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Joanne Ridout

BBC Escape to the Country's worst ever property value guess has presenter smirking

Although she has never visited the county, or Wales either, house hunter Annie is desperate to find an idyllic new home in Pembrokeshire to develop the more spiritual side of herself.

The 65-year-old property developer and interior designer has been living in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey for over 30 years so an escape to the country over the border might come as a shock but she wants to find somewhere really peaceful and magical - and Pembrokeshire can certainly offer that.

After months of searching different areas of Britain, Annie is confident that the county is that magical place to make her new home. She says: "It's just spectacular! I've never been there, I'm just looking forward to seeing it for the first time."

READ MORE: An Escape to the Country canalside mystery property that house hunters refused to see again is going to auction

Annie and close friend Sophie meet up with BBC's Escape to the Country presenter Alistair Appleton in this glorious corner of Wales to try and help the pair find Annie's much longed for slice of Welsh heaven, and with a very tasty budget of £900,000 to spend, surely that shouldn't be too hard?

The first house the trio visit is a mixed offering for Annie and also reveals her straight-talking approach to her Welsh house hunt - she loves the Georgian, doll's house-style, stone former farmhouse but it's not all coming up roses at this rural abode.

Annie says: "I loathe the addition (extension)! It's probably lovely inside and has a nice new roof but it looks kind of 20s and a bit mean to me!"

Property one is a mix of love and loath (BBC)

Mindful that the property is someone's home and the show does not want to put off future property owners from appearing on the show, Alistair's says: "This property dates back to the 1900s and despite Annie's somewhat damning assessment of the newer addition, we feel the present owners have done a marvellous job of the renovation and extension that they undertook 15 years ago."

It's going to be a feisty property hunt for Alistair with no-nonsense Annie and, although she warms to property one on the inside, and loves the remoteness of the land, it's clearly not 'the one' for her.

But property number two is closer to the ideal and brings tears of joy from Annie, who is now starting to realise that her retirement escape to the country could soon become a reality. The house, which dates back to the 16th century in parts, comes with five acres and a handy and characterful one-bed annexe.

Property two comes with five acres of land (BBC)
What's your estimate of the asking price of this country dream home? (BBC)

Annie is feeling the magic of this property but when it comes to guessing the price, there must be a spell cast over her that distorts reality, because her guess is so way off it lifts Alistair's eyebrows to his hairline and is surely the wildest guess the show has ever encountered.

Annie says: "Again, like last time, I have a figure in my head so I'm just going to say it, which is £480,000." Yes, Annie has just valued this house at £420,000 under her £900k budget.

Alistair can't quite believe the property price guess he has just heard (BBC)
Eeeek, the guess is wildly out and, despite pleading from the house hunter, Alistair can't make it any cheaper (BBC)

Alistair can't control his shocked facial reaction to this guess so far off the mark, it's almost half. Sophie, a little more realistically says £800k, and it's now Annie's turn to look shocked. She says: "What? Oh God, please don't be right! Please make me right Alistair!"

Alistair says: "I'm afraid I can't make you right but I can make Sophie right, it's actually just under £800,000 - £795,000, so that's a lot of wishful thinking on your part. Yes, it's smaller in terms of bedrooms but I guess it's the plot and we are inside the national park which does push prices up."

Annie and Sophie are sent back inside to look around the house again while Alistair shares his thoughts with the viewers.

He says: "Awww, that's interesting, sometimes people when they love a house, sometimes they overinflate, sometimes they underinflate, interesting now to see what Annie thinks with the price in mind. Annie should be encouraged that the property she loves is within actual reach, even though the shrewd business woman in her wanted it to be half the asking price."

So that's a house Annie isn't keen on and a house that she loves but doesn't think is worth the asking price, can the mystery house fully capture her heart and get her packing her bags and heading to gorgeous Pembrokeshire?

The garden of the mystery house is truly incredible - a Pembrokeshire cliff-side (BBC)
Alistair shows Annie and Sophie where the 62 acres of land finishes, and it's far, far away (BBC)

Annie's heart is yearning for a sea view and the programme delivers with a detached cottage and agricultural barn ripe for renovation that also comes with 62 acres of land that runs to the cliff-edge and actually includes the cliff itself, down to the tiny beaches below.

This home is so unique that the land includes a section of the 186-mile long, famous Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, and standing on it, surrounded by the breath-taking and mesmerising views of the rugged cliffs and clear, crystal sea, Annie is understandably in awe and in love.

The house is not important to Annie now she has fallen for the garden and land (BBC)
Luckily, the house is a pretty period property so a great addition to the land (BBC)

The house that comes with the land is called Lleine and is just four miles away from the picturesque harbour town of Newport, a nearby yacht club and golf course, and the neighbouring hamlet of Nevern.

It's a remote coastal home tucked away at the end of a lane that has the most incredible, sweeping sea views from the windows and the immediate garden, that is a stretch of lawn and patio that has an uninterrupted view that merges into the land that runs to the cliff-side at the end.

It's a home that featured on WalesOnline when it was on the market at the time Annie visited, see inside and find out more about this coastal dream home here.

Views from the windows and sliding doors are mesmerising (BBC)
The land sweeps down to the cliff-edge uninterrupted (BBC)

Annie is overwhelmed, saying: "I feel quite happy, and a bit emotional, it's beyond my wildest dreams, I couldn't have imagined that one could be somewhere this beautiful, never mind own it. I think (the house) is cute, the house is pretty much unimportant with that garden, and I'd be very happy to live here."

After the house tour is over the trio meet in the garden, and it's property value guessing game time again but Annie has learnt from her, quite frankly, laughably wild estimate at the last home but is worried this time, saying, "what price can you possibly put on owning Pembrokeshire coastline?!"

But the estate agent has valued it for the sale and Annie's guess of £900,000 is spot on.

A patio with the best view in the county? (BBC)
It's guess the price time again (BBC)

She says: "The mystery house is everything and more, I couldn't have wished for a more perfect setting. I really want the house, I really want to put an offer in that they'll find acceptable. I had hoped to be mortgage free and I won't, but I'm going to try to get the money together and make an offer."

Alistair sums up the week's house hunting to perfection, saying: "It's a very big move, big budget, high stakes, and there were times when I thought we'd lost Annie, that it was too far away from Walton-on-Thames, too big a move. But then she and Sophie were on the cliff and it was like all their reservations disappeared, and I think that's magic, there is something magical about Pembrokeshire."

But the property search ends in heartbreak for Annie, as the clifftop house that cast a spell on her disappeared - while she was in the process of making an offer for it, it was released onto the market and such was the interest the vendors decided to hold out for a higher offer, which ruled Annie out.

Annie is feeling the Pembrokeshire magic and wants to put an offer in on the mystery house (BBC)
The house, which has featured on WalesOnline, has a new owner now, but is it Annie? (BBC)

House hunting in one of the UK's most beautiful counties during a pandemic where the average house price in all areas of Wales increased to record levels left Annie without her dream home escape to the country.

This story appears in BBC's Escape to the Country series 21, episode 14 currently available to view on iPlayer. And don't miss the best dream homes in Wales, auction properties, renovation stories, and interiors - join the Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter , sent to your inbox twice a week.

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