East Sussex Escape to the Country

The inhabitants of this county town are so community minded

that they've produced their very own currency.

But will it help us buy property in this county?

Find out on Escape To The Country.

'In today's show, we'll be helping a Home Counties boy and his American girlfriend

'escape the big smoke

'and find a house that will impress her family back in the States.'

It's older than anything I think I've seen in my life.

'We'll be showing them a selection of splendid properties

'and when the bathroom's a fair distance from the bedroom, we'll educate our overseas newcomer.'

There's always the delightful English tradition of the chamber pot.

-Mm.

-Oh, no!

'And as ever, there's the mystery house.

'But will any of our properties impress our buyers enough to take the plunge?'

Today, I'm in East Sussex and this is the Lewes pound,

Lewes being the county town.

The idea is to keep money inside the community

because you can pay for things on Lewes High Street using your pound.

That way, money stays in with local traders,

for example, this bookshop.

-Can I pay for this with my Lewes pound?

-Certainly.

-Very good.

-Thank you.

-There you go, it works.

Let's see if it works in the housing market.

East Sussex can claim a fair slice of the history books.

Infamous for the Battle of Hastings in 1066,

it's a county with a long history of conflicts.

Its coastal position left it open to invaders

and one of the country's most romantic defences is Bodiam Castle,

a fine example of a medieval moated castle.

Sitting on the south coast, its warm climate draws in the crowds

to popular seaside resorts such as Brighton

and, of course, to marvel at the striking chalk cliffs of Beachy Head.

The properties in East Sussex are beautiful

and being commutable to London, they're quite expensive.

An average detached house here costs £351,000,

which is a hefty 32% above the national average.

So it's going to be a bit of an uphill struggle

to find our couple today a house that they want.

'Today's buyers are Mel and Ashley

'who live in a two-bedroom flat in Richmond in Surrey.

'Mel is from West Sussex, whilst Ashley is from the United States.

'They met two and a half years ago and maintained a long-distance relationship

'before Ashley made the move over to the UK.'

We both work in the internet advertising industry,

which is very busy, very fast-paced.

We work in London, in the Big Smoke, near Victoria.

And it would be nice to get out to the country,

green, wide-open spaces...

-Quiet.

-Quiet and a breath of fresh air.

Ashley's just moved over from America, from Seattle, Washington,

which is very sort of outdoorsy, as well,

and she's also got a dog, which she wants to bring over as well.

Not quite enough room for the dog and all the family that will be coming to visit us.

'And once they're settled, they can't wait to get involved in rural pursuits.'

Country walks, pub lunches, cricket on the green

-and lots of fun with friends and family outside, outdoors.

-Yeah.

'This will be the first home they've bought together, so it's important they get it right.'

We have quite a small kitchen and we would like to have enough space

for more of a community kitchen, having family and friends joining us while we're cooking.

And also, I'm desperate for a dishwasher.

We can work anywhere

and our company's very flexible and lets us work from home.

But this currently is our office, really, in the living room,

but it would be nice to have maybe a spare room or a study

where we can squirrel away and do our stuff.

We have beautiful communal gardens

but we'd like a place that has a nice private garden

for us to grow vegetables and for my dog, Dodger, to come and join us.

'For Mel, this is a chance to move closer to where he grew up

'but for Ashley, it's a whole new world

'and she's chasing the romantic image of the English country dream.

'So what sort of a property will suit them?'

We would like a period house with character

and at least three bedrooms, with two bathrooms

and a nice garden.

And a big kitchen where we can do lots of cooking and entertaining.

Before we start homing in on properties,

we've invited a local agent to give a valuation for Mel's flat.

This is a very nicely presented apartment

in a very sought-after development.

It's in close proximity to Richmond Park

and to the British Rail mainline station,

with great links up to London.

And for that reason I'd value this apartment at £360,000.

I only bought the place two years ago for 275

but to come out with that kind of number,

especially in the current climate, was amazing.

-Great.

-So really, really pleased.

'So what sort of figure are we looking at for the new property?'

We would be able to do probably about 350.

350 big ones.

Great. We have a young couple who want to make a bona fide escape to the countryside.

They want space to spread out, maybe an extra bedroom or two.

They want a lovely property that will impress Ashley's American relatives

and most importantly of all, they want space for Dodger the dog.

Mel and Ashley will continue to work in London,

so all our properties are relatively close to rail services,

focused around the small town of Battle.

There is, however, no getting away from the fact

that it will be a lengthy commute.

Over the course of two days, I'll be showing Mel and Ashley

a selection of properties in the local area.

They'll be viewing the houses without knowing the asking price,

which I'll reveal at the end of the viewing.

And true to form, our final offering will be the mystery house,

a property purposefully chosen to put the cat among the pigeons.

East Sussex is one of my favourite counties.

The properties here are beautiful

and you can find them in all different price ranges.

At the pricy end of the market sits this house in Cross in Hand.

With seven bedrooms and five reception rooms,

it's the epitome of Victorian grandeur.

And if you can see yourself living here,

then it will cost you just a shade under £2 million.

Alternatively, take a look at this four-bedroom Edwardian property

on the outskirts of Lewes.

With a market guide price of 800,000 to 850,000,

it offers roomy accommodation and an attractive garden.

Or finally, if you're chasing the country dream,

take a peek at this cosy cottage in Mayfield.

There's exposed timbers galore, a wood burner to keep you warm,

and it could be yours for an offer between £400,000 and £450,000.

-Welcome to Sussex.

-Thank you.

East Sussex, to be precise.

-You're a local boy. You went to school here.

-Yes, actually in West Sussex

but nearby, nearby.

