Lake District Escape to the Country

This venerable grammar school, which was founded in 1585,

was attended by one of Britain's greatest poets.

Find out where I am and who he was in just a moment,

but meanwhile here's a little clue.

Today I'm with a dynamic couple who have high hopes for a new life full

of the great outdoors.

Looks like a picture frame, doesn't it?

Looking out at those hills. That's lovely.

And they're eager to set the wheels in motion for their move.

You really have got a working farmyard around you.

-Do you like tractors?

-I do like tractors, yeah.

I'd be happy to live by tractors.

Today I'm in Cumbria and this is Hawkshead Grammar School

in the Lake District, which back in 1779 was the school

of the famous poet William Wordsworth who, by all accounts, loved his time here,

rambling on the fells during the summer

and ice skating on the frozen waters of Esthwaite in the winter.

Of course, there was no photography back in the 18th century,

so there's no picture of him on the wall,

but what he did leave was his name - carved into one of the wooden desks.

That's still here.

Cumbria is one of the most beautiful and sparsely populated counties in

the UK. It's England's third biggest and,

along with its eastern neighbour Northumberland,

sits on the Scottish border.

Cumbria encompasses all of the Lake District and part of the Yorkshire Dales.

The awe-inspiring geography of the Lake District is the result

of 500 million years of volcanic and glacial activity.

The Lake District National Park is England's largest,

covering over 910 square miles.

There are 16 major lakes within it,

as well as many other smaller bodies of water.

At nearly 11 and a quarter miles from end to end,

Windermere is the longest natural lake in England.

It was formed 13,000 years ago when surrounding glaciers melted.

Today its tranquil waters attract a multitude of visitors.

Over 70 million a year descend upon the national park.

Away from the busy tourist centres of Windermere and Kendall,

the Lake District offers solitude and a landscape barely changed

since the time of its most famous son, William Wordsworth.

Unsurprisingly, you pay a hefty premium to live inside a national park.

In the Lake District park,

you'll be paying 84% more for your detached house than you would in the

rest of Cumbria.

That said, it's pretty good value

when you consider that park price of £354,000

is only £20,000 more than the national figure.

Quite a good deal when you consider you have all this beauty on your

doorstep, and exactly the reason why today's buyers are coming here to look for a slice of park life.

Deputy head Donna and school library manager Christian met at university

in 1990, where they were both studying to be teachers.

I was in a band at the time, we had to do a...

-Project.

-A music project as part of our teacher training

and I'd kind of spied Donna across the room

and so I thought I'd get to know her. So, yeah.

Got me into a lot of trouble during our music sessions.

Every time the teacher looked at me,

he'd pull a little lever on my chair and my chair would go...

-Down like that. So, yeah, so it's a lot of fun.

-Yeah.

The music-loving couple have seen their lives change over

the three decades they've been together.

In our 20s, we lived in Liverpool and we were going out lots and had a

really good social life, and in our 30s we got married,

we travelled the world together and then came back and had three children

and then in our 40s we have a big new move waiting for us with our three lovely children.

Yeah, times have moved on.

The family now includes Sadie, aged eight, Niamh, ten, and Mia, 12.

They've lived in Wigan for nearly 15 years

but a change in Donna's work circumstances means they need to relocate.

I've just got a new job, a headteacher's post in Ulverston,

and it's just an area that we've always wanted to live, live around there.

I've kind of got a new job as well in that I'm planning to change careers slightly,

doing outdoor activity instructing.

I love climbing, I love fell running,

so I'm also hoping to still work within schools and colleges when I move up there.

They want to move to just south of the Lake District,

close to the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

My parents have a caravan in Carnforth

and it would be nice to be closer to them so that I can spend some

time with them now they're getting that bit older as well.

And also for schools for the children.

Both Donna and Christian are keen triathletes and,

together with their children,

they intend to make the most of their new surroundings.

We are a very outdoorsy family and we love to go on walks and running and cycling.

One of the things that I'll be interested in getting into would

be some more open water swimming, because we've done some within our

triathlons and it scares the life out of me, if I'm honest.

The outdoors isn't the family's only a passion.

The kitchen's got to be really important in a new property.

I love baking. That's something that brings us together as a family

that... On a weekend, that the girls will say, oh,

can we bake some brownies? Can we make a cake?

And Christian also wants to develop his creativity on the lakes.

I hope that I'm still going to carry on with the music.

It would be great if I could just do a bit of an open mic in a pub.

I'd enjoy that. I'm hoping that I'll be inspired when I get up there

and I can maybe finish that novel that I started. That'll be nice.

