:00:26. > :00:28.In the shadow of the Snowdonia and Carneddau mountain range
:00:29. > :00:32.sits the stunning island of Anglesey.
:00:33. > :00:34.Before that magnificent bridge was built,
:00:35. > :00:37.the only way to get to the island was to navigate these waters and,
:00:38. > :00:43.as I'll be finding out, it's not quite as easy as you think.
:00:44. > :00:48.Matt is putting his best foot forward as he launches
:00:49. > :00:54.That's right. The Countryfile ramble for BBC Children In Need is back.
:00:55. > :01:00.and I'll be telling you how you can join us.
:01:01. > :01:04.Tom takes a look at the worrying state of British nature.
:01:05. > :01:08.More than 50 conservation and research organisations have pulled
:01:09. > :01:12.their data from the last 40 years to produce this,
:01:13. > :01:21.who are getting ready to battle it out for this year's
:01:22. > :01:29.the way that dog cast out round the back of those sheep
:01:30. > :01:31.and brought them to us in no time at all.
:01:32. > :01:33.I can see why John has got such a good reputation
:01:34. > :01:51.A glorious coastline, carved by the sea.
:01:52. > :01:54.Wildlife that is eye-wateringly wonderful.
:01:55. > :02:00.And gentle landscapes that roll on, unspoilt for miles.
:02:01. > :02:04.The island of Anglesey is just off the coast of North West Wales.
:02:05. > :02:08.It's separated from the mainland by a wide strip of water,
:02:09. > :02:12.At first glance, it may look like a gentle,
:02:13. > :02:19.it's a tidal waterway with a fearsome reputation.
:02:20. > :02:22.And, of course, the best and only way to experience it
:02:23. > :02:27.Come on, Phil, let's see what this baby's got.
:02:28. > :02:31.passing under the stunning Menai Suspension Bridge.
:02:32. > :02:36.Completed in 1826, it was the first permanent link to mainland Wales.
:02:37. > :02:39.As well as this being a very iconic bridge,
:02:40. > :02:41.it is also the gateway to the Swillies.
:02:42. > :02:45.In Welsh it is the Swillies, in English the Swellies.
:02:46. > :02:49.And the Swillies has a very formidable reputation
:02:50. > :02:55.Back in the day, Lord Nelson, who was familiar with these waters,
:02:56. > :02:58.used to refer to the Swillies as being one of the most dangerous
:02:59. > :03:02.So we are in it now? We are in the Swillies?
:03:03. > :03:05.Why did Nelson say that it was so hard to navigate?
:03:06. > :03:09.you match that with the speed of the current,
:03:10. > :03:11.you get it wrong by a margin, a small margin,
:03:12. > :03:15.There must have been so many shipwrecks through here.
:03:16. > :03:19.So through here, around the island of Anglesey,
:03:20. > :03:26.but how would they have navigated it in rowing boats or sail boats?
:03:27. > :03:28.You had to be able to read the tides,
:03:29. > :03:29.you had to be able to read the winds,
:03:30. > :03:31.you had to be able to read the currents,
:03:32. > :03:34.and with all of those different skills pulled together,
:03:35. > :03:40.We just push the throttle forward and off we go.
:03:41. > :03:44.'We can't see them, but lurking under this swirling water
:03:45. > :03:47.'are jagged rocks and dangerous sandbanks,
:03:48. > :03:52.'so Phil is going to give me a brief lesson in navigating the Swillies.'
:03:53. > :03:55.So, what we have off our side, this is a navigational marker.
:03:56. > :03:59.What it does, it sits atop of a rock
:04:00. > :04:01.and points us towards where the danger is.
:04:02. > :04:04.And then following that we have got what we call a transit line.
:04:05. > :04:10.and that gives us our safe passage all the way through the rocks.
:04:11. > :04:13.There they are against the left-hand pillar
:04:14. > :04:15.of Britannia Bridge, the southerly pillar.
:04:16. > :04:21.do let me know and we will turn the boat towards them. OK.
:04:22. > :04:26.So the markers are in line now. We follow those.
:04:27. > :04:29.It's proper Swallows And Amazons territory, isn't it?
:04:30. > :04:32.Give yourself a little dinghy and a bit of adventure,
:04:33. > :04:36.and you can have the time of your life through here. Fantastic.
:04:37. > :04:38.'Back in the day, sailing folk sought to master
:04:39. > :04:43.'these dangerous currents by mapping the underwater landscape.'
:04:44. > :04:48.They'd use one of these, a plum or a lead line.
:04:49. > :04:54.and they'd just put it into the water
:04:55. > :05:00.It could take a while. It's still going.
:05:01. > :05:02.I'm going to run out of... Oh, no, it's gone. There we go.
:05:03. > :05:23.Right, now just to chart the rest of it.
:05:24. > :05:27.New technology means today we can get a much more accurate view
:05:28. > :05:32.This is the research vessel Prince Madog, from Bangor University,
:05:33. > :05:36.which has a school of ocean sciences on Anglesey.
:05:37. > :05:40.I am meeting scientist Guy Walker-Springett.
:05:41. > :05:43.Hi, Guy. Hello, Anita. Lovely to see you. You too.
:05:44. > :05:45.So, what's all this fancy kit you've got?
:05:46. > :05:48.What we have here is a screenshot of the seabed
:05:49. > :05:51.running up the Menai Strait. This was charted using
:05:52. > :05:53.a piece of kit called a multi-beam echo sounder,
:05:54. > :05:58.This is incredible. This is state-of-the-art, isn't it?
:05:59. > :06:02.As you can see, there are different textures of the seabed.
:06:03. > :06:05.You've got this blocky-natured texture just here,
:06:06. > :06:08.which relates to bedrock and actual rock itself.
:06:09. > :06:12.You've got these long-tailed soft sediment areas.
:06:13. > :06:18.Look at that. Have a look from different regions, different angles.
:06:19. > :06:23.You can really see how treacherous it is from this angle, can't you?
:06:24. > :06:28.which is the only navigable route through it,
:06:29. > :06:31.it actually hugs the mainland side of the Menai Strait,
:06:32. > :06:34.which is this end, and runs around here,
:06:35. > :06:40.down through this small notch and through to the Menai Bridge.
:06:41. > :06:43.It's extraordinary to get this view of the narrow stretch of water
:06:44. > :06:55.could have brought about a rocky ending.
:06:56. > :06:58.There are tens of thousands of wild species in Britain,
:06:59. > :07:01.from birds to butterflies, mammals to marine life.
:07:02. > :07:03.Now a brand-new report is due out next week,
:07:04. > :07:06.bringing us up-to-date information about how they're all doing,
:07:07. > :07:17.That old familiar friend, our countryside,
:07:18. > :07:29.Plants and wildlife that have endured for centuries.
:07:30. > :07:35.and an entirely different story is revealed.
:07:36. > :07:41.and potential loss of precious wildlife.
:07:42. > :07:47.More than 1,000 endangered, land-dwelling and freshwater species
:07:48. > :07:52.are at risk of extinction from the British Isles.
:07:53. > :07:55.It is a sombre story told in a major new report
:07:56. > :07:59.due to be released this week called The State Of Nature.
:08:00. > :08:04.more than 50 scientific and conservation organisations
:08:05. > :08:09.have pooled four decades' worth of data, and Countryfile has been given
:08:10. > :08:13.an exclusive preview of the findings.
:08:14. > :08:23.suggesting the majority of British species have declined since 1970.
:08:24. > :08:27.Out of nearly 4,000 species included in the report,
:08:28. > :08:32.some that are really struggling include water voles, hedgehogs,
:08:33. > :08:37.turtle doves, and white-letter hairstreak butterflies.
:08:38. > :08:42.Some are on the up, such as bats, otters,
:08:43. > :08:49.red kites and silver-spotted skipper butterflies.
:08:50. > :08:52.But while individual species go up and down,
:08:53. > :08:56.Britain has lost more biodiversity than the global average.
:08:57. > :08:59.In fact, numbers suggest we are amongst the most
:09:00. > :09:04.nature-depleted countries in the world.
:09:05. > :09:09.And some of the most dramatic losses are in one particular habitat -
:09:10. > :09:15.More than half the species associated with our farmed landscape
:09:16. > :09:18.Mark Eaton, lead author of this report,
:09:19. > :09:27.was a huge increase in agricultural productivity.
:09:28. > :09:30.Wheat yields went up by two thirds in just two decades.
:09:31. > :09:33.Farmers got better at producing food.
:09:34. > :09:37.Crops now tend to be sown in the autumn
:09:38. > :09:41.which means that farmers plough their fields
:09:42. > :09:45.and all the seed that was on the surface
:09:46. > :09:48.that used to feed birds through the winter is turned underground.
:09:49. > :09:53.So these sorts of impacts are squeezing nature out.
:09:54. > :09:57.So, changes in farming practices triggered changes in nature.
:09:58. > :10:04.Easy to miss unless you pay close attention to the wild environment.
:10:05. > :10:09.Ornithologist and author James Lowen has been watching farmland birds
:10:10. > :10:15.since he was a boy and charting the changes in their habitat.
:10:16. > :10:18.Fundamentally, it's a massive decline in the species
:10:19. > :10:24.So for every 100 turtle doves that lived in Norfolk 25 years ago,
:10:25. > :10:27.there's just eight now. I mean, what a tragedy that is.
:10:28. > :10:31.So, what was once common has become exceptional and exciting,
:10:32. > :10:33.and you may need all this kit even to spot one.
:10:34. > :10:36.Well, exciting, but also demoralising, depressing.
:10:37. > :10:38.What a shame it is that the birds that we've looked after
:10:39. > :10:45.The loss of farmland wildlife was not deliberate.
:10:46. > :10:47.In the years after the Second World War,
:10:48. > :10:51.the government was terrified of the country going hungry again.
:10:52. > :10:58.Farmers were encouraged, and paid, to plough up millions of acres.
:10:59. > :11:02.One man who remembers all that is 66-year-old John Mitchell,
:11:03. > :11:08.We had to produce as much as we could then.
:11:09. > :11:11.This field had about 3km of hedges in it,
:11:12. > :11:14.which we removed to make it more efficient
:11:15. > :11:19.or did it just not come into the equation?
:11:20. > :11:25.If you mentioned wildlife when I was a boy, it was adversarial, I think.
:11:26. > :11:34.It was something that was in the way of your aim.
:11:35. > :11:36.John wouldn't have known it at the time,
:11:37. > :11:46.have captured an agricultural revolution on camera.
:11:47. > :11:51.Is that an example of the kind of pesticide use
:11:52. > :12:00.as regards blight spraying and insecticide spraying, yes.
:12:01. > :12:03.The State of Nature report is rather pointing the finger
:12:04. > :12:06.at your generation of farmers for this decline in wildlife.
:12:07. > :12:10.I don't feel guilty because I had to respond to
:12:11. > :12:19.and farmers and the science gave it to them, very cheaply.
:12:20. > :12:22.Do you think the way you did farm then resulted in less wildlife?
:12:23. > :12:35.but I think probably through other predators rather than farming.
:12:36. > :12:39.Some farmers like John feel they are not entirely to blame
:12:40. > :12:44.for the decline in farmland species, pointing instead to other wildlife.
:12:45. > :12:49.I want to put that to leading conservationist Mark Eaton.
:12:50. > :12:52.Many people look at the rise of predators, like birds of prey,
:12:53. > :12:58.and say that's what is holding down the numbers of the other species,
:12:59. > :13:00.and you're ignoring that. I don't think we're ignoring that.
:13:01. > :13:03.There's good evidence to show that, by and large,
:13:04. > :13:05.these species aren't having a negative impact
:13:06. > :13:08.and are not the causes of the declines we've seen.
:13:09. > :13:10.For example, many people look at the rise of sparrowhawks
:13:11. > :13:13.and decline in songbirds and say the two are related.
:13:14. > :13:15.There's good science to show that is not the fact.
:13:16. > :13:19.Badgers? Badgers are increasing, you're right there, and we do know -
:13:20. > :13:22.shouldn't ignore it - we do know that in some places
:13:23. > :13:25.there is an impact of predators on ground-nesting birds,
:13:26. > :13:28.There is a problem that has to be addressed.
:13:29. > :13:32.But in terms of the wider context of our report,
:13:33. > :13:35.which is looking at butterflies and flowers,
:13:36. > :13:39.and all sorts of things that we have data on,
:13:40. > :13:41.we know that this wider impact is happening,
:13:42. > :13:43.there's losses across all of nature,
:13:44. > :13:45.and although there is a small problem with these predators,
:13:46. > :13:51.it isn't the big issue, I don't want to be distracted by that.
:13:52. > :13:55.Whatever the cause is, one thing is clear.
:13:56. > :13:58.The State Of Nature report has flagged up a worrying
:13:59. > :14:03.general decline in our wild plants, birds, insects and animals.
:14:04. > :14:06.We know the problem, so what could be some of the solutions?
:14:07. > :14:14.Well, that's what I'll be trying to find out later.
:14:15. > :14:18.Now, one countryside staple that's still going strong after 40 years
:14:19. > :14:23.and Countryfile has the honour in two weeks of playing host
:14:24. > :14:28.Adam has been meeting some of the hopefuls who are competing
:14:29. > :14:35.This week, he's starting with Team England.
:14:36. > :14:39.The competitors representing England this year are poles apart,
:14:40. > :14:46.Junior competitor Tom Blease is based here in the mountainous
:14:47. > :14:49.sheep farming Mecca of the Lake District.
:14:50. > :14:51.But this year's senior representative, Dick Roper,
:14:52. > :14:55.farms several hundred miles south of here in my stomping ground
:14:56. > :15:01.Down in the rolling hills of Gloucestershire,
:15:02. > :15:03.you get a very different type of farm,
:15:04. > :15:23.We caught up with Dick to see how his preparations were going.
:15:24. > :15:25.This is where your dogs really are working dogs.
:15:26. > :15:27.Because over that hill now I can't see them at all.
:15:28. > :15:31.They've just got to do what they've got to do.
:15:32. > :15:32.In other words, gather all those sheep,
:15:33. > :15:34.not leave any behind, and bring them to me.
:15:35. > :15:37.I can't command them because I can't see them.
:15:38. > :15:40.So the trial work is very much showing off what we do every day
:15:41. > :15:44.at work, but there's lots of other things they do at work as well,
:15:45. > :15:46.which is gathering up a bunch of 350 ewes like this,
:15:47. > :15:51.totally out of sight, and bringing them to me.
:15:52. > :16:00.These are two really good flock dogs.
:16:01. > :16:03.Sometimes a little bit tough in competition,
:16:04. > :16:08.is a work dog first and a competition dog second.
:16:09. > :16:11.My sort of dogs, they tend not to be good until they're four or five
:16:12. > :16:15.because they're a little bit tough to handle.
:16:16. > :16:17.But this isn't the only challenge that Dick's facing
:16:18. > :16:23.This time last year, I started to lose the sight of my right eye
:16:24. > :16:28.and over the summer it has died, and so I've just got my left eye now.
:16:29. > :16:35.because I don't judge my distances so well.
:16:36. > :16:38.It's a shepherding competition, and that's what we're showing off.
:16:39. > :16:41.We're trying to show off our shepherding skills...
:16:42. > :16:45...as well as show off the dog, obviously.
:16:46. > :16:48.Dick works a huge farm with more than 7,000 sheep,
:16:49. > :16:50.and so has a few working dogs to choose from
:16:51. > :16:56.I've got seven dogs, one old one and two youngsters,
:16:57. > :16:59.so I've got four which are capable of doing a day's work.
:17:00. > :17:02.These two now are my best two, Will and Pete,
:17:03. > :17:07.because he's just got a little bit more class than Pete.
:17:08. > :17:10.He's hard to handle, but he's a quality dog
:17:11. > :17:14.and I hope on the day he'll come up trumps.
:17:15. > :17:22.He's five years old, just coming into his own now for trialling.
:17:23. > :17:24.So I hope he's not going to let me down.
:17:25. > :17:27.Keep my fingers crossed and see how we go.
:17:28. > :17:41.Will is the latest in a long line of champion dogs that Dick has reared
:17:42. > :17:51.Well, my absolute favourite is this little chap called Dan.
:17:52. > :17:55.I'm sure these are all future champions for Dick.
:17:56. > :18:02.I competed at the National Championships, and I didn't actually
:18:03. > :18:05.feel that the eye was too much of a disadvantage.
:18:06. > :18:08.So I'm actually looking forward to the competition,
:18:09. > :18:11.and anyway, I've got a really good excuse if it all goes wrong.
:18:12. > :18:15.It's nice to have excuses before you start, but I think I'll be fine,
:18:16. > :18:19.I think I'll be good. No, you're going to do really well.
:18:20. > :18:23.Here's hoping all goes well for England's senior representative,
:18:24. > :18:30.From the rolling hills of The Cotswolds,
:18:31. > :18:33.I am heading to the Lakeland Fells to meet England's
:18:34. > :18:38.16-year-old Tom Blease and his dog Queen.
:18:39. > :18:54.Tom and his family moved to a 22-acre plot of land
:18:55. > :18:59.Tom's dad Jim, a former project manager,
:19:00. > :19:01.told me how Tom caught the trialling bug.
:19:02. > :19:04.Thomas had always wanted to have a dog ever since he was as young
:19:05. > :19:07.as we can remember, and at that stage it was just about
:19:08. > :19:10.getting a black and white collie and having a pup and a pet,
:19:11. > :19:13.but things kind of evolved from there, I suppose.
:19:14. > :19:19.He's semi-responsible for all of this, really.
:19:20. > :19:22.Without him, who knows whether this would have happened?
:19:23. > :19:25.Because he helped us get a connection with local sheep farms
:19:26. > :19:28.and went out and did some gathering and bringing in the sheep,
:19:29. > :19:32.and that was our first taste of trialling, dog trialling, really,
:19:33. > :19:35.and Thomas discovered he had a real love of it
:19:36. > :19:45.and a bit of a knack for it, and has taken it on from there.
:19:46. > :19:47.Hi, Tom. Good to see you. Hi, Adam, how you doing?
:19:48. > :19:50.Now, you've had this meteoric rise in sheep dog trialling
:19:51. > :19:53.and you're up against some pretty seasoned farmers.
:19:54. > :19:56.How do you feel about that? Yeah, I'm excited.
:19:57. > :20:01.I'm hoping that I can get some tips off them.
:20:02. > :20:03.I've met Kip, but he's not your trialling dog of choice.
:20:04. > :20:08.He's not quite got the brain for it, I don't think.
:20:09. > :20:11.So this is the one? Yeah, this is Queen.
:20:12. > :20:14.She's two, two and a bit, and she's a great little dog.
:20:15. > :20:18.On the trialling field, it will be quite a big paddock.
:20:19. > :20:20.Here you're working in smaller fields.
:20:21. > :20:22.Will she cope? Yeah, she should do.
:20:23. > :20:27.When we're out on the fell, you know,
:20:28. > :20:30.there's no boundaries and gathering and stuff.
:20:31. > :20:33.She's generally all right as long as she can see a sheep and, yeah,
:20:34. > :20:38.Now, I'm from a farming background and I've worked sheepdogs,
:20:39. > :20:41.but the idea of going into trials, it's a different league.
:20:42. > :20:45.I suppose just by working sheep on the land and, you know,
:20:46. > :20:48.all the locals just being really helpful,
:20:49. > :20:55.Just through doing it, I suppose, and learning on the job.
:20:56. > :20:59.has been doing it for a long time but you're fairly new to the game.
:21:00. > :21:02.Do you get nervous? Yeah. Well, I have done in the past.
:21:03. > :21:05.I think I'm getting used to it now, but it's...
:21:06. > :21:08.No, I think I'll still have a bit of nerves before I get to the posts.
:21:09. > :21:15.Hopefully not, but we'll see on the day.
:21:16. > :21:20.Best of luck. Cheers, thank you very much.
:21:21. > :21:22.And that's this year's England team -
:21:23. > :21:25.seasoned pro Dick Roper from Gloucestershire
:21:26. > :21:31.and 16-year-old Cumbrian newcomer Tom Blease
:21:32. > :21:40.Earlier, we heard how the State Of Nature report,
:21:41. > :21:45.reveals a worrying decline in many British species.
:21:46. > :21:56.The State Of Nature report is not a quick read.
:21:57. > :22:03.It's 85 pages of data and research stretching back to 1970.
:22:04. > :22:09.Most of our wild species are falling in numbers
:22:10. > :22:16.and Britain's biodiversity is below the global average.
:22:17. > :22:21.As for what causes these losses, well, one word crops up regularly -
:22:22. > :22:27.Intensifying the way we manage land for food production has,
:22:28. > :22:38.But it also makes clear we can still save it.
:22:39. > :22:42.I want to find out what farmers can do to halt the downward spiral
:22:43. > :22:47.and that mission has brought me to a farm in Gloucestershire.
:22:48. > :22:52.This farm is all about demonstrating that you can do right by wildlife
:22:53. > :22:55.and also have profitable agriculture.
:22:56. > :22:58.Take this field. They've got an extraordinary range of things
:22:59. > :23:03.they've planted for the benefit of birds, insects and other wildlife -
:23:04. > :23:07.they've got barley, they've obviously got sunflowers -
:23:08. > :23:13.and it's all about providing food throughout the year.
:23:14. > :23:16.It's a demonstration farm for an organisation called Leaf,
:23:17. > :23:20.which stands for Linking Environment And Farming.
:23:21. > :23:22.And its chief executive, Caroline Drummond,
:23:23. > :23:33.Pollinating species love this because small flowers,
:23:34. > :23:37.So a good example of what this farm is doing overall,
:23:38. > :23:40.but tell me about what this place is delivering for wildlife.
:23:41. > :23:42.So they've got a fantastic range of species here.
:23:43. > :23:46.skylarks, of course, and in fact, one of my favourites,
:23:47. > :23:50.You say that farmers on the whole have been doing good things
:23:51. > :23:53.for the environment but this report paints a very different picture.
:23:54. > :23:55.Are you being too rosy in your outlook?
:23:56. > :23:58.Well, I mean, if we look at some of the stewardship schemes
:23:59. > :24:01.that have come out now, 70% of farmers have been involved
:24:02. > :24:04.in things like the creation of margins against fields,
:24:05. > :24:08.enhancing hedgerows and things like that, digging ponds.
:24:09. > :24:11.So we've actually already seen farmers take up
:24:12. > :24:19.Those efforts are largely paid for by the European Union
:24:20. > :24:25.Farmers receive money for environmental work as well as
:24:26. > :24:32.Hopefully good Mum's bees. Make lots of good honey there.
:24:33. > :24:38.John Mitchell and his son Joe are inspecting a beetle bank,
:24:39. > :24:45.40 years ago, every inch of this farm was used to grow food.
:24:46. > :24:51.Today, nearly 30 acres are managed purely for wildlife.
:24:52. > :24:56.Now, this is an unharvested field margin and what we've got in here,
:24:57. > :25:02...wheat... We've got poppies, we've got daisies here as well
:25:03. > :25:05.to produce a lovely habitat for wildlife.
:25:06. > :25:07.What would you have thought, say, back in the 1970s
:25:08. > :25:11."Look, we're going to pay you to produce nothing"?
:25:12. > :25:14.I'd worry what the neighbours would think of me, actually.
:25:15. > :25:17.I was brought up, you know, to feed people.
:25:18. > :25:20.Well, my point of view now is if I see birds on the farm,
:25:21. > :25:29.Following our vote to leave the European Union,
:25:30. > :25:31.the whole system of farm payments is a bit up in the air.
:25:32. > :25:36.towards supporting environmental goods. What do you think?
:25:37. > :25:38.From my point of view, if we're going do that,
:25:39. > :25:42.these agri-environment schemes have got to be worth three times,
:25:43. > :25:44.four times their value in order to compensate for you
:25:45. > :25:46.what you would lose in the direct payment.
:25:47. > :25:52.You can't be green when you're in the red.
:25:53. > :25:56.The UK Government has committed to funding all agri-environment schemes
:25:57. > :26:03.Beyond that and post-Brexit, there are no guarantees.
:26:04. > :26:07.But Mark Eaton, the man leading the State Of Nature report,
:26:08. > :26:11.says that's exactly what's needed - guarantees.
:26:12. > :26:15.We need to shift funding, the public funding that goes into this,
:26:16. > :26:18.towards enabling farmers to farm in a sustainable way
:26:19. > :26:21.that's good for food production, good for wildlife.
:26:22. > :26:26.We just need to grasp the opportunity we've been presented now
:26:27. > :26:32.with both hands and make our farming better for us all.
:26:33. > :26:36.The State Of Nature report sends out a bold message
:26:37. > :26:40.that agricultural change was the main driver of decline in wildlife
:26:41. > :26:48.But whether it continues to be in the next 40 years, well,
:26:49. > :26:51.that depends on governments, farmers,
:26:52. > :27:05.because we all have a stake in the state of nature.
:27:06. > :27:09.I'm visiting Anglesey and exploring the Menai Strait,
:27:10. > :27:13.the stretch of water that separates it from mainland Wales.
:27:14. > :27:16.But Anglesey isn't the only island around here.
:27:17. > :27:18.This little house is perched on a rocky outcrop
:27:19. > :27:24.This is the teeny, tiny Ynys Gorad Goch,
:27:25. > :27:31.This watery idyll is owned by Peter Betts.
:27:32. > :27:34.So this is it, king of the castle. This is your place. This is it.
:27:35. > :27:38.24 years ago. And why did you buy it?
:27:39. > :27:41.Why? Because I've always loved fishing
:27:42. > :27:46.and I've always restored listed buildings and this was derelict
:27:47. > :27:48.at the time and had been bare for a long time.
:27:49. > :27:51.Yeah, lots of people like fishing, lots of people restore buildings,
:27:52. > :27:54.but not everyone thinks to buy an island.
:27:55. > :27:57.I mean, you are in the middle of the Swellies here.
:27:58. > :27:59.It's just you. I mean, what's it like living here?
:28:00. > :28:03.Fantastic. It's nice in the winter, it's great in the summer.
:28:04. > :28:09.We've got fish records going back to about 1550.
:28:10. > :28:11.Do you feel like a bit of a hermit living here yourself?
:28:12. > :28:13.No, not at all. It's lovely to be here.
:28:14. > :28:16.It's only two minutes by boat to the land, so it's very simple for us
:28:17. > :28:23.It's tremendous. And that's your view -
:28:24. > :28:26.and you've got the Menai Bridge on the other.
:28:27. > :28:37.The monks who used to live here took advantage of the tidal waters
:28:38. > :28:42.to catch fish. It's a tradition that Peter is keeping alive.
:28:43. > :28:44.And what's this here? This is the fish trap.
:28:45. > :28:54.When the fish come into here, they're held in
:28:55. > :28:57.by this large wall, which is a dry-stone wall,
:28:58. > :29:02.the fish get stuck in the trap and the fishermen,
:29:03. > :29:04.the monks that were here, would come in and pick them up and take them
:29:05. > :29:10.You catch little fish, it catches lots of whitebait.
:29:11. > :29:13.And there is a history of whitebait here, is there? There is.
:29:14. > :29:18.it was called Whitebait Island for a while and people used to walk down
:29:19. > :29:21.from the lay-by, stand at the bottom and ring a bell,
:29:22. > :29:23.and the old man would row across and pick them up
:29:24. > :29:27.And they were charged a shilling for a whitebait tea.
:29:28. > :29:30.How nice! We caught some whitebait this morning,
:29:31. > :29:33.so if you'd like to try some, we can do it for you.
:29:34. > :29:38.I can't leave this island and not have some whitebait.
:29:39. > :29:40.If you want, you can cook it yourself.
:29:41. > :29:49.Yeah. And we've rubbed it in flour and now you're going to cook it.
:29:50. > :29:50.So that's hot oil back there. Hot oil.
:29:51. > :29:53.I'm only going to do a bit. I've never cooked whitebait before.
:29:54. > :29:54.Shall I just dunk it in, see what happens?
:29:55. > :29:56.Just dunk it in. How long does it need?
:29:57. > :29:59.POT SIZZLES Woohoo!
:30:00. > :30:02.This is the way to cook it, isn't it? Outdoors.
:30:03. > :30:06.It's going to be beautiful. It's getting nice and brown now.
:30:07. > :30:10.We've got a few more there. On the towel.
:30:11. > :30:15.Little bit of salt. Anglesey sea salt.
:30:16. > :30:26.Cheers. Cheers. Oh, that's delicious.
:30:27. > :30:29.Beautiful. We are eating whitebait on the island that has been eating
:30:30. > :30:33.Freshly caught. This morning.
:30:34. > :30:41.Earlier, Adam met Team England, who are hoping to claim the title
:30:42. > :30:46.Now he's heading north to meet the Scottish pairing who have their own
:30:47. > :30:55.Much of Scotland's wild and inaccessible uplands
:30:56. > :31:00.Having a good dog on this kind of rough ground
:31:01. > :31:07.And no-one knows that better than senior competitor John McKillop,
:31:08. > :31:10.who manages the farms on this huge Highland estate
:31:11. > :31:15.that runs right down to the banks of Loch Ness itself.
:31:16. > :31:21.high in the hills on the kind of ground he works all year round.
:31:22. > :31:31.but there is a certain amount of arable
:31:32. > :31:34.land where we make about 1,000 bales of silage.
:31:35. > :31:37.It's incredible, isn't it? It's a huge scale.
:31:38. > :31:43.Well, there's 1,600 breeding ewes on it and
:31:44. > :31:53.Yeah. So when you go to gather them and bring them all in,
:31:54. > :32:10.Quite often, they are out of sight, a long distance away.
:32:11. > :32:18.I think it does. I think it probably gives me an advantage insomuch as
:32:19. > :32:22.when you are working in tricky situations where sheep can get away,
:32:23. > :32:25.you have got to have sheep sense, where you can read the sheep.
:32:26. > :32:27.You're actually working with your own mind,
:32:28. > :32:35.Yeah. Can I watch you running one of your dogs?
:32:36. > :32:43.John has represented Scotland nine times and has won
:32:44. > :32:50.he's using his experienced seven-year-old dog Joe.
:32:51. > :32:53.We'd struggle to see what Joe can do up in the hills
:32:54. > :32:58.to one of his lower-lying silage fields to demonstrate just what
:32:59. > :33:04.Will he be able to find some somewhere?
:33:05. > :33:06.Yeah, there should be sheep over there in the trees.
:33:07. > :33:09.That's, what? Nearly half a mile away, isn't it?
:33:10. > :33:11.Maybe not quite, but it's quite a distance.
:33:12. > :33:14.I'm sure he'll find them. OK, let's see him go.
:33:15. > :33:25.Oh, you can really see the way what the dog has learnt up in the
:33:26. > :33:28.mountains is coming into its own here with a really wide outcast,
:33:29. > :33:34.Here he comes with the sheep now, John.
:33:35. > :33:56.This trialling must take up a lot of your time.
:33:57. > :34:00.It does, it takes most weekends up, yes, during the summer.
:34:01. > :34:02.And in the winter, we have the nursery trials for the young dogs.
:34:03. > :34:05.Stand, stand! And what do the family think?
:34:06. > :34:08.They are a big support to me, always have been.
:34:09. > :34:17.I've been told that this is your lucky crook.
:34:18. > :34:23.I actually bought this little stick for Jane, my wife.
:34:24. > :34:26.And I was fortunate enough to win the Scottish National with it.
:34:27. > :34:28.So... Well, make sure you don't forget it
:34:29. > :34:30.for the One Man And His Dog competition.
:34:31. > :34:32.That's right. And best of luck on the day.
:34:33. > :34:34.OK, thanks very much. Cheers. Thanks.
:34:35. > :34:36.With several Scottish titles under his belt,
:34:37. > :34:39.senior competitor John McKillop and his dog, Joe,
:34:40. > :34:43.could do well in this year's competition.
:34:44. > :34:47.15-year-old Jocky Welsh and his dog are this year's junior Scottish
:34:48. > :34:52.competitors. They farm several hours south of John in lowland Ayrshire.
:34:53. > :34:54.They are lovely, these Scottish blackface.
:34:55. > :35:06.Jock hails from a well-known dog trialling family, and like John,
:35:07. > :35:15.in some very challenging countryside.
:35:16. > :35:19.Now, your family's been working sheepdogs for a long time.
:35:20. > :35:22.Does that put pressure on you or do you feel some help from it?
:35:23. > :35:25.Yeah, there's a lot of help coming from them, but,
:35:26. > :35:29.yeah, there is a bit of pressure but it makes you a wee bit better,
:35:30. > :35:36.Aye. You were never tempted to move away and do something different?
:35:37. > :35:40.No, I just kind of started working with dogs when I was about 11,
:35:41. > :35:47.Jock, this is a pretty unforgiving environment to train a sheepdog in.
:35:48. > :35:51.Yeah, there's lots of burns and hills and...
:35:52. > :35:56.It's not easy. And you sometimes lose sight of your sheepdog?
:35:57. > :36:02.Yeah, yeah, sometimes they disappear in wet bits and bracken and stuff
:36:03. > :36:08.but you just keep whistling and hope!
:36:09. > :36:12.It's great to see dogs working this rough farmland.
:36:13. > :36:19.Jocky has a few well-managed fields where it is easier to put Nell
:36:20. > :36:24.What are the advantages of training a dog down here, then?
:36:25. > :36:27.Well, you just get better contact with the sheep.
:36:28. > :36:30.It's just easier to train when you're closer.
:36:31. > :36:35.Yeah, you can just nip out for 15 minutes at night, just easy.
:36:36. > :36:37.So tell me about your little bitch, then.
:36:38. > :36:39.It's not often you get to see a red Border collie.
:36:40. > :36:46.He gave me her when she was just a pup.
:36:47. > :36:52.She's a wee bit sensitive but if you just play it cool with her,
:36:53. > :36:54.she is fine. You don't want to shout at her too much, then?
:36:55. > :37:04.I put a wee bit of polish on her for the trial field!
:37:05. > :37:07.So when you talk about polish, you've got to shed sheep,
:37:08. > :37:11.haven't you, split them up, put them into pens, through gates?
:37:12. > :37:14.Quite a lot of technical stuff you have to do on the trialling day.
:37:15. > :37:17.Aye, just slow them down a wee bit from their work because they're
:37:18. > :37:20.normally going a wee bit faster but if you can slow them down,
:37:21. > :37:23.it's much better. So you've got a puppy from your grandfather,
:37:24. > :37:26.you're third-generation One Man And His Dog,
:37:27. > :37:30.Yeah, there's a bit of pressure but I'll try my hardest anyway.
:37:31. > :37:38.So here's the duo representing Scotland
:37:39. > :37:45.Red Nell and 15-year-old handler Jocky Welsh,
:37:46. > :37:57.and two-time Scottish champion John McKillop and his dog, Joe.
:37:58. > :38:00.Last year, we launched the Countryfile Ramble
:38:01. > :38:04.for BBC Children In Need and you took part in your thousands.
:38:05. > :38:07.For one weekend, all across the land,
:38:08. > :38:13.you put on your boots and headed out into the countryside to do your bit.
:38:14. > :38:16.From mountain to dale, from coast to coast, wherever you were,
:38:17. > :38:20.you put on your own rambles and you did us proud.
:38:21. > :38:24.Whether rambling or donating from home,
:38:25. > :38:29.you helped us raise almost ?1 million.
:38:30. > :38:33.It was a truly incredible sight but it was just the beginning.
:38:34. > :38:37.Because this year, the rambles are back and with your help,
:38:38. > :38:41.we want to make them bigger and better than ever as we celebrate the
:38:42. > :38:48.power of the countryside and its people to help transform lives.
:38:49. > :38:53.Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th of October.
:38:54. > :38:57.And once again, the Countryfile gang will be leading the way.
:38:58. > :39:03.We have already got our own rambles planned and would love some of you
:39:04. > :39:08.I'll be swapping the farm for forest in the South Downs,
:39:09. > :39:11.on the border of Hampshire and Surrey.
:39:12. > :39:14.While I'll be exploring the vast vistas
:39:15. > :39:19.and wide-open spaces of the Black Mountains in Wales.
:39:20. > :39:23.This year, my ramble will be taking in the countryside around Scotland's
:39:24. > :39:31.And I'll be leading a coastal ramble in Northern Ireland,
:39:32. > :39:38.one that promises some simply stunning views.
:39:39. > :39:42.You can apply to join these presenter-led rambles right now.
:39:43. > :39:48.Simply visit the BBC Countryfile website...
:39:49. > :39:54.Entry is free and you have until midnight on Saturday the 17th of
:39:55. > :40:01.Places will be limited, so get your entries in quickly.
:40:02. > :40:07.Winners will be decided at random in a draw once the deadline has closed.
:40:08. > :40:10.But as well as some of you joining us,
:40:11. > :40:13.what we really want is for as many of you as possible
:40:14. > :40:19.to organise your own sponsored rambles.
:40:20. > :40:22.For one weekend, we want the countryside to be filled with
:40:23. > :40:27.Countryfile viewers, because we know that what we can achieve when we
:40:28. > :40:32.So, please, join in and do what you can.
:40:33. > :40:34.It doesn't matter if it's a mile or a marathon.
:40:35. > :40:39.And every penny that you raise whilst rambling will help families
:40:40. > :40:49.The Shilston family live near Esher in Surrey.
:40:50. > :40:54.Mum Carla, dad Simon and children Betsy, Johnny
:40:55. > :41:10.This close-knit family had their world turned upside down
:41:11. > :41:17.I think it was two years ago that he got diagnosed with
:41:18. > :41:24.I noticed when walking our new dog that my left foot was
:41:25. > :41:28.So I just thought it was an old injury and just, you know,
:41:29. > :41:36.Motor neurone disease is a rare condition affecting around
:41:37. > :41:42.It stops the motor nerves in the brain and spine from telling
:41:43. > :41:45.the muscles what to do. There is no cure,
:41:46. > :41:50.and Simon probably only has about 18 months left to live.
:41:51. > :41:54.We went in. He said, "From your results, from the examinations,
:41:55. > :41:57."I can confirm you've got motor neurone disease."
:41:58. > :42:00.And I think, as much as you think it's coming,
:42:01. > :42:03.when a professional actually tells you face-to-face,
:42:04. > :42:08.I think we were just absolutely shellshocked.
:42:09. > :42:11.I think sometimes still, now, I can't quite believe
:42:12. > :42:19.But you notice on a daily basis how things stop working.
:42:20. > :42:24.then it was the whole of that same leg and then the other leg just went
:42:25. > :42:28.very quickly. And this hand was fine, and now, you can see,
:42:29. > :42:30.it has just stopped working like that.
:42:31. > :42:38.The family had always been incredibly active,
:42:39. > :42:47.Every weekend, rain or shine, get in the car, off we go, walking. Yeah.
:42:48. > :42:51.Youngest twin Nancy has got lots of fond memories of
:42:52. > :42:56.We walked eight miles, so three to Margate,
:42:57. > :43:00.two around Margate and three back because there is this really,
:43:01. > :43:04.really good, old-fashioned sweet shop.
:43:05. > :43:12.Being in a house that is very female dominated,
:43:13. > :43:15.those two kind of stuck together and I think Johnny's felt
:43:16. > :43:22.For Johnny, he understands it better in terms of the severity of it.
:43:23. > :43:26.I know what will happen in the end, but it's, you know,
:43:27. > :43:31.It's like, it's not very nice to see it every day,
:43:32. > :43:42.Every now and then, I think it hits them hard.
:43:43. > :43:45.They have this reality check of, actually,
:43:46. > :43:49."Will Daddy be around on my 12th birthday?"
:43:50. > :43:58.It is still hard for them to take in.
:43:59. > :44:04.because she's not going to really remember Daddy very well.
:44:05. > :44:08.After the diagnosis confirmed that Simon had motor neurone disease,
:44:09. > :44:12.he was referred to the Princess Alice Hospice in Surrey,
:44:13. > :44:16.which receives vital funding from Children In Need.
:44:17. > :44:20.They cater for both the patient and the broader family.
:44:21. > :44:23.I think the whole idea of going to a hospice is, oh, gosh,
:44:24. > :44:26.it's doom and gloom, but it is beautiful.
:44:27. > :44:34.The grounds, the staff, it is a place of serenity.
:44:35. > :44:38.The hospice provides essential help for children, too.
:44:39. > :44:48.counsellor Caroline Scollick spends time with the children, to help them
:44:49. > :44:52.deal with the situation and to help them with their feelings.
:44:53. > :44:56.Caroline's been seeing us for nearly a year now.
:44:57. > :44:59.On the first page, you have got all about me.
:45:00. > :45:04.It's all about you. And then you've got all about Daddy,
:45:05. > :45:06.where he was born and who his best friend is,
:45:07. > :45:13.She's just got this air of calmness which...
:45:14. > :45:17.It's so reassuring to know that the girls can talk to somebody else
:45:18. > :45:25.about this. It's... It's lovely, really lovely.
:45:26. > :45:30."it's just better to cry or let it out than keep it inside and get
:45:31. > :45:38.I love him very much and he probably loves me very much.
:45:39. > :45:40.I don't think there's any "probably" about it.
:45:41. > :45:44.I think he does love you all very much.
:45:45. > :45:48.I think of what's happening now and the happy times,
:45:49. > :45:50.not in the future and stuff like that.
:45:51. > :45:59.We talk and we show them that it's OK to cry.
:46:00. > :46:03.We show them that it's good to laugh, it's good to get the giggles,
:46:04. > :46:07.you know? So we try and keep things as...
:46:08. > :46:13.We just have to take each day as it comes with them, you know?
:46:14. > :46:17.But I can still talk. I can still breathe and I can still enjoy life.
:46:18. > :46:21.Caroline's caring support is helping Simon,
:46:22. > :46:25.Carla and the children to cope with this impossible time and they are
:46:26. > :46:28.just one of the many families the caring staff at
:46:29. > :46:33.Princess Alice Hospice, funded by Children In Need, is helping.
:46:34. > :46:38.She looks at the whole picture of everything.
:46:39. > :46:48.When I'm upset that he's got motor neurone disease,
:46:49. > :46:51.he says that, "I'm the one that has got it and I'm not worrying,"
:46:52. > :47:10.The Princess Alice Hospice is just one of thousands of projects that
:47:11. > :47:12.rely on funding from Children In Need.
:47:13. > :47:15.Of course, we know that some of you won't be able to go on a ramble but
:47:16. > :47:22.Please donate now, if you are able, because your contribution could help
:47:23. > :48:05.Suzy and Betsy get that vital support that they need.
:48:06. > :48:17.So either donate now or join our Children In Need Countryfile Ramble
:48:18. > :48:26.We want you all to get ready to ramble and to get out there
:48:27. > :48:31.on Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th of October.
:48:32. > :48:36.Whether you want to head out with some friends or go it alone.
:48:37. > :48:43.Maybe you'd like to ramble in fancy dress or ride on four legs.
:48:44. > :48:46.However you do it, do it your way but, please, do ramble.
:48:47. > :48:54...to download a sponsorship form and find all the information that you
:48:55. > :48:58.Now, we all love getting out into our glorious countryside,
:48:59. > :49:03.let's join together and give that passion
:49:04. > :49:08.Now, if you're thinking of getting in a bit of walking this week,
:49:09. > :49:10.you'll need to know what the weather's doing,
:49:11. > :49:31.If you are rambling this week, there is a view hazard to watch out for,
:49:32. > :49:35.hill fog, lightning in the West, dehydration, because of the heat
:49:36. > :49:38.that will return this week further east.
:49:39. > :49:46.We may be into the meteorological autumn but some has other ideas,
:49:47. > :49:50.coming back, could see 31 degrees on Tuesday, looking at a lot of heat
:49:51. > :49:52.and humidity returning, particularly to England and Wales, this is not
:49:53. > :49:57.true across the country, further west, it will be different. Sundry
:49:58. > :50:01.showers, fairly brisk southerly wind, and some fog around over the
:50:02. > :50:06.hills, because of this weather front, meandering across the western
:50:07. > :50:09.side of the country, for much of the waste, to the east of that,
:50:10. > :50:14.southerly wind. -- for much of the week. Southerly wind stretching from
:50:15. > :50:18.North Africa, through Iberia, and France, into our shores.
:50:19. > :50:23.Exceptionally high temperatures for this time of year. If we get 31,
:50:24. > :50:27.that'll be the first time in about 40 years. 23 today, very pleasant
:50:28. > :50:31.out there for most, even the cloud in the north has only just started
:50:32. > :50:34.to bring rain into western Scotland, it may well be the wind which is
:50:35. > :50:39.more of a feature, they'll force winds or even sillier. With lighter
:50:40. > :50:43.wind, further east, it will not be as cool as last night, but there
:50:44. > :50:47.could be more fog for the morning rush, at this time of year, as the
:50:48. > :50:51.nights draw in, we will linger through the rush. Could cause travel
:50:52. > :50:56.problems. Tomorrow looks set fair for many, more cloud, bright rather
:50:57. > :51:01.than sunny, potentially the odd rogue shower, no more, except for
:51:02. > :51:05.Northern Ireland and then west and central Scotland, through the day,
:51:06. > :51:09.the rain will turn heavier. The humidity is building, even with more
:51:10. > :51:13.cloud further east it is warmer. We keep the feet of southerly wind into
:51:14. > :51:18.Tuesday, we can see the weather front, still stuck there, in the
:51:19. > :51:22.West, does not know quite what to do with itself. A lot of caveatss for
:51:23. > :51:27.the forecast, where and when the heaviest rain will be, stay tuned.
:51:28. > :51:30.Tuesday we will see heavier pulses running up the western side of
:51:31. > :51:34.Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but warm rain, further
:51:35. > :51:37.east, that is when we see the potential peak in the temperatures.
:51:38. > :51:42.Tuesday, that is when we will see the hottest weather. Goes
:51:43. > :51:45.hand-in-hand with uncomfortable nights, these temperatures on
:51:46. > :51:48.Tuesday night normally what we would see during the day at this time of
:51:49. > :51:51.year, you can expect Wednesday and Thursday night to be pretty similar.
:51:52. > :51:57.Wednesday whether pretty similar, as to the sunshine will be in central
:51:58. > :52:01.and eastern areas, risk of southerly downpours and showers around further
:52:02. > :52:04.west, Northern Ireland and Scotland, similarly so as we move into
:52:05. > :52:08.Thursday. Starting to cut off the southerly flow by that point.
:52:09. > :52:13.Low-pressure winding up. That will eventually culminate in a breakdown
:52:14. > :52:17.of the heat. Again, quite cloudy, muddy across many Western and
:52:18. > :52:21.Northern areas, later on, the potential for something heavier and
:52:22. > :52:25.boundary to develop. We will pick up an easterly breeze coming off the
:52:26. > :52:28.North Sea. Cooling down in north-east Scotland and the East of
:52:29. > :52:33.England. Finally, by the end of the week, Friday, that weather will be
:52:34. > :52:38.pushed in from the Atlantic, clearing out the hot, humid, hazy
:52:39. > :52:41.error, bringing in the Atlantic air. It will go with a bang, there could
:52:42. > :52:45.be big showers and thunderstorms around when it happens. There are
:52:46. > :52:46.some uncertainties for the week ahead, stay tuned if you are
:52:47. > :52:56.rambling or you I've been navigating
:52:57. > :53:02.the treacherous Menai Strait... ..and sampling a local
:53:03. > :53:06.delicacy, whitebait. I've come inland but I haven't quite
:53:07. > :53:14.left the waters behind because I'm here to search out an alien-like
:53:15. > :53:18.creature that lives in the muddy depths of this marsh, which means
:53:19. > :53:22.I'm going to have to get in... Meet Chris Wynne,
:53:23. > :53:29.a man who loves leeches. He's working for
:53:30. > :53:31.North Wales Wildlife Trust, catching the little suckers
:53:32. > :53:35.for a survey. Right, Chris. I made it
:53:36. > :53:38.through the bog. This is a very technical method,
:53:39. > :53:45.wiggling my net about very gently, just mimicking the movements
:53:46. > :53:49.of animals in the water, Leeches used to be regarded
:53:50. > :53:56.as a medical cure-all. 200 years ago, ladies even
:53:57. > :54:00.paddled in marshes like this But now this variety, the medicinal
:54:01. > :54:08.leech, is a rare creature. There's only about 20 sites
:54:09. > :54:13.in the whole of the UK. As you can see, around us,
:54:14. > :54:15.we've got this nice pond here, which is great but the medicinal
:54:16. > :54:18.leeches are down in the water and in the mud and
:54:19. > :54:20.in amongst the vegetation, really hard to find them.
:54:21. > :54:23.It would be hard to find a person. If I were to get lost here, it might
:54:24. > :54:27.take all day tracking me. What they can detect through
:54:28. > :54:32.the water is the movement, the pressure waves that go through
:54:33. > :54:35.the water from movement, so it could be my net
:54:36. > :54:38.or a cow or a horse or anything like that, and they sort of
:54:39. > :54:40.find their prey, they attach with their suckers
:54:41. > :54:43.and they have three sets of teeth and then they release anaesthetics
:54:44. > :54:46.as they bite you, And then they release
:54:47. > :54:49.anticoagulants, and this is the really important
:54:50. > :54:51.chemical that they have. It's a very powerful anticoagulant
:54:52. > :54:54.so the blood will just flow. So they're quite amazing,
:54:55. > :54:56.really, aren't they? Yeah. Really, really amazing and then
:54:57. > :55:01.they can eat, or take in, about nine to 11 times their own
:55:02. > :55:04.volume in blood which is... I always think it's like a lion
:55:05. > :55:08.eating an elephant in one sitting. So they can keep that blood more or
:55:09. > :55:10.less fresh so they can eat it for weeks or months. The whole thing
:55:11. > :55:14.is just amazingly complex. I have to say, I did come here
:55:15. > :55:17.a little bit sceptical about this whole leech business but these
:55:18. > :55:21.sound absolutely remarkable. That's why they call him
:55:22. > :55:35.the leech man of Anglesey. Chris can't find one so I'll let him
:55:36. > :55:42.carry on hunting while I am meeting Hannah Shaw, from the
:55:43. > :55:45.Freshwater Habitats Trust, for a close encounter
:55:46. > :55:50.with her pet leech, Leslie. Hannah, it's not every day you meet
:55:51. > :55:53.a woman with a pet leech. What's the attraction?
:55:54. > :55:56.Well, they are just... and they're a
:55:57. > :56:01.really interesting creature. Oh, he's coming out.
:56:02. > :56:06.What type of leech is this? Well, this is a medicinal leech
:56:07. > :56:09.but it's actually... It's not the native
:56:10. > :56:11.medicinal leech. And does it make a good pet?
:56:12. > :56:15.Is it a he or is it a she? They have got eight eyes on the
:56:16. > :56:22.front, so they've got four down this You are obviously having
:56:23. > :56:28.to handle it very carefully. What would happen if it got onto
:56:29. > :56:32.your finger or your hand? Well, she would just find a suitable
:56:33. > :56:38.place and then start to attach and work her jaws
:56:39. > :56:41.to suck my blood, really. Well, you just gently would pull
:56:42. > :56:45.them off. You would bleed for quite a long
:56:46. > :56:50.time afterwards because of the That's why they're good
:56:51. > :56:54.in medical use as well, because you're not getting
:56:55. > :56:57.a blood clot there and it allows capillaries to heal
:56:58. > :57:00.in an amputated finger. They are amazing creatures, really,
:57:01. > :57:04.for something so strange. Well, Anglesey has got these
:57:05. > :57:10.lovely fens and the wetlands, which is one of the reasons why the
:57:11. > :57:13.medicinal leech has become so rare, because the wetlands have been
:57:14. > :57:17.drained for agricultural to see a rare native
:57:18. > :57:27.medicinal leech. Right on cue,
:57:28. > :57:29.Chris has a treat for me. There's one in there. Is there?
:57:30. > :57:33.Yeah, yeah. It's hanging onto the tray.
:57:34. > :57:44.What fantastic markings! It's got orange stripes, and you
:57:45. > :57:48.can't really see them in the light but there are pale blue stripes
:57:49. > :57:50.as well, down the side. Success. Yes, it's good
:57:51. > :57:54.to find that here. I know you've got a few more to find
:57:55. > :57:59.so I'm going to leave you... Well, Anglesey has been
:58:00. > :58:05.quite the adventure. But that's it from this gorgeous
:58:06. > :58:08.and diverse Welsh island. Next week,
:58:09. > :58:11.John is in Buckinghamshire, discovering how Roald Dahl
:58:12. > :58:56.was inspired 50 years ago,
:58:57. > :59:00.they became superstars in astronomy,