0:00:06 > 0:00:10You might think that this is a Canadian forest,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13the African Savannah,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16the Scottish mountains,
0:00:16 > 0:00:18but this is my adopted home, Wales,
0:00:18 > 0:00:20and the many countries within it.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24I've always been drawn to remote places around the world,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27but only recently I started questioning myself.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32Why am I travelling to these far flung parts of the world,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35to look for authentic, intact communities,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39when there are communities like that right on my door step?
0:00:39 > 0:00:43Wales is home to less than 5% of the UK population,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46with most people concentrated in the south,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49and the sparsely inhabited countryside is exactly what
0:00:49 > 0:00:53attracted me to move here ten years ago.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57So now, I'm now travelling the less trodden areas of Wales
0:00:57 > 0:00:59with my best Welsh friend, Teg,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02to discover how our landscapes are being shaped
0:01:02 > 0:01:04and how they are shaping its people.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07- Shwmai!- Shwmai!
0:01:07 > 0:01:11So far, Teg had a blast herding conservation sheep
0:01:11 > 0:01:12on the Great Orme.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15- Teg, Teg!- Well done, Teg!
0:01:15 > 0:01:17We've done some four paw driving...
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Mush, mush!
0:01:20 > 0:01:24..and I nearly froze my butt off.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26I can't speak, it's too cold!
0:01:26 > 0:01:28This is Wales - Off The Beaten Track.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Of course, I may only be accepted in these communities
0:01:31 > 0:01:34because I've got the right nationality of dog.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44This week, our journey starts in southern Snowdonia,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48at Coed y Brenin, which is Welsh for the King's Wood.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51But the true king of this land is the fallow deer.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57The largest mammals around, with a controlled population of 3-400,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00their presence can also be troublesome.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04They munch on the sapplings, resulting in losses for the
0:02:04 > 0:02:06timber industry.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09They destroy habitat for other creatures and cause as many as
0:02:09 > 0:02:12ten car crashes a year on the road through the forest.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17It's the crack of dawn.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20I'm joining wildlife ranger Iori Jones,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23to see how he deals with these elusive creatures,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26and within minutes on the forestry road,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28we get our first glimpse of a deer.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31There's one.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33A doe.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37But that was a doe, a female, and right now Iori's job is to
0:02:37 > 0:02:41reduce the population of bucks, the males.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44The idea of the cull is not eradicate the deer?
0:02:44 > 0:02:47No, it's just to try control the balance.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50So, essentially, because there are no big predators that can take
0:02:50 > 0:02:53out the deer, you have to be, you have to be the apex predator?
0:02:53 > 0:02:55That's right, yeah.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57And that's how you kind of can restore
0:02:57 > 0:03:00- a more natural balance of things? - Yeah, yeah.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06The fallow deer roam through 9,000 acres of forest,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09and it's like looking for a needle in a hay stack -
0:03:09 > 0:03:13even with Iori's impressive tracking skills.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15They've been marking the trees with their antlers. Oh, yeah.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Actually on this hill there was a rut stand on this piece.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21- Oh, was there?- Yeah. - Was there?- Yeah.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25So you'd have had a male basically trying to bring females into this area?
0:03:25 > 0:03:27- That's it, yeah.- So lots of lovely bellowing and things.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30- That's it, yeah.- I bet you can do a good bellow can't you?
0:03:30 > 0:03:33The fallow deer when they're calling on ruts, which we call a grunt,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35and they go...
0:03:35 > 0:03:39HE GRUNTS
0:03:39 > 0:03:41So, you know, try and imitate them sometimes.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44See if I was a doe, I couldn't resist that.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46THEY LAUGH
0:03:46 > 0:03:47Yeah.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52But we better get on with it, because this is our last chance this
0:03:52 > 0:03:56year to track a buck, as the culling season closes today.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03To keep the population sustainable, Iori has a quota to
0:04:03 > 0:04:05cull 80 to 100 deer a year.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11The meat from the kills comes back to the food chain in the form
0:04:11 > 0:04:13of venison burgers.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20WHISPERING: There's one just over this crest.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Stay there, stay there.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37GUNSHOT
0:04:40 > 0:04:43The important difference is, this isn't sport.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47I know, from a conservation point of view, it's absolutely necessary.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49If you've got too many deer that means that the
0:04:49 > 0:04:53plants in the forest are under huge pressure from effectively
0:04:53 > 0:04:57being over browsed and over grazed, and that then has
0:04:57 > 0:05:02a knock on effect on other animals that live in the forest.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06So even though, for many people, the idea of killing beautiful animals
0:05:06 > 0:05:09like deer is too horrible to contemplate,
0:05:09 > 0:05:13actually, if you want a really good, healthy ecosystem -
0:05:13 > 0:05:18and humans have interfered with it so much over some many hundreds
0:05:18 > 0:05:20of years - this is the only option.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23We have to play the big predators.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26And I like the fact that, you know, it's an animal that doesn't
0:05:26 > 0:05:32go to waste, that it gets eaten and it is about as environmentally
0:05:32 > 0:05:36friendly as far as meat is concerned that you can get.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38And it is delicious.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43- Isn't it, Iori?- Yes.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45THEY LAUGH
0:05:45 > 0:05:47I don't know about you,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49but I'm quite looking forward to venison for breakfast.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Cor, blimey.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53You watch you don't trip.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56No, I'll try not to trip.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59So after delivering the carcass to the chiller for the butcher
0:05:59 > 0:06:04to collect later, I treat Iori to my cooking, to taste the meat
0:06:04 > 0:06:06from a previous cull.
0:06:11 > 0:06:12- There you are.- Thank you very much.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17- A well deserved breakfast. - Iechyd da.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22- Mmm. Oh, my goodness. - Very nice.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24They are good.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Teg having a burger?
0:06:27 > 0:06:29HE LAUGHS
0:06:30 > 0:06:32You've been very good today.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34You didn't do any work, though, did you?
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Do you think you're allowed burger?
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Do you think so, really?
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Here you go.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44Spoiled dog.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49As we continue heading south,
0:06:49 > 0:06:53the mountain in the background is calling for us.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Cadair Idris is a popular spot for walkers,
0:06:57 > 0:06:59who come and go in their thousands.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05But families have been farming this mountainscape for centuries.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13I've come to Pennant Farm to meet three generations of farmers -
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Ken and Lisa Markham, and their shepherds,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Goronwy Williams and his grandson, Gerwyn,
0:07:18 > 0:07:23who help me realise just how heritage plays a central role here.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26When you buy a hill farm or take over a hill farm,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- the flock stays with the farm. - Is that right?
0:07:29 > 0:07:31- Yes, every hill farm.- Oh, yeah.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Cattle, no, but sheep, the flock, because they're bred here...
0:07:34 > 0:07:37- That's fascinating.- ..they wouldn't live up there.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40So the sheep that you've got up on the hill now, would they be
0:07:40 > 0:07:44directly related to the sheep that you were looking after in 1961?
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Yeah, yeah. Yeah, they all are. Yeah, and before even Goronwy even
0:07:47 > 0:07:50- came here with Mr Tudor. - Even next door would know that...
0:07:50 > 0:07:53- Every family.- So the community isn't just generations of people
0:07:53 > 0:07:55- it's generations of livestock as well?- No, yes.- Yes.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Everyone is utterly connected to this part of the land?
0:07:58 > 0:08:01- Keep everything we've been talking about.- Keep it within the valley.
0:08:01 > 0:08:02As it is, local hands, keep it within the valley,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05keep the same people. We go and help next door to gather sheep,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08they come and help us. Goronwy, Gerwyn, Goronwy's brother.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10So keep that sense of community?
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Yeah, the old traditional farming going.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16However, today we're not here for the sheep.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20Ken's cousin, Will Evans, is keeping alive the centuries' old tradition
0:08:20 > 0:08:26of driving cattle up to the 900 metre summit for the summer.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29I'm a new to this game, but Teg is in her element.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Teg, come here! Come on, don't push them so hard.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35The plan is simple -
0:08:35 > 0:08:37walk behind these 40 pregnant cows,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39for four miles up the mountain,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42until they reach their summer grazing grounds.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44This is Teg's perfect day.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49This three month, extreme pre-natal bootcamp programme not only
0:08:49 > 0:08:53gets them fit for calving, but also trims down the tall grasses,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57so that the sheep are able to graze the shorter pasture.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00You have a very different relationship with the mountain
0:09:00 > 0:09:03than if I was just here as a tourist coming walking to the summit.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08When you're here seeing the mountain as part of a working landscape.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Yeah, the mountain, a lot of people just see it as a walk by during the
0:09:12 > 0:09:15day and take a few photos, but all year round,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18it's almost like a living animal. It breathes.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21It's got a pulse, you know. You send stock up,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25it produces the fodder for them during the summer,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28and over the winter it gets a break.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32I think it all balances up nice between the cattle grazing,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35and sheep grazing - from wildlife to farm animals.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37You've got to just go with the pulse.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Sorry, is that your dog?
