Northumberland Escape to the Country

The magnificent castle you see here behind me,

rearing up from its base of volcanic rock,

has been dubbed the foundation stone of England.

Find out where I am in just a moment.

On today's show, I'm tasked with finding a very particular property

with space to suit our buyers,

their parents, daughter and two dogs.

-This is fantastic, isn't it?

-This is special, isn't it?

It's been created with love, hasn't it?

But multi-generational living comes with complications.

It's going to be three dwellings at this rate, isn't it?!

THEY LAUGH

Today, I'm in Northumberland

and this is the spectacular Bamburgh Castle

that enjoys fantastic views out towards Lindisfarne

and the Farne Islands.

Now, throughout Anglo-Saxon times,

Bamburgh Castle was the royal seat to the kings of Northumbria,

and remained a royal powerhouse right up until 1610,

when James I put it into private hands.

In the 1890s, it was purchased by Lord William Armstrong,

the famous Northumberland-born pioneer and inventor,

who bought this place for just £8,000.

And it's still in his descendants' hands until this very day.

And I must say, when you're stood up here, looking out across

the coastline, you're reminded of the sheer scale and splendour

of this county's landscape.

Bordering Scotland, Northumberland is England's

northernmost county and one of its largest.

Its geographical position put it at the centre of the border wars

from the 14th to the 16th centuries,

during which time the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed

changed hands between England and Scotland at least 13 times,

before finally being claimed by England in 1482.

Its landscape is scattered with reminders of the region's turbulent

past, in the form of ruined fortifications,

such as the striking Warkworth Castle, and Alnwick Castle,

the impressive ancestral home to the Dukes of Northumberland,

the Percy family, for the past 700 years.

In Alnwick's town centre stands a 14-foot statue of Henry Percy.

The legendary knight, dubbed Harry Hotspur,

was slain at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403,

and later became one of Shakespeare's

best-known characters in Henry IV.

Besides its rich history,

this sparsely populated county is awash with natural beauty,

from Northumberland National Park,

to some of the most spectacular beaches in the UK.

So whether you have a head for history

or prefer just to soak up the scenery,

there is something to attract all

types of visitor to this captivating county.

If you read the property press, then you'll know that Northumberland

regularly gets a mention as one of the best places to live in the UK.

Great road and rail links,

low crime rates and beautiful countryside

make it a popular choice for families,

plus, the houses here, well, they don't cost the earth.

The average price of a detached property here

in this county comes in at around £257,000.

That's nearly £75,000 below the national figure.

Good news, then, for today's buyers,

who are hoping to make a multi-generational move.

Kevin and Vivienne tied the knot 18 months ago,

after five years together.

They currently live in a semidetached property in Springwell,

near Gateshead, that they've renovated themselves.

Well, I think we work together well as a team.

I normally have the ideas and then Kevin normally thinks it's OK.

-I think I have to agree.

-Do you think so?

Yes, I think that's the difference.

Vivienne's daughter Sophie has recently completed

a masters degree and still lives at home with her mum and Kevin.

Vivienne's parents, Mary and Wilf, now in their 80s,

also live just down the road.

My mum's lived there all of her life,

and my grandparents and my great-grandparents

lived in that house,

so it's been in the family since 1899.

Sophie's particularly close to my

mum and dad, and really helps out quite a lot.

Juggling work and looking after her parents

means that neither Vivienne nor Kevin have much time for themselves.

But whenever they get the chance,

they head to the Northumberland coast.

When I get there, I'm relaxed from the minute I arrive.

It's been a long-term plan of ours

that we would eventually move to Northumberland.

We've got the two pugs.

They absolutely love going on the beaches.

And we, I guess, get a lot of pleasure seeing their, you know...

..seeing them being so happy.

It's an area they've always envisaged themselves retiring to,

but Vivienne's parents' needs have now brought forward their plans.

My mum and dad, they've just recently sold their house,

because it's just become too big for them to manage,

so this is really a good opportunity for us all to move together and live

in one family house.

I think it's important that they have their own space,

so they can, you know, sit and watch their soaps,

so it is taking all of that into account.

As real retirement is still a few years away,

Kevin will have to commute.

But he hopes the move will mean he and Vivienne

will also have more time for the things they love.

We have a lot of sort of hobbies and interests

that we really haven't had time for.

I play a bit of golf and I'm also a very keen music fan.

Viv's hobbies are - she loves to garden.

She really comes alive out there.

We want to have a future where, when we're not working,

we can enjoy the surroundings.

We can enjoy our hobbies and a beautiful place to live.

As Kevin will be working in Washington,

they've asked us to focus our search south of Alnwick,

keeping his commuting time to under an hour.

First, we are meeting up to run through their property requirements.

Welcome, both of you, to Northumberland.

You were kind of already in Northumberland, almost, weren't you?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yes, yes.

-So what's been luring you to this beautiful

-countryside?

-I think what we want is a more-chilled lifestyle.

Why now, why are you looking to move now?

Well, we'd always intended retiring up here.

The move has been sort of brought forward a little bit

because of my mum and dad, so we thought, right,

why not make the move now and bring my mum and dad with us?

You're moving with your mother-in-law and father-in-law?

-Yes, yes.

-Yeah.

I'm very lucky that Kevin's so easy-going.

A lot of men wouldn't want to live with their in-laws.

No, well, good for you, you know, looking after family,

that's the most important thing.

But there's also another generation of the family

that is looking to make the move with you as well, your daughter?

My daughter, Sophie, she's 25.

This is a big property we're looking for?

Well, we're thinking that we would need a bedroom downstairs...

-For your parents.

-Maybe three bedrooms upstairs.

Or maybe a property with some separation.

-Sometimes even an annexe can work.

-An annexe would be good,

but it would have to be quite self-contained.

I think, because you are looking for something slightly different,

we'll have to think slightly laterally, OK?

Now, the position of the house,

what's on the shopping list today, then?

Ideally, not too big a garden.

An old property would be fine,

because we're not scared of a project.

Well, I quite like a traditional sort of handsome house.

You're going to have to describe it for me.

Because one man's handsome is another man's ugly!

Maybe a double-fronted stone house with a chimney.

How much money are you looking to spend, then, Kevin?

-£500,000.

-£500,000?

All right. Let's get going. This way.

So, with a substantial budget of £500,000,

Kevin and Vivienne would like a property

with at least three bedrooms for themselves and daughter Sophie,

as well as an additional bedroom or ground-floor annexe

for Vivienne's parents.

They'd like a decent-sized garden for everyone to enjoy,

without the need for too much maintenance.

They also need to be in or very close to a village,

with access to services and amenities.

With both houses sold, there's no time to lose.

Luckily for them, we've got three

great properties ready for them to view,

all with the flexibility to create a unique family home to

suit three generations.

I won't be telling them the price of each one

until they've had a guess at the end of their tour.

And, finally, we'll be turning our search on its head

by throwing our quirky Mystery House into the mix.

Our property tour of Northumberland begins in Acklington.

Once voted Northumberland Village of the Year,

the leafy village has a church and a local pub,

and it's just ten minutes by car to the coast, and to Warkworth Castle,

once the main residence of Harry Hotspur and the Percy family.

Just five miles to the A1,

our first property on the edge of Acklington

would ensure an easy commute for Kevin. Alternatively,

he could catch the train from the Victorian station close by.

Oh, this looks nice.

Good, well, what we're going to look around

is all that you can see and...

..it used to be a shunting house.

-Ah, a nearby railway.

-Right.

-So the trains would come in here.

They've built above the old turntable

where they turn the trains round,

but we're going to look around the entire property, because this,

all of this, is for sale, OK?

-Right.

-Wow, yeah.

-Bigger on the ground floor.

Yes. This serves as an annexe.

This, at the moment, can be self-contained, but it's next door.

-Yeah.

-Sounds ideal.

-Great.

-Isn't it, yeah?

Let's start with the main event, living accommodation just down here.

Great.

Thought to be built in the late 18th century,

this Grade II listed former shunting house is being converted to create a

really quirky, spacious home.

And the old shunting cottage the other side of the garage

makes a very substantial annexe

that I think would be ideal for Mary and Wilf.

But, first, we'll explore the main house, Kevin and Vivienne's part.

-Here we go.

-Oh, this is nice.

-Yes, good start, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Nice space.

A nice, bright kitchen.

Oh, this is nice and warm, isn't it, as soon as you come in?

Got a massive range there. That's an oil-fired range.

That's really nice.

I like the size and I like the shape.

I probably would change it, though.

Tell me you'd keep that range.

Oh, we would, once I'd worked out how to use it.

-Yeah!

-The one thing about this house is, it's a conversion.

