North Yorkshire Escape to the Country

Over millennia, torrents of water have carved out

this spectacular ravine and in some

places the wall is 20 metres above the stream below.

Find out where I am in just a moment.

Today's house-hunting journey takes us from country cottage...

-I love it.

-Yeah.

-It's lovely. Really nice.

-I think it's rather beautiful.

Feels really cosy as you come in.

..to super-sized manorial splendour.

Ta-da!

Wow!

Very grand!

It's grand, isn't it?

Amazing!

Today, we are in North Yorkshire and this is How Stean Gorge

in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Back in the last ice age,

this whole area would have been covered with massive glaciers and as

they melted, the torrents of meltwater carved their way through

the limestone rock.

Now the waters are much calmer,

but there's still a network of amazing walkways, caves and tunnels.

And I'll be taking a slightly unorthodox view

on the gorge later on in the show.

The largest of England's counties,

North Yorkshire is bordered to its east by the North Sea.

Spanning its western edge is the Dales National Park.

680 square miles of undulating valleys.

Malham Dale is home to the dramatic limestone cliffs of Malham Cove,

rearing up over 200 feet.

To the east is Nidderdale,

which takes its name from the Celtic word for bright or brilliant.

And in Pateley Bridge, one of its charming market towns,

it's evident why.

The streets of its well-preserved centre are home to an array of

traditional retailers.

Robust limestone buildings are a common sight across this county,

notably in Helmsley, which borders the moors.

Overlooking the town are the imposing ruins of Helmsley Castle.

This once impressive stronghold

enjoyed a three-month siege during the English Civil War

at the hands of Cromwell's army,

who eventually overthrew it.

The county's rich geology, visible across its varied landscapes,

market towns and villages, combined with its strong cultural identity,

means that carving out a country life in North Yorkshire

is an attractive option for many escapees.

Not only does North Yorkshire have attractive scenery,

it has attractive property prices.

The average price for a detached house here is just shy of £312,000,

which makes it £15,000 less than the national figure.

Although it is the largest county in England, so prices do vary.

Your money goes the furthest closest to Skipton,

which is the gateway to the Dales,

and it goes a lot less far inside one of the two national parks.

But it's a beautiful big county with lots to offer and you can understand

why people want to move here,

so let's meet two people who definitely do.

Liz and Steve from Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire met when they were

both working backstage in the theatres of London's West End.

We met at the Queen's Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue.

I was a technician

and Liz was a stage manager.

Because of the nature of our job,

we were talking a lot before we actually came face-to-face with each

other, because we spoke to each other on headsets during the show.

-We had seen each other.

-Yeah!

But we knew a lot about each other before we actually

went out with each other.

Once the couple were married,

they upped and moved to the suburbs to raise their family.

But since their two sons became young adults,

town life has begun to lose its charm

and they are ready to make the leap

to country living in North Yorkshire.

We've been here for 15 years.

It's served its purpose for us, I think.

Yeah, absolutely has, yeah.

We've had two children, who have now flown the nest.

Now seems the right time,

while we are still young enough to enjoy living the dream,

living somewhere we have always wanted to live.

Now seems like the right time to do it.

We really want to move to the Yorkshire Dales.

We've always holidayed in Yorkshire.

We met a friend of Steve's when we were last up in Yorkshire.

And the view from his house was just...

-Breathtaking, wasn't it?

-Breathtaking. Yeah, absolutely.

It was a beautiful sunny day and you could see for miles.

It was just amazing.

With plans to scale back their working lives,

the couple have a number of leisure pursuits they are looking forward to

enjoying once they've made this rural move.

I collect films, old cinema films.

And film projectors.

In my spare time, I really love any sort of yarn craft,

so I do lots of knitting and crochet.

I like a little bit of photography.

So taking some pictures of beautiful areas would be quite nice.

Space for enjoying their pastimes is a must.

And although their sons won't be making the move with them,

there are two other family members who will be

embracing the great outdoors.

We will be going up to Yorkshire with our two dogs,

Barney and Ralph. I'm sure they'll be going on many long walks.

We always take them somewhere that's, you know, countrified,

but you always have to get in the car.

