Episode 5 The Farm Fixer

'These are tough times for Northern Ireland's small farms and rural businesses.'

Am I talking to an accountant that's gone all soft?

'I'm Nick Hewer,

'and once again I'm returning to my Northern Irish roots...'

It's my country, what are you doing here?

I'm from Nebraska, I've never heard of Ballyclare.

'..to help these small farms and rural businesses diversify.'

-You're not supposed to cross your feet.

-Oh, Spider-Man.

I may not be an expert in their line of business,

but I've been knocking around with some of Britain's biggest

money-makers, and they've given me a nose for profit.

A couple of pounds matters nothing.

You don't understand the value of what you've actually got to sell.

'There needs to be a reality check...'

You deal with the horse.

Shoot the horse yourself.

..that's where I come in.

I'm off to Breckenhill to meet Henrietta and David Reade.

They run weddings, outdoor pursuits, and shortly they're going

into business with neighbour Sam, who runs Tildarg Fisheries.

'Breckenhill and Tildarg are on the outskirts of Ballyclare,

'a small County Antrim town just 13 miles outside Belfast.'

Breckenhill the business started

about seven years ago when we did up our barn,

and we decided we were going to do conferences,

team building, outdoor activities.

With the recession, we have found that the outdoor activity business

has been quite quiet.

And so, from a financial point of view,

we need to increase the turnover.

If Breckenhill is to survive,

they need to find another source of revenue,

so the Reades are hoping to swell their income by adding

kayaking and canoeing to the list of attractions.

On a fishing lake?

Won't that just muddy the waters?

The fishing lease is up for renewal in April,

so clarity and speedy agreement on a business plan are crucial.

I've got a lot of questions for David and Henrietta.

Who exactly is their target market? Have they assessed it?

Have they found out? Have they thought about it?

And exactly what is this Breckenhill, anyway?

'I meet the jolly couple outside their nuptial barn.'

Hello.

-What a windy old day.

-A miserable day.

-Henrietta?

-Yes.

-I'm Nick, how are you?

-Nice to meet you.

-I'm David, nice to meet you.

-So, here we are. Breckenhill.

-Yes, our barn.

Brilliant. This is the barn? What happens in here?

Well, we have a big room upstairs

where we have wedding functions,

-parties, conferences, meetings...

-Right.

And there's space downstairs for receptions.

-But mainly weddings, yes?

-Mainly weddings, yes.

We've got 16 booked for this year.

-Have you?

-We're hoping for more.

-That's not so bad.

Yeah, it's not bad, it was about seven last year.

-Double last year, yes.

-Really? And it's a profitable business now?

-Yes, starting to be, yes.

-Starting?

-Yeah.

And what about accommodation?

You can put people up in the house, you have a big house there.

-No, we have no overnight accommodation.

-Where do they go then?

There's a place that's just been done up down the road

and they have four self-catering cottages,

-and we're working with them.

-All right.

So, weddings, conferences, dinners, parties...

And then, what's this all about, over here?

The first part is a log shed and the other side is a barn,

but we're doing indoor archery in there

and we're trying to develop it as an indoor space for activities.

Indoor archery, because of course this is outdoor pursuits,

but when it's raining you bring the archery inside.

We've had a number of archery sessions during December

and January, and we can actually heat the barn, so...

-Cos you couldn't do it outside, you'd freeze.

-Brilliant.

Let's go and see what else is on offer.

Well, we do outdoor activities in the paddock.

'In pursuit of all the facts,

'I venture round the outdoor attractions.

'Perhaps sunshine might broaden their appeal?'

What happens here, Henrietta?

We have the netting and posts set up for the Earth ball.

It's about five feet in diameter,

and they play games with it in here.

The netting is there to stop it blowing away.

And what else have we got in here then?

We have giant catapults and we use them. They love them.

And what are you propelling?

A tennis ball, and then they catch them.

They can fire water bombs, but it's really dangerous.

'I can't say I'm overly impressed with what I see here.

'What are people prepared to pay for this?'

Catering included, £25-£30 a head.

-OK, and you do the catering?

-I do that catering.

-All right.