They both have a very poignant reason for feeling that

their Lakeland life is one that they can no longer postpone.

The original move to the lakes was going to be our retirement plan

but I lost my dad at 60 and Christian lost his dad two years ago at 67,

both with cancer, and we suddenly thought, this retirement plan,

it may never come to fruition, so what are we waiting for?

Let's do it now.

Christian and Donna ideally want to be a short commute from Donna's job in Ulverston.

So we'll be focusing our search on the south of Cumbria.

But they have plenty of other property requirements,

so I need to meet them to ensure our search includes only the most suitable country homes.

-Hey.

-Hello.

-Welcome. It's beautiful here, isn't it?

It's a little bit rainy, but still. You're both very outward-bound.

You're probably the fittest couple we've had on this show.

Oh, good, right, I like that.

You've got three girls. Are they keen on the move?

Yes, I think they're little apprehensive because they are leaving their friends

and family behind, but I think it's...

We're doing it for them as much as for us because we know that they'll get so much out of being here

and enjoy the mountains along with us.

Tell me about the house. What's the house going to look like?

Oh, it's going to be fantastic.

-Done.

-Er...

It's got to be big enough to fit us all in.

Family of five, we are quite big.

And we would like four bedrooms so the girls can all have their bedroom each, obviously.

We'd like some outdoor space so that we can get out there and enjoy that.

We don't need a huge garden but it would be nice to have outdoor space.

If we had some sort of outdoor storage for bikes and canoes,

things like that.

The only thing I think we really wouldn't be impressed with is if it

was in a fairly built-up estate, if it was with a lot of other houses,

because really we do want this to be an escape to the country, you know?

We want to feel like we are somewhere rural.

So how rural is rural?

If it was up to us, we'd be out in the middle of nowhere.

-There's a bit of a divide on this.

-We've got to do a bit of compromising.

I'd live halfway up a mountain but I don't think the girls would.

I think the girls want to be a bit more of a community.

What about the reception rooms? What's important for you there?

Again, space for us all. We are a family that dine together a lot,

so we need to make sure that there's somewhere we can have a nice dining space, really.

We've got an open-plan kitchen/diner

and that seems to work really well, so it'd be nice.

So we're here in Cumbria. We're looking in the south of the Lake District.

Does it bother you if you are inside the national park or outside?

Not really bothered at all, to be honest.

I think it's more down to price.

And remind us again of your budget.

About £400,000.

Great, well, we've got some lovely properties lined up.

The weather is sort of slightly setting in

but let's get in the car and go and see some.

Wonderful, thank you.

With a maximum budget of £400,000,

Donna and Christian are looking for an edge-of-village property with at

least four bedrooms.

They'd like a spacious dining room for family meals,

a garden and garage space to store their bikes

and other outdoor equipment.

We've got an enticing range of beautiful homes

to show Donna and Christian,

but their prices won't be revealed until the end of each tour

and our property search culminates with the Mystery House -

surrounded by familiar parkland scenery but in previously uncharted territory.

Our first house is in the village of Sedgwick in the south of Cumbria.

Just outside the Lake District National Park and three miles from the town of Kendal,

Sedgwick offers ample exercise opportunities.

The roads surrounding it are popular with cyclists,

while the route of the disused Lancaster to Kendal canal is perfect

for running. Our property is in a cul-de-sac on the edge of the village.

Here we have it, house number one.

Oh, wow.

It's an upside-down house, so the living quarters are upstairs

and then the bedrooms are downstairs.

-What do you think?

-Yeah, I mean, I like interesting shapes.

The house we've got now is, like, a bit strange, isn't it?

It might not be a million miles away from the house we're currently in,

which is kind of '60s architecture.

I'm keen to kind of get up there and see the view from that platform,

so yeah, looks interesting.

So we are not in the middle of nowhere here.

-You've got neighbours.

-Yeah.

Where we are now we've only got, like, one or two neighbours,

which is nice to have that connection to other people.

Didn't really want so close to each other but, you know,

I'll keep an open mind.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Let's go in and see what you think.

-OK.

I'm detecting a muted response to our first home but I have high hopes for their reaction

to the unconventional interior.

I've brought you straight upstairs because this is the main living space.

Kitchen, dining area and then a nice kind of cosy family area around

the log burner at the back. What do you think?

Yeah, I like it.

It's certainly big enough, isn't it, for a kitchen-diner.

It's... Yeah, and it feels very open with all the windows and all the light.

A big balcony at the front, really lovely views,

looking out over into the Lake District.

