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

This is beautiful.

That's the way to do this.

VO: With £200 each, a classic car and a goal to scour for antiques.

Joy.

Hello.

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

But it's no mean feat.

(LAUGHS) (GAVEL) VO: There will be worthy winners and valiant losers.

Sorry, sorry!

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

The handbrake's on.

VO: This is Antiques Road Trip!

Yeah.

Welcome to a bracing Caledonian morn with Catherine Southon and Paul Laidlaw.

PAUL (PL): I trust you've had your bannocks this morning, be set up for the day.

VO: After starting out back in Northern Ireland, they're now deep in the Scottish borders.

Look at that.

CATHERINE (CS): People say, "Oh the Highlands," but it's lovely round here, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah.

Just beautiful.

VO: Especially in that yellow Morris Minor, which dates from an era before seat belts were mandatory.

CS: Makes you want to get out your easel.

PL: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

CS: Your paintbrush.

Well, we're glad you like it.

I do, I do, and it's so green.

VO: On this trip auctioneer Paul has mostly steered clear of his trademark militaria.

Profitably exploring his feminine side instead.

Oh yes.

CS: Your twee little tea set which did you proud.

You bought the beaded bags for goodness' sake.

Come on, they were dirt cheap, weren't they?

They were.

They were.

Which, in truth, was the appeal.

PL: (LAUGHS) VO: Not that rival auctioneer Catherine can really claim to have scaled the moral high ground.

This is just amazing.

VO: With a similarly shrewd purchase to her name.

Yep we're in the rag trade now.

Antiques Rag Trade!

VO: Catherine has so far shrunk her £200 stake to £169.96.

While Paul, who began with the same sum, has £372.76 to spend today.

CS: You've got oodles.

PL: I'm rich like Croesus.

CS: Oh!

You've got so much money you don't know what to do with it.

PL: (LAUGHS) I had Warren Buffet on the phone this morning asking if he could borrow some money from me.

VO: Oh yes?

Our journey started out in Portrush, County Antrim.

After exploring Northern Ireland, they crossed the sea towards Scotland and will finish, several hundred miles later, in Aberdeen.

But today we begin in Melrose in the Borders, and then head north towards an auction in Edinburgh.

At the foot of the ancient Eildon Hills, Melrose, with its magnificent ruined abbey, is quite a spot.

Paul's got the place to himself as well, having dropped Catherine off a little earlier.

Hello there.

SUSAN: Morning.

PL: Is it Susan?

SUSAN: Yes.

PL: Lovely to see you.

VO: To see you, nice.

Lovely shop too.

Ever so cream.

Fabulous stuff.

Very nice indeed!

VO: But where are the bargains?

My task, of course, is not just to find a fabulous object.

Anyone with an eye can do that.

It is to find the object with the profit left in it.

And here we are in a very, very smart, and I am going to say sophisticated environment.

My hope levels are down at one little bar.

VO: Keep digging.

Dog's life, eh?

Let me show you something.

A late-20th-century wrought-iron lamp or wine table.

What on Earth is Laidlaw up to?

Forget the table.

Look at the top.

If the stand dates to the 1970s, the tiles on the top may date to the 1670s.

Actually I think they are a bit earlier than that.

Come closer.

You would expect, for a piece that should be 350 years old, some fricking, losses to the glaze.

We get all of that.

We get the wear and tear that we want, so the hallmarks of age and we look at the subject matter and Laidlaw's eyes light up.

Because here we have a splendid pair of 17th-century musketeers.

Here we have the chap in his characteristic wide floppy brimmed hat, with bandoliers draped round his body.

These bandoliers carried typically 12 little wooden containers with a measure of powder and these little vessels, that we can see draped here, were termed The 12 Apostles.

This is an accurate depiction by an artist who saw these guys marching down the high street, parading on a Sunday afternoon.

Time travel.

I love it!

I like the juxtaposition of the 17th century with the 20th century.

Yeah, that said I'd really rather hack them out.

(CHUCKLES) VO: Best buy it first Paul!

The ticket price is £65.

Susan, I love your wee wine table.

Yes, it's lovely.

The tiles especially.

Aren't they just.

Is there much margin in that?

Is there slack in that price?

There is, a little.

Gonna hit me with it?

50?

Dare I push you any further?

You can push me a little, but not very much.

I need a three at the beginning of that price tag.

No, I can't.

I'm sorry.

Give me the bottom line.

And I... 45 would be the bottom.

Thank you, that is all I need to know.

VO: We're getting close.

If you would sell that to me for £40, that fiver will seal the deal.

OK.

Thank you very much.

You're welcome.

VO: Gosh, all very convivial and a lot quicker than it seemed it might be too.

Just in time for elevenses, eh?

My lucky day, is it not?

From an antique shop straight into a good Scots butchers advertising Scotland's finest Scotch pies.

