0:00:01 > 0:00:04Britain was once an island of trees.
0:00:04 > 0:00:09For 10,000 years they have shaped our landscapes.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12And we were once a woodland people.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16We managed our forests carefully, cutting and coppicing,
0:00:16 > 0:00:18and they thrived under our care.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21But forestry has changed.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27In the last century plantations have replaced many of our woods.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Others have been deemed unprofitable and abandoned.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Can they survive in the 21st century?
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Writer and woodsman Rob Penn believes so.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Here we go.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48For the next year he is taking over part of Strawberry Cottage Wood,
0:00:48 > 0:00:5150 acres of unmanaged woodland in South Wales.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Oh, my God, I feel like I'm going into a jungle!
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Can he bring this forgotten forest back to life again?
0:01:02 > 0:01:06To be successful, Rob will work through the four seasons.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Bitter! Bitterly cold!
0:01:08 > 0:01:11He must bring the wood back to good health.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Look at that! They're magnificent creatures, aren't they?
0:01:14 > 0:01:17And he needs it to produce an income.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Strawberry Wood charcoal!
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Can he use the ancient skills of the woodsman
0:01:23 > 0:01:27to find a modern role for our forests?
0:01:27 > 0:01:31It is one of the most efficient fuels in the world.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41It is a surprising fact
0:01:41 > 0:01:45that we are one of the least wooded countries in Europe.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Forests cover only 13% of Britain.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Yet they are an iconic feature of our landscape.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56And in a few pockets of the country, they still shape the way we live.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Nine years ago, Rob Penn moved with his family
0:02:03 > 0:02:07from the centre of London to the Black Mountains in South-East Wales.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11Local history is written in the woodlands here.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14It was once the centre of a thriving charcoal industry.
0:02:14 > 0:02:20Like many people moving from the city, Rob was drawn by the forests
0:02:20 > 0:02:24and two years ago started helping out in a nearby wood,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26clearing old trees in return for firewood and kindling.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Someone once asked me why I spend so much time in the woods
0:02:31 > 0:02:37and the answer I gave was because it's my Prozac.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41I feel a great sense of relief and calm coming to the woods.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44I make a living as a writer
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and writers get this thing called writer's block
0:02:46 > 0:02:49and there's only so much time you can spend sitting,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52staring at a blank page before you really need to get up
0:02:52 > 0:02:54and go and do something else
0:02:54 > 0:02:57and my first port of call is here - the woods.
0:02:59 > 0:03:00Under the green canopy,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Rob has slowly been learning the ways of the woodsman.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Pile of brushwood, I'm going to leave that as habitat for wildlife.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11Down here we've got some sticks, poles for making hurdles,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14pea sticks for the garden, a log there,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17that'll be turned into fire wood to keep somebody's house warm,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21and here we've got the coppiced hazel which will be used to make charcoal.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24All of these things are the natural resources that provided
0:03:24 > 0:03:27the backbone of rural industries,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29industries that sustained communities,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33not just in this area, but across Britain for centuries.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36But what Rob is doing is in decline.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Over half a million acres of our forest now lie abandoned.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Is there still a place for woodsmen in modern Britain?
0:03:43 > 0:03:46I've been working in the woods for a couple of years
0:03:46 > 0:03:49in a very amateurish way but all that time
0:03:49 > 0:03:52I've been wondering if I took this more seriously
0:03:52 > 0:03:57could I achieve something that had lasting consequences?
0:03:57 > 0:04:04Could I find a role for British woodlands in modern society?
0:04:04 > 0:04:08And this is not a nostalgic project.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12This is about looking at how the woodlands
0:04:12 > 0:04:16fit in to contemporary Britain.
