VOICEOVER (VO): It's the nation's favorite antiques experts with £200 each...

I love that.

VO: ..a classic car and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

Yippee!

I can see better with those.

VO: The aim?

To make the biggest profit at auction, but it's no mean feat.

There'll be worthy winners and valiant losers.

Come to have a row.

VO: So will it be the high road to glory or the slow road to disaster?

JAMES: Thanks!

He's just about killed that, hasn't he?

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip!

VO: Yeah!

VO: It's the final leg of our road trip and experts James Lewis and James Braxton are hunting high and low for hidden treasures in their 1983 Beetle convertible in custard yellow.

JAMES LEWIS (JL): Chilly today.

JAMES BRAXTON (JB): New day, new dawn.

JL: Yep.

JB: New dawn, new day.

JL: New cold.

JB: (COUGHS) JB: It's beginning to rain, and we've got no roof.

VO: Where is the roof?

JB: We are roofless.

VO: Roofless or ruthless?

JL: (MIMICS SKEWERING) VO: James Lewis is a seasoned auctioneer and is highly competitive.

He loves a bit of toilet humor, though.

That...is turtle poo.

VO: And can be a bit of a cheeky monkey.

JL: (MAKES MONKEY NOISE) VO: James Braxton has 20 years of experience in auctioneering and loves the rough and tumble of the competition.

Back off, Lewis.

Back off.

VO: Oh, and isn't going down without a fight.

Maybe.

God bless you.

VO: He's had a difficult run, but managed to turn his fortunes round at the last auction.

From his initial £200, old Brackers has now got £306.16 to spend on today's shopping.

VO: James Lewis has been growing, and growing, and growing his £200 winning every auction so far which means that he starts today with a whopping £1022.34!

Bravo.

VO: The route for the week takes our bold boys from Ampthill in Bedfordshire to Jersey and back on to their final destination in Leamington Spa, covering almost 1,000 miles.

Crikey!

VO: Today's trip begins in St Albans before ending up at the auction showdown in Leamington Spa.

VO: 22 miles north of central London lies the historic town of St Albans, better known by school kids up and down the country as Verulamium the largest town in Roman Britain.

JB: Scally Dog's, we're after.

JB: Why would an antique shop name itself Scally Dog?

JL: Unless they're a dog fan.

JB: They could be a dog fan, couldn't they?

VO: But before they can start shopping, there's the slight problem of the Beetle's missing roof and a turn in the weather.

Go on, spring in your step.

JB: Let's get this up.

JL: Oh!

JB: There we are.

No expense spared, is there, in these Beetles?

JB: So if you've got a little toggle, here we are.

Just bend them over, OK?

JL: Right.

JB: Right.

JB: I think we've got it the wrong way round.

VO: Talk about making a meal of it!

Dear oh dear.

JB: Anyway, good luck with your shopping, I'm going over there.

JL: Have fun.

VO: With the car almost watertight, James Lewis's first shop of the day is Scally Dog's Emporium, run by Trev Bradbury and his four-legged friend.

Ah, hello.

TREV: Hi there.

Hello Jim, I'm Trev.

JL: Nice to see you.

And this must be Scally?

TREV: This is Scally, it's his shop.

JL: Hello, Scally.

Aren't you lovely?

VO: Yes, he is!

Now man up, James and get shopping!

Just have a good old sniff of that.

VO: Oh lordy not the fossilized poo routine again.

Recognize it?

VO: Of course I do.

JL: What's the shape like, what do you think?

VO: Brown turtle poo I reckon.

That is a fossilized turtle turd.

VO: There you are, told you so.

Now put your fecal fixation to one side and get shopping!

And wash your hands.

How much is that sovereign case?

JL: It's got to be really cheap with no insides.

JL: Really cheap.

Gimme a tenner.

Let's have a look at it.

JL: From the late 17th century, all the way through until about the 1920s, 30s, any gentleman of standing would carry a pocket watch.

JL: Now, sometimes in the middle, in the middle of the chain where it sags, you would have a little case like that for carrying your sovereigns and half sovereigns.

JL: This one is bottom rung quality, it's chrome, but the interesting thing about it, it's actually made as a novelty half-hunter pocket watch.

And that's what makes it unusual.

JL: I'll take that with me.

VO: With a price tag of £10, it's hardly going to break the bank, James.

Come along, you've got the cash, man, think bigger!

I'm now starting to get really worried.

JL: This shop is really full of retro things.

There's got to be something there somewhere.

VO: He's right, you know.

There has to be something in here, something extraordinary, something dramatic.

Something like a carriage fire extinguisher!

VO: What do you think, James?

JL: I think it's just bonkers.

TREV: It's one of the wow pieces in here that people come in to see.

VO: The fire extinguisher would have been a two-man operation to maneuver and control a jet of highly pressurized water.

In spite of its size, James's interest hasn't been dampened.

VO: Here we go.

What could you do it for?

It would need to be... Go on, what would you offer for it?

JL: Well, I think that's 150 quid at auction.