0:09:39 > 0:09:42Is it? Yeah, Bonnie!
0:09:42 > 0:09:43HE WHISTLES
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Come on, Bonnie!
0:09:45 > 0:09:47I tell you, there's nothing worse than walkers coming,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50- and their dogs chasing the sheep... - KATE LAUGHS
0:09:50 > 0:09:52It really gets on my nerves.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Thinking about that, we've lost your cattle.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00We only lost sight of the cows for one minute.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountain,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Ken stumbles upon them,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08though he hasn't got them for long either.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12They've gone home. Sorry, Will!
0:10:12 > 0:10:13Thanks, Ken.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Oh, look, they're turning back. That's new.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18That hasn't happened before.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22- Oh, we've got cows up there, that's what's happened.- Oh, shoot.
0:10:22 > 0:10:23This is mutiny!
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- Teg, come here.- Come on, Bonnie!
0:10:26 > 0:10:28WILL CLICKS TONGUE
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Yeah, they're back on the road now, Will!
0:10:32 > 0:10:35I think. No, they're not. Teg.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39And this Welsh weather isn't helping us see any clearer,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43for every step we take, the fewer cows we can see.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51And, believe me, this is as tough as it looks.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Eventually, we deliver the cattle to the upper hills -
0:10:55 > 0:10:58at least we think we have.
0:10:58 > 0:10:59I don't know about you,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02but I'm wet pretty much all the way through now.
0:11:02 > 0:11:03Oh, not bad.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06But I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07Well, there you go.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11And, certainly, nor would your cattle by the looks of things.
0:11:11 > 0:11:12They've completely disappeared.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17No. They're long gone. It worked pretty well on the whole.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22- So is this it, is this is where they, basically...?- Yeah.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24..are now free to roam from here?
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Yeah, they've got about 800/900 acres of eating grass,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30- and having a good summer holiday, I hope.- Wow.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32I hope the weather picks up for them, though.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Yeah, they're not going to be able to take many photos to send home.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37- No.- Talk about the view.- But one important job we've got left,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41and if you don't do it, you'll have to do it all over again.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43THEY LAUGH
0:11:43 > 0:11:46These farmers must have mountain water running through their
0:11:46 > 0:11:50veins to deal with the volatile conditions up here.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54We take shelter in the shepherds hut, and within half an hour,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58the weather breaks - suddenly revealing the true magnificent
0:11:58 > 0:12:00colours of this landscape.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05That tea has worked miracles. It's a completely different day out here.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07God, Ken, it's absolutely staggering.
0:12:07 > 0:12:08You can see the view now.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- It must mean that you do have to be incredibly adaptable.- Oh, yeah.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Cos, I mean, it does feel like a completely different day now
0:12:14 > 0:12:16- than it did this morning. - Matter of half an hour.- Yeah.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18It's cleared up within an hour, half an hour.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21- We have to change our plans from one day to the next.- Yeah.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24We rely a lot on the weather forecast man, Derek Brockway.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Good old Derek.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30A lot of Derek, yes, quite. So, yes, shwmai.
0:12:30 > 0:12:31Shwmai.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34But, no, all jokes aside - we're in the hands of the gods up here
0:12:34 > 0:12:37a bit with the weather.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Love it or hate it, the Welsh weather plays the central
0:12:40 > 0:12:43role in shaping this lush landscape.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51I leave Cadair Idris behind and head towards mid-Wales,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55to investigate an interest of mine, and meet a family harnessing all of
0:12:55 > 0:12:59the elements that Wales can throw at them just to turn on their lights.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Scott, Ruth and their daughter Chenoa, came from the midlands
0:13:04 > 0:13:09to mid-Wales eight years ago with one ambition in mind -
0:13:09 > 0:13:15to live a green, zero-impact life without giving up on their mod cons.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19How on earth did you find this place?
0:13:19 > 0:13:22I've been coming here since I was three weeks old.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24- Three weeks?!- Yeah, my mum and dad found it.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27So you've taken it over. So it was a sort of holiday cottage,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30was it, really, when you were coming here as a child?
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Yeah, I spent all my school holidays here.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Once the place where Led Zeppelin created their third album,
0:13:37 > 0:13:40today, Bron Yr Aur is a homely living experiment.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46It's off grid, isn't it? So that means...what?
0:13:46 > 0:13:47It's never had mains electric.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Yeah, we're not connected to any services.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53I really like the idea it stays totally without any wires.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55In order to be able to live in the modern world,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58and have some electrics, my father invested in a whole
0:13:58 > 0:14:02- host of renewable technologies to make it possible to be here.- Yeah.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08Sounds idyllic - living off the land with minimum bills,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11but their commitment to planet earth, and generating their
0:14:11 > 0:14:14own natural power is hard work.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17At the moment, you know, it feels like, well, you've got the wind.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19I can see you've got the panels there.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22This is some of the technologies that I use at the farm,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25but we also have mains electricity.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27Because, you know, we've always got that buffer,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30but the other thing is that I don't have to be as obsessed clearly.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32You have to know what weather is coming in.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36- You have to live by the weather. - But are there days when you think,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40"Well, actually, I'd quite like to, I don't know, watch telly," and Mum
0:14:40 > 0:14:44and Dad say, "Sorry, you can't. There's not enough electricity"?
0:14:44 > 0:14:45- Does that happen?- Yeah.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48And at that point, do you think, "Why don't
0:14:48 > 0:14:50"I live in a normal house like my friends?"
0:14:50 > 0:14:52A little, but I don't really mind.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55- Good answer.- Good answer.- Well done!
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Well trained. Ask them for a fiver later.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03The family's entire existence appears to be based
0:15:03 > 0:15:04around numbers and dials.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07- This is the hub of it all, really. - So this is it? Crikey.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Yeah, this is what makes it possible, really.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11How...? Come on, admit it -
0:15:11 > 0:15:15how many hours a day do you stand here looking at those dials?
0:15:15 > 0:15:16Only three.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18No, I'm getting it down.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20You've got everything coming in here to central points.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23You've got hydro power, wind power, solar power.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26- You've got hydro as well?- Oh, yeah. - I haven't seen that yet.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29We've got a tiny hydro that just about works.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31See this dial at the top here with the yellow on?
0:15:31 > 0:15:35- This one here? Yeah.- So this is telling us how much hydropower
0:15:35 > 0:15:37- we're getting.- OK.- If it's on the zero at the bottom,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40- there's none.- Yeah.- And it is only a little bit above the zero,
0:15:40 > 0:15:42which indicates that we may not be
0:15:42 > 0:15:44- getting as much power as we might be...- Right.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47..given we've had rain the last few days.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Yeah, I remember that rain. So we trudge up the hill to their
0:15:51 > 0:15:54hydro power plant to investigate the problem.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57And this has to be seen to be believed.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02So are you saying that all your hydroelectric that you
0:16:02 > 0:16:04generate comes from this tiny little stream?
0:16:04 > 0:16:07That's extraordinary.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09I was slightly expecting...
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Well, certainly, something maybe three times the size of that.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17Absolutely. The box is purely to fill with water.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20- OK, so that's a sort of water storage tank, effectively?- Yeah.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23- OK.- Yeah.- What do you think has gone wrong?
0:16:23 > 0:16:25- It can be bracken or leaves or whatever.- Yeah.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27But probably stone at this time of year.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Where this sort of mesh filter is there could be blockage in there
0:16:30 > 0:16:33that's stopping the water flow going through as effectively as it should?
0:16:33 > 0:16:36I hope it's that, yeah. Otherwise I don't know. So we'll see.
0:16:36 > 0:16:37Otherwise you don't know?
