- 19 hours ago
Escape To The Country - Season 26 - Episode 33: Central Lowlands
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00:02some couples share a dream that can differ on the details and he's happier to be more isolated but I
00:09would like to be attached to a village of some kind he's always said he'd like to walk to a
00:12coffee shop there can be confusion over which direction a house search should head I'm gonna
00:19flow this way oh yeah they've already got their separate entrances and exits so we like to offer
00:28a reminder of the bigger picture this is incredible the views are amazing this is what you move for
00:35absolutely absolutely
01:04the heart of Scotland a fertile mineral-rich landscape bestowing wealth influence innovation
01:13and some very beautiful countryside homes so join us as we head to the central lowlands
01:21caught between the wild beauty of the highlands and the gentle rolling hills of the lowlands
01:27Scotland's central valley is a true sweet spot it's the kind of place where you can hike up a
01:33hill in the morning hit a gig in the evening and still be home before the midges get you
01:43also known as the central lowlands the central valley spans Scotland's waistline covering council
01:50areas including parts of the Scottish borders the Lothians and North and South Lanarkshire it's
01:56relatively flat fertile soil along with iron and coal fueled settlement and it's where three quarters of
02:04Scotland's population now reside enjoying a combination of remote rural terrain with no
02:10fewer than six of the nation's eight cities so we are quite very central very central hub here excellent
02:18routes to Stirland to Edinburgh to Glasgow people come from all over it's very easy to get to here you're
02:26quickly into one of the wildest or most exciting and fresh environments of nature you want to explore it
02:32within reason respectfully and you also use it as a way to recharge historically lowlanders spoke Scots
02:40closer to English than the Gaelic of the Highlands and developed a culture based on the bar or community
02:47which continues today I think the sense of community can really be measured by the amount of volunteers that
02:54are giving up their time really there's lots of opportunities for volunteering and people of different
02:59faiths and cultures coming together is always a welcome sight
03:12from the prairies of Canada to the picturesque central lowlands of Scotland leaving vast open spaces for
03:20scenic landscapes and historic towns today's couple had a full-on life in Canada but for one of them
03:26coming back to their Scottish roots was always part of the plan my name is Stuart and I'm Derek and
03:34we
03:35arrived here from the Canadian prairies January 2025 Scotland was the natural choice for us because
03:41Stuart's family is from here originally and he's still got loads of aunts and uncles everywhere eight
03:47aunts and uncles and about 25 first and second cousins married couple Stuart a financial planner and
03:53Derek a professional fundraiser from the Canadian city of Winnipeg are following Stuart's lifelong dream
04:00to return to the land his parents emigrated from using their respective ancestral rights to UK and Irish
04:07citizenship they're staying with extended family in the central lowlands town of Bowness while looking
04:14for new jobs and a new home in terms of escaping from Winnipeg to Scotland the weather goes without
04:20saying or maybe it doesn't because people in Scotland have been apologizing for the weather here
04:24since we arrived people here keep saying oh my goodness it's so chilly there's a chilly wind but
04:29where we're from in the Canadian prairies minus 30 for almost half the year people here can't comprehend
04:34what it's like for us joined by their canine companion Susie master gardener Derek is keen to take on a
04:43large
04:43swathe of land he can turn into a biodiverse and climate resilient landscape in as secluded a spot as
04:50possible and Stuart seeks community connections in the land of his Scottish ancestors I'd actually be okay
04:59without having any neighbors within sight although I think Stuart might prefer to have some closer by
05:04I would our Winnipeg neighbors in particular they were like our family and I question whether we can
05:10be without neighbors here armed with a 700 000 pound budget the couple want a detached property with large
05:19rooms including two separate receptions and three bedrooms it should have a sizable plot and they'd like
05:26Glasgow or Edinburgh within an hour's reach
05:40this is such an epic move and it's been something that Stuart has been planning for years
05:46he spent his summers here growing up they've already started living their life here and the final piece
05:51of the puzzle is finding them a home to call their own
06:00our viewings kick off in the Scottish borders village of West Linton where I found one of the
06:06many quiet spots for Derek Stuart and I to get acquainted
06:13Derek and Stuart I can honestly say this is the first time that I'm helping someone move to Scotland
06:19because of the warm weather here do I need to take your temperature are you feeling okay
06:27you have looked at a few houses you haven't found somewhere yet what isn't there so we've seen some
06:34houses that look like they might have the acreage and be okay houses but they're just a little bit too
