ETTC 3 Sep

we've lived here for 33 years we really fancy moving just for a change and somewhere with a different outlook and our children are independent we just want a little bit of our own time away from the big cities so looking for pastors new but not wanting to move too far from their grandchildren in newport they've caught their eye on a move within south wales the areas that we would like to look at are within ask abergavenny chepstow and the rural areas in between those towns it just seems a nice place to be plus the fact that you're on the edge of the the brecon beacons we do like to get out in a boat and get the walk-in boots on and get a bit of fresh air now and again they may agree on location but when it comes to the type of house things aren't so simple when we're looking at houses we have got different views on things most things and possibly it's why we've not moved in 33 years she'll pull up properties sometimes and say what do you think of that my first thing is to look at the location of it and it says waste of time oh but it's got a lovely kitchen doesn't matter we ain't going there finding common ground is going to be something of a challenge and the move has to cater to different hobbies too i enjoy hosting dinner parties because i like to entertain and i like to see people enjoying themselves i keep bees i actually inherited them from my father-in-law i'm very much a novice at it but i would like to extend the number of hives that we have i've just recently acquired a banjo leslie doesn't really like listening to me practice because it's a bit of a noise they may have different tastes in most things but after 40 years of marriage they're ready to start a fresh chapter together you just think it's our time now when i want to get moving everything's a compromise and that's probably why we've been married for nearly 40 years [Music] leslie and peter are keen to move closer to the centers of abercrombie usk and chepstow but before we start looking at houses i'm keen to find out why after 33 years they want to move elsewhere in the region well peter and lizzy welcome to south wales although perhaps you should be welcoming me because this really is your home this region isn't it well we live in the next county yeah what are you hoping moving more into the countryside will do for the two of you i think the main reason that we want to move is because we haven't got a view from the property we've got at the moment and as you can see it's beautiful around this area and we'd like to a better view and we just like a bit of peace and quiet i think this is what we're after isn't it yeah a little bit of bird song or not much else wonderful now it's not just the two of you moving is it i have to consider how many 200 000 bees as well that's three hives worth and the hives are coming with us are they oh yes is there anything we need to bear in mind when we're talking about keeping bees you know how large the garden has to be where they should be situated what are the bees need a little bit of space so away from people really so let's park the bees to the side just for a minute because i want to find out more about the home that you're after what type of property is it uh somewhere detached um at least three bedrooms leslie would like a a separate dining room and we we do entertain you love your entertaining and your cooking don't you yeah uh hopefully a a separate utility room because when we're harvesting the bees we need somewhere where we can extract the honey uh a garage is important what about the architectural style anything in particular that you're looking for with this new home what's it gonna look like um it doesn't matter if it's modern or old um we don't mind doing some renovation work as we've obviously built the first one we created quite handy yeah yeah yeah don't mind a bit of a project but a renovation not at all that's gonna ask about the location itself what do the two of you think are you looking to be in a village on the edge of a village or perhaps something much more remote more rural not remote yeah we'd like to be close to a community but we also like our privacy why do you need our help because we're moving what 30 40 miles we have looked but we can never seem to agree to oh well let's go and have a look at that one right do you need a push in a nice way yeah a little gentle push yes a little gentle push okay yeah but perhaps we can persuade you help you hold your hands with this move remind us of the budget how much we got to spend uh about five hundred thousand because we do have three splendid properties lined up to show you so should we get started for a budget of five hundred thousand pounds leslie and peter are looking for a detached property with countryside views and at least three bedrooms they'd like a separate dining room for entertaining as well as a utility room a garage and outside space to keep the bees they're open to any style of home and are happy to take on a project we've got three fantastic houses to show them each offering a different take on their wish list after every house tour i'll be seeing how close they can get to the asking price the final option is a mystery house which could well find them in an unexpected position let's touch on this move how long have you two been discussing it since we've built the the place that we're in so do all your friends keep saying to you you're never going to move you just keep talking about it they take the mickey out of us all the time because they always say have you put your bungalow up for sale now have you are you going to move now yeah and it's every year the year you're going to make the move yeah i'm really getting to know the two of you now