Episode 3 Kate Humble: Off the Beaten Track

You might think that this is a Canadian forest.

The African savannah...

..the Scottish mountains...

..but this is my adopted home, Wales,

and the many countries within it.

I've always been drawn to remote places

around the world, but only recently I started questioning myself.

Why am I travelling to these far-flung parts of the world,

to look for authentic, intact communities

when there are communities like that right on my doorstep?

Wales is home to less than 5%

of the UK population, with most people concentrated in the south.

And the sparsely inhabited countryside is exactly what

attracted me to move here ten years ago.

So I'm now travelling the lesser trodden areas of Wales with

my best Welsh friend, Teg,

to discover how its landscapes are being shaped and how they are

shaping its people.

-Shwmai!

-Shwmai!

Last time, we joined in on a deer cull.

I know from a conservation point of view it's absolutely necessary.

We lost cattle in a Welsh summer mist.

Yeah, they're back on the road now, Will, I think. No, they're not.

And I foraged for ingredients to make gin.

I just need a clinky glass and a slice of lemon and I'm away.

Right, I'll see you, Pete.

This is Wales, Off The Beaten Track.

Of course, I may only be accepted in these communities

because I've got the right nationality of dog.

This week, our journey starts in Mid Wales, in the open wilderness

of the Cambrian mountains, at Ty Mawr Farm.

These rolling hills have helped provide and sustain the

country since medieval times.

Sheep farmer, Delyth Morris-Jones, is the current custodian.

She works this land with the help of her son, Dafydd,

looking after a flock of 500 sheep,

the descendants of ones bred on these hills back in the 19th century.

Delyth's family rented this farm for generations, until her father

bought it in 1942.

But 21st-century Wales is more challenging.

I think if you took me from the farm, it would be like

taking fish out of water.

It's because generations have been here before.

-Yeah.

-Dafydd is the fourth generation on the farm and,

therefore, when you walk around, you see past generations' work,

walls that they built, work that they did.

And, therefore, you feel as if you're just part of that ongoing process.

Yeah.

And because I've inherited the farm, I feel it's a place that it's

there for me to pass on again and it's not an asset to sell.

Yeah. So many things have changed, you know,

your father being able to buy the farm and pay it off in

20 years just from farming, that's no longer possible, you don't think?

No. It would take two generations to buy a farm now.

Yeah, yeah.

The cost of everything that you're buying has become far more

than you are making yourself.

The survival of the farm relies on the sales of sheep.

It's market day tomorrow, and Teg and her new friend, Morris,

a fellow Welsh sheepdog, seem eager to gather them in.

Morris is very, very taken by Teg.

While Dafydd and I head for the high ground,

Delyth covers the lower land.

Morris!

Oh, it's the most beautiful sight, isn't it?

It's good, isn't it?

Like magic. Good girl, Teg!

And the best thing is that we can take a back seat while Teg

and Morris do all the work.

Do you still think sometimes,

"Gosh, it's a miracle that this is actually work"?

Yeah! They did that. I didn't say much and they did it!

Yeah, they just did it!

That dog is impressive, Kate, how did you do it?

I did nothing at all. That's the main thing.

If I try and give her instructions, she just looks at me

and goes, "You don't really mean that, do you?"

She's so impressive.

Morris and Teg seem very pleased with themselves.

These days, Welsh hill speckled face sheep are a rare breed.

Back at the yard, I see why Delyth is so passionate about keeping

them going.

Now, the first thing I would say is

these are the most gorgeous-looking sheep.

Oh, thank you. You know what to say to the farmer!

I know it always sounds a little bit frivolous,

but I don't think there's anything wrong in wanting beautiful sheep.

-They smile.

-They do!

These sheep smile and they've got their make-up on correctly.

-They have.

-They've got their lipstick on correctly.

We told them you were coming

and they just thought they'd spruce themselves up a bit.

Let's just hope that all their beauty efforts will help them sell

well at the market tomorrow.

The following morning, we load the sheep onto the trailer...

..and head to one of the last traditional livestock marts

in the country.

The Devil's Bridge Market is a meeting hub for the farming community.

Farming is quite a lonely job, and therefore this is a place where

they can come to socialise and pass on information, too.

But, for Delyth, this is also a weekly reality check.

The price of her produce has not increased in 20 years.

You've been crunching numbers.

Have you got a sense of what you might hope to get today?