06:38far that wouldn't give us the convenience of access to the cities that we're looking for
06:42and Derek is it for you it is the outside space a little bit more absolutely I will spend my
06:50time
06:50outside shaping the property and making it wildlife friendly and gorgeous and that's where I spend all
06:56my time and yet you both want a life because you want to be in the city when you need
07:00to be yes yeah
07:01you want it all yeah we do yeah it's such a small ass let's just get on with it come
07:06on let's get let's get you everything
07:13located in a conservation area the village of West Linton offers a little of what both my buyers are
07:19after there's open countryside to satisfy Derek's back to the land ethos and community for self-confessed
07:26people person Stewart with a grocery coffee stop and brunch options the man who owned the first motor
07:33car in Scotland was born here in 1855 so perhaps appropriately an a road gives swift access to
07:41edinburgh whilst a more climate savvy option is offered by regular buses but for us it's just a short
07:50stroll to the house we're here to see this is exciting as with many rural scottish homes it presents its
07:59best
07:59face to the garden so i'm sort of showing you from this way because look wow okay beautiful
08:10i think it looks great to see an old stone building is very scottish to me i am excited to
08:15see views and
08:16that's always a bonus um and the village looked to be very cute and he's happier to be more isolated
08:22but i would like to be attached to a village of some kind he's always said he'd like to walk
08:25to a coffee
08:26shop i think you're gonna like the proportions but i can't tell because i'm five fun so i'll let you
08:32decide
08:35this stone house with tall shoulder chimney stacks gabled dormer windows and pointed arch doorways
08:42was built as a manse for the minister of the neighboring st mungo's church it's category c listed
08:49so faces more stringent planning rules than unlisted homes from the garden we head to the main door at the
08:57side so you come into this lovely entrance huge hallway and start our tour where two reception rooms
09:06have been knocked through to give an open plan layout and you've got this great double living room
09:15it's very high ceilings i love the coving work beautiful uh it's the size of the windows is great
09:21so there's definitely a view of rolling hills and it has the wooden shutters actually for folding in
09:26you could add a dining table in here there's so much beautiful light in here yeah right there's plenty
09:31of room with all this furniture in here gives us an idea of how much um it can accommodate it's
09:36nice
09:36to have this opened up already crossing back on the other side of the hall is a smaller room so
09:42pop
09:42your head in there oh yeah this would make a lovely home office with the great views and to have
09:48a
09:48fireplace in the home office would be quite exceptional and moving further to the rear is a
09:54well-proportioned kitchen diner great size we do not have the number of skylights in canada i think
10:02probably because they would get covered in snow for five months of the year is maybe the reason but
10:06i love all the skylights here i'm noticing the neighboring house is right there but you know
10:11wherever we've lived our neighbors have become like our family maybe they're like you know future
10:16family members also on this floor is a cloakroom the stairs with a cast iron and timber balustrade
10:23lead to the attic level and four bedrooms starting with the largest featuring a dormer window
10:31so this is the main bedroom look at those views oh wow lovely rolling hills i'm also noticing the very
10:38full ceiling because we're not huge but you know you don't like to have your head cut off on the
10:42walls
10:42there's no guarantee to have this height in uh upper floors for sure that's great uh and the view is
10:47spectacular i'm sending derek and stuart to assess the three further bedrooms first a double with an
10:55outlook towards the village tennis courts and we can actually see if they're free before wandering down
11:01we'll have to pick up tennis okay okay at the back of the home is a bedroom laid out as
11:06a twin and next
11:08to this the fourth and final bedroom again with a gabled dormer window another good-sized room it is
11:16relatively open to the neighbors back here there's a shower room with a victorian-style stretcher bond
11:23tile pattern which serves all the bedrooms but i'm not sure this former minister's house is quite
11:29preaching to the converted as yet outside there's a generous plot which provides areas for their dog
11:36suzy to play on a variety of mature trees and a paved patio but how might this sit with derek's
11:44plans
11:44to create a biodiverse and climate resilient garden ideally prefer something more so that i can you know
11:54put in a pond and then garden with trees rather than just with plants and shrubs and sort of
11:59reimagine the landscape shall we have a chat about how much this property is on the market for
12:07547 000 pounds okay so derek's just jumped right in there keeping in mind this offers over so offers
12:13over 560 000 pounds i'm wondering if it does reflect how you feel about the property because it is on
