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00:01it's said that finding your dream home is like finding true love when you know you know i just
00:07want to sit down now get get myself a cup of tea and sit down and just let me help
00:12you out there
00:15although the course of true love doesn't always run smoothly thinking about it could have two
00:20ponds with a no i like it nice and firm this is no differing opinions are commonplace but they can
00:29be worked out plenty of space for a pond as well oh yeah i've got a lake here because there
00:35we are
00:36built a lake fill it with carp all i say is be careful what you wish for oh my oh
00:43my goodness
00:44come on i said you're going to want to keep coming
01:16coastlines castles and countryside any ideas that's right carmarthenshire also known as the garden of
01:28wales which makes this county the best county in which to see daffodils aka daffs not only are they
01:40the symbol of wales their nature's way of saying the winter's over stand by for spring and summer
01:47which means another great year of escaping to the country
01:54the county of carmarthenshire in west wales offers the best of both coast and countryside
02:00as catherine born and bred hair can tell you
02:20the county town of carmarthen sits on the banks of the river tower and is popular with young families seeking
02:27affordable homes good schools and nature on their doorstep larne once the home of welsh poet and
02:34writer dylan thomas is filled with colorful fishing cottages and a host of places to satisfy the hungry
02:41visitors who come to soak up the inspiring views in the communities around here the people are incredibly
02:48friendly friendly they like to know about you they want you to know about them and they're very keen
02:56that anybody that moves into the area is welcomed and gets involved in local community life it has got
03:03as far as i'm concerned pretty much everything that anybody could possibly want and i love living here
03:12and so to today's couple who've sent us at sos a message in a bottle if you will they want
03:18to
03:18escape from the tiny island of jersey and we are more than happy to come to their rescue
03:24i'm from swansea originally and there's a word in welsh called here i which is like an extreme form of
03:31homesickness
03:32and a longing for for your home and i really feel at my age that's that's what's happening to me
03:39now i
03:39really am missing home nigel a retired gp and his wife chrissy a retired occupational therapist
03:47have lived in this five-bed detached family home on the southwestern tip of jersey for the past 27 years
03:56this is jess our lovely cockapoo we've loved this beach we spent so many hours walking along here
04:02chucking tennis balls chucking stones but we're looking forward to walking on new beaches
04:07and new coastal paths in commandership nigel plans to live his retirement at full throttle that's my harley
04:15over there which i loved a bit and there's another reason wanting to go back to the uk so i
04:21i i know
04:22every blade of grass on this island now and essentially you can either go clockwise or
04:27anti-clockwise on a nine by five island so i i am kind of looking forward to feel the wind
04:34in my head
04:34what's left of it and put the bike through its places
04:42chrissy and nigel want a detached property with four bedrooms and around an acre of garden
04:48a double garage for nigel's motorbike is a must and they'd like to be close to a village
04:54their budget 700 000 pounds with a little bit of wriggle room if required
05:08after 30 years living on the small island of jersey this is a big move for nigel and chrissy
05:15coming to the mainland coming back to a part of the world they know really well oh i can see
05:21why nigel
05:21cannot wait to get his motorbike onto the mainland look at this it's got roads that go for miles
05:32before our carmarthen chatur gets underway i'm meeting chrissy and nigel near the banks of the river
05:38taui to learn more about their move chrissy nigel welcome to wales a bit of a homecoming for you
05:47nigel it's always coming home when i come back to wales and for you chrissy you've spent a lot of
05:52time
05:52in this part of the world as well well we we met here as students back in the late 70s
05:56and lived here
05:57for a while afterwards yes and i've got very fond memories of family holidays just across the estuary
06:02here so it's lovely to be back you've both retired yes yeah and you've decided this is where you
06:07want to settle down yes yes our children are now in the uk they're not coming back to jersey so
06:12we
06:12want to be closer to them talk me through some of the things you'll be getting i suppose canoeing
06:17fishing kayaking okay cycling a little birdie tells me one more hobby or something you might
06:25want to put a water feature in i've always had ponds in every in every house we've been to and
06:30they've got
06:30bigger and bigger and bigger what's going to keep you happy my needs are much much simpler just being
06:34outdoors in wonderful scenery like they're just going for walks every day it's really important
06:38for my head space to be outdoors and walking either on my own or with our with our lovely dog
