Bedfordshire Escape to the Country

Today, I'm in a county that was home to one of the first modern tractors.

Let's see if I can get this baby started!

Ay-hey!

ENGINE WHIRS

Join me as we escape to the country!

In today's show we'll be helping

a couple escape from the urban hustle to a new life in the country.

Look at that view!

I'll be taking them on a tour of some of the best properties on the market

and they're no-nonsense approach is keeping me on my toes!

More chance of us seeing rocking horse poo than seeing that happen!

HE LAUGHS

Ooh!

And of course there's the mystery house, which we throw into the mix to tantalise our property hunters.

Today, I'm in Bedfordshire and it was here in 1902 that Dan Albone

invented the first petrol-fired tractor.

He called it the Ivel after one of the rivers that flows into the great River Ouse round here.

Now Bedfordshire, very close to London, very much

in the commuter-belt but still in touch with its agricultural roots.

It's a county that plays host to rural landscapes, fine market towns and stately homes.

South Bedfordshire is characterised by the chalk hills of The Chilterns and the valleys of

the River Great Ouse which at 150 miles long, is the fourth longest river in the country.

Consider this. The average price for a detached house in Bedfordshire is £233,000. That is 20% above

the national average but remember, this is hot commuter territory.

When you cross the border to Buckinghamshire, the prices rocket

up to £500,000 so in that light, Bedfordshire seems like a good deal.

Today's househunters are Alan and Sheila.

They met two years ago and fell head over heels in love.

Currently, Alan lives in Hertfordshire whilst

Sheila lives in London but they have decided it's time to take the plunge and move in together.

My plan always was to move further out with more space

but of course now I've met Alan and he wants the same thing.

Currently, Sheila spends most of her time at Alan's apartment as with three good-size bedrooms

and a large lounge, they've got all the space they want

but there is one snag.

I like the size of the house but we want something with

a private garden rather than a communal garden so that Sheila can do her gardening.

It is very important to me and I feel here I'm restricted in that way

so the idea would be to move this somewhere else with the garden,

which is impossible!

After 40 years of living close to London, Alan and Sheila have had their fill of urban life.

Alan and I both live in a very built-up area so it's really important to us

that when we move we have somewhere much more rural and peaceful.

Although retiring soon, Alan and Sheila are not the type of people

to sit around - they've already got their new lives mapped out.

I'm interested in antiques and I'd like to continue that.

I like playing golf so a nice local golf course would be very nice and being an ex-cricketer, I'd like

a little village green somewhere where I can sit down there with a pint and watch a game of cricket.

-That would be very nice.

-And a cream tea.

-Oh, yes, must have the cream tea, and sit down

and enjoy that and just relax and just take our time to do what we want to do and when we want to do it.

So what are they after in their new property?

Well, we're looking for a property that's got three double bedrooms,

two bathrooms and a decent amount of living space.

And a mature garden would be lovely.

Also, I think we need somewhere -

an outbuilding or a cellar or a double garage for Alan's antiques, because he has loads of them.

Which I'll be banished to most of the day!

With Alan and Sheila keen to get started on the move,

we've invited an estate agent to value Alan's property.

This is a delightful

three-bedroom period apartment set in four acres of

communal grounds and because of that, I value this property at £575,000.

Sheila also intends to sell her place in London

and with their pooled resources,

they plan to set aside money for their retirement and do some travelling.

So how much do they want to spend on their new country retreat?

Well, for the right property, we would be prepared to pay a maximum of £550,000.

I'm excited about this house-hunt because it's so romantic...

it's going to be Alan and Sheila's first home together. Aw!

So how are we going to get it right? Well, they need to be close to London so that their family

and friends can come and visit and they want space inside for Alan's antiques and outside

for Sheila's country garden, so let's make sure there's a fairytale ending.

Our property search will mainly focus in South Bedfordshire

within easy reach of the market town of Leighton Buzzard

but we'll also be taking a hop, skip and jump across the border

into Buckinghamshire.

In today's show, we'll be viewing some fantastic properties that, hopefully, will offer Alan

and Sheila plenty of options but I won't be revealing the prices straightaway.

Finally, they'll look at the mystery house which I am hoping could be the jewel in the crown.

Bedfordshire, particularly in the south, is one of those counties that has quite mixed properties.

There's a lot of commuter-belt urban sprawl but also some real gems set in beautiful countryside.

Take a look at what is on the market.

At the top end, this 17th century

five-bedroom thatched house in Tilsworth is on the market for £1,295,000.

It is set in beautiful grounds with its own tennis court and heated swimming pool.

Or how about this 18th century four-bedroom farmhouse near Ampthill on the market for £695,000.

Recently renovated throughout the interior seamlessly blends

period character with contemporary features.

Or for something pretty enough to grace the top of a chocolate box,

this thatched cottage in Great Barford is on the market for £450,000 and for that you get

three bedrooms, a modern kitchen and a bright, spacious lounge.

-Welcome to Bedfordshire, you two.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

Aw, young love, so endearing!

-It is, isn't it!

-Is this going to be your first house together?

-Yes, it will be.

-It is.

-I know you've got some list, not too specific...

-No.

You're looking for space, really?

-That's it, that's the main thing, yes.

-Space and, you know, just somewhere together.

-Yes!

-That's what it's all about!

-And how much money have you got to spend?

What's the top of your budget?

-550.

-550?

-Yes, around there.

-Great!

We've got some nice properties lined up including the mystery house which

-as the name suggests is very mysterious!

-Good!

-But we had better get going!

-Yes, OK.

