0:00:04 > 0:00:06The beauty of the Brecon Beacons
0:00:06 > 0:00:09rivals any other landscape in the whole of Britain.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14While much of it may look like upland wilderness,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16it's in fact land that's been tamed,
0:00:16 > 0:00:20lived on and worked for thousands of years.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And the Beacons are not just mountains and open moorland.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34There are spectacular waterfalls,
0:00:34 > 0:00:35ancient woodlands,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38reservoirs and forests,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41farmland and lakes.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45I'm Iolo Williams, and I've been working with wildlife,
0:00:45 > 0:00:47particularly birds, all my life.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52I was an RSPB warden in Wales for 15 years,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54and the Beacons was on my patch.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58It's an extraordinary national park,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01as it's a cultural landscape shaped and influenced by people
0:01:01 > 0:01:05who live, work and come here for leisure,
0:01:05 > 0:01:06while at the same time,
0:01:06 > 0:01:10wild areas still exist and have incredible wildlife.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13I'm following the Beacons over 12 months to see
0:01:13 > 0:01:18how both wildlife and human life change and adapt to the seasons,
0:01:18 > 0:01:22from mountaintop to deep underground,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25to every landscape in the Brecon Beacons.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38The Brecon Beacons National Park is located north of Swansea
0:01:38 > 0:01:43and Cardiff in South Wales. It has four distinct areas.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47The Black Mountains in the east near the English border
0:01:47 > 0:01:49the central Beacons near Brecon,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52further west, Fforest Fawr
0:01:52 > 0:01:55and in the extreme west, the Black Mountain.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57It's to the northern foothills of this area
0:01:57 > 0:01:59that I'm heading first.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04SHEEP BLEAT
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Come on, then. Come on.
0:02:08 > 0:02:09Come on, Jess. Come, boy.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12It's summer, and Emyr Williams and his son, Morgan,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14are gathering sheep off the mountain.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24The last week in June means it's sheep-shearing time.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30There are over 1,000 farms in the Brecon Beacons,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34and many of them are dependent on sheep for their survival.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43- Hello.- How are you, all right? - Not too bad, yourself?
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Nice to see you gathering sheep on horseback.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Aye, there's not many doing it now.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51No, I'll tell you what, I walk the hills and you see them all on quads.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53- I just don't see people on horseback- any more. No.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56But this is the way it would've been done for years, isn't it?
0:02:56 > 0:03:00That's right, yeah. My father before me, that's all I remember, really. We do use a quad, obviously, but...
0:03:00 > 0:03:04- And this is getting them off the hill now to go down for shearing. - Down for shearing now, yeah.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07- I bet the horses and the dog love it!- They enjoy it, yes.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10The sheep appear to know their way. I'll walk down with you.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13- That's right, yeah. - So, you're saying your father
0:03:13 > 0:03:16- and your grandad have done this before you?- That's right, yeah.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19And I see you've got your son with you. Is this your son?
0:03:19 > 0:03:22- Yeah, he comes along. He enjoys it, yeah.- Are you enjoying it?- Yeah.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Ah, good boy, da fachgen. Well done you. Well done you.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27You go on, I know you've got a lot of work.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30I'll try and catch up with you down the bottom here now.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44What's the advantage, then, if most people go out on a quad
0:03:44 > 0:03:46and you still go on horses?
0:03:46 > 0:03:49What's the big advantage of using a horse?
0:03:49 > 0:03:51Well, because it's quieter.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Personally, I think it's more thorough.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58You tend to miss the odd ewe and lamb hiding in nooks
0:03:58 > 0:04:02and crannies, whereas you can look around as well on these.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Horse is dying to go! Absolutely loving it, absolutely loving it!
0:04:06 > 0:04:08SHEEP BLEAT
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Thank you very much for that, cheers! Good luck with the shearing!
0:04:26 > 0:04:28- Thank you very much.- Ta-ra, now!
0:04:36 > 0:04:39One of the most stunning locations in the Black Mountain area
0:04:39 > 0:04:44the Carmarthen Fan, with the lake of Llyn y Fan Fach at their base.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49This is the wildest and most remote part
0:04:49 > 0:04:52of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55It's a perfect place to raise a fox family.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02I spent so much time, when I was a youngster,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05out on the hill and in the woods around my home in Mid Wales,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09looking at foxes, especially on a lovely summer's evening like this.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12And there's a fox's earth - I say fox's earth, it's actually
0:05:12 > 0:05:15an old badger's set - that's quite common with foxes,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19especially out on a hill like this, and there's three cubs.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22One of them is a bit of a bully. That's probably the most dominant
0:05:22 > 0:05:26cub, it's jumping on the backs of all the others and sending them
0:05:26 > 0:05:28back down underground.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30This is a really good time to come and watch them,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33cos they don't wander far from the earth.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36The cubs are at least two months old now
0:05:36 > 0:05:38and the parents will be out looking for food somewhere
0:05:38 > 0:05:42and they'll hunt right up onto the high tops if they have to
0:05:42 > 0:05:45and earlier on in spring they will have been feeding on carrion.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48There'll be a lot of dead lambs, a lot of dead sheep up here.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50They'll be picking up now, I'd imagine,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53mainly things like mice and voles, especially in these wetter areas.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55That'll be full of mice and voles now, and beetles
0:05:55 > 0:05:58and, when it's wet, earthworms as well.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01That actually makes up most of their food, and the cubs will just
0:06:01 > 0:06:03hang around and play by the den.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06They'll work out a kind of hierarchy, they'll fight,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08they'll play-fight and that, of course, will be useful
0:06:08 > 0:06:11later on in life when they themselves are learning how to hunt.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Then the adults will come back, probably after dark
0:06:14 > 0:06:18and they'll regurgitate the food for the youngsters to eat.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22But it's a pretty idyllic life for these youngsters at the moment.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25When they grow up, of course, come September time, they'll get
0:06:25 > 0:06:30kicked out, and then life becomes quite a bit more dangerous for them.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13These are the gentle slopes of Mynydd Myddfai,
0:07:13 > 0:07:15in the extreme north west of the Brecon Beacons.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21It's a location that's been claimed to be the birthplace
0:07:21 > 0:07:23of modern medicine.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26During the 12th century, legendary physicians
0:07:26 > 0:07:29lived in this beautiful part of the national park.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33They were famous for identifying healing properties
0:07:33 > 0:07:35in the plants growing in the area.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38They were known as the Physicians of Myddfai.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43The Physicians of Myddfai, remarkably, we've got
0:07:43 > 0:07:47their manuscripts, so we've got their recipes.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Not only do they tell us the plant and what they're used for,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53but they tell us how they made it.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Lara Bean grew up in Myddfai
0:07:55 > 0:08:00and the local heritage in medicine inspired her to become a herbalist.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03So, we're looking at a hedgerow here - what are you looking for?
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Are you just looking for common hedgerow plants?
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Yeah, anything, basically - anything that has a medicinal value.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13So, here, for instance, we've got one of the most popular herbs
0:08:13 > 0:08:16that's used traditionally in this area, which is elderflower.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20This one is one you might have come across it talking to elderly folk,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22they'd talk about it for winter ills.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26- You come across that?- No, is that colds and things like that?
