Episode 2 Countryfile Winter Diaries


Episode 2

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The days may be some of the shortest in the year,

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and the hours are the darkest,

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but winter casts its own special spell.

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A time to embrace the magic of our wonderful British landscape...

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..be captivated by our wildlife...

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..and enjoy the bracing great outdoors.

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The season may be beautiful, but winter's not without its problems.

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

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The sieves make perfect feeders.

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Brilliant! And do you know what? My kids would love to do this.

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

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We've had landslides, the railway moved 40 metres towards the sea.

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It's a real challenge to look after.

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A warm welcome to Countryfile Winter Diaries.

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And here's what we've got for you on today's programme.

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That's a great view!

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You can see for miles!

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Paul's on a mission to show us why our forests are in danger.

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This is what this fungus does,

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it attacks the needles and, once it's established here,

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you won't get rid of it.

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Margherita discovers how the winter cold can take a terrible toll

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on some of our most vulnerable loved ones.

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How does the cold and winter affect your health?

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Last year, it was five times I was in hospital.

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And I'll be showing you what it takes to survive winter

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on a remote island.

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All week, we're here on Anglesey.

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This is Llanddwyn Island, and there's plenty to see and do here,

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with its salt marshes and sand dunes.

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And it's also known for these curious rock formations.

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Known as pillow lava rocks,

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they were formed by ancient undersea volcanoes.

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But how do they get their name?

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Well, some say they look like pillows.

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There's cold comfort here as the icy wind blasts through but, of course,

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I'm lucky enough to have a nice, warm home to go back to.

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But for many of us, winter comes with a real threat.

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Four million families across the UK are trapped in fuel poverty,

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facing heating bills they simply can't afford.

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Last winter claimed thousands of lives,

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with the elderly the most vulnerable.

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But Margherita's on the case to find out what we can all do

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to help keep our loved ones safe and warm.

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What could be lovelier?

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A picture postcard English village with a dusting of snow.

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Aston Abbotts in Buckinghamshire.

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But behind many front doors across the UK,

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there's a battle going on right now, a battle to stay warm -

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and in some cases, stay alive.

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It's a plight that 71-year-old Elaine Harris knows only too well.

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Elaine, hi! Can I come in?

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-Yes, certainly.

-Thanks!

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Elaine has lived here for 41 years.

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She brought up her family here and can't imagine living anywhere else.

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But winters are getting tougher and tougher to get through.

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Especially with severe asthma.

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Well, you hope it's going to be a mild winter.

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But then it turns out like this,

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and then you worry even more because you think,

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"Oh, well, how am I going to cope?"

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And I notice that even inside your house, you've got so many layers on.

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-Yeah, I've got three.

-In the middle of the afternoon now, and...

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Jumper, dressing gown...

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Yeah, three layers. I've got to keep warm. Yes.

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And how does the cold and winter affect your health?

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Well, if you're not careful,

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I'll end up going into hospital

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with chest infections because, last year,

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it was five times I was in hospital.

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Why don't you put the heating on at home?

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Because we can't afford it.

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We only have this fire on, and it's just all electric.

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My son's got one in his bedroom,

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and there's one in the bedroom I use.

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And the cost is astronomical.

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What percentage of your income is going on keeping warm?

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Well, I get £80 a week,

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and, last week, we spent nearly £60

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in five days.

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And then you've got food, and then you've got your water

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and what have you.

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So, what sacrifices are you making just to keep warm?

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It's a struggle at times.

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But you learn...

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You learn to economise. Like, you don't...

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You don't cook meals.

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You have sandwiches.

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And things like that, to save money.

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So, you're missing out hot meals,

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so you can keep the house warm.

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Because we just couldn't afford to have the cooker on.

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And what happens at Christmas?

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Well, we'll probably have some cold meat,

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and a few vegetables.

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And that...that'll be it.

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Can you see a way out of this?

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No.

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That's why I keep well wrapped up.

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Elaine is one of a million pensioners

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believed to be in fuel poverty.

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But there are another three million people

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across the UK struggling to meet their heating bills.

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And the problem's even more acute here in the countryside, where

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older, less energy-efficient homes

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mean more people are living in fuel poverty

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than they are in the average town.

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And high energy costs and static wages

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mean more and more villages

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are finding staying warm in the winter a real struggle.

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But for the very worst-off,

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this fight to stay warm can have serious health consequences.

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Gabby Mallett is director of operations

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at the National Energy Foundation.

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It has a sort of chicken and egg impact, really.

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If you have a health condition already, it will make it worse.

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If you don't have a health condition, then it can give you one.

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And it's not just the cost of getting someone's house warm -

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if it's not warm, that costs us as a society.

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Yeah, there's an enormous cost to the NHS.

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Estimates are that the NHS is going to spend about £22 billion over

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the next 15 years, treating people who have these kinds of conditions.

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Because they're in fuel poverty.

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And it's not just a monetary cost to the NHS.

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-This is costing lives.

-Oh, it is, absolutely.

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If you look at last year's statistics,

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about 34,000 extra people died

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because they're living in cold homes.

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But surely a winter fuel allowance of up to £300 makes a difference?

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That just goes to the energy companies - people use it

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to pay their fuel bills.

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It's not making any difference to their fuel bills for the future.

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So, if that money was spent on energy efficiency measures,

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people would be saving money next year,

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the year after and the year after that.

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If they want to make a genuine difference to these people,

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in terms of fuel poverty and in terms of their health,

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then they need to invest a lot of money

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and they need to invest it soon.

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The first step to a warmer home is to make it as energy efficient

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as possible.

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So we asked assessor Andy Stevens to check out Elaine's house

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to see what savings she could make.

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An assessment free to anyone on a low income,

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in poor health or at risk.

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Simple measures like energy-saving light bulbs

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could save you £6 per bulb a year.

