- 7 hours ago
Escape To The Country - Season 26 - Episode 19: Carmarthenshire
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Short filmTranscript
00:01it's said that finding your dream home is like finding true love when you know you know i just
00:07want to sit down now get get myself a cup of tea and sit down and just let me help
00:12you out there
00:15although the course of true love doesn't always run smoothly thinking about it because of two
00:21ponds with a no i like it nice and firm this is no differing opinions are commonplace but they can
00:29be worked out plenty of space for a pond as well oh yeah i've got a lake here because there
00:35we are
00:36built a lake fill it with carp all i say is be careful what you wish for oh my goodness
00:44come on
00:45i said you're gonna want to keep coming
01:16coastlines castles
01:18and countryside any ideas that's right carmarthenshire also known as the garden of wales
01:32which makes this county the best county in which to see daffodils aka daffs
01:40not only are they the symbol of wales their nature's way of saying the winter's over stand
01:45by for spring and summer which means another great year of escaping to the country
01:54the county of carmarthenshire in west wales offers the best of both coast and countryside
02:00as catherine born and bred hair can tell you
02:20the county town of carmarthen sits on the banks of the river taui and is popular with young families
02:27seeking affordable homes good schools and nature on their doorstep
02:32lan once the home of welsh poet and writer dylan thomas is filled with colorful fishing cottages
02:38and a host of places to satisfy the hungry visitors who come to soak up the inspiring views
02:46in the communities around here the people are incredibly friendly they like to know about you
02:52they want you to know about them and they're very keen that anybody that moves into the area is
02:58welcomed and gets involved in local community life it has got as far as i'm concerned pretty much
03:05everything that anybody could possibly want and i love living here
03:12and so to today's couple who've sent us at sos a message in a bottle if you will they want
03:18to
03:18escape from the tiny island of jersey and we are more than happy to come to their rescue
03:24i'm from swansea originally and there's a word in welsh called here right which is like an extreme
03:31form of homesickness and a longing for for your home and i really feel at my age that's
03:37that's what's happening to me now i really i'm missing home
03:42i'm missing home and i'm missing home and i'm missing home and i'm missing home
03:43nigel a retired gp and his wife chrissy a retired occupational therapist have lived in this five bed
03:49detached family home on the southwestern tip of jersey for the past 27 years
03:56this is jess i love me cockapoo we've loved this beach we spent so many hours walking along here
04:02chucking tennis balls chucking stones but we're looking forward to walking on new beaches
04:07and new coastal paths in commandership nigel plans to lift his retirement at full throttle
04:14that's my harley over there which i loved a bit and there's another reason to want to go back to
04:20the
04:20uk so i i know every blade of grass on this island now and essentially you can either go clockwise
04:27or
04:27anti-clockwise on a nine by five island so i i am kind of looking forward to feel the wind
04:34in my head
04:34what's left of it and put the bike to each places chrissy and nigel want a detached property
04:45with four bedrooms and around an acre of garden a double garage for nigel's motorbike is a must
04:51and they'd like to be close to a village their budget 700 000 pounds with a little bit of wriggle
04:58room
05:08if required after 30 years living on the small island of jersey this is a big move for nigel and
05:15chrissy coming to the mainland coming back to a part of the world they know really well oh i can
05:21see why
05:21nigel cannot wait to get his motorbike onto the mainland look at this it's got roads that go for miles
05:33before our carmarthenshire tour gets underway i'm meeting chrissy and nigel near the banks of
05:38the river towy to learn more about their move
05:44chrissy nigel welcome to wales a bit of a homecoming for you nigel it's always coming home
05:49when i come back to wales and for you chrissy you've spent a lot of time in this part of
05:53the world as
05:53well we we met here as students back in the late 70s and lived here for a while afterwards yes
05:58and
05:59i've got very fond memories of family holidays just across the estuary here so it's lovely to be back
06:03you've both retired yes yeah and you've decided this is where you want to settle down yes yes our
06:09children are now in the uk they're not coming back to jersey so we want to be closer to them
06:13talk me
06:14through some of the things you'll be getting i suppose canoeing fishing kayaking okay cycling
06:22a little birdie tells me one more hobby or something you might want to put a water feature in
06:26i've always had ponds in every in every house we've been to and they've got bigger and bigger and bigger
06:31what's going to keep you happy my needs are much much simpler just being outdoors in wonderful scenery