It's like it's a picture frame there, isn't it?

Looking out at those hills, that's lovely.

And then the French doors at the back as well going out into the garden.

It's a lot more spacious than it looks from outside, isn't it?

You do feel like you've got wide open views, it's lovely.

-Yeah.

-Let's go and have a look at what they call the evening room.

That's their day space and this is their evening space as they watch

the telly here. It's much kind of more snug.

All built around this sort of sandstone Art Deco fireplace.

-I like the fireplace.

-Yeah, I like that.

I like the floors.

I think this would be a space more for the children possibly than us.

-Let's go and look at your master bedroom.

-OK.

The four bedrooms are split across the two storeys.

On the ground floor, another living space off the entrance hallway could

be converted, while next door there's a single bedroom for one of the girls.

Both share a shower room.

Upstairs the pattern is similar.

There's one bedroom here...

..and a family bathroom,

and then this is what they're using as their master bedroom.

Fairly simple room. It's just a question of, you know,

how important are the bedrooms for you and the girls?

Yeah. Well, where we are now the bedrooms is probably the least

space, isn't there? From like...

We've got a really big sitting area so it's not a big issue.

It's not but it would be quite nice to have nicer sized bedrooms in the move.

-Yeah.

-So you're selling up your very nice house in Wigan and coming

to quite a desired part of the country.

Are you aware that you might not get bigger, better and...?

No, you're right. We are going to have to compromise, yeah.

We see that. Prices are more expensive round here,

so we're not going to get everything that we want, yeah.

We're quite realistic about, you know, what we'd get for our money,

-I think, out here.

-In that case,

let's go into the garden and see about the price.

The front of the house has a sloping brick-paved driveway with ample

parking, while a small patio provides a relaxing space to enjoy the views

after long summer runs.

There is also an integrated garage,

perfect for bikes and the family's outdoor gear.

The rear garden is reached through patio doors from the living room.

You're like king of the castle up here.

You can see the hills of the Lake District starting up.

-Yeah, beautiful.

-And a great sort of outside room here that they've built.

It's got wifi, it's heated and got electricity, so...

-Oh, wow.

-It would be a nice little writing shed for either one of you.

Yeah, brilliant.

You see what I mean about up here - you really are kind of above everybody else.

-Yeah.

-Yeah. You don't notice the houses the same when you're up here

at all. Do you? You know.

And you've got space round the side where you'd have your little

barbecueing area round there.

Yeah, no, it's really nice. It's a really nice space.

And I'm sure the girls would love the ponies and the donkeys.

Yeah. I think that would become their obsession.

This is the moment where I ask you what the price of the property is.

I'm going to go for £375,000.

I was going to say 360,000.

Well, you're both a little under actually because this is on

the market for right at the top of your budget. £395,000.

Right. It's really well done, what they've done to it.

-Yeah.

-Really opens up.

The longer you do spend here, the more you like it, I think.

Well, good, spend a little more time.

Go in and have an explore and I'll collect you at the front when you're

-done.

-Brilliant, thank you.

-Thank you.

Aw, it is definitely a grower, this house,

and when you come up here and you've got the ponies and the donkeys it's,

like, right in the countryside already, so the kids will love it.

I think it's a good contender.

Under budget, this 1960s property has an unconventional lay-out.

It offers the four bedrooms that Christian and Donna need as well as

a kitchen-diner and two sitting rooms.

There is also an easy-to-maintain garden and garage.

It didn't wow me. My heart didn't sing when I walked up the path

or anything like that, really,

which is a shame because inside it's a lot nicer than I thought it was

going to be, and the views that you do get are wonderful.

Practically, this house is pretty much everything that we need.

I think my kids would love this house,

but there's something holding me back and I can't quite justify it.

It's true, when you come down from the heights you do feel like

you're in the middle of all these other houses,

but upstairs you don't get that sense at all.

-Hi, you all done?

-Yes.

-Yes, thanks.

-Good. If you pull the door behind you,

we're all done here.

-Good.

-We can head off to house number two.

-OK, great.

-Let's go!

For many people, the Lake District conjures up images of tranquil walks

and magnificent views,

but the area also lays claim to being the adventure sports capital of the UK.

Eager triathletes Christian and Donna are keen to experience the

chilly charms of an activity that's rapidly growing in popularity.

Wild swimming.

We've arranged for them to meet swimming expert Pete Kelly at Rydal Water.

Hi, Pete. Oh, wow! What a gorgeous spot.

-It's amazing.

-This is beautiful.

-Are you ready for a swim?

