VOICEOVER (VO): It's the nation's favorite antiques experts!

Yes, a good weight.

(SNIFFS) And it smells.

- (HORN HONKS) - VO: Oop, steady!

Behind the wheel of a classic car.

Good morning, my lady.

Good morning, Parker.

And a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

- Whoopsie!

- Come on!

The aim, to make the biggest profit at auction.

- (GASPS) - But it's no mean feat.

- (LAUGHS) - There'll be worthy winners... - (CHEERS) - ..and valiant losers.

(SOBS) Will it be the high road to glory...

It's about winning.

- ..or the low road to disaster?

- Whoa!

Pothole!

This is the Antiques Road Trip!

Yee-ha!

- Balmer's world.

- Balmer's world.

Just look at it!

Look at this, Balmer.

- I can... - This beauty!

You have been forged in a very beautiful landscape.

VO: Yep, Road Trip companions James Braxton and Izzie Balmer are out in their fabulous 1978 MGB, and enjoying the ups and downs of Izzie's native Derbyshire, where James is keen to fit in.

If I went into a shop, how would I address the person?

You will be addressed as a duck, or a love, or a ducky, so... You know, "Thanks..." Especially after a "thank you".

"Thanks, duck."

"Thanks, lovey."

"You alright, duck?"

"You alright, love?"

Aww, that's really nice!

So they're open people in Derbyshire?

- Yeah!

- Smiley, lovely people.

Well, you met me?

(LAUGHS) I have.

VO: Our auctioneering duo set forth from Woodbridge, and have meandered around the B roads of East Anglia and then headed inland and north on their way to a final auction in Lincoln.

What a trip!

So blow me down, ducky.

You've overtaken me, haven't you?

(SHE CHUCKLES) James, I won!

I won, I won, I won!

You see, I thought we'd get this.

General crowing.

VO: Having both started with £200, James slipped a gear last time but still begins his last leg with a healthy £355.88... ..while Izzie pipped him at the post last time, and is now out in front with £365.02 at her disposal.

A lead of just under £10.

Exciting!

What would a wee ducky laddie... What would he buy in Derbyshire?

So, you've got Derbyshire, you've got blue john.

- And it's the only place... - Who's Blue John?

- ..in the world.

- Who's John?

- It's a gemstone.

- Who's John?

It's blue john, it's the... Do you mean Derbyshire feldspar?

- That one?

- Yes.

I want to be like you, Izzie, and buy low, sell high.

But that...

I only... You taught me that!

Well, it seems to be gone.

My mojo has gone.

VO: Time for some yoga.

(LAUGHS) Just think about your core.

VO: Have you seen my downward-facing dog?

- Push that tummy out.

- And I could be doing...

Yes.

OK, push the tummy out.

OK, I could do that.

VO: Ah, that's better.

Namaste.

En route through Derbyshire to that last auction in Lincoln, Izzie and James's first stop is the village of Heanor in the Amber Valley.

An ancient settlement worth £41 and fourpence, as recorded in the Domesday Book.

Ha!

James and Izzie's pockets are jingling with 21st-century riches, and they're off to spend them this morning at Heanor Antiques.

Look at this.

I'm really excited.

I'm really excited.

Now remember, you've got to spend up.

- I'm gonna spend up!

- Are you?

- Are you spending up?

- You promise?

I will do my very best.

I shall endeavor.

Endeavor?

- Yes.

- I...

It doesn't sound very committed.

He's off already!

VO: This place is enormous, so there's loads to see and they're not likely to bump into each other any time soon.

And I've no idea why she's playing about with that guitar when there's this amount of stuff to trawl through.

Time to get serious, girl.

(EXHALES DEEPLY) Just look at that.

I've just discovered an entire cabinet of blue john.

And, as sad as this is, I have got butterflies in my stomach.

I mean, just... Oh, just look at it!

(CHUCKLES) VO: Hmm, steady.

How on Earth am I going to decide which one piece to buy?

I mean, this is me - how am I gonna make a decision?

VO: Oh dear, Miss Indecisive is back.

I wondered where she'd gone.

Dave, I've got a serious case of indecision going on.

I mean, I quite like these earrings.

Dave, I also like this one.

I like that gorgeous piece of blue john here.

Look at that one!

Right, I need to stop.

Right, Dave, I need to make a decision.

I mean... Oh, my goodness me!

Sorry, sorry.

DAVE: You should have gone on a decision-making course, I think.

VO: Poor Dave.

I've just seen this one.

When I say "I've just", I got a bit overwhelmed.

But I love it.

I mean, it's just a beautiful piece of blue john, and it's Victorian.

It's in a classic style, where you've got this rub-over setting, and our rope twists around here.

I mean, I just cannot wax lyrical about how typically Victorian it is.

VO: The ticket price is £69 - Dave's off to call the dealer.

I can't make a decision.

VO: Do you know, we'd noticed.

Er... £50.

£50 for the Victorian blue-john brooch?

That seems really fair to me.

