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00:02some couples share a dream that can differ on the details and he's happier to be more isolated but I
00:09would like to be attached to a village of some kind he's always said he'd like to walk to a
00:12coffee shop there can be confusion over which direction a house search should head I'm gonna
00:19flow this way oh yeah they've already got their separate entrances and exits so we like to offer
00:28a reminder of the bigger picture this is incredible the views are amazing this is what you move for
00:35absolutely yeah absolutely
01:04the heart of Scotland a fertile mineral-rich landscape bestowing wealth influence innovation
01:13and some very beautiful countryside homes so join us as we head to the central lowlands
01:21caught between the wild beauty of the highlands and the gentle rolling hills of the lowlands
01:27Scotland's central valley is a true sweet spot it's the kind of place where you can hike up a
01:33hill in the morning hit a gig in the evening and still be home before the midges get you
01:42also known as the central lowlands the central valley spans Scotland's waistline covering council
01:50areas including parts of the Scottish borders the Lothians and North and South Lanarkshire it's
01:56relatively flat fertile soil along with iron and coal fueled settlement and it's where three quarters of
02:04Scotland's population now reside enjoying a combination of remote rural terrain with no fewer than six of
02:12the nation's eight cities so we are quite very central very central hub here excellent routes to
02:19Stirland to Edinburgh to Glasgow people come from all over it's very easy to get to here you're quickly
02:26into one of the wildest or most exciting and fresh environments of nature you want to explore it within
02:33reason respectfully and you also use it as a way to recharge historically lowlanders spoke Scots closer
02:40to English than the Gaelic of the Highlands and developed a culture based on the bar or community
02:47which continues today I think the sense of community can really be measured by the amount of volunteers that
02:54are giving up their time really there's lots of opportunities for volunteering and people of
02:59different faiths and cultures coming together is always a welcome sight
03:12from the prairies of Canada to the picturesque central lowlands of Scotland leaving vast open spaces for
03:20scenic landscapes and historic towns today's couple had a full-on life in Canada but for one of them
03:26coming back to their Scottish roots was always part of the plan my name is Stuart and I'm Derek and
03:34we
03:35arrived here from the Canadian prairies January 2025 Scotland was the natural choice for us because
03:41Stuart's family is from here originally and he's still got loads of aunts and uncles everywhere eight
03:47aunts and uncles and about 25 first and second cousins married couple Stuart a financial planner and
03:53Derek a professional fundraiser from the Canadian city of Winnipeg are following Stuart's lifelong dream
04:00to return to the land his parents emigrated from using their respective ancestral rights to UK and Irish
04:07citizenship they're staying with extended family in the central lowlands town of Bowness while looking for
04:14new jobs and a new home in terms of escaping from Winnipeg to Scotland the weather goes without saying or
04:20maybe it doesn't because people in Scotland have been apologizing for the weather here since we arrived
04:25people here keep saying oh my goodness it's so chilly there's a chilly wind but where we're from in the
04:30Canadian
04:30prairies minus 30 for almost half the year people here can't comprehend what it's like for us
04:37joined by their canine companion Susie master gardener Derek is keen to take on a large swathe of land he
04:44can turn into a
04:45biodiverse and climate resilient landscape in as secluded a spot as possible and Stuart seeks community
04:53connections in the land of his Scottish ancestors I'd actually be okay without having any neighbors
05:00within sight although I think Stuart might prefer to have some closer by I would our Winnipeg neighbors
05:06in particular they were like our family and I question whether we can be without neighbors here
05:12armed with a 700,000 pound budget the couple want a detached property with large rooms including two
05:20separate receptions and three bedrooms it should have a sizable plot and they'd like Glasgow or Edinburgh
05:27within an hour's reach
05:40this is such an epic move and it's been something that Stuart has been planning for years he spent his
05:47summers here growing up they've already started living their life here and the final piece of the
05:52puzzle is finding them a home to pull their own
06:00our viewings kickoff in the Scottish borders village of West Linton where I found one of the many quiet
06:07spots for Derek Stuart and I to get acquainted
06:13Derek and Stuart I can honestly say this is the first time that I'm helping someone move to Scotland
06:19because of the warm weather here
06:23do I need to take your temperature are you feeling okay
06:27you have looked at a few houses you haven't found somewhere yet what isn't there so we've seen some
06:34houses that look like they might have the acreage and be okay houses but they're just a little bit too
