0:00:03 > 0:00:05The Brecon Beacons National Park
0:00:05 > 0:00:07covers an area of over 500 square miles
0:00:07 > 0:00:12and extends over nine counties in the southern half of Wales.
0:00:12 > 0:00:17It has terrific scenery and notoriously challenging landscapes.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21For many, it's a playground.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24For me, it's a place to escape.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26A place to be alone with nature.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Over the seasons, I'm exploring the magic of the Beacons.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55It's spring and it is the very best time to be out in the woods.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00The birds are singing and the spring flowers are putting on
0:01:00 > 0:01:01such a terrific show.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13I'm in Pwll-y-Wrach wood.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15It's a wonderful ancient woodland in the eastern
0:01:15 > 0:01:19part of the Brecon Beacons near Talgarth.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24It's a landscape that doesn't immediately come to mind when you
0:01:24 > 0:01:28think of the Beacons but the National Park has some terrific woodlands.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38As the leaves on the trees haven't fully emerged yet, light can
0:01:38 > 0:01:42penetrate to the woodland floor and the ground plants are at their best.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49Herb paris is a particular speciality of this kind of woodland.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52It was used in medieval times to guard against witches,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54which seems appropriate
0:01:54 > 0:01:57as Pwll-y-Wrach is Welsh for witches' pool.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00It's thought that the name Pwll-y-Wrach
0:02:00 > 0:02:04comes from the old practice of dunking witches in pools.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Its use today is far more benign.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11There's a pair of grey wagtails just underneath me here
0:02:11 > 0:02:14and they've both got a beak full of insects.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17And this is typical of grey-wagtail country.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20You've got the falls, Pwll-y-Wrach here.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24Lots of water, high walls with lots of little holes where they can nest,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28and all this rushing water means lots of insects, which they feed on.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30They're quite comical, actually,
0:02:30 > 0:02:35because they're walking slowly across the stream here towards me and I'm
0:02:35 > 0:02:40pretty sure that the nest is tucked into the bank just below me here.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Pwll-y-Wrach is on the northern edge of the Black Mountains,
0:02:48 > 0:02:51a series of broad ridges running north-south
0:02:51 > 0:02:55and separated by narrow steep-sided valleys.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58It contains some of the highest land in the National Park,
0:02:58 > 0:03:03with many of the peaks between 600 and 800 metres above sea level.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09The valleys were gouged out by melting glaciers at the end of
0:03:09 > 0:03:13the last ice age, resulting in steep slopes and a precarious landscape.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20An odd looking church. It's St Martin's Church in Cwmyoy.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24And when I walked in, I couldn't quite make it all out but
0:03:24 > 0:03:28if you look at it carefully, you see that the tower is leaning towards me.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31There's an arched back to the main roof,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35the walls are not quite square but there's a good
0:03:35 > 0:03:36reason for all of this
0:03:36 > 0:03:39cos it stands on a site that, over hundreds of years, has seen
0:03:39 > 0:03:44a succession of landslips and that includes one major incident
0:03:44 > 0:03:46that split the mountain behind us here.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50St Martin's Church at Cwmyoy
0:03:50 > 0:03:53has been called the most crooked church in Britain and it's
0:03:53 > 0:03:57one of many stunning historical sites in the Brecon Beacons.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00It ended up like this
0:04:00 > 0:04:03because it was built by medieval builders on an ancient landslip.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09A crack in the hill above the church is clear from above.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14The old red sandstone summit, a rock characteristic of the Beacons,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18fell apart thousands of years before the church was built
0:04:18 > 0:04:22but, unbeknown to the builders, the surrounding land was still unstable.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Like the rest of Britain, the ice age has left its mark on much of
0:04:27 > 0:04:29the landscape in the Beacons
0:04:29 > 0:04:32and helped to create some beautiful scenery.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Llangorse, the largest natural lake in South Wales,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41was also formed by a glacier.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48Given the right conditions, a spring dawn is truly magical.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Birds come to feed and breed around the lake.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57At this time of year, they're in peak condition
0:04:57 > 0:04:59and in their finest feathers.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Llangorse also has more secretive wildlife,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19particularly in the ditches leading to the lake.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23This is one of the best places in the Beacons for water voles.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26They were reintroduced here during the past five years
0:05:26 > 0:05:29and Cardiff University student Sophie-lee Lane
0:05:29 > 0:05:33has been monitoring them to establish how well they're doing.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35But they're not easy to see.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39- Have you ever seen a water vole? - Erm, I haven't, no.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42So you've be monitoring for 12 months, whatever it is now,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44and you haven't seen a water vole yet?