VO: While Izzie considers her blue-john dilemma, how's Mr Braxton dealing with the considerable acreage of this establishment, presided over by Jane?

This is one of the biggest antiques centers I've ever been to.

JANE: Well, it's built on four levels... - Four levels.

- ..which are disguised.

And there's 250 traders in here.

Are they graded accordingly?

Do you start in the basement?

Yes.

Yeah, the naughty ones end up on the top.

The naughty ones on the top.

Like the back of the class.

I know you antique dealers - you like to keep things aside.

Have you got anything aside, Jane?

Er, yeah, I've got a couple of bits that I could show you in the office, yeah.

Oh, go on, lead me to the... Where's your office?

- Just here!

- Come on, I'll sneak round.

Don't tell Izzie, OK?

Ooh!

VO: She's miles away, and seems to have found something else.

Dave, it's a silver toast rack.

It's Sheffield, 1943.

So it's got some age to it.

You do see a lot of toast racks sort of - made in the '30s and the '40s.

- Yep.

I think that must have been the time that ladies had their breakfast in bed whilst the men went downstairs to read the newspaper.

But I don't know - there is just something very luxurious about this.

However, Dave, I have an issue with the price.

- I'm gonna be honest.

- Yeah.

£72, far too much for me.

Erm, I would need absolute...

I mean, really rock-bottom price.

- Rock bottom, yeah.

- I'll just put it out there.

If this could be £40, that could be a deal.

I'll go and see what I can do for you.

- Thank you very much.

- You're welcome.

VO: Not so indecisive there.

Must just be blue john that goes to her head.

Jane, show me your goodies.

What have you got?

Now, what's stashed away in Jane's office?

- Right, I've got a... - The bargains have begun!

It's a print, but it was originally done in pen and ink.

A Georgian one called The Bustle.

So that's a sort of... One of those rather fun fashion prints, isn't it?

Yes, it would have gone in a newspaper.

But it looks cartoon, so you've got... - Yeah, it's... - ..a rather sort of - poor, ugly lady here.

- Yeah, I think this is the artist on here, look.

- It's got a... - It's a nice piece.

How much is something like that?

That one, I've got on at 45.

Look at the corsets.

Yeah.

Painful.

(LAUGHS) I don't think I could... Oh, I couldn't squeeze into that.

Right, OK, that's food for thought.

Then I've got a couple of newspapers here.

Well, newspapers - normally they're commemorating things like VE Day or royal weddings, aren't they?

How old are these ones?

Yeah, these ones are dated 1794.

- Well, that's quite... - So they're very old, yeah.

That's quite old, isn't it?

And you've got a Nottingham Journal.

That's older than most countries, Jane.

Nottingham... Yeah, Nottingham Journal, Lincoln, Rutland and Stamford Mercury.

Hey, we're going to Lincoln.

Oh!

That sounds good.

- Yeah.

- That's good, isn't it?

- Yes.

- But even... 1794.

Amazing, something from 1794.

Amazing to have survived.

But they were all wrapped up in here.

"Wanted in a private family, "an active steady woman "in the capacity of housekeeper and cook, "who will have a servant under her."

There you go.

VO: Ah.

Meanwhile, how's Izzie's man Dave getting on with the price on that toast rack?

- Hello!

- Hi there.

Got very close.

- What did you do?

- 45.

Well, you only live once, Dave, and I've been looking for a toast rack all road trip, - so let's do it!

- Great, OK.

This is the most indecisive I've been... No, decisive, this is the most decisive I've been.

VO: She can't even decide if she's being indecisive.

Blue john or bust, I say.

None of the brooches that I've bought...

I don't think any of them have made me any money.

I think I've lost on every single one... ..which I know kind of isn't the name of the game, but...

I kind of don't care.

VO: Hmm...

The rest of us have reached that stage too.

- Thank you very much.

- I'll get you some money.

That's £95 to Dave, who can now go and lie in a darkened room, and Izzie's work here is done.

How's James getting on haggling over the headlines of the 1790s?

They're quite nice, aren't they?

£30, the lot?

£30 the lot.

And how many are you getting for that?

Five for £30.

Five for £30... Five for £20.

- Go on, then.

- Come on, Jane!

Well done.

I'm tempted by The Bustle as well.

I like that.

The more I look, the more I like that.

Could I squeeze you on that, Jane?

What could you do?

30?

25?

- (SIGHS) - You sound... Go on, then!

VO: Good examples there of early publishing.

Interesting choices, James.

Well, I make that 45.

Excellent.

There we are.

VO: He looks very chuffed anyway!

Izzie's on a journey back to the age of steam now, a few miles north of Butterley, near Ripley, home to the Swanwick Junction Museum Complex.

She's meeting Kate Watts from the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust.

- Hello, Izzie!

- Hi, Kate!

- Aye-aye.

- What a spectacular entrance!

I know.

It's beautiful, isn't it!

The Trust's West Shed houses lovingly restored steam locomotives and carriages, and Kate's going to show Izzie a saloon car with quite a story to tell.