(CHUCKLES) When in Rome and all that!

VO: Quite.

So while Paul samples certain local delicacies, let's see where Catherine's got to.

VO: Deep in the woods at the Dawyck Botanic Garden.

She's come to find out about an Edwardian adventurer who hunted exotic plants.

Hi there.

Nice to meet you.

And you too.

Beautiful gardens.

It is isn't it?

You are very lucky to work somewhere like here.

VO: Dawyck is now part of Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden but as archivist Leonie reveals, in the 19th century it belonged to the wealthy Balfour family.

It's a garden with a long history of being associated with plant collectors.

Well, I am familiar with antique collecting, but where does plant collecting come from?

It's possibly a similar thing.

You would go out to different parts of the world and basically collect whatever plants, flowers, trees as well.

CS: Mm-hm.

LEONIE: You would take a plant cutting or you could collect the seeds from the plant, send them back home and people were able to grow the plants that you've seen growing out of the wild in various parts of the world.

VO: The profitable pursuit of plant collecting for the gardens of the rich has been around for hundreds of years, but it was once highly dangerous.

So George Forrest, a 30-year-old herbarium clerk, may not have been the obvious choice.

But in 1904, the rookie collector set off for China, in search of exotic plants.

What fun!

There's an area in southwest China in the province of Yunnan.

There had been plant collectors over on the east coast of China before but this part of China, the southwest was relatively unexplored.

It is where the end of the Himalayas hook down into it so you have got these huge high mountain ranges and then these low tropical river valleys.

So, you were able to get whatever environment or climate that you were looking for kind of fairly close at hand.

Obviously all you had to do was get there.

VO: A look around the gardens reveals that Forrest was to become one of the most successful plant collectors of all time.

But history could have turned out very differently.

So, how successful was the first expedition?

It started off fairly quietly actually.

Forrest arrived too late in the season to collect any plants.

CS: Oh, no.

LEONIE: So, er...

But it was OK.

He spent the time usefully here and he scoped his way around Yunnan working out where the best place to collect plants would be, so 1905 finds him up the Mekong River in Yunnan staying at a mission.

But this is where it all starts to go, to go wrong for Forrest.

It is illustrated quite nicely with this map that Forrest drew himself.

To the north, our missions, they were under siege by some irate locals at the time.

I think quite fed up with western influence.

So, Forrest was basically in a position knowing that at any moment these men could come down and do the same and that is exactly what happens.

He finds himself...

It must have been terrifying.

Absolutely terrifying, yes.

They find themselves having to flee in the dead of night.

And this map shows the little... Oh, is that his escape route?

It's his escape route, indeed.

But unfortunately they're not able to evade these men for long.

The attack eventually does happen and it's every man for himself.

VO: What followed was a massacre from which only a very fortunate few, including Forrest, survived.

Oh, is this him?

That's him there.

Yes, this is him after... Oh, he looks completely different.

Completely different, yes.

He's been starved, hunted... CS: He looks a lot thinner.

LEONIE: But after that, Forrest then actually does go on and have a successful plant-collecting summer in 1906 and returns back to Edinburgh in 1907 with a massive haul of plants.

And then, as his fame grows, he goes on to do another six expeditions out to China.

VO: Altogether, Forrest brought back as many as 31,000 specimens, including many new discoveries.

But having ensured a place in scientific history, his seventh trip in 1932 was to be his last.

He's just about to return home and he has a heart attack in the hills outside Tengchong and he dies there and he's actually... Oh, he died there?

..buried out there in the hills that he loved, yes, so he never made it back to Edinburgh.

VO: But thanks to his extraordinary photographs and immaculate record keeping, Forrest's plant-collecting legacy lives on.

So, this is all listed in a number of field books?

CS: All the different... LEONIE: Yep, yep.

..specimens that he was picking up?

Yeah.

There's about 25 volumes of them that we have, yep.

Oh, goodness.

And they're still used today, that's the nice thing about these archives, although he was writing these almost 100 years ago.

We can still take a record, such as this one here, the rhododendron species that he collected in June 1918, and we can now just walk just up the road here and have a look at this plant actually growing here.

Yep.

CS: That's incredibly special, isn't it?

And here it is.

So, what is this particular plant?

This is Rhododendron roxieanum.

I quite like the fact that it's named after the wife of a friend of George Forrest as well.

VO: Of course Forrest could never have foreseen that several of the plants he brought home would become threatened back in Yunnan.

But in the herbaria he helped to create, biodiversity is in good hands.

If plants are in danger or they're suffering in their native habitat, we now have a lot of plant material that we can now send back to China and plant it in the botanic garden there.

We can also make people more aware about their biodiversity.

CS: I shall certainly look at a rhododendron in a totally different way now.

Thank you ever so much, Leonie.

VO: Meanwhile Paul's got some collecting of his own to attend to - taking our route a little closer to the border, to Hawick, the riverside town that's famous for its knitwear factories, manufacturing luxurious cashmere and merino products.

Not that Paul will have time for jumpers.

Don't judge me!

VO: Ha!

Once he's polished off that pie, that is!

PL: (LAUGHS) Hello there.

Is it Maurice?

It is.

Hello Paul, nice to meet you.

Good to see you.

Good to see you.

What a structure.

Is it a mill we're in?

It were a cashmere mill, yeah, up to about 10 years ago.

VO: Recently transformed into this huge antiques emporium.

Containing an awful lot of fine furniture.

Give it a rub, eh?

Early 18th century gateleg table.

Nice little size.

It's £245.

It's £245.

VO: I think even our hard-hearted expert is tempted.

I like that.

I like that.

VO: Face it, Paul.

Those aren't for you.

This is the densest room in the building for smalls.

I keep looking at this stick stand here.

There's good workmanship there.

Don't write this off as the work of some 1960s blacksmith.

I think there's real quality in terms of design and execution here.

What makes it for me are these scrolls.

Slightly naturalistic, asymmetric.

And see the way that scroll wraps itself around the upright member?

That's good work, isn't it?

But it's very black and that's not everyone's cup of tea.

It's also got some problems.

It's a wee bit drunk.

Indeed this little pan didn't sit right in the first place because this replacement bow is too long.

Ticket price £75.

I tell you what, you're not going to find anyone that could make anything of that quality for £75.

VO: I think his mojo's working again.

Must be the pie!

Ha!

Time to get a price from Maurice.

DEALER: 60?

PL: That's... 60-ish?

60 quid.

I'm a long way off.

I'm a 40 quid job on that.

Can I let you know?

Yeah, do, yeah, yeah, absolutely, but I'm seriously interested.

Right.

VO: Sounds like Maurice may be biddable.

Anything else?

Look at that nice little burr-walnut-veneered collector's cabinet with that little string inlay there.

Wrong.

It's all tin plate.

Tin plate at that time, as it still is today, was used commonly to package sweets.

And this one is issued for our world-famous Victory V gums and lozenges.

"The world's winter sweetmeats."

Get in!

VO: Invented in 1864, the first recipe contained chlorodyne, a mixture of laudanum, cannabis and chloroform!

Advertising packaging, vintage material, sells.

It's a hot market.

Now, I don't think this is the most exciting tinplate box in the world, but it's not the most dreary either.

It taps into an iconic brand.

VO: No price label though.

Something to ask about I'd imagine.

The only issue I could find was the top drawer is snagged.

I don't think that's a difficult fix.

But you know what it might be?

It might be a lever for me to get this at the right price.

VO: Maurice is still considering Paul's proposal of £40 for the stick stand.

Gird your loins!

There's a tinplate chest of drawers.

PL: It's a Victory Vs thing.

DEALER: Yep?

Mm-hm.

It's a bit buckled.

I can't get the top drawer open.

About 10 or 20 quid?

Right.

The stick stand, which I offered 40 quid on, and the box... Aha?

£50 the two.

DEALER: We've got a deal.

PL: Pleasure, Maurice.

DEALER: You're welcome.

PL: I'll give you some money.

Oh, that sounds good.

(THEY CHUCKLE) VO: No sign of Paul's little fortune going to his head just yet, is there?

Ah, now, here's Catherine.

Hands in her pockets.

That cheeky Laidlaw is already here!

VO: Yep, and he's looking suitably smug.

Well, well, well.

What are you doing... Don't interrupt me.

..sitting here?

Have you shopped up?

PL: (MURMURS) I've bought a few things.

I don't believe you.

I don't believe you.

What you been doing?

Where've you been?

I've been on an adventure.

You'll love it, by the way.

Huge.

Um...

Nothing left of course.

VO: Take no notice.

But Catherine seems to be adopting a different approach.

Ignoring the furniture and letting Maurice be her guide.

CS: Maybe this case?

DEALER: This one?

Let's have a look.

Nice quality.

Japanese.

Cigarette.

Oh, that is nice quality, isn't it?

Mm-hm.

With Mount Fuji in the background.

That's right.

VO: So fresh it hasn't got a ticket on it yet.

So this is probably gonna be produced in the early part of the 20th century I would say.

I would think so, yeah.

So you would've put your cigarettes all in here.

DEALER: Mm-hm.

CS: And sometimes people use these today as card holders or something like that.

So this is all lacquered here.

Mm-hm.

What's the best on that then, Maurice?

Erm... 55.

If you'd have said to me yesterday, yes, I probably would've paid 55, but I'm struggling on the cash front at the moment.

So, erm... it's a possibility.

Is there any chance that we can... dig a bit lower or should I look for some other pieces?

How much lower?

Would it be really cheeky to say 35?

I'll take your £35 for that.

Right, OK.

So, we've got a deal on one thing.

VO: Not a lot of shaking on just yet though.

Anything else?

Oh, that's got a good look to it.

I like that.

How old is this one, do you think?

1950s I would think.

I've got another one upstairs, another pond yacht.

I think it's upstairs anyway.

Is it a good one?

Don't know, it's alright.

VO: Meanwhile there's a pair of decanters to take a peek at.

I've only got £30 on the pair.

Yeah, they look pretty good, don't they, but they don't excite me, like the case did.

OK.

Unless they're dirt cheap.

15 quid.

That's £7.50 each.

VO: That is cheap.

Still no deal though.

Now for his other yacht.

CS: Nice.

DEALER: Quite a nice thing actually.

Ah, that is a proper pond yacht.

200.

DEALER: £80.

CS: £80.

VO: Quite a reduction!

CS: What can that really go for at auction?

What can I see that making?

Ooh.

200 or 300.

No.

Won't make as much as that.

I think it's a bit tatty.

I like it, but it's a bit tatty, so I think I'd have to...

Knock me down a lot?

Yeah, I would.

I mean, honestly, I'd probably see that at £40.

Guh!

Guh.

50 quid.

Let me th... D'you know what?

I'm not shaking on anything at the moment cuz I'm...

I'm, I'm...

I've got a lot to think about.

VO: I'm beginning to lose track of the contents of Catherine's growing pile.

There's more too.

Right.

How about this little tobacco jar?

Victorian, cast iron.

Love the shape, octagonal shape.

Nice.

It's cast iron... DEALER: Original tobacco press.

CS: Nothing to it, is there?

Everything's there.

Little brass finial.

Fiver.

That's a possibility.

VO: OK. Are we about to witness a handshake?

DEALER: Hello.

CS: There you be.

Are you ready for this?

Go on.

I'm deciding not to go for the decanters, although I like them.

Then there was three items.

So there was the lacquered card case.

Card case, yeah.

There was the little Victorian tobacco press.

Mm-hm.

There was the pond yacht.

So, those three together, with the prices that we discussed is 80.

Can I come down to 65, 70?

Yeah, go on then.

Seeing as it's you.

Which one?

Which one?

70.

Ah.

Not 65.

70.

Thank you very much indeed.

OK. You're welcome.

You're welcome.

I'm really grateful.

VO: (WHISTLES) They've both had quite a start.

Three items, happy days!

VO: But what will tomorrow bring?

Do you know what would be my dream?

Oh, go on.

Is that you would go out and spend £200 on something... That makes 20?

And it makes... Oh... PL: (LAUGHS) CS: Oh.

Are you enjoying that?

Are you enjoying that?

VO: Ha-ha.

Nighty-night.

Next day there's an OFFAL lot to talk about.

Ha!

Right next door to the first antiques shop I was in - face lit up when I saw the finest Scotch pie emporium in Scotland.

I bought haggis, white pudding.

Have you had mealy pudding?

White pudding?

No.

Don't like the sound of that.

PL: (LAUGHS) CS: Sounds horrible.

Do you eat it?

PL: It's gorgeous.

VO: And when he wasn't scoffing he found time to buy some tin drawers... ..a stick stand and a tile-topped table.

I'd really rather hack them out.

VO: Which set him back £90, leaving just over 280 in his wallet.

While Catherine's haul included a tobacco jar, a cigarette case and a pond yacht.

As you do.

Is it a good one?

Don't know.

It's alright.

VO: Eh.

All for £70.

Meaning she has less than 100 at her disposal.

PL: Any windfalls?

CS: There's nothing I'm going to make a lot of money on.

Oh, that's alright then.

I don't care any more.

Aren't the views nice?

VO: Ha-ha!

Later they'll be heading for an auction in Edinburgh, but our next stop is in Innerleithen, Tweeddale.

VO: Yes he was here.

Plus this spa town was immortalized in St Ronan's Well, the only contemporary novel by Sir Walter Scott.

PL: Have a good 'un, you.

CS: Thank you.

Wish me luck.

See you later.

Ciao.

Hello there.

Hi, hi.

Lovely to see you.

Catherine Southon.

Hi.

You are?

Margaret.

Hi, Margaret, nice to meet you.

It's a small space, but it's absolutely rammed full isn't it?

VO: You took the words right out of my mouth, Catherine.

Look at that lot.

Ooh.

CS: Is that silver, the golfing one, or...

Yes, it is.

I've got 35 on that.

Are you a golfer, Margaret?

No, I'm not a golfer.

(THEY CHUCKLE) VO: Quite a few are in Edinburgh though.

It's stamped 925, sterling, so probably not English silver I wouldn't say.

I think it's really interesting.

You've got a man there in his plus fours taking a swing.

And what could you do on that, Margaret?

Erm... Could do 28.

Well, I'll have a look to see if there's anything else, cos at 28 it, it might be a bit much.

VO: One little item under consideration already.