-Yeah,

why do you think it's become so popular over the last few years?

Well, you've just got to look at it. Relative to swimming in a pool,

there's something really special about being in the middle of a lake or a tarn,

especially in the Lake District. You literally see the world from

a different perspective and, not only that,

it's a very easy thing to get into, you know.

All you need is a wet suit, a pair of goggles

and a bright swim hat so you can be seen out in the water, and away you go.

And how good for you, as well, swimming.

Swimming in cold water, it genuinely elevates your mood,

so you're always going to come out of the water happier, and that's the

only scientific fact that's been proven at the moment,

so much so it's actually being touted as a temporary cure for depression.

So can you swim anywhere you like?

You're not allowed to swim in any of the reservoirs,

but the good news is there's loads of other tarns,

rivers and lakes that you are allowed to swim.

In some of the bigger lakes it's very important to watch out for other water users.

So we've got three daughters, they're all pretty good swimmers.

Could we take them wild swimming?

Yes, you'd be crazy not to take your kids wild swimming.

During the summer the lake temperature here can get up to...

It can exceed 20 degrees.

You don't even need a wet suit and in terms of taking families swimming

this is one of many places which are very, very kiddie friendly,

-I would argue.

-So you've got us in our wet suits today.

Is this a vital part of open water swimming?

These modern swimming wet suits are excellent

cos they act as a buoyancy aid.

You ain't ever going to sink in a modern swimming wet suit.

Also, you'll be interested to know as triathletes,

it floats you in the perfect position in the water for front crawl.

And we're going to have a great swim today and it's going to help

your swimming, rather than hold you back.

I've not swum at this time of year.

I imagine it's going to be cold, isn't it? It's going to be a shock.

It's warmer than it looks but what we do need is enthusiasm,

-so we can work with that.

-Great.

-Let's do it.

At just over a kilometre long,

Rydal Water is one of the smaller lakes in Cumbria.

It was a regular walking spot for William Wordsworth.

Pete's plan is for a short swim around the small heron island

and back to shore.

It's not too bad.

So is this about as warm as we expect the lake to get?

Thankfully, it gets a hell of a lot warmer than this.

It's ten degrees now, it's five degrees a few weeks ago

and as the weather gets warmer, the lakes get warmer.

That's good news.

I think I need to get warm. Can we get swimming?

-I agree. let's generate some heat.

-Let's do it.

In the early 1900s, outdoor swimming was a popular activity

and lidos and natural swimming clubs could be found all over the UK.

But as indoor pools were introduced

and natural water courses became more polluted, the sport declined.

Today it's making a comeback.

The Outdoor Swimming Society was established in 2006

and now has a community of over 27,000 members nationwide.

Aw, thank you so much for that. That was absolutely amazing.

-Thanks.

-Great, you both did really well there. I think we deserve

a nice warm drink now or something stronger.

Go on. I'm buying.

Once they're warm and dry, Donna and Christian need to channel

their energies into our Lake District house-hunt.

Our second property is situated on the estuary of the River Kent

and is four miles from the village of Levens.

Levens is a centre for the surrounding community,

with a busy pub, local shop and early 19th-century church.

There are also many societies run by residents and a primary school.

The property we've come to see is reached down a quiet rural road.

This is the house.

-It looks enormous.

-Wow.

Well, it's actually semidetached, so it's not all yours.

-But this end is yours.

-Wow.

As you can see, we've brought you out into the countryside.

Not crowded with other houses. There's four in this development.

We're in a farm so there's some agricultural barns on the other side.

-Yeah.

-And all around, you can see on the horizon all these beautiful hills.

-Oh, it's gorgeous.

-Stretching out in all directions.

-Fabulous.

-Is this a bit more what you're looking for?

Yes, this is making my heart sing. Yeah.

It's very much what I had in mind.

Yeah. So good thumbs-up from the outside?

-Double thumbs-up.

-Definitely thumbs up so far.

-Double thumbs-up.

Formerly a barn, this house was converted in 2002.

Though seemingly remote,

it's only half an hour's commute to Donna's job in Ulverston.

Thank you.

I'm sensing real excitement at what's on offer here.

Come through into the main living space.

-Fab.

-This is good.

Yeah, there's a lot of space here.

A lot of space.

-Yeah.

-It's been pushed through out into the extension there.

Lots of light, it's got downlighting from the skylights.

-So we're thinking that's a lovely space for just people to read and hang out.

-Yeah.

And then this is obviously built around the in-built log burner.

-Gorgeous.

-Which is very nice.

-Yes.

-This is a bit more what you're looking for?

Yeah, we definitely like it.

We're a bit suspicious cos we're...

Our first impression is we probably can't afford this.

Ah. We wouldn't be that mean.

It's a fairly simple layout.

This side is all the living space and this side is the kitchen.

OK.

-Big kitchen.

-Oh, wow.

-Oh, this is nice.

-It's huge.

-Lots of space for baking.

Yeah.

Oh, it's lovely.

-And then space here for a family table.

-Yeah. Yeah.

-About the size of ours, that one, as well, isn't it?

-Plenty of room for our table there.

This feels like a really nice space, yeah.

I'm heartened by Christian and Donna's responses.

Off the entrance hallway, there's a WC and shower and

a door leads to a double garage for storage.

The stairs rise to a first floor landing.

This is the master suite.

Aw! It's fabulous. It's huge.

-It is big, isn't it?

-This is a nice size, yeah.

Really nice, I like it.

-You've got a nice little shower en suite round the corner there.

-Brilliant.

-OK.

-And nice views as well.

-You've got views right across to the hills.

You can, you can just see the fells.

Fabulous. Yeah, I really like it.

I'm getting a more positive vibe.

-Mm!

-What is it that you like about this one that the last one didn't have?

I think it's the fact that you've not got all those neighbours that were at the last house.

I think when I thought of escaping to the country I imagined it to be

more kind of farm-housey and more rural and, you know,

this certainly ticks all of those boxes for me.

Yeah. It does.

And it's just got a bit more character, hasn't it, this one?

It's not your archetypal rolling hills,

cos you really have got a sort of working farmyard around you,

but are you OK with that?

Yeah, I need to have a little walk around,

just have a look what's out there, but so far it's not put me off.

Yeah. Do you like tractors?

I do like tractors, yeah. I'd be happy to live by tractors.

Let's go near the tractors and we can guess about the price.

This floor also features a family bathroom.

The house has three further bedrooms.

Two on the first floor and one up under the eaves on the second floor.

It also has an adjoining WC.

This could become the master bedroom and the first floor repartitioned

so the children all enjoy similar sized sleeping spaces.

Outside there's a pebbled driveway with parking for several cars and

well-maintained lawns to the front and rear of the house,

bordered by drystone walls.

So outside space.

They've got kids, obviously, next door have got kids.

I think actually everyone round here has children.

Is this going to be enough space for you and the girls?

This is a perfect size, really.

It's not unmanageable but it feels like a nice space for the kids to

enjoy, so, yeah, this would be great.

Yeah. I love it.

What do you think this costs, though?

I think it's quite a bit above our budget.

-£440,000.

-Mm-hm.

I think it's really good but I don't think you'd do that do us, Alistair.

I think... Well, I think it'll be the top end of our budget.

So I'll say £395,000.

So you think we wouldn't torture you by showing you a property over your

-budget. You're right!

-Oh, good.

In fact, we've shown you a property considerably under budget.

This is on at £380,000.

-Oh, that's good.

-No way. That is amazing.

-You're looking excited.

-I am, I'm very excited.

I love it. I'm just looking at the hills over there as well.

It's just everything and more probably.

Why don't you go on inside and when you've finished dreaming,

-then I'll see you out the front.

-Fabulous, thank you.

Thank you.

Under budget at £380,000,

this immaculate barn conversion has four bedrooms and a large

kitchen-dining room offering Donna free rein for baking.

There is also a sizeable sitting room, with garden room,

extension and a double garage.

I love it. I really love it.

I can tell you do, yeah. No, and I really like it, too.

-Yeah.

-I could definitely see us here. I really could.

I think as a family this would be a really nice house.

I think the kids would really like it here.

You've got really nice gardens here for them.

Lots of space for them to play.

Lots of space inside.

So, yeah, I think this might work really well.

I'm really excited about this house,

I think that's become quite obvious as we were going round and it just

makes me feel happy when I look around and when I go and look outside the windows

and seeing all the fells and it's just everything that I've always

dreamt a farmhouse would be.

What a day in the Lake District.

I'm so delighted that they love this property.

-Are you all finished?

-Yes. All done.

Good. I was just talking about you.

I hope your ears weren't burning.

Let's go and retire cos we've got another day of property hunting tomorrow.

-Fabulous.

-OK, thanks.

We're house-hunting in the Lake District

with Christian and Donna from Wigan, who have a budget

of £400,000 to buy a rural home for their family.

So far I've presented them with two properties.

Coming up, a Mystery House with surprising sleeping quarters.

So we were thinking the girls could perhaps, like, have upstairs,

-downstairs.