0:04:23 > 0:04:29Today is a very exciting day, it's the first day of my woodland management project
0:04:29 > 0:04:33and I'm on my way up to Joe's farm, and hopefully he is going to show me
0:04:33 > 0:04:38round the piece of wood that I'm going to take over.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40- Morning, Joe. - Hiya, Rob, good to see you.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43- Good to see you, how you doing? - Yeah, not so bad.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Joe Binns is a neighbour and old friend of Rob's.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Ranging up the hill behind his farm is Strawberry Cottage Wood,
0:04:50 > 0:04:5350 acres of mixed broadleaf trees
0:04:53 > 0:04:56where nobody has worked for over half a century.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01I think this is pretty well where your wood starts, here.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06Rob, there's lots of fairly ancient hazel, like this one here
0:05:06 > 0:05:10that's sort of leaning and about to fall over.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13You can see how the canopy... There's so little light getting in here.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17The only thing that's surviving really are these rather exotic-looking ferns.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Yeah.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21Joe and Rob have come to an agreement -
0:05:21 > 0:05:26for the next year, Rob will take over the running of this wood.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Rob needs to make Strawberry Cottage Wood productive again.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32He must attract back flora and fauna that once existed here
0:05:32 > 0:05:36and harvest timber and fuel from the trees.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Oh, my God! I feel like I'm going into a jungle! I'm just in Wales!
0:05:39 > 0:05:41What the hell is going on?
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Oh, for God's sake. HE LAUGHS
0:05:45 > 0:05:49This is... We need a chain saw in here. Oh, my God!
0:05:49 > 0:05:55What has happened in Strawberry Cottage Wood is all too common.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58It is very difficult to make money from small woods,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00and many landowners have simply left them to grow wild.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Nowadays, there's no financial incentive to clear woodland like this.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08It costs too much to employ people to work with a chain saw all day.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11You're not going to get £100 worth of fire wood for a day's work.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14The oak trees would be worth a bit but there's no way you'd ever
0:06:14 > 0:06:17get the timber out of here because it's too steep.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19In the last 200 years,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23coal and oil have replaced wood as our main source of fuel.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Steel and plastic have taken over our factories and homes.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30And the British Empire once provided an endless supply
0:06:30 > 0:06:32of other nations' timber.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34If Rob is to make Strawberry Cottage Wood work,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38he needs to find modern markets for our woodland products.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41There's a sense of enchantment here,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43which is something very lovely to explore.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46It genuinely looks untouched.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50But a very exciting thing for me is that I'm going to spend a lot of time here
0:06:50 > 0:06:53and it will be hard work and it will be exhausting,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and at times it will be maddening, probably,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00but there will always be the calm,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03the simple pleasure of spending a day in the woods,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06and that's something I look forward to enormously.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12If Rob is to be successful he needs guidance.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17Strawberry Cottage Wood is filled with standing dead trees that could fall at any moment.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20Ah, Wyndham!
0:07:20 > 0:07:23To help him tackle them, Rob has recruited his neighbour
0:07:23 > 0:07:28Wyndham Morgan, a man who has spent over half a century in the woods.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Well, you want an axe, but the most important tool you want is a chain saw.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- Very good. Have you got one? - In the barn, aye.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37- Shall we have a look?- OK.- Brilliant.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Wyndham is a legend in the area,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43a vast library of knowledge and experience.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Beware because there is an old saying in the wood -
0:07:46 > 0:07:50nobody gets hurt with a big tree, it's always the little ones.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53- Is that right?- Mmm, because you take great care with a big tree.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Of course, yeah.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Beware. Always wear your safety helmet.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00- Yeah.- I have been hit on the head. - Have you?
0:08:00 > 0:08:03And all I was left with was the ring around my head,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05and I never even had a headache.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08- How about that?- Is that right? - So they do work.- They do work.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10But the plastic helmet was...
0:08:10 > 0:08:13- Smashed to pieces. - ..smashed all over the place. - Wow!- So they do work.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18- There's loads and loads of woods now need managing...- Yeah.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20- The woodland hasn't been managed. - No.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23And it would be nice to see the woodland managed again.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25- I'm glad you're going to have a go at it.- Great.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27- Very pleased.- Great.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30But, yeah, take care, that's all I can say.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32- It's not as easy as you think. - I'm sure it's not.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35And you'll come and give me a hand at some points?
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- Yeah, I'll come and give you a hand. - Brilliant, brilliant.
0:08:38 > 0:08:39I'll carry the cider!
0:08:39 > 0:08:43THEY LAUGH
0:08:43 > 0:08:45With Wyndham on board,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Rob's first task is to tackle an old birch leaning dangerously
0:08:48 > 0:08:52over the path onto a hazel tree beneath it.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Well, it's only hanging on by a thread.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58How much is supported by that up there, I don't really know.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Will this come down when we're taking the coppice down?
0:09:01 > 0:09:02There's a possibility.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Oh, good-oh, OK.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07You'll just have to watch yourself because there's no other way.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12He's off! He's not hanging around!
0:09:14 > 0:09:17You'll learn on the job, that's basically how I feel.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20And I hope we don't lose Wyndham, or indeed me,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23on the first real day of action in the woods.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27There's a very lovely quote -
0:09:27 > 0:09:30"first the tool, then the book."
0:09:31 > 0:09:36You learn the skills of a woodsman through your own sweat
0:09:36 > 0:09:42and that's, I think, probably a very wholesome approach to the project.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45You could immerse yourself in a library and read books for months
0:09:45 > 0:09:49but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to swing an axe at it.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52- There's only one way he's going to go and that's straight down.- Yeah.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56- So if you're on that side of him... - You'll be out the way. - ..you'll be out of the way.- Yeah.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Just put a very fine sink in there, just take a "V" piece out.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03- Yeah. - Make sure they meet completely.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05- Yep, nicely, OK. - Don't undercut it.- OK.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- As soon as he starts to go I suggest you pull your saw out and stand back.- Yeah.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13And if you can't get your saw out, leave your saw, stand back.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Go on, knock him out.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35There we are, couldn't have been better.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Thanks, Wyndham. There we go.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42The tree made safe.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46So this is the end of day one, proper day one, in the woods
0:10:46 > 0:10:48and you know, at the most basic level
0:10:48 > 0:10:51we seems to have made a big impact, which is great.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54You know, that big birch which was hanging there,
0:10:54 > 0:10:59you know, a big storm could've put that down on top of somebody working in the woods, namely me.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03And so the fact that that's down, that's very good.
0:11:03 > 0:11:09For the next two weeks, Wyndham and Rob clear the dead trees and make the woodland safe.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13People have worked this way for thousands of years
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and our oldest trees have been shaped by generations of woodsmen.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21To explore how we've managed them, Rob is heading east,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25to one of Britain's largest and grandest forests.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40There have been trees in the Forest of Dean for over 8,000 years.
0:11:40 > 0:11:47Since Roman times it has also been home to generations of woodsmen and miners.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50A small community still remains - men like Peter Ralph
0:11:50 > 0:11:51and David Harvey.
0:11:51 > 0:11:52# There are trees all around us
0:11:52 > 0:11:56# This forest is the only place for me
0:11:56 > 0:12:00# So if you ever come to this here part of England
0:12:00 > 0:12:02# The forest 'twixt the Severn and the Wye... #
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Foresters we call ourselves, I'm a forester born and bred.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Born and bred that is, and I think we've got our own dialect and
0:12:12 > 0:12:19our own way of, sort of, living that is typical to the Forest of Dean.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22In the 1920s
0:12:22 > 0:12:26there were over 20,000 people working in the Forest of Dean.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Miners, woodsmen and farmers
0:12:28 > 0:12:31harvested timber for fuel and construction.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36The way they managed the wood was vital not just for their own jobs,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39but for the survival of their communities.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41When I walk into a wood like this
0:12:41 > 0:12:46I instinctively think that it's a completely natural environment.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50And you'll be completely mistaken because it is a managed forest.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55Every tree in the forest, barring the odd weed trees like birch,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57have been planted at one time or another.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Just after the Civil War there were only 200 mature trees
0:13:00 > 0:13:02standing in the whole forest.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06- In the WHOLE forest? - Yes. It's 27,000 acres of forest now
0:13:06 > 0:13:09but there was only 200 mature trees.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12The rest of the forest was all coppice and coppicing means
0:13:12 > 0:13:15you fell the tree, let the shoots come up from the stump,
0:13:15 > 0:13:20and the oaks here were planted in round about 1800-ish, mainly because
0:13:20 > 0:13:25Nelson wasn't very happy with the way the forest was being run at that time.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29And between 1808 and 1815 11,000 acres of forest was cleared,
0:13:29 > 0:13:34planted with 13 million acorns, and that's how all this started.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38It's an intriguing thing because not knowing much about it,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41you come somewhere like this and you presume
0:13:41 > 0:13:44that this is what it might have looked like 1,000 years ago.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46But of course that's not the case at all.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- It's changed significantly over that time.- Out of all recognition.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54- It would've been more like a wild wood 1,000 years ago.- Yeah.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57But now it looks a bit like a wild wood, but it's not.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01- It's not. It's managed by man. - Yes.- Yeah, yeah.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Every piece of wood has been managed by man
0:14:05 > 0:14:08and only very recently have we come to imagine
0:14:08 > 0:14:11the woodlands as wilderness.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12They're not.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15You know, some of them do look like wilderness
0:14:15 > 0:14:16but they're really not.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18They are managed parts of the landscape,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21just as every part of the landscape is managed.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25And in the course of managing our woods for thousands of years,
0:14:25 > 0:14:30they have, in a sense, become dependent upon us.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34And if you turn your back on that relationship,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37then that is to the detriment of the wood.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41If Rob is going to be a force for good in Strawberry Cottage Wood,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43then he must learn how the woodland works.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45More hazel.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Bit of elder up there, young oak.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53These are structures made by a parasitic wasp.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Tiny little wasps called ichumon wasps or ichneumon wasps.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59I'm not sure which.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Gareth Ellis is the biodiversity expert
0:15:02 > 0:15:04for the Brecon Beacons National Park.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Rob has invited him over to evaluate the ecosystem within the wood.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13I guess the first question that I need answered is, is this wood healthy?
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Yeah, I mean, you have to really understand
0:15:15 > 0:15:19the basics of woodland ecology, which aren't too complicated.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21- That's good.- It really starts underneath our feet,
0:15:21 > 0:15:22- down in the soil.- Yeah.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25An undisturbed soil which is full of things like bacteria
0:15:25 > 0:15:27and particularly fungi.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31It's fungi in the soil that recycle the nutrients from all the dead wood, the dead leaves
0:15:31 > 0:15:34- that come down. - Yeah.- They break that down
0:15:34 > 0:15:38- and allow the next generation of trees to bring them up from the soil.- OK, great.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42So above that ground layer, we have what we would call a field layer,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45which is perhaps sort of your knees to your waist - it's the bracken, it's the bramble.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48- Yeah.- And above that you've got an understorey,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52which is either your small trees and all these coppiced trees.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56- Yeah.- And then above that you have the main canopy, the full-sized
0:15:56 > 0:16:01or fully grown trees, which are forming the big canopy above us.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03So you have these stages, these levels,
0:16:03 > 0:16:08and a lot of woodland management is about manipulating those levels
0:16:08 > 0:16:10and particularly manipulating the light that comes in.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14Rob must bring light back onto the woodland floor,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17if the young trees are to grow straight and tall.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21OK, Rob, here's a great example of how the trees are reacting
0:16:21 > 0:16:23to the amount of light they receive.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25- Yeah.- Look at this ash tree. - Oh, my God.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29- Look at the shape of it.- Look at that. So what's happened there?
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Well, this tree, if we actually look behind us
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- you've got a huge piece of hazel coppice here.- Wow!
0:16:35 > 0:16:38This is taking up all the light.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40This little tree germinated down here
0:16:40 > 0:16:44and then found that the light wasn't coming in above it.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46The light was coming in over there.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49So this tree has been drawn towards the light
0:16:49 > 0:16:52- and you can see it's grown out... - It's extraordinary.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55..it's gone in-between the hazel here and that ash tree.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58So it would good for an S-shaped bench and that would be about it.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00This is an example, perhaps,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03of how the trees grow as a reaction to their light.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07The management is often about just controlling that light level.
0:17:07 > 0:17:13Where light has fallen, new life has emerged, covering the forest floor.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Seeds could still be down under here just waiting for a little
0:17:16 > 0:17:20bit of warmth and a little bit of light which they're not going
0:17:20 > 0:17:22- to get underneath this thick blanket...- Yeah.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25..of not only fresh bracken, but last year's dead bracken as well.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30- Dead bracken as well.- Yeah. You can see last year's growth and then previous years...
0:17:30 > 0:17:33- Does it go all the way down?- There we go. Now we're down to the soil.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Look at that, there's not a thing growing.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37If you clear this, what you want to be able to do
0:17:37 > 0:17:40is give a chance for either trees to germinate naturally
0:17:40 > 0:17:44- or you could try and help them along by maybe planting in here.- Yeah.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47But the first thing to do would be to get on top of this bracken.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50This ground should be full of things like birch seed and ash
0:17:50 > 0:17:53and maybe some oak in here as well.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56By managing this wood, Rob can encourage
0:17:56 > 0:17:59the return of original species.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02But he also needs to create a working woodland,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04whereby timber and forest products
0:18:04 > 0:18:07can pay for the costs of conservation.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09There's a lot of good timber in there, you know,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11it's got a nice straight growth here.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14It's had the opportunity to grow straight up for light without
0:18:14 > 0:18:16- being affected by too many things around it.- Yeah.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19This is a tree that you could potentially take out.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23It's got other trees around it.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27The removal of this won't affect the integrity of the woodland.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Are you happy to take this sort of tree out?
0:18:29 > 0:18:32I'd be terrified, actually, to be perfectly honest.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36I mean... Oh, my God. I wouldn't even know where to begin.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39It would be an exciting day.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43- Once this tree is down to a stump, this tree will grow again.- Yes.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46This tree will coppice, so this stump will be part of your coppice,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50so maybe you might be back to the same tree in 15, 20 years and taking
0:18:50 > 0:18:53off three or four stems which have come back as the coppice growth.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02When you manage a wood, you have to think in terms of centuries
0:19:02 > 0:19:07not years or seasons, and that is difficult for us.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12Modern life changes very quickly, technology plays an incredibly
0:19:12 > 0:19:16important part in that and we've come to see change,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19immediate change, as the norm.
0:19:19 > 0:19:25When you're managing a wood, you have to slow that down massively
0:19:25 > 0:19:28because generations pass whilst one tree grows.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Taking on this project could immerse Rob in the wood for decades.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Trees grow very slowly,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39and so he needs to plan his work not just for this year,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42but for future generations.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Spending time with Gareth was interesting because one of the important things that came out of it
0:19:46 > 0:19:50was the need for a plan.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54You know, woodland is... It looks old, it looks rugged,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57it looks like it could withstand anything that man could throw at it
0:19:57 > 0:20:00but, of course, that's not the case. It is actually quite sensitive.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04So that's why we're here, that's what we're going to try and do - get a good plan together.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11Back at the times of the great monastic houses, in the 14th century,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15the first people to really constructively and sustainably manage wood on these islands,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18you know, they drew maps.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22The map would show which bit of the wood would be under coppice, under what rotation cycle.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25As I said, it's a start point for a management plan
0:20:25 > 0:20:27and that is what we will use to go forward
0:20:27 > 0:20:31and I think better to have a plan than to just go in whirling with a chain saw.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36There are over 150 hazel trees in the top third of the wood.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38These trees can be cut for charcoal and firewood,
0:20:38 > 0:20:42allowing light back onto the forest floor.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45At the bottom there are 70 large ash and oak trees.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47Taller trees can be felled for timber
0:20:47 > 0:20:50and so give younger stems more sunlight.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54In the middle, there is a vast swathe of bracken and brambles.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57This is where seedlings can regenerate
0:20:57 > 0:20:59and Rob can plant new saplings.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02But only after it has been cleared.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19In the last ten days autumn has undisputedly arrived.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22The bracken has browned and it's gone over, the leaves have
0:21:22 > 0:21:24turned on the trees, in fact a lot of them have already fallen.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26What I'm looking at here is an area
0:21:26 > 0:21:31which was probably clear-felled 50 years ago, Joe's not exactly sure.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34The way we're going to turn this over
0:21:34 > 0:21:36and get rid of the bracken and brambles
0:21:36 > 0:21:38is we're going to introduce pigs.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43To remove bracken and brambles involves destroying their root system.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48Pigs are masters at turning over the soil to dig them out.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50As far back as medieval times,
0:21:50 > 0:21:54the value of a wood was measured by the number of pigs kept within it.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58To be honest, I know nothing about pigs.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02I've never known a pig in my life,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05but I have been told
0:22:05 > 0:22:08that you need to provide
0:22:08 > 0:22:12a minimum amount of comfort to keep a pig happy,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15and that's why I'm building a pigpen.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I've never tried to think like a pig, but if I did now, I'd say
0:22:31 > 0:22:34that's probably not a bad spot for a pig. I think I'd be quite happy.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41Joe and Rob are hoping to collect Tamworth pigs from a local breeder called Ray Harris.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Despite years of country living,
0:22:43 > 0:22:47Rob has never encountered a live Tamworth before.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50That's a pig? Is that a pig or is it a horse?
0:22:50 > 0:22:53ROB LAUGHS
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Jesus, that's a big pig.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Ray, lovely to meet you at last.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03- Well, what do you think? - It's a big pig, isn't it?
0:23:03 > 0:23:05It is, but wait till you see the boar.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09- The boar's in here? - Yeah, he's in there.- OK.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12And I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing
0:23:12 > 0:23:14but she's just coming into season,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18so she is waiting for the boar and the boar is waiting for her.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21- Excellent!- So... - How can that be a good thing?
0:23:21 > 0:23:27They're normally very well behaved but today he can sense her...
0:23:27 > 0:23:31- Right.- ..she can sense him, and I think they're waiting.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34- To be together.- They are.
0:23:34 > 0:23:35Can we go in?
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Yeah, certainly, we can go in but just be careful of your feet.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42What you've got to be careful about is when you have the boar in there
0:23:42 > 0:23:44that he can get quite jealous of you coming up to the sow.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- Are you serious? - No, no, he could do.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52I have had a boar who actually just comes up and gives you a little nudge.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Well, they've got tusks and the tusk went into the muscle there.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Didn't break the skin or anything
0:23:57 > 0:23:59cos it was just a friendly little, you know,
0:23:59 > 0:24:01"you keep away, she's mine,"
0:24:01 > 0:24:03not that I'm into that sort of thing anyway.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11So the sow being in season was not in the script.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15So we've got a randy boar who's very anxious to get together with the sow
0:24:15 > 0:24:21and we've now got to try and load the pair of them into a trailer.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Erm, what could possibly go right?
0:24:27 > 0:24:30- You've got to be patient. - You've got to be patient, yeah.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Yeah, don't get behind them...
0:24:32 > 0:24:34- No.- ..try to force them on.- Yeah. - ..or anything like that.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36- Let a pig take its time.- Yeah.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45SOW RESISTS
0:24:48 > 0:24:50So we've got the sow.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Jacqueline is loaded into our trailer, which is good news.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56We're now going to try and get the boar in there with her,
0:24:56 > 0:25:00which is the bit where we can either lose both of them
0:25:00 > 0:25:02or we could end up with both in the same trailer.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Goldenball and Jacqueline each weigh over 300kg
0:25:06 > 0:25:10and can do serious damage to both Rob and the vehicles.
0:25:11 > 0:25:12Open the gate.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Yeah, I got you. Oh, my goodness me.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17Here he comes.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Oh, I say! That's good stuff, yeah.
0:25:22 > 0:25:23OK, gates closed.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32With the pigs loaded they return to Joe's farm,
0:25:32 > 0:25:35where they still have 30 acres of planted woodland to cross.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37I've never done this with a boar
0:25:37 > 0:25:41and a sow that's in season at the same time.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43So, yeah, exactly.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46So I'm learning on this one as well.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Come on.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Come on, come on.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56- And we start walking. - OK, brilliant.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59- Yeah.- Come on, come on, come on.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Come on. Come on, big guy.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08It's going. They're coming.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Look at them - magnificent creatures, aren't they?
0:26:12 > 0:26:15And so far the pigs are being wholly obedient.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Come on.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19Up that way, up your way.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Come on, come on.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24That's it, good girl.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26We're about to go live.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Piece of grass to test whether or not this is actually working.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Ow! It's working.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40But as the pigs climb the hill, they are confronted by the fence.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41Oh, I don't like that.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43PIG GRUNTS AND SQUEALS
0:26:44 > 0:26:46- So it's not a very good path going up that side.- No.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50It's OK, she's coming down over there.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52Just put the electric fence on, did you?
0:26:52 > 0:26:54They've hit the electric fence
0:26:54 > 0:26:57and what they've actually done is they've lifted this rod out of the ground,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59and the one's actually gone through.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01The one stayed in and the other's gone through.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Jacqueline the sow has broken out of the pen.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09Whilst Ray goes off to find her, Rob must keep Goldenball
0:27:09 > 0:27:12the boar in one place to prevent both pigs escaping.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14I'm not quite sure where the boar is but we're going to try
0:27:14 > 0:27:17and find him in the dense undergrowth somehow.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21FOOD RATTLES He likes a bit of the sound of that.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25And then we're going to entertain him with my best gags.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Oh, my God, here we go.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31Come on, come on!
0:27:31 > 0:27:34It takes three hours of searching and herding
0:27:34 > 0:27:38before the two Tamworths are reunited.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40Come on, big fella, up you come!
0:27:42 > 0:27:45They're coming up, just keep clear now, keep way out of the way.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49With the pigs safely installed and the dead trees made safe,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Rob's life in the woods is under way.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- Gentlemen, good job. - Well, that was teamwork, wasn't it?
0:27:54 > 0:27:57That's what it all boils down to, teamwork.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01I'm not sure I played a particularly fundamental role,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04but I admire the work you did then. THEY LAUGH
0:28:07 > 0:28:11But autumn is drawing to a close, and winter -
0:28:11 > 0:28:14a woodsman's busiest season - is fast approaching.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18As the leaves begin to fall,
0:28:18 > 0:28:23Rob needs to prepare himself for the heavy work in the forest.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25Next time at Strawberry Cottage Wood,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Rob beings coppicing in the coldest winter months.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32Winter has arrived and the wood has changed out of all recognition.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35He learns how to create a new woodland super fuel...
0:28:35 > 0:28:39- It could get close to over 400 degrees C.- What?!
0:28:39 > 0:28:43..and meets a man who has a unique relationship with his wood.
0:28:43 > 0:28:44Wahey! Ha! Hey!
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd