0:00:02 > 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 > 0:00:11And we were once a woodland people.
0:00:11 > 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.
0:00:23 > 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?
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Writer and woodsman Rob Penn believes so.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Here we go.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45And for the next year,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48he 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 > 0:01:00Can he bring this forgotten forest back to life again?
0:01:03 > 0:01:05It is now the middle of winter
0:01:05 > 0:01:08and Rob has decided to fell one of his largest trees.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Here it goes.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12This was not what the plan was meant to be.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14Um... We were hoping to fell it straight down there.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17But can he find anyone who is willing to buy it?
0:01:17 > 0:01:18Who cut this?
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Who cut this like that? What a waste.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Does he have the skills to get it out of his wood?
0:01:24 > 0:01:26- Woah!- Steady, steady, woah!
0:01:26 > 0:01:29And by exploring the modern forestry industry,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33can he finally turn a profit from Strawberry Cottage Wood?
0:01:33 > 0:01:35They cut more timber here in an hour
0:01:35 > 0:01:39than I've cut in Strawberry Cottage Wood in an entire winter.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53It's February in South Wales.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58The mild winter has allowed Rob to clear a large area of hazel trees
0:01:58 > 0:02:00in the top part of the wood.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04With his confidence growing,
0:02:04 > 0:02:08he is now embarking on a more ambitious project.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10I've been working in the woods for six months now
0:02:10 > 0:02:15and most of that work has been clearing the understory.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19And what that's shown here in the lower wood
0:02:19 > 0:02:22is it's revealed all the timber.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Look at these big ash trees here.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28And what I'd like to do now is...
0:02:28 > 0:02:31I'd like to fell a big tree
0:02:31 > 0:02:33and extract the timber.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36But the important thing is, I want to be able to do that
0:02:36 > 0:02:39without doing any lasting damage to the eco system.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44In the lower part of the wood are 70 large ash trees.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Thinning one of these trees will bring more light into the woodland
0:02:47 > 0:02:50and provide space for the younger trees to develop.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55It could also provide a woodsman with a valuable income.
0:02:55 > 0:02:56Pablo!
0:02:56 > 0:02:58Hey, Rob! How are you doing?
0:02:58 > 0:03:01But having never felled a big tree before,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03Rob has called in the help of Pablo Sanchez.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05- How you doing? - Nice to be here, this is beautiful.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08- Can I show you around? - Let's have a look.- Fantastic.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13Pablo is an expert Spanish woodsman who has recently moved in nearby.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Rob has ambitiously chosen one of the largest ash trees in the wood.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21It will require considerable skill to get it down.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26What do you think there might be of value in here?
0:03:26 > 0:03:29There is useful timber in this tree.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33- Depending on the thickness, if it's straight you get planking...- Yeah.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35..which is great, on the knots,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38and on the roots, you get lots of interesting features.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42It can be interesting for bowl making, for...
0:03:42 > 0:03:46There's lots of little sections that can be obtained from here.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Rob chose this tree because it contains a large amount of timber,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55but it has three stems, which makes for a very difficult cut.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57- We do one at a time.- OK.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00- We'll finish one, and then we'll start with the other one.- OK.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03- That's safety first always.- Yeah.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08It will be a nerve-wracking enterprise,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10if I was attempting to do this on my own.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Even with Pablo here, it's going to be quite interesting,
0:04:13 > 0:04:18but I'm sure we'll get them all down...
0:04:18 > 0:04:19in the end.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Pablo cuts a wedge out of the front,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25to control the direction the tree falls.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29It's so about to...go.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Could be fireworks now.
0:04:38 > 0:04:39Pretty good, I'd say!
0:04:39 > 0:04:41- Well, let's have a look at the hinge.- Yeah.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44'One of the paradoxes of woodland management is that
0:04:44 > 0:04:49'you have to fell trees in order to let them grow again.'
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Now, you know, we hear a chainsaw and that sounds like a demonic sound,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56you know, the clarion call of destruction
0:04:56 > 0:05:00but, actually, it's the clarion call of management.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04So you fell trees to let them grow again and to plant more.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Right, Rob, we're onto number two.
0:05:06 > 0:05:07- The big one?- The big one.- Yeah.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- The less easy one.- OK.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Because that one was leaning, this one is standing straight,
0:05:14 > 0:05:19but we're going to be playing around the tree when it's dangerous.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21- OK.- So we have to be very aware of safety...- Yeah, OK.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24..and not tripping, and just concentrate on what we're doing.
