Winter Special Countryfile


Winter Special

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Winter. A season stripped bare.

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It may have started unseasonably mild

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and relentlessly wet, but its bite came back.

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So pull on your thermals

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and grab your gloves for a walk on the wild side of winter.

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Alternatively, you just sit in your nice, warm house and we'll do it.

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Ellie is getting a bird's-eye view

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of one of wildlife's greatest wonders, winter migration.

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This is amazing,

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I am cheek-to-beak with these beautiful greylags.

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Ha-ha! Love it!

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John has been lured to Cumbria by the call of the wild.

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HOWLING

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Howling with wolves!

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Sounds like John is the leader of the pack.

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In Yorkshire, Sean's winter rock fishing.

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Though it's him taking a battering, not the fish.

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It's blowing a gale here, but I've been told,

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the wilder the weather, the more plentiful the fish.

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No guts, no glory.

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And Adam is in Orkney,

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where their rare seaweed-eating sheep are under threat.

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Winters up here can be pretty tough, but not as tough as these sheep.

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Many years ago, I came up here

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to help save the North Ronaldsay breed from extinction.

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But now, wild winter storms have meant

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they've had some severe setbacks.

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If there's a part of the country that knows how to cope with

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a proper wild winter, it's Upper Teesdale.

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The vast expanse of fell is a stage,

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set for the weather to play out its many different moods.

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Rain, wind,

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sleet and snow.

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This place gets hammered by the weather.

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And I should know, I grew up not far from here.

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Our farm is just on the other side of that dale.

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Teesdale is no stranger to brutal winters.

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Nearly 70 years ago, it was tested by one of the worst.

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The infamous winter of 1947,

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and in that year, Teesdale recorded the most snowfall

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of any inhabited place in England.

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In fact, it was recorded at the bottom of this hill.

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But the people who can remember that winter are slowly disappearing.

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And with them, their stories.

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It sparked an idea.

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The North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership

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started an oral history project called A Winter's Dale.

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By recording interviews with elderly locals,

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they created a treasured archive of winter memories.

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I was a ten-year-old boy at the time

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and I can remember walking along the top of the heaps

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and you could reach up and touch the telephone wires.

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The sheep were in dire need of food.

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And it was pitiful to see them.

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They were just skeletons,

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absolute skeletons.

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Well, it was the most magical walk down that valley.

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A moonlight night.

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And great icicles hanging off barns.

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Oh, it was a dream, a dream.

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One of the surviving contributors to A Winter's Dale

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is retired farmer Maurice Tarn.

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He is now 86, but remembers those years like they were yesterday.

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So, Maurice, what are your memories then, of that winter of 1947?

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Oh, very, very savage winter.

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It blew from the east, it blew from the west.

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And all of this snow-cutting business as well, then.

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I mean, no diggers and all this, that and the other back then.

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Was it all shovels?

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Yes. It was hand shovels. My father had to go out snow-cutting.

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When the sun shone, he came home with a tan.

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-What, off the reflection on the snow?

-Off the snow, yes.

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And you didn't have the five-day forecast from Countryfile, did you?

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-No.

-You had to act on instinct.

-Definitely, yes.

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Just had to look up this valley

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and see where the clouds were coming from, like.

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So you're telling me all of this, Maurice,

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with a huge smile on your face.

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-And you've enjoyed your time in the Dale, then.

-Oh, yes,

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-I wouldn't live anywhere else.

-No.

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Times have changed since Maurice was a young lad.

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But winter is still tough here.

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Tom Hutchinson is a tenant farmer

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on 100 acres near Middleton-in-Teesdale.

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Today brings clear skies, a blanket of snow

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and a frosty bite in the air.

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The kind of conditions in which Tom, his dog Kyle

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and the quad bike can cope.

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Right, then, Tom, let's get these fed up, shall we?

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'It's a welcome change from

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'the eight weeks of solid rain he had before Christmas,

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'which turned his fields into a mud bath.'

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So, how has this winter been for you, so far?

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It's been very, very wet and very, very horrible

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and made life very, very awkward.

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Yeah. I mean, obviously using the quad today,

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but I bet you haven't been able to use one for a while.

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The problem with the quad is you need traction.

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If you've got an inch of water and slop on the top,

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-it just doesn't go anywhere. It goes downhill quite easily.

-Yeah.

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But if you want to go uphill, it's a bit awkward.

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Dales and Dales folk are all the same -

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whatever the weather comes, they just get on with it.

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Tom's utter passion is his purebred Swaledales.

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He's even been known to describe them

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as the worst addiction known to man.

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It's what drives him to weather these winters year in, year out.

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The thing about the Swale sheep, you have so many different ideas

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and different thoughts on what is a good one.

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So it means when you go to the mart,

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you can have people having a conversation about the same sheep

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but have a completely different opinion of it, completely different.

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And it might just be down to one hair that's on its head.

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And when you look down a line of sheep like this,

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the wonderful thing is that back story

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and that connection that you have with each of your animals.

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Yeah, well, for me it is.

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It's probably not the same for everybody, but for me,

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I like to have a bit more history with them.

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I can go back and I know their great-great-grandmothers.

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Farming these hills is no bed of roses.

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And it's not just Tom's dedication, but the efforts of the whole family

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that keep this place going.

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The Hutchinsons are typical of most farmers -

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braving the elements every day to make a living.

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It's a way of life that caught the eye of a documentary maker

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who wanted to bring the harsh realities of life as a hill farmer

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to the masses, making the Hutchinsons unlikely film stars in the process.

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We'll have more on that later

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after Ellie's looked at one of wildlife's greatest spectacles.

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Lie down.

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Lie down.

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Get on the bike.

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The wonder of migration.

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Millions of wild birds

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escaping the bitter winters of their breeding grounds,

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travelling thousands of miles to warmer climes.

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Here at Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire,

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one early visitor put everyone on winter alert.

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Now, there's an old saying that the swan brings snow on its bill,

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with the arrival of the first heralding the start of the season.

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So, when Bewick's swan number one arrived here back in October,

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there was quite a bit of speculation

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that we'd be in for a long and cold winter.

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Well, Matt might have got the snow in Teesdale,

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but here the forecast was a little off.

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But whatever the weather, the team here at Slimbridge

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has to prepare the wetlands for the influx of migrating visitors.

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Reserve manager Dave Paynter is the man in charge.

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Let's start off with some raking.

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This is an area that we've just cut.

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How many additional birds do you get here in the winter?

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We're looking at anything up to 30,000 or 40,000 waterfowl.

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That's ducks, geese, swans and waders.

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But add to that anything up to 60,000, 70,000 gulls

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are roosting out here each night.

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So, how do you manage the land for those additional winter visitors?

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Grazing is important,

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getting the swards right for the birds when they return.

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You've seen the big one, of course, which is water level management.

