Episode 1 Countryfile Summer Diaries

Long sunny days when our countryside is bursting with colour and life.

It's the season that brings out the child in us all.

Summer is here.

It's the perfect time to enjoy the beauty of our great British landscape.

And our amazing wildlife.

OWL CHIRPS

Some of us are still hard at work.

HE GRUNTS

But whatever you're doing and whatever the weather, our island is at its very best.

All week we're travelling the length and breadth of the UK...

..bringing the very best seasonal stories that matter to you.

46% of young adults have at least some hay fever symptoms.

It's hard to believe that such microscopically small grains could cause

such trouble for millions of us.

The very warmest of welcomes to Countryfile Summer Diaries.

And here's what's coming up on the programme today.

Joe Crowley investigates what dry summer weather means for you.

Nobody asks the question, "Have we got enough water in the locality to

"ensure that the taps will be running in those new houses?"

Nationwide, we've got our rivers at a real crisis.

Greg McKenzie discovers how our heritage sites will try to keep us

visiting them all summer long.

-Don't go too low.

-Why can't I go low?

Because you're going to hit...

Ooh!

And I'll be discovering how you can create your own perfect garden hideaway.

All this week, we're celebrating the season

on the beautiful Isle of Wight.

With its stunning coastline and rolling green landscape, it's often described

as England in miniature.

It's also one of the sunniest spots in the whole of the country.

The perfect place for us to see the very best of summer.

Sitting in the English Channel, more than half of the 150-square-mile

island is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,

and a haven for British wildlife.

It's 57 miles of breathtaking coastline,

including the famous chalk Needles,

draws visitors from all around the world.

And, today, I'm at what's possibly the grandest seaside retreat anywhere

in the country, the newly restored private terrace at Queen Victoria's

summer residence, Osborne House.

The lower terrace, which had lost its original Mediterranean yellow render,

is back to its former glory.

And now visitors can relish the same view Victoria and Albert would have

enjoyed over 150 years ago on their summer hols.

The Victorian era saw a surge in plant hunting,

as adventurers explored the world in search of exotic species to bring

back to the UK.

Now, many of those have become much-loved garden favourites,

but others are now a scourge.

It's estimated that invasive species cost the British economy

£1.7 billion a year.

And they are a headache for many gardeners.

So, is there a natural solution?

Keeley is on the case.

It's summertime and our gardens are bursting into colourful song.

But watch out! There are some thugs threatening your pleasant patch.

And, if they win, you might never get rid of them.

Many of these prolific weeds are familiar and often beautiful,

but how do you tell the good from the downright criminal?

Here are your top five worst offenders and how to spot them.

Giant hogweed from Russia is a ten-foot Goliath

whose sap can cause severe burns.

Next it's waterside beauty Himalayan Balsam.

More about the trouble it's causing a little later.

A surprising entry is a garden favourite, rhododendron.

But in the wild, it starves native plants and is poisonous to wildlife.

Another garden favourite is buddleia,

which can interfere with power lines and cover railway signals.

But maintaining its place in the top spot is the UK's most invasive and destructive plant.

This thug can rip through brickwork, the foundations of your home, and,

for worried homeowners,

wipe thousands of pounds from your property's value.

It's Japanese knotweed.

We're trapped, we can't do anything,

nobody can get a mortgage on this property until something

is done about it.

Up until now, the only way of getting rid of Japanese knotweed or

other invasive plant species was by using powerful chemicals

or laboriously digging them up by hand.

But now we're working on more natural solutions to these pesky pests.

Here at the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International,

scientists like researcher Dick Shaw are using Mother Nature's very

own bugs and bacteria to defend our gardens and wild habitats.

Hello there, Dick, are you in there?

-Hi, yes.

-Hello. So, this is the Japanese knotweed?

Yes, the famous Japanese knotweed, from Japan, as its name suggests.

From a place called Nagasaki.

It's more attractive than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to look a bit villainous.

Yes, it was a very popular plant when it came in in the Victorian era.

It was very reliable, grew very fast.

But the repercussions of bringing it in have not been so good, have they?

No. Very soon it became something you really didn't want.

And now it's a real blight.

