Wiltshire Countryfile


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The landscape of Britain holds many secrets and mysteries,

:00:26.:00:30.

I'll be joining the archaeologist whose extraordinary new discoveries

:00:31.:00:52.

are changing our understanding of this place.

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And I'll be finding out what day-to-day life was like

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for the people who built this mystical wonder.

:00:57.:01:03.

Also, tonight's the night we reveal the final 12

:01:04.:01:06.

in this year's Countryfile Photographic Competition.

:01:07.:01:09.

It is, but I'm not sure I would want that on my kitchen wall.

:01:10.:01:18.

And since the theme of the photographic competition

:01:19.:01:25.

Adam takes us through a whole day on the farm.

:01:26.:01:29.

This machine is certainly chewing up the acres!

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Talk about working from dawn till dusk!

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A landscape riddled with relics of a mysterious past.

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And surely the most cherished and impressive example of that history

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A staggering feat of prehistoric engineering.

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the stones have stood sentinel over this land.

:02:24.:02:35.

And to think they were put in place by people HERE

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thousands of years ago is just astonishing.

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And, of course, it raises so many questions,

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not least of which - who built this place and why?

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The clues may be closer to hand than we ever imagined.

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I'm near Amesbury in the south-eastern corner of the county,

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This site is called Durrington Walls,

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and archaeologists have made a discovery here

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the huge banked enclosure that circles Durrington Walls,

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scientists took a closer look, and this is what they saw -

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a series of strange oblong objects buried beneath.

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Could they be the remains of some sort of monument,

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perhaps to the site of an earlier village?

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I'm meeting archaeologist Dr Nick Snashall

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this was probably one of the largest settlements in north-west Europe,

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you would have seen a whole series of little thatched buildings.

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You probably would have had as many as 4,000 people.

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Goodness me. And you think that could have been one of the bigger

:04:08.:04:10.

or biggest settlements in Europe at that time?

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It's very likely that it was, absolutely.

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For a period of about 10 or 12 years,

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this would have been the beating heart

:04:19.:04:20.

of what was going on in the British Isles.

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That's incredibly exciting, but why here?

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Well, we think from the dates of the settlement,

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they match exactly with the construction of Stonehenge,

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which lies just a couple of miles from where we are standing.

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And this site is actually physically linked, via an avenue,

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to the River Avon, and if you go downstream down the River Avon,

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there is another avenue to Stonehenge itself.

:04:44.:04:46.

What we think we've got here is the encampment

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where the builders of Stonehenge were living.

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archaeologists have established that Durrington Walls

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played an important role in the construction of Stonehenge.

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The discovery of these hidden objects

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suggests the site could be even more special.

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And it's thanks to huge advances in technology

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It was specialist ground-penetrating radar

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that first saw the mysterious objects, buried only a metre deep,

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Those mystery objects are right here beneath my feet, and they're big,

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each one measuring up to four metres across.

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Now, they've discovered AT LEAST 120 of them

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and they've got the experts scratching their heads.

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Could the site have once looked something like this,

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A memorial to those who had once lived here,

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To solve the mystery of what lies hidden,

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The team here have been digging for just over a week

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and they have made very quick progress indeed.

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We are actually standing on a ground surface

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that was last walked about on 4,500 years ago.

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Archaeologist Professor Mike Parker Pearson

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may have the answer to the mystery of the buried objects.

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You've dug down. What have you found?

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Well, these enormous holes held giant posts,

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the kind of posts that are basically tree trunks.

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So they would have been, what, five, six, seven metres high?

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You know, these would have been nearly 100-year-old trees

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The evidence from the dig suggests mighty timber posts once stood here.

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But why, then, was the bank and ditch henge hiding this evidence?

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There is yet another twist to this tale.

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Somebody, at the top management level, I'm sure,

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"Pull out the posts. We are going to have a huge great bank and ditch.

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"We want this to be something that lasts not for hundreds of years

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"but for thousands, so that people in the future

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we now know that the late Neolithic people

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planted a huge number of giant wooden posts

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all the way round this henge that were then suddenly removed.

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We don't know how, we don't know why,

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and it just goes to show that this well-studied World Heritage Site

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hasn't given up all its secrets just yet.

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Now, the theme for this year's Countryfile Photographic Competition

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was From Dawn Till Dusk, and we've had thousands of entries.

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It's now up to the judges to choose the final 12 pictures

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that will appear in the Countryfile Calendar for 2017.

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And we'll need your help to pick one overall winner.

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But first, here's John to get us started.

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Our photographic competition is always one of the highlights

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This time we asked you to send in your pictures

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capturing the British countryside in all its glory

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from dawn till dusk, from daybreak to sunset.

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You sent in more than 20,000 entries.

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And finding the 12 outstanding images

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that will make up the Countryfile Calendar for 2017

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This is where we'll be doing our judging,

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amidst the splendid ruins of Old Wardour Castle

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in the depths of Wiltshire, as guests of English Heritage.

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we've called upon past winners and finalists to help with the judging.

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the castle's charming 18th-century banqueting pavilion,

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and compiling a long list of around 2,000.

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Where was that taken? That's Carmarthenshire.

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Choosing the final 12 for the calendar

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will be down to wildlife cameraman Simon King,

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Deborah Meaden from Dragons' Den, and me.

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So, what's our team of long-list selectors hoping to find

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With the theme being From Dawn Till Dusk,

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We've got the sunrise, we've got the sunset.

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And they can produce fabulous images.

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So, what I'm going to look for is a bit of the magic in the day.

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I think I'm looking for something artistic,

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something I've never seen before maybe.

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The type of picture that I'm looking for is something

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that sort of grabs your eye from quite a distance

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Working in pairs, our first skilful snappers are Ben Andrew,

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who was the overall winner last year with Happy Hedgehog,

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and Rosy Burke, judges' favourite in 2005 with Fun In The Waves.

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because it's a kite festival and it's like a medieval painting.

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And because they're flying against a blue background,

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it's as though they are flying in water.

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It's actually got a European green lizard

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and some of the vegetation that it's picked up

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so it becomes more than just your average sort of bird-in-flight shot.

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Our second pair is Dianne Giles and Andy Colbourne.

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a beautiful stag just popping out from the grass here.

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The photograph was taken in a back garden, it says, which is great,

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because when you start to look at this, the detail,

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it's the closest you'll ever get to looking at an alien.

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And Lawrie Brailey, who was a finalist with Fox Love in 2014.

:11:47.:12:02.

Photo taken from a mouse hiding inside a plastic ornamental heron.

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You don't get much more wacky than that.

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Really, really cute image and it has to go through for me.

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For somebody to be able to take an image like that,

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you've got to plan it the day before.

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And then to actually get an animal in the shot as well, fabulous.

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After many hours of sifting and sorting, our crack team has done it.

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They've managed to compile a long list of around 2,000 photos

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Simon and me to pick those 12 stunning photographs

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that will each have a page on next year's Countryfile Calendar.

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we'll be right here, amidst the ruins of Old Wardour Castle itself,

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so join us for that later in the programme.

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The mighty and mystical circle of stones.

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A huge draw for more than a million visitors every year.

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Stonehenge was built by a huge workforce over many decades,

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a feat of determination as well as engineering.

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But who were these people and how did they live?

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Excavations have shown they used what they found in the landscape.

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Here at this mock-up of a Neolithic village,

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English Heritage volunteer Sue Martin

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is doing a spot of prehistoric plastering,

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using the same materials our ancestors would have used.

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We are repairing houses, they sort of continually need repairing.

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And what's in there? This is crushed chalk.

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And water. And that's it? That's it. Simple as that,

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and that's what they insulated their houses with?

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This is the daub. So the wattle, and what type of wood is this?

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Hazel. It's a bit like an upturned basket when it's first made,

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Simple as that. To repair, we need to get the wall quite wet,

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So is that an ancient sponge you are using there? Yeah, very(!)

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Oh. It's not as easy as it looks. Nope.

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And I've managed to get it everywhere.

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Inside the house, Sue's colleagues Flo Brooks,

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Dennine Hopper and Chessie Turner are gathering round the fire

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Hello, ladies. ALL: Hello.

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Wonderful. So, this is what we think a Neolithic house

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When they excavated, they found chalk floors and the hearth.

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And they have stake holes round the outside

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and grooves where the furniture went.

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Dennine, what have you got in your hand? What are you twiddling there?

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I'm working with nettle. I'm making cordage out of nettle,

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but you can use it for all sorts of things.

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If you take a piece of leather, which they would have had,

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and wipe it down the nettle stem, it actually removes the stings.

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And once you've strung it, you can actually...

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And Chessie, this is not the ancient way of lighting fire,

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but this is how they would have had it,

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they would have had a hearth in the middle, would they?

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Yes. From the excavations that we did at Durrington,

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this is what we found, so we've done replicas.

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It's been 30 years since Stonehenge gained its World Heritage status,

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with the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China,

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but it's not just the stones that need to be carefully managed,

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it's this beautiful wider landscape all around it.

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Helping manage the site is archaeologist Susan Greaney.

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balancing the demands of millions of visitors

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with a need to protect this ancient landscape.

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So, we're stood right in the middle here of the World Heritage Site,

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and it's about 25 square kilometres, a huge, huge area,

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and it's got all kinds of prehistoric monuments in it.

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We can see some of the major early Neolithic monuments

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We've also got a huge amount of archaeology that we can't see,

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lots of things that have been destroyed by ploughing,

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but are actually still there and still waiting

:16:38.:16:39.

So, how difficult is it to look after a site like this, then?

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Well, there's two major things that we have to think about.

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One is the visitors, but then we've also got a, sort of,

:16:47.:16:48.

So really, we are here to look after the monuments,

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make sure that everybody can enjoy them in the future.

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In recent years, a major road, the A344, has been closed,

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meaning traffic no longer thunders past close to the stones.

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In 2013, we closed that road and now we've restored it back to grass and

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that's a really tranquil and much more peaceful place to be.

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What do you think it is about that monument there?

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There is just something about it that is unique.

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There is no other lintelled stone circles in the world,

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and I think people just come and marvel

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at the amount of energy and the amount of expertise it needed

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You can come here and stand where our prehistoric ancestors stood.

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Millions have stood where those prehistoric feet stood.

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And it's a privilege to stand here too.

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To feel the magic and the mystery of this ancient place.

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people have farmed these gently rolling acres.

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But running a 21st-century farm operation

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in a landscape of such archaeological importance

:18:02.:18:03.

brings with it very particular challenges.

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Hugh Morrison farms more than 1,500 acres of National Trust land.

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He took over the tenancy with his family and business partner Billy.

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I mean, what is in this field, it's barley?

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Yeah. Spring barley in this field. That's hopefully all for malting.

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Yeah. So, have it with your beer tonight.

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We've got 600 breeding ewes and they all graze the grassland

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You farm two of the most archaeologically important sites

:18:37.:18:43.

in Europe. That's incredible. It's always very interesting, yeah.

:18:44.:18:46.

Well, look, I want to have a look around the farm.

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There are archaeologically sensitive sites all over the farm.

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Hugh has had to change the way he works the land.

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We've got a very nice, diverse sward reverted back to downland grass.

:19:07.:19:14.

We made that decision with the National Trust

:19:15.:19:19.

to principally protect the archaeology that's underlying this,

:19:20.:19:23.

so we've put it down to grass and we've now got a base

:19:24.:19:27.

Well, it seems to be flourishing, so it seems to be working quite well.

:19:28.:19:32.

It is working. I'm quite pleased with the results with this field.

:19:33.:19:35.

It's really satisfying to see this grass start to mimic very natural

:19:36.:19:40.

we've kick-started this and it's going to take maybe 50 years.

:19:41.:19:46.

Oh, really? It's really going to start having an impact.

:19:47.:19:52.

It could result in a landscape as ecologically diverse

:19:53.:19:55.

Helping Hugh to manage this rich landscape is his daughter, Molly.

:19:56.:20:04.

At just 15, she is the resident expert

:20:05.:20:07.

So, how does it feel to be mowing an ancient burial mound?

:20:08.:20:15.

It's nice to think about the history, but also,

:20:16.:20:19.

I'm just doing a job and it's not stopping me doing that, so...

:20:20.:20:21.

You're not really thinking about the history as you go around, are you?

:20:22.:20:24.

No. What's really on your mind? Not hitting anything.

:20:25.:20:27.

Avoiding the tree stumps. Yeah! You're doing a great job.

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Dad's working you hard this summer? Yep, over 100 hours' work so far.

:20:32.:20:34.

All right, then. Time is money. Back in there. You can finish this.

:20:35.:20:36.

Well done, Molly. Thanks! We'll see you later. Bye!

:20:37.:20:39.

Farming here has its particular challenges for Hugh.

:20:40.:20:52.

You weren't joking when you said you farmed right up to the monument.

:20:53.:21:05.

Not many farms have a view like that, do they?

:21:06.:21:09.

What's the perfect conditions for you, as a farmer, to see Stonehenge?

:21:10.:21:15.

I think a lovely autumnal misty morning,

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when the stones are looming out of the mist

:21:20.:21:21.

Wiltshire's farmers share a heritage going back millennia

:21:22.:21:33.

to the prehistoric pioneers of agriculture.

:21:34.:21:37.

this landscape should endure and flourish for generations.

:21:38.:21:50.

This is Old Wardour Castle in Wiltshire,

:21:51.:21:52.

the atmospheric location for the final judging

:21:53.:21:55.

our team of past winners and finalists

:21:56.:22:02.

to provide a very challenging long list.

:22:03.:22:08.

OK, Andy, you're the expert on lighthouses.

:22:09.:22:11.

And now, it's time for the final judging,

:22:12.:22:22.

when we'll be searching for those 12 exceptional photographs

:22:23.:22:25.

that will grace the Countryfile Calendar for 2017.

:22:26.:22:31.

Joining me on the judging panel are Deborah Meaden from Dragons' Den

:22:32.:22:35.

And we'll be choosing the final 12 pictures HERE,

:22:36.:22:41.

within the ruined walls of the castle.

:22:42.:22:44.

Welcome! Hey, John. How are you? You found it! Good to see you.

:22:45.:22:47.

Be nice when it's finished, won't it?

:22:48.:22:50.

'The theme for this year's competition is From Dawn Till Dusk,'

:22:51.:22:57.

and with so many images to get through,

:22:58.:22:59.

Simon, professional photographer, cameraman,

:23:00.:23:04.

It's composition, it's the lens used,

:23:05.:23:08.

that there was a serious intent in the taking of the image

:23:09.:23:14.

So many entries. Yeah, going to have to be tough.

:23:15.:23:17.

Well, here's our rather large short list.

:23:18.:23:20.

Shall we get going? Let's do it. Let's do it.

:23:21.:23:29.

Stunning. A pony coming at us through a snowstorm, I think.

:23:30.:23:37.

Never seen anything like that before.

:23:38.:23:42.

There's a frog that knows its own mind!

:23:43.:23:51.

The fact that's down and near water level...

:23:52.:23:54.

Yeah. ..means that they've really considered

:23:55.:23:56.

And to get it actively having a go at a blackberry is...

:23:57.:24:02.

Yeah, he's having one of his five a day!

:24:03.:24:10.

Does anybody else think that's a little bit romantic?

:24:11.:24:12.

Yes. There's something very lovely...

:24:13.:24:14.

That's exactly what's happening. Is it?

:24:15.:24:16.

It's a male feeding the female in courtship feeding.

:24:17.:24:19.

Oh, it is? You see, now, that's a photograph to me.

:24:20.:24:22.

When you actually get the sense of what's going on.

:24:23.:24:25.

Oh, I love that! DEBORAH LAUGHS

:24:26.:24:32.

I am going to let Deborah and Simon carry on,

:24:33.:24:37.

while I take some time out to discover a little bit more

:24:38.:24:40.

The unusual hexagonal ruins of Old Wardour Castle

:24:41.:24:56.

stand serenely in their lakeside setting.

:24:57.:25:00.

But this beguiling scene masks a dramatic past.

:25:01.:25:05.

It's wonderful, and a fantastic entrance

:25:06.:25:10.

Win Scutt, curator with English Heritage,

:25:11.:25:16.

is going to tell me how this once lavish home

:25:17.:25:19.

Well, what an impressive place, Win, isn't it?

:25:20.:25:25.

It's absolutely fantastic, isn't it? What's its history then?

:25:26.:25:28.

Well, this is basically the facade to a great 14th-century building.

:25:29.:25:32.

But by the time we get to the 1570s, it's bought by the Arundells.

:25:33.:25:35.

And they start to decorate it and we've got lots of features here.

:25:36.:25:39.

The kind of makeover job that was done in Tudor times,

:25:40.:25:42.

you've got the Arundell coat of arms and a bust of Jesus Christ,

:25:43.:25:46.

our Lord, above. They were a Catholic family and they sided

:25:47.:25:50.

with the King and the royalists against parliament in the Civil War.

:25:51.:25:58.

When Lord Arundell went off to fight for the King,

:25:59.:26:01.

he left his 61-year-old wife Blanche to bravely defend the castle.

:26:02.:26:06.

She managed to stand with 25 servants and other men

:26:07.:26:13.

in the castle here against 1,300 parliamentarian forces

:26:14.:26:17.

But eventually, she had to give up and surrender.

:26:18.:26:22.

They allowed her out, but they went in and smashed the place up.

:26:23.:26:26.

And one of the pieces of the fireplace,

:26:27.:26:28.

You can just about make out the lovely lion shape here.

:26:29.:26:33.

Oh, yeah. Why did they want to destroy it?

:26:34.:26:36.

I think it just stank of royalist opulence and all the rest of it.

:26:37.:26:40.

I think they just wanted to smash everything to do with the royalists.

:26:41.:26:48.

In a bid to recapture the family home, Henry, Lord Arundell's heir,

:26:49.:26:53.

But HE did even more damage than the parliamentarians.

:26:54.:26:59.

Well, if Henry wanted to take the castle back,

:27:00.:27:02.

how come that so much of the REAR of it is in ruins?

:27:03.:27:05.

Well, he planted mines, barrels of gunpowder

:27:06.:27:08.

And accidentally, someone dropped a match on it.

:27:09.:27:13.

but 35 rooms have completely disappeared.

:27:14.:27:19.

So, what started as a brave plan, ended in disaster.

:27:20.:27:24.

The castle was never inhabited again,

:27:25.:27:27.

the ruins abandoned to the quiet of the Wiltshire countryside,

:27:28.:27:30.

where they've stood for nearly 400 years.

:27:31.:27:43.

With the day marching on, it's time to get back to the judging.

:27:44.:27:46.

I wonder if Simon and Deborah have found any images

:27:47.:27:49.

I kind of like photographs that take me to a place

:27:50.:28:04.

You know, I see lovely skies, I see lovely views,

:28:05.:28:09.

but I never see a little furry caterpillar

:28:10.:28:13.

And he's looking up as if, "Oh, how much further have I got to go?"

:28:14.:28:21.

Barn owls, I love. And I've got a soft spot for them.

:28:22.:28:24.

putting the air brakes on just before it lands.

:28:25.:28:28.

Later, we'll be fighting it out for our favourites

:28:29.:28:35.

and then handing over to you to pick the overall winner,

:28:36.:28:38.

which will feature on the cover of the calendar for 2017.

:28:39.:28:50.

For most farmers, every day is a dawn till dusk day,

:28:51.:28:53.

Adam is certainly up for making the most of the daylight hours.

:28:54.:29:00.

There we are. There's your breakfast.

:29:01.:29:20.

and although we're still in the middle of summer,

:29:21.:29:24.

the daylight hours are getting shorter,

:29:25.:29:26.

which means the ewes will soon be coming into season,

:29:27.:29:28.

So I'm now heading off to a farm in Herefordshire

:29:29.:29:32.

to hopefully buy a couple of new rams for this season.

:29:33.:29:35.

And I hope he's got what I'm looking for.

:29:36.:29:49.

Edward Collins runs Bearwood Farm just outside Leominster.

:29:50.:29:52.

a popular breed of sheep that I use in my commercial flock.

:29:53.:30:01.

All the rams Edward has on offer are amongst the best in the breed.

:30:02.:30:06.

Thankfully, he's also one of a select few breeders

:30:07.:30:09.

to help me pick the right animals to suit my flock at home.

:30:10.:30:16.

Now, what's interesting with what Ed does here,

:30:17.:30:19.

he chooses good animals in the way they're made up,

:30:20.:30:22.

but also, he measures lots of attributes

:30:23.:30:25.

that the animals have and builds up a set of statistics, really.

:30:26.:30:29.

So it's a bit like choosing a lovely car

:30:30.:30:32.

Right, here we go. His maternal figures are top 5% of the breed.

:30:33.:30:43.

What lets him down is his worm figures.

:30:44.:30:48.

So, maternal figures are the traits

:30:49.:30:52.

that he's going to put into his daughters,

:30:53.:30:54.

so how good a daughter he's going to have.

:30:55.:30:56.

Yes. And the carcass is how much meat

:30:57.:30:58.

he's going to produce across his lambs.

:30:59.:31:00.

you're measuring lambs that have a natural ability

:31:01.:31:05.

Yes, we are doing some research at the moment on worm resistance.

:31:06.:31:12.

There are certain animals in a group that will be more

:31:13.:31:15.

genetically resistant to worms than others.

:31:16.:31:17.

This ram's figures are not as good as some of the other rams

:31:18.:31:22.

Well, that's a real shame because I really like the look of him.

:31:23.:31:26.

Right, you've picked one that's top 1% of the maternal.

:31:27.:31:40.

Oh, yeah, he's the one. He's my best for worm.

:31:41.:31:44.

And plus, he's got good worm figures.

:31:45.:31:51.

OK, he's a definite. Let's remember that number.

:31:52.:32:02.

'farmers are able to buy tailor-made animals to suit the needs

:32:03.:32:08.

'I'm keen on animals with good worm resistance because I want

:32:09.:32:14.

'to reduce the amount of medication I use.'

:32:15.:32:17.

I'm going to take five. LAUGHING: You're going to take five?

:32:18.:32:19.

'Also, by using rams with these genes,

:32:20.:32:22.

'I'll be able to breed this characteristic

:32:23.:32:24.

'into future generations of my flock at home.'

:32:25.:32:29.

and when you can find out about their figures

:32:30.:32:34.

and their performance, over and above just what they look like,

:32:35.:32:37.

An excellent morning. And back on the farm,

:32:38.:32:51.

there are other little tricks of the trade we can use

:32:52.:32:53.

to get the most out of our livestock.

:32:54.:32:56.

Most people don't shear their ewe lambs until next year,

:32:57.:33:00.

These are only four or five months old,

:33:01.:33:04.

and we've been shearing them now, around August time,

:33:05.:33:07.

for the last couple of years, and it works really well.

:33:08.:33:14.

We shear these young sheep for a number of reasons.

:33:15.:33:16.

Partly because it keeps them nice and clean and free from any muck,

:33:17.:33:20.

On a very hot day at this time of year,

:33:21.:33:23.

usually the sheep will be in the shade,

:33:24.:33:25.

But if you take the fleece off their back,

:33:26.:33:29.

they're cooler, so then they're out grazing, and when they're grazing,

:33:30.:33:33.

they're putting on weight, which is a really good thing.

:33:34.:33:36.

Although the value of wool isn't that high,

:33:37.:33:39.

these little Romneys produce a good-sized fleece,

:33:40.:33:41.

so it pays at least for the shearing.

:33:42.:33:44.

But we find the real benefit of them growing on so well

:33:45.:33:47.

and producing a better ewe really makes it worthwhile.

:33:48.:33:54.

Dry weather's important, not just for shearing,

:33:55.:33:57.

The winter barley has already been taken in.

:33:58.:34:07.

This afternoon, the combines are making good progress

:34:08.:34:09.

Because of the rain and the lack of sunshine,

:34:10.:34:14.

the crops have been quite slow to mature this year

:34:15.:34:17.

But also, because of that lack of sunshine,

:34:18.:34:21.

In our winter barley, it was 20% down,

:34:22.:34:24.

and usually we would expect 3.5, 4 ton a hectare

:34:25.:34:27.

for this oilseed rape and we're getting about three.

:34:28.:34:30.

And that's the story I'm hearing right across the country.

:34:31.:34:33.

But while we've got a break in the weather

:34:34.:34:35.

we've just got to keep working, even if it means combining all night.

:34:36.:34:45.

The incredible speed that these modern harvesters work at

:34:46.:34:48.

means they can eat up fields quicker than ever before.

:34:49.:34:52.

By late afternoon, they've harvested the oilseed rape.

:34:53.:34:59.

But as dusk draws near, the early evening dew clings to the next crop,

:35:00.:35:04.

so the combines will have to call it a day, as the extra moisture

:35:05.:35:07.

will need burning off by tomorrow's summer sun.

:35:08.:35:12.

What we ARE still working on is the cultivations.

:35:13.:35:15.

This is a great big tractor running on tracks,

:35:16.:35:17.

with low ground pressure, so it doesn't damage the soil.

:35:18.:35:20.

And then the cultivator behind is ripping up the stubble to

:35:21.:35:24.

create a seedbed to plant into for next year's crop.

:35:25.:35:28.

we have to take every opportunity to get jobs done.

:35:29.:35:33.

Fortunately, the technology in these machines is designed to work

:35:34.:35:37.

It's all being run by satellite navigation,

:35:38.:35:43.

so it's steering itself up the field in a dead straight line.

:35:44.:35:46.

There's a saying in farming - that we work in acres, not hours.

:35:47.:35:51.

And this machine is certainly chewing up the acres.

:35:52.:35:56.

Talk about working from dawn till dusk!

:35:57.:35:59.

Here, we're working from dawn till dusk and beyond.

:36:00.:36:14.

This is Old Wardour Castle in Wiltshire,

:36:15.:36:16.

where we're in the final stages of judging this year's

:36:17.:36:19.

Countryfile Photographic Competition.

:36:20.:36:22.

Is that starlings? No, it's lapwings. And golden plovers.

:36:23.:36:27.

That's extraordinary that you can tell that from that picture.

:36:28.:36:30.

After much deliberation and debate,

:36:31.:36:35.

our long list of 2,000 photos is now down to about 400.

:36:36.:36:40.

Now comes the really hard part, as we try to agree on our final 12.

:36:41.:36:45.

We still have far too many, I'm afraid.

:36:46.:36:47.

I wouldn't know, but it looks to me like a dawn start.

:36:48.:36:55.

I think that's the killer cow from hell!

:36:56.:37:03.

When you stand high enough up a hill or a mountain

:37:04.:37:14.

to get the cloud around you and the sun is shining past,

:37:15.:37:17.

you get a rainbow around your own shadow,

:37:18.:37:19.

It is, but I'm not sure I would want that on my kitchen wall.

:37:20.:37:30.

'We've got to make some very tough decisions

:37:31.:37:35.

'because the selected photos will be the stars

:37:36.:37:38.

'of our calendar, which we sell in aid of BBC Children In Need.'

:37:39.:37:42.

It is a beautiful shot of a red squirrel.

:37:43.:37:49.

The current calendar sold 460,000 copies and raised

:37:50.:37:54.

It's time to get brutal. Right. OK?

:37:55.:38:06.

I'm going to fight for the sheep because I think that I'd like

:38:07.:38:09.

to see something with a bit of human intervention.

:38:10.:38:12.

For the calendar, I would probably go for this one.

:38:13.:38:21.

Yeah, me too. There is just more to...

:38:22.:38:22.

'Our job will be done once we've chosen the final 12.

:38:23.:38:42.

'Your vote will determine the overall winner,

:38:43.:38:47.

'who gets to choose ?1,000 worth of photographic equipment.

:38:48.:38:51.

'Their winning picture will also grace the front of the calendar.

:38:52.:38:55.

The time has come to choose our final 12 from these. Hmm...

:38:56.:39:07.

You know, maybe not the dead of winter.

:39:08.:39:18.

late summer, July, August. Yeah, it's stunning.

:39:19.:39:31.

'Picking just a dozen pictures from so many striking images has been

:39:32.:39:35.

'an almost impossible, very subjective task.

:39:36.:39:39.

We've got our final 12. What do you think of them?

:39:40.:39:45.

I'm actually very jealous of some of these pictures.

:39:46.:39:47.

I wish I'd taken them, I really do. Deborah?

:39:48.:39:50.

Actually, laid out like that, I'm amazed we got them

:39:51.:39:52.

down to those, because they are stunning photographs,

:39:53.:39:55.

and that looks like a really good calendar.

:39:56.:40:03.

here are the 12 that will make up the Countryfile Calendar for 2017.

:40:04.:40:16.

Now it's for you to decide the overall winner.

:40:17.:40:19.

You can select your favourite by phone.

:40:20.:40:24.

And you can also vote online on our website.

:40:25.:40:26.

You'll need to register for a BBC iD if you don't have one already,

:40:27.:40:30.

and then you can choose your favourite picture

:40:31.:40:33.

And that way, of course, it won't cost you anything.

:40:34.:40:39.

Voting by phone costs 10p, plus your network's access charge.

:40:40.:40:47.

If Morning Hare is your favourite, call...

:40:48.:42:22.

Right, you've got all the numbers and our website address,

:42:23.:42:25.

And we'll be revealing the overall winner, plus the judges' favourite,

:42:26.:42:57.

and the calendar itself on Countryfile in early October.

:42:58.:43:01.

But for now, all that remains to be said is a very big thank you

:43:02.:43:05.

to everybody who sent in their pictures.

:43:06.:43:07.

We just couldn't have done it without you.

:43:08.:43:22.

a wealth of archaeological treasures,

:43:23.:43:27.

a constant reminder of ancient times and an inspiration

:43:28.:43:31.

With more than just a nod to the past,

:43:32.:43:37.

one local farmer has taken diversification

:43:38.:43:40.

to a whole new level with his latest venture,

:43:41.:43:43.

Tim Daw farms 200 acres in the Marlborough Downs,

:43:44.:43:51.

and it's not just crops you'll see in his fields.

:43:52.:43:54.

'Tim has been inspired to build a Neolithic-style monument

:43:55.:44:00.

Wow! So what is this structure in front of me?

:44:01.:44:10.

This huge mound is actually a long barrow.

:44:11.:44:15.

A long barrow, it's the oldest monument in the British Isles.

:44:16.:44:20.

They were building them 5,500, 6,000 years ago, and then

:44:21.:44:23.

they didn't build them again until I built one two years ago.

:44:24.:44:26.

They stored their ancestors' remains in them.

:44:27.:44:31.

The bones and ashes of their loved ones.

:44:32.:44:36.

So, Tim thought, why not bring one into the 21st century

:44:37.:44:40.

and offer people an alternative resting place

:44:41.:44:43.

It went from being just a fun idea of building something huge

:44:44.:44:51.

and monumental to actually talking to people

:44:52.:44:54.

for their ashes to go, and the two ideas sort of came together,

:44:55.:45:01.

so I tried it, and this is what we built.

:45:02.:45:03.

'Tim's long barrow was built in just nine months

:45:04.:45:09.

'as nearly all of the 340 spaces - or niches -

:45:10.:45:15.

It's amazing! There's chambers either side.

:45:16.:45:21.

Yeah, so this is one of the chambers.

:45:22.:45:29.

Not at all what I was expecting. It's got so much height.

:45:30.:45:32.

It has. I mean, a huge, what they call a corbelled roof,

:45:33.:45:35.

And do you have to be religious to have a niche here?

:45:36.:45:50.

We say it's for all religions or none.

:45:51.:45:53.

There is a slightly spiritual aspect to it.

:45:54.:45:55.

There's something about remembering lives,

:45:56.:45:58.

to monumentalise them, and this is what this is about.

:45:59.:46:01.

It's something that touches people and that they feel at home in.

:46:02.:46:07.

It's really quite peaceful. I'm glad you feel that, yeah.

:46:08.:46:12.

I was worried it might be claustrophobic or macabre,

:46:13.:46:16.

or something like that, but no, it doesn't.

:46:17.:46:17.

You've built this incredible structure that is so in tune with

:46:18.:46:23.

Tim wanted to align the barrow with the winter solstice,

:46:24.:46:35.

but where do you find someone with that sort of age-old skill?

:46:36.:46:38.

Enter Simon Banton, archeo-astronomer,

:46:39.:46:41.

who used his knowledge of the stars to align the barrow the right way.

:46:42.:46:46.

So, at sunrise on December 21st, how nervous were you?

:46:47.:46:50.

Incredibly. Because it's one thing to do it with a set of posts,

:46:51.:46:54.

it's another thing to do it with a 70-metre long long barrow

:46:55.:46:57.

so I was incredibly grateful for the universe

:46:58.:47:02.

to not betray me and my calculations.

:47:03.:47:05.

And is this where you will be spending eternity?

:47:06.:47:07.

Absolutely. I couldn't get a niche fast enough.

:47:08.:47:10.

So you've got a spot in there? I've got a spot in there, yeah.

:47:11.:47:13.

Why? I'm not religious, and neither is this.

:47:14.:47:16.

But I do have a fascination for the monuments in this

:47:17.:47:20.

magnificent Wiltshire landscape and the landscape itself,

:47:21.:47:23.

so if Tim's going to be kind enough to build me somewhere

:47:24.:47:25.

I can spend the rest of time, count me in.

:47:26.:47:29.

echoing the long barrows of prehistory, and a modern monument

:47:30.:47:36.

totally at home in Wiltshire's ancient acres.

:47:37.:47:41.

In a moment, we'll be meeting the man whose passion for Stonehenge

:47:42.:47:44.

knows no bounds, and we'll remind you how you can

:47:45.:47:46.

vote for your favourite photos in this year's calendar competition.

:47:47.:47:49.

Thanks, Anita. I'm sure Stonehenge has seen its fair share of whether.

:47:50.:48:17.

Yesterday, violent thunderstorms rocked the relic. We shall some

:48:18.:48:26.

tremendous rain. Today, in general, the showers have been lied to. There

:48:27.:48:34.

is a trend for much of the rest of the week. There will be lots of dry

:48:35.:48:40.

and pleasantly warm weather, particularly in parts of the South

:48:41.:48:44.

and east of the UK. In the north, there will be some rain but even

:48:45.:48:52.

here some usefully dry spells. Showers lingering across eastern

:48:53.:48:57.

counties through the night. Cloud will help to keep the temperature

:48:58.:49:02.

up. Where the skies clear, it will get chilly. Temperatures well down

:49:03.:49:10.

into single figures. Hints of early autumn. One or two showers first up

:49:11.:49:16.

across northern and eastern England. The vast majority of ours are going

:49:17.:49:21.

to have a lovely day. It will cloud up across Northern Ireland and

:49:22.:49:26.

western Scotland but other parts of the UK, no such problems. Some fine

:49:27.:49:32.

and fluffy cloud. A delightful day to go to the beach. Pretty pleasant,

:49:33.:49:40.

up through northern England and into eastern Scotland. There will be more

:49:41.:49:44.

showers through into western Scotland and Northern Ireland later

:49:45.:49:50.

on in the day. A glancing blow from this frontal system. Most places

:49:51.:49:55.

will stay dry into Tuesday. High-pressure holding firm across

:49:56.:49:59.

southern and central parts of the UK. Another approaching weather

:50:00.:50:05.

front will bring cloud and wind again into Northern Ireland and

:50:06.:50:11.

western Scotland. But look at the temperatures, 27 degrees in some

:50:12.:50:15.

places. It stays dry towards the middle of the week. A splash of rain

:50:16.:50:20.

from this front as it heads down into England and Wales it tends to

:50:21.:50:27.

die a death. It's never really makes it to southern and eastern England.

:50:28.:50:33.

A fresh trees across the West of Scotland. Towards the end of the

:50:34.:50:38.

week, high pressure is still there but more front line out in the

:50:39.:50:47.

Atlantique. Thursday, again a warm day. Some sunshine across the

:50:48.:50:54.

southern half of the UK. Further north, a bit breezy but it will be

:50:55.:50:59.

mostly dry. Big questions about the progress of this front from the west

:51:00.:51:04.

by the end of the week. Potentially spreading some pretty wet weather

:51:05.:51:08.

across Northern Ireland and western Scotland. Once more, further south

:51:09.:51:13.

and east, there is a trend for these areas to stay mostly fine and dry

:51:14.:51:18.

and pretty warm right the way through this week. Temperatures up

:51:19.:51:23.

into the mid-20s but fresh and cool the further north.

