0:00:02 > 0:00:05In this series, I'll be looking at some of the jewels of Wales
0:00:05 > 0:00:08and the wildlife associated with them. These are landscape gems -
0:00:08 > 0:00:14my choice of some of the very best natural and industrial landscapes of Wales.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19I'll be meeting people who live, work and play
0:00:19 > 0:00:21in this spectacular scenery.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24I'll be finding out why they love it so much.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Beautiful display. You can't really miss a lapwing.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32I'll be exploring the sea.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34And I'll be visiting industrial sites once exploited,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37but now being won over by nature.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43I'll be finding out how the Welsh landscape is being used today
0:00:43 > 0:00:47and discovering some very surprising wildlife right amongst this dramatic activity.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Wales has terrific landscape
0:00:51 > 0:00:54and it's been enjoyed and exploited for centuries.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58It's been shaped by nature and by man.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09In Wales, it rains a lot.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14And water is responsible for much of the beauty of Wales.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17We have great rivers,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20beautiful lakes,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23some stunning gorges.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28There are also artificial reservoirs, equally as striking.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33Here, water is being exploited as a valuable resource.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36And water is the subject of this first episode.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39It's my pick of the very best of Welsh Water.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47The high rainfall, together with craggy uplands,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51means that Wales has some very impressive waterfalls.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56This is Melincourt Waterfall, high up in the Neath Valley.
0:01:56 > 0:02:03This is Aber Falls in Snowdonia. They're spectacular in full flow.
0:02:03 > 0:02:09But my favourite is this one on the edge of Berwyn Mountains in Powys.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13It's no wonder, is it, that Pistyll Rhaeadr is one of the seven wonders of Wales?
0:02:13 > 0:02:18Just look at it. Absolutely stunning.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23But what a lot of people don't know is that, it is, in fact, higher than Niagara Falls.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26It's almost 80 metres tall.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30And the water has sculpted this shape here.
0:02:30 > 0:02:36Basically, you've got hard rock overlying softer rock and over thousands of years,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40the soft rock, thanks to the water and the ice and the wind,
0:02:40 > 0:02:46has been sculpted away, so that today, it cascades down 240 feet.
0:02:49 > 0:02:55When you put it in these wonderful surroundings here, it really is one of Wales' jewels.
0:03:00 > 0:03:05This continuous drenching promotes an incredibly rich plant growth...
0:03:08 > 0:03:11..some of it very special and rare.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22The erosive effect of water also produces deep ravines.
0:03:22 > 0:03:30We have many inaccessible gorges, except, of course, for those who enjoy a challenge.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Gorge walking, or canyoning as it's also called,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44is the new sport of Welsh rivers.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48I was persuaded by local water sports guide Mark Lind
0:03:48 > 0:03:53to take part in a gorge walk, in a challenging ravine in Gwynedd.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57So how popular is canyoning, or gorge walking, now?
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Well, in North Wales, probably over the last three of four years,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03the amount of usage here has doubled.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06I suppose one of the biggest problems, looking at it from
0:04:06 > 0:04:10a naturalist's point of view is that it's such a specialised environment,
0:04:10 > 0:04:15full of rare plants, there's the potential there for quite a bit of conflict.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19What we have is the code of conduct for gorges in North Wales.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23It means that, as a group leader, we need to have some training
0:04:23 > 0:04:27and some input from the experts that look after the environment.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32We always stay to the same scour zone where the water's flowing over the rock.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34It means that we're not damaging it.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38We're going across the top of the waterfall here?
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Yep. Pretty much scrambling along this ledge.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46And, er, at this point, we come to the only way down.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50- So we abseil down this next bit? - We're going to abseil down into the pool.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55And this whole path that we've followed all the way down, down here and on again,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59- we're avoiding all the really sensitive plants here?- Yeah.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04So it means you can marry having fun, having a laugh,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07- but also not desecrating the environment?- Absolutely.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10- Right, abseiling down, then. - Away we go.
0:05:15 > 0:05:16That's good.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31Well, very enjoyable, but pretty cold.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38The oldest river pastime in Wales is a very different experience -
0:05:38 > 0:05:42more leisurely and with a tasty reward at the end.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50I'm joining Mark Jones and Ian Harries,
0:05:50 > 0:05:55both coracle fishermen on one of Wales' finest rivers, the Teifi.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59This beautiful section is at Cilgerran, Carmarthenshire.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01It's another jewel of Wales.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05- How much net have you got out there now, boys?- We've got about a fathom,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08which will take us down into the deeper part
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and we'll drop down about another half a fathom again then.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14You must know the bottom of this river like the back of your hand.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17You get a bit of a mental picture in your head of what it looks like,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20the stones, rock, things in the bottom. And, hopefully, fish.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24- And you're fishing for what now, then?- For sea trout.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28- For sea trout? - For sea trout on the 1st June and then we can fish for salmon...
0:06:28 > 0:06:30- Ah, right.- ..till the end of August.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35The net's forming a little purse as it goes down the river.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38There's a wall of mesh and they swim into a purse.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43- Right.- Then, I just pull the string and close the purse.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Oh, right, that's how it works, is it? You feel the fish coming in.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51You feel the fish hitting the first mesh and then you close it then and it hits the back mesh.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Sometimes it gets immeshed or sometimes it's just loose in the bag.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59- So there's a potential for it to go in and go back out again. - Salmon frequently do.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03So if you don't feel them quick enough, they're gone.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08And there would have been men coracling on this section of river, I'd have thought for hundreds..
0:07:08 > 0:07:10- Centuries. - ..if not thousands of years.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Oh, definitely, you know, into the sort of Middle Ages.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15And it's thankfully carrying on.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Tell you what, there's only us, and I can hear wood pigeons calling.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20It's usually woodpeckers.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23What a lovely way to spend a day.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30The most colourful bird you'll see on the Teifi and, indeed, on the banks of most Welsh rivers
0:07:30 > 0:07:32is the kingfisher.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35The first hint that one's about is this high-pitched call.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39BIRDSONG
0:07:41 > 0:07:43It's a stunning bird.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56The Wye is another of Wales' great rivers.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03Its nature changes dramatically along its route, from its source in mid-Wales.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07All along its course, it's a special site of scientific interest.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11It's clearly one of Wales' jewels and an important wildlife habitat.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15These are sea lampreys.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21During June, they spawn on the riverbed under Boughrood Bridge, near Brecon.
0:08:24 > 0:08:30Lampreys are jawless fish and have suckers around the mouth to attach themselves onto bigger fish,
0:08:30 > 0:08:31to feed on their flesh.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35During spawning, they use their suckers
0:08:35 > 0:08:37to attach to stones.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42The male shifts big stones on the river, to form a deep depression,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44in which the female lays her eggs.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47It's one of the great wildlife spectacles of Wales.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59By the time the Wye has reached Tintern, some 50 miles south,
0:08:59 > 0:09:00it's become a tidal river.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06It lies in a deep gorge and flows beneath high limestone cliffs.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10The river has carved out a beautiful landscape.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16I'm told the best way to experience the Wye Gorge is by kayak.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19I'm undertaking the pursuit on a particularly wet day,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22with instructor Graham Symonds and Kate Biggs,
0:09:22 > 0:09:27who is one of the team that overlooks this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Whenever I come down the Wye, Kate, what amazes me is the sheer number
0:09:33 > 0:09:36of yew trees in here. They're everywhere, aren't they?
0:09:36 > 0:09:42Yeah. It's because they're, sort of, an indicator species for limestone.
0:09:42 > 0:09:49This is fantastic, really, because you've got high limestone cliffs, a sort of ravine woodland,
0:09:49 > 0:09:51which you don't get anywhere else in Wales,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55probably not in Britain, either. That's why it's also protected.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00But it gives it a particular bio-diversity that you don't really get elsewhere.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05Amazing place, it really is. And Graham, the best way to see it is like this - from the water.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07The best way is from the water,
0:10:07 > 0:10:12- but you need to be very careful. The tide today will be 14 metre.- 14?!
0:10:12 > 0:10:1613.7 to 14, so that's a 40-44 foot tide,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19so if we get it wrong, time and tide waits for no man.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23And if we weren't kayaking down, we wouldn't see any of this?
0:10:23 > 0:10:26That's right, the perspective off the river is totally different.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29- Today, we haven't seen anybody here at all.- No.
0:10:29 > 0:10:35If you go back 200 years, this river would have been a hive of activity,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38you would have had barges and troughs coming up from Bristol.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42This would have been the, kind of, M4 of its day, because it would have
0:10:42 > 0:10:45been the easiest access and you would have carried the biggest loads.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50Back there now, Kate, we went past an ancient old church or a chapel? What was that?
0:10:50 > 0:10:55That's Lancaut Church. That's a deserted medieval village,
0:10:55 > 0:11:00but it was, we know, a leper colony, but the church dates from about the 12th century.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05The churchyard in the summer, there's all sorts of herbs and things
0:11:05 > 0:11:09in and around the churchyard and, you know, people say
0:11:09 > 0:11:12that's because, you know, they were there for the monks to use.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Yeah, I bet they were, too, were they?
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Yeah as part of their, sort of, medicinal storehouse.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23What a fabulous location to build a medieval village.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26At the bottom of the gorge, the villagers would have
0:11:26 > 0:11:30had easy access to the main trade route of the period.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35Here, not only does the tidal water dictate transport up and down the river,
0:11:35 > 0:11:40it also shapes the landscape itself, forming huge sand banks.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54Now, if I was asked to choose the best natural lake in Wales,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Tal y Llyn, below the mountain of Cadair Idris in mid-Wales,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02would come close to the top. On a bright, still day, it's stunning.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07Like most big lakes, you'll be hard pushed to see much wildlife.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11What little there is, is usually right in the middle.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15But occasionally, an interesting bird comes closer to shore.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16These are goosanders.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20They're quite a common bird in Wales and are usually seen on rivers.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26This one here is a male. The female looks quite different.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29They're diving ducks.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33They have sawbills that enable them to grasp and catch small fish.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39The presence of fish-eating birds always triggers heated debate with anglers,
0:12:39 > 0:12:41especially in an important fishing location.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46And Tal y Llyn is one of the best fishing lakes in Wales.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53Phil Wood is the chief ghillie here- the fishing guide for the lake.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Today, I've a very different kind of fishing in mind.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59I only want to see the fish, not catch them.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03It helps that Phil likes to feed the fish daily, with bread, close to shore.
0:13:03 > 0:13:09- Now, it's not the best of day, visually, today, it's overcast. - It's perfect for fishing, though.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12- It's good for the fish?- This is the best conditions you can get.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Oh, yeah, yeah, OK, I've got him. Oh, he's moved away again.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19Might have spooked them a little bit. They were feeding earlier.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24But we have had a few problems with cormorants and poachers.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28Do you know what, Phil? I don't know a single fisherman who likes cormorants.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33- Oh, we like them.- Just not too many. - Just not underwater.- Yeah!
0:13:33 > 0:13:36They're starting to come in. I had one go past the frame now.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38Slow. Oh, here we are, here we are, here we are.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- Whoa! Nice big fish? - I think about three pound, Iol.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Three pounds?
0:13:44 > 0:13:46- A small one, for Tal y Llyn. - Lovely-looking fish.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50- Oh, the markings on them, they're unique, you know.- Beautiful fish.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55But it's a very well-known lake, isn't it, for its excellent fishing?
0:13:55 > 0:13:58It's a famous lake for the top of the water sport, you know.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03It's a shallow lake - six to eight feet average - and the fly life is fantastic here.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07And so that's what makes it such a good fishing place? So much food?
0:14:07 > 0:14:11So much food and top of the water sport, which a fisherman wants.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14- You ask any fisherman, the take is paramount.- Right.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16It takes the fly off the top and you connect.
0:14:20 > 0:14:26When fresh water is trapped inland it forms wetland,
0:14:26 > 0:14:30and that's my next jewel in the wet Welsh landscape.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35Typically, Welsh wetland looks like this one at Cors Caron near Tregaron.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38It's one of the biggest raised bogs in Wales.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43Occasionally, a wetland spreads to woodland,
0:14:43 > 0:14:48and there's a special wet woodland on the outskirts of Swansea.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53It lies right in the middle of an industrial area and has somehow
0:14:53 > 0:14:56survived both drainage and land development.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03In the past, many parts of lowland Wales,
0:15:03 > 0:15:05and indeed Britain, would have looked like this -
0:15:05 > 0:15:07impenetrable wet woodland.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12'Jamie Bevan of the Countryside Council for Wales
0:15:12 > 0:15:14'looks after the site.'
0:15:14 > 0:15:17I tell you what, Jamie...
0:15:17 > 0:15:20it's a dangerous place to come by yourself, isn't it?
0:15:20 > 0:15:24- It is. You don't want to come in here on your own.- No, I'm sure!