I think one of the things I'm looking forward to is just being

able to step out of the house and just walk.

With their house on the market and the dogs in tow,

the time is right for this bold next step up north.

Hopefully our lifestyle will become a lot more relaxed,

-a lot less stressful, and much less hectic.

-Yeah.

Liz and Steve have been particularly focused on the area surrounding

the scenic Yorkshire Dales,

so we will be concentrating our hunt on the western side of the county.

-I'm meeting them on Yorkshire soil to learn more about the home they're after.

-Hiya.

Hey. Lovely place.

-It is gorgeous, isn't it?

-Welcome to Yorkshire, you guys.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Where the sun always shines.

It's probably brighter here than it is in Hemel Hempstead.

Definitely today.

Because this is a bit of a break for you.

You're packing in your job, having a bit of downtime.

-Yes.

-Hopefully we will have a bit of a buffer to survive

for a couple of years.

And then we'll have to look for jobs.

But, no, for a couple of years,

we're going to settle in and enjoy the countryside.

What's the reason for the move?

What's the motivation for the move right now?

Both our sons have left home and that's when we'd planned to make our

-move.

-And the boys will be coming to visit soon.

Hopefully, yes. Lots!

In terms of the house, then, so you probably want some rooms for them,

what's the spec of the house, how many bedrooms and so on?

At least three bedrooms.

-Yeah.

-Detached.

-Has to be detached.

-We need a garden because we've got two dogs.

But not too big. You're not such a keen gardener, is that right?

I'm not a great gardener, no.

No, I can mow the lawn.

A sort of manageable garden.

-Yeah.

-An outbuilding of some description,

be it a double garage or an out store for Steve's hobby.

So you've got your amazing film collection, film projectors.

Film projectors and films.

-I have quite a large collection that at the moment resides in a storage unit.

-What about the location?

Where do you want to be in terms of...

Do you want to be in the middle of nowhere or in a village?

Maybe not...

Maybe not a house on its own with nothing around it...

-In the middle of the moors.

-Maybe not that.

But certainly in a village or on the outskirts of a village

-would be just fine.

-Yeah, sounds good.

And the style of the property, a bit like this, but smaller?

-That would be nice!

-Yeah, a little bit smaller.

But sort of a traditional house, nothing too modern.

We live in quite a modern house at the moment.

So we want to go back to sort of a character house, I guess.

Remind us of your budget.

How much are we playing with?

We are looking at about... really top is 400,000.

OK. We have found some really nice properties.

-Excellent.

-And I can't wait to show them to you.

-Great.

-Good.

-Follow me.

Liz and Steve have a budget of £400,000 and for that

would like a characterful, three-bedroom property.

They need a garden for their dogs,

space for Liz's sewing room

and preferably outbuildings for Steve to store

his collection of projectors.

We've cherry picked three properties

that will give them different options to consider,

although they won't know the price tag until the end of each tour.

The final property of course will be our Mystery House,

a grand and dramatic offering which may require some home-making

imagination from our theatrical pair.

To get the wheels in motion on our North Yorkshire house hunt,

we are heading to the village of Constable Burton.

Accessible amenities are just a five-minute drive away in Leyburn.

Granted its market charter in the 17th century,

today it is a base for walkers

looking to take a stroll across Leyburn Shawl,

which provides views over Wensleydale.

Back in Constable Burton, it's time to view the first of our houses.

Here it is, our first little slice of Yorkshire.

It's very Yorkshire, isn't it, with the stone and everything?

-Beautiful, yeah.

-It is.

-It's very pretty.

-What do you think?

-What are your first impressions?

-Very pretty.

-From the outside

-it looks lovely, yeah.

-Yeah.

-I love that front door.

But in terms of the look of the property,

-is this what you were aiming for?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Absolutely.

It's got your old front door with two windows either side.

Front door, window either side.

-Yeah, that's certainly a promising start.

-Looks great.

All you have to do now is fall in love with the inside.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-Let's have a look.

There is an attractive symmetry to the front of this converted

stone-built barn conversion that really seems to have resonated with them both.

