Episode 2 A Summer in Wales

-Summer in Wales is a time of celebration...

-ALL: Cheese!

-..holidays...

-I want to see a castle, pubs...

-Keep rowing!

-..and the great outdoors.

-Woo!

-A time when many businesses must turn a profit...

We have put everything we've got into this.

..or face a struggle to survive the rest of the year.

You've got to try and keep your head above water at the moment.

A time when good weather can make all things possible...

and bad can leave dreams in tatters.

The weather could be a little nicer, but that's not anybody's fault.

The summer was truly extraordinary.

-Was that the cleverest idea to try and take it down?

-Um...

It saw laughter...

-SHE LAUGHS

-..heartache...

-It's going to be a cruel game.

-..triumph...

-I came second.

-..and despair.

The weather's beaten us once again.

These are our stories...

Nice bit of pavement pizza in this corner here.

..filmed in every corner of the nation across the summer of 2012.

You can't beat it, can you?

This is a story of a summer in Wales.

Let's get the show on the road!

No-one comes to Wales looking for a tan,

and this summer certainly didn't disappoint.

But despite the grey skies, black clouds

and heavy rain, our overseas visitors kept on coming.

The American cruise liner Caribbean Princess,

the largest ship ever to visit our shores,

came steaming in to Holyhead Harbour.

On board 3,500 passengers planning to "do" North Wales in a day.

I want to see a castle, some pubs. This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal.

My mother was an Owen.

SHE LAUGHS

Wasn't Tom Jones from Wales?

Yes, we were Tom Jones fans a long time ago.

On the dockside, 45 coaches stand ready to whisk the passengers

to tourist locations all over North Wales...

..and back again, in the space of just 12 hours.

One of the top attractions on the list is Caernarfon Castle.

A tour of Welsh castles is the must-do activity

of your average overseas holiday-maker's trip to the UK,

ahead of Buckingham Palace, Harrods shopping,

a Premiere League football match, or a whisky tour.

The weather could be a little nicer, but that's not anybody's fault,

so we won't hold that against you.

In America, we do not have anything like this, so to us it is amazing.

My wife was expecting more grand rooms like she's seen in the movies,

but so far we haven't found those,

unless you happen to know where they are.

The castle seems to hold up better under the weather

than modern dwellings do.

-I'd like to know where they get all the rock.

-You want this?

My name is Tyrone Powers, and I came all the way from Texas

just to see the beautiful castles in Wales.

This is a nice one, a nice castle.

I came to Wales 15 years ago,

I thought it was one of the most beautiful places in England.

What we love is the friendliness of the people.

We appreciate that very much.

We'll see what we can see, and meet who we can meet,

and enjoy every minute of it.

A wash-out summer could spell disaster

for Wales' 7,000-odd hoteliers and guest-house owners.

This year, a new establishment has joined their ranks.

On the border between Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion is Hammet House.

Philippa and Owen Gale bought it and invested their life savings,

transforming it into a luxury retreat.

It's an ambitious project.

We have got plans to redevelop this into a hot spa pool,

and then some spa treatment rooms on the inside here.

As you can see, we've got a lot of work to do to get to that stage.

The couple are giving the interior an uncompromisingly modern makeover,

something that's not to everyone's taste in this part of Welsh Wales.

We did have one lady who stomped in

and told me that I couldn't do this to this house,

didn't I know this was a much-loved house?

And I was, sort of felt like telling her,

well, actually, it's MY house. SHE LAUGHS

Summer is the busiest season in the hotel calendar,

and Owen and Philippa face a steep learning curve.

They're just weeks away from a run of weddings,

and as most event bookings come from personal recommendations,

it's crucial for future business that these go well.

We've done quite a few big dinners and banquets for large numbers,

-but it's not, it's just not the same as a WEDDING.

-Wedding.

For a bride, it has to be perfect, it is their special day,

and we certainly can't ruin it.

We have a wedding coming up that was booked before we took over,

who wanted a nice, old-fashioned country house hotel wedding,

which is what this place was previously,

and when we told them it's going to be completely different,

-there were a few panicked ladies, weren't there?

-We did, yes.

Dan and Michelle booked their wedding

with the previous owners of the hotel over a year ago.

'We found out when we came to make the first payment on the wedding.'

Nobody's actually told us beforehand that the place was being sold.

So that sort of, er, gave us a bit of a shock.

The good thing is they've basically left the outside

the way it's always been, which is nice.

So far, the couple haven't been big on detail.

There's no plan for the day, really,

so it's just going with the flow with how the day goes.

But in reality, a great deal of organisation is needed

to ensure their big day runs smoothly.

The key point is pre-planning everything

down to the smallest detail.

Me and Michelle, neither of us are that regimental

when it comes to something like this.

I'd be happier once I've actually got a list of everything, and the times,

and who's doing what at each time, what time the DJ's arriving,

we'll have to get the room cleared, ready for him to set up,

what time they're having their evening buffet,

what are we putting the evening buffet on?

For novice wedding organiser Philippa,

this laid-back couple pose a real challenge.

And the numbers are the same for the day and the evening, aren't they?

-With the...

-So it's 90 in the day? And then evening?

-We've got...another 40.

-Plus 40.

-Yes.

-SHE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

You're not having a receiving line?

-No.

-Makes it less regimental, to be honest.

-Yes, more fitting in with your...