06:36like that just going for walks every day it's really important for my headspace to be outdoors and
06:40walking either on my own or with our with our lovely dog we're going to have some fun aren't we
06:45yeah we certainly are really looking forward to today let's go look at some houses fantastic
06:52our search begins in the small market town of kidwelly 10 miles south of the county town carmarthen
07:00nigel has fond childhood memories of this place having fished here with his dad
07:05the gwendrive estuary remains a popular spot for fishing as well as bird watching
07:10and picnicking whilst the town centre has all the daily essentials covered
07:16on a quiet no through road on the edge of town is the first house we've lined up for christian
07:21nigel to view
07:24so this is our first property my goodness
07:30this is the old vicarage okay yes and it was built in 1895
07:37gosh it looks really impressive well maintained isn't it yes this obviously has views looking out
07:42onto the village of the town you've got neighbours close by is that something you'd be looking for
07:47from this move to me that's quite important yes i wouldn't want to be too remote i mean the houses
07:52they're not on top of each other are they you're not really overlooking so it'd be absolutely fine
07:56it's quite a large plot looking at it how much ground is with it so it's just under about an
08:02acre
08:02really yeah that wraps around oh wow okay let's definitely sit down normal there you go
08:09come on let's have a look inside
08:12the lawn's in better nick than mine at home at the moment
08:16this imposing property is every bit as grand inside as it appears outside
08:24right wow so many doors everywhere let me show you through this one okay okay okay so a sunny daffodil
08:34room beautiful oh it's just glorious it's lovely oh look at that yeah yeah i must have had servants at
08:42one point spot on and that gives us a clue of the number of rooms as well there you go
08:47one of
08:48my questions because it's got all these features is is it a listed building are you limited what you
08:53can do that's a great question and a great answer for you is no wow it is not listed okay
08:58so you have
08:59the opportunities to do things and i think that's going to come into play as i show you through
09:03here with what was the kitchen so shall we have a look yes okay so here is the kitchen which
09:10would
09:10have been in the servants quarters okay yeah gosh what do you think of this space a little bit on
09:17the
09:17dark side a little bit on the dark side but you know it's workable isn't it you've got a nice
09:22worktop
09:22here um a fair amount of storage and look at this i know wow i think you probably want a
09:28slightly larger
09:29kitchen larger kitchen yes yes but it's workable with isn't it there's potential here to revamp it
09:34a little bit there's a massive pantry through there pantry go have a look go on goodness
09:42i'd love a pantry have a little oh wow oh how is oh look at that how useful is this
09:48this is brilliant
09:50the thing with this house is it's going to be like a magical mystery tour okay there are so many
09:55parts you get in the field already i think um if we were to move here i think i'd probably
10:00want to
10:01maybe extend into into that just to open the room up a little bit i would send this out knocking
10:06on walls
10:06and how would you feel about doing some major works if you wanted to make alterations we do have a
10:11builder who could help us if we needed to do significant work to the property i don't expect any
10:19concerns regarding the size of the largest reception this is a lovely isn't it gorgeous so light but i
10:29love this room i just love the openness of it yeah i'm just loving all the fireplaces oh gosh look
10:34at
10:35that i mean this really reminds me of my parents house it's it's really weird next door there's a
10:42dining room as well as a ground floor loo a study and a fourth cosier reception oh look at this
10:52another great fireplace gosh is that hand painted do you think i don't know it might be it's not
10:57tired is it no stunning it's all lovely we wouldn't see each other would we you know so many rooms
11:04would
11:04just have no but i just bring the bell ring and you'd appear like a genie oh no i would
11:08not i so would
11:09not upstairs the generous proportions continue
11:19okay more light another light more high ceilings double aspect yeah lovely and this is the main
11:26bedroom i was gonna ask it is because there's an ensuite right there oh okay can i see the ensuite
11:30yes go have a look so as we specified okay well it needs to be replaced but that's fine you
11:40could
11:40put a nice walk-in shower in here couldn't you it's in the right place it's a good size and
11:45it's actually
11:45an ensuite perfect the family bathroom serves four more roomy doubles including this one the largest
11:54oh my goodness another lovely bedroom we won't be short of space
12:03there's also room aplenty outside with a two-story former coach house that boasts a loft a workshop
12:10and a garage more bicycles than me that would take something and the lawn mowers it's good storage space
12:16because we need storage for for our bikes and also your motorbike there's been certainly enough storage here
