VOICEOVER (VO): It's the nation's favorite antiques experts, with £200 each, a classic car, and a goal: to scour Britain for antiques.

Going, going, gone.

Yes!

WILL: How do I look?

VO: The aim - to make the biggest profit at auction.

But it's no mean feat.

Yes!

VO: There'll be worthy winners and valiant losers.

I'm gonna become a bin man.

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

I like it when you're chasing me!

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah!

VO: The Garden of England awaits on the third leg of their road trip for our antiques experts Mark Stacey and Will Axon.

WILL: There is some nice countryside around, isn't there?

MARK: Well let me know when you find it.

VO: Road Trip veteran and antique expert Mark knows exactly how to uncover a bargain and he has great moral fiber to boot.

I promise not to nick anything.

VO: Newmarket newbie Will though has been suffering from a bit of cabinet fever so far and needs to get his head back in the game.

It's bad I need to focus.

VO: Both Mark and Will started the week on £200 and despite making a profit at the last auction they still find themselves in the red.

WILL: Let's do the biz.

VO: Mark's opening losses were nearly offset by his second leg profits but he still only has £188.14 to start this leg.

VO: A disastrous beginning to Will's road trip means he'll need to get in gear, to improve on his budget of £144.32.

VO: With such a poor start to their road trip, it seems ironic that they're sitting pretty in a classic Triumph and this 1963 TR 4 is certainly attracting some admiring attention!

WORKERS: Hey!

WILL: What ho boys.

MARK: What ho boys?

VO: Our travelling treasure hunters are cruising through a whopping five counties.

They started the week in Hastings, East Sussex and will circumnavigate the southeast before ending up at an auction in the London suburb on Ruislip.

VO: On this leg they'll start in the coastal town of Deal and end up at an auction in Chiswick, clocking up nearly 130 miles along the way.

Well, Mr Stacey we have arrived.

MARK: Well, well driven I have to say, can I say that, can I make that absolutely clear.

I've thrown off the mantle of driver error.

MARK: Long, long may it continue in my book, but please, please Will tell me where are we?

VO: Allow me.

Once the busiest port in England, Deal is now a quiet seaside resort town, though its maritime history pervades the quaint surroundings.

The coast of France is approximately 25 miles away and is visible on a clear day.

Mark you're along that way.

Am I?

Oh listen, good luck, happy hunting.

Happy hunting, mate.

Don't find too much.

See you later.

VO: Thankfully Mark's found an antique shop run by Mick and he's hoping it's flush with bargains that get him back in the black.

Hello.

Hello there.

I'm Mark.

Hello, Mick, how do you do?

Nice to meet you Mick.

VO: The shop seems well stocked with items to catch Mark's eye and even has a canine security system, attack dog Jasper... the wagging tail's a bit of a giveaway though!

Heading for auction in Chiswick, the boys need to tailor their buys to the demands of that fussy London market.

You've got to look for those quirky items that just might appeal there.

VO: Found something quirky, have you, Mark?

It's a pottery garden seat, I mean, these were used in the Victorian period as conservatory seats and they're often made of majolica.

I mean this has a nice high fired blue glaze on it with sort of bubbles on the top where the glaze has blistered and it's a lovely octagonal shape in a sort of Chinese style.

It's priced up at £55, but it needs to be a lot less than that, so we might have a word with Mick.

VO: And right on cue.

Go on then, make me an offer.

Well what about 20 quid Mick?

Cash.

25.

Oh come on you know you want to let me... Look, you want me to win.

MICK: OK. MARK: Shall we shake hands at 20, then?

MICK: Yeah.

MARK: Thanks Mick.

Thanks a lot I'm really pleased with that.

VO: Well it looks like there's a good deal to be had in Deal, eh Mark?

Meanwhile, Will's arrived at Inside Out antiques, I wonder if he can make a quick deal too?

Hello there.

VINCE: Hiya.

WILL: Hi you must be Vince?

I am yep.

I'm Will.

How do you do?

WILL: What's that, a skull?

VO: Yes.

WILL Would it have been the lid of something or other, poison bottle do you think?

I would have said more of a walking stick, cane stick.

Oh cane handle?

VINCE: Cane handle, yeah.

Very interesting.

WILL: That is quite interesting, quite quirky.

Err I've got 60 on that.

Let's have a look in there, why can't we get in there and...?

WILL: Well it's bronze, sort of memento mori, you know, maybe to, perhaps just to remind you of your own mortality every morning as you take your cane out of the cane stand.

VINCE: Sure, yeah, we're asking 75 for it.

I thought it was 60 a minute ago.

Well.

VO: So did I.

Play that back I want proof.

Err, I've got 60 on that.

VO: I thought so, who said antiques was a fair game?

VINCE: Yeah, might be.

WILL: What sort of age do you think it's got?

Do you think it's earlier 20th or late 19th?

VINCE: Always very difficult to tell, isn't it, on that type of thing.

It's very difficult to tell, in fact.

It's got a bit of wear on the, in the patina there, the patina.

VO: Potato, potat-o, either way, looks like he's holding on to that one.

WILL: That's got something about it, where did that come from?

VO: China I'd say... 20th Century.... Looks like a bronze censer case or incense burner as its better known.

VO: What's the ticket price?

WILL: No price on it.

No, it's... Must be cheap.

55.

WILL: What if I came in really cheeky and said I could have them both for 50 quid?

VO: I'd say, blooming cheek.

Can't do it.

Can't do it.

75 you've got a deal.

WILL: 70 quid.

70 quid, Vince go on five quid luck money.

Oh luck money?

Yeah for me, 70 quid, yeah you're a man, you're a man.

Good work mate.

VO: Crikey moses £70, that's nearly half your remaining budget Will.

Although they do say - 'go big or go home'.

Will, what are you doing here?

Oh hello Mark, this is a fortuitous meeting.

Are you my lift?

Yeah why are we done here?

I think so don't you?

Yeah, you have any luck?

Shall we go to Margate?

Yeah, come on then.

VO: With items in their bag already, the chaps are making the short trip, 16 miles up the Kent coast to Margate.

For the last 250 years, the town of Margate has been a leading seaside resort in the UK, drawing Londoners to its beaches.

VO: But it's the antiques that have drawn our Mark here, starting with Paraphernalia.

MARK: Well, I suppose it's meant to look like a fan.

There's often fans framed in frames like this.

The frame is later I think.

It suits it quite well, there's a little bit of damage here and there on the frame.

MARK: So I think it's a 19th century engraving of an 18th century scene.

But I just think that's rather fun, if it was - how should I put it delicately - cheap.

VO: Well it's one to bear in mind.

VO: But owner Andrew has a Jasper ware flask that's caught Mark's eye.

MARK: Gosh that's rather fun isn't it.

MARK: It's a Wedgewoody type thing isn't it?

ANDREW: It is, yes, and it's got a silver top.

MARK: Oh, it's rather sweet isn't it.

VO: Sweet, but not antique, 70's I'd say.

MARK: So it's really like a sort of model of an 18th century one.

ANDREW: That's correct, yeah.

MARK: So they obviously did a little series here.

MARK: Jasper Ware perfume bottle collection.

It's a nice collectors piece.

I rather like that Andrew.

Oh dear I've just seen the price!

VO: Really?

Do tell.

I'm disappointed because it's got two figures.

I'll put that over there, can we?

VO: The two figures being 2 and 5, but knowing you Mark, you can get that price down.

MARK: Now can we do a really good deal on those?

Oh, ok. Oh I don't like the sound of that, there was a long pause and a very very non-committal response.

What can I do?

Oh no, I hate doing this because I don't like asking for anything off.

VO: What?!

Because I find it very hard to negotiate.

VO: Oh here we go!

Where do you need it to be?

MARK: I need it to be £20 really and then I would pay 15 for that.

OK, let's do that.

Are you sure?

Are you happy with that?

And I can come back and visit you again?

ANDREW: You can anytime MARK: No hard feelings?

And I can eat tonight.

We've got a deal.

Thank you, Andrew.

You're welcome.

VO: Nice work.

That's two items bought for just £35.

VO: Take note, Will.

He's popped along the road to try and uncover the mystery surrounding one of Margate's top tourist attractions, where something quite extraordinary exists two meters under a garden.

Will's meeting up with Sarah for the guided tour.

Thanks very much.

I'm really looking forward to this visit.

I've read and seen a lot about the grotto.

Nothing quite prepares you for the actual thing though.

I can imagine.

VO: The story goes that in 1835 James Newlove lowered his young son Joshua into a hole in the ground that had appeared during the digging of a duck pond.

Joshua emerged describing tunnels adorned with shells.

He had discovered the shell grotto.

VO: However he came upon it, James Newlove could see the commercial benefit of his find.

The grotto, with its 4.6 million shells, opened its doors to the public in 1838, and came as something of a surprise to the people of Margate WILL: How, how do you bring four point whatever million shells to a small garden or a small point without anyone knowing or noticing?

That's... That's... That's a difficult question, SARAH: I just don't know the answer to that maybe it was built long enough before the 1830s for it just to have been forgotten... WILL: Forgotten in local folklore.

Yeah, or maybe it was built in secret, but that's difficult to imagine.

VO: In modern times, grottos have served as chapels or shrines, but at first glance the design here only adds to the confusion, with cockles, whelks, mussels and oysters creating an array of patterns.

Since the first paying customers descended the chalk stairway debate has raged about its origins: whether as an ancient temple or a meeting place for a secret sect.

SARAH: There's one theory that the grotto was meant to represent a journey through life and death.

So you crawl down your chalk passage which represents birth.

WILL: OK.

Yes.

SARAH: This rotunda, we're in a circular passage here, this is got lots of flowering forms, a couple of phallic symbols over there.

WILL: Oh.

The panel that I'm standing in front of is generally referred to as a womb.

WILL: Oh, I can see it now, yes.

As you go farther down in the bottom room it becomes much more geometrical and suns and stars and moons; and so the theory is that you travel through life and death to the afterlife.

SARAH: But people who think that this was some kind of garden fancy or folly just see pattern.

VO: And with nearly 180 years' worth of embellishment, there seems little chance of discovering the truth behind its mysterious beginnings.

For what it's worth it might have been dug out for smugglers to hoard their secret stash of contraband, a practice rife for centuries along the south coast.

But whatever its origins it's certainly a magical, mysterious place.

VO: With three purchases already in the old bag, Mark's still scouring the shops of Margate before they close looking for more bargains.

Hello Mark.

Pleased to meet you I'm Ron Scott.

How are you?

Well, I'm so under-dressed.

VO: Nice hat.

It's late in the day and it seems Mark has got his work cut out for him if he's going to get round this place.

How long have we got?

Well we should have been closed half an hour ago but I'll stick with it for you.

I think I'll still be here on series 12.

VO: Crikey, you'd best get looking quick smart.

Oh gosh!

It never ends, look.

It just carries on, carries on.

Do you know, I'm beginning to absolutely hate antiques.

VO: Eh!

Pull yourself together man; there must be one item in here.

Oh, looks like he's found one, the smallest thing, possibly, a silver topped dressing table jar.

MARK: Now this is broken, probably beyond repair but it is silver topped actually and nicely still has its little stopper in it which is unusual.

Now that's only priced at 15 quid.

You must admit that is realistically priced.

MARK: It is realistically priced, Ron, but it is broken.

MARK: Let's be honest... RON: If 12 quid is good for you, it's good for me.

I think we're going to do that, are you happy with that, Ron?

I am, good man.

Listen, thanks Ron.

RON: Thank you very much Mark.

VO: Finally.

Thank goodness for that!

RON: Well, thanks very much Mark, let me get the door for you.

Thank you, Ron, see you again.

RON: Bye bye, thanks very much.

Oh, I need a lie down.

VO: A spectacular day of seaside spending is at an end.

Time to rest those purse strings.

Nighty night.

(HORSE NEIGHS) VO: Morning has broken and the boys are back on the road.

Scream if you want to go faster, Mark.

VO: So far, Will has only visited one shop and already he's offloaded half of his budget, spending £70 on two pieces.

I'm sure he'd have bought the Grotto too if he could have!

VO: He has £74.32 to part with.

VO: Whereas, Mark's collected four pieces of bounty.

With a thrifty bit of business, he got it all for just £67.00.

So he still has £121.14 to spend accordingly.

VO: The boys are heading across Kent to the outskirts of the town of Westerham, where Mark is visiting a rather important house.

VO: When he wasn't in residence at number 10 Downing Street, Chartwell House was the family home of arguably Britain's greatest prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill.

Even at the height of World War II this retreat was to be his sanctuary, living here between 1924 and the end of his life.

MARK: That entrance way looks grand doesn't it?

WILL: It's a bit of pile isn't it?

Well have fun.

Behave yourself.

Wish me luck.

WILL: Good luck.

And I hope at the end of this I'm going to end up going like that.

WILL: Victory!

Take care, Mark.

VO: V is also for view, which Alice is providing Mark with on their guided tour, starting on the pink terrace.

This is an amazing view, isn't it?

ALICE: It is and it's one of the prime reasons that Winston Churchill bought this property in the first place.

MARK: I can understand, I mean it looks out forever doesn't it?

What are we actually looking at here, Alice?

ALICE: You're looking out over the world of Kent and it's a view that Churchill once remarked was worth fighting for, and I agree.

MARK: I mean it represents England really, doesn't it?

ALICE: It really does when we are in the garden of England.

VO: Inside, the rooms remain much as they were when he lived here, with pictures, books and personal mementoes evoking the career and wide-ranging interests of a great statesman, writer and painter.

VO: An accomplished artist, part of the house was set aside for his passion - a creativity that yielded more than 500 pictures.

VO: Mark's attention has been drawn to a portrait of the great man, which hangs in Lady Churchill's sitting room.

ALICE: That's by Oswald Burly and he's wearing his iconic siren suit, that he's very well known for.

MARK: What I like about the portrait is that actually if you didn't know who the portrait was, which is impossible of course, but if you didn't that would just be a kindly grandfather wouldn't it.

MARK: Don't you think?

The eyes are so warm.

ALICE: They are, it's a very nice portrait, it's one of the family's favorite of him.

MARK: I think it's lovely, actually.

VO: Churchill was also well known for his writing and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1953.

ALICE: So welcome to Sir Winston's study and this is really the beating heart of the house.

ALICE: This is where he would have written most of his works, History of the Second World War, History of Marlborough and it was also a room that had to be quiet for him so children not allowed in here and if he was working even Lady Churchill would slip notes under the door.

Oh really?

And this is the desk he used?

ALICE: This is the desk... MARK: Because as you said nothing has changed.

ALICE: No, I mean he would read at the desk and perhaps open correspondence but he would certainly... he used to like working standing up.

MARK: Oh really?

ALICE: Yes.

MARK: I mean that's quite odd, isn't it?

MARK: Most writers I would have thought would prefer to be sitting down, MARK: I mean, these days with a laptop, why do you think he liked standing up?

I think he was a very natural orator and I think, you know, to really get into your feel, you know, into your stride you have to standing up.

MARK: I suppose so, so that the writing flows from that I suppose if you're standing up?

ALICE: Yes, indeed.

MARK: It's a wonderful room.

Alice thank you so much for just a little glimpse of Chartwell.

It's been a pleasure showing you around.

And I hope sometime I can come back and have a proper look round, thank you.

VO: We leave one great British hero to join Will - another, who has made the short journey from Westerham to Brasted, where he's checking out the wares of Courtyard Antiques.

WILL: Oh, that's quite interesting.

WILL: Stoneware, blue and white, obviously got a bit of age to it, probably sort of mid 19th century, nicely decorated and I love this sort of deep blue contrasting with the... with lighter blue, just gives a bit of depth to it doesn't it?

You've got this almost stylized chinoiserie decoration, but then these are slightly got a sort of European slant on them, the flowers but it's sweet, nice shaped border and it looks in pretty... pretty good condition.

WILL: Ah, that's quite interesting, it's obviously had a price on it, he hasn't been able to sell it so he's reduced it to 45, which is kind of within my budget.

VO: Well only just.

Let's see what owner Barry has to say.

WILL: Now what really interested me was the fact that it looks like it's had a price on.

BARRY: Yeah.

WILL: It's been unsold.

BARRY: Yeah.

WILL: He's reduced it, it's still unsold.

Yeah.

So I was going to ask if I could make an offer for that of £20?

BARRY: I think I've got to make a... make a phonecall.

WILL: That's fine.

VO: Looks like Will's decided to have a one to one with the seller himself.

I was wondering if...

If I might be able to sort of take a punt on it, as such, of sort of £20?

That's really kind of you, thanks very much, I'll pass you back to Barry to say your goodbyes.

Cheers now, thank you.

Bye.

VO: Result!

Hello Chris, is that alright?

I wish I'd known you were that accommodating I would have bought it myself a long time ago.

Oh look, Barry's making a move now.

Too late Barry.

I'll have that, thank you.

VO: Well I never.

I'd pay up quick if I were you.

Uh oh, something tells me he's not finished yet.

Elaine's the lady to talk to.

I've been looking at your canes, some very nice ones there, but yesterday I bought a cane handle but without a cane.

You wouldn't happen to have in your workshop or knocking around the office anywhere a cane without a handle?

Well actually I do have a macassar ebony one.

Really?

Any chance I could have a look at that?

Actually yes.

VO: Elaine's gone off for a rummage, but hang on where's Will going?

Now what's he up to?

Come on mate.

VO: This is getting interesting.

WILL: Do you know what, I've got a good feeling about this.

WILL: If I just... he seems to fit on there pretty well doesn't he?

Very nice, yes.

WILL: What sort of money are you asking on the cane?

ELAINE: 25?

WILL: £18.

Go on and then at least you know it's gone to a... 20.

20... You shook my hand before I could even think about it.

Well, listen, Elaine I'm not going to quibble over a couple of quid with you.

You're more than welcome.

I think £20 is a fair price because together, you know, they stand a chance don't they.

VO: Do you know Will, I think you might be right and while you were attempting to blow almost your entire budget, Mark's travelled the seven mile journey ahead to Otford.

VO: Located on the River Darent, it was voted village of the year in 2006 and the sort of place where you find a bargain on the street, Otford Antiques.

These are quite funky.

As soon as you see this type of shape you're imagining the 1960s/70s.

It's got that sort of 70's look about it.

MARK: Then when we look underneath, oh yes we've got a makers name here.

Oldmobilefrabik made in Denmark.

A lot of the value in this retro vintage furniture is who the designer is.

MARK: If it's a really good designer then they can be worth quite a lot of money.

If it is just a run of the mill mass produced - not so good.

MARK: I think if you're going to do these things you've got to go on your own gut feeling and we'll go in and find out and see whether we can pick up four chairs.

MARK: And they belong to this lady.

ELAINE: Yes they belong to Jackie here.

JACKIE: Yes, they're mine.

Oh Jackie's my favorite girl's name you know.

VO: Oh, he's a smooth operator.

Jackie, how much do you really want for them?

60 would be best.

If I could get them for about 50 quid.

Can't do 60?

I'd love them for 50, honestly.

VO: That look tells me Elaine has an opinion on this too.

If you add another ten pounds on to that you can have them.

That gives Jackie a little profit and gives you a good chance of a good profit as well.

Ooh, good business lady here.

Do you know it's like the mafia.

MARK: We've got a Doness here, not a Don.

I can't believe this.

Excuse me, she's my friend.

I'm being mugged.

What's the number for crimefighters?

Well can we split in the middle.

Can we say 55?

Shall we say 55?

Would you be happy at 55?

Promise me Jackie.

Yes fine.

Because I don't want to go away...

If I don't cry... And then say "that horrible Mark Stacey was in", but if you do think I'm horrible, I'm James Lewis or somebody like that.

Thank you very much, we'll call that a deal, but I'm going to keep on looking if that's alright?

VO: Look out, the opposition has arrived... but with £34.32 left in his pocket he's going to have to dig deep to find a bargain here.

Will's heading upstairs to see what Mark has overlooked.

WILL: What's this buried?

Yeah.

That's quite nice you know, buried under the books, for good reason, is a book slide.

Oh hello.

I think we may have hit a minor jackpot here.

Make sure Mark's not around.

Look at this, this is a bookslide, yeah.

VO: Blimey, he's excited.

It's obvious what it does.

You put your books, it can go left it can go right.

But what has got me quite excited about this it's cracking quality, it's actually in coromandel wood which is a family of the rosewood, similar to my cane, actually, and this I have not seen very often, it has a cracking little label - Farthing and Thornhill makers, Cornhill in London.

I mean, to put a maker's mark on a book slide, you know that this has gotta be super quality and do you know the best bit - WILL: It's 28 quid.

Oh, and look at the dust it's been there for months, years perhaps.

Oh I tell you that just goes to show, just dive in, have a look.

I couldn't see it because of the books, but a little bit of effort, a little bit of searching, and that my friends I think is a super little lot.

I'm not even going to guestimate what it could make at auction, but I've seen them make a lot more that £28 and they're nowhere near as good as this, so that... WILL: I don't think that's even a maybe, that is a definite.

VO: Now what's this Mark's got his eye on?

Looks like Denby pottery.

Denby's striking designs graced the 1970s with flair, although typically painted in browns and oranges, the bold pattern is somewhat unusual.

MARK: Do you know, I'm rather taken with this vase but I don't know why really, because I don't know anything about it and it's a heck of a lump really for... well it's got £28 on it at the moment, but it goes very nicely with the... VO: Oh.

Careful.

Who did that?

It goes quite nicely with the chairs.

VO: Yes, put it down.

It's time to do battle with our Jackie again!

Standby.

MARK: Hello Jackie, I don't know what it is, I'm feeling in a very 70s mood today.

Oh good, retro.

MARK: I'm looking back, looking back you know.

Oh good.

Of course I wasn't around in the 70s.

No, of course not.

What about 15?

No I can't do 15, it's far too cheap.

MARK: You're adamant.

You're adamant.

Absolutely, yes.

MARK: What about 14?

JACKIE: No 18?

Do you know we're very close because we want to do a deal on this don't we?

JACKIE: We do.

How much did we say again?

16?

No.

Oh.

17.

Are you going to be determined on 17?

Mmm.

Really?

Yes.

It's a good price.

Go on then.

17, thanks Jackie.

£17.

MARK: If I can't make a profit on that.....

I'm going to become a bin man.

VO: Cor you do talk a lot of tosh, but whilst Mark's 'tipping' over the edge, Will's on the slide.

WILL: I found a little book slide upstairs.

Ok.

Buried under... now 28 that's got on it.

ELAINE: Um, what's the absolute death on this?

ELAINE: Sliding book, I've got 28.

WILL: 20 quid?

ELAINE: 20, yes.

Yeah?

OK that's a deal £20.

ELAINE: Yes.

OK. VO: He's still not finished yet, don't you know.

WILL: Chinese rice paper paintings.

They're usually for export and they show traditional Chinese customs, traditional Chinese costumes and the really sought after ones traditional Chinese tortures and crime, punishment.

WILL: There's no...no price on it, which might be a good thing.

That's worth an ask.

I'm going to go and say, "look can that be 15 quid?"

I reckon that's worth a go.

VO: Eh, Will you do know you only have £14.32 left, don't you?

Beryl's calling the painting's owner, so fingers crossed!

OK, thank you bye.

All done.

14.

Oh thank you very much.

What did he say the price was on it?

10?

BERYL: 15 WILL: Was it?

VO: Well it's better to be lucky than good.

Will's finished shopping with a whole 32p warming his pocket.

Which wouldn't even buy a drink, but nevertheless the boys have gone to the pub to reveal their lots.

WILL: Come on then.

MARK: Shall I show you?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

VO: Ta Da!

Ooo!

MARK: It's quite odd isn't it?

MARK: It's an odd selection don't you think?

It's an eclectic mix, Mark.

I know I think this is amazing.

WILL: Let's have a look.

MARK: It's an engraving but it's modern... it's actually framed as a fan and printed as a fan.

I like the frame as well.

How much was that?

20.

It's not a lot, is it?

I thought that was quite sweet.

VO: From the sweet to the swirly.

WILL: You've gone a bit... MARK: I love this.

Don't you?

Denbyware, have you ever seen it?

Not in that pattern.

MARK: I love it and this was only 17 quid.

Yeah, that's not a lot, is it?

It's not a lot of money really.

And Denby is on the way up isn't it?

It is.

Well I think it's quite collectable and these are Danish and they've got their maker's name underneath, it's a set of four.

WILL: OK, so two more?

MARK: Yeah.

WILL: I could see those retailing for 80 quid.

Oh well, if they're going to retail for 80 quid I'm going to lose money.

WILL: How much did you pay?

MARK: 55 for four.

Well you could make a small profit.

MARK: Well I've shown you mine, now show me yours.

No funny faces to camera.

You little fibber, you're jumping around inside.

No, I'm not I'm just looking... Oh God, this is nice.

That is an absolute belter.

That's lovely isn't it?

WILL: Coromandel.

MARK: Oh that's lovely actually.

MARK: It's just the sort of thing I like.

MARK: I mean it was cheap wasn't it?

WILL: Yeah.

It had 28 quid on the ticket.

Oh my gosh, so no money at all.

I got it for £20.

Oh that's nothing, I mean, there's got to be a profit in there.

It's got to be a profit.

WILL: A little Chinese rice paper painting.

Oh that's pretty.

WILL: Sweet isn't it?

MARK: Of a little junk.

WILL: You'd estimate that 20 to 30 quid whatever.

WILL: Wouldn't you?

MARK: Would you?

WILL: I would.

MARK: I don't think you would.

MARK: I think it would go in a job lot.

Oh for crying out loud.

Because these things are very collectable if you have a set of them.

Yes.

But a single one on its own is, I think, difficult to sell.

Well we shall see.

Chinese.

You and your Chinese, you're just desperate to find something that's going to make a lot of money.

I'm not, I just like it.

You are Will.

I just like it.

Put it away.

Thank you.

That wasn't a lot of money.

No.

Jolly good.

WILL: Now this, in one shop I bought the bronze head.

Yes.

Don't, don't, don't.

You've glued it?

No... Is this allowed in the rules.

WILL: And in the other shop the lady had a cane with no head.

Here's one I made earlier.

I stuck it together with double sided sticky tape.

MARK: But you don't think it's modern?

MARK: I do.

# There may be trouble ahead.

# VO: It's like Fred and Ginger, isn't it?

So the total price of this?

55.

It's a speccy little lot, someone might give me 60... Speccy little lot.

Oh god.

That's a technical term.

You know, this time next year we're going to be millionaires.

We'll be millionaires Mark.

Listen, well done.

Good work, mate.

I've enjoyed it, again.

And I look forward to the auction.

Me too.

I'm looking forward to it.

MARK: Thanks, Will.

WILL: Good work.

Listen, we had fun and we're still friends, yeah?

VO: Well, they might well say that, but what do they really think?

I must say, looking at the table on the reveal, I was kind of more happy with my items than his.

The walking stick is genius, absolute genius.

To marry a 19th century cane with, what I think is a very modern cast skull, is genius.

I'm fairly confident that this auction will be mine!

VO: It's time to get back on the road and head to the den of antiquity - Ha!

- Chiswick Auctions.

VO: On the third leg of their road trip, our doughty dealers have crossed the breadth of Kent and into London, starting in Deal and ending in Chiswick, for the auction.

But the main thing is we are having fun.

We are having fun, and we're round around the round around.

I know.

Or even "around about"!

Around about around a roundabout.

Oh, and a r... Rr..rr..rr... VO: Don't worry guys, I'll do the talking.

Chiswick, a well-to-do suburb of west London and the birthplace of Dame Helen Mirren, provides the end to the third leg of our road trip.

This is it.

Here we are Mark - let's rock this sale room.

Well, I'll rock something anyway!

Come on.

VO: Chiswick Auctions have been in business for only 15 years, but have gained an excellent reputation and are frequently featured on TV.

VO: They specialize in fine art, antiques and collectables.

The man at the helm of today's auction, with his gavel at the ready, is William Rouse.

We've got a set of four rosewood dining chairs which are just the sort of thing which is in vogue at the moment, people like retro items.

There's also a very nice coromandel book slide, which isn't necessarily always the most commercial of items from terms of practicality, but it's a really nice quality thing, and quality tends to sell.

VO: Quite right.

Mark Stacey set out on this leg with £188.14 and forked out 139 smackers on six items for his five lots.

Will Axon began this leg with a lowly £144.32 and once again spent all but a few pennies, also on six items that comprise five lots.

MARK: You fluttering?

WILL: No.

No?

WILL: Confident.

MARK: Really?

WILLIAM: £50, then... VO: Right chaps, let battle commence.

VO: First up is Will's chinoiserie platter, circa 1840.

I've got interest in this on the book... Ooh.

..I'm surely you'll be pleased to know, and I'm straight in at £15.

Oh, well that's...that's good.

WILLIAM: £15.

18.

20.

22.

25.

25 is bid.

28, I'll take.

WILLIAM: 28.

30.

32.

Near the doorway, then, at £32.

WILLIAM: £32.

You all done and finished at £32?

32.

193.

Well, done, Will.

Was alright.

I was surprised at that.

VO: A steady £12 profit for Will's platter.

Good start.

VO: It's Mark's garden seat next, with pierced decoration.

Interest in this on the book, I'm straight in at £35.

MARK: Oh, that's alright.

WILLIAM: ..next bid.

35.

40.

45.

WILLIAM: 45 is bid, then, at £45.

Anybody else, then?

WILLIAM: At £45.

I'm gonna sell it, then.

45.

VO: A healthy £25 profit for Mark.

This is going rather well.

MARK: 45?

Well, I thought it might have made a bit more, they were starting to bid, then.

I don't know, but... Then they realized what they were doing.

VO: Now, now boys.

VO: It's time for Will's bronze censer case.

What's it worth?

Start me.

£30 for this lot, speculative lot.

WILLIAM: I'm bid 30.

Thank you.

Oh, we're straight in at 30.

WILLIAM: 35.

38.

40.

42.

45.

48.

50.

£50.

WILLIAM: £50, in the middle of the room at 50.

WILLIAM: Anybody else, then?

WILLIAM: Are you all done and finished at £50?

WILLIAM: I'm gonna sell the lot, at 50 it goes.

Boosh!

You were quite lucky there, Will.

I was not!

VO: I'm not sure about luck, but I do know it's another profit for Will.

Told you we were going to have a good day.

Cheer up, Mark, it's your fan-shaped engraving next.

What's it worth?

Start me, £30 the lot.

WILLIAM: £20 for the lot to go, WILLIAM: for £20, surely, for this framed fan.

Anybody?

Oh, dear.

£10, start me.

Oh, no.

WILLIAM: I'm bid 10 here.

12.

14.

16.

18.

20.

22.

£22 in front of me.

Anybody else, then, at £22?

Oh, isn't that a shame?

22.

25 there.

28.

30.

32.

35.

..this gentleman... WILLIAM: 38.

40.

42.

45.

45 there.

You... WILLIAM: 45.

A bit better, more respectable.

£45.

That was close.

I hope you brought a change of trousers!

VO: Fear not, Mark, you're on a roll - another £25 profit.

Oh, I thought that was going to struggle for a second.

You hoped it was going to struggle.

I did not.

No, of course you didn't, Will.

45, 45... No, I think the viewers can make up their own mind.

WILLIAM: ..two-tiered chandelier... VO: That's you told, Will.

VO: Handbags at the ready.

Let's see if the auction room gets as excited about the book slide as you did, Will.

Nice, quality object.

And I'm straight in at £60.

WILLIAM: £60 I'm bid.

65.

70.

WILLIAM: 75.

80 is my last.

85 in the room.

You see, that's still good, actually.

Need someone to go with him now.

WILLIAM: At £85 in the room.

Anybody else want to come in?

I can sell the lot.

85 it goes, then.

I think that's a jolly good price.

VO: Well, how sporting of you, Mark.

A cracking result for Will there.

VO: Do I smell a profit here?

It's Mark's scent flask and dressing table jar.

Must be worth £30.

£15 each for them.

30 I'm bid.

32.

Oh, it's 30.

WILLIAM: 32 I'm bid.

At £32.

Come along.

£32 is all I'm bid.

Seems so cheap.

I can't believe it.

WILLIAM: 35, thank you.

35 there.

WILLIAM: In the middle of the room, 38.

It's amazing where they all come from.

WILLIAM: 40.

42.

£42, here we are.

At £42.

You all done and finished?

£42.

I was very lucky with that one.

VO: A £15 profit, Mark, but you'll need to do better to win this auction.

VO: Eyes up - it's Will's Pith painting next.

Somebody likes it.

I've got a start off bid of £30 with me.

Oh, that's alright.

Pleased with that.

WILLIAM: 30.

32 I'll take in the room.

WILLIAM: It's with me, then, on a commission bid at 30.

WILLIAM: Anybody else want to come in?

WILLIAM: Against commission with me, then, at £30.

I'm gonna sell it at 30.

Sold.

VO: A commission bid is a bid left by someone who can't be at the auction.

VO: How will the Chiswick bidders react to Mark's big purchase - the Danish dining chairs?

Somebody offer me £20 to start me.

£20 for the four chairs.

MAN: Danish chairs.

Now, it's absolutely... WILLIAM: £10, then?

VO: Uh-oh!

WILLIAM: Bruno, can't resist a bargain.

WILLIAM: 12, OK.

Suddenly things are beginning to move.

Someone's had a go at... WILLIAM: 14?

MAN: Too much.

Too much.

WILLIAM: Dear, oh, dear.

£12.

£14 in the blue.

16.

WILLIAM: £16 standing, then, at £16, oh, dear.

WILLIAM: £16.

I'm gonna sell them.

VO: Oh, dear indeed!

The dining chairs were a sitting duck.

That's a loss of £39.

Mark, you were...I thought you were unlucky with them.

Well, that's the way it goes, isn't it?

It's life.

WILLIAM: Sorry, em, lot one-two... VO: Now, how will the bidding go on Will's last lot of the day, his cleverly amalgamated skull and cane?

WILLIAM: This is a nice bit of fun, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

And, em, somebody likes it.

I'm straight in at £40.

With me at £40.

WILLIAM: 45.

50.

They're all...they all want it!

60.

65.

70.

75.

WILLIAM: 80.

85.

90.

95.

100.

110.

MARK: This is ridiculous!

Go on!

WILLIAM: 140.

WILL: Go on!

WILLIAM: 150.

160.

170.

180.

190.

WILL: Oh, it's a good thing, Mark!

MARK: It's not a good thing!

And there.

Thanks for the bid.

At £200.

Anybody else want to come in?

WILLIAM: Unusual lot.

£200.

I'm gonna sell it.

Oh!

Oh, now I know what it feels like!

I think...I think it's brilliant, Will.

VO: Say it like you mean it, Mark!

A stonking profit for Will.

Bravo!

VO: It's Mark's last chance to catch up, but his Denby pottery vase will have to go some for him to stand a chance of victory at today's auction.

There we go.

Is it worth £20 for this?

Oh...come on.

WILLIAM: 20.

20 I'm bid here.

22.

25.

28.

30.

In front of me here at £30.

Still at 30.

Well, it's profit at least.

£30.

I'm gonna sell it for 30.

Well, it's a profit, Will.

VO: Little consolation there for Mark.

After auction costs, that's a small profit, and nowhere near enough to win today, as Will takes the spoils.

VO: It's been a tremendous auction for our new boy of knickknacks against the titan of treasure.

VO: So the tables have turned.

Mark started this leg with £188.14, and after costs, made a disappointing £6.96 profit, giving him £195.10 to play with on the next leg.

VO: Will Axon though went forth and multiplied.

He kicked off this leg with £144.32, and after auction costs made a whopping £181.54, and starts next time with a bumper £325.86.

Well done.

Wooff!

What a contrast, William!

My first taste of victory, Mark.

But it was quite a... quite a taste of victory as well, you know, Will, but it's raining, shall we go?

WILL: Come on, get in the car.

VO: So, we've got a real contest now.

VO: In your own time, Will!

VO: Next time on the Antiques Road Trip: VO: Mark Stacey can't refuse an amuse-bouche.

Oh, lovely.

Thanks.

Oh, I'll come back here again!

VO: Whilst Will Axon's just easily amused.

(COW MOOING) subtitling@stv.tv