Escape To The Country Season 26 Episode 27 takes us to the scenic landscapes of West Yorkshire, where Ginny Buckley helps a theatre-loving couple leave London behind in search of a countryside home with real star appeal. With rolling hills, charming villages, and character-filled properties, each viewing offers a dramatic new possibility for their rural lifestyle dream.
Ginny also meets a family who took a bold step away from city life to begin again on a 30-acre farm, showing how the countryside can provide the perfect stage for a fresh start. This inspiring episode highlights the beauty and opportunity of West Yorkshire living.
#EscapeToTheCountry #WestYorkshire #CountryLiving #RuralLife #BritishTV
Ginny also meets a family who took a bold step away from city life to begin again on a 30-acre farm, showing how the countryside can provide the perfect stage for a fresh start. This inspiring episode highlights the beauty and opportunity of West Yorkshire living.
#EscapeToTheCountry #WestYorkshire #CountryLiving #RuralLife #BritishTV
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FunTranscript
00:01on escape to the country we like to present our house hunters with show-stopping features
00:07this is where the theater the magic happens here look at it oh and we always aim to reach new
00:15heights wow oh my goodness okay yeah oh that's beautiful sometimes we can forget who's meant to
00:24be buying the house i was gonna say you like it don't you do you like it but their happiness
00:30is
00:30always the priority now he smiled
00:58when the sun shines on west yorkshire its luscious countryside draw sightseers out to immerse
01:05themselves in its beauty but it can also feel rugged and untamed which perhaps draws its communities
01:11together if you've been here then you will know and if you haven't let me tell you yorkshire is a
01:17very friendly place even on a map it's as if north yorkshire is wrapping its arms around west yorkshire
01:24it's westy-besty west yorkshire is situated in the north of england and has always been well
01:32connected not just due to its location but also because it's often been at the forefront of transport
01:41innovations in 1774 a rising flight of locks was opened in bingley joining leads and liverpool by
01:48water it was such an impressive feat that around 30 000 people turned up to celebrate the opening
01:56today the county has some of the most rapid electric vehicle charging points outside of london and perhaps
02:03is this long connection with speed that's inspired the county's olympic and paralympic champions there
02:10is access to a wide variety of sporting events for every ability or disability of things like football
02:16rugby athletics wheelchair sports there's all sorts there's lots of things to do like us after school
02:23clubs and things like that i really enjoy living in west yorkshire apart from the weather it is still
02:31amazing place it's absolutely amazing you're not going to be seeing reason in other parts of the
02:37country so yes come along enjoy yourself relax have a good time i probably shouldn't say this too loudly
02:43but i was born and raised just over the border in lancashire and despite the rivalry between my home
02:49county and yorkshire i've always enjoyed coming here taking in the scenery and having a chat with the
02:56friendly locals talking about locals it's time to meet today's couple who want to return to their
03:02yorkshire routes
03:07theatre general manager rich and costumier janey met working on the west end show saturday night fever
03:13having moved from yorkshire to london for work we have loved it but we don't need that anymore we
03:20need to be near london and it was always the plan to get back up north and get to yorkshire
03:25they're
03:26surrounded by some of the country's busiest roads so getting about can be frustrating it's the main
03:32route from london's bright so it's quite popular one way to beat the traffic is running film yourself
03:43running outside it'll be fun inside their steep garden is also physically challenging and has janey's
03:52workshop near the top it's organized chaos i'd like to say it's not really organized it's just chaos but
03:59this is where it happens i've got various seating options after i've climbed the mountain to get up here
04:05but it's just a bit of a trek rich also often works from home i could be doing it anywhere
04:12so
04:13get me back up north they're moving with their son rupert who wants to settle in a new school
04:19before starting gcses and he's looking forward to new opportunities motocross motocross is that the
04:26dirt bike thing yep you've not mentioned that you're not yeah i'm not sure i'm not sure about that
04:32don't you have to be a bit older rich and janey want an unlisted detached quirky house they're
04:40after four bedrooms and hope to rent out a room as digs to theater productions janey needs a workroom
04:46rich would like a workshop and they'd all like a flatter garden for a maximum budget of six hundred thousand
05:04so driving along roads like this with views like these i can completely understand why people would
05:11want to come back to yorkshire and i do get the pull of your roots i mean i've lived away
05:17from the north
05:17of england for a long long time but every time i come back it still feels like home you know
05:23i do
05:24think the landscape the moors and the valleys of this part of the world are absolutely stunning and they
05:29often get overlooked for other parts of the county but trust me west yorkshire is well worth a visit
05:39one hidden gem is the village of oak and shore near the center of the county
05:43which is the location of our first house but before we go there i'm meeting rich and janey in a
05:49nearby
05:49country park well hello hi oh it's so nice to be back up north with these familiar landscapes it's
05:59beautiful isn't it i'm sure over the course of the next few days my local accent will come out my
06:02langashire accent and i can tell from your actions of course that this area this part of the world is
06:07home for you is that the big pull for this area now for west yorkshire yeah why west yorkshire in
06:12particular it's a beautiful county yorkshire partly because we wanted to make sure that we maintained
06:18links to london yeah links to cities but had access to this yeah and being their family we've got family
06:25in holland derby yeah so it's liverpool yeah and are you all on the same page you're thinking what
06:31your vision of a house is here are you two look i imagine we're gonna find that out in the
06:36next day
06:38but yeah and and rupa as well i think he he's you know over the last couple of years we
06:43have been
06:44kind of looking online which is it's great and handy but you can't see the actual place you don't and
06:50that's what we were finding that's why we needed your help because we couldn't find the location
06:54well that's what we're here for should we should we crack on yes please
07:02the village of oak and shore is on the outskirts of bradford the uk's 2025 city of culture it's around
07:10five miles from the alhambra theater which attracts top touring productions and if late back from a show
07:16there's a good range of takeaways as well as other village amenities including a pharmacy
07:21just a few minutes walk from the center is the house we're here to see
07:27so i thought we'd kick off with a traditional stone barn conversion oh interesting love it it's got a
07:34feel and that's important what do you think about the style rich you i like the style yeah absolutely i
07:42loved the look of that window fascinated to get in and have a nose good well there's a there's a
07:46curve of elements inside that i'm going to show you one in particular that's going to make you feel
07:50right at home let's just say it's quite theatrical oh no okay well should we go and check it out
07:57inside
07:57yes please yes please this barn was built around 1750 and converted in the 1980s the single story
08:07extension we're entering through was added by the current owners
08:13come on in oh wow so you've got a great big airy kitchen diner yeah really nice views
08:21nice island over the valley yeah no it's got a lovely feel to it you don't feel that you're coming
08:28into a modern not at all no you really don't no no floorboards are lovely yeah yeah and it's nice
08:34yeah like this obviously even with the beams and it's still got the height worried that you would
08:39also cover it in fairy lights but i'm already thinking of christmas holly along there's a deal
08:45to be done on the fairy lights i'm sure oh we have plenty and are you dining room kind of
08:50people or are
08:51you a bit more this kind of vibe of a nice diet yeah yeah kitchen diner we play board games
08:57cards
08:57everything well it's rich cooks if we had a dining room we might do lots of things in it but
09:02never
09:03die okay okay well hold that thought because i'm going to come back to that idea okay okay i'll have
09:07a dining room for you to do some things in oh i'll show you that in a while also in
09:12the new extension
09:13there's a good-sized utility room and a double garage that could provide rich's workshop then the
09:20other end of the kitchen flows into the original bomb so here you go i think the mix is pretty
09:25seamless yeah it doesn't feel like we're suddenly in the old part of the house doesn't it no no it
09:31really doesn't no it's great okay i would like it like the old coving and that beams quite
09:38yeah but it's still not yeah but not too low and it's a great size space that's the thing that
09:44struck
09:44me about this room yeah you've got the nice double doors out onto the garden but it's really big yeah
09:50which is brilliant it's my main living room yeah no it's lovely there's so much in this house that
09:55i want to talk about and show you so let's move from here i mentioned theatrical and this is where
10:01the theatre happens the magic happens here look at it oh wow oh goodness oh good lord
10:10yeah i think of the fairy lights you could have in here so let me just talk about the layout
10:16down
10:16here because you've got a dining room in there which i very strongly as we've said is not a