0:05:44 > 0:05:47No, I know they're in this area but I've never seen one in person.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Right, OK, well, I've got a trick. I've got an apple on a stick, right?
0:05:51 > 0:05:53And we're going to put it down as bait here,
0:05:53 > 0:05:54and we're going to try and draw them out.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56It's worked in the past.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58- Whether it'll work this time or not, I don't know.- OK.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01But we'll give it a go in the hope that we'll see a water vole.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05To be fair to Sophie, she's been monitoring them
0:06:05 > 0:06:10using camera traps and by looking for signs of activity along the ditches.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Actually seeing them active is another matter.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Something moving there.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20WHISPERS: Might be just bubbles. They've got a hole up on the bank
0:06:20 > 0:06:24and they've got a hole right down just down at water level,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26those will be connected, will they?
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Yeah, they should be connected.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32They'll have a number of holes connected into different
0:06:32 > 0:06:34escape routes.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37They're all connected into one colony.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41And what will they be eating? All the vegetation you see?
0:06:41 > 0:06:43They kind of are quite selective.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46They tend to eat sedge, erm, reeds,
0:06:46 > 0:06:51which then allows a lot more vegetation
0:06:51 > 0:06:55richness in the area, so they tend to be ecosystem engineers.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59So then they kind of modify their habitat, so they increase...
0:06:59 > 0:07:03- The variety.- ..the variety of the plants and wildlife.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06That's pretty good, that's excellent.
0:07:06 > 0:07:07You can hear, like, chomping.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11That's moving.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14- That's a water vole coming out, is it?- I don't know whether...
0:07:14 > 0:07:17I can see it, yeah. I can see it.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19- Where can you see it? - In the grass there.- Yeah.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32- These are proving pretty elusive - aren't they? - today.- Yes.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34I reckon I put the wrong apples out.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36The wrong brand of apple, I think.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38Listen, we've been here long enough.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41I reckon we leave the apples and just let the voles get on with it.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44- What do you think? - Yeah, sounds good.- Come on.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51You watch, once we've gone, they'll eat everything.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54We left the cameraman on his own.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59We were probably too noisy and, sure enough, after a while, one appeared.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02They just couldn't resist the smell of fruit.
0:08:04 > 0:08:05Before reintroduction,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08water voles were believed to be extinct in the park and this
0:08:08 > 0:08:12is probably the only sustainable population in the Beacons.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Let's hope they recover and extend their range.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27The main river in the Brecon Beacons is the Usk.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34It flows right through the National Park from west to east
0:08:34 > 0:08:36and this section is near Crickhowell.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46It's rated as one of the best fly-fishing rivers in Britain
0:08:46 > 0:08:49for salmon and trout. Justin Connolly is
0:08:49 > 0:08:53a professional angling instructor who lives in the Beacons.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Hello there. Keep fishing, keep fishing.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00I'll just sit down here, if that's all right. You carry on.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04- Have you had any luck so far? - No, not yet. A few fish rising.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Fishing for what now? Trout?
0:09:06 > 0:09:08- Wild brown trout. - And what's the technique?
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Do you try and drop the fly right on him or up above him?
0:09:12 > 0:09:14No, I want it slightly upstream just
0:09:14 > 0:09:19so it looks like a natural insect coming down in front of the fish.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24And if I cast right on top of him, it's going to spook him a bit.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27And then if he takes a bite, do you then strike?
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Yeah, just lift into the fish.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Do you then take notice of what insects are around at particular
0:09:34 > 0:09:36- times of the year?- Absolutely.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Through the year you get different hatches of flies and insects
0:09:39 > 0:09:42and the trout will switch on to that particular hatch.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44So we need to try and imitate what's coming up through the water,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46which is the natural food for the fish.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51By a hatch, what you mean is a lot of insects will all hatch out,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53roughly at the same time, do they?
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Yeah, I mean, early morning, the hatches are going to be quite
0:09:57 > 0:10:00sporadic and ones and twos coming off.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03As the day goes on and the temperature rises,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05we get a larger hatch of insects and flies then.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Hopefully the fish will switch on but...
0:10:08 > 0:10:10And sometimes I have seen it where you get literally
0:10:10 > 0:10:14millions of, say, mayfly or whatever all hatching out at the same time.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18- Clouds and clouds of insects. - That's a lovely thing to see.- It is.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22On the Usk now, is fishing as good as it was 20, 30 years ago?