-Yes.

-You want it to run as a...

-Yes, just a relaxed vibe.

-Yes.

-Yes, relaxed and informal, don't you?

-Mmm.

-Yes. Um,

-you've got desserts included as well.

-Yes.

So there'll be a selection of cheesecake...

A Black Forest gateau would marvellous.

-Black Forest gateau, OK.

-Yes.

Just make sure there's one whole one, ready for the groom.

With the wedding just over a week away,

it looks like Philippa has her work cut out.

I'm feeling, um, almost in control at the moment.

I can't foresee any problems. SHE LAUGHS

Um, yes. Just endless lists of little things that need to be done.

If you're a garden lover, Wales won't disappoint.

The country is packed full of them.

Some of them are even world-famous,

but sometimes the most interesting are not the grandest,

as hundreds of ordinary back gardens are thrown open each summer,

all in the name of charity.

In a far-flung suburb of Cardiff,

keen gardener Stephen Evans is preparing to meet his public.

I spend more time in the garden than I do in the house.

I go to bed at nine o'clock every night and I'm up when it gets light,

so I can go out and I can have my cup of tea in the garden

at five o'clock in the morning and do a little bit of weeding

and cut the lawn in the afternoon when it's nice and dry.

Ah, there's a worm there.

I don't want to spoil his life, he can go in there.

I even wipe my feet on the way out to the house in case there's

dirt on the carpet and I don't want it on the lawn after I've come out.

It's opening day today, so I'm going to sit here and look forward to

seeing all my visitors and they're all very, very welcome.

-Hello.

-Morning!

Lucky with the weather today, aren't we?

You're the first ones I've had today so far.

Stephen's beautifully groomed garden takes recycling to

a new level, with quirky uses for all kinds of discarded items.

Well, I've got ornaments galore, cos I like to go round all the

charity shops or if I see something dumped in a lay-by that I can alter,

I'll pick it up, have a little look at it in the garden. If I like it,

it stays there for the rest of my days.

Any fish in there?

Only those artificial ones.

Oh, right.

There's loads of newts in there.

My leopard, tiger, whatever he is. I can never remember!

Oh, I think it's glorious.

I think he's done a tremendous job over the years,

patiently and carefully, without spending huge amounts of funds,

and just thoughtfully building it the way he wants it.

All the flowers that I've got here, which are artificial,

they all came from a charity shop.

I had the kennel off a policeman up the road and he was just

putting it on the skip so I asked him if I could have it.

And when he came down here some time later to have a look around,

he said, "Oh, I didn't know you only had a clay dog!"

You can't believe when you go up the road, what's behind the house.

It looks lovely in there

but it was no use to the people who had it

because the back of it was all smashed.

I think it's actually quite witty. He's got an interesting

sense of humour and it comes out in the ornaments and

the little mottos and things around the garden.

I was lucky, I was given this table and the very next day

the people opposite had this chair because the others didn't match.

When I had the umbrella, I had a bracket there and I put the tray

taped on there, so the cigarette ends and sweet packets can go in there.

I don't mind if they're on the floor in the house,

but they're not to go in my garden.

Everybody have said how much they enjoyed

walking around and a few have said how immaculate the lawn was.

When I told them I cut it every other day, they couldn't believe me.

On the coast of South Wales, a break in the weather brings

the first crowd of the season to the seaside resort of Barry Island.

Try and win a goldfish. You're wearing orange, you having a go?

The wash-out summers of recent years have seen visitor numbers dwindle.

But five years ago, Barry's declining fortunes

were given a dramatic boost.

A popular TV sitcom has put Barry Island firmly on the TV tourism map.

Linda Bailey is a guide for the official Gavin and Stacey Tour,

taking visitors in their thousands

to the filming locations used in the series.

Testing, testing. It's working, Dave.

A little bit of acting involved, in as much as you're a character.

I take on, like, the Nessa second cousin bit.

I'm Sally from the Rhondda Valley.

Set these song sheets up.

Hope we've got a few good singers on here.

If you know the words to Islands In The Stream,

just sing along.

It's thought that Gavin and Stacey has boosted visitor numbers

by as much as 25%.

There you are, fabulous.

And Barry is now one of the most popular TV

and film locations to visit in the UK.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. What's occurring?

Tell me where you've come from.

-Abbie?

-Derbyshire.

-Oh!

Absolutely fabulous!

-Karen?

-Birmingham.

-Fabulous! Gareth?

-Only Bridgend.

-Right, that's fabulous.

These die-hard fans have travelled from all over the UK

and beyond to take this tour.

Riding on Dave's actual coach from the series, they'll visit

a dozen or so filming locations. Some are more memorable than others.

Including the church where Nessa almost married Dave.

My colleague went in last time and there was a funeral going on.

Wasn't very welcoming, I tell you.

So she was Ness-ified bride.

She said she wanted to be look basically like a fat Boadicea

and she was determined to wear those boots.

They said, "Are you sure you want to wear them?

"For comfort, why suffer?"

All right, then, here we go.

Once you've had your photographs in here, speak nicely to Dave,

he'll let you sit in the driver's seat.

Don't touch any of the controls, though, all right?

Everybody loves it. They love having their photograph taken

in Dave's seat and quite often with Dave.

I don't know what it is. He's just got that je ne sais quoi, I reckon.

