is.

-And I'll meet you out the front.

-OK.

-OK, thank you.

-Thank you.

It's a very attractive price, so they should consider it.

I know the main road's a problem,

but it's a really good option for them.

An incredible £250,000 below budget.

This modern single-storey home has contemporary open-plan living,

a large kitchen, a total of four bedrooms all with ensuite

bathrooms, plus a paddock and stable block.

Much bigger than you'd actually think when you come through

the door. You don't expect it to be as big as this, do you?

-I like the lofty ceilings as well.

-Yeah, it's great.

There's lots of options because it's such a big room.

-Yeah.

-The house itself, I mean, it's fantastic,

you know, looks like a barn conversion,

feels like a barn conversion,

very modern inside and the gallery in the main living room,

that's a lovely place to sit and look out across the land

at the back of the house.

I think this property offers us everything that we really could

ever want and more, probably.

Another double bedroom.

Yeah, it's big enough for a double bed, isn't it?

Nice ensuite as well.

-And a nice big window looking out onto the garden.

-Yeah, perfect.

The price really surprised me, I have to say.

I mean, it was a nice shock. on the basis it would leave

quite a lot of money left from our budget to do other things.

Definitely an interesting sort of option and not one we may have come

to see had we been looking on our own.

How could you not love this house? It's a lovely house. It really is.

Have I given you a bit of a dilemma?

-I think you have, yeah, definitely.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Good.

Let's hit the road, because we've still got another house to see.

Looking forward to that one as well.

The small Norfolk village of Thursford,

just a few miles inland from the coast

is now home to a fascinating museum of vintage engines,

fairground rides and musical organs.

It all started with George Cushing, the son of a farm hand,

born here in 1904.

Young George developed a fascination with the sights

of the travelling fairs,

and, as a teenager, he travelled to King's Lynn to get a job

as the driver of a steam roller.

When the steam engines he drove were being sold off,

George decided to preserve them,

along with other soon-to-be-obsolete machines.

His farm in Thursford soon became a centre for

fellow mechanical enthusiasts,

who flocked to help repair, as well as view, his latest acquisitions.

The collection, featuring 47 steam engines,

is now in a museum cared for by his descendants,

including grandson Charlie Cushing,

'who's on hand to tell me more about grandfather George.'

Tell me all about the family collection -

it's really grown over the years.

When my grandfather, George, was very young,

he went to see numerous different fairs,

and there are memories he talked about when he'd go to the fair,

see all the showman's engines running all the lights,

the music and, you can imagine,

in those sort of days, you rarely left your own village,

to see all this wonderful, sort of, spectacle arrive,

it was quite incredible.

I think that's where that, sort of,

initial passion was really instilled, from quite a young age.

When the engines were being sold for scrap back in the 1930s,

they were being sold for, some of them, around about £20.

And he went on to buy three of his most enjoyable engines

that he really did love, and that was Alexandra, Unity and Victory.

How many members of the family have that passion for steam engines?

Well, there's three of us involved in the business.

And it's about more than steam engines, isn't it?

Yes, it is, yeah. We've got the mechanical organs, as well,

we've got ten of those.

If you just head on into the main museum,

then they'll be in there, playing for you.

-Wonderful, thank you very much, Charlie.

-Nice to meet you.

'Bob Ince, who was a schoolboy apprentice,

'first came to work on the museum's organ collection in the 1970s,

'and has been a regular ever since.

'He's showing me an organ which started life in a cinema,

'before it was adapted to play in a fairground ride.'

You've got to tell me how it works, cos I can see this whirring away.

This is the drive driving.

-OK.

-But the actual drive, here,

was usually done by what they call a model - a steam engine.

And you've got a lot of music, here.

There's an enormous amount.

Could you play anything, in theory,

that could be adapted for an organ?

You could, yes.

For instance, in Holland, when the Beatles were popular,

all the street organs had Beatles' tunes.

There is still a call for them.

But, of course, these books here are old,

and I think you could say some of them are 70, 80 years old.

They've done pretty well.