0:05:24 > 0:05:25- Yep, OK.- OK?
0:05:25 > 0:05:28The second stem is much larger
0:05:28 > 0:05:31and the timber will likely be more valuable,
0:05:31 > 0:05:33but the trunk has remained straight,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35so it could fall in any direction.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Keep going!
0:05:39 > 0:05:41Here it goes.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50This is just going to take
0:05:50 > 0:05:53a little bit of exercise to get it out of there,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56because two different branches are hanging on that tree.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01With the tree caught up in the canopy,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04all carefully made plans are abandoned.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07If they are to get any money from the timber,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Rob and Pablo must wrestle the trunk onto the ground.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14But this tree weighs well over five tonnes.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16HE PANTS
0:06:18 > 0:06:21No, nowhere near, nowhere near.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25Pablo has an idea to cut off the bottom metre,
0:06:25 > 0:06:26forcing the tree to fall.
0:06:28 > 0:06:29This was not what the plan was meant to be.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31We were hoping to fell it straight down there,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34but it had a big wide canopy,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38and this is what happens in woods that haven't been managed in a long time.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40If the canopy is thick, it's difficult to fell trees.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42It's a fairly inevitable consequence.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44We just need a bit of wind.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49You can just hear it creaking and cracking,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51the last life of it coming out.
0:06:51 > 0:06:52It's going down.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Yeah, yeah, here we go.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02HE LAUGHS
0:07:02 > 0:07:03Oh, my God.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Right, OK.
0:07:05 > 0:07:11I can see to get this timber on the ground is dragging it back up there.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16- It's too heavy for you and me, so we need a chain and a winch...- Yeah.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19..or pulley or tractor, something to pull it out of the way.
0:07:19 > 0:07:25Pablo and Rob must admit defeat and move on to the smaller stem.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27But even that proves a challenge.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Stop!
0:07:32 > 0:07:33OK, that rolled.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35HE CHUCKLES
0:07:35 > 0:07:38I don't believe it, this bloody wood!
0:07:42 > 0:07:48When man stops managing a wood, an element of turmoil returns to it
0:07:48 > 0:07:52and that means that the different layers in a wood -
0:07:52 > 0:07:56by that, I mean the understory and the big trees, the standards -
0:07:56 > 0:08:00the balance between those layers is gone.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Now, it's arguable that if left for a long period of time,
0:08:04 > 0:08:08nature will restore its own order and balance
0:08:08 > 0:08:13but, in the intervening period, chaos reigns.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27The next day, Rob calls in a tractor to finish the job.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32His costs are spiralling.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42HE LAUGHS
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Oh, good work, Gary.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49The big ash is finally on the floor, which is great!
0:08:49 > 0:08:52But I do feel like a bit of a fraud,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55having had to use an enormous John Deere tractor
0:08:55 > 0:08:57to finish the job for us.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01I suppose that's the point, it's been a big step up
0:09:01 > 0:09:05from the coppicing that we were doing before to working with timber.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Technical skills are required.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10But the good thing is, we have got the timber
0:09:10 > 0:09:14and we can now go on and explore how we can use that.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20If Rob is to make money from this tree,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23then he must find a market for the timber.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28Throughout history, how our woodlands have been managed
0:09:28 > 0:09:31has been determined by how the timber would be used.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Great oak forests were planted to build our navies,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39coppiced woods fuelled our Victorian factories.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41The timber industry has shaped many of our landscapes.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44And before he cuts up his tree,
0:09:44 > 0:09:49Rob needs to know how it operates in the 21st century.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54It's the end of winter and I've come to the Towy Forest in mid Wales.
0:09:54 > 0:10:00This is an environment very, very different from my woodland,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04but this is also the heart of the British timber industry.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15This land belongs to the Forestry Commission,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Britain's largest woodland owner.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22Set up in 1919, it now looks after a third of all our woods.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Jerry Pritchard is Head Of Sales for Wales.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31What we've got here is a clear felling operation
0:10:31 > 0:10:33- of a sitka spruce crop.- Yeah.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38- The crop, I would say, is...1950s. - Yeah.
0:10:38 > 0:10:39Reached maturity.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42We've got a harvesting machine
0:10:42 > 0:10:46that'll cut down approximately 100, 150 trees a day.