I don't know quite what you are. Are you a Sussexonian? Sussexman?

-Whatever. But you're not.

-I'm not.

-Are you impressed with the English countryside?

-It's beautiful. I've come a long way. It's gorgeous.

-Is that part of the idea, to impress Ashley and her parents?

-Yes.

I promise not to say that line about, "This house is older than your country."

-That's really annoying.

-That's his.

-You can leave that to me.

-Oh, good.

I'll leave that to you. Very good.

Now, we've got nice properties lined up, including a mystery house.

You've chosen quite an expensive county to live in, I have to say.

Of course, the market is bending in your favour,

so hopefully we'll find something that will make that dream come true.

-Shall we go?

-Brilliant.

-Wonderful.

Mel and Ashley have a budget of £350,000

and are looking for a property that has plenty of character.

They'd like a large kitchen-diner,

three bedrooms

and a garden large enough to accommodate a vegetable patch

and give Dodger the dog enough room to run around.

What do you think of the countryside?

How does it compare to around Seattle?

It's totally different.

It's everything that you read about in the books or see on TV.

It's what I imagined England to be like.

-Is this something you've been thinking about for a long time?

-Yeah.

We as a couple have been talking about it pretty much since the day we met,

how we both liked to be, erm... be in the country.

'Wow. In that case, we need to step on it.

'The first house on our hit list is in the small hamlet of John's Cross.

'Battle, three and a half miles south,

'is, of course, the famous site of the Battle of Hastings,

'where William Duke of Normandy defeated King Harold II

'to become William I in 1066.

'The town built up around the abbey founded to commemorate the battle

'and today is a popular tourist attraction.

'The house we're viewing is a picture-perfect place

'but it does sit beside a busy commuter road to Hastings.

'So here goes.'

-Wow.

-Oh!

I love it!

-It's from 1595...

-Wow.

-..so it's got a good lot of age.

It was two agricultural cottages,

-which have been knocked together and made one.

-Beautiful.

I love the windows. It's older than anything I think I've seen in my life.

LAUGHTER

-And this garden area is really pretty, too.

-Good.

I am a little speechless just by the, you know...

If you take a snapshot of that and send it to Ashley's parents

and say, "This is where we're going to live,"

I think they'd fall off their breakfast stool. I think it's amazing.

That's going to be quite a theme, isn't it? Impressing your parents.

-Yeah, well.

-It's quite important.

Let's go in.

Oh, wow. Gosh!

She's loving it.

-Oh, my word.

-I'm closing the door. Can you hear the road?

-No.

-There.

-No.

So what do you think? This is the kitchen, sort of dining room.

-Well...

-It's great. It's cosy.

This was two cottages, so the dividing wall would've been there

where you see the wooden beam arch.

-You've got bespoke wooden kitchen units, which I think are really nice.

-Yeah.

-These are the original pine floorboards.

-Oh, wow.

-You've got your range here.

-That's nice.

What I think is really lovely is the big log burner

-and the huge inglenook at the end.

-That's incredible.

-Do you entertain a lot?

-We would like to.

-Mm-hm.

Yeah. Definitely. I expect to have a lot of family and friends over.

We've got a good-sized table right now so we could get quite a few people round it.

Those chairs are nice. Obviously, they don't come with the property.

It was two cottages. We've essentially got two staircases.

-OK.

-So the house is in, sort of, two ends.

This room bridges both of them but I want to take a look into this side.

Excellent.

Oh, wow.

-And the roof opens up.

-Yeah. Look at this.

This is an extension they put on. If you come round, you can see.

This is the old part of the house,

so this beam would've been the edge of the cottage

and this they've pushed out.

So essentially, you've got a very nice sitting room here

that opens up into the garden and you've got incredible views.

You've got the orchards on the other side of the valley

and this is all farming land, so it won't be built on.

-I love it.

-SHE LAUGHS

-I love it.

-Can you imagine curling up here with a book?

-Absolutely.

-What about curling up with me?

-Ah!

-Ah!

-Ah!

Ah! Just leave us for a moment.

-I can't hear the road, either.

-Can't hear it at all back here.

-Yeah.

'At the top of the stairs is a small double,

'which would make a study or even an en-suite for the master bedroom,

'which is accessed through a dressing room area.'

-This is the master bedroom here.

-Oh!

-It's kind of small.

-Mm.

-Petite.

-A petite master bedroom.

Gosh. Well, the closets are great. We need that space, so it's nice that it's there.

You could have a chair here, I suppose, so you could look out the window.

-Mm.

-You could also turn that into an en suite.

-Oh, sure.

-You could keep that as a study or...

I don't know what your thoughts about upstairs are.

It would be nice for a nursery. That would work well as a nursery.

Ahh! Nursery.

Erm, but I could see, in the meantime,

that that would be a good study space, a desk and computer in there.

That would work nicely.

'Ashley seems to have their life all mapped out.

'Heading back downstairs and through the kitchen,

'it's time to take a look at the rest of the ground floor.'

We'll go into the bathroom first.

-Lovely oak beams...

-Oh, wow.

-..throughout.

-Look!

-Look at that!

-Double sinks.

-With the counter top.

-With the counter top.

-If you're caught short in the middle of the night...

-It's a trek.

..it's a long haul from your master bedroom.

That's why you might want to bring the piping up into the en suite.

-That wouldn't be difficult, would it?

-Something to think about.

We could recreate it upstairs.

Otherwise, there's always the delightful English tradition

-of the chamber pot.

-Mm.

-Oh, no!

-Are you familiar with that?

-I've got a commode, actually.

-Sorted.

Let's keep going.

'I don't think Ashley's too enamoured with that idea

'but she might be impressed with the shower room just next door.

