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Escape To The Country - Season 26 Episode 25 - Cambridgeshire Borders
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00:00today's escape to the country is positively blooming yeah it is the Rose
00:09Arch of dreams yes straight out of my vision book we have properties through
00:15the ages I think it looks really really neat really really tidy he just loves
00:20the fact it was built five years ago and gardens that go on for miles I know you
00:28didn't want a lot of law and I am gonna hold my hands up and I'm giving you a
00:35lot of law for a young couple itching to set up home together I can see the grin
00:41on your face you're just yes is that the tear in your eye hay fever or tears real
00:45tears it's a it's a pleasant mixture
00:58this East Anglian County is famed for its low-lying Fenlands that give rise to big skies it is of
01:22course Cambridgeshire there's a term in the property business called the Goldilocks
01:29zone somewhere not too far from a city or a town commutable territory not too expensive
01:35in other words somewhere you will find the perfect porridge unbreakable chairs and
01:41really comfy beds somewhere just right just like Cambridgeshire
01:46today we're exploring the countryside along Cambridgeshire's borders with Hertfordshire and Suffolk
01:54the pretty villages of Great Shelford and Little Shelford were recently named as some of the
02:02country's most desirable commuter hotspots I've lived here all my life I love that it's such a strong
02:09community I love that it's all really accessible I don't drive myself so I get the train everywhere and
02:14I love that you can go to London you can go to Cambridge and whatever you want to do you can
02:18be able to find it the town of st ives not to be confused with its Cornish namesake sits on the
02:27banks of the River Great Ouse it's lively market town atmosphere and waterside location draw many a
02:34home buyer there's lots of green areas lots of wildlife is all around here and it's great very nice
02:41atmosphere everyone's so lovely too and then such a happy place to be right time to get this show on
02:49the road before we do that we need to meet today's young couple who've asked us to help them escape
02:55to the country hi I'm Lauren hi I'm Lewis we're currently living in Stevenage with my parents and
03:02we're looking to buy our first forever home together we've been sort of going between each
03:08other's parents houses for a little while now and I think we're both kind of ready to sort of have our
03:12own space have I start making our own lives together Lauren works in marketing and Lewis is an
03:23actuary both commute to London several days a week it's really important for us to have greenery around for
03:29health reasons we've both had some horrible things happening in our lives so first we find the
03:35countryside really healing and calming Lauren has a clear vision regarding the color scheme for the
03:43couple's new rural sanctuary as you can see I really like the color pink so when we have our future house
03:49I am hoping to have a pink front door if Lewis will let me thoughts Lewis I think I wouldn't be my
03:58first choice I have to admit a few little touches I'm not too opposed to okay that would be fine
04:06Lauren and Lewis wants a detached property but they will consider a semi it must blend character with a
04:13contemporary interior and have four bedrooms a decent sized garden and close to a station with links
04:20in to London their budget seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds
04:32what's exciting is that this is Lauren and Lewis's first house together and they're so sure about wanting
04:39to escape to the country wanting that peace and tranquility and only dipping in to the busyness of London when they have to work
04:47before our canter around Cambridgeshire commences I'm meeting Lauren and Lewis on the banks of the River Great Ouse
04:58Lauren and Lewis this is exciting we're all buying our first house together
05:06because I'm that involved already we'll have a spare room for you if you like listen you called me but you've known quite early on right this is what you want to do this is the plan
05:16yeah yes yeah I've always wanted a cottage and I've always wanted to live in a village and have a characterful home so that's something we talked about quite early on didn't we and we just wanted like a calm
05:27countryside life for our future and future children as well hopefully I've got a Pinterest board of literally my dream house so yeah I have in my mind the sort of house that I want and everything on our kind of wish
05:38wish list we agree on as well which is great and that was going to be my next question because it is your first house together I think I think we sort of looking for similar things there's nothing on there that screams oh I I'm definitely not okay with that I feel like we're very much opposites attract he's the analytical mindset I'm the fashion marketing girly a bit more creative it sounds like the perfect combo to me actually let's go house hunt
06:01we start in the Cambridgeshire village of yelling four and a half miles from the town of St. Neots on the main train line to London despite the shouty sounding name yelling is a peaceful village home to just over 300 people the focal point is the village hall that also serves as the local pub with the nearest shop a six minute drive away in Papworth
06:31the first property we're showing Lauren and Lewis is this quintessential thatched cottage built in the early 19th century originally a row of six farm workers cottages today it's a stylish semi-detached family home
06:46so you've got this lovely driveway with the double garage yes perfect and then wow it has the thatch so I'm happy
06:57it is the rose arch of dreams yes that is straight out of my vision board it's picture perfect yeah and so we thought we'd start there yes yeah ideal yeah and then see how it goes yeah it's stunning let's have a look inside let's head in
07:22I happen to know that Lewis whilst not against thatched roofs is not quite as in love with them
07:32as Lauren but I'm hopeful that the interior of this cottage will appeal to his more modern aesthetic
07:39and also provide Lauren with all the period charm she's after
07:43so you come through the beamed hallway there's an office there
07:47mm-hmm look at this gorgeous parlor room that's what I would call it nice nice and bright and
07:53nice lovely and then look at this space oh that's very nice isn't it it's really a triple aspect which
08:00is rare especially in a cottage yeah like this cottage yeah it's so light yeah it's beautiful lovely
08:07and absolutely stunning and the ceilings amazing it really feels very homely in here which is lovely
08:14doesn't it yeah it does so we've got these two reception rooms and then you have this gorgeous
08:20bonus space really which can be anything leading into the kitchen there's so much you can do yeah
08:26beautiful you know you don't have to have a table you could have sofas in there and it comes your summer
08:32reading room with a bar or something yeah exactly yeah it's your summer space I think mm-hmm and then
08:38you're into this really light kitchen again and all of this is underfloor heating by the way on the
08:44ground floor it looks lovely it's been nice nice nicely modernized isn't it and that's kind of the
08:49thing I wanted if it was going for character like a little bit of modernization in there and that does
08:53seem to seem to have done that really nicely here the contemporary cottage vibe continues upstairs so
09:02you've got three bedrooms there the bathroom a loo and then this would be your room wow again it's
09:12just so bright there's just so much light in here a bit of a wardrobe yeah so I can have that you can
09:17have all that there's really no need for arguments over space up here in addition to the family
09:25bathroom with its roll-top bath there's a single bedroom another single used as a study and the
09:33fourth and final bedroom oh nice another really decent side bedroom yeah this is lovely really nice
09:39nice window yeah nice natural light it's just so bright and airy in here isn't it it feels like a
09:44good size as well it's a good space for sure outside above the detached double garage there's a bonus
09:53bedroom this is great yeah this could be our spare bedroom imagine guesting here I think they'd love
10:04that they'd love it yeah this is great a little space on our own bathroom yeah brilliant perfect
10:09the south westerly facing garden features a large paved patio perfect for alfresco dining and a generous
10:20expanse of lawn to the front which extends to the side and includes a small orchard of apple plum and
10:27cherry trees as well as some veg plots
10:30fancy growing your own veg absolutely you want to don't you yes yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah be
10:38great it's lovely a wildflower field at the back as well it's just stunning yours to look at to even
10:44walk through because there's a gate it belongs to the farmer and yeah they've sort of just let it
10:50grow into a wild meadow which is just gorgeous yeah it's beautiful I mentally moved in already I can
10:58imagine every room I love it it's stunning I can see the grin on your face you're just yes is that is
11:03the tear in your eye hay fever or tears real tears it's a it's a pleasant mixture of it is time for us to
11:11talk about the price of the property I'll let you go first um I have a rough idea I think it'll be right at
11:17the top of our budget maybe seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds okay I'm going to I'm going to match
11:25it yeah it's about seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds I like how you both said about yeah about
11:29give or take plus or minus yeah well it is now on the market for six hundred and seventy five okay yeah
11:41wow it's been reduced in price to account for the fact that the roof probably has about another five
11:48years and then you get that done so they've sort of accounted for that in the price okay fine yeah
11:54okay that makes sense yeah all right that's good that's doable this semi-detached thatched cottage has
12:02three receptions a family kitchen breakfast room four bedrooms a separate study and a detached double
12:10garage with guest annex above blessed with a generous garden it's on the market for six hundred
12:15and seventy five thousand pounds my first impression of the house is it's lovely and well-kept it's a
12:25beautiful setting as the the the garden space in the area around is absolutely lovely the house itself
12:29is really pretty it's more certainly more on the cottagey side than the sort of like the money side
12:36that i'm that i personally like and yeah i think lauren is definitely more leaning towards it than i am a
12:41little bit i'm still a little bit hesitant i think but there's certainly stuff about it that i really really like
12:46yes it's it's just beautiful i can envision myself in this house i can see my future and
12:53kind of see all the rooms and and what they're being how our life would be here
12:58well here you are leaving the picture-perfect house but i must take your way because we have more to
13:08see exciting have we won him over i think so i think so have we won you over we're almost oh that was the
13:16most i was going to get right we'll get there
13:31teetering on the cambridgeshire hertfordshire border but officially in hertfordshire
13:36just lies the market town of royston i've lived here for 12 years and i've lived and worked all over
13:44hertfordshire i wouldn't be anywhere else although we're a small market town there is loads going on
13:50all the time the community spirit is amazing i think we've got more events going on than most other
13:56little towns in the area royston is home to nearly 17 and a half thousand people and serves several more
14:03thousand folk living in the popular outlying villages such as melbourne litlington and bassingborn
14:10there's so many amazing walks nearby there's the heath there's little country lanes country walks
14:15it's just so so beautiful like i couldn't pick a better place to want to live
14:20it's very well connected equidistant between the a1m and the m11 both less than a 15-minute drive away
14:29i think we are so well positioned we're between two airports luton and stansted we've got great
14:36train lines into london 40 minutes you can be in london 15 minutes you're in cambridge
14:42many of the buildings in the center of royston date back to the early 1600s when king james i chose to
14:50build a country retreat here king james pub the vase of excellent wine spears of spirits it's nice to
14:56glass wine on a sunny day excellent his hunting lodge the old palace still stands on kneesworth street
15:04just a few doors up is one of the newest arrivals to royston mitre a restaurant serving up world
15:10cuisine we've been here six months and it's been wonderful six months and people are very very nice
15:17and very welcoming roster is a wonderful place it's a beautiful small town very secure safe place for kids
15:25and families a lovely place to live in there's a plethora of eateries and watering holes in the town
15:34with everything from your morning latte to your post-work pint covered hi how are you hey hi nice
15:41to meet you nice to meet you i'm lewis cookie nomad is a cafe co-working and event space that was set up
15:48by emma nankivel and a couple of her old school friends in 2022 and emma's kindly agreed to fill
15:55lauren and lewisin on royston life it's a really lovely community feel around here actually it's a
16:01market town so it does get a lot of kind of traction from outside the area as well um i've actually been
16:07born and raised in royston um moved away for a few years but came back really good schools as well
16:13if ever you're looking at sort of further down the line um it's got really nice kind of family community
16:17as well yeah i find it offers a real good like work-life balance um offers a real nice kind of
16:22relaxed atmosphere it's not too like busy you're not kind of expected to kind of be constantly going
16:28it's very chilled very nice way of living sounds idyllic yeah yeah sounds dreamy but we have work
16:38to do finding lauren and lewis their perfect family home
16:47we're heading to the village of curtling now right on the cambridgeshire border with suffolk
16:56the nearest station with direct links to london is in cambridge a 30-minute drive away and the 300 or
17:03so residents have access to several footpaths from which to enjoy rural walks a village hall and a pub
17:10a few minutes walk from which sits our second property a modern spacious detached family home
17:22well here we are earlier on it was a house for you lauren this is the house for lewis not that you're
17:29not moving in together but this i've gone for the other side now i do like that it looks lovely
17:36i like the porch yes it's a house with character but it was only built in 2020 okay okay fine if you
17:44have any worries about a thatched roof i'm feeling like a newly built roof five years ago yeah should
17:50be all right clay tiles oak porch oak windows yeah i think all the right things yeah yeah absolutely i do
18:00like it yeah i feel like it's still got plenty of character and it still looks from the outskirts
18:03very homely doesn't it yeah i really like the look of it to be honest i think it looks really really
18:08neat really really tidy he just loves the fact it was built five years ago no that's true
18:14yeah that's it shall we head in yeah let's go
18:21the house was built by the present owner who used highly effective floor wall and roof insulation high
18:28performance double glazing plus low energy lighting throughout to result in a b rating for the
18:34property's environmental impact the average rating in the uk is d similarly high standards were also
18:43applied to the interior which just oozes contemporary country living and here we are wow you get a feel
18:52for the house as soon as you come in not what i expected really no it's a great though but yeah
18:59i don't know it's much bigger and more open plan straight away than i expected i love the space the
19:04fireplace there is exceptional isn't that i really like that that's really cool yeah beautiful lovely
19:09open staircase as well yeah i love that oak yeah i love that love a bit of oak that is gorgeous family
19:16room here just everybody's in like adults around the outside kids messing around in the middle yeah yeah no it's
19:20lovely onto the kitchen let's go can't wait so this is the utility with the downstairs loo door to the
19:30garage excellent yeah into this huge space this this kitchen is amazing i approve that island is
19:39spectacular yeah yeah that's lovely nice yeah it's really well done so much space this is the perfect
19:45size to be honest fun cooking if we've got people over i feel like i like the open plan a bit as well
19:51because we do love hosting especially you with your big family as well yeah this is yeah really high
19:56up on my list yeah this is this is really good for me you prefer this one already i think a bit more
20:01i think i i think so yeah i don't know if it's obvious yeah i mean you know i'm about to i'm about
20:06to ask you for a game of cards but go upstairs go and discover that see if the space works for you
20:16and then meet me outside okay okay we'll see you soon
20:23looks like lewis is totally on board i don't know why i'm whispering it's been obvious to all of us
20:27the space on off for downstairs is replicated upstairs with four generous double bedrooms this
20:36one being the largest oh wow very spacious in here it's lovely this bedroom is massive isn't it
20:43the views are stunning fields yeah it's beautiful let's have a look at the ensuite that's really
20:50nicely done as well it's nice to have an ensuite as well that was something that was missing in the
20:55last house and it's quite nice to have there's another double also with an ensuite at the rear
21:02of the property and a third double next door this shares a luxury family bathroom with a separate
21:08bath and shower with the fourth and final double set up as a twin oh wow this room's a really nice
21:15size as well nice and bright and airy again isn't it yeah it's so big like it doesn't look like there
21:20is this much space in here but it's fantastic isn't it that's 2 800 square feet of living accommodation
21:30dealt with time to tackle the garden which might be more modest in size but is just as exquisitely designed
21:38so this is a lovely lovely space and that's barbecue that little i don't i don't know what to call
21:46it but it's just it's not little yeah yeah yeah it's not yeah it's the centerpiece of the garden that
21:52is made for entertaining this garden yeah definitely we could do that there's a nice little area for
21:57vegetables there and yeah i feel like it's the perfect size to be honest right let's talk money yeah okay
22:04how much do you think this property is on the market for i am going to guess 725 000 pounds
22:16i'm going to go 630 000 pounds oh my gosh wow i i overwent on the last one so now i'm unsure yeah
22:25yeah and maybe a bit low but yeah it is on the market for exactly the price that lewis guessed oh wow
22:34okay 725 000 pounds okay and only been on for two weeks oh wow okay yeah yes
22:45this modern detached family home offers a huge living room a sleek stylish open plan kitchen diner four
22:53roomy double bedrooms two of which are ensuite and a beautifully landscaped rear garden it's on the
22:59market for seven hundred and twenty five thousand pounds i feel like it still has a lot of nice
23:06character in there the staircase itself is beautiful i would say it's maybe a little bit too modern for me
23:13that being said i'm not against it by any means it's beautiful it's high spec
23:16it's so well done i think there's so much attention to detail in there as well the kitchen
23:24space is amazing like there's loads of open space the bedrooms are huge it's just so bright and airy
23:28the views are are amazing the view from the master bedroom of just rolling fields and horses and
23:36shape it's it's stunning it's waking up to every every morning it's just amazing
23:54we're winding up our day just a couple of miles from our second house at branches park
23:59a 1500 acre estate that's been restored to its former glory and is now run as a private events venue
24:09i'm being very auntie snarley and bringing you to a wedding venue
24:16it's just nice to know where where they are just in case
24:21wedding venue aside let's talk about the living venues that we have seen today in the houses we're
24:27viewing we said how peaceful and quiet it was and how calm and serene we felt it's exactly what
24:32we want really isn't it so yeah you're not buying a flat together which is probably what most couples
24:38and maybe that's my own experience because i was the same age buying my first property with my yeah
24:43yeah you're not doing a stepping stone property you're not going oh let's get an apartment or
24:47something you know you're going all in you're already buying the family home yeah and possibly a home that
24:53you could be in for decades really it sounds like yeah and growing into the house like growing as a
24:58as a family in the future as well that's really important for us do we need to go see a mystery
25:02house ah yeah because because i think we sort of split in the middle leaning more towards one for
25:10for each of us so i think maybe that that third one might sort of okay stick us in that stick us
25:14together in the middle somewhere i'm very excited to see the mystery house let's see what we can do
25:32if you're thinking about buying in and around the cambridgeshire borders here's the lowdown on
25:37property prices presently the average cost of a detached home in the uk is just over 437 000
25:46pounds in cambridgeshire that figure rises to just over 485 000 pounds and in neighboring herpfordshire
25:55to the south however it doubles to more than 950 000 pounds
26:00of course there are properties to suit all budgets we've cherry-picked a few more that are
26:09also on the market now this characterful 18th century grade 2 listed cottage features a cozy reception
26:18a newly fitted kitchen two bedrooms a modern shower room and a courtyard garden it's on the market with
26:26a guide price of 289 000 pounds for offers over 475 000 pounds you could own this handsome detached
26:36victorian property with a bright sitting room a second larger reception a vaulted kitchen breakfast room
26:44and four bedrooms outside enjoy a paved patio and a manicured lawn with a summer house ideal for hobbies
26:52or a teen retreat just over the eastern county border in suffolk renters can find this victorian
27:01terraced cottage with an open plan living dining room modern shaker style kitchen two double bedrooms
27:08and a courtyard garden available for 1390 pounds per calendar month
27:15yesterday was a day of two halves a home for lauren a home for lewis both almost right for both of them
27:25it is time to properly test them with the mystery house this is a couple who know what they want
27:30however if a property doesn't fit their personal picture perfect vision down to a tee but has the
27:38potential to are they willing to come together and put the work in our mystery house lies in the village
27:47of wentworth four and a half miles west of the cambridgeshire cathedral city of ely as well as having
27:54a direct train link to london ely has all the amenities lauren and lewis could need including twice
28:00monthly farmers markets vintage markets and the popular foodie fridays held through the spring and summer months
28:08wentworth village is a 10-minute drive from ely in the middle of the east cambridgeshire countryside
28:18the mystery house is only a hundred meters away cool but isn't this what you're after this
28:26every morning in the evenings whenever you want it's this piece that you're after absolutely yeah
28:31this tranquility is just it's lovely
28:34whilst lauren and lewis explore the village with its bookshare bus shelter i'm taking you for a
28:43sneak preview of the mystery house an idyllic detached thatched cottage
28:51so far it's been a house a piece they're both happy with two different houses this is a property for
28:58both of them the mystery house because it is a house for the future
29:07this might be their first home together but this search has never been about finding them a starter
29:13home no no from the off it's been about finding their forever home and this property whilst just
29:20perfect for the two of them now has the potential to expand it can adapt with them as a family this
29:28property dates back to the 1500s but it's not listed which means they have freedom to create any extra space that they need
29:41in short it's a property that can grow along with them
29:44well welcome welcome to the mystery house wow that is beautiful isn't it your own little haven in
29:53cambridgeshire it's beautiful stunning it's newly roofed and ridged like that that is brand brand new
30:01okay so you don't even have to think about it yeah it's so beautiful isn't it so it feels very private
30:07and very secluded already which i really like as well it's like our space yeah our own space yeah
30:13isn't it i like that yeah it's really keen to get stuck in and have a look inside me too i will not
30:17make you wait anyhow let's go
30:22this cottage has been beautifully maintained by the vendors and still leaves scope for lauren and lewis to
30:28make their mark she's got the hallway the cupboard under the stairs oh lovely oh it's so nice in here
30:36yeah it's very pretty imagine just snuggling up here with the fireplace on it's so cozy
30:44through this dinky door oh wow there's a second reception used as a shared office
30:51it's lovely in here oh this is plenty of space isn't it look at this look at that oak windowsills
30:56as well i really like that nice beam as well i like the size of the door as well yeah it's very
31:02cute hidden secret it's quite different to the space of the second house yesterday do you see
31:08yourself in here yeah i do to be fair yeah it's a slightly different vision but that's not not
31:13necessarily a bad thing at all i don't think we're heading back through the main entrance hall to the
31:19rear so with this house you've got the kitchen wow through to a utility room okay
31:29i would ask for that coffee machine wow that's part of the day that is probably i like the kitchen
31:35services and the work talk it's good into this space this is beautiful it's so nice and light
31:41wow really nice space isn't it really big oh perfect there's loads of people around it yeah and
31:46great because it looks out onto the garden yes the current owners before they decided to move
31:52we're planning a huge extension okay a sort of double-sized living room and an extra bedroom
31:59on top at the back okay they were then thinking about an orangery that goes further into the garden
32:05but you could really add to the house if and when you needed it okay okay that's good to know yeah
32:12really good to know the point is it's adaptable to what you need it doesn't have to change at all
32:17in the first few years does it no no i mean we could definitely move in as is yes
32:26upstairs a family bathroom serves a bedroom with exposed beams that's used as a reading room
32:33a second roomier double in a newer part of the house and a third and final double
32:39oh wow this is the master bedroom ah loads of space this is stunning again nice beams in the
32:47backdrop yeah this is beautiful plenty of wardrobe space as well yeah yeah i really like this this is
32:53good this is really nice yeah love it outside the garden is the stuff rural moves are made of
33:04measuring just over two-thirds of an acre it comprises a formal lawn which leads to an orchard
33:10an impressive kitchen garden a chicken coop and a 30-foot teepee frame
33:18wow look all that space the garden space is absolutely massive this is amazing
33:24fruit trees there lovely flowers everywhere you see all the bricks as well
33:28it's gorgeous hello what's that down the bottom a chicken coop it's our chicken oh
33:38lures we could have chickens hello hi oh yeah do you speak chicken no
33:48in addition there's a large detached workshop and store presently set up as a games room
33:55and a detached thatched garage
34:01i know you didn't want a lot of lawn and i am going to hold my hands up
34:07and i'm giving you a lot of lawn everything's just enormous there's so much space everywhere
34:12it's about it's brilliant like they've done it so well everything's laid out with purpose and i
34:16really like it it's done so good let's talk about the price okay yeah yeah i'm definitely going to go
34:21higher i'm not sure if it's in our budget maybe right at the top range i want to say like 780 maybe
34:29yeah i think i think with the with the extra bit of land as well i think 750 000 pounds i reckon
34:36in a way you're both right okay which is strange to say but they have asked for offers in excess of
34:43750 000 pounds okay so i would leave the negotiations if there are any to be had to you yeah okay that's
34:52what they've asked for okay fine okay okay okay yeah this detached thatched cottage boasts three receptions
35:02and three double bedrooms the two-thirds of an acre plot includes a detached workshop with store
35:09and a separate garage subject to the relevant planning consents there's potential to extend
35:14the house in the future it's being marketed for offers in excess of 750 000 pounds
35:24i love it i think it's so beautiful inside i just think this is the countryside
35:29life that i i would just absolutely adore
35:31yeah there's so much going for this house and the aesthetic is is absolutely spotter and i think
35:39it's so like it's so nice and bright inside yeah it's it's it's delivered
35:45the decline of the british bee population has become a pressing issue in recent years largely due to
36:05urban development destroying natural habitats in 2023 plans to establish beehives in the north
36:13hertfordshire town of letchworth garden city were scrapped due to a lack of food sources in response
36:20gareth towson a contractor with the council's ground maintenance team created a bee corridor a connected
36:28route of foraging spaces to support bees and other pollinators hi gareth hello how are you i'm really
36:35well how are you yeah good thank you together with a colleague gareth launched the bee part of it
36:41initiative urging the community to transform available areas into bee friendly habitats
36:50there's so many people on board with it schools um are doing wildlife areas um friends of groups
36:56for that look after parks volunteers look after parks and residents um planting up their gardens
37:04uh shopkeepers with planters and hanging baskets it's been fantastic it really has you really got the
37:10word out yeah people's enthusiasm for it was great the overarching message is that everyone can do
37:19something if you've got a small garden and you can dedicate a area of it to naturalize with wildflowers
37:27if you've only got a small patio maybe some of your planters you can put wildflower seed in
37:31and grow that if you're in a flat window box um anything really you know anything that that's that's
37:39the pollinators can come and visit and and be on their merry way the bee corridor offers resting points
37:47with nectar rich food allowing pollinator populations to thrive when the other thing we can do is don't
37:53forget to give them a drink as well a saucer or something like that put stones in it so the bees have got
37:58something to sit on so they're not actually in the water and drown but you know a little chair for
38:05the bees yeah such a nice idea its success has inspired similar initiatives in nearby royston with
38:14hopes for bulldog and hitching to follow suit wind community garden in the center of letchworth
38:20is one of many groups involved and richard the town's business improvement manager can share more
38:27about the project's impact when gareth approached me it was just something that we couldn't say no to
38:36because um because we're the first garden city we've got rich history of looking after our god
38:40say no can you absolutely imagine the headline else it'd go down to well in garden city that point
38:45oh yeah big rival big right you've got to show them how it's done absolutely so when gareth approached us
38:50yeah we just came on board completely so the first thing was getting the businesses on board and so if
38:55you walk around the town now you'll see the bee corridor posted in the windows most of the
38:59businesses in the town supported it secondly then we advertised through our social media and our website
39:04in relation to getting residents of letchworth on board as well because it needed them to change in
39:10relation to what plants they were growing in their gardens how often they cut the verges how often they
39:14cut the grasses and to be honest we were talking to people who just wanted to listen we were not pushing
39:19against the closed door it was all very positive and letchworth is looking great the only problem
39:25is it looks so good out here you come out here on your lunch break you don't want to go back no not
39:29at all you don't the bee corridor has enhanced biodiversity and also encouraged the whole community's
39:39engagement with nature beneficial for both bees and the soul
39:51decisions decisions decisions let's see if lewis and lauren have been able to make any or whether they are totally tall
39:59how are you i should ask after seeing three amazing houses we're okay yeah too much choice too much
40:14choice slightly confused are all three houses still on the table yes i think we could see ourselves in
40:22different capacities at least anyway um in all three of those houses they each one has their own merits yeah
40:27exactly i agree with that i would say of course naturally the first and third one i love the
40:31most because for me a thatched cottage is just my dream we did like the second one as well um however
40:38it was a little bit more on the modern side than perhaps i would have liked but i think we will
40:43definitely book second viewings and we're not ruling it off the table by any means so at the moment three
40:49second viewings yes oh yeah i would i would go see each each three of them again are you going to though
40:55yes i think it's worth sort of getting another look in and taking more in as much more as possible
41:00and yeah and going from there i think practically the first house worked the best for us in terms
41:05of location to work it's a train line that i get every day at the minute anyway to work
41:10it's close to family so things to discuss things to think about the first house after having seen
41:16all three feels like the one in between it does yeah it does and you could be in a house by the
41:23end of the year there's no reason you're ready to move yeah yeah if vendors are ready to go yeah
41:30could work out quite nice this could be a big year yeah big year very big we're ready to move whenever
41:35so we're excited and raring to go well you better book in those second uh viewings then yes
41:42phone number we'll get on the phone to him in a bit good yeah and then let me know what you decide
41:48i'd love to come and see how you're getting on yes we look forward to welcoming you in whichever
41:52house we choose well cheers to uh your future the three houses that you've seen and um the hard work
41:58you're putting in now because i'm done so lauren and lewis are torn between all three houses we showed
42:11them and it's easy to see why cambridgeshire has delivered on the property front so have we seriously
42:18though it has been lovely to spend time with a young couple excited about their future i think they're
42:24going to end up going with house number one that feels like the sweet spot house and with both of
42:30them very keen to move in together i don't think it's going to be long before they're setting up
42:35house here see you next time on escape to the country lauren and lewis opted not to revisit house
42:42two and had second viewings of the first house plus the mystery house but ultimately ruled them out
42:49they continue to search for their dream forever home and we hope they find it soon
42:56if you would like to escape to the country in england northern ireland scotland or wales and need
43:02our help why not apply online at bbc.co.uk forward slash take part
43:19so
43:26you
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