I was going to say 250, I'd let it go, split the difference, I'd let it go for two.

See, I think... Yeah, see I think that's a 50 quid loss.

JL: I'm gonna make you a cheeky offer.

For 150, will you throw in the sovereign case and my poo?

TREV: I'll throw in the sovereign case, the poo is not mine to sell, so I'm going to have to stand on the princely sum of... JL: You're going to stand on the poo?

I'll stand on the poo for £5.

155, you've got a deal.

TREV: OK. JL: Thank you very much.

VO: Just down the road, James Braxton has made his way to Fleetville Vintage Emporium but the only thing he's picked up so far is a full-blown cold.

Poor lamb.

JB: (SNEEZES) VO: Bless you!

JB: I'll have a really hot curry tonight, and that will get rid of my cold.

JB: I'd love to know actually how much they want for this.

VO: Best ask the manager, Ricardo Bellew.

JB: Hello.

James.

RICARDO: Hi.

JB: Nice to meet you.

Ric, quite interested in these.

JB: You probably know a lot more about Moorcroft than I do.

RICARDO: Asking about 320 for it.

320.

Yeah.

And Moorcroft continues to be collected and collected and collected, doesn't it?

RICARDO: Very popular.

Very popular.

And this fellow?

RICARDO: Similar price.

JB: Similar price.

RICARDO: Similar age.

JB: Yeah.

Very nice, isn't it?

Although I'm almost there, I'm not quite there.

We'll leave those for another, Ric.

VO: What he really means is that he can't afford them!

Come on, Brackers!

It's not just ceramics, there's a wealth of vintage clothing to choose from.

VO: Maybe Ricardo's wife Dee can help you out with a highly collectible headscarf.

JB: It's very nice, the great Paris maker, isn't it?

Hermes are now very famous for their bags, aren't they?

DEE: Yes.

And equally famous for their scarves.

VO: Hermes began producing scarves in 1937 by spinning raw silk into yarn before weaving it into fabric.

That way they produced more durable scarves than anyone else.

JB: It's a lovely scarf, very smart.

Now, what do you want, Dee?

JB: Come on.

DEE: Erm... JB: Make it low, come on.

DEE: I think £60.

JB: £60?

Could you..?

JB: You wouldn't take 45 for it, would you, Dee?

I'll take 45.

JB: Will you?

DEE: Yes.

I'll take it.

That's really kind of you.

DEE: That's OK. JB: Thank you very much indeed.

VO: With three lots under his belt already, look who's just turned up to join his buying buddy.

JL: Hello.

JB: Hello, how are you?

JL: What are you hiding?

Anything exciting?

JB: No.

Nothing you'd be interested in.

Really?

Yeah.

Now, how have you done?

VO: Oh.

Here we go.

I have bought the most stupid thing...

Excellent.

But, in fact, two really stupid things.

Profit?

No, and no, I would say.

JB: Well, have a look round here, they've got 50 stalls.

JB: Lots of clothing.

Even stocking your size, I think.

JL: Really?

JB: Yeah.

XXXXL?

JL: (LAUGHS) VO: Big fun, by the sounds of it!

With the whole shop to choose from what are the chances of James Lewis spying the Moorcroft pottery that his rival was lusting after earlier?

VO: Huh, fancy that.

JL: This is the well known pomegranate pattern, and the thing that characterizes Moorcroft is this tube lining where it's almost decorated in the way you would ice a cake, you would fill the icing bag, equivalent, with slip or pipe clay, and you would outline the decoration first, and then you would almost color it in.

JL: And that's 1930s, so it's a good early date.

Um... Little preserve pot, silver plated.

And again very pretty, Walker & Hall mounts.

VO: It's a good seller, but it's not cheap.

There are eight pieces of Moorcroft here with a total value of £1,200 I wonder which piece he's going to go for?

VO: Time to negotiate with the dealer, Georgina Constantinov.

How much do you want for the collection?

VO: What?

The whole lot?

I would say... For the collection, 1,000.

VO: That's almost his entire budget!

Who's going to go first, James?

You or me?

JL: (LAUGHS) JL: Go on, help me out.

Seeing as it's you, James, mm-hm... 900?

Seven.

750.

The hand's out, the hand's out!

GEORGINA: 750.

JL: I can't take the pressure!

GEORGINA: 750, James?

What's going on?

He's up to monkey business.

I wonder if he's after that Moorcroft I had a look at?

720, and it's shaken.

725.

JL: Oh!

GEORGINA: (LAUGHS) GEORGINA: You've got my hand now.

That is the most money I have ever spent on Road Trip, ever.

JL: That is... That is... A heck of a gamble.

JL: Old Brackers, if he plays a winner, and my Moorcroft dies, he can win it on the last leg.

JL: (LAUGHS) Wow!

VO: Wow indeed!

If it all goes wrong, it could put Brackers back in the game.

I'm in with a chance.

VO: From St Albans, our boys are back in the Beetle and driving on to Welwyn where James Braxton is, quite literally, heading for an early bath!

VO: James has come along to meet archaeologist Tony Rook, the man who uncovered the remains of the Welwyn Roman baths back in 1960.

JB: Hello.

Very nice to meet you.

TONY: Hello, James.

VO: Tony has dedicated his life to preserving this historic site, at a time when it could all have been lost forever.

JB: Amazing space.

VO: Dating back to 240 AD, the baths would have been part of a much larger complex, known as the Dicket Mead villa.

Tony, how on earth did you find this?

In earth, really.

In earth, yeah.

(LAUGHS) Rather more than on earth.

The story started 52 years ago.

JB: Right.

TONY: We found Roman tiles sticking out of the riverbank.

JB: I see, so that was your clue?

TONY: Yeah.

Then we, we got permission to dig from the local school, this was the football field of the school.

JB: Right.

TONY: We got permission to dig, and we were allowed to dig outside the football field, so down along the side of the river, you know, it started like that.

JB: Yeah.

VO: And their excavations unearthed clues on how the Romans bathed.

JB: How would I go about these baths if I was a Roman?

TONY: There was a slaves' corridor at that side, and there was a masters' corridor here, so the masters, the bosses, the Romans, would come in here... JB: Yeah.

..and there would be a door here.

So imagine this door opening , in comes a Roman.

TONY: So this is a warm room, you get acclimatized.

JB: I see.

TONY: And your slaves puts oil on you, pop, pop, pop, from a bottle, you know, so you get well oiled.

JB: Yeah.

TONY: And you're slightly sweaty and well oiled, and then you get scraped clean.

JB: Scraped?

TONY: Yeah.

There's a thing called a strigil, or strig-il if your Latin is very hard, a bit like the mudguard on a pram or something, it fits very nicely so it can scrape all the fat off, and the oil which you put on.

It's a lovely way of getting clean... JB: Is it?

..and the Romans didn't have any soap.

JB: Bathing was very much part of their... TONY: Oh yes.

..entertainment, and life, wasn't it?

TONY: Yes, I always say that they probably came here every afternoon, all the afternoon.

Yeah.

Really?

TONY: Yeah.

VO: Open to the general public, the baths have been preserved in a concrete and steel vault but there's the catch, they may have been dug up; but they're still 30 feet underground!

VO: Tony spent 10 years uncovering the baths, but shortly after the excavation was completed, the ministry of transport announced the route of the new A1(M) straight over the top.

TONY: The center line of the motorway goes through here, approximately.

JB: Yep.

TONY: And we are about 30 feet underneath the motorway.

Really?

TONY: Yes.

And that was pure coincidence, you see.

TONY: By that time, I had managed to grab plans and things from the ministry, or whatever they called themselves in those days, and they realized that there was room to put something inside the motorway, and we were right bang in the center of it.

VO: An emergency plan was put into place to cover the site with a steel vault, which would allow the road to go directly over this Roman treasure.

You know, you talk about somebody having a vision I had a vision, and this was it.

Really?

Yes, I had this vision, and this is what I got.

TONY: As it was buried, and the top went up, and then it came back down again to the design level.

Really?

Otherwise, you would have to very carefully load it, otherwise it would buckle.

JB: Yeah.

It's a great thing you have preserved here, isn't it?

VO: The villa and baths were deserted at the end of the third century, when the Romans shoved off but it wasn't the only thing they left behind.

JB: Are these the items that came from the site, or not?

TONY: Not all from this site, I mean if you want a whole pot, you go to a cemetery.

Right.

Cuz they buried more or less whole pots with their dead.

Yeah.

What, sort of offerings of holy oils and things like that?

We don't really know.

It would be nice if we could say that, wouldn't it?

JB: James coming up with a rash generalization.

(LAUGHS) TONY: That's a baby's feeding bottle, we think.

JB: Right.

I love the glass with this, the canes.

TONY: Mm, millefiori.

JB: Yeah.

That bit of millefiori actually came from the site.

JB: Really?

TONY: Yeah.

JB: Still very exotic today.

TONY: Yeah.

What it must have been like 2,000 years ago is remarkable.

VO: If it wasn't for tenacious Tony's digging and foresight, this incredible glimpse into our past would now be lost underneath one of Britain's busiest motorways.

VO: Cor.

JB: It really made it come alive.

TONY: Thank you.

Thank you very much.

It was very kind.

TONY: OK. Fabulous life's work, isn't it?

Thank you, yeah.

VO: And with that James is off to his hotel, for a hot curry to shift that cold and a long soak in a bath of his own.

VO: Night night.

VO: After a good night's rest, our boys wake up to a somewhat miserable day.

And to make matters worse, they're still using that piece of plastic sheeting.

JB: The old fellow's holding up, isn't it?

JL: I cannot believe that that is still on there.

JB: Yeah.

JL: It's not just this roof that's leaking.

JL: Yesterday, my wallet was leaking as well - leaking cash everywhere!

VO: You can say that again!

So far James Lewis has spent a whopping £880 on the giant fire extinguisher, the sovereign coin holder, the turtle poo, and a risky job lot of Moorcroft pottery, leaving him with £142.34 to spend.

James Braxton, meanwhile, has spent just £45 on one lot the vintage Hermes scarf in its original box, leaving him with £261.16 to make a splash!

VO: Traveling on from Welwyn, our experts are off to Hemel Hempstead to continue their shopping.

VO: After World War II, Hemel, as the locals call it, was developed as a new town designed to house some of the population displaced by the London blitz, although it's been around, actually, since the 8th century.

VO: James Braxton's first stop of the day is Bushwood Antiques, where he's not the only one that's a little hoarse.

VO: (IMITATES HORSE) VO: This 25,000 square foot store is run by Tony Bush and Julie Collins.

JB: Hello!

JULIE: Hi there, James.

Hello Julie, how are you?

Yeah, chilly today, isn't it?

It is very chilly.

Do you mind if I keep my hat on in here?

No, absolutely not, it's one of those fine, soft days I think we need a bit of warmth!

It does feel, it has the space of a stadium in here, doesn't it?

JULIE: It does, yeah.

And a chilly floor.

JB: And what was this?

Oh, before, it was an indoor equestrian center.

Yeah.

A long, long time ago.

It has that feel.

JULIE: Yeah.

VO: Yeah.

When it comes to shopping though, especially in such a large space, James uses some very wise logic.

JB: Anything that's got a good layer of dust on, probably hasn't had a lot of public access for a long time.

I'll make a note of the items that I think might be able to make me a profit.

JB: And I'll buy one or two of them upon price only.

VO: Just down the road, James Lewis has found Cherry Antiques, run by Scott Cullen.

He's also got a number of items in his sights including a pair of Felix the cat figures at £10.

JL: Never seen those before.

SCOTT: I haven't either.

They came in yesterday.

SCOTT: With the little lead figures.

VO: Next on his shopping list is a copper and brass oval snuffbox at £7.

He does love a snuffbox, James.

Will you take a fiver for him?

Yep, OK, James.

OK, I'll take that.

VO: And finally an Edwardian novelty pin cushion, in the shape of an elephant - £5.

JL: Fiver.

Would you do the snuff box, the elephant and the cats for 15?

SCOTT: OK. JL: Got a deal.

SCOTT: Yep, thank you.

JL: Brilliant, thank you.

VO: He doesn't hang about, does he?

VO: How are you getting on, old Brackers?

JB: I've whittled my options down to these two.

We've got this fabulous bottle vase, it's Cantonese, Chinese, it has got a slightly shattered and now repaired with these metal studs, neck, but would make a very nice lamp base for somebody, I would have thought.

JB: And then this, we've got elongated octagonal plate, um, it's a very nice palette, blue and white, it's a lovely solid bit of porcelain, this.

Great bit of porcelain.

VO: Time to call in Julie and Tony to see if there's a deal to be done, especially on that £220 vase.

JB: So I'd quite like this Cantonese fellow, but I'm going to buy one of these, really, on price.

TONY: Right.

What is..?

What is the lowest you could do, Tony?

Well, I could probably do better on this one than I can on that one.

Can you?

Just based on what they've cost.

They both need a good clean and a wash up, don't they?

JB: They do, they do.

TONY: So, um... What, what, could you do 50 on that?

TONY: 50?

JB: 50.

TONY: How much did you ask?

JB: (LAUGHS) Can we say 100 quid?

Can we say a bit lower, Tony?

TONY: Oh dear.

JB: 80.

Can we do it for 80?

TONY: Alright, you've got a deal.

Thank you, Tony.

I'm not that hard, am I?

Thank you, no, you're really kind.

TONY: Easiest person in the world to deal with.

JB: And thank you Julie.

I don't want to give you a kiss because of my wretched cold.

Thank you, really looked after us really well.

VO: Having completed all his shopping, James Lewis is traveling to Tring to visit a perfectly preserved Victorian exhibition.

VO: The Natural History Museum at Tring has been part of its London namesake since 1937, when it was gifted by the wealthy conservationist Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild of the famous banking dynasty.

James is meeting museum's manager, Paul Kitching.

JL: Hi.

PAUL: Hello, James.

JL: Paul?

PAUL: Nice to meet you.

JL: Nice to see you as well.

PAUL: How are you?

JL: Very well.

I have to say, I wasn't expecting to see that.

PAUL: No, this is quite an unusual collection, isn't it?

PAUL: And there are some crackers like this giant ground sloth.

JL: How many specimens altogether are here?

There are about 4,000 different species of animal on display here in the museum, ranging from dressed fleas to the giant ground sloth that we've just looked at.

VO: Following in the footsteps of Darwin, this collection is the lifetime's work of Rothschild, who moved to Tring Park with his family in 1872.

At a very young age, Walter, as he was known, announced that he was going to make a museum.

By the age of 10, his collection of insects and butterflies in the garden shed was well under way.

He was always fascinated by the plants and animals living around him, given his family's trade connections, I think he found it quite easy to acquire specimens from aunts and uncles.

TONY: There are certainly letters in the archive from his grandmother saying "I've sent you a nice green snake for your birthday".

JL: (LAUGHS) And the museum grew and grew and grew.

VO: Most people get their key of the door for their 21st birthday.

In 1889, Walter got the key of the door, and the rest of the building gifted by his father which was to become the home of his extraordinary collection.

PAUL: From a marketing point of view, we kind of use images of Rothschild with a zebra drawn carriage or with his giant tortoises... JL: Yeah.

PAUL: ..and it is a spectacular museum collection here.

However, behind the scenes, he and his two curators worked for 40-odd years, early till late, they published 8,000 papers, described somewhere in the region of 300 new species... JL: Oh, OK. ..so these were guys that were staring down microscopes day in, day out, looking at diversity, studying difference.

JL: So he was a genuine scientist?

PAUL: He was the real... PAUL: Yeah, this was no, kind of, passing fashion here, there was a dedication there.

Certainly 120 years ago a place like this was one of the few places that you could see this breadth of natural richness side by side.

How did they get the animal preserved and looking like that, looking real?

PAUL: We've got some classic examples, shall we go and have a look at some?

JL: Love to.

PAUL: Ok. JL: After you.

PAUL: Thank you.

VO: Victorian visitors would have been amazed by the strange and exotic animals in Walter's collection.

Even though London Zoo had been open since 1847, there were creatures here beyond their wildest imagination.

JL: Goodness, the zebra collection.

Yeah, so, you were asking about taxidermy and how these animals were put together.

JL: Yeah.

PAUL: Underneath the skin here, you will have the skull of the animal to give the body its shape, you may have some of the leg bones as well, connected together with a wire frame, and then sort of wrapped round with like long strips of wood, like wood wool.

And you can see on some of these animals, the detailing is so fine, if you look at the wrinkles around the underside of this zebra, you can see the kind of little blood vessels.

PAUL: All those effects within the skin.

They are usually, the wood wool that's been shaped and packed... JL: Oh, OK. ..to give the skin its... To give the model its appearance.

VO: As well as preserving animals, Walter also kept a large collection of living ones, including cassowary birds and zebra, which enabled him to study their behavior.

VO: His research was beneficial to the survival of many species including the Rothschild giraffe and the giant tortoise.

VO: Walter's zoological collection remains one of the largest of its kind and gives an insight into early natural curiosities.

JL: I have a natural curiosity in my pocket.

Ah!

That I actually found in an antique shop the other day.

PAUL: Oh dear.

JL: And... PAUL: Goodness, erm... What do you make of that?

I would say, I'd like it to be something like a pine cone, but I'm sure it's not!

PAUL: I think it might be a fossilized animal dropping, a coprolite.

It...

I'm very impressed.

PAUL: I think that's perhaps one that we're not keen to add to the collection this time out.

Thanks very much!

PAUL: I'm sorry.

I thought it was rather special.

It's very interesting.

Do you know, it's been brilliant, very, very interesting.

Thank you very much for your time.

No problem, thank you for your time.

And I've learned a lot.

JL: And for me, that is a fantastic authentication.

VO: Excellent!

So James Lewis can now be certain that he's bought a genuine pile of old poop!

Ha!

VO: Back in the Beetle, his competitor has crossed the county border... VO: ..from Hertfordshire to Buckinghamshire for his last shop of the day in Aylesbury.

VO: Aylesbury was a major market town in Anglo-Saxon times and is famous as the burial place for Saint Osyth, who lost her head in 870.

Careless.

Let's hope James doesn't lose his at the final shop, Antiques at Wendover, managed by dealer Lizzie Osborn-Wynn.

Come on, James, chop chop!

JB: I quite like this, I don't know why.

It's not the greatest, it's just a cheap old box, isn't it?

JB: Paper box.

LIZZIE: Yeah.

But it's one of those funny things that at auction, people love.

JB: They love scrabbling around, it's quite retro, isn't it?

LIZZIE: Yeah, no gold or silver in there?

Have we missed anything?

JB: I very much doubt it, I think somebody's gone thoroughly through it.

JB: That's sort of purporting to be a halfpenny, but it ain't.

LIZZIE: (LAUGHS) No.

So it's just...

It's just a little lot of costume.

VO: He might have kept his head, but has he lost his mind?

What have we got?

£35 on that.

But would £20 buy it?

LIZZIE: 25.

JB: 25.

LIZZIE: Mm.

Well, how about, how about if we struck in the middle there?

Can we do 22, Liz?

22.50.

22.50, I'm not going to argue with you.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you, James.

22.50 it is.

VO: On your head be it, James!

VO: That's it then!

The shopping for this road trip is over so time to show and tell.

JB: Only a small number of items this time.

JL: Ooh, nice vase.

JB: Some damage here obviously.

There we are, round there.

JL: OK. JB: Some are old repairs, the odd stud repairs, but some quite nice scenes, quite nice panels, some nice precious objects, quite a lot of gilding.

Yeah, I like that.

How much?

£80.

JL: Oh, that's cheap.

JB: Is it?

Yeah, that's cheap, isn't it?

That's a good thing.

JB: Excellent.

In good order, it's 6-700, isn't it?

I'd have thought.

VO: Shame it's not in tip top state then.

JL: What have we got?

Oh.

JB: This is my Hermes.

JL: Oh, it's a... JB: In a very fashionable orange.

Oh, stylish!

JB: Isn't that nice?

Very you, James.

You should have bought that earlier on in the trip, you could have worn it in the car!

JB: No, I can't really, it's a bit girly.

No, no, is it?

JB: But some girl would love this, wouldn't they?

JL: How much did you pay for that?

JB: £45.

JL: That's cheap in its box, isn't it?

JB: Yeah.

Just as it is.

Profit in that.

JB: Slightly embarrassed about this.

VO: Hmm, I'm not surprised!

JL: That looks grim.

JB: It is quite grim, but it was cheap and I... JL: What a horrible box.

JB: I know, I'd gone round an antiques center, twice, thrice, four times... And what are these?

JB: They're plastic earrings.

JL: James!

JB: But if you were going to a sixties party... Don't try and just... Now, alright.

JB: They would be essential.

JL: And what about that?

JB: Lovely, isn't it?

JL: It's disgusting.

JB: Early quartz.

JL: James... JB: It's pretty nasty.

JL: I preferred the top of the box.

JB: £22.50.

JL: Oh, that's cheap enough, anyway, isn't it?

Yeah.

OK. JB: You can see I was desperate.

Right, come on, your turn.

Could you give me a hand please?

Yeah, course I can, course I can.

JL: Very carefully.

JB: What, straight up?

(TINKLING) JL: Ooh!

Sorry, I'm not deliberately sabotaging your items.

JB: Hey.

JL: Right.

Oh, I recognize the Moorcroft.

JL: Oh, James.

Eight.

Eight pieces?

JL: Yeah.

VO: Which he's broken down into four lots.

But it's £725.

You needed the purse to take the risk on.

JL: I added it up, and I thought the hammer price would be somewhere between £1,000 and £1,200, the lot.

Yeah.

So if it was £1,000, less the commission, about 800, still... but if it...

It's a hell of a risk.

It's a heck of a risk.

JB: Some of these smaller items, I wouldn't price as high.

VO: There's a lot riding on that Moorcroft it could either win or lose him the competition.

JB: So that's your lot, is it?

JL: No.

One, two, three, four... JL: One more.

JB: One more?

Where?

JL: Here.

VO: You could hardly miss it, James!

JL: (LAUGHS) Early fire apparatus.

Yeah.

JB: Isn't that amazing?

Cor.

That's very interesting, isn't it?

JL: Isn't it?

I've never seen, never seen one.

I'd have priced that at...

I think you paid 120, 150.

£140.

Really?

JL: Yeah, paid £140 for it.

Yeah, I think the wheels are magnificent.

I love the wheels.

JB: Really magnificent.

JL: Yeah.

I might end up losing 3-400 this time.

JL: You never know.

You just don't know.

One can only hope!

JL: (LAUGHS) Thanks, James!

Stay back!

Well done, best of luck.

Have fun.

Yeah, best of luck.

See how we go.

VO: OK boys, kiss and tell then!

What did they really think?

When you spend a lot of money, you may gain a lot of money, or you might gain a little, but on the downward slope, you could also lose a little, or lose a lot.

Um, my three little items look very cautious in comparison.

JL: But James only bought three lots, I'm really surprised at that.

JL: The vase is lovely, really nice bit of Chinese porcelain, and so fashionable at the moment, so that could do well, although it's damaged.

JL: The costume jewelry, he's got to do something about that.

I'm not exactly proud of it, but it may be a profit, I'm sure it's a profit.

VO: There's only one way to find out it's off to auction we go!

How exciting.

VO: From Aylesbury, our experts embark on the final 55 miles to the saleroom in Leamington Spa.

VO: And at last the sun is shining which has helped shift James Braxton's cold.

JL: (SNEEZES) Excuse me.

VO: Shame about his sparring partner, though.

JL: (SNEEZES) Now I blame you!

JB: My gift to you is my flu.

VO: He's such a sharing soul, James.

JL: (SNEEZES) VO: Oh dear.

Today, our experts will battle it out for the final time on this road trip at Locke & England's auction house.

So let' see what lovely auctioneer Emmeline Jarrey has to say about our boys' buys.

Moorcroft always sells, and the older the better, so I'm really confident with those lots, they should do really well.

Country estate fire extinguisher is an interesting lot, we've not seen one before.

It would probably appeal to a rural collector or rural museum, something like that.

The box of costume jewelry what do I say about this without being really rude?

VO: Oh, go on, girl be as rude as you like!

I think really this would have been better in a general sale, there's lots of buyers of that sort of thing, so I'm not sure that's going to do the best, and I'm thinking that maybe that's going to be the one that sells for a fiver.

So we'll just have to wait and see what happens with that, I'm not, I'm not holding out for that one.

VO: Mmm, I would have been a lot ruder about it!

James Braxton started this leg of the road trip with £306.16 and has spent £147.50 on three lots, leaving him with a balance of £158.66.

VO: James Lewis started with £1022.34 and bought six lots, costing £895, leaving him with a balance of £127.34.

EMMELINE: 96A... JB: Here we are.

JL: Look at that, there we go.

VO: First up for James Lewis, it's the extinguisher on wheels.

But will it set the auction room on fire?

I will start the bidding then at 110, 120.

130, 140.

At 140 then, is there 150?

EMMELINE: At 140, 150.

160, 170.

EMMELINE: 170, 180.

190.

Yes.

EMMELINE: At 200, and 20... VO: It's certainly sparking some internet interest.

240, 260.

Yes.

EMMELINE: 280.

300.

Yes, ma'am.

EMMELINE: 320, I've got 340 in front, do you want to go 350?

EMMELINE: 340... MAN: Yes, ma'am.

EMMELINE: 350 I'm out at 350.

Is there 380?

EMMELINE: £350 then.

(GAVEL) EMMELINE: Sold.

That's a great result.

Phenomenal.

VO: There he goes again!

James Lewis blazes into an early lead.

VO: First up for James Braxton, it's the vintage Hermes scarf in its original box.

Start me then, £15, in for 15.

For £15, 15.

18 anywhere?

JL: Oh, dear.

15, is there 18?

JL: It's not going to make 100, is it?

20.

Two.

Five.

It'd be hard to buy a Hermes scarf for £22.

EMMELINE: 30.

Five.

35 then.

Internet, do you want to come in at 35?

40, thank you.

JB: Well done.

..five.

50, £50, is there five, do you want to come in on the internet?

£50, is there five?

£50.

(GAVEL) JB: Ooh!

JL: It wiped its nose, as you would say.

VO: Haha.

Oh well, £5 is £5 but it's nowhere near enough to catch James Lewis!

JL: Hm.

VO: Next up for James Lewis is a queer old lot: fossilized turtle poo, a sovereign case, a snuff-box, an elephant pin cushion, two Felix the cat figures and, VO: (SINGS) a partridge in a pear tree!

Well, I've never sold turtle poo before, so this is a first.

Can we try it for £30?

Can we try it for £30?

Every home should have one!

AUDIENCE: (LAUGHS) £30, how about 10?

10, 12.

15.

18.

20, at 20, is there two?

Yes, ma'am.

EMMELINE: 22.

Five.

Eight.

30.

30.

Five.

35, in the room at 35.

40 anywhere?

40.

Five.

50.

Five.

55.

Go on!

EMMELINE: We have 60, £55, selling at 55.

(GAVEL) JL: Well, there we are.

It's a small profit, but I had a great deal of fun buying it.

EMMELINE: It just shows, you can sell anything.

VO: It does indeed a pile of old doo-doo becomes a £25 profit for James Lewis.

Brackers will really struggle to catch him now.

VO: I'd be surprised if his box of paste jewelry brings any sparkle to this saleroom.

But don't tell anyone.

What do we say for that?

10 whole pounds?

£10?

10 thank you, 12 anywhere?

At 10, in for 12.

At 10, is there 12?

12.

15 in the room.

15, is there 18?

18.

18, is there 20?

Are you sure?

At 18 with you then, is there 20?

EMMELINE: At £18, is there 20?

At £18.

(GAVEL) JB: (SIGHS) There was a bit of bidding there.

VO: Oh Lordy.

Well unless there's a miracle, Brackers's chance of victory has bombed.

VO: Next up for James Lewis, it's the first of his Moorcroft pieces, the pomegranate baluster vase and circular pin tray.

EMMELINE: £200 for those, £200, for 200.

Looking for £200.

EMMELINE: Take £100 to start me then, is there 100?

Looking for £100.

Yes, ma'am.

100 I'm bid, is there 110?

JL: Oh, come on.

EMMELINE: £100, is there 110?

No way!

MAN: Yes, ma'am.

EMMELINE: 110.

EMMELINE: 120.

120, is there 130?

JL: Oh no.

No.

EMMELINE: I'll have to sell them at £120.

No way!

Selling then.

(GAVEL) JL: That is criminal.

JB: That is criminal.

That is absolutely criminal.

VO: Oh dear his risky gamble has failed.

So could James Braxton actually be in with a winning chance?

That vase is worth 380 quid.

Fact.

VO: That's what you thought about your last lot too, James!

I wonder if the Moorcroft leaf and berries vase and the preserve pot will fare any better.

£200?

£200, looking for £200.

JL: No way.

EMMELINE: £200, I'll take £100 to start me.

JL: No!

JB: 100.

100 thank you, is there 110?

EMMELINE: 110.

120.

130.

140.

EMMELINE: 150.

160.

170.

JB: Oh, it's going up.

EMMELINE: 180.

In the room 180, 190.

190 then, at 190, is there 200?

It's still cheap.

EMMELINE: 190, is there 200?

Are we all done in the room?

JL: It's a loss again.

EMMELINE: 200.

220.

220, you're alright.

EMMELINE: Is there 240?

JL: Come on.

£220.

JL: Still a loss.

(GAVEL) VO: Oh Lordy.

It's a disaster!

I want to go home.

No.

JL: I don't like this road trip any more.

You're going to sit here and take your medicine.

VO: Cheer up, James.

It's more Moorcroft.

Oh God!

VO: This time a circular pewter mounted basket and a cylindrical vase.

Looking for £120, looking for 120, looking for 120.

Looking for £120.

JB: 80.

EMMELINE: Looking for 120.

JB: 80.

JL: What?

Looking for £120.

The Liberty basket's worth more than that.

JB: It's a matter of opinion.

120, thank you, is there 130?

130.

140.

140 in the room, is there 150?

Come on.

EMMELINE: 140, 150.

JB: Too much.

160.

VO: If I didn't know better, I'd say James Braxton is secretly enjoying this!

And why not?

190.

200.

JB: Oh, you've made too much money on this one.

EMMELINE: At 200 in the room, is there 20?

EMMELINE: £200, in the room at 200.

Are we all done on the internet then at £200?

(GAVEL) JL: James?

I spy a profit.

JB: I know.

JL: (CACKLES) VO: Just when poor old Brackers was getting his hopes up, James Lewis pulls it out of the bag.

But will it be enough?

VO: Time now for the last of James Braxton's items the cracked Chinese vase.

Right, here we are.

£150?

150, looking for 150.

JB: Well done.

EMMELINE: Looking for £150.

EMMELINE: Looking for 150, I'll take £100 to start me then, is there 100?

Looking for £100.

Looking for £100, 100 I'm bid, is there 110?

At 100, is there 110?

JB: Come on, bid!

EMMELINE: £100, is there 110?

I'll sell it at £100.

At £100, are you sure?

At £100... JL: No!

EMMELINE: ..selling at 100.

At £100.

(GAVEL) JB: Oh dear.

It was a shame, because it was the last lot.

That's the rough and tumble of auction.

VO: Don't give up hope just yet, Brackers!

It all depends on James Lewis's last item and guess what?

It's more Moorcroft!

VO: It's the leaf and berries match and cigar tray, and the pomegranate pattern pin dish.

Hold on to your seats!

£100, looking for £100.

Looking for £100, looking for £100.

I'll give you 30.

EMMELINE: Looking for 100.

Looking for 100... JL: Oh come on!

EMMELINE: I'll take an 80 bid if you like.

EMMELINE: Looking for 80, I'll take a 50 then.

Looking for 50.

50, is there five?

At 50, is there five?

At £50 then, I'll sell at 50.

JL: That is bonkers.

55, thank you.

60.

Oh, astonishing!

Five.

70.

JL: It's worth so much more than that.

EMMELINE: At 70, is there five?

At £70.

(GAVEL) JL: Well, it's what I call hemorrhaging money.

VO: Oh dear!

The expensive gamble on the job lot of Moorcroft just didn't pay off.

And it might just have cost him the final leg!

Now, how does it...

This is going to be close, isn't it?

VO: James Braxton started this show with £306.16 and after auction costs he's made a small loss of £9.74, giving him a grand total for the trip of £296.42.

VO: James Lewis however began with £1,022.34 but, after costs, made a stinging loss of £62.70.

While that gives him a humongous £959.64 overall, it's James Braxton who wins this leg because he made a smaller loss.

Yippee!

VO: All the profits our experts make go to Children in Need.

I feel physically drained?

How was that for you?

Oh, emotional!

Oh, no!

JB: Slightly by default, I took this last leg.

JL: You did, well done.

JB: Well done, well done.

JL: Congratulations.

Brilliant.

JB: Anyway, as a result... JL: You're driving.

JB: I'm going to tee off.

JL: Great.

VO: So finally a victory for James Braxton, but it's James Lewis who wins this road trip.

VO: After a thousand miles of highs and lows, over land... JL: Waaah!

(LAUGHS) VO: ..and sea.

VO: With more than few laughs along the way.

JB: Chauffeur's peak cap.

Stand down, soldier.

JL: (CACKLES) JL: (MAKES MONKEY NOISE) JL: Oh, ow!

I just stabbed myself with it.

You can see how people get into this, can't you?

Go on, give me the horn.

(FEEBLE SOUND) JB: Why can't we have a bloody Bentley like normal people?

VO: And with that, we wave goodbye to our two Jameses, as they buggy off into the sunset.

VO: Next week on the Antiques Road Trip, we're with a brand new pair of experts.

Jonathan Pratt has a life-changing experience...

I am now the proud owner of a pair of chairs.

VO: ..and Anita Manning needs all the help she can get!

Thank you.

Wish me luck!

Yes, indeed!

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