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Holding on to the floodwaters across the fields here.

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Some of this willow management is really important

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for runways for the birds. It's all about flight lines,

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allowing the birds easy access into open areas.

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Flood levels here at Slimbridge are carefully managed,

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so it's not too soggy or too dry when the birds arrive.

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This year, around 300 Bewick's swans made the extraordinary journey.

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-Julia, how are you doing?

-Hi.

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Julia Newth has been studying these beautiful birds

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for more than ten years.

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Well, the Bewick's swans are very special birds.

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They embark on this 2,500-mile migration

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to reach us here at Slimbridge.

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Several winters ago,

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four Bewick's swans were fitted with trackers that enabled the team

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to gain a greater understanding of their migratory route.

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You can see this is one particular bird called Maisie.

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And she spent the whole summer up in the Arctic,

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near the Pechora Delta, which is a key hot spot for them.

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On the 9th of September she left the Arctic,

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came down through Russia and she ventured into Estonia.

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-So a refuel and rest.

-Exactly.

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So she was there for a couple of weeks.

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Then, you can see she's left the coast of Latvia

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and heading towards the UK.

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So she made that overseas crossing there in about six hours,

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before venturing on to Slimbridge here.

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And this study will help with their conservation,

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it's a pretty perilous journey.

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What this allows us to do is to be able to track the Bewick's swans.

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We can see where they are going in relation to these hazards.

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So, for example, offshore wind farms,

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we can see whether the Bewick's swan migration

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coincides with the proposals for new turbines.

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But when they are here,

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Slimbridge is a safe haven for these extremely timid birds.

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And this hide is as close as I'd normally be able to get to them.

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But here, when the low winter sun goes down,

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there's a magical experience

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that will allow me to get just a little closer.

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Slimbridge are allowing me

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to give the overwintering guests their floodlit feed.

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Now, I can only do that

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because these birds have learnt to trust the source of the food.

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And it's particularly important for their cygnets

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who might be learning this for the very first time.

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So there's only one thing for it. Do not mess it up, whatever you do.

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'So, while the camera crew film from the hide,

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'I venture out alone with my wheelbarrow.'

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See you later.

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SHE WHISTLES

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I'm not just being the jolly postman, I've been told to do that.

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Right, down to the water's edge, slow and steady wins the race.

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Demeanour is quite important when doing this kind of thing.

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I've been told the way to act is...bored.

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Which is definitely not what I am right now.

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OK, this is good. Here we go with the first scoop.

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Oh, yeah, yeah, the Bewick's are coming in.

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Just a few cheeky mallards in there. Some lovely shelduck.

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There's even some pochard in here.

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Here you go, everybody, how's it all going?

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I've been told that I can't actually leave the arms of this wheelbarrow,

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because if I step out of the way of it, they won't like that.

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I've never felt so stressed feeding the birds.

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These Bewick's are absolutely beautiful.

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You can actually see the different markings on their bill here.

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There we go, my friends, that's your lot. Bye-bye, Bewick's.

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You've been posting your own wintry scenes on Twitter lately,

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but we'd love to see more.

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Tweet us your photos at...

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Or send via our website...

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For some, wild winters bring extreme adventures.

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The tragic death of British adventurer Henry Worsley this week

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showed just how dangerous polar exploration can be.

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Earlier this winter, we went to the Cairngorms

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to meet a woman who knows the perils only too well.

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The preconceived image of your polar explorer to this day remains

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tall, hairy, handsome bloke.

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Nothing to do with my sort of dimensions and size.

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And yet, the irony lies in the fact

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that it's not at all about brute strength and biceps.

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It's about the strength that lies in your head and your heart.

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Rosie Stancer has been described by some

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as a cross between Tinkerbell and the Terminator.

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She's already earned the accolade for being the first solo female

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to reach the South Pole.

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And ten years ago, Rosie came agonisingly close to becoming

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the first woman to also reach the North Pole.

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On the last expedition, day three,

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I got frostbite in my toes,

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which then got infected with gangrene and I had to amputate them.

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Incredibly, it wasn't this that prevented her reaching the Pole.

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Winter storms caused treacherous ice conditions,

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and she was forced to abandon the trip just 89 miles from her goal.

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But next year, Rosie is taking on the Arctic again.

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The harder it is, the better training,

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because you've got to be ready to get through any sort of rubbish

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and go on and past it, because that's what the Arctic's all about.

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You've just got to get past whatever obstacle it throws at you.

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So, er, the meaner the better.

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Rosie's fundraising travels take her all around the globe.

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Aside from the Arctic,

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she also plans to trek across a desert in China later this year.

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But her first love is the British landscape.

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Especially in the wilds of winter.

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Can't get much better than this.

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Whiteout, lousy visibility.

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Got snow, it's cold.

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It's perfect training for polar expeditions.

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Life on the ice is unimaginably tough.

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Especially in the Arctic.

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Yes, of course it is cold, it is bitterly cold, it is

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hard to describe how cold -60 feels on the flesh.

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It's very intimidating.

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Three times colder than your deep freeze at home.

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Your flesh must be covered up - it'll freeze within two minutes.

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It hurts to breathe -

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it's like inhaling daggers.

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My major concern is the ice and the shifting ice,

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because it's moving around you all the time and it's very violent.

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And at any given moment, that ice can break up right beneath you.

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Even beneath your tent at night.

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Thankfully, the snow-covered ground

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of the Cairngorms is far more stable.

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This is what it's like on the ice,

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and this is about as fast as you go, so...

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if this were my first day on the ice, I know I'd probably be

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very pleased with achieving two nautical miles at the end of it.

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Only 415 to go.

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There is nothing winter - here or in the Arctic - can throw at me

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and defeat me. I will not be conquered.

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This sort of training makes me feel invincible.

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At least in my head, I am Superwoman, and mighty strong.

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In fact, really, I'm just a bit of fluff,

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but with a hell of a big attitude.

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And it's that attitude that drives Rosie forward,

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taking her to places very few will ever experience, and to

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witness first-hand the fragility of the northernmost part of the Earth.

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There's added importance to this expedition,

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because it's no longer about these big, macho firsts.

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It's really rather more about a big last,

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because I don't think the ice is going to be there in years to come.

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And this could be the last solo expedition

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all the way to the North Pole.

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Not just by a woman, but by anyone.

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I've come to the snow-capped fells of Cumbria for a slightly less

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strenuous walk on winter's wild side.

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And centuries ago, it wasn't

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just the landscape around here that was wild.

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The hills and fells of this region were home to

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ferocious animals that struck fear into the hearts of local people.

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And the wildest of them all was the wolf.

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WOLVES HOWLING AND BARKING

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This is called Humphrey Head, and it's said that back in the 1390s,

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the very last wolf in England was speared to death up there

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after killing a child from a nearby village.

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Or so the story goes.

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From the Humphrey Head wolf to Little Red Riding Hood, wolves have

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always made a good subject for stories - usually as the baddies.

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But one Cumbrian couple are keen to separate

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the fact from the fairytale.

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Just a stone's throw from Humphrey Head,

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Dee and Daniel Ashman offer people the chance to walk with wolves.

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To meet them, I've come to private land well off the beaten track.

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-Ah, Dee, Daniel, good to see you.

-Good morning.

-Morning to you.

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And it's the first time I've ever seen wolves in the back of a truck.

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-This is Kajika and this is Maska.

-Great names.

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Yeah, they are Native American Indian names.

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Maska means "strong" and Kajika means "walks without sound".

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They're an F3 hybrid.

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What that means is we have crossed a pure wolf with a Czechoslovakian

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wolf dog to third generation.

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Because they are hybrids,

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humans are legally allowed to get closer to them

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and interact more than they would be able to do with pure wolves.

0:21:060:21:10

For us, it's conservation by connection.

0:21:100:21:12

We're not here to teach people about what a wolf hybrid is,

0:21:120:21:15

we're here to teach people to care about the plight of wolves

0:21:150:21:18

and how wolves affect an ecosystem.

0:21:180:21:19

-And they still look pretty much like wolves to me.

-They do.

0:21:190:21:22

Handsome creatures, aren't they?

0:21:220:21:23

Yeah, they are beautiful, they really are.

0:21:230:21:25

Do I have to introduce myself to them, Daniel?

0:21:250:21:28

Put your hand up towards the bars here.

0:21:280:21:30

So they've got the opportunity just to lick and smell.

0:21:300:21:33

Oh-ho! I got a lick, then.

0:21:330:21:35

Had a lick from a wolf, that's the first time that has ever happened.

0:21:350:21:38

-So they have accepted me, do you think?

-They have, yes.

0:21:380:21:42

-You are part of the pack.

-Good, so we can let them out now, then.

0:21:420:21:45

We'll let them out.

0:21:450:21:47

And off we go.

0:21:500:21:52

'Understanding just how wolves communicate with one another

0:21:560:22:00

'and the complex social structure

0:22:000:22:02

'of the pack is important to Dee and Daniel.'

0:22:020:22:04

-Is it at all risky, doing this?

-No.

0:22:040:22:07

Even a wild wolf is actually a suspicious,

0:22:070:22:10

but actually a social animal.

0:22:100:22:12

If people come across wolves in the wild,

0:22:120:22:15

they are more likely to run away than anything else.

0:22:150:22:17

-Anything we shouldn't do?

-The most important thing is don't bend down.

0:22:170:22:23

-Really? Why?

-Because that is actually inviting them.

0:22:230:22:26

If you go down to greet them, bend down to greet them,

0:22:260:22:28

they will assume you are greeting them

0:22:280:22:30

and that is like saying to them, "Put my neck in your mouth."

0:22:300:22:33

-Oh, they want to play.

-So they would.

0:22:330:22:34

Yeah, they would greet you and then they'd start playing.

0:22:340:22:37

-I don't fancy my neck in your mouth, mate.

-It's very gentle.

0:22:370:22:41

THEY LAUGH

0:22:410:22:42

'With permission from private landowners, we are able

0:22:420:22:45

'to let the wolves run freely inside a fenced enclosure.'

0:22:450:22:49

There we are.

0:22:510:22:53

Off they go.

0:22:530:22:55

'Here, you can really appreciate their superb predatory powers.'

0:22:570:23:02

We, as humans, have 400 sensory receptors in our nose.

0:23:040:23:08

They have over 200 million.

0:23:080:23:11

And our 400 allows us to smell a trillion scents,

0:23:110:23:15

-so you can imagine what 200 million for you.

-That's why they never stop.

0:23:150:23:18

-They are always on the alert.

-They are always on the go.

0:23:180:23:20

And always smelling and looking.

0:23:200:23:23

The wolf is the perfect all-terrain mammal.

0:23:230:23:25

They can run, they can jump, they can swim,

0:23:250:23:28

they can climb up steep areas of screed or embankment.

0:23:280:23:32

For that ability, they have got fully developed webbed feet.

0:23:320:23:35

They are webbed right up to the nail bed.

0:23:350:23:39

Also, they have a dual-layered coat.

0:23:390:23:41

They have got their inner thermal layer and then they've

0:23:410:23:44

got their outer layer of fur, traditionally known as guard hairs.

0:23:440:23:48

'And the hairs that make up the coat are hollow, like a polar bear's,

0:23:500:23:54

'allowing them to tolerate temperatures as low as -40.

0:23:540:23:58

'It makes our winters rather mild for them.'

0:23:580:24:01

So, lots to be learnt, then, from walking with wolves - and of

0:24:010:24:04

course, they do have their classic form of communication, don't they?

0:24:040:24:07

-The howl.

-Yeah, there's lots of different howls.

0:24:070:24:09

There isn't one magical howl that does everything,

0:24:090:24:11

there's lots of different ones.

0:24:110:24:13

And they all change in tone and structure, depending on what

0:24:130:24:15

-they are trying to say.

-Can you do them to communicate with these?

0:24:150:24:18

We can, yes. The one we use the most is a family-bonding howl.

0:24:180:24:22

And what does that sound like, then?

0:24:220:24:24

You do it first and I'll try and copy. And see what happens.

0:24:240:24:27

We'll see how it goes.

0:24:270:24:28

THEY HOWL

0:24:300:24:31

WOLVES HOWL

0:24:310:24:34

ALL HOWL

0:24:340:24:37

Howling with wolves!

0:24:390:24:42

THEY LAUGH

0:24:420:24:44

It seems to me that wolves are much misunderstood creatures.

0:24:540:24:58

It probably goes back to those childhood tales of the Big Bad Wolf.

0:24:580:25:02

But having just walked with them - and howled with them -

0:25:020:25:06

it's made me realise that they are in fact highly intelligent,

0:25:060:25:09

very social creatures, really worthy of our respect.

0:25:090:25:13

WOLVES HOWLING

0:25:130:25:16

I'll tell you what,

0:25:190:25:20

John's pretty impressive at howling like a wolf, isn't he?

0:25:200:25:23

Don't worry, there's no wolves around here.

0:25:230:25:26

Now, these Swaledales, they're rock hard, they're hardy,

0:25:260:25:29

they're bred for conditions like this.

0:25:290:25:31

But from here in Teesdale, it's over to Adam, who's in Orkney,

0:25:310:25:35

where the wild winter weather is threatening their native sheep.

0:25:350:25:39

Come on, then.

0:25:390:25:40

North Ronaldsay. The northernmost of the Orkney Islands.

0:25:440:25:49

Low-lying and exposed to the elements.

0:25:500:25:53

This is a tough place to live - man or beast.

0:25:530:25:56

Many years ago, Dad and I came up to these islands to help secure

0:25:580:26:02

the future of these wonderful little North Ronaldsay sheep.

0:26:020:26:06

And it's a trip that brings back fond memories.

0:26:060:26:09

In the 1970s, this rare breed only lived on this one isolated

0:26:180:26:23

island, so they were vulnerable to disease wiping them out.

0:26:230:26:27

But with the help of the locals, my dad and I managed to move

0:26:270:26:30

some of the sheep to safer locations around the UK.

0:26:300:26:34

Now, with several flocks established on the mainland,

0:26:340:26:37

the future of the breed looks more secure.

0:26:370:26:39

However, back here on their tiny native island,

0:26:420:26:45

things aren't looking so rosy.

0:26:450:26:47

The North Ronaldsays were banished to the beach

0:26:500:26:53

back in 1832, when the Laird built a sheep dyke around the whole

0:26:530:26:57

island to reserve the pastures for cattle.

0:26:570:27:01

Deprived of grass, the sheep soon adapted to their new environment,

0:27:030:27:07

living solely off seaweed.

0:27:070:27:09

'Kevin Woodbridge moved from England 39 years ago to become

0:27:110:27:15

'the island's GP.

0:27:150:27:17

'Now retired, he's become clerk

0:27:170:27:19

'of North Ronaldsay's grandly titled Sheep Court.'

0:27:190:27:23

I know here, it's very different to our sheep back home -

0:27:230:27:25

they get fat in the summer.

0:27:250:27:26

Your sheep get fat in the winter, don't they?

0:27:260:27:29

Yes, yes, in the summer,

0:27:290:27:30

they are entirely dependent on what they can pick up in the ebb tide.

0:27:300:27:33

In the winter, the storms uproot all the seaweed beds out in the sea,

0:27:330:27:36

and bring huge banks of seaweed on to the foreshore

0:27:360:27:39

and the sheep will actually gorge themselves

0:27:390:27:41

on that and they are fittest and fattest

0:27:410:27:43

at this time of year, and the best time to send them off for market.

0:27:430:27:46

-Can we get up closer to one, catch one?

-Yes.

-What's a good one?

0:27:460:27:48

-He looks pretty big, that one. Him?

-A good one there, yeah.

0:27:480:27:52

Let's have a feel of him.

0:27:560:27:58

There's a good covering of meat over his backbone and on the rib there.

0:27:580:28:01

-He's really quite podgy.

-Yeah.

-And the meat's delicious, isn't it?

0:28:010:28:05

The meat's wonderful, it's very lean and very tasty.

0:28:050:28:08

During the winter months, on that seashore, it must be so harsh.

0:28:080:28:12

What is it, then, in the sheep, that makes them such good survivors?

0:28:120:28:16

It's a primitive breed which has been adapted entirely to living

0:28:160:28:19

here on the seaweed.

0:28:190:28:20

You can see the fleece is really lovely and thick

0:28:200:28:23

and downy underneath, and you've got these hairs coming through

0:28:230:28:26

and the guard hairs on the outside,

0:28:260:28:28

which gives both a warming and a lining,

0:28:280:28:30

but also it sheds the rain,

0:28:300:28:33

the snow and the sleet away from getting in and soaking the fleece.

0:28:330:28:37

So, they are in fine fettle, pretty good condition,

0:28:370:28:40

there's plenty of them. What's the problem?

0:28:400:28:42

The problem really is that the depopulation of the island

0:28:420:28:45

has reduced the number of people who are keeping sheep

0:28:450:28:48

and so maintaining the full flock is a challenge for the reduced

0:28:480:28:52

numbers, and also maintaining the dyke,

0:28:520:28:54

which has been very seriously storm damaged in the last few years.

0:28:540:28:57

We haven't got the manpower on the island to get it back up.

0:28:570:28:59

The dyke being the sea wall that keeps the sheep on the seashore.

0:28:590:29:02

Yes.

0:29:020:29:03

Like the rest of the UK, in the last few years,

0:29:050:29:08

Orkney has experienced some huge storms.

0:29:080:29:11

Whilst the sheep and the islanders have adapted to cope with

0:29:110:29:14

the worst the winter weather can throw at them,

0:29:140:29:16

the stone sheep dyke has been devastated.

0:29:160:29:19

'Peter Titley is a former chairman of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust,

0:29:240:29:27

'and founder of the Orkney Sheep Foundation -

0:29:270:29:30

'a special organisation dedicated to the North Ronaldsay's survival.'

0:29:300:29:34

-Hi, Peter, great to see you.

-Hello, Adam, great to see you.

0:29:360:29:39

Goodness me, I knew the dyke was bad,

0:29:390:29:41

-but it's absolutely devastated, isn't it?

-It's dreadful.

0:29:410:29:44

It's very hard to imagine the power of the sea.

0:29:440:29:47

How important is it, then, to keep the sheep on the seashore?

0:29:470:29:51

If they were to go elsewhere and mix with other breeds of sheep,

0:29:510:29:53

we'd lose the genetic integrity, and once that's gone,

0:29:530:29:57

then these special sheep with thousands of years of history

0:29:570:30:02

are lost to the world for ever, because this is the only place

0:30:020:30:06

where they actually live in this traditional way.

0:30:060:30:10

This is a very special place, very special sheep.

0:30:100:30:14

So, a daunting task ahead, but maybe fencing is the answer.

0:30:140:30:17

We have a fence here already that can contain the sheep.

0:30:170:30:20

Well, it's a temporary answer.

0:30:200:30:22

If the dyke's down, one has to rely on this temporary fencing,

0:30:220:30:26

this wire fencing, but it's not ideal.

0:30:260:30:29

What we want to see is some restoration.

0:30:290:30:31

We want to see the dyke rebuilt

0:30:310:30:33

so that we can actually return these sheep to something that

0:30:330:30:36

actually fits their ancient history on this shoreline.

0:30:360:30:40

The islanders are doing what they can...

0:30:430:30:45

..but in the face of such devastation, they need help.

0:30:460:30:49

Kate Trail Price is the great-great-great-granddaughter

0:30:520:30:55

of the Laird who originally commissioned the dyke.

0:30:550:30:58

She's also working with the Orkney Sheep Foundation to help rebuild it.

0:30:580:31:02

Back in the day, you'd have had over 500 people living on the island.

0:31:020:31:06

Everybody was in charge of their own section,

0:31:060:31:08

they'd help to repair it

0:31:080:31:10

every time it was down, and it really worked for generations.

0:31:100:31:13

And, of course, now, with less than 50 people living on the island,

0:31:130:31:16

it's a mammoth task for these guys.

0:31:160:31:18

As you can see, they are all skilled,

0:31:180:31:20

they all know how to do it, but there's just not enough hands.

0:31:200:31:23

It's a massive job.

0:31:230:31:24

Presumably you've got to raise funds and awareness.

0:31:240:31:27

We do indeed.

0:31:270:31:28

Yeah, we are applying for funding, taking donations,

0:31:280:31:31

and we are looking into things like bursaries,

0:31:310:31:33

so dry-stone wallers of the future who want to come over to the island,

0:31:330:31:36

maybe learn from these guys, learn the skills, learn the secrets.

0:31:360:31:39

There's not that many rules to it,

0:31:390:31:41

but there are skills and things to be learnt

0:31:410:31:43

and so people could come over, learn

0:31:430:31:45

and then come back every summer and help to rebuild what's come down.

0:31:450:31:49

It's quite a skilled job.

0:31:490:31:51

I'd better have a word with some of the masters at work here,

0:31:510:31:54

find out how they do this.

0:31:540:31:55

With the dry-stone walls in the Cotswolds,

0:31:570:31:59

we build them really tight so you can't see through them.

0:31:590:32:01

Here, there's lots of gaps in the wall.

0:32:010:32:03

The sea is meant to be able to come through the holes in the dyke

0:32:030:32:06

and we like to see it coming through,

0:32:060:32:08

rather than staying on the other side and knocking down the dyke.

0:32:080:32:11

Oh, I see. If you had a solid barrier,

0:32:110:32:14

the wave would just knock it down, rather than come through.

0:32:140:32:16

Yes, of course, it only works in a limited way,

0:32:160:32:19

because eventually, it knocks it down anyway.

0:32:190:32:21

So, how long have you been building dry-stone walls on Orkney?

0:32:210:32:24

-Getting on 70 years.

-70 years? So, how old are you, then?

-Er, 79.

0:32:240:32:30

Goodness me. It must be this Orkney air.

0:32:300:32:32

-Actually, come to think of it, I'm just 79 today.

-No! Really?

0:32:320:32:36

-You should wish me a happy birthday.

-Happy birthday!

-Thank you.

0:32:360:32:39

What a way to spend your birthday - what a treat -

0:32:390:32:42

building a dry-stone wall!

0:32:420:32:44

The islanders have a huge task ahead of them

0:32:470:32:50

to win their constant battle with the sea.

0:32:500:32:53

Hopefully, they will get the help they need to rebuild the whole

0:32:550:32:58

dyke and keep these rare sheep on the beaches they now call home.

0:32:580:33:02

Like Adam, Sean's also on a wild and windy shoreline,

0:33:090:33:13

a bit further south in North Yorkshire.

0:33:130:33:15

The angry North Sea waves that batter

0:33:160:33:19

the coast are one of winter's most deadly weapons.

0:33:190:33:23

This wintry weather keeps many people away,

0:33:230:33:25

but, for some, these are the perfect conditions for a spot of fishing.

0:33:250:33:30

But I'm not talking about your average angling. This is extreme.

0:33:300:33:36

Winter cod fishing is said to be one of the most difficult

0:33:360:33:40

forms of the sport that there is.

0:33:400:33:42

And it's that challenge that attracts committed anglers

0:33:420:33:45

like Glenn Kilpatrick to these blustery beaches.

0:33:450:33:49

So, Glenn, I've done some fishing in my time,

0:33:490:33:51

but it was coarse fishing in tranquil lakes and rivers.

0:33:510:33:55

Quite a bit different to this.

0:33:550:33:57

Yeah, this is going to be a very different day for you, I think.

0:33:570:34:00

'Glenn's been fishing the numbing North Sea around Whitby

0:34:000:34:03

'since he was a boy.

0:34:030:34:05

'His real passion is winter rock fishing for cod.'

0:34:050:34:09

I never would have thought you could do cod fishing from the land.

0:34:090:34:12

I always would assume that you'd be out on a boat.

0:34:120:34:15

Yeah, well, this time of year, because of the winter storms

0:34:150:34:19

we get, it churns all the food up out of the local shoreline,

0:34:190:34:23

so you've got worms and shrimps and everything living in the sand here.

0:34:230:34:27

You've got sand eels underneath us.

0:34:270:34:29

In the rocks, you've got crabs and shrimps.

0:34:290:34:32

So the fish will come right in,

0:34:320:34:34

right into a few feet of water, to find that food.

0:34:340:34:37

It's like a big banquet for fish, really.

0:34:370:34:39

And in this part of the country, it's really popular, isn't it?

0:34:390:34:42

Yeah, each weekend, there's some big competitions right across the coast.

0:34:420:34:46

Hundreds and hundreds of people enter.

0:34:460:34:49

You get large groups of people out most nights of the week,

0:34:490:34:52

right through winter, fishing.

0:34:520:34:54

'Glenn and his die-hard mates think nothing of braving gale-force

0:34:540:34:58

'winds like this in pursuit of a prized catch.

0:34:580:35:01

'This lot are like the SAS of the angling world.'

0:35:010:35:05

Is this the most difficult type of fishing you can do?

0:35:050:35:08

Most definitely, yeah.

0:35:080:35:10

I think the skill and the knowledge involved here to really get

0:35:100:35:14

the best out of this type of fishing environment,

0:35:140:35:16

yeah, it is probably the most difficult.

0:35:160:35:19

On a day like today, nowhere finer than this little place here

0:35:220:35:26

because of the shelter of the bay.

0:35:260:35:29

We've also got a big reef

0:35:290:35:30

that runs offshore about half a mile out off here.

0:35:300:35:33

So, on the roughest of rough days, this is a place to fish.

0:35:330:35:37

'I've got to be honest,

0:35:370:35:38

'with these fierce winds hammering away at us,

0:35:380:35:40

'it doesn't feel that sheltered to me and the camera crew!'

0:35:400:35:44

So, this is the bait. What is it?

0:35:540:35:56

There's a mix there.

0:35:560:35:57

There's peeler crab, there's mussel and there's lugworm,

0:35:570:36:00

which are all found naturally here. That's the reason we use them.

0:36:000:36:03

Doesn't look very nice to you and I,

0:36:030:36:05

but I guess that's a cod's feast, is it?

0:36:050:36:07

To a cod, that's a big fillet steak.

0:36:070:36:09

Glenn, is it always like this? These conditions are awful!

0:36:090:36:13

This is as harsh as it gets.

0:36:130:36:15

As long as the sea is rough, we like to be out in this sort of weather.

0:36:150:36:18

-This is when the fish come in to feed.

-My hands are getting so cold.

0:36:180:36:21

-I find the back of my hands go very numb.

-Yeah.

0:36:210:36:24

I find all of my hands go very numb.

0:36:240:36:26

'Glenn has caught a 15-pounder here in the past.

0:36:280:36:31

'But today is proving tough for all of us.'

0:36:310:36:35

-He's caught a fish.

-He's caught one?

-Yeah, in the red.

-Is that lunch?

0:36:380:36:45

That could be lunch.

0:36:450:36:46

'These guys are hugely experienced,

0:36:490:36:51

'but the dangers of winter rock fishing shouldn't be underestimated.

0:36:510:36:56

'For us, today, the weather has continued to worsen.

0:36:560:36:59

'So we're playing it safe and heading in.

0:36:590:37:02

'Thankfully, we can seek refuge in a local restaurant,

0:37:020:37:05

'where chef Simon,

0:37:050:37:07

'an honorary member of Glenn's fishing fraternity,

0:37:070:37:09

'is going to work his magic with our catch of the day.'

0:37:090:37:12

Here we are, Simon, this is what we caught this morning.

0:37:120:37:15

-It's not a lot. Is this going to be enough?

-It's not very big,

0:37:150:37:18

but I'm sure I'll be able to put something together with it.

0:37:180:37:22

The local people, they love it deep-fried in batter, but I'll do

0:37:220:37:25

something a bit different today and do you a nice piece of pan-fried.

0:37:250:37:29

-So, what do we all think of the food?

-Unbelievable.

-Fantastic.

0:37:430:37:46

Great, isn't it? Can I just point out, when I took the fish in there,

0:37:460:37:49

he was pretty derogatory about it.

0:37:490:37:51

He said it was very small - how is he going to do this?

0:37:510:37:54

How is he going to cook for you guys?

0:37:540:37:56

He's sort of performed a biblical miracle, hasn't he?

0:37:560:37:58

-Feeding all six of us.

-He's done well.

0:37:580:38:00

I think maybe after we get finished,

0:38:020:38:03

we could pop out and do a bit more fishing.

0:38:030:38:06

-Yeah, sounds good.

-I think I'm going to sit this one out, guys.

0:38:060:38:10

-The fishing's always better at night.

-No, it's all right.

0:38:100:38:13

I'll leave it.

0:38:130:38:15

LAUGHTER AND CHATTER

0:38:150:38:17

'Mm. Perhaps I'll stick to the coarse fishing.'

0:38:170:38:20

We're leaving Yorkshire's stormy shoreline now,

0:38:260:38:29

and heading inland, yet we're still out on the edge.

0:38:290:38:32

Nature writer Rob Cowen draws inspiration for his work from

0:38:330:38:37

the edgelands of Harrogate - the wilderness between town and country.

0:38:370:38:42

Winter may be cold and cruel, but look hard enough,

0:38:420:38:46

and there is beauty in the bleak.

0:38:460:38:48

It was something about the winter landscape that I've always loved.

0:38:480:38:53

You get less tree cover. You see things you wouldn't normally see.

0:38:530:38:58

Buildings, old gateways, bits of industrial relics.

0:38:590:39:03

Each of these things helps create this idea of the layers to

0:39:030:39:07

the landscape - this landscape freighted with stories.

0:39:070:39:11

You can see further, the sun is lower in the sky,

0:39:110:39:15

so you get these dramatic shots of light and length and shadow.

0:39:150:39:18

I found this patch of interesting ground.

0:39:230:39:26

It was just amazing, it was a kind of immediate

0:39:260:39:30

shift from the urban into this strange, wild edgeland.

0:39:300:39:34

I began to come here sort of obsessively, day and night,

0:39:340:39:38

and look and record and start to write what I saw.

0:39:380:39:41

"There is a depth that comes from revisiting a place relentlessly.

0:39:440:39:48

"I would pass a fallen pine and suddenly see it

0:39:480:39:50

"as a sapling breaking through the mud.

0:39:500:39:52

"I would see the river - not as a man, but as a mayfly.

0:39:520:39:55

"I'd approach hares with the tread of a medieval trapper.

0:39:550:39:59

"Tracing the screaming arcs of swifts,

0:39:590:40:01

"I could feel thermals above as keenly as they did."

0:40:010:40:04

People think of winter as a dead time. It's not dead.

0:40:050:40:08

Everything is just lying dormant or starting to break through

0:40:080:40:11

the winter crust.

0:40:110:40:14

This is an alder.

0:40:140:40:16

You can see the beautiful colour of its buds here.

0:40:160:40:19

This kind of dusky, purple, lilac colour.

0:40:190:40:22

Absolutely lovely, lovely colour.

0:40:220:40:24

This is around all over the place. A mushroom called wood ear.

0:40:290:40:33

It's a great mushroom for that fallow period in wild food

0:40:330:40:37

when there isn't much going on.

0:40:370:40:39

Often I'd stay out, and so I'd set up a hammock in the trees,

0:40:440:40:48

get up early with the first light.

0:40:480:40:50

You see completely different things at that time, especially in a place

0:40:540:40:57

like this where you wouldn't imagine

0:40:570:40:59

there could be such a density of wildlife.

0:40:590:41:01

But it is all here. There are otters in the river.

0:41:010:41:04

There are buzzards in the fields.

0:41:040:41:06

I've seen roe deer and watched them move at dawn.

0:41:060:41:09

I think edgelands are incredibly valuable.

0:41:130:41:16

There isn't any of the manicured-ness.

0:41:160:41:18

There isn't any of the management. There's the kind of...

0:41:180:41:21

The raw negotiation between human and nature occurs all the time here.

0:41:210:41:25

I hate to think that a place like this would one day just be

0:41:290:41:32

forgotten, lost, waiting to get built over, but, actually,

0:41:320:41:37

they are the honest sort of space. There is nothing hidden.

0:41:370:41:41

It exposes and reveals itself to you,

0:41:410:41:43

and I've found that hugely rewarding.

0:41:430:41:46

I'm in the upper reaches of Teesdale,

0:41:560:41:58

a place where I feel very comfortable.

0:41:580:42:01

Growing up on a sheep farm not so far from here,

0:42:030:42:06

I've experienced many a Dales winter.

0:42:060:42:08

Do you know, I just love this part of the world.

0:42:100:42:13

It's wild, it's rugged, but it's beautiful.

0:42:130:42:16

And I may be biased - because, for me, this area is home -

0:42:160:42:20

but I'm not alone in admiring its filmic appeal.

0:42:200:42:24

Tom and Kay Hutchinson farm these isolated hundred acres

0:42:260:42:31

with their children, Jack, Esme and Hetty.

0:42:310:42:34

Theirs is not a lifestyle that seeks the limelight.

0:42:360:42:38

Hill farming can be a lonely existence.

0:42:380:42:41

But a film-maker sought out the Hutchinsons

0:42:410:42:43

and turned their everyday life into a feature-length documentary.

0:42:430:42:47

-He loves every minute, really.

-Yes.

0:42:510:42:52

He just...

0:42:520:42:54

-He's a typical, grumpy old farmer.

-Yeah.

0:42:540:42:58

Which was an ambition in life, obviously, from day one.

0:42:580:43:01

That he's fulfilling quite well.

0:43:010:43:03

The film is called Addicted To Sheep,

0:43:060:43:09

and it follows the year in the life of a hill-farming family.

0:43:090:43:12

Now, just as farming is a labour of love,

0:43:120:43:15

so was the film-making process.

0:43:150:43:17

This is the director who almost got hypothermia

0:43:170:43:20

getting the perfect shot. I don't know -

0:43:200:43:23

the directors on Countryfile think that they've got it tough!

0:43:230:43:26

'Her name is Magali Pettie -

0:43:260:43:29

'a farmer's daughter from Brittany in France.'

0:43:290:43:32

So, what are you doing there, Tom?

0:43:320:43:34

We are going to trim the ends of his horns to stop them

0:43:340:43:36

growing into his face.

0:43:360:43:38

'Back in 2010, Magali set out to compare French and British farming,

0:43:380:43:43

'but became so fascinated with life on a Teesdale hill farm,

0:43:430:43:47

'it took over the show.'

0:43:470:43:49

Magali, have you stopped filming? Can I come in?

0:43:490:43:51

-Is that all right? Have a chat?

-Yes.

0:43:510:43:53

So, this is such an intriguing concept, then,

0:43:530:43:55

this documentary-maker from France here in Teesdale.

0:43:550:43:59

What were you hoping to achieve with this?

0:43:590:44:01

In France, we don't have tenant farmers, and I just thought

0:44:010:44:04

it was such a fascinating thing, really, that it still existed.

0:44:040:44:08

I saw my parents kind of struggle as farmers

0:44:080:44:10

and I wanted to see, why on earth would anyone want to be a farmer?

0:44:100:44:13

But a tenant hill farmer at that!

0:44:130:44:15

Kay, were you really excited about this,

0:44:150:44:17

or were you a little bit reluctant?

0:44:170:44:19

We were a little bit reluctant, but we were hoping that it would

0:44:190:44:23

showcase exactly what we do, how passionate we are about our work.

0:44:230:44:27

It's certainly a place you've got to want to be -

0:44:270:44:30

you've got to want to live here - because it is literally 24/7,

0:44:300:44:34

and to show people what it is like to produce food

0:44:340:44:38

and to put food on people's plates in this country.

0:44:380:44:40

Do you think this, Magali, will attract people to hill farming,

0:44:400:44:44

or just kind of surprise them, or put them off?

0:44:440:44:48

I think it will certainly surprise them.

0:44:480:44:51

I think some people have come to us and said, "Actually,

0:44:510:44:53

"it's made me want to be a hill farmer after this."

0:44:530:44:56

I think a lot of people even live in the countryside,

0:44:560:45:00

but don't live on a farm, and they have no idea what the farmers

0:45:000:45:03

go through every day, and the challenges.

0:45:030:45:06

And without getting too political, who has it harder -

0:45:060:45:09

French or British farmers? SHE LAUGHS

0:45:090:45:11

Right, I've been asked that before and I have said French people,

0:45:110:45:16

and they all booed me, basically.

0:45:160:45:18

Listen, we won't boo you, don't worry.

0:45:180:45:21

You were just filming a little scene as I walked over there,

0:45:210:45:23

talking about cutting one of the horns off this Swaley tup.

0:45:230:45:26

Let me come in there and give you a hand.

0:45:260:45:29

His horn is just a little bit close.

0:45:290:45:30

You can see there, it is close to his cheek.

0:45:300:45:32

Just going to take the end of this horn off

0:45:320:45:35

with Kay's good cheese wire.

0:45:350:45:37

-This is... Yes, fresh out of the kitchen.

-Yeah, exactly.

0:45:370:45:41

Just start pulling, just there.

0:45:410:45:43

-That's it, good lad.

-See, it doesn't hurt him

0:45:440:45:47

-because it's just like getting your fingernails cut.

-Absolutely, yeah.

0:45:470:45:50

'I think I'll pass on the cheese and biscuits.

0:45:520:45:56

'Nearly through.

0:45:560:45:58

'Almost there. And there you have it.'

0:46:000:46:02

There you go. Through.

0:46:020:46:05

That is a very good way of keeping warm on a snowy day.

0:46:050:46:09

Job done.

0:46:090:46:11

Tom's farm would be nothing without his Swaledales,

0:46:110:46:14

and neither would Magali's film.

0:46:140:46:16

SCREAMING

0:46:160:46:18

The other stars of the show are Tom and Kay's three children.

0:46:180:46:22

There's nine-year-old Jack...

0:46:220:46:24

You've got certain ewes that you want to put to a certain tup.

0:46:240:46:28

So you put them in the same field without another tup in.

0:46:280:46:32

..eight-year-old Esme...

0:46:320:46:34

I might not be a farmer when I'm older,

0:46:340:46:36

I might just keep horses and do artwork and stuff.

0:46:360:46:42

..and six-year-old Hetty.

0:46:420:46:44

I don't really want to be a farmer

0:46:440:46:47

because you have to work on the farm,

0:46:470:46:50

muck up the sloppy, sloppy poo.

0:46:500:46:53

I think they should pick it up theirselves instead of us.

0:46:530:46:59

Your dad said I'd find you in here.

0:47:050:47:06

Oh, my word, haven't you grown?

0:47:060:47:09

Great to see you.

0:47:090:47:10

'It's been a few years since this lot

0:47:100:47:12

'have had to perform for the camera.'

0:47:120:47:14

-Jack, how old are you now?

-14 now.

-14. Esme, how old now?

-13.

0:47:140:47:20

-13, and that must make you 11.

-Yes.

0:47:200:47:22

And have you worked out, Hetty,

0:47:220:47:24

why these cows can't clean up their own poo?

0:47:240:47:26

-Yeah, because they don't have any hands.

-No, that's fair enough.

0:47:260:47:29

I love that clip so much.

0:47:290:47:32

So, having watched the film, is the plan at all for you to

0:47:320:47:35

carry on farming, or have you got your sights set on other things?

0:47:350:47:38

I don't know what I'd like to do in the future,

0:47:380:47:41

but I wouldn't mind farming.

0:47:410:47:42

It wouldn't be bad, but I want to see what else there is, as well.

0:47:420:47:45

Fair enough, fair enough. Go on, Esme.

0:47:450:47:47

Well, I don't mind farming, but I don't know if I could do it.

0:47:470:47:51

But I'd like to do something with animals, because I've worked

0:47:510:47:54

with them all my life, so I'd like to carry on a bit or something.

0:47:540:47:58

You're just enjoying life at the moment, Hetty, aren't you?

0:47:580:48:01

-Still shovelling.

-Yeah.

-That's the way.

0:48:010:48:03

Keep going, girl, that's what I say, just keep shovelling.

0:48:030:48:06

Sometimes, looking at life through a lens can skew reality,

0:48:090:48:12

but when you're working with animals and children in a landscape as wild

0:48:120:48:16

and as windswept as Teesdale, what you see is exactly what you get.

0:48:160:48:21

-Very good work. Right, Hetty, where is your muck heap?

-Over there.

0:48:220:48:25

-Over there.

-Over there, right.

0:48:250:48:29

Winter.

0:48:410:48:42

Harsh and unforgiving.

0:48:420:48:46

A time for us all to adapt.

0:48:460:48:48

And, as I've been exploring at Slimbridge Wetland Centre,

0:48:540:48:57

for some migratory birds,

0:48:570:48:59

that means undertaking a perilous journey over thousands of miles.

0:48:590:49:04

It's one of the most impressive sights in nature -

0:49:070:49:10

millions of birds on the move with flocks in their thousands.

0:49:100:49:15

We can track their migratory route with technology,

0:49:160:49:19

but just how do their avian instincts get them here?

0:49:190:49:23

As head of research Geoff Hilton knows.

0:49:230:49:26

All migratory birds have a genetic sense that they want to

0:49:260:49:29

-migrate at certain times of year.

-Right.

0:49:290:49:31

But the trigger that actually makes them

0:49:310:49:33

start doing it is usually day length.

0:49:330:49:36

They are then looking for a good weather window,

0:49:360:49:38

because they really want a nice, calm following wind that will

0:49:380:49:41

sort of steer them on their way.

0:49:410:49:43

Once they get ready and they've got their fat onboard to fly,

0:49:430:49:46

they are then looking for that weather window that will

0:49:460:49:48

take them where they want to go.

0:49:480:49:49

The young birds, they kind of have a direction they want to travel in,

0:49:490:49:52

that their genes are telling them to travel in,

0:49:520:49:55

and a sort of approximate distance before they stop.

0:49:550:49:57

The bigger birds, and especially things like these geese

0:49:570:49:59

and the swans that we have on the reserve,

0:49:590:50:02

their first migration is guided by their parents.

0:50:020:50:04

The bird follows them for their first flight

0:50:040:50:06

and after that they kind of know the route for future years.

0:50:060:50:08

It is a big, arduous journey, isn't it? It takes a lot of their energy.

0:50:080:50:12

How do they try and make these energy efficiencies along the way?

0:50:120:50:15

Migration is incredibly energetically demanding,

0:50:150:50:17

but they are trying to find ways to save energy.

0:50:170:50:20

One of these ways to save energy is to fly in a V formation.

0:50:200:50:23

What they're doing there is the bird is following its neighbour,

0:50:230:50:26

just behind it, and picking up its slipstream.

0:50:260:50:29

Not only are they getting this slipstream advantage,

0:50:290:50:31

but they are timing their wing beats absolutely perfectly

0:50:310:50:34

to pick up the sort of maximum benefit of this

0:50:340:50:37

airflow off the back of their neighbour.

0:50:370:50:39

And this can save them as much as 20% of the energy costs

0:50:390:50:41

of the flight, which can be life or death, really.

0:50:410:50:44

Now, obviously, if I wanted to experience up close just how birds

0:50:500:50:55

fly in this formation, I couldn't just tag along on a migration.

0:50:550:51:00

But there is another way.

0:51:000:51:02

I've come to a gliding club in the heart of the Cotswolds

0:51:030:51:07

to meet a family of greylag geese with an unconventional mother.

0:51:070:51:12

When these geese hatched,

0:51:140:51:16

the first moving object they saw was Rose Buck...

0:51:160:51:19

Good lads. Go on, Thomas.

0:51:190:51:22

..so they instinctively thought she was their mother

0:51:220:51:25

and followed her, even as adults.

0:51:250:51:28

It's known as imprinting.

0:51:280:51:30

-Hi, Rose, good to see you.

-Hi!

-These are your lovely greylags.

0:51:320:51:36

-They are fantastic, aren't they?

-Yeah.

0:51:360:51:39

How much work is involved in imprinting them?

0:51:390:51:41

It's a huge amount of work.

0:51:410:51:43

As soon as they hatched, I spent 24 hours a day with them

0:51:430:51:47

until they were four weeks old.

0:51:470:51:49

We spent the whole time together, forming that bond.

0:51:490:51:54

And now they'll follow you in flight.

0:51:540:51:56

How do they behave as a group when they are doing that?

0:51:560:51:58

I'm always the lead goose

0:51:580:52:00

and they're always looking to see what I'm doing. They switch around.

0:52:000:52:04

And will they communicate with each other, as they would do

0:52:040:52:06

in the wild, when they're flying with you?

0:52:060:52:08

Oh, yes, they absolutely do.

0:52:080:52:10

I talk to them a lot when we're flying, to encourage them.

0:52:100:52:14

"Come on, guys," and, "You're doing really well," which is

0:52:140:52:16

exactly what they do in the wild.

0:52:160:52:18

Now for the moment I've been waiting for,

0:52:270:52:30

a bird's-eye view of one of nature's most recognisable sights.

0:52:300:52:34

They're on their way now.

0:52:350:52:36

And we're off! There we go. Yeah!

0:52:500:52:53

Whoo-hoo! They're flying right overhead. Hello. That's beautiful.

0:52:560:53:00

So quickly, they've taken flight, that's amazing.

0:53:030:53:06

Come on, boys.

0:53:100:53:12

Right next to us now. Look at that. What a beaut!

0:53:120:53:15

This is amazing. I am cheek-to-beak with these beautiful greylags.

0:53:200:53:24

Ha-ha! Love it.

0:53:240:53:27

-Come on, boys.

-What a sight.

0:53:280:53:30

This is the formation they'd be in for thousands of miles on migration.

0:53:300:53:34

From this distance, you can

0:53:360:53:37

really see how each bird benefits from the one in front.

0:53:370:53:41

You really get a sense of being part of this formation

0:53:430:53:46

when you fly like this.

0:53:460:53:47

-Come on, then. Good boys.

-GEESE HONK

0:53:470:53:50

Rose is communicating to them.

0:53:500:53:52

There's a few vocalisations going on, which helps them.

0:53:520:53:56

That's another reason for flying in this formation.

0:53:560:53:59

Ha-ha!

0:54:000:54:02

Come on.

0:54:020:54:04

It really makes you appreciate what an almighty migration

0:54:040:54:07

birds like these undertake, year in, year out,

0:54:070:54:11

to reach their wintering grounds.

0:54:110:54:13

Here we go. End of the runway now. Whoo-hoo! Hey!

0:54:140:54:19

-That was fabulous! Well done.

-Good boys.

0:54:190:54:24

We've reached the end of our walk on winter's wild side...

0:54:270:54:31

..from those seeking sanctuary to those living dangerously.

0:54:320:54:37

..we've seen how winter can transform our landscape

0:54:390:54:42

into a wild wonderland.

0:54:420:54:44

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