06:38far that wouldn't give us the convenience of access to the cities that we're looking for
06:42and Derek is it for you it is the outside space a little bit more absolutely I will spend my
06:50time
06:50outside shaping the property and making it wildlife friendly and gorgeous and that's where I spend all
06:56my time and yet you both want a life because you want to be in the city when you need
07:00to be yes yeah
07:12located in a conservation area the village of West Linton offers a little of what both my buyers are
07:19after there's open countryside to satisfy Derek's back to the land ethos and community for self-confessed
07:26people person Stewart with a grocery coffee stop and brunch options the man who owned the first motor
07:33car in Scotland was born here in 1855 so perhaps appropriately an a road gives swift access to
07:41Edinburgh whilst a more climate savvy option is offered by regular buses but for us it's just a short
07:50stroll to the house we're here to see this is exciting as with many rural Scottish homes it presents its
07:59best
07:59face to the garden so I'm sort of showing you from this way because look wow hey beautiful I think
08:11it looks great
08:12to see an old stone building is very Scottish to me I am excited to see views and that's always
08:16a bonus
08:17and and the village looked to be very cute and he's happier to be more isolated but I would like
08:23to be
08:23attached to a village of some kind he's always said he'd like to walk to a coffee shop I think
08:26you're gonna
08:27like the proportions but I can't tell because I'm five fun this stone house with tall shoulder chimney stacks
08:38gabled dormer windows and pointed arch doorways was built as a manse for the minister of the neighboring
08:45St Mungo's church it's category C listed so faces more stringent planning rules than unlisted homes from
08:54the garden we head to the main door at the side as you come into this lovely entrance huge hallway
09:02and
09:03start our tour where two reception rooms have been knocked through to give an open plan layout
09:10and you've got this great double living room
09:14mm-hmm it's very high ceilings I love the coving work beautiful uh it's the size of the windows is
09:20great
09:21so there's definitely a view of rolling hills and it has the wooden shutters actually for folding in
09:26you could add a dining table in here there's so much beautiful light in here yeah right there's
09:31plenty of room with all this furniture in here gives us an idea of how much um it can accommodate
09:35it's nice to have this opened up already crossing back on the other side of the hall is a smaller
09:41room
09:41so pop your head in there oh yeah this would make a lovely home office with the great views and
09:48to have
09:48a fireplace in the home office would be quite exceptional and moving further to the rear is a
09:54well-proportioned kitchen diner great size we do not have the number of skylights in Canada I think
10:02probably because they would get covered in snow for five months of the year is maybe the reason but
10:06I love all the skylights here I'm noticing the neighboring house is right there but you know wherever
10:12we've lived our neighbors have become like our family maybe they're like you know future family
10:16members also on this floor is a cloakroom the stairs with a cast iron and timber balustrade lead to the
10:24attic level and four bedrooms starting with the largest featuring a dormer window so this is the main
10:32bedroom look at those views oh wow lovely rolling hills I'm also noticing the very full ceiling because
10:39we're not huge but you know you don't like to have your head cut off on the walls there's no
10:43guarantee
10:43to have this height in upper floors for sure it's great and the view is spectacular I'm sending Derek
10:50and Stuart to assess the three further bedrooms first a double with an outlook towards the village tennis
10:57courts and we can actually see if they're free before wandering down we'll have to pick up tennis okay okay
11:04at the back of the home is a bedroom laid out as a twin and next to this the fourth
11:09and final bedroom
11:10again with a gabled dormer window another good-sized room it is relatively open to the neighbors back here
11:19there's a shower room with a victorian style stretcher bond tile pattern which serves all the bedrooms but
11:26i'm not sure this former minister's house is quite preaching to the converted as yet outside there's
11:34a generous plot which provides areas for their dog susie to play on a variety of mature trees and a
11:40paved
11:41patio but how might this sit with Derek's plans to create a biodiverse and climate resilient garden
11:51ideally prefer something more so that i can um you know put in a pond and then garden with trees
11:56rather than just with plants and shrubs and sort of reimagine the landscape shall we have a chat about
12:03how much this property is on the market for 547 000 pounds okay so Derek's just jumped right in there
12:11we're keeping in mind this offers over so offers over 560 000 pounds i'm wondering if it does reflect how
12:17you feel about the property because it is on the market for offers over 650 000 pounds that's quite
12:23a lot of house you're getting there yeah right on the edge of a village this former church minister's