0:10:46 > 0:10:47What?!
0:10:47 > 0:10:51Producing between 500 and 1,000 tonnes a week.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- Goodness me!- In fact, this site, he started yesterday.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57So he's gone through here in a day and an hour or two...
0:10:57 > 0:10:59He's gone through here in just over an hour and a half.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03We grow the timber,
0:11:03 > 0:11:07- we crop it and we re-plant it.- Yeah.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09It's a long-term operation, it's a long-term view.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13But it's a harvest of a crop.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Each harvester machine weighs 20 tonnes.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20A mechanical hand grips the trunk,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22whilst an automatic saw cuts the base.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24When they are working fast,
0:11:24 > 0:11:30a machine can fell, strip and log a tree every 30 seconds.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33It's a very different approach to managing woodland.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38My personal best was 550 cubic metres in a day,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40and that was approximately 400 trees.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42It is a good feeling.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46But it gets harder and harder to break your personal best then.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48The figure keeps getting higher, so...
0:11:48 > 0:11:50you've got to work harder to beat it.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59The Forestry Commission was set up in the wake of World War One.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02The war had devastated our woodlands,
0:12:02 > 0:12:06as huge areas were felled to provide timber for our trenches and mines.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08By the end of this conflict,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11over 90% of our wood was imported from abroad.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15Worried by the prospect of these supply lines being cut,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19the government ordered the creation of a strategic timber reserve -
0:12:19 > 0:12:23trees that could provide pit props to keep our mines open.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26That meant planting fast-growing species.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31By the 1960s, one third of Britain's ancient woodland
0:12:31 > 0:12:34had been cut down and replaced with conifer plantations.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39The shape of our landscape was changed forever.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42As someone who loves the British landscape,
0:12:42 > 0:12:44it's difficult not to have an emotional response
0:12:44 > 0:12:46to what's been going on here.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50They cut more timber here in an hour
0:12:50 > 0:12:53than I've cut in Strawberry Cottage Wood in an entire winter.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00The economics of our timber industry are stark.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05Over 60 times the amount of soft wood, that's conifer trees,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09are cut each year as opposed to hard woods,
0:13:09 > 0:13:11which is the broadleaf trees that I have in my wood.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15And that means that the British hardwood timber market is very small
0:13:15 > 0:13:19and it is also decreasing,
0:13:19 > 0:13:24and that, in turn, means that there are less and less people
0:13:24 > 0:13:30who have the skills and the knowledge to manage our broadleaf woodlands.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Back in Strawberry Cottage Wood,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Rob wants to see what uses remain for his felled timber.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44So he has called in three of the country's leading wood workers to carve it up.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Welcome to Strawberry Cottage Wood,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48and thank you very much indeed for coming.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51As you can see, we've been busy.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54We've felled these ash trees
0:13:54 > 0:13:57and I'm rather hoping that you might be interested
0:13:57 > 0:13:58in buying some of the timber.
0:13:58 > 0:14:04- Can I have a look at it?- Yes, good, please.- OK, me first?- Yeah, go on.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Each of these experts works with a different part of the tree.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16If they like what they see, Rob can regain some of his costs from felling it.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24- I'm looking for a straight butt, reasonably straight.- Yeah.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27But principally, I'm looking for fast growth rate.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32David Colwell is one of Britain's most sought-after furniture makers.
0:14:32 > 0:14:37He uses a steam bending process to shape ash into spectacular designs.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40But only the strongest wood can be crafted in this way,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44and David scours the country looking for the finest trees.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47The faster ash grows, the stronger it is. And the difference is huge.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49So the fast growth here,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52you can see the size of the growth rings,
0:14:52 > 0:14:56by comparison with this side that's slow-grown.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01The strength of this piece is at least twice as strong as that bit.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05So this bit is really good stuff. You can make skis out of this.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09- You can make something that really has to work hard.- Yeah.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12This stuff, you wouldn't make the rungs of a ladder out of that.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16The stresses placed on the tree by it growing on a slope
0:15:16 > 0:15:19render the timber useless for David's furniture making.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23But John Lloyd is a very different customer.