This lot here are coming in at somewhere around the £41, £40 mark.

-Yeah.

-And then this lot here are slightly lighter...

-Right.

-..so we'd be looking at somewhere around £36 for them.

That's the price per sheep, based on their weight.

The disparity between what farmers get for the raw produce,

if you like, and what we pay still seems to be enormous.

I've played around with just how much land costs on the internet,

so you're talking about an average there of about £10 a kilo,

and we're coming here and talking around the £1.50 a kilo mark.

-Yeah.

-There's so many other people between us and the plate.

-Yes.

-There are so many people between the field and the plate, unfortunately.

Yeah, and everyone does need to make a living, don't they?

Everyone does need to make a living and we're at the bottom of the pile.

Delyth, now, I think, one, two, three, four, five...

It's our turn to enter the ring.

Five male lambs for you, there we are, what are you going to say on these, then?

Who says what, where are we?

£30 to start them, then, £25 everywhere, £6,

7, 27, 27,

27, 27 at £27, 27 and a half...

Delyth is looking for £36 a head. All I can do is cross my fingers.

28 and a half, are you all done, then, at 28 and a half?

Did you say 38?

That's fine!

28 and a half they go, 28 and a half.

That was quite a lot less than Delyth was hoping for.

These next ones are the heavier ones.

She's hoping to get 41 for these.

Here we are, give me 35.

Bid £35, 35, 35, 35, 35,

35, at 35, good fresh lamb at 35 all out in the ring, then, that's £35.

Can't we have a little bit more?

-Ooh!

-You've got two ladies in the ring.

You've got to split it two ways, do you?

I've got to split it today. We need more than that!

At 35.

They've got to be worth 37! Come on, gents!

At 35 and a half, up by half, 6, 36, 36 and a half.

36 and a half, all done, then, 36 and a half.

He helped you again, Delyth.

Thank you, Daniel.

Good pal.

Wasn't a great price, then.

Wasn't a good price at all,

quite a lot lower than we anticipated before going in.

Yeah.

It just feels so wrong and so heart-breaking knowing the work

that you and Dafydd put into those sheep to get, you know,

what was it, 30, 36 and a half they got?

-Yeah.

-Per sheep. £36.50.

And you always feel a bit of a sort of let down in the ring because you

come from home and you've done your best for them and you bring them

here and you've got a price in your head and then you don't get there.

-Yeah.

-Sometimes, perhaps, it's best not having a price in your head.

Yeah, maybe, maybe. They're still the nicest sheep here, I think.

-They were smiling.

-They were.

Thank you for your help, Kate.

I don't think I helped at all!

Oh, it certainly did.

Farmers like Delyth are constantly trying to strike a balance

between financial challenges and land management.

As we venture deeper into the largely unpopulated Cambrian

mountains, I discover that life here also offers some

spectacular rewards in the shape of the night sky.

I meet with Les and Kris Fry, two amateur astronomers who left

Bournemouth for Mid Wales to roam the countryside in search of

the best spots to contemplate the stars.

What you're looking at is quite a magnified view of the moon.

I mean, you can actually see the craters.

I don't think you can ever, ever get bored of looking at the moon,

-can you?

-No.

And is there a man in it, and is it made of cheese?

Well, if it was, he'd be eating it!

How many of us are guilty of forgetting to look up, letting

our eyes adjust to the darkness and contemplating the universe

around us?

Well, as I discover this night, the Welsh countryside is one of

the best places to do just that.

In Wales, we have the world's most protected percentage of dark skies.

-In the world?

-In the world.

-In Wales?

-Yes, yes.

-Really?

-Yeah, we have three areas, and possibly the fourth has just

come onboard now with the IDA status, yes.

And IDA status is?

International Dark Skies Association.

So it is an international accreditation?

-It is international, it is.

-It's an international recognition.

So, yeah, Wales should be proud of it, it is a world leader,

18% of its landmass is under protected dark skies,

so you can go outside, look up and go, "Wow."

The one thing I can show off - well, I'm not really showing off,

because I jolly well ought to know - but there is one constellation

I know about which is up there, and it's known as The Plough, which

I always think is slightly wrong. Because it should be The Saucepan.

I know that The Plough tells you where north is,

but I'm not quite sure how.

Well, to the right-hand side...

-Yeah.

-..of The Plough, there's two stars.

Yeah, slightly at a diagonal from each other?

-Yeah, just going up.

-Yeah.

If you follow that up and slightly over to your right,

you'll see another star, and that's the Pole Star.

There? So that is the North Star?

That's the North Star, yes.

If you do time-lapse photography and set your camera up with that

in the centre, that's how you get all your star trails going around.

Wow.

But that star will always stay there, will it,

and the rest of the stars basically move around it?

-That's right.

-In this rather wonderful dance.

Is there anything in the night sky at the moment worth people

-coming out?

-Well, at the moment, Saturn's still on view.

OK. Wow me. Come on, Les!

Let's see what we can do!

That's... It's like a flying saucer.

It's one of the objects you can point out to

somebody in the night sky, yep, that's the planet Saturn

over there, and it just looks like a point of light.

Yeah. It's got that kind of... what I would call Mona Lisa status.

It's so familiar, but when you see the real thing...

With your own eyes.

..with your own eyes, it is just extraordinary.

I mean, the Mona Lisa actually made me cry when I saw the real

thing and this... I'm sort of close, I feel a little bit emotional.

I'm very soppy.

But is there a way of lighting up what we need to light up,

you know, making people feel safe, making roads safe,

that kind of thing, that still allows this magnificence?

Yeah, absolutely.

It's not about we want all lights switched off, it's about controlling

the light so the light is actually directed down where it needs to be.

Any light that's going out above the horizontal is just pure

-wasted light, it's going up into space.

-Right.

-That affects astronomers...

-Yeah.

..from a personal point of view.

It also affects wildlife, flora and fauna...

-Yeah.

-..so it's not purely astronomers.

We've all got a 24-hour day-night rhythm built into us,

so it makes sense, actually, for you to make the tiny little

adjustment to actually angle the thing down.

-End of problem.

-And if everyone could just come out of their door and look up and see that...

Yeah.

..I mean, you'd smile.

That's why you two are so smiley, isn't it?

I've got the secret now!

You really have got stars in your eyes, it's amazing.

Well, thank you. What a treat to be here.

Glad to have you out here with us.

Can I just indulge in my favourite thing to do in a sky like this...

Sorry...

Let's do this.

Cos that's the best way.

Yeah, absolutely.

No, Teg, you're in the way. No, Teg, you're blocking my view!

As the day breaks, we reach roughly the midway point between

north and south Wales, entering the historic market town of Rhayader.

In an age of national chain outlets on the high streets, I'm drawn

to one of the oldest independent shops in town...

The ironmongers,

who have been supplying the residents with all sorts since 1895.

Fantastic shop!

-Thank you.

-Are you Tom?

-Tom, nice to meet you.

-You must be Pauline.

-Yes.

This is the sort of shop, my husband,

if he walks past something that says "hardware" on, he can't resist it.

-It's a little treasure trove, isn't it?

-Yes.

How have you managed to keep going?

We're fortunate that we're in a small community

and we do get a lot of support from the locals,

they love the old little shops.

And in the summer, tourism,

it makes a big factor for us.

Tourism is very important to us.

-Really?

-Outdoor people.

-Right.

-They seem to make a beeline for us.

Well, it does sell pretty much everything.

You even have things to supply Harry Potter.

Yeah, we've got the wands in the back.

I don't see any wizards popping in, but behind the counter,

I discover there's a spell on the town to lure people into fishing.

Are these supposed to imitate something in real life?

They are, yeah, they're all designed around an actual fly.

Tom, I've never seen a fly like that in Wales, or indeed anywhere else.

I think you'd be hard-pushed to find a fly dressed like that for a carnival.

Well, these flies are very good for rainbow trout,

which are originally from America.

Ah, so they like something a bit flashy.

Yeah, they do like it a bit flashy.

Oh, shall I do some... Can I help?

Can I have that, please?

Rose clear ultra gun. I'm sure you can.

I'm still trying to sell beautiful... Look,

don't you need one of those?

No, I don't. Sorry!

It's only been there for 300 years.

Thank you very much.

There you are. I know you don't need a bag.

No. Thank you very much.

-Thank you, bye.

-Bye.

I feel a new career coming on, bit of selling hardware

and a bit of fishing in the afternoon.

It's a nice way to live.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I've done the selling, now Tom bravely volunteers to give me

my very first fly fishing lesson on the River Elan, that runs

along the family's smallholding.

Oh, it's beautiful, look at this!

Yeah, really nice.