'Then there's a utility room,

'which has the second staircase leading up to the third and final bedroom,

'which oozes character, great for impressing the American relatives.

'But I want to cut to the chase and show them Dodger the dog's patch.'

-Out into the fresh air.

-Ah!

There's quite a lot of potential in the garden.

It's about a third of an acre all told.

It sits in sort of a wrap-around garden.

So if we step back, we can see...

-It's a lovely expanse of tiled roof.

-Wow, yeah.

It's a lovely house. It's a lovely property.

-But the compromise is that you're by the road.

-Mm-hm.

The question also is, can you afford it?

-How much do you think the house is worth?

-Oh, dear.

-Or rather, what's it on the market for?

-What's it on the market for?

You go first.

Well, we gave you a budget of 350.

So I am going to say it's definitely on the high end

and possibly even a little over.

-Maybe 359?

-Mm. What about you, Mel?

I shall say it's below the budget but only a little bit,

so 347...

-Five?

-..five.

-LAUGHTER

Just tidy it up. It's actually right on the top of your budget.

-It's offers over 350.

-350.

-OK.

That surprises me, that it's actually on our budget.

Yeah. I think it's very reasonable,

you know, given the chocolate box, countrified feel of the place.

-Yeah.

-Well, why don't you walk around inside and have a chat

and I'll meet you out the front?

Ah! I love them, they're great.

And this would be the perfect house for them

because it's been decorated and brought up to scratch by people in the same situation.

The only problem is that road. TRAFFIC NOISE

'At £350,000, this beautiful cottage

'is the epitome of the English country dream

'and would no doubt impress the American relatives.

'There's a charming kitchen-diner, a modern lounge,

'three bedrooms

'and a third of an acre of garden

'for the vegetable patch and Dodger the dog to share.'

This is a really nice, comfortable room.

-I'm concerned about the upstairs, though.

-Mm-hm.

-But I mean, just for the downstairs, this being...

-It's ideal.

..you know, the kitchen-diner, very, very cosy, with the fire.

Some of the features on the ground floor that really struck a chord

were the beautiful fireplace,

the beams, the exposed beams are really incredible.

I like the high ceilings in here. It really opens it up

and gives it a little bit more of a modern feel to a certain degree

but sticking with the rest of the house.

-And then the view.

-Ah!

-Absolutely amazing.

That's... Yeah.

Erm, it being at the kind of higher end of the budget,

makes me think...

Mm, you know, I'm a bit on a knife edge about that

because I do think we need to change a few things upstairs.

They've been too long.

We've got other things to do.

-Come on, guys.

-Hi.

-Let's press on. Can you close the door behind?

'Mel and Ashley will be looking for places to visit when they move,

'and of course, attractions that will impress Ashley's American family,

'so they're making a head start with a trip to Lewes.

'The small market town isn't short on history -

'it was here in 1605 that the gunpowder plot was uncovered,

'and today those 5th of November celebrations are very special.

'Lewes was also home to Thomas Paine,

'the English revolutionary who was a huge advocate of American independence

'and later influenced the French revolution.'

I like it here, there's lots of history.

Yeah, it's really quaint.

'Lewes Castle sits at the heart of the town

'and was built on an artificial mound, originally of chalk blocks.'

Wow, this is really cute!

'But it's not just the age of bricks and mortar that can impress.

'Just a stone's throw away are the Southover Grange Gardens

'that date back to 1572.

'At any time of the year it's a great place for a stroll

'and a chance to admire the wonderful gardens.'

This would be the perfect place to bring your family

-when they come over to visit.

-Yeah!

'Seven miles east of Lewes lies Charleston House

'which was the home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant

'who moved here in 1916.

'Over the following 50 years the house became country home

'to young intellectuals and artists such as Virginia Woolf

'and EM Forster who were dubbed the Bloomsbury group.'

-Wow!

-Goodness me,

just think of all the fine literary minds who have been in this room.

Yeah, my book club would love it.

'Our next house is on the outskirts of the coastal town of Hastings.

'It's thought that the Norman troops were encamped

'on the northern edge of the town in 1066

'ready to push inland to battle.

'Today it's a south coast tourist destination -

'the old town being the hotspot for visitors.

'This property is a bit of a test bed.

'Rather than being in a rural location,

'it sits on the outskirts of Hastings

'and is only 70 years old!

'But that sure means you get a lot of bang for your buck.

'It's well worth a look.'

This is a change of gear.

-Yes it is!

-Yes.

It looks absolutely enormous.

It is a massive property. Used to be a doctor's surgery downstairs

and a flat upstairs but they were joined in the 1960s.

And it's really an exercise in showing you

how much you can get for your money

when you translate your flat in London

to a house by the sea down in Sussex.

-Great.

-Shall we look inside?

-Yes, please.

Wow! This is nice.

Nice door.

Lovely old door.

-If you head this way you can see the great...

-Yeah, look at this entry.

-..hall.

-Look at the stained glass too, that's pretty.

Lovely, touch.

It has a very nice, um, welcoming entry way, I like this.

So if we step forward here and walk on, everything runs off the hall

-so you've got a nice downstairs loo.

-Oh, very good.

-Yeah.

-A big-sized front room here

-which is being used as a playroom.

-Oh!

What I want to show you is the front room,

-cos this is...

-Wow!

Oh, look at that fireplace.

Oh, it's huge!

It's huge.

It's not what I imagined a country house would be.

-No beams.

-Yeah, no beams, but it's still very cosy and...

looks like there's a lot of nice light in the room.

-This is not the jewel of this house.

-Oh!

The room that makes this house comes next.

Ta-da!

