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Escape To The Country - Season 26 - Episode 18: Gloucestershire And Herefordshire
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Short filmTranscript
00:03when looking for the right spot to set down roots in the countryside it pays
00:08not to rush things no no you just have to decide right now there are big
00:17choices to be made the size of the land is quite shocking really I'm thinking
00:23it's gonna do all the work and decisions that could lead to a whole new way of
00:29life suddenly it's become very real that everything changes
00:57which do you prefer woodland river or perhaps a quaint cotswold stone town
01:03or village decisions decisions well why not join us on a Gloucestershire and
01:09Herefordshire escape a captivating region that has them all and it's positively blossoming
01:19it's a gorgeous time here in Gloucestershire because all the trees are putting out their
01:23lovely little leaves and the lovely little birds are making little baby birds and there's a palpable
01:29sense of excitement in the air although there is a little rain forecast but I'm not worried partly
01:35because I have this and also because it said I am the sunshine presenter and it never rains on my
01:41shows
01:41we're saying
01:45our escape adventure will take us to Herefordshire as well as neighbouring Gloucestershire
01:49a county so famous for downpours it inspired a nursery rhyme you know the one about dr foster and the
01:55puddle
01:55but clouds in this county come with silver linings from the glistening river wye to the verdant
02:02forest of Dean and you're never far away from a sunny outlook
02:09well I've lived here 37 years I think it's a lovely community it's very easy to get out to all
02:15sorts of exciting places the river wye is quite near Cheltenham's not far shooksbury we're on the
02:21edge of the forest it's a beautiful place to visit lovely walks places to take the children like beach
02:27inhurst and with substantial village homes and peaceful riverside retreats on offer it's no wonder
02:36escapees come from far and wide to seek their own property pot of gold at the end of this region's
02:42rainbow our show is available for viewing all around the world including the country where our buyers
02:50today are living germany and I was thinking about how to translate escaped the country into german
02:56which would be flucht aufs land but my preference would be mein traumhaus auf dem land my dream house
03:03in the countryside
03:07hello I'm andrew and I'm beate and we currently live in heraldsburg which is close to nuremberg in
03:13southern germany after living in a rented home near nuremberg germany for the last four years
03:21andrew beate and her 11 year old son johan are ready to return to the uk to be closer to
03:28friends
03:28and family well of course i'll miss my friends in germany but i have got friends in the uk my
03:34dad also
03:34lives there so it'll be nice to spend more time with him i can also go to some leicester city
03:38football
03:39matches leicester city are my football however it's not leicestershire but in and around gloucestershire
03:47where they've set their sights the gloucestershire area is very pragmatic for us because i've got a
03:52new role in birmingham and it's a hybrid job so i need to go up a few days a week
03:56so i'm pretty close
03:58to the m5 and i quite like the way it looks the landscape it reminds me of germany where we're
04:03from
04:04now undulating scenery a mix of rivers meadows forest there's it's very much like what a home
04:10leaf it's at home for me i miss the top culture and i think what you're also looking forward to
04:15is the crisps salted vinegar which aren't available in germany yeah so they're his favorite
04:25andrew and beata have up to 600 000 pounds to buy their gloucestershire home they're after three to
04:33four bedrooms an office and a room for andrew's large record collection they'd like a manageable
04:39garden a location with a nearby pub and are open to viewing addresses in both gloucestershire
04:45and herefordshire
04:51i love the fact that andrew and beata are coming to this part of the countryside because as she says
04:57it reminds her of the german countryside down in the south and i'll have to take that on on her
05:03word
05:03because although i lived in germany for six years to my shame i barely left the city limits of berlin
05:08i was in my 20s so it's understandable but it's such a big move having done that to move from
05:15germany
05:15back to england so if you can find a landscape that reminds you of home all the better
05:25before heading to the first house option i'm making my way to meet beata and andrew for introductions
05:30in a pretty rural spot which i hope compares favorably to the german countryside
05:38i'm so excited to be here with you guys largely because i can practice my german
05:54it's wonderful isn't it to be back back in britain back in the communities back in the countryside
06:00i'm excited about that and a bit of as therefore also a smaller community living where i can get
06:06involved whether it's a parent governor or being at the local church council or just helping out
06:12at the local cafe or play group because i'm working remotely so i want to get out outside
06:17of work to be to have some social interaction really what about you andrew what are you looking
