Episode 3 Glamorgan Coastal Lives

The Glamorgan coast - a natural treasure.

A stone's throw from the urban sprawl of the Welsh capital.

Just on your doorstep.

This is five minutes down the road from where we live.

A diverse coastline of dramatic cliffs,

sandy beaches,

and unique geological features.

I couldn't think of any better place to be.

Throughout the summer, we followed the lives of the people who live,

work and play here.

The Heritage Coastline is probably the best coastline in all of Wales to fish on.

Fish of the day!

From Penarth...

That's probably the only place in the world

where you can go to the cinema on the beach.

..to Ogmore.

The Vale has the coast, it has the country,

it's got a bit of everything, really.

You know, where else are you going to get that?

This is their summer.

These are their coastal lives.

The Glamorgan Heritage Coast Path meanders along the cliff top for 14 miles.

And some people are lucky enough to call it their office.

Rangers Paul Lock and Louise Bebb are heading to the coast path

near Southerndown to lay in a new signpost

to keep walkers on the right track.

It's very special, this.

That's if Louise can get over the first hurdle.

Hopefully, I'm not going to get caught on any barbed wire.

The hazards of having such short legs.

We had an option here, see, didn't we?

Either carrying all this stuff half a mile across the clifftop,

or we were driving and then watching Louise get over the barbed wire fence.

Oh, relatively controlled!

So elegant.

Right.

I want to direct people to that gate, because everyone's going

through this one.

Rather than be negative and stick a big "No entry" on it...

-Yeah.

-..if we put a left-right coast path,

so anyone who comes to this gate,

there's a sign here saying, "Keep moving".

So let's start digging. It's a bit warm and dry.

With the path so close to the cliff edge,

it's important they keep walkers on the straight and narrow.

Jobs could be anything from keeping the grass down,

which could be good to indicate where people should be walking,

to digging in waymark posts,

fitting new furniture, styles, kissing gates.

Also dealing with landowners who want to make sure

that there's people not wandering all over the farmland.

I'm not having much luck with this stone.

-No.

-It will move.

There we are. If you can empty that, I think we'll get it out then.

I love the practical nature of the job.

It's the... It's the best job in the world, the landscape.

That first big sandy bit from Monknash on the way back is...

It's lovely.

And there's hardly ever anyone on it.

It always amazes me, we're a half a mile away from Southerndown,

no-one's come out and explored, no-one's seen these sort of views,

and we get to work out here. It's fantastic.

If you imagine 1,000 or so years ago,

the cliffs were out further onto the beach.

Where the cliffs have eroded back,

they're the bits of the cliff that you see left on the beach, if you like.

And the waves cut into them and create these lovely patterns,

and they're called wave-cut platforms.

And it's one of the reasons why the Glamorgan Heritage Coast

was designated as a heritage coast,

because these are quite unique to the area.

They may be beautiful,

but these 70-metre cliffs can be perilous.

Cliffs along the coast are always dangerous.

There have been fatalities, with people sitting too close to the cliff

when there have been rockfalls.

And changes in the weather are the worst sort of thing

that increase the chances of rockfall.

It has been quite wet over the last couple of weeks.

So all the make up of the cliff, the shale in amongst the cliff,

is very soft.

And of course today, it's going to dry out rapidly.

It'll crack and it could lead to some big rock falls.

I don't mind that as a height.

The new signs keep walkers away from danger.

-That's good. That's that done.

-Excellent.

But there's another potential snag for Louise.

Here we go.

Just don't break the fence.

Or we'll be back tomorrow fixing it.

SHE LAUGHS

A little way up the coast

is medieval Fonmon Castle.

And lord of the manor, Sir Brooke Boothby, is a busy man.

The Fonmon Estate has been in his family for 11 generations.

And his duties range from replanting the fuchsia border one day,

to greeting the Queen the next.

Speaking of royals...

I was driving my mother-in-law in a wheelchair

and I ran over the Duke of Edinburgh's foot!

And in trying to jump sideways to get away from that one,

I nearly cannoned into the Queen.

But anyway, we managed to avoid any disasters.

Right!

Today, he's hosting a meeting of the Welsh branch

of Les Chevaliers Bretvins.

Will you please all rise to welcome the Muscadet?

An ancient Breton guild that comes together each year to celebrate

the Muscadet wine of Cardiff's twin town Nantes.

And Sir Brooke has a warning for the brotherhood.