Dating back to the 18th century, it was renovated in the 1980s.

The main section of this home is the original footprint of the old barn,

and the rooms off it were all later additions.

This home doesn't have any existing outbuildings but, as they'll see,

inside should compensate for that.

This is the oldest part of the house,

this would have been the entire house, actually, when it was a barn.

What do you think of the style inside?

-I love it.

-Yeah.

-It's lovely. Really nice.

-I think it's rather beautiful.

Feels really cosy as you come in.

I like the stone walls and the fireplace is great.

The fireplace is fantastic.

And the beams, yeah, no, it's lovely.

Any other thoughts on the space?

Does it kind of feel warm and...?

It does. It feels cosy.

-It feels homely, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-Really nice.

-Let's have a look in the kitchen because that's important, too.

-Cool.

I'm loving their positivity.

And so pleased that the living space

and the historic features are scoring highly.

Their hobbies could be catered for in an additional snug off the living

room, giving Steve a space for his projectors.

There is another smaller room off that that would serve well as Liz's

knitting area, plus there's also a downstairs shower room.

With their separate interests dealt with,

time to get their collective view on the generous kitchen.

-Who's the cook?

-Me.

Definitely not me!

So this would be more your domain?

Yeah. No. It's great.

Absolutely lovely.

Very in keeping with the style of the house.

-Yeah.

-In terms of the size, is it a good enough size?

It's a great size, yeah.

Especially having the dining table in here as well.

Makes it a part of the home.

Well, the bedroom is obviously important, too.

-Let's have a look there.

-OK.

This tour just keeps getting better and better.

Upstairs would provide them with three bedrooms.

There's a double under a sloping ceiling,

plus another single spare bedroom.

And the family bathroom has enough space

for a bath and separate shower.

The master bedroom also has a high beamed ceiling, exposed timber

floorboards and ample storage with three built-in wardrobes.

-This is lovely.

-Yeah, a really good size.

Fantastic view out of your bedroom window.

You can see the sheep when you wake up.

-That is smashing.

-You can see the high beams

that go right up into the kind of rafters of the original barn.

-Lovely.

-So, it's all very positive so far.

You haven't even wrinkled your nose.

No.

It's a really lovely house.

-Yeah.

-What would be the deal-breaker here, if there was any?

Maybe the away from the house storage

that this house doesn't have.

Well, there are some options outside,

-so let's go and have a look.

-Excellent.

Overall, they seem enthusiastic about the inside,

so hopefully those smiles will continue outside.

The thoughtfully landscaped garden

also includes pretty stone patio areas

and paved walkways.

An attractive mix of flowers and planting

enhances the rural surroundings

of this handsome stone property.

It's a lovely garden,

it's very well presented and it would be easy to maintain.

This is about a manageable size, I think, for us, yeah,

-it's a perfect garden.

-Yeah.

Good for the dogs to have a bit of space to run about in.

One of the options are, behind here,

there is a sort of like shed which

you could extend into a summer house.

-Yeah.

-Good. And what do you think the price of this is?

I think this is quite close to our budget.

I think £380,000.

I think I'm going to go even closer and say 390.

Well, you're a bit pessimistic because this is actually on

the market at £375,000.

-Wow.

-Good.

-That's good news.

-So why don't you go inside and have a look and then I

-will see you out the front?

-OK.

That's pretty much signed, sealed and delivered.

I mean, they loved it. Good price.

I don't need to show them any more.

Under budget by £25,000,

this traditional stone-built barn conversion has proved to be a great

opening gambit.

Dating back to the 18th century, it has a large living room,

plus two further reception areas and the three bedrooms they asked for.

Outside there is an attractive garden for the dogs

and it's set close to a village.

I think it's a really beautiful house.

It looks great from the outside, the front is gorgeous.

I like the two rooms downstairs the most.

They're really cosy, they definitely have a feeling of warmth.

Maybe I was expecting maybe an outbuilding,

which this property doesn't have,

but I think there are probably ways round that.

It fits the character cottage, the stone-built,

traditional style house that we're looking for.

You know, obviously it is property number one, not to get too excited,

but it's a really lovely house.

That was a very good first house tour.