Right, well, it was built in 1920 for the chairman of the London and North Western Railway Company.

It's got two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, lounge and dining room.

So this was a state-of-the-art train carriage?

It definitely was, yes.

It was almost like a private jet, so very sort of prestigious and showing the wealth and power of the important railway officials of the time.

VO: This saloon car speaks of wealth and style, decked out in the finest fashionable art-deco fixtures and fittings money could buy in the 1920s, and put at the disposal of royalty and other VIPs.

It's very luxurious, isn't it?

It certainly is.

You've got the lovely art-deco-style light fittings on the ceiling.

Nice.

And the inlaid marquetry on the wood paneling.

And then the hand-carved floral decorations as well.

There is another story to Carriage 45000, however.

She has a very distinguished war record.

Well, this carriage may have been one of the carriages used on a very special and top-secret-at-the-time train used by Winston Churchill in the Second World War, specifically the days leading up to the D-day invasions in June 1944.

We know that he definitely traveled on a very special train from London down to Droxford, a quiet country station in Hampshire, near the South Coast and Portsmouth.

This was also very close to Southwick House, where General Eisenhower, the supreme allied commander, was based, and where all the very momentous decisions and planning was taking place for the D-day invasions.

That's incredible!

So the turning point of World War II may well have been planned in this very carriage.

VO: The Trust acquired the carriage in 2003, and have painstakingly recreated how these quarters might have looked in June 1944, as Churchill and allied leaders gathered and the longest day unfolded.

Why was Winston Churchill aboard a train, rather than in the war office in London?

He'd actually expressed a wish to be witnessing the invasions on the deck of HMS Belfast, the flagship of the naval fleet.

When he said that, the king, King George, he said he would like to be there as well.

And obviously, the thought of having the monarch and the prime minister together in the same place at the same time, during such a potentially dangerous episode, obviously horrified members of the government.

So Winston Churchill was made, reluctantly, to back down from that plan.

So being on a train, near to the action, near to Portsmouth, where all the naval preparations were taking place, was sort of like a consolation prize, that he could at least be close-ish to the action, even if he wasn't in the middle of it.

(WHISTLE) VO: Churchill's carriage won't be going on any missions today, but the 16.24 from Swanwick Junction is on time, and Izzie and Kate are hopping on.

Kate, this is epic!

On a moving steam locomotive!

But what happened to the carriage after the war?

Right, well, it had a long working life, right up until 1989.

It was used by Winston Churchill in his election campaign in 1951.

But then it became increasingly used by various members of the royal family.

It was used by the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles - the list goes on.

So it was...

It really had a long life with lots of important people using it, until it was withdrawn from service.

And full steam ahead for James as he takes the road south to Belper, where they're hard as nails!

Some 500 workshops were manufacturing nails here by the late 1700s, to meet demand from the new mills of the Industrial Revolution.

And James is off to the former Unity Mill, now housing Derwentside Home Centre and Antiques.

- Hello!

- Hello!

- James.

- Caroline.

Nice to meet you.

- Very good to meet you.

- Welcome to Derwentside Mill.

Caroline, can I have a look round?

It's our pleasure for you to do so.

- And what... - If you need a hand with anything, just give me a shout.

VO: Lots of stalls here on several floors, offering a huge stock of antique, vintage, retro and architectural salvage.

So, what have we got here?

We've got... Oh, this is rather interesting.

We've got a fire surround.

And I see £15 here, £15 here.

These are the two jambs, so these are the uprights that would go either side of a fireplace.

That's rather tempting.

Somebody's paint... Somebody's painted this all white.

Originally black slate.

And then we've got a nice bit of marble here.

Rather nice inset here.

And that seems rather cheap, £15 each.

But it may be cheap because, you know, there are constituent parts to a fire surround.

And I think I'm gonna have to find out what we've got here.

So I'm just gonna lay this down here.

That's that one.

And then I'm gonna pick up this one.

This looks intact as well.

So they're the important ones.

They're the ones you look at, really.

This is a blackened face.

That's probably... maybe the front.

And then we're gonna put that on top.

They're both the same measurement, and there's a lot you can do with plaster of Paris.

Quite out of breath - it is heavy.

If you can get that for around £25, £30, that seems rather cheap.

Caroline.

- Yes.

- Help, help.

- How can we help?

- Help!

I rather like this.

We've got this fire surround.

It's been all white painted, and I was thinking, you know, 25 quid?

Ooh, no, no, no, no, no, no.

- No?

- No, no!

- What could you do... - Way too low.

What could you do on that, Caroline?

Erm...

I was thinking more of 40.

Steady!

Steady, Caroline!

Tell you what - I'll strike a deal with you.

30.

£30, put it there.

No, no, no.

It's no, no... Come on!

No?

What are you doing?

Come on!

- 37?

- 35.

My final.

Come on.

- Go on, then.

- Your mother taught you well.

- She certainly did.

- Oh!

Dear, oh dear.

