- 4 hours ago
Escape to the Country - Season 26 Episode 19 -
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Category
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FunTranscript
00:00love when you know you know i just want to sit down now get get myself a cup of tea and sit down
00:05and just let me help you out there come along although the course of true love doesn't always
00:13run smoothly thinking about it could have two ponds with a no i like it nice and firm
00:19says no differing opinions are commonplace but they can be worked out plenty of space for a
00:26pond as well oh don't i've got a lake here because there we are built a lake fill it with carp
00:32all i say is be careful what you wish for oh my goodness come on i said you're gonna want to
00:41keep coming oh my goodness me
00:56coastlines castles and countryside any ideas that's right carmarthenshire also known as the garden of
01:23wales which makes this county the best county in which to see daffodils aka daffs not only are they
01:36the symbol of wales their nature's way of saying the winter's over standby for spring and summer
01:42which means another great year of escaping to the country the county of carmarthenshire in west wales
01:52offers the best of both coast and countryside as catherine born and bred hair can tell you
01:58the county town of carmarthenshire sits on the banks of the river tower and is popular with young families
02:22seeking affordable homes good schools and nature on their doorstep larne once the home of welsh poet
02:29and writer dylan thomas is filled with colorful fishing cottages and a host of places to satisfy the
02:36hungry visitors who come to soak up the inspiring views in the communities around here the people are
02:43incredibly friendly they like to know about you they want you to know about them and they're very keen
02:51that anybody that moves into the area is welcomed and gets involved in local community life it has got
02:58as far as i'm concerned pretty much everything that anybody could possibly want and i love living here
03:03and so to today's couple who've sent us at sos a message in a bottle if you will they want to escape
03:14from the tiny island of jersey and we are more than happy to come to their rescue i'm from swansea
03:21originally and there's a word in welsh called here i which is like an extreme form of homesickness
03:27and a longing for for your home and i really feel at my age that's that's what's happening to me now i
03:34really am missing home nigel a retired gp and his wife chrissy a retired occupational therapist have
03:43lived in this five-bed detached family home on the southwestern tip of jersey for the past 27 years
03:51this is jess our lovely cockapoo we've loved this beach we spent so many hours walking along here
03:57chucking tennis balls chucking stones but we're looking forward to walking on new beaches
04:02and new coastal paths in commandership nigel plans to live his retirement at full throttle that's my
04:09harley over there which i loved a bit and there's another reason wanting about the uk so i i i know
04:17every blade of grass on this island now and essentially you can only either go clockwise or
04:22empty clockwise on a nine by five island so i i am kind of looking forward to feel the wind in my head
04:29what's left of it and put the bike through its places
04:37chrissy and nigel want a detached property with four bedrooms and around an acre of garden a double
04:44garage for nigel's motorbike is a must and they'd like to be close to a village their budget
04:50700 000 pounds with a little bit of wriggle room if required
05:04after 30 years living on the small island of jersey this is a big move for nigel and chrissy
05:10coming to the mainland and coming back to a part of the world they know really well
05:15oh i can see why nigel cannot wait to get his motorbike onto the mainland look at this it's got
05:22roads that go for miles
05:28before our carmarthenshire tour gets underway i'm meeting chrissy and nigel near the banks
05:33of the river towy to learn more about their move
05:39chrissy nigel welcome to wales a bit of a homecoming for you nigel
05:43it's always coming home when i come back to wales and for you chrissy you've spent a lot of time in
05:47this part of the world as well well we met here as students back in the late 70s and lived here for
05:52a while afterwards yes and i've got very fond memories of family holidays just across the estuary
05:57here so it's lovely to be back you've both retired yes yeah and you've decided this is where you want
06:02to settle down yes yes our children are now in the uk they're not coming back to jersey so we want to be
06:07closer to them talk me through some of the things you'll be getting up to i suppose canoeing fishing
06:14kayaking okay cycling a little birdie tells me one more hobby or something you might want to put a
06:20water feature in i've always had ponds in every in every house we've been doing they've got bigger and
06:25bigger and bigger what's going to keep you happy my knees are much much simpler just being outdoors
06:30in wonderful scenery like that just going for walks every day it's really important for my head space