06:43we're going to have some fun aren't we yeah we certainly are really looking forward to today
06:52our search begins in the small market town of kidwelly 10 miles south of the county town carmarthen
06:59town nigel has fond childhood memories of this place having fished here with his dad the gwen drive
07:06estuary remains a popular spot for fishing as well as bird watching and picnicking whilst the town centre
07:13has all the daily essentials covered on a quiet no through road on the edge of town is the first
07:20house
07:20we've lined up for christy and nigel to view so this is our first property my goodness wow this is
07:31the old
07:32vicarage okay yes and it was built in 1895 gosh it looks really well maintained yes this obviously has
07:41views looking out onto the village the town you've got neighbors close by is that something you'd be
07:47looking for from this move to me that's quite important yes i wouldn't want to be too remote
07:51i mean the house they're not on top of each other are they you're not really overlooking so it'd be
07:55absolutely fine it's quite a large plot looking at it how much ground how much ground is with it
08:01so it's just under about an acre really yeah that wraps around oh wow okay that's definitely sit down
08:07lawn moments there you go come on let's have a look inside the lawn's in better nick than mine at
08:14home
08:14the moment this imposing property is every bit as grand inside as it appears outside
08:24right wow so many doors everywhere let me show you through this one okay okay so a sunny daffodil room
08:36beautiful oh it's just glorious it's lovely oh look at that yeah yeah i must have had servants at one
08:42point spot on and that gives us a clue of the number of rooms as well there you go one
08:48of my
08:48questions because it's got all these features is is it a listed building are you limited what you can
08:53do that's a great question and a great answer for you is no wow it's not listed okay so you
08:59have the
08:59opportunities to do things and i think that's going to come into play as i show you through here with
09:04what
09:04was the kitchen so shall we have a look okay so here is the kitchen which would have been in
09:11the
09:11servants quarters okay yeah gosh what do you think of this space a little bit on the dark side a
09:18little
09:18bit on the dark side but you know workable isn't it you've got a nice worktop here um a fair
09:23amount of
09:24storage and look at this i know wow i think you probably want a slightly larger larger larger kitchen yes
09:30yes yes but it's workable we're listening to it there's potential here to revamp it a little bit
09:35that's a massive pantry through there pantry go have a look go on goodness
09:42i'd love a pantry have a little oh wow oh how yes oh look at that how useful is this
09:48this is brilliant the thing with this house is it's going to be like a magical mystery tour
09:54okay there are so many parts you're getting the feed already i think um if we were to move here
09:59i think i'd probably want to maybe extend into into that just to open the room up a little bit
10:05i was
10:05tend to start knocking on walls and how would you feel about doing some major works if you wanted to
10:10make alteration we do have a builder who could help us if we needed to do significant work to the
10:15property i don't expect any concerns regarding the size of the largest reception
10:23oh this is this is a lovely isn't it gorgeous so light but i love this room i just love
10:29the openness
10:30of it yeah i'm just loving all the fireplaces oh gosh look at that i mean this really reminds me
10:37of
10:37my parents house it's it's really weird next door there's a dining room as well as a ground floor loo
10:45a study and a fourth cosier reception oh look at this another great fireplace is that hand painted
10:55do you think i don't know it might be it's not tired is it no stunning it's all lovely we
11:01wouldn't
11:01see each other would we you know so many rooms we just have no but i'd just bring the bell
11:05ding and you'd appear like a genie oh no i would not i so would not
11:13upstairs the generous proportions continue
11:19okay more light another light more high ceilings double aspect yeah lovely and this is the main
11:26bedroom because there's an ensuite right there okay can i see the ensuite yes as we specified
11:36okay well it needs to be replaced but that's fine you could put a nice walk-in shower in here
11:41couldn't
11:41you it's in the right place it's a good size and it's actually an ensuite perfect
11:47the family bathroom serves four more roomy doubles including this one the largest oh my goodness another
11:56lovely bedroom we won't be short of space
12:02there's also room aplenty outside with a two-story former coach house that boasts a loft a workshop and a
12:11garage more bicycles than me that would take some day and the lawn mowers that's good storage place
12:16because we need storage for for our bikes and also your motorbike there's certainly enough storage here
12:24as for the garden this is big enough to justify a sit down just about is it really yeah and
12:33a pond would go
12:34nicely over there actually the bank would thinking about it could have two ponds with a
12:39no i like it nice and firm prissy says no yeah okay the final piece of information you need is
12:47the
12:47price so how much do you think this property is on the market for perhaps 580 000 pounds
12:54yeah no i'd go higher i'd probably go 650 650 650 000 pounds okay well you win this one it's
13:03on for 575
13:055 000 pounds offers in the region of yes okay yes that's a stunning house that's a beautiful house
13:13and seeing it on a day like this just brings out the best and it really doesn't it it does
13:18this detached victorian vicarage has four reception rooms and five bedrooms on a plot of just under an acre
13:26and with a two-story coach house it's on the market for offers in the region of 575 000 pounds
13:34it is a
13:35big house i've lost count of how many rooms there are within the property very very spacious maybe it's
13:40a little bit bigger than we actually need but it is a stunning property i'm weighing up the pros and
13:45cons
13:46because it will take a fair bit of work to get it to a level where we'd be happy with
13:51but emotionally it
13:53really has uh has actually hit me as i was actually welling up looking at some of the rooms
13:59so a beautiful place well that was a good start wasn't it it was a great start yes the sun
14:05is out
14:06and we've still got more properties to see let's go
14:08a little bit
14:22since we're in the neighborhood we're sending nigel and chrissy into kidwelly
14:26to explore what the town offers its residents as well as those who live in the surrounding
14:31parishes and villages you'll be spotted for dog walking aren't you life in kidwelly is fantastic
14:40we have the most amazing people really old welsh town feeling people are still well connected you
14:47know they know their neighbors we're very community focused and it looks really sleepy but kidwelly has a
14:54lots of little groups we have three large community halls and you can do anything from green map bowling to
15:00archery radio control car club which is my guilty secret lindy hop knitting history clubs gardening
15:08club horticultural society is so busy kidwelly boasts one of the best preserved norman castles in wales
15:16known by even the town's very youngest residents thanks to a popular welsh nursery rhyme
15:21in the new archery that is the old lady of kidwelly it's a fable about the lady who was trying
15:29to get
15:29back into the castle and she dressed up in the welsh costume and went with a friend in to sell
15:36her
15:37wales into the castle peggy has been dressing up as the old lady of kidwelly for the past 25 years
15:45kidwell is very welcoming we're in between two lovely towns clenelli and camathen and there's so much to
15:53do here for all ages a popular family destination is parky box farm shop and cafe on the outskirts of
16:02town oh well's cakes oh we have to buy some of those the trouble is none of this is gonna
16:08help my diet is
16:09it really it started life 20 years ago as an honesty box in a local small holding hi guys you
16:18all right
16:20and amy one of the staff here has kindly agreed to share her experience of living here
16:27well you're gonna love this area it's fantastic yeah beautiful views great countryside there's
16:32lots of beaches around here we've got pembrae which is a few little drive down the road that's lovely yeah
16:36that's a long beach if you want to take the dogs to walk if you've got animals at all but
16:40i'm a keen
16:40cyclist okay so are there any coastal paths absolutely there are there's gonna be one there's
16:46actually be one opening up come autumn so that's going to be the taui valley yeah and how long how
16:50long is that so it's going to be about 12 miles long right and that runs all the way from
16:54abeclory
16:55down to fevar in is it all on the flat all on the flat the old it's actually the old
16:59railway line
17:01so that would be amazing to take advantage of the plentiful opportunities to explore this beautiful
17:08part of the world nigel and chrissy need a base so our house hunt continues
17:15we're making a beeline for the village of clangannock five miles east from the town of st clairs
17:21the three thousand or so residents in the town are well served by a train station a supermarket
17:28a chippy several pubs and cafes plus a craft center an eight minute drive from st clairs in
17:36the village of clangannock sits this impressive detached bungalow well this is the next property
17:44oh that's nice lovely
17:47chrissy was at one point quite keen on a bungalow for when we become old and decrepit
17:52well i just wonder as an occupational therapist there's something you'd be thinking about for
17:57many many many years the practicalities the practicalities yeah so bungalow is a is a good
18:02one for yeah yeah as we get older and it just looks really well maintained as well i like i
18:08just like
18:08the sort of appearance of the gate and the paved uh driveway and the drive up to the house let's
18:14have a
18:14look inside absolutely built in the 1980s the vendors have lived here for the past 20 years
18:23about 10 years ago they created this huge open plan kitchen dining and living room
18:32oh wow wow this is this is a lovely lovely fabulous oh i love that christy this kitchen i just
