Episode 1 Countryfile Winter Diaries

JOHN CRAVEN: This is the toughest time of year.

But it can also be the most spectacular season

in the entire calendar.

Winter is upon us!

It's a time when days are short and temperatures can plunge.

But there are still plenty of ways growers can make the most of the season.

It's the time when the British weather

throws everything it's got at us.

And while some animals are hibernating,

others are bringing new life into the world.

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

How much time have we got given the tide?

We have about an hour and a half before it starts turning.

Bringing the very best seasonal stories that matter to you.

It's exciting planting trees.

Everybody should get the chance to plant a tree

and it's not for us, it's for our children and their kids.

The very warmest of welcomes. This is Countryfile Winter Diaries.

Here's what's coming up on today's programme.

Steve Brown discovers if leaving titbits out for wild birds

could be doing more harm than good.

During the breeding season, if we are attracting in predators,

sometimes they are going to come across nests.

Paul learns just how important our canals are as a haven for wildlife.

We have had otters in the past so they are making a comeback.

Kingfishers, a resident pair of swans

that have been nesting here for over ten years.

And Keeley will be finding out if the salt that keeps

our winter roads safe is about to run out.

We have mined about 600 miles, it's like an underground city.

Our base this week is Scotland's first national park

with the famous Loch Lomond and many other lochs as well

surrounded by the hills and mountains of the Trossachs.

Small wonder that four million visitors flock here every year

to take in the sheer wonder of this place.

It's a sad fact that much of our natural environment is under threat.

Animals have long been a target for wildlife crime

and now plants are in danger as well.

Margherita has been digging around for clues.

Security measures like these are more usually associated with

safeguarding precious gems or gold bullion.

But would you believe they are now a necessary measure to protect

the tiny white flower we associate with the end of winter?

It may seem hard to believe, but some snowdrops are so sought after

that thieves will think nothing of coming into

a beautiful garden like this and digging them out in clumps.

So, just what is so special about the snowdrop?

To the untrained eye, one snowdrop looks pretty much like another,

but there are in fact 2,000 cultivated varieties

and some are very rare indeed

which makes them a target for thieves.

But gardeners are fighting back and they are taking extreme measures

to stop the snowdrop snatchers.

The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in Hampshire

has one of the largest winter gardens in Europe.

It's home to around 20 different varieties of snowdrop,

all of them carefully nurtured

by botanist and snowdrop expert, Barry Clark.

So, this is what it's all about, the snowdrop.

What is it about this plant that we have fallen in love with?

It's probably because it's the first bulb of the new year

coming out of the winter and they're white, but it's the first flowers

and everyone is amazed by this carpet they can produce.

It has captured our hearts because of that.

In fact, snowdrops are not native to Britain but were brought here

from the mountainous regions of Eastern Europe.

It's the Victorians that introduced them.

Like many plants they brought in as ornamentals for the garden

which was the first era people were bringing in plants

as ornamentals and they spread naturally.

People love this flower, but some people really take it to extremes.

Yeah, you could say super fans are obsessed.

I love them, but there are some people that take it further,

these galanthuphiles, we call them.

Galanthus being the Latin name for snowdrop.

They are mad about the slight differences in the flowers

and they get a bit fanatical about it.

And what about this particular snowdrop, what do we have here?

Yeah, this is Ophelia. It's not rare, rare.

It's a lovely snowdrop, however.

It's different from the normal, it's a lot taller

with a largish flower which is double

and people covet them quite a lot.

And how much are these bulbs worth?

It's the lower sort of scale, but even a single bulb of this

could be five or six pounds so if you look at a clump like this,

which is 25 or 30 bulbs, it's quite a lot of money in the ground.

So, how valuable can they get?

The average sort of rarish bulb will go from between £40, £80,

that sort of price but you can get some between £100 and £200.

A couple of years ago,

one sold for £780 and I heard recently online one sold for £1,400.

That was called Golden Fleece and the prices seem to go up and up.

-It really is lock-up-your-snowdrops time.

-It is, yeah.

And when it comes to the rarer varieties of snowdrop here,

they have had to do just that.

And what security measures do you have here to ensure

that they are not going to get stolen?

Apart from the enclosure being locked every day,

each of the plants also has a code number, not a name.

So if I was chancing my arm, as a thief,

I wouldn't know if this was a £5 bulb or £1,000 bulb.