06:22forward to being back in england seeing friends and family i've been able to go to live football
06:27again rather than just watching it on television and there is good football in germany i hear there
06:31there is but rovenham's my team there's my father's team my grandfather's team and my my eldest son
06:38comes with me to the game so i go into the football with my son it's quite important as well
06:42oh well you've come at a beautiful time of the year spring sunshine blessing our house hunt
06:47shall we get going and see some houses that sounds fantastic yeah come follow me
06:56our first appointment of view is in the gloucestershire hamlet of aleford
07:04around a mile and a half down the road the village of blakeney has post office services
07:09and a convenience store there's restaurant dining at the king's head and a takeaway fish and chip shop
07:16too buses include a route to the town of chepstow which stops not far from the rural property
07:22proposition i'm putting to beata and andrew here we are house number one what a lovely setting it is i
07:33know
07:33that you wanted a countryside location does it have a little german feel to it it does trees little
07:39stream at the bottom of the valley and i love that you can see it's been extended and changed so
07:44it
07:44doesn't look just like one long house but it's quirky i love the fact that when you look from the
07:49house you see trees and and you feel it in the country can we go inside no no you just
07:54have to decide
07:55right now set high on the bank of a river valley this stone cottage has been in the same family
08:05since the 19th century when it was built the current occupant has added an extension
08:10and a conservatory and the main door takes us via a utility come boot room into the kitchen
08:21i like that you can sit in the kitchen already that's a good start yeah kind of your breakfast
08:25straight away but it's got workspace which is great and you've got lovely view when you're washing the
08:30pots which is you do the washing don't you i do now apparently well the good thing about this property
08:36is it's all facing the view so it's all windows this way ideally a bigger kitchen but you can always
08:42extend it that way and make the utility room smaller anyway let's continue the tour this is
08:47the living space so there's a conservatory here you can look at that later but this is the historic
08:52part of the house basically this is the width of the house it's quite simple the layout yeah even
08:57though it's long you still see two parts of the room to it oh you've got a dining area another
09:01living
09:02area i think it's a little smaller than what we expected or what we were not we're looking for i
09:08think
09:08ideally you would want some space where you could put your hi-fi up couldn't we you still have a
09:12hi-fi
09:12that's very retro oh it's very retro i've got a massive collection of vinyl really it's good
09:21completing the ground floor and back off the entrance is a small shower room
09:26then stairs from the reception room lead us up to the home's three bedrooms
09:32at one end is a good-sized double which like all the bedrooms has an aspect to the front overlooking
09:37the valley there's a smaller guest bedroom and a family bathroom tiled in a neutral palette
09:45then at the other end is the principal ensuite
09:51this whole end of the property is the main bedroom and then through there you've got an
09:56ensuite toilet and shower and then a sort of dressing room i like the two windows it makes
10:02really light in here yeah in the big wardrobe space and i like the fact it's en suite i actually
10:07quite like that room i do like that room good yeah um so we can go into the garden and
10:14also we can
10:15talk about the press you lead the way thank you
10:23the garden comprises two-thirds of an acre with wooden and stone outbuildings that have electricity
10:29there's also a paddock the property backs onto forestry commission land where they'd be free to
10:36explore with their dog
10:42the owners who grew up here they used to just get sent out in the morning in the holidays and
10:47they'd go
10:48all the way down the valley and the mum would blow a whistle
10:53excellent and it's a good size garden it's manageable but it's big enough and you've got your green house
10:57which you want to grow your tomatoes and such like maybe some courgette or something so yes that's me
11:01and johan is he is he a kind of your assistant or does he his is to actually do the
11:06lawn mowing
11:07so he earns his pocket money by mowing the lawn yeah he likes that and talking about money
11:14what do you think it's on the market for five two five okay i'm gonna go 550 so 550 000
11:24pounds
11:24this is on the market for 575 000. oh interesting you can see the prices probably slightly higher than
11:32you thought because of the location yeah and the land it's got a good plot size yeah yeah
11:38comfortably within beata and andrew's 600 000 pound budget this extended stone house has a kitchen
11:45breakfast room a multi-functional reception room and three bedrooms there's a large garden without
11:51buildings and valley views this is the conservatory oh that's nice and airy isn't it i mean you can
12:01see yourself sat here coffee or whatever reading on a sunday morning and relaxing
12:09fantastic location it really gave you that wow feeling because you take the dog you can just go out
