0:00:04 > 0:00:06Hello and welcome to Inside Out South-west.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10Stories and investigations from where you live.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13What do we want for Dennis?
0:00:13 > 0:00:15ALL:Justice!
0:00:15 > 0:00:16Tonight, veterans on trial.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18A former soldier is accused of a Northern
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Ireland killing 43 years ago.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22There was a knock on the door, police from
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Northern Ireland said they'd come to arrest me.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26I just thought, "What the hell is going on here?"
0:00:26 > 0:00:28Also tonight: Reluctant heroes.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32The Cornish explorers who are good in a crisis.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35All of a sudden, we become these guardians of Cornwall, doing
0:00:35 > 0:00:38the things that other people don't want to do.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40And Nick Baker visits the land of throwback farming.
0:00:40 > 0:00:50Not just good for wildlife.
0:00:51 > 0:00:52Everybody was happy.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53No morning, no groaning.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55Going out for a pint in the evenings,
0:00:55 > 0:00:57back to work on time in
0:00:57 > 0:00:59the morning.
0:00:59 > 0:01:09I'm Jemma Woodman and this is Inside Out South-west.
0:01:21 > 0:01:22Quick march!
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Old soldiers back on parade in London.
0:01:24 > 0:01:25It's a new battle.
0:01:25 > 0:01:26This time they're taking on their own
0:01:26 > 0:01:27Government.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Can you imagine in America, soldiers have fought
0:01:29 > 0:01:31against Al-Qaeda, Isis, being sold out!
0:01:31 > 0:01:33They want to stop police investigations which are leading
0:01:33 > 0:01:36to veterans of the Northern Ireland conflict being taken to court over
0:01:36 > 0:01:37deaths during the Troubles.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38What do we want for Dennis?
0:01:38 > 0:01:39Justice!
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Among the marchers is an Army veteran from Cornwall.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43For Dennis Hutchings, this is personal.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45After a long police inquiry, he s facing criminal charges
0:01:45 > 0:01:55in relation to the death of a young man 43 years ago.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12I just want to say a big thank you from the bottom
0:02:12 > 0:02:15of my heart for your support, not just today but what s happened
0:02:15 > 0:02:17over the last bloody two years.
0:02:17 > 0:02:18CHEERING.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19His supporters are out in force.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Others have come to represent the man who died in the incident:
0:02:22 > 0:02:23John Pat Cunningham.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25We didn't plant bombs and blow innocent people to pieces,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28we didn't go to Birmingham and plant bombs in pubs ? thousands,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31and you stand there trying to represent one man ? shame on you!
0:02:31 > 0:02:33It's a summer's evening in Cornwall.
0:02:33 > 0:02:43Dennis Hutchings is trying to put the case to the back of his mind.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55Of course I want it sorted out, it should have been sorted out
0:02:55 > 0:02:56long ago but it wasn't.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00I've just got to live with it, my family's got to live with it.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Although his Army service in Northern Ireland is long
0:03:02 > 0:03:04behind him, the prosecution he's facing came about as a result
0:03:05 > 0:03:06of the peace process there.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Among the many issues to be resolved were around 3,000 unsolved violent
0:03:09 > 0:03:13deaths from the Troubles.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Many of them date back to the early 1970s ? when shootings and bombings
0:03:17 > 0:03:20were happening with sickening frequency across Northern Ireland.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23In 2005 the Police Service of Northern Ireland set up a special
0:03:23 > 0:03:25team of detectives to investigate historic cases involving
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Republicans, Loyalists and the Security Services.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29One of the files they reopened was on the death
0:03:29 > 0:03:31of John Pat Cunningham, a 27-year-old with
0:03:31 > 0:03:41learning difficulties.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Just before midday on 15th June 1974, Mr Cunningham was on this road
0:03:56 > 0:03:59near Benburb in County Tyrone when he encountered a British Army
0:03:59 > 0:04:09patrol led by Dennis Hutchings.
0:04:12 > 0:04:21The details of what happened next are disputed, but Mr Cunningham went
0:04:21 > 0:04:30into a field, shots were fired and he was killed.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33There was a police investigation, but no action was taken
0:04:33 > 0:04:36against any of the soldiers.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40In 2013, the police looked at Mr Cunningham's death again
0:04:40 > 0:04:43as part of their investigation into historical cases.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Then, two years later detectives flew from Belfast to Cornwall.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50There was a knock at the door at a time when I had all the
0:04:50 > 0:04:51family here.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Police from Northern Ireland said they had come to arrest me.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56That was at eight o'clock in the morning.
0:04:56 > 0:05:03I just thought, "What the hell is going on here?"
0:05:03 > 0:05:08I just went with it obviously, got to Northern Ireland that night
0:05:08 > 0:05:13and I was taken to Antrim and was held for four days
0:05:13 > 0:05:16and they used I think it was 26 tapes - 45 minute tapes
0:05:16 > 0:05:20on questioning me.
0:05:20 > 0:05:28And at the end of the questioning they charged me.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31He became the first British soldier for almost 20 years to be charged
0:05:31 > 0:05:32over a Troubles-related killing.
0:05:32 > 0:05:42And it's not the only case.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Separately, two members of the Parachute Regiment have been
0:05:44 > 0:05:46charged with murder over a shooting in Belfast.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48And prosecutors are considering action against 18
0:05:48 > 0:05:58soldiers in involved in the Bloody Sunday shootings.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01The police say members of the Armed Forces and former
0:06:01 > 0:06:04paramilitaries are treated in the same way by detectives
0:06:04 > 0:06:05investigating historical cases.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07But veterans groups point out that some paramilitary prisoners
0:06:07 > 0:06:09were released from prison early under the Good Friday Agreement,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12and other Republicans have been sent letters assuring them they aren't
0:06:12 > 0:06:15wanted by the police.
0:06:15 > 0:06:25You cannot let 300 terrorists free from jail, send out over 150
0:06:26 > 0:06:29on the run letters where you're allowing the terrorists who weren't
0:06:29 > 0:06:31apprehended to get these letters of comfort or letters of immunity
0:06:31 > 0:06:34and then feel it is right to come after veterans.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36That's warped.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40We expect MPs with principles to stand by our veterans and put
0:06:40 > 0:06:49into place a statute of limitations which allows this nonsense to stop.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55But human rights activists who work with the families of some of those
0:06:55 > 0:06:57killed in the Troubles say placing a time limit on prosecutions
0:06:57 > 0:06:58would be illegal.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01For the vast majority of families throughout the north who have
0:07:01 > 0:07:04had loved ones killed by the British Army the legal view
0:07:04 > 0:07:06on that is those killings were justified and therefore
0:07:06 > 0:07:13the only way that can be overturned is in a court of law.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16That's why the families are saying there have to be prosecutions.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18But what they're not saying is that they want some kind
0:07:18 > 0:07:21of punishment afterwards.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23The verdict in a court of law would be more important
0:07:24 > 0:07:25than any punishment.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27It's June and Dennis Hutchings is leaving Cornwall to return
0:07:27 > 0:07:37to Northern Ireland for another court hearing.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41As it gets closer to going to court you always feel a bit
0:07:41 > 0:07:44more apprehensive.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46I won't find out what this is all about
0:07:46 > 0:07:55until tomorrow.
0:07:55 > 0:08:01The journey to Belfast brings back memories of his time in the Army.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03It was a war zone.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06You went out on patrol, you could not say 100%,
0:08:06 > 0:08:12"I'm coming back from this."
0:08:12 > 0:08:16He's 76 now, and health problems make the journey and the court
0:08:16 > 0:08:19appearance difficult.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22I've got chronic kidney disease and it's just a matter of time
0:08:22 > 0:08:23before I go on dialysis.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28I've got problems with my heart.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30I'm angry, and of course I'm frightened - what's
0:08:31 > 0:08:32going to happen?
0:08:32 > 0:08:33It's making me depressed.
0:08:33 > 0:08:40I'm not the guy I was, let's put it like that.
0:08:40 > 0:08:48In Belfast, his legal team are going to argue there isn't
0:08:48 > 0:08:50enough evidence for the case to go ahead.
0:08:50 > 0:09:00While his supporters wait outside, in the court the lawyers
0:09:00 > 0:09:02and the judge are pouring over photographs and witness
0:09:02 > 0:09:05statements from 43 years ago.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08The prosecution says it's impossible to know which soldier's shots killed
0:09:08 > 0:09:09John Pat Cunningham.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12But they allege Dennis Hutchings was one of two soldiers who fired
0:09:12 > 0:09:15during the incident, and they argue for two charges -
0:09:15 > 0:09:19attempted murder and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Everyone has to wait for the judge's ruling.
0:09:22 > 0:09:23I'm still waiting for a decision.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25What do you think of that?
0:09:25 > 0:09:29Hopefully we'll get a resolution soon.
0:09:29 > 0:09:37I can't comment on it, lads, you know that.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Back in Cornwall a few days later, and there's a call
0:09:40 > 0:09:41from one of his legal team.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43PHONE RINGS.
0:09:43 > 0:09:44This is it.
0:09:44 > 0:09:54Hello, Stephen, bit apprehensive.
0:10:02 > 0:10:11We're going to trial on both charges.
0:10:11 > 0:10:21Oh, myBLEEPGod.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26Bye-bye.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Oh, Christ.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30As the case gets closer, Mr Cunningham's relatives
0:10:30 > 0:10:32and supporters gather at the scene of the shooting near Benburb.
0:10:32 > 0:10:38Charlie Agnew is John Pat's nephew.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40For over 40 years there's never been an explanation,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43never been nothing.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46We would like to see some clarification of what happened,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48we would like someone to tell us what happened.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51The impact on the family has been massive.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54John Pat had a mental illness, he was a vulnerable adult.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59It's weighed very heavily on my mother, who is now 83 years of age.
0:10:59 > 0:11:05What happened to John Pat Cunningham will be settled in a criminal trial.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10There are many other unresolved deaths, and a desire for answers.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12LAST POST PLAYS.
0:11:12 > 0:11:22But the veterans see prosecutions as a betrayal.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31I think it's an absolute shambles.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33It just shows how spineless our politicians are.
0:11:33 > 0:11:34Absolutely spineless.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38They send you out to do the job, they give you the paperwork to tell
0:11:38 > 0:11:41you how to do it and then totally ignore you once it's finished.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44You're fodder as far as they're concerned.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Dennis Hutchings is expecting to go back to Belfast to stand
0:11:47 > 0:11:53trial in the New Year.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56With no political agreement over how to deal with the Northern Ireland's
0:11:56 > 0:11:58past, police investigations continue, part of a peace process
0:11:58 > 0:12:08which ? for some ? has brought no peace of mind.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16They explore the parts of Cornwall that most of us try to avoid.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Steep cliffs, deep holes, nothing puts off
0:12:20 > 0:12:26the Carbis Bay crew, whoever or whatever might need their help.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28North Cornwall ? a rescue operation's under way.
0:12:28 > 0:12:38Stranded at the bottom - not a human ? but a load of rubbish.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41We pretty much do the same skills that
0:12:41 > 0:12:45we do for rope rescue but just bringing rubbish up instead.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48This is the Carbis Bay Crew in action.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50It's a balancing act ? we don't want to be too
0:12:50 > 0:12:52much like superheroes.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56They're a group of climbers, divers and cavers.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00When the sun comes up, we go underground.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05They're not a 999 service, but if they can help, they will.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08All of a sudden, we've become these guardians of Cornwall,
0:13:08 > 0:13:15doing the things that other people don't want to do.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19On a blustery Autumn day, Delia Webb's on one of her regular
0:13:19 > 0:13:29litter picks around Pendeen, when she sees something awful.
0:13:31 > 0:13:39We noticed a huge amount of very large, industrial
0:13:39 > 0:13:42sized freezers and chairs and bags of rubbish down a really steep 100
0:13:42 > 0:13:44feet cliff.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47When fly-tips are on private land, the council doesn't have to
0:13:47 > 0:13:49pick it up, but the Carbis Bay crew are happy to help.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52They arrived with cars, trucks, abseiling equipment,
0:13:52 > 0:14:01winches, humans, cake, lots of cake.
0:14:01 > 0:14:07I had a rudimentary plan in my head about what we were facing.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Rope rescue expert Pat Moret takes charge.
0:14:09 > 0:14:103-point anchor.
0:14:10 > 0:14:11Let's do it.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12Yeah.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Track lines coming up.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Yes.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19It was basically create safe anchors,
0:14:19 > 0:14:29create a system that was going to be able to move the material up.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31It doesn't take long before lifting starts.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34I don't think we'd have got anybody else to do it as quickly,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37with no fuss, no hassle, no complications on the day.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38They were brilliant.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Today, the group has around 30 members, and between
0:14:40 > 0:14:50them not many Cornish cliffs, caves and mines lie unexplored.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53We've been in mines where you've still got hobnailed boot imprint
0:14:53 > 0:14:56and the wheelbarrow marks going down from the really old mines,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58so they are well over 100 years old.
0:14:58 > 0:14:59People just haven't been down them.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02There are dangers, but the crew says it puts
0:15:02 > 0:15:11safety first.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13I've got industrial rope qualifications, I've trained
0:15:13 > 0:15:16with the fire brigade, I've trained heart paramedics.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19That was fantastic.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21It's September on the coast near Saint Just.
0:15:21 > 0:15:31But a walker's day has taken a turn for the worst.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34I remember screaming, falling for maybe two or
0:15:34 > 0:15:35three seconds.
0:15:35 > 0:15:41And then I remember stopping and feeling a searing pain.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Andrew Williams is trapped 50 feet down a mine shaft.
0:15:44 > 0:15:45It was very dark.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50It's damp.
0:15:50 > 0:15:51Eerie.
0:15:51 > 0:15:52It was horrific.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54I really didn't think...
0:15:54 > 0:15:57that I would come out of there.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00The emergency services are quickly on the scene.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02But getting Andrew out is going to need the expertise of Cornwall
0:16:03 > 0:16:04search and rescue.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06When he arrived, there was already a paramedic and
0:16:06 > 0:16:09members of the Fire Service down with him giving him first aid,
0:16:09 > 0:16:19keeping him warm.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29As well as being in the Carbis Bay crew, Talan as part of Cornwall
0:16:29 > 0:16:31search and rescue is one of their mine rescuers.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34We are going to have to attach it from there.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Talan was the one that really, when he came in, you
0:16:36 > 0:16:38could see a whole different sense of command.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40This was his field of expertise.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45He was pulled up by the fire service.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50It was their manpower, their skills that did that.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53My job was to try and monitor the casualty, to make sure
0:16:53 > 0:16:54he didn't actually get
0:16:54 > 0:16:56stuck going up, because it was so narrow.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Talan was their next me, guiding me, he had to push me this
0:16:59 > 0:17:00way and that way.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Sometimes he was above me, sometimes he was below me.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08Eventually, after six hours underground, Andrew is out.
0:17:08 > 0:17:15I shed many tears when I was down there -
0:17:15 > 0:17:19just from the pain, but I certainly shed a tear of emotion when I saw
0:17:19 > 0:17:22the sky and I remember clearly seeing it, the light as I was going
0:17:22 > 0:17:24up, coming out of there.
0:17:24 > 0:17:31He escapes with a broken pelvis.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33A week later, Andrew is reunited with some of
0:17:33 > 0:17:39his rescuers.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42I would just like to say thanks a bunch to Talan and Jim
0:17:42 > 0:17:45and all the other 50 odd guys who were there
0:17:45 > 0:17:46who got me out of that cave.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48When I saw him, that was emotional.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52He went to shake my hand, and I just pulled him towards me and gave
0:17:52 > 0:17:55him a hug.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59On Cornwall's south coast ? Huckleberry, a six month old border
0:17:59 > 0:18:02collie hasn't been seen for three days.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05We couldn't find him and had absolutely no luck
0:18:05 > 0:18:06and we were really, really worried.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09All we could imagine was our little six month old puppy was out
0:18:09 > 0:18:13somewhere lsot or dead.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Or he was hurt.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Drone operator Mark Thomas is asked to come and have a look
0:18:17 > 0:18:19by a local dog charity.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21As the weather closes in, there's a breakthrough.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23And then all of a sudden, we heard him bark.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25We couldn't find him, but the bark was bouncing
0:18:25 > 0:18:31all the way off the cliffs.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35We couldn't isolate him in that evening.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37The next morning, the coastguard arrives to search where
0:18:37 > 0:18:44the bark was heard.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48They found him exactly where Mark had launched the drone.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52And when he came up it was heartstopping.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54He was back and he was OK.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56However it happened, we were just very fortunate that
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Mark came out with his drone and the dog barked,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03and we were convinced he was there.
0:19:03 > 0:19:09And then all the help he had from everyone else.I always had a sense
0:19:09 > 0:19:13of pride. The sense of pride in what we do, not everything we do is to
0:19:13 > 0:19:16help Cornwall. It really does give you a good boost.
0:19:16 > 0:19:22And Huckleberry for one agrees with that.
0:19:22 > 0:19:23HUCKLEBERRY BARKS.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26This next story is about an old-fashioned farmer who sat back
0:19:26 > 0:19:28and did...not so much.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31And as a result, all around him grew the most
0:19:31 > 0:19:33wonderful landscape, so beautiful in fact that it attracted
0:19:33 > 0:19:36the attention of a prince, a billionaire and plenty of birds,
0:19:36 > 0:19:37bees and butterflies.
0:19:37 > 0:19:47Nick Baker has been to Kingcombe Meadows in Dorset.
0:19:49 > 0:19:50Kingcombe Meadows in Dorset ?
0:19:50 > 0:19:57600 acres of vanishingly rare habitat, hay meadow,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59a throwback to a time before pesticides and chemical fertiliser,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01farming as your great-grandad might remember it -
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and great for wildlife.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09They reckon this is the largest single block of traditional lowland
0:20:09 > 0:20:10meadow in the south of England.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13A bit of the county that with its patchwork quilt of small
0:20:13 > 0:20:19enclosed pasture and large flower rich hay meadows is unrivalled.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22And this is the jewel in the crown ? Lady Mead -
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Dorset's coronation meadow ? given this status as the top meadow
0:20:25 > 0:20:30in the county as part of the Queen's jubilee celebrations.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33In June, it's buzzing with insect life, wild flowers like ox eye
0:20:33 > 0:20:39daisies and knapweed, draw in bugs in their millions.
0:20:39 > 0:20:45Finally settled on an ox eye - a meadow brown.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Its long proboscis is curled as it feasts on the pollen.
0:20:48 > 0:20:57Nearby a beetle chafer clings on for dear life to this edge.
0:20:58 > 0:21:05Whoops!
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Slowly struggles to the top before unfurling its wings.
0:21:07 > 0:21:08And then flies off.
0:21:08 > 0:21:13Go on!
0:21:13 > 0:21:16There he goes.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Mid-June marks the high point of life in the meadows here,
0:21:18 > 0:21:28but 30 years ago this place came perilously close to destruction.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37What will you start me for it, ladies and gentlemen?
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Do I hear 150,000?
0:21:39 > 0:21:42The farm was put on the market in 1986 and divided into lots.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44It had been owned by farmer Arthur Wallbridge for decades.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46By all accounts a lazy man.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48His inactivity and lack of innovation was a boon
0:21:48 > 0:21:50for the wildlife here.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52The farm had largely escaped so-called "improvement"
0:21:52 > 0:21:58by chemicals, artificial fertilisers and over grazing.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Locals who worked there remember it as a haven for people as well.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03Oh, lovely.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Everybody was happy.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Worked for about 12 shillings a week.
0:22:09 > 0:22:18They enjoyed it.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23Six in the morning until six at night, six days a week.
0:22:23 > 0:22:24No moaning, no groaning.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Go and have their pint in the evenings,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29enjoy themselves, back to work on time in the morning.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31The wildlife trust launched an appeal and bought most
0:22:31 > 0:22:32of the estate in packages.
0:22:32 > 0:22:37Oil billionaire JP Getty chipped in £90,000.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41I doubt if he ever got a better deal.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Earlier this year, the Prince Of Wales,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46the man who drove the whole Coronation meadow idea, came
0:22:46 > 0:22:53here to mark its 30th anniversary.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57Now this really is a meadow fit for a prince.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59Check out the botanical royalty in these
0:22:59 > 0:23:00rather splendid spotted orchids.
0:23:00 > 0:23:06There's loads of them here.
0:23:06 > 0:23:07Amongst the orchids these umbeliffers are nectar sources
0:23:07 > 0:23:13for bugs like this emerald beetle - a real beauty.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16And a solitary bee with those distinctive black and white stripes
0:23:16 > 0:23:18a bit like a Liquorice Allsort.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Tip for gardeners ? plant umbellifers and the insects
0:23:20 > 0:23:29will surely come.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32This solitary wasp is cleaning its head, after covering itself
0:23:32 > 0:23:34after covering itself in pollen - getting every last
0:23:34 > 0:23:38ounce of nutrition.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40And there's a spin off for the birds as well -
0:23:41 > 0:23:42higher up the food chain.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44This blackbird has a mouth full of insects taken
0:23:44 > 0:23:50from the hay meadows.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52And then a bonus, a meadow brown gets close.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54A good potential catch for the bird ?this one spots
0:23:55 > 0:23:56the trap and scarpers.
0:23:56 > 0:24:04But this place isn't frozen in time, it's constantly changing
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Well, this is Lady mead at the end of June and you might ask
0:24:07 > 0:24:08what have the Trust done.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Well, OK, they've taken the hay crop.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14But it's all good news, the seeds taken by the Trust
0:24:14 > 0:24:24from here will seed other meadows.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Cutting the thicker grasses will help the vital wild flowers
0:24:36 > 0:24:39that grow here as they compete with those grasses for nutrients.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42And finally cutting the flowers lets seeds fall to the ground meaning
0:24:42 > 0:24:43a good crop in future years.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45And with the abundant flowers what's telling
0:24:45 > 0:24:47is the sheer number and variety of pollen gathering insects.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50This six spotted burnet moth is taking pollen from knapweed.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55The bumble bee - a species in decline for reasons we don't
0:24:55 > 0:24:58we don't quite understand - filling the pollen sacs on its legs.
0:24:58 > 0:24:59We desperately need more places like this.
0:24:59 > 0:25:05Down in the valley below the hay meadows lie Kingcombe's most
0:25:05 > 0:25:15disctinctive feature.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18It looks like dense woodland but tucked
0:25:18 > 0:25:25in there are small fields enclosed by dense hedgerows.
0:25:25 > 0:25:31In much of England, these old hedges have been grubbed up, but Arthur
0:25:31 > 0:25:33left them alone - just a few sheep graze here.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35There's a vivid contrast with the more intensively farmed
0:25:35 > 0:25:40fields outside the reserve.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43In the trees around the meads, you can pick up birds
0:25:43 > 0:25:45like this tree creeper, scuttling up and down this
0:25:45 > 0:25:50and having a peck at the bark probably in search of insects.
0:25:51 > 0:25:58It dives after a passing fly.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Or this chaffinch - now they nest in the knots
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Or this chaffinch - now they nest in the knots in trees -
0:26:05 > 0:26:08so older trees, and 90% here are veterans, are vital.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10And a place for sparrows - incredibly these once common birds
0:26:11 > 0:26:12have declined by 70% in 30 years.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14But they haven't turned their back on farming here.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16These beef cattle, some 180 of them, lightly graze
0:26:16 > 0:26:19the meadows keeping the thicker grass under control and poaching
0:26:19 > 0:26:21the ground again helping plant seeds germinate.
0:26:21 > 0:26:31And their reward, abundant insects - including these pesky flies.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Because the land isn't progress of the drained, there is still water.
0:26:42 > 0:26:49And where there is water, there is life.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52This is listed as a traditional hay meadow but it's getting wetter
0:26:52 > 0:26:55and the presence of plants like these rushes show it's slowly
0:26:55 > 0:26:56becoming more marshy.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59OK, nothing wrong with that ? we need more marsh -
0:26:59 > 0:27:00but we also need hay meadows.
0:27:00 > 0:27:01So that's a bit of conundrum - to drain or to drain.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Hay meadow or wet marshy grassland - a tricky choice.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Because the land is not aggressively drained even in a very dry June,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11there are still wet places and where there's water there's life.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Running throughout the reserve the river Hooke -
0:27:13 > 0:27:14a different habitat.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17At this time of year thousands of mayfly hover over the river
0:27:17 > 0:27:19and over its banks these aptly named beautiful demoiselles.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22That green band and blue wing colour marks this out as a male.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25in the breeze -like a batsman keeping his head still.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28The males wait on the leaves at for females to breed with.
0:27:28 > 0:27:29But sometimes prey is too tempting.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32This one has caught a mayfly and is slowly chomping through it.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34And after finishing has a brush up.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37When slowed down you can make out the double set of wings that power
0:27:37 > 0:27:39damsel and dragon flies and gives them their
0:27:39 > 0:27:40extraordinary manoeuvrability.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44What a place this is, and I guess we have to thank the vision of those
0:27:44 > 0:27:46people 30 years ago who saw how valuable this old tumbledown
0:27:46 > 0:27:49farm was and the many who chipped in money to buy.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52It would have been easy to let these few hundred acres slip into more
0:27:53 > 0:27:54intensive farming.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57I hope I've given you some idea of what we would have lost.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59Because there are very few places like this left.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01Much of the lowland English Countryside is given over
0:28:01 > 0:28:11to pretty intensive farming.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13OK, we need food, but we also need wild
0:28:13 > 0:28:16flowers, insects and birds.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18We've been getting those needs out of kilter.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21This place is all about restoring that
0:28:21 > 0:28:31fragile balance - long may it prosper.
0:28:32 > 0:28:40And that's all for this week. Next time, learning to read at 88. Join
0:28:40 > 0:28:43us for storytelling with Russia laugh. We will see you for that and
0:28:43 > 0:28:48more next Monday at 7:30pm. Goodbye for now.