Yeah, they really have.

When the music goes through the key frame,

these little keys here, they're allowed to jump up.

They read the music. You can see the music's got slots.

Oh, so, this is the music.

This is some of the music,

-and all you do is put it in the frame, like that...

-Right.

..and pull the frame down.

ORGAN PLAYS LOUDLY

Well done.

'But the museum isn't only home to mechanical organs -

'Bob also helped to reassemble a mighty Wurlitzer,

'thought to be the fourth-largest in Europe

'and rescued from a 3,000-seater cinema in Leeds.

'Organist Robert Wolfe regularly performs on the instrument

'and has promised me a private demonstration.'

So, tell me, what's so special about the Wurlitzer?

It's just a magnificent-looking instrument,

and, I think, once you hear it, as well,

it's just a powerful, unique piece of art.

'Designed to replace the pit orchestras that once accompanied

'silent movies, at the peak of production in 1926,

'the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company was shipping one of these

'magnificent instruments a day.

'Their success was down to combining 2,000-year-old pipe organ technology

'with modern electronics, that allowed for adventurous,

'synthesised effects.'

The Wurlitzers were built to replace, like, a whole orchestra.

-Oh.

-So, you see all of the slots on the organ -

you have clarinets, saxophones, oboes, a string section.

-Basically, a whole orchestra.

-I see.

How do you get into playing an organ like this?

Well, many years ago, my father took me to a cinema, locally,

to an organ concert, when I was 12 years old,

and the first time I saw this organ rising out of the floor,

I was completely hooked.

And a piano just wouldn't have done?

No, no, it had to be the organ. It had to be the organ.

-Can we have a little preview?

-Of course you can. Yeah, definitely.

-That would be amazing.

-Definitely.

Thank you.

HE PLAYS Entry Of The Gladiators by Julius Fucik

'Robert first played here when he was 14,

'and almost 40 years later,

'it's easy to hear why this organ still has him hooked,

'enchanting audiences just as it has for generations gone by.'

So, what do you think I have up my sleeve for the Mystery House?

I'm hoping you haven't got a nice, converted windmill,

or a converted water mill,

or a thatched property,

cos I'm not enthusiastic about those.

I'm hoping that the house and the land

are going to be exactly what we've asked for.

What if the land is exactly what you want, but the house isn't?

-Then there's things that we can do to alter a house...

-Yeah.

..but, generally, you can't alter the land.

I guess we'll wait and see. You're going to surprise us, aren't you?

Our Mystery offering is located in the small village

of Tilney All Saints.

Nearby facilities, found in the larger village of

Terrington St Clement,

include two pubs serving food, takeaways,

a well-stocked hardware store and a vet.

Built on reclaimed marshland,

it's thought the soft soil of the region

is why the impressive tower of St Clement's

was constructed apart from the church itself.

Just under three miles away,

Tilney All Saints' long nave is perhaps

once again the result of builders battling its marshland setting.

The village here has a community hall and a primary school

and located just over a mile from the centre is our Mystery House.

That's a very handsome house.

It's very imposing, actually.

It looks quite grand, from the outside.

Yeah, it's got a lovely facade to it.

-First impressions are fantastic, actually.

-Yeah?

And then you've got the view out across the land, I guess,

which, I presume, is all part of the property?

It is, and I know how important land is to you both.

It comes with five and a half acres that belongs to the property...

-Fantastic.

-..and a lot of paddock space.

The amount of land sounds just right.

It's perfect for the two horses and being right outside the house.

-Yes.

-So, fantastic. Yeah.

-Yeah, good.

-So far, so good.

-Happy so far?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, excellent. Yeah.

Now it's time to reveal the Mystery.

Let's go inside.

-OK, thank you.

-OK.

'Karen has a love of Georgian properties

'and this one has certainly impressed them

'with its land and exterior.

'A front door framed with Doric columns takes us

'via an elegant entrance hall into the large drawing room of

'this part-furnished home.'

So, as you can see, the house really needs a bit of a loving touch.

-It certainly does.

-Yeah.

That's the Mystery - you would need to put your own stamp on it.

Well, we're not afraid of hard work, and we've done it before

and we can do it again, so we're up for the challenge.

Yeah, definitely. It's dated, but I can see some original features.

-Yeah, I love the floor, actually.

-Yes, very good.

-Yeah.

Around the edge of the carpet, the middle,

it's like a dance floor or something, isn't it?

And that bay window just is perfect to look out onto

the paddocks, and, you know, again, you can keep an eye on the horses.

I can just see myself sitting there, looking out onto the grass there

and to the pond out there.

-Yeah, I'm keen to see more.

-Yeah.

Shall we go through to the kitchen?

-Let's do that.

-Lead the way.

-Thank you.

'Keith and Karen seem open to the potential of this project property,

'and there are three further reception spaces on this floor,

'as well as a downstairs bathroom, boot room and a utility.'

-Here we are in the kitchen.

-Right, yeah.

I think this is one of the first rooms you'd do up, really.

-Yeah.

-I think you'd have to. But it's a good-sized room.

It's a good, square room.

Yeah, the window's big, isn't it? Nice.

Yeah, it looks out onto your courtyard.

But, yeah, it offers a lot of potential, doesn't it?

It has potential, yeah, and it doesn't faze me at all.

-No?

-No.

-You look very calm about all of this.

-Mm-hm.

-Yeah.

-Fantastic.

-Let's go upstairs.

-After you.

Upstairs, there are six bedrooms,

and they're all served by a family bathroom.

A large bedroom lies to the front, above the drawing room,

and has windows to two sides.

Then, behind this is the largest of the six bedrooms,

with built-in storage.

'All these rooms are reached by a landing

'with rather grand proportions.'

And this, I think, is beautiful in itself -

almost another room, this hallway.

-It is.

-Yes, it's huge, this landing.

Yeah, it's amazing, isn't it?

-You don't get this in a normal house, do you?

-No.

'Enough space for Keith and Karen inside -

'now to show them where their horses would be staying.

'Outside, a driveway leads to a courtyard,

'surrounded by a variety of outbuildings.'

You've got two stables.

You could turn the end part into a third stable,

-if you wanted another horse.

-All right.

That's the original tack room,

-so the current owners use this for their horses.

-OK. Mm-hm.

Two garages and some more outbuildings.

-Well, there's plenty of space, isn't there?

-OK.

Even for Karen's trailer for her horse,

-as well, it would be fantastic.

-Oh, plenty of room.

-Yeah.

-Absolutely, yeah, more than we'd need.

-More than we'd need, yeah, definitely.

-Yeah, I'm happy.

-Let's head where we started.

-OK. Thank you.

'This house may come with the requisite land and outbuildings,

'as well as more than enough accommodation,

'but it is quite a renovation project,

'so I suspect Keith and Karen's final judgment

'will all come down to the price.'

What about the challenge of the Mystery?

Well, it is a challenge.

It's a very imposing property,

but it does need a bit of work inside,

to bring it up to modern-day standards.

It depends whether we've got the money to do it, I guess.

So, we'd better talk about the price.

I'm going to say...

740,000.

OK.

And I'm hoping it's going to be...

720.

Well, you're both not far off, relatively.

It's actually on the market for...

£695,000.

-Right.

-Is it, really?

-Yes.

-Wow. Yeah.

I'm surprised, again, you know.

-That's...

-Good value, I would have thought.

It's not been on the market long is what I would say,

just a couple of weeks.

-Right, yeah.

-OK, pleasantly surprised again.

I think within your overall budget, you could actually have a very

nice option, it's whether you're pleased with the overall picture.

It's good.

The land for the horses - there's enough there for that

and it's got a very good size garden as well. I'm happy with that.

Yeah, and plenty of outbuildings and the courtyard space to keep

the dogs safe so, yeah, I think it would work for us actually, yes.

Why don't you have another look around?

Have a chat and I will meet you in the courtyard.

-OK, thank you.

-OK, thanks very much.

I really think this house could work for them,

but it's whether that challenge is too daunting.

Leaving £155,000 to spare in the budget,

this Georgian country home comes with four reception rooms,

a kitchen breakfast room and six bedrooms.

There are five and a half acres of land,

with stables and a paddock.

It's a great size room, isn't it, Keith?

Yeah, another bedroom, I guess, but which one is the master,

they're so many of them. Very well proportioned, aren't they?

Fantastic size window, look at that.

-Yeah, look at the views out there.

-Yeah.

-Brilliant.

I think the Mystery House really offered

a lot of the requirements we had on our list,

I don't think we've ever been

in a building quite like this before, have we?

And it really does offer us the most land that we've seen.

-This is an amazing house.

-Yeah.

I was quite excited about it, initially, when I first saw it,

but we realise it's quite a large project to take on

and we need to think about it.

The amount of work that's required,

I imagine it's going to take us a bit of time to do that,

so, you know, do we want to commit ourselves to that

and, you know, and spent all of our money on that kind of a project?

And there we have our Mystery.

You've seen all the houses now.

You're a cup-of-tea man -

shall we go and get one and have a chat about what you might do next?

-Sounds like a plan.

-Yeah, let's go and do that.

-You're buying.

-Definitely, yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

Right, let's see if Keith and Karen like any of our properties

enough to make a move.

So, Keith and Karen,

what are you going to do next?

-Good question.

-What's the move?

For me, the home that I would like to go and investigate more about

is the cottage.

You know, I really loved the location of that place,

on top of the hill, with the sea views, etc.

It didn't quite have the land for the horses,

but, you know, it's something that maybe we could investigate about

acquiring some more land.

I loved the location of it, and it had wonderful views.

-Yeah.

-Erm, countryside views and sea views.

-Oh.

So you've almost got the best of Norfolk.

-Yeah.

-Absolutely, yes.

I think finding a property that meets all of our requirements

for the horses and location etc, it clearly is proving more

a challenge than we thought it was going to be originally.

And all of the houses that we've seen offered some potential

for the horses, but none of them quite right, maybe the last house.

Having seen our Mystery House

and being faced with that challenge of...although it was only

cosmetic, are you really wanting to work on a house?

I know you said initially you might want to.

I think that would have been quite a major project for us

to take on and it's made me realise that maybe that isn't quite what

I want to be doing at this stage.

You know, it offered lots of potential,

I can see somebody making that into a very,

very lovely home, I really can, yeah.

-But perhaps not for you?

-Not for us.

-Sadly not, no.

You've got such a good-sized budget for the area...

Yeah, I think that's what surprised us, really, it's shown

that you can get a property for quite considerably less

that pretty much meets most of our requirements,

maybe not all of the requirements, but most of them for quite

a considerable amount of money less than our original budget, so...

-You really...

-It looks like you feel very much at home here.

-Yeah.

-It feels like the right place for you, certainly.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-We feel it is.

I know Karen's been going on at me -

nagging me, if that's the right phrase.

-Is that the right phrase?

-Nudging, nudging you.

Nudging me in the direction of Norfolk

for, you know, the last year or so,

and I guess now I'm coming round to the idea that it is

-the right place for us.

-I really hope so.

-Well, we wish you well and keep us informed.

-Absolutely.

-Will do, yeah.

-We want to know how this all turns out.

-Yeah, we'll definitely do that.

-Yeah, we will.

But it's been an absolute pleasure.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-We've enjoyed it.

-Thanks, thanks.

It's been a lovely couple of days of house-hunting with Keith and Karen,

and I'm so pleased that they'd like to explore at least one of our

properties a little bit further.

I think this process has helped them realise exactly where

they're willing to compromise,

and, fingers crossed, they'll be moving to a new home

with their horses very soon.

See you next time on Escape To The Country.

Keith and Karen made further inquiries about

the cottage in Dersingham,

but found the adjacent paddock space they needed

had just been rented out and was no longer available.

We wish them luck with their continued search.

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