VO: Caroline wasn't giving an Ashbourne-slate fire surround away for nothing!

Pay up, James!

I feel slightly wrung out now, Caroline.

I feel slightly exhausted.

God, I hope it makes a profit, Caroline.

I'm sure it will.

If it doesn't, I'm gonna write a strong letter!

(GASPS) Oh!

Oh, there's nothing like a strong letter.

VO: Keep the green ink on standby.

Ha!

And with today's purchases stowed, and Izzie duly collected, they're off to dinner.

What might be on the menu tonight?

I mean, it's got to be the Bakewell pudding, James.

Bakewell pudding, Bakewell tart.

JAMES: A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.

IZZIE: I mean, speak for yourself, James.

I've got, I've got snake-like hips.

VO: James Braxton, AKA Elvis.

Aha.

Nighty-night.

It's a fine morning in the Peak District, and Gina Lollobrigida is back behind the wheel.

One moment, I'm sitting next to Izzie Balmer.

Next, I'm sitting next to a very passable lookalike of Her Majesty the Queen.

VO: Oh, he is rotten.

He-he!

I don't know whether to call you Izzie or ma'am!

(LAUGHS) I will respond to either!

(THEY CHUCKLE) VO: She's almost too good natured, isn't she?

But then, maybe she can afford to be.

Last day of shopping today, James.

I know.

A lot hinges on this.

A lot does hinge.

Either you're gonna come out on top, or I'm gonna come out on top.

I know, you're leading.

VO: Yesterday she was thrilled with the purchase of some blue john.

Oh, just look at it!

And after also buying a toast rack, she has £270.02 left to spend... - Thank you very much.

- You're welcome.

..while James fancied some 200-year-old newspapers... That's older than most countries.

Nottingham.

Yeah.

..and also shelled out for a lithograph and a slate fire surround, as you do...

I feel slightly wrung out now, Caroline.

I feel slightly exhausted.

..leaving him with a budget of £275.88.

And on they go to journey's end.

I do love driving this car.

I think it's made for you.

I think it's made for me!

- You look very fine in it... - I mean... - ..Your Majesty.

- (LAUGHS) Time to dump that charmer for a while, eh?

Izzie's bound to the northern end of Dovedale, and the lovely village of Hartington, where she's off to see what she can unearth at the very classy-sounding Dauphin Antiques.

- Jan!

- Hi!

Hi, Izzie!

- Yes, I'm Izzie.

- Hi.

Pleased to meet you.

You also!

VO: What a splendid array of stuff!

That's... Henry VIII?

(SHE CHUCKLES) Ho-ho-ho.

- Santa Claus?

- Ho-ho-ho, ho-ho-ho.

VO: James Braxton?

(LAUGHS) Ooh!

Ooh.

Um...

This is really beautiful, actually.

So I would say it's a 17th or 18th-century mixing bowl.

Probably made out of a fruitwood.

And it's all hand-carved.

You can see, like, the chiseled effect here.

It has had some woodworm, but it's all been treated.

The age of this is staggering.

This may well have been around during the Great Fire of London in 1666.

This is something that actually is within my price limit.

It's priced at £80.

I mean, personally, I just want to hand over £80 right now.

VO: Crazy talk!

Go on, at least finish looking round.

It's a 17th-century pestle and mortar.

It's bronze - I can tell this straightaway, A, by the color, B, by the weight, and C, because it's absolutely freezing cold and isn't warming up to my touch.

This could have been used by a herbalist or an apothecary to grind up the medication and the herbs that they used to put in the masks for the Black Death, to ward off the evil spirits that they believed it was caused by.

It's got some really naive carving on the front, which has been worn down over time.

It's priced at £60.

Again, to me, that seems very reasonable, cos this is hundreds of years old.

But I'm not gonna tell Jan that, and I'm going to see if I can get a better price on it.

Jan...

I'm hoping you haven't just been listening to what I've been saying.

- Not at all.

- (THEY CHUCKLE) Erm, this is priced at £60.

What could it be?

45.

Thank you very much.

I shall have a little think.

There was just one more item that I wanted to go and have a look at, and then I promise I will come to a decision.

Well, I've discovered some chairs.

VO: She always does.

And not just one, but two!

My luck with chairs has been dwindling, and I'm still devastated that my gorgeous Suffolk armchair made a small loss.

But, I mean, I can't finish this Road Trip without buying another chair, can I?

And what better way to finish than by buying two?

What would be, for a Derbyshire girl, the absolute very best you could do on these?

Well, I do want you to win.

40?

£40!

I mean, I'm just going to say "deal", here and now.

Thank you very much!

- Lovely, thank you.

- Thank you.

I got my chairs!

(CHUCKLES) I got two chairs!

The only problem is, I need to decide on what else I'm going to buy.

The bowl?

Or the pestle and mortar?

In a rare moment of decision-making and spontaneity, I'm gonna get both!

So I'm gonna buy all three items from Jan, and then I don't have to make a decision.

VO: What kind of bulk discount can Jan offer?