-Mia would love that.

And I discover unexpected industrial heritage amid Lakeland beauty.

Pull that very quickly.

Then go the other way.

It's so fast!

If you imagine, they would be doing it just over and over again.

Day two of our lovely house-hunt in Cumbria and I have to say that even

though Donna and Christian were so enthusiastic about the house yesterday

afternoon, I'm not completely convinced they're sold on it.

So for the Mystery House we're going to throw everything up in the air

and we're going to change the parameters -

we're going to move them from one national park into another.

Our Mystery House is just over two miles from the town of Sedbergh.

Though still within Cumbria,

Sedbergh lies inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The town has a narrow main shopping street with many independent retailers.

Sedbergh is also renowned for

its independent co-educational boarding school, which was founded

in the 16th century

and remains a major part of the town's economy today.

The hills surrounding the town can be seen rising above its buildings

and it's become a haven for walkers,

cyclists and lovers of outdoor activity.

The Mystery House is situated in a private hamlet a ten-minute drive from Sedbergh.

Look at this amazing ancient hedgerow.

I've brought you down the Dales Way.

You've got the Howgills in the back, which I believe you know.

Yes, I've cycled over the Howgills, yeah.

It's a beautiful spot, cos I'm conscious that

the last two properties haven't quite hit the nail

in terms of those amazing views that you wanted,

and part of that problem is that getting those amazing Lake District views

inside the Lake District National Park is quite expensive.

-Sure.

-So we've brought you to another national park,

cos this is actually the very beginning of the Dales National Park,

though we're still in Cumbria.

-Oh.

-Oh.

-And how would you feel if we could find you a house

in this little cluster of beautiful Dales cottages

right on the footsteps of all of this?

I think that would be pretty perfect.

It would be incredible. Is this still within Donna's commute, though? Because it seems a long way.

-It's 45 minutes. OK.

-Mm, that's doable.

It's kind of everything you said about just being able to step out

and go for a run up into the hills.

-Yeah.

-I can't wait to see the house now.

Yeah, this is exciting.

-Yeah.

-Let's walk down this ancient path and find it.

'Well, it seems that the location of the Mystery House hasn't put a

'dampener on our property search, which is somewhat of a relief.'

The hamlet has about ten properties.

We're looking at this one straight ahead.

Oh, that's gorgeous.

-It's beautiful.

-Brilliant time of year to come and see it.

I know, you've caught it at a good time with the cherry blossom in front of it.

-Wow.

-So all these were built around 1700.

This was the farmhouse and then all the rest are all kind of just

buildings around. And this actually was the cow shed,

-we are going to show you.

-OK.

-It's huge.

-It is big.

-Isn't it?

-It is big, yeah.

We are in a little community and I know you didn't like that in the first house.

There's a big difference, I think,

because, you know, not looking over roofs

and all the houses are really pretty.

I don't mind being around other houses if I like looking at them.

-Yeah. Let's look inside.

-Thank you.

Great reactions to the appearance and the location of the Mystery House.

It was converted in the 1980s to a semidetached property and has since

been extensively updated and modernised.

Come on in.

Straight into the kitchen, through the back door.

-Yeah, this is really nice so far.

-Yeah. Really nicely done.

-Very tasteful.

-Got a tiny sort of little breakfast bar here.

There's a dining space next door.

Let me walk you through into the living space.

What a good size for us all in here.

-This is a great room, isn't it?

-Perfect.

-A big L-shaped room.

When you were describing, like, a family room where everyone can kind of gather...

We thought this was actually really perfect.

Could see us all just sitting around here.

-Definitely.

-Now, let's explore upstairs.

There are four bedrooms in this property

but you might want to reconfigure them, so let's take a look.

'Such an encouraging reaction.

'Also on the ground floor, there's a shower and WC.'

Arranged around the first-floor landing are four bedrooms,

as well as a family bathroom.

Three of the bedrooms are generous doubles, all dual aspect,

and retaining their character beams.

The fourth is currently being used as a dressing room.

Now, I don't want Donna and Christian's girls

to have to draw straws for the larger bedrooms,

so I might just have a solution.

Come on through here. This bedroom is being used

as a sort of guest suite, I think.

Because upstairs,

there is exactly the same space again up in the eaves.

-Right.

-So we were thinking if you didn't want a really tiny single room,

the girls could perhaps have upstairs, downstairs.

-Mia would love that.

-OK.

-Love her own floor.

-I think so.

-Yeah.

I'll let you explore a bit later.