Oh my word!

Wow!

This is a kitchen.

-Yep.

-Oh, it's huge, it keeps going.

-It's quite unexpected even though the other rooms are big.

-Wow.

This is a whopping great room.

This is an amazing room.

-I can see lots of cooking going on here.

-Yeah.

Dinner parties, what not.

Definitely.

This is a really wonderful space to cook,

you've got all these beech-top worktops,

a double gas range,

stainless steel work surfaces everywhere,

-an industrial dishwasher...

-Nice!

SHE LAUGHS

Not a single dish is going to be hand-washed in this kitchen.

..And lots and lots of storage everywhere you look.

It really does open up because this is a new extension.

This was the old wall and they pushed out

about two or three years ago I think,

the present owners, to build this whole extension on.

And it really opens it up.

You've got great skylights with light coming down

and these doors going out into the garden.

I love the light,

especially as it's the time of year that it is...

Exactly, we're coming up to winter and it's still very bright.

And then it moves on,

into this, this was the art room, or music room.

In the 1930s house it would have been.

-It's massive.

-Could you use this sort of space, is it too big?

That would be something to think about.

For the two of us it would feel really big,

but with company around, it would be perfect, I'm sure.

We're certainly looking for somewhere to grow into.

-Yeah.

-So to speak.

All those, er...

..little children running around.

-I can see them running around here.

-I was thinking about my cooking.

And certainly, Dodger, he'd love it.

Yes, he would love it.

I can't wait to see the yard.

Absolutely. Let's take a look upstairs.

'The downstairs certainly offers heaps of room,

'upstairs there are four bedrooms and a very large landing

'which I think would make a perfect study area.'

That would work well.

-Thoughts?

-You could shout down, "Bring me some tea!"

'Two of the bedrooms are generous doubles and probably more the size they're looking for,

'and then there's a smaller room they could use as an additional study

'if they're looking for a his and hers arrangement.

'The bathroom's not a bad size either with the ever-important white suite.

'Next for us though, is a room for them.'

Wow!

It's above the downstairs sitting room so it's the same size.

OK.

Yeah, yeah it's a great size and I love that front window,

brings in a lot of light.

Bit roady out there.

It is, and a bit housey.

And a bit housey.

Not super private, I suppose.

-OK, let's look outside.

-Great.

'I think Mel and Ashley can see the benefit

'of the space this house offers,

'I wonder how they'll feel about the garden.'

Oh, this is great.

-Isn't it lovely?

-Yeah.

It's really well thought out, again for families.

-You've got a nice space where you can eat in the summer...

-Yeah.

And then these sleeper steps that take you up into the garden proper.

It's fenced, that's good.

Fenced in, that's good for Dodger.

Yeah, great.

Not massive...

Just about the right size actually!

Looks like there's plenty of space to grow vegetables...

-A market garden if you like.

-Yeah.

You've got a drive-in garage where you can put your car,

or just lots of stuff.

So if we turn round,

-we can see the house but more especially the neighbours.

-Yeah.

Is that a bit too much neighbour?

Um...

Depends on the neighbour.

But yeah, maybe.

The windows looking into windows could be an issue.

But it is absolutely massive.

How much do you think it's on the market for?

Oh, I'm going to go on the high end again. I think this one is...

probably right up there - maybe even 360.

I'm thinking you're going to surprise us

and it's going to be cheaper than that,

so I will say 339.

What a deliciously specific guess.

But slightly optimistic, it's actually 350.

OK.

-And it's dropped £100,000.

-Wow!

..Since it was on the market.

So I'm not sure they'd go much under 350.

Um... But, you know,

that's how much it is down in Hastings.

Wow.

Fabulous.

Struck Mel dumb.

Yes, you have.

Some might say that would be a good thing.

Aw! Well why don't you have a walk around?

You might want to leave a little trail of string or crumbs

in case you get lost!

-And I'll meet you out the front.

-Great.

'For £350,000 this house would give Mel and Ashley

'plenty of room to grow into.

'There's a superb family kitchen/diner,

'three reception rooms,

'four bedrooms,

'and a garden that's large enough for Dodger to bounce around in

'and for a small vegetable patch too.'

The space is incredible in here.

It really is massive,

-compared to even what I thought we could get.

-Yeah.

The features that really stand out for me

about this property are the large rooms,

lots of light,

the fireplaces are great,

the yard was perfect with the fenced-in,

and having a small area for a table, all of that good stuff.

So lots of really nice features in this house.

My reaction to this property

is that one, it's not exactly in the country,

and two, it is quite a long, long way away from London.

However the interesting thing is

you get so much more for your money.

We never thought we'd get anything near four bedrooms,

or a kitchen the size of the kitchen/diner there actually is.

It's a curve ball for us, I don't know that I was expecting this.

What's a curve ball?

This house.

That's a baseball reference, is it?

So in England we'd call that a googly.

SHE LAUGHS

Hastings, we're by the sea,

so I thought we might take a turn to the sea.

Oh, great!

'One of Mel's favourite hobbies is fishing

'and once he's near the south coast, he hopes to cast his line a little more often.

'We've decided to give him a new experience

'and fixed up a night-fishing trip with Frank Shaw,

'who runs excursions for angling parties.

'The best reason for fishing at night is that we don't have to go so far

'and species that feed after dark are more likely to take the bait.'

-Hey, Frank.

-How are you?

-Nice to see you.

-Good stuff.

-This is Ashley.

-Ashley, jump straight on.

-And that's Mel.

-Mel, get on here.

-Hello. Nice to meet you.

Wow. It's a great boat.

-So what are we going to catch today?

-We should catch some whiting in the time that we've got.