45 on the pestle and mortar, 40 on the chairs and 40 on the mixing bowl.

VO: That's generous.

Don't bite her hand off.

OK, so I make that 125.

VO: Correct.

Now, be off with you, before she changes her mind.

I think I've absolutely aced it.

So, I'm gonna go and see if I can find some local delicacies to celebrate.

VO: Sounds good.

Meanwhile, the first stop for James today is 20 miles south-west to the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO Heritage site.

And the village of Cromford, where the Industrial Revolution took a leap forward.

The Arkwright Society's head of heritage, Hannah Steggles, explains how this mill developed in the late 18th century, mechanizing cotton production.

So you had a supply-and-demand issue where the weavers were able to weave their cloth a lot quicker than the spinners could spin the thread for it.

- Ah!

- So lots of people in the mid 18th century were trying to mechanize cotton spinning.

There was a huge demand for spun cotton.

So the weavers were ahead of the spinners?

Absolutely, which was the essence of the Industrial Revolution.

Somebody improves the process somewhere, somebody else has to do something to catch up with it.

That's where you hear the name Richard Arkwright.

He stepped into that gap and came up with what became known as the water frame.

The water frame.

So the water frame produced strong yarn?

It did.

It produced strong yarn.

And the other advantage over Hargreaves' spinning jenny was that it was really simple to use.

So you could employ unskilled labor like women and children, who were nice and cheap to employ in your factory.

VO: The son of a Preston tailor, Richard Arkwright was originally apprenticed to a barber and wig-maker before revealing his talent for invention.

That time in Lancashire, lots of people were trying to create a machine to spin cotton, so Arkwright became aware of this as a potentially profitable idea.

He was interested in machinery, and he had a very fortunate meeting with a gentleman clockmaker called John Kay, who was also trying to develop a cotton-spinning machine.

Arkwright and Kay developed a horse-powered machine before falling out.

It was Arkwright who saw the possibilities of creating bigger machines by harnessing the power of water.

HANNAH: So Arkwright came to Cromford because he had an area of land that he could lease to build his mill on, but most importantly, had the water rights to two sources of water - the Bonsall Brook, which is just in front of us, and also the Cromford Sough.

Sadly, it doesn't flow into the mill any more today, but it was the water channel from the lead mines.

So it flowed underground, which provided him with a constant supply of water all year round, because allegedly it never froze.

VO: Having secured backing for his scheme, the five-story mill at Cromford opened in 1772, running 24 hours a day.

HANNAH: You can see there's ball bobbins along the front of this machine.

By the time Arkwright had finished perfecting his machine, they were 24 bobbins wide.

They came back-to-back, so they were 48 bobbins, and they always came as a pair.

So you had 96 bobbins on a water frame spinning cotton at any one time.

- So hugely impressive.

- Wow!

But essentially, you had one sort of main overseer overlooking the whole machine, rather than one lady spinning on a spinning wheel at home, and just producing one spindle worth of cotton at a time.

The success of his early production line made Arkwright very rich, holding shares in 100 other mills in Britain and abroad.

His achievements were recognized in high places.

He was knighted by the king in 1786, and became Sir Richard Arkwright.

So he did tremendously well for himself.

And did his fellow aristocrats welcome him?

Not so much, no.

I think his sort of common Lancashire accent and his less-than-fashionable clothing set him aside from the rest of the gentry.

And so apparently, they were sniggering as he went and got his knighthood.

But he responded in possibly the best way he could have done, by saying, "Well, can you pay off the national debt?

"No?

Well, I can!"

And he'd made that amount of fortune from everything he had achieved with his cotton-spinning empire.

So it's a real rags-to-riches story, isn't it?

It really is.

He actually died the richest commoner in the whole of the country, and was allegedly worth about half a million at the time of his death, which is obviously considerably more now.

VO: Arkwright died in 1792, but his mill produced cotton for 70 years, and the buildings survive now as a monument to a pioneer of Britain's industrialization, and those who toiled in its workplaces.

Back now to our very own Miss Moneybags, who's still in Hartington, deviating from antiques shops to artisan food shops.

Oh yes.

Would you like to try a bit of Stilton?

Ooh, yes please.

I'll give you a taste of the Dovedale Blue as well.

This one's got a creamy texture.

Mm!

VO: A Derbyshire treat in the bag, then.

But she doesn't seem to be done with the local fare yet.

I've got a friend and he's never had a Bakewell pudding.

Really, never?

An original Bakewell pudding?

- An original Bakewell pudding.

- Wow!

So he's had Bakewell tart and he's convinced - that that's the best.

- No, completely different.

VO: The pudding is made with puff pastry and filled with an egg-and-almond paste.

Nom!

So good.

VO: Buon appetito, as they probably say in Derbyshire.

Ha!

And while Izzie's been stocking her larder, James has made his way to his last shop of the day, and indeed this trip!

The final emporium is in Matlock, once one of several spa towns in the Peak District.