06:35to be outdoors and walking either on my own or with our with our lovely dog we're going to have
06:39some fun aren't we yeah we certainly are really looking forward to today let's go look at some
06:43houses fantastic our search begins in the small market town of kidwelly 10 miles south of the county
06:52town carmarthen nigel has fond childhood memories of this place having fished here with his dad
06:59the gwen drive estuary remains a popular spot for fishing as well as bird watching and picnicking
07:07whilst the town center has all the daily essentials covered on a quiet no through road on the edge of
07:14town is the first house we've lined up for christian nigel to view so this is our first property my goodness
07:23wow this is the old vicarage okay yes and it was built in 1895 gosh it looks really impressive
07:34well maintained isn't it yes this obviously has views looking out onto the village of the town
07:39you've got neighbors close by is that something you'd be looking for from this move to me that's
07:43quite important yes i wouldn't want to be too remote i mean the house they're not on top of each other are
07:48they you're not really overlooking so it'll be absolutely fine it's quite a large plot looking
07:52at it yeah how much ground is with it so it's just under about an acre really yeah that wraps around
07:59oh wow okay that's definitely sit down normal there you go come on let's have a look inside
08:07the lawn's in better nick than mine at home at the moment this imposing property is every bit as grand
08:14inside as it appears outside right wow so many doors everywhere let me show you through this one
08:24okay okay okay so a sunny daffodil room beautiful oh it's just glorious it's lovely oh look at that
08:35yeah yeah i must have had servants at one point spot on and that gives us a clue of the number of rooms as
08:41well there you go one of my questions because it's got all these features is it a listed building
08:47are you limited what you can do that's a great question and a great answer for you is no wow it's
08:52not listed okay so you have the opportunities to do things and i think that's going to come into play
08:57as i show you through here with what was the kitchen so shall we have a look okay so here is the kitchen
09:05which would have been in the servants quarters okay yes gosh what do you think of this space
09:11it's a little bit on the dark side a little bit on the dark side but you know workable isn't it you've
09:16got a nice worktop here um a fair amount of storage and look at this i know wow i think you probably want
09:22a slightly larger larger kitchen yes yes but it's workable isn't it there's potential here to revamp it a
09:29little bit there's a massive pantry through there pantry go have a look go on
09:37i'd love a pantry have a little oh wow oh how yes oh look at that how useful is this this is
09:44brilliant the thing with this house is it's going to be like a magical mystery tour okay there are so
09:50many parts you're getting the feed already i think um if we were to move here i think i'd probably
09:55want to maybe extend into into that just to open the room up a little bit i would send this out
10:01knocking on walls and how would you feel about doing some major works if you wanted to make alteration
10:06we do have a builder who could help us if we needed to do significant um work to the property
10:13i don't expect any concerns regarding the size of the largest reception oh this is a lovely
10:19room isn't it gorgeous so light but i love this room i just love the openness of it yeah i'm just
10:27loving all the fireplaces oh gosh look at that i mean this really reminds me of my parents house it's
10:34it's really weird next door there's a dining room as well as a ground floor loo a study and a fourth
10:42cozier reception oh look at this another great fireplace is that hand painted do you think i don't know
10:51it might be it's not tired is it no stunning it's all lovely we wouldn't see each other would we you
10:58know so many rooms we just have our own just bring the bell ding and you'd appear like a genie oh no i
11:03would not i so would not upstairs the generous proportions continue
11:13okay more like another light more high ceilings double aspect yeah lovely and this is the main
11:21bedroom i was gonna ask it is because there's an ensuite right there okay can i see the ensuite yes
11:26let's go have a look so as we specified okay well it needs to be replaced but that's fine you could
11:35put a nice walk-in shower in here couldn't you it's in the right place it's a good size and it's actually
11:40an ensuite perfect the family bathroom serves four more roomy doubles including this one the largest
11:50oh my goodness another lovely bedroom we won't be short of space
11:58there's also room aplenty outside with a two-story former coach house that boasts a loft
12:04a workshop and a garage more bicycles than me that would take something and the lawn mowers
12:10it's good storage space because we need storage for our bikes and also your motorbike there's been
12:16certainly enough storage here as for the garden this is big enough to justify a sit down
12:28and a pond would go nicely over there actually the bank would thinking about it could have two ponds with
12:34a no i like it nice and firm chris says no yeah okay the final piece of information you need is the
12:42price so how much do you think this property is on the market for perhaps 580 000 pounds yeah no i'd go
12:50higher i'd probably go 650 650 650 000 pounds okay well you win this one it's on for 575 000
13:01pounds offers in the regionals yes okay yes that's a stunning house nice but it's a beautiful house
13:08and seeing it on a day like this just brings out the best and it really doesn't it it does
13:13this detached victorian vicarage has four reception rooms and five bedrooms
13:19on a plot of just under an acre and with a two-story coach house it's on the market for offers in the
13:25region of 575 000 pounds it is a big house i've lost count of how many rooms there are within the
13:32property very very spacious maybe it's a little bit bigger than we actually need but it is a stunning
13:38property i'm weighing up the pros and cons because it will take a fair bit of work to get it to a level
13:45where we'd be happy with but emotionally it really has uh has actually hit me as well as we welling up
13:52looking at some of the rooms so that's beautiful place well that was a good start wasn't it it was a
13:59great start yes the sun is out and we've still got more properties to see let's go look
14:17since we're in the neighborhood we're sending nigel and chrissy into kidwelly to explore what the town
14:23offers its residents as well as those who live in the surrounding parishes and villages you'll be
14:29spotted for dog walking life in kidwelly is fantastic uh we have the most amazing people
14:38really old welsh town feeling people are still well connected you know they know their neighbors
14:44we're very community focused and it looks really sleepy but kidwelly has lots of little groups we have
14:51three large community halls and you can do anything from green mat bowling to archery radio control car
14:57club which is my guilty secret lindy hop knitting history clubs gardening club horticultural society
15:05is so busy kidwelly boasts one of the best preserved norman castles in wales known by even the town's very
15:13youngest residents thanks to a popular welsh nursery rhyme in the new market really that is the old lady of
15:21kidwelly it's a fable about the lady who was trying to get back into the castle and she dressed up in
15:28the welsh costume and went with her friend in to sell her wares into the castle peggy has been dressing up
15:36as the old lady of kidwelly for the past 25 years did well is very welcoming we're in between two lovely
15:44towns clenetly and camaden and there's so much to do here for all ages
15:51a popular family destination is parky box farm shop and cafe on the outskirts of town
15:58oh welsh cakes oh we have to buy some of those the trouble is none of this is going to help my diet is
16:04it really
16:05it started life 20 years ago as an honesty box on a local smallholding hi guys you all right
16:16and amy one of the staff here has kindly agreed to share her experience of living here
16:22well you're going to love this area it's fantastic yeah beautiful views great countryside there's lots
16:27of beaches around here you've got pembrae which is a few little drive down the road that's lovely yeah
16:31that's a long beach if you want to take the dogs to a walk if you've got animals at all but i'm a
16:35keen cyclist okay so are there any coastal paths absolutely there are there's one there's actually
16:41be one opening up come autumn so that's going to be the taui valley yeah and how long how long is that
16:46so it's going to be about 12 miles long right and that runs all the way from abeclory down to
16:50fairwag and is it all on the flat all on the flat it's actually the old railway line brilliant so
16:56that'll be amazing to take advantage of the plentiful opportunities to explore this beautiful part of
17:03the world nigel and chrissy need a base so our house hunt continues we're making a beeline for
17:12the village of clangannock five miles east from the town of st clairs the 3 000 or so residents in the town
17:19are well served by a train station a supermarket a chippy several pubs and cafes plus a craft center
17:29an eight minute drive from st claire's in the village of clangannock sits this impressive detached bungalow
17:36well this is the next property oh that's not lovely
17:42chrissy was at one point quite keen on a bungalow for when we become old and decrepit
17:47well i just wonder as an occupational therapist there's something you'd be thinking about for
17:52many many many years the practicalities the practicalities yeah so bungalow is a is a good
17:57one for yeah yeah as we get older and it just looks really well maintained as well i like i just like
18:03the sort of appearance of the gate and the paved uh driveway and the drive up to the house let's have
18:09a look inside okay absolutely
18:10built in the 1980s the vendors have lived here for the past 20 years about 10 years ago they created
18:21this huge open plan kitchen dining and living room
18:24oh wow wow indeed this is this is a yeah this is lovely lovely fabulous