Sometimes we catch a cod.

Are we clear to exit? Over.

'Yeah, it's all clear.'

'With permission granted, we're on our way.

'We don't have to go very far to catch fish.

'We're heading just one mile out from Beachy Head.

'Guy's helping us get the bait sorted this evening.

'He's only 16 and the youngest skipper in the UK.'

What's the bait we're using? Squid, is it?

Yeah, they're whole cuttlefish. We've got squid as well

and that's good at night-time.

I expect we'll get some bites sort of within 15, 20 minutes...

-Really?

-..of them going down.

Guy's basically getting four lines fishing.

It'll give us a chance to get some bait down

and get hold of some of the night feeders,

-maybe conger, whiting, dogfish...

-Conger?

-..cod.

'As the bait is lowered, we wait with anticipation

'and it's not long before we get a bite.'

Oh, it's there, it's there, it's there.

SHE SHRIEKS

-OK...

-OK, OK, OK.

Oh!

This is a pouting, the scavengers of the sea.

-Will we put him back in?

-Yeah, of course.

Yay!

Oh! I reckon I've got one.

Oh, hi, fishy!

And we have a nice whiting there, a slightly different species.

Quite often used in fishcakes.

I'm going to return that fish cos it's a little small.

-We're going to catch a bigger one now.

-Oh, yes, we are.

-We need some fresh bait on here.

'No matter how hard we tried, we're not lucky with the big fish tonight.'

I don't quite know what I was expecting.

The fish certainly weren't expecting Ashley to be catching them.

Cod forbid.

HE GROANS

You should know your plaice and leave the jokes to me.

You old trout.

'Jokes over, it's time to head in.

'Ashley takes the wheel and heads for the harbour lights.'

-Frank, it was a real pleasure.

-You're welcome.

-I think Ashley showed the most promise.

-Yeah, a good boat driver.

-Mel and I were rubbish.

-Good lad. All right.

-Thanks, Guy.

-Thanks very much.

-See you later.

-Cheerio. Bye-bye.

'With our nets pretty much empty and our tummies rumbling,

'we're left with no option.'

Three cod and chips, please.

This is a good time to discuss the day, actually.

Cast your mind back to the properties we saw this morning,

to the old cottage by the road...

I loved it, it's just very quintessential

and the ground floor was perfect.

The road bothers me.

It was fine when you're inside and you've got that secondary glazing.

That view!

The view was marvellous from the inside,

but when you're sat out there

with a barbeque and a couple of cans of beer,

it's a whole different story.

And the house in Hastings which was big.

That was a big surprise,

literally and figuratively.

Not expecting to see that large a property.

I couldn't believe how big the kitchen was,

how big that dining area was.

I never thought that we'd actually get four bedrooms

um, for the price that we're looking to pay.

Both of those were really appealing and, um,

it's good to know that we're on the same page in that way.

'Still, there's two more properties to go,

'but for now our dinner is up.'

Look, it's the proper stuff.

-That's the medium one. Oh, those chips are so hot.

-Yeah!

My throat's on fire. Ahhh!

'Mel and Ashley from Richmond in Surrey

'are house hunting in East Sussex and have a budget of £350,000.

'They're looking for a home that will not only suit them

'but will be good enough to show off to relatives in the United States.

'So far they've seen two very different houses,

'and coming up, I learn a new expression

'that I can honestly say I've never heard of before.'

A two-butt kitchen, so two people can be...

A two-butt kitchen? This is the BBC, you can't say that.

'And the mystery house does nothing to strengthen international relations.'

Anyway...

ALISTAIR GASPS

Was that an on-screen argument? Oh, I love that.

Another lovely bright autumnal day property shopping in Sussex

and I have to say that yesterday went rather well.

I thought Ashley would be easy to impress with English properties,

but Mel, I thought, might be a harder nut to crack.

But they were both very enthusiastic, which gives me high hopes for today,

because the properties today are great.

We're back in a rural location for our first house this morning,

in Robertsbridge, five miles north of Battle.

It may be small but the village does offer some good facilities,

including a vet for Dodger, a couple of pubs,

and, importantly, a station, with rail links to London.

-Wow.

-This is the property I want to show you.

-It's beautiful.

-Oh, goodness.

-What do you think from the outside?

-Is it detached?

-Detached.

-Wow.

-All yours.

-Wow.

-It's really cute.

-It was built in 1841, so it's early Victorian but in a Georgian style.

-I like Georgian.

-I think it looks amazing.

I really like the town, the village.

But you are in the community, not out in the middle of nowhere.

-I'm digging that.

-You're digging it. She's digging it.

Come on in.

-Oh, wow.

-Isn't it nice?

-It's great.

-I like the decoration, as well.

It's a bit more compact than other properties I've shown you.

It's a classic, sort of Victorian, layout.

-You've got a hallway...

-Rooms off the hall.

Rooms off the hall. What do you think about the proportions?

-So far so good.

-Nice, yeah.

-Let's see the size of the rooms.

-Let's see this one.

-This is the sitting room.

-Oh, how pretty.

Yes. It's got a big fireplace, a real fire.

A nice tiled hearth.

This is good. It's a little small, but, I mean, it's not tiny,

but it's compact.

-What do you think about the size, Mel?

-Yeah, I mean, it is smaller,

but, you know, having known people that live in places like this

in villages around the area, etc,

I know how snug and warm they can be, especially if that fire works.

-Yes.

-If we can get that roaring.

What's nice is you've got brand new or quite new double-glazed sash windows throughout the house,

which is an enormous expense that you won't have to do.

It completely cuts down any noise and keeps in all the heat.

Excellent, yeah.