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Completely, yeah, yes. So, they'd make it into a wine.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32The white of the flower tells you that it's got flavonoids in it,
0:08:32 > 0:08:34which are anti-inflammatory.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37The berries, which we'll be coming on now, those are purple,
0:08:37 > 0:08:41which tells you that they have antioxidants, anthocyanin,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44which are those strong antioxidants.
0:08:44 > 0:08:45So basically a superfood,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49but also, really remarkably, they've recently found this
0:08:49 > 0:08:53particular constituent in elderberries that's called antivirin
0:08:53 > 0:08:58and it basically stops the virus from reproducing in the body.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Scientists, these days,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04are looking in great detail for its antiviral properties.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07- Wow!- And particularly for some of the super-flues.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10And this is a common hedgerow plant?
0:09:10 > 0:09:12I see you've got meadowsweet -
0:09:12 > 0:09:14we've got meadowsweet growing in the hedgerows.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Common plant now, of course, in high summer.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Meadowsweet's an interesting one, because it shows the connection
0:09:20 > 0:09:22between orthodox medicine and plants.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25So, one of the plants that they extracted the active
0:09:25 > 0:09:29constituent, aspirin, and now it's just synthetically made.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32But interestingly, one of the main uses of meadowsweet, a very safe
0:09:32 > 0:09:35home use for meadowsweet, is for digestive problems.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38I would use it in my practice for stomach ulcers.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I have now moved to Penwyllt, in the Fforest Fawr area.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19Penwyllt is Welsh for wild headland, and it describes it perfectly.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23It's a terrain littered with outcrops
0:10:23 > 0:10:26of limestone and grit stone.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28The Beacons' Way footpath, which runs the entire
0:10:28 > 0:10:33length of the national park, passes through this upland.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37It's worth venturing off the path just above Penwyllt here
0:10:37 > 0:10:40to come and have a look at this area of limestone pavement.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45It's worth coming here in summer because it's botanically very rich.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48You can see wild thyme with its lovely purple flowers.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Bird's-foot-trefoil here as well. But you'll also get these
0:10:52 > 0:10:57quite rare limestone specialists growing here.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00And this is one of them, lily of the valley.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02A plant that you often see in gardens,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05but it's actually a wild flower.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10And it's amazing to think that it grows here, nearly 1,500 feet,
0:11:10 > 0:11:15that's almost 500 metres, above sea level on the calcareous soil.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19But that's where these grikes come in, these splits in the rock
0:11:19 > 0:11:23because it provides the shelter that it needs from the wind and the rain
0:11:23 > 0:11:26and the harsh conditions that you get up here, even sometimes
0:11:26 > 0:11:28in the middle of summer.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42This is a great place for common lizards as well.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45It's a good place for a variety of reasons, really.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48First of all, look at the rock - it's full of holes,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51it's full of cracks, so the lizards can tuck away in there.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55They can go underground as well over the winter months.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58When they do emerge, especially on a day like this, they get not just
0:11:58 > 0:12:02the warmth of the sun, cos bear in mind these are cold blooded animals,
0:12:02 > 0:12:04but they get the warmth from the rocks as well.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09The soil isn't very deep, and I can feel the heat beneath me now,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11and that's really good for insects.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Plenty of insects, plenty of ants here,
0:12:13 > 0:12:18and funnily enough this one has got an insect crawling over its head.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22It's just tried to eat it. I think it's got hold of it now.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Brecon Beacons is great walking country,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45and has many alluring peaks,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48like Fan Gyhirych in the Fforest Fawr area.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55Most of the peaks in this area are over 700 metres tall,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58and weather conditions can change considerably
0:12:58 > 0:13:00by the time you've reached the summit.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Visibility can reduce to a few metres in a matter of moments,
0:13:11 > 0:13:13and you can easily end up in difficulty.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Which is just as well that there are four mountain rescue teams
0:13:16 > 0:13:18in the Brecon Beacons.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Fan Gyhirych and the north part of the Beacons
0:13:26 > 0:13:28is covered by the Brecon team.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31There are around 50 volunteers who train weekly
0:13:31 > 0:13:35to be ready for any conceivable accident.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39Katie Garnett has been with the team for 30 years.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43When I walk down that hill now, right,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47I arrived here and I thought, "What the hell's going on here?!"
0:13:47 > 0:13:49- It looked like a major incident. - It gave you a shock!- Yeah.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51It's an exercise, is it?
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Yes, it is, and you see all our bright yellow jackets,
0:13:53 > 0:13:58which enable us to see each other and also if a helicopter comes in,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00if we're working with a rescue helicopter,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02they love to be able to see who we are
0:14:02 > 0:14:05and not be distracted by all the other people
0:14:05 > 0:14:07who've come around to see what's going on.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09One tail to the casualty, one tail to Nick.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11What's going on now,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13are you pretending someone's fallen off a cliff?
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Yeah, there's a person who's fallen over the edge
0:14:16 > 0:14:17and he's called for help.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20We're setting systems to bring him up safely.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22So, we're practising putting in the stakes
0:14:22 > 0:14:24to lower the stretcher safely.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27- And the background here, there'll be all kind of jobs?- Oh, everything!
0:14:27 > 0:14:34Teachers, company directors, fitness fanatics, housewives, shop keepers,
0:14:34 > 0:14:35you name it.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Lovely job, though, I'd imagine.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41When you come out, especially in bad weather, at night maybe,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44- and you save lives - that must be lovely.- Oh, it's fantastic!
0:14:44 > 0:14:47It is fantastic and we've had some really moving rescues,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50but we've also had some sad ones as well,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53but that's when the team spirit brings us all together
0:14:53 > 0:14:56and we all get together and we support each other.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02What's the main reason people get lost or people get hurt
0:15:02 > 0:15:04and you have to get called out?
0:15:04 > 0:15:06I think underestimating the conditions.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08You're coming out today,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10it's been a beautiful day down in the valley,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12you're coming up here and you could be in shorts
0:15:12 > 0:15:14and trainers or something
0:15:14 > 0:15:18and if you didn't have a warm jacket then you'd be feeling that wind
0:15:18 > 0:15:22and if you happened to have an accident, if you slip, if you trip,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26twist an ankle, it's not a serious injury, but you can't walk.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Then, you're at the mercy of the weather
0:15:28 > 0:15:32and waiting for somebody either to report that you're missing
0:15:32 > 0:15:35or that you've managed to call for help somehow or other.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44It's amazing to think that these are all volunteers,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46each and every one of them.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49And they'll get, what, roughly 100 call outs a year
0:15:49 > 0:15:52and unfortunately of those maybe three or four
0:15:52 > 0:15:54are usually fatalities.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57I'm really glad that they're out there, I really am!
0:16:38 > 0:16:42This is Traeth Mawr, it's a lovely little bit of common land,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44it is really, with a succession of pools.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47You can see Pen y Fan and Corn Du up there behind me
0:16:47 > 0:16:50and at this time of year, especially when the sun is out,
0:16:50 > 0:16:55it's a great place to come and see damselflies and dragonflies too.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59Now, I know some of them but I don't know all of them, but over there
0:16:59 > 0:17:03Keith Noble, the County Recorder, is a man who knows all of them.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Hello, Keith!
0:17:05 > 0:17:07- Hi, Iolo!- You seen much?
0:17:07 > 0:17:10It's good today, there are lots of four-spotted chasers buzzing about.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13So, these are all the same species, four-spotted chasers?
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Today, yes, we've just got the one.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Later in the season, we'll get more coming out here.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20You are a dragonfly recorder?
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Every county in Britain has a dragonfly recorder
0:17:23 > 0:17:26and their business is to see what dragonflies
0:17:26 > 0:17:28they can find themselves and encourage other people to
0:17:28 > 0:17:30submit their sightings too.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35So, I have about 20 people feed in what they see to me and then I
0:17:35 > 0:17:37jot down everything I can see
0:17:37 > 0:17:39and this gets fed through to the local record centre
0:17:39 > 0:17:43and the British Dragonfly Society and so we know what's here.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47- How many species of dragonfly in the whole of the UK?- It's about 50,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50if you're counting some of the migrants that are quite rare.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53- And how many in the Brecon Beacons?- About 20.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58- That's not bad, is it?- I've seen 15 here, just in this area.- Of course,
0:17:58 > 0:17:59what we see here now,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03that's only one small part of the whole life cycle, isn't it?
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Yes, now, these have probably been under water for two years
0:18:06 > 0:18:09and some of the big ones, like golden-ringed,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11even four or five years.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13That's amazing, four or five years under water
0:18:13 > 0:18:16and then for just a few weeks they're an adult, flying around,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19they lay their eggs, pmff, they die and that's it.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20This is just the breeding bit,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23but most of the life, 90% of the life is underwater.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55This well-worn path has got to be the busiest one in
0:18:55 > 0:18:57the whole of the Brecon Beacons National Park,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00it's the route up to the top of Pen y Fan -
0:19:00 > 0:19:02the highest mountain in the Beacons.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04So, I'm going to go and join the masses.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16As the path is so popular it has be regularly maintained,
0:19:16 > 0:19:21and that jobs is done by National Trust warden Rob Reith and his crew.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- Hello there!- Hello there, how are you?- Not bad at all.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34I'll have a sit down, if that's all right with you?
0:19:34 > 0:19:37- Take a rest.- I'll tell you what, it's a long way up.- It is indeed.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39- Cor! You've got to do this every day, have you?- Most days, yes.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43- Up and down here.- Yes.- And what's this, footpath maintenance?
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Yeah, we're doing some erosion control,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47so a bit of stone drainage is what we're trying to do.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Trying to get the water off the footpath.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52So, this is more about water than people, really, is it?
0:19:52 > 0:19:55It's a mixture. First of all, I get the water off the footpath,
0:19:55 > 0:19:56by building a stone ditch.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00Then, I will bring in some scalpage, which are small stone and dust,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03to place on top of the surface for a footpath.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05So, what's the worst thing from the point of view of erosion,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09is it the thousands of people that come up or is it the water?
0:20:09 > 0:20:11It's a mixture of both, I'm afraid.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Once the vegetation's been eroded by the walkers,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18the rain water then gets in and starts washing away the soil.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20I mean, this last year,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23this footpath alone had a footfall of over 200,000.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26200,000 people coming up here?! That's amazing!
0:20:26 > 0:20:31What's this process now, you've got these stones here put aside,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33are these for putting in a row along the edge?
0:20:33 > 0:20:35These will be put in a row along the edge,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38I will then be getting stone and putting in a base.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41- Right.- That stops the water getting any deeper.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Then I'll put some stones in the side, which holds the bank in place.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Then, I'm making sure that I create gaps, because I then want to put
0:20:48 > 0:20:52grass seed in the middle. So, eventually, I want the grass
0:20:52 > 0:20:55to actually grow through, hiding the stone pitching.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57So, where does the water go?
0:20:57 > 0:21:00It then goes down the side ditch and then on to my cross-ditch, off.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Ah, right, then it runs down there.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05And I'll do it quite frequently because I want to slow
0:21:05 > 0:21:09the speed and quantity of water running down certain sections.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28Top of Pen y Fan, 886 metres above sea level,
0:21:28 > 0:21:30highest peak in the Brecon Beacons,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32highest peak in the whole of southern Britain.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34And what a view?!
0:21:35 > 0:21:38I've timed my visit perfectly at the end of the day -
0:21:38 > 0:21:42when the masses have left and I have the summit pretty much to myself.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52The walk up here is pretty steep, it's pretty hard going
0:21:52 > 0:21:55but it's definitely well, well worth it.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59It's no wonder that 200,000 people come up
0:21:59 > 0:22:01the top of Pen y Fan every year.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09The twin sandstone peaks of Pen y Fan and its partner Corn Du,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13together with the adjacent ridges and peaks, form the central Beacons.
0:22:13 > 0:22:20From here, you can see most of South Wales - a 360 degree panorama.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Pen y Fan literally means the Beacons' summit.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41In the valley below Pen y Fan,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45there's a far less strenuous method of enjoying the landscape.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53This is the Brecon Mountain Railway
0:22:53 > 0:22:56and it follows a route alongside Pontsticill Reservoir
0:22:56 > 0:22:58through the central Beacons.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Allan Foster is one of the train guards.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12I've got to say, Allan, amazing views, aren't they?
0:23:12 > 0:23:14It's absolutely stunning, isn't it?
0:23:14 > 0:23:16What's the history of this line, then?
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Well, the original line used to be a standard gauge line
0:23:18 > 0:23:22running from the 1860s right through the 1960s.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- So, it ran for about 100 years. - Joining where?
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Well, it was knows as the Newport to Brecon line, basically
0:23:28 > 0:23:30and also the Merthyr line came into this as well.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34It ran with passengers as well as freight, iron, steel,
0:23:34 > 0:23:35coal and things like that.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38So, this would have gone right through the Beacons
0:23:38 > 0:23:40- and all the way on to Brecon. - Exactly.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Yeah, it went right over the top, down to Talybont, then to Brecon
0:23:43 > 0:23:46but also up to Hay-on-Wye and up in that direction as well.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49I'll tell you what, that's a hell of a run down, isn't it?
0:23:49 > 0:23:53I think it's a one in 37 incline on the other side,
0:23:53 > 0:23:54so, it's incredibly steep.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57- Hell of a job to come back up. - Yeah, exactly.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01- When did this- reopen? They actually started running in 1980,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04with the steam train, up to Pontsticill,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07where we just passed and then only last year
0:24:07 > 0:24:10we started running right up into the mountains.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12It's beautiful once you get up there!
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Look at that for a view, look at it!
0:24:19 > 0:24:21TRAIN HORN BLOWS
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Upland hills like the Blorenge near Abergavenny
0:24:42 > 0:24:46have a substantial growth of heather, bracken and small bushes
0:24:46 > 0:24:48during the spring and summer,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52and that makes them a fantastic habitat for ground-nesting birds.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57By June, many of the birds have finished nesting,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59but if it's a cold spring and summer
0:24:59 > 0:25:01some will continue well into the summer.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Steve Smith has been checking the population of breeding birds here on
0:25:06 > 0:25:09the Blorenge for as long as I can remember.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Hello there, Steve.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13- Iolo, how are you? - How are you, boy, all right?
0:25:13 > 0:25:15- All right, fella.- Nice to see you. - Good to see you too.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17What have we got there?
0:25:17 > 0:25:20We've got a small brood of windchats here, about a week old or so.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22I'm just about to ring them now.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- Right.- I've got a feeling there's only four,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28and one of those might be worse for wear.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30Actually, it might be a dead chick in the nest.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Normally, a brood is...first brood will be about six but it's not been
0:25:34 > 0:25:35the best year for the birds.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38- It's cold, Steve, isn't it? - Absolutely.- Middle of June,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40high summer it should be. It's really cold!
0:25:40 > 0:25:42I wonder if you could do me a favour?
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Once I ring the birds I'll be passing them onto you.
0:25:45 > 0:25:46They're a week old but unfortunately
0:25:46 > 0:25:49there's not a huge amount of food around, I don't think.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52So, I'm just going to put an A-ring on this little chap.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56They're doing all right in the Brecon Beacons, are they, on the whole?
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Generally speaking, they are. Thank you, Iolo.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03There's peaks and troughs, there's a much larger chick there, you see?
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Yeah, yeah, that actually looks like a windchat, that one, doesn't it?
0:26:06 > 0:26:09- That's...- Beginning to get the black band across the eyes.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12- Yeah, indeed.- Smart, little thing.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16He's getting the majority of the food from the parents here.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Pop that in the bag for me.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23This is quite a large one too, so this is quite a healthy chick also.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26Yeah, let's just hope, I mean, if it warmed up now
0:26:26 > 0:26:29and the food increased, even the young one might survive,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- mightn't it?- Absolutely.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36- So, this is the little chap that I'm fearful for.- That one there?
0:26:36 > 0:26:39He's a scrawny, little thing and he was already dead
0:26:39 > 0:26:43- in the nest, you see.- Poor thing.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45- You know, we don't want this thing to start smelling in the nest.- No.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48I'll keep him out for the sake of the other birds.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Right, so it's going to be brood of three.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53A very small brood, that's only 50%.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58While birds ringing gives vital information about
0:26:58 > 0:27:00the state of bird populations,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03it's always crucial to keep the time spent near the nest to
0:27:03 > 0:27:07the absolute minimum, especially when it's a tough year.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10The quicker the parents can get on with
0:27:10 > 0:27:13the job of looking after the chicks the better.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42The summit of Pen Trumau in the Black Mountains has been damaged.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46It's been like this for 40 years, since a fire burning for three weeks
0:27:46 > 0:27:50exposed underlying peat during the hot summer of 1976.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57A group of dedicated volunteers is climbing the 700 metre hill
0:27:57 > 0:27:59to help patch it up.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05They've been doing this every summer for the past five years.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Graham Cowden is one of the volunteers.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11- Hello there!- Hello there.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13I saw you all coming up the hill,
0:28:13 > 0:28:15I thought it was some kind of pilgrimage.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17About ten people following two horses!
0:28:17 > 0:28:19What's going on here then?
0:28:19 > 0:28:23We're experimenting in some ways with the use of, in this case,
0:28:23 > 0:28:29scoured wool but we've also got raw wool here from the local graziers,
0:28:29 > 0:28:34in an attempt to slow down the water to try and help this area of exposed
0:28:34 > 0:28:38blanket bog and hopefully get it restored.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41There should be a thick layer of peat here
0:28:41 > 0:28:44but the damaged bog can not retain water
0:28:44 > 0:28:48and is continually being eroded by run-off water from rainfall.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52Artist Pip Woolf came up with the idea of using locally sourced wool
0:28:52 > 0:28:55to help restore the area.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57You've got dozens of volunteers, haven't you?
0:28:57 > 0:29:02- 1,000 people have been involved in this project.- Honestly, that many?!
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Some of them don't come up here.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06In the first year we handmade the felt,
0:29:06 > 0:29:08which is a very labour intensive process.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10Everyone that came near me made felt
0:29:10 > 0:29:14and we laid 300 metres across here and the line is still visible.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16It's the thinking,
0:29:16 > 0:29:20"How can we return this landscape to a working, physical thing?"
0:29:20 > 0:29:23This is a very powerful landscape and we are part of it.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29Pip Woolf and her team may never be able to restore
0:29:29 > 0:29:31the summit of Pen Trumau.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36After all, it's a blanket bog that's taken thousands of years to form.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40But they won't be giving up.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43It's a precious landscape that needs to be cared for.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07As the Brecon Beacons move from summer to autumn
0:30:07 > 0:30:11and fewer visitors are around the national park becomes quieter.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18A lot of the wildlife has died or disappeared.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Butterflies, dragonflies and swallows have gone,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24and I'm always sad about that.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27But the landscape is at its beautiful best.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33Particularly during late October
0:30:33 > 0:30:36when the autumnal colours have developed fully.
0:30:47 > 0:30:53For the wildlife that's still around, autumn is harvest time,
0:30:53 > 0:30:56and birds look for berries in some wonderful locations.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09This is the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Capel-y-ffin,
0:31:09 > 0:31:11and it's one of the smallest churches in the whole of Wales.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13And it's a great location here,
0:31:13 > 0:31:15a real beautiful place and a great backdrop,
0:31:15 > 0:31:19because it's surrounded by the Black Mountains.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22And I've come to look at the birds, more than anything else,
0:31:22 > 0:31:24because you've got these heavy with berries,
0:31:24 > 0:31:26red berries everywhere here.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28A lot of blackbirds here now.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31And these won't necessarily be our blackbirds, local birds,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34these may well be birds that have come across from the Continent
0:31:34 > 0:31:38and they're gorging themselves on this plentiful supply of food here.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48By late October, the temperatures in Continental Europe and Scandinavia
0:31:48 > 0:31:51are already colder than in Wales and England.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53And by midwinter, the ground and air temperatures
0:31:53 > 0:31:55will be so cold on the Continent
0:31:55 > 0:31:58that food will be very difficult to find.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03Millions of birds fly to Britain every autumn,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06and many of them end up in the Brecon Beacons.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30I've just come down now from the Hay Bluff here,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32right on the eastern edge of the Black Mountains.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36And I've walked into a huge flock of fieldfares.
0:32:36 > 0:32:37Looking all around me,
0:32:37 > 0:32:40there must be well over 1,000 birds here.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42And they must be rubbing their wings together,
0:32:42 > 0:32:44because there's so much food here.
0:32:44 > 0:32:45And what they'll do is,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48they'll strip the berries here over a large area
0:32:48 > 0:32:49and then they'll keep moving west.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53And, eventually, they'll end up in West Wales, even over in Ireland.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56Fieldfares belong to the thrush family,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59and they are one of its most colourful members.
0:32:59 > 0:33:00They don't nest in Britain
0:33:00 > 0:33:03and you'll only see them during autumn and winter,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06and usually in large flocks, like this.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09They're gobbling up these berries now.
0:33:09 > 0:33:11Yeah, I'm sure these have just come in.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Just, maybe the last few hours, maybe the last day,
0:33:14 > 0:33:15maybe overnight last night.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17They've just come in,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20and they're refuelling before they move on again.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22BIRD CHEEPS
0:33:22 > 0:33:25I love the call, too. Here, we have more of them coming over, look.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28A "chuck-chuck-chuck" kind of call. It's a lovely call.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32It's a sign that autumn is really here and winter's on the way.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36In some ways, I find the autumn in the Beacons
0:33:36 > 0:33:38just as exciting as the spring.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41Maybe an autumnal fieldfare
0:33:41 > 0:33:45may the not have the same uplifting effect as a spring swallow,
0:33:45 > 0:33:46but they are long-lost friends
0:33:46 > 0:33:49and it's fantastic to see them returning
0:33:49 > 0:33:51after an absence of six months.
0:33:59 > 0:34:00Like the spring,
0:34:00 > 0:34:03the autumnal landscape is also a transforming one.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07And there's little doubt which season wins in terms of beauty.
0:34:13 > 0:34:18Cold, misty dawns lift to reveal amazing colours.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24There are stunning sights this time of year
0:34:24 > 0:34:26throughout the national park.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29It's a landscape that's been photographed by thousands,
0:34:29 > 0:34:33if not millions, and has inspired painters for centuries.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46Louise Collis is a landscape artist
0:34:46 > 0:34:49and does most of her work in the Brecon Beacons.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52She's come to work in The Punchbowl,
0:34:52 > 0:34:56one of the park's many hidden quiet spots.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00- Hello.- Hello, Iolo.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03- You don't mind if I join you, do you?- No, absolutely.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05Oh, wow. Autumn colours.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08They are absolutely fantastic this time of year.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Wonderful for an artist who paints outside.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13Yeah, this must be the best time of year for you, isn't it?
0:35:13 > 0:35:15I absolutely love this time of year.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17You'll never catch me in the studio this time of year.
0:35:17 > 0:35:18SHE LAUGHS
0:35:18 > 0:35:21I'm always outside, trying to capture the changing colours.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25- And this is the beech over there, is it? This one?- That's right, yes.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27Yeah, and you can see it reflected in the water as well,
0:35:27 > 0:35:30- which is nice.- Oh, yeah, you can. - Yeah, along with the blue sky.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33Will you come up to The Punchbowl here quite often?
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Yeah, this time of year especially.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Yeah, yeah. It's fantastic in the autumn.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41- It's a favourite location for me, yes.- Oh, wow.- Yeah.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44I can see why. And also the other benefit on a day like this -
0:35:44 > 0:35:45there's no-one else here.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47- WHISPERING:- That's right. It's so quiet here.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51- There'll be maybe one or two people come down when I'm painting.- Yeah.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53But, erm, I can often be on my own for a whole day.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26This is one of those hidden little places
0:36:26 > 0:36:29that the Brecon Beacons is so good at tucking away.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31This is Clydach Gorge,
0:36:31 > 0:36:34with the Clydach River flowing down below me here.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36A very deep, very dangerous gorge.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40And it's amazing to think that this has survived unscathed down here,
0:36:40 > 0:36:43when you consider all the industry around us.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50The southern part of the Brecon Beacons Nation Park
0:36:50 > 0:36:53borders old industrial South Wales.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57From the 17th century until the end of the 20th,
0:36:57 > 0:37:00the Clydach Gorge was used for iron-ore extraction,
0:37:00 > 0:37:06stone quarrying and the production of charcoal, lime and iron.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08The whole area was intensely worked
0:37:08 > 0:37:11and the remains of spoil tips, tramways and old railway lines
0:37:11 > 0:37:13are still visible.
0:37:13 > 0:37:18It was a perfect site for early industrial exploitation.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21It had mineral resources, a powerful water supply
0:37:21 > 0:37:24and woodlands for charcoal.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26Amongst all of this industry,
0:37:26 > 0:37:30one beautiful woodland was left untouched.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32This is a beech woodland.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35It's obviously been a very good year for beech mast.
0:37:35 > 0:37:36Look at all this on the floor.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39This is all beech mast here. Look at that.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42Lots of seeds there for the local birds.
0:37:42 > 0:37:43And, actually, beech woodlands,
0:37:43 > 0:37:45they're not common in the national park.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47And this particular example here
0:37:47 > 0:37:49is one of the best examples of native beech
0:37:49 > 0:37:51in the whole of western Britain.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53And it's amazing, really, that this survived,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56because, in the early years of the iron industry,
0:37:56 > 0:37:59they used to cut these woodlands down for charcoal.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02That's why a lot of the other woodlands around here didn't survive.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05But this particular section is still here
0:38:05 > 0:38:08because it's so rocky and so steep -
0:38:08 > 0:38:10it would have been incredibly difficult
0:38:10 > 0:38:11to harvest the woodland here.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13And eventually, of course,
0:38:13 > 0:38:15they discovered that there was coal locally,
0:38:15 > 0:38:17so that was then used in the iron industry
0:38:17 > 0:38:20and these woodlands were spared.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30There are many beautiful woodlands throughout the national park.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33And during autumn, as temperatures become cooler
0:38:33 > 0:38:35and moisture levels increase,
0:38:35 > 0:38:37wild mushrooms begin to grow.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40Some are notoriously lethal, but I'm in good hands.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45I'm with mycologist, or fungi expert, Sheila Spence.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48Just back down there, I found these.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50- That one's a spongy bum. - Spongy bum?- Yeah.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52- It's a naughty name. - That's a cool name, I like that.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54It is a naughty name, yeah.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57- It's commonly known as a spongy bottom.- Right. And that one?- Yeah.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00- That's quite a colourful one. - Now, this one, this is lovely.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03It's a bit of a dried-up version, really. It's not a very good one.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06- But it's amethyst deceiver. - Oh, what a name.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09And I am told that they are very, very good
0:39:09 > 0:39:12cooked in vodka and poured over ice cream.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14Oh, right. OK. I tell you what, I'll take that home with me.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17- Right.- I'll take that one home with me. Vodka and ice cream?- Yes.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19That's my kind of fungus.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21- Yes.- Let's see what else we can find.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27- Oh, that's lovely! - What's that one, then?
0:39:27 > 0:39:30It's a similar colour, isn't it, to that one, the amethyst deceiver?
0:39:30 > 0:39:34- Oh, it is, yeah. - But this one is the wood blewit.
0:39:34 > 0:39:35- Wood blewit?- Yes.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38There's another good edible. And if you look at the stem,
0:39:38 > 0:39:41- can you see the purpley lines down the stem?- Oh, yes, yeah.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44- Yeah, yeah, yeah.- They'll be around right through the winter frosts.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46- Oh, will they? - Right through to about Christmas.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48- And you say I can eat that one? - Absolutely.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50- I'll come back and get that one afterwards.- Yes. Yes.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53- They're very good. - Wood blewit?- Yes.- Right, OK.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57- Just so I remember these names.- Yes. - I recognise this one.
0:39:57 > 0:39:58- Can I name this one?- Yep.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00- Turkey tail? - Absolutely.- Turkey tail.
0:40:00 > 0:40:01See, I love that name. And just look at them.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04- It just looks like the tail of a turkey, doesn't it?- It does.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07- You turn it upside down and it's white underneath.- Fabulous.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09Really, really white and beautiful.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12- And growing on wood?- Yes, always.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16And, of course, the bit we see is only a small part of it, isn't it?
0:40:16 > 0:40:19Yes, that's the fruiting body,
0:40:19 > 0:40:23whereas the majority of the fungus is running through the wood,
0:40:23 > 0:40:25the mycelium, which is the main body.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29And that will break the wood down, basically, into soil eventually.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31Oh, yes. Yes, yes.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33So, without fungi, you and I would be up to our necks
0:40:33 > 0:40:36- in dead wood and leaves right now. - Well, we would, wouldn't we?
0:40:36 > 0:40:38- Yeah.- Yes, absolutely. - Very useful things.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41- And you can eat them. And I like my food.- You wouldn't want to eat that.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44- That one's not edible?- No. It's very, very chewy. Very woody.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47- Oh, right.- But you can use it for all sorts of things.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49They use it for medicinal purposes,
0:40:49 > 0:40:52growing it for cancer cures and things like that.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54- More here, look. - Yes, now that's one to avoid.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56- Oh, is it?- Yes.- Oh, right.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00So, people get this muddled up with something else that you can eat.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02- Right.- Though I don't think it's particularly good.- OK.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06- This is a thing called sulphur tuft. - Sulphur tuft?- Yes.- Right.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09And I'm going to pick one and show you what it looks like underneath.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12- Right, OK.- Cos that's the way you recognise it.- OK.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15- But you say leave well alone, this one?- Yes. Don't try and eat it.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19- Right, OK.- So, look how green it is. - Oh, it is, yeah.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22- So, if it's green underneath, that's sulphur tuft?- Yes.
0:41:22 > 0:41:27And, what it is, it's got very, very black pores and a yellow flesh.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30And the black on the yellow makes it look green.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32They say you can eat every fungi once...
0:41:32 > 0:41:35- Yeah.- ..but some of them will kill you.- Yeah.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Just up the road from the woodland
0:41:42 > 0:41:46there's one of the biggest colonies of bats in Britain.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50During the autumn, they'll leave their summer roosts in buildings
0:41:50 > 0:41:55and head for the more constant temperatures of caves to hibernate.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57I'm at an old watermill in the Usk Valley
0:41:57 > 0:42:00with David Jermyn of the Vincent Wildlife Trust,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03and we're filming bats with infrared light
0:42:03 > 0:42:05and using a sound detector to hear their calls.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07BATS SQUEAK
0:42:07 > 0:42:09Without it, their calls cannot be heard.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11BATS SQUEAK, IOLO LAUGHS
0:42:11 > 0:42:13- It's a good noise, innit? - It's amazing.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16Somebody once described it as sounding a bit like The Clangers.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19LAUGHTER Yeah, yeah, it is! Yeah.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21So, how many bats have you got in there?
0:42:21 > 0:42:24The peak count in the summer was 420.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27- That was the second week in June. - 420?- Yeah.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30- And all lesser horseshoe bats?- Yep.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33In June, so this is, what? Is this a nursery roost?
0:42:33 > 0:42:35Yes, and it's a maternity site here.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37And this is where they'll come and just give birth?
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Yeah, they probably turn up early spring, depending on the weather.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44They'll have a single pup or baby the second or third week in July,
0:42:44 > 0:42:45depending on the temperature.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47- It's called a pup, is it? - Yeah, it's a pup.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50- A young...? I didn't know young bats were called a pup.- Yeah, a pup.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52And they'll hang around here until when?
0:42:52 > 0:42:56Until the first big frosts. Some of the colony's already left,
0:42:56 > 0:42:58cos we had a couple of frosts about a week ago.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00But at the first big frost, they'll be off
0:43:00 > 0:43:03to one of their hibernation sites further down the valley.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06Where's that? That'll be in one of the caves or something, will it?
0:43:06 > 0:43:09- Yeah, up on the mountain. - Oh, there's a lot of caves here.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12How good is the Brecon Beacons for them?
0:43:12 > 0:43:14It's one of the strongholds.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17I think, on the last count, over 10% of the UK population
0:43:17 > 0:43:19was in the Upper Usk.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21- Just in this area?- Yeah. - Just the Upper Usk Valley?
0:43:21 > 0:43:25- And between Brecon and Crickhowell. - Gosh, that's amazing.- Yes.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27So you say 10% of the UK population -
0:43:27 > 0:43:29roughly how many bats would that be?
0:43:29 > 0:43:32Well, the estimated population is about 25,000.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34- Wow!- So here, with all the roosts,
0:43:34 > 0:43:36we're looking at about 3,000.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39- You can see them hanging now. - It is, innit?- Like little packets.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41- Yep.- Cellophane-wrapped little packets.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44Cos this is the sort of Dracula bat,
0:43:44 > 0:43:46the one that everyone thinks of - bats hang upside-down,
0:43:46 > 0:43:49- but not all of them do... - Well, all bats can hang upside down,
0:43:49 > 0:43:51but it's just the horseshoes,
0:43:51 > 0:43:53both greater and lesser, actually do the hanging up.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55BATS SQUEAK
0:43:55 > 0:43:57Autumn must be an important time for them,
0:43:57 > 0:43:59cos they've got to feed up for the winter.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02Well, this is it, cos they need to build up their fat reserves
0:44:02 > 0:44:04to get them through the winter.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06And, also, autumn's the time when they actually mate.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09So, most of the males actually won't be in the roost with the females,
0:44:09 > 0:44:12they'll actually come by from another smaller roost
0:44:12 > 0:44:15and, basically, as I understand it, the females will mate with the males
0:44:15 > 0:44:18that have the highest or the best-quality call,
0:44:18 > 0:44:19echolocation-wise.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22- Because that's then a reflection of body conditioning.- Yeah.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25- Cos they want to mate with the healthiest males.- Exactly, yeah.
0:44:25 > 0:44:29- Ah!- And then basically the female actually delays fertilisation
0:44:29 > 0:44:32- until the following spring. - That's clever.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35And then the pup is born then, or the baby bat is born then,
0:44:35 > 0:44:38depending on the weather, sort of early or mid-July.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45Most of the bats will hibernate deep inside caves in these cliffs.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48This is Craig-y-Cilau,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51one of the largest limestone cliffs in South Wales.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55It's part of the Llangattock Escarpment,
0:44:55 > 0:44:58a huge slab of rock that overlooks the Usk Valley.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03The cliffs are popular rock climbing sites,
0:45:03 > 0:45:06but these are not regular climbers.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09All right? What's going on here?
0:45:09 > 0:45:12I thought it was Outward Bound, but I see you're all military, are you?
0:45:12 > 0:45:14Yeah, it's military. What we've got here is army recruits,
0:45:14 > 0:45:17and they're nine weeks into their basic military training,
0:45:17 > 0:45:19so nine weeks ago these were civilians.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23Major Mark White overseas soldier development in the Brecon Beacons,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26and the national park is one of the army's key training sites.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32What we've done is we bring them down to the Brecon Beacons
0:45:32 > 0:45:33to do some adventurous training
0:45:33 > 0:45:36with the aim of putting them out of their comfort zone a little bit.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38The chap at the top there,
0:45:38 > 0:45:40he's definitely not in his comfort zone,
0:45:40 > 0:45:41but he's not panicking.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44And he'll have been given a little task to do as well -
0:45:44 > 0:45:46memorise a grid reference, or carry out a task halfway down.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49So, we get them to operate through that,
0:45:49 > 0:45:51cos one day they will deploy out to the field army,
0:45:51 > 0:45:52perhaps in operations,
0:45:52 > 0:45:55and we need them to work through the difficult circumstances
0:45:55 > 0:45:57to be the soldier and do whatever their role is on operations.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00So, at this very early stage, they start to develop in that way.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03It's a fantastic way to do it, and good for them cos, for some of them,
0:46:03 > 0:46:05it's probably the first time they've done this.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07For the majority, it is the first time.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10He's done well, hasn't he? He's reached... So, he gets to the top,
0:46:10 > 0:46:12just taps it, then he'll abseil down and he'll take all the weight?
0:46:12 > 0:46:15Yeah. He'll take responsibility from now and lower him off, slowly down.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17Yeah, so there's a trust thing,
0:46:17 > 0:46:19- cos he's now taken his hands off the cliff.- Yeah.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21And his descent is totally controlled
0:46:21 > 0:46:23by his mate on the other end of the rope.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25I bet his heart is beating now.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27- I bet it is.- I bet. - Yeah, that's the stretch thing.
0:46:27 > 0:46:28That's putting them into that stretch.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30We've taken them out of their comfort zone
0:46:30 > 0:46:32and that's where the stretch comes in,
0:46:32 > 0:46:34cos of the exposure to the rock,
0:46:34 > 0:46:36to the height, and knowing that a lad on the other end
0:46:36 > 0:46:39is providing his safety, is responsible for his life.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42Yeah, well, he is, yeah! And this is ideal for that, this escarpment.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45You know, you could pick any part of this, couldn't you, really?
0:46:45 > 0:46:47Well, this is amazing, and we've got lots of venues
0:46:47 > 0:46:49that we use around the Brecon Beacons,
0:46:49 > 0:46:51not just for climbing, but caving and paddling
0:46:51 > 0:46:53and hill walking as well.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01The Brecon Beacons National Park provides most of the drinking water
0:47:01 > 0:47:03for the population of South Wales,
0:47:03 > 0:47:06and many of the reservoirs are in the central Beacons.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13This is Talybont Reservoir,
0:47:13 > 0:47:16and it's the longest reservoir in the park,
0:47:16 > 0:47:18it's about two miles long.
0:47:18 > 0:47:19And the water from here
0:47:19 > 0:47:22goes all the way down to the city of Newport,
0:47:22 > 0:47:23right on the south coast.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25And here's a tip for you,
0:47:25 > 0:47:27if you're going to come here to watch birds -
0:47:27 > 0:47:30and in the autumn, particularly, it is a good spot to come -
0:47:30 > 0:47:32come to the end that's furthest away from the dam.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Because here the water is shallow,
0:47:35 > 0:47:37there's a lot of vegetation, a lot of invertebrates,
0:47:37 > 0:47:40and that then attracts a lot of birds.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43And we've seen some of the early winter visitors coming in.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46We've got some teal here. A small flock of wigeon here as well.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50And the wigeon are interesting, because in the summer they malt.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53They go into what they call eclipse, and they look quite scruffy.
0:47:53 > 0:47:58But now they're starting to get this beautiful breeding plumage back,
0:47:58 > 0:48:01and the males in particular look beautiful.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07The reservoirs and lakes of the Beacons
0:48:07 > 0:48:10will gradually fill with migrant birds throughout the autumn.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12And if it's a hard winter and the ground freezes,
0:48:12 > 0:48:15large bodies of water, like Talybont Reservoir,
0:48:15 > 0:48:17become essential for their survival.
0:48:21 > 0:48:26Hardier animals will be able to survive, even on the highest peaks.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28Welsh cobs and ponies have been running free
0:48:28 > 0:48:32in the uplands of the Brecon Beacons since Roman times.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37These semi-wild ponies were probably always used by local farmers,
0:48:37 > 0:48:39but during the 18th century
0:48:39 > 0:48:42many worked in the coal mines of South Wales.
0:48:51 > 0:48:52During the autumn,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55sisters Lydia and Bethan from Wernlas Farm
0:48:55 > 0:48:57help to round up the ponies
0:48:57 > 0:48:59to separate the foals from the mares.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04- Hello.- Hello. - SHE LAUGHS
0:49:04 > 0:49:07- Fancy meeting you two out on the hill.- I know.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09So, what are you out here for, then?
0:49:09 > 0:49:12- We're just going to gather the ponies in now.- So, what's your job?
0:49:12 > 0:49:14Cos I saw the boys do it out on quads, two of them?
0:49:14 > 0:49:17Yeah, that's... They own about ten of the ponies,
0:49:17 > 0:49:19so they come and help every year.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21Basically, they should push them up here now.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23And we're like flankers,
0:49:23 > 0:49:27we'll go on each side and try our best to keep up with them.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30How many are there in all, then? Or how many are you expecting?
0:49:30 > 0:49:34Roughly about 40. And they, most of them, should have foals as well.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37- So you'll bring them down, you'll take the foals off them...- Yep.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39..and then they'll come back out?
0:49:39 > 0:49:41- And then they'll come straight back to the mountain then.- Wow.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44They don't like being on the farm long. They're not used to it.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47You'll see them at the fences, they want to go out,
0:49:47 > 0:49:49they're not used to the short grass.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52They know where they want to be, basically.
0:49:52 > 0:49:54- Yeah, out on the hill. BOTH:- Yep.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57- Real mountain ponies.- Definitely. - That's their natural habitat.
0:49:57 > 0:49:58And have they always been here?
0:49:58 > 0:50:00Because I've been coming along this road for...
0:50:00 > 0:50:02It must be 35-odd years,
0:50:02 > 0:50:05- and there are always, always ponies out here.- Generations.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08Our grandfather, he kept them, his father.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11Probably spanning over about 70 years.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14And the mares will pass on their knowledge -
0:50:14 > 0:50:16where to go with the different seasons.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19This weather now, they'll come up here,
0:50:19 > 0:50:22- and they'll have windbreakers. - Yeah.- And then in the summer,
0:50:22 > 0:50:26- they'll go down here, where there's all the water.- Fresh grass.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30And fresh grass. So, they teach their foals what to do.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32- They know the mountain, don't they? - They know the mountain.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34- This one's dying to go. - I know, he's ready.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37I think that's our cue to go, cos they're all starting to go.
0:50:37 > 0:50:38Oh, is it? Ah, right, OK.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41- OK.- So we'll see you on the side, I think.- Oh, nice one. Thanks.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44- Good luck.- That's all right. - See you soon.- Thank you.- Take care.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46- Ta-ta.- Bye.- Go on, you head off.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51The biggest surprise for me is that the ponies, apparently,
0:50:51 > 0:50:53are worth very little.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56They have no value or market for the farmers,
0:50:56 > 0:50:59other than the pleasure of seeing them roam freely on the land.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03Fantastic there. That's the way to do it, look.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05On horseback, gathering horses.
0:51:05 > 0:51:07I suppose, if you want to get a horse off a mountain,
0:51:07 > 0:51:09jump on a horse.
0:51:44 > 0:51:45The Brecon Beacons has some of
0:51:45 > 0:51:48the most impressive cave systems in Europe,
0:51:48 > 0:51:50and Porth yr Ogof Cave has, by far,
0:51:50 > 0:51:53the largest opening in the national park.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58- It's a big cave entrance, isn't it? - Oh, it's amazing.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01Just the walk up to it, that huge letterbox entrance,
0:52:01 > 0:52:04and the way this geology, this landscape, leaps out at you.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06Very atmospheric.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09I'm with Julian Carter from the National Museum of Wales,
0:52:09 > 0:52:12and we're looking for cave dwellers.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16Oh, here we are, Iolo. You like moths. Have a look at this up here.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18Oh, wow. Herald moth.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20Yeah, the herald moth.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22It's one of a couple of species of moths
0:52:22 > 0:52:25that kind of likes to use caves for part of their life cycles.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27So, at this time of year, they'll start coming into the cave
0:52:27 > 0:52:30and finding somewhere quiet, out of the way.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33Sitting it out and sort of going into a torpid state over winter.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37- While it warms up again.- Yeah. - They're nice moths, too,
0:52:37 > 0:52:39and I love that orangey sheen on it, and the...
0:52:39 > 0:52:42sort of dead-leaf-like shape to it as well.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44Yeah, they're just gorgeous, aren't they?
0:52:44 > 0:52:46And sometimes you'll find them in very large numbers
0:52:46 > 0:52:48in certain cave entrances,
0:52:48 > 0:52:50so they can be number sort of maybe hundreds.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53While moths only use caves during winter...
0:52:53 > 0:52:55This alcove here looks promising.
0:52:55 > 0:52:59..certain species of spiders live here pretty much all the time.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03Iolo, have a look round here - it's one of the egg sacs.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05Oh, wow. So, they're definitely around here.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09That's like... Almost like a sort of bit of cotton wool.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11- It is, isn't it? - Amazing-looking thing.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14They have astonishing egg sacs. There's a lot of them around.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17You can have loads and loads of them. It's really quite special
0:53:17 > 0:53:20seeing all these little balls hanging from the ceiling.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Now, is that the spider,
0:53:22 > 0:53:25- see the spider under the rock there? - Ah, yes, that's one.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27That is one. That's a cave spider.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30That's why it's commonly called the cave spider, yeah.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32They are amongst our biggest spider.
0:53:32 > 0:53:34This is actually a male.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37Oh, wow. So, is the female bigger than the male?
0:53:37 > 0:53:40- Yeah, the female's much bigger.- So, this is a little 'un, then?- Yeah.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43The females could be sort of twice the size.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46So, there's an egg sac here. They're obviously breeding.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48How on earth do these young spiderlings,
0:53:48 > 0:53:51once they've hatched out, find new caves?
0:53:51 > 0:53:54The youngsters, at a certain stage, actually get attracted to light.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57So, they leave the cave, they leave the damp area,
0:53:57 > 0:54:00they go out into the wide, wide world and disperse themselves,
0:54:00 > 0:54:03and go find somewhere else that's a bit damp and miserable
0:54:03 > 0:54:05with less adults around to compete with.
0:54:05 > 0:54:06Nature's amazing, isn't it?
0:54:06 > 0:54:09I would imagine, in the Beacons - so many caves here,
0:54:09 > 0:54:11lots and lots of cave spiders.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14Yeah. And, anyway, when you've got this sort of environment,
0:54:14 > 0:54:16there'll be lots of these spiders.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18In fact, they can be very, very numerous,
0:54:18 > 0:54:20depending on the cave entrance.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22So if you don't like spiders, and you go in a cave,
0:54:22 > 0:54:24don't look around too much.
0:54:34 > 0:54:38During the autumn, the rivers and upland streams fill up with water,
0:54:38 > 0:54:42and it's a trigger for fish to migrate.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48These are sea trout, locally known as sewin,
0:54:48 > 0:54:52and the rivers of Carmarthenshire are famous for these fish.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57They're heading upstream in the River Sawdde,
0:54:57 > 0:54:59one of the best rivers for them.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03I'm with river bailiff Peter Thurnall,
0:55:03 > 0:55:04and we're using a pole camera
0:55:04 > 0:55:07to get better views of the fish underwater.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11Tilt it down a bit.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18- She's there now.- Yeah. Lower down. Push it lower down.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20Like that?
0:55:20 > 0:55:23Yeah. I see her. No, she's gone.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25- She's gone, has she?- Yeah.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28I'll hold it there just in case she comes back around the corner.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31- But she... We say it's a she, it is a female, is it?- Female, it is.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34And this one looked like quite a big one.
0:55:34 > 0:55:36It's a fish about six, seven pounds.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38- Oh, hello, hello. - Something went past.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40I won't move. I'll hold it there,
0:55:40 > 0:55:42because she may well come back to the original position.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45Now, these...sea trout...
0:55:45 > 0:55:48how long have they been in these pools now?
0:55:48 > 0:55:51Some of these came in April or May of this year.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54- That long ago?- Yes, they've been in the lower reaches
0:55:54 > 0:55:56and pushing their way up the rivers now.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59What makes this particular river so good, then?
0:55:59 > 0:56:02The water conditions are good for them, the gravel is good for them.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04In particular, I think it's the gravel.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07And the Beacons, of course, as a whole -
0:56:07 > 0:56:11lots of rivers, lots of streams, lots of clean water.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13- Pretty good for them?- Yes.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16The whole of the Beacons area is good-quality water.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18Why are they staying here?
0:56:18 > 0:56:20They haven't got far to go spawn, have they?
0:56:20 > 0:56:23They've got depth of water here until they go spawn,
0:56:23 > 0:56:25so they hold here.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28So, they're just waiting for a little bit more rain?
0:56:28 > 0:56:31Any flush of water, any rise in water.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35And they'll spawn about as high up as they can go, will they?
0:56:35 > 0:56:38They push up as far as they can get
0:56:38 > 0:56:43until they reach the spot where they spawned in the past.
0:56:43 > 0:56:44That's amazing, isn't it,
0:56:44 > 0:56:48because they'll spawn exactly the same place as they were born.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51- Yes, within meters.- That's amazing. That is amazing.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54So, they're all waiting on the deeper pools,
0:56:54 > 0:56:56they see some friends, they say, "I'll hand around here,"
0:56:56 > 0:56:59- a bit of rain, up they go. - They'll be gone.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05These fish are heading
0:57:05 > 0:57:08for one of the most beautiful landscapes in Britain -
0:57:08 > 0:57:12the Carmarthen Fans, one of the wildest parts of Wales.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20The mountains and hills of the Brecon Beacons
0:57:20 > 0:57:23are what most of us identify as the national park's main feature.
0:57:25 > 0:57:27But I hope, in my journey through the seasons,
0:57:27 > 0:57:30I've shown that these are just the peaks
0:57:30 > 0:57:32of a much more extraordinary landscape,
0:57:32 > 0:57:34full of wonderful wildlife...
0:57:35 > 0:57:37..and people.
0:57:48 > 0:57:50This is my favourite place
0:57:50 > 0:57:52in the whole of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56It's the River Twrch flowing down below me here.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58The old oak wood and then, on the opposite side,
0:57:58 > 0:58:00limekilns of Henllys Vale
0:58:00 > 0:58:02and the old colliery chimney as well.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04And that, really, for me,
0:58:04 > 0:58:08represents the whole of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
0:58:08 > 0:58:13It's human industry, and the scars of human industry,
0:58:13 > 0:58:16alongside some of the most stunning scenery we have
0:58:16 > 0:58:18in the whole of the UK.
0:58:19 > 0:58:23But, above all, what makes the Beacons so special for me
0:58:23 > 0:58:27are the quiet places where few people go and I can escape to.