You've got a lot of history, cos you see some of the old stonework

-coming through the exposed walls.

-Which is really nice.

-It's lovely.

So you get the option of either going down the traditional route,

which I think the current owners have gone here,

or something quite contemporary.

I think we like a mix, a mix of the two, don't we?

-Yes, yes.

-Well, let's keep going.

A very good start, but the best is definitely yet to come.

Now, I think you'll be rather impressed by this room.

Oh! Oh, this is lovely, this is really nice.

-Look at the light coming in here.

-Lovely high ceilings.

-Fire.

-Beams.

-Fantastic.

-According to some of the old pictures I've seen,

I reckon the trains, the locomotives would have come in...

-Through here.

-..through here, yes.

Uh-huh. Now, I'm told one of the reasons we've come up a level

-is because they never took the turntable out...

-Right.

So we are on top of the turntable. So the trains would have come in

here and then they would have been spun around.

-And then...

-Yeah.

-Right.

-Good, isn't it?

-That's interesting, isn't it?

-A lot of nice space here, though.

-I love this room.

-It's really nice.

I love the stone wall. Look at the stone wall.

These are good initial reactions to this house.

Let's look at the bedrooms.

The property has five bedrooms split across the top two storeys.

On the first floor, there are two good-sized doubles with attractive

original features, such as exposed brick walls, and beams.

They share the use of a bathroom.

But we're heading up to the top floor, where there is a study,

possibly a hobby room for Kevin's music,

as well as a bright single with generous skylights,

and the largest of the bedrooms.

I think it's safe to say this would be the master suite,

and it's en suite as well.

-This is really nice, I like this. Do you?

-Yeah.

It's loads of character.

The stonework again.

-Light. Fantastic. Beams.

-It's really nice.

Your eyes, I can see your eyes darting around to bits...

Just looking at the views from the window.

-Yes.

-Special, isn't it?

Why don't we go outside? But when we do,

as we make our way through the house,

start thinking about price as well.

-Will do, yes.

-Right.

What I think works so well about this property

is that everyone would get their own space,

but there are great communal areas to come together in.

The annexe would provide Mary and Wilf with a galley kitchen,

opening onto a sitting room with pleasant patio windows.

Besides a double room for them,

there's also an additional single room.

It also benefits from its own enclosed outside space.

The main garden is low maintenance,

mostly lawn, and wraps around three sides of the main house.

You said you wanted a manageable garden, nothing too big.

-Mm-hm.

-What do we think about this?

-This is fine.

-It's big, but it's lawn.

-Yeah? Let's guess the price.

-It's a big property.

-Yes.

-Um...

-And you've got a lot of space.

It does give us everything we need.

I think, probably, it's a little bit over budget.

I reckon £530,000.

OK. What say you, then, Vivienne?

Right, I think it might be on budget, £500,000.

The asking price for this house is £435,000.

-Really?

-That's very good.

-Yes. That's very doable!

That gives you plenty of change in your budget

to make changes to this place, doesn't it?

Oh, yes, certainly. We could do all of the changes fairly quickly.

Go back inside, have a good look around the place on your own,

and I'll meet you whenever you're done.

-All right?

-All right, OK.

-See you in a mo.

-Thank you.

Coming in well under budget,

this Grade II listed former shunting house has two more bedrooms

than Kevin and Vivienne asked for in the main house,

and another two for Vivienne's parents in the annexe,

so they'd have the separate living spaces they're after,

and a pleasant, manageable garden to share.

Decent-sized living space.

-Yeah.

-Lots of light again.

And then a bedroom... with an en suite.

There's lots of space. I think this property is very workable.

It's got a lot of character.

It's got a lot of natural features.

It's quite quirky in places.

Given the fact that Viv could put her stamp on it quite quickly,

I think we could really have it to our taste.

I'm quite surprised that we've seen a property so soon

that would meet all of our requirements.

We would need to change some things, but because of the price,

we've got that flexibility.

We would seriously have to consider this one.

That's the first house all done and dusted.

-Did you enjoy that?

-I did.

-Yeah.

-Yes, it's really good, yes.

-Good start?

-Yes.

-OK, two more, let's go.

With over 400 square miles of national park

and a 39-mile coastline

designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,

Northumberland is home to a huge diversity of wildlife and birdlife.

The Tweed Estuary has become a particular favourite place

for swans, where, at peak times,

almost 800 birds have been counted on the river.