-But let's go outside and look at the garden, because that's a little bit complicated.

-OK.

OK.

With its former life as a cow shed

and its position among the surrounding farm buildings,

there isn't much in the way of a garden.

A tidy lawn wraps around the front of the property

and is bordered by a low stone wall.

However, yet again, I have more to reveal.

This is a bit unusual

but I think quite charming.

You see, that's your house there.

And all of this land is shared communal ground for the five houses on this side of the hamlet.

What do you think about having a communal garden?

Yeah, I think it would work quite well, to be fair.

Yeah, I think it would work well.

There would be times when you'd want a bit of privacy

but then you've got the little wraparound garden as well.

So, yeah, this might work.

OK, so what about the price?

I'm thinking because we are out of the Lake District,

probably get a little bit more for our money.

I'm thinking...

385.

£385,000?

It's semidetached, but it is really nice, so maybe 390?

OK. So, you're getting much better at guessing the prices.

-Are we? Good.

-It's actually on at 395.

-Oh, OK.

-Not far off.

So it's a different offering for the Mystery House.

-Great.

-You go in and have an explore.

-I'll come and find you when you're done.

-Fabulous.

-Thank you.

£5,000 under budget,

our mystery conversion is set in a private hamlet.

It has a kitchen with a breakfast bar.

And a separate dining and sitting room.

There are four bedrooms, one in the eaves of the roof.

There is also a communal garden.

So you'd probably have this as our bedroom, wouldn't you?

Yeah, we'd get our stuff in here, definitely.

Yeah. And what is currently the walk-in wardrobe could be

a little study as well. So you've got that space.

You could do your writing, get my homework out of the way.

-There is plenty enough room upstairs really.

-Yeah, I think there is.

I think now, having seen the Mystery House,

it has put the cat among the pigeons really in that I do really like this house.

I thought yesterday's one was perfect but I think this is more

-perfect.

-This is perfecter!

-Perfectest.

-To be honest,

we have seen two properties that we'd be very happy in.

And it's cemented this idea that the move up to this area is just going to be amazing.

It really is such a peaceful and beautiful spot.

I kind of hope that they go for it.

I'm never quite sure what they're thinking.

Hi!

-Time to leave, I'm afraid.

-Do we have to go?

It's nice that you're in love with it.

-Lovely.

-But let's go and find somewhere to have a cup of tea

-and talk over all the properties.

-OK.

-OK. Thank you.

Although the Lake District is now firmly set in Cumbria,

parts spilled into Lancashire at times when the cotton industry

predominated. In 1860,

Lancashire's mills produced half of all the world's cotton.

I've come to Stott Park Bobbin Mill close to Windermere,

to meet manager Mick Callaghan to find out more about this area's unsung industrial heritage.

Mick, I'm hoping you're going to enlighten me about the importance of bobbins.

Well, I think you'll recognise the little one for the cotton industry.

My mum used to have cotton on things like that.

They also used to make the larger three-piece bobbins.

So, who were they making them for?

They were making them to go on the spinning mules.

You'd have millions and millions of them.

Bobbins were used both in the manufacture of cotton and to sell the finished product.

What period are we talking about?

The Industrial Revolution around 18...?

1830s, 1835.

This was the first purpose-built bobbin mill, was built in this area.

There was over 65 bobbin mills in this area.

And what was specific about the Lake District?

-Why were they made here?

-Two natural resources.

Water for the power and the timber for the product.

In the early days, you had a water wheel or a water turbine.

Later on, the steam came and then you had electricity later on in 1941.

Stott Park was closed in 1971 when plastic became cheaper to produce.

Remarkably, much of its original equipment remained intact

and the mill was preserved as a working museum.

This is like a Heath Robinson machine here.

It is. It was all powered with the line shafting that runs down the

centre, the pulleys and leather belts that came to the machinery.

The steam engine that took over from water power in 1880 and which once

drove the production lines is still operational.

So, how did it work?

-What was the process?

-Before you got to this point,

you'd have had the wood cut on the saws through there.

And then the borer would have drilled the hole through.

So on here, we would rough it from that block to that and the men

would finish them off to a bobbin like that.

I'll just go round and set the machine going.

Today, Mick is powering the line shaft with an electric motor first

installed in the 1940s.

But the process of bobbin-making remained largely manual.

How fast is it turning?

That's nearly 5,000 revolutions a minute.

An operator would place the prepared offcut of wood into a lathe and two

specialised blades would rapidly remove the bark

and give the bobbin its rough initial shape.

It's so fast.

Can you imagine how quickly they'd be doing it, just over and over again?