One room down and it's looking good. Now for the dining room.

-Oh, I like this.

-So this is obviously the dining room.

-This is a good size. This works.

-Nice big wide pine floors

and these lovely pine shutters, actually, which they've restored.

-Are they original?

-Yeah.

-Wow.

-I'm gobsmacked again.

You know, the outside is gorgeous.

I'd have said that the outside would be important

for that first impression,

especially for sending photos or whatnot back to Ashley's family.

But impressions of the dining room, it's great.

It's in keeping with the character of the house

and, you know, cosy is good.

Let's take a look at the kitchen because it is a small property,

there is possibilities.

Ah! This is a surprisingly good size.

This is a fair size. It works for me.

It's a two-butt kitchen. You can get two people in here.

-Two what? Two what?

-Sorry.

Two-butt kitchen, so two people can be working...

Two butt? This is the BBC, you can't say that.

-It must be an American thing.

-Another American thing.

It's a two-butt kitchen.

I think it's a good size. I like the open-plan brick

and... Da-da-da!

-Dishwasher!

-A dishwasher!

-Ah, yes. Nice dishwasher.

Well, shall we move our butts through into...?

LAUGHTER

'Well, that's a new one on me.

'Off this two-butt kitchen is a useful utility room

'and a downstairs loo with a generous one-butt shower.

'And that's not all. There's also another reception room with doors to the garden.

'At the other end of the room is a study area,

'which will be useful for when they work from home.

'Time for us, though, to head upstairs.'

Ah, look at this.

Nice big landing.

-What I really wanted to point out...

-Oh, I like this.

..is the reading alcove at the end of the landing.

'At the back of the house is the family bathroom,

'which is quite small but neat and tidy.

'And just over the landing, still at the back,

'is the smallest of the three bedrooms.

'But it does take a double bed.

'At the front of the house are two bedrooms,

'which are almost identical in size.

'The first currently has twin beds

'but we're heading for the room next door.'

This is the master.

-Oh, the fireplace.

-Mm, fireplace.

-That's nice.

-Our bed would fit in here.

-Mm-hm.

This must be king-size.

I like the low ceiling, actually, in the bedroom.

-It makes it a bit more cosy.

-Mm-hm.

-Fabulous.

-Yeah. This is great.

Is this going to be enough space for you upstairs?

-Definitely.

-I think for us, yeah.

-This is a good size, this is pretty much perfect.

'Great. More bonus points for the upstairs, then

'but I fear we won't pick up any in the garden,

'which, I have to say, is a tad on the small side.'

-Mm.

-Here we have it.

-Wow! Look at that tree house.

-Secluded.

-Very secluded. You've got a very high hedge throughout.

It's workable. It's maybe a little bit smaller than what I imagined.

That whole play area takes up half of the garden.

-You could re-landscape that and double the size of the plot.

-Yeah.

You've got Dodger, which is obviously an issue,

but how much space are you actually needing in your garden, apart from a place to sit?

That's true. We don't need a whole lot of space.

Cos you're busy guys.

You're going to be on the train for four hours a day,

so you're not going to have that much time to do any gardening.

-Yeah.

-If we step back over here,

-we can see the full extent of the house and the extension.

-Oh, yes.

-Very nice.

-Which brings us to the question of expense.

Well, my goodness.

-OK, so...

-I'm going high.

I'm going to be very optimistic,

just because I really hope this is the case

that it's maybe like...

340?

I reckon it's over 350.

So 357...

500.

Erm... We've been very consistent on this show.

-This is also on the market at £350,000.

-OK.

-OK.

-And I think that's quite a good price

for something that's close to London, in a very nice community

and very well-kept.

Erm, but, of course, it's up to you to make that decision.

Why don't you pop inside, have a look around,

-and, as usual, I'll meet you out the front?

-Perfect.

-OK.

I think this is the one.

I think this offers everything that they're looking for.

It's a great location. No question.

'At £350,000,

'this attractive Victorian house could be just up their street.

'It has that two-butt kitchen.

'three reception rooms,

'three bedrooms and a garden

'but unfortunately, Dodger won't be bouncing very far here.'

So the house is fantastic, but the garden is pretty poky

and half the reason for us moving over here or down here

is so that Dodger can move over from America, so...

-I agree with you, it's not perfect but it's pretty darn close.

-Mm.

I thought the property was amazing. Loved the windows.

So from a wow factor from the outside, absolutely amazing

and inside, it's been kept so well.

-This kitchen, it works really well for me.

-Yeah.

-I think I could certainly rustle up some food in here.

-Mm.

-The house is a lot more formal.

-It is more formal, yeah.

And you can see that right from the outside.

So again, we've been bowled a googly. Or a curve ball.

This is definitely a home that I could see Mel and I living in.

The moment we opened the door, it really felt like a home to me

and that's always a very good first impression.

My only concern is the yard and really, the extension possibility of the home is limited.

-Nice knocker.

-Come on in.

No! Come on out. You haven't bought it yet.

'If Mel and Ashley want to settle in quickly to East Sussex,

'they'll need to get with the local ways and traditions,

'and what better place to start than at the local?

'The game of Toad in the Hole is very similar to Pitch Penny,

'yet in this country it's unique to Lewes and the surrounding area.

'So we've arranged for them to meet local expert Ben Wood

'for a game in a local pub.'

Hey, Mel, hi, Ashley.

-Hi.

-I'm going to tell you about Toad in the Hole.

-Great.

It's a pub game, you get four toads, these are the toads -

they're brass discs, and you've got to throw them from eight feet away

and get them into the hole in the leg.

-Just throw it?

-Just throw it, just put it in the hole.