12:30manse in the scottish borders may not be Derek and Stuart's idea of heaven but with period details outside
12:37and in a large kitchen diner and four double bedrooms it will surely answer someone's property prayers
12:44there's a plot of just over half an acre and it's on the edge of a village of course i'm
12:50the biased one
12:51who wants to be more in the country and maybe want to double check with Stuart on this but we're
12:55walkers
12:55we don't have to be right in the village per se Derek would prefer to be completely isolated so our
13:01compromise is sort of edge of a village i can walk in the direction of the village Derek could walk
13:05into
13:05the into the going into the woods he can be off on his own somewhere
13:26Derek and Stuart are in the process of rewilding their former city lifestyles
13:31lots of tourists lots of locals accents from everywhere and in the central lowlands town
13:37of Falkirk a former brownfield site that once held industrial estates has been transformed into an
13:45eco park spanning 350 acres it features giant equine sculptures that have become one of scotland's biggest
13:54tourist attractions guide kirsty connell is on hand to explain how the ancient spirits of the land
14:01have come to raise their voices here once more so Chris how did they come to be what was the
14:07vision
14:08and and they're massive like they absolutely are they're the world's biggest horse shape sculpture
14:13so we believed a long time ago there were magical water spirits that lived in the water and come on
14:19to land and turn into a horse because if you touch a kelpie you become stuck to them they then
14:25drag you
14:25into the water where they drown you then they eat you which is lovely okay the artist andy scott who
14:33has a very strong connection to Falkirk wanted to celebrate Falkirk's history as a foundry town so
14:38that's why the kelpies are made of steel and he wanted to celebrate the Clydesdales that used to work
14:43along the fourth and Clyde canal which is what runs through the kelpies in Falkirk as well so that's
14:48why they are modeled after Clydesdales as well but not all the town's industrial and engineering prowess
14:56has been put to pasture what an engineering marvel i actually really like the building too
15:02at the intersection of the fourth and Clyde and union canals is an eye-catching 21st century boat lift
15:09the Falkirk wheel is the only rotating boat lift in the world you see people just watching it turn
15:14nice and slowly around with the boats and in pure amusement so there's a giant gear and that keeps
15:19the two gondolas turning either side through water displacement archimedes principle water displacement
15:25both gondolas always weigh the exact same amount so it's always in perfect balance and that's what
15:29makes it so efficient to operate as well as canal boats travel to and from the town includes trains with
15:37the station serving the edinburgh to dunblain line and another on the glasgow to edinburgh route
15:42and an eclectic selection of shops also caters to those who prefer to arrive by broomstick
15:52Paul cook shows that the central lowlands can deliver derrick and stewart that sweet spot between
15:58coffee culture and green surroundings look they're sitting over there another cafe and swans we'll have to
16:05get some swans swans and who doesn't love swans now to see if we can unearth a home that feels
16:11like
16:12their natural nest too
16:21my next option for them is a mile and a half from the west lothian village of west calder where
16:28intriguing
16:28hills tell a tale of the world's first ever oil refinery opened by chemist james young in the 1860s
16:37plant life now covers the spoils to form a protected heritage site romantically named the five sisters
16:45for those looking to green their own fossil fuel output there's a train station and a good choice of
16:51buses add in plentiful shops and services including a cycle outlet and reducing car use is made that bit
16:58easier it's just a nine minute bike ride or half an hour's walk down a quiet country lane to the
17:06rurally located property i have lined up it's actually that okay um all right that sort of classic low
17:15scottish cottage but i want to make sure that derek is taken care of first okay so we're gonna head
17:23this
17:23way all right let's come you can come we're setting the stone cottage built during the local oil boom of
17:32the 1860s to one side for now and heading into the wild woods around an acre and a quarter of
17:41tree covered
17:41bliss that could be derek's own private nature cocoon you already have a woodland that comes with
17:49the property that's there but he's across the road out of his hair yeah um mature trees are fantastic
17:59it's a great mix of trees too you've got broadleaf and you've got pine you've got tall mature trees
18:04you've got a shrub layer you've got a ground layer with the ferns it looks like a healthy ecosystem
18:09is that a fire pit can we have like fires there do you think it's your land as long as
18:14it's respectful
18:15you can do what you want yeah i'm very excited this is a great way to start and if you're
18:20happy
18:20you're exactly i'm generally happy if he's happy should we now go and see the house sure love to