Oh!

They're being watched.

DEALER: That's my specialty is the dolls... CS: Is it?

DEALER: ..and teddy bears, yeah.

CS: How is the market?

It's not as good as it used to be, is it?

No.

But there's still doll collectors who come to me and want to find a doll.

They look good up there, don't they?

They do.

They're watching over you, Margaret.

They come out at night and have fun.

VO: This is turning into Toy Story.

I'll bet those two join in!

Puppets, you sell a lot of puppets do you?

Not really, but that's Sooty and Sweep there, which is a 1950s Sooty and Sweep.

CS: I loved Sooty and Sweep.

DEALER: These are the earlier ones, the '50s ones, when they came out, earlier.

You'll notice, actually, that Sooty doesn't have black ears in that one, he has brown ears.

Do I buy the brooch?

I DO buy the brooch?

Ah.

VO: Consulting Sooty, eh?

I didn't see that coming.

Does Sweep concur?

They're in agreement.

They're fantastic.

I'm tempted to buy these.

So who were these made by?

Chad Valley or...?

Chad Valley.

It's got the label there somewhere in the side.

This one's not in bad condition.

No.

Sometimes you get the noses repaired and they've been re... Yeah, yeah.

..sewn, but I don't think that's... No, that's not had anything done, I don't think.

VO: No surgery then.

Ha!

But his mate's looking a bit worse for wear.

Sooty, I think you're kind of past it a bit.

DEALER: I think Sooty's maybe been the one that was the most cuddleable.

Is that the word?

Yeah.

VO: The ticket price for the furry pair is £48.

CS: That to me doesn't even look like Sooty.

I mean, definitely Sooty?

I'm... Well, they came together.

VO: He's not Basil Brush, Catherine!

Where did you get them from, actually?

From a toy museum.

Ah, did you?

So that's why I felt reasonably confident that they were right.

The fact that we've got a bit of provenance behind that, a bit of history.

DEALER: Yeah.

VO: Sounds like Sooty's passed the test.

But where are we on the deal, children?

What could you really do on these?

Could you do 50 for the two?

Because that...

I think this is mid 20th century.

But I think 25 is top whack.

..bid is on that, OK. And then I think 25 on that is just a punt and a bit of fun.

OK then, we'll go for 50.

Is that alright?

OK.

Done.

I'm gonna shake your hand.

Hope they do well for you.

Oh, I really hope they do.

Yeah.

I mean that face, it says, "Come and buy me," doesn't it?

Aw.

Ho-ho-ho, I think we might have struck gold, don't you?

Oh yes!

VO: Bye-bye!

Elsewhere in the Borders, Paul's making his way to another place with strong literary associations.

Towards the county town of Tweeddale, in Peebles, where he's come to find out more about the incredible real-life adventures of the Scottish writer of The 39 Steps.

One of our most influential spy novels.

Hello.

Is it Deborah?

Yes, Paul, how very nice to meet you, and thank you very much for coming.

VO: The museum, dedicated to Deborah's grandfather John Buchan, is located here in the Borders because this was where he spent time as a young man, and set some of the most exciting passages of his man-on-the-run thriller.

DEBORAH: You think of Richard Hannay running across these moors and you know how bare those hills can be and that you would see a fugitive running.

Yes.

Particularly if you had a monoplane.

I read it as a teenager and it is one of the best reads of my life.

VO: Buchan, the son of a Scottish minister, had already been a published author for several years when he wrote The 39 Steps while recovering from an illness, on the eve of World War I.

He was sent to bed in August 1914 with a terrible stomach complaint.

He ran out of thrillers to read and he said to my grandmother, "I want to write a book where the writer cares "what happens to both the victim and the perpetrator."

Mm-hm.

DEBORAH: And him and his daughter Alice were convalescing in Kent, in Broadstairs, and she was running up and down the steps that led down to the beach and she ran up and she said "Daddy, there are 39 steps."

PL: (LAUGHS) And that's supposed to be from where he got the title.

Well, the source of the story is quite good.

(THEY CHUCKLE) VO: Buchan's tale of one man's fight against German spies was an immediate hit, with huge numbers delivered to the troops.

He went on to write a further four novels featuring hero Richard Hannay.

But the author himself, although too ill for active service, was to play quite a part in the war.

He becomes a Times correspondent during the war.

A war correspondent?

DEBORAH: A war correspondent.

PL: I see.

But all the time he is writing a contemporaneous history of the war, published fortnightly in The Times, then he joins Earl Haig's staff.

I see.

In intelligence or... DEBORAH: Yes, yes.

PL: In uniform?

In uniform.

Yes.

So he ends up on active service regardless.

Yes.

VO: By the end of hostilities, during which both his brother and his best friend died, Buchan occupied a senior propaganda post in Whitehall.

He then turned to politics and became a member of parliament.

He's a good MP but he's not a successful politician.

OK. Because he can always see the other person's point of view.

I mean, for example he was great friends with Jimmy Maxton of the Red Clydesiders.

And he found it very difficult to adhere to a party line.

VO: Throughout, Buchan continued to write, eventually publishing around 100 works of both fact and fiction.

And it was during his late 50s that a writing job led to his last great public role.

DEBORAH: He's commissioned to write the Jubilee book for King George V and probably as a result of spending a lot of time with the king, the king decided to send him as governor general to Canada in 1935.

My word, that is some career.

I mean, you say not a successful politician but that is some achievement.

Yes.

VO: But if his never-out-of-print shocker remains Buchan's greatest legacy, it's thanks in part to the 1935 movie version by a young Alfred Hitchcock.

Although, as anyone who's experienced them both can tell you, it's a somewhat free adaptation.

The film premiered in London just before JB left to be governor general of Canada.

Right.

And in the interval Alfred Hitchcock came to him and said.

"Tell me, my lord, how are you enjoying the film?"

And he said, "Well, it's very good, Mr Hitchcock, "but can you tell me how it ends?"

PL: (LAUGHS) That's the anecdote of this encounter for me.

VO: Now with our two chums back together, and back on the road... CS: This is just beautiful.

There's more sheep than anything here.

It makes you feel good to be alive, doesn't it?

VO: ..it's time to head off to South Lanarkshire and the village of Wiston.

Sheepy sheepies.

So many mutton pies there.

VO: Paul!

They're not all to eat.

One last shop to share, nicely.

Right, then.

Elbows at dawn.

VO: Ha!

Let the shop name be your guide.

I saw one.

Oh-ho-ho.

Hello.

MARK: Hello, I'm Mark.

CS: I'm Catherine.

MARK: Hello, nice to meet you.

CS: Nice to meet you.

How you doing, Mark, you alright?

I'm fine, Paul.

VO: Delightful place but it might be a bit of a squeeze.

Would you mind if I head that way?

With your new friend?

With my new friend.

Good idea.

You just kind of go that way, wherever you want.

And I'll go with Mark.

At what point did I become the gooseberry?

Yeah, exactly.

What?!

VO: So while Paul makes himself scarce... You've got some fantastic pieces round here.

Well, there's plenty of things hidden away.

Hidden under things.

There are, aren't there?

That's what I like.

Oh nice, oh this octant's seen better days, hasn't it?

Yes.

It's missing...

Missing the scale and the vernier.

Oh well.

Still looks good, though, doesn't it?

Looks nice.

Yeah.

Nice decorative thing for the wall now.

Absolutely.

MARK: Makes it cheaper as well.

VO: Good point.

But after her happy shopping thus far, I don't think she's too bothered about buying more.

Paul, however, is definitely in the market.

So I've just picked up a wee plastic box... ..full of bits and bobs.

That is a little Scottish brooch.

Set with polished hard stones.

one couldn't call that a lot.

That's a little fob.

Royal Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland, long service.

(YAWNS) Women's Voluntary Service.

A little mufti badge worn by people to say, "Look, I'm doing my bit for the war effort."

For me the most interesting little object is here.

That is a little silver lapel badge.

If you don't know your armorials you've got no idea.

However I do recognize the device of the three cannon and the three shot.

That is the badge of the ordinance, the government department that deals with munitions and supplies.

None of that particularly stands out, however show me a fistful of it and I will show you an auction lot.

VO: A bit distracted, Catherine?

Ah, Paul, just the person.

You're good at crosswords.

(CHUCKLES) No, come back, come back.

Do you know what your problem is, Catherine?

It's work ethic.

If you wouldn't mind getting me a coffee because I am almost done with this crossword.

VO: I think she's done with shopping too.

Ah, that's familiar.

You've seen a mariner's sextant before.

This is a variation on the theme called an octant.

It allows you to measure the angle of elevation above the horizon of a given celestial object.

And thus, one can determine longitude.

VO: It was developed around 1730 with both an Englishman and an American having independent and equal claims to have got there first.

That is early 19th century.

I adore scientific instruments.

However, this one is incomplete.

It is lacking for one a register here that would have been inset into that channel.

It's an engraved scale from which one can take readings.

So, as far as I'm concerned it's too far gone.

However... maybe in that condition it's buyable.

I'm going to ask the question.

VO: Oh Mark?

Octant?

Very much so, yes.

Wrecked.

Very much so, yes.

MARK: Seen better days, yes.

PL: (LAUGHS) It's dead and gone to heaven.

Not in my opinion.

In your opinion, what is it worth then?

Er... Well I have £100 on it at the moment.

Euh!

Too much.

You open to offers?

Cheeky offers?

Insulting offers?

Borderline insulting offers?

Make it 50.

50 quid, er?

Thought for you.

Mm-hm?

Spotted that earlier, box full of random fobs.

Commemorative medallions, military insignia and brooches.

I will do the whole lot for 25.

VO: So the total currently stands at £75.

PL: I'm breaking one of my cardinal rules here which is to never buy anything you have to apologize for.

VO: A very good rule of thumb.

But do we spy a deal on the horizon?

Now, you can't sell that damaged piece to me for 40 quid, and I can't pay 50, but if I... float you an offer of 65 quid on the two, I will convince myself I got it for 40.

I'll go 70.

I really am... For a fiver.

Yeah.

I'm really struck now.

Um... 70 quid.

That's it.

I know when the bottom line's been reached.

Good.

We did it.

Got there.

PL: Phew!

(THEY CHUCKLE) VO: With those final buys wrapped up, let's take a peek at what they'll be bringing to auction.

VO: Paul parted with £160 for a table, some tin drawers, various badges, a stick stand and that octant.

While Catherine spent £120 on a cigarette case, a golf brooch, a pond yacht, a tobacco jar and two vintage glove puppets.

VO: Who did good?

She's gonna make money and there's some killers in there perhaps.

That stand.

I'm surprised he paid so much for that.

He may have a little wobble with that.

PL: Glove puppets.

Not my thing.

£25 paid, however, and if the specialists out there go, "That's the rare early one that you never see," there could be a good margin in it.

VO: After setting off from Melrose, our experts are now heading towards an auction on the outskirts of the capital.

It doesn't feel like we're anywhere near Edinburgh.

Turn this corner, you'll be able to see Edinburgh, I bet.

Cos there's the Pentland hills and just to the northeast of those you've got Edinburgh.

I've got my own little navigational... Aw!

My little, my little map here, haven't I?

Am I like your little Sherpa?

That's right, I can translate, show you the right fish and chip bars.

If you're looking for a bottle of Buckie in a brown paper bag.

(THEY CHUCKLE) You know how to treat a girl, don't you?

VO: Welcome to Rosewell, the home of the long-established Thomson Roddick Scottish Auctions.

Here we go.

Are you ready for a slaughtering?

It's gonna be... (CHUCKLES) Listen to you.

Get in there.

VO: I wonder what auctioneer Sybelle Thomson thinks will get everyone hot under the collar?

Sybelle?

Toys are very popular here and there's already been a few commissions left on Sooty and Sweep.

And I think they'll make £30, £40.

The ebony and brass inlaid octant, unfortunately it is missing a small section, but I still think it'll fetch in the region of £60 to £80.

VO: OK!

Eyes down, everyone.

Hotting up in here.

Ooh.

Feeling good.

You ain't seen nothing yet!

Feeling good.

VO: Hm.

First under the hammer is Paul's slightly tatty table, featuring two exquisite tiles.

People will see beyond the table.

They will see just the tiles.

I think.

As long as nobody's put a mug on them.

Two bids on this.

Can start at £25.

25.

It's a start.

25. Who's going on?

At 25.

28, 30, two, five, eight, 40, two, 42.

You're all out in the room.

Close.

At 42.

Anyone else, going on?

At £42.

(GAVEL) CS: Ooh!

Close but no cigar.

VO: Not a bad start.

We'll move on.

VO: Catherine's turn.

Her Japanese cigarette case.

Sexy thing.

CS: Good.

PL: Yes.

Good.

Keep talking.

And I can start straight in at 10 bid.

10 bid for a nice cigarette case.

10, come on.

SYBELLE: Anyone else, going on?

PL: It's nice, apparently.

12, 15, 18, 20, two, 25, eight, 30, two, five...

It's going.

It's gonna do it.

Eight, 40.

CS: Yes!

SYBELLE: £40.

All done?

Come on, a bit more.

Bit more.

Anyone else, going on?

At £40.

(GAVEL) CS: Ooh!

Better than my table though.

VO: Yep.

It's warming up.

So now we have your box of rust.

Your rusty box.

VO: Or an early 20th century chest of drawers modeled in tin, advertising Victory Vs.

I remember the sweets when I was younger.

They are really, really... PL: Astringent.

CS: Very strong.

Clean your tubes.

And we start this at 10 bid, 10 bid, 10 bid, 10 bid, 12, 15, 18... Well done.

Bid's with the lady at 18.

Anyone else, going on?

Lady seated.

Profit there.

18, 20.

Oh, fresh in.

It's got life in it yet.

22.

On my right at 22.

SYBELLE: At 22.

PL: I'll take it.

Happy days!

I'll take it all back about the rusty box.

VO: Ha!

Definitely V for victory.

Now for Catherine's tobacco jar.

A fiver, a fiver.

I know.

Bit of jealousy there?

Bit?

Yeah, a bit?

£20 for this?

20?

£10?

£10?

£5?

Five bid, everywhere.

PL: Everyone wants it.

Everywhere, don't like the sound of that.

SYBELLE: 15.

CS: Yes!

SYBELLE: 18.

20.

CS: Yes!

Yes!

SYBELLE: 22.

CS: Yes!

SYBELLE: 25.

CS: Yes!

28.

Lady standing at the back, SYBELLE: at 28.

CS: Keep going.

Anyone else, going on?

At £28.

CS: Ooh.

PL: Belter.

CS: 28.

PL: Loved that.

VO: Are you sure, Paul?

I may have to lie down somewhere.

Mr Laidlaw, are you jealous of that purchase?

Go on, admit it, go on.

VO: He picked this stick stand up pretty cheaply too.

£30 for this?

30?

She's got nothing.

£10?

10 bid.

12, 15, 18, 20.

They didn't miss it, they walked around.

Eight, 30, two, five, eight, 38.

Bid's on the right at 38.

40.

42.

45.

People appreciated it like you did.

On the right at 45.

PL: It's just gonna wash its face.

766.

It's flat this, for me.

It's flat.

VO: An unusual experience for our Paul.

I am really enjoying this.

Bring it on, what's next for you?

You're cold!

VO: They're supposed to be quite keen on golf around here.

I have two bids on this and we start at 15 bid.

15, on commission.

18, 20, two, five, eight, 28.

PL: It's getting there.

CS: 28.

SYBELLE: Anyone else?

At 30.

PL: It's alright.

30.

Standing right at the back at 30. Who am I missing for golfing interest?

At £30.

(GAVEL) We're not setting the auction world alight today, are we, with our purchases?

VO: I think any golfer would be pleased with that.

VO: This could be divisive.

The octant Catherine rejected.

If this one just makes it over the line and no more, as my other lots have...

..I'm doomed.

I have two bids on this and must start straight in at 55 bid.

55.

55, SYBELLE: 55, 60.

CS: Come on.

Five.

70.

CS: No!

No.

SYBELLE: Five.

80.

£80.

You're all out in the room.

Make no mistake.

Selling on commission.

On commission.

At £80.

Any advance on £80?

(GAVEL) PL: I'll take it.

VO: The best profit of the day.

VO: Now, izzy, wizzy, let's get busy!

Did you not have Sooty and Sweep?

Are you a bit old for that?

(GASPS) How very dare you, madam?!

And I can start these straight in at 20 bid.

20 bid.

Oh my word.

What?

22, 25, 28, 30.

She's off.

Two, five, eight, 40.

£40 on my right, at 40.

Keep going.

Anyone else, going on?

CS: Keep going.

SYBELLE: At £40.

(GAVEL) CS: Yes!

Lot 101.

VO: Take that, Teletubbies!

Phew!

VO: Paul reverts to type with his next lot.

Very interesting collection of military and other badges.

Very interesting collection.

And I can start straight in at 10 bid.

10 bid for military badges.

At 10.

12, 15, 18, 20, two.

Oh no.

SYBELLE: Five, eight.

CS: No, no.

30.

£30.

PL: Not enough.

You've done it.

SYBELLE: Anyone else, going on?

PL: It's not enough.

SYBELLE: At 30.

CS: Hammer down.

Hammer down.

At £30.

(GAVEL) CS: I'm so sorry.

You've beat me and you've got a lot to go.

VO: Never nice to see a grown man cry.

I like auctions here.

I think maybe we should come back here.

VO: Yes, she's cruising towards victory today.

£50 for it?

50?

30?

Oh, she's stabbing you in the heart.

£20 for a pond yacht.

20 bid.

22, 25, 28, 30.

SYBELLE: 30.

CS: (GROANS) 32, 35, 38, 40.

SYBELLE: £40, on my left at £40.

CS: Ah, come on.

Anyone else, going on?

CS: No.

PL: No one else, I hope.

..at £40.

(GAVEL) SYBELLE: 528.

Southon... SYBELLE: Lot 121... ..loving your work.

VO: No losses and some tidy profits leaves Catherine set fair.

CS: (HUMS HAPPILY) Let's go and party.

(CHUCKLES) I don't feel in a party mood, funnily enough.

PL: I don't know why it is.

CS: Come on.

Don't be a party pooper.

We could do the conga.

# Da-da-da-da-da-da.

# VO: Paul produced a profit of £19.58 after paying auction costs, so has £392.34 in his kitty.

While Catherine started out with £169.96 and after costs, she made a profit of £25.96, so wins the day and has £195.92 to spend next time.

CS: Good auction.

PL: Oh...!

There's only one way I'm going now and that is up.

PL: Oh, what?!

Fighting talk.

CS: Up!

Oh, you've beaten me by a fiver and you're taking off like a rocket.

Listen, hare and tortoise - remember that.

PL: Oh.

VO: Next on Antiques Road Trip: Catherine bets on black.

CS: Yay!

DEALER: Yep.

VO: And Paul sees red!

Philistines!

Ignorants!

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