I would just like to let everyone know that I am the licence holder

of this place, and we have a licence to carry out

all-in wrestling, boxing, performing animals,

but I do not hold a licence for sexual entertainment.

LAUGHTER

A couple of years ago they planted two of the Nantes vines

in the garden here, so ultimately, we will be able to grow grapes here.

And it turns out that his vines enjoy a drop of Muscadet

as much as the next man.

So I'm only going to give this one a tiny drop because, frankly,

he's doing quite nicely on his own.

But this one, I shall definitely give a little more to.

Some for me, although I don't need to grow any more.

Having a castle might look like fun,

but along with the banquets and ballrooms,

comes immense responsibility and financial burden.

When my mother died in '93,

we were faced with some very serious taxation problems at that point.

And we had to decide what to do.

And one of the things we determined to do was hold functions in general,

but the one that proved more popular than most

has been the weddings.

It costs £400,000 a year

to maintain the Grade I listed castle and grounds.

So Fonmon needs to be a working estate.

And Sir Brooke's fought hard to preserve it for future generations.

Here's the little granddaughter and it was entitled,

"Contemplating My Inheritance".

And actually, that's a really good shot because that shows a bit of the

roof that we have mended.

And it shows a bit of the garden furniture we have replaced,

and it shows all sorts of things we have done,

as opposed to those things which I know in the biblical terms

we have left undone.

-Launch, launch, launch!

-Ready, ready, ready, ready!

But before granddaughter Aian needs to worry,

it's eldest daughter Aliki's turn to take over the estate.

It's the most amazing thing to have a castle that's been in your family

for this long.

And I'm a member of the Historic Houses Association

and there's a lot of people like me.

We are all, most of us, working and having to go home

and start running estates.

What my father's allowed me to do is, you don't have to do the same

as the generation before you.

That's the really key point.

Aliki's been working in business and marketing for 15 years.

So she has a clear plan for the future of Fonmon.

I've got to make every corner of this place work.

Every farm building, every room, every corner of the garden,

it's all got to wash its face and earn its keep.

I want to hand something to Aian that is feasible and manageable,

and that she can carry into the next generation.

What I do not want to do and I will not do is saddle her

with an intolerable burden.

Somewhere in an ex-World War II military site,

on the outskirts of Cowbridge, something is brewing.

That's not a figure of speech - something actually is brewing.

Rowland Tomos and Rob Lilford first cooked up

their microbrewery business idea when they met each other five years

ago at their daughters' school.

Nice and biscuity.

They were the only two men in the playground,

so you can probably guess what happened next.

Rob came up to me and said, "Do you like beer?"

And I said, "Yes".

Joined by Rob's brother Jim,

the lads set up a tiny brewery in a shipping container.

The grand tour starts here.

And finishes five seconds later just over there.

Now they're moving into a newer, larger home,

where they'll be able to brew much more of their favourite tipple.

Put your back into it, Rob!

And this is the new place.

Ta-da!

The plan is to eventually quit their day jobs

and work full-time brewing beer.

This is alchemy. It's just magic.

This is a big move for the lads, but Rob's optimistic.

It's a really, really exciting year for us. I mean...

This is the year we get to live our dream.

Or crash and burn.

But these guys aren't your run-of-the-mill brewers.

I'm making seaweed beer.

The boys' brews include an eclectic range of local ingredients,

foraged from Dunraven Bay.

When the tide is out, the table is set.

This place is alive with things you can eat.

And get involved with with your teeth, you know?

Just like this stuff.

This is purple laver. It's a really delicious...

..and easy to cook with seaweed.

And the reason it's a good seaweed to cook with

is that it doesn't require hours and hours of boiling.

I'm using a pair of scissors so I don't take all the plant away.

And basically you want to leave some of it behind, so it keeps growing.

So we've got... Feels around about two kilos.

And now I'm going to get wet feet!

That's Rob's cue to head home to the garden

and collect another one of their signature ingredients.

It's all local stuff.

The last thing we want to do is go to Tesco's and buy rosemary.

It would cost us a fortune for one thing.

But it's free everywhere else!

But experimenting with nature is never straightforward.

When we did it the first time, it came out tasting like Toilet Duck.

The flavours have improved since then.

They've brewed with thyme and yarrow,

shiitake mushrooms, and even wild gorse.

Because we're a small brewery, we can do things like that.

We can go out and say, "That's what we're doing today,"

and try it.

The boys' passion for local ingredients and experimentation,

coupled with their new larger base,

means their dream of becoming full-time brewers is slowly

becoming a reality.

But what will their latest coastal brew taste like?

It's mid-July, and Penarth's summer festival is in full swing.

Married couple and winners of Penarth's first-ever

Outstanding Citizens Award, Peter and Andy,

are, as ever, right in the thick of it.

And they've entered the festival's very own Wacky Races.

Peter's going to be on this end,

driving underneath with just his head out.

And we've got a crash helmet with a seagull on, as you do.

I mean, why would you not?

With the expert help of their mate Colin,

they've designed, built and decorated their go-kart.

And their team name is a very fitting Sandy Shore.

What's also very fitting are their outfits.

-So, Colin...

-What's that?

-Tell us what you're wearing.

-Not a lot!

-THEY LAUGH

-Well, that's fairly obvious!

I'm wearing my traditional Edwardian bathing suit.

The moustache I grew earlier this morning.

I've had my hair especially done.

My best friend for the day, my seagull.

And I reckon we're ready to go.

Having recced the course earlier,

our gents are a little concerned about the route's main obstacle.

The course is steep, to start with.

And there's a jump that the kart has to go over, which is a foot high,

so the kart will go up the ramp and over the jump,

and basically bang down on the other side.

So, yes, I'm... I'm nervous.

And the pit team are also worried.

If a few go down first and it creates a big problem, then...

I said to Peter not to go over it, just go round it.

-It's not worth it.

-No.

-The front's going to drop off, isn't it?

-That's what I'm saying.

-They're just going to get grounded.

-Yeah.

Unless you're doing about 100mph.

-Which I obviously will be.

-Yes!

As Rampgate rumbles on,

it's becoming clear that Andy and Peter have some stiff competition,

with lots of experience in this event.

My dad's entered it every year,

and we've done it for the last couple of years.

I think it's the best thing in Penarth.

This is my father-in-law's car. He built it a few years ago.

So that's Woberley.

And I've got a dodgem up there.

THEY SING COMICALLY

As the boys try to psych out the opposition,

it's time for Peter to quit singing and get in the hot seat.

And like any top racing driver,

he's completely focused on the job in hand.

Really snug in here.

Oh, I've just found a minibar!

It's the first day of the school holidays

and people are flocking to Southerndown Beach,

where temperatures have hit a high of 30 degrees.

Heritage Coast Rangers Paul and Louise have had a call-out.

I wonder if this one's going to be a smelly one today.

-I think it will in this heat.

-Mmm.

The warmest day of the year,

-and there's a dead marine mammal on the beach.

-Urgh!

They've been told a dead dolphin has washed up on the rocks.

And they need to try and remove it before it becomes a health hazard.

Let's have a look for this dolphin.

Ah, there it is, on the right-hand side there.

Ah, that's not in a good condition.

No!

-Oh, look at that.

-That's a bit far... A bit far gone for an autopsy, that is.

-Urgh!

-That is grim.

-Look at all the teeth down there.

-Yeah.

I think that looks like a bottlenose dolphin.

There is quite a bit of litter in the sea, isn't there?

-It could have been snapping at things.

-It could have eaten litter.

You can see a bit of...

Just down there, you can see a bit of net, actually.

They get caught in fishing nets

and they can actually drown because they are mammals.

Difficult for us to even move it because it's going to fall to bits.

So I think what we'll do, we've got a bigger tide tonight.

Hopefully, the tide will come and pick it up,

shift it around a bit, and if we can get it close to the slipway,

then we can try and drag it off with a truck.

That would be good.

While a ranger's day is varied,

keeping the public safe is always on the agenda.

-People right on the edge of the cliff again.

-Yeah.

We have a surfaced path from the car park at the top of the hill,

the other side of the road, where people are safe.

But people choose not to use the surfaced path.

They always seem to want to be on the cliff edge.

They don't realise how close they are, and there may not be much rock

underneath their feet there.

And it's not just the people on top of the cliffs that are in danger.

There have been accidents across the coastline.

There have been people killed and injured.

In 2011, a landslip in nearby Porthkerry left 15 caravans

teetering over the edge of the cliffs.

And just last summer,

a 23-year-old woman died after a rock fall on Llantwit Major Beach.

With so much potential danger above their heads,

Paul and Louise are forever warning the public of the risks.

How are you doing?

Just wanted to come and tell you about the dangers of the cliffs, really.

And all the rock up above you.

We always tell people that, if it's going to fall,

if it falls outwards, then it'll end up bouncing

twice the height of the cliff down the beach.

But not everyone heeds their advice.

Shall we take the risk? Sort of OKish here?

I would be down there a bit.

But just to let you know there's a bit of rock above you,

-I'm sure you've seen it.

-Yeah, I have. I come here quite a lot.

Every day for the last five years.

There we are. Happy enough by there?

-Yeah.

-I wouldn't fancy it.

-Yeah, but...

Those two chaps who were very nice and said they'd move,

so far have only moved about 20 feet, perhaps.

The ladies were better and they've moved down.

Chap over this side's been coming here for five years.

So he's quite safe, apparently.

Back at Fonmon Castle,

Sir Brooke and Aliki are in the library, discussing business.

-We need to do this next week.

-We do need to go...

-Or shall we...?

-Let's do this one Tuesday, Wednesday next week.

-Yeah.

Aliki's in the process of taking over the estate,

but Sir Brooke's on hand to help.

These places do throw up trauma from time to time.

We laughingly just called the house a stroppy teenager.

And you will get dramas.

But Dad was away on holiday

when Aliki faced her first major challenge.

It was literally the biggest tree on the estate

and it had come down out there,

it crashed through the garden wall, it had wrecked the lawn.

And then it was 80 tonnes of timber sitting there.

Simon, one of our gardeners, said, "What shall we do?"

And I went, "I don't know... I literally don't know!"

And my first thought was, "Oh, God, ring Dad, ring Dad!"

And I thought, "No, I've got to learn to deal with this myself."

Aliki handled the tree problem,

and today's challenge is to take over judging duties in the annual

South Wales Dog And Family Fun Day, held on the Fonmon Estate.

And this is her second year.

I did The Dog The Judge Would Most Like To Take Home last time.

And it was heartbreaking.

I had to pick first, second, third.

And then all these little dejected kids walked out of the ring.

I was heartbroken and said I wouldn't judge it any more.

So this one's much fairer because everyone gets a prize.

This time, she's brought husband Riaz and daughter Aian along.

-Say "Hello", baby.

-Hello.

-Hello!

She's going through a period of sounding like the Queen Mother at the moment.

-DRAMATICALLY:

-Hello!

With Aian being entertained by Dad...

Right, I'd better go and stand by my ring and start looking official

-and judge-like.

-Wear them with pride!

..Aliki is prepped for her most important role of the day.

-Thank you very much.

-Don't accept bribes.

-No, I won't.

-Yeah.

-Don't cave in to tears.

-No, I won't!

Back at the castle, Sir Brooke is busy with his favourite hobby.

Too hard!

Flower arranging.

That's where we need some.

When it is for events, like we now have two weddings this weekend,

then you want something a little bit bigger, more showy.

He's been keen on designing the displays since he was a young boy -

all thanks to his godmother.

She encouraged me to do the flowers,

although she was quite rude about my flower arranging.

She said, "You only really do it when there's dozens of flowers of large size".

She said, "When your father tells you in November that he's got a

"party of people coming, would you do flowers all over the castle in November?"

"Oh, and he's not buying any, you're going to have to pick something out of the garden."

And there's nothing in the garden.

"Then," she said, "you learn if you are a good flower arranger or not."

What do we do?

She had my secateurs, which she's now gone off with.

While Sir Brooke looks for his secateurs,

Aliki is about to judge the category for

Best Dog Who Hasn't Won A Prize.

Oh, look at your tiara!

While some are dressed to impress,

others just aren't that bothered.

But she doesn't seem to mind the laid-back approach.

Come on, Dennis. Wake up, Dennis.

Wake up, Den!

Come on, Dennis.

Her top dogs are lined up and ready for their prize.

Well, almost.

Show a bit of willing, Dennis.

Oh, Dennis. This is thoroughly beneath you, isn't it, mate?

"I'm a dog of great standing and this is beneath me."

Oh, bless him.

And the cup goes to...

my Romanian friend.

A three-legged rescue dog from Romania takes the lead.

Even he's quicker than Dennis!

It may be a family fun day,

but it's a great opportunity to raise the profile of the castle.

Fonmon welcomes visitors in many different ways.

We're getting a plug, brilliant.

-Excellent.

-..venue for weddings, christenings.

Massive thanks to the Boothby family, the owners of Fonmon.

There we go. That was really nice.

With Aliki at the helm, the future of Fonmon looks to be in good hands.

Back at the Tomos in Lilford Brewery,

the boys are preparing their latest creation.

Never the same pint twice.

Which is good really.

Once you've drunk a pint, you don't want to drink it again.

Having gathered some fresh seaweed from the Glamorgan coast,

Rob's at home preparing it for the brew.

Essentially, all we're doing is rinse it in cold water.

Salt actually is a good thing in beer.

But not too much.

We will get our first batch on.

Lay out on grease-proof paper,

a few minutes in the oven,

and the seaweed is nice and dry and ready for the brew.

I reckon that'll do.

Three weeks later and the magic potion is ready to taste.

Cool. Seaweed stout.

Just making something that I can stand up really proudly and say,

"I made that. That's brilliant."

But the big question is,

what will the paying public think of their seaweed beer?

This batch marks an important turning point for the boys.

With the new brewery up and running,

they can now make enough to sell to local pubs.

Got your seaweed beer.

I'm really apprehensive because their opinion matters.

And this is a crowd that really like their beer.

-Go on.

-Ooh, a lively one!

If the public likes it,

the order books will fill and their dream of becoming full-time brewers

will be one step closer.

It's that kind of beer.

The moment of truth has arrived.

That's actually very nice. I'm impressed.

That is really nice. That is really, really nice.

It's lovely.

Very quaffable.

It's a very gentle seaweed flavour.

It's a back taste. It provides an accent.

Ahh!

There's a lot of pretentious rubbish talked about wine and beer.

It just tastes lovely, that's all you need to know.

-Happy with that. Yeah.

-Quite a good reaction.

It's a unanimous decision.

And what better place to celebrate - other than a brewery?

-Cheers. Success.

-Success.

-Iechyd da.

-Iechyd da.

Well done, boys. The big time beckons.

What next? Other than another pint?

Squirrel beer?

Over at Penarth's Summer Festival...

..Andy, Colin, and a nervous-looking Peter are at the start line

of the Downhill Derby.

Limbering up here, ready for the moment.

And they've made a big decision.

I'm going for the jump.

Because if the under-16s can do it, the nearly-60s can definitely do it.

It's time to see if Peter can cope with the pressure...

Nervous now.

..as he goes head-to-head with a 1970s dodgem in the first heat.

And they're off!

Andy and Colin are in hot pursuit.

Peter's got a good lead.

Time for the dreaded jump - and he's over the ramp!

The spade's off, but the feet stayed on.

That's the main thing.

Peter's through the chicane.

And look at the finishing speed!

He's annihilated the competition

and crosses the finish line a full 11 seconds ahead of the opposition.

Come on, Colin. Keep up!

I'm fine. I'm still alive.

And I'm all in one piece.

-You made it over the ramp.

-I did. It was brilliant!

-And did you lose any shells?

-I haven't counted them yet.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

Don't get too cocky, boys.

Your rivals are already planning their revenge.

-We'll be back next year, I reckon.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Relive it.

-Yeah.

-Another grudge match.

-Yeah.

But there's no time for celebrations.

It's straight back up to the top for the grand finale.

This is a race for the King of the Hill. It's the final three.

The pressure is so mounting, it's not true.

Now...my nerves have gone, it's about winning.

-Nicely warmed up now.

-Oh, yes!

Peter attempts to psych out the competition.

This is my menacing look.

Is it?

But these boys are tough. They've seen it all before.

And they're off again!

It's a decent start, but Peter's losing ground.

There's a two-man weight advantage for Cardiff Gas.

First and second are over the ramp.

And Peter clears it, but what an impact!

He'll have a sore bottom in the morning.

But it's all about the inside line here at Penarth, and Cardiff Gas

take the victory with Peter and Andy coming in a valiant third.

That was brilliant. That was so good. That was so good.

King of the Hill, the Cardiff Gas team.

Let's hear it for the returning champions!

They were beaten on speed but, what about the design category?

The best car goes to this lot from the Hamptons,

-their lovely sandy car. Well done, guys.

-Thank you very much!

Thank you!

Penarth Downhill Derby!

50 shells, two feet, and one seagull,

and the boys have well and truly cemented their place

in Penarth history.

Elated!

Exhausted!

I've been up and down that hill about 15 times.

Events like this are part of what makes Penarth

such a truly special place to live.

And for us to take part in something like this is absolutely brilliant.

And we've loved every single minute of it.

Next time, we unearth the Vale's most prestigious pumpkins.

Welcome to the land of the giants.

A former Welsh rugby star gets a bit sheepish.

Didn't even get the five kills so I'm not even an ace.

And it's no fun at the fair.

This is too painful for words!