18:43want to
18:43sit down now get get myself a cup of tea and sit down and just let me help you out
18:48there come along
18:50and a proper range at the end which you've always wanted these units yeah i love it absolutely love it
18:56the clean lines i love the color i love the style of the kitchen units i love the oven excited
19:02to see
19:03more you are aren't you i can tell well then let me not make you wait come this way
19:10so this leads around to a lovely sitting room area this is lovely you wouldn't have to change anything
19:15would you in this area at all it's just very happy happy just to move in i could definitely live
19:20here i
19:20think you'd definitely see us living as much as i loved the previous house with the emotional attachment
19:25yeah a bit overwhelming and a little bit too much to do yes yes but this is clearly just walking
19:32and uh yeah live here and off you go yes open plan living has hit the mark and this house
19:41offers even
19:41more oh yes oh indeed so that wasn't the main lounge then this was the main oh oh my goodness
19:49how well in look at this trying to take it all in so two lots of patio doors two windows
19:57stunning
19:57fireplace that's one heck of a fireplace and that is bath stone this is lovely and i just love the
20:03decor i love these muted colors the creams and the sort of soft grays yeah as i said really nice
20:08there's
20:08nothing i feel i'd need to do or change
20:14i don't expect the bedrooms will disappoint either three doubles all a similar size overlook the front
20:21of the house and share a family bathroom the largest double at the rear has fitted wardrobes
20:28and an ensuite shower room nice units i don't know how we divvy them up i'd have these four and
20:37you could have those too
20:41the fifth and final bedroom is being used as a library comes snug another another room goodness me
20:50the cross train and the spinning bike would fit nicely in here they could yes yes and your weights as
20:56well
20:57we could not have picked a better day to have this house tour the sun is shining the daffodils are
21:03blooming and i really feel that christy and nigel are taking to this house the temperature's rising for
21:08sure and they're even starting to plan where they'll put the gym yeah you wouldn't want to change anything
21:15would you well i would change library off the door into gym but that's just a screwdriver
21:26there's also an office oh lovely study area gosh we could have bookshelves all across the water
21:36my goodness oh this is lovely and a garden room oh this is really nice or we could be posh
21:42and call
21:43it an orangery this is looking good looking very good the space inside is matched outside take it all in
21:53gosh i'm absolutely loving the size of this with a plot that extends to 1.2 acres
22:04oh my goodness it's really well maintained and plenty of space for a pond as well oh i've got a
22:10lake here
22:11you can build a lake fill it with carp oh yeah my mind's racing nice vegetable plot somewhere yeah
22:18absolutely vegetable plots absolutely pond possibly a little orchid at the top and there's a little
22:24greenhouse behind there that's a greenhouse as well yes and the neighbor has a digger so they can help
22:29you with the pond i don't know what to say it's got everything one more thing guess the price oh
22:37my
22:38god do you think i would think well over 600 000 650 000 650 000 pounds i'm thinking more i'll
22:46just go
22:47above chris i'll say 675 000 675 000 pounds oh it's even stevens this one goes to you excellent
22:56really it's opposite the region of 675 000 yeah i can see why yeah yeah that's brilliant
23:06this modern detached bungalow features an open plan kitchen living room a separate lounge and five
23:13bedrooms on a plot of just over an acre it's on the market for offers in the region of six
23:20hundred
23:20and seventy five thousand pounds i love the fact that it looks an extremely well maintained property
23:26i love the colors the muted colors i love the kitchen walking condition really wouldn't have to do anything
23:33would we possibility of a a gym a study a nice big garden for me to play in which makes
23:40me very happy
23:42this house is certainly edging it at the moment well by edging it by some significantly significant margin
23:53we're wrapping up our day back where we started overlooking the river towy but this time nigel
23:59and chrissy's twins are joining us for sundowners well tom and caris welcome to wales
24:06is this a part of the world that you know well did you used to holiday here as kids uh
24:10yeah we used
24:11to visit our grandparents here quite a lot because they lived in swansea um and it was just it's a
24:15really lovely beautiful place so it'd be really lovely to visit mom and dad here and i studied at
24:20university just down the road in uh swansea as well wonderful this is about being closer to you as well
24:26as getting back to a part of the world that you really love all due to these two
24:32well we've got all the family together shall we have some family games yeah i've got one for you
24:37how many of dad's hobbies can you list oh gosh it's golf all right tennis gardening rugby oh male voice