18:26yeah let's do that bit back across the quiet lane a sizable purpose-built cattery run by the current
18:35owners until recently sits beside the long rendered and painted single-story 19th century cottage
18:43yeah what do you think of it i think it's pretty yeah i like the white stucco fence on the
18:49cattery
18:50on the house unifying it all together yeah it looks like a complex then doesn't it yeah
18:56from the central front door a small hall leads to a reception room
19:02so if you use the front door which you might not this is what you'd come into
19:08nice what i like about it right away is that there's flow there's three different
19:12doors going to three different places you're quieter now we've taken care of derek but sure
19:17well i'm thinking that this room is almost like a bit of a hallway right because everything sort of
19:21works through here i'm also wondering is it the only lounge in the houses well it's an open plan kitchen
19:29diner living space okay let's head over here okay perfect
19:37located at the back the well-appointed kitchen opens into dining that could also work as an
19:43additional sitting room with doors out to the garden
19:48i think this would make a nice tv room bit outdoor seating there outdoor sitting here this is a big
19:54room
19:54it's a nice room come on through and that also goes through to the bedroom so when in you were
20:00talking in terms of flow yeah it does have that flow which is very helpful and beautiful view out
20:05this kitchen window yeah it is i'm actually thinking do we even need this table in here could this be
20:11like a bit of a family room with the kitchen because usually we're just either eating in front of the
20:15tv
20:15or we could eat it like the breakfast bar and when derek's cooking i'll be on the couch and make
20:20sure that
20:20everything's flowing okay and you've got the utility boot room space again that goes out oh great super
20:27can we see the rest of the house yeah i'm gonna let you do that on your own okay and
20:31then come and find
20:31me outside super thank you thank you i'm gonna flow this way oh yeah they've already got their uh
20:40separate entrances and exits and the bedrooms are a tale of two halves at one end a good-sized guest
20:48double with a window to the front then next to this a smaller guest room also with a front-facing
20:54aspect these are served by a family bathroom lovely size big bang and another window again this would
21:03do five at the other end of the home is the principal bedroom which has an ensuite shower room with
21:10a
21:10black and white finish this brick is very cool like that looks like a significant amount of storage
21:20closet space which was always nice and even a sliding barn door which i like
21:28excellent
21:31derek is over the moon about what he has seen over there but i have not won stuart over i
21:38can tell
21:40outside there's more to woo derek with a garden approaching half an acre which already has a small
21:47pond and as well as the cattery building there's a garden studio previously used for recording music
21:53a task made easier by the very peaceful location but if all this seems to be catering to one half
22:00of
22:00my couple's wish list i have got a little something up my sleeve for the other half too
22:07the house comes with planning permission
22:11and this is what it could look like from here this is already in place this planning permission you
22:18have it for about another year that's a wow house that's something wow isn't it just okay stuff to
22:24think about do you know what i'm about to ask the hard part with the extra woodland maybe a little
22:31bit
22:31more um 660 000 pounds yeah you think it's priced at 660 000 pounds yeah okay offers over 625 000
22:41pounds gents it's on the market for offers over 550 000 okay so potential then to actually act on the
22:54redesign this mid-19th century cottage has an open-plan kitchen and dining room three bedrooms
23:02and current planning permission for a significant extension there are one and three quarter acres spread
23:08across garden and private woodland and it's in a quiet rural location but close to a village with
23:15shops and services in terms of peace and quiet this is certainly a restful setting i don't think we've
23:21heard a car go by it's got nicely curated gardens with you know opportunity to do more
23:35the average price for a detached house in scotland comes in at just over 347 000 pounds but within the
23:44central lowlands that figure varies considerably approaching 413 000 pounds in west lothian but
23:53sitting at 313 000 000 in north lanarkshire i'm meeting zoe davidson from rights of campsie estate
24:03agents to find out what those less familiar with buying a house in this part of scotland need to know
24:10zoe i absolutely need your expertise on the local market here when i've looked in other parts of
24:18scotland perhaps a bit more west the offers over hasn't been always the case when it comes to the
24:23price but it feels like it is in this area yeah the west of scotland does do it a little
24:28bit different
24:28from other areas we tend to do the offers over because and that can help to drive a seller's
24:33price up a little bit for them and getting the best place that is out there and we're finding the