0:15:23 > 0:15:24If we cut it just above the fork there,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28and then we cut it through the knot, through the defect there,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31we've transferred what is actually a bent piece of timber into
0:15:31 > 0:15:35a straight piece of timber, cos we've cut out the defects.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37And you can see then what you sort of get out of it from there.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42John runs one of the country's biggest ash turning factories.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45He makes over 1,000 different products,
0:15:45 > 0:15:47from tool handles to professional sports goods.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53But supply in Britain is so limited
0:15:53 > 0:15:56that he is forced to import over 90% of his timber from abroad.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57The benefit of us using ash is
0:15:57 > 0:16:02because we manufacture so many different styles, types and forms,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05from a three-inch handle to a 35-foot boat hook -
0:16:05 > 0:16:10which might seem exceptionally differential in size - but it blends itself so well.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14I mean, it's a strong wood, it finishes well, it looks nice,
0:16:14 > 0:16:19it can take lacquers and stains and it can be rumble waxed,
0:16:19 > 0:16:21and it's durable as well.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24- It's really an engineering structure.- Yes, yeah.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28And most people would see engineering structures as being
0:16:28 > 0:16:30bits of steel or bits of plastic,
0:16:30 > 0:16:32but this is nature's engineering, you know,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35and if only we had the infrastructure in Great Britain
0:16:35 > 0:16:38to convert it, so much more of this could be used.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42- Yeah, yep, yep, yep.- John agrees to take most of the main trunk,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44paying £200 for the stem,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47leaving only Ralph Curtis to choose his timber.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52I'm not looking for the big stuff that the other guys are looking at.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57For my price, I want to see the beauty of the wood, rather than the structure of the wood.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02The beauty in the knots and the little knots that it leaves behind,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05that's what we do. We look at the beauty of the wood.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Ralph Curtis is a wood turner to the Royal Family,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12supplying bowls and boards to William and Kate's recent wedding.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15His skill lies in shaping the texture and structure
0:17:15 > 0:17:18of the timber he is working on.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Who cut this? Who cut this like that?
0:17:22 > 0:17:23It's been butchered, hasn't it?
0:17:23 > 0:17:26It's been cut in half. It should have been that high.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29We could have got some lovely slices out of that
0:17:29 > 0:17:33and made about four or five bowls, now we'll be lucky if we make two.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35HE GRUNTS
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Where's that Rob? Rob!
0:17:39 > 0:17:42- Yep!- What have you done? - Is it bad?
0:17:42 > 0:17:45- It's bad, Rob. - Oh, no, Ralph, what have I done?
0:17:45 > 0:17:50Well, I could've made about four or five bowls out of that.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Some lovely bowls, because it's a burr.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55So, what, you take a cut that way...?
0:17:55 > 0:17:57You would cut the burr off.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59- Right!- You see, there, the roundness
0:17:59 > 0:18:00- of the burr?- Yeah, yeah.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03And then inside the bowl, we'd have all these lovely...
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Let's get it down here, Rob.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09The other guys are looking for straight-grain wood,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13I'm looking for rough wood, curly-wurlies and cat's paws.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17I'm not looking for the straight wood, I'm not interested in it.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19What were you going to use it for?
0:18:19 > 0:18:22- Well, I guess I was going to use that for firewood.- Firewood?
0:18:22 > 0:18:24THEY CHUCKLE
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Something as beautiful as that for firewood?
0:18:27 > 0:18:29I mean, I didn't know, I didn't appreciate...
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Oh, God, there's tonnes of firewood everywhere.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34There is, there's loads. Yeah, you're right.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36This is beauty. The beauty here, you cannot burn,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38you should not burn. Oh, no, no, no!
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Ralph and John have got their timber, and within an hour,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45David finds a straighter tree he wants to buy.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49There's an outside chance that this one will be fast-grown. It's worth a try.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53- £3 a cubic foot. - £3 a cubic foot out on the road?
0:18:53 > 0:18:56Er, yes. Three quid.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58- Deal.- Standing.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Excellent. Excellent! We've got a deal!
0:19:03 > 0:19:07- You mark there to start with... - Yeah.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10With another £50 coming from David, it has been a profitable day.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- There again, another one here?- Yeah.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Rob must now mark the trees up, so he knows where each piece is going.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18And here, and here.
0:19:21 > 0:19:22On balance, it's gone pretty well.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25First of all, you've got John who's taking an awful lot of the wood
0:19:25 > 0:19:29to make so many different types of products, and that's great.