So we've got weddings, accommodation down the road, yes?

Outdoor pursuits,

we've got our archery indoors when it's particularly cold,

-but you're about to go into a new venture?

-Yeah.

Water sports. You've got a lake somewhere.

'On the pathway to profit and Tildarg Fishery,

'I wonder whether its tenant, Sam Henderson,

'has raised any objections to the Reades' revolutionary plans.'

So we've got fishermen at one end, is this the idea?

-Kayaking at the other.

-Potentially, yes.

On family days, yes.

-I guess it's big enough, isn't it?

-Yeah, that's the theory.

And Sam seems to think that'll work.

Well, again, it's this sort of communal thing.

-You were talking earlier about accommodation.

-Yeah.

Now we've got the fishery, they're coming in.

So suddenly we're getting a group of businesses, I guess,

-that are feeding off each other and feeding each other.

-Absolutely.

-That's no bad thing, is it?

-I think it's a real strength.

Maybe you should have a communal sort of, you know, name.

'One business, one brand identity - that always works for me.'

Tildarg Fishery is set on a 17-acre lake adjacent to Breckenhill

with its own fisherman's hut, kitchen, toilets

and a small tackle shop.

Sam Henderson's been the sole leaseholder for the last ten years

but, only working part-time,

he's struggling to keep the business afloat.

Sam, how are you? Here we are at Tildarg.

We've got our lone fisherman out there. It's a cold old day.

Normally you'd have how many people in it?

On a good day we should have about 10-12 fishermen per day.

Paying how much?

Maybe one fish ticket and a boat

-would set them back about £20 for the day's fishing.

-All right.

But there is a cost to running this sort of place, too -

apart from, you know, the rates and all the other things -

and that is that, every now and again,

if people have been actually buying one or two fish tickets,

-you have to buy in extra stock.

-Every week, yes.

And how much could that weekly bill be?

That weekly bill could be over £400 per week.

But times are changing, Sam.

You know, you're under pressure like everybody else, I guess,

so you're going to go into business with Breckenhill?

Yes, in a view to putting in kayaks on this upper part of the lake.

How will they welcome kids splashing around

and falling in and out of kayaks?

Well, this is a good question.

'A good question indeed, Sam, that needs an answer,

'so I'm sending international angler Campbell Baird to test the waters,

'while I explore the Reades' land-based offerings

'with tourism activity expert Chris Scott.'

INSTRUCTOR: All happy? Remember, no peeking or cheating!

Remember the rules!

Easier said than done.

Chris, there isn't an outdoor activity centre in the province

that you don't know about, and you spent a long time here today.

It's not working - I know that, you know that.

It's just a bit flat, I suppose, Nick.

The enthusiasm of instructors here is absolutely fantastic,

really keen, really lift the group.

But the activities are just a little bit dated, I suppose, you know?

A lot of centres have moved forward,

and Breckenhill has kind of stayed where it was.

Keep up with the times. You've got the barn across the yard,

and even at the gable end of that barn

you've got probably about seven metres in height.

I think you could put a really nice climbing wall in there.

Climbing gets the heart going, the excitement going,

that sense of achievement you take home and tell other people about.

You won't to go home and say, "I made a square with a rope today,"

you'll say, "I climbed to the top of a..."

You might, but you wouldn't get a round of applause for it!

'Are any other activities on target?'

The archery demonstrated that they had invested

not only in the targets but in the arrows and the bows themselves.

And, of course, there's room for tuition.

Gone are the days when someone will come and do two hours of archery.

That would have happened in the '80s and '90s.

Now they want to come and do 45 minutes of archery, max,

move on, do an hour of canoeing, max.

Cos that's fun, that's energetic, something different,

and the flat water lake here offers a great asset for that.

I'm tempted to think that maybe they should take two from the top

and three from the bottom, what do you think?

'With time up on the outdoor pursuit activities,

'I need to address the kayak conundrum.'

-So, how's the fishing today?

-Fishing's good today.

-Yeah?

Yeah, I had four lovely fish this morning,

the biggest fish about 3½ lbs, so they were good, healthy fish.

You're an international angler,

you've represented Ireland, you've fished around the world.

Best places - how does Tildarg measure up?

It has the potential of being

one of the best fisheries in Northern Ireland.

It's probably one of the longest-standing fisheries,

in and around 25 years.

Always had a reputation of having big fish in it.

But?

Back then, there were only five or six fisheries.

Now there are 45 or 46.

Let us talk kayaks,

because I get the impression that fishermen can be quite tetchy.

And if things aren't going well they'll be striding in here to Sam

and saying, "What's going on?

"Is this a fishing lake or some aquadrome?"

Because kayaks will be splashing around in this area.

Is that going to distress, infuriate,

frustrate and anger the fishermen?

I don't know. It's a strange one.

There are some lakes that do have kayaking and fishing.

I think the important thing is to get the anglers back first of all.

It needs to be run as a business, as a fishing business,

by an angler who's, you know, passionate about the sport

and is prepared to actually go that extra mile

to get the place back to its former glory.

So we bring it back to its former glory, then - bang! -

the kayaking brigade arrive. Is that a risk?

I think it could be a very big risk.

'It's not a risk I'd be taking at this stage.

'Small budget weddings aren't really my bag, so I decide to

'focus on outdoor pursuits and those problematic kayaks.

'I have a big idea up my sleeve but, first,

'I need to address the Reades' dated offerings.'

The games are not up to scratch.

I mean, one idea that Chris came up with is in the other barn,

not the wedding barn or the conference barn,

but the other one, which has got huge end walls, 7m high. He said,

"This is perfect for a climbing wall." Nothing madly expensive.

And he said, "Youngsters love it." Now, your arrangement with Sam,

now, there is a great extension for your outdoor pursuits.

It's another playground, frankly.

I spoke to Campbell about your idea,

to rope off a third for kayaking, and this is interesting,

actually, because there is a place where they've done it very

successfully, and I think it would be very worthwhile

if the three of you took yourselves off,

to actually go to such a place where there are watersports, if

we can call them that, and fishing, sitting side-by-side, cheek-by-jowl.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

'Now that I have their attention, time to reveal my master plan.'

So, why don't we create something,

let's call it The Breckenhill Experience,

and let's put under that umbrella things that have nothing

to do with us, but that are in Breckenhill or nearby,

and that together can provide a sort of recreational weekend,

or day, or whatever it is, it can all be Breckenhill,

and all together, this place becomes a destination,

a leisure destination.

That's an idea I haven't actually thought of,

that's much better, yes. Very good idea.

When I come back in April, wouldn't it be fun to have a test day?

Sam will organise a fishing competition,

and we'll have kayaking the same day,

and we'll have the new games in, God willing, and we'll fill the place.

So, let's focus on The Breckenhill Experience.

'So, two men, one woman, some boats and a business cluster under

'the Breckenhill umbrella could see profits rise.'

Nick's idea of the umbrella for Breckenhill, I think,

is very acceptable.

I'm not sure about the name, The Breckenhill Experience,

I think we need to just think about that.

But I absolutely think the whole idea is a good one.

With the Breckenhill umbrella still to be branded,

I've sent the trio to Rathbeggan Lakes in County Meath,

where fishing flourishes with zip wires and paddle boats.

-How does Dave Robinson appease the anglers?

-I've had resistance.

You know, people were saying, "Paddle boats in a fishing area,"

and I'd look them straight in the eye and say, "Look, it's like this.

"If we didn't have those paddle boats here today,

"we wouldn't be able to be open for you, the rest of the year."

So, you're using your different businesses to balance up what

keeps you going and what sustains your viability as a business.

It's a considerable investment - there is

everything from a heritage trail to that ideal climbing wall.

So, if you can create something that attracts an entire family

and offer enough activities that the family can all get enjoyment of,

right from a granny to a two-and-a-half, three-year-old,

you've got it cracked.

Two months after the Rathbeggan visit,

I'm hoping to see some cracking investment at Breckenhill,

and the new business venture agreed and active.

Joint business ventures are never easy,

and today I'm off to Breckenhill to talk to the Reades and Sam.

They are hoping that they can combine on Tildarg Lake

both fishing and boating activities.

Today, it's test day, to see

whether both activities can work in harmony.

So, it's all systems go, then. You and Sam are as one? Lease signed?

-Lease isn't signed, no.

-It's not terminal, is it, just technical?

-Slow lawyers?

-Just slowness.

I seem to recall that there was a plan to update some of the games.

-We've built a traversing wall.

-On that end wall?

No, this is the outdoor one, the traversing wall,

not the climbing wall. That's still quite a long way down the road.

But the traversing wall is up and running

and was commissioned last week.

-Pleased?

-Oh, yes.

-Shall we go and have a look?

-Yup.

-OK.

-Excellent.

'So, a climbing wall on the barn postponed

'and a lease still unsigned. It's testing, this test day.'

Oh, no, you mustn't do that! That's bad technique.

You're not supposed to cross your feet.

-You're supposed to climb like this.

-Oh, Spider-Man?

Oh, it's not as difficult as it looks!

Well, we'll have to start limiting you to one colour.

No, easy on, I'm 70 years old!

Are you not allowed to do that?

Not really supposed to, but you're doing fine.

-As an old-age pensioner.

-You're doing better than fine.

-Actually, it's quite fun! It's quite fun, isn't it?

-It is.

-So, what would that cost?

-Total cost was about £1,200, I suppose.

Well, it's not for nothing, is it?

Now what?

On Tildarg Lake, the canoes and kayaks are on trial.

Would the Reades have to build bridges over troubled waters,

or would the anglers be happy?

It's dangerous sometimes, maybe fly casting, you know, you could catch somebody.

Other than that, I don't really see a big problem, you know?

As long as you're not chasing up and down between boats.

I mean, if there was guys on jet skis and you're trying to fish

through them, and guys on cruisers, it's part of fishing.

But, no, they've had no effect on the fishing whatsoever.

'A great day's catch, then?'

How's the fishing?

-Not very successful, I'm afraid. Not yet, anyway.

-Why not?

-Lack of skill.

-Lack of skill, probably!

-Some of the guys are good at fishing.

-How did you get on?

-Nothing!

-Nothing?

Not a single pull so far,

but you have to be optimistic to be an angler.

So, what have we got here today? Fishermen and canoeists.

-And they are all getting on very happily together.

-Yes.

-Are you pleased about that?

-Very, very pleased.

-No angry shouting yet?

-No angry shouting.

-And how is the business relationship going with the Reades?

-Doing well.

Haven't signed the lease yet, I think

-there are some technical issues.

-Just a couple of issues.

'Come on, David! Sort those issues fast, or the business plan is sunk.'

Look behind me, and what do you see?

A group of fishermen, fishing for charity,

most of the revenue going to the charity, Sam gets a bit.

And a group of schoolchildren who are here on a free day out.

Everybody is having a lovely time, everybody is pals,

it's all jolly, but it's only when the lease is signed,

and the sooner the better, it's only then that the energy

and the urgency to make money kicks in.

But in the meantime, to keep their business buoyant,

they continue to flog wedded bliss.

But a month later the ink is still not dry on their agreement.

As yet, the lease on the fishery has not been signed.

It seems to be a bureaucratic process

and I'm hoping it will get resolved, but at the moment

what is on the table is a lease for fishing only,

but there is no way that is a viable proposition.

No kayaks? So, where does that leave us?

The very worst case scenario is that there's a padlock on the gates

and the fishery ceases trading.

But, staying positive,

David and Henrietta have embraced my cluster idea

and have trawled the community for like-minded businesses.

Certainly, the cluster people are all very keen,

we've got some more suggestions for more people to add to it,

and we're hopefully having a meeting soon.

I guess today's a big day for Breckenhill, for The Breckenhill Experience,

because you've been working hard, gathering like-minded

businesses into a cluster, and the cluster arrives today.

-It's the muster of the cluster!

-It is.

'This virgin enterprise has businesses

'ranging from facials to football,

'horses to horticulture,

'golfing to go-karting.

'And to muster this keen cluster

'I've invited along regeneration and tourism specialist Sharon Scott.'

You're coming into something that is very new in Northern Ireland,

it's called experiential tourism.

It's about creating an experience, a very unique, distinctive experience.

So, what would make someone want to come here, as opposed to

Fermanagh or the Lakelands, or up at the Causeway Coast?

All those other places that really are competition for you.

-Why would they want to come here?

-I think if they knew about it more,

they would realise that it's there, part of the problem at the moment

is that I don't think they know well enough what's available.

-You think you've got a hidden gem?

-I think so, with all of us, yeah.

-OK.

Sharon, would it be fair to say that almost before everything else

-you've got to get a brand, something to market?

-Yeah.

This is all about place marketing.

This is about marketing your place, where you all live.

It's very hard to get away from Ballyclare-something,

because the problem is, people are going to Google an area,

and if we come up with some wacky new name, it would

take for ever to get it established.

'Wacky? I thought I suggested The Breckenhill Experience!'

Northern Ireland has been divided into nine tourism areas,

or destinations.

You, in this area, will fall under Belfast, that's your market,

in terms of what I'm seeing.

Belfast might be just exactly the right hook. Belfast rural.

Belfast is the honeypot, absolutely,

it's where all visitors are going, that's where the money,

the marketing is coming, it's aimed at Belfast

and then fanning them out across Northern Ireland.

'Targeting, marketing, website building, packaging,

'branding - that's a lot for the cluster group to ponder.

'But are there any downsides to Breckenhill?'

It's a beautiful location we're in today, but it is remote.

Albeit it's very close to Belfast,

but in terms of the visitor perception, they could never

find here in a million years if they were left to their own devices.

That's why branding is crucial, so it's time to point

the Reades and Sam in the right direction.

I'm now certain that Belfast is key to brand identity.

The first thing is to create something concrete. It's a brand.

Something that you could actually work with, that you can market.

The best suggestion that came up was Ballyclare Country Club. Now, I know...

Ballyclare, that's not where the future lies, it's Belfast.

Belfast. Who knows about Ballyclare?

-I'm from Nebraska, I've never heard of Ballyclare.

-Yeah.

I think you've really got to go for Belfast.

First of all, everybody's heard of it, and then,

Belfast, it's a city. Belfast what?

Belfast Garden? Belfast Rural?

Belfast Adventure Garden?

Belfast's Adventure Garden, something like that.

Because, sure as eggs are eggs,

Belfast will be at the top of the internet,

-and then you climb up after it.

-Yeah.

-Do you know?

-Yeah.

When I come back in August, let's promise ourselves a big open day,

and there are stalls, or whatever you like,

for each member of the group.

And lots of people. Family groups, kids, I don't care.

I want them pumping through that gate,

dropping money into a satchel on their way in

-and leaving with a big smile on their face.

-Yeah.

'So that's cash for the cluster and a brand identity for the group,

'with Belfast at its focus.'

And it's Breckenhill, not Brackenhill, as well, sorry.

'Finally!

'While I'm back in London, their lease is signed.

'Unleash those kayaks!'

The three of us have jointly signed

the lease on the Tildarg Fishery for fishing for five years.

'What?!'

Do I just sign here?

We signed the lease in good faith on the basis that

discussions about other activities like kayaking will be

considered fairly and, hopefully, we can reach agreement

on the ability to do those things later.

Today is D-day for Breckenhill and Tildarg Fishery.

I challenged David and Henrietta to hold a big, fun family day

with all of their activities, including kayaking and canoeing.

And I've picked up a leaflet, and what's missing?

Kayaking and canoeing.

Why? Because they've signed a fishing-only lease.

What on earth were they thinking about?

'Down by the lake I get the low-down from David and Henrietta.'

Progress has been slow on the discussions about other activities,

and we had to make a decision to take the lease on the fishery.

The option of not taking it would have left things open,

and they are reviewing our proposals.

The sad thing is that, during the beautiful, hot,

sunny weather we had, there weren't any fishermen

because it was too bright, and we could have had people out kayaking.

'Perhaps next summer, discussions permitting!

'I'm hoping that the open day has a more buoyant outcome.

'There are Breckenhill burgers on the go

'and there's an unstoppable local mayor, Fraser Agnew,

'to get things going.'

-Are you all enjoying yourselves?

-CHILDREN: Yes!

I think they're enjoying themselves!

Time to launch the cluster group.

I'm hoping for Belfast Adventure Garden.

It represents a group of nine businesses,

and there's five of us here represented,

with Jamie and Stacey from Dunamoy Cottages,

Linda from Laurel View,

ourselves from Breckenhill, Sam Henderson from the fishery

and Martin from Need For Speed.

And we're very pleased today that we have a website,

Ballyclareactivitytrail.com, up and running.

'No Breckenhill, no Belfast, not quite the branding I had in mind,

'but at least the group is under way.

'Official ceremonies over,

'I join the family funsters to pursue the Breckenhill experience.

'The Reades are charging £5 entry per adult

'and £3 per child over five, including one free activity.

'These activities range from £1 for the giant catapult

'to £3 for the most expensive, the archery.'

-Where's that?

-On the gold.

-Gold?! In the middle!

-Yes.

You're tucked out of the way a bit, aren't you?

-What is that, exactly?

-That's Coco the alpaca.

-Have you just had this one shorn?

-Yes, yes, he's just been shorn.

Not by an expert, I would suggest?

-No! There's not many alpaca clippers around.

-No.

I wouldn't go to that one again!

I've had a great day so far. It has been good.

We've done the climbing wall, the woodland walk, saw them blow up

the hot-air balloon and come down now to see the falconry by the lake.

The girls have really enjoyed it, and I've enjoyed it as well.

I'd say really good value for money.

I think, in total, we spent about £20, including food,

and I've got four kids, so I think a very good day.

NICK WHISTLES

We've just had a fantastic day.

We've been here from opening to closing, pretty much.

-It's passed the whole day.

-They've certainly freshened it up.

You can see the traversing wall they've put in,

one really good example. That's really lifted the whole area

and brought something a little bit different to Breckenhill.

But for the person who wants to be a repeat customer,

every time they do this fun day, which they should repeat,

they should always add something different,

you know, and I know canoeing on the lake is maybe an option

come the future, and that will be a big next step -

and a good next step - for Breckenhill to take, moving forward.

Well, that's the end of the first family open day at Breckenhill,

but was it a success?

Time for a good night's sleep before some

serious number crunching.

24 hours later, I've come back to see

whether the open day really was a great success.

When I left you last night,

you were frantically gathering up buckets full of cash.

So, revenue?

-How many people came through the door?

-About 300.

-300? All right.

-And what revenue did that generate?

-1,130.

-Very good.

Now, the second revenue stream, of course, all the activities,

-and your...

-And the catering, and the barbecue. Yep.

-How did that go?

-That brought in another 1,100.

-Very good.

So that gave us a total turnover of 2,230, is that fair?

-Yeah.

-But now, costs.

-Well, the staff came to about 1,300.

£1,300?

-HE WHISTLES

-Right.

-And the add-ons?

-The other costs added up to about 600.

-So total cost, 1,900?

-Yep.

-And that shows £330 profit.

Well, I enjoyed the day,

and I certainly felt that there was a smell of success about it.

But let's just think about the staffing, because I think that

you threw everything at it to ensure that it was a success.

Perfectly reasonable thing to do.

But, if you reduced it by, say, 25%,

that would give you a saving of about £325.

Add that to the gate money,

so suddenly we're up to just short of 660.

Where else?

The freebie.

The free activity for everybody who paid to come in.

And they all flocked to the most expensive, the archery.

Let's say that 100 people, more people,

would have paid for the archery. Three pounds a pop, that's £300.

Add that to the 660 and you've got 960,

you're nudging 1,000.

On a turnover of £2,230, that's a business.

When I first came to Breckenhill, David and Henrietta had a vision

for their outdoor pursuits business, but it wasn't really working.

They added the Tildarg Fishery and then came the big move,

the creation of the Ballyclare Activity Trail, a cluster group.

And yesterday that cluster group came out to play

at the open day here, and it worked.

They ended the day with a profit, and that tells me that,

with fine tuning, they've got a sustainable business here

for years to come.

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