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00:03on escape to the country we get to toast the merits of some stunning period properties i can
00:09see you sitting over the glass of rosier right now but there's always room for some familiar
00:16modern comforts this is pretty close to what i would do if i was designing something there can
00:22be a lot to get your head around i must have got absolutely no idea that's not very helpful chris
00:30and some tricky decisions to make well you've made it harder in a lot of ways so thank you very
00:36much
01:02with its sprawling ancient woodlands and stories of heroes passed down through generations
01:08nottinghamshire is perhaps the world's most legendary county
01:15the amazon forest is known as the lungs of our planet the giant forest of california is home to
01:20the largest trees in the world but if you're looking for a forest full of folklore and legend
01:25then this is it sherwood forest because if these trees could talk imagine the tales they could tell
01:34the county of nottinghamshire is situated in the east midlands of england
01:41the area is synonymous with the legend of robin hood and with epic castles and extensive woodland
01:47it's not hard for tourists to imagine themselves following in the footsteps of his merry men
01:54the present residents are pretty merry too people will talk to each other when they pass each other on
01:59the street always happy to have a chat uh people have time for people up here so it is a
02:05very friendly
02:05place to be it's a county of contrast we've got sherwood forest then you've got nottingham itself which
02:11is sort of a very busy busy city and the countryside around here it's just lovely to pick up the
02:17countryside and the urban side of the county the food scene in particular is amazing it's so diverse
02:22you can literally have anything from casual eats to michelin star there's literally something for everyone
02:30the market town of southwell is often referred to as the jewel in nottinghamshire's crown and is
02:36renowned for the two lead cap spires on the minster known locally as the pepper pot spires cropwell bishop
02:44is a picturesque village with a strong farming heritage famous for producing stilton cheese
02:50it's surrounded by countryside so if you love walking and or cheese it's a great spot to explore
03:04it's a great spot to see it's a great spot to see it's a great spot to see it's a
03:10great spot
03:10after years in the fast-paced world of investment banking today's buyer is finally powering down his
03:16computer for the last time and trading in city life for the peace and tranquility of the countryside
03:24former investment banker shane was born in canada but lives in greenwich southeast london i haven't
03:31lived in a city with less than three million people since i was 19 years old but he's found more
03:39residents doesn't always mean more community i guarantee that half of people live in london
03:46couldn't tell you three neighbors that live within a one block radius having taken early retirement
03:53he's now looking for a quieter location i live on a very busy street big city so just want to
03:59slow
04:00things down a little bit we're big fans of the show my mother loves it we've been watching it for
04:04years
04:05and uh so i thought why not apply i knew i wanted to remain in the uk and i knew
04:11that i didn't want to be
04:12in london and i travel quite a lot so i need access to the airport sea-throw and gatwick friends
04:20have
04:20recommended nottinghamshire he believes the county should offer what he's looking for as well as a larger
04:26garden for more pets there's currently enough room for my two cats to run around but the plan is along
04:34with
04:34many others to uh adopt a couple dogs he'll be assisted by his friend chris who made his own
04:42escape from london to raise his family in his hometown of newcastle i will try to keep shane on
04:48track and i'll try and keep him focused on the job in hand but that is easier said than done
04:55shane likes modern interiors and needs a minimum of three bedrooms plus a garden big enough for two dogs
05:02he travels a lot so wants good transport connections to london and to be in a community
05:08all for a maximum budget of 1.1 million pounds
05:19moving from london out to the countryside shane does have a very healthy budget but i think even
05:26he's going to be a little bit surprised at just how much you can get for your budget in gorgeous
05:30nottingham
05:34we're kicking off our search with a property near the middle of the county in the village of eekering
05:39but before we go see it i'm meeting shane and chris in one of the county's many forests
05:45one of the few places shane hasn't visited previously you have been traveling i have a little list here i
05:53have indeed let's have a look so you have been in calgary toronto la new york london twice might i
06:00add
06:00hong kong sydney all of these amazing cities have i missed any oh that's most of them yeah yeah pretty
06:07much there's only left is there any left well i'll tell you where it's left nottinghamshire
06:12surewood forest gotta add that to this list that's the plan well it's a great county isn't it i mean
06:17you're looking for countryside it's all over it really is you're steeped in lots of forests lots
06:23of history so we're going to have a great time exploring here but it's going to be very different
06:28to city life and london life prior to this my real only experience with donninghamshire was trent bridge
06:35for the cricket and that was in stay in the city center go watch a cricket match and never really
06:40exploring the rest of it but yeah friends will be coming up to go to trent bridge and watch cricket
06:45and
06:45and for visit so chris is that why you're here exactly yeah exactly i'll be there this is very
06:53exciting we've got amazing houses to show you great but we've also got this beautiful countryside
06:58to explore walk through the opposite exactly and people to meet as well so let's get on with it indeed
07:08the sought-after conservation village of eking was a danish settlement in the ninth century
07:14and the name means circle of oak trees there's a community orchard maintained by volunteers
07:20and the park has a play area for kids plus an outdoor gym for grown-ups for the community there's
07:27a village hall where people are encouraged to socialize and less than a quarter of a mile away
07:32is our first property it has an attractive symmetry from the front but there's far more than meets the eye
07:38from
07:39this side well shane take a look at this wow property number one and we had to show you a
07:49good
07:51traditional farmhouse it's great to see it from here we're going to get a better view if we stand up
07:54there so follow me sure yeah now this is the reason i wanted you to see it from this angle
08:03yeah there's
08:04a lot more to it than you see from the street right isn't there yeah i love that little terrace
08:09area right
08:10there for sitting especially on a day like today right yeah i can see you sitting over the glass of
08:13rosie right now yeah yeah there's a couple of wine clubs around here wow so you'd fit right in with
08:21a glass of rosé up on the terrace as long as you invite other people you've done your research
08:25you're invited thank you it's a gorgeous house let's get inside perfect great
08:34this farmhouse dates to the late 1700s and has been extended over the centuries
08:40to now boast over 4 000 square feet of living space we're starting our tour in the newest part
08:50you like open plan living i understand and this is the big central open plan space of this property
09:00yeah yeah oh it's less modern than i'm used to but it just has a really homey feel to it
09:08right
09:09like like a country home do you cook i love cooking yes he's very good yeah if you like spicy
09:16food
09:17i love spicy food well i guess being from the crib yeah yeah i love some spicy food yeah well
09:21you should
09:21come over okay somewhere in nottingham church sometime so a great cooker like that would work for you i love
09:28that style of cooker i was actually saying to chris last night one thing i forgot to put on my
09:32wish list
09:32was a cooker like that and then turn around and then you're facing out to this they've got this
09:38wonderful light well here is this the heart of the home like many or are you actually i like to
09:43be in
09:44the snug living room we were talking about snugs and i just don't get the concept of snugs i really
09:49really i think i think they were calling them closets but i think it's a closet when you're buying and
09:53it's a
09:54smoking as well this is generous it carries on through there there's a pantry the boiler's tucked
10:01behind there but what i'm going to show you now is a couple of rooms which i find very snug
10:06like
10:07but not closets at all no no no
10:13so you get a second area with a dining table again doors leading to the outside wow but there's more
10:20through here keep coming so a very snuggie cozy room but it's not a closet no no it's a good
10:28living
10:28room how do you feel being in this room snug good outside it is cozy i'm not sure i would
10:38lay it out
10:38this way but i love the light in it you can imagine just sitting here and reading right oh good
10:43reading
10:43room i like it yeah yeah i can see that and you've got a room about the same proportions just
10:48the other
10:48side it's being used as an office at the moment is that something you need ongoing yeah i would
10:53like to have an office possibly yeah so you've got those options shane is currently writing a couple
11:00of books and this home previously belonged to a children's author so perhaps he'll be inspired
11:07upstairs the middle floor has the required three double bedrooms as well as three bathrooms each with a
11:14freestanding tub look at the size of this bathroom wow it leads us through to this now what about this
11:22for a main bedroom yeah this is very nice again and the windows i mean it's all yeah it's very
11:27very light it's plenty big enough too is it yeah i think you need a bit more space go and
11:33have a look
11:33around there and see what else you get okay if you thought that big bathroom was for this room you
11:37would
11:37be right okay because what's one big bathroom when you can have another oh right okay i guess you would
11:44use this as your ensuite right probably yeah i would think but then sort of begs the question what is
11:51yeah that for come let's discuss let's think about it so i'm thinking it could be he's off and he's
11:58thinking that could just be one giant wet room sauna right yeah yeah yeah that's not a bad idea actually
12:10on the top floor there's another pair of bedrooms one with an ensuite then a separate staircase leads
12:17to a sixth bedroom above the main suite the land covers nearly half an acre and includes a former barn
12:24with planning permission to create more living space as if there wasn't enough there are mature
12:31fruit trees vegetable beds and still plenty of garden for shane's prospective two dogs to run around in
12:39so there's lots of potential you've seen the whole house it is stunning how much do you think it's on
12:45the market for 1.1 so 1.1 million pounds yeah okay i'll tell you slightly more 1.2 this
12:53house is on the
12:54market for offers over one million pounds okay wow wow okay it's a little bit less than i thought it
13:02would be wow so do the numbers add up to a sound investment for shane this 18th century property has
13:11a huge kitchen six bedrooms four bathrooms and almost half an acre of land all available for offers over
13:20one million pounds i was really thinking country type houses i was looking for something more modern
13:28but i like it a lot more than i thought i would like something like this i can see the
13:33attraction of
13:33living a place like this in a village like this very pleasantly surprised it's a lot of house really
13:39and for what it's on for i think it's something that certainly deserves consideration you've set the
13:43ball rather high looking at this property as shane has lived in some of the largest cities in the world
14:02including the big apple we thought we'd sent him to discover not new york but newark on trent
14:09the river trent is its hudson river northgate station it's grand central the spire of st mary magdalene
14:17would be its skyscraper and the 12th century castle would be well new york doesn't have castles so newark
14:25wins hooray and if this doer upper can pull itself together by tomorrow maybe it could be shane's mystery
14:34house the castle is most famous for being the site of king john's death in the year 1216 anno domini
14:43is that light i think so and shane wouldn't be the first city slicker to settle here before living
14:53here i'd always lived in big cities you know i've lived in manchester london istanbul and i have really
14:59kind of dug myself in over the last eight years it is very typically friendly and sociable as a small
15:06town you get to know everybody and yeah i'm stuck here i'm not moving i love it you've got loads
15:13of
15:13shops you've got all the cafe that you need to go if you want to go and then you can
15:17visit the
15:18countryside very easily and the travel is quite convenient in addition to the town's rail links
15:24it's just off the a1 and within 40 miles of nottingham lincoln and leicester but really there's
15:31no need to go anywhere else we have got vibrant cafes we've got some lovely pubs in newark some of
15:38i think some of the best in the area and we have a very good art scene going on with
15:44a lot of local
15:45artists and some galleries that operate in newark as well which is fantastic
15:51one gallery is housed in the town hall along with a museum and there's another dedicated
15:57to the town's importance in the english civil war so although they only named it once
16:03there are plenty of reasons to be a part of it here in newark
16:15for our next stop we're making our way to the north of the county headed for the market town of
16:20redford at the heart of the town is the market square lined with georgian buildings the pedestrianized
16:28shopping streets offer a range of independent stores plus bars and restaurants to socialize in
16:35town outside st swithin's church is a grade 2 listed cannon captured at sevastopol during the crimean war
16:43of the 1850s during that century the population doubled from 6 000 to 12 000 and the town became
16:51linked to london by rail today the station offers a direct route to the capital in under 90 minutes
16:58and just a short 15 minute walk away in a quiet pocket is our next property
17:07so we're taking you from farmhouse to the grand house wow it just screams open my open plan
17:16on the outside i would say it looks very light very airy it's just a sense of space
17:20it's bespoke one of a kind and i think they've done an excellent job let's find out from what we
17:26can see yeah you're like can we get in stop telling me about the outside all right i won't tease
17:31you
17:31anymore come on
17:36this home was designed by the current owners and completed in 2023 it includes a 10-year build
17:43warranty and is full of cutting edge features as well as environmentally friendly ones highly insulated
17:50and with underfloor heating it's been given a very favorable epc rating this is a bit different
17:56isn't it you couldn't get more of a contrast you really couldn't for what you saw this morning
18:03farmhouse and now we've walked into something new but they've kept a lot of natural materials
18:08just different right so we've got the metals we've got the brickwork it's almost like a loft conversion
18:14in a city where they keep the brickwork and they keep the you know some of the original
18:18thing and just open the light up and clean it up this makes me think of like sort of lower
18:22manhattan
18:25but then you look there and there's forest through the window you probably wouldn't get that lower
18:30manhattan right probably not no come on let me show you through here this is about as open plan as
18:36it
18:36comes right i mean look at this i think this hands down goes as one of the biggest i can't
18:42even call it a
18:43breakfast bar no it's not it's not at all is it yeah this is amazing entertaining space it really is
18:50cooking music beautiful view to the garden right again the brickwork the way that everything is
18:56laid out is just so clean yeah yeah this is probably pretty close to what i would do if i
19:03was designing
19:04something on the money i can very much see shane living here well let's keep this good momentum
19:09going let me show you the other room over here great great
19:15alongside the kitchen is a utility room a shower room and a study that extends into the garden
19:22then back across the double height entrance hall is the main reception room and look at this for
19:29a living room yeah this is super nice too again it's just a really open room the way they furnished
19:35it the owners the design is amazing but the way they furnished it is uh pretty impressive too
19:40it obviously gets a lot of light through here just the way that it's done it's just very modern
19:50that blend of clean modern lines interspersed with the surrounding natural world creates a green glow
19:57that continues upstairs up here sit three bedrooms in a row and at the opposite end of the landing
20:04is what i propose as the main bedroom now this one is a blank canvas you get that full glazing
20:12there
20:12looking under the trees high ceilings yeah and turn around to look up there
20:21wow there's your bathroom so through there you've got a shower bathroom toilet dressing area right
20:27you head up the spiral stairs and that's your bathroom yeah plenty big right i love these floors
20:35i really do i think while it's a modern house it's not cookie cutter it's not all boxes is it
20:41and so it still gives you character still gives you some quirks even just the shape of the room the
20:47fact that it's not square yeah it's nice touch i think it's time for you to get out explore on
20:52your
20:52own okay and then come tell me what you think of the whole property afterwards right all right thank
20:57you thank you very much you are released thank you oh wow it's expecting this after the master bedroom
21:06i think if this is a guest bedroom the guest should be very happy yeah your bedroom absolutely
21:13mother right what a fantastic view these windows that go up into the roof i think are magnificent
21:21and they really show off those wonderful trees everywhere you go here it's bespoke it's beautiful
21:27it's ultra modern but it's also got so much character i mean this is just the dressing room
21:33right so you don't really need a lot of light but you would just get the aspect of the forest
21:39but this
21:40gives you the top of the trees and the sky i mean it's amazing building today doesn't it yeah
21:50outside the low maintenance landscape gardens wrap around the home and feature multiple zones for
21:57chilling out in the sun
22:00how much do you think this is on the market for hmm i must have absolutely no idea that's not
22:08very
22:08helpful chris have a guess a million offers in the region of a million okay
22:16i would say 850. you're getting better at this am i right this one's on for offers over
22:22one million pounds okay right okay and i'm getting worse
22:29offers over one million pounds for this striking contemporary home with supersized features
22:35including an open plan kitchen and a grand main bedroom with a split level ensuite it's energy
22:43efficient with a high epc rating and has a secure landscaped garden ideal for pets it's just very clean
22:51minimalist new it's a good combination of modern technology fittings a very open plan i love the
22:58exposed brickwork i love the fittings and the bathrooms are amazing everything is just very clean
23:04anyone that knows me knows my style would say this is much more me clearly it's absolutely brand spanking
23:10new it's modern design modern build and it looks incredibly modern it's a very very impressive property
23:25despite its excellent transport links and peaceful countryside nottinghamshire offers better value
23:31property prices than the national figure the uk average is around 438 000 pounds compared to the county
23:40average of 346 000 but if you like the area you'd better be quick as that affordability means demand is
23:48high and rising particularly for detached properties local estate agent sarah smith can explain more
23:57we've seen a steady growth this year i think it's a result of regeneration that's in the area
24:03and so that's naturally kind of encouraging people to come to this area i think apart from the obvious
24:08like the price and the value yeah why would they come into nottinghamshire i think generally because of
24:15the regeneration but also because of what we've got on the doorstep and there's some great cultural and
24:21culinary places which is a real draw for people i think just the location the lifestyle the natural
24:26beauty that we've got that's a huge draw i think for a taste of what else is on the market
24:32how about this
24:34lovely blend of modern with traditional
24:38it boasts a shaker style kitchen a good sized sitting room and three bedrooms upstairs set against a rural
24:47backdrop it's priced at 280 000 pounds or if you fancy something a little older this delightful elizabethan
24:57cottage has red brick features and exposed beams throughout it comes with four generous bedrooms a mature
25:05garden to the rear and is on the market for 475 000 pounds as for the rental market available options
25:15include this terraced home in a rural hamlet with three bedrooms gardens front and rear
25:22plus use of a double garage for 875 pounds a month
25:34yesterday we introduced shane to some traditional countryside living with that gorgeous period
25:39property but then we showed him something very modern everything he'd asked for and he seemed to love
25:45them both so today with our mystery house it's going to be a blend of the two
25:49let's see what he thinks about that we're traveling to the east nottinghamshire village of south clifton the
25:59location of our mystery house the village is a designated conservation area due to the historic
26:06importance of many of the buildings yeah this is a quiet village
26:13yeah not piccadilly circus that's for sure
26:17it's surrounded by cycle routes and footpaths where shane and chris are taking a stroll while i go
26:24prepare the property in the heart of the village along a gated drive is our final offering we do like
26:33to
26:33mix things up with the mystery house so this is it a petite house with a living room and a
26:39kitchenette
26:40plus an ensuite double bedroom upstairs well that could be for when friend chris visits
26:48of course that's not all there's an even larger annex with a double garage that shane could use as a
26:54gym
26:55plus a lounge opening to the garden a decent sized kitchen and again an ensuite double bedroom upstairs
27:03so that's the weight bench and visiting family sorted too but of course that's not all either for
27:10there's a third building packed with modern finishes wrapped up in character and it's this
27:16one that could be the mystery home for shane look at this bolted ceilings it's got period features it's
27:26got charm and underfloor heating now that's the modern touch so it's three for one the kind of deal
27:34former investment banker shane would snap up
27:41welcome hello to the mystery house wow it's a bit different isn't it what you've got
27:48is a barn conversion yeah okay but the reason it's a mystery is because this one gives you three for
27:55the price of one we're diversifying your portfolio a little bit okay so you get one two and a third
28:01dwelling wow all on this plot wow that's an amazing wrap around acre of land yeah beautiful well it's
28:09mysterious i think it's quite interesting from the road you've got no idea to you correct but yeah
28:14i can't wait to see some more okay let me show you some more great
28:20this collection of buildings were first raised in 1752 but the interiors are modern as they were only
28:27converted to residential dwellings from 2012. wow wow yes wow indeed love the fireplace yeah the
28:38fireplace is very focal got lots of natural materials again yeah feels open and airy and
28:45light all around yeah the courtyard here great floors yeah i was actually saying it feels quite homey
28:51yeah it does it's very modern on the inside the floors are beautiful yeah but you have
28:57the period element of the beams and the height of the ceiling it's rustic and feels comfortable
29:04okay yeah let me show you some more great this building is arranged in an l shape around a courtyard
29:13so from the main living room you turn left into the kitchen another amazing kitchen i think yeah
29:20beautiful isn't it lovely yeah very modern central island again yeah yeah yeah yeah but look at this
29:27i mean the glazing all the way across right yeah straight out into that courtyard all light in here
29:32that's one thing that strikes me about you know for a kitchen to have windows looking onto the terrace
29:38like that it really is again i wasn't really expecting this kitchen after that right sort of go rustic and
29:45again again was expecting maybe a slightly older kitchen but it's all very modern while keeping with
29:50the beams and the stonework you know a lot of houses you walk into and you can kind of figure
29:56them out
29:56right away when you walk in you can go okay i bet you there's two bedrooms up here now we're
30:00through
30:00the main reception room into the kitchen and i still don't know what back there what's over there
30:06what so it's kind of it's a little bit of a mystery right i mean we're getting there bit by
30:11bit well the
30:13next bit is further along from the kitchen where beyond a family bathroom is the main bedroom which
30:20comes with an ensuite shower so this is one of the four bedrooms right it's got ensuite and the door
30:29right
30:29out onto the garden yeah nice little quaint yeah these barns used to be stables right ah yes yeah
30:36yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah i love how they've kept the beams beams are cool through here well it
30:42continues in this sort of style great throughout the property yeah i can very much see you living here
30:47mate i think it's um it's a bit more to your sort of needs almost that you don't need to
30:54have too big
30:55too many bedrooms easy living sort of nice kitchen nice room outdoor living i think this i could see you
31:03very much being very comfortable here you take those happy feelings go explore the rest okay i can't
31:08wait to hear what you think when you've seen it all okay we'll see you in a bit off you
31:12go
31:15above this bedroom is another with a window that would amuse the cats
31:20then back at the other end of the building there's another ground floor ensuite bedroom
31:24with a room above that's used as an office and features a low opening onto the lounge mezzanine
31:31good luck chris well that was very easy
31:38that was fun for you right yeah i'm not gonna do that again did you bang your head no no
31:43well
31:45i like the way it flows onto the kitchen kitchen flows onto the courtyard so it's not a super modern
31:50open plan but it kind of flows room flows to room nicely it's not boxy and you know kitchen over
31:57there yeah the dining room over there i think flow describes this quite well actually yeah
32:03across the gravel driveway is the largest annex well similar sort of theme right high ceilings beams
32:12all coming out into another courtyard but it's a good size yeah i mean you could almost turn this into
32:19maybe an office slash study area i don't know and then tucked into the garden is less of a man
32:27cave
32:27and more of a man house that could be shane's writing studio or a self-contained rental
32:35the substantial one acre plot includes the patio areas a vegetable patch and a small paddock previously
32:42used for sheep and alpacas there she is so how much do you think this is on the market funny
32:49i knew
32:49you were going to ask me that and i was thinking about it i kept getting distracted by all the
32:54buildings
32:54um i would say
32:591.15 okay 1 150 000 pounds correct i'll go i'll go quite a lot i'd say 850. it's on
33:08for offers over 995
33:11000 almost like right in the middle exactly yeah yeah that's all right you're a little bit closer yeah
33:18that's all right offers over 995 000 pounds for this sprawling three for one mystery package
33:27boasting a total of six bedrooms and five bathrooms across three separate self-contained units
33:34they are all packed with period features including high vaulted ceilings with exposed beams
33:40and the zoned garden fits a wide range of purposes probably out of all of them this one's most
33:46challenging i would say simply because not only is a mixture of period and modern but just uh figuring
33:54out how how life would be really with two annexes a main building um how you actually get some use
34:01out of them so yeah it's given me different things to think about having walked around the whole place
34:07get a sense of what's going on i really can see shane living here i think he'd be very comfortable
34:11here
34:12he has the flexibility to put his own stamp on the property so put a gym where he wants to
34:17use annex for a guest room or whatever it may be but i think the flexibility and he gives them
34:21some
34:22optionality
34:35there's no doubt who the county's best known resident is as the globally famous robin hood made
34:42his own escape to hide out in this wood centuries ago but today it has another important tale to tell
34:54me being here in sherwood forest is like stepping into a storybook that's come to life the towering
35:00ancient trees the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves this is home to some of the oldest trees
35:07in the uk but with a changing climate some of these ancient trees are in need of a helping hand
35:13and
35:13i've come to find out how
35:18sherwood forest covers more than 420 hectares and it's a unique habitat for all kinds of flora and fauna
35:28the rspb senior site manager for this important reserve is holly drake
35:35this place is magical isn't it holly yeah and the trees you've got everything from young trees through to
35:41the ancients but what are the challenges that these wonderful trees in this forest are facing
35:47now from climate change and everything else that's changing climate change is probably not just
35:52affecting sherwood it's probably affecting everywhere all over the globe sherwood we have seen it we have
35:57had extreme weather events if we have extreme droughts the trees go into stress because they can't
36:02access that moisture and that might potentially affect their growth in future years stressed out trees
36:07i've never thought about it i know so what are we looking at around here i mean what's the age
36:12of
36:12these sorts of trees um this one here is a next generation tree so that's not one of our oldest
36:17ancients next generation i like it that's quite funky what does that mean how young or how old would
36:21it be yeah so this is the next generation of ancients so it could be up to potentially six seven
36:26hundred years old okay um so they're still quite old trees but they are you know not at that nine
36:32hundred thousand year old so given that you've got trees that are six seven hundred years old and
36:37older they sound quite resilient why do they need our help now we want this space to be as magical
36:42as
36:43it is now in a hundred years time in two hundred years time we want to do everything we can
36:48do to
36:48protect these habitats we provide educational tools in the visitor center and some of the interpretation
36:53to tell people those stories for me we educate people they can go away they can tell their friends
36:59their families you know their loved ones all about what they've learned and that for me that inspire
37:05to educate is the big piece for me there are over 1 000 ancient oaks here the largest collection in
37:14europe and much of the wildlife that thrives in this unique habitat is rarely seen outside the forest
37:21deadwood habitats are what make sure it's special so if there is an ancient tree that has deadwood it
37:27could be aerial deadwood what we want to do is preserve that sometimes what we do is we can put
37:32interventions in place where we actually strap the trees so behind us is one of our ancients called
37:37mr split mr split is actually a standing deadwood that is still as vital habitat as a living ancient tree
37:45so what we try and do is make sure we band it and we keep that dead hulk is what
37:51we call it so the hulk
37:52together to stop it collapsing because inside of that is the vital habitat for the invertebrate species
37:58that are here on the site one current resident of the forest is not quite as famous as robin hood
38:06but is probably older this is our major oak so it potentially is even up to 1200 years old it's
38:14been
38:14here a very long time it is our star icon to bring people here we have a lot of people
38:21wanting to
38:21visit wanting to see it and just understand how we can help protect it for the future and it looks
38:27like
38:27there's a bit a lot of work to help protect it but even back to the edwardian period right at
38:32the top
38:32of the tree you can see we've got chains that from the main stem back to the limbs to try
38:37and keep it from
38:37dropping them we've also got some props so there were wooden props in place when the fence was put in
38:43place around the 1970s to try and stop people going to the major oak because there's a lot of compaction
38:49through decades and decades of people enjoying this space you know the actual ground underneath
38:53the major oak is as solid as concrete right because of the amount of people that have been and looked
38:58at
38:58it and the kind of footwear that it's had around it so what we've done is obviously we still keep
39:03the
39:03fence line in place we let the area be more wild because the variation of flora that we can have
39:09on
39:09here the better because different flora has different depth roots so that kind of breaks up
39:14that kind of concrete pan that we're talking about we're also doing some work around the base of the
39:19oak so we're actually manually aerating the soil with the support from volunteers and trowels and a
39:25lot of hard work in conjunction with leading soil and tree specialists in the uk because if we can do
39:31that
39:31it'll get more nutrients it'll get more oxygen and the tree hopefully will be able to get all of the
39:36stuff it needs to grow easier but it is still growing it is still growing we still have leaves
39:42um so yeah it's it's still there what we want to do is try and preserve it for as many
39:46years as we
39:46possibly can moving forward absolutely we want this to keep going it's been so wonderful talking to you
39:52here and you have so much knowledge the fact that we're getting this out for other people to learn
39:56from and to carry on this amazing heritage is fantastic yeah thank you it's been great and thank you for
40:02being part of the story it's almost impossible to imagine what the world will look like in a thousand
40:10years time but hopefully with the help of holly and her successors this mighty oak will still be around
40:17to see it well we've shown shane a great selection of houses this week and had great reactions so
40:27let's find out what he's going to do next so having spent a couple of days with us how are
40:36you feeling
40:36about moving out into the countryside 100 confirms what i previously thought that country living is
40:43definitely for me the first few properties we saw especially property number one um because when i
40:49said i wanted something modern in a country setting i was pretty sure that i wanted modern but property
40:56number one surprised me how much i really like that um you've given me a lot more to think about
41:02than i
41:02would have previously thought about which has been for me probably the the biggest takeaway you've made
41:09you very much for that i think next steps are certainly to explore the villages around property
41:17number one property number two and just get a feel for things so if you were going back would you
41:22have
41:22a second viewing yeah absolutely i think house number one and house number two i i would like to see
41:27again get a feel for the area get a feel for what's around it this is exciting isn't it isn't
41:33it you
41:33either go for exactly what you said you wanted yeah or something completely different yeah exactly
41:40yeah and nottinghamshire is the county for you i think so yeah i'm pretty sure thank you so much
41:45for going with us on this journey and letting us in on this next chapter of your life thank you
41:50very
41:50much it's been amazing best of luck and of course when you buy let us know absolutely we'll keep in
41:57touch
41:57thank you thank you very much we've had a wonderful week here in nottinghamshire showing
42:06shane a great selection of houses and i think we've given him a bit of a dilemma he's ended up
42:11with not
42:11one but two properties that he wants to take a second look at for me i've had a chance to
42:17get to know
42:17this wonderful county and what's not to love the trees the birds the weather it's had it all now for
42:25shane i truly hope that he enjoys those second viewings and makes a decision and he moves out
42:30here very soon and i hope you join us soon for more escape to the country having had time to
42:38review
42:39the homes shane's front runner is now the modern house we showed him plus another contemporary home
42:45in the county but he needs his own house sale to go through first we hope it all works out
42:51for him
42:51as soon as possible so he can begin his new chapter in the countryside if you would like to escape
42:57to
42:57the country in england northern ireland scotland or wales and need our help why not apply online
43:04at bbc.co.uk forward slash take part
43:08so
43:19you
43:23you
43:25you
43:39Transcription by CastingWords
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