24:47i'm not cheating i'm not cheating i don't know what the family rules are that's cheating
24:53what is cheating going on baking baking no we have no baking um it's like a degeneration game
25:02yoga tennis fishing fishing i don't fish
25:09i appreciate the vibing oh gosh cycling
25:13rolling rolling he's still not finished we'll be here for another half hour and everyone forgot
25:18the big one or the new one oh riding on his sit-on mower oh that's not a hobby yet
25:30there's one hobby that's not on nigel's list photography should we grab a selfie
25:36absolutely all right
25:39don't have done this before everybody in one two three
25:43head-eye
26:05if carmarthenshire's coast and countryside is calling you here's the lowdown on property prices
26:12the average price of a detached house across wales is just under 331 000 pounds head to west wales
26:19and your pounds will stretch further with carmarthenshire offering the best value for
26:24bunny in this region where detached homes cost on average just over 281 000 pounds
26:33let's have a nose of what else is currently on the market
26:39offers in the region of 299 000 pounds could land you this detached three bed property with a living
26:47room modern kitchen and scenic views
26:52this detached four bed four bath family home has two receptions a kitchen breakfast room and an enormous
27:01sun room outside there's a double garage and an extensive timber deck with views across the
27:08countryside it's priced at offers in excess of 500 000 pounds
27:14for a short break this characterful stone cottage sleeps up to four guests in the two upstairs bedrooms
27:21on the ground floor there's a comfortable lounge a spacious country kitchen and access to the garden
27:29with its estuary views prices start at 295 pounds for a short stay for two people
27:38it's time for your favorite part of the program and mine it's the mystery house
27:43and i cannot wait to show chrissy and nigel what i've got up my sleeve
27:46what's that pond you say nigel i think we can do a little better than that
27:55the mystery house sits in a remote location three and a half miles from the village of bank of ellen
28:03here nigel and chrissy will find the local chapel a village hall a pub a shop with post office and
28:11a
28:12fresh milk vending machine stocked by the local dairy farm a 10 minute drive from the village in a
28:18secluded spot sits this detached character cottage built in the mid-1800s on the site of a former
28:25water mill it's the smallest property we're showing chrissy and nigel but it comes with a supersized plot
28:33forget about the pond nigel we found you a lake
28:38nigel and chrissy asks for nature they ask for water and great walks and for the mystery house
28:44we're giving it to them all in their back garden look at this
28:57to me this is what escaping to the country is really all about a remote spot lots of nature
29:04and the sound of birdsong now this plot has nine acres and a couple of lakes that could sound quite
29:11daunting but it's also a wildlife reserve so all you have to do is let nature take its course and
29:17welcome in the ducks the geese and even some beavers
29:22the beavers have been here for the past six years and were introduced by the wildlife trust of south
29:29and west wales who work with community groups and landowners on initiatives to rebuild biodiversity
29:37beavers are nocturnal so i'm not sure we'll spot them today but that's not going to stop us from
29:43trying oh my oh my goodness come on i said you're going to want to keep coming oh my goodness
29:50me
29:50come with me i wanted a pond you're dropping and i wouldn't even have to take my canoe anywhere
29:57i could just that's exactly right i could just you could just go round and round all day couldn't
30:01here with lunch and he's fishing he can do all his hobbies here and you won't lose him and the
30:09added
30:10bonus is that you get neighbors right here in the form of a family of beavers oh oh god this
30:18is too
30:18much really this is unbelievable
30:24stunning we could never have anticipated it would be anything like this could we
30:28i'm not often speechless you think you've known me now didn't he's on for a couple of days
30:32you have stumped me i'm speechless let's have a look at the property itself yeah okay and then
30:39we'll get back out here yeah really explore some of this fantastic thank you
30:48so we're in the house now and this is the living room which of course allows you to sit
30:53with the view and continue to look at the view yeah i could look just look there all day you
31:00could
31:00couldn't you just all day no you're not going to get us out of here i don't mind you might
31:06have to pay
31:06for it first but other than that but what do you think of this as a living room it's lovely
31:11but i
31:11actually don't care about the house now i'll leave the house up to chrissy so chrissy i love the lounge
31:19to be sitting in your lounge and just to be looking out on something like that fantastic
31:25the vendors added the awning across the patio as part of refurbishment works which included
31:31overhauling the kitchen breakfast room
31:35into the kitchen oh this is lovely this is really nice very cottagey isn't it oh look at the beams