Back in 1992, the Berwick Swan and Wildlife Trust was formed,

following a major pollution incident in the Tweed Estuary.

Since then it has rescued, treated and released over 1,000 swans,

as well as countless other sick and injured animals,

from as far afield as Newcastle and the West of Scotland.

As Vivienne and the family love wildlife,

we've arranged for her and Kevin to meet Pat Gough,

who's worked at the trust for 15 years.

So why is Berwick such a good place for wildlife, particularly swans?

You can always see swans on the river, and wildlife,

there's just so much countryside.

So apart from the swans, which other animals do you accept?

We have any other type of bird.

If it's wildlife, it comes in.

We have a lot of hedgehogs.

Oh, I love hedgehogs, can we go and see some hedgehogs?

You certainly can! We've got enough of them.

Come this way.

From rescuing swans in the early years,

the trust has gone on to rescue and rehabilitate a wide range of

wildlife, with a view to returning

them to their natural habitat as soon as possible.

The once-common hedgehog is now under particular threat

due to habitat loss.

With England's diminished number of hedgerows,

and the recent trend for tidy, manicured gardens,

there are fewer places for them to hide and hibernate.

The team currently have 18 hedgehogs in their care.

Now, this one we think was injured by a strimmer.

She has a sore nose.

-I can see.

-This back paw, foot,

is not tucking in properly, because it's swollen.

It just weighed 184 grams.

But it has put on weight and it's now up to 328 grams.

That's quite a lot, isn't it?

-It's done well.

-Are there lots of hedgehogs in Northumberland?

You'd think so, by the amount we've got here,

but there's not as many as there used to be.

It's been a very bad year for them this year.

One of the biggest killers is slug pellets.

So what can be done to help them then?

Well, if you know you've got a hedgehog in the garden,

one of the best things to do is just to leave a little bit of your garden

wild, so it's somewhere safe for them to hibernate.

This one, for instance, is going to be with us until the spring,

and it'll be kept warm all through the winter.

Removed from their cages just once a day to be cleaned and fed,

the hedgehogs are otherwise left undisturbed,

and are one of the few animals that won't become tame.

As the only animal rescue centre within a 50-mile radius,

the trust provides an invaluable facility,

particularly for the rescue and treatment

of the region's injured swans,

providing pens built to RSPCA specifications

and the vital space and water they need.

What type of injuries do the swans get?

The swan, he hit power lines, so he has had his wing amputated.

And the cygnet was hatched in May.

His parents have suddenly turned against it and were attacking it.

So, are the swans very tame?

If we fed them, would they come over to us?

They might do. I did bring the lettuce.

Oh, right, we'll have a go.

In the wild, mute swans eat mostly aquatic vegetation,

from as far down as the riverbed,

thanks to their long, agile necks.

They will also eat grains and

vegetable matter, such as lettuce and potatoes.

Once fit enough to survive,

these swans will be released back into the Tweed Estuary, where,

in the temperate climate and excellent water quality,

they will continue to flourish.

But now it's time to switch our focus back to the property search,

to help Kevin and Vivienne find a comfortable home so they can enjoy

the splendour of the Northumberland countryside.

Mindful that Vivienne asked for a handsome character house,

we're heading to the northern boundary of their search area,

to the village of Glanton.

Nestled in the foothills of the Cheviots,

this once-industrial settlement is now a quiet rural village,

with a post office and a pub.

Amongst its stone cottages are a number of listed buildings.

It's perhaps best known throughout the region

for its annual Glanton show,

an event which has been running for over 90 years.

I'm hoping this substantial stone property will fit the bill.

Right, then. This is our second offering to you.

-This looks nice.

-Does it?

Yes. A big house, yes.

This is all the property.

So you've got the garden there.

Big house here.

And that's included as well.

-Right.

-What's that above the garage?

Accommodation.

For whom, I don't know. We'll wait until we go inside, but I'm thinking

record collection, mate!

Could you live somewhere like this?

I'm not sure if it's a little bit too far north.

This might push your commute time, I'll be honest with you.

But, again, this is trying to find the balance.

Let's go inside. Come on.

The current owners built this property back in 2003

and it's finished to a high spec.

It has a lot of the features that Kevin and Vivienne want,

so I'm hoping they'll like it.

Now, you reckon you like big kitchens.

Tell me this is big enough.

Oh, wow. This is lovely, yes.

It's more what we're used to, isn't it?