It was a great first house.

-Brilliant.

-I feel like I don't need to show you any more, but I will.

So follow me.

The Yorkshire Dales is home to a rich variety of habitats,

from native woodlands to swathes of pasture land

across limestone valleys.

That is exactly the reason why our nature loving couple have chosen to

relocate here.

Both have a passion for wildlife and Steve is keen to build

on his love of photography and capture his natural surroundings.

With that in mind, they're meeting local photographer Simon Phillpotts.

Highly commended in the British wildlife photography awards on

several occasions, he has offered to pass on his insight

on achieving the best images of the much-loved yet elusive red squirrel.

-Hello, there.

-Hi.

Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Simon.

-And you, I'm Liz.

-Steve, hiya.

-What are you up to?

-Well,

I'm just putting out some food here for one of our native mammals,

the red squirrel. As you can tell, we're in a pine forest here,

lots of Scots Pine and spruce trees,

which really are the squirrels' preferred natural habitat.

-Right, OK.

-So, I can see you've got a camera.

-Yeah.

-You're looking forward to photographing some?

-Absolutely.

-Well,

we can do that and hopefully we should see some very shortly,

so if you follow me, we'll go into the hide.

-Excellent.

-Follow me.

The UK is home to around 140,000 red squirrels.

The introduction of their grey counterpart in the 1870s devastated

-the population.

-And, actually, just on cue...

-Yeah.

-Here we have one.

-Here we have one.

Today in England, red squirrels are found in areas of the Isle of Wight,

Cumbria and Northumberland, as well as here in North Yorkshire.

In this woodland, the red squirrels are fed and their preferred trees

are planted, meaning the chances of seeing one are favourable.

So why can't the grey and the red squirrels live together?

The grey squirrels carry a very virulent squirrel pox virus.

80% of the grey squirrels carry the virus, which is easily passed on to

reds when they come into contact with each other and it can kill

a red squirrel within two weeks.

So, at the moment, this particular squirrel is a pregnant female,

so hopefully, within another month's time she will go into her dray and

give birth to up to four youngsters, known as kittens.

Fantastic. So they are on the increase and that is a good thing.

They are, but they need the help of the local community to really expand

further. At the moment it's quite a fragile population still.

So, fingers crossed that they can be helped and we can get them so

everyone in the Dales can see them one day.

Spotting a red squirrel may be a rarity,

but their distinctive colour and long, bushy tail make them easy to

recognise. On average, their tails can grow up to 20cm,

almost the same length as their bodies,

which comes in handy when climbing and keeping their balance.

So, Simon,

what would be your top tips on how to take a brilliant photo of a red

-squirrel?

-OK, well, first things first, it's a dark day,

so we want to have your camera as steady as possible and you can use

one of these beanbags.

That will damp out any vibrations to make the shot as steady and sharp

as possible.

Frame up the squirrel and you actually want to focus on the eye of

the squirrel, because that is the part that communicates with whoever

is looking at the final picture.

Nice, slow squeeze of the camera button and see how that looks.

Steve produced some impressive results,

and clearly has a flair for capturing

the stunning wildlife here.

Time to find them a picture-perfect country property from which they can

enjoy the region.

For our next offering, we are off to the village of Hudswell.

On the very edge of the Yorkshire Dales and set by the banks of the

River Swale, the landscape and views are exceptional.

Furthermore, there is something here that I think our couple will be

pleased with.

So, just going to take a moment here in Hudswell.

-This is the village where the house is.

-OK.

-To look at this.

Not very prepossessing from the outside,

but it is quite interesting.

This is one of the first, perhaps the first,

pub in Yorkshire that was taken into community ownership.

-Oh, OK.

-And last year, in 2016, it won best pub in the whole country,

according to the Campaign For Real Ale.

So it's a quality boozer.

-Absolutely.

-Let's go and look at the house.

Having taken in a major focal point for the community,

we're strolling to our next property,

which is under a five-minute walk away.

Set back from the lane,

it's a home with wonderful kerb appeal and good historic bones.

This is house number two.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

This is in an extension that you see on the side,

the full top-to-bottom extension.

From the outside, it looks fantastic.

It does look lovely.

-Yeah.

-Perfect.

-Chocolate box.

Let's look inside.

The location and the look of the property seem to have garnered

good reactions. Dating back to be 19th century,

this stone property effectively blends old and new.

Which is immediately evident in the central hallway.

Towards the back of the property is the more recent addition,

added in 2009, where we find the kitchen.

Come on through. Rather unusually,

I'm going to show you the new part first.

-OK.

-So this is the extension that they put on, maybe ten years ago...

-Right.

-..to give you this big, bright kitchen-dining room.

This is rather lovely, isn't it?

That is gorgeous. Yeah, really lovely.

The island in the middle, that looks great.

Yeah, a great island.

-That's really nice.

-And is this a bit more up to your speed

-in terms of units?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-That was unanimous.

-Yes, that was unanimous, wasn't it?

Certainly looks promising.

-Yeah.

-You don't sound so convinced.

Um... No,

I guess first impressions is not as a classic internal Yorkshire house,

I guess, as I was expecting.

But I don't dislike it at all.

Let's have a look at the rest of the ground floor.

Hopefully, the more Steve sees, the more he will feel at home here.

So now we are going back in time, as it were,

into the older part of the house.

You can see the cornicing -

this would have been in the original building.

Again, this is an extension towards the back.

Yeah.

It's nice having windows at both ends of the room.

Yeah.

Another wood burner - that's good.

-Yeah.

-It is a big room.

And then on the other side of the hallway,

there is quite a nice-sized study,

but we though that could be your film room.

OK. Mm-hm. Certainly, yeah.

Upstairs gives them four bedrooms, all of a good size.

There's a double, a single and one is set up as an office.

Good accommodation for their visiting sons.

There's also a bright family bathroom with a stylish shower.

The master bedroom is generous and benefits from dual aspect windows.

A lot more size here.

This is your bedroom with its own en suite.

-Lovely.

-Yeah, I like this room.

I'm trying to win you round with the room upstairs.

-I know.

-It's really nice.

So it's a really picturesque spot, and from upstairs

you really do get the views.

Yeah, it's lovely. A really nice room.

There really is so much potential in this home, and plenty of space.

In the top-floor attic there is a fifth bedroom -

a potential perfect fit for Liz's sewing room.

Outside also provides useful storage for Steve, with a detached garage.

Another great selling point of this house is the view,

overlooking scenic Swaledale.

This classic Yorkshire vista is the ideal place to take a view of what

the asking price is for this substantial package.

Here you go.

It's a blank canvas, this garden.

Obviously you can see it's fairly new.

So the land really goes down to that second fence.

-Uh-huh.

-Yeah.

-And also there is a covenant on the land behind that they are never going to build on it.

-OK.

That's nice to know.

Not going to interrupt that lovely view.

Yeah, you don't get that view very often.

You can see the little outbuilding here.

It's not huge, but it's of historic interest.

-Yeah.

-Could be a useful store for...

-For films and things.

-Films and things, yeah.

-Indeed, yeah.

The only piece of the puzzle we don't have is the price.

Yeah.

I think this is a really difficult one.

-Do you want to go first?

-Yeah, I'll go first.

I think it's...

..maybe a little bit over our budget,

so maybe round about 410,000.

I'm going to go less. I think...

..£370,000.

Well, you should probably listen to your wife,

because it's more in her ballpark.

This is on at £400,000 and offers above.

-OK.

-Oh, OK.

-So it would be more in your ballpark.

Yeah. OK.

-Yeah.

-That's interesting.

-That is interesting.

So, have a look inside again and explore all of those rooms.

-OK.

-See where you would put things and I will see you at the front.

-OK. Thanks.

-Cool.

Bang on budget, this sympathetically extended 19th-century property

delivers a large, modern kitchen,

whereas the living spaces hold on to their history and character.

Upstairs, there are five bedrooms

and outside provides a detached garage

and uninterrupted views across countryside.

It's a lovely, lovely property.

The kitchen is amazing.

I love the kitchen.

First impressions from outside is it is a beautiful house,

typical chocolate box house.