24:37houses in our area are selling you know within a week um it's moving very very quickly at the moment
24:42how can people be best prepared if they are looking in this kind of what's sounding like a seller's
24:48market yeah it's making sure that when you see a house that you do like you are ready to offer
24:52that
24:52you have all your finances in place you've got your solicitor ready a lot of people don't realize that
24:56if they're buying a house in scotland and they are from england you will need to have a scottish
25:00solicitor appointed as well in scotland anything over your home report you have to have that cash
25:04available it's not that you can get a mortgage on it so making sure you keep that in mind as
25:08well
25:09because it does differ from area to area but there's a lot of houses sort of that are still
25:12within sort of access of glasgow and edinburgh but those houses have increased in fact by about
25:1830 percent since 2020. you're certainly busy aren't you we are yes sorry thank you thank you i know
25:24how busy you are so thank you so much you're welcome if all that sounds a little intimidating
25:30there are still fixed price options to be found for example this detached home in a village a few miles
25:37south south of the town of falkirk is recently refurbished and offers four bedrooms and two
25:43bathrooms for the fixed price of just under 280 000 pounds on the other hand in west lothian where
25:51the market's a little hotter this detached four bedroom three bathroom village home calls for offers
25:58over 375 000 pounds for a short stay this two bedroom self-catering cottage has that regional
26:09sweet spot combining the best of rural surroundings with the city of edinburgh just 10 miles away
26:15sleeping up to four it costs 240 pounds a night
26:24you've caught me taking a breather before we head to our mystery house it is this grand building with
26:30magnificent grounds but are stewart and derek willing to share it the mystery option is taking us to the
26:39outskirts of the east dumbartonshire village of milton of campsy located 10 miles northeast of glasgow this is
26:47the closest we've been to a city so far but on the slopes of the campsy fells looking down at
26:55the
26:55rift valley it certainly doesn't feel like it wow look at this oh my gosh this is scotland this is
27:04incredible the views are amazing this is what you moved for absolutely absolutely so i think i can even
27:10see glasgow from up here i'm glad you've spotted that because that is what the location of the mystery
27:15house demonstrates you can be within a reasonable distance of glasgow but then also striking
27:24distance of all of this right that's what we're after we drove through it briefly in january so
27:29being back here today is quite interesting because we knew the proximity to glasgow was good so can we
27:33see the mystery house from here i'm going to let you figure that out i'll send you the address
27:38yes don't be late boys okay all right thank you try not to stay exactly you soon it is stunning
27:45the fells stand commandingly over the village of milton of campsy where there's a coffee house for
27:52stewart to get his caffeine and community fix as well as a post office and a supermarket dog susie would
28:00have hairdressing options and there are regular buses to glasgow city center while my buyers dream of
28:06their future home together i've gone ahead to my mystery property to let you in on the twist in the
28:13tale i don't want to tell stuart and derek that i'm nervous about showing them this mystery house and
28:19that's because they have said they don't want very close neighbors and with this mystery property which
28:25is amazing by the way they would have neighbors on top of them and it's the bottom that is our
28:30mystery
28:31house designed by a renowned glaswegian architect for a wealthy accountant to the british colonies in the
28:381880s the more recent horizontal division still leaves a ground floor home of more than 3 000 square
28:47feet that retains the ability to make a striking impression this gorgeous staircase which doesn't go
28:54anywhere by the way it's blocked at the top but it comes with the property shows how grand this mystery
29:00house is but you get all of this in the countryside and as derek and stuart approach via the home's
29:10shared driveway i can't deny my butterflies there she is what have you found here yeah so what i have
29:18with the mystery house is a grand old victorian place you've got this you know the proportions that
29:25you love but with a mystery the twist is it's not the whole house oh okay okay and it would
29:32be the
29:32bottom level that would be yours okay bottom half and then separate is upstairs yeah the upstairs entrance
29:40is exactly so how do you feel about exploring that kind of mystery house yeah i'm intrigued i mean these
29:50old stone manor homes are just stunning uh and solid should we head in absolutely definitely definitely
29:56thank you phew built from high quality cut sandstone with stone mullion windows decorative masonry festoons
30:05and a covered veranda facing a tennis lawn to the front the main entrance for this ground floor home is
30:12at
30:12the side of the property where breathing a sigh of relief i'm taking them through into the central