So Sheila and Alan have got a budget of £550,000, they're looking for

at least three bedrooms, they'd like space for Alan to store his antiques

and after years of living in a flat

they're longing for their own private garden.

On the face of it, their wish-list seems achievable

so let's get started.

So how did you guys meet?

-We met on the internet.

-Oh, how modern!

We're both of the age where it's very difficult to meet single people

-so we went on the internet and found each other.

-Yes...

-Eventually!

-Well, it seemed to work!

Well, it did for us, yes.

We're very happy with the outcome.

-Yes, absolutely.

-So what's the attraction of Bedfordshire?

Have either of you lived here in the past?

No. We haven't lived here in the past but it's near enough to our existing friends

and families but out in the country away from the hustle and bustle of London.

And with an easy link to London if we need to get to London.

Our first property is in Kensworth, a rural village

12 miles southeast of Leighton Buzzard.

Although it is a small village, it does have a village store,

a couple of pubs, a pretty flint and stone Norman-style church.

The house we're going to look at sits at the end of

its own private driveway, so let's see what Alan and Sheila make of it.

This is the property I want to show you.

That's pretty, a pretty little house.

Quite old. Got some age to it!

It is old, yeah. It's actually about 250 years old.

This was a wheelwright's cottage where they made wheels.

What do you feel about the cottagy?

I think it's very pretty, lovely to look at, but I'm just wondering how much space there will be inside.

Initially, it looks very low between the ground floor

and the first floor but when you get inside, things may be different.

-So you don't like low ceilings?

-No!

I'm not bothered because with my height it doesn't bother me, but it's the size of the rooms,

which are more of a problem I think in a cottage-style property.

-Right, shall we look inside?

-Yes.

-Would love to!

-Good!

This is the hall. It does have quite low ceilings, Alan.

They are low!

They are low!

It's very cute, very cute.

This is the kitchen.

Urm, yeah, it's quite nice.

-"Quite nice"?

-Quite nice.

-Quite nice.

-Muted praise!

-Yes...

It feels a little bit cramped.

Yeah, I think it's the low ceilings that give me that feeling straightaway.

-What are you looking for in a kitchen?

-Slightly bigger,

I think, although it's not that small but somehow it feels small.

If that corner wasn't there then it would be an ideal size.

-Nice double-range cooker, which is good.

-Yeah, yeah.

I like the floor. The worktops are lovely.

-The units are nice.

-Yeah.

Shall we take a look in the sitting room because obviously that's very important.

-OK.

-Yes.

-Through there.

-Straight ahead?

-Woow!

-Wow!

-Different, different.

-Very cottagy.

-Um, lots of beams.

-Lots of beams.

-Yeah, and low ceilings.

-Well, actually come into this area because

it's slightly sunken the floor so it doesn't feel quite as low.

No. Size-wise, if you take the ground floor, it's lovely.

-This has certainly got character.

-Absolutely!

You have character which is something that I do like, the character.

-I love the fireplace!

-It's beautiful!

It is absolutely magnificent!

It's the traditional kind of inglenook fireplace and it's fully working, of course.

-Yeah...

-But it's a great kind of like big country sitting room.

I like the dining area there. I think that's really nice

and the windows are nice, there's lots of light in that area.

-Let's just poke our heads in the study.

-OK.

This property has charm aplenty if only Alan can see beyond those beams.

Yeah, that's...

No, it's nice.

Enough room for a study! That's a good size study.

Would this be adequate with the other little room which

is sort of the same size as this on the other side, would that be adequate for your downstairs needs?

I personally think I'd like a slightly bigger room as the additional room.

Well, we would have to because of your antiques, unless there is

-somewhere else in this house where you can put your antiques.

-Well...

Just how many antiques have you got?

-There's quite a lot of it. It's, er...

-Which I'm not going to ask you.

What about Sheila? How many antiques has he got, Sheila?

Absolutely loads and some of them are going to have to go.

Aagh! There's going to be a purge!

-There could be trouble ahead.

-They'll have to be.

This could be the night of the long gavels!

-I'm afraid so!

-Quite possibly!

Auctions are calling!

Also on the ground floor is a shower room, which is just as well because

upstairs the family bathroom has only a bath suite.

There are three bedrooms. The first is fairly small

but fine for guests and as we head to the second bedroom, I think Alan is going to be pleasantly surprised.

If you go straight and turn left now, Alan.

-OK.

-Aah, high ceilings!

Just for you.

It is actually a very high ceiling, it's lovely, it's a lovely room.

So you can see upstairs they've taken out all the attic space.

-This would have been the ceiling here.

-Oh, there, yes.

They've gone so much higher to give you the higher ceilings.

-That's a good idea.

-This is a good size for a guest bedroom.

There's a double bed in here, space around.

I think it has a nice, airy feel to it, which is a nice idea.

-From my point of view you get the feeling of space.

-Yeah, which is important for you guys, isn't it?

-Yep.

-Yep.

-Let's take a look at the master bedroom.

There you go.

-This is nice.

-We've still got the high ceilings.

-Yeah.

-And you have some space.

This is a nice main bedroom.

-It's a good size, good size.

-Built-in wardrobes.

-Yeah, very good size.

-It's nice because it's dual aspect - you've got the whole width of the house.

It's a character room, it's not your bland, average bedroom.

It has got a bit of character to it.

-Sheila, I know that the garden is important for you.

-Um-hm.

-You want some country garden.

-I do.

-Shall we take a peek?

-Yes, let's do that.

After you.

One of the main reasons for the move was to indulge

Sheila's love of gardening and this house certainly delivers on that front.

Lots of great practical space out here.

-How many cars have you got, two?

-Two.