How many did they make in a day?

1,000, 1,500, 2,000.

-Do you want to have a go?

-Yeah, yeah.

So if you hold that there, put it on this end.

Put your hand up on that one, then push that...

That's it. Pull that in.

That's it. And slowly push it the opposite way.

That's it.

And then just a little waggle of this...

There we go.

That's great. My first bobbin.

Compared to some mills, Stott Park was small,

with 250 men and boys as young as seven producing a quarter of a million bobbins a week.

They worked arduous 12-hour shifts, amongst machinery where

the slightest mistake could lead to a life-changing injury.

The final shape came from a finishing lathe.

This time we're bringing those cutters in with that handle.

Push that this way. That's it.

Then you wind that in.

That's it. Just wind it in, nice and smoothly.

That's it. Keep going right to the end.

And then the opposite way. And just round off the corners.

-There we go. There's your bobbin.

-Mine to keep.

-That's yours to keep.

In its heyday, Stott Park Mill made over 260 different styles and sizes of bobbin.

Like a bobbin gallery.

There's a wide variety of bobbins in here

from the large three-piece bobbins down to the small one-piece bobbins,

right down to the little ones that you recognise as cotton ones.

Sewing machines. And so these would have ended up across into Lancashire

and Yorkshire in the cotton mills.

That's right. All the industrial mills in the north,

you've got mainly the large three-piece bobbins in the mills.

And on one spinning mule, you may have 1,000 spindles.

We do have records of them going to Bangkok and Melbourne,

just from this mill.

-Melbourne!

-Yes.

-Amazing.

Right round the world.

And what happens to the bobbins at the end of their lives?

Were they recycled or were they...?

No, a lot of them, if you imagine when you had them at home,

once you'd finished with that cotton,

you either made toys out of them or threw them on the open fire.

Actually, some parts of the country, bobbins means rubbish.

"It's bobbins" - it's rubbish.

Throw it away. That's where it came from.

Well, I'm going to treasure mine.

I'm not going to throw mine on the furnace.

And it is amazing how history is often made by these tiny objects.

-Thanks for your time today.

-You're welcome.

I'm sure it's because they are a librarian and a headmistress

but there's something about the very friendly and positive demeanour

of both Christian and Donna that makes it quite hard to gauge whether

they really, really love something or they're just being nice.

So I'll be quite interested to see what their final thoughts on our houses are.

Well, here we are at the end of our week in Cumbria.

I am very intrigued, though, to know what your real thoughts are about the houses.

I think, for me, I still really like house number two.

I like the location, the fact that the children

could still go to the school that we thought they were going to anyway.

So I definitely want to go back and take the children to see that one.

But then of course the Mystery House today has thrown things into the mix again, hasn't it?

The Mystery House was awesome.

Tell me what happens next. What is the very next step?

I think for me it is definitely going back to see the second house and the Mystery House

and to take the children back to see those as well

so that we can decide, as a family, where we would like to live.

But I think it's definitely worth taking them to see both, don't you?

Yeah, we are keen on both of those.

But also, you know, we need to do a bit of research.

If those two don't work out, I think at least it has given us

this idea now that we can widen our search radius a little more.

We can look a bit further towards the Dales

because the Dales are amazing, aren't they?

It seems like the Mystery House really did sort of upset the

apple cart, which is exactly what it is designed to do.

Because you were quite focused even down to the school that the girls were going to go to.

Do you think the prices of the properties in the Lake District

will end up having an impact on whether you can afford to live

in the house that you want and get the views that you want there?

I think it's confirmed what we already expected,

that prices are more expensive in this area and that spreads not just

from the Lake District but all across Cumbria, really,

including the Dales area that we saw.

So we are aware that it's probably going to mean that we are glad

to spend a little more money than we originally anticipated.

So it's not really a question of if you move, but when you move.

And we really hope that you consider one of our houses.

But however it happens, I wish you all the best.

Thank you. It's been a really, really good experience.

I think we've both really enjoyed it.

-We have. And thanks for your help.

-Thank you.

It only seems right and proper

that we should end this show next to Lake Windermere,

even though it seems that Donna and Christian,

particularly if they go for our Mystery House,

may not be living in the Lake District after all,

but actually in the Dales.

Still, they're both national parks and they are both beautiful.

So, make sure you join us next time

for more beautiful adventures on Escape to the Country.

Donna has started her new job and she and Christian have moved to the

Lake District. However, their house in Wigan has yet to sell,

so they are currently renting.

Once the sale is complete,

they still hope to pursue house number two.

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