30:18impressive hall oh my gosh look at this the staircase comes with the property it's not just the doors
30:26that are large no no yeah and this staircase comes with the house it just doesn't take you anywhere if
30:34there's guests here you could make a grand entrance from nowhere okay i mean what is that giants lived
30:40here so it's like 12 feet what you're feeling right now is how i feel every single day
30:47isn't it just magnificent yeah yeah yeah it's um it's very grand living room one yes please oh yeah
30:54okay so there's one oh my goodness wow okay this is uh plenty of space to say the least this
31:02bay window
31:03is more than a bay window it's like a an extension a bay room and uh extensive and expansive yard
31:11to look out on
31:12i'm intrigued to see more um yeah like giants really live to do more so we will pass by the
31:20second living
31:21room okay next door along the hall is the additional reception room they've asked for which is cozier
31:31i think it's beautiful relatively speaking cozy you could describe it uh still very generously
31:38proportioned and another uh fun mantel piece there lots of built-in storage the amazing detail in the
31:45ceiling and the ginormous windows again i like how the white trim pops at the top uh as opposed to
31:52being
31:52all white from that level up i think that looks great there are five bedrooms in total we're starting
31:59with the largest the principal with ensuite dressing room and bath how's this for a bedroom it's a
32:08bedroom that is bigger than the first flat i ever owned yeah okay wow it's pretty amazing and there's
32:17a bathtub like right and like right there and you would be taking in that whole park-like setting and
32:24i
32:24love large rooms especially because we're coming from north america right and a lot of the housing
32:28here is smaller rooms so i love the larger rooms you have a huge walk-in wardrobe in there it's
32:35big
32:36enough to be a bedroom but you don't need it to be a bedroom because there are plenty with this
32:39house
32:39go and have a look at the rest of the property without me okay um and then yeah meet me
32:45by the
32:45telescope there are four guest rooms for them to see including a room by the entrance with a view to
32:52a
32:52private walled courtyard and next to this a bathroom with exposed stonework plus a contemporary freestanding
33:01bath then along a corridor is a shower room next to a separate wc partly set into the eaves of
33:11a lower
33:11level extension which serves a further three guest bedrooms oh what a lovely green relaxing view outside
33:20and then another bedroom or home office or something yeah oh right the mystery has been revealed they
33:29seem all right the proportions completely suit them my job's sort of almost nearly done
33:35completing the interior tour is the kitchen breakfast room wow plenty of room here double oven tons of
33:43counter space and look at the sides of the table lots of room there's also a wine chill chiller oh
33:48that's
33:49a nice little treat for the wine drinker who drinks wine see ya that is in fact the utility room
33:58which has access
33:59out into the garden like the house the grounds have been divided as well as the shared driveway and a
34:07shared
34:07garage there's a shared tennis court with the land to the right apportioned to the upstairs neighbor and
34:14that to the left a plot of around an acre to the ground floor home this includes wooded areas with
34:21access to a river
34:25so now they've seen everything the mystery has to offer i need to draw them on what they think they
34:30might
34:30have to pay for it it's the uh final time to guess the price of the property what do you
34:40think the mystery
34:41house is asking for 625 000 pounds is my guess i think it's got to be up near our ceiling
34:48so 690 000
34:49pounds offers over it's offers over 595 000 pounds yeah yeah well i'm surprised it's under six okay well
35:00there you go wow this ground floor share of a grand victorian architect designed mansion has showcased
35:09two magnificent reception rooms a well-specced kitchen breakfast room and five bedrooms there's around an
35:16acre of private garden and it's just 10 miles from the city of glasgow we've known of people to have
35:23lived in you know a great big manor house that's been split up before i could live in something like
35:28this it's a very interesting house so i walked through the mystery house the idea that there was
35:32someone living upstairs just didn't seem to be of any concern the camp sea fowls is an amazing location
35:38you're really close to glasgow so i think this area has a lot of potential and it's a great spot
35:52as far as big moves go derek and stewart's is pretty up there but not unprecedented
35:59annie and zach hopped across the pond a year ago from california to east lothian steady go
36:17hi i'm annie and this is my husband zach and this little guy is our one-year-old border
36:21terrier puppy finnegan we made our own escape to the country from california to scotland with our three
36:28kids in tow annie and zach gave up their home and jobs in california's silicon valley
36:37to return to the country zach was born in sometimes people ask us why would you move from california to
36:42scotland i think it's obvious the weather and the beaches exactly so this house was purchased sight unseen
