Grand Designs Season 3, Episode 8: The Traditional Cottage, Herefordshire

The Wooden Box, Peterborough

'Is it a bold contemporary design or a garden shed?' John and Terri found themselves asking, halfway into their build. They had knocked down a derelict house in a beautiful rural setting and commissioned commercial architects to build them a new one. But was it too small for them, their young son and the baby on the way?

45 min

The Water-Works, Whaley, Derbyshire

The 1930s derelict water-works Chris and Leanne fell in love with was huge and its design had clearly been inspired by Gilbert Scott's Bankside power station, now better known as the Tate Modern. But nothing would deter the couple. 'We looked at it,' said Chris, 'and saw our home.'

45 min

The Woodsman's Cottage, Sussex

For 10 years, Ben lived in tents and caravans in a wood in West Sussex. As a woodsman, he needed and wanted to live among the trees. But after a battle with planning he finally got permission to build himself a house with more creature comforts. He invited volunteers to help him build one by hand, from the materials growing around him.

45 min

The Victorian Threshing Barn, Surrey

For Philip and Angela, the build was part of a life change that had begun two years earlier. Just after their second daughter was born, Philip fell seriously ill, prompting the family to leave London and move back to his parents' village. Acquiring the site was easy, as Philip's parents owned it. Getting planning permission took longer, and a crucial factor in their success was that they would be restoring the outside of the barn and keeping the innovation hidden.

45 min

Inverted Roof-House, Buckinghamshire

Tom and Judy wanted more than just a home for themselves and their two children. On a site of outstanding natural beauty in Buckinghamshire, they set out to build an ambitious house - a symphony of angles, glass walls and exposed steel, with a dramatic inverted roof. Tom made himself site manager and main contractor. He had no experience but he liked a challenge - and, after all, how difficult could it be?

45 min

The Terrace Conversion, Hackney, London

After 10 years of living in a small house in east London, John and Eleni hankered after modern, open-plan living. They didn't want to move, so they decided to give their Victorian terrace home a radical redesign. The house was in a conservation area, so the outside had to remain unchanged. Inside, however, they decided to rip out everything including walls, ceilings, floors and start again.

45 min

The Underground House, Cumbria

The old quarry stood on a slope of the Eden valley and commanded beautiful views. Local architect John Bodger designed a two-storey house that burrowed backwards into the rock and made maximum use of natural resources for light, warmth and power.

45 min

Revisited: The Isolated Cottage, Brecon Beacons, Wales

Revisited Season 2 (2002) episode 1 Kevin McCloud revisits Adrian and Corrina, who decided their first home was to be a 300-year-old ruin. The former cottage is set in the inhospitable climate of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

45 min

Revisited: The Dilapidated Georgian House, London

Revisited Season 2 (2002) episode 2 Kevin revisits Tony and Sharon, who fell in love with a completely dilapidated Georgian home in London and undertook the challenging task of restoring it to its former glory

45 min

Revisited: The Water Tower, Coleshill, Amersham

Revisited Season 2 (2002) episode 3 Kevin is in Amersham to update on a project taken on by Deborah and architect Andrew. Their venture involved designing an 'invisible' house that blended in with the surrounding reservoirs.

45 min

Revisited: The Derelict Barns, Devon

Revisited Season 2 (2002) episode 4 Kevin travels to the beautiful setting of south Devon to revisit Sue and Martin, whose dream was to create a family home using old English building techniques

45 min

Revisited: The Cruciform House, Lambourn Valley, Berkshire

Revisited Season 3 (2003) episode 1 Kevin McCloud returns to the Lambourn Valley to meet a couple who took three years to finish building their home on the Berkshire Downs.

45 min

Revisited: The House of Straw: 2nd Revisiting, Islington, North London

Revisited Season 3 (2003) episode 2 Kevin McCloud revisits the improbable Islington home of two architects who built their avant-garde north-east London house out of straw bales, springs, nappy cladding and silver tin

45 min

Revisited: The Former Electricity Sub-Station, Sunderland

Revisited Season 3 (2003) episode 3 Kevin McCloud catches up with a couple he met some years when they set about the task of converting a disused electricity substation in Sunderland into a four-bed family home

45 min

Revisited: The English Barn, Berkshire

Revisited Season 3 (2003) episode 4 Kevin McCloud revisits retired couple Denys and Marjorie Randolph from Berkshire, who had decided to embark on their final building project, a brand new, green oak, barn-style house