10:20dining room that would become your work room i think okay now thinking about the digs so over in
10:26the far corner is another room there it's got a separate door off it and as you come in through
10:31the other entrance right next door to that room is a really good downstairs bathroom interesting okay
10:36yeah i can't read you rich come on oh he's hard he won't know he doesn't show he doesn't he's
10:43not
10:44going to give anything away until he's seen everything the problem is i think i've got a
10:47beaming smile it just doesn't resonate should i just say you're smiling on the inside yeah i'm smiling
10:54under the beard upstairs there are four double bedrooms two of which share the family bathroom
11:00while a third is ensuite as is the largest i like it's a great size yeah lots of storage let's
11:08build more dobes big thick walls i love the beam there's also an attic room which could work as a
11:15recreation space for rupert outside is vast with a gated driveway around 50 meters of flat south facing
11:23garden offering elevated rural views and a multi-purpose stable block i mean it could be another
11:30little workshop you know we could turn there's a lot of scope to do things with that i could have
11:35a potting
11:35shed for one one of them can i make a suggestion yeah i think one of them which would make
11:40an amazing
11:41log store yeah no he smiled yes absolutely yeah it would yeah ready mode log store yeah yeah yeah
11:49the only compromise for me is the the noise because you can't hear the traffic inside it's staggering
11:54yeah it's really really lovely it's got everything we need and the flexibility for us to use it in
12:00different ways right well we have one question left to answer it is what is this property on the market
12:07for really well connected on the doorstep for leeds and bradford i'm gonna say 580 580 000 pounds i was
12:17gonna go 570. okay you've actually both a little bit off the mark okay so it's actually on the market
12:25for just over budget 610 000 because it is so close to such a great property in such a great
12:34location yeah
12:36610 000 pounds for this extended barn conversion offering a large kitchen diner and four double
12:43bedrooms for the family from an income perspective there's opportunity to rent out digs as well as a
12:50workroom and workshop options not to mention the large outdoor areas and the views it's very different
12:58to anything i thought i was looking for but the space is so dramatic and exciting the light that
13:05comes in through this amazing window and the outside i reckon i could fit a lot of plants in
13:13there is a bit of a compromise in terms of the outside and the traffic noise but
13:18i think we just need to weigh up how much of a problem that is
13:32we might not have the best weather this week but it won't water down the beauty of the moors
13:38so we've arranged for local tour guide johnny briggs to show rich and janey the sights
13:44welcome to bronte country thank you very much what do you think of this extraordinary landscape
13:49oh it's breathtaking it is it's beautiful so in terms of where we are we have howarth the top of
13:55howarth is just there on the brow of that hill that's the heart of the bronte story but if we
14:01go
14:02that way a little bit you see those beautiful moors yeah that's where emily is going to cite
14:07wuthering heights right on that horizon there's nothing else beyond it apart from the blanket bog
14:12so kathy and heathcliff can just be alone brilliant i'm a keen runner it looks like it might be quite
14:20challenging round here this is the best fell running running across the moors will only give you strength
14:26and stamina yeah you'll be raised in amongst your local people as a legend for doing but maybe it's time
14:33we go and explore howarth lovely sounds good howarth is most famously associated with the bronte sisters
14:45the home where they spent the majority of their lives now has is a museum dedicated to them
14:51and the village's association with writers looks set to continue we've got a little bar up here called
14:57writer's block we encourage local poets to come along and talk about their works present their new
15:02works and foundations it's full of independent businesses many of them lining the historic
15:08cobbled streets so it's got a real chocolate box kind of look to the village and a really great
15:13atmosphere there's always so much going on in terms of events and things to do so in july there's an
15:19arts
15:19festival and a comedy festival which is is great and brings people into the village and at christmas
15:25it is beautiful all the christmas trees out and they are everywhere but also there's a real welcoming
15:31of christmas on the church steps and it really really does bring christmas to life everyone
15:37knows everybody else you go hi steve hi dave you know what a lovely dog oh isn't it great weather
15:43we
15:43always talk about the weather but the community spirit is fantastic which is why we're having how
15:47is first pride this year there's a great choice of enticing restaurants and cafes for when it's time to