It's difficult to believe that a plant like this could damage property,

could damage concrete.

It is remarkable, but it's mainly in the root.

It's not just any root. If you have a look at this...

-Look at that!

-This is a relatively small version of a Japanese knotweed root.

And it's more of a tree root. And that's where the strength lies.

This can push through concrete and tarmac and things and break into

drainage, which is why it's such a big issue for homeowners and land developers.

And if you discover Japanese knotweed on your property,

you are legally responsible for removing it and footing the bill,

which can cost thousands.

And, if it spreads to your neighbour's land, you can be sued.

-You can actually end up with a Japanese knotweed ASBO.

-An ASBO?

Yes, indeed. If it's invading someone else's property and you haven't done anything to stop it.

So, if people are worried about this, how can they identify it?

It's quite easy. They have alternate leaves,

they are never opposite each other, they have a very flat base to the leaf, a zigzag-y stem,

sometimes with brown flecks on the base of the stem.

But the key identifier is if you get a piece of rhizome, or underground stem,

which is the root, and you snap it,

it snaps like a carrot and it's a bit yellow in colour.

It seems this stuff is almost invincible.

What is it?

Meet Aphalara itadori, a little bug with a big punch.

Flown from Japan to Dick's lab,

this little psyllid has a very particular diet.

This tiny little insect you can see is the psyllid.

It's a sap sucker. And it's a small insect, but it does big damage.

It can suck the juice out of the plant as a nymph and an adult.

And that's what suppresses the plant in the cage that you're seeing here.

-They don't get on the root, that's the only thing they don't suck.

-So, they don't kill it altogether?

-They don't eradicate it?

-No.

It's very unwise to kill your host if you're a specialist on that species.

And could these survive on their own in the UK, then?

As long as there's Japanese knotweed there, yes.

We've spent an awful lot of time testing 91 species of plant very closely

related to make sure it only feeds on Japanese knotweed.

And is it kind of feasible to say that these little bugs brought over now could control

Japanese knotweed right across the UK?

That's my hope and our expectation is that it can do it.

From the lab data, it tells us they could certainly have a massive impact.

Why is this natural solution better than chemicals?

When you're dealing with something of this scale,

with the invasion of this scale,

you simply can't do it on a chemical basis or a private basis.

You need help from nature.

And that's why we look at a long-term,

large-scale solution of biological control.

Perhaps the time of Japanese knotweed destroying our homes could be coming to an end.

But Himalayan Balsam is set to quickly overrun our countryside.

It's definitely beautiful, but this non-native plant is overwhelming

streams and river banks.

I'm going for a dip with plant pathologist Susie Wood to see just

how invasive it's become.

-So, this is it here.

-Yeah.

If you don't mind me saying, it's actually quite pretty, cos...

Those purple flowers belong to this plant, don't they?

That's the one, yeah, it's just coming into flower now.

But it's escaped from the gardens, and it's just taking over our river banks.

There's tonnes of it, isn't there? It's so dense.

It's really prolific.

It can grow up to three metres tall,

and one plant can produce over 2,000 seeds.

So, once it gets hold along a river bank, for example,

it can spread really easily.

But if it looks so pretty and it's thriving, what's the problem?

Well, you can see it forms this sort of dense thicket here,

and actually stops our native plants growing.

That has an effect on our native biodiversity of our insects as well.

It's estimated Himalayan Balsam is occupying 13% of our river banks and

would cost £300 million to eradicate by hand.

But, again, Mother Nature might have a solution.

So, we're introducing a rust pathogen.

It's a fungus, and it infects the leaves,

and basically reduces its vigour.

And, over time, we hope that it will reduce the density of the stems of

these Balsam and allow the native vegetation to start coming back.

As you can see, it's forming this yellow spotting on the upper surface of the leaf.

-Oh, yeah.

-And, underneath, you can actually see the spores here.

So, these are the pustules that develop,

and they're producing spores that can get carried in the wind and spread,

hopefully, across to our release sites.

Introducing a natural pathogen would certainly be cost effective,

but is it safe?

If you're introducing another non-native species,

isn't that going to then cause more problems?

We tested it on over 70 different species to make sure the pathogen is

specific just to this plant.

-So the rust shouldn't affect any other species, then?

-No.

In my garden, I'm used to encouraging and nurturing plans, so today's been

a bit of an eye-opener to see how destructive the wrong plant in the wrong place can be.

But it's brilliant that we're coming up with solutions where nature is fighting back.

In the UK, we're lucky to have an abundance of medieval castles,

historical monuments, royal residences, like Osborne House over there,

and it's reckoned that every year about 40 million Brits and foreign

visitors spend a day out at places like that.

But grand settings need grand events to make us want to go back for more,

as Greg McKenzie discovers.

Gone are the days when a limp sandwich and a polite notice

to keep off the grass pulled the punters in.

Now our National Parks and Heritage Sites are taking up a challenge to

get more of us into the great outdoors.

Whether it's ballooning from a deer park in Bristol

or establishing horse trials at a country estate,

hosting events using our stunning rural settings and history as a backdrop

have the tills ringing across the UK.

Last year, the National Trust saw a record 22 million visits at their

pay-for-entry sites, with much of the increase coming from imaginative

activities which encourage visitors to revisit time after time.

And I've come to the largest ruined castle in the country,

where English Heritage are staging a summer of events with the aim of

bringing history back to life.

And I think it's about time I rolled back the clocks.

English Heritage host over 500 individual events at their historic sites every year.

From ghost tours to the medieval event they are hosting today at Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire.

After 900 years,

these ancient ruins are once again alive with the battle cries of

chivalrous knights and clashing of swords.

But today's event isn't just for medieval men.

In the summer, we live here for two days, and it's great.

The kids grow up doing it, as well.

They get born into it and then they pick up a sword when they can and

start hitting us soon as they can.

And it's pretty good.

There is rules. They're only allowed to hit you when someone's wearing armour.

You're only allowed to hit the armour.

Originating centuries ago on the battlefield,

medieval jousting tournaments are now a firmly established modern-day crowd-pleaser.

On an average day, Kenilworth Castle attracts 600 visitors.

But this event draws at least 2,000.

Now, I've always fancied myself as a dashing knight.

But do I have what it takes?

Time to get some lance training with experienced jouster Nicky Willis.

Right, let's get started.

-Shove that right up into my armpit.

-Mmm-hmm.

Remember, you've got a horse here.

Horse there, this side.

And then we're going to levee down onto our opponent.

-Don't go too low.

-So, why can't I go low?

Because you're going to hit...

Ooh! Grip is the most important thing.

You're heading for your opponent's shield.

-Opponent's shield.

-Yeah? And then you bring the lance up.

Lift up. What's this hand doing?

-I don't know.

-You're cheating.

-Am I cheating? I can't have two hands?

-That's your rein hand.

-I have to hold it with two hands.

-But you've now not got any control of your horse.

Of course, cos I'd be on the horse. I'm really not getting this, am I?

That is actually quite difficult.

-I can just feel my arms are burning.

-Yeah!

It's harder than it looks.

Honest.

It wasn't only the knights that had to be strong.

So did the horses, who could hurtle towards each other...

..with knights in full body armour on their backs.

Historical re-enactments are just one option for a medieval ruin.

Ludlow Castle in Shropshire can draw a 20,000-strong crowd to its

popular annual food festival.

Not only does it increase the number of visitors,

the £10 one-day admission price is double the normal price to see the castle.

Up and down the country,

we all seem to want to experience the way we were

and our country's rich history,

as Jenny Davey from English Heritage explains.

And how are events taking place here making a difference?

We saw the most visitors English Heritage have ever seen last summer.

A lot of that was down to events like our jousts,

where visitor numbers were up, and they make a real difference.

They bring people into sites like this.

They enable us to show what English history was all about

and to deliver amazing experiences, but also, as a charity,

it's important for us to get those people in to see what work we're

doing, and people want to join, to be part of the story that we have,

and keep our heritage alive.

When it comes to our historic sites' increasing visitor numbers,

it seems this knight's tale does have a fairy-tale ending.

These events are fantastic

and they've really opened my eyes up to our incredible history.

I must admit, though, I'm absolutely exhausted

and just about ready to head back to the future.

History is alive and well, especially, it seems,

here at Osborne House.

As part of the grand terrace restoration, this centrepiece

fountain, which was bought by Queen Victoria

at the Great Exhibition of 1851, is now in full working order.

But for how long will the water run?

Following six incredibly dry months,

water companies have warned us that 2017 could be one of the most

parched years on record.

So, what will this mean for the environment and your water supplies?

Joe Crowley has been to a river in the Chiltern Hills to find out.

Earlier this year, the Environment Agency warned that four out of five

rivers in the UK had abnormally low levels of water

and now some have dried up completely.

Between January and March,

there was a 50-70% decrease in rainfall averages in England's

south-east counties.

Water levels in our rivers and reservoirs are dwindling.

Some of the waterways hardest-hit are Britain's vulnerable chalk streams.

The source of these rivers is rainfall stored in the aquifer,

a porous level of rock in the nearby hills.

And less rain means less stream.

I think many people would look at this river and say, "What's the problem?

"It seems fine. I can see plenty of water."

But it's misleading. This river is artificially boosted by a water

treatment plant. If it was reliant solely on natural sources,

it would be a trickle by now.

England has 85% of the world's 200 chalk streams,

and this unique type of river is usually abundant in wildlife.

But local angler David Foster, who's fished this spot all his life,

is already noticing a difference.

Tell me about the river, how special is it?

Well, it is a magical place.

For me, it is a boyhood dream.

I've been coming here since I was eight years old, enjoying the scenery.

But it's suffering at the moment, as you can see.

The water levels are down,

and now we're seeing the river probably six inches below its

typical level for this time of year.

David used to catch plenty of brown trout,

but due to water pollution and now the driest winter and early spring

in 20 years, their numbers are at serious risk.

Not only did the level drop,

but the water comes in from the banks either side.

There are fewer hiding places for the fish

and easier prey for heron, less depth,

the heron can see right into the river

and picks out the small fish much more easily.

Valuable food sources die off straightaway, the plant life dies back.

Water levels are clearly low now.

If we have another dry winter, how concerned will you be?

Well, I think it's very serious, potentially disastrous.

But parched rivers not only pose a danger to wildlife.

They also threaten livelihoods. Like John Tyler's,

a third-generation watercress farmer.

-John, this is amazing. I understand it's been in the family for a while, has it?

-Yeah, since 1886.

-My great-grandfather started the business up.

-Where would they have got the water from?

-From the river here?

-It's come from the river, yeah.

-So, it was flown from the river,

-straight through the beds and back into the river again?

-Exactly, yeah.

Just diverting it, basically, to grow the crop.

But what was once plentiful and free

is now expensive and in short supply.

Since the low levels, I've now had to pump it out of the ground.

-So, what's that cost you?

-£1,000 a quarter.

So it's pretty expensive.

That's a lot of watercress to shift to pay for that.

Compared to what it used to be, it almost used to be a free source.

How much watercress can you grow off that one pump?

Well, only half of this ground here, really,

so I've only got half an acre that I can irrigate.

At the moment, can you earn a living off this?

-Barely. Barely.

-Really?

-Yeah.

That's the stage it's got to now.

And it's not just fishermen and farmers who could be affected.

The prospect of a drought could hit everyone.

And we can't simply blame it on the weather either.

The problem is us.

At the heart of this matter are big questions over how much water we

extract and how we use it.

99% of the water taken out of the River Chess goes straight to

supplying local homes. On average,

every person in the UK consumes 150 litres of water a day.

Over half of that total filling baths, showers and flushing toilets.

Martin Salter, a campaigner from the Angling Trust,

has been advising the government to improve the health of our rivers and

our water supply.

-Martin, how are you?

-Hi there, Joe.

Welcome to the once lovely little River Chess.

Oh, dear. It's a bit of a sad sight, isn't it?

Shall we have a closer look? So, it's completely dry.

When would lovely, cool chalk stream water have last flowed through here?

You're looking over three years ago,

really, to what was described as the biblical floods of 2014.

That's what it took to get this beautiful little river running.

I mean, they've experienced in the Chess Valley a 52% increase in water

extraction since 2001.

There are new houses being planned all the time.

Another 900 are due to come online.

I'm afraid the lifeblood from this river has been sucked dry as a

-result of over extraction.

-Right there are new houses.

They can't be that old.

And that's it, isn't it? That's the microcosm, the growing demand,

new houses going up, and it's rivers like this that are suffering.

When people say we need more houses, fine.

People then plan hospitals and roads...

-Schools.

-Schools.

Nobody asks the question, "Have we got enough water in the locality to

"ensure the taps will be running in those new houses?"

Nationwide, we've got our rivers at a real crisis.

The last time they built a reservoir to store the excess water in the

winter, to avoid denuding rivers of the water of that gives them life

and gives them purpose, the last time we built a new reservoir in the

south-east of England was 50 years ago.

The UK's last major reservoir was completed in the 1990s in Derbyshire.

The reasons why more haven't been built are complex,

involving both financial and environmental concerns.

However, with no new supply on tap, it's us, the consumers,

who are being asked to use less of this precious supply.

On an individual basis, what can we do?

What can you and I do to help?

We should have water metering because I think that makes a connection

between what we do when we turn our tap, the bill we pay,

and the impact we have on the environment.

We don't need to use our hosepipes as often as we do.

We can install water butts and collect rainfall off our roofs to

water our gardens. We can contact our local water companies,

they will provide water-saving devices for your toilet system or

lower flows on your showers.

There's a lot we can do as individual citizens to make every drop count.

And small changes can make a huge difference.

Running a tap while you brush your teeth wastes over six litres a minute.

If the entire population of England and Wales turned the tap off,

enough water would be saved to supply half a million homes.

Reducing our water usage by just a few litres a day could have a

massive impact, helping ease the stress on struggling waterways and giving local

businesses and wildlife a chance to recover.

In summer, the British coast is at its very best.

But with more than 5,000 miles of mainland coastline to choose from,

where do you start?

Well, here at Countryfile Diaries,

we've chosen what we think are three stunning coastal walks for you to

tread this summer.

There are hundreds of designated coastal paths across the UK.

From the epic ramble to an easy amble,

there's something for everyone.

At 630 miles,

the south-west coast path is England's longest waymarked footpath.

Stretching from Minehead in Somerset to Poole in Dorset,

it takes in some of Devon and Cornwall's most spectacular shorelines.

Take a breather in Mount's Bay.

And wait for the tide to retreat,

uncovering an ancient causeway leading to St Michael's Mount.

It's the best way to approach the mount.

Just look at it up there, looming.

It's really quite imposing.

The site that's held visitors in thrall for centuries.

To the western edge of Wales now,

and one of the jewels in Pembrokeshire's coastal crown, where a wild,

windswept landscape meets white, sandy beaches.

Soak up the beauty around St David's headland,

a walk for young and old.

If you want miles of unspoiled beaches and more castles than you

can shake a stick at, then head anywhere between the Scottish Borders

and Newcastle on Northumbria's coast path.

The vast stretches of beaches here are just magnificent.

They're wide open, they're windswept, and there is nobody here.

The 62-mile trail is split into six manageable walks,

each of them can be done in a day.

A perfect day out for the entire family.

Even the dog.

Well, if that doesn't get you out to enjoy our coastline,

I don't know what will.

Now, not so long ago,

it was unthinkable that England would be producing red wine to rival

France. With its chalky, south-facing slopes and almost frost-free

microclimate, the Isle of Wight has been doing just that,

as Anita discovered when she came here at last year's harvest.

Today, the Isle of Wight feels more like the South of France than the

south of Britain.

Perfect conditions, then, for growing these - black grapes.

Black grapes take much more sunlight to grow than the white varieties.

But at one of Britain's oldest vineyards,

wine grower Russ Broughton has cracked it.

So, Russ, how unusual is it to be able to grow black grapes in the UK?

It's very unusual to grow black grapes to make red wine.

You can grow black grapes to make roses,

but to try and get the sugar level and the taste high enough to make a

good quality red wine is very unusual.

So, why are you doing it here?

Because this is the Isle of Wight.

And we are lucky enough to have such a great climate that we can grow a

lot of things that perhaps even

in Hampshire you can't, which is only just across the water.

This is our rondo.

-There we go.

-Beautiful, I'm going to try one.

-Oh, it's delicious.

-Yeah, they are very sweet.

It does sugar up quite early, so we tend to pick this one before we

harvest the white grapes.

Well, I'm going to help you harvest your grapes but I'll probably eat

half of them whilst I'm doing it.

I'm not going to eat your profits, though.

-I might do.

-OK.

-OK, let's do it.

-What do I do?

-Here's some secateurs.

-Thank you.

This is Russ's main vineyard.

But further down the hill, he's planted some young rondo vines in

ground with a very special heritage.

Now, the Romans may have had a vineyard on this very site nearly

2,000 years ago. What I'm walking on right now is said to be part of an

ancient farm with a very important villa attached.

Brading Roman Villa is one of the finest examples of its type in Britain.

Discovered by accident and excavated in the 1880s,

it became famous amongst the Victorians for the quality of its mosaics.

Jasmine Wroath is the villa's curator.

So, this is impressive, Jasmine.

-It is. It is.

-What is it?

This is a fourth-century, winged corridor villa.

Probably owners were probably quite wealthy.

We think that from the artefacts that have been found and from the mosaics

-we've got here.

-So, why this bit of the Isle of Wight?

-Why would they have built it here?

-Well, originally, back in the Roman times,

there was an estuary just out to the east,

and it would have probably come up about 300 metres to the entrance of

the villa itself, so it's likely there was a trade coming in and out

of the court. And also we obviously have really fertile lands.

The chalk ridge, which runs just behind us,

led to really great lands, so you could have raised sheep on there,

grown great crops as well.

It still looks great 2,000 years later, doesn't it?

-Shall we get down there and have a closer look?

-Yeah, let's.

From the fragments that remain,

you can see how impressive the mosaics must have been.

Twice a year, the centuries-old stones are sponged clean with water

to remove dust.

Jasmine, this feels like a real honour.

-What am I cleaning?

-We call this our Gallus mosaic.

So far as we know, he is the only cockerel-headed man in Britain.

So, yeah, he is quite...

-Quite unique.

-So, what about the rest of the mosaics?

-Who's this?

-This is Bacchus, and he is the god of wine and wine making.

Ah. So that's very appropriate.

-It is.

-Do we think that maybe they were making their own wine here,

if they've got Bacchus as a mosaic?

Yes, quite possibly.

If you've got the god of wine in one of your central pieces in one of

your mosaics, it is possible they were growing their own grapes

-here for winemaking.

-There we go.

I can see him now.

Old Bacchus, our god of wine.

I think I might start worshipping Bacchus.

Back up the hill, the gods have clearly been smiling on all Russ' vines.

-So this is the Bacchus grape?

-This is the famous one, yes.

Named after the god. Right, let's taste it.

-Yes, the Roman god of wine.

-Mmm!

-Delicious.

-They are, aren't they, beautiful?

Yeah, they're a couple of weeks away from harvest but still tasting nice.

The climate here has made it possible to grow all sorts,

and pride of place is something you'd usually find in Asian countries...

-This is it.

-So, this is ginger.

It is, this is ginger and it's growing right here on the Isle of Wight.

How is it growing on the Isle of Wight?

We planted it as rhizomes that we bought straight from the shop.

-Wow.

-Snapped them all into pieces, buried them.

And what did people say when you said you were growing ginger here?

"You cannot grow ginger in the UK, it's not possible."

It would appear that they're wrong and the Isle of Wight, yet again,

-succeeds.

-Well, I'll have to see it to believe it.

-OK, let's get you a piece out.

-I'd love to see this.

-There it is.

-There it is.

-Real ginger.

-That's it, yeah.

-That's incredible.

Mmm! I love this stuff so much.

-So what are you going to do with that?

-Well, this is the first year of growth.

And so this year, it's grown its roots and it's started to come out

of the side. We're going to winter that down now.

Next year, when it grows up,

it will start increasing the rhizomes. Then we'll be chopping it up and

turning it into a made ginger wine.

Of course you are. All this talk of wine, Russ.

-Absolutely.

-I think it's time, don't you?

-Let's go and try some.

-Wine o'clock.

-Just pop this one back.

-All right.

Back into the ground with the ginger for one more year.

Meanwhile, there's a glass of rondo red with my name on it.

-Let's try this, then. Cheers.

-Yeah, cheers.

To your good health.

The sun, the shelter,

the rich, fertile soils make this a very special landscape for growing -

something known to winemakers since Roman times.

Well, I'm on the royal beach at Osborne House,

where Queen Victoria's children would have played,

and this wonderful contraption is Her Majesty's bathing hut.

It meant that the Queen could preserve her modesty while changing into a

bathing costume, and then the hut was hauled down a ramp,

right into the sea so she could take her dip.

But you don't have to be royal to have a hut fit for a queen.

Paul is in Dorset,

discovering how you could make the most of your outdoor space.

The last few years have seen an explosion in garden outbuildings,

as people escape to their outdoor retreats.

The more ambitious designs have moved away from the humble garden shed

to eclectic summer houses, offices and follies.

In terms of design, the sky is the limit,

but you don't want to be tripped up when planning your outdoor retreat.

For an architect like Sean Daly,

designing an outdoor room is a great opportunity to be creative and

maximise your garden's potential.

-Hi, Sean.

-Hello, Paul, nice to see you.

-What a fantastic location.

It's wonderful, isn't it?

House prices might be going through the roof,

but our homes are getting smaller and today's new builds have ten

square metres' less room.

To beat the squeeze, many people are creating new indoor spaces outside,

in their gardens.

This is fabulous.

A simple palette of materials, which I think is really lovely.

There's absolutely no maintenance here, really, is there?

No, a nice, durable structure.

-And the room breathes, doesn't it? It really does.

-It does.

That's the kind of thing you could have in a reasonable sized back

-garden in suburbia.

-It is, Paul.

You can see the height of it, the width of it, nice materials,

you can see that sat in someone's garden very comfortably.

And something like that doesn't need full planning permission, does it?

No, the rules these days allow for permitted development,

which means that a building of a certain height, a certain size,

is allowable without a planning approval.

Generally speaking,

if you want to build your garden room without the need for planning

approval, stick to these rules -

if your garden room is close to a boundary,

it can be as high as 2.5 metres.

But if it's further away, you can build even higher, up to 4 metres.

But whatever the height, if you live in a conservation area,

some restrictions can still apply,

so do check with your local council before you plan any build.

They're multifunctional. They can be a study, they can be an office,

they can be a gym, they're an extension to the home.

Although you can't live in a garden room permanently,

you can sleep in it for up to 28 days a year,

especially one as nice as this.

So if you've got a big garden shed...

-Yeah.

-..and you've got the footprint for that...

-Yeah.

-..you could turn that into something like this.

Most definitely, and really,

the cost for doing that can be significantly less than building an

-extension.

-Or moving.

-Or a conversion. Exactly.

So nowadays, we want to stay put, it's making use of your space.

If you've got a small area, this is the key.

Ultimately, there's an opportunity to have a lot of fun and create a

beautiful structure that makes the best of your house and your garden.

This spot is obviously bigger than the average 14 metre square British

garden, but that shouldn't limit your imagination.

Besides, if you can't build it, why don't you wheel it in?

And I'm not talking caravans!

There's one type of garden design that's become hugely popular over

the last few years, and that's the shepherd's hut, just like this one here.

They make a fantastic garden office or a spare room for a visiting guest.

Since the 16th century,

these huts were used by shepherds during sheep raising and lambing.

Made mobile with iron wheels, the hut was a kitchen, a dining room,

a bedroom and a store room, all rolled into one.

Believe it or not, this dilapidated shepherd's hut has the same potential,

especially in the hands of Eddie Butterfield.

-Eddie!

-Nice to see you, old chap, how are you?

I'm all right, mate. What are you doing in there?

-Just having a little measure up, you know?

-This is brilliant.

-It is rather good, isn't it?

-Absolutely fantastic.

Both Eddie's grandfather and father were wagon builders, and now Eddie

restores and converts these huts, whatever the weather.

This is absolutely brilliant,

but typically, I came out without a hat or a coat,

so your wife's lent me this.

-British summertime!

-Yeah, how long have you been restoring shepherd's huts?

-25, 30 years now.

-It's a long time.

-It is, yeah.

It's great fun, though, and you learn a terrific amount from these

old ones, I'm learning all the time.

That's a small one, or was that the original size of a shepherd's hut?

A little bit small. Normally they were 10, 12 foot long,

-something like that, six foot wide.

-How long will that take you to do?

-Probably six months I should think.

-Six months?

-Six months at least.

If someone came across a shepherd's hut like that, in that condition,

-what would they pay for it?

-Something like that probably would demand

£3,000 today, in that condition even.

-OK, and fully restored?

-15.

-15.

And that's about the ballpark figure, isn't it?

-Roughly, yeah.

-I noticed these ones on the way in,

they're more like the ones I'm used to, they're much bigger,

larger wheels, elevated.

-Can we go and look at those?

-Yeah, let's go and have a look.

Oh, wow! Do you know what? It's amazing, you've done a brilliant job.

-Thank you very much.

-What's its age?

-1880, this one.

-Late Victorian.

-Yeah, it is.

The use of shepherd's huts reached its peak in the late 19th century,

but then dwindled with the advent of mechanised farm machinery and

electric power. Now they're undergoing a revival,

as garden rooms and holiday lets.

-It's solid, isn't it?

-It is.

-Absolutely solid.

-You've got a wood-burning stove going in?

-Yes, that's right, yeah, yeah.

-A double bunk up there.

-That's right, yes.

-New floors?

-Yeah.

-It's brilliant.

Eddie reckons when it's finished, he could sell the hut for £16,000,

and to get nearer the finish line,

he's asked me to help him make an iron hook for the hut's door.

And what makes Eddie's work so unique

is that he still uses old techniques and antique tools to carry out the restoration.

Wow, you've certainly got all the kit, haven't you?

-A bit of a collection, yes.

-Lots of Victorian machinery.

-Latest cutting-edge machinery, you mean!

-This is brilliant. I love the forge.

-Thank you, yeah.

-And the big old anvil.

Yeah, that's right, essential.

I love that smell!

It reminds me of where I live,

with all the old barges going up and down the canal.

Oh, absolutely. Industrial, isn't it?

-Industrial Revolution smell, that is, isn't it?

-Yeah.

This is how they would have done it when the hut was made.

Exactly like this.

That is the start of our hook.

So your job, in a minute, start on the end...

OK. And turn it round?

Master at this, Paul, master.

It's all in the timing.

That will do. Whoa! A little bit of flattening out.

Whoa, whoa.

I love the ring of the smithy's hammer.

Next job will be...

-bringing that...

-Just hooking it, closing it up.

Not fully, just a little bit.

That's it, go on.

Oh, I thoroughly enjoyed that.

First class for a first go.

-Thank you very much.

-You've done brilliantly there, well done, old boy.

-Ah!

-I'll be your apprentice any day.

-Now we've got to do the other end.

Now we've just got to do another 700!

THEY LAUGH

It's wonderful to see the skills of craftsman like Eddie up close.

And if our increasing demand for more outdoor rooms is anything to go by,

he's going to be busy for years to come.

He's done a good job there, he's done that before!

Today has really inspired me.

It's amazing what you can create in your own back garden with a bit of

imagination, and you don't always need a great deal of space to do it.

And, I'm afraid, that's all we've got time for today,

but here's what we've got coming up for you tomorrow -

Margherita discovers why more of us are suffering from seasonal sneezes

and what you can do about it.

There's only a handful of really allergenic plants,

but we seem to be moving towards planting these and we're making a

big problem for ourselves.

Jules and Teddy test out the latest trend in camping - champing.

Wow.

And there you have your bed, all laid out for you, ready.

Teddy's quite excited by this, I think!

And Keeley will be investigating why wildlife criminals are targeting the

summer fledglings of our rarest birds of prey.

The toll being taken on our birds of prey by these criminals is phenomenal.

So, until then, goodbye.