12:24as for the garden this is big enough to justify a sit down just about really yeah
12:33and a pond would go nicely over there actually the bank would thinking about it could have two ponds with
12:39a no i like it nice and firm chris says no yeah okay the final piece of information you need
12:46is the price so
12:47how much do you think this property is on the market for perhaps 580 000 pounds
12:53okay yeah no i'd go higher i'd probably go 650 650 000 pounds 650 000 pounds okay well you win
13:03this
13:03one it's on for 575 000 pounds offers in the region of yes okay yes that's a stunning house
13:11it's a beautiful house and seeing it on a day like this just brings out the best in it really
13:15doesn't it
13:16it would be nice this detached victorian vicarage has four reception rooms and five bedrooms
13:24on a plot of just under an acre and with a two-story coach house it's on the market for
13:30offers in the
13:30region of 575 000 pounds it is a big house i've lost count of how many rooms there are within
13:37the
13:37property very very spacious maybe it's a little bit bigger than we actually need but it is a stunning
13:43property i'm weighing up the pros and cons because it will take a fair bit of work to get it
13:50to a level
13:50where we'd be happy with but emotionally it really has uh has actually hit me as well as we welling
13:56up
13:56looking at some of the rooms so that's beautiful place well that was a good start wasn't it that was
14:03a great start yes the sun is out and we've still got more properties to see let's go
14:22in the neighborhood we're sending nigel and chrissy into kidwelly to explore what the town offers its
14:29residents as well as those who live in the surrounding parishes and villages you'll be
14:34spotted for don't walk in my life in kidwelly is fantastic we have the most amazing people really old
14:43welsh town feeling people are still well connected you know they know their neighbors we're very
14:49community focused and it looks really sleepy but kidwelly has lots of little groups we have
14:55three large community halls and you can do anything from green mat bowling to archery radio control car
15:02club which is my guilty secret lindy hop knitting history clubs gardening club horticultural society
15:09is so busy kidwelly boasts one of the best preserved norman castles in wales
15:16known by even the town's very youngest residents thanks to a popular welsh nursery rhyme
15:22and when you back it really that is the old lady of kidwelly it's a fable about the lady who
15:29was trying
15:29to get back into the castle and she dressed up in the welsh costume and went with a friend in
15:36to sell
15:37the west into the castle peggy has been dressing up as the old lady of kidwelly for the past 25
15:44years
15:45kidwelly is very welcoming we're in between two lovely towns clenelli and camathen and there's so much
15:53to do here for all ages a popular family destination is parky box farm shop and cafe on the outskirts
16:02of town welles cakes well we have to buy some of those the trouble is none of this is going
16:08to help
16:08my diet is it really it started life 20 years ago as an honesty box in a local small holding
16:17hi guys you all right
16:20and amy one of the staff here has kindly agreed to share her experience of living here
16:27well you're going to love this area it's fantastic yeah beautiful views great countryside there's
16:32lots of beaches around here you've got pembrae which is a few little drive down the road that's
16:35lovely yeah that's a long beach if you want to take the dogs to walk if you've got animals at
16:40all
16:40but i'm a keen cyclist okay so are there any coastal paths absolutely there are there's
16:45only one it's actually going to be one opening up come autumn so that's going to be the towee valley
16:49yeah and how long how long is that so it's going to be about 12 miles long right and that
16:53runs all
16:54the way from abeglurili down to fairvach and is it all on the flat all on the flat it's actually
16:59the
16:59old railway line brilliant so that'll be amazing to take advantage of the plentiful opportunities
17:06to explore this beautiful part of the world nigel and chrissy need a base so our house hunt continues
17:15we're making a beeline for the village of clangunog five miles east from the town of st clairs
17:21the 3 000 or so residents in the town are well served by a train station a supermarket
17:29a chippy several pubs and cafes plus a craft center an eight minute drive from st clairs in the
17:36village of clangunog sits this impressive detached bungalow well this is the next
17:43property well that's not lovely chrissy was at one point quite keen on a bungalow for when we
17:51become old and decrepit well i just wonder as an occupational therapist there's something you'd
17:56be thinking about for many many many years the practicalities the practicalities yeah so a bungalow
18:01is a good one for yeah yeah as we get older and it just looks really well maintained as well
18:07i like
18:07that i just like the sort of appearance of the gate and the paved uh driveway and the drive up
18:12to the house
18:13let's have a look inside okay absolutely
18:18built in the 1980s the vendors have lived here for the past 20 years