Really nice size.

-Nice and light. Access outside.

-Very sociable, isn't it?

-Yes.

-And then you've got two utilities

-through the door at the back of the kitchen.

-Oh, right.

I was hoping that you're not going to need to do any

proper work to this house, because it's done.

This is the type of colour and mix that I quite like.

So, first impressions for the first room - very, very good?

-Yes, very impressed, yes.

-This is nice, yes.

Good. I think you're going to like the living room as well.

Come with me.

This property offers pretty much the opposite set-up to our first,

in that the whole family would be together under one roof.

Downstairs, the living areas surround the central hallway,

but also flow from one to the next.

This is one of three reception rooms.

Now, your parents are going to need to sleep on the ground floor.

Yes, they will, yes. It's just sort of deciding what

should be done and who would go where.

That means we need to look at where

-your living room's going to be, then, don't we?

-Yes, definitely.

Come with me. We'll walk through this way.

Right, so if your parents had that as a bedroom,

-this could be a really nice living room.

-Yes, it would.

-Yes, yes.

And they'd have their own little bit of garden.

-They're straight outside there.

-Yeah?

-Yes, that would work.

-That works.

-If that happens, then I suppose this would

be your living room.

-Mm-hm.

-TV room, snug.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-We're getting somewhere, aren't we? Come with me.

-Yeah, that works.

The sheer size and proportions of this place

mean it can be adapted quite easily to accommodate

all three generations of their family.

Upstairs, there are five bedrooms in total,

including three large doubles,

a generous four shower or bathrooms,

as well as a big hobby or games room above the garage.

I wonder what they'll make of what could be their master.

This is another impressive room. This is really nice, isn't it?

-Lots of storage.

-And you've got a really good-size en suite.

-Oh, look at the en suite.

-Fantastic size, yeah.

-Lovely, isn't it?

-Double sink.

Now, at the moment, the only thing you're struggling to get your head

around is how you're going to split up reception space and bedroom space

-for your parents.

-Yes.

But above the garage,

that could also be, for you, another reception room.

Or a space for Sophie.

This could be three dwellings at this rate, isn't it?!

It's a modern house,

but with Victorian-proportioned rooms, isn't it?

Yeah, it's got a real good feel to it, yeah.

It has. Have a think about how much this property would be,

and we'll go and look in the garden.

Outside, the gravelled area at the back has a few beds to tend to,

but wouldn't require much upkeep,

and there's a lawned area to the front of the house.

Now we're outside looking back, it's a good-looking property, isn't it?

It is, yeah, really is. This is very manageable.

How much do you think this house is on the market for?

I think it'll be over budget.

-OK.

-So I'm thinking £530,000.

-All right. Fair enough. Kev?

-I actually think the opposite.

I would say about 480,000.

Decent guesses. You're kind of either side, really.

The asking price for this house is £515,000.

-Oh, right.

-It's been on the market a while now.

The owners say they are open to offers.

I think you should go back into the house

and maybe start planning around how you would configure this house

-to make it specific to your requirements, yeah?

-Mm-hm.

All right, see you in a mo. Enjoy.

Nudging £15,000 over budget, but open to offers,

this modern detached property has more than enough space for the whole

family, and a layout that offers them plenty of flexibility,

with five bedrooms upstairs

and three reception rooms downstairs,

as well as a games room or extra living area above the garage.

It's further north than they ideally wanted to come,

and it's pushing their budget to the max,

but for the space on offer,

it could be worth some consideration.

Internally, we wouldn't need to do a single thing.

You can sort of pitch up and move in.

It's very tastefully done.

If I have a slight concern,

it's how the downstairs works for Viv's parents.

I would feel more comfortable having my mum and dad in the house,

but I'm not sure if that's what they would particularly want.

It could work for us.

We'd have to think about reconfiguring some of the rooms,

but it could work.

So that's it. Lots to work out with this house, isn't there?

How you can configure it and make it suitable for you and your family?

Did you enjoy it?

-Yeah.

-Yes, it gives us something to think about.

And very different to the first house,

so something to mull over at dinner tonight.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-Shall we go?

It's day two of our property search here in Northumberland,

where I'm helping Vivienne and Kevin from near Gateshead find a property

with space to bring Vivienne's parents

and daughter Sophie with them.

So far, they've weighed up two promising properties

for their budget of £500,000, but still to come,

will the Mystery House be too good to be true?

-Really?

-Yeah.

-It's not!

-It is.

-Really? You're not joking?

I'm not joking!

And I lend a hand with some restoration work

back at Bamburgh Castle.

-You're going to do all of this?

-Yeah, and then start the other side.

We're going to be here all day.

Well, yesterday, I think we gave Kev and Viv two really good options,

and I think they had something to think about over dinner last night.

Now, today, another beautiful start here in Northumberland,

and we're off to see the Mystery House.

As you'd imagine, it's a property with quirks,

but it also has sensational views and a really good position.

But if they are to get hold of such a treasure,

I think they'll have to think laterally

about maybe a slightly more unconventional

living space for them. Let's see how we go.

So we're off to the Mystery House.

What would be a disaster?

What would you really not want to see now?

I don't like '70s-style houses.

-OK.

-Like Viv, I don't want something that you look at it

and it sort of hurts your eyes.

HE LAUGHS

That I've never heard before.

Our Mystery House takes us towards the coast.

The hamlet of Red Row is back within

Kevin and Vivienne's preferred search area.

In a cluster of villages and hamlets once dominated by the mining

industry, it's well located just a

few miles from the coastal fishing town of Amble

and the conveniences of its lively high street and harbour area.

But even closer is Druridge Bay Country Park,

home to a large freshwater lake

surrounded by woodland and three miles of beautiful beaches

and sand dunes.

So plenty of places for a family picnic or for walking the dogs.

I thought we'd stop off here at Druridge Bay

before we head to the Mystery House.

-What do you think?

-Fantastic.

-Fantastic.

-Isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Listen, from this beach, where we're stood at the moment,

it's just a few minutes' drive.

This has got to be a huge plus for you guys.

Oh, our dogs love the beach.

This is one of the main reasons we've chosen the Mystery House.

The location, we think, is absolutely great for you guys,

for what you want in the future.

-Happy with this?

-Yeah, fantastic.

-Yeah, that's really good.

-Let's go and look at the house.

Come with me.

I'm really curious now.

Oh, good.

Back in Red Row, our mystery property

enjoys an equally scenic setting amidst farmland.

This is our Mystery House.

-This looks really nice, doesn't it?

-Great location as well.

You like the location? Thought to be built around the 1850s as a barn,

they finished it around seven years ago.

-Yeah, love it.

-It's really nice.

Let's go inside before we get blown away.

Great initial reactions to the exterior

of our converted mystery granary,

but the real challenge is inside,

where, rather than generations living side by side,

they would be split across an upstairs-downstairs arrangement.

-Right, then.

-Oh, wow!

-Well, I think you'll like this.

This is... This is fantastic, isn't it?

This is special, isn't it?

I'd be really pleased with a kitchen like this, yes.

A lovely view over there.

-You've got views over there.

-Yeah.

Straight out to the garden, look there - outside living.

It's been created with love, hasn't it?

It certainly has. Well, they spent a long time doing it.

-Yeah.

-Just the detail.

Now, let's talk about your folks.

This, doable space for all of you guys?

-Yeah.

-On the same level, you've got a bedroom at the far end,

ground floor, with its own already fitted en-suite wet room and loo.

-Really?

-Yeah. And next door to that is a small sitting room

-for them as well.

-Oh, right.

-Cor!

-Oh, that would be ideal, wouldn't it?

That's ideal, it really is, yeah.

Let's see what you think of upstairs.

A few things to consider there. Come with me.

Also downstairs is a WC and a small utility room.

A central solid-oak staircase leads to a galleried landing upstairs,

also with beautiful beamed ceilings, running the length of the property.

There are two bedrooms, one with an en suite,

and a large family bathroom.

Now then, the master suite, equally impressive.

-Oh, look at that!

-It really is, isn't it?

Isn't it just!

-Oh.

-I love the beams and the height in the ceiling.

-You get a real sense of space in here, don't you?

-You do, yeah.

Yeah, it's really lovely.

You'd be happy with this as a master bedroom, would you?

-Mm-hm.

-Oh, yeah.

-Without a doubt.

There's a certain part of this property

that's a bit unconventional,

but I think you might rather like it.

-Come with me.

-Let's go.

Without doubt, these are the best reactions I've seen from them

on this search.

Now this room is currently laid out as a living room.

What do you think about coming upstairs to relax of an evening?

Well, it would keep the areas separate.

Very much so. I the love little Juliet balcony.

Look at that! And then the views out...

And then light again, natural light.

Works very well, it does.

The whole house seems to work very well so far, doesn't it?

It does, yeah. Ticks a lot of boxes.

And, really, we'll probably spend a lot of time in the kitchen and then

just come up here later on in the evening.

-Yeah.

-Well, so far, so great, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-This house seems to really work for you guys, doesn't it?

-It does, yeah.

-Let's see how you get on outside.

-Start thinking about price, OK?

-OK, will do.

The property's garden wraps around three sides

and is mostly gravelled,

along with attractive sandstone paving.

There's a good-size lawn to the side of the house,

enjoying far-reaching views of the surrounding countryside.

Now, outside space for the house, if you look back as well,

you can see those double doors at the back.

-Yeah.

-That would be, if you like, well, your parents'.

That could be their little doors out to a small terrace of their own.

Yeah. I think they would just sit and watch the views from there

on a nice day, wouldn't they? Oh, yeah. It really works. Everything.

-Good Mystery House, isn't it?

-It is.

-It certainly is, yeah.

So one more mystery to be solved, then.

How much is it?

I think it is over budget, and I think it is £525,000.

-OK.

-I am saying £500,000.

This house is on the market for...

..£425,000.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-It is not.

-It is.

-That is £100,000 more than...

-Yeah.

-Really?

-You're not joking?

-I am not joking.

I know I have pulled your leg this week, but...

That's amazing, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-For what you want, it really works.

-Yeah.

-It does.

-It really does.

A few adjustments to make, but nothing massive.

-Nothing structural.

-No.

No. This is where you really need time to think this through.

Go back into the house, take some time,

and I will meet you whenever you're done.

-All right?

-Great.

-Great.

-Brilliant. See you in a bit.

-Let's have a look.

What a cracking house, but an absolutely belting price.

Plenty of change left in their budget.

And it is ready to go, isn't it? A great Mystery House.

A staggering £75,000 under budget,

this mystery conversion has three bedrooms with a potential fourth,

and delivers the space that Kevin and Vivienne asked for,

albeit in an unexpected way.

There are great rural views from the low-maintenance garden,

and it is in a great location,

being close to the coast and Druridge Bay Country Park,

and gives Kevin around a 50-minute commute.

I immediately loved it.

It just looked so tasteful from the outside.

It just appealed to me straightaway.

I love the beams, I love the light.

It is a bit unconventional living,

because our living space would be upstairs, but having said that,

you have got fantastic views from upstairs.

I think it is very workable for my mum and dad.

I would love to bring them. I would

like to bring them to sort of see what they think.

So, that is it, no more houses.

Now, Kevin, what did you say when we were driving here?

"I don't want to look at a house that hurts my eyes."

Yes, that is exactly what I said.

How are your eyes feeling after looking around here?

-Feeling absolutely fine.

-Good.

-Really are.

OK, let's find you somewhere to sit down and have a chat,

and then we'll meet up after that, yeah?

-Yeah. Right, yes.

-Great. Let's go.

Northumberland is home to over 70 castle sites,

more than any other county in England.

Perched on an outcrop of volcanic rock 45 metres above sea level,

Bamburgh Castle is one of the most iconic

and historically was home to the kings of ancient Northumbria

before becoming a family home in 1894,

when it was bought and rebuilt

by a Victorian industrialist and inventor, Lord Armstrong.

I have come to meet the castle's director, Chris Culbert.

It is impressive, to say the least.

-It is.

-But even more impressive is the history it is steeped in.

This has been a royal castle. Kings have lived here.

-Yes, yeah.

-They ruled from here.

They did. Probably one of the best-known kings was Oswald,

and he was really responsible for reintroducing Christianity into the

north of England, and then that spread throughout England itself.

It is not like many castles we see dotted around the UK.

This looks like it has had a lot of work done to it.

It has, to be fair.

The first Lord Armstrong bought it in 1894, paid £8,000 for it.

A couple of thousand extra for the contents.

Yeah. And he wanted to create the quintessential English castle.

Saving it from ruin, Lord Armstrong spent ten years and a phenomenal

£1 million transforming the castle into a magnificent ancestral home -

that is over £270 million in today's money.

Built on the site of the medieval Great Hall,

the King's Hall would have been the main reception room in the castle,

and is considered a Victorian masterpiece,

with a false hammer beam ceiling

made from teak imported from Thailand.