0:10:22 > 0:10:27A lot of the fish have been taken out in the last 20 years.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30It is very good fishing but I think we need to be realistic
0:10:30 > 0:10:33and sort of look after our fish stocks at the moment.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35If you look at some of the statistics,
0:10:35 > 0:10:37it gives you cause for concern, I think.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41So, for you, it's all about the sort of pitting your wits
0:10:41 > 0:10:44against the fish, catching it and then putting it back.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48Exactly. If I want a fish for the table, I'll go fish a stock fishery.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50I think the wild fish are too precious
0:10:50 > 0:10:54and important to be taken out of the river, to be honest.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06The best known parts of the Brecon Beacons National Park
0:11:06 > 0:11:09are incredibly busy and it doesn't matter what time you go there,
0:11:09 > 0:11:11there are always lots of people
0:11:11 > 0:11:15but you've got a few parts that are tucked out of the way that
0:11:15 > 0:11:19very few people know about and many of those are old industrial sites.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Most of these old industrial sites are in the southern fringes
0:11:24 > 0:11:28of the National Park where, historically, the rustic North
0:11:28 > 0:11:30gave way to industrial South Wales.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40This old quarry is in the Central Beacons
0:11:40 > 0:11:43and there are many like it throughout the National Park.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47In many of these sites, you'll find special
0:11:47 > 0:11:50and protected wildlife during the spring, which is
0:11:50 > 0:11:53why I can't disclose the exact location of this quarry.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00This is a little ringed plover and, naturally, it nests on river shingle.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03It's quite surprising, really, to find
0:12:03 > 0:12:06a pair of little ringed plover here in a quarry high up
0:12:06 > 0:12:08in the Brecon Beacons but, when you think about it
0:12:08 > 0:12:12and look around you, everything the birds need is here.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16They have gravel, where they lay their well-camouflaged eggs,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20they have grassy banks, where they can go and feed on invertebrates,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22they have shallow pools where, later on,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25they'll take their chicks to feed on the insects.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28So, to us, this might look like the surface of the moon
0:12:28 > 0:12:31but to a pair of little ringed plover, this is home.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Another special bird has also taken up residence in the quarry.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45It's making use of the quarry cliffs for nesting.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50There's a very confiding female peregrine falcon
0:12:50 > 0:12:54sat on a nest less than 100 metres away from me here
0:12:54 > 0:12:58and they've chosen the old nest of a raven.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02These old quarries are great places for peregrines to nest.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I remember as a young lad growing up, these were very,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07very rare birds and they're not common now
0:13:07 > 0:13:10and there's something really special, I think,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14about peregrine falcons and to be able to lie here
0:13:14 > 0:13:18and share five minutes with a bird like that, it's a real privilege.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Within the park, peregrine falcons are scarce
0:13:22 > 0:13:27breeders that are mainly confined to these former industrial sites.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30They're particularly sensitive at the nest site,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34therefore we're getting these shots at distance with a long lens.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38Although she's relaxed, she has one of the best eyes on the planet
0:13:38 > 0:13:42and knows we're here, so we won't be staying long.
0:13:44 > 0:13:45More than anything,
0:13:45 > 0:13:50the Brecon Beacons is famous for its magnificent uplands.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53This is the path above Craig Cerrig-Gleisiad, which has fantastic
0:13:53 > 0:13:57views of the mid-Wales lowlands and, across the valley,
0:13:57 > 0:13:58Corn Du and Pen y Fan,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01the highest peaks in southern Britain.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06In the winter, places like Craig Cerrig-Gleisiad
0:14:06 > 0:14:08can be very hostile but, in spring,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11they're very important for nesting birds.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19A regular visitor to this site is bird recorder Andy King.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23- Andy. What a setting, eh? What a setting.- Fantastic, yes, yes.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Are you scanning for anything in particular?
0:14:26 > 0:14:28So much of interest here now in early summer.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31You know, you've got the summer migrants coming in and some of
0:14:31 > 0:14:34the more established birds like the peregrine falcon
0:14:34 > 0:14:35and things like that.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40Andy, you're the Breconshire County bird recorder. What does that mean?
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Every county across the UK has a county bird recorder
0:14:45 > 0:14:47and it's really their role to keep tabs on which
0:14:47 > 0:14:51species are doing well, which are in decline as well as rarities
0:14:51 > 0:14:56that might get blown in from North America or come across from Europe.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Andy, together with an army of volunteer bird-watchers,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02gathers information on the birds in the Beacons.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04No matter where you go in the uplands,
0:15:04 > 0:15:06- there's always ravens, aren't there? - There always are, yes.
0:15:06 > 0:15:07Cronking away.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13He's taking me to a good spot for breeding birds on the upper slopes.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Apparently, around 80 different bird species either visit or breed on
0:15:19 > 0:15:20Craig Cerrig-Gleisiad.
0:15:21 > 0:15:26Wheatears - and this is a fabulous male - breed pretty much everywhere
0:15:26 > 0:15:31in the uplands. But the speciality here is the ring ouzel -
0:15:31 > 0:15:33a summer migrant from North Africa.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38It's the best place in the whole of the Beacons to see this mountain
0:15:38 > 0:15:40blackbird with a white bib.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46Only around 12 pairs of ring ouzel breed in the entire national park
0:15:46 > 0:15:49and most of them nest in Craig Cerrig-Gleisiad.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53They come here because they like the crags for nesting
0:15:53 > 0:15:56and the surrounding grazed land for worms.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07As you head west from Craig Cerrig-Gleisiad,
0:16:07 > 0:16:10you move from the Central Beacons to the Fforest Fawr area
0:16:10 > 0:16:12of the National Park.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16It's a vast area of open moorland and mountain peaks,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19which are up to 700 metres above sea level.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23In the southern part of Fforest Fawr,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26you have a completely different landscape.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31Steep wooded slopes and fast-running rivers descend to hidden valleys.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39Something very hypnotic, I always think, about water like this
0:16:39 > 0:16:41and the power of water.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45This is the River Mellte and it's hard to believe, standing here
0:16:45 > 0:16:51now, that 100 years ago this was the site of a big gunpowder factory.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55The old buildings are still visible,
0:16:55 > 0:16:59before they become completely hidden by the spring plant growth.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Judith Morris' grandfather, her great-grandfather
0:17:03 > 0:17:07and her great-great-grandfather all worked at the gunpowder works
0:17:07 > 0:17:09and she still lives in the valley.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13How big was this at its height, then?
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Well, it employed around 65 workers.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21It had 70 buildings producing gunpowder for civil engineering,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25for mining, for quarries all over the world.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28- It was an absolute hive of activity.- Why here?
0:17:28 > 0:17:33Because it's a lovely looking valley, it's quiet.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Well, this is a really secluded spot
0:17:35 > 0:17:39but that really was one of the reasons it was chosen.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44The seclusion meant nobody would come into this area.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46- In case there was an accident, of course.- Yes, yes.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Also, the River Mellte serviced this area
0:17:49 > 0:17:54and it was a very strong river and also the woods, they used the trees
0:17:54 > 0:17:59for charcoal, so it was an ideal valley for the gunpowder works.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01- It's fascinating, isn't it?- It is.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04We're right on the edge of the Brecon Beacons,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06a quiet, lovely wooded valley with a beautiful river
0:18:06 > 0:18:10flowing through it and there's all this amazing history here too.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11With a hidden secret.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16There are many reminders of the Beacons'
0:18:16 > 0:18:18cultural past in the landscape and,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22while today there are stunning scenic locations virtually everywhere,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26in the National Park, it's a landscape that's been used, fashioned
0:18:26 > 0:18:27and refashioned by people
0:18:27 > 0:18:30and this has been going on for thousands of years.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53That is an impressive rock. Look at the size of that.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57This is Maen Llia and it's one of 30 standing stones in this area.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00This one is by far the most impressive one.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05What's interesting is that it's made of a rock called calcrete,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09which isn't found in this area, so they think that it was carried
0:19:09 > 0:19:12here by the ice age some 20,000 years ago
0:19:12 > 0:19:17but it was actually raised 4,000 years ago by our forefathers.
0:19:17 > 0:19:22And when you consider that they say that a third to a quarter of it is
0:19:22 > 0:19:26underground, that gives you some impression of the size of this thing.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31It's absolutely huge. Why is it here? Well, we're not quite sure.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Is it to mark a route? Is it a boundary?
0:19:34 > 0:19:38Has it got religious connotations? Nobody really knows.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44It's clearly a visible landmark on a pass between hills,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47so it could conceivably mark an important route.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52And there are many known ancient routes in the Beacons.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02They say it's spring but, up here, it is cold.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06It's really cold and this is an old Roman road. Trecastle,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09the village of Trecastle, is about two miles behind me.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12I've got Usk Reservoir down below me over there.
0:20:12 > 0:20:152,000 years ago when the Romans were here,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18this must have been quite a busy place with the legionnaires
0:20:18 > 0:20:20marching back and forth and the best thing for me
0:20:20 > 0:20:23is that every step of the way, I've heard skylarks.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27Not just one or two skylarks but a choir of skylarks.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30SKYLARKS CHIRP
0:20:30 > 0:20:33These males are singing for territory.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36They're trying to attract females and, when they've paired up,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38they'll breed and nest on the ground.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43It's a lovely spring sound.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50Moorland locations like this attract many species of ground-nesting
0:20:50 > 0:20:55birds and they'll breed here from April right through till midsummer.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58I've got a nice patch here.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01You've got the rough grassland, you've got the rushes
0:21:01 > 0:21:05but you've got a little bit of gorse as well and on the gorse here
0:21:05 > 0:21:09a male stonechat has been sitting up for a while.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12And near our territory, the female will be nearby somewhere.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Probably the nest will be in one of these gorse clumps
0:21:15 > 0:21:18and he's a really smart bird.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22He's got this sort of very dark head and a white collar
0:21:22 > 0:21:25and they'll always sit up somewhere prominent and if you go
0:21:25 > 0:21:28anywhere near the nest, they'll "chack, chack, chack" away to you.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31They'll tell you, "Listen, keep away here now."
0:21:31 > 0:21:34And this is typical meadow pipit habitat.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37There's lots of meadow pipits up here.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39They're a really important part of the food chain
0:21:39 > 0:21:41because all the birds of prey will be eating it.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45You have sparrows passing through, the merlins, peregrines as well.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48And talking of birds of prey, there's quite a few of those around.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53There's a buzzard, a whitish buzzard, perched up on a tree down there.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57He's probably keeping an eye open for mice and voles.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Again, you'll have lots of mice and voles in an area like this.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04And there's been a kite hanging around too,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06floating around using the wind.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08And that kite may be looking for mice and voles
0:22:08 > 0:22:11but, up here, probably looking for carrion.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13Because it's so hostile in the winter
0:22:13 > 0:22:17and the end of the winter into spring, typically you'd have
0:22:17 > 0:22:18lots of dead sheep, dead lambs,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20so there's plenty of food up here for them.
0:22:22 > 0:22:27I always like looking for wildlife in the uplands during spring.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29You may have to walk for miles
0:22:29 > 0:22:32but you quite often find something special.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35This is Fan Llia Ridge,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38one of the most spectacular paths in the Beacons.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40It's the longest of its type in Britain
0:22:40 > 0:22:42and leads you out of Fforest Fawr
0:22:42 > 0:22:47to Carmarthenshire and the Black Mountain area.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51This particular summit, right at the heart of the Black Mountain,
0:22:51 > 0:22:52is called Garreg Lwyd.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58It probably gets its Welsh name from the grey stones littering the summit.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02And it's an important resting area for migrating
0:23:02 > 0:23:03birds during the spring.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14This is one of those really lucky occasions where you're in
0:23:14 > 0:23:17the right place at the right time.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20There's a small flock of dotterel. They call them a trip,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22a small trip of dotterel. I'm not quite sure, maybe...
0:23:22 > 0:23:25I've seen nine birds, there might be one two more.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27For me, that's a rare occurrence.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30The first time I've seen dotterel in Wales for probably for about seven
0:23:30 > 0:23:33or eight years. This is a brilliant find.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36And these shoulders, these high tops here,
0:23:36 > 0:23:40are a regular passage place for these birds.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43They're birds that winter down in Morocco
0:23:43 > 0:23:47and probably these will breed up in the Highlands of Scotland
0:23:47 > 0:23:51and these ridges they pass through most years.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53It's the first time I've stumbled across them here
0:23:53 > 0:23:56and they're cracking birds, they're absolutely stunning.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00If you look at them, some are more colourful than others and you
0:24:00 > 0:24:04would bet money that the colourful ones are the males, but they're not.
0:24:04 > 0:24:05They're the females.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Because when they get onto their breeding grounds,
0:24:08 > 0:24:13the female will mate with a male, she lays the eggs, but then
0:24:13 > 0:24:18she abandons it, she leaves the eggs and the chicks for the male to rear.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21She moves on, she mates with another male, lays some more eggs
0:24:21 > 0:24:23and moves on again.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25That's why she's the one who's colourful
0:24:25 > 0:24:28and he's the one who's quite drab cos he's the one who's going
0:24:28 > 0:24:31to have to sit on the floor incubating those eggs.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35The dotterel will also call in on the Beacons on their return
0:24:35 > 0:24:40journey to Africa during early autumn but, at that time, the females will
0:24:40 > 0:24:41not be as colourful,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44with the breeding season completed for another year.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52There are more than 5,000km of stone walls in the Brecon Beacons.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56This particular one is right on the western boundary
0:24:56 > 0:24:58of the National Park, near Llandeilo.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Stuart Fry has been building and repairing walls for 22 years
0:25:05 > 0:25:09and, during that time, he's built 22km of walls.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13It's not the best of days to be out on the hill by yourself.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17- Good Lord, no, it's not, is it? - How are you? Good to see you.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20- How are you?- Good to see you. You carry on working. Go on.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23- So what's happened here? You've got a bit of a...- A collapse.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26- ..a break in the wall or a collapse. - Yeah, the wall's collapsed.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28How old is this wall, then? Do we know?
0:25:28 > 0:25:29Yes, we do know, funnily enough,
0:25:29 > 0:25:34because there was an enclosure act for the whole of this hill in 1812.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37It's classically... The earliest is going to be mid-1700s, you can
0:25:37 > 0:25:38tell that by the way it's built.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42I don't say it's not built well, cos that's a bit unkind to the...
0:25:42 > 0:25:44It's been here for, what? Nearly 300 years.
0:25:44 > 0:25:50But it's got characteristics that tell me it wasn't built by...
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Craftsmen.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54Well, I wouldn't say they weren't craftsmen,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56they were being paid for what they put up.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59- It was a fast job?- Fast job. Get it up as quick as they could.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01If you see a collapsed wall, look in the middle.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04The middle is called the hearting.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08It's the heart of the wall and if that fails...
0:26:08 > 0:26:10And the way it fails is it's not packed tightly enough
0:26:10 > 0:26:13when the wall is put up and it'll sink, it'll rattle down
0:26:13 > 0:26:17to the middle, so that the two sides are not supported.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20And the fundamental of dry-stone walling,
0:26:20 > 0:26:23it's why people's garden walls always fall down, if you think of...
0:26:23 > 0:26:26There's a good example here now of why this has fallen.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28If you look at that stone...
0:26:28 > 0:26:32that is laid in exactly the same way as you'd lay a brick or
0:26:32 > 0:26:34a concrete block.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36That's not the way to do dry-stone walling.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39If you look at this stone, the depth,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42the length of the stone is into the wall.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45It's zippering into the wall and that's the way to do it.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48But, of course, you've only covered that much face
0:26:48 > 0:26:51whereas, by putting it that way, you've covered that much face.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54So if you want to build it quickly, throw it up like that.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56And that's why these walls fail.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Stuart's walls will probably last another 300 years and, who knows?
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Someone might be here then to read his stones for an insight
0:27:06 > 0:27:09into the Brecon Beacons and its people of today.
0:27:11 > 0:27:12Many have lived
0:27:12 > 0:27:16and worked in the remotest parts of the Beacons for thousands of years.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Even the bleakest upland has been much more densely
0:27:20 > 0:27:22settled in the past.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26These walls were built by a Celtic tribe
0:27:26 > 0:27:292,500 years ago.
0:27:33 > 0:27:34Do you know?
0:27:34 > 0:27:38The Brecon Beacons National Park has got so much to offer,
0:27:38 > 0:27:39an incredible amount.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43You've got the landscape, you've got the wildlife, you've got peace
0:27:43 > 0:27:46and solitude when you want it, and you've got a lot of history, too.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49And this is one of the Park's many hidden gems.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53It's Garn Fawr, it's an Iron Age hill fort.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Inside this, and this is huge, you could fit five,
0:27:56 > 0:28:00six rugby pitches in here, maybe even more.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01There would have been a whole village,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05if not a town, in here and the views over the Towy Valley
0:28:05 > 0:28:09looking towards Llandovery that way, Llandeilo the other way.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13I've been lucky because this spring I've had the park pretty much
0:28:13 > 0:28:16to myself, but all of that is going to change now
0:28:16 > 0:28:18when I come back in the summer.