31:42you've got beans gosh now this is really really nice it is big enough and there's the oven with
31:49the bar under and the table in you lots of storage yes i love the color and just across the
31:54way there
31:55is a massive utility room as well lovely opposite the kitchen across the entrance hall is the sitting
32:02room currently used as an office oh this is lovely that's the wall with the original stone yes really
32:11nice it's really very cottagey again yeah your desk here couldn't tune bookcases lovely i know it's
32:18lovely i love the stonework it's got a lovely feel it's obviously a nice family home isn't it as well
32:23lovely feel about the place upstairs the family bathroom serves a double bedroom with a roof light
32:31a single bedroom and a small double i don't know how the current owners can leave this
32:37oh it must be a real wrench for them it's a stunning property it's a real show the kids aren't
32:42with us
32:42isn't i know i know they'd be putting a deposit down for us
32:49the fourth and final bedroom is the largest oh this is lovely it's a double aspect ensuite
32:58very spacious room isn't it fitted units i think it's bigger than our current bedroom it's much
33:05much bigger than our current bedroom there's an ensuite yes there is an ensuite excellent
33:11that's what you need isn't it yeah yeah really nice everything we've seen has been absolutely perfect
33:19now to the nine acres the site sits at the confluence of two rivers and is enclosed by a predator
33:27proof
33:27ring fence it includes half an acre of meadow a large lake with several islands and a smaller lake
33:36in addition to a garage there's a former cow shed and hay barn both in need of repair plus a
33:42newly built
33:43timber summer house but you could do a lot with this it's been really nicely made yes it has
33:50i could live out here chris you can have the house i live in the shed
34:02oh it is stunning here beautiful but there's one thing we still need to talk about and that's how
34:08much you think it's on the market for upper end of our budget maybe a bit more seven hundred and
34:15fifteen thousand pounds okay so opening bid seven hundred and seven hundred and fifteen thousand
34:21pounds oh this place is priceless but you said seven hundred and fifteen i'll say seven hundred and
34:26sixteen thousand pounds then seven hundred and sixteen thousand pounds okay this house is on the market
34:36for six hundred and ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine pounds in the region of okay
34:44that's interesting it's worth stretching for this isn't it no you're not going to well you're not
34:49going to find nothing like this are you well you do you obviously did but once you've got it no
34:55one else
34:58this detached character cottage has two receptions a contemporary country kitchen and four bedrooms the nine
35:06acres of land includes two lakes several islands and a family of beavers the price offers in the region
35:14of six hundred and ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine pounds wasn't expecting a lake
35:21which has just blown my mind two lakes two lakes um i could just sit here all day i've already
35:29imagined
35:30myself in my canoe with my fishing rod and the sit down lawn mower i love the house when i
35:37first saw it
35:38and the location is absolutely stunning i just wonder if it's if it's big enough but there are options to
35:45extend the property i'm sure and that's something we'd need to look at quite closely
35:56more often than not when people move to the countryside they're looking for a slower pace
36:01of life some peace quiet and a chance to embrace some me time however for others a move to pastures
36:09new is about exciting new challenges and for nick and paul a brand new business so hi nick what are
36:18you
36:18baking there hello good morning um doing a coffee and walnut cake this is one of our popular cakes
36:24in the shop um it's always a good selection of cakes here and this is always one of the routine
36:30jobs
36:30that nick's doing every day eight years ago paul raven a tea connoisseur and nick lee a keen baker
36:39ditched their careers in adult education in the north wales city of wrexham
36:43to pursue a completely new life in carmarthenshire it's a blustery day but here we are at kidwani
36:50key one of our favorite escape spots here on the carmarthenshire coast just a few minutes away from
36:57where we live and whatever the weather this is what we like to do get out in the countryside and
37:03enjoy the
37:04area the pair combined their two loves tea and baking to open a tea shop in the center of carmarthen
37:13that looks nice well i've never been one to pass on a cup of tea so let's go and say
37:20hello
37:23hello hello hello hi i'm denise nice to meet you hi denise lovely to meet you well thank you for
37:29inviting me to your tea shop nick and paul it is gorgeous
37:35the couple stocks over 100 varieties of tea from all across the globe including several from wales
37:43one of the most popular is their own blend of welsh breakfast tea
37:47and you've set up a business right in the heart of town and it feels like a quite a community
37:52space
37:52as well i see all the different um activities you have going on here i think that was part of