36:49we did a video call with my parents they gave us a thumbs up and we just went for it
36:53we have a better
36:55work-life balance and are spending more time as a family and the kids can just be kids which is
37:01the biggest thing for us really so the family swapped silicon valley for the central valley
37:08and i thought i'm in the area i'll pop in and see how they're getting on
37:23this is gorgeous in here oh thank you so much i'm curious how much of your home in california
37:30then looked like this absolutely none of it all right we had a very mid-century modern home back
37:37in california and then we moved to this more cottage-esque style so we really started from
37:43scratch every time i help a couple move from the states over here proportions and size has always been
37:52the struggle yes this place is half the size of the place we moved from which has been amazing because
37:59we just don't have space for all that extra stuff we didn't need but we did have to learn that
38:03doorways are even smaller so we didn't even think when we got an american-sized fridge that we'd
38:10need to check the doorways millimeters it fit by millimeters the clue is in the word american
38:15even the people are smaller here look look what does life feel like look like here now it's a much
38:24more relaxed pace we have time and more energy to do the things that we want to do we're now
38:32closer
38:32to beaches than we were in california we really have been loving the walkable lifestyles and our
38:40wonderful little town it has everything you could imagine we actually want to go show you that
38:46it's a gentle riverside stroll to one of zach and annie's favorite spots
38:52this is stunning oh thank you yeah we fell in love with it the first time we saw
38:57this little area it just stole our hearts the scale of saint mary's church reflects when this
39:04was scotland's first royal borough the formerly english haddington along with the rest of lothian
39:11given to scottish king kenneth in the 10th century nam gate bridge one of the nation's most ancient
39:17takes us over the river we get geese out here too sometimes to a family-run bistro that lives up
39:25to
39:25its name so life is basically all shortcake and coffee pretty much often people find that they move
39:34and that they've just taken the life that they had to another place what's been the biggest change
39:40the biggest change is just what we've been able to give our kids in that childhood that we've talked
39:45about were there any nerves about moving so many countless kids jobs like everything basically
39:55finances when you look back on it it seems overwhelming for us getting the house is obviously
40:01the biggest check mark on the list and after that things just kind of found the place they did
40:05well cheers to your new life cheers
40:19just look at them having a well-deserved rest after our epic journey searching high and low through
40:28scotland's central valley for a dream property for stuart and derek let's find out what they're thinking now
40:42well we've come to the end of our journey together what do you think your next steps will be gents
40:48i think we're probably going to keep on looking for property since we have the incredible opportunity
40:55of staying somewhere while we do our journey so we're not in a rush and we can really afford to
40:59find the absolute perfect slice of heaven that we're looking for did we get closer on the house
41:06or the outside i think we got pretty close with both um i think you've shown us that properties exist
41:15that are close to the big city centers uh where you can get more than an acre uh i know
41:20i'm getting
41:20my country so derek will ultimately be the one that chooses the house
41:23all right i'm glad we've got that on film um i kind of wish you told me at the beginning
41:30of this
41:30search because i would have just gone straight to him but okay me too he's like 99 charge i get
41:37one
41:37percent veto that's not much but we're almost there that's really heartening you aren't in a rush you
41:43you're not going to adjust your criteria just yet when you have a lovely place already to stay
41:48you've already made the move and that's the thing the central lowlands are already your home
41:55and this is the dream i mean look yeah right
42:02scotland was really showing off for us this week wasn't it not just with this weather
42:06but with its property stock and i think we've set stuart and derek well on their way
42:12to finding the one we came pretty darn close didn't we and the great thing is they already call
42:20all of this home and stuart has been able to fulfill his lifelong dream of returning to his celtic roots
42:28i'm so pleased that they called us for part of that epic journey and wish them the very best see
42:34you next
42:34time since we left them stuart and derek decided to focus their search close to the town of
42:42falkirk as they loved its green spaces and great transport links so much we hope to hear they
42:49found their dream home soon if you would like to escape to the country in scotland northern ireland
42:56england or wales and need our help why not apply online at bbc.co.uk forward slash take part
43:15so
43:24you
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