Two? So you can park one here and one in the garage.

-Yeah.

-It's a nice big garage.

-It's a good size.

I can get some of my antiques in there!

-Boxed up, ready for auction.

-Absolutely!

And Sheila's handbags and shoes!

-No way!

-Boxed up ready for the charity shop!

-No way! They're far too good!

-More chance of us seeing rocking horse poo than seeing that happen!

HE LAUGHS

Wooh! Well, we've got a terrace here which is a nice place to eat outdoors.

-Yeah, that's quite nice.

-And also the lawn.

-That's nice!

Nice! Oh, there's a greenhouse!

-And...

-Just for your plants and...

-And a veggie patch around the back.

-Oh, well that's good.

-There's some space around there.

That's nice, I like that.

This is the right size...

-Yeah.

-With the front, the front is big as well so the two together, just an ideal size.

Good, so we've got the garden right?

-Yes, you've got the garden right.

-Yeah, absolutely!

The house, what do you think it's on the market for?

Ooh, I would think around about 495.

I would say 510.

-510...

-Because of the character.

-Because of the character?

-Yes.

-Well, you might be surprised to learn that it's on the market for...

-£575,000.

-Wow!

I think that's slightly over-priced, myself, but somebody who loves cottages may be willing to pay it.

Well, why don't you have a wander round inside just sort of making a mental list of what is unacceptable

-and what you can work with and then we'll meet out the front and press on.

-OK.

-OK.

It is very interesting.

It did seem an awful lot of money for this property.

I mean there are people who are more keen on the beamed properties than Alan and Sheila but... Hmm.

Anyway, it's good, we've learnt a lot, I've learnt that beams are a no-no.

This pretty detached cottage is on the market for £575,000.

The price tag may seem a little steep for Alan and Sheila

but it does have three bedrooms, a large lounge with period beams,

a decent-size garden and a garage for Alan's antiques

so, what's the verdict?

I thought this property was very pretty - very, very pretty, lots and lots of character.

I wouldn't have to much of an issue with the beams but I know Alan has.

I think these are much too low, but the fireplace I adore.

The fireplace is beautiful.

I thought this property was very quaint, very nice but it was

too compact for me, too small, the ceilings give it a small feeling, I didn't have a feeling of space.

That with the lack of shower upstairs were two very big no-no's for me.

It's nice having your own lamppost.

-Ideally you need snow, don't you! hello!

-Hello.

-Are you all done?

-Yes, we are.

-Had a good look round.

Are you ready for some more of Bedfordshire?

-We are!

-Oh, yes!

-Off we go!

Hopefully, our property tour will see Alan and Sheila moving to

this part of the country shortly and to them, South Bedfordshire is all new territory, ripe for exploring.

First on their itinerary is Leighton Buzzard, a market town since the 15th century.

Quite quaint, quite nice around here and an old bakery. I like that.

Look at the cream cakes!

-In your element!

-Yeah!

And that tradition is upheld even today with a twice-weekly market that sells all kinds of goodies,

from local produce to freshly cut flowers.

This looks nice. They've got a really good selection.

Freesias. Lovely!

-Mmm, they're really nice, nice smell.

-Do you like freesias?

-Well, let me get the house in the country...

-Think about growing them!

and we'll stick some freesias in the garden and grow some for you!

Until then, leave them there!

The town is also home to a narrow-gauge railway, first opened

in 1919 to transport the county's quarried sand but these days the steam train transports sightseers on

-a 70-minute round trip, taking in Bedfordshire life.

Look, croquet!

IN A POSH VOICE: Oh, crikey!

-This is lovely!

-So nice!

TRAIN HOOTER TOOTS

-That's your early morning alarm call!

-Yep!

After a relaxing train ride, Alan and Sheila are heading

a few miles north to Woburn Abbey, home to the 15th Duke of Bedford.

The house is open to visitors but, being a keen antiques collector,

Alan is heading straight for Woburn Antiques Centre.

It's absolutely fantastic. There's some gorgeous antiques!

-It's lovely.

-I could spend hours looking round here.

Oh, look, Duke's Row! I wonder if the old boy's got a shop here!

He might need to make a few bob to pay the rent!

With all these antiques soon to be on the doorstep, it will no doubt

leave them hungry for more but first we need a doorstep to put them on.

As our property hunters are flexible about location,

our next house is across the border

into Buckinghamshire,

near the town of Stony Stratford.

The town itself has plenty of shops providing all the basics and there's a handful of pubs.

The Cock and The Bull were originally coaching inns on

the main London to Chester route and the gossip that was exchanged here

was renowned for being far-fetched and fanciful, which is where the phrase "cock and bull"

is said to have originated.

The house we're going to see is a couple of miles from here and backs onto the Great Ouse.

And this is the property I want to show you, or part of it.

I was going to say, it's a bit big for one!

It's an old mill.

-OK.

-It's a feed mill.

-It was built in 1799, it's a listed building...

-OK.

And what I want to show you, this is actually the mill part of it.

-You see those empty windows? That's where the wheel was.

-Yep.

-Yep.

-But what I want to show you is the mill owner's house.

-OK.

-It's on the other side.

-OK.

The property was converted in 1999 into seven different living quarters.

There are four apartments and three houses, one of which I am hoping is

going to be the perfect nest for our lovebirds.

-Come on in.

-Thank you.

-Nice, proper hallway.

-Yes, fine.

Let's go straight into the kitchen.

-This is nice.

-What do you think of this?

-That is a nice-size kitchen.

-It's a nice kitchen, really nice.

And it's got some high ceilings!

-Yes!

-And space to move around.

-Is this more what you were looking for?