12:17see the potential in the house happy to do a bit of renovations a bit of changing the location is
12:24more important you have that great combination of living peacefully but if you want to you can enjoy
12:43beata and andrew are looking for options to get stuck into local life when they return to the uk
12:49the small gloucestershire market town of newent could help them get back into the saddle
12:55local horse hero and two times olympic gold medal winner valegro is celebrated in sculpture in the
13:02historic timber framed market hall look what's on in the new and let's have a look
13:08food and drink in july and with over 50 groups to get involved with there's even more worth championing
13:15and it's a fantastic place it's got such a great um community feel to it we've got the new in
13:21chill
13:21out which is for people of all ages and runs as a youth session in the evenings we've got some
13:26fantastic cafes within the town really fantastic places to go and grab a bite to eat it's very small
13:34here it's very compact um but it's community i've just started a supper club we did a curry club
13:41and then there's gonna be a tapas night and it's it's very very important community get together
13:48cyclists can take in the beautiful surrounding countryside on the 19 to 28 mile newent loop
13:55and walkers can enjoy the landscaped lake park well we found new and really by mistake some 35 years ago
14:04stopped off one evening on the way back home and thought what a wonderful little market town it was
14:09people were very friendly easy going and stayed ever since
14:16one place our buyers can expect a warm new and welcome is micro pub the cobblers i think i could
14:23give me a drink let's go and get one where landlord graham rushton is a refreshing source of local knowledge
14:32this is a lovely pub how did you get to run that well what i was when uh myself and
14:38my partner nicky
14:38moved to noon ten years ago we stumbled across this pub started drinking here and we drank here
14:44for many many years when the landlady decided she wanted to retire i came up with this crazy idea of
14:49buying a pub running a pub something that i've never done before and i suppose it brings you right
14:54into the art of the community doesn't it it does we've got some real good regulars and various groups
14:58like royal bridge legion and the rotary club use the back room for meetings and band practices and
15:04stuff like that why new and what you like about this area so much it's a fantastic place good
15:09location to get around many places you're not that far away from south wales you've got gloucester
15:15you've got hereford nearby if you want a bigger city there's a fantastic bus service called the
15:20daffodil line where you can go from new and as far down as ross on white and all the way
15:26up to
15:27lidbury and all points in between and we get a lot of people coming in to visit the pub from
15:32you know from
15:34herefordshire other parts of gloucestershire it's in a cracking part of the country uh yeah when we
15:40love it here the couple seem to have enjoyed their pint-sized taste of gloucestershire life
15:46here in new and now to find a home in the area they can raise a glass to
15:56for our next viewing we're making our way to the wye valley village of brockwyr
16:03set on the eastern and english bank of the river wye facing the nation of wales on the opposite side
16:09one incoming church minister remonstrated that 19th century village life here revolved around beer houses
16:16and gambling thanks to the present day locals rallying to buy the last remaining pub
16:23it's still an ongoing concern and given there's also a community-owned shop and cafe staffed by
16:30volunteers beata and andrew's respective desires could potentially be well met
16:40so we thought this would be perfect for you i can help you can help out in the pub
16:44you can help out in the shop and this is the property so it's not the whole thing half
16:48i mean the location is just wonderful incomparable really it seems idyllic this is the river wye down
16:54here okay yes you've got this incredible landscape that is wales this is england and then beyond that is
17:03the forest of dean oh amazing beautiful do you fancy looking in yes please come on then
17:12this semi-detached character property dating to the 1700s has been given a sustainable modern twist
17:19with solar panels which feed into the national grid and can even generate money from excess electricity
17:26produced they also power the underfloor heating in the kitchen slash breakfast room
17:32where our tour of the currently unoccupied home begins it's a great size a nice kitchen
17:39muscle work surface open space with sitting to eat here there's plenty of room here for a lovely
17:46nice big dining table yeah our dining table would fit perfectly fits perfectly well hold your horses
17:52because actually you've got two reception rooms let's continue the tour excellent
17:59good there's an additional utility and as well as the spacious kitchen and breakfast room
18:04there are two further reception rooms one of which is in an adjacent wing with french doors and period
18:11features i love it going out again towards the nice sunny spot because it's a good size to feel cozy
18:19in
18:20and then you've got that other reception room there which could be a diner or could be another tv
18:24room yeah exactly or your hi-fi yeah good vibes so why don't you two go and explore the rest