0:15:24 > 0:15:25I think you're heavier than me.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28A couple of stone heavier than you, I think,
0:15:28 > 0:15:29the way I'm going down here.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35Jamie, don't go too far, hold on!
0:15:35 > 0:15:37- It's getting worse. - It is getting worse!
0:15:37 > 0:15:39That's got him!
0:15:42 > 0:15:45You'd swear you were in Louisiana
0:15:45 > 0:15:46or in the Everglades here,
0:15:46 > 0:15:48but it's amazing to think that you're not,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52you're actually just on the outskirts of Swansea
0:15:52 > 0:15:54and this wet woodland like this
0:15:54 > 0:15:56is really quite rare in Wales now.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58Feels quite primeval, doesn't it?
0:15:58 > 0:16:00It does, yeah.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02What is this big, tall sedge here?
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Greater tussock sedge. That's the sort of dominant sedge.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08And a couple of nice ferns, one of them I do recognise -
0:16:08 > 0:16:11that's royal fern. Not at its best yet, cos that's a great big massive one,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15and some nice little delicate ones here and there as well. Which one's that?
0:16:15 > 0:16:18That's the marsh fern then, and that's the real rarity, actually.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22Just a handful of sites in Wales, mainly an East Anglian species,
0:16:22 > 0:16:24so only two sites in South Wales for it, in fact.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26And that's the odd thing, isn't it?
0:16:26 > 0:16:31Because this is a fen, and this is what you'd expect to see somewhere like East Anglia, not in Wales.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Right. Almost like a chunk of East Anglian fenland
0:16:34 > 0:16:35dropped on the South Wales coast.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38One of the wonderful things about this, too,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41is that, yes, it's important for its fen plants,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43but I can hear birds all around me.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45I can hear blackcap calling,
0:16:45 > 0:16:49I can hear chiffchaff calling, just back from Africa.
0:16:49 > 0:16:50Blue tits, great tits in here
0:16:50 > 0:16:53and of course, there's a lot of dead and dying wood.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Look at this - this is completely rotten here
0:16:55 > 0:16:57and the birds love this,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00it's good for feeding, it's good for nesting as well.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02And some of the trees are just so full of holes.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06They're woodpecker holes, but they'll be taken over by blue tits, great tits, marsh tits.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08It is an important habitat,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10but in a month or two it'll look very different,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13that's when the ferns, sedges, will be at their best.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16The royal fern will be huge then.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22By midsummer, the woodland is pretty much a no-go zone,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25you could be in a tropical jungle, not on the outskirts of Swansea.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28You'd need a machete to work your way through this.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44Water is not only responsible for the beauty of Wales above ground,
0:17:44 > 0:17:48it also shapes the Welsh landscape below the land surface.
0:17:50 > 0:17:51The Brecon Beacons
0:17:51 > 0:17:54and the Black Mountain immediately to the west of the Beacons
0:17:54 > 0:17:57have the biggest cave systems in Europe,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00and that's because the rock is mostly made of limestone,
0:18:00 > 0:18:02which dissolves in water.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06One of the most impressive caves in Wales
0:18:06 > 0:18:08is Dan yr Ogof in the Upper Swansea Valley.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11It's a completely different landscape...
0:18:11 > 0:18:14'I'm joining a caving team led by John Osborne,
0:18:14 > 0:18:15'who knows the caves well.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19'The continuous flow of water has created huge caverns and tunnels,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22'which extend ten miles beneath the Black Mountain.'
0:18:24 > 0:18:26'As water seeps through the limestone,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29'it also dissolves calcium salts in the rock,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32'which then reform into calcite formations,
0:18:32 > 0:18:34'and after thousands of years,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37'they can develop into incredible structures.'
0:18:40 > 0:18:42'John is taking me to see
0:18:42 > 0:18:46'one of Wales' finest underground spectacles.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49'But we have some tough caving to do first.'
0:18:51 > 0:18:53'Caves are dangerous places.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57'A sudden downpour above ground can flood these tunnels very quickly.'
0:19:02 > 0:19:05'You have to know when to retreat and leave.'
0:19:08 > 0:19:11'Thankfully, today, this won't happen.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14'We'll be able to continue and see an underground jewel,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16'which has been formed by water.'
0:19:16 > 0:19:19- We're getting there.- It's a bigger passage, isn't it, this one?- It is.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21All created by water.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- Amazing, isn't it?- It is incredible.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26PANTING
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Here we go.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Come on, Iolo, what are you doing? You'd think it was small, this bit!
0:19:33 > 0:19:36- HE LAUGHS - Eugh!
0:19:42 > 0:19:45It's physically and mentally demanding, coming through here.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51It's because you're in a confined space
0:19:51 > 0:19:53and I'm 15 and a half stone
0:19:53 > 0:19:57and this, in bits, is like going down a badger set.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Now, can you imagine the first person to come down here?
0:20:00 > 0:20:03It was a woman and she didn't know what she was going to get -
0:20:03 > 0:20:06whether she was going to be able to get through,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08whether she'd have to reverse all the way back,
0:20:08 > 0:20:11whether it would become waterlogged or not.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13And that starts playing tricks with your mind.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16But I am told what's at the far end
0:20:16 > 0:20:19really is worth all this effort.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32'The first person to squeeze through this long crawl
0:20:32 > 0:20:34'was Eileen Davies from Swansea,
0:20:34 > 0:20:36'and she did it 50 years ago.'
0:20:38 > 0:20:41'She had no way of knowing what was at the end of the tunnel.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44'Like any other caver,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46'she simply needed to know where it led to.'
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Argh! Oh, come on!
0:20:48 > 0:20:50'All I'm thinking about
0:20:50 > 0:20:53'is that I'll have to come back exactly the same way.'
0:20:59 > 0:21:02'But the effort is worthwhile.'
0:21:05 > 0:21:09'This has been named the greatest natural wonder in Britain,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12'and it's been formed by the action of water on limestone.'
0:21:12 > 0:21:14- Wow!- Oh, wow! look at that.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16It's another one of those examples, you know,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19where you see something created by nature
0:21:19 > 0:21:22and it outdoes anything man can do.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24- Totally.- How old are these?
0:21:24 > 0:21:26They're not as old as you think they might be.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Some of the larger formations we've seen,
0:21:28 > 0:21:30they are taking up to 100,000 years to form.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33These - between, sort of, 100 and thousands of years.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35They're actually completely hollow.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39There's a drip of water you can see at the bottom, if you can look up inside,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41you can get a real sense of it being a straw.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43Hence the name "straw stalactites."
0:21:43 > 0:21:45- Yeah, cavers love their literal names for things.- Yeah!
0:21:45 > 0:21:48But this is just beautiful,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51it's one of the most beautiful things I think I've ever seen,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54not just anywhere in Wales, but anywhere in the world.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56It's absolutely beautiful.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59So was it worth the grovelling and the squeezing and the...
0:21:59 > 0:22:00It was... It was, now.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03I must admit, at the time I thought, "This had better be worth it."
0:22:03 > 0:22:08But the grunting, the groaning, the whining, the getting cold,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11the getting wet, all my muscles aching -
0:22:11 > 0:22:13this makes it all worthwhile.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15It really is beautiful.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26While water plays a huge part in defining the Welsh landscape,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29it's also an important resource to be exploited.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34High rainfall and large upland lakes
0:22:34 > 0:22:38makes Wales a perfect location to site a hydro-electric power station.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45The oldest in Britain lies below the summit of Snowdon in Cwm Dyli,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48it was built in 1905.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52It still produces electricity and supplies the National Grid,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55and is remotely switched on and off
0:22:55 > 0:22:56'when power is needed.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00'Jack Reilly is one of the staff who looks after the power station.'
0:23:00 > 0:23:03It reminds me of a Welsh chapel, you know, this does.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05And I suppose when it was built,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07it would have been full of machinery, would it?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Yeah, it would have been four units, same as the one that's there.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13And now all of that is compacted into this unit here.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17Yeah, this is just as efficient and produces the same power
0:23:17 > 0:23:19as those four units once did years ago.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22And the water that drives this comes from where, from which lake?
0:23:22 > 0:23:26It's coming up from Llyn Llydaw up at the top, just up Snowdon.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29So these pipes that come down the mountain, they're feeding this,
0:23:29 > 0:23:30and that comes in where?
0:23:30 > 0:23:33It comes right down the hill, enters the building,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37- gets into the machine though a valve.- The electricity goes straight to the National Grid?
0:23:37 > 0:23:40- Yeah, it's sold to them. - And I suppose, when it comes on,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42there's a fair bit of noise in here?
0:23:42 > 0:23:46- Oh, yeah. Ear defenders, definitely. - Is it?- Yeah.- Is it that bad, is it?
0:23:46 > 0:23:48I always think we've got that much water in Wales,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51we really should be making a lot more of it,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54a lot more things like this.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58'There are fewer than ten hydro-electric power stations in Wales.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00'Considering the amount of water we have,
0:24:00 > 0:24:02'you might think there would be more.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05'Cwm Dyli has been generating electricity for over 100 years
0:24:05 > 0:24:08'and will probably continue to do so for another 100.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12'It's one of Wales' little power gems.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16'But the real surprise for me
0:24:16 > 0:24:18'is the land surrounding the power station.'
0:24:24 > 0:24:27One of the things that I really love about Wales is that,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30completely unexpectedly,
0:24:30 > 0:24:32I've come across an area of rough habitat.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37A very rocky area, agriculturally it's rubbish, absolute rubbish.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41But it's got these tuffs of gorse, it's got bracken, a few trees
0:24:41 > 0:24:45and it's actually got at least three pairs of yellowhammers here.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Now, if you go looking for yellowhammers,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50they're very difficult to find, it's quite a scarce bird now.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53But we've stumbled across a real little hot spot
0:24:53 > 0:24:55and it's lovely to hear a bird calling here,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57there's another one calling behind me,
0:24:57 > 0:24:58just over there.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01And there's another one calling up above, over there.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03And these are stunning birds,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06they're beautiful, lovely canary-yellow face and chest.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09They're lovely, beautiful, beautiful birds.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11That's a really nice find,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14that's lifted my spirits, that has.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34There's no doubt that the biggest use of water as a resource in Wales
0:25:34 > 0:25:37is for the supply of drinking water.
0:25:42 > 0:25:43Over the years,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46reservoir building has caused deep emotion and anger in Wales,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49especially those supplying cities across the border,
0:25:49 > 0:25:51which have involved the drowning of villages,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54and the relocation of local communities.
0:25:55 > 0:25:56But whatever your views are
0:25:56 > 0:25:59on the rights and wrongs of the sites chosen for them,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01these huge masses of water
0:26:01 > 0:26:04have had a big impact on the Welsh landscape,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07and indeed, some have added to its beauty.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Especially this one at Llyn Vyrnwy in Mid Wales.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Built in 1880 to supply water to Merseyside,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23it's the largest reservoir in Wales.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29And this is where I grew up.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31I left when I was 18 years old
0:26:31 > 0:26:33and by the time I'd gone,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36I must have walked every square metre of the moorland,
0:26:36 > 0:26:41the woodland, the farmland, the edge of the reservoir
0:26:41 > 0:26:45in search of birds' nests and frogs and toads and newts and fish...
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Anything and everything, really.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49And although I appreciated it when I was here,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52do you know, it's only now that I come back,
0:26:52 > 0:26:53many years later on,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56that I realise how privileged I was
0:26:56 > 0:27:01to grow up in such a beautiful, such a stunning place.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Because the lake is so vast,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08it's very difficult to spot anything on the water.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12But if you're lucky, you may see some special birds.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Like this - it's a great crested grebe.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18The majority of wildlife at Vyrnwy
0:27:18 > 0:27:22is in the surrounding woodland and uplands.
0:27:24 > 0:27:30These are goshawk chicks, waiting for their parents to return with food.
0:27:31 > 0:27:32They're quite old chicks,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35and visits from the parents are less frequent now.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41One of the chicks is exercising its wings.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45It won't be long before they set off for their first flight.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Llyn Vyrnwy was built during Victorian times
0:27:53 > 0:27:58and was constructed as a direct consequence of the Industrial Age.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02As Cities grew, water was needed by an increasing population
0:28:02 > 0:28:05and to fuel industry.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09And industry itself has played a major part in shaping Wales.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15In the next programme, I'll be looking at Industrial Wales
0:28:15 > 0:28:17and its effect on the Welsh landscape and wildlife.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20The large-scale re-shaping of the land,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23and the legacy left behind.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Also, the secondary effects of industry...
0:28:26 > 0:28:28including canal- and railway-building.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32And the great parks created by the industrial wealth.
0:28:32 > 0:28:39It's a programme on the nature and beauty of Welsh Industry.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:42 > 0:28:46E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk