Antiques Road Trip

Episode 23 (22x23)

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It’s a very wild and waterlogged road trip as our pair of antiques experts, Izzie Balmer and Phil Serrell, brave the deluge around Oxford and the Cotswolds. Aside from bad-hair-day problems, they have to hope that their 60s soft-top is up to the challenge. After her foray into 'Serrell country' last time out, Izzie is back in the cabinets, on the hunt for her favourite jewellery. Displaying some rather bizarre browsing behaviour, Phil decides to try his luck with an item that was lost at sea for over 200 years. As well as their trusty Triumph, our pair tries out some alternative modes of transport. Philip catches a train to find out the history of one of Britain’s earliest railway companies and how four schoolboys saved its steam engines from the scrapheap. And it’s puppy power for Izzie as she discovers how man’s best friend has helped people to get about and survive in the Arctic for millennia. But has she got what it takes to be a champion musher? Then it’s time for their purchases to go under the hammer in Harrogate, to see who will win the day. Once they hit the emporia, Phil finds a novel use for a set of stepladders as he scoops up a few 'old school' antiques, one of which may not be quite what it first seems. Izzie leans toward her favourite small pretty things, but has a last-minute panic when she arrives at one destination to find the shops are shutting. They also indulge in some rocking horse riding, cat whispering and disagreements about scarf wearing. On their travels, Izzie stops off at Tunbridge Wells for a spot of sightseeing and to find out how the town went from being a playground for royalty to one of the earliest examples of suburban living. Meanwhile, Phil heads to the Essex coast to meet the fishermen who are teaming up with scientists to revive the stocks of a very fancy seafood delicacy. Then it’s on to the auction in Battle, East Sussex, to discover if all of their hard work will reap big rewards.