0:16:37 > 0:16:41- That's that, yeah.- Averagely, I'm here twice a week straddling the
0:16:41 > 0:16:45- stream and clearing out.- And, obviously, that's whatever the
0:16:45 > 0:16:49- weather and every time of year? - Yeah. It gets very cold.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53There's a whole load of stuff that's been washed down in the heavy rain.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Right. Yeah.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Blocking the first layer and once we've cleared it all,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01we should see an overflow from the big black tank.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04There's just lots of nature going on, isn't there?
0:17:04 > 0:17:08- KATE LAUGHS - It's trying to get the better of us.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13- Yeah.- If you get a hazelnut going in, that will go all the way down
0:17:13 > 0:17:15- the pipe and block the hydro. - Really?
0:17:15 > 0:17:18We even once had a frog get all the way down the other end.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21No way! Well, that's overflowing beautifully now.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Definitely.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26The water rushes down the pipes building up pressure until it
0:17:26 > 0:17:29reaches a water wheel next to the cottage.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33This wheel is connected to a motor, generating electricity.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37It almost looks like something you could throw a clay pot on.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Now lets see if our efforts have paid off.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43This is going to be really underwhelming, isn't it? I can see.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46At the moment, it's still a third.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48We've just climbed up the hill, done all that,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52- chatted about all how good it is. - And it's the same.- Hmm.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54Do you just hope that it fixes itself?
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- That's the first port of call always.- Is it, is it?
0:17:57 > 0:18:00With anything in life, just wait a bit and it might just work.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03- Yeah, It might just work.- I wonder why that happened.
0:18:03 > 0:18:09I can't believe it's not... Actually, I really thought that's...
0:18:09 > 0:18:10Is that a bit concerning?
0:18:11 > 0:18:15I have to say, I'm really blown away by what you're doing here.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20You've made a choice to try and live in a way that is as low
0:18:20 > 0:18:24impact as possible, but is as normal as possible,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27and, actually, you're being very honest
0:18:27 > 0:18:29about how hard that really is.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34THEY LAUGH
0:18:34 > 0:18:35Cheers, I think that's fair to say.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38- Yeah, that's...- Yeah.- What do you think, Chenoa,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40do you agree with that? It is hard?
0:18:40 > 0:18:44But is it worth it? I mean, is it worth the slog up the hill to
0:18:44 > 0:18:48unblock the filters for the hydro in the middle of winter?
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Is it worth, you know, not being able to watch telly
0:18:50 > 0:18:55when you want to because there isn't enough power? Is it worth it?
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Well, do you know, two or three years ago,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01there was a possibility that we wouldn't be able to stay here.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04The day I found out I might not be able to stay, Kate...
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Oh, Ruth! You know, your emotional attachment
0:19:07 > 0:19:08to this place is extraordinary.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13There's a Welsh word "hiraeth," which doesn't directly translate to
0:19:13 > 0:19:17English, but comes to mean sort of atmosphere of a place,
0:19:17 > 0:19:22encapsulating everything about it and that sort of sums it up, really.
0:19:22 > 0:19:27- Yeah.- I absolutely salute you for what you're doing here.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31- It's brave, it's bonkers and it's quite brilliant.- Thank you.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34And I know it's not hydro tea, but it's still not bad,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36and it's in a Muppet mug.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39- I mean, you know, what could be better?- Yeah.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46The key to life in rural Wales is all about identifying the
0:19:46 > 0:19:50best nature can offer and making the most of it.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Imagine capturing the essence of this landscape in a bottle.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02Six miles away, in the Dyfi Valley, I follow my nose to meet someone
0:20:02 > 0:20:04who has done exactly that.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08Now, you might think I'm talking perfume, but, no.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11- Look at that.- Yeah, perfect.- Are you getting in?
0:20:11 > 0:20:13- Yeah, I'm going to get in.- OK, cool.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15If you like a tipple, this is one for you.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Pete Cameron and I are making gin.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21It is a proper Dr Seuss machine, isn't it?
0:20:21 > 0:20:22- HE LAUGHS - Yeah.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Much like perfume, every gin is different.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28The common component is juniper berries -
0:20:28 > 0:20:31one of the few ingredients that isn't sourced locally.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33But Pete's gin is unique
0:20:33 > 0:20:35because of the other botanicals he forages nearby.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Teg and I join him on a quest for extraordinary aromatics,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45starting at his farm.
0:20:45 > 0:20:46Where are we headed?
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Well, we'll head up through the new wood.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51This is a five acre wood that we've planted recently.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55With gin in mind or with the environment in mind or both?
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Both of those things, but primarily to stop me
0:20:57 > 0:21:00rolling my tractor over on the steepest bit of the field.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03KATE LAUGHS Very good answer.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05To produce three different types of gin,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Pete uses a total of 29 botanicals,
0:21:07 > 0:21:1020 of which come from the Dyfi Valley.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13So I recognise this. This is lovely hawthorn isn't it?
0:21:13 > 0:21:15That's right, yeah.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18If we have a sniff of those, there's a really beautiful deep,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20sweetness to it, a honey note in there.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Now, you see, I'm going to be horribly honest,
0:21:24 > 0:21:26- given we've only just met... - Yes.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30I always thought hawthorn has a slightly uriney smell about it.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34It's got an aromatic in it, which is also generated by rotting flesh.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37- Ah.- It's not the entire smell of rotting flesh.- No.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41- But it's the slight, the slightly sickly sweet flavour.- Yeah.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44- Yeah.- So you wouldn't want this way in the foreground.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47This gives us a nice little bit of honey in the background
0:21:47 > 0:21:49- of the gin.- And speaking of background smells, it seems
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Teg has been rolling in some of her own pungent findings.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55- Aw!- Oh, that's bad!
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Yeah, I know, she's found another... Is that your botanicals?
0:21:58 > 0:22:02Essence of badger poo? You're a horror.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04No. I really don't... No, I don't love you.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06No, no, bugger off. No. No.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Is there a dog pound near here?
0:22:08 > 0:22:10Dog pound!
0:22:10 > 0:22:14If anyone wants a ginger and white and brown dog,
0:22:14 > 0:22:15just give me a call.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17THEY LAUGH
0:22:17 > 0:22:21The key ingredient in Pete's gin is sourced down the valley.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24With special permission, we forage on the wild, ungrazed wetlands
0:22:24 > 0:22:27of Cors Dyfi nature reserve - home of ospreys in mid-Wales.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33- This is bog myrtle.- Bog myrtle. Never heard of that.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36And if you pick a bit and squish it up in your fingers...
0:22:36 > 0:22:39- Oh, my goodness.- It's got a lot of... Well, gin flavours in there.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43I was going to say, it does have a sort of gin smell about it.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45It's lovely.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48It gives you a beautiful, full-bodied flavour in the gin.
0:22:48 > 0:22:49Yeah.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54Ooh, I just need a clinky glass and a slice of lemon and I'm away.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Once we've gathered enough, we head to the distillery.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01It takes four days with double distillation to finally
0:23:01 > 0:23:03produce my favourite drink.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Then is it, she says, trying not to sound desperate,
0:23:07 > 0:23:09- then is it ready to drink? - Then it's ready to go.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13As I've worked quite hard today doing an enormous amount
0:23:13 > 0:23:17of picking, do you think I can now taste this wonderful sounding gin?
0:23:17 > 0:23:19- I think that's a great idea. - I do too.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- I might have a taste myself.- Good, OK.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Oh, it's a whisper of tonic on the top.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28We don't want to overdo it, do we? Let's see how that's come out.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29OK.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Right, I'll see you, Pete.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46That is so smooth. It just, it tastes of nature.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49- I can taste the smell of the bog myrtle.- Mmm.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50It's absolutely there.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52So this is the Dyfi Valley in a glass, basically?
0:23:52 > 0:23:54That's what we're aiming for,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56that's the spirit of the Dyfi Valley.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59I quite like the Dyfi Valley, I have to say.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01- PETE LAUGHS - Good.- Well done you, Pete.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03- Cheers.- Congratulations. Thank you.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Though the Dyfi Valley is recognised by the United Nations
0:24:08 > 0:24:13for its biodiversity, just south of here, there's one area doing
0:24:13 > 0:24:16more to maintain the health of our planet than we give it credit for.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21For centuries, it's acted as a formidable barrier,
0:24:21 > 0:24:23dividing east from west,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25and north from south.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30It is the least populated area in Wales.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Teg and I are standing at the summit of what is
0:24:34 > 0:24:36known as the Plynlimon Massif.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39We're on the north side of the Cambrian Mountains.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44This treeless landscape is more important than just a big
0:24:44 > 0:24:46wild area. It is the equivalent...
0:24:46 > 0:24:50And I know you're going to look at me and go, "She's mad."
0:24:50 > 0:24:53..it's the equivalent of the Amazon rainforest.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57This is the most significant environmental area
0:24:57 > 0:24:59in the whole of Wales.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Much of the Plynlimon area is wetland.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05To the untrained eye, a boggy, unproductive landscape.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09But in actual fact, it provides us with the most vital
0:25:09 > 0:25:13environmental services - filtering water, preventing flooding,
0:25:13 > 0:25:17and acting as a mass storage facility for carbon.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21I meet with wildlife trust conservationist, Dr Liz Lewis-Reddy,
0:25:21 > 0:25:26to help me understand what my eyes cannot see.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28What's at the heart of this landscape that gives it
0:25:28 > 0:25:30the value that you say it has?
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Well, I have to say, a lot of that is what's under our feet,
0:25:33 > 0:25:35- and that's peat soil.- OK.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37- Carbon is in every living thing. - Right.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40The unique feature of a peat bog is that it's wet,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43it's an oxygen deprived environment,
0:25:43 > 0:25:45and whenever you deprive an environment of oxygen,
0:25:45 > 0:25:47things don't break down.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51So in a peat bog all that dead plant material is underwater,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54and because of that, the carbon isn't being released.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- And so that carbon is just locked in.- That's right,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59and it gets locked in over millennia.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Just imagine just how much carbon is then stored
0:26:02 > 0:26:03in that water-logged environment.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06The water is held here by the sphagnum moss,
0:26:06 > 0:26:09which acts like a sponge.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12If the water is drained, all the carbon stored within it is
0:26:12 > 0:26:15released into the atmosphere - turning it into the toxic
0:26:15 > 0:26:18greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Unlike the Amazon that absorbs CO2, these bogs stop it from being
0:26:22 > 0:26:25created in the first place.
0:26:25 > 0:26:30However, in the 1950s, this balance was broken when local farmers
0:26:30 > 0:26:32drained the land for grazing.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35The reason why farmers drained it post-war
0:26:35 > 0:26:40was because government said, "Go out and drain your uplands
0:26:40 > 0:26:42"in order to generate more food for British people."
0:26:42 > 0:26:45There wasn't an awareness that when you dried out peat,
0:26:45 > 0:26:47you released all these greenhouse gases.
0:26:47 > 0:26:48- Well, no-one knew.- Exactly.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51- And no-one knew the term greenhouse gases after the war.- Exactly.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55So it's one of those becoming aware after the fact.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58To put the importance of the Welsh bogs into perspective -
0:26:58 > 0:27:01if they were to shrink in depth by just one metre,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04the carbon dioxide released would be more than the annual
0:27:04 > 0:27:09emissions caused by fossil fuels in Wales.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13For the past eight years, the Wildlife Trust has been blocking old
0:27:13 > 0:27:17drainage ditches, with remarkable results.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20We've risen the water table on this site by five centimetres.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Wow. So that is holding enormous amounts of water.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28- Millions of litres of water. - And lots and lots of carbon.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Millions of tonnes of carbon.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34The Plynlimon project pilot scheme has been running for seven years,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and in this time they have managed to restore the equivalent of over
0:27:37 > 0:27:401,000 rugby pitches of bogland.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47Their aim is to do the same over another 39,000 hectares
0:27:47 > 0:27:53of bogs, to safeguard our future and help us realise that some things are
0:27:53 > 0:27:54best kept unchanged.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Next time - we learn how to flog sheep...
0:28:01 > 0:28:04- 28.5.- Can't we have a little bit more?
0:28:04 > 0:28:06You've got two ladies in the ring.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08We need more than that.
0:28:08 > 0:28:09LAUGHTER
0:28:09 > 0:28:13..discover the wonders of the Welsh dark skies...
0:28:13 > 0:28:16This is the most fantastic treat.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18THEY GASP
0:28:18 > 0:28:20- That's... I mean, it's like a flying saucer!- Yeah.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23..and Teg has her first family reunion.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26This is like my happiest moment is standing here watching her work.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28- Proud granny, proud granny. - I am, I am.