Next stop, Nessa's caravan park home

and the base for her fortune telling business.

We're not allowed to go in the caravan,

but we can all stand outside.

Normally this location is a prime photo opportunity.

Oh, I can't believe this weather. Sorry, guys.

But not today.

I don't think we're going to stay long here, right?

That was our Nessa inside the caravan, of course.

Quite a few people like having a photograph here

but you're welcome to borrow this.

I know it's not a crystal ball, but times are hard.

Anyone want to put Nessa's scarf on?

They're giving up and going back to the coach. I don't blame them.

The elements may be against them

but these TV tourists are made of sterner stuff.

Start the bus up, love.

Sorry about the wind-sweeping experience there.

It's onwards to Stacey's house.

At the opposite end of the country

is a more traditional tourist attraction.

Llandudno - Wales' largest seaside resort has been offering

holiday-makers an old-fashioned beach experience

for over a century and a quarter.

Hello, everybody.

Here you can still find the delights of Punch and Judy and donkey rides.

In fact,

of the eight donkey operators that still survive in Wales,

two can be found right here.

Come on, girl.

John Jones is a third-generation donkey man.

Donkeys are in his blood.

You fall in love with them.

Each one's got little quirks to them.

There's mannerisms. They're great.

It's the summer half-term holidays - the beginning of donkey season.

For the first time this year, John is leading his animals down to

the town's north shore, where his grandfather started the business.

We've worked the same section here now for at least

for at least the last 65 years.

It's what we call the jetty side.

It's got more sand on this one.

John only operates his donkeys in the summer months

when there's a demand for rides.

But the rest of the year, he relies on his plumbing

and heating business to make a living.

Come on, girl. Up, up.

It's a glorious day and the beach is busy.

The tide is on its way out

and John should have plenty of sand on which to work.

But he's faced with a problem.

We've had an awful lot of sea defence work done and, in the storms in the

winter, it's brought all the stones down and we're losing our beach.

And I was hoping it would have been cleared but, oh, look at it,

there's hardly anywhere to work now. Hardly anywhere at all.

We'll have to wait now, at least another hour, before we can work

lower down on the bottom end of the slipway now.

It's not a good start to the season.

So we're here but, at the moment, I just can't trade.

Llandudno's second donkey man is Phil Talbot,

who works the town's west shore.

Hold tight, kids.

Like his competitor John Jones,

he too has to contend with rocks on the beach.

But he's come up with a solution.

Rather than lose valuable ride time, he's abandoned the beach

and instead takes his donkeys to meet the land train which is packed

full of families with young children.

Business is brisk.

Who's going on now, then? Ready?

I'm 73.

I started off when I was about nine or ten, with my Uncle Phil.

Tanner a ride when I first started - sixpence in the old money -

and my uncle used to say, "If they haven't got sixpence,

"take thruppence but don't go so far with them."

But we always did.

Where are we going?

Sometimes they kick me, I still love them.

They have such a long lifespan, you know.

They live for donkey's years!

Back on the north shore, it's low tide

and with clear sand to play with,

John can finally get down to business.

-How do you ride a donkey?

-This is how you ride a donkey.

Get her into first gear. Here we go. Come on, girl.

John's mum helps out with the business, and she's concerned.

It's bad for everybody, this is.

The way things are going, the cost of keeping them all winter,

it's a big outlay, you know, and even the little ones we used to get

years ago, they're all in nursery schools now, so you don't get them.

Plus we used to get a lot of school parties

but they won't go on now for health and safety.

Despite the many problems, John is determined to battle on.

It gets into your blood.

You couldn't do something better, could you?

Part of summer.

Part of British culture, it is,

and we need to keep it going.

That's the way to do it. Good girls, there you are.

Summer is a busy time for many of Wales' private country houses.

Some 70 miles south of Llandudno

on the border with England, stands Bryngwyn Hall, ancestral seat

of the Sandbach family and home of Auriol, Marchioness of Linlithgow.

Good girl. Is it your dinner time?

Maintaining this substantial Georgian house

and 60 acres of parkland is costly.

Lady Linlithgow and her household have turned

Bryngwyn into a money-making enterprise.

And the summer is a busy season.

Today, they are laying on a tour

and high tea for very discerning guests.

Christine, the cook, is stressed.

We've got Trefnanney Women's Institute coming.

I think there's 25 of them.

And I really hate doing food for the WI ladies

because they're all such good cooks.

Christine always gets very nervous when they're coming to tea,

in case the place isn't dusted or the scones aren't right.

Got to mix in the butter into the flour for the scones,

which I hate!

If I could find somewhere that sold little scones,

I would buy them rather than make them.

Tours of Bryngwyn Hall provide a much-needed source of income

so it's important that they go well.

I think the secret to a good tour is to make people feel welcome.

I love opening the house up.

I think I live in paradise here and, as I always say,

paradise doesn't come cheap.

Guests must be given the right impression,

so high tea at Bryngwyn is a very formal affair...

-IN POSH ACCENT:

-I like my napkins just so, you know.

..served on fine china.

I'll bet. I can see I've got to train you.

Correct.

So they pick it up and it's, "Do-do-do."

Every detail must be perfect, particularly the scones.

I've decided they're coming out.

I can't wait any longer.

We can relax, scones are made.

Welcome to Bryngwyn. I'm very conscious you're local

and I think every time I have a group here, I learn something.