And James will be calling at Matlock Antiques and Collectables Centre.

70 dealers trading over three floors - a busy place with lots to look at.

- Hello.

James.

- Steve.

- Good to meet you, Steve.

- And you too.

What have we got here?

Er, well, you've got, like, a mantle clock, - probably Edwardian.

- Yeah.

- Can I have this out?

- Certainly.

What a great shape, isn't it?

It's very sort of flower shaped, very much of the period, isn't it?

So we've got gilt-metal bun feet.

What's the movement like?

Well, it's nice condition.

Lovely blued steel in there, isn't it?

It's a reasonably good runner.

Obviously, they need to settle.

You know, if you move 'em about - too much... - Yeah, I know.

I know.

As soon as you look at a clock, generally, it stops, doesn't it?

Yeah, they like to...

They like a nice home.

And probably, steady, quite flat, even.

- Yeah.

- You know, if you start moving them about a bit, they get upset.

VO: A bit like James.

Also, I'm quite interested in this.

This is rather fun.

I remember selling a big collection of these.

And we used to call these gems.

Right.

I think it was a sort of cottage industry, probably in Birmingham, which made these souvenir ware.

And it was to do with sort of scenes, local scenes.

That's rather fun.

Parliament houses, instead of Houses Of Parliament.

And they were slightly glittery.

That's got some merit.

What sort of price have you got on it?

I think we've got 45 on it, James.

Yeah... And then you've got your clock there.

And what sort of price could that be?

Erm... what price have we got on that one?

It's... 145, I believe.

I could do that for 110.

110.

If you're gonna buy a clock, you want to buy something different.

- Definitely.

- Could you do 85 on it?

- On the clock?

- Yeah.

Erm...

I could do 95.

95.

And the gem?

Could you do that at 30?

Er... no.

I couldn't do the gem at 30.

I could do that at... 35, on the gem.

35 on the gem.

I'll tell you what, Steve - I'll give you 35 on the gem, but I'll give you 90 on that.

Could you do 90?

We've got a deal.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you.

No, I'm really pleased with that.

Two very stylish lots.

So that's 90, 35 - I make that 125.

VO: So do I.

Your carriage awaits.

And what have we learned today?

JAMES: This is where the Industrial Revolution was happening.

Not in London.

Here.

- Up in the Midlands!

- Up in the Midlands!

All the excitement in the Midlands!

- Lizzie.

Izzie.

Izzie.

- (LAUGHS) James!

How long have you spent with me?!

Which is Elizabeth, the Queen.

No, it's Elizabeth the queen.

Lizzie.

- You see?

- That was a good save!

It is!

It's having an effect on me.

Your Majesty.

Sorry.

How are the horses?

VO: Home, James!

And don't spare those horses!

See you after some shuteye, you two petals.

The sun is shining on the beautiful and historic cathedral city of Lincoln this morning, and this is the last destination on James and Izzie's trip.

They're headed to auctioneers Golding Young & Mawer for a final reckoning.

And very nice it'll be too.

- Last auction, James.

- Well, best of luck, Izzie.

You also.

Not too much, though.

I'll need it.

The denizens of this ancient place are out in force today, which bodes well for our rivals.

James parted with £205 for five lots.

This is lovely.

It's just ever so elegant, really.

It's a bit like James.

I can see why he's gone for this.

He's a man of quality and taste, and he's picked an elegant timepiece.

Although I don't think his waistline is quite like this.

(LAUGHS) Um...

But I do really like that.

Izzie, meanwhile, spent £220 on her five lots.

Seek, and thou shalt find.

Izzie, the Derbyshire girl, she went back home, and she was keen to find a bit of blue john.

She found it, but in a brooch.

Now, I've cautioned Izzie before about buying brooches, but I'm in no position to caution anybody at the moment.

I am trailing, so I'd better keep it shtoom.

VO: Let's ask the very, very nice auctioneer Colin Young what he thinks.

It would be unfair to say that the slate fire surround is my least favorite, because it isn't even a favorite.

VO: Ouch.

Well, the pestle and mortar is quite good.

When it comes to the quality, there's more to this than meets the eye.

Nice design round the side.

There's a good saying - "bought well is half sold".

So, it's all gonna come down to one thing.

How much did they pay for it?

Quite.

Now, while Colin gets his gavel, James and Izzie can take their seats.

(SNIFFS) What's that, smell of sweaty feet?

You gonna have cheese first and then pudding, or pudding first and then cheese?

Well... Goodness sake, we're British, aren't we?

(LAUGHS) Dear, oh dear.

What's happening to this erosion of our life?

Cheers, thank you.

Cheers.

Are you converted from a tart to a pudding?

I'm a pudding man from now on.

Ah, a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips, eh?

On with the auction, and first up is James's mahogany-and-metal timepiece.

80, 50 to go then surely... Ah, look at it, it's gorgeous.

55 now.

At 55... 50?

£50.

55, bid 60 now.

I took the room first.

55, 60, five.

65, 70 now.

Any more bid?

70 bid.

75 now.

75, let's keep going.

- James.

- 75.

80, and five now.

No, that was a definite no.

Any more bids?

Last call for the art-nouveau, then.

Selling in the room at £80... (GAVEL) I'm trying to think of a timepiece-related pun.

Timepiece... My... Y-Your...

Your time is up, I would say.

Your time is up!

VO: Not looking good.

Well, it's early days.

I warned you at the very, very start of that first auction, when you were leaping ahead - I said you were the hare and I was the tortoise.

Tortoise, yeah.

Well... VO: Don't get too cocky, missy.

There's a long way to go.

Let's see how her aged fruitwood bowl does, then.

10 is bid, 10 a bid... - £10.

- 15 bid, 18 now.

What?!

Too much, too much, already.

28 bid, 30 bid.

But it's lovely, James!

It's lovely.

He's working up.

At £30 bid.

It's online here, then.

Oh, James, it's looking like a loss.

It's alright, you're fine.

Two now for the room, then.

Hammer's up at £30, and I'm gonna sell, make no mistake, at £30... (GAVEL) (SHE SIGHS) Well that was disappointing, James.

- It was beautiful!

- Was it?

It was a lovely bowl.

I'm trying not... - I'm not smiling.

- (LAUGHS) VO: Both £10 down, then.

Dear, oh dear.

It was a bargain.

Bargain.

Well, that's what auctions are about.

It's all about the bargain.

1798!

Read all about it!

James's historical newspapers are next under the hammer.

£20, some good historic stuff in there.

£20.

Alright, halve it, 15.

(LAUGHS) Halve it?

- That's interesting maths.

- Good, you are listening!

£15.

£10.

10!

Now, in my position I can't.

Can you please bid?

Can I bid for you?

12 though, surely.

At 10, 12 now do I see?

I would've thought the internet would be live...

I can't quite bring myself to put my hand up.

..with this history.

I'm surprised.

At 10 bid... 10.

Only 10.

Goes back row at £10... - (GAVEL) - Dear, oh dear.

There is time to pull it back.

Could be.... My road trip could be coming to a close here.

Braxit!

Read all about it!

I thought they were gonna do quite well.

I thought they were.

I'm genuinely surprised.

Time to see how Izzie gets on with her Victorian blue-john brooch.

£40 I'm bid.

At 40 bid, five do I see now?

48, 55...

I need more, I need more.

75 bid, 80 bid, five, 90... (GASPS AND LAUGHS) 95, that's very good.

At 90, don't slow down now.

Don't slow down, no.

(LAUGHS) At £90 I'm bid, I'll offer you two then, if it's gonna help.

- Yes please!

- £90 bid.

Two for anybody else, then?

£90, two.

That's very good, well done.

Bids over here, we're online, the hammer's up... - (GAVEL) - I made a profit!

Well done, well done.

- A brooch that made a profit!

- Well done, well done.

VO: And a goodly one at that.

And it puts her ahead.

Lovely piece.

Well done.

Ah, I'm so chuffed.

Will James's Ashbourne-slate fireplace help him rise from the ashes?

30 to go then, surely.

30, 20.

- £20.

- I mean...

He's still trying to catch the first bidder.

- Yeah.

- It doesn't look good.

- Got to be £10.

- £10?

Do you reckon he'll go down to £5?

That could be an auction, an Antiques Road Trip first for us.

- £5.

- Five, he's going down to five.

- Five.

- £5.

- Oh, there's a bid.

- £5!

- Six now, do I see?

At £5... - Going up in pounds, James!

Only takes one to spark it.

Now we need the fire!

I think this almost sums up my latter part of the road trip.

At £5... Well, that appears... - Started so well.

- ..to be the end of that.

Are we sure?

It's yours.

- (GAVEL) - Before you change your mind.

(LAUGHS) How much was that?

He said, "£5 - it's yours before you change your mind".

Cheeky, cheeky.

VO: Yeah, but funny!

That really was a bit of a disaster, but it looks ghastly.

I feel...

I feel almost slighted, vaguely robbed.

Erm, sorry, I'll try and be a bit more sympathetic.

It is a real shame.

Mm-hm.

VO: Next up is Izzie's silver toast rack.

£50.

Only £10 a slice.

£50.

Alright, bid me 30 to go then, surely.

£30, 30, and 20.

Tenner to go, then.

- Oh!

For a toast rack.

- 10, 10.

Too much.

20 bid, two bid.

Five bid, 28 now.

- At 28... - It'll be alright.

- It's a lovely item.

- Five bid, 38 now.

Standing bid, back of the room has it.

We sell at £38... (GAVEL) Oh dear, has... That should've made at least 40.

Has Izzie Balmer's luck run out?

(GASPS) VO: Not compared to yours, James!

JAMES: How does a tortoise walk?

A sort of... like a swimming motion?

Like that.

Heaving their body.

Is this your best tortoise impression?

It is.

It's one of...

I do many.

I do a very good walrus one as well.

I've seen it when you get out of the car.

- (LAUGHS) - The great sea lion.

VO: Just as well he can boast some other talents today.

Let's see if he can claw back something with his lithograph now.

Start me at £50 for a hustle for The Bustle.

I like his optimistic starting prices.

I know, it does...

He starts...

Yes, he does try.

£20 anybody?

£20 quickly.

£20, 10.

- Surely we can't go any lower.

- Oh, no, there's a bid of 10.

12 now do I see?

10 at the back of the room.

Izzie, I can't bear to look any more.

- I'll do it for you.

- I can't bear to look.

You don't look, and I'll tell you.

- 10 in the room.

- Maiden bid has it.

12 bid.

12.

I'm not finding this as terrible as you.

- Ooh, it's got 20.

- At £20 I'm bid.

£20, that's almost there.

That's a big, good jump.

Sells, then, at 20 in the room... - (GAVEL) - It's still... - Another loss.

- Still a small loss.

VO: Yeah, but it's the fourth one in a row.

Oh, that's a bit disappointing.

It is disappointing.

So I've lost some money there.

They're moving on to Izzie's George III oak-and-elm chairs.

They're beautiful objects, and they've been held together by their stretchers.

They've got amazing amounts of stretchers on them.

50.

£50 bid, 55 now do I see?

At 50 bid, five for everybody else now.

I didn't test them out, actually, to be honest with you.

They look great, but you wouldn't want to sit on them.

- There we are.

- That's scared 'em all off.

Maiden bid has it.

Takes them, then, at £50... - What?

- (GAVEL) - £50.

- Have they just sold...?

They've...

They just sold for 50.

Come on, you've got to concentrate, Izzie.

- They're your lots.

- How did that just happen?

VO: Because you weren't paying attention, that's why!

That was like my swansong, and they've... My last chairs, and they've just gone.

Poof!

VO: Can James save the day with his last lot, the brass tazza with painted gem?

At 30 bid.

Any more now, then?

At £30, I have a maiden bid?

At 30 bid, but it's my only one.

35.

I think I paid more than that.

38 bid, do I see now?

38.

40.

No, I don't think he's done yet.

Two for anybody else now then.

At £40.

Any more now?

Are you sure?

You're finished?

In the second row, then.

We sell then, hammer's up, at £40... - (GAVEL) - Anyway, moving on to the... Am I celebrating or commiserating?

I don't know what to do right now.

VO: Try not to smirk too much - that's the secret.

Another fiver in the old pocket, eh?

It's better than going backwards.

VO: Will it be a complete pounding for James now that Izzie's last lot, the pestle and mortar, are coming up?

£50 I'm bid, five now, do I see?

£50 I'm bid, five now, do I see?

£50 I'm bid.

Five surely?

55, five bid.

60 bid.

Five.

70, five, 80, five, 90, and five.

He's got his hand up.

100, 100 bid, 10 bid.

110 now.

£100!

120, 130.

30 bid now.

30 do I see now?

130 bid, 140 bid, 150 now.

- 140 is bid.

- James.

Standing bid at 140.

50, do I see now, then?

140 in the room, then.

Hammer's up and I will sell.

50, last call.

150 back in.

160 bid.

At... That was a definite no this time.

160, standing bid.

Sells... - (GAVEL) - Well done, Izzie.

Yes!

(LAUGHS) That is very good.

VO: No!

Credit where credit's due - it's excellent!

Even a man not having a full grip of English would understand that you're probably the winner.

Maybe.

(LAUGHS) Maybe, maybe.

VO: Let's go to the counting house and find out!

James gambled on some very interesting purchases and lost money on all but one.

So, after auction costs, the contents of his piggy add up to £277.98.

Novice Izzie stuffed her piggy full and ends up, after saleroom fees, with a big fat £446.78.

And we crown her queen of her inaugural Road Trip!

All final profits go to Children In Need.

It's been great fun, apart from the ritual humiliation of the... - (LAUGHS) - ..last couple of auctions.

But putting that aside... (SHE CHUCKLES) ..I think lunch is beckoning.

- Your treat!

- Your... No, your treat!

- VO: Izzie and James... - (THEY CHUCKLE) ..were well matched.

There was a rocky road... - (THUD) - Why are we...?

Oh!

Brake!

It is helpful.

..and other cake.

Nice firm crust.

You little miracle.

It was a workout... You know, who needs to go to the gym?

Make a pot!

..it was a rollercoaster... - Stop laughing!

- (LAUGHS) For first-timer Izzie, it was the sweet smell of success.

Ooh!

It's like taking Granddad out.

Have I remembered my teeth?

VO: Arrivederci, eh?

Next time... two more fresh-faced experts take to the road.

- Roo!

- Angus!

How are you?

It'll be an epic trip for Angus Ashworth... ..and Roo Irvine... That is delicious.

..kicking off in Northern Ireland.

What a welcome.

Is this especially for me?

- No, no.

- Oh, right.

Thanks.

It'll be a blast!

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