Wow!

Right.

So I think before we get down there and do some fishing, I should give you a quick casting lesson.

-I think that's a very sensible idea.

-Yeah, let's do that. Let's have a go.

We're going to do the scene from Ghost. OK?

I was hoping you were going to say that!

-Right, OK, so, nice and low to start.

-Yeah.

-OK, and then we're going to bring it back.

-Yeah.

And as it gets to about there, you're going

-to let it run through your hand.

-OK.

-OK, ready?

-Yeah.

-So, back there.

-Yeah.

Out. Wait a second. Look at that.

It's amazing what you can do when you've got a ghost helping you.

Shall we give it a go?

Yeah, why not?

-Let's do it.

-OK.

Normally, the river has a healthy population of wild brown trout,

but with a certain ginger monster lurking in the water,

we might end up going hungry this evening.

So here we are, nice and slow, off you go.

-Oh!

-Oh!

Where did that go?

There, but it didn't go anywhere that I thought it was going to.

This is really hard.

It is a bit difficult, but it's all right.

It's a lot easier on dry land.

Yeah, it is - the fly stays still, doesn't it?

Yeah, it does!

So, we just flick it around to start.

OK. That's it, nice and slow. And again.

Come on, fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy. There's no fish, Tom.

They're here somewhere, I swear.

See, my family have been in the Elan Valley for over 12 generations.

Really?

Yeah, hundreds of years,

and we've been fishing the River Elan for as long as we can remember.

My grandfather used to bring me down here as a kid,

and I've got great memories.

And I hope to bring my son, Arthur, down here

when he's a bit older and teach him to fish, too.

I'm quite sure you will.

I'm going to get one good cast if it kills me.

-That was rubbish.

-Oh, that's shocking.

It doesn't take me long to understand why Tom is so

passionate about fly fishing.

To me, this is about finding a rhythm while immersed in an

idyllic landscape with the power to soothingly wash away all the

stresses and worries of life.

The fish might not be biting, but I'm hooked.

Ah! It is intoxicating, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Every time you bring the line back in, you think this could be it.

Got that bit of hope!

This could be the time.

I came here last night and I did catch a couple of fish.

-Did you?

-I did, yeah.

I caught some lovely brown trout just in the pool over there,

and I came prepared.

Really?

In the eventuality that we didn't catch any fish.

Part of me is delighted and part of me thinks, "Gosh, he really did have so little faith in me!"

No! It can happen to the best of anglers, don't worry.

So Tom introduces me to his catch and treats me to an al fresco dinner.

And food cooked outside in the sunshine always tastes 100% better.

Definitely. It's the best way of doing it and you don't get much fresher than this.

-No, exactly. No food miles, no refrigeration.

-No.

Even the hardware only came from down the road.

-Exactly! Yes!

-Yes.

I'd say that's good to go.

I'd say that's absolutely good to go,

mainly because I don't think I can wait any longer.

-No.

-There you go, fisherman, you did the hard work.

-Thank you very much.

-Cheers.

-Bon appetit.

-Mm.

-Mm.

Our next stop is a personal trip down memory lane.

Two years ago, I discovered that Teg is a Welsh sheepdog, a rare breed we almost lost.

We found 80 of them, but of the 80, 20 were too old to breed.

Extinction would have occurred in the next five years.

For Teg to contribute to the future of the breed, she was assessed

by the Welsh Sheepdog Society.

Oh, you all look quite intimidating.

-Morning, Kate, lovely to see you.

-How are you, Ian?

These farmers have spent the last 20

years bringing this breed back from near extinction,

so they have very high standards.

We're both a bit nervous.

To earn her credentials, Teg had to work in a way unique to this breed.

Tail up high, always on the move and never fixing her stare.

Steady.

Although Teg impressed the judges with her working style, sadly,

she failed on her heritage, as her grandfather was a border collie.

There was, however, a chance that if we bred from her, the pups

may be able to be registered and contribute to the breed.

Enter the handsome Tango, a hardworking feral sheep-catcher,

100% Welsh sheepdog.

There's another potential husband.

Not Simon, obviously, he's married, I'm not... For Teg.

Tango, I mean.

A few weeks later, Teg gave birth to a beautiful litter,

four girls and a boy.

Cute as they were, we gave them away to working farms.

That was 18 months ago.

Now it's time to see if everything I put Teg through was worth it.

The family is meeting up at the same farm Teg was assessed two years ago.

Today is their very own judgment day. Meet Dolly...

She's a big dog, isn't she?

..Shaun...

..and the aptly named Kate Humble!

In the hope of gaining their registration, three out of Teg's

five pups are here to be assessed by the Welsh Sheepdog Society.

Adeline Jones reminds me of what they are looking for.

We are just looking at how they work, and whether they set,

and whether they've got eye,

and whether they are doing what their owner asks them to do.

The set and the eye that you are talking about,

those are the very collie traits, aren't they?

Those are the crouching and what we call the fixed eye,

where they are staring at individual sheep.

And that's what you don't want to see.

We don't want to see any of that.

No, and we like to see their tails up.

The moment of truth is here. The first to take the field is Dolly.

-This one takes after Dad, doesn't it?

-Yep.

She's a bit like a bull in a china shop.

It's not a great start, because after every move, she keeps

coming back to her owner.

-Too much under control.

-Yeah.

You forget how scary you lot are.

I remember this day, two years ago.

I was absolutely terrified.

That dog's all right, there's nothing wrong with that dog.

Here she goes, here she goes.

Oh, that's lovely.

Oh, no, don't go back.

That dog has been working alongside a bike.

That means that Dolly is used to following her owner alonside

a quad bike, moving the sheep forward, instead of rounding them up.

But you wouldn't mark a dog down?

You wouldn't say that's not a Welsh dog?

-No.

-Well, that's good to know.

Next, Simon Mogford brings in my namesake, Kate Humble.

-Simon says she's a bit... mad as a box of frogs.

-Headcase.

Keen, she is. That's what it is.

Keen, yeah, just like her mum was all those years ago.

Likes to split one, doesn't she?

That's a trait.... That's Teg.

That is definitely Teg genes in that, isn't there?

Simon will sort that.

Teg tries to help by distracting the judges.

Hello, you, yes, I know.

-She says, "Oh, don't look at her, look at me!"

-Yeah, I know!

In the same way that the judges picked on Teg, they follow

suit with the daughter.

She isn't working, she's only having fun.

But the key thing - is she having fun in a Welsh way?

-Yes, I suppose so.

-Yes!

Well, that's good enough for me.

Last on the field is Shaun, the only boy of the litter and the

heart throb.

Haven't you turned out to be a handsome boy?

You were so round and fat.

I must say, Tango's crossed that perfect.

He has, hasn't he?

Because Welshes are held so much,

you wouldn't think there was any border in them at all.

Steady now, that sounds like a compliment!

Shaun seems a bit distracted.

-He seems more interested in the thistles at the moment.

-Hm.

So the panel allows his mum, Teg, to show her son the ropes.

OK, go on. No, Teg, come on! Well, there you are.

-You can assess her!

-Show him how to do it!

She's showing him how to do it, yeah.

To my pride, the judges are wowed by her.

She's improved since we seen her last, hasn't she?

Let her carry on, she's at them perfect.

Not only that, but guidance from Mum worked.

This is like my happiest moment is standing here watching her work.

Proud granny!

I am, I am, and look, he's doing all right now, isn't he?

He's going now.

He's starting to get his confidence now, isn't he? Yeah.

Yeah, there he is.

Teg's job is done.

Good girl, good girl.

Well done, showing your boy what to do.

Well done, Shauny.

We nervously leave the judges deliberating for a moment,

but it doesn't take long for the results.

We've looked at your dogs today.

On the basis that they don't show set and they don't show eye

and they're seven eighths Welsh, that we've established as fact...

Yeah.

..we're happy to register and give green cards.

At this stage, we feel that their training isn't advanced

-enough to give them a breeding certificate.

-OK.

That...I don't think will be a problem, but

they just need a bit more done with them to have the breeding licence.

-Well, I'm delighted, thank you very, very much, indeed.

-Well done.

And well done, Teg and Tango. New Welsh line.

That's really exciting, because it means that Teg, together with

Tango, have done their little bit to keep the Welsh Sheepdog going.

Next time, I try my hand at trotting.

Oh, Matthew, I'm loving it - you're not having your horse back!

I meet the aquatic rodents making a comeback in Wales.

Wow, that's fantastic!

These are true Welsh beavers, born and bred.

And we take to the water to reach the end of our journey.

With Kate, then, gentlemen. Make her look good.

Oh, come on, Kate!

And dip. Good.