Not unless you're an expert that can tell the difference and there are few of those.

They have even installed security cameras

to catch would-be thieves in the act.

So, under lock and key,

coded and cameras.

-You really have had to do a lot to deter these thieves.

-We have.

It's sad it has to come down to this, yeah.

And what lengths do people go to to actually steal?

People will bring in their own spades and dig up clumps and, yeah,

I know it's a terrible thing to do but they do.

Some people are being quite brazen about taking these.

What has been your own experience of theft here?

Some time ago I had a single bulb, £25 it was,

a snowdrop called Blueberry Tart, beautiful little thing,

upward-facing flower, blueish kind of leaves, so I propagated it.

After five or six years,

I had a nice little clump of them, and then that week,

a horticultural magazine did an article on it,

focused on Blueberry Tart,

so I went out to the garden the next day and they were all gone!

The whole patch and I was pretty upset.

That was years of work down the drain.

-Heartbreaking.

-It was, yeah.

What can I do as a plant grower to plant snowdrops in my garden?

Where do I get them from, how do I know they haven't been stolen?

Well, if you want the specialist bulbs,

you have to go to specialist growers and nurseries

and the best time to buy them is around end of January, February time.

Lots of garden centres with snowdrops.

Just looking at this plant up close, it's really pretty.

I can understand how people would really become collectors.

So delicate.

The Hillier Gardens has 40,000 different plants and Barry and

his team have the mammoth task of doing a stock take of all of them.

Part of the survey we've caught you in the middle of today is

not just the health of the plants but also what

-has gone missing from the gardens.

-Yeah, it can be.

Wintertime is our main planting season and as we plant them,

we note down their GPS coordinates and with the surveys we can

go back to them and check if they are still there, that they are OK

-and doing well.

-Is it a bigger issue, theft,

-than just the snowdrops?

-It is, yeah.

We're not the only gardens that experience it but things like

shrubs or small trees go missing.

-Small trees? People take trees?

-They do.

It's not just our gardens that are under attack, it's our countryside.

It's illegal under the Wildlife And Countryside Act

to remove plants from the wild.

Do you think people are aware they cannot just help themselves

sometimes, whether from your gardens or their local wood?

I think there is a certain amount of people but think you can just

go into the countryside and help yourself to various things, but

plants in the countryside are just as protected as the plants in here.

It's just as illegal.

Could you microchip plants in future, would that be the next step?

It does happen.

It sounds mad, but there are gardens that are doing that now

and people are being caught.

So, we might have to go all out

-to protect our snowdrops and other plants?

-Sadly, but yes.

Before today, I would never have believed such an ordinary

little flower could be the focus of such attention.

But having seen up close just how delicate and beautiful

the snowdrop is, I can see now it may be time for all of us

to do our bit to protect this little winter wonder.

It's an interesting fact that six times more species of plants

are protected under international treaties than animals,

but in this country some of our wildlife is still threatened.

Majestic birds of prey hovering in the winter skies are one of

the most spectacular sights at this time of year.

But by late Victorian times,

persecution had wiped out one particular species in England

and Scotland with just a tiny number left in Wales.

It was the red kite.

And one of the highlights of my career was back in the 1990s when

I helped reintroduce them in the Chiltern hills of Buckinghamshire.

The red kites we saw being released a few minutes ago are now

settling in the treetops over there.

'Since then, I have followed the progress of these magnificent birds

'with great interest.'

These days, some gardeners and farmers are actively

encouraging them onto their land,

but what if putting food out in winter for red kites and other birds

is doing more harm than good?

Steve Brown takes a look.

You might be wondering what I'm doing

in the rush-hour traffic here on the M4,

but I am looking for a different type of commuter entirely

and it's the red kite.

Hundreds of them make their way every day

from the hills to the north down into Reading.

The kite population was re-established in 1989 using

birds from Spain and they have been quick to discover

that living within striking distance of a human population

of more than 300,000 has some distinct advantages.

These beautiful birds are some of nature's finest opportunists.

And they travel into Reading because they've realised

some of the residents are leaving food out for them.

John Vincent lives in the suburbs of Reading

and like about half of us in Britain, he regularly feeds birds.

Three years ago, he started putting out titbits for the kites.

You see them already congregating in the sky,

what are you feeding them on?

A bit of beef and chicken, sometimes bacon.

Anything we have going spare, they have it.

That sounds better than what I get for dinner!

How many birds are we talking?

20, 30.

-In one sitting?

-Yeah.

-They come out from all angles.

-Let's give it a go, shall we?

-Let's get some food out there.

-Yeah. See what happens.

The birds' reintroduction to the Chilterns has been a soaring success

with an estimated 1,000 breeding pairs now in residence.

And it looks like John's food has attracted

a respectable number of them today.

There are four, five, six in the sky already. Seven.

And we are feeding them 12 foot in front of us here.

It's like they are expecting it.

These are meant to be skittish, scared birds.

He's whistling them down!

And they're coming!

-Will they land?

-No. No, they are scavengers.

You see where they have picked it up once they finish

because all the grass has been raked up.

-Oh, I see. So a swooping motion.

-Swoop down.

They are such wonderful creatures,

I only hope they come close enough for us to get a good look.

As you watch them fly over, and you see their grace and beauty

and size, when they come right down low into the garden like this,

you really get an idea of how big they are.

As well as their size and grace,

they have a fork tail which separates them and makes them

very easy to recognise amongst other birds of prey.

Despite the impressive number of kites circling around the garden...

A couple over there...

..none are brave enough to take a star turn in front of the camera today.

Come on, kites, don't make me have to make excuses for you!

We have come inside simply because having the film crew there,

I think has put them off.

We are absolutely surrounded by red kites.

I can't believe the numbers.

I have not seen them in this sort of number before.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

But it looks like John's tasty morsels

are not working their usual magic.

Luckily, our friends at Springwatch have had more success.

The kites' no-show today isn't about to put John off feeding them.

And he is not alone.

Research by Professor Mark Fellowes from Reading University

has discovered that almost 10% of households in the area

have fed the kites.

That's great for them, but with so many other native bird species

in decline, is it all good news?

Here in Reading, it's all about feeding red kites.

Surely, that in itself has an adverse effect

on the number of small birds in the garden.

The kites seem to have no effect whatsoever

on small birds in your garden.

They don't predate those things. In the city, in the town,

really what they are looking for is the food people are providing.

They come in, take that and disappear off.

What about just scaring the local birds,

they're a big, strong-looking bird,

surely that would put the frighteners up me

if I was a robin nesting in a back garden somewhere!

Well, it's interesting, on personal observation, there's red kites

flying over us at the moment. No difference.

The birds are not responding, they know it's not a threat.

If the thriving kite population isn't affecting the number of

other birds, then what is?

Mark's research shows human kindness is actually part of the problem.

How on earth can feeding the birds possibly be detrimental to their numbers?

During the breeding season, if we are attracting in predators

like magpies or grey squirrels,

they come to the food and forage around the area

looking for other food they can eat.

Sometimes they are going to come across nests,

nests of blackbirds or song thrush and they will come in,

take the eggs and that will mean it is a failed breeding attempt.

Mark isn't trying to clip the wings of Britain's devoted bird feeders.

He just wants us to proceed with caution.

So, if you was to summarise how and when to feed garden birds,

what would your advice be?

My advice would be to feed throughout the year apart from

during the breeding season where you might want to think twice,

provide a big diversity of natural foods.

I would advise people put cages around their feeders

largely because it excludes things like magpies and squirrels

and if you are feeding magpies and squirrels, you are building

their populations up which will help them be predators later.

We have all these nature reserves around the country

and one person manages these big nature reserves,

every householder is a reserve manager in their back garden.

It means you and I can make a difference in our own home.

And it's that home-grown stewardship that has helped

the local population of kites climb to such dizzy heights.

It really does show that if we all pull together,

conservation projects like this really can make a difference.

But conservation is about so much more than looking after

the big headline-grabbing birds.

It's important we take care in the way we feed all our native species,

especially in harsh winter conditions.

JOHN: Winter is a tough time for all our wildlife,

not least here in Scotland.

On average, the UK as a whole can expect 24 days of snow a year

but parts of the Highlands can get 100 or more.

In freezing conditions,

keeping our roads open all around the clock is of vital importance,

but can we be sure there will be enough road salt to cope?

Keeley has the forecast.

The cold weather looks set to continue over the next few days,

Arctic air being driven down on those cold northerly winds and

we are looking at the risk of ice on untreated roads and pavements.

I think the gritters will be out in force through this evening and overnight.

In freezing weather, up to two million tonnes of salt

can be deposited on our motorways and A roads.

The cost, a staggering £150 million.

But that is money well spent.

In my job, I know just how important it is to have the reserves

ready for the gritters at the first sign of bad weather.

But where does all that salt come from?

Over a third of it is extracted here at the Boulby Mine

on the coast of the North York Moors.

This is an immense operation.

The mine drops more than a kilometre below ground

and produces around 350,000 tonnes of salt each year.

Today, I'm battling my claustrophobia and going

deep underground with chief mining engineer, Richard Severn.

Right, ready. As I will ever be! Please let me return.

I certainly will.

I want to see just how much hard work goes into keeping us all

on the move in winter.

And crucially, just how long these essential salt reserves will last.

-I think it's going to be warmer down there.

-Just a touch.

Challenge number one, the lift.

It's about seven minutes.

-Seven minutes down?!

-Yeah!

-Seven minutes down?

More than enough time to get my nerves jangling.

This is the closest area, the oldest area of the mine.

This is probably mined in 1973.

We have mined about 600 miles of roadways.

And we keep expanding at about 125 miles a year.

I was expecting to feel claustrophobic,

for it to be quite small, but there are cars and all sorts down here.

Yeah, it's where we have huge store areas, vehicle workshops,

electrical workshops so really it's like an underground city.

So, are we near to where the salt is mined here?

-No, we're about 12km away.

-12km?!

It's about 30 minutes' drive.

-Right, I wasn't expecting that!

-This is our transport for the day.

-Excellent.

-All nice and sprayed pink just for you.

This little jaunt is actually taking us right out under the North Sea.

It does seem a lot faster, it seems like we are zooming around.

And with the temperature now nudging 35 degrees Celsius, I am

beginning to get a sense of just how challenging it is to work down here.

What strikes me, I know it got gradually warmer,

-is how hot it is here.

-Yeah, it's difficult.

The guys work 11.5 hour shifts in here so you can imagine

it takes some acclimatisation to get used to working in this environment.

-What have we got here, then?

-This is one of our mining machines.

It's about 110 tonnes.

At the front end it has got about 130 tungsten carbide picks

and that is what grinds the rock out

and then it's sent from here all the way to the surface,

about 9km of conveyor belting.

Just stood here, you can taste the salt, it's flying around.

What he is doing now is moving the machine into the face line,

the guy on the right-hand side has a remote control box

-he drives the machine with.

-Couldn't it be done remotely on the surface?

It's a possibility in future but not for the moment.

I think that is the kind of mining I would want to do!

The mine runs 24/7, there are even people down here

on Christmas Day and the whole operation is designed

to react quickly to peaks in demand during the winter months.

But after more than four decades of digging,

surely stocks are about to run out?

-How long is this salt going to last?

-Um, hundreds of years.

It's the same deposit they mine in Germany

so it goes from here right under the North Sea to Germany.

All the way to Germany, this salt line? That's incredible.

-And would I be able to have a go?

-I am sure you will.

-He says!

"I'm sure it will be absolutely fine!" You being a miner.

Miner Paul Stone is an old hand here.

If anyone knows the tricks of the trade, it's him.

How do you find working down here?

I have been doing it for 27 years, so not too bad.

You must quite like it.

I've only been down here for half an hour and I'm struggling.

-You get used to it.

-How do you feel about me having a go at this?

-It's nice you've cleaned it up for me as well.

-No problem.

How on earth do you control this when you can't see anything?

You hear the sound of the machine. You listen to the machine.

It's intuitive what you are doing, all the time. OK. Any tips for me?

Dig deep! And fill the cars.

OK, let's have a go at this, then.

-How long should I hold that down for?

-Hang on.

-The machine has gone haywire.

-Oh, no!

-Typical.

-I have broken it.

'Just my luck. Let's hope I can crack it second time.'

MACHINE WHIRS LOUDLY

MACHINE DROWNS CONVERSATION

-So, that's my salt?

-Yeah!

What was it like to mine your first 20 tonnes of salt?

-That was 20 tonnes?

-Yeah, 20 tonnes.

I tell you what, I feel like I had a lot of responsibility there.

You can't really see what you are doing.

-Your judgment must be absolutely spot-on.

-It is, yeah.

I will give this back to you. Safer hands than mine, I think.

Today has opened my eyes to the skill and stamina of the miners

who worked tirelessly to keep the country moving

when the mercury plummets.

Next time I forecast cold weather,

I am going to be thinking of those men.

JOHN: Isn't it humbling to discover the conditions

those miners work in to keep the rest of a safe? Gripping stuff.

When it comes to wildlife, I think it's fair to say we are not

particularly even-handed in our affections.

Most of us would find a rabbit more endearing than, say, a rat.

And there is one creature that gets a particularly bad press

and that is the wolf. But is that poor reputation really justified?

I have not exactly been dancing with wolves but I have been

walking with them on a wintry day in Cumbria.

This is called Humphrey Head and it is said that in the 1390s,

the very last wolf in England was speared to death up there

after killing a child from a nearby village.

Or so the story goes.

From the Humphrey Head wolf to Little Red Riding Hood, wolves

have always made a good subject for stories, usually as the baddies.

But one Cumbrian couple are keen to separate the fact from the fairy-tale.

Just a stone's throw from Humphrey Head,

Dee and Daniel Ashman offer people the chance to walk with wolves.

To meet them, I have come to private land well off the beaten track.

-Dee, Daniel, good to see.

-Good morning.

And it's the first time I have ever seen wolves in the back of a truck!

-This is Kajika and this is Maska.

-Great names.

They are Native American Indian names.

Maska means strong and Kajika means walks without sound.

And they are an F3 hybrid. What that means is we have crossed

a wolf with a Czechoslovakian wolf dog to third-generation.

Because they are hybrids,

humans are legally allowed to get closer to them and interact

more than they would be able to do with pure wolves.

For us, it's conservation by connection.

We're not here to teach people about what a wolf hybrid is,

we are here to teach people to care about the plight of wolves

and how wolves affect an ecosystem.

And they still look like wolves to me.

-They do.

-Handsome creatures, aren't they?

-Yeah, beautiful.

Do I have to introduce myself to them, Daniel?

Put your hand up towards the bars so they have the opportunity

-just to lick and smell.

-I got a lick, then.

I had a lick from a wolf!

That is the first time that's ever happened.

-So, they have accepted me, do you think?

-They have, yes.

-Right!

-You are part of the pack.

-Good, so we can let them out.

Yeah, we will let them out.

And off we go.

Understanding just how wolves communicate with one another and

the complex social structure of the pack is important to Dee and Daniel.

Is it at all risky doing this?

No, even a wild wolf is suspicious

but is a social animal.

If people come across wolves in the wild,

they are more likely to run away than anything else.

And anything we shouldn't do?

-The most important thing is don't bend down.

-Why?

Because that is inviting them, if you go down to greet them,

bend down, they will assume you are greeting them and that is

-like saying, put my neck in your mouth!

-Oh, they want to play?

They would, they would greet you and start playing.

I don't fancy my neck in your mouth, mate!

-He is very gentle.

-Ha-ha!

With permission from private landowners,

we are able to let the wolves run freely inside a fenced enclosure.

Off they go!

Here, you can really appreciate their superb predatory powers.

We, as humans, have 400 sensory receptors in our nose,

they have over 200 million.

And our 400 allows us to smell a trillion scents

so you can imagine what 200 million does for you.

That is why they never stop, they are always on the alert.

Always smelling and looking.

The wolf is the perfect all-terrain mammal.

They can run, jump,

swim and climb up steep areas of screed or embankment.

For that ability, they have fully developed webbed feet,

they are webbed right up to the nail bed,

and they also have a dual layered coat.

They have an inner thermal layer,

and then an outer layer of fur, traditionally known as guard hairs.

And the hairs that make up the coat are hollow like a polar bear

allowing them to tolerate temperatures as low as -40.

It makes our winters rather mild for them.

So, lots to be learned then from walking with wolves

and they do have the classic form of communication, the howl.

Yeah, there's lots of different howls.

There isn't one magical howl that does everything.

And they all change in tone and structure depending on what they are trying to say.

And can you do them to communicate with these?

We can. The one we use the most is a family bonding howl.

And what does that sound like?

You do it first and I will try and copy come see what happens.

See how it goes!

SHE HOWLS

JOHN JOINS IN

Howling with wolves!

WOLVES HOWL AND BARK

Meeting those wolves certainly opened my eyes

to what intelligent and sociable creatures they are.

Though they have long died out around here,

it isn't hard to imagine the howls echoing through Scotland's

spectacular winter woodlands.

For me, one of the most picturesque features of the British landscape

is a man-made one - our canals.

Once the backbone of the Industrial Revolution,

they are now places to enjoy ourselves. They are also home

to more than 2,000 listed structures,

50 scheduled ancient monuments

and five UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

And where they snake through the countryside,

they are a vital artery for all sorts of wildlife.

An army of people, nearly all volunteers, help restore them and

keep them going and they need your help, as Paul has been finding out.

The Kennet and Avon Canal is one of Britain's best loved waterways,

cutting a line right across southern England -

linking London to the Bristol Channel.

And, for me, the best bit is that part of it runs through my land.

# Here comes the sun... #

Well, the sun isn't quite here yet, but canal holidays are

becoming increasingly popular in Britain.

But what does it take to keep our much-loved waterways in

tiptop condition for us all to enjoy over the next few months?

Paul Fox is the senior project manager

for the Canal and River Trust.

Why is it important to dredge?

It's essential we dredge because of the sediment coming into the canal,

the run-off from the fields and that sort of thing.

Building up and building up layers of silt on the canal bed

and eventually affecting the passage of boats.

And judging by those reeds there, they have been there a few years.

Yeah, we haven't dredged here for about 15 years.

And so periodically we need to come along and cut the reeds back

and dig out the sediment. An area like this where we have encroaching reeds,

we would only tackle in the winter because of the nesting birds.

It's a great habitat, water voles and other wildlife we love.

What will you do with all of these reeds?

These reeds are going off to a compost site,

they will end up in a soil conditioner of some sort.

-And that bit of kit, what do you call that?

-That is our truck saw.

And that is a great bit of kit for tidying up the floating reeds

that escape the dredger.

It's amphibious,

it can come in and out of the water under its own steam.

And once that's done,

I can see all of that silt you are picking up, what happens to that?

That silt we are storing temporarily,

when we dredge it, it's wet,

we will come back in the summer months when the ground is drier,

the silt is drier and that material will be spread onto the field...

-Oh, composting, in a way.

-It's recycling.

It means fewer artificial fertilisers will be needed.

-That is as good as it gets, really. Nature has done that.

-Perfect.

It's not just important to keep the canals clear for river traffic.

Although they are man-made structures,

they play a vital role in helping our natural environment.

Max Ward is the Canal and River Trust's volunteers' supervisor.

-Why are our canals and waterways so rich in wildlife?

-Er...

Well, there's lots of water, for a start

which is a great resource for many animals.

They pass through rural and urban areas, often a safe haven for

many animals, small, medium and large, and you have these ponds

as well which give the chance for different vegetation to grow.

Sure. I only live up the road and I know I see herons most days.

And I see the odd kingfisher. What else can you see here?

So, these side ponds, we have had otters in the past.

They're making a comeback.

You mention the kingfishers, we have a resident pair of swans

that have been nesting here for over ten years.

Looking at the ponds adjacent to the canal,

can you tell me why they are here?

The canal rises up to 237 feet in two miles so the locks are in short

succession and when each boat goes down, it takes a load of water down

with it, but there's one of these side ponds for each of the 16 locks.

Obviously we need to maintain our waterways and canals.

How can members of the general public help,

how can they volunteer and get hands-on?

They can look at the website and see what volunteering opportunities we have out there,

canalrivertrust.org.uk.

By going on that, you will see there is a vast amount of

opportunities they can get involved with.

They can be a lock keeper, they can join us on the tow path taskforce,

keeping the tow path looking good, keeping the locks painted.

Without the volunteers, the man-made structure would start to deteriorate.

200 years old, half the time it's constantly underwater,

it needs constant maintenance.

I'm keen to get Max's advice on how to tackle

a particular problem on MY stretch of the canal.

This is the area I wanted to show you and you can see the bank

has been eroded from cattle in and out using the canal as their water source.

What can I do, how can I reinstate the bank?

Rather than a hard edged bank like that, you could look at doing

a natural technique using coil roll which is recycled coconut husks

that you can post in and it's a planting platform.

That is a really good idea. And then backfill, yeah, up to that?

Absolutely. And then you have your bank restored but you still have

a soft edge which is great for water voles which are succeeding on

the Kennet and Avon because we have done so much soft bank protection.

And when you say plant up in it, what can I plant in it?

A variety of native things, sedges, reeds for a bit of colour, irises.

-Flag irises.

-Flag irises would be good.

That would look really good.

-It would tidy it up.

-We might have a team of volunteers to help you!

I might take you up on that!

JOHN: Encouraging to learn that even during our hardest season,

we can all work to maintain our precious canals

and the wildlife that depends on them.

And when it comes to pulling together to battle the elements,

a close-knit community in 1940s Britain led the way,

as Matt discovered.

It's a part of the country that knows how to cope with a proper wild winter.

It's Upper Teesdale.

The vast expanse of fell is a stage set for the weather

to play out its many different moods.

Rain, wind, sleet and snow.

This place gets hammered by the weather, and I should know.

I grew up not far from here.

Our farm is on the other side of that dale.

Teesdale is no stranger to brutal winters.

70 years ago, it was tested by one of the worst.

The infamous winter of 1947 and in that year Teesdale recorded

the most snowfall of any inhabited place in England.

And it was recorded at the bottom of this hill.

But the people who can remember that winter are slowly disappearing.

And with them, their stories.

It sparked an idea,

the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Partnership started an oral history project called a Winter's Dale.

By recording interviews with elderly locals,

they created a treasured archive of winter memories.

I was a ten-year-old boy at the time and I can remember walking along the

top of the heaps and you could reach up and touch the telephone wires.

The sheep were in dire need of food and it was pitiful to see them,

just skeletons. Absolute skeletons.

It was the most magical walk down the valley. A moonlit night.

And great icicles hanging off barns.

Oh, it's a dream. A dream.

One of the surviving contributors to a Winter's Dale,

is retired farmer Maurice Tarn.

He is now 86 but remembers those years like only yesterday.

Maurice, what are your memories of that winter of 1947?

Very, very savage winter. It blew from the East, and the West.

And all of this snow cutting business as well.

No diggers and this, that and the other back then. It was all shovels?

Yes, it was hand shovel, my father had to go out snow cutting.

When the sun shone, he came home with a tan.

-What, off the reflection off the snow.

-Aye.

And of course you did not have the five-day forecast from

-Countryfile, did you? You had to act on instinct.

-Definitely.

You had to look up the valley and see where the clouds were coming from!

So, you are telling me all of this with a huge smile on your face.

-And you have enjoyed your time in the dale?

-Oh, yes.

Aye, I would not live anywhere else.

Times have changed since Maurice was a young lad.

But winter is still tough here.

Tom Hutchinson is a tenant farmer

on 100 acres near Middleton in Teesdale.

Today brings clear skies,

a blanket of snow and a frosty bite in the air.

The kind of conditions in which Tom and his dog Kyle and the quad bike can cope.

Right then, Tom. Let's get these fed up, shall we?

Tom's utter passion is his purebred Swaledales.

He has even been known to describe them as the worst addiction known to man.

It's what drives him to weather these winters, year in, year out.

The thing about the Swale sheep, you have so many different ideas

and different thoughts on what is a good one.

It means when you go to the market, you can have people having

a conversation about the same sheep, but a different opinion, completely

different opinion and it might just be down to one hair on its head.

And when you look down a line of sheep like this, the wonderful thing

is the back story and the connection you have with each of your animals.

Yeah, for me it is.

It's probably not the same for everybody,

but for me I like to have more history.

I can go back and know they're great-great-grandmothers.

Farming these hills is no bed of roses.

It's not just Tom's dedication but the efforts of the whole

family that keep this place going.

The Hutchinsons are typical of most farmers.

Braving the elements every day to make a living.

Lie down!

JOHN: A timely reminder of just how brutal this beautiful season can be.

And we hope you can join us again tomorrow when we will have

more entries in our Countryfile Winter Diaries.

When Jules will be on the trail of a bristly troublemaker that

is causing chaos for its human neighbours.

Look at what's happened to the ground underneath my feet.

That can't be good for business.

Keeley will be helping seal pups facing a life or death situation.

There you go.

I thought we would struggle to capture this and they would be off.

There you go. Freedom!

And I'll be joining a group of walkers that may be able to help

more of us find the path to true love.

Until then, goodbye.