0:00:03 > 0:00:07"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it."
0:00:07 > 0:00:10A witticism attributed to writer Mark Twain...
0:00:10 > 0:00:13and we DO talk about the weather a lot.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15But there's a good reason.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17The weather affects our lives every day,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20from the clothes we wear to the games we play.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22And while we can't do anything about the weather,
0:00:22 > 0:00:24we can certainly do things with it.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Strangford Lough in County Down.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46It's beautiful in all seasons.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Especially in autumn,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51when tens of thousands of Brent geese take advantage of tailwinds
0:00:51 > 0:00:55to carry them from their summer breeding grounds in Canada
0:00:55 > 0:00:58to their winter retreat in Ireland.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07I've come to Castle Espie to meet up with John McCullough,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10and to see these remarkable birds for myself.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17You have a lot of birds here, but I suppose the big attraction
0:01:17 > 0:01:19this time of year is the Brent geese?
0:01:19 > 0:01:20Very, very much so.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22I mean, these birds here that we see,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24they're on the zoo side of things at Castle Espie.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27But when you step beyond the gate here, you're looking at the wilds.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29You're right out there, there's thousands and thousands
0:01:29 > 0:01:32of birds that have migrated a long journey to be here.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35So that's really what draws the crowds at this time of the year.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38And they've flown quite a distance from the Canadian Arctic,
0:01:38 > 0:01:39all the way here?
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Yeah, they've flown right the way down
0:01:41 > 0:01:42over the southern tip of Greenland,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45they stop off in Iceland, because it's a staging ground,
0:01:45 > 0:01:46they need to feed up there.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49And then they make their way down to Strangford Lough.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51And I suppose they're literally coming here
0:01:51 > 0:01:54- for a vacation away from the cold? - Of course they are.
0:01:54 > 0:01:55- This is their Caribbean.- It is.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Because, you imagine - or a you'll know -
0:01:57 > 0:01:59that it's getting dark up there, it's getting cold up there.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01They're getting hungry up there,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03so the first thing they want to do is get here,
0:02:03 > 0:02:04- relax and fill their stomachs. - That's it.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06- Fair play to them.- It's all they do.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21This is a lovely little sheltered bay here.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22It's got plenty of eelgrass in it.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25This green stuff that you can see, Barra -
0:02:25 > 0:02:26this is what they're here to eat.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28So this bay holds quite a few Brent geese.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30When the tide's coming in,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34you'll get them flying over this pier here, and they'll drop in here.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37It's a massive number of the birds that come here.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38Yeah, completely significant.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41I mean, Brent geese put Strangford Lough on the map.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43This is why this area is so protected,
0:02:43 > 0:02:44because you're really talking about
0:02:44 > 0:02:47nearly the entire world's population of this bird
0:02:47 > 0:02:50that comes here. It's extremely significant.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52How long will they stay here once they arrive?
0:02:52 > 0:02:55They arrive in the autumn and they'll stay through the winter.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58And then when we start hitting around about April, May -
0:02:58 > 0:03:00what we would consider hopefully to be springtime here -
0:03:00 > 0:03:02they're going to be turning round
0:03:02 > 0:03:04and heading back up towards the Arctic.
0:03:13 > 0:03:14There's plenty of truth in the saying
0:03:14 > 0:03:17that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20and I'm going to attempt to get up close, nose to beak,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22with the resident geese.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24I think I've got somebody a little bit hungry.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26An absolutely magnificent bird.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29No? No more? All done?
0:03:39 > 0:03:42As evening falls over Strangford Lough,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46the Brent geese feed and settle down for the night in their winter home.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11I'm staying in this rich and fertile land.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13County Down has its own fields of gold.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20I'll never underestimate the importance
0:04:20 > 0:04:21of why people get in touch
0:04:21 > 0:04:23to find out what our weather's going to do.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Should they be trying to organise a barbecue or paint the garden fence?
0:04:27 > 0:04:30But for some, their livelihoods depend on it.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34So I've come here to find out how important an accurate forecast is.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44This is Allan Chambers, and his farm is on the Lecale Peninsula.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50We're surrounded on three sides by water, so we're quite mild.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52We don't get heavy frost.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54But probably the most important thing
0:04:54 > 0:04:58is that we have probably the lowest annual rainfall in Northern Ireland.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00And that's between 28-30 inches.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01Why is that?
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Well, we're on the sheltered side of the Mourne Mountains,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07so the Atlantic fronts that bring the weather,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10the showers and the rain in, tend to deposit most of the rain
0:05:10 > 0:05:13on the far side of the mountains from here.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Today, we're harvesting wheat.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17We've been watching the weather carefully,
0:05:17 > 0:05:21because we want to get the machines in when the grain is at its driest.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29I've been an arable farmer now for 50 years.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Basically, my life has been ruled by the weather.
0:05:33 > 0:05:34I need to plan ahead.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38I need to know when I'm going to get these windows that will open for me
0:05:38 > 0:05:40to get big machines into the field,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43or get my crops sprayed or get my fertiliser on.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47So I watch the weather forecast every day, sometimes four,
0:05:47 > 0:05:48five times a day.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Not only to see what it's going to do the next day,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54but say in four or five days' time.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Allan's going to be under a bit of pressure
0:05:56 > 0:05:59to get the harvest in before the weather breaks.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Two days ago, it looked like we were going to get four dry days.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Yesterday, there seemed to be a change coming about,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and this morning we're told they could be very heavy rain
0:06:09 > 0:06:11by Friday afternoon.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15We'll try and get this grain harvested and the straw baled up
0:06:15 > 0:06:18and looked after before the weather breaks.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23That might mean working until 11, 12 tonight, 1am.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28If the breeze keeps up, there's no dew, we can work away.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31So, everything going well, couple of days, three days,
0:06:31 > 0:06:33we will have the grain safely in store,
0:06:33 > 0:06:37and my year's work will have reached fulfilment.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47I'm glad the weather was kind to Allan, and all farmers.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49Another worry over for another year.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03I like my weather like I like my tea -
0:07:03 > 0:07:05not too hot and not too cold -
0:07:05 > 0:07:09and the Gulf Stream does that for me, it regulates the temperature.
0:07:09 > 0:07:10How does it do it?
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Well, there's a strong, swift, warm Atlantic current
0:07:13 > 0:07:16that goes along the east coast of the United States
0:07:16 > 0:07:19and makes Ireland warmer than it would be otherwise.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23A small tendril of the Gulf Stream called the North Atlantic Drift
0:07:23 > 0:07:26comes towards Ireland, and this warms the surrounding waters.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Think of it like our own hot water bottle.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Also, thanks to the Gulf Stream, the north coast of Ireland
0:07:41 > 0:07:44picks up consistent amounts of Atlantic swell.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48People say to me, "Barra, I remember summer last year.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50"It was on a Tuesday."
0:07:50 > 0:07:52We have some of the best beaches in Europe,
0:07:52 > 0:07:56but it's very rare that someone feels brave or optimistic enough
0:07:56 > 0:07:57to go into the sea.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01But one man who's not afraid to look into the eye of a storm
0:08:01 > 0:08:03is big wave surfer Al Mennie.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Al has surfed all over the world in search of that perfect wave.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15HE LAUGHS
0:08:16 > 0:08:20And weather is the hinge on which surfing depends.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31A surfing globetrotter Al may be,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34but he caught his first wave closer to home.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37I got into surfing through being on the beach at Castlerock
0:08:37 > 0:08:39at the age of nine. My brother and I surfed.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42My mum and dad, we've always had boats around the family,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45that sort of thing. So it seemed to be normal to be in the sea.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47And when lots of people think of surfing,
0:08:47 > 0:08:49they picture Australia, they picture California -
0:08:49 > 0:08:52but we have people coming from all around the world
0:08:52 > 0:08:54to surf here on the north coast and along the west coast?
0:08:54 > 0:08:59Yeah, we have excellent waves here. It's just colder here, obviously.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02And it's wild in the winter, but we do have very good waves.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Especially the north coast, we have a prevailing wind direction
0:09:04 > 0:09:07of southwest, so that's the best wind for us to have,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09because it blows offshore and cleans up the surface of the waves.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11And when I'm thinking about the weather,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13I'm thinking about where the next batch of rain
0:09:13 > 0:09:15is going to come in from the Atlantic.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17But when you're thinking about surfing,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21you're looking at systems around the globe, almost?
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Well, in order for us to get surf here on the north coast,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26we need weather to happen in other parts of the world
0:09:26 > 0:09:29to send those waves to us. There's a misconception
0:09:29 > 0:09:31where people think, "It's really windy by the sea today,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33"there'll be good waves for surfing.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35That's not how it is, that's not the kind of waves we look for.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38In particular, I look for these storms,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41these deep depressions starting to form down in the Atlantic,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43over towards the Caribbean.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Believe it or not, if we see hurricanes down there,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50we're sitting here going, "There's going to be waves in 7-10 days."
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Al's taking me around the coast now
0:10:00 > 0:10:03to check out a few of his favourite surfing spots.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08What's the highest wave you've surfed off the coast of Ireland?
0:10:08 > 0:10:10Probably over 60 feet.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Impressive. Was that during a storm of some sort?
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Yeah, that was actually back in 2008.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18At the time, it was the biggest recorded swell in the Atlantic.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20All this technology, we can see the different swells
0:10:20 > 0:10:22and the wind forecast and everything coming together.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24It can predict where the waves are coming to,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26and then, whenever they come to the coast,
0:10:26 > 0:10:28we've got wave buoys in locations.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30A wave buoy is essentially a measuring device on the ocean
0:10:30 > 0:10:32that's moving with the swell and the wind,
0:10:32 > 0:10:34and it's recording all this data.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36So when I log in to the internet and I see these wave buoys,
0:10:36 > 0:10:38it's telling me it's 25-foot swell,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42and there's a wave period of 15 seconds, I know what's coming.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44So that's very, very valuable information.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53And sometimes, Al finds big waves in unexpected locations.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56# Baby
0:10:56 > 0:10:58# Running down to the riptide
0:10:58 > 0:11:00# Take you away to the dark side
0:11:00 > 0:11:03# I want to be your left-hand man... #
0:11:03 > 0:11:08And sometimes it's Al who provides the photo opportunity.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10We're at the Giant's Causeway,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14one of our most popular tourist destinations, to see all the rocks.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16But you like to come here to surf. How dangerous is it?
0:11:16 > 0:11:19This is one of the most dangerous places you can go surfing.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22I would not advise it to anybody, it is dangerous here.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24It's because of all the rocks, in particular.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26And it just gets battered here,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29it's an extremely rough, wild part of the coast.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32And these are the charts that you use to figure out where to go?
0:11:32 > 0:11:35This is an Admiralty chart, which shows the depths of the ocean
0:11:35 > 0:11:37and various currents and various things on it.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- If you look on here, this is where we are, just here.- Uh-huh.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43I look at the depth of the sea and then I look at what direction
0:11:43 > 0:11:45it's going to swell and things like that.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48So if you imagine, I'm sitting out here normally, on a big day,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50I'd be sitting in around here, just where we are,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53I'm looking for a big storm way up in the North Atlantic.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Way, way up there, so the winds are kept away from us.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58It's all crazy chaos out there.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00It pushes these swells in towards the coast, like that.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02And locally, here, we've got local weather systems
0:12:02 > 0:12:04which is giving us light offshore winds.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06That's ideal to push off against the swell,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09- to clean it all up and groom it all up.- Smoothing out the waves.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12And if you look as well here, we've got these massive, big cliffs.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14They kill the wind, so if it's a really windy day,
0:12:14 > 0:12:15for example, say it's 25mph winds,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17that big cliff will knock that wind out of it,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19so it could be down to ten.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21So in here, it could be nice and smooth and clean,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23despite out here being very rough.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Al's enthusiasm is infectious,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30and I certainly wasn't going to let one of the best surfers in the world
0:12:30 > 0:12:32go without a lesson.
0:12:32 > 0:12:33# I've got nothing
0:12:33 > 0:12:35# But I feel good
0:12:35 > 0:12:37# I've got nothing
0:12:37 > 0:12:39# But I feel good
0:12:39 > 0:12:42# I've got nothing... #
0:12:42 > 0:12:45OK, it isn't the 60-foot wave,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47but it's still a huge achievement for me.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49# I've got, got nothing
0:12:49 > 0:12:51# But I feel good. #
0:13:08 > 0:13:12Anywhere in our part of the world can make your senses dance or sing
0:13:12 > 0:13:14if the weather's right.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Take a walk in the hazy sunshine, but enjoy it,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21because the clouds floating above might not have a silver lining.
0:13:21 > 0:13:22Till next time, bye-bye.