So if there's anything you can add

or anything you know about the area or anybody who knew my grandparents,

please tell me, it's always wonderful.

It looks like the tour is off to a smooth start.

But there is a crisis in the kitchen.

I think it's a little overcooked.

It's a disaster. This is bad.

And I haven't got a spare.

It's not good, this, it's not good!

Unaware of the chaos in the kitchen,

the WI tour is in full flow.

Lady Linlithgow is entertaining her guests with family yarns.

That was me when I was painted, when I married John Ropner

and I didn't realise why I was being painted to certain dimensions

and it was because I had to go into the frame of John's ex-wife.

And, I must admit, it makes me laugh now but when John and I split up,

he gave me the portrait but history doesn't relate

if the third wife is in the same frame.

So, we'll just walk through here. This was my mother's flat...

Bryngwyn Hall may be open to tours,

but it's still very much a private family home.

The first time we opened the house,

we rushed round, tidying it all up, putting everything away,

I mean, look at the kitchen table, it's a complete mess.

And we said, after the first time,

"No, this is our home, it's not a house."

And I think that's what they enjoy because it is not like going into

a National Trust house. It's definitely going into

somebody's home and being allowed to have a nosey around.

So this is my room.

It's absolutely wonderful apart from the fact that spiders keep

hatching in here. And I'm terrified of spiders.

As the tour draws to an end, high tea is laid out in the dining room.

Will Christine's baking please the ladies of the WI?

Does it work, this thing?

Will the overcooked vegetarian flan be her undoing?

I mean, I don't know who does all her cooking for her,

but it's very much WI standard.

Well, I've only had a few bites so far

but I'm going back for some more so it must be all right.

Christine has pulled it off.

We'd like to all thank you from the bottoms of our hearts

very, very much for an absolutely fascinating evening.

We all absolutely, really enjoyed the food.

I mean, we've all stuffed ourselves silly.

-Thank you very, very much.

-APPLAUSE

With another successful tour in the bag

and their reputation intact, the Bryngwyn Hall household can relax.

I'll take the heels off, put the gumboots on and take the dog out.

Thank you very much. You've done brilliantly.

-Thank you, thank you.

-As ever.

Kitchen's closing.

Kitchen's closed.

On Wales' south coast in the Swansea suburb of Mumbles,

a more modest private home is opening to the public.

Mike and Jackie Church are welcoming visitors in to their garden.

But it's not the plants the visitors have come to see.

I've always wanted a train in the garden.

We've had this one probably, six, nearly seven years now.

I just said to Jackie one day, I said,

"Can we put a railway in the garden?"

And she was a bit dubious at first.

He started digging it all up

and I thought, "Oh, dear, my garden!"

He said, "Well, do you want me to stop or shall I carry on?"

So I thought, "Well, you can carry on and I'll see what it's like

"and if I don't like it then you can put it all back."

But as it turned out, it's great. I love it.

The couple's tiny garden railway draws enthusiasts from as far away

as Australia and Germany, not to mention those much closer to home.

Mike and Jackie's garden is absolutely perfect.

I think it's one of the best ones we've seen in a small area.

There's so much to see. You never tire of looking, do you?

It's a really lovely hobby for husband, wife, family,

children, grandchildren.

One of them hobbies that you don't have to be a man.

A lot of women are involved in it.

I've got more trains than my husband!

Some days, as many as a dozen guests at a time

squeeze into their pocket handkerchief of a front garden.

We get people coming up on a Sunday if we're running,

which is great because it's a great family hobby.

Despite Jackie's early doubts,

the couple are now equally keen railway gardeners.

I mainly look after the grass and the trains

and Jackie does all the planting

and everything else that goes with the planting side of it.

We've won Mumbles In Bloom and we've had

a silver in Swansea In Bloom twice.

Can't plant hard-stemmed flowers near the train otherwise they'll

bump into them and derail, so then I'll have a row,

cos the trains have derailed.

The only thing is, when I start trimming things off,

I leave bits behind and my wife says, "Well, why haven't you cleared up?"

We've got a good compromise. It works well.

It's nice to be outside in the sunshine doing something

rather than sitting indoors.

You can come here, come home from work if it's a nice day.

It takes you away from the stress of life, really.

If you notice, at the back of the train we've got a bride and groom.

Mike and I actually got married on a train in America,

going round the Hardy Canyon, so that's why that's there.

-CHILD:

-Train coming!

In North Wales on their whistle-stop tour,

the American cruise ship passengers have taken to the railways with the

world's oldest independent company and there have been a few surprises.

I thought it would be flat.

Wrong!

Breathtaking views. Photographs, can't wait to get them out.

-It's really beautiful.

-And nice people!

Wales has 14 steam railways

and they're one of our biggest tourist attractions.

Being this wide, on gauge, and looking down these cliffs,

it's more exciting than I thought it would be.

We'll be in Wales for about one day and it probably isn't enough

so we'll have to plan to come back and visit this lovely country.

WHISTLE BLOWS

Tanybwlch!

Even the wet Welsh weather isn't bothering them.

We are from Magnolia, Texas, where it's 105 degrees right now.

-We like the cold weather.

-No rain, and the trees are brown and dead.

The only thing we knew about Wales was that it was

somewhere over here in this area.