37:57our focus right from the beginning uh not just to land a shop here to but to open the doors
38:03to celebrate
38:04what's going on in the town um our window displays are always nothing at all to do with tea but
38:09more
38:09to do with what's happening what are the events what are the things that we can join in
38:13um and celebrate together so the local theater the youth theater we get involved with the river
38:19festival we've got a window display full of fish at certain times in the year and how have you been
38:24received i'm sure you've been embraced by the local community oh yes hugely we had a comment the
38:29other day said you must never leave carmarthen which is you know a compliment in itself so i think
38:35we're here to stay at the end of each day the couple leave the hustle and bustle of carmarthen behind
38:42and head for the sanctuary of their home in the gwendrife valley it's a wonderful spot overlooking the valley
38:50every day we look out of that and don't take it for granted it's it's wonderful it's almost um
38:57it's almost that you can breathe differently they definitely unwind at the end of the day
39:01and you're learning the welsh language which is lovely yes this is a really welsh community
39:06carmarthenshire is about 50 percent welsh speaking and the village where we live um is very much a
39:14welsh community as well um so i thought it was important to have a go so doing dusky can right
39:20i'm
39:20learning welsh and i'm able to chat with customers i wear a lanyard that says i'm learning welsh and that
39:27means that customers are prompted to chat with me in welsh uh sometimes they try an order in welsh and
39:32i say well i hope i'll bring you what you want what you're ordering and most of the time it
39:37works
39:37perfectly okay um so yeah it's it's um really supportive they're really encouraging even when
39:44i make mistakes people appreciate that we're having a go and they really like the fact that we've taken
39:50the effort to join in and even if it's just uh hello or how are you um it goes a
39:57long way does it
39:58feel like you've made an escape oh definitely it's still a really good feeling um to know that we've
40:06come here we've we've done it and it's something i i wouldn't give up at all
40:14i tell you what neither would i tea and cake in the carmarthenshire countryside is nothing short of
40:22heaven to find out if we've found nigel and chrissy their own slice of paradise we're reconvening here
40:30on clan stefan beach well we've made it down to the water's edge here how are you feeling now that
40:39you've seen everything and had a moment to kind of mull it all over there is definitely a front runner
40:44we are going to go back hopefully this afternoon to visit the mystery house just to open that gate
40:50and look at that lake and the surrounding scenery and the rivers and the ducks and hear about the
40:55otters and beavers wow i have to say there's a i'd like the second house a lot but the mystery
41:02house
41:02just blew me away i could see myself living there now chrissy thinks a little bit small but i've
41:08offered to throw all the furniture away i think we need more accommodation both downstairs and
41:13upstairs so i would be tempted to put a very large conservatory on the front of the house overlooking
41:18the lake upstairs i'd like to make a fourth bedroom i mean as it is you can get in there
41:23and live there
41:24and what i call minor issues the chrissy's raise are all fixable we don't need all the furniture we've
41:33got in jersey and to be honest the more we take the more expensive it's going to be to move
41:37yes and i
41:37never thought we would be talking about downsizing on this trip because the plan wasn't to downsize as
41:42such it was to take everything from our detached five-bedroomed house where we are now which is
41:47crammed to the girls and move all of that to south wales but it sounds as if we've kind of
41:52happy days
41:53we can start to we've solved a new problem you didn't know you had we've upsized we'd be upsizing
41:58plot wise there's no excuse to dig a pond no you don't need to do that but you can you
42:04can circle
42:05the lake many times with this right on lawnmower yeah yeah what do you think you'll take away from
42:11this journey to expect the unexpected and embrace the unexpected really because we weren't expecting to
42:16see a property like that it's been an absolute pleasure cannot wait to come and revisit you here
42:22thank you look forward to you visiting
42:29chrissy and nigel came to us with a longing to return to this beautiful county and they had open
42:35minds as to exactly what kind of property would be right for them they've embraced everything we've
42:40shown them from the old to the new but i think chrissy said it best in life as on this
42:45show you have
42:46to expect the unexpected one thing's for certain carmarthenshire will soon be their home i'll see you next
42:53time on escape to the country if you would like to escape to the country in wales england northern
43:00ireland or scotland and need our help why not apply online at bbc.co.uk forward slash take part
43:09you
43:31you
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