18:35oh i love that this kitchen i just want to sit down now get get myself a cup of tea and sit down and
18:41just let me help you out there come along and a proper range at the end which you've always wanted
18:48these units yeah i love it absolutely love it the clean lines i love the color i love the style of
18:54the kitchen units i love the oven excited to see more you are aren't you i can tell well then let me
19:01not make you wait come this way let's go so this leads around to a lovely sitting room area this is
19:08lovely you wouldn't have to change anything would you in this area at all be very happy happy just to
19:13move in i could definitely live here i think you definitely see us living as much as i loved the
19:18previous house of the emotional attachment yeah a bit overwhelming and a little bit too much to do
19:24yes yes but this is clearly just walking and uh yeah live here and off you go yes
19:32open plan living has hit the mark and this house offers even more
19:37oh yes oh indeed so that wasn't the main lounge then that was the main oh oh my goodness
19:46trying to take it all in so two lots of patio doors two windows stunning fireplace that's what
19:53heck of a fireplace and that is bath stone this is lovely and i love i just love the decor i love
19:58these muted colors the creams and the sort of soft grays yeah as i said really nice there's nothing i
20:04feel i'd need to do or change i don't expect the bedrooms will disappoint either three doubles
20:13all a similar size overlook the front of the house and share a family bathroom
20:20the largest double at the rear has fitted wardrobes and an ensuite shower room
20:25nice units i don't know how we divvy them up i'd have these four and you could have those too
20:36the fifth and final bedroom is being used as a library comes snug another another room goodness me
20:45the cross-frame and the spinning bike would fit nicely here they could yes yes and your weights as well
20:51we could not have picked a better day to have this house tour the sun is shining the daffodils are
20:58blooming and i really feel that chris and nigel are taking to this house the temperature's rising for
21:03sure and they're even starting to plan where they'll put the gym yeah you wouldn't change anything would you
21:11well i would change library off the door into gym but that's just a screwdriver
21:21there's also an office oh lovely the study as well study area gosh we could have bookshelves all
21:28across the wall though my goodness oh this is lovely and a garden room oh this is really nice or we could be posh and call it an orangery
21:39this is looking good looking very good the space inside is matched outside take it all in gosh
21:49i'm absolutely loving the size of this with a plot that extends to 1.2 acres
21:59oh my goodness it's really well maintained and plenty of space for a pond as well oh
22:05i've got a lake here there we are build a lake fill it with carp yeah my mind's racing nice vegetable plot
22:12somewhere yeah absolutely vegetable plots absolutely pond possibly a little orchard at the top and there's
22:19a little greenhouse behind there that's a greenhouse as well yes and the neighbor has a digger so they
22:23can help you with the pond i don't know what to say it's got everything one more thing guess the price oh my
22:33goodness do you think i would think well over 600 000 650 000 650 000 pounds i'm thinking more i'll just
22:41go above chris i'll take 675 000 675 000 pounds oh it's even stevens this one goes to you spot on really
22:52it's opposite the region of 675 000 yeah i can see why yeah yeah that's brilliant
22:59this modern detached bungalow features an open-plan kitchen living room a separate lounge and five
23:08bedrooms on a plot of just over an acre it's on the market for offers in the region of 675 000 pounds
23:18i love the fact that it looks an extremely well-maintained property i love the colors muted colors i love the
23:24kitchen walking condition really wouldn't have to do anything would we possibility of a gym a study
23:33a nice big garden for me to play in which makes me very happy this house is is certainly edging it
23:39at the moment well by edging it by some significantly significant margin
23:48we're wrapping up our day back where we started overlooking the river towy but this time nigel and
23:54chrissy's twins are joining us for sundowners well tom and caris welcome to wales is this a part of
24:02the world that you know well did you used to holiday here as kids uh yeah we used to visit our
24:06grandparents here quite a lot because they lived in swansea um and it was just it's a really lovely
24:11beautiful place so it'd be really lovely to visit mom and dad here and i studied at university just
24:16down the road in uh swansea as well wonderful this is about being closer to you as well as getting back
24:22to a part of the world that you really love all due to these two mostly well we've got all the
24:28family together shall we have some family games yeah i've got one for you how many of dad's hobbies
24:34can you list oh gosh oh it's golf all right tennis gardening rugby oh male voice choir
24:42i'm not cheating i'm not cheating i don't know what the family rules are that's cheating
24:49what is cheating going on baking baking no we have no baking baking um it's like the generation game
24:56yoga tennis fishing fishing i don't fish
25:02i appreciate the vibing oh gosh cycling
25:10he's still not finished we'll be here for another half hour and everyone forgot the big one or the new
25:14one oh riding on his sit-on mower oh of course that's not a hobby
25:21yes it will become one there's one hobby that's not on nigel's list photography should we grab a selfie
25:31absolutely all right don't have done this before everybody in one two three
25:42if carmarthenshire's coast and countryside is calling you here's the low down on property prices
26:07the average price of a detached house across wales is just under 331 000 pounds head to west wales
26:15and your pounds will stretch further with carmarthenshire offering the best value for
26:19bunny in this region where detached homes cost on average just over 281 000 pounds
26:28let's have a nose of what else is currently on the market
26:31offers in the region of 299 000 pounds could land you this detached three-bed property with a living
26:42room modern kitchen and scenic views this detached four-bed four-bath family home has two receptions
26:53a kitchen breakfast room and an enormous sun room
26:56outside there's a double garage and an extensive timber deck with views across the countryside
27:04it's priced at offers in excess of 500 000 pounds
27:10for a short break this characterful stone cottage sleeps up to four guests in the two upstairs bedrooms
27:17on the ground floor there's a comfortable lounge a spacious country kitchen
27:22and access to the garden with its estuary views prices start at 295 pounds for a short stay for two people
27:33it's time for your favorite part of the program and mine it's the mystery house and i cannot wait
27:39to show chrissy and nigel what i've got up my sleeve what's that pond you say nigel i think we can do a
27:45little better than that the mystery house sits in a remote location three and a half miles from the
27:54village of bank of ellen
27:59here nigel and chrissy will find the local chapel a village hall a pub a shop with post office and a
28:07fresh milk vending machine stocked by the local dairy farm
28:10a 10 minute drive from the village in a secluded spot sits this detached character cottage built in
28:17the mid-1800s on the site of a former water mill it's the smallest property we're showing chrissy and
28:25nigel but it comes with a supersized plot forget about the pond nigel we found you a lake
28:33nigel and chrissy asked for nature they asked for water and great walks and for the mystery house
28:39we're giving it to them all in their back garden look at this
28:53to me this is what escaping to the country is really all about a remote spot lots of nature
28:59and the sound of birdsong now this plot has nine acres and a couple of lakes that could sound quite
29:06daunting but it's also a wildlife reserve so all you have to do is let nature take its course and
29:12welcome in the ducks the geese and even some beavers
29:18the beavers have been here for the past six years and were introduced by the wildlife trust of south
29:24and west wales who work with community groups and landowners on initiatives to rebuild biodiversity
29:31beavers are nocturnal so i'm not sure we'll spot them today but that's not going to stop us from
29:36going to stop us from trying oh my oh my goodness come on i said you're going to want to
29:44keep coming oh my goodness me come with me i wanted a pond it's jaw dropping and i wouldn't even have
29:51to take my canoe anywhere i could just that's exactly right i could just you could just go round and
29:55round all day with lunch and you won't lose him and the added bonus is that you get neighbors right
30:07here in the form of a family of beavers oh oh god this is too much really this is unbelievable
30:16we could never have anticipated it would be anything like this i'm not often speechless
30:25you think you've known me now didn't he's done for a couple of days you have stumped me i'm speechless
30:32let's have a look at the property itself yeah okay and then we'll get back out here
30:35and really explore some of this fantastic thank you
30:38so we're in the house now and this is the living room which of course allows you to sit
30:49and continue to look at the view yeah i could look just look there all day you could couldn't
30:56you just all day no you're not going to get us out of here i don't mind you might have to pay for
31:02it first but other than that but what do you think of this as a living room it's lovely but i actually
31:07don't care about the house now i'll leave the house up to chrissy so chris i love the lounge
31:15be sitting in your lounge and just to be looking out on something like that fantastic
31:21the vendors added the awning across the patio as part of refurbishment works which included
31:26overhauling the kitchen breakfast room
31:31it's the kitchen oh this is lovely this is really nice
31:35it's very cottagey isn't it oh look at the beams you've got the beams gosh now this is really
31:41really nice it is big enough and there's the oven with the bar under and the table in you lots of
31:46storage yes i love the color and just across the way there's a massive utility room as well lovely
31:54opposite the kitchen across the entrance hall is the sitting room currently used as an office oh this is
32:01lovely oh that's the wall with the original stone yes really nice that's really very cottagey again
32:08yeah i think your desk here couldn't tune bookcases lovely i know it's lovely i love the stone work
32:15it's got a lovely feel it's obviously a nice family home isn't it as well lovely feel about the place
32:20upstairs upstairs the family bathroom serves a double bedroom with a roof light a single bedroom
32:28and a small double i don't know how the current owners can leave no it must be a real wrench for
32:33them it's a stunning property it's a real shame the kids aren't with us isn't i know i know they'd be
32:39putting a deposit down for us the fourth and final bedroom is the largest oh this is lovely so double
32:51aspect ensuite very spacious room isn't it fitted units i think it's bigger than our current bedroom
32:59it's much much bigger than our current bedroom is an ensuite yes there is an ensuite excellent
33:05that's what you need isn't it yeah yeah really nice everything we've seen has been absolutely perfect
33:15now to the nine acres the site sits at the confluence of two rivers and is enclosed by a predator-proof ring
33:22fence it includes half an acre of meadow a large lake with several islands and a smaller lake
33:30in addition to a garage there's a former cow shed and hay barn both in need of repair plus a newly built
33:38timber summer house but you could do a lot with this it's been really nicely made yes it has
33:45i could live out here because you can have the house i live in the shed
33:51oh it is stunning here beautiful but there's one thing we still need to talk about and that's how
34:03much oh you think it's on the market for upper end of our budget maybe a bit more seven hundred and
34:10fifteen thousand pounds okay so opening bid seven hundred and seven hundred and fifteen thousand
34:16pounds i don't know this place is priceless would you say seven seven hundred and fifteen i'll say
34:21seven hundred and sixteen thousand pounds
34:25seven hundred and sixteen thousand pounds okay this house is on the market for six hundred and ninety
34:33nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine pounds in the region of okay that's interesting it's worth
34:41stretching for this isn't it no you're not going to well you're not going to find anything like this are
34:45you well you do you obviously did but once you've got it no one else this detached character cottage has
34:55two receptions a contemporary country kitchen and four bedrooms the nine acres of land includes two lakes
35:03several islands and a family of beavers the price offers in the region of six hundred and ninety
35:10nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine pounds wasn't expecting a lake which has just blown my mind
35:18two lakes two lakes um i could just sit here all day i've already imagined myself in my canoe with my
35:27fishing rod and the the sit-down lawnmower i love the house when i first saw it and
35:33the the location is absolutely stunning i just wonder if it's if it's big enough but there are
35:40options to extend the property i'm sure and that's something we'd need to look at quite closely
35:52more often than not when people move to the countryside they're looking for a slower pace of life
35:57some peace quiet and a chance to embrace some me time however for others a move to pastures new
36:05is about exciting new challenges and for nick and paul a brand new business so hi nick what are you
36:13baking next hello good morning um doing a coffee and warm cake this is one of our popular cakes in the shop
36:20uh it's always a good selection of cakes here and this is always one of the routine jobs that nick's
36:26doing every day eight years ago paul raven a tea connoisseur and nick lee a keen baker ditched their
36:35careers in adult education in the north wales city of wrexham to pursue a completely new life in
36:40carmarthenshire it's a blustery day but here we are at kidweni key one of our favorite escape spots here
36:50on the carmarthenshire coast just a few minutes away from where we live and whatever the weather this is
36:55what we like to do get out in the countryside and enjoy the area the pair combined their two loves tea and
37:04baking to open a tea shop in the center of carmarthen that looks nice well i've never been one to
37:13pass on a cup of tea so let's go and say hello hello hello hi i'm denise nice to meet you hi denise
37:23lovely to meet you well thank you for inviting me to your tea shop nick and paul it is gorgeous
37:29the couple stocks over 100 varieties of tea from all across the globe including several from wales
37:38one of the most popular is their own blend of welsh breakfast tea and they've set up a business
37:44right in the heart of town and it feels like a quite a community space as well i see all the different
37:49activities you have going on here i think that was part of our focus right from the beginning
37:55not just to land a shop here to but to open the doors to celebrate what's going on in the town
38:01our window displays are always nothing at all to do with tea but more to do with what's happening
38:05what are the events what are the things that we can join in and celebrate together so the local
38:11theatre the youth theatre we get involved with the river festival we've got a window display full of
38:16fish at certain times in the year and how have you been received i'm sure you've been embraced by the
38:21local community oh yes hugely we had a comment the other day and said you must never leave carmarthen
38:27which is you know a compliment in itself so i think we're here to stay at the end of each day
38:34the couple leave the hustle and bustle of carmarthen behind and head for the sanctuary of their home
38:40in the gwendraith valley it's a wonderful spot overlooking the valley every day we look out
38:47of that and don't take it for granted it's wonderful it's almost um it's almost that you
38:52can breathe differently we definitely unwind at the end of the day and you're learning the welsh
38:58language which is lovely yes this is a really welsh community carmarthenshire is about 50 welsh
39:04speaking and the village where we live is very much a welsh community as well so i thought it was
39:12important to have a go so doing dusky come right i'm learning welsh and i'm able to chat with customers
39:19i wear a lanyard that says i'm learning welsh and that means that customers are prompted to chat with
39:24me in welsh sometimes they try an order in welsh and i say well i hope i'll bring you what you want
39:30what you're ordering and most of the time it works perfectly okay um so yeah it's it's really supportive
39:37they're they're really encouraging even when i make mistakes people appreciate that we're having a go
39:42and they really like the fact that we've taken the effort to join in and even if it's just uh
39:49hello or how are you um it goes a long way does it feel like you've made an escape oh definitely
39:56it's still a really good feeling um to know that we've come here we've we've done it and it's something i
40:06i wouldn't give up at all i tell you what neither would i tea and cake in the carmarthenshire
40:14countryside is nothing short of heaven
40:20to find out if we've found nigel and chrissy their own slice of paradise
40:24we're reconvening here on clan stefan beach
40:30well we've made it down to the water's edge here how are you feeling now that you've seen
40:34everything and had a moment to kind of mullet all over there is definitely a front runner
40:39we are going to go back hopefully this afternoon to visit the mystery house just to open that gate
40:45and look at that lake and the surrounding scenery and the rivers and the ducks and hear about the
40:50otters and beavers wow i have to say there's a i'd like the second house a lot but the mystery
40:57house just blew me away i could see myself living there now chrissy thinks it's a little bit small
41:03but i've offered to throw all the furniture away i think we need more accommodation both downstairs
41:08and upstairs so i would be tempted to put a very large conservatory on the front of the house
41:13overlooking the lake upstairs i'd like to make a fourth bedroom i mean as it is you can get in there
41:18and and live there and what i call minor issues that chrissy's raise are all fixable
41:26we don't need all the furniture we've got in jersey and to be honest the more we take the more
41:30expensive it's going to be to move yes and i never thought we would be talking about downsizing on this
41:35trip because the plan wasn't to downsize as such it was to take everything from our detached five-bedroom
41:41house where we are now which is crammed to the girls and move all of that to south wales but it
41:46sounds as if we've kind of happy days we can start to we've solved a new problem you didn't know you
41:51had we've upsized we'll be upsizing plot wise there's no excuse to dig a pond no you don't need
41:58to do that but you can you can circle the lake many times with this right on lawnmower what do you
42:05think you'll take away from this journey to expect the unexpected and embrace the unexpected really
42:10because we weren't expecting to see a property like that it's been an absolute pleasure cannot wait to
42:15come and revisit you here thank you look forward to you visiting
42:24chrissy and nigel came to us with a longing to return to this beautiful county and they had open
42:30minds as to exactly what kind of property would be right for them they've embraced everything we've
42:35shown them from the old to the new but i think chrissy said it best in life as on this show you have to
42:41expect the unexpected one thing's for certain carmarthenshire will soon be their home i'll see
42:48you next time on escape to the country if you would like to escape to the country in wales england
42:55northern ireland or scotland and need our help why not apply online at bbc.co.uk forward slash take part
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43:25Transcription by CastingWords
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