0:19:29 > 0:19:34I suppose the most interesting part has been finding out what Ralph can take away, you know, the offcuts,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37the bits I would have regarded as useless and turned into firewood.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Actually, they can be used to make all sorts of things, so that's great.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44It's slightly disappointing that David, the artisan furniture maker,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48isn't particularly animated by any of this that's on the ground
0:19:48 > 0:19:50and has chosen a different tree. Great(!)
0:19:59 > 0:20:02The next day, Rob starts sawing.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Butchering a fallen tree is a difficult task.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Branches become twisted and trapped,
0:20:08 > 0:20:11and once again, Rob gets a tree stuck in the canopy.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14That one's properly stuck up there.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16I don't quite know how we get it down now.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21It doesn't make cat's cradles for nothing.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23HE GRUNTS
0:20:23 > 0:20:25TREE GROANS Here we go.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33HE LAUGHS Phew! That got the heart going.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Most of it's down. A little bit's stuck,
0:20:37 > 0:20:41but it'll come down in a big wind, and hopefully, I won't be under it.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47It takes Rob a full day to sort out all the different branches.
0:20:50 > 0:20:58What is amazing is the volume and the weight...of the wood.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02So when it's up in the air, it doesn't look that much.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07But you get it on the ground and you have to shift it, even just yards...
0:21:10 > 0:21:15..and you realise the enormous weight of wood there is.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Which is great,
0:21:17 > 0:21:22but it also means a large logistical problem -
0:21:22 > 0:21:25how are we going to get it out of here?
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Rob's timber is stuck on a steep slope.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Using a tractor to extract it will do serious damage to the ground,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35so he needs to find another way of getting it out of the wood.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Come on, then. Good boy.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Kate Morgan and her horse Kip
0:21:46 > 0:21:50run one of Wales' last remaining horse logging companies.
0:21:50 > 0:21:51He's an Arden.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55He's like a soul-mate, because we've grown together with the work.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59You know, he does barge about, he can be very stubborn,
0:21:59 > 0:22:04but I can be as well, so I think that's why we work well together.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Yeah, he's a good lad.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14- Kate.- Hello, morning! - Morning. Rob.- Nice to meet you.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17- Good to meet you as well, thank you for coming along. - You're very welcome.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20- We've got a lot to get through. - Excellent.- Shall we crack on? - Yeah, we're ready.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24- Right, so we're through this gate here.- OK, walk on, then, love.
0:22:24 > 0:22:31- I've just been watching a machine take 400 trees out of the ground in a day.- Yep.
0:22:31 > 0:22:37So I guess I'm wondering - what application does a beautiful animal like this have in the woods any more?
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Well, I feel quite strongly that
0:22:39 > 0:22:43there is still a place for the working horse in modern forestry.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48- We particularly come into our own on steep sites, which we're working today...- Of course.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50..wet sites, where they can't get machines in,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53and environmentally sensitive sites,
0:22:53 > 0:22:54but we can also work in really small spaces.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57You will have seen with the machinery,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00they needed a really big space for turning for the tractors and things.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03And they have to fell an awful lot of trees to get into the woodland,
0:23:03 > 0:23:09whereas with the horses, we only need the width of the arch and we can get into the woodland.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12So we can extract a high value crop from the woodland
0:23:12 > 0:23:15without causing any damage to the crop that's left behind.
0:23:15 > 0:23:22In the 1950s, there were over 400 horses working in British forests.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25Tough men, and even tougher horses,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28dragged millions of trees to our busy sawmills.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33But as tractors took over the woods, horse logging declined.
0:23:33 > 0:23:34It survived only in places
0:23:34 > 0:23:38that were too inaccessible for the big machines to enter.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41And the success of a horse logger
0:23:41 > 0:23:44depends on the close bond between horse and operator.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46- OK, relax your arms.- Yeah.
0:23:46 > 0:23:52- And then the commands for left are "come over..." Woo-hoo.- Woo-hoo.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54- Right is "get away". - Right, "get away".
0:23:54 > 0:24:00And "steady, woah" will stop him, and "walk on," he should walk on.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03OK, walk on, walk on!
0:24:03 > 0:24:04Nope.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07- Come on, love - ROB LAUGHS
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Rob has 17 logs stuck in the middle of the slope.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Kip weighs almost a tonne, but he can pull double his own weight.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23Well, I feel I'm sort of in charge, but I know that actually, he is.