Now, every castle needs a big impressive room or hall.

This is quite some scale of a programme.

Lord Armstrong was quite some guy, wasn't he?

I mean, he wasn't just a wealthy man.

He was a pioneer, wasn't he?

-Very much so.

-Why did he embark on this project,

taking this huge thing on?

He was hoping to create a recuperation home.

It was going to be a home for well-educated people

who had fallen upon hard times and could no longer afford

the luxury of a lifestyle by the sea,

and the idea was that people would come along, pay a few shillings

and they could spend some time here.

-It was like a hotel, almost.

-Goodness me.

Today, 14 rooms in the castle are open to the public,

with more than 2,000 artefacts on display.

Oh, now, we're talking. The ones on these walls

are a reminder of its turbulent past.

Restoration work at the castle is ongoing.

The lime mortar holding the building together deteriorates over time,

a process accelerated by its exposed position next to the sea

and the corrosion caused by the salt air.

I am meeting stonemason Stuart

to give him a hand with some re-pointing.

So, Stuart, what are we getting up to today, then?

Basically we are trying to secure the stones by... Obviously,

you can see where the weather has

worn away the lime mortars, so what we do is, we try and rake it out

and re-point with lime,

to basically make these secure again, plus weathertight.

A lot of this is, well, Victorian, isn't it?

-Modern.

-I mean, I am surprised we are looking at this kind of mortar,

and not looking at maybe your normal sort of sand and cement.

Cement was a new product in those days. A very modern product.

Nowadays, we now see the harm it's done, because the idea being

whatever you put in there, it needs to be softer than the stone itself.

Right, so you're now going back to more ancient methods, are you?

-Yes. Yes.

-Well, you've got a hammer and bolster for me, have you?

Yeah. The golden rule is, however high the joint is,

you want to be double that inwards.

-Double?

-Double.

-We're going to be here all day.

-Well, funny, mate, that's...

-I mean, you're going to do all of this?

Yep, and then start the other side.

As lime is much softer than cement, it comes away more easily.

So the key to this technique,

as Stuart says, is little and often.

Amazingly, he's one of a team of just two stonemasons

working on the entire site.

So, how long is this job going to take?

Because there's a lot of stone, there's a lot of mortar.

It takes as long as it takes me to do the job,

as long as I've done it right.

To a large extent this has been here hundreds and hundreds of years.

-Yep.

-It deserves care and attention and preservation, doesn't it?

Dealing with such delicate material, as I'm finding out,

is a skilled job and takes time to get right.

That's what you don't want to happen.

Well, it's been a privilege to meet the team who are conserving one of

Northumberland's finest buildings,

and with a view like this from the office,

it must be an amazing place to work.

Well, I'm tempted to say that the Mystery House

should be coming out as favourite right now but, on reflection, well,

Kev and Vivienne reacted really well to all three houses.

So let's see what they're thinking.

You've had a bit of time to think,

I'm not sure I've given you enough time,

you look a little bit confused at the moment. Are you OK?

We are, we are confused.

So have you managed to figure out a favourite amongst all three?

Yeah, we've got two favourites, really, haven't we?

-We've got two favourites.

-Yeah.

-Go on.

-House one.

-OK.

-And the Mystery House.

Right. Well, I thought the Mystery House would be up there.

House one, what was it about that place

-that keeps it in the reckoning?

-I just liked the quirkiness of it.

The fact that it's got a bit of history to it,

it makes it a little bit special, a little bit magical.

Although I loved the property, I still feel slightly uncomfortable

with my parents going into the annexe,

which is much more modest.

Right, and they are moving out of a decent-sized house anyway,

so it's going to be a bit of a climb-down, I suppose.

-Mm-hm.

-Yeah.

-Have you got doubts over the Mystery House?

We both really like the Mystery House. One issue would be storage,

but I feel that that would be workable.

Good luck with your second viewings, with all of your family.

Please let us know what you decide.

-We certainly will.

-Very best of luck to both of you, to all of you.

-Thank you.

-Great, thank you very much.

Well, it's been fairly straightforward

showing Vivienne and Kev the houses this week,

but we have to remember that there's five people in this huge decision to

move up here to Northumberland.

So I'm pleased to hear that they'll be coming up here very soon

for those all-important second viewings,

and I'm certainly looking forward to finding out which, if either of the

properties, will be becoming their new home.

I wish them the very best of luck. I'll see you next time.

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