12:19the
12:19market for offers over 650 oh wow that's quite a lot of house you're getting there yeah right on the
12:26edge
12:26of a village this former church minister's manse in the scottish borders may not be derek and stuart's
12:33idea of heaven but with period details outside and in a large kitchen diner and four double bedrooms it
12:41will surely answer someone's property prayers there's a plot of just over half an acre and it's on the edge
12:48of a village of course i'm the biased one who wants to be more in the country and maybe want
12:53to double
12:53check with stewart on this but we're walkers we don't have to be right in the village per se derek
12:59would prefer to be completely isolated so our compromise is sort of edge of a village i can
13:03walk in the direction of the village derek could walk into the into the going into the woods he can
13:08be off on his own somewhere
13:26derek and stewart are in the process of rewilding their former city lifestyles
13:32lots of tourists lots of locals accents from everywhere and in the central lowlands town
13:37of fulcork a former brownfield site that once held industrial estates has been transformed into an
13:45eco park spanning 350 acres it features giant equine sculptures that have become one of scotland's biggest
13:54tourist attractions guide kirstie connell is on hand to explain how the ancient spirits of the land
14:01have come to raise their voices here once more so christie excited they come to be what was the
14:07vision and and they're massive like they absolutely are the world's biggest horse shape sculpture so we
14:14believed a long time ago there were magical water spirits that lived in the water and come onto land and
14:19turn into a horse because if you touch a kelpie you become stuck to them they then drag you into
14:26the
14:26water where they drown you then they eat you which is lovely okay the artist andy scott who has a
14:33very
14:33strong connection to fulcork wanted to celebrate fulcork's history as a foundry town so that's why
14:39the kelpies are made of steel and he wanted to celebrate the clydesdales that used to work along
14:44the fourth and clay canal which is what runs through the kelpies in fulcork as well so that's why they
14:48are
14:48modeled after clade steels as well but not all the town's industrial and engineering prowess has been
14:56put to pasture what an engineering marvel i actually really like the building too at the intersection
15:03of the fourth and clyde and union canals is an eye-catching 21st century boat lift the fulcork wheel is
15:11the only rotating boat lift in the world you see people just watching it turn nice and slowly
15:15around with the boats and in pure amusement so there's a giant gear and that keeps the two gondolas
15:20turning either side through water displacement archimedes principle water displacement both
15:25gondolas always weigh the exact same amount so it's always in perfect balance and that's what makes it so
15:29efficient to operate as well as canal boats travel to and from the town includes trains with a station
15:37serving the edinburgh to dunblane line and another on the glasgow to edinburgh route and an eclectic
15:44selection of shops also caters to those who prefer to arrive by broomstick
15:53fulcork shows that the central lowlands can deliver derek and stewart that sweet spot between coffee
15:59culture and green surroundings look they're sitting over there another cafe and swan spot to get some
16:05swans swans and who doesn't love swans now to see if we can unearth a home that feels like their
16:12natural
16:13nest too
16:21my next option for them is a mile and a half from the west lothian village of west calder
16:27where intriguing hills tell a tale of the world's first ever oil refinery opened by chemist james young
16:35in the 1860s plant life now covers the spoils to form a protected heritage site romantically named the
16:43five sisters for those looking to green their own fossil fuel output there's a train station and a good
16:50choice of buses add in plentiful shops and services including a cycle outlet and reducing car use is made
16:58that bit easier it's just a nine minute bike ride or half an hour's walk down a quiet country lane
17:06to the
17:06rurally located property i have lined up it's actually that okay all right that sort of classic low scottish
17:16cottage but i want to make sure that derek is taken care of first okay so we're going to head
17:23this way
17:23all right let's come you can come
17:27we're setting the stone cottage built during the local oil boom of the 1860s to one side for now and
17:35heading into the wild woods
17:38around an acre and a quarter of tree covered bliss that could be derek's own private nature cocoon
17:46you already have a woodland that comes with the property that's there but he's across the road
17:52out of his hair yeah mature trees are fantastic it's a great mix of trees too you've got broadleaf and
18:02you've got pine you've got tall mature trees you've got a shrub layer you've got a ground layer with the
18:07ferns it looks like a healthy ecosystem is that a fire pit can we have like fires there do you
18:11think
18:11it's your land as long as it's respectful you can do what you want yeah i'm very excited this is
18:18a great
18:18way to start and if you're happy exactly i'm generally happy if he's happy should we now go and see
18:24the
18:25house sure love to yeah let's do that back back across the quiet lane a sizable purpose-built
18:33cattery run by the current owners until recently sits beside the long rendered and painted single
18:40story 19th century cottage yeah what do you think of it i think it's pretty yeah i like the white
18:47secco fence on the cattery on the house unifying it all together yeah it looks like a complex then
18:54yeah from the central front door a small hall leads to a reception room
19:02so if you use the front door which you might not this is what you'd come into
19:08nice what i like about it right away is that there's flow there's three different
19:12doors going to three different places you're quieter now we've taken care of derek that's
19:17sure well i'm thinking that this room is almost like a bit of a hallway right because everything
19:21sort of works through here i'm also wondering is it the only lounge in the houses well it's an open
19:28plan kitchen diner living space okay let's head over here okay perfect
19:37located at the back the well-appointed kitchen opens into dining that could also work as an
19:43additional sitting room with doors out to the garden i think this would make a nice tv room bit
19:51outdoor seating there outdoor sitting here this is a big room it's a nice room come on through
19:57and that also goes through to the bedroom so when in you were talking in terms of flow yeah it
20:02does have
20:02that flow which is very helpful and beautiful view out this kitchen window yeah it is i'm actually
20:09thinking do we even need this table in here could this be like a bit of a family room with
20:12the kitchen
20:12because usually we're just either reading in front of the tv or we could eat it like the breakfast bar
20:17and when derek's cooking i'll be on the couch and make sure that everything's flowing okay and you've
20:22got the utility boot room space again that goes out oh great super can we see the rest of the
20:28house
20:28yeah i'm gonna let you do that on your own okay and then come and find me outside super thank
20:33you
20:33thank you i'm gonna flow this way oh yeah they've already got their uh separate entrances and exits
20:43and the bedrooms are a tale of two halves at one end a good sized guest double with a window
20:49to the front
20:50then next to this a smaller guest room also with a front facing aspect these are served by a family
20:57bathroom lovely size big bath and every window again this will do five at the other end of the home
21:06is the principal bedroom which has an ensuite shower room with a black and white finish
21:13this brick is very cool like that looks like a significant amount of storage closet space which
21:21was always nice and even a sliding barn door which i like excellent
21:32derek is over the moon about what he has seen over there but i have not won stuart over i
21:38can tell
21:40outside there's more to woo derrick with a garden approaching half an acre which already has a small
21:47pond and as well as the kattery building there's a garden studio previously used for recording music
21:53a task made easier by the very peaceful location but if all this seems to be catering to one half
22:00of
22:00my couple's wish list i have got a little something up my sleeve for the other half too
22:08the house comes with planning permission yes and this is what it could look like
22:14from here this is already in place this planning permission you have it for about another year
22:19that's a wow house that's something wow isn't it just okay stuff to think about do you know what i'm
22:26about to ask the hard part with the extra woodland maybe a little bit more um 660 000 pounds yeah
22:35you
22:35think it's priced at 660 000 pounds yeah okay offers over 625 000 pounds gents it's on the market for
22:44offers
22:44over 550 000 pounds okay so potential then to actually act on the redesign this mid-19th century
22:58cottage has an open-plan kitchen and dining room three bedrooms and current planning permission for a
23:04significant extension there are one and three-quarter acres spread across garden and private woodland and
23:11it's in a quiet rural location but close to a village with shops and services in terms of peace
23:18and quiet this is certainly a restful setting i don't think we've heard a car go by it's got
23:24nicely curated gardens with you know opportunity to do more
23:35the average price for a detached house in scotland comes in at just over 347 000 pounds but within the
23:44central lowlands that figure varies considerably approaching 413 000 pounds in west lothian but
23:53sitting at 313 000 000 in north lanarkshire
23:59i'm meeting zoe davidson from rights of campsy estate agents to find out what those less familiar
24:06with buying a house in this part of scotland need to know zoe i absolutely need your expertise
24:14on the local market here when i've looked in other parts of scotland perhaps a bit more west
24:19the offers over hasn't been always the case when it comes to the price but it feels like it is
24:25in
24:25this area yeah the rest of scotland does do it a little bit different from other areas we tend to
24:30do the offers over because and that can help to drive a seller's price up a little bit for them
24:34and
24:34getting the best place that is out there and we're finding the houses in our area are selling you know
24:39within a week um it's moving very very quickly at the moment how can people be best prepared if they
24:45are looking in this kind of what's sounding like a seller's market yeah it's making sure that when
24:50you see a house that you do like you are ready to offer that you have all your finances in
24:53place
24:53you've got your solicitor ready a lot of people don't realize that if they're buying a house in
24:58scotland and they are from england you will need to have a scottish solicitor appointed as well in
25:01scotland anything over your home report you have to have that cash available it's not that you
25:05can get a mortgage on it so making sure you keep that in mind as well because it does differ
25:09from area to area
25:10but there's a lot of houses sort of that are still within sort of access of glasgow and edinburgh
25:15but those houses have increased in fact by about 30 percent since 2020. you're certainly busy aren't
25:20you we are yes sorry thank you thank you i know how busy you are so thank you so much
25:25you're welcome
25:27if all that sounds a little intimidating there are still fixed price options to be found
25:34for example this detached home in a village a few miles south of the town of falkirk
25:39is recently refurbished and offers four bedrooms and two bathrooms for the fixed price of just under
25:46280 000 pounds on the other hand in west lothian where the market's a little hotter this detached
25:54four-bedroom three-bathroom village home calls for offers over 375 000 pounds
26:03for a short stay this two-bedroom self-catering cottage has that regional sweet spot combining
26:10the best of rural surroundings with the city of edinburgh just 10 miles away sleeping up to four
26:17it costs 240 pounds a night
26:24you've caught me taking a breather before we head to our mystery house it is this grand building with
26:30magnificent grounds but are stewart and derek willing to share it the mystery option is taking
26:38us to the outskirts of the east dumbartonshire village of milton of campsy located 10 miles northeast
26:46of glasgow this is the closest we've been to a city so far but on the slopes of the campsy
26:54fells looking
26:55down at the rift valley it certainly doesn't feel like it wow look at this oh my gosh
27:02this is scotland this is incredible the views are amazing this is what you move for absolutely
27:08yeah absolutely so i think i can even see glasgow from up here i'm glad you've spotted that because
27:13that is what the location of the mystery house demonstrates you can be within a reasonable
27:19distance of glasgow but then also striking distance of all of this right that's what we're after we drove
27:27through it briefly in january so being back here today is quite interesting because we knew the
27:31proximity to glasgow was good so can we see the mystery house from here i'm going to let you
27:35figure that out i'll send you the address don't be late boys okay all right thank you try not to
27:41stay
27:41too long exactly see you soon it is stunning the fells stand commandingly over the village of milton of
27:49campsy where there's a coffee house for stewart to get his caffeine and community fix as well as a post
27:56office and a supermarket dog susie would have hairdressing options and there are regular buses
28:02to glasgow city center while my buyers dream of their future home together i've gone ahead to my
28:09mystery property to let you in on the twist in the tale i don't want to tell stewart and derek
28:15that i'm
28:16nervous about showing them this mystery house and that's because they have said they don't want very
28:23close neighbors and with this mystery property which is amazing by the way they would have neighbors
28:27on top of them and it's the bottom that is our mystery house designed by a renowned glaswegian
28:35architect for a wealthy accountant to the british colonies in the 1880s the more recent horizontal
28:41division still leaves a ground floor home of more than 3 000 square feet that retains the ability to make
28:50a striking impression this gorgeous staircase which doesn't go anywhere by the way it's blocked at
28:55the top but it comes with the property shows how grand this mystery house is but you get all of
29:03this
29:03in the countryside and as derek and stewart approach via the home's shared driveway i can't deny my
29:13butterflies there she is what have you found here yeah so what i have with the mystery house is a
29:20grand
29:20old victorian place you've got this you know the proportions that you love but with a mystery the
29:27twist is it's not the whole house oh okay okay and it would be the bottom level that would be
29:34yours okay
29:35okay bottom half and then separate is upstairs yeah the upstairs entrance is there exactly so how do you
29:44feel about exploring that kind of mystery house yeah i'm intrigued i mean these old stone manor homes
29:52are just stunning uh and solid should we head in absolutely definitely definitely thank you
29:57few built from high quality cut sandstone with stone mullion windows decorative masonry festoons
30:05and a covered veranda facing a tennis lawn to the front the main entrance for this ground floor home
30:12is at the side of the property where breathing a sigh of relief i'm taking them through into the central
30:19impressive hall oh my gosh look at this the staircase comes with the property it's not just the doors
30:26that are large yeah and this staircase comes with the house it just doesn't take you anywhere if
30:34there's guests here you could make a grand entrance from nowhere okay i mean what is that giants lived
30:40here so it's like 12 feet what you're feeling right now is how i feel every single day isn't it
30:48just
30:48magnificent yeah yeah yeah it's um it's very grand living room one yes please oh yeah okay oh my goodness
30:56wow okay this is uh plenty of space to say the least this bay window is more than a bay
31:03window it's like
31:04a an extension a bay room and uh extensive and expansive yard to look out on i'm intrigued to see
31:14more
31:14um yeah like giants really lived here so we will pass by the second living room okay
31:24next door along the hall is the additional reception room they've asked for which is cozier i think
31:33it's beautiful relatively speaking cozy you could describe it still very generously proportioned and
31:39another uh fun mental piece there lots of built-in storage the amazing detail in the ceiling and the
31:46ginormous windows again i like how the white trim pops at the top uh as opposed to being all white
31:52from
31:52that level up i think that looks great there are five bedrooms in total we're starting with the largest
32:00the principal with ensuite dressing room and bath how's this for a bedroom it's a bedroom that is
32:10bigger than the first flat i ever owned yeah okay wow it's pretty amazing and there's a bathtub like
32:18right and like right there and you would be taking in that whole park-like setting and i love large
32:25rooms
32:26especially because we're coming from north america right and a lot of the housing here is smaller rooms
32:29so i love the larger rooms you have a huge walk-in wardrobe in there it's big enough to be
32:36a bedroom
32:36but you don't need it to be a bedroom because there are plenty with this house go and have a
32:40look at the rest of the property without me okay um and then yeah meet me by the telescope
32:47there are four guest rooms for them to see including a room by the entrance with a view to a
32:52private
32:53walled courtyard and next to this a bathroom with exposed stonework plus a contemporary freestanding
33:01bath then along a corridor is a shower room next to a separate wc partly set into the eaves of
33:11a lower
33:11level extension which serves a further three guest bedrooms oh what a lovely green relaxing view outside
33:20and then another bedroom or home office or something yeah oh right the mystery has been revealed
33:28they seem all right the proportions completely suit them my job's sort of almost nearly done
33:35completing the interior tour is the kitchen breakfast room wow plenty of room here double oven tons of
33:43counter space and look at the sides of the table lots of room there's also a wine chill chiller oh
33:48that's a nice little treat for the wine drinker who drinks wine see ya that is in fact the utility
33:58room
33:58which has access out into the garden like the house the grounds have been divided as well as the
34:05shared driveway and a shared garage there's a shared tennis court with the land to the right
34:12apportioned to the upstairs neighbor and that to the left a plot of around an acre to the ground floor
34:18home this includes wooded areas with access to a river so now they've seen everything the mystery
34:27has to offer i need to draw them on what they think they might have to pay for it
34:35it's the uh final time to guess the price of the property what do you think the mystery house
34:42is asking for 625 000 pounds is my guess i think it's got to be up near our ceiling so
34:48690 000
34:49pounds offers over it's offers over 595 000 pounds yeah yeah well i'm surprised it's under six okay well
35:01there you go wow this ground floor share of a grand victorian architect designed mansion has showcased
35:09two magnificent reception rooms a well-specced kitchen breakfast room and five bedrooms there's around an
35:17acre of private garden and it's just 10 miles from the city of glasgow we've known of people to have
35:23lived in you know a great big manor house that's been split up before i could live in something like
35:28this it's a very interesting house so i walked through the mystery house the idea that there was
35:32someone living upstairs just didn't seem to be of any concern the campsite fouls is an amazing location
35:39you're really close to glasgow so i think this area has a lot of potential and it's a great spot
35:52as far as big moves go derek and stewart's is pretty up there but not unprecedented
35:59annie and zach hopped across the pond a year ago from california to east lothian steady go
36:17hi i'm annie and this is my husband zach and this little guy is our one-year-old border
36:21terrier puppy finnegan we made our own escape to the country from california to scotland with our three
36:28kids in tow annie and zach gave up their home and jobs in california's silicon valley
36:37to return to the country zach was born in sometimes people ask us why would you move from california to
36:42scotland i think it's obvious the weather and the beaches exactly so this house was purchased sight
36:49unseen we did a video call with my parents they gave us the thumbs up and we just went for
36:53it
36:54we have a better work-life balance and are spending more time as a family
36:58and the kids can just be kids which is the biggest thing for us really
37:04so the family swapped silicon valley for the central valley and i thought i'm in the area
37:10i'll pop in and see how they're getting on
37:17hi sonali welcome in thank you
37:23this is gorgeous in here oh thank you so much i'm curious how much of your home in california then
37:30looked like this absolutely none of it all right we had a very mid-century modern
37:37home back in california and then we moved to this more cottage-esque style so we really started from
37:43scratch every time i help a couple move from the states over here proportions and size has always been
37:52the struggle yes this place is half the size of the place we moved from which has been amazing because
37:59we just don't have space for all that extra stuff we didn't need but we did have to learn that
38:03doorways
38:04are even smaller so we didn't even think when we got an american-sized fridge that we'd need to check
38:11the doorways millimeters it fit by millimeters the clue is in the word american even the people are
38:16smaller here look what does life feel like look like here now it's a much more relaxed pace we have
38:26time and more energy to do the things that we want to do we're now closer to beaches than we
38:33were in
38:33california we really have been loving the walkable lifestyles and our wonderful little town it has
38:41everything you could imagine we actually want to go show you that it's a gentle riverside stroll to one
38:48of zach and annie's favorite spots this is stunning oh thank you yeah we fell in love with it the
38:56first
38:56time we saw this little area it just stole our hearts the scale of saint mary's church reflects
39:03when this was scotland's first royal borough the formerly english haddington along with the rest of
39:10lothian given to scottish king kenneth in the 10th century nun gate bridge one of the nation's most
39:17ancient takes us over the river we get geese out here too sometimes
39:22to a family-run bistro that lives up to its name so life is basically all shortcake and coffee
39:30pretty much often people find that they move and that they've just taken the life that they had
39:37to another place what's been the biggest change the biggest change is just what we've been able to give
39:43our kids and that childhood that we've talked about were there any nerves about moving so many countless
39:52kids jobs like everything basically finances when you look back on it it seems overwhelming for us
40:00getting the house is obviously the biggest check mark on the list and after that things just kind of
40:04found the place they did well cheers to your new life cheers just look at them having a well-deserved
40:23rest after our epic journey searching high and low through scotland's central valley for a dream property
40:30for stewart and derek let's find out what they're thinking now hey
40:42well we've come to the end of our journey together what do you think your next steps will be gents
40:48i think we're probably going to keep on looking for properties since we have the incredible opportunity
40:54of staying somewhere while we do our journey so we're not in a rush and we can really afford to
40:59find the absolute perfect slice of heaven that we're looking for did we get closer on the house
41:06or the outside i think we got pretty close with both um i think you've shown us that properties exist
41:15that are close to the big city centers where you can get more than an acre i know i'm getting
41:20my country
41:21so derek will ultimately be the one that chooses the house
41:24all right i'm glad we've got that on film um i kind of wish you told me at the beginning
41:30of this search because i would have just gone straight to him but okay
41:33me too
41:35he's like 99 charge i get one percent veto that's not much but we're almost there that's really heartening you
41:41you aren't in a rush you you're not going to adjust your criteria just yet when you have a lovely
41:46place
41:47already to stay you've already made the move and that's the thing the central lowlands are already your
41:53home and this is the dream i mean look yeah right
42:02scotland was really showing off for us this week wasn't it not just with this weather but with its
42:08property stock and i think we've set stuart and derek well on their way to finding the one we came
42:15pretty
42:16darn close didn't we and the great thing is they already call all of this home and stuart has been
42:23able to fulfill his lifelong dream of returning to his celtic roots i'm so pleased that they called
42:29us for part of that epic journey and wish them the very best see you next time since we left
42:38them
42:38stuart and derek decided to focus their search close to the town of falkirk as they loved its green
42:44spaces and great transport links so much we hope to hear they found their dream home soon
42:50if you would like to escape to the country in scotland northern ireland england or wales and need
42:58our help why not apply online at bbc.co.uk forward slash take part
43:23so
43:29you
43:31you
43:34you
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