18:30of
18:30house and then when you're done find me in the garden thank you
18:38andrew could certainly find a fitting home for his entire record collection in the final reception
18:43room you can have your hi-fi here well we've got it fit nicely there it would and you can
18:48close the
18:49doors so you've got your own space
18:53a ground floor cloak room is tucked away by the foot of the stairs which leads to the four bedroom
18:59accommodation above at the back of the house is a double partly set into the eaves good size again
19:06yeah nice size good to be your hands room and this leads directly into a second smaller bedroom
19:14with a built-in wardrobe can be fun to play his xbox or these games and something so it gives
19:21them
19:21their separate space it does yeah that could work good room yeah like that one
19:28to the front bedroom three also has a built-in wardrobe
19:33good storage so guest room yep or office because you've got the light coming through yes so i can
19:40put my desk here and work from here next to this is the family bathroom fitted with contemporary
19:47sanitary ware and a skylight window
19:52the final bedroom for them to peruse again with an aspect to the front is the principal
20:00lovely beams i like the space at the top and i like the windows you see the garden
20:06and this one is ensuite oh nice big shower and light yeah that's what i like that that's the
20:14feature room isn't it where do you want to put our bed that way oh that i could go that
20:19way couldn't
20:19you because you want to see you want to see outside don't you look if we are here i'm on
20:25the wrong
20:25side of the bed so you need to come over here all right i see no better why you are
20:30there you you are
20:31by the door to to to to save me if anything happens
20:40like the bed i'm feeling this tour could go either way perhaps what's on offer outside will clinch things
20:48despite the slope of the valley there is a level area of lawn
20:53the garden across the lane up from the house is a further plot planted with fruit trees and below
20:58there's parking plus a valley vista that's enough to have anyone waxing lyrical
21:06and just around the bend there is tintin abbey which is a very famous ruin
21:09that wordsworth wrote his ode to tintin abbey so it's a very historic place around here i like the
21:16fact that you've got the nice flat area which is good for your armfish football goal on this trampoline
21:21how much do you think it costs this one i knew you'd ask that considering where we are and what
21:27you
21:27said i definitely go higher now let's say five eight five five five seven five five hundred seventy
21:37five thousand so this is actually on the market for six hundred thousand it's a location here that
21:43counts really isn't it and i mean the property itself is beautiful because it's got its four bedrooms
21:48and it's it's got loads of potential you can do in there yeah
21:54the price is a guide on this semi-detached 18th century cottage so if interested beata and andrew
22:00could certainly chance an offer there's a kitchen breakfast room and two further reception rooms as
22:06well as four bedrooms a good-sized garden with valley views and an edge of village location offering a
22:14community-run pub shop and cafe that completes the package a bit of quirkiness is what beata likes
22:21so i know that that will have gone right up there in a flagpole gone yep quirky i like quirky
22:28so it's very romantic wasn't it very romantic yes
22:36but then you're going to look at it pragmatically this house is at the top of our budget
22:39and we mean there's quite a bit of work that we'd have to do just to make it
22:43that we wanted and i think that bit requires a lot of thought
23:01the bridge at brockweir makes it just a short trip between england and wales
23:05but after two viewings how's our search doing with bridging the gap between germany and the uk for my
23:12buyers oh it's so lovely by the river and we've lucked out with the weather today oh it's beautiful
23:20isn't it are you feeling excited that it could actually happen that you're you know when you
23:23go and see feet on the ground the properties it somehow feels a bit more real yes it's not only
23:28the
23:28property that comes with it it's the whole life that comes with it because we're moving our whole life
23:32new jobs new house new schools suddenly it's become very real that everything changes yes have you
23:41been speaking to your honor how's he feeling about it you can ask him yes the wonders of technology
23:45can we call him on the phone should we give him a call yeah i do let's see whether we
23:51can
23:52dial him in ah there he is hello hi i'm alistair nice to meet you i've heard a lot about
23:59you
23:59are you looking forward to moving back definitely even feels like home we've been thinking about you
24:06johann you've not been left out of the discussion all good things that you gave me on the list that
24:12i had to look for i haven't seen johann's list where have you been keeping that in my head
24:17what about you things you don't want i mean i don't like it in packed areas so villages
24:25and countryside is the best areas rather close to a city but definitely not in a city well luckily
24:33your mum and andrew chose to come on escape to the country so we won't be sending you to a
24:38city
24:38very good news oh it's lovely to meet you thanks very much thank you very much what an incredibly