We knew absolutely nothing about it and we just wanted to investigate it

and to see what it was, and it is beyond our expectations.

I'm only in Wales for one day and then I have to leave.

But that doesn't mean I can't come back.

With nearly a million overseas visitors coming to Wales each year,

the majority during the summer months,

tourism has become a vital part of the economy.

In Conwy, North Wales,

just under a fifth of the workforce is linked to it.

Ex-London finance manager Rhian Wyn Jones,

who specialises in costume guiding,

leads Blue Badge tours of the town.

When you dress up when you're doing guiding,

you really go into the part.

I go in character. I am Blodwen then.

I'm a 16th-century maid. I'm not Rhian any more then.

My friends think I'm having a midlife crisis.

They're probably right but, you know, I go with the flow.

-Morning.

-Good morning.

Today, Rhian is giving a private tour of Conwy to a group of 26

Japanese visitors on a week-long whistle-stop tour of the UK.

-Sumako.

-Rhian. Rhian. Rhian.

Rhian. OK.

-Sumako?

-Sumako.

-Sumako.

Unfortunately, nobody seems to have explained to the group

why she's dressed as a 16th-century maid.

Welcome to Conwy, nice to meet you all, and welcome to Wales.

Worse, hardly any of them speak much English.

If I say a couple of sentences and then you can translate,

and then I'll say another couple of sentences,

because it's a lot to take in.

This could be tricky.

-Llywelyn.

-Llywelyn. Llywelyn.

-Llywelyn.

SHE CACKLES

Oh, this is going to be fun.

First stop, Conwy's medieval castle.

1282. In England it was Edward I that was ruling.

TRANSLATION FROM JAPANESE

And in Wales, it was Llywelyn ap Gruffydd

that was the prince.

Ah, not a good start.

Now, two reasons why you would be invited to the Great Hall.

First reason would be for a feast.

Second reason is if you were accused of a crime.

So, if you had done a bad deed.

If you had committed a crime.

Accused. Like a court. Like a courtroom.

Oh, dear, oh, dear.

There would have been a stream, a river that would have come along here

to actually carry away the waste.

But you can imagine ten soldiers

sitting there together, reading their newspaper in the morning.

OK.

They're a polite bunch.

Having a good time, aren't we?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-We spend a great time.

Another highlight of the tour is St Mary's and All Saints Church,

burial place of many of the Princes of Gwynedd.

Now I'm going to tell you another Welsh joke now.

Two men standing in the churchyard, talking to each other.

One says, "It's my wedding anniversary coming up."

50 years.

Other man says, "Are you going to do anything nice to celebrate?"

"Well, when it was my 25th wedding anniversary,

"I took the wife to London to visit her sister,

"and now it's our 50th anniversary, I might go and fetch her back."

Bring her back. On the 50th, bring her back.

I think she's lost them there.

It's difficult with a joke.

Just three hours after first arriving,

the tourists have done Wales

and it would appear that they have enjoyed themselves.

How can I thank you in Welsh?

Diolch yn fawr.

-Di...

-Diolch.

-Diolch.

-Diolch yn fawr.

-Ym mawr. Arigato. Thank you very much to you.

-Diolch yn fawr.

-Diolch...

-Fawr.

There we go.

It's been a short but sweet visit.

Happy! Thank you!

They leave completely baffled by our jokes

and with a unique take on Welsh history.

You're welcome.

And still wondering why Rhian's carrying a washing basket.

Sayonara.

For international visitors to the UK, Cardiff is

one of their ten most popular cities.

This summer, with many of the 2012 Olympic football matches

being held in the capital,

its profile will be higher than ever.

So the city's crack cleansing team have gone into deep-clean mode.

Rose, you've missed a bottle and a can.

Team-mates Russell Davies and Rose Joseph are working hard to

ensure that each and every part of the city centre looks its very best.

You've got to have eyes everywhere.

You've got to watch the brushes,

make sure there's no obstacles in your way, lamp posts, bins.

People will just step out from cars.

Even though the work can be tough,

the cleansing squad have a real team spirit.

For one team-mate, this is very much a family affair.

Working alongside her dad as a litter-picker

is Russell's 19-year-old daughter, Sophie.

Well, I left school, and my dad said there was jobs going

so I just signed up to the agency and that's how I got the job.

She's never been late, thank God,

otherwise I'd get the blame for it, for asking her to do the work.

If I do something wrong then he's the first to tell me

so I want to do right by him, kind of thing.

For a girl, she's only 19, to do it is unusual.

I think there's only three or four women out litter-picking

and cleaning the streets.

People do tend to, like, assume you're a bloke

just because of the job you're doing.

But I think that's just normal.

They don't expect to see girls doing a man's job, really, do they?

Well, I like to think that he's proud cos I've stuck it out

and I've got to enjoy it and I wouldn't give it up now.

I'd rather do this job than be stuck in an office or in a shop

doing something that I completely hate.

It's not a glamorous job though.

But, at the end of day,

if people didn't drop rubbish, people like me wouldn't have a job.

Every public area is given a thorough clean,

from streets to parks and gardens.

Even Cardiff's public art has been given a good scrub

under the watchful eye of team manager Juliet Gamlin.

We've got some beautiful monuments in the city centre,

but unfortunately, the seagulls like to rest on top of them.

They all go up, do their business, and fly off.

So it's a proper crusty now.