18:24about 10 years ago they created this huge open plan kitchen dining and living room
18:32oh wow wow indeed this is this is a yeah this is a lovely lovely fabulous
18:41i just want to sit down now get get myself a cup of tea and sit down and just let
18:47me help you out
18:48there come along and a proper range at the end which you've always wanted these units yeah i love it
18:55absolutely love it the clean lines i love the color i love the style of the kitchen units i love
19:00the
19:00oven excited to see more you are aren't you i can tell well then let me not make you wait
19:07come this way
19:10so this leads around to a lovely sitting room area as well
19:13lovely you wouldn't have to change anything would you in this area at all
19:17be very happy happy just to move in i could definitely live here i think you'd definitely
19:21see ourselves living as much as i loved the previous house with the emotional attachment
19:26yeah a bit overwhelming and a little bit too much to do yes
19:30yes but this is clearly just walking and uh yeah live here and off you go yes
19:37open plan living has hit the mark and this house offers even more
19:43oh yes oh indeed so that wasn't the main lounge then
19:48oh oh my goodness i'm trying to take it all in
19:53so two lots of patio doors two windows stunning fireplace that's what a heck of a fireplace and
20:00that is bath stone this is lovely and i just love the decor i love these muted colors the creams
20:05and
20:05the sort of soft greys yeah as i said really nice there's nothing i feel i'd need to do or
20:12change
20:14i don't expect the bedrooms will disappoint either three doubles all a similar size overlook the front of
20:21the house and share a family bathroom the largest double at the rear has fitted wardrobes and an ensuite shower
20:30room
20:31nice units i don't know how we're dipping them up i'd have these four you could have those too
20:41the fifth and final bedroom is being used as a library comes snug another another room goodness me
20:50the cross train and the spinning bike would fit nicely in here they could yes yes and your weights as
20:56well
20:57we could not have picked a better day to have this house tour the sun is shining the daffodils
21:03are blooming and i really feel that christie and nigel are taking to this house the temperature's rising
21:08for sure and they're even starting to plan where they'll put the gym
21:14yeah you wouldn't want to change anything would you well i would change library off the door into gym
21:22but that's just a screwdriver
21:26there's also an office oh lovely study area gosh we could have bookshelves all across the wall though
21:35oh my goodness oh this is lovely and a garden room oh this is really nice or we could be
21:42posh and call it an
21:43orangery this is looking good looking very good the space inside is matched outside take it all in gosh
21:55i'm absolutely loving the size of this with a plot that extends to 1.2 acres
22:04oh my goodness it's really well maintained and plenty of space for a pond as well
22:08oh yeah i've got a lake here you could there we are build a lake fill it with carp
22:14oh yeah my mind's racing nice vegetable plot somewhere yeah absolutely vegetable plots absolutely pond
22:20possibly a little orchard at the top and there's a little greenhouse behind there that's a greenhouse
22:25as well yes and the neighbor has a digger so they can help you with the pond
22:29i don't know what to say it's got everything one more thing guess the price oh my god
22:39i would think well over 600 000 650 000 650 000 pounds i'm thinking more i'll just go above chris
22:47i'll
22:47say 675 000 675 000 pounds oh it's even stevens this one goes to you excellent really it's opposite
22:58the region of 675 000 yeah i can see why yeah yeah that's brilliant this modern detached bungalow features
23:09an open plan kitchen living room a separate lounge and five bedrooms on a plot of just over an acre
23:16it's on
23:17the market for offers in the region of 675 000 pounds i love the fact that it looks an extremely
23:25well maintained property i love the colors muted colors i love the kitchen walking condition really
23:32wouldn't have to do anything would we possibility of a gym a study a nice big garden for me to
23:39play in
23:40which makes me very happy this house is certainly edging it at the moment well by edging it by some
23:46significantly significant margin
23:53we're wrapping up our day back where we started overlooking the river towy but this time nigel and
23:59chrissy's twins are joining us for sundowners well tom and caris welcome to wales thank you
24:06is this a part of the world that you know well did you used to holiday here as kids uh
24:10yeah we used
24:11to visit our grandparents here quite a lot because they lived in swansea um and it was just it's a
24:15really lovely beautiful place so it'd be really lovely to visit mom and dad here and i studied at
24:20university just down the road in uh swansea as well wonderful this is about being closer to you as well
24:26as getting back to a part of the world that you really love all due to these two mostly
24:32well we've got all the family together shall we have some family games yeah i've got one for you
24:37how many of dad's hobbies can you list oh gosh it's golf all right tennis gardening rugby oh male