let's hope our first house comes up to scratch we're nearly there our first property is located in the parish of clan favor in kafili a man away there's a choice of shops and services in the village of nelson historically a stopover on the drovers trail from the south wales coast lord nelson is reputed to have been served in a 300 year old coaching inn here the surrounding countryside of clan favor is reached via quiet country lanes and several rights of way from which far-reaching views include the brecon beacons house number one is located in a very rural setting between three farms this is our first stop with our very first property it's very old by the look of the yeah the plaque on the front 1862 looking out from the windows the view you have is quite magnificent isn't it yeah very extensive well it's got a great view from here and it also gives us the privacy that we're looking for we've never lived in an old house we've always lived in new houses well let's take a look inside the property and see what you think of that having lived in their own self-build for over three decades this 19th century welsh stone and slate house might require leslie and peter to do some adjusting but if they want a more rural lifestyle it's certainly available here as we start our tour through the back door in the extended part of the home and a large country kitchen it's a nice size no like it we do like a bit of wood and you are the chef you are the cook you're the person that loves to entertain so not only do you have a large kitchen with this impressive range there in addition you've got a another room through there you could call it a snug you could call it a small dining room if you wanted to convert it but obviously the kitchen's got this huge dining table in do you like the idea of people dining with you or do you want to keep them separate well i don't like people dining with me i like to be in my kitchen on my own making my own mess that's your own domain isn't it yes yes well the good news is you've got to use separate utility room there with the downstairs cloak room a good start a good good start yeah good i'm pleased let's see what you make of the sitting room next door just wind your head as we step inside a small step this is the oldest part of the property this would have been the original building it's quite light isn't it dual aspect here dominated by a huge fire yeah yeah like the fire place it's us isn't it that's nice like that i could see us in here yes uh from the beach it's got a bit of character to the room i like it downstairs is going well should we head on upstairs yeah so a positive response to the layout of the ground floor and upstairs the four-bedroom accommodation gives them one more room than they asked for all served by a family bathroom with twin sinks and a roll top bath a good sized guest double sits to the front of the house and next to this another bedroom is currently being used as a games area whilst the smallest guest room is found at the rear are made up as a single bedroom number four is again at the back of the property and could be leslie and peter's master nice size room yeah like the room would have liked an ensuite now one you could put an ensuite in if you wanted to because you could actually put it across there and i don't think the plumbing would be too difficult because of downstairs in the kitchen but most the time it's just going to be the two of you here anyway isn't it yeah yeah that's right yeah so we should go and just have a quick look outside of each if you wouldn't mind leading the way thank you thank you so more space than they asked for inside as well as the potential to create an ensuite and outside there are even more possible projects with three our buildings one of which is an altar farm dwelling thought to date back to the 18th century the third of an acre plot includes a grass paddock and garden with some mature shrubs and trees but i know peter is planning on extending his hive collection so i wonder will this be enough for him so from a beekeeping point of view is this enough land yeah plenty actually yeah it is what one would call low maintenance all you really need to do is prune back some of the hedges and the trees and the shrubs and mow the lawn and that really is about it yeah yeah that that's fine that's that's fine yeah yeah standing on this elevated section you really do get to see that spectacular view oh yeah it's uh it's the kind of view that we're looking for really good i can imagine myself satya with a gin and tonic yeah looking at that well what are we thinking when it comes to guess the price of our first property i think it's probably on the market for 450 okay i'd go lower than that what would you say peter 4 20. okay well in actual fact leslie you're the closest the asking price is 445 000 pounds it's a 55 under your top budget well now you know the price why don't you take another look around on your own this time and when you're ready i'll come and find you okay thanks guys thanks very much leaving plenty of budget left over this 19th century stone and slate house has a dining kitchen and two reception rooms there's one more bedroom than they asked for and a selection of outbuildings giving scope for a renovation project and it's got the far-reaching views they asked for [Music] handy space it certainly got potential keep me busy for for a while i really like some parts of the property the the kitchen is a really good size and there's a useful range of oat buildings which i'm sure we could convert to whatever use we wanted to put them as far as this property is concerned kitchen is lovely bedrooms are a good size and particularly like the low maintenance garden it is so quiet and peaceful here apart from the odd land giving me a bar that's all i've really heard yeah beautiful have you seen enough though yeah i think so it's uh yeah very very good ready to hit the road yeah yes we are thanks from chepstow to kaphili cardiff to kidwelly south wales historic castles are a reminder of the norman barons who conquered the region whilst kephartha castle in murtha tidaville looks like it was built for nobility it is in fact a victorian mansion and home to a family of iron masters when the region was a world centre for iron now museum and art gallery it's the site of a workshop for an ancient welsh folk instrument the pipgorn we're sending key musician peter along with leslie to find out more from gaffin morgan who has been making these hornpipes for the past seven years so how far back in history does it go well the earliest written evidence back in history was the 10th century in the laws of howelvar who was an old welsh king and this was one of the instruments that was played in the royal courts it was made from shepherds on the hilltops so it was a widely used instrument at the time it looks a bit like a recorder it's a very simple instrument it's originally made from elder wood which was easy to hollow out and obviously with the cowhorn ends and then this is an amplification chamber here so this is what produces all the sound that is thought that this was the original chanter from a bagpipe and then this was put into a bag and then blown rather than mouth-blown so would you say this comes before the bagpipe it certainly comes before the backbone or something you play it yourself yes i do would you like to hear it yeah very much okay [Music] [Music] falling out of favor for centuries a recent revival in folk music has seen demand for the instrument increase not only in wales but around the world it's now possible to find pip gorns being produced again in the traditional way but gaffin is putting a very different 21st century spin on things turning computer files into solid parts with a 3d printer what do you actually make it out of well well this this particular material is called pla which is vegetable starch so it is biodegradable it looks like a plastic it's a plastic yes will this machine actually make all of the it cool it can do yes but this could take about four hours one of my aims of doing this is to make it more available for people to get these instruments this high-tech method also makes the pip corn more stable producing a predictable pitch that means it can be played with other musicians but whilst technology does most of the work it's all finished by hand including sanding the reed to give a flattened surface how's that is that enough that looks great what we do next is add on the reed tongue itself and we end up with a finished read here which makes the sound and how does that fit in to there so what we can do is take the mouthpiece off and i just drop the lead into the mouthpiece pop it all together and [Music] it's great to see a once dwindling instrument has been revived through modern production methods but can we find anything to blow our own horn about as we return to the property search in south wales our second house we're heading close to the english border and the monmouthshire village of grossmont it's a beautifully preserved place set in a conservation area and would offer peter and leslie that country community they're after so how much do you know about this area nothing really other than the fact that it's in a beautiful part of monmouthshire within striking distance of the white valley and the brexit vegans it's a beautiful chocolate box type of village isn't there it's stunning lovely this village was famed for its norman church and castle which is still in existence actually just down the road so you've got a post office and you've got a pub here you've got a community right on your doorstep it's a mile and a half from the pretty village center to house number two so down this country lane is our second property nice yeah yeah i like the stonework yeah is this more what you had in mind yeah yes ticks more boxes should you take a step inside and have a look around yes let's do that a good first impression and built in 1989 on the site of an older cottage this home perhaps combines the best of old and new with the porched entrance at the side leading through a hall and into the country kitchen we could work with this couldn't we i like the separate dining space on the end there nice uh stick this nice the family around there while i'm busy over there practical kitchen yeah yeah could i say informal dining here and then perhaps more formal dining oh yeah next door yeah yeah it's nice to see some nice shape and so you can work with the space suit good very good start next to the kitchen there's a handy utility space and a cloak room whilst the dining room is flanked by a conservatory and the largest of the reception spaces nice to have the two separate reception rooms when you're entertaining yeah thick walls yeah nice stone heating looking out the window you can see there's fabulous fields and woodland at the top yeah and i've just noticed there's window seats as well on both the windows there they're nice it's something we can work with i think yeah the layout the shape the size of the rooms uh all positive yeah well that's good yeah let's hope it continues when we take a look at the bedrooms a good start on the ground floor but let's see what they make of the four bedroom sleeping quarters to the front of the home is a world proportioned guest double and a single bedroom plus behind this a third guest bedroom currently used as an office these are all served by a family bathroom leslie has said she'd like an ensuite and with bedroom number four she could have it what do you think of the master for the two of you it's a good space certainly big enough yeah views yeah views from both windows good views we've got all this storage yes but these doors are dummy doors if you like because take a look through there it's a nice size uh ensuite isn't it yeah it's really good really good so inside there's the ensuite leslie hoped for and outside we find the garage workshop peter requested as well as plenty of parking the half acre plot includes several fruit trees whilst a meandering pathway leads to an impressive wildlife garden including a pond stocked with fish frogs and mutes there are wonderful views and certainly enough scope for peter's bees i like it good i like it a lot it just looks like a lot of hard work to me and that'd be down to you but when you retired you will have nothing else to do will you what price are we going to put then on this property what are we thinking it's on the market for 485 okay 475 you two i hope are going to be pleasantly surprised because the asking price is actually 425 000 pounds well worth considering oh look at that smile yes i think it's worth a second viewing on your own this time yeah thanks very much thank you go and check out where the bees are gonna live what a beautiful home way under their budget lovely land beautiful aspect i think it's got everything that they want with money to spare a substantial 75 000 pounds below budget this detached cottage provides a large country kitchen breakfast room as well as a dedicated dining room and further large reception there are four bedrooms including that master ensuite wonderful views and beautifully kept gardens all close to the amenities of an idyllic village the thing i like most about the property is the location it's in exactly the sort of place that we want to be there's a few alterations that i know that we would want to do to it but i think it probably would become the property that we could live in on the basis that we don't agree on everything we probably have a good discussion this evening [Music] have you seen enough yeah for now yeah i think we have yeah feeling good two houses in i think we ended on a high didn't we we did very much so like the area like the house brilliant and guess what we've got one more house to show you tomorrow so you can look forward to that should we hit the road [Music] i'm in beautiful south wales helping peter and leslie leave the urban surroundings of newport for a more rural lifestyle we've already shown them two terrific options for their budget of 500 000 pounds but the mystery house is still to come which has curious curb appeal now this i think is perfect plus i'm toasting the return of whiskey to wales we'll have to say cheers yes in welsh it'll be yakida yakida i'm gonna savor this staying in the same house and community for over 33 years is making life tricky i feel for peter and leslie to move on as they're constantly drawn back to what they know now our second house yesterday close to the edge of a village evokes some positive reactions but i'm hoping today's mystery house will really push the boundaries when it comes to countryside living while still being a walker's paradise we've drawn quite a bit around this region haven't we i'm glad we're taking you to parts of south wales so you don't know that well yeah we we thought we knew the area fairly well but we've definitely seen places in the last two days that we had no idea were there well hopefully we'll surprise you even more today with our mystery house and surprise you in a good way looking forward to it for our mystery offering we're venturing into mid wales and the palace market town of brecken lying north of the broken beacons yet still within the national park it's a great base for cycling and walking routes in the surrounding countryside and is located on the monmouthshire and brecken canal originally a 19th century industrial corridor for taking iron and coal to the 7s3 the canal side was redeveloped in the 1990s and is now the location for cafes and cultural activities including a theater and it's next to this we find our mystery house which i'm revealing to leslie and peter from the opposite side of the canal what do you think of the actual property itself looks quite substantial it does doesn't it and is it all one building do you know what it is it looks like it could be two or three cottages which i'm sure when it was built it probably was but that is all yours well are you intrigued to buy our mystery house very intrigued yeah should we take a look inside thought to date to georgian times our mystery house was once two properties that have been combined into one there are three stories on the left hand side but we're starting our tour on the two-story right hand side where a porched entrance leads via a small hall into the first of the reception rooms really pleasant room isn't it the nice big windows lots of light it's quite to our taste really yeah i don't think we'd have any trouble uh uh fitting in here yeah like the fireplace different to the other two but i like that as well okay well let's uh see what you make of the kitchen which is next door [Music] steps lead down to the ground floor level in the other half of the property so in a way we've moved into the more cottagey side of the property because they're two separate looks like two separate buildings i'm first looking there's not a lot of work surfaces in here yeah smaller than the kitchens we've been in yeah i would have preferred a slightly bigger a larger kitchen i think that's fair comment to the side of us you've got a long hallway leading to the back door and a very generous utility room and a downstairs cloakroom planning permission has been granted for the kitchen in actual fact the back of the property to be extended up to two stories oh okay so if you wanted a small project she said small that short line of business you're gonna know how much work it is you could extend so as well as a decent sized kitchen what else did you crave a separate dining room well your wish is my command peter if you wouldn't mind leading the way back through thank you the mystery property might not currently provide that large ready-made kitchen but as they're open to a project perhaps they could rework it retracing our steps back to the opposite end of the home we find that all important dining space leslie i'm going to be looking at you as you walk into this room um yes that's perfect looks like a proper dining room doesn't it yeah yeah it's like an area yeah yeah yeah no i said particularly like that um the building curve built in cupboards yes i've got quite a collection of uh glasses and uh coffee cans so my collections would be able to go in there so the house itself is working let's head upstairs leslie and peter like the style proportions and potential on offer on the ground floor and when it comes to bedrooms a mystery house offers a possible four stairs next to the dining room lead up to the first two guest bedrooms both good sized doubles each one bright and airy thanks to those generous sash windows and high ceilings these are served by a family bathroom providing freestanding bath and separate shower cubicle then in the three-story section of the home is a double bedroom featuring sash windows as well as an ensuite shower room peter and leslie could choose this as their master but there's also a room upstairs on the top floor currently used as a reception room and offering the potential to be bedroom number four this is a surprise yeah very surprising uh very quirky you've got a cloak room to the side of me here so if you had guests coming to stay yeah they could actually have their own part of the house yeah how much do you think we could charge them for that actually i would have said that this would have been the master bedroom yeah you fancy this yeah yeah like this well very good yeah i love this room beautiful right well the final part of this mystery jigsaw is outside peter we're going to follow you if that's all right thank you a strong finish for the interior of our mystery house and outside there's a detached double garage which also offers first floor accommodation that's currently used as an office it comes with planning permission to be converted into a self-contained annex the south facing walled garden provides seclusion with the feature pond and raised beds as it's laid largely to lawn i'm hoping it will suit leslie's wish for easy maintenance now this i think is perfect this is the right size garden with the right amount of flowers and beds and i don't like this garden yeah i like it as well so it was your dream wouldn't have a walled garden the house has got so many aspects to it but yeah lots of possibilities the property itself i think we like yeah yeah yeah i wonder how close we're getting well let's see how much we think it's worth because we've come to that final time we've got to try and put a price on the mystery house i think it's probably near our budget i put i think it's probably 4.95 okay i'm in the same ballpark i think 485 000. leslie you're in the wrong business you're so good at guessing prices is actually on the market for 495 000 pounds and it's gone on the market literally a couple of weeks ago so now you know the price i think you need another time to go around on your own be my guest thank you thank you thanks sitting at the top of their budget our canal side mystery house comes with leslie's requested dining room and a further large reception there are three double bedrooms including one with an ensuite with the option of a fourth plus there's a double garage and a low maintenance walled garden i think the property is really really good you know the first view of the property very picturesque on the side of the canal i could see myself living in the property it's definitely given us plenty to think about particularly like this room which is the dining room which was one of my priorities and i particularly liked the garden the low maintenance garden but plenty of space i've made up our mind on any of the properties yet but would really you know need to sit down with leslie and have a have a good chat about it i can't read those faces do we love do we like do we have a sale it's going to be pretty close oh come on [Music] high rainfall and a confluence of rivers means the beautiful brecon beacons are abundant in water and now this natural resource is aiding the production of a drink literally named water of life whiskey wales once boasted several pot stills until the temperance movement saw the last one closed down at the end of the 19th century but whiskey is making a return in one brecken village to find out why i'm meeting the brand director of the penton distillery sean whitelock so what's so unique about this area when it comes to producing whiskey well obviously we're in the brecon beacons and we're at the foot of the beacons so we get a really good source of natural water you mentioned the importance of water but the fact that we're actually in the brecon beacons does it affect the final taste of the drink yeah absolutely we use water in every part of the process so it's crucial it plays a crucial part can i see it from start to finish the whole thing we'll show you around thank you inside the distillery looks like something from a heath robinson cartoon but fortunately distiller david cover is on hand to throw some light on the process so we start off with malted barley we're making single malt it has to be from one distillery and it has to be made with malted barley so this is as it comes into us and the first stage of the process is just to grind this into the grist which you can see this uh powdery substance here the grist is combined with local spring water in what's known as the mash tun i can see a foam on the top what's that so these these bubbles that are forming on the top are actually the sugars coming out into the water and it's the sugars that we can then ferment to get the alcohol so we add the yeast to those will ferment over about three days and after that three days we can then put them into the stills to purify the alcohol to get a high percentage spirit a unique feature here is the faraday copper still designed by a descendant of the famous victorian scientist michael faraday it only has one pot whereas the scottish would use two in the irish three and that single distillation from one pot gets a very very high strength of spirit normally it's about 90 which is very very pure for whiskey this particularly delicate spirit then goes into barrels to mature to demonstrate just what a difference the time in the barrels can make david's lined up a taste test of a couple of finished whiskeys what have you selected for me to try we've got our madeira finish and our heated finish for you to try okay so these are the madeira barrels so yeah we move the whiskey into a second type of barrel and that just adds some extra flavors to the whiskey madeira is quite sweet so it brings some of that sweetness some of that fruitiness into the whiskey it's in there for a very short period of time normally about six months my taste buds have gone into overdrive yeah because i probably in all honesty wouldn't ever sip anything quite so subtly it's very subtle i think so yeah it's not overpowering at all i'm enjoying it so my peat whiskey this is the pizza whiskey you can see it's a little bit of a lighter color yes it is but you do get some of the smoky flavor coming from these barrels we've actually bought these from scotland so what was in the barrels before heated whiskey and we'll mature the whiskey in those barrels normally for about three months it just brings some of the smokiness a little bit of the smokiness without being too intense right very very different flavors i better say considerably different absolutely with the other one it felt more like a journey through the countryside this does feel under the earth yeah i took a much bigger glug on that one so i think the peat finish whiskey for the winter absolutely and the madeira finish for the summer we allowed to say cheers yes in welsh it would be yakida yakida i'm gonna savor this what a triumphant return of welsh spirit here in the brecon beacons national park the winner house search gives something to raise our glasses to as it's decision time for leslie and peter well our second home in our mystery house certainly provoked some positive responses from our couple but are they actually going to make a move let's find out [Music] peter and leslie you said that your friends have spent the last 30 years nudging you both when are you going to move you've asked for our help peter have we got you any closer with that second property you really liked it didn't you it was really the location uh that i i loved so yeah i did like it it's certainly not a contender and then of course the mystery house now you weren't expecting that at all were you no no the house itself was pretty perfect just the location wasn't right yeah if we could pick that house up and move it to monmouthshire would it be perfect it would have really yeah i don't think you two are picky is the honest truth your wish list isn't that extensive i think it's actually making the move it's making the jump that's preventing you from doing it does that sound right this is just the nudge i think that will get us to go and have a look at a lot more properties i wonder if the answer is to build your own home with your expertise you've got the knowledge you've done it before is that perhaps the answer if we could find the building plot in the right location that would be ideal for us well i hope we've energized you into continuing this search for the perfect home we do wish you all the best and let us know how you get on and if you build your own i want to see the finished piece certainly it's a deal but thank you so much all the best for the future thank you very much so there we have it we didn't secure a house sale but i think we've certainly got the ball rolling in the right direction and let's face it after a lifetime in one property it's always going to be tricky to cut those ties but i think we're leaving peter and leslie with a better understanding of what they actually want from their next home my money is on them actually building it themselves so that's it from us from south wales and i'll see you again soon on escape to the country if you would like to escape to the country in wales scotland england or northern ireland and need our help you can apply online at bbc dot co dot uk forward slash beyond a show the chicken competition might ruffle a few feathers the farmer's country showdown is tonight at 6 30 on bbc two here the most memorable kitchen meltdowns cooking chaos and creative brilliance celebrity masterchef is at eight o'clock together for the very first time hilarious highlights from one of bolton's

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Id: ZopAo8F60dI

Length: 39min 47sec (2387 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 03 2020