Very nice. I felt the spaces were a little bit smaller than I was

expecting. I'd quite like a room

that was a bit more substantial in size.

A little bit disappointed that the living room is a little bit smaller

than we would have liked.

Although it does have fantastic views, so there's pros and cons.

Hey, guys. Are we all done?

-Yeah.

-Yeah. Finished in that one, I think.

So... We are all locked up. So that's all the houses for today.

Time for you to put your feet up and have a reflect.

-Excellent.

-Excellent.

-Come with me.

I'm in North Yorkshire,

helping Liz and Steve from Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire

find their dream character home in the Dales.

They would like space for visiting sons,

Liz's sewing and Steve's film projectors,

all for a budget of £400,000.

Coming up, our Mystery House will have our couple thinking they are

Yorkshire gentry.

We'll have to get some paintings as well,

to hang below all the lights.

Probably need to get the two of you painted.

Family portraits.

And later, I will be putting my life on the line.

Ta-da!

That makes me feel much safer.

It's the second day of our house hunt here in North Yorkshire

and the sun is totally shining on our Mystery House today,

which is a good thing because it is slightly, as always, controversial.

Liz and Steve really seem to like the first house and their tastes are

quite quiet, conservative with a small c,

nothing too extravagant, which is problematic because the Mystery

House is an extravaganza, which they are either going to love

or totally hate.

Is there anything you would dread I was showing you?

Something on an estate.

Something really on its own in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

-Stuck on the moors.

-Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, that would probably be not great.

Our final destination for the Mystery House is Brough Park,

just outside the market town of Richmond.

Here, Liz and Steve would find a variety of appealing shops in a

stunning architectural setting.

The town's castle dates back to Norman times

and its 12th-century keep is

a strong reminder of this imposing fortification.

Historic town equals grand properties,

and our Mystery House five miles south-east of Richmond certainly

delivers that. It will challenge them to think grand thoughts

and should appeal to their theatrical backgrounds.

The sheer scale might be daunting,

but playing the roles of lord and lady of the manor

might prove tempting for our couple.

Look what I'm showing you, it's a grade one-listed mansion.

-Oh, wow!

-That's a bit of a surprise.

What are your thoughts about living here?

It's a beautiful building in amazing grounds.

-Yeah.

-I'm fascinated to see what you are actually going

to show us inside.

-It's not all of it.

-Oh!

-OK.

Sadly. This is Brough Hall.

And the portion that you will own is this wing on the right,

-just downstairs.

-OK.

-Oh, OK.

-And you get access to the whole nine-acre estate.

-That's nice.

-Yeah.

-Yeah. Lovely.

-Fantastic.

Let's go and have a look.

This country mansion dates back to the 15th century, when it was home

to the prominent de Burgh family.

The present interior largely reflects the 18th-century

neoclassical Robert Adam style.

All laid out on one level, the home is currently unfurnished,

providing a Georgian empty stage full of possibilities.

The main reception area is truly magnificent,

the perfect place to start our tour.

Ta-da!

Wow.

Very grand.

It's grand, isn't it?

-Amazing.

-Yeah.

-Beautiful space.

-So, obviously, it's not furnished at the moment,

but, wow, look at the kind of theatricality of it.

Incredible, isn't it?

-It's...

-This is the main space...

-Yeah.

-..as you can imagine.

And it is really all built around this incredible Adam-style ceiling

piece, the central panelling, which is listed.

And also the wonderful kind of cornicing and flagging

around the doors and the great big...

It's a gas fire, but just a great big kind of fireplace.

-Wow.

-Gorgeous.

Have to get some paintings as well for...

To hang below all the lights.

Probably need to get the two of you painted.

Family portraits.

Yeah.

Let's look in the kitchen.

Having set the scene and fired up their creative energy,

we're going to what I suppose you would call backstage,

to think practically.

So, obviously, the Georgians weren't very big on cooking for themselves,

so this would not have been a kitchen.

The question is, is it adequate or big enough, or...?

I think it's certainly big enough.

-Yeah.

-Compared to THAT room, it feels quite small.

It does.

Most kitchens, you wouldn't have such a great wonderful window.

No. Fantastic.

It's not a bad view to cook Sunday lunch over, is it, really?

Let's look in the bedrooms. They're all on the ground floor.

OK.

I think our slice of mystery mansion has overwhelmed them a bit.

Moving onto the next act,

the sleeping quarters are equally as impressive.

Three good-sized double bedrooms all retain the same sense of grandeur.

And there is a modern fitted family bathroom.

The largest bedroom is the master, with its own en suite.

All three are blank canvases and give our couple

the chance to make their own decorative mark.

At the far end of the master is a staircase leading past storage space

and to a superb mezzanine level overlooking the vast living room.

Perfect hobby space for them, perhaps.

For now, though, we will pause for breath in the master.

It keeps on being grand in the bedroom.

-Sure does.

-It does.

Loads of space.

Really lovely. Just picturing our things in here and where we would

-put everything and...

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-If you don't have kind of Regency furniture,

it is quite a shift, isn't it?

Let's go outside, though, and look at the outside.

OK.

Brough Hall is grade one-listed,

but a few alterations could still be made,

subject to planning permission.

The nine acres come with a maintenance charge

of around £2,000 a year -

worth bearing in mind when they guess the price.

Out here there is also a dedicated double garage as well as a small

private garden that Liz and Steve would have to themselves.

So this is your portion, it's quite a small portion.

It's basically just this little strip...

-OK.

-..of grass here.

But your big garden is nine acres.

So you can think of it this way,

that the bit that you have to look after, Steve, is quite small.

-Sure.

-I have to cut this bit.

-Exactly.

-OK.

-So it's a slightly unusual set-up,

unusual property, unusual garden,

everything about it is unusual.

What do you think the price is? Do you think that's unusual?

I am going to go for £390,000.

And I think it's going to be a little bit more than that.

I think it's going to be £415,000.

Actually, you're both a bit over.

It's actually on the market for £385,000.

-Oh, OK.

-OK.

-But it is...

It's a striking proposition.

-Very striking. Yeah.

-So I'm going to let you go back in and wander

the grounds, dance in the ballroom,

and I will come and pick your brains once you're done.

-OK, lovely.

-Thanks.

Under budget by £15,000,

our mystery slice of country mansion living makes a real statement.

It features an enormous Adam-style reception room,

a great mezzanine and three bedrooms.

Outside, their own private garden is small and manageable with access to

the wider nine-acre estate.

When I first saw the house, my initial reaction was

"Oh, my goodness, that's amazing."

Set in the most fantastic grounds.

The whole thing is just stunning.

I thought the house was amazing.

What a beautiful area to live in.

I think I could live in here,

but I have got reservations about the practicalities of living here,

with the dogs and our storage needs and things like that.

So, if you had asked me before we saw the property if I could imagine

us living here, I probably would have said...not really.

But now we've been here and had a look round, then, yeah,

I am starting to think, yeah, we could live here.

It would be quite something.

Hey, guys. I was just enjoying the last of the bluebells.

-They're beautiful.

-Beautiful.

So that is our time in this Georgian pile all done.

-But let's find somewhere to have a cup of tea and we can talk about all the houses.

-OK.

The Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty features

over 200 square miles of rugged moorland scenery

and incredible views.

One natural spectacle here is How Stean Gorge.

It's a remarkable site,

and not being one to settle for admiring from afar,

I'm meeting with Stan Beer, who's going to show me

how I can get up close to this incredible feat of nature.

-Hiya, Stan.

-Hiya.

Nice to meet you. This is a good place to work.

-Thank you. Yes.

-So, how long have you been working at How Stean Gorge?

We actually bought the place about ten years ago, but prior to that

I used to come up on my days off because I used to be a paramedic and

-had a few days.

-So you have got all sorts of things that you do here.

I know you do lots of activities.

-But we're going to be looking at the... What is it called?

-The via ferrata.

-Via ferrata.

-That's Italian.

Via is the way and ferrata is iron.

Am I going to come out of this with skills?

Yes, you will do. Yes.

-Life skills.

-Wonderful.

-Can we have a go?

-You can have a go, yes.

-Lead the way.

-I'll lead the way.

Stan has nine years of experience

and an activity this daring should not be attempted

without an expert like him as a guide.

After a rigorous safety briefing, and with the right kit on,

it's time to traverse the gorge.

-OK.

-So I basically just hang on to the wire now?

Just hang on to the wire, that's right.

The via ferrata are thought to have first been used

during the First World War as a means for soldiers to reach

inaccessible areas of the Austrian mountains.

I can feel my confidence growing.

Ta-da!

That makes me feel much safer.

A series of metal rungs have been worked into the stone

and a continuous cable runs the length of the route

for the daring adventurer to clip themselves onto for safety.

Yeah, because how do you get these metal things into the rock that are

-safe?

-Well, they're all resined in.

And then they are all tested with a puller and we have to test them

annually, they are inspected regularly.

This is just one of three via ferrata courses in the UK.

Although the shortest,

it's unique in that it is the only one located in a gorge.

It also has the reputation for being the trickiest,

and I think I know why.

Oh, lordy. That's hard.

Don't forget to look around and enjoy the scenery.

This is a long one.

I'm actually feeling a bit scared.

It is quite a long way down.

And it's really wobbly.

I know I'm attached, but my body is, like, going,

"This is a bad idea. You should get right off this thing."

And look at Stan grinning like a loon behind me.

Happy as a sandboy.

This is what makes my job so exciting.

To complete our route, I need to cross the main crevasse.

Known as a Tyrolean traverse...

Holy Moley!

..this method was developed in the Italian Dolomites in order to

navigate large, precipitous drops.

The important thing is, do I look stylish, Stan?

I don't think I do.

Something tells me I'm not looking my best.

You now get to the uphill bit.

And there I am.

Are you there? Well done.

Thank you.

You make it look so easy, Stan.

I have to say, it was a bit more frightening than I was expecting.

Good. Well, not frightening...

-It was...

-You sort of eased me in, like, you know, it would be no problem.

And then there was quite a few quite hairy moments.

-Built up slowly, didn't it?

-Thanks, Stan.

-A good day out.

-Very good.

I've enjoyed myself. Thank you.

After that high adrenaline activity,

I think it's best to stop and take stock as we return to our lovely

couple, who are also in search of North Yorkshire's natural drama.

Liz and Steve are such good-natured,

sweet-tempered house-hunters that it is quite difficult to pierce through

their very polite responses and find out

which of the houses they actually like.

I have a hunch it might be number one, but let's go find out.

Hi, guys.

-Hi.

-Hiya.

-Nice cup of tea.

Lovely. Three houses under our belts.

Any of them contenders?

Me, personally, I think number one was probably the favourite.

Yes, that doesn't surprise me.

-What about you?

-Yeah, same.

I think I loved property number one, same as Steve,

property number three, the Mystery House, was amazing,

but I think the head takes over from the heart.

I don't think it was really us.

We prefer somewhere a bit more homely, a bit more cottage-y,

a bit more traditional.

-Yeah.

-Now, the first house really did sort of offer you that,

it was a very homely, solid property.

What are you going to do next, what is the next step?

Well, I think we might return to Yorkshire in a couple of weeks and

maybe arrange to have another look, I think.

Yeah.

Anything else that has come into focus?

I think it has confirmed that we are doing the right thing and we love

-the area.

-Yeah, definitely.

-And certainly see ourselves spending the

rest of our lives here, I guess.

Well, I hope it all works out in Yorkshire.

Sounds like you could do with a couple of years relaxation,

and it's a beautiful spot, so thanks for bringing us here.

-Thank you very much.

-Been a pleasure showing you around.

-It's been brilliant.

-Yeah.

For a couple who met in the theatre,

I was hoping that the spectacular interiors of the Mystery House might

just bowl Liz and Steve over.

But they have grown older and wiser and are looking for something a bit

cosier, and I can quite understand how house number one would win them

over. But I do hope they come back and I hope they buy our house,

but even if they don't, look at all this.

Who wouldn't want to move here?

And I'm hoping it's also going to inspire you to join us next time

for more Escape To The Country.

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