24:46i don't know what's your voice choir i'm not cheating i don't know what the family rules are
24:51that's cheating that's how cheating there's all this cheating going on baking baking
24:55you know we have a lot of baking oh it's like the generation game
25:01yoga
25:04tennis fishing fishing i don't fish
25:09oh gosh i appreciate the vibing oh gosh cycling
25:14rowing he's still not finished we'll be here for another half hour and everyone forgot the big one
25:19or the new one oh riding on his sit-on mower oh that's not a hobby
25:30there's one hobby that's not on nigel's list photography
25:35should we grab a selfie absolutely all right
25:39don't know i've done this before everybody in one two three
25:43head-eye
26:05if carmarthenshire's coast and countryside is calling you here's the lowdown on property prices
26:12the average price of a detached house across wales is just under 331 000 pounds
26:18head to west wales and your pounds will stretch further with carmarthenshire offering the best
26:24value for bunny in this region where detached homes cost on average just over 281 000 pounds
26:33let's have a nose of what else is currently on the market
26:39offers in the region of 299 000 pounds could land you this detached three bed property with a living
26:47room modern kitchen and scenic views
26:52this detached four bed four bath family home has two receptions a kitchen breakfast room
26:59and an enormous sun room outside there's a double garage and an extensive timber deck with views
27:07across the countryside it's priced at offers in excess of 500 000 pounds
27:14for a short break this characterful stone cottage sleeps up to four guests in the two upstairs bedrooms
27:21on the ground floor there's a comfortable lounge a spacious country kitchen and access to the garden
27:29with its estuary views prices start at 295 pounds for a short stay for two people
27:38it's time for your favorite part of the program and mine it's the mystery house and i cannot wait to
27:44show chrissy and nigel what i've got up my sleeve what's that pond you say nigel i think we can
27:50do a
27:50little better than that the mystery house sits in a remote location three and a half miles from the
27:59village of bank of ellen here nigel and chrissy will find the local chapel a village hall a pub
28:09a shop with post office and a fresh milk vending machine stocked by the local dairy farm
28:16a 10 minute drive from the village in a secluded spot sits this detached character cottage built in
28:22the mid-1800s on the site of a former water mill it's the smallest property we're showing chrissy and
28:30nigel but it comes with a supersized plot forget about the pond nigel we found you a lake
28:38nigel and chrissy asked for nature they asked for water and great walks and for the mystery house
28:44we're giving it to them all in their back garden look at this
28:57to me this is what escaping to the country is really all about a remote spot lots of nature
29:04and the sound of birdsong now this plot has nine acres and a couple of lakes that could sound quite
29:11daunting but it's also a wildlife reserve so all you have to do is let nature take its course and
29:17welcome in the ducks the geese and even some beavers
29:23the beavers have been here for the past six years and were introduced by the wildlife trust
29:28of south and west wales who work with community groups and landowners on initiatives to rebuild
29:37biodiversity beavers are nocturnal so i'm not sure we'll spot them today but that's not going to
29:42stop us from trying oh my word come on i said you're going to want to keep coming oh my
29:50goodness
29:50me come with me i wanted a pond you're dropping and i wouldn't even have to take my canoe anywhere
29:57i could just that's exactly right i could just you could just go round and round all day couldn't
30:01it was lunch and he's fishing he could do all his hobbies here and you won't lose him
30:09and the added bonus is that you get neighbors right here in the form of a family of beavers
30:16oh oh god this is too much really this is unbelievable
30:24we could never have anticipated it would be anything like this could we i'm not often speechless
30:30if you think you've known me now didn't he's done for a couple of days you have stumped me
30:34we've actually started i'm speechless let's have a look at the property itself yeah okay and then
30:39we'll get back out here yeah and really explore some of this fantastic thank you
30:48so we're in the house now and this is the living room which of course allows you to sit
30:54and continue to look at the view yeah i could look just look there all day you could couldn't
31:01just all day no you're not going to get us out of here i don't mind you might have to
31:06pay for it
31:07first but other than that but what do you think of this as a living room it's lovely but i
31:12actually
31:12don't care about the house now i'll leave the house up to chrissy so chrissy i love the lounge
31:20be sitting in your lounge and just to be looking out on something like that fantastic
31:25the vendors added the awning across the patio as part of refurbishment works which included
31:31overhauling the kitchen breakfast room
31:35into the kitchen oh this is lovely
31:39this is really nice very cottagey isn't it oh look at the beams
31:42you've got the beams gosh now this is really really nice it is big enough and there's the
31:48oven with the bar under and the table in here lots of storage yes i love the color and just
31:54across
31:54the way there is a massive utility room as well lovely opposite the kitchen across the entrance hall
32:01is the sitting room currently used as an office oh this is lovely
32:08oh that's the wall with the original stone yes really nice that's really very cottagey again
32:13yeah your desk here couldn't tune bookcases lovely i know it's lovely i love the stone work
32:20it's got a lovely feel it's obviously a nice family home isn't it as well lovely feel about the place
32:27upstairs the family bathroom serves a double bedroom with a roof light a single bedroom and a small double
32:34i don't know how the current owners can leave this place oh it must be a real wrench for them
32:39it's a
32:39stunning property it's a real show the kids aren't with us isn't it i know i know they'd be putting
32:44a
32:44deposit down for us the fourth and final bedroom is the largest oh this is lovely it's a double aspect
32:57ensuite very spacious room isn't it fitted units i think it's bigger than our current bedroom it's
33:05much much bigger than our current bedroom there's an ensuite yes there is an ensuite
33:11excellent that's all you need isn't it yeah yeah really nice everything we've seen has been absolutely
33:17perfect now to the nine acres the site sits at the confluence of two rivers and is enclosed by a
33:26predator-proof ring fence it includes half an acre of meadow a large lake with several islands and a
33:34smaller lake in addition to a garage there's a former cow shed and hay barn both in need of repair
33:41plus a newly built timber summer house but you could do a lot with this it's been really nicely made
33:47yes it has i could live out here chris you can have the house i live in the shed
34:01oh it is stunning here beautiful but there's one thing we still need to talk about and that's how
34:08much oh you think it's on the market for upper end of our budget maybe a bit more seven hundred
34:14and
34:16fifteen thousand pounds okay so opening bids seven hundred and fifteen thousand pounds
34:21i don't know this place is priceless would you say seven seven hundred and fifteen i'll say seven
34:26hundred and sixteen thousand pounds
34:34okay this house is on the market for six hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine
34:41pounds in the region of okay that's interesting it's worth stretching for this isn't it no you're not
34:49gonna you're not gonna find anything like this are you well you do you obviously did but once you've
34:54got it no one else this detached character cottage has two receptions a contemporary country kitchen
35:04and four bedrooms the nine acres of land includes two lakes several islands and a family of beavers the
35:12price office in the region of six hundred and ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine pounds
35:19wasn't expecting a lake which has just blown my mind two lakes two lakes um i could just sit here
35:27all day
35:29i've already imagined myself in my canoe with my fishing rod and the the sit-down lawnmower i love the
35:37house when i first saw it and the the location is absolutely stunning i just wonder if it's if it's
35:43big enough but there are options to extend the property i'm sure and that's something we'd need
35:48to look at quite closely
35:57more often than not when people move to the countryside they're looking for a slower pace of life
36:02some peace quiet and a chance to embrace some me time however for others a move to pastures new
36:09is about exciting new challenges and for nick and paul a brand new business
36:16so hi nick what are you baking there hello good morning um doing a coffee and walnut cake
36:23this is one of our popular cakes in the shop um it's always a good selection of cakes here
36:29and this is always one of the routine jobs that nick's doing every day
36:33eight years ago paul raven a tea connoisseur and nick lee a keen baker ditched their careers in
36:40adult education in the north wales city of wrexham to pursue a completely new life in carmarthenshire
36:46it's a blustery day but here we are at kidverney key one of our favorite escape spots
36:54here on the carmarthenshire coast just a few minutes away from where we live and whatever
36:59the weather this is what we like to do get out in the countryside and enjoy the area the pair
37:07combined
37:07their two loves tea and baking to open a tea shop in the center of carmarthen that looks nice
37:16well i've never been one to pass on a cup of tea so let's go and say hello
37:23hello hello hello hi i'm denise nice to meet you hi denise lovely to meet you well thank you for
37:30inviting me to your tea shop nick and paul it is gorgeous
37:36the couple stocks over 100 varieties of tea from all across the globe including several from wales
37:43one of the most popular is their own blend of welsh breakfast tea
37:47and they've set up a business right in the heart of town and it feels like a quite a community
37:52space
37:53as well i see all the different activities you have going on here i think that was part of our
37:58focus
37:58right from the beginning not just to land a shop here to but to open the doors to celebrate what's
38:04going on in the town our window displays are always nothing at all to do with tea but more to
38:10do with
38:10what's happening what are the events what are the things that we can join in and celebrate together so
38:16the local theater the youth theater we get involved with the river festival we've got a winter display
38:21full of fish at certain times in the year and how have you been received i'm sure you've been embraced
38:26by the local community oh yes hugely we had a comment the other day and said you must never leave
38:31carmarthen
38:32which is you know a compliment in itself so i think we're here to stay at the end of each
38:39day the
38:40couple leave the hustle and bustle of carmarthen behind and head for the sanctuary of their home
38:45in the gwendraith valley it's a wonderful spot overlooking the valley every day we look out of
38:52that and don't take it for granted it's it's wonderful it's almost um it's almost that you can breathe
38:58differently they definitely unwind at the end of the day and you're learning the welsh language which
39:03is lovely yes this is a really welsh community carmarthenshire is about 50 welsh-speaking
39:10and the village where we live is very much a welsh community as well so i thought it was important
39:17to
39:18have a go so doing dusky camraig i'm learning welsh and i'm able to chat with customers i wear a
39:24lanyard that says i'm learning welsh and that means that customers are prompted to chat with me in
39:29welsh uh sometimes they try an order in welsh and i say well i hope i'll bring you what you
39:35want
39:35what you're ordering and most of the time it works perfectly okay um so yeah it's it's um really
39:41supportive they're they're really encouraging even when i make mistakes people appreciate that we're
39:46having a go and they really like the fact that we've taken the effort to join in and even if
39:52it's
39:53just uh uh hello or how are you um it goes a long way does it feel like you've made
39:59an escape oh
40:00definitely it's still a really good feeling um to know that we've come here we've we've done it and
40:09it's something i i wouldn't give up at all i tell you what neither would i tea and cake in
40:18the
40:18carmarthenshire countryside is nothing short of heaven to find out if we've found nigel and chrissy
40:27their own slice of paradise we're reconvening here on clan stefan beach
40:34well we've made it down to the water's edge here how are you feeling now that you've seen
40:39everything and had a moment to kind of mull it all over there is definitely a front runner we are
40:44going
40:45to go back hopefully this afternoon to visit the mystery house just to open that gate and look at
40:51that lake and the surrounding scenery and the rivers and the ducks and hear about the otters and beavers
40:56wow i have to say there's a bit i'd like the second house a lot but the mystery houses blew
41:03me away
41:03i could see myself living there now chrissy thinks a little bit small but i've have offered to throw all
41:09the furniture away i think we need more accommodation both downstairs and upstairs so i would be tempted
41:15to put a very large conservatory on the front of the house overlooking the lake upstairs i'd like to
41:20make a fourth bedroom i mean as it is you can get in there and live there and what i
41:25call minor issues
41:26the chrissy's phrase are all fixable we don't need all the furniture we've got in jersey and to be honest
41:34them the more we take the more expensive it's going to be to move yes and i never thought we
41:38would
41:38be talking about downsizing on this trip because the plan wasn't to downsize as such it was to take
41:43everything from our detached five-bedroomed house where we are now which is crammed to the girls
41:48and move all of that to south wales but it sounds as if we've kind of happy days
41:53we can start to we've solved a new problem you didn't know you had we've upsized we'll be upsizing
41:58plot wise there's no excuse to dig a pond no you don't need to do that but you can you
42:04can
42:05circle the lake many times with this right on lawn mower there we go what do you think you'll
42:11take away from this journey to expect the unexpected and embrace the unexpected really
42:15because we weren't expecting to see a property like that no it's been an absolute pleasure
42:19cannot wait to come and revisit you here thank you look forward to you visiting
42:29chrissy and nigel came to us with a longing to return to this beautiful county and they had
42:35open minds as to exactly what kind of property would be right for them they've embraced everything
42:40we've shown them from the old to the new but i think chrissy said it best in life as on
42:45this show
42:46you have to expect the unexpected one thing's for certain carmarthenshire will soon be their home
42:52i'll see you next time on escape to the country if you would like to escape to the country in
42:58wales
42:59england northern ireland or scotland and need our help why not apply online at bbc.co.uk forward slash take
43:07part
43:24thank you
43:26you
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