:51:24.:51:43.

I'm in Wiltshire's southern grasslands,

:51:44.:51:45.

in one of the most recognisable places on earth.

:51:46.:51:55.

Stonehenge has been marvelled at for centuries,

:51:56.:52:02.

And once it gets you, it doesn't let go.

:52:03.:52:14.

No-one alive today knows more about Stonehenge than Julian Richards.

:52:15.:52:19.

The stones cast their spell over him more than 30 years ago.

:52:20.:52:25.

Julian, how are you doing? JULIAN LAUGHS

:52:26.:52:28.

Well, here at Stonehenge, so I'm happy.

:52:29.:52:30.

Good to see you. Do you remember your very first visit to Stonehenge?

:52:31.:52:34.

but then I came back when I was at university,

:52:35.:52:39.

when I was at Reading, and that, I think,

:52:40.:52:41.

was when it first sort of made an impression

:52:42.:52:43.

"Actually, this is something amazing."

:52:44.:52:47.

And that's led to a long series of digs that you've been involved in

:52:48.:52:50.

in and around this area. I was digging in this area 36 years ago.

:52:51.:52:54.

digging at Coneybury Henge, which is just up on the hill.

:52:55.:53:00.

as well as discovering the site in many different ways,

:53:01.:53:04.

you've obviously collected a few things along the way.

:53:05.:53:06.

Yes, yeah. Are you a hoarder, Julian?

:53:07.:53:08.

Are you a Stonehenge hoarder? Yes, I am a bit, actually.

:53:09.:53:10.

There's an entire gallery in the Stonehenge Visitor Centre

:53:11.:53:16.

full of the stuff that's been loaned by me.

:53:17.:53:18.

with Stonehenge in the background, you know.

:53:19.:53:26.

There's lots of other stone circles and there are some

:53:27.:53:31.

that are bigger than this, but it's the architecture of this place,

:53:32.:53:35.

that's what makes it instantly recognisable

:53:36.:53:37.

Mm. It's the best. Well, we are very lucky.

:53:38.:53:41.

We are allowed to go inside the stone circle for a few minutes,

:53:42.:53:44.

so let's leave the souvenirs behind and step inside, shall we?

:53:45.:53:47.

because you just get a real sense of the scale of it

:53:48.:54:00.

and the incredible ingenuity of the people that built it.

:54:01.:54:03.

I still find it awe-inspiring, you know, even after hundreds of visits!

:54:04.:54:08.

'Without technology, without modern tools,

:54:09.:54:12.

'our ancient ancestors' achievement is truly incredible.

:54:13.:54:17.

'All the more so when you consider that the smaller stones

:54:18.:54:20.

'were brought here from far west Wales.'

:54:21.:54:25.

It's extraordinary because it is carpentry in stone.

:54:26.:54:28.

You know, they're moving 40 ton blocks of sarsen,

:54:29.:54:30.

they are shaping them and then they're creating

:54:31.:54:33.

these elaborate joints to fit them together. Staggering, isn't it?

:54:34.:54:36.

And some of the stones aren't from that far away.

:54:37.:54:38.

I like the way you say, "Not that far away".

:54:39.:54:42.

Comparatively. You know, 25 miles for a stone this big is quite a lot,

:54:43.:54:46.

but, yeah, these are the ones from Wales.

:54:47.:54:48.

These are the ones from... From the Preseli Hills in Wales.

:54:49.:54:51.

is now telling us exactly which quarry some of

:54:52.:54:55.

If they hadn't done it, I wouldn't have believed it was possible.

:54:56.:54:59.

No. That human ingenuity could bring these amazing slabs of stone

:55:00.:55:03.

these distances. When you look back into sort of medieval times,

:55:04.:55:06.

and, of course, even more recently, you know,

:55:07.:55:10.

it's people from outer space. No, it's not!

:55:11.:55:12.

It's our ancient ancestors with skill and ingenuity,

:55:13.:55:15.

and obviously incredible organisation as well,

:55:16.:55:17.

to bring together enough people to move these stones.

:55:18.:55:20.

But I know that no matter how good science is,

:55:21.:55:23.

no matter how good archaeologists are,

:55:24.:55:25.

we're never really going to understand Stonehenge completely.

:55:26.:55:31.

There's magic and mystery here, a landscape to stir the soul.

:55:32.:55:36.

The perfect moment to remind you of the 12 finalists

:55:37.:55:40.

in this year's photographic competition,

:55:41.:55:42.

and how you can vote for your favourite.

:55:43.:55:44.

If Morning Hare is your favourite, call...

:55:45.:57:27.

Calls cost 10p, plus your network's access charge.

:57:28.:57:31.

You can also vote free on our website...

:57:32.:57:37.

The website also contains a full list of the photos

:57:38.:57:41.

and their phone numbers, together with the terms and conditions

:57:42.:57:44.

All the details are on the website, so get voting.

:57:45.:58:10.

Next week, we'll be taking a look at one of our favourite

:58:11.:58:12.

Hope you can join us then. See you. Do you know what?

:58:13.:58:16.

I've suddenly got a hankering for a game of dominoes.

:58:17.:58:19.

Do you fancy it? Yeah, shall we go to the pub?

:58:20.:58:21.

Get your flags ready and join Juan Diego Florez and many more

:58:22.:59:05.

for the world-famous last night of the Proms.

:59:06.:59:09.

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