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Foil behind radiators, another ten.

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Stand-by plugs cost £20.

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But you could easily recoup that in a year.

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And always be sure to shop around

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for the cheapest energy tariff.

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But in Elaine's case, there are bigger problems.

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Obviously, it's hard not to bring up the heating situation first of all.

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It's obviously not working.

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I don't know how long that's not been working for.

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-Yeah, three, four years.

-Three years...

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So, you've been without heating and hot water for three years.

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We have to boil a kettle if we want a wash or whatever.

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OK, that's frightening. It's a big concern.

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The temperatures upstairs in the bedrooms are 12 degrees,

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which is not safe living.

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I know you re used to the temperatures in the house.

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Does it worry you that he's worried?

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You don't...you don't realise yourself,

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you just get on with your life.

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But when somebody comes in and says, "It shouldn't be like this,

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"you should have such and such," you think,

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"Yes, I really ought to do something about it."

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Especially when you're not well.

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That's it.

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Advisers like Andy from LEAP, the Local Energy Advisory Programme,

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can get you the help you need over grants and allowances.

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What we have found is that she's potentially

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not claiming the Warm Home Discount,

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which is also potential money back in her pocket of £140 a year,

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off the energy company.

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So, after Andy's visit, what do you think?

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I think it's very good, and with the money that we save,

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it will make a lot of difference.

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I mean, even £20 a year is a lot...

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Makes a lot of difference.

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And if he's going to refer us to the people about our heating,

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that will take a lot off of our shoulders

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because we won't have to worry so much.

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So, even the small changes today will make a big difference.

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Yes, it will.

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It's surprising what a difference just changing light bulbs will make.

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You know, you don't realise what a difference it will make.

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Once Elaine submits the paperwork,

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she should be able to get a new boiler. Fingers crossed.

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Whilst these energy-saving measures are far from the complete solution

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to the dangers that fuel poverty can pose, they are a few small steps.

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A few small steps that we can all take to save a bit of cash and,

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hopefully, stay warm and well this winter.

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Let's all try and do everything we can to help

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our most vulnerable during the winter.

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Now, at this time of year, you won't see many farm animals out in their

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pastures. Most, like these beef cattle,

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are tucked up nice and snug in their barns.

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But it is a good time of year to get close

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to many of our domestic breeds, at several of the winter fairs,

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the length and breadth of the country,

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where magnificent beasts like these are primped and preened

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to within an inch of their lives.

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But how many of us really realise that whilst the judges have their

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say, it's actually you and I who really decide which of these

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magnificent animals will go home with the top prizes?

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I popped down to Builth Wells to find out more.

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When it comes to fashion, forget Paris, London and Milan.

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At this time of year, farmyard trend spotters head to

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the catwalks of Builth Wells for the Royal Welsh Winter Show.

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Backstage, an army of beauticians are hard at work,

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glamming up the farmyard versions of Naomi, Kate and Cara.

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Coats look glossy, fluffy and freshly powdered.

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Well, I tell you what, I wouldn't have had my hair cut if I'd known

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this was going on today.

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This year, Welsh Black cattle are in vogue,

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with more than 2,000 entries in the show.

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Owners Ben and Ross, the Dolce & Gabbana of the cattle world,

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have been preparing these two beauties for months,

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with daily workouts and weekly shampoos.

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-Then we put the black soap on first...

-Yeah.

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We rub that in and then brush it up. Just to make them...

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It gives them more volume in the coat. Then we apply the spray.

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-Yeah.

-Just put it on then, to make them look more shiny.

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Well, I think it's probably safer if I leave you

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to the technical side, but I'm quite happy to give you a hand

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-with the old hairdryer.

-Yes, definite, yeah.

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-Right, fire it up, then!

-OK.

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Wow!

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-You're just back-brushing it, like that?

-Yeah.

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Looks like I'm on Rear Of The Year!

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I just had his hair, look!

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Well, boys, as long as you don't show them that bit,

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you might get away with it. I'll leave it to you!

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In the judging ring, there's no room for size zero.

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These supermodels are definitely plus-sized, and that's the point.

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These beefcakes will be judged on the quality of their meat

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and what we want on our plates.

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I'm meeting Rob Rattray, an award-winning butcher

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who's competed and judged here for the last 20 years.

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He certainly knows what the judges are looking for.

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The most important thing is, when he judges them individually,

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he'll be putting his hands on them to see how much cover there is on

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the loin, where the sirloin steak is, and how much fat cover is on the

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base of the tail. So, really, you've got to handle these cattle.

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You can make them look beautiful and smart and shiny,

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but if you want to buy them,

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you want to feel them and touch to see if they're fat enough.

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Unlike the fashion world, where fat is mentioned in a whisper,

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here, it's shouted from the rafters because fat means flavour.

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I remember my mother taking me to the butcher's in the 1970s.

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She didn't ask for anything with fat on, because everybody thought it was

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a bad idea, it would make you fat.

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But, of course, we now know that sugar is the real culprit.

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Do you think that's helping us to get back into meat with fat?

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Yes. There was a push for lean meat.

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I think that was spoiling the meat trade, to be honest with you.

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-Thanks to all these TV celebrity chefs...

-Right.

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..they've taught us again that we need fat on our meat,

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and good marbling inside the meat, to make it tasty.

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And have the best tender steaks.

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Beef is our Sunday roast favourite,

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but pork's not so on trend.

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Pig prices have toppled by a third,

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and the Welsh pig population is down by 8%.

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But David Lang, competitor and head of the Welsh Pig Association,

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is determined his Large Blacks, the UK's only black pig,

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will return to hog the limelight.

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Now, you will tell me, I'm sure, that large Blacks are the best bacon

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and pork pigs going.

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Everybody that keeps a pig will tell you the same thing.

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-Yeah.

-You know, I personally find the Large Black are the best.

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They're the rarest of the rare breeds,

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so I feel that I'm doing my little bit to keep them going.

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-Yeah. We've always been a nation of bacon sandwich lovers.

-Yeah.

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But we seem to be going for those bigger cuts now.

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Especially the rare breed pigs.

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-Yeah.

-The rare breed pigs are definitely making a comeback.

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Because the taste, the crackling, everything about them,

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people are realising that they're so good.

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If pork has been falling off the catwalk,

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Welsh lamb is getting all the front pages.

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In the last seven years,

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the numbers of sheep grazing in the Welsh valleys have shot up by more

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than two million.

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In fashion-forward shopping,

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the latest trend is for consumers to buy locally sourced produce.

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So, with that in mind, butcher Rob can tell us

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what we need to look for.

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Do you think, as consumers, we've become more discerning about meat?

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Yes, I think so. It's becoming more and more popular

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that we buy food from local farms,

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slaughtered locally, and buy it locally as well.

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-This is what it's all about, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-High-quality meat.

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So, what should we be looking for when we're selecting our meat in

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-the butcher's or the supermarket?

-Well, this leg of lamb here now,

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and a half shoulder of bone-rolled lamb,

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you need a nice cover of white fat over it.

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A piece of sirloin there with a good cover of fat

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and the natural marbling inside it.

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That will give it lovely flavour as it cooks.

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Now, marbling is all the rage at the moment.

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For anybody not in the know,

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just to talk us through what marbling really is.

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It's this little bit of fat that's in the meat itself.

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-Yeah. Those sort of veins of fat.

-Yeah, yeah.

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On the sirloin, you don't see it so much.

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When you go further along into the rib,

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you'll see bigger lumps of marbling in the rib itself.

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That helps it cook and give it the flavour.

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Also, in beef, you want to see little dark

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rim outside, on the outside of it, just under the fat,

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and they call that, like, a ring of confidence.

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It shows it's been dry hung.

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So, that's another thing to give the consumer the confidence.

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From a ring of confidence to the ring of champions.

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Whoever clinches the title gets the front cover.

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-Now, Ross and Ben are in here with their two.

-Yes.

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It will be very interesting to see how they actually get on.

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-Yeah, they're in a very, very tough class.

-Is it possible

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to quantify what winning here means in financial terms?

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It could be worth anything from, say,

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£1,400 to £1,650, £1,700 tops, right.

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But if that animal happened to become champion of the show,

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it could easily be something like

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-4, 5, 6, 10, 12,000, even.

-Wow! Ten times their value.

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-Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

-For that ribbon.

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But it's only the one animal who has that champion rosette, you see.

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-Are we approaching that moment when we'll know?

-We could be.

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APPLAUSE

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ANNOUNCEMENT OVER TANNOY

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-So, now we know, Rob.

-Yes. He'll be a very happy owner, won't he?

0:17:300:17:35

I would say so! Would you have picked that as the winner?

0:17:350:17:38

-I'd be quite happy to have picked that, yeah.

-Yeah.

0:17:380:17:40

It might be disappointment for Ben and Ross,

0:17:430:17:45

but David's bringing home the bacon.

0:17:450:17:48

We got first for the pair.

0:17:480:17:50

-Were you expecting that?

-Yes.

0:17:500:17:51

Well, that's the winter done.

0:17:540:17:55

Time for these supermodels to get some beauty sleep.

0:17:550:17:58

Well, there certainly were some very worthy winners there.

0:18:030:18:07

Now, there is nothing to beat a winter's walk

0:18:070:18:09

in one of our many forests. There are over 100 across the UK.

0:18:090:18:13

They are a winter wonderland that all the family can enjoy.

0:18:130:18:16

But there are some assassins on the loose now

0:18:160:18:19

threatening their very survival.

0:18:190:18:21

Paul is on the case.

0:18:210:18:22

Isn't that a magnificent sight? I love trees!

0:18:260:18:29

I'm so passionate about them.

0:18:290:18:31

And that's why I was terribly excited

0:18:310:18:34

when we planted these up, last winter.

0:18:340:18:36

And they're doing really, really well.

0:18:360:18:38

And hopefully they'll be here for many more generations to come.

0:18:380:18:42

But the same cannot be said about our forests.

0:18:420:18:44

Millions of trees each year are dying,

0:18:440:18:46

as disease reaches epidemic levels.

0:18:460:18:48

And I want to try and track down the culprits.

0:18:480:18:51

Britain's forests are glorious all year round.

0:18:540:18:58

But only 13% of the UK is covered by woodland,

0:18:580:19:02

nothing compared to countries like Greece and Italy,

0:19:020:19:05

which have almost double that.

0:19:050:19:07

There are plans for a Great Northern Forest

0:19:070:19:10

of 50 million trees,

0:19:100:19:11

but, in the meantime, what we have is under threat.

0:19:110:19:16

My worry is bugs.

0:19:160:19:17

Bugs like Dutch elm disease,

0:19:170:19:19

which caused carnage in the '70s.

0:19:190:19:22

Spread by bark beetle, millions of our elms

0:19:220:19:25

were killed across the UK.

0:19:250:19:28

Could something as devastating happen again?

0:19:280:19:31

Winter is the perfect time for a health check.

0:19:310:19:33

My first line of inquiry brings me to the New Forest,

0:19:350:19:39

to meet James Aldred, a wildlife cameraman

0:19:390:19:41

who's never happier than when he's climbing the treetops

0:19:410:19:45

of his youth, and giving the forest a bird's eye health check.

0:19:450:19:48

James, it's great to meet you. You're a fellow tree lover.

0:19:520:19:55

I love my trees as well. But this place is special for you.

0:19:550:19:58

The New Forest. I mean, you grew up around here.

0:19:580:20:00

Has it changed much since you were a kid?

0:20:000:20:02

Overall, I think that the forest these days

0:20:020:20:05

is under a lot more pressure

0:20:050:20:07

from people, from visitors.

0:20:070:20:08

You can sort of feel the whole forest groaning under the weight

0:20:080:20:11

of the amount of holiday-makers here.

0:20:110:20:14

And there's a lot of levels of protection.

0:20:140:20:16

Obviously, it was made a national park a few years back.

0:20:160:20:19

It's absolutely stunning. There's something about a deciduous tree,

0:20:190:20:22

once it's lost its leaves in the winter, when it's backlit like that,

0:20:220:20:26

-the trees look so sculptural, it creates a silhouette.

-Yeah.

0:20:260:20:28

-It's beautiful.

-Well, it's interesting you say that, because

0:20:280:20:32

you can look at clues in the shape that a tree has grown into...

0:20:320:20:35

-Sure.

-And you can tell what sort of life it's had,

0:20:350:20:37

because they're very responsive. They're sort of exposed to

0:20:370:20:40

environmental pressures, like any other living thing.

0:20:400:20:43

Yeah. We go on, we bang on about how we have to save the rainforest,

0:20:430:20:46

and quite rightly so, because what's happening out there is devastating,

0:20:460:20:49

but what's happening here in our forests?

0:20:490:20:52

Well, forests are very dynamic places.

0:20:520:20:54

You know, they come and go. And they do need stewardship.

0:20:540:20:57

There are pathogens and diseases

0:20:570:20:59

which do come in across from mainland Europe.

0:20:590:21:01

But up until very recently, of course, the saving grace

0:21:010:21:04

-is the fact that Britain is an island.

-Yes.

0:21:040:21:06

And it's hard for these things to get in.

0:21:060:21:07

But now, you know, with air travel and all that,

0:21:070:21:10

someone can have breakfast in America

0:21:100:21:12

and walk around on American soil, get on a plane and be back in London

0:21:120:21:17

and walking out in Richmond Park within 24 hours.

0:21:170:21:20

That could mean visitors unwittingly introducing or carrying

0:21:200:21:24

disease, but to really see the wood from the trees,

0:21:240:21:27

we need to climb one, and James has picked out a childhood favourite.

0:21:270:21:31

There's a lovely beech tree up here that I want to introduce you to.

0:21:310:21:34

-Come on, then.

-It's a tree I used to climb when I was a teenager.

0:21:340:21:37

Very special.

0:21:370:21:39

Beech trees are common in the UK,

0:21:390:21:41

growing to a height of 130 feet or more.

0:21:410:21:44

And they can live for hundreds of years.

0:21:440:21:47

So, there you go.

0:21:470:21:49

That's some tree. Look at that! Look at the girth!

0:21:490:21:52

That's a few hundred years old.

0:21:520:21:53

-Yeah. About 350, we reckon.

-Yeah.

0:21:530:21:57

Oak trees are recognised as the king of trees, but the beech,

0:21:570:22:01

in all its majesty, is often called the queen.

0:22:010:22:04

Do you know what? It's a lot easier than it looks.

0:22:050:22:07

Good. Exactly.

0:22:070:22:09

And with its heavy canopy now gone,

0:22:090:22:12

we can get a closer look to inspect the forest's health.

0:22:120:22:15

That's a great view!

0:22:160:22:18

Do you know, you can see for miles, can't you?

0:22:180:22:20

-It is fantastic, isn't it?

-Yeah!

-It just opens it all up.

0:22:200:22:24

What can you tell about the forest from up here,

0:22:240:22:27

and the state of it, that you couldn't tell from down there?

0:22:270:22:29

I mean, this is where all the life is, up in the canopy.

0:22:290:22:32

Much more three-dimensional environment

0:22:320:22:34

than standing down there.

0:22:340:22:36

It looks very, very healthy, to me.

0:22:360:22:38

There's lots of dead wood, which, paradoxically,

0:22:380:22:41

I take as a good sign.

0:22:410:22:43

It's good, strong habitat.

0:22:430:22:44

Great for birds and for mammals.

0:22:440:22:47

So, are you generally happy and optimistic

0:22:470:22:49

about the state of our forests?

0:22:490:22:51

I am optimistic, as long as we don't get complacent.

0:22:510:22:54

And, of course, the big threat these days is disease,

0:22:540:22:58

pathogens, fungal infection from

0:22:580:23:01

-different parts of the world, you know?

-Sure.

0:23:010:23:04

Problems that these trees

0:23:040:23:05

haven't evolved to be able to deal with.

0:23:050:23:08

These invading diseases are a menace.

0:23:100:23:13

Today, ash dieback is threatening Britain's 80 million ash trees.

0:23:130:23:17

But I want to know what other lethal bugs are targeting our woodlands.

0:23:170:23:22

Dr Joan Webber, a top pathologist at the Forestry Commission,

0:23:220:23:26

is tailing the assassins with me.

0:23:260:23:28

So, what kind of bugs and diseases

0:23:300:23:32

are attacking our trees right now?

0:23:320:23:35

Well, all different sorts. Some of them are pretty common things,

0:23:350:23:38

just the equivalent of coughs and cold ailments

0:23:380:23:42

that you or I might have.

0:23:420:23:43

And then you can get much more damaging sorts of disorders.

0:23:430:23:47

So, that might be, or is very often, the ones that are introduced.

0:23:470:23:51

They become more damaging

0:23:510:23:52

because they're new to the trees, and the trees

0:23:520:23:55

-haven't had an opportunity to evolve resistance.

-Ah.

0:23:550:23:58

And already on this short walk, Joan has spotted another blight.

0:24:000:24:04

Well, this is a really good example

0:24:060:24:08

of the impact that a disease can have on a tree.

0:24:080:24:11

Some Corsican pine. If you look through that stand of trees,

0:24:110:24:15

immediately you're struck by how much light you can see.

0:24:150:24:18

-You can actually see through them, can't you?

-You can. You can.

0:24:180:24:21

And then if you count up those whorls...

0:24:210:24:24

-BOTH:

-One, two, three, four, five, six...

0:24:240:24:27

-There's about six.

-When you get up to the sixth one,

0:24:270:24:29

it's only then you start to see needles on those branches.

0:24:290:24:32

And, as you can see, they're really just concentrated

0:24:320:24:35

-at the tips of the branches.

-They're just on the tips, aren't they?

0:24:350:24:38

-They are.

-There, it's all the way up the branch.

-Absolutely.

0:24:380:24:41

-And all the way down the bottom.

-Absolutely, yes.

0:24:410:24:43

And this is what this fungus does.

0:24:430:24:45

It attacks the needles, and so they're shed prematurely.

0:24:450:24:49

Red band needle hails from the southern hemisphere,

0:24:500:24:53

and has been rampant since arriving in British forests in the '50s.

0:24:530:24:57

The tree needs the energy from the needles to thrive.

0:24:580:25:01

Without it, it can die.

0:25:010:25:03

-Once it's established here, you won't get rid of it...

-Really?

0:25:040:25:07

..but it's whether you can tip the balance and put it more

0:25:070:25:10

in the tree's favour, and take the balance away from the pathogen.

0:25:100:25:14

Gosh, that's quite frightening.

0:25:140:25:16

Hopefully, the introduction of more-resistant species will see off

0:25:170:25:21

the fungus, but I want to take a closer look to home.

0:25:210:25:24

Are British trees in trouble?

0:25:250:25:27

Well, there's no doubt that we're seeing a number

0:25:270:25:30

of introduced organisms which really are having an impact.

0:25:300:25:33

-And that isn't something that's necessarily new.

-Mm.

0:25:330:25:35

If you look back to the 1960s, '70s,

0:25:350:25:38

we were seeing the arrival of maybe one new pest

0:25:380:25:42

or pathogen each decade.

0:25:420:25:44

-Yeah.

-Now we're seeing that almost every couple of years.

0:25:440:25:49

Some of these infections can spread like wildfire.

0:25:490:25:52

Back in 2000, there were just four reports of bleeding canker,

0:25:520:25:57

attacking our horse chestnuts.

0:25:570:25:58

But seven years later, around half the UK population was affected.

0:26:000:26:05

But there are things we can do to help.

0:26:050:26:08

If you find something like that, what should you do?

0:26:080:26:10

Well, most people have a phone with a camera in their pocket,

0:26:100:26:15

so I would say, take a picture of the symptom that you see.

0:26:150:26:18

Also, the entire tree, so we get a bit of an idea

0:26:180:26:21

of the context as well.

0:26:210:26:23

And then the Forestry Commission has something called Tree Alert,

0:26:230:26:26

which is an online reporting tool.

0:26:260:26:29

-And so you can go to that...

-Yeah.

-..and essentially say,

0:26:290:26:32

"I've got something to report, something that might be

0:26:320:26:34

"out of the ordinary. Here are the pictures."

0:26:340:26:37

The New Forest has more than 13 million visitors every year.

0:26:380:26:42

And our presence helps bugs and nasties to flourish -

0:26:420:26:45

and to spread.

0:26:450:26:47

So, what can we all do to keep our forests in the best of health?

0:26:470:26:51

Lots.

0:26:510:26:53

The Forestry Commission recommend you take a few simple measures

0:26:530:26:56

whenever you go for a walk.

0:26:560:26:58

Clean your walking shoes, child buggy wheels, bicycles,

0:26:580:27:03

even your dog's paws.

0:27:030:27:05

Simple precautions which could really help to make a difference.

0:27:050:27:09

I couldn't imagine a world without trees.

0:27:100:27:13

They are the lungs of nature.

0:27:130:27:15

And they help us keep alive.

0:27:150:27:17

So we should do our bit to make sure they're fit and healthy

0:27:170:27:20

so the next generation can enjoy them for years to come.

0:27:200:27:23

Thanks, Paul. Some really useful advice there,

0:27:260:27:29

that we can all follow.

0:27:290:27:30

Now, Paul, of course, was in the New Forest, and that is certainly on

0:27:300:27:33

our list of top forests and woodlands to visit during the winter.

0:27:330:27:37

It's an ancient landscape dating back to William the Conqueror,

0:27:410:27:45

and home to the New Forest pony.

0:27:450:27:47

These little chaps easily cope with the winter cold, and are known as

0:27:470:27:51

the architects of the forest,

0:27:510:27:53

as their foraging has helped shape the landscape.

0:27:530:27:55

Up in Scotland, in the pine forests of the Cairngorms,

0:27:570:28:00

there's a stillness and silence in the winter that's hard to beat.

0:28:000:28:04

And if you're lucky, you might spot the crested tit -

0:28:070:28:10

a pinewood specialist which likes northern climes.

0:28:100:28:13

Snowdonia has some wonderful forest and woodland to explore on

0:28:180:28:22

the southern reaches of the national park.

0:28:220:28:24

But if remote wilds don't take your fancy,

0:28:290:28:32

step out in gardens like Studley Royal Park

0:28:320:28:34

in North Yorkshire...

0:28:340:28:35

..where trees form an amphitheatre for the water features,

0:28:380:28:42

statues and the ruins of medieval Fountains Abbey.

0:28:420:28:45

Here on Anglesey, I'm loving my walk through the Dingle Nature Reserve.

0:28:500:28:54

25 acres of steep wooded valley,

0:28:540:28:57

with this very pretty river at the bottom.

0:28:570:28:59

I have to confess, I think there is something rather magical about

0:28:590:29:03

exploring the woodland during the winter,

0:29:030:29:04

when all the leaves have gone.

0:29:040:29:06

It reveals the landscape in a way that isn't always obvious during

0:29:060:29:10

the height of summer. And, not surprisingly,

0:29:100:29:12

it's also a great place for bird-watching, too.

0:29:120:29:15

One of the joys of the winter months is the sight of migrating birds,

0:29:170:29:21

perhaps none more so than geese gracing our grey skies

0:29:210:29:25

in their familiar V-formation.

0:29:250:29:28

The pattern means they can fly in each other's slipstreams,

0:29:280:29:31

conserving energy, and it's thought that some geese can fly

0:29:310:29:35

up to 1,500 miles a day, at over 70mph.

0:29:350:29:39

Over in the Cotswolds,

0:29:390:29:40

Ellie is getting ready for a very special take-off.

0:29:400:29:43

I've come to a gliding club in the heart of the Cotswolds

0:29:530:29:57

to meet a family of Greylag geese

0:29:570:29:59

with an unconventional mother.

0:29:590:30:02

When these geese hatched, the first moving object they saw

0:30:030:30:07

was Rose Buck.

0:30:070:30:08

Good lads! Go on, Thomas!

0:30:080:30:11

So they instinctively thought she was their mother and followed her,

0:30:110:30:15

even as adults.

0:30:150:30:17

It's known as imprinting.

0:30:170:30:18

-Hi, Rose, good to see you.

-Oh, hi, Ellie! Good to see you, too.

0:30:210:30:24

-These are your lovely greylags.

-I know. Fantastic, aren't they?

-Yeah!

0:30:240:30:27

How much work is involved in imprinting them?

0:30:270:30:30

It's a huge amount of work. As soon as they hatched,

0:30:300:30:33

I spent 24 hours a day with them,

0:30:330:30:35

until they were four weeks old.

0:30:350:30:38

And we spent the whole time together, forming that bond.

0:30:380:30:43

And now they'll follow you in flight.

0:30:430:30:45

How do they behave as a group when they're doing that?

0:30:450:30:47

I'm always the lead goose.

0:30:470:30:49

They're always looking to see what I'm doing.

0:30:490:30:51

And they switch around.

0:30:510:30:52

Will they communicate with each other as they would do in the wild

0:30:520:30:56

-when they're flying with you?

-Oh, yes, they absolutely do.

0:30:560:30:58

I mean, I talk to them a lot when we're flying,

0:30:580:31:01

to encourage them, and "Come on, guys!"

0:31:010:31:03

And, "You're doing really well!"

0:31:030:31:04

Which is exactly what they do in the wild.

0:31:040:31:07

Now for the moment I've been waiting for -

0:31:160:31:19

A bird's eye view of one of nature's most recognisable sights.

0:31:190:31:22

They're on their way now.

0:31:220:31:25

And we're off! Here we go! Yeah!

0:31:390:31:43

-Woohoo!

-Look at that, right overheard!

0:31:440:31:47

Hello! That's beautiful.

0:31:470:31:50

So quickly they've taken flight, that's amazing!

0:31:510:31:54

Come on, boys!

0:31:580:32:00

Right next to us now! Look at that, what a view!

0:32:010:32:04

This is amazing. I am cheek-to-beak with these beautiful greylags.

0:32:090:32:13

SHE CHUCKLES

0:32:130:32:15

Love it.

0:32:150:32:16

-Come on, boys!

-What a sight!

0:32:170:32:19

This is the formation they'll be in for thousands of miles of migration.

0:32:190:32:22

From this distance, you can really see

0:32:250:32:27

how each bird benefits from the one in front.

0:32:270:32:30

You really get a sense of being part of this formation

0:32:320:32:35

when you fly like this.

0:32:350:32:36

Come on, then!

0:32:360:32:38

Good boys!

0:32:380:32:39

Rose is communicating to them.

0:32:390:32:41

There's a few vocalisations going on, which helps them.

0:32:410:32:45

That's another reason for flying in this formation.

0:32:450:32:47

Come on!

0:32:510:32:53

It really makes you appreciate what an almighty migration

0:32:530:32:56

birds like these undertake, year in, year out,

0:32:560:33:00

to reach their wintering grounds.

0:33:000:33:03

Here we go. End of the runway now.

0:33:030:33:05

Woohoo! Hey!

0:33:050:33:08

That was fabulous!

0:33:080:33:11

-Well done!

-Good boys!

0:33:110:33:12

What a spectacle.

0:33:180:33:20

You can't help but marvel at the magic of nature.

0:33:200:33:23

But I also marvel at some of our man-made structures

0:33:230:33:27

as well, like this, the Menai Suspension Bridge.

0:33:270:33:30

Built in the 1820s by engineer Thomas Telford,

0:33:310:33:35

it opened in 1826.

0:33:350:33:38

It sits 100 feet above the water so that tall ships could then pass

0:33:380:33:42

underneath it. And it's supported by a central chain that weighs

0:33:420:33:45

a staggering 23.5 tonnes.

0:33:450:33:48

How they got that up there in the 1820s,

0:33:490:33:52

I simply do not know.

0:33:520:33:54

Not surprisingly, of course,

0:33:560:33:58

it is a national treasure.

0:33:580:34:00

And very much the gateway to the rest of Anglesey.

0:34:000:34:03

I love this island and, whenever I visit,

0:34:080:34:10

I usually flirt with the idea of moving here.

0:34:100:34:14

But have you ever fantasised about life on a tiny island

0:34:140:34:17

without a bridge to the mainland?

0:34:170:34:19

What would life be like, especially during the winter?

0:34:190:34:22

Well, Keeley's off to Northern Ireland's only inhabited island

0:34:220:34:27

to find out what it takes to survive.

0:34:270:34:29

Preparing for winter is one thing, if you live on the mainland,

0:34:360:34:39

but what about if you live out there?

0:34:390:34:41

For islanders, battling a tough winter and facing the threat

0:34:410:34:45

of being cut off is just part of everyday life.

0:34:450:34:47

So, what does it take to be an islander,

0:34:470:34:50

and do you need a certain kind of mentality

0:34:500:34:52

to brace yourself for the worst that nature can throw at you?

0:34:520:34:56

It was touch-and-go whether I'd even get to Rathlin,

0:34:580:35:01

as storms stopped the ferry.

0:35:010:35:03

But, this morning, we're good to go, from Ballycastle on the mainland.

0:35:030:35:07

Rathlin is just 5.5 square miles,

0:35:070:35:10

a tiny dot on the Straits Of Moyle,

0:35:100:35:13

where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Irish Sea.

0:35:130:35:17

It's Northern Ireland's only inhabited island,

0:35:170:35:20

and home to around 150 islanders,

0:35:200:35:23

like ferry skipper John McQuilkin.

0:35:230:35:25

-Hello, there, John.

-Hello, Keeley.

0:35:250:35:26

His family has been on Rathlin for five generations.

0:35:260:35:30

So, how long have you worked on the ferry?

0:35:300:35:32

I've been working on the ferry now for the past eight...nine years.

0:35:320:35:35

Worked myself up to skipper, and I've been skipper now

0:35:350:35:38

for the last three or four years.

0:35:380:35:40

And how vital is it to the island?

0:35:400:35:42

It's very vital, it's a lifeline...

0:35:420:35:44

A lifeline to the island. This is our means of transport.

0:35:440:35:47

Everything has to come in on a boat.

0:35:470:35:49

Supplies, shopping, the fuel lorry.

0:35:490:35:52

All your farming equipment.

0:35:520:35:54

-Vans for workmen.

-Everything...

-Everything has to come in by boat.

0:35:540:35:57

And what happens if the ferry is cancelled, then?

0:35:570:36:00

There's been no boat now this week. Thursday, Friday, there's no boat.

0:36:000:36:04

So this is the first boat since Wednesday.

0:36:040:36:05

If you had planned to go somewhere, you were stuck.

0:36:050:36:08

Everybody knows now if there's going to be a bad forecast to get well

0:36:080:36:11

-stocked up.

-Have to be well prepared, then.

0:36:110:36:13

You have to be well prepared, yeah.

0:36:130:36:14

Do you think it takes a certain kind of person to be an islander?

0:36:140:36:17

It does, yes. You have to be

0:36:170:36:19

more or less brought up in it to get into island life.

0:36:190:36:22

And does everybody get on?

0:36:220:36:24

-They do.

-You must all know each other's business inside and out.

0:36:240:36:28

Maybe too much at times.

0:36:280:36:30

The main centre of Rathlin is the port, Church Bay.

0:36:320:36:35

There's a primary school for eight children,

0:36:370:36:39

a post office, a gift shop, even a cashpoint in the pub.

0:36:390:36:43

All powered by subsea cables.

0:36:430:36:45

But even with the arrival of power and new technology, and the fact

0:36:470:36:50

that Rathlin's only a few miles from the mainland,

0:36:500:36:53

it still needs to be ready to be wholly self-sufficient.

0:36:530:36:57

Because you never know what winter can throw at you.

0:36:570:36:59

Rathlin is one of more than 1,000 islands in the UK.

0:37:030:37:06

All of us are islanders, of course,

0:37:070:37:09

and self-sufficiency is built in to our DNA.

0:37:090:37:12

But it's writ large here on Rathlin, and I'm curious to know more.

0:37:120:37:16

And there's no better place to find out than the local pub.

0:37:180:37:20

Come on.

0:37:200:37:21

Do you think it takes a certain type of mentality to live somewhere

0:37:240:37:27

-like this?

-Oh, it does, yeah. It does, indeed.

0:37:270:37:29

It's not easy for somebody to come in and live on an island.

0:37:290:37:32

If you're born into it, I suppose it's different. It's what you're

0:37:320:37:35

used to. But I think you have to be content not to be wanting to run

0:37:350:37:38

to the cinema or run for social things.

0:37:380:37:40

We have enough here to keep us going,

0:37:400:37:42

but you have to, yeah, be more content with your own company.

0:37:420:37:44

And sitting at your fire shed at night-time.

0:37:440:37:46

A big fire roaring up the chimney.

0:37:460:37:48

-Do you love living here?

-Love it. Love it.

0:37:480:37:50

And I'd recommend it to anybody.

0:37:500:37:52

It's great for families, bringing up children.

0:37:520:37:54

It is. It's a good environment. It's terrific for us.

0:37:540:37:57

Have you got any tips for when you are cut off,

0:37:570:37:59

how you get through a spell of weather like that?

0:37:590:38:01

You must be organised. You have to be very organised

0:38:010:38:03

to live on Rathlin. You do your big shop once a fortnight.

0:38:030:38:06

You fill up your freezer, you fill up your store cupboards.

0:38:060:38:09

When you've got birthdays coming up or Christmas coming up,

0:38:090:38:12

you do your shopping six weeks, two months in advance!

0:38:120:38:14

-Very organised!

-Organised, and you're always prepared.

0:38:140:38:18

And I never was in the Girl Guides.

0:38:180:38:19

Do you ever run out of milk?

0:38:200:38:22

That would be the one thing you might run out of but, again,

0:38:220:38:25

you always have a couple of pints in the freezer.

0:38:250:38:27

And that's different. In years gone by, when things weren't so easy on

0:38:270:38:30

the island, we never run out of milk because we all had our own cows.

0:38:300:38:34

They're made of strong stuff, these islanders.

0:38:340:38:37

But, then, it's unsurprising. They come from hardy stock.

0:38:370:38:40

In the '50s, life for their forebears

0:38:490:38:51

meant milk and butter arriving on four legs.

0:38:510:38:54

Beef cattle were a lifeline, but getting them to the mainland

0:38:540:38:59

to sell meant wrestling them onto an open 30-foot boat.

0:38:590:39:03

The land and the sea were Rathlin's larder and, way back when,

0:39:050:39:09

islanders used to scale cliffs to rescue wrecked sailors

0:39:090:39:12

or forage on the ledges.

0:39:120:39:15

There was only one car on the island,

0:39:160:39:19

and that was for the district nurse.

0:39:190:39:21

Life's a bit easier now,

0:39:240:39:26

though it was only a decade ago that Rathlin was finally connected

0:39:260:39:30

to the mainland's electricity supply.

0:39:300:39:33

There's little that fazes the islanders.

0:39:330:39:35

Local historian Kevin McGowan has popped over from the mainland

0:39:350:39:39

to tell me more.

0:39:390:39:41

Do you think islanders need a certain kind of mentality to get

0:39:410:39:43

through those tough conditions?

0:39:430:39:45

They do, they're a breed of their own.

0:39:450:39:47

They're definitely a lot hardier and tougher than us, us mainland folk.

0:39:470:39:52

-It's a way of life.

-You know a lot about the history of Rathlin.

0:39:520:39:55

The history of Rathlin's fascinating.

0:39:550:39:57

I'm very passionate and it's somewhere I love.

0:39:570:39:59

And it's uncorrupted like a lot of the rest of it,

0:39:590:40:01

because you have such a small pool of people, I suppose, here.

0:40:010:40:04

Probably the best example I can give you of deprivation

0:40:040:40:07

would have been if we went back to March of 1938.

0:40:070:40:10

And the island had been cut off from the mainland for four weeks.

0:40:100:40:13

-Four weeks?

-It got so bad after the 26th day, the rector,

0:40:130:40:17

he actually had to send off an SOS, and James Craig,

0:40:170:40:19

who was the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland at that time,

0:40:190:40:22

he sent a response unit out, of three military aircraft

0:40:220:40:25

to lift provisions onto the island.

0:40:250:40:27

But if you look around, you'll notice now there's no airfields,

0:40:270:40:30

there were no places of landing on the island.

0:40:300:40:33

So, the islanders, they actually made a bit of a runway,

0:40:330:40:35

just by burning the local hedges

0:40:350:40:37

to direct the planes down onto the island. So, it was quite unique.

0:40:370:40:41

Industrious, then!

0:40:410:40:42

Do you think mainlanders could learn a thing or two from island folk?

0:40:420:40:45

Probably one of the best would be the patience.

0:40:450:40:47

You definitely need strength of mind, I would imagine,

0:40:470:40:51

to live on the island. But anybody that is lucky enough to live here,

0:40:510:40:54

I'm sure, loves it. They would tell you the same story.

0:40:540:40:58

Multitasking might be the buzzword of the 21st-century,

0:40:580:41:01

but Rathliners have been doing it for years.

0:41:010:41:04

Take John, who I met earlier.

0:41:040:41:06

When he's not on the ferry, he also looks after his farm,

0:41:060:41:09

works as a fireman and coastguard.

0:41:090:41:12

And I presume they're vital for the island to keep going?

0:41:120:41:16

Well, they are, yeah. Because there is no...

0:41:160:41:18

For the Fire Service to come from the mainland,

0:41:180:41:21

you're talking two hours.

0:41:210:41:23

You have to go out on the ferry to get a fire engine in.

0:41:230:41:25

So, it's vital to have facilities on the island.

0:41:250:41:27

-You must be exhausted.

-Not too bad.

0:41:270:41:30

Is island life hard?

0:41:300:41:32

Oh, it is hard, yeah. Yeah, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

0:41:320:41:35

Love farming. Love working in the seas.

0:41:350:41:38

That's me.

0:41:380:41:40

I've learnt a lot from Rathliners' can-do attitude.

0:41:410:41:45

And I love the island itself.

0:41:450:41:47

Dramatic, rugged coastline, windswept hills,

0:41:470:41:51

and, of course, all that glorious wildlife.

0:41:510:41:53

From puffins and grey seals to dolphins

0:41:530:41:56

in the wild surrounding waters.

0:41:560:41:58

A harsh winter can bring challenges for all of us,

0:42:020:42:05

but when you live on an island, like any remote community,

0:42:050:42:08

you have to think a bit differently and you have to be prepared.

0:42:080:42:11

Here on the Rathlin, the sense of community

0:42:110:42:13

and tranquillity really makes it worthwhile.

0:42:130:42:16

Do you know what? I can see the appeal.

0:42:160:42:18

But for now, I've got a ferry to catch.

0:42:180:42:20

What a beautiful island that is.

0:42:290:42:32

It's definitely going on my bucket list as a place to visit.

0:42:320:42:35

But, in the meantime, be sure to join us tomorrow,

0:42:350:42:38

when, in a Countryfile Diaries exclusive,

0:42:380:42:41

I meet 2012 Olympic legend Sir Ben Ainslie,

0:42:410:42:44

who's on a mission to save our oceans

0:42:440:42:46

from the devastation of plastic.

0:42:460:42:48

You know, it's really disheartening to be out there

0:42:480:42:50

in a beautiful ocean, middle of nowhere, and you're coming across

0:42:500:42:53

this wasteland of plastic.

0:42:530:42:54

And find out why this simple invention could lead the revolution.

0:42:540:42:58

That's incredible to think that's just a few hours!

0:42:580:43:01

Keeley finds out why surfing is good for body and soul.

0:43:010:43:06

So, are you going to look after me out there?

0:43:060:43:08

-We'll look after you.

-Yahoo!

0:43:080:43:11

And I'll be revealing why wearing wellies could be

0:43:110:43:14

affecting your feet.

0:43:140:43:16

So, until then, goodbye.

0:43:160:43:18

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