-Yes, I think so.

-Yes.

-It's the kind of kitchen that...

You can get more than one person here, not get in each other's way

and there's plenty of room to work.

Because essentially what we're dealing with here is a Georgian

property so the ceilings are much higher, the windows are much higher.

You've got original windows here so when you're doing the washing up, you can look over the millpond.

-It's a nice kitchen.

-It's good.

-Yeah.

-We like the kitchen.

-Excellent!

Well, looking forward to see what you think of the sitting room, then.

Through the lovely Georgian casement doors

into, baddam!

-Wow!

-Lovely! That's a lovely room!

It is a great-size room.

-Is it a bit more what you were looking for?

-Yes!

-Absolutely!

-You've got high ceilings, plenty of space.

And this wonderful marble fireplace.

Big windows, plenty of light.

This is more the size of room that we're looking for.

This is nice. First impressions are very, very good.

It feels more spacious - it just feels that there's lots of space, it's good.

-Well, all positive, then?

-So far!

Yeah, yeah!

Through the lounge is a spacious dining room,

which again benefits from those great Georgian proportions but let's see what they make of upstairs.

Quite a narrow staircase.

It is.

-But worth it!

-Nice and big!

-Take a look at this room.

-Ooh!

Oh, this is a nice room.

Nice size again, nice high double bedroom.

Oh, look at the view!

-Look at the view!

-Look at that view!

-Oh, that is lovely!

-Isn't it magical? This is the guest room.

-Oh!

-The guest room?!

-It's a good guest room.

-Oh, yeah!

-Good size.

Beautifully-done again - very simple colours.

-I like this... nice room.

-Yeah.

Well, if you like this, what do you think of the master bedroom?

-Oh, yes!

-Now this is a good-size room!

This is a proper-size bedroom.

We like this, don't we, size-wise!

-Lovely!

-Another magnificent big window, beautiful views.

This is huge!

And...

-..take a look through there.

-An en suite, it's got to be an en suite, surely!

With the shower! Oh, wow, brilliant!

Got our own shower!

-Great stuff. That's good.

-Yeah.

-Lovely.

-Exactly what we want!

-I love the space.

-Yeah.

Good, I'm glad. They are lovely rooms and what's wonderful is that there's a third floor.

-Aah!

-So on top of this you've got two more rooms this size,

so two staircases on either side you can see from the landing.

I'm going to split you up into two.

-Who wants to go to the front of the house?

-I'm going front.

-You at the front, you at the back?

-In that case I'll go back.

-You'll have to shout down what you think of it!

-OK.

-OK.

-All right, so Sheila, you go up those staircases. Alan, you can go up these ones.

-Now you'll just have to shout down your comments to me.

-Ooh!

This is a very big room up here!

-Do you like it?

-It's very nice.

Again, lots of space.

-What about you, Alan? What can you see up there?

-I can see

a huge room with a load of potential, storage space, magnificent view.

It can be used for anything - bedroom, study, antiques store room.

You can come down now, Alan.

I'm going to compare your answers. It's like Mr and Mrs!

A little!

It's good, though... nice big rooms, aren't they?

-Massive rooms.

-Massive rooms.

-It's a real family house.

It's got the old brain-box whirring round a bit, thinking.

Good, good. Well, we've got the garden to look at yet, so let's go.

OK.

You've got this terrace space here with a nice

espalier pear tree growing out in the front of the house.

This is nice. I like the terrace.

It continues out here into the main body of the garden.

You've got a beautiful beech tree here and a laurel hedge.

It's not a massive, massive garden.

-It's big enough.

-It's a nice shape, I think... Nice-shape garden.

-It's bigger than it looks.

-Yeah.

So, do you get a good vibe from the house?

It's a lot better than the first one we looked at!

-Aw! The question is...

-It's just a different style.

The question is, can you afford it?

-Aah, well it depends on the price, you see.

-I think

it's going to be at least 550, possibly more.

Mmm... 545.

-Being optimistic?

-Yeah!

-It's on the market for 550, you're right.

-There we go!

It's right at the top of your budget but of course, you know,

-you've got to bear in mind the current climates.

-Yep.

It's a buyers' market so you could probably put in an offer underneath.

Good vibes, good vibes.

-It's a very unusual...

-It is unusual.

-It is an unusual property.

-Yeah. It ticks lots of boxes.

-It does, absolutely!

-Good.

Why don't you have a look around and I'll meet you out the front.

-OK.

-You'll have probably more to talk about on this one.

It's funny. It's really hard to read Sheila because

the more she likes it, the more serious she seems, it's like "hmm",

whereas Alan is a bit more open, but I think they do love it!

I knew they would!

At £550,000 this converted mill house is bang on budget.

Set over three floors, it has four bedrooms, two generous-sized

reception rooms and a decent garden for Sheila to get stuck into.

I like this property, very much.

It's got lots of nooks and crannies, which is what I like.

It's got lots and lots of character.

It ticks lots of boxes.

There's lots of space, the bedrooms are big, the ceilings are high,

the location is good.

I can't really find any fault with it, really,

which is amazing, but I can't!

We would be very interested in pursuing it at this moment in time.

This is the kind of property I feel that we could be happy in

and it's the kind of property I think we were looking for.

So, time to regroup.

-Yes.

-And I'll have to drag you away, I'm afraid.

Yes.

Now normally at this point we take our buyers to try their hand at a country pursuit like horse riding

or sailing but Sheila and Alan say they're game for anything

and one of the most unusual activities Bedfordshire has to offer is indoor skydiving!

Inside that tower is something quite exhilarating and exciting and as a couple, young in love...

-Oh, dear.

-I think we're going to have to have a sense of humour here!

-You'll be fine, come on!

-Yeah...

This ex-military base is actually the home of the world's largest skydiving tunnel.

-It could be you!

-Yeah, it could be me!

This enormous vertical wind tunnel is used for both leisure and training.

The world's leading skydiving teams use it as a training tool to hone and perfect their moves.

Firstly, it's time to put on some attractive outfits.

What we're going to do here today is we're going to get you to learn how to body-fly.

Then it's time to assume the position.

The hips should be still down nice and low and the chest up a little bit higher.

Arms, the same position as you came into the tunnel, palms up slightly,

nice bend of the elbow, nice and level through your shoulders and through your back, chin up nice

and high, looking forward. Just keep your arms a little bit more forward.

There you go. That's the basic position we want you to fall into as we bring you into the tunnel.

With the essentials under our belt, it's time for one last pep talk.

Chin up, hips down, smile...

and relax! OK, let's go!

OK, so we're all set to take off and head into the tunnel.

We're going to be flying at 120mph and it's so noisy, you can't hear yourself speak.

Body-flying is suitable for all ages and abilities - no experience is required,

only a steady nerve and an open mind.

Sheila looks like she's in her element

and is giving a whole new meaning to throwing caution to the wind!

Well, Sheila and Alan made it look easy. My turn next. Here goes.

Some scenes from the new James Bond film, Quantum Of Solace,

were filmed here, so we're in good company.

Daniel Craig, eat your heart out!

Now I understand why people do this for fun.

It's totally exhilarating!

Well, done, guys, excellent.

-Thank you.

-Nice time flying?

How was it?

That was different!

That was very different! I've never done anything like that before.

-It was unbelievable!

-Your face!

Your face was so beautiful -

you just had this massive smile on your face!

With the day drawing to a close, Alan and Sheila head back

to the hotel to take some time to mull over today's properties.

Having seen a couple of properties today, the cottage I felt was a little claustrophobic.

I didn't like the ceilings, they were far too low, the rooms were not particularly large.

It was cute, it was sweet but not for us to live.

There wasn't enough storage space for us.

The garden sizes were reasonable, the front garden was a nice size, the back garden was a nice size.

I wish there had been more of that space within the building rather than outside the building.

But then we went on to the mill.

Which was lovely. It was amazing. It was so different.

All the features were there. It ticked a lot of our boxes.

Absolutely!

I just thought it was so unusual and walking into the rooms, every room was light,

which was the nice thing.

-Large windows.

-Nothing dark. Yeah, there was nothing dark about the whole thing at all.

The bedrooms are big, double bedrooms.

We could make use of all that space.

Less garden than the other one, but...

-Big enough.

-Big enough garden for what we want to use the garden for.

And the countryside all around it, it was open spaces but it was just lovely.

I'd be very, very interested to see what we're gonna find tomorrow.

Alan and Sheila, from London and Hertfordshire, are about to embark on a new life in the countryside.

They have a budget of £550,000.

So far, they've viewed two very different properties.

Coming up - Sheila finds her dream garden.

Oh, there's a pond!

And the mystery house catches our property-hunters unaware...

-Different, eh?

-Very.

-Is it what you were expecting?

-No.

So a mixed day yesterday and I'm not sure we can better Sheila and Alan's

response to the Georgian mill house, which was wonderful.

The only thing that crossed my mind is that Sheila might

be a bit nervous being so remote out into the countryside so today

we're going to go a little bit more down the town route and I'm going to try the country property once more.

A few beams, a thatch!

Our next property is back in Bedfordshire, 11 miles

north-west of Leighton Buzzard in the village of Toddington.

It's a well-serviced village with a range of shops and pubs.

On the outskirts is Toddington Manor where Elizabeth I is reputed to have stayed.

Today, it's ten acre grounds are open to the public,

a perfect place for Sheila to get some inspiration when she has a garden of her own.

-This is the house I want to show you.

-OK.

It was two cottages joined into one about 200 years ago, over 300 years old. It's listed and it's thatched.

-Yes, it's thatched, I noticed it's thatched!

-OK.

I'm not a fan of thatched on roofs.

-Really? Why not?

-Animals.

-Animals?

-Living there.

-In a roof?

-Yeah.

-Is that uncomfortable?

Just be warned that this is not a big Georgian property, it's an old property, but it's lovely.

-OK, let's look.

-Let's have a look.

-Come on in.

Oh!

Ha! Ha! Ha! That's a surprise!

-This is interesting!

-Now this is a hallway and a half, isn't it?

It sure is!

Now those beams, I can handle.

-Yeah, they're beautiful. And far, far above your head.

-They're amazing!

-Yes.

This was obviously the original hall in the sense of a proper hall with the high-vaulted ceilings.

You've got a nice little Inglenook fireplace with a multi-fuel burner here so you can

keep it nice and warm and obviously this very striking gallery mezzanine.

I love that, I love that! I think it's amazing!

-Isn't that great!

-That is very nice.

What do you think? I know you're not a big fan, Alan, of beams?

I know. My thing with beams is it makes you claustrophobic, but here it doesn't, because it's all open.

Yeah, absolutely not, absolutely not.

-In you go.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Oh!

So this is the sitting room, the kind of grown-ups' sitting room

and this is possibly the biggest fireplace I've ever seen!

-Yeah, I think so!

-It's almost as big as the room!

It's a proper inglenook in the sense that you can sit on either side and it's obviously working

and it's totally charming, you know, and yet it doesn't sort of overwhelm the room.

-No.

-No. It's a really cosy room.

-It's a feature wall. For a cottage, it's still a tall room.

-Yes.

Very, very high ceiling.

It's a listed building, which means you can't change anything outside without getting planning permission.

It's a very cosy sitting room, very comfortable.

It's warm and it's very solid.

This is the thing about these older properties.

Even though they've got thatch and...

-Yeah, OK...

-They have all those issues, but they are incredibly well-built.

Wattle and daub, thick walls outside obviously stone or brick, but the real thing

you're going to really like, particularly you, Sheila, is the kitchen.

OK. Oh, this is lovely!

This is huge!

It's beautiful.

This is a good-size kitchen.

This is a proper kitchen!

This is a family room. This is lovely.

-This is why I wanted to show you this property because of this kitchen, really.

-Wow!

This is by far the biggest kitchen that we've shown you,

-and I think it's beautiful because this is the room where you'd spend most of your time.

-Absolutely!

It's where you could cook, could talk, you could have all your family round, your friends.

-Yeah, yes, I definitely like this room.

-So do I!

Leading down from the kitchen is a cellar,

a great place for Sheila to banish Alan's antiques.

Also on the ground floor is a cosy snug and the first of two family-sized bathrooms.

Upstairs and off the galleried landing we find the other bathroom

and four bedrooms, all of which ooze charm, with their own unique quirks and character beams.

This is nice.

Ooh, this is a good size!

-Another one!

-A very good size

and quite a lot of storage in the wardrobes.

Lots of storage. And this is the guest bedroom. This is not the main.

-Really?

-Beams again but...

got the height.

-This is a nice room.

-It's lovely, isn't it?

You've got a double bed, you've got space to move all round.

-Not the normal cottage at all.

-No.

No, this is obviously a well-to-do cottage with all this space.

Master bedroom still to come.

OK.

And here it is. Master suite.

-Oh, this is a pretty room.

-Nice size, again.

-Very nice.

I wanted to show you this property because this is period but sizeable.

-Yes.

-And the space is here.

Totally different from the first one.

-And it doesn't have to be kind of all cramped.

-No, and it still has

so much character - more character, I would say,

but yeah, the sizing is brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

-So shall we take a look outside in the garden?

-Yes, let's do that.

Could be the clincher!

-Lots of lovely space outside.

-This is nice.

Lots of patio space and then we go up here, underneath the pergola.

Which is very pretty.

Aw, there's a little bridge!

It's a pond!

Oh, nice, water lilies, that's pretty.

-Isn't that great?

-Aw, little summerhouse.

It's a real feature. And look!

-Oh, yes. You're own personal clock!

-You can see the church!

-The church.

That's a beautiful view, that.

-It is.

-To be overlooked by a church, that's got to be good.

-Yeah.

-There's this big plot at the back, which is yours too, where they've got a climbing frame.

-This would be perfect for a veggie patch, actually a bit more substantial.

-Yeah.

Yes, yeah.

This is a lovely garden. It's big!

There is a lot of space here.

-And it could be yours for... how much?

-A-ha, here we go!

Who is guessing first?

-Me?

-No. 535.

-560.

-What?

That was like a poker player's number... 560!

-You're closer. It's on at 565.

-There we go!

-565.

But it's dropped quite a lot in the last...

since it's been on the market so there's still space for manoeuvre.

-Room for manoeuvre.

-It's almost at the top of your budget.

Yes, top end.

Lots to think about.

-You've given me lots to think about.

-So different...

-Well, from the front to here and what we've been through...

-What a journey!

-It's been a journey in discovery, hasn't it!

-A journey, yes.

It certainly is! Not what I expected!

-Well, go and explore.

-OK.

-Go and explore this new world of property.

Aw, it's great actually because I have to say

when they did get out of the car and looked at the property I thought it was going to be a no-no -

it was going to be all "Beamgate"

all over again, but it's a beautiful property, the sun has come out, it's an amazing garden.

I can see they're starting to fall in love, which is good, because it's really changing the way they think

about what they're looking for, which is what this show is about!

This thatched cottage is on the market for £565,000.

It has four bedrooms, quirky period features including

a galleried landing, a country-style kitchen,

a pretty garden with a small pond but will Sheila and Alan be able

to see beyond the thatched roof?

When I first arrived at this house, I looked over and saw a thatched cottage and I thought, "Oh, no."

This is something that if I had received details through the post, I would have put them

in the "no" pile straightaway.

But when I walked inside, it was, "Wow, this is amazing!"

I'll tell you what, this is a lovely kitchen.

You could do so much here, couldn't you?

-Yeah.

-Whether there were just the two of us or the family.

If we had all the family around, it would be amazing.

-Christmas Day.

-Lovely!

-Decorations.

-Cooking.

-Big turkey in the middle to be carved.

As we went through the house from downstairs to upstairs and now into

the garden where we're sitting now, the view has changed completely.

From a definite, definite no,

-it's a definite maybe.

-This property has certainly changed my mind and confused me.

I now think that

I can't be quite so strict in what I'm looking for.

We've made you dizzy with thought now, haven't we?

-Absolutely!

-I'm afraid you have.

Let's press on in the sunshine.

OK.

Sheila's love of gardening is one of the driving forces of their move to the country.

She can't wait to fill her new garden with flowers and one of the things she has always fancied trying

is flower arranging so she's brought Alan along with her to meet a local florist, Lyn Paul, who has been

arranging flowers for nine years and she's kindly offered to give them a mini-masterclass.

There is a certain art to flower-arranging and here's one I've made to show you.

As you can see, the roses are in lines.

We always work in odd numbers.

You can mix your greenery up, which is a good idea -

it gives it texture and balance.

I'm going to show you how you can do one.

You're going to make an outline of your bowl with the greenery first, so

let's see how we get on.

You angle it.

Imagine a circle.

Angle it. That's it.

Pat it down.

You're doing wonderful!

Let me ask you something. How many men do flower-arranging?

Los of men. You'd be surprised.

-Lots? I would be.

-Some of the top florists and arrangers are men.

They have bigger hands, they can do the big hand-ties.

Here's your flowers. Let's arrange your beautiful white oriental lilies.

You're going to follow the line of your leaves with your flowers.

A flower has got a natural stand, can you see, but don't put it down too far, too close.

It's all about texture, balance.

-Absolutely.

-There's no hard and fast rule.

You want sometimes like different shapes of arrangements, people like "less is more".

it's your own personal taste with flowers and have a look, stand back and look at your arrangement.

You see you've got a nice big gap. You could still put one more there.

-I think you're right, there.

-And I think you could put a bud there or a bud there.

-Right.

With the last few flowers being put in place, what does Lyn think of their efforts?

That looks absolutely wonderful!

Well, guys, have you enjoyed your lesson?

-Very much.

-Very much so. It's been very interesting.

-I think if that was a competition, I definitely think Sheila would have won this.

-Of course!

-What?

-Yes, listen to me!

Listen to me! Well, Sheila, I hope when you move

-to the country you'll have more fun with your flowers in your garden.

-So do I and I think I will.

This morning we took a bit of a gamble by showing Alan more beams and it really paid off so

we're hoping that the mystery house, which is really a bit out there, is going to reap rich dividends.

Right, the mystery house now.

Everything is sort of changing. What do you think this is going to be about?

We were talking about it and we think that you may come up with, because of

the size of the rooms that we'd like, you may come up with a barn conversion of some sort, whether it

looks old, looks modern, we don't know, but we think you might come up with one of those.

Well, they're not that far off as the mystery house is a conversion of kinds.

We're heading to the village of Shillington,

21 miles west of Leighton Buzzard.

Shillington has a small village shop and a couple of pubs.

The village grew up around the church of All Saints,

which dates back to the 14th century and was described as "the Cathedral of the Chilterns"

by the poet, John Betjeman.

Well, opposite the Cathedral of the Chilterns is,

the Old School House, which is the property I want to show you.

-If you come round here you'll get a better view.

-Fantastic!

It's Victorian, dates back to the Crimean War, about 1856.

-OK.

-You've got a lovely bell tower in the middle, beautiful see these sculptural eaves, nice brickwork.

It's a lovely building.

-It looks interesting.

-Very interesting!

-We've shown you Georgian,

we've shown you Elizabethan, now we're showing you Victorian.

Getting more modern all the time!

Yeah. Do you like the Victorian style?

I do personally, yes.

-I do too, actually.

-So what do you imagine is going to be inside?

There's going to be lots of spacious rooms in there.

Yeah, there's certainly a spacious room!

OK.

In you go.

Wow!

-Different, huh?

-Very.

-Is it what you were expecting?

-No!

Not at all.

It's just an open space. It takes your breath away to start with.

What are your first impressions?

My first impression is, that upstairs looks really interesting and very different to down here.

Looks huge, looks huge up there and we've got lots of doors and rooms here.

It's an upside-down house, so basically all the bedrooms are downstairs

and all the living space is upstairs to take advantage of the amazing views.

-OK.

-Shall we have a look?

Oh, yes.

You wanted lots of space.

-Oh, it's huge!

-These beams I do like.

-You like these?

-Yes. These beams I do like.

Well, you've also got this enormous kind of like sandstone fireplace.

It looks like a working fireplace.

It certainly is, yes.

You've got a little space there for a television and television-watching area,

which you can keep separate and this side an area, which you can

use as a study/work area, but entertaining-wise, there's enough space here for everything.

Get some enormous sofas here, it would be lovely, just looking out.

Yeah, and look at the views over the fields over there.

-Pegstone Hill over there, incredible views, a whole wall of windows, really.

-Yeah.

If you come round here, you can see a little bit more of the structure.

This was the old front of the school and you can see the arches of the school hall, the original arches,

and then this is the belfry, so you can see up...

That goes up into the clock tower.

This I love.

-I do love this.

-You like the?

-These are features.

I like the features.

It's a modern conversion but it's kept all the original features,

-which breaks it all up, which I like, I do like.

-It's nice, yes.

The mystery house is always a bit of a gamble, but it's all paying off.

-So far, so good.

-Let's take a look at the other rooms. You've got a formal dining room through here.

This is nice, yeah.

Not to our taste, furniture-wise and everything, but...

-It's a reasonable size.

-It's a good size, yeah, very good, yep.

-I like it.

-What about the kitchen?

OK.

-Good size, good size.

-Good size.

Breakfast bar.

Breakfast bar, yeah and look.

-A balcony.

-That's nice.

What's really nice about it, actually thinking about it,

-is you have these views in the kitchen and you're high up.

-Yes.

It's very unusual to be preparing food and having all this lovely light flooding in.

Um, it is very nice.

It's certainly big enough.

Yeah, I've never seen anything like it.

With these views, as you say, it is something, well, you don't come across.

Alan seems sold on the upside-down arrangement and the lofty proportions of the central atrium

so it will be interesting to see what he makes of the ground floor.

-Now downstairs you have got FIVE bedrooms.

-BOTH: Five?

Five. And a bathroom downstairs.

There's no toilet upstairs. Is that going to be a problem?

No, I don't think so.

Let's just look in this room because you can see the original windows

and you can see how they've lowered the ceilings here

to accommodate the space upstairs.

I have to say, all the rooms are fairly similar.

They're all sort of square, quite modern.

But if you've got the space, you can do what you want with it,

even if you make it look older, if you've got space to deal with it.

And there's plenty of room for guests as there are

a further four good-size bedrooms, including the master.

OK. Size is OK, it's an OK room. It's quite a bright room, isn't it?

-You've got a window there and a window there.

-Yeah, nice-sized room.

Yeah, the whole house is bright, even downstairs where you'd think it might be a bit dark.

Yeah.

But if you look behind you...

-An en suite?

-Yay!

-Do you want to open it?

Oh, this is nice.

Good size, huh?

-It is a big one.

-It's very nice. Everything is good.

-Nice shower.

-His'n'hers.

-Yep.

-Shall we take a look outside?

-Yep, will do.

-Wow!

-Yes!

-Utility room.

It's sort of bright and this is the only entrance to the garden.

-Oh, is it?

-OK.

-Utility room, quite a useful space.

-Yeah very, very useful.

-And this is your garden.

-Oh.

-Oh!

-This is all of the garden?

-Oh", she says.

This is it, yes, because this is very much a low-maintenance Spanish-style garden, you know...

you eat out here, you've got a bit of shade down there. It's on levels.

For the space, it's nicely laid-out and

the shrubs and things are very nice.

-Yeah.

-It's an unusual property.

-Very.

-Very unusual.

-What are your thoughts about it in terms of price?

Ooh!

-Who's going first?

-Well, look, I'm going to have a guess first because

I think that the properties that we have seen have all been about the same price so I'm going to go...

550.

I think it's over our budget and I think it's something like 595.

Well, you'll be pleased to know that it's actually on the market for 565.

-So, just... Again, you know with current adjustments, it's probably within your budget.

-Mmm.

So it's an interesting property.

It raises lots of questions.

-It does.

-Perhaps you could mull them over as you look round

and explore some of the many, many bedrooms that you haven't looked at.

Yeah, I think so, yes, let's have a look.

This converted schoolhouse is on the market for £565,000.

I thought from the outside it was interesting.

As soon as we walked in, I thought what is this downstairs

but then I looked up and I thought "That looks lovely upstairs."

-It's almost like two different houses.

-That's what I thought.

Yeah. Here you've got some character, space, size.

Downstairs it's squashed.

Well, I'll be perfectly honest, Sheila, I don't think the downstairs is anything like the upstairs.

It's too plain, it's too old-fashioned.

When I first came into the house and came upstairs, I was really quite excited

because it was very different and the whole atmosphere up there was lovely, really nice.

However, when I went downstairs it was almost like I was in a different house.

The whole atmosphere changed for me

and I just couldn't see myself making downstairs into a home for me.

HE KNOCKS ON DOOR

Does it work? Is that the knocker? Oh, it is the knocker.

Hello!

So, lots to think about.

-A heck of a lot.

-Yes, loads.

-You've got to make some decisions.

-We have, haven't we?

-But not just yet. So, you've got a little bit of breathing space.

-OK.

Alan and Sheila have seen all the properties now and

have plenty to consider so I've left them alone to gather their thoughts.

I'm all at sea about this one because they surprised me

by really warming to certain elements of all the properties.

If I had to choose, I think I might go for the thatched cottage against all odds, but let's find out.

I'm not sure you're aware of this but you have been

-our fairytale house-hunt because you know young love and...

-Aw!

And we're going to find you your first house together so we're quite excited that it's all gone well.

The very first one I showed you, if you can think that far back, was the cottage.

Lots of beams; it was the beginning of the whole "Beamgate" thing.

Yes. It was just too low for me.

It just made me claustrophobic.

The fireplace was very nice.

It's not much to buy a house for a fireplace though, is it?

-No, no.

-Next we went to look at the mill house. Now this was a very unusual property.

It was a conversion but it seemed to pull a lot of strings. You seemed to quite like bits?

It was a lovely house.

The rooms, generally, were big - Alan's favourite high ceilings.

I liked the rooms. They were lovely.

That was an interesting house and a house that could be changed, slightly.

-To suit us.

-To suit us.

-Yeah.

When I took you to the thatched cottage, your faces were like thunder

because it was thatched and it was obviously "beamy" but that all changed when you went inside!

Inside it was like another world.

The hallway with the gallery was unique.

I loved the kitchen.

The kitchen in that house was so warm, so welcoming.

-The garden was absolutely beautiful.

-It was just the right size, wasn't it?

-Um.

What about the mystery house because the living room there was massive?

The living room was amazing. Yes, it was massive.

Fantastic views, fantastic space, but I felt that there were

two houses there joined into one because upstairs was great,

really nice, very unusual, but then when I went downstairs I thought I'd entered another house.

Could you pick any one that you would like to revisit, for example?

I think that the mill house

is the one we'd like to look at again because the garden is adequate

for Sheila, there are possible things that we can do within that house that will give us both what we want.

By a second look, we can sort out whether we do like it

or don't like it but that's the one we're both leaning to at the moment.

It's been a real pleasure showing you around.

-As soon as you find a house, do let us know.

-We will do.

-We will.

-And it's been a great time, thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-And all the best in Bedfordshire.

-Thank you very much.

It wasn't quite a fairytale ending for our internet lovebirds.

We didn't find them that cottage where they could

live happily ever after but I think we did a good job at easing their move into Bedfordshire.

If you enjoyed the show, then make sure you tune in next time for more Escapes To The Country.

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

please contact us through our website at:

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail us at [email protected]