There's the culprit, guilty as charged.

Cardiff has one of the largest colonies of urban nesting gulls

in Britain, and it certainly shows.

Sir, could you walk this way, please? I don't want you to get wet.

Excuse me, excuse me.

People tend to sit here and feed the birds

so that actually encourages them to come to this particular location.

Unfortunately, poor Mr Bevan suffers as a result.

Obviously, because it's a bronze statue,

it takes a little bit of TLC, so it has to be cleaned by hand.

Only trouble is, his suit says, "Dry clean only."

That's not so good then. It might shrink.

Hopefully by the time that they finish,

he will be back to his wonderful, gleaming glory again.

That's looking lovely, Russ.

Much better, huge improvement.

We just need somebody to stand here now, like a scarecrow,

keeping the birds away for the next two weeks.

Some 100 miles away in rural Montgomeryshire,

the curtain is about to rise on a horticultural attraction.

-I like your hat.

-Oh, do you like it?

I'm a bit hot, actually. I think I shall change to shorts any moment.

Each summer, keen gardeners Dr Wolfgang Schaefer

and his partner Kingsley George

throw open their 24-acre garden to the public.

Running a garden like this and being open every Sunday is actually

a bit like putting on an opera on stage permanently.

-You are! Anyone who runs anything is an entertainer.

-Yeah.

The garden includes wild flowers, meadows, a bluebell woodland

and a two and a half acre formal area

complete with vistas, lawns and extensive borders.

-And could you tell us what those are?

-Those geraniums?

No, these with the spikes?

Oh, yes. Now, you've put me on the spot. I don't know.

I don't know actually, I don't know the name.

Perhaps the most striking feature

is Wolfgang's fantastic sculptural creations.

This was my take on the cliffs of Eastbourne.

It's limestone, all shaped by hand.

Kingsley being a dentist, we have an endless supply of surgery gloves

so I tend to shape all my structures with surgery gloves and limestone.

It's partly to try and introduce a wilder, rocky element into

the otherwise very tame and gentle Mid-Wales landscape.

Well, I've never really liked gardening.

It's all Wolfgang's ambition and drive.

I mean, he's German.

What do you expect?

They're a nation of do-ers.

I think, actually, you're a bit shy now.

You have influenced the garden quite a lot.

We actually had a casting party. We got a few people together

and got the moulds there and then cast it into the limestone.

Everyone wants to do something that lives on, don't we?

For some people, certainly in the past, it was your children.

I never forget, my partner's mother, quite early,

she said something slightly critical about spending money

on the garden and I must have looked at her rather fiercely and she took

my hand and said, "Wolf, I'm sorry. The garden is your baby, isn't it?"

One thing I've always wanted was a tree.

One of those relic trees you get in ancient holloways that are

all moss-covered and gnarled and usually dead or half dead,

but it was also originally to try and introduce

maybe a slightly more sinister element into the garden,

something dark, something covered with mosses.

It hasn't quite worked yet. It's more funny than sinister, really.

The fact that it has a face, or people tell me it has a face,

is complete coincidence.

The centrepiece of the garden, Wolfgang's pride and joy,

is the grotto.

-Volcanic? Is that volcanic rock?

-It is actually, yes.

-It's from Iceland.

-From Iceland? You're kidding.

Well, we didn't get it from Iceland. We got it from Liverpool Docks.

-But it comes from Iceland originally.

-Oh, I see.

When we built the grotto, there was a stage when I had reached

the air-raid shelter stage with the concrete ceiling and I thought,

"Well, what now?"

And it was a good year and a half before we found the right material.

It was Kingsley. It's very often Kingsley because he travels.

I hardly ever leave this place other than going to work.

And then, of course, when he travels he finds other things

like the crystals and the lava rock. So he brought that along.

I didn't expect him to have created such a vast garden.

We have to think about how we can create some of it ourselves now.

-I want a grotto now!

-I want a cup of tea first!

People always love it here. They're very complimentary.

And we can't judge it ourselves.

I think that's one of the reasons why we open it, really,

because I'm a sucker for flattery.

Wolfgang and Kingsley's bond with their garden is deep

and one which they plan to make permanent.

Quite an early time, I had the idea to be buried here

because I've always thought, A - we want to stay here till we die

and also because it adds a bit of history, doesn't it?

We're going to build a tower on top of the meadow

and in the base of the tower, planners permitting,

we'll have a little crypt. And that will be the grave.

So we can keep watch over the garden for many years to come.

As the day draws to an end and their visitors leave the garden,

the couple reflect on another successful open day.

It's been another Sunday well spent.

-In German, eine Inszenierung. A performance.

-A performance. Yeah.

-But the main actor is the garden, in the end.

-Yes, of course.

It's never us. It's the garden.

More than two thirds of weddings are held in the summer

and for Wales' hotel and catering business, it's the busiest season.

In deepest West Wales at Hammet House,

it's Dan and Michelle's big day.

With their reputation at stake,

Owen and Philippa are keen to ensure the event is a success.

In this area of Wales, people talk, word gets around,

the grapevine is very, very active,

so, yeah, we've got to make sure, we've got to do our best

to make sure that everything is absolutely perfect.

Good colour.

Everything is checked.

Oh, perfect.

From the welcoming Pimm's drinks to the Hammet House signature canapes

that chef Ben's whipping up in the kitchen.

We're going to start plating up in a second

-then obviously it will take us about 15, 20 minutes.

-OK.

I'm not sure what they're going to think of the flowers we're doing.

As the wedding party arrives,

the Hammet House team springs into action.

What will the hungry guests make of the fancy finger food?

Well, I was a little wary.

I wanted to make sure it was edible before I ate it.

Not sure that it tasted it, but it looked good.

Beetroot and goat's cheese.

Oh, I don't like that! That was horrible!

So far, the event's running to schedule.

Smashing. OK, that lovely, cheesy smile you've got there. Well done.

In the next few minutes we're going to start taking all the buffet out

and putting it on the table which is at the top end of the ballroom.

Formal photographs done, it's time for the wedding party to take in

the new Hammet House decor

while the hog roast and buffet is prepared.

Yummy.

And opinion is mixed.

-I think it's really nice.

-Not the plastic stuff.

-Not the see-through plastic, maybe not.

-No, no.

It's a bit more contemporary now since we've been here last.

I don't like the retro look with it, I don't think it matches. No, sorry!

That's my opinion, you asked me for my opinion.

I've just heard a few witterings of, "This is Llechryd, not London,"

and that sort of comment, so, there we are.

It doesn't really bother us.

We like it when people have got strong opinions

cos if you're not getting people to react, obviously you're just

doing something middle of the road,

so we wouldn't want to be doing that.

Monkey!

To keep Dan and Michelle's wedding day on track,

Owen's volunteered himself as master of ceremonies.

I'm just looking for the groom at the moment.

Not an easy task with this laid-back couple.

Ladies and gentlemen,

if you'd like to make your way through to the ballroom,

the hog is served.

-OK, where's Dan gone now?

-I have no idea.

The meal is ready but, before it can be served,

the bride and groom need to be formally introduced to their guests.

Dan's gone for a little wander to say hello to everybody.

And Dan and Michelle keep wandering off.

Now Michelle's gone outside.

Oh, no, photographer. We need to get a move on.

If you can grab your wife, get her in.

Ladies and gentlemen,

if you can all be upstanding for the bride and groom.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ah, finally!

At last the wedding party can tuck into chef Ben's buffet,

which hopefully will be to everyone's taste.

Caramelised onions in there, couscous in the oven,

corn on the cob is down there, tomato salad out there already.

Ben's an experienced chef, well used to busy kitchens,

but with Hammet House's reputation riding on this event,

Philippa is keen to check that everything is under control.

Is the bread baked off?

-The bread is going to go into the oven in a second.

-Right. OK.

We need all the bread out straightaway.

We don't want to be running back and forth for bread.

And what's that going on, do you know? On or in, to go out.

We haven't thought about it yet, to be honest with you.

Are those accounted for?

Yes, that's going to be couscous and some leaves.

Hello.

Oh, dear.

Despite Philippa's anxiety,

the happy couple are pleased with Ben's efforts.

-Everyone's been impressed with the food.

-Well, fair play, he's made it.

Particularly Dan, whose request for a Black Forest gateau

has been granted.

We'll have to go over and sample it on our table

and we'll see how it tastes afterwards.

MUSIC: "Combine Harvester" by The Wurzels

The evening wears on with no hitches and all parties seem happy.

Everybody's had a nice few drinks, I think.

A bit of merriment going on, a bit of dancing. Yeah, a good night, I think.

But in the kitchen, all is not well.

Yes, just extremely tired

and I'm quite glad that's it over, to be honest with you.

Ben's not happy.

Some more demolished buffet plates, all going down very well.

Oh, great, that's great news.

One slice of Black Forest gateau left.

Oh, brilliant, I'm glad they enjoyed that.

That's probably the most she ever talks to me, to be honest with you.

I'm going to put these away.

Oh, dear.

Dan and Michelle's wedding has been a big success.

Despite mixed reviews about the hotel's

uncompromisingly modern interior,

chef Ben's catering won the wedding party over

and the word has spread on the local grapevine.

Another wedding booking?

-That was a wedding viewing this afternoon.

-Oh, right.

But it's not all good news.

We're really pleased with the food especially. Ben did a great job.

But now he reveals to us

that he is going to be leaving us, unfortunately.

Just as we're coming into a busy wedding season,

we're going to be losing our head chef, which is a huge problem.

So it's just the next hurdle, basically.

PHONE RINGS Good afternoon, Hammet House.

As storm clouds gather over Hammet House, in Barry, South Wales,

Linda's Gavin and Stacey tour is reaching its climax.

Right then, everyone, this is Stacey's house.

Next door is where Doris lived

and right opposite there is Uncle Bryn's house.

He used to come out of the window there and wave, you know,

when he was talcing himself off after a shower.

If you'd like to come in, please feel free to take a look around.

For the keen fans who've travelled hundreds,

if not thousands of miles to see these filming locations,

no detail is too small to be overlooked.

When you get out the kitchen, the original omelette pan is

still there if you want to cook an omelette for a photo shot.

You can go in Stacey's bedroom,

it's exactly as the film set.

Unfortunately we can't go to Gavin's house

cos that's in Dinas Powys, not Billericay.

It's a cul-de-sac and they just didn't want us there, really.

Apparently Nessa drove her truck in, reversed it in one day,

and knocked something over.

So we don't go there.

I'd like to thank you all for coming on the tour today.

We'll finish off outside Marco's

and around to Nessa's Slots, where we'll have our raffle.

In the five years since the series was first shown,

Stacey's house has been visited by over 7,000 TV tourists.

A recent survey of Gavin and Stacey viewers found that

over three million of them

wanted to visit Barry after seeing the sitcom.

I'm just going to see if Gav and Stace are there.

I've come up from Cornwall and that's five hours on the train.

That's far enough for me anyway.

And you've come via Turkey.

Cornwall, Turkey, to here.

Fabulous, thank you. Life-size models.

But if you stand by them and give them a cwtch

and blur your eyes a bit, it looks like the real thing.

I've come from Baltimore. This is actually my second time here.

The show isn't super-popular in the United States

but it does have kind of a cult following.

I wouldn't have known that Barry existed

if it weren't for Gavin and Stacey.

We've got the Marco's Cafe behind as well.

It's been really good, yeah, really good.

-The house was really good, visiting the house.

-Yeah, that was nice.

It was a shame about the weather,

-but other than that it was brilliant, really.

-Yeah.

I think it went really well. The bus didn't break down, the music box

didn't blow up and no-one fell off the coach, so we're fine.

Oh, that was a good one.

Summer is festival season in Wales,

with hundreds of events, from local to international,

taking place across the country.

For event caterers like Jonathan Williams...

-That one's ready.

-..founder and owner of Cafe Mor,

a mobile catering business specialising in

fresh Welsh seafood, it's their busiest season.

-WEATHER REPORT:

-The heaviest rain is likely

across North, Mid and West Wales.

But the weather isn't playing ball.

On North Wales' Llyn Peninsula, Wakestock, Europe's largest

wakeboard and music festival, is off to a muddy start.

-WEATHER REPORT:

-We could see two inches of rain

so the Met Office has an amber warning in place.

This will be the Cafe Mor team's

second big Welsh festival of the summer.

They've never catered it before and Jonathan was worried about

how his food and prices would go down with the young audience.

Quiet. Didn't take much. We take more at St David's Day market.

Seriously. And apparently all the stallholders are the same.

People, have been coming to the store, saying,

"Oh, God, this looks different. We'll come back tomorrow."

Or they've flung 12p on the counter, saying,

"Can you do us anything for 12p?" No! We can't!

It looks like Jonathan's fears were well-founded.

Worse, he's been unexpectedly delayed.

So for the last 24 hours, his mum has had to hold the fort.

He won the British Street Food Award last year, and one of the prizes

was a pitch at the Olympic Village, the Athletes' Olympic Village,

which was absolutely fantastic, but it's like a double-edged sword.

It's so much work, and they've just finished

making about 17,500 wraps in three weeks, ready for the Olympics.

So at least he's got that done, and he's really sort of happy.

So that's added to the pressure as well this year, this summer,

and also him, and his partner had a baby, 17th of June.

Meet Josie.

Oh, she's gorgeous. She's lovely. What a lovely name.

She looks the spitting image of our Jonathan when he was born.

I'm a yia-yia - Greek for granny. So I'm called Yia-Yia.

-Hi guys!

-Hello!

-You all right?

-You all right?

-Yeah.

-How's it been going then?

-Slow.

-Is it?

We've sold a few cakes, that's why they're out.

-What's that placed called? Pwllheli?

-Pwllheli.

Yeah, it's packed. They're all in ASDA, loading up.

So, I don't think it's going to be...

I think it's going to be slow.

You ought to try and do a meal deal.

A mini-wrap and a cake for four quid.

Yeah, Wakestock!

In a last-ditch attempt to attract more customers,

Jonathan takes his mum's advice

and tweaks his menu to appeal to the teenagers' tight budget.

But there's still no takers.

This is the worst I've ever seen at a festival.

It is the worst I've ever seen.

It's because it's a completely different demographic.

They're all kids and, you know, when I was a kid,

I was quite happy drinking all day and dancing

and the majority of people here, that's what they want to do.

As night falls, Jonathan decides enough is enough.

Well, put it this way, I'll probably do better at a local market

for £15 a pitch and not what I pay for here,

so decided to cut our losses, really.

There's a big seafood festival down in Aberaeron tomorrow,

so we've got to be down in Aberaeron for eight. It's not ideal.

I'm knackered, I want to go to bed but I think we've decided,

you know, we'll break out while we can, like, you know.

Lesson learned. Wakestock.

SHE SINGS

In Holyhead, the American cruise ship passengers have

finished their whirlwind tour of North Wales.

We loved every minute of it.

And the castles - awesome, absolutely awesome!

And we saw that "blwdwblwdwblwdwp" town.

And some lovely people.

Everybody was just so friendly, so nice.

Just really a nice place to visit.

I could live in Wales.

All right. That would be what I would plan to do.

Now they're off to "do" Ireland.

Next time...

-Come on, GB.

-You're off.

..Olympic fever sweeps Cardiff...

..a tour guide turns gladiator...

My name is Achillea and I am ready for my seven fights this week.

You're scaring me.

Follow me, please.

..Bryngwyn Hall hosts an etiquette course...

They learn how to project themselves.

Don't rush up the stairs. Walk like ladies.

..and Hammet House gets reviewed.

Oh, you've got to keep that level.

They've still got the smelly carpets.

I was just saying it feels quite schizophrenic.