0:24:23 > 0:24:29But just when Rob gets to the logs, he loses control of Kip.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33If you take him wide around that stump, the arch will ride over the stump.
0:24:33 > 0:24:34Get away, get away!
0:24:34 > 0:24:37- Whoa-ho, steady! - Steady, steady, whoa-ho!
0:24:37 > 0:24:41- Steady, steady, whoa-ho, whoa-ho! - Whoa-ho!- Whoa!- Whoa-ho!
0:24:41 > 0:24:46- I'll take the lines, if that's OK? - That's OK, yeah. You all right?
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Listen, get away and listen.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Get away, whoa-ho! OK, I think we'll...
0:24:52 > 0:24:56- Sorry, we'll have to go round.- It's all right.- Good lad, get away now.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59A bit like my first ever driving lesson,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02although rather more anxious making, because you've got an 850-kilo animal
0:25:02 > 0:25:06who is thinking rather differently to what I'm thinking.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10We were almost in the perfect position,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14and then suddenly, he decided he was going to do something else.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Get away, love. Go on, get away.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18Go on, up, up!
0:25:18 > 0:25:21Stand there. Whoa-ho.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Steady, steady. Nice and steady, love.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Steady, listen.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Good boy, nice and steady, perfect.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32'It's a remarkable relationship between Kate and Kip.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34'The horse turns on a sixpence.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36'It manoeuvres itself into the exact spot'
0:25:36 > 0:25:40where you can chain the log up to the contraption.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43It's extraordinary. Extraordinary precision.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45It's like watching a sheep dog.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51With Kate guiding Rob, things pick up pace.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55Kip can drag several logs at a time, and a job that would have taken Rob
0:25:55 > 0:25:58several days to do on his own can be completed in an afternoon.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03Now we're so far advanced with mechanisation, the horse could
0:26:03 > 0:26:06never take the place of the machines in the woods,
0:26:06 > 0:26:09but it seems that in certain environments like this,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11on a very steep slope,
0:26:11 > 0:26:14in environmentally sensitive environments, the horse still has a place.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16And, in a way, it should, you know.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Horses have been used in woods to take logs out
0:26:19 > 0:26:22for hundreds and hundreds of years,
0:26:22 > 0:26:27and it only seems right that it's still able to do that now.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29- Come over a bit. - Look at this!- Satisfactory.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Most satisfactory. A huge amount of timber down.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38- I think we've brought down everything now that you're hoping to take to the sawmill.- Yeah, we have.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41We've done it in a very short space of time. I look at all this
0:26:41 > 0:26:45- and I think, well, one, the kind of... Whoa!- Stand there.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48You know, the chaos and the noise and the mess
0:26:48 > 0:26:51- we would have made trying to get it out with machinery... - Yes, yes, absolutely.
0:26:51 > 0:26:56And then I also sort of slightly blanch at the idea of trying to get it out myself.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58By hand, yes, yes. Yeah.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02I'd be a shorter and wearier man if I'd had to carry it out myself.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Yes, you would. With a bad back!
0:27:04 > 0:27:06With a bad back! THEY LAUGH
0:27:08 > 0:27:11- Great job, thank you very much. - You're very welcome.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14- Cup of tea? - Yeah, cup of tea would be good,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17but you can't do a gin and tonic, can you?
0:27:17 > 0:27:18THEY LAUGH
0:27:19 > 0:27:22After two weeks and over 60 hours of labour,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25Rob's timber is finally ready for the sawmill.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Some scars remain,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31but felling the trees allows light onto the forest floor.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Seeds that have lain dormant for many years can come to life.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42As the warmer weather brings winter to an end,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45the impact of Rob's work begins to show.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54The first signs of spring are beginning to appear in the woods, which is rather magical,
0:27:54 > 0:27:58and I'd like to think that these little babies,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01which are bluebells,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05are the product of our hard work last week.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09As February turns into March,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12a new chapter in the woods is about to begin.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Next time, at Strawberry Cottage Wood,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19Rob takes his logs to the sawmill.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23You couldn't put that on the market as a commercial product.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25- The world is full of that.- OK.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28He starts replanting in the area the pigs cleared...
0:28:28 > 0:28:32A tray of young oak trees, and the future of this woodland.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35..and learns what he must do to keep his young trees alive.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39I don't believe it, two squirrels. Two out of two.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd