A couple looking for their dream home on the Gower for retirement secured a "handsome" property - but it wasn't exactly where they expected to be. From its sandy bays, beautiful woodlands, and historic castles, locals know well the outstanding beauty the Gower has to offer. In fact, it was the first area to be named an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the UK.
This week on Escape to the Country, Alistair Appleton headed there with the couple to help them move one step closer to their dream of a new life. Alistair was showing Leela and Peter from Epping, Essex, around the peninsula, 15 years after they’d been in the area together.
The keen golfers, who lived on a flight path in Essex near Stansted Airport, were eager to get away from the noise to the place where they had spent summers with their children, having picnics on the beach and playing in the sand. As Alistair showed the pair around during a sunny week in July last year, the area was looking its best, with Mumbles, Three Cliffs Bay, and Cefn Bryn all making an appearance in the episode. You can get more Swansea news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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“I’ve always wanted to come back to the Gower because it’s reall,y really beautiful, but I’ve never been able to afford to make that move” said Leela. With a budget of up to £500,000 to buy their dream home, the pair were looking for a detached, three-bedroom property with a large garden, sea views, and holiday let potential.
The great-grandparents started their search in Wernffrwd on the edge of Llanrhidian Marsh, with a house that they’d already looked at online. The couple said the detached, 1980s property’s location was “perfect.”
With three ground floor reception rooms, Leela described the property as “beautiful.” In addition, the house offered a kitchen-breakfast room and a garden with a patio. Upstairs, there were a whopping five bedrooms, with the main bedroom offering views over the garden and Loughor Estuary.
“I can’t get over how big the bedrooms are,” Leela said. There was also a converted loft space with skylights and an arch window. “There’s five bedrooms, they [the great grandchildren] can all have a room each when they come over,” Leela continued.
While Leela said the garden was not the size she was looking for, she said she was “very happy with the house, which was on the market at a reduced price of £459,000 - below the couple’s estimates of £480-£495,000.
“I think the great-grandkids would love to come down here in the summer holidays for two, or three, or four weeks,” said Peter, who added that he “loved every bit of [the property].” The Gower was looking its best in the programme, with the couple visiting Port Eynon and Cefn Bryn during the sunny week. “It’s reinforced that we are making the right decision,” Leela said as the couple met blogger Chris Knight for a trip to the natural beauty spot.
For the second property, Alistair took the pair to Pontarddulais, leaving the Gower behind. Here, they viewed an “impressive” property built in the 1990s by the vendor's parents. “I could certainly see me cooking Sunday dinner in here,” Peter said of the property’s spacious kitchen-diner, while Leela said she was “stunned” by the house.
The house also offered a utility, dedicated dining room, three bathrooms, and four bedrooms, with a “generous” landing and hallway featuring bespoke ash carpentry. There was also a detached garage with an attached workshop, as well as a mid-sized garden.
Guessing the price of the property, Leela said: “Top of our budget - £499,000,” with Peter estimating £495,000 - which is exactly what the property was priced at. “This will give us something to think about,” Peter said of the property, which was located a 30 minute drive away from the Gower Peninsula.
“If we decide this is the house we want, then the location won’t stop us going for it,” Peter said. “Where we live at the moment, to get a house like this you’re paying well into the millions.”
Leela added: “It’s something I thought was beyond me ever being in the position to afford or to live in, so to actually see something like that and experience that, you know, words fail me and that doesn’t happen very often. So, I’m in a dilemma now because I wanted to be on the Gower.”
The couple still had the mystery house to look at, this time in Pwll, Carmarthenshire. Heading outside of the Gower yet again, the mystery house was located on the opposite side of the Loughor Estuary to the first property, offering “gorgeous” views over the water.
The property even had a holiday annex, leaving Leela giggling with happiness when Alistair told them. Upon entering the property, Leela was overwhelmed - so much so that she became emotional, with Peter telling her to take “deep breaths.”
“It’s unbelievable, it’s just got better and better and better,” she said. “I’m just blown away, honestly. Just magnificent.” The top floor of the house had the first of six bedrooms. The huge suite had a bathroom and living area with gorgeous views over the estuary. At ground floor level were four guest bedrooms, one of which had access to a balcony and an ensuite.
“It’s just beyond words. It’s out of the world I’d say, out of this world,” Leela said. She was also impressed by the “wonderful” view offered by the balcony. On top of this, the property offered a self-contained annex with a studio bedroom. A “surprise bonus” was a home gym and cinema room that was incorporated into the property, leaving Leela “speechless” once more.
The patio-style courtyard outside offered a bar, hot tub and a barbecue area. But this left Alistair wondering whether Leela would be happy to forgo her vegetable patch - something she’d spoken about wanting space for in a potential property.
“I know there’s no garden, but you have to compromise. I’ll have to grow veggie boxes instead,” she said. Peter estimated that the property would cost £475,000 while Leela suggested top of the budget at £500,000. But Alistair revealed that the six-bedroom property was over-budget at £550,000. Peter said the view was “to die for,” but that the house was “difficult to maintain” and was unsure whether it would work for him.
Leela, however, said it was “everything [she] could possibly dream of” and could see them living in the property, though she was unsure if she and Peter were “on the same page.”
When it came down to making a decision, Peter told Alistair that he could “see [him]self living in either” the Pontarddulais house or the Wernffrwd property. “I like the mansion I call that one [the Pontarddulais property]. It really, really was great,” Leela said. “I think I want to be on the Gower but what I realised was that if we want to be there we have to up our budget.
“You showed us that moving away a little bit more, you can get more for your money. With the mystery house, we weren’t on the Gower, but we had the views of the Gower.”
Pete added: “Even if we don’t go for one of those, this trip has convinced me absolutely that Leela’s right - the Gower, or very close to the Gower, is where we want to be.” Leela said that their next step would to be to think about renting for a while to “explore the area properly and then make an informed choice.” She added: “We will definitely be in Wales.”
But, Alistair revealed that the next day, Peter and Leela put in an offer on the “handsome house” in Pontarddulais, which was accepted. The couple were said to be “happily living out their South Wales retirement dream there.”