15:54sit back and take it all in we love the look of how it looks very very quaint and lovely
16:00love the
16:00history but where how would we go about meeting people if we were new and didn't know anyone in the
16:05area i think meeting people in how it is probably much easier to imagine partly because it's a tourist
16:10town as well as a town where people live and there are lots of things that go on but what
16:16drew us to
16:17the area is trying to find that balance between the rural countryside living but the accessibility of
16:24the the cities i mean is that realistic here oh it's brilliant here you've got the best of both worlds
16:30you've got the landscape and the moors but you've also really close to leeds bradford manchester we have
16:38brilliant rail networks so from keithley in 25 minutes you can be in the center of leeds on the train
16:44that's brilliant you've been so helpful thank you it's great to hear all of that and looking forward
16:48to seeing more of it yeah and great to know we can still have the links that we need into
16:53the cities
16:54such a pleasure to have met you and i'm sure wherever you go you're going to find you're
16:58going to bring so much energy to where you end up living thank you
17:08our next property is in the village of allerton the location is just two miles from the pretty historic
17:13village of thornton that's packed with culture and is celebrated as the birthplace of the brontes
17:20there's also a library gallery and an antique store as well as more day-to-day businesses
17:27the most striking landmark is its victorian viaduct and incredibly the house we've come to see is
17:34centuries older
17:38so welcome to one of the oldest if not the oldest houses in this area okay wow dates back to
17:461605 so
17:47it's got some stories to tell this one absolutely oh okay got his poker face back on poker faces back
17:55on
17:56you say it's one of the oldest buildings in the area is it is it listed it is it's got
18:02a grade
18:02two-star listing okay you are not going to have to worry about that though because somebody else
18:08is worried about that and the whole thing has been beautifully renovated okay so there is nothing
18:13left to do inside that would cause you issues okay that sounds positive it reminds me so much
18:19of what i love about this area it reminds me of the brontes yeah and it reminds me of you
18:25know all the
18:26brilliant books that i grew up reading that were all set around here and this is the kind of house
18:30that
18:30would be in one of those books yeah it seems to have the right sort of character and we always
18:36said feeling is you know quite important yeah i love the i love the garden i love the views you
18:41know and the dry stone wall it's gorgeous i think you're going to be charmed by this because i know
18:46i
18:46was i was going to say you like it don't you do you like it honestly i do i found
18:51myself going oh my
18:52kitchen table that fit in there which is not what i'm supposed to be doing well should we go and
18:57see
18:57if it is for you yes please come on this incredible property is semi-detached and full of period details
19:04immediately evident in the living room nice nice oh yeah i could cope with this i know yeah they're so
19:15deep
19:15aren't they yeah and again you've got all that the history that you you want left in it you've got
19:21the beams you've got the beautiful exposed stone yes but it's not got the low ceilings which again
19:26is something that it's actually remarkably light look at those windows yeah just beautiful yeah okay
19:33a little bit gobsmatched he smiled you're smiling on the outside rich absolutely what does it feel
19:43like because something's making you smile on the outside it's lovely homely it feels like a it feels
19:55like a good place to be it's got a good vibe doesn't it i can't explain it but i came
19:59in and i just got the
20:00vibe and it just felt nice just seen the beam up across the doorway that's totally awesome you've not
20:05seen anything yet off the entrance hall is a double suite which includes a shower and could provide
20:12the rental digs there's also a large utility room but the room i really want to show them is under
20:18that
20:19beamed archway i mean there's not just one beam there there's a whole series of them yeah wow and here's
20:30more nice i can imagine stumbling up those steps this is lovely it's nice isn't it oh no lovely space
20:39and have you noticed actually how quiet it is in here yeah again it's just the thickness of the walls
20:45isn't it nothing nothing is going to get through there it's gorgeous isn't it yeah interesting that
20:51they've got the telly in here this room is obviously where they where they spend their time yeah you know
20:57and that's what you said to me earlier yeah no absolutely beyond the kitchen is a second living
21:02room that's even larger and could be transformed into janie's work room this is lovely nice yeah
21:10look at the stone yeah no it's lovely i'm already worried about what you're worried about what it costs
21:21well you're going to have to worry a little longer rich as you haven't even seen the upstairs yet
21:26the exposed stonework continues throughout the house and in addition to the downstairs bedroom there are
21:32another four doubles oh wow amazing you know a hotel room that's got all the quirky features
21:43amazing beams yeah i think that might be a walk-in wardrobe uh yeah oh yeah plenty of space
21:53for my things for my things anyway oh i like it the largest of the bedrooms has an ensuite moving
22:02outside there's an outbuilding that could be a workshop and the garden shares the views into the
22:08distance with the attached cottage i'm scared if you're asking us how much is
22:14no i love it i love the character i love the feel of it so shall we ask the question
22:18that you don't
22:19want me to ask but i do have to ask what do you think it's on the market for you
22:24see it's the
22:24whole grade two star listed thing that's throwing me a bit because i don't know whether that makes
22:28things more expensive or less expensive but i'm thinking 595. okay so right almost at top of the
22:35budget 600 000 pounds i'm gonna say 580 again i said it last time i was wrong last time prepared
22:45to be
22:45this time is this your theme you're just going to say that okay okay you like it don't you i
22:54do i
22:55think that annex is is beautiful and then so maybe we've gone too low i don't know okay you haven't
23:00gone too low actually it's on the market for 550 000 pounds so it's 50 000 pounds under your budget
23:12so a semi-detached cottage with a grade two star listing which they originally said would be a
23:19complete no but there are exceptions to rules and this house is exceptional it has two living rooms
23:26a large kitchen diner a total of five bedrooms one of which could suit as a rental plus space for
23:33a
23:33workroom and a workshop available to buy for 550 000 pounds this house is not short on character
23:43it's beautiful it's a very very warm feeling home it feels like a home it's not a house it's it's
23:50lovely it's so spacious the views are stunning there are a few compromises and a few questions
23:56we've got that we need to look at um i think we'll have another look around if that's all right
24:07in the north of the county close to the market town of shipley is the village of saltaire financed
24:14and built by philanthropists at titus salt so that workers at his textile mill could live in better
24:19conditions today the village is a unesco world heritage site and the mill which closed in 1986
24:28incorporates shops a restaurant and an art gallery that includes one of the largest collections of
24:34works by david hockney so i thought we'd end the day in one of my favorite places in west yorkshire
24:40somewhere i spent loads of time over the years it's salts mill in the village of salter i don't know
24:45if
24:45you've heard of it i i don't yeah i've been here before it's fascinating history and this is only
24:5010 minutes away from the house that we've just been looking out with its cafe and restaurant
24:54absolutely so yeah on your doorstep to come and explore yeah definitely is it starting to feel real
25:00now we're here how's it felt today it is today's been really interesting and it's been eye-opening i
25:05think for us it's changed from the conceptual shall we move back to yorkshire to oh what would we put
25:11in
25:11that room yeah so you can have lots to talk about with rupert when you call him later i've had
25:17to turn
25:17my phone off because he keeps texting constantly wanting to know what we're seeing what's happening
25:21what's going on so yeah we'll have a very interesting conversation with him later on and with each other
25:27does yes it's been a great day but it's asked as many questions as it's answered yeah i think we've
25:34we've pushed you in a few different ways there yeah today definitely but hopefully showing you what's
25:39possible as well no yeah really made us think yeah well you've got you've got tonight to have
25:43a think about some of the answers and then we get to do it all over again tomorrow yay excellent
26:02west yorkshire is beautiful and the house prices here are pretty attractive too as the average cost of
26:10detached property is just under 359 000 pounds around 25 percent lower than the 471 000 pound average
26:19across england as a whole but if you're in the market for a terraced home how about this canal
26:25side cottage priced at 240 000 pounds it's packed with period features including flagstone floors but
26:34it's the ceilings that really catch the eye with incredible stone archways in the kitchen and these
26:40feature beams in the two bedrooms just over the border in north yorkshire this barn conversion in an
26:49elevated position has a pristine garden and views to the horizon inside is spacious and light thanks to
26:57the enormous windows and stunning gallery landing there are five bedrooms and an abundance of original
27:03features all for 795 000 pounds back in west yorkshire on the rental market is a charming cottage off a
27:17cobbled courtyard in a gated development it blends a period feel with modern decor and has a large garden
27:25lined with mature trees it's available for 630 pounds a month
27:35a blustery west yorkshire awaits for the second day of our house hunt and of course today brings
27:39the mystery house so it's time to see if it can become the start of the show and earn itself
27:45a standing ovation
27:48for a final offering we're heading to the market town of hebden bridge situated on the confluence of
27:53the river calder and the hebden water near to where i'm meeting rich and jamie
28:00so i thought we'd kick the day off in another of my favorite places in west yorkshire welcome to
28:04hebden bridge excellent do you guys know it i don't but i'm very excited i've heard about it i've been
28:09here but not for a very long time but a beautiful place and such a sort of reputation it has
28:15it's become
28:15a real kind of center and a hub for the arts for creativity it's got an amazing community spirit
28:21it gets loads of people coming for days out which is where i used to come here over the years
28:25and it's just surrounded by beautiful countryside we're not going to let the non-summery weather
28:31put us off today no it is part and parcel we're living near the moors absolutely i grew up near
28:36them
28:37and this is a common sight all year round we love a pink brolly absolutely look i'm going to go
28:42and get
28:43the mystery house ready for you both brilliant you guys just have a wander around hedden bridge i know this
28:47is your first time jenny yeah so yeah take it all in thank you and i'll see you at the
28:51mystery house
28:52great thank you thanks partly to the steep hills and fast streams a number of water mills sprang up
29:03in the town it developed during the 18th and 19th centuries then in the 70s and 80s the town witnessed
29:10an influx of artists writers and musicians and has enjoyed a reputation for the arts ever since
29:18the high street and market have won multiple awards and offer a wide range of independent shops cafes and
29:25other businesses it's long been popular with house hunters and the lack of available flat land means
29:32many homes in the town have four stories or more as is the case with our final property
29:39so our mystery house is nestled in a valley five minutes away from the center of hebden bridge
29:45and it is a building with a lot of history and a lot to explore so let's take a look
29:52this characterful property was built in the mid 19th century to house the carriage the horses and the
29:59workers for the owner of the local mill and the features inside are next level it's not that unusual to
30:06discover a vaulted ceiling in the homes that we visit on escape to the country unless it's a vaulted
30:11ceiling like this and while the view above is jaw-dropping the view below is even more breathtaking
30:19when it was converted to a residential dwelling in the 1980s many of the original features were retained
30:25and have become the star attractions as rich and janey are about to find out
30:32so here we have our hebden bridge mystery house excellent yes what do you make of the location
30:39i mean it's beautiful the the view's amazing it's dramatic it's very close to hebden bridge
30:45yeah it's yeah really interesting yes and it's got this fantastic ready-made annex absolutely which
30:51has got power water everything in so there's loads of options there yeah you know i'm loving the windows
30:57already yeah you can really see the character and the history in the house yes and the mystery is
31:02actually exploring the house itself okay intriguing should we go and take a look yes please with four
31:09floors there is a lot of property with this one and we're starting on the ground floor which is in
31:15the
31:15middle so there's a lot to explore in the mystery house um we've got the kitchen here one of five
31:21bedrooms could make a lovely study oh lovely but i suspect this is where you would spend most of your
31:26time
31:28wow oh my goodness okay yeah oh oh my goodness that's beautiful what's down there there's a brook just in
31:38the valley that runs by we're about only sort of five minutes out of heaven bridge yeah yeah you see
31:44the what i thought was a bottle was to store wine yeah wine rack which shows how my brain works
31:49it's a
31:51ladder yeah wow yeah you knew yeah i didn't i was like wine rack how do i get to the
31:56ones at the top
31:58and that would have been all the workers accommodation that have climbed up from the barn and the stables
32:02oh fascinating rupert would be up that ladder better than me okay yeah it's a really interesting
32:11quirky house yeah i think we see quite a lot of vaulted ceilings we've shown you yeah already
32:16and we've shown you a galleried area yeah but this sort of supersizes that a bit it does also on
32:23this
32:23floor there is a bedroom and then on the gallery landing above it's a close-up view of those beams
32:29and
32:29trusses so this is the area i thought rupert might like really lovely bedroom through there
32:36and then he's got his kind of own hangout area here oh he would love it whether he would be
32:42allowed
32:42to have it is a different thing but you could just imagine couldn't you bean bags and yeah a desk
32:47for doing his homework and he wouldn't want that okay there's another room on this floor bedroom
32:52that's used as a study but there's also a massive bathroom so he'd have his own bathroom okay okay
32:57floor to himself so long as he cleaned is there somewhere for us yeah where do we go you gotta
33:03clean your own bathroom i mean to be honest we could find somewhere else for rupert and you could
33:07have this for yourself yeah yeah you could you really could like the bottles oh yeah it's a really
33:16interesting it's really yeah it's making my brain hurt is it in a good way or are you not sure
33:24i just don't
33:25understand where everything is yet okay it's really quite simple janey two floors below on the basement
33:33level could be the digs with a bedroom sitting room bathroom utility room snug and potential workshop
33:39then at the very top of the house on the second floor is a fifth bedroom and a shower with
33:45me so far
33:45good because then out in the courtyard is a studio work room oh it's a space for me yeah that's
33:53a
33:53great space what is it currently i'm not sure a creative little hobby i like it we'd have to try
34:02and
34:02stop rupert nabbing this place as well just don't tell them about it it's theirs the land here is the
34:09compromise with a gate that leads to a secluded garden with a small patch of lawn and a paved patio
34:15hello hi you didn't get lost we didn't not quite are you clearer about the layout no no sort of
34:24so
34:26final guess for you two now what do you think the mystery house is on the market for so unlike
34:32any other
34:33property you see i'm going to go a bit low and i'm going to say 530. 530 000 janey uh
34:42i'm gonna get 560.
34:44560 000 pounds okay neither of you quite hit the mark on this on the mystery house
34:50rubbish at this uh it's just it's just under budget actually it's on at 595 000 pounds okay
34:56and i mean that's because it's a substantial property it's a mile out of hebden bridge absolutely um
35:01and you know the price reflects the area yeah as well yeah 595 000 pounds for this four-story former
35:09carriage house it's marketed as having five bedrooms but with so many reception rooms the potential
35:16configurations are extensive there's a studio work room and a workshop all just a short walk from
35:23hebden bridge we did two full laps just to try to get a a sense of the layout of it
35:33what's where what
35:34what could be where but it's i mean it's an extraordinary house i have never seen a vaulted
35:40ceiling like this it is absolutely stunning it's it's so dramatic and yeah it's worthy of some sort
35:48of stage show it's got that sort of feel about it rich and janey's escape from london to west yorkshire
36:03is about a return to their roots and others have made the same move but in very different circumstances
36:10for some people moving from the city to the countryside involves slowing things down putting
36:15your feet up but for others like emma and gavin a rural escape means some hard graft after working
36:23for the metropolitan police for 30 years gavin emma and their son harry bought a 36 acre traditional
36:29farm on the outskirts of hebden bridge we've never done this before it's a huge learning curve and we
36:37have lots of animals we have sheep goats and pigs goats are fantastic the sheep are a nightmare
36:43and pigs love a cuddle six years since making the move harry is now a member of a young farmers
36:50club
36:50and takes part in their events harry's competing today in the auctioneering so this is one of the
36:58items he's going to be auctioneering off so let's hope he gets a good price from the age of 16
37:04you can
37:04legally drive a tractor of up to 2.45 meters wide so harry can help out with many of the
37:11jobs you know
37:12usually it raining wouldn't be a problem getting the sheep wet and whatnot it'd be fine but because
37:16they're getting shorn tomorrow we don't want them to be damp so we'll bring them in tonight before it
37:21starts raining in addition to caring for all the animals the family also offers holiday accommodation
37:27for those hoping to share the idyllic scenery i could stare at that view all day but this is a
37:33farm
37:34and that means there's work to be done
37:37hey there hi hello goodness me i can see why you made an escape here that's a view
37:43it is pretty amazing isn't it are you settled in now does it feel like home
37:47it does very much so yeah it takes a bit of getting used to when you come from
37:50a city or suburban environment um but you get used to it and now when we go back into town
37:55it seems too
37:55crowded does it yeah it's just it definitely is home now it's wonderful i can see the appeal it's
38:01beautiful and you're obviously look really happy here it must be hard work as well they're running
38:05a farm that must have been a bit of a shock to the system yes yeah i mean we were
38:10we were police
38:11officers in london for 30 years so i guess you've always worked hard but this is another level you've
38:17got uh it's your life it's not a job it's it's just your life and it is blooming hard um
38:23but it's amazing
38:24yeah there's no days off like saturday and sunday is a working day bank holidays are working days you
38:30work every christmas um so you've got to love it to do it and of course it wasn't just the
38:34two of
38:34you making the move you made the move with your son harry as well it's a big move isn't it
38:38coming
38:39from living in central london going to school there having loads of friends to being up here
38:43how's he settled down oh duck to water really does enjoy it he works at the local dairy farm
38:49um he's the farmer in the family we're not is he really that's so interesting and did he have an
38:55interest in this all before you moved up not at all um he was just like a normal kid growing
39:00up in
39:01a town or city but i think he loves working with the older lads on the farm especially when he
39:05was
39:05younger um and he just really enjoys the work this week harry is on half term so he's helping to
39:12look
39:13after the pigs hey harry hi well i'm betting that um feeding the pigs as part of your daily routine
39:19wasn't something you pictured when you were nine or ten oh never not at all give me a flavor of
39:24what
39:24life is like for you now well i think nowadays it's just i'm driving heavy machinery milking cows
39:30obviously where i work at the dairy farm feeding the pigs like i've just done then so yeah it's just
39:35completely different dare i ask if you've got a favorite animal on the farm oh i think it would have
39:40to
39:40be the goats they're the easiest to care for and they're the cutest they are the cutest as well
39:45uh but yeah they eat anything easy to birth yeah lovely animals the goats i need to pick you up
39:50on
39:50that easy to birth have you birthed a goat several times yeah it is obviously a bit gory get covered
39:55in all sorts of goo coming out of the goats but it is it's lovely to see life sort of
39:59in front of you
40:00that you've managed to create and look after brilliant well i wish you all the best thank you very
40:05much and what a beautiful spot you've all created oh yeah it's lovely enjoy thank you very much there
40:10can't be many bigger shifts than swapping 30 years with the police in london for a tranquil
40:15west yorkshire farm but despite all the hard work i can definitely see why a new life here would appeal
40:25it's been lovely reconnecting with some of my favorite places in west yorkshire over the last couple of
40:30days and we're back in another one now in beautiful howarth to find out what janey and rich have made
40:36of
40:36the house hunt
40:47hi hello a cuppa that means it's time for a chance absolutely doesn't it how are you both
40:54feeling shattered yes i get that but no it's it's it's been very very interesting yeah first house was
41:03lovely finished to such a high standard was fantastic inside i did like the courtyard side
41:08of it but we it was still the noise of the traffic i think that it's something we couldn't
41:13have changed if we'd moved there we couldn't do anything about that the mystery house just
41:17doesn't quite work for us the outside space didn't work for me it was too much of a compromise
41:23that's kind of it's almost my therapy he does running i do gardening and that's what settles me but
41:28it was an amazing house i think we are genuinely jealous of whoever gets that yeah definitely so
41:34that leaves us with one it does the grade two star list which we said we would never do
41:40didn't want one the listed semi-detached house oh that one the two the two things that we said we
41:45were well oh yeah to consider it's very such a lovely house such a lovely house i think we probably
41:52need
41:52to do a little bit more research about the area and about schools and i guess the person who is
41:58so
41:58key in this search and joining you on it is your son repart yeah we've had constant messages from him
42:04asking for updates and photographs and this and that and from everything we've sent him be like number
42:09two the best okay well so we are all on the same path yep brilliant okay well we look forward
42:14to seeing
42:15where that path ends up marvelous thank you thank you growing up so close to west yorkshire meant that
42:26my childhood was filled with days out here and i've got really happy memories of the area so it's been
42:32lovely exploring it once again with fellow northerners janey and rich but you know it's even nicer to be
42:38leaving knowing that our theatrical couple are one step closer to raising the curtain on their next act
42:46and taking center stage in this wonderful part of the world join me next time on escape to the country
42:53if you would like to escape to the country in england northern ireland scotland or wales and need our help
43:00then why not reply online at bbc.co.uk forward slash take part
43:05so
43:30you
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