You get two points if it goes in the hole,

one point if it lands on the top and doesn't touch the back.

If it touches the back it doesn't score at all.

You play from 31 down.

Good luck.

'After a couple of practise throws, it's time for the real stuff.'

You stagger the beginning to even it up,

so the first person throws two toads, second person throws three toads,

then you both throw four until you get towards the end.

Otherwise the person who goes first has a massive advantage.

-So I throw two?

-You throw two.

-OK.

Hang on, are we going to bet?

I'll bet you a dollar.

-I'll bet you a pint.

-OK.

Go.

Yes! Ha-ha!

Well done!

Yes!

Well done, you won again.

-If you lived in East Sussex you'd be playing every day.

-Perfect!

Hey, you owe me a pint.

OK.

-I'll have one as well.

-Great.

You know, on this show we don't rest on our laurels.

You think you've got everything you want

and then we show you the mystery house.

So you've seen all our regular boring houses

but you've got the mystery house to come.

What do you think the mystery house might involve?

I don't know cos you've already thrown us a couple of good curve balls,

so I think the mystery house has to be something pretty spectacular.

I am very anxious to see the mystery house.

I reckon it could be something like an oast house, a small one,

for our budget, cos I know there's a few of those around here.

-Certainly are.

-And maybe, if we get back down to the sea,

maybe somewhere on the sea that's an apartment, something really mega modern,

just to try and throw us a googly.

It's time to reveal that the mystery house is in Catsfield,

three miles southwest of Battle.

It's a small village with a few shops for convenience

and a pub, too, for making new friends.

Interestingly, Mel, Ashley and Dodger

will be able to walk in the steps of William the Conqueror

if they follow the 1066 country walk, which meanders through the village.

-Have you guessed what it is yet?

-No.

-Well, no.

Can you see over there on the horizon? What's that?

-The oast house?

-Yeah. It's not that.

It's round the corner. It is in fact...

-Here.

-Holy moly!

-Wow.

-Which bit of it?

-Half of it.

-Half of it?

-Half of the former Methodist chapel...

-Methodist!

-..is yours. Is that you?

-Yeah.

-Ah!

-I'm a Catholic.

-It's meant to be.

-Are you serious?

-Yeah.

-Would I lie to you?

-Wow.

As a Methodist?

-Certainly not.

-You're not supposed to.

-No, exactly.

-I've got to see this.

-It's certainly a mystery.

-It is, isn't it?

You see? We don't do things by half.

-Don't you move in mysterious ways, Alistair?

-Ah!

-Oh. Come on in to your...

-Nice floor.

-Lovely.

First impressions, Mel?

Er... Yeah, on the outside it looks very imposing

but on the inside it looks very cosy and extremely well done.

-What about you, Ashley?

-Yeah, I'm surprised

that it feels like you just walked into a home, not into a church.

Let's look in the kitchen because that is, as you know, the heart of the home.

And this is the kitchen.

-Wow.

-This is more like it.

-That's a lot of space.

-Nice and big.

That's really surprising.

-It doesn't feel like a church.

-No, not at all.

There's a little hint of a church window, there.

-But there's not a great deal of light coming in.

-You don't get a lot of natural light.

The downstairs, this bottom floor, it is a bit dim.

-Mm.

-Mm. Yeah. It is.

'At the end of the kitchen is a utility room, which is very light,

'so they could look into the possibility of knocking the wall down.

'Back off the hallway is one of the two bathrooms in this property

'and a small room which could be used a study or a fourth bedroom.

'But we're heading upstairs to look at the living quarters.'

-Oh! Wow.

-Ah!

-Another floor.

-Yes.

And here is your missing sitting room.

Oh, very good! Oh, look at those windows.

-Now, this is better.

-This is... wow.

-From a light perspective.

-Absolutely. This is where all the light lives.

-Yes, it is.

-That's so pretty. This is great.

-Nice and big.

-It's a good-size room.

I like the light, for sure.

I'm not feeling the church thing. I'm not feeling the love.

-So you've gone off the whole church idea?

-On the outside, it looks...

You know, it's a novelty,

but now with all the arches and whatnot...

And I'm a big light person and I like a lot of light.

In the winter downstairs, cooking, four o'clock in the afternoon,

when it's pitch black

and not having too much natural light would freak me out,

so I'm starting to go off the boil.

Well, we'll have to turn up the heat. Let's carry on.

'Things are getting tricky but nevertheless, I'm going to press on with the tour.

'Next to the lounge is a double bedroom with an enormous window.

'Surely there's enough light in here?

'And then it's up to the next floor,

'where there is the second family bathroom

'and two other bedrooms.'

-This is the master bedroom.

-OK.

-Well, it's a good size.

-Oh, Mel pulled a face.

-Oh!

-It's got high ceilings.

-High ceilings, yes.

Up to the trusses, yes.

-Not enough light.

-The light is the issue for you, isn't it?

-Mm.

Mainly because all the other properties, there's been some kind of view somewhere.

That's true, actually. There are no views because the windows are stained.

-Yeah, that's a good point.

-There's another big room.

-So there's three bedrooms?

-Three.

-And he said, "Let there be light."

-There's a bit more light in here.

-Oh, yeah.

Yeah, it's the placement of the skylight,

because there's only this one skylight.

It does brighten it up quite a bit, though.

It's got character, which I like.

How does it have character?

-Sorry, I'm just asking.

-Did you not see?

-On the outside...

-When we walked in?

-On the outside it's got lots of character.

-It has loads of character.

-The inside doesn't. I don't think so.

Not compared to all the other places we've seen.

-Anyway. Er...

-ALISTAIR GASPS

Was that an on-screen argument? Oh, I love that.

Shall I leave you alone and you can sort it out?

-Let's go and look at the garden.

-The garden! Yes!

'Hopefully things will simmer down by the time we get downstairs

'but turning this one around for Mel will be a real challenge.

'Final stop, the garden.'

-So, it's slightly unusual.

-Oh, wow. That's a great size.

It's triangular but you do get a great view of the church.

-Wow.

-Or indeed, your house.

I suppose the problem is that essentially you don't have the spire, which would be nice

because you get lots of light there.

You've got these three big feature windows,

which are chopped up into three again,

so there's not much light to go around. I do take your point.

-How much do you think it's on the market for?

-300,000.

300... No, 315, I'll go for.

315 flat?

750.

Erm, I think I'd like to go with about 320.

Ooh.

Well, not wishing to break our pattern,

-this is also on the market at 350,000.

-Really? OK.

Which perhaps is a bit too expensive, considering your problems with it.

Yeah, the amount of work we'd want to do, but it's good to know.

You could own part of a church.

Have a look round, it might cast its spell on you, that second viewing.

Thanks.

At £350,000, this property certainly offers something a bit different.

It has a kitchen-diner, a study for when they work from home,

three bedrooms and a garden.

You have to admit, this is a nice kitchen.

Yeah, it's a good size. It's functional and it's open plan.

You can put a table in there and it's a nice place to eat breakfast

but, you know, I don't know.

Just the window being a fifth of what it actually is kind of...

Just puts me off a little bit.

Overall, the rooms were a really good size

and there was enough rooms.

I agree with Mel

in that the church aspect got a little bit overwhelming.

There would've been a way to decorate this differently

to make it feel more like a home and less like a church, I'd say.

Also, the floors layered on top of each other like that,

with the sitting room on the second level,

isn't really ideal for me.

I like to be able to go from the kitchen to the sitting room

without having to go upstairs.

-So this is a lot better because there's a lot more light.

-Yeah.

You've got pretty much the full windows.

The stained glass is really pretty. It's really...

It is a shame that they had to cut them in half, though.

Also, it really is stained because you can't see out of it.

-Yeah.

-I would like to have some kind of view.

I'm trying to peek through to see if I can see anything out there.

This is really the focal point, the detail of the windows,

and that's really pretty.

It's a novelty, I think, living in a church.

But I think in order to get the most out of it,

it really does need to be spot on and I didn't really feel it was.

It really is quite a porch, isn't it?

I bet the milkman likes delivering milk here.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-All done?

-Yes.

-No fights?

-No, no fights. No fights.

-Oh, good.

All is love.

'Our tour round East Sussex has thrown up a real mix of properties,

'so there's plenty for Mel and Ashley to think about.'

Well, I reckon that was a pretty triumphant set of house tours,

except that the mystery house didn't quite inspire the religious fervour

that I was hoping for.

Now's the time the guys have to decide which of the houses they're going to go for

and I think if I had to be pushed,

I'd say the lovely house in Robertsbridge,

but I have been known to be wrong.

Well, it's been delightful showing you two round Sussex.

You're very enthusiastic and you clearly want to move.

The first property we showed you was the roadside cottage.

It makes my heart skip a beat still, mentioning it.

The views were absolutely breathtaking.

I really loved the fact that there was some real history there.

And the fact that maybe the upstairs needed a bit of reworking

would've been fine.

But for me, the noise in the background

was a little bit too much to handle.

The house in Hastings was a completely different ball game,

it was a different period, a different position,

and very much a different size.

What do you think about that?

Well, that was our curve ball.

It was very surprising to see

that it was in the same price range as the other homes,

and just the amount of space, square footage, value for money.

It was a beautiful home.

I absolutely loved

the kitchen/diner area.

Lots of light,

in there with the skylights and er,

you know, the opening terrace out onto the garden.

That had a really nice garden,

I was impressed with the size of the property around the house

considering where it was located.

How about Robertsbridge? You seemed to love that village

and the Georgian house that I showed you.

That house was spectacular.

I loved the formal rooms

and then the informal room in the back.

For me it was as close to perfect as possible,

probably with the exception of the garden being a bit on the small side.

-Mm.

-Me, too. I just thought that was an absolute winner.

So you really liked that one, then you saw the mystery house

and obviously, everything changed.

Tell me about the chapel, go on.

Spectacular from the outside. The inside caused us some problems.

I just found it oppressive on the ground floor.

And the kitchen space, compared to the other properties, was very dark,

the way that they'd layered it into three different floors.

And looking over all the properties, is there one that stands out?

For me, I would say the first house.

It was the one that gave me... Like I said, skipped a heartbeat.

Still thinking about it makes my stomach kind of flutter.

And it might be because it is just the epitome

of what you imagine an English country home to be.

And then, of course, the home in the village was also a highlight for me.

I think, for me, Robertsbridge was certainly the best place we saw

but also, you know, a real contender.

-And what happens next?

-We want to investigate the neighbourhoods.

We want to get an understanding of what the commute would be like.

That is a concern for us.

So actually test it out, you know.

The important thing of all is to get Dodger over.

Dodger the dog.

Well, it will be a happy moment

when I see you two and Dodger coming back from the pub

with your Indian takeaway.

And I suggest you buy lots of books for the long commutes.

-But it's been a pleasure showing you round and best of luck.

-Thank you.

What a lovely couple, perhaps my favourite,

and, I have to say, a lovely change to be able to show people properties

and for them to say, "Gosh, what a lot you get for your money."

So if you've been inspired to make the rural move,

tune in next time for more Escape To The Country.

'And if you'd like to escape to the country yourself and need our help,

'please contact us through the website at:'

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