24:45eloquent son you have thank you he's better than me i guess i think he would have done better on
24:51the
24:51show than before definitely next time you bring him along yeah also it's auf wiedersehen to house tours
25:00for now we'll be heading into mystery territory for my final property tomorrow but it's not in a city
25:18the average cost of a detached house in the uk is a little over 440 000 pounds
25:24but choose gloucestershire and you may need to pay significantly more as that figure rises to
25:31over 516 000 pounds if you want your budget to go further consider neighboring herefordshire
25:38where the average sale price for detached properties is 441 000 pounds
25:45and here's a taster of what's available in the area at the moment
25:50this towering home was built in the 19th century as part of a scheme to beautify the herefordshire town
25:56of ross-on-way and the striking grade two listed one bedroom property appears to have achieved its
26:03ambitions there's also a very fetching view from the roof terrace the guide price is 350 000 pounds
26:12this four bedroom detached home in a herefordshire hamlet
26:16has the region's classic black and white exterior with timber clad extensions it's recently renovated
26:23and offered at a guide price of 450 000 pounds
26:28back in gloucestershire would-be tenants might consider this detached three-bedroom farmhouse
26:34that comes with a large carport it has contemporary interiors surrounded by fields and panoramic views
26:41for rent at 1850 pounds per calendar month
26:50ah wunderschönes frühlingswetter that's beautiful spring weather
26:54greeting our second day of house hunting for andrew and beata's big return to the uk
27:00and we are staying in the wye valley for our mystery house but this property
27:05really pulls out all the bells and whistles on the land front
27:12we're nipping over the county border to herefordshire
27:14for a mystery property in the wye valley village of walford
27:19set on a strategic crossing point of the river once guarded on the opposite bank by a medieval castle
27:26we're just a couple of miles from all the facilities in the town of ross-on-wye
27:31the village itself has an active working community
27:34that includes a family-run timber yard founded in 1945 and while this walford doesn't have a queen
27:42vic it does have a pub serving chef devised meals packed with local produce
27:50so we've come a little further north we're closer to ross-on-wye and this is a little village called
27:54walford do you know the show eastenders i've heard of it but i haven't watched it that's all set in
28:01walford but not this walford i know that pub culture is very important to you andrews right it is because
28:07it's when you move away from the uk uh you miss it and you realize that it's different and it's
28:13it's
28:13quite important i think well it's got a great pub yeah it's good and most importantly for you two
28:19the mystery house why don't you explore the village a bit and i'll meet you there great
28:24as well as the pub there's a village hall buses run to ross-on-wye from stops on the main
28:32road from
28:32where it's just a short walk or drive up a hillside track to my mystery offering where i've gone ahead
28:40this one is just perfect for kids and even a nanny meet tom jerry barbara and margo this is a
28:49good
28:49place to be a goat i mean great views great food nice sunshine and the good thing is that if
28:56andrew
28:57and beata buy this place then they might be able to have the goats as part of the deal ready
29:02-made lawnmowers
29:07this property is a registered small holding giving permission to keep livestock so as well as a
29:13substantial house the mystery here is the four acres of land half of which is wooded and with part of
29:21the long distance y valley walk running through the plots no you shouldn't worry i'm not lost
29:29i'm keeping up the element of surprise for that little bit longer
29:37now that walk was not all in vain the reason i brought you through that woodland
29:43is because it will belong to you oh wow if you choose to buy our mystery house which is here
29:51oh look at that view yes the mystery is really because of the land yes and much more of a
29:59kind
29:59of farmstead sort of idea two acres of woodland two acres of fields i mean the size of the land
30:07it's
30:07quite shocking quite shocking really i'm thinking who's going to do all the work i quite like chickens
30:12and animals so i wouldn't mind especially working from home i would have time to look after them
30:17wouldn't i yeah can we go look at the house yes please
30:23the home on offer is a stone cottage built in 1760 and remodeled in the 1930s
30:29to add a front veranda as well as brick extensions all of which has been rendered and painted
30:38it approaching down the hill we enter at the back and into the country kitchen diner with view out
30:45over the valley that's very different isn't it so much different so i'm looking at the view rather
30:50than the kitchen at the moment yeah so this is much more a country cottage but you do got a
30:55big sort
30:55of washing room boot room utility room through there you've got this seating area plus the country feel
31:02i love it it's cozy it's really cozy but really practical too i want to see more ask and you
31:08shall receive exiting through the dining area we cross an entrance hall so this is the original front
31:17door but as in most country properties nobody uses the front door to check out the sitting room i like
31:23that it's squarer yes because i like square over than long and thin right yeah it's got that cozy feel
31:29to
31:29it yes and the view and again it's all about the view yes yes so you go and explore upstairs
31:35and
31:35when you're done i'll meet you up front great let's do that there are three bedrooms upstairs starting
31:44with the one that could be andrew and beata's i think that is the master bedroom with the exposed stone
31:53and you've got good use of the bits outside of the fireplace to put your storage in i think you
31:57might bring me
31:58coffee in the morning i think i might okay then i can sit in the bed and just enjoy my
32:03coffee looking
32:04at the river look you can see the river from here there's also a box room used for storage a
32:11fellow
32:11vinyl collector by the looks of it and next to this is the family bathroom which is fully tiled
32:18then completing the upstairs is bedroom number three it's a decent size because there again
32:25having that view to the front it's lovely yes and yeah it's a big big positive for the house isn't
32:32it
32:32it is it is
32:36that's the cottage but it's also ready to go for a self-sufficient good life complete with hen
32:42coupes and workshops or perhaps an idyllically located work from home office or two you've got
32:51this big space out the front lovely views you feel really nestled in the trees and the landscape here
32:57obviously it's a challenge the big land house is quite different from the other ones we've shown
33:02i think they could really put their mark on this one
33:08whether or not my buyers are ready to take on this small holding may well come down to what they
33:13have to pay for it
33:16you found me in the great acreage of the mystery house yes i can see why it was picked as
33:22a mystery
33:22house because it has gone it has done its job of going oh it's just then it's the lifestyle what
33:27you you're looking for what you want and you've got to think about that um how much do you think
33:31this
33:31costs well because of the land i'm going to go higher up towards our budget so i'm going to go
33:38around 585 i'm going 600 because of the land close to the village view to the river well i'm sad
33:47to say
33:47andrew that your wife is spot on this is on the market for 600 000 pounds and one thing i
33:56think
33:56is worth flagging up is this is quite a sluggish market so there's a chance that you would
34:00could put in an offer yeah you can always try this registered small holding offers a three-bedroom
34:10cottage four acres of land and an elevated position giving far-reaching views of the wye valley
34:18it's on the edge of a village with a pub and just a couple of miles from the country town
34:22of ross-on-wye
34:26there was the house in the valley with goats and greens and all the romantic ideas you have flowing
34:33through your mind when you even you see something like this so yes my heart says i want to live
34:39here
34:42i need to put my pragmatic head on here how's this actually going to work do we really want to
34:47look
34:47after animals and not even thought about what it would mean to have so much land and the work that
34:52would be involved
34:55that's for us that's geheimnis house sounds kind of weird in german the mystery house it does it
35:01sounds a bit more sinister anyway that's all done let's have a little rest and then you can chew
35:09things over and then we can talk about where we go next come with me
35:26the countryside can be very empowering and it certainly is for claire who made her escape to
35:32herefordshire six years ago
35:37my name is claire and i moved here to rural herefordshire from north london and i live here
35:44with my dog fred and a variety of other animals including four sheep here come the sheep
35:52four chickens and a cat called mr shanks
35:59this is the exciting moment every morning i go and see if i've got any x
36:07yes this one fantastic something for breakfast
36:14previously a journalist living in the capital claire's home now is a registered small holding with an
36:20orchard livestock and vegetable garden when i was in london this was
36:26my dream really to have somewhere i could grow plants she continues to write from her rambling
36:34four-bedroom victorian brick house where i've come to find out how the move has influenced her and her work
36:43hello hi claire lovely to meet you thanks for having me well do come in do come in what a
36:48beautiful
36:48home well thank you so much oh i love all these
36:52floor tiles in there a lot of this was here when i came the floor being and the units and
36:58everything
36:58but i've done quite a lot of work decoratively yes very tasteful yes all these old beams were salvaged
37:04and put in by the previous owner oh so they're not original they're not original but they look real
37:08authentic i think yeah they do yeah so i know you moved from kind of glamorous job in london
37:13you're in magazines that's right well that's right well yes i worked for most of my career as a magazine
37:18journalist and then i've always meant to move to the country and i thought the time has come
37:24i grew up around here in malvern which is about a 50 minute drive away and my family originally from
37:31wales which is quite close and it just makes me feel more rooted do you find that being here is
37:36more
37:37conducive to writing do you get more writing done yes well i find what i'm writing about has changed
37:41rather because these days it's more kind of mythical folkloric witchy type books and which
37:47i think is informed quite a lot by the surroundings because herefordshire is a land rich in folklore and
37:52you know goings-on and is your garden a reflection of that yes it is i've made the garden based
37:58on
37:58five elements there's fire water earth and air and then in the center there's a spiral which represents
38:03spirit can we have a peek outside yes of course i'd love to show you this looks amazing well there's
38:15a lot here already i've just sort of redesigned it to my own whim in the summer that's all fire
38:20and yellows and reds and oranges and then there's water earth and air with all the very tall grasses which
38:28will come up later now a lot of your writing of late has taken a more elemental turn how would
38:37you
38:37describe your practice i'm mostly aligned with druidry and the sort of connection with nature and the
38:42land and the seasons so which is one of the reasons i've created the garden like i have and my
38:49latest
38:49book actually is about one of the elements it's about water it's called the water remedy and it's about
38:53how we should care for and appreciate water it's about searching for holy wells and appreciating
38:59spa water and springs and a little bit about the seaside and coast and estuaries which i love
39:04i notice you've got water right in the middle of your garden here yes i have that's a little pool
39:08at the center of my cosmic spiral ah but it's a meditation path so you walk into the center and
39:15then you walk out again and it takes a surprisingly long time actually well i'm a big meditator i love
39:20i love meditation can we walk mindfully around your spiral of course claire's path to the countryside
39:26certainly seems to have led her to a life centered on all that nourishes her now to see if any
39:33of the
39:33houses i've shown my buyers capture the spirit of what they're looking for
39:44my presenter's intuition makes me feel that beata really loved all the land and the woodland and
39:52the kind of country feel of the mystery house but andrew probably it was an acre or three too far
40:01but let's find out what they think about all the houses
40:10how are you doing doing well good good good so has this focused your mind what's this week
40:18taught you about your move here it's taught us that england is for us we are coming back
40:23yes it's also it's actually it's a lovely area here the y valley gloucestershire and i think the
40:31first house is my favorite out of the three the land the garden the positioning the quiet was superb
40:37you just needed to make the house bigger and i thought i was thinking all the time what could
40:41i do to make it bigger how could i do that how could i change it beata is the one
40:44that stood out for
40:45you as a possibility i want to love the third house my heart says that's mine so you love the
40:50mystery house i do the romantic feeling of having your own animals to look after and being able to
40:57just go out in the morning and walk across your own land but the first house had land as well
41:02when
41:02you actually look at the plot size it's a lot bigger than your first thing and i just think it's
41:06easy to manage and work that land then it is the other one and i think that's a factor
41:11what's the next step for you guys the first house i want to think about a bit more the second
41:18and the
41:19third don't work for me but the area does the third one in particular because of the village location
41:25isn't it the amenities are there on your doorstep which really help okay so first and third maybe
41:31but overall you're sold on this y valley location yes absolutely and if something comes on that we need
41:38to see uh we go on a plane and we come back and we see it we have to find
41:43somewhere to live work starts
41:45for us both over the summer new jobs so things have to happen and we have to make them happen
41:50well keep
41:51us in the loop it's been a real joy and if you find somewhere you know let us know then
41:56we'll come
41:56revisit brilliant you'll be very well thank you auf wiedersehen exactly
42:05in the end i didn't need this because apparently i am the sunshine presenter because there was lots
42:12of sunshine on andrew and beate's adventures here in gloucestershire and the y valley and i think they
42:17have fallen in love with this beautiful area for the country which is great because in my own experience
42:23moving from one country like germany to the uk is quite a lot of stress and it's great to have
42:28a
42:29wonderful prospect of landscape and livelihood stretching out in front of you so i hope they
42:35find the place they love and i hope you join us next time for more escape to the country
42:42our couple went back to the first house for a second viewing but in a huge twist of events
42:47decided to shift their search closer to andrews family in yorkshire they're now in the process
42:53of buying a barn conversion there we wish them all the best with their move if you'd like to escape
43:00to the country in england northern ireland scotland or wales and need our help why not apply online at
43:06bbc.co.uk forward slash take part
43:09so
43:36so
43:40you
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