Browse content similar to 16/10/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Flat, fertile fields lying low against the vast sky. | 0:00:25 | 0:00:30 | |
Farmland so rich, it's some of the most productive in Britain. | 0:00:30 | 0:00:34 | |
We're in the Lincolnshire Fens, | 0:00:36 | 0:00:38 | |
a man-made landscape taken back from the sea | 0:00:38 | 0:00:41 | |
by centuries of hard work. | 0:00:41 | 0:00:43 | |
This all used to be part of a trackless mire, | 0:00:44 | 0:00:47 | |
full of foul streams and fetid pools. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:50 | |
Not anymore though. After 300 years of draining, | 0:00:50 | 0:00:54 | |
this is what's left. | 0:00:54 | 0:00:55 | |
Some of the finest soil around. | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
It may well be October, but here it's still harvest time. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:03 | |
While Matt's exploring the fens, I'm heading further north | 0:01:04 | 0:01:09 | |
to learn about a very different kind of farming. | 0:01:09 | 0:01:12 | |
Check out these girls. They're... Ooh! | 0:01:12 | 0:01:14 | |
They're some of Lincolnshire's finest pigs. | 0:01:14 | 0:01:16 | |
I'll be finding out how they help make some of our best bangers. | 0:01:16 | 0:01:21 | |
Oh, easy ladies! | 0:01:21 | 0:01:23 | |
But do those sausages deserve special protection? | 0:01:24 | 0:01:27 | |
I'll be asking if only ones made in the county | 0:01:27 | 0:01:30 | |
should be called Lincolnshire sausages. | 0:01:30 | 0:01:33 | |
I think it's a good idea. It should have happened a long time ago. | 0:01:33 | 0:01:36 | |
And I'll be investigating the boom in wind power. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:41 | |
Will hundreds, even thousands, of extra turbines | 0:01:41 | 0:01:44 | |
help secure our future energy needs? | 0:01:44 | 0:01:46 | |
Or will their main impact be, as some people claim, | 0:01:46 | 0:01:49 | |
to ruin the landscape and hit us deep in our pockets? | 0:01:49 | 0:01:52 | |
And also tonight, Adam's farm | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
plays host to the Cotswolds annual dry-stone-walling competition. | 0:01:55 | 0:01:58 | |
Go on ladies, stop faffing about. No time for talking. | 0:01:58 | 0:02:01 | |
The rich soil of the Fenlands, some of the most fertile land around. | 0:02:13 | 0:02:18 | |
Locals like to think of this countryside as England's farmstead. | 0:02:18 | 0:02:23 | |
This is Lincolnshire. | 0:02:23 | 0:02:26 | |
And we're in an area of the county called South Holland. | 0:02:26 | 0:02:29 | |
The potato harvest has already ended, | 0:02:29 | 0:02:31 | |
but there's plenty more to do. | 0:02:31 | 0:02:34 | |
At this farm, they harvest crops virtually all year round, | 0:02:34 | 0:02:36 | |
getting full use from these fertile fields. | 0:02:36 | 0:02:40 | |
So Robin, this is THE finest soil in Britain, you think? | 0:02:40 | 0:02:45 | |
You are standing in just about the best field in the country. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:48 | |
-OK. -Probably. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:50 | |
Let's have a look at it. You've got a spade. Let's have a dig. | 0:02:50 | 0:02:53 | |
Show us why this soil is so incredible. | 0:02:53 | 0:02:57 | |
Well... | 0:02:57 | 0:02:58 | |
-Oh, yeah. -Just look at that, Matt. | 0:03:00 | 0:03:03 | |
You could go to bed in that, couldn't you? | 0:03:03 | 0:03:05 | |
MATT LAUGHS | 0:03:05 | 0:03:07 | |
It's deep soil, so the roots do go down. | 0:03:07 | 0:03:10 | |
It's easily worked, it's moisture-retentive. | 0:03:10 | 0:03:14 | |
There's nothing you can't grow here. You can grow absolutely anything. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:18 | |
And they do. Robin grows all sorts here, | 0:03:18 | 0:03:20 | |
including one crop that isn't necessarily a popular choice for the average shopper. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:25 | |
Right, Robin, so what delights have you got growing in here? | 0:03:25 | 0:03:28 | |
-Well, this is celeriac, Matt. -Oh! | 0:03:28 | 0:03:31 | |
It's very much like a celery, but it's the best bit, | 0:03:31 | 0:03:35 | |
the rooty bit of it. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:36 | |
Yeah, yeah. It's... | 0:03:36 | 0:03:38 | |
To the eye, it's not remarkably attractive, is it? | 0:03:38 | 0:03:42 | |
-Mm...no. -To be honest. -No. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:45 | |
It is a bit off-putting, I'll agree with you, until you taste it. | 0:03:45 | 0:03:48 | |
But before I get to do that, I need to help harvest it. | 0:03:49 | 0:03:52 | |
And they're letting me loose on nearly half a million quid's worth of kit to do so. | 0:03:52 | 0:03:57 | |
No pressure, then(!) | 0:03:57 | 0:03:59 | |
Neil's got it all set up for you, I think. | 0:03:59 | 0:04:01 | |
So all you've got to do is make sure you don't chop the crop up, | 0:04:01 | 0:04:05 | |
or drop that elevator down into the cart, | 0:04:05 | 0:04:08 | |
That would be a very expensive mistake. But good luck. | 0:04:08 | 0:04:11 | |
-I'll have my fingers crossed. -Thank you. | 0:04:11 | 0:04:13 | |
-And can you hold that whilst you're crossing your fingers?! -I will! | 0:04:13 | 0:04:17 | |
All right! Hopefully I'll see you in a bit, with a nice crop of celeriac. | 0:04:17 | 0:04:22 | |
-Right, so...faced with a lot of controls that looks like an aircraft. -Yeah. | 0:04:23 | 0:04:28 | |
Well, they look worse than what they are. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
ENGINE STARTS | 0:04:30 | 0:04:33 | |
-So, how sensitive is this arm? -Move it side to side, you'll get the feel of it. -Straight across? | 0:04:33 | 0:04:39 | |
-OK. And then we just, um, gently forward, gently forward? -Yeah. | 0:04:39 | 0:04:43 | |
Right, Neil. Well, I REALLY hope I don't make a mess of it. | 0:04:43 | 0:04:46 | |
Well, we'll get you by, we'll get you by. That's it, off you go. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:50 | |
-Let your clutch go. -Are you happy with that? -Yeah. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:52 | |
'Here we go. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:53 | |
'A high-tech harvester in my hands, lifting three rows at a time. | 0:04:53 | 0:04:58 | |
'I've got to keep that elevator arm at just the right height, too.' | 0:04:58 | 0:05:03 | |
-A bit wide? -No, you're all right. They're going up. -There they go. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:07 | |
'Luckily, there's satellite guidance to keep the tractor going dead straight.' | 0:05:07 | 0:05:12 | |
That's it, you're on GPS. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:14 | |
'But there's still plenty of scope for operator error. | 0:05:14 | 0:05:17 | |
'If I don't keep those blades in just the right place, | 0:05:17 | 0:05:20 | |
'it's thousands of pounds' worth of crop chopped in two.' | 0:05:20 | 0:05:23 | |
Just this way a little bit. You're taking bits off the sides. | 0:05:23 | 0:05:28 | |
-You've only got a little bit each side of your celeriac. -Yeah. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:31 | |
-Looking down, there's, what, two inches maybe? -That's it, yeah. | 0:05:31 | 0:05:35 | |
'So far, things are going OK.' | 0:05:35 | 0:05:37 | |
Going like the clappers! I tell you what, | 0:05:39 | 0:05:42 | |
do we dare go up to two? | 0:05:42 | 0:05:44 | |
-Oh yeah, we haven't done that. -Ready? -Yeah. -Here comes two. | 0:05:44 | 0:05:49 | |
Whoa! | 0:05:49 | 0:05:50 | |
Now we're moving! | 0:05:51 | 0:05:53 | |
'After harvesting, the celeriac will be carted off | 0:05:56 | 0:05:58 | |
'to be cleaned, washed and dried | 0:05:58 | 0:06:00 | |
'so it can be sold out of store nearly all year round. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:03 | |
'It seems I've got to the end of this row without causing too much damage. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:08 | |
'I think I'll quit while I'm ahead.' | 0:06:08 | 0:06:11 | |
Robin, what did you make of that? Was that all right? | 0:06:11 | 0:06:14 | |
You were all right, Matt. | 0:06:14 | 0:06:16 | |
I'd like to say you're rubbish but you're quite good, really! | 0:06:16 | 0:06:19 | |
Just these at the beginning, look. Just these. What happened here? | 0:06:19 | 0:06:23 | |
-Is that me? -Yeah, that's you. -Oh, dear me. | 0:06:23 | 0:06:26 | |
It's part of the service. I slice them for you as well. | 0:06:26 | 0:06:29 | |
Semi-prepared! | 0:06:29 | 0:06:30 | |
'Now I've done my bit, I'm keen to try out this versatile veg.' | 0:06:30 | 0:06:34 | |
This is like the Lincolnshire version of a ploughman's lunch. | 0:06:34 | 0:06:38 | |
-It's a celeriac supper. -Celeriac's the order of the day. | 0:06:38 | 0:06:41 | |
-These are celeriac oven chips. These have curry powder on them. -Oh, right. | 0:06:41 | 0:06:46 | |
-These have got paprika on. -They're gorgeous. -Good, aren't they? | 0:06:46 | 0:06:50 | |
-Half the calories of potato chips. -Wow. -Here's some soup. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:55 | |
Cheers. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:56 | |
That's lovely. | 0:06:58 | 0:07:01 | |
-It's a very versatile vegetable, isn't it? -Yeah. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:04 | |
It isn't the only unusual crop here. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:08 | |
In the next field, they're hand-harvesting fennel. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:11 | |
They're also the UK's largest producer of root stock for chicory, | 0:07:11 | 0:07:16 | |
a crisp salad leaf grown in complete darkness in a pack house down the road. | 0:07:16 | 0:07:20 | |
It's intensive farming but with a difference. | 0:07:22 | 0:07:25 | |
Robin hopes more customers will share his pioneering spirit. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
-Here's to the celeriac. Celeriac toast - there's a new one for you! -Celeriac! Cheers. | 0:07:28 | 0:07:33 | |
THEY BOTH LAUGH | 0:07:33 | 0:07:36 | |
Now, Lincolnshire has its fair share of wind turbines, | 0:07:40 | 0:07:43 | |
which we'll see more and more of across the UK in the coming years, | 0:07:43 | 0:07:47 | |
but is wind the right choice for the clean energy that we need? | 0:07:47 | 0:07:50 | |
John has been to investigate. | 0:07:50 | 0:07:53 | |
When it comes to wind power, Britain rules the waves, | 0:08:01 | 0:08:05 | |
boasting nearly 500 offshore turbines, | 0:08:05 | 0:08:08 | |
more than any other country. | 0:08:08 | 0:08:10 | |
Add to that the ones built on land, and you've got power | 0:08:12 | 0:08:15 | |
for more than three million homes. | 0:08:15 | 0:08:18 | |
But the Government's decided that's nowhere near enough. | 0:08:18 | 0:08:22 | |
It's planning to vastly increase the amount of wind farms | 0:08:22 | 0:08:26 | |
to try to meet European energy targets | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
that are aimed at cutting our greenhouse gas emissions. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:32 | |
And that means using fewer fossil fuels and more renewables. | 0:08:32 | 0:08:35 | |
In fact, the Government wants 15% of all the power that we use | 0:08:35 | 0:08:39 | |
to come from renewable sources by 2020. | 0:08:39 | 0:08:43 | |
At the very heart of that strategy is wind power, | 0:08:43 | 0:08:46 | |
which is growing at an astonishing rate, as I'm about to discover. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:51 | |
'But this policy is far from being free of controversy. | 0:08:51 | 0:08:54 | |
'While supporters say it's creating a cleaner and more secure energy supply, | 0:08:54 | 0:08:59 | |
'critics claim harnessing the wind can be costly and inefficient.' | 0:08:59 | 0:09:05 | |
So, is wind power all it's cracked up to be, | 0:09:05 | 0:09:07 | |
or are we all being conned? | 0:09:07 | 0:09:09 | |
I'm starting my investigation 10 miles off the coast of north Norfolk, | 0:09:09 | 0:09:13 | |
where the Sheringham Shoal wind farm is now being built | 0:09:13 | 0:09:18 | |
at a cost of a billion pounds. When it's finished, | 0:09:18 | 0:09:20 | |
it'll cover an area about the same size as the city of Norwich. | 0:09:20 | 0:09:24 | |
That's a big stretch of sea. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:26 | |
'The companies building these wind farms | 0:09:26 | 0:09:29 | |
'are guaranteed a generous price for their electricity | 0:09:29 | 0:09:32 | |
'but getting them up and running is a vast and expensive task.' | 0:09:32 | 0:09:37 | |
Today, they're filling the blades on this turbine. | 0:09:37 | 0:09:40 | |
-Those are 50-metre blades. -How did they get the blades there, then? | 0:09:40 | 0:09:43 | |
That vessel is a self-propelled vessel. | 0:09:43 | 0:09:46 | |
-It comes out... -It's a ship? | 0:09:46 | 0:09:48 | |
It is a ship, with legs. | 0:09:48 | 0:09:50 | |
-A ship with legs?! -Yep. Jacks itself up | 0:09:50 | 0:09:52 | |
-next to the turbine, then the crane on board can lift all the pieces up. -It's all very impressive, | 0:09:52 | 0:09:58 | |
but the huge cost of building an offshore farm, | 0:09:58 | 0:10:01 | |
and all the effort, is it going to be worth it in the long run? | 0:10:01 | 0:10:04 | |
Absolutely. At the moment, we're just scratching the surface. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:08 | |
We have 1,500 megawatts of offshore wind capacity installed. | 0:10:08 | 0:10:11 | |
That's about enough to generate the electrical energy of about three-quarters of a million homes - | 0:10:11 | 0:10:16 | |
pretty impressive - but we're looking to go about 12 times that amount by 2020. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:21 | |
Sheringham Shoal is just one site. Another is here | 0:10:21 | 0:10:25 | |
at Greater Gabbard, 70 miles down the coast, | 0:10:25 | 0:10:28 | |
where work is also going on round the clock | 0:10:28 | 0:10:30 | |
to try to meet this massive 1,200% increase. | 0:10:30 | 0:10:34 | |
Whilst critics say it'll all come at great cost for questionable results, | 0:10:34 | 0:10:40 | |
supporters believe that any problems will be overcome. | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
It's a fair comment that it's expensive at the minute. | 0:10:44 | 0:10:47 | |
Certainly with offshore wind, we are very focused on bringing the cost down. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:51 | |
We've all driven past wind farms and seen the blades not turning. | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
Yeah, well, sometimes the wind doesn't blow, | 0:10:55 | 0:10:58 | |
but 70-80% of the time, a wind farm will be producing some power. | 0:10:58 | 0:11:01 | |
To cater for the colossal increase in offshore wind power | 0:11:04 | 0:11:09 | |
which the Government wants, a building boom is underway. | 0:11:09 | 0:11:12 | |
This project, the London Array off the Essex coast, | 0:11:15 | 0:11:19 | |
will house 340 turbines, | 0:11:19 | 0:11:21 | |
nearly doubling the UK's capacity at a single stroke. | 0:11:21 | 0:11:26 | |
In fact, it'll be the biggest wind farm in the world. | 0:11:26 | 0:11:30 | |
But if we're going to generate 15% of our electricity this way by 2020, | 0:11:31 | 0:11:36 | |
we'll need many more like this, | 0:11:36 | 0:11:38 | |
and it seems no obstacle is too big to overcome. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:43 | |
Much of the sea around the UK is off limits | 0:11:44 | 0:11:47 | |
when it comes to building wind farms. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:49 | |
That's because RAF radar signals from places like this get confused | 0:11:49 | 0:11:53 | |
when they encounter the spinning blades of a turbine. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
To overcome this, a whole new radar system is being introduced, | 0:11:56 | 0:12:00 | |
paid for by the wind farm companies. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:03 | |
Once this new system is in place, | 0:12:04 | 0:12:06 | |
hundreds of extra miles will be opened up for new wind farms, | 0:12:06 | 0:12:11 | |
ensuring that Britain remains the front runner in this new technology. | 0:12:11 | 0:12:15 | |
But some say we're heading full speed down the wrong path. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:19 | |
I think the problem is, we are trying to replace | 0:12:21 | 0:12:23 | |
power sources like coal and nuclear, which are on whenever we need them, | 0:12:23 | 0:12:27 | |
and can be turned off when we don't need them, | 0:12:27 | 0:12:30 | |
with a weather-dependent, intermittent energy form like wind, | 0:12:30 | 0:12:33 | |
which we can't manage. | 0:12:33 | 0:12:35 | |
So what's the solution, then? | 0:12:35 | 0:12:36 | |
Well, the solution has to be developing the ability | 0:12:36 | 0:12:40 | |
to store renewable energy, especially wind, especially solar, | 0:12:40 | 0:12:44 | |
so we can use that energy when we need it. We can't at the moment. | 0:12:44 | 0:12:47 | |
'Electricity, whether from fossil fuels or renewables, can't be stored, | 0:12:48 | 0:12:53 | |
'and wind presents an added problem. | 0:12:53 | 0:12:55 | |
'No-one can be sure exactly when it's going to blow, | 0:12:55 | 0:12:59 | |
'or how strong it's going to be.' | 0:12:59 | 0:13:01 | |
This is the control room of the National Grid, | 0:13:03 | 0:13:07 | |
the beating heart of our nation's energy supply, | 0:13:07 | 0:13:09 | |
pumping electricity to homes and businesses. | 0:13:09 | 0:13:13 | |
On this vast screen, you can see just how much electricity | 0:13:13 | 0:13:16 | |
is being sent around the country at this very moment. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:19 | |
The Grid was designed in the 1930s to handle power from a consistent source - coal. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:25 | |
So how's it coping these days with an increasing amount of electricity | 0:13:25 | 0:13:30 | |
coming from an unpredictable and erratic source - the wind? | 0:13:30 | 0:13:34 | |
Well, just recently, the UK caught the tail end of a hurricane, | 0:13:36 | 0:13:40 | |
and the wind turbines were spinning around like mad. | 0:13:40 | 0:13:43 | |
So much power was being produced that you couldn't cope. You had to close them down. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:47 | |
There was too much wind for the transmission system to cope, | 0:13:47 | 0:13:50 | |
and in those circumstances, | 0:13:50 | 0:13:51 | |
we issue balancing actions, which are instructions from here to curtail generation, | 0:13:51 | 0:13:56 | |
and we do that for wind, thermal and coal. | 0:13:56 | 0:13:59 | |
It does seem crazy, when you've got a new source of energy like wind, | 0:13:59 | 0:14:03 | |
proving to be very efficient, and then you have to close it down. | 0:14:03 | 0:14:06 | |
That is a challenge, and of course we do need to expand the Grid, | 0:14:06 | 0:14:10 | |
and what we also need to do is build more capacity to Europe, | 0:14:10 | 0:14:14 | |
so we can ship power across when the wind blows in the UK here, | 0:14:14 | 0:14:18 | |
and possibly even import it when, for example, it's blowing hard in Germany. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:21 | |
Is that likely to happen? | 0:14:21 | 0:14:23 | |
Yes, there's lots of plans in place for new interconnection, | 0:14:23 | 0:14:26 | |
and as well as that, in the UK alone, the National Grid | 0:14:26 | 0:14:29 | |
is spending over £1 billion per year on expanding the Grid. | 0:14:29 | 0:14:33 | |
It seems that, whatever the cost, | 0:14:35 | 0:14:37 | |
wind power is going to play a big part in our future energy supply, | 0:14:37 | 0:14:41 | |
so who will the winners and losers be? | 0:14:41 | 0:14:44 | |
That's what I'll be discovering later on. | 0:14:44 | 0:14:47 | |
This is the Lincolnshire Wash, where the tide's ebb and flow | 0:14:53 | 0:14:57 | |
creates an ever-changing landscape of water, mud and marsh. | 0:14:57 | 0:15:02 | |
It's one of the highest tides of the year right now, | 0:15:02 | 0:15:05 | |
and that means that the thousands of birds that call this place their winter home | 0:15:05 | 0:15:09 | |
could be on the wing all together, and if we time it right, we're in for a real treat. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:14 | |
We're on Freiston Shore, where the flood defences have been adapted | 0:15:15 | 0:15:19 | |
to create a real haven for the birds. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:21 | |
-Morning, John. -Hi. Are you all right? -Good, you? -Very well. -Excellent. | 0:15:22 | 0:15:26 | |
You're looking out over this lagoon. That hasn't always been this way. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:29 | |
No, it's been here for ten years. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:31 | |
We've landscaped it, put islands in, and the birds are loving it. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:34 | |
-Let's take a closer look. -OK, let's go. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:36 | |
'At high tide, native birds roost here in their thousands, | 0:15:36 | 0:15:39 | |
'alongside some winter visitors from Scandinavia.' | 0:15:39 | 0:15:43 | |
-Wow! This is the front row, isn't it? -Yeah. | 0:15:43 | 0:15:47 | |
What an amazing place to be. There's plenty out here. How many do you reckon, already? | 0:15:47 | 0:15:52 | |
It's difficult to count. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:54 | |
We've probably got 3,000 or 4,000, first guess. | 0:15:54 | 0:15:56 | |
Are any particular to the Lincolnshire Wash? | 0:15:56 | 0:15:59 | |
Yeah. The one that I think we're probably best known for is the black-tailed godwit, | 0:15:59 | 0:16:04 | |
-which comes from Iceland. There's probably 1,000 of those. -Oh, my goodness. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:08 | |
-They're the ones on the far bank? -Yeah. -What else have we got here? | 0:16:08 | 0:16:12 | |
Yeah, we've got oyster-catchers, 600 or 700 of those. | 0:16:12 | 0:16:16 | |
-They've got incredibly long, strong bills. -Yeah. Yeah. -Beautiful. | 0:16:16 | 0:16:20 | |
We've got dunlin, we've got knots, and lots of redshanks as well. | 0:16:20 | 0:16:25 | |
We want to catch them as they flock back out to feed, | 0:16:27 | 0:16:30 | |
and the tide's already going out fast. | 0:16:30 | 0:16:33 | |
Before long, they're on the move, heading right out over our heads! | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
This is amazing. Because we're so high, they feel like they're right on top of you. | 0:16:40 | 0:16:45 | |
-Almost makes you fall over backwards! -It does. | 0:16:45 | 0:16:47 | |
Oh, wow! Right overhead! | 0:16:52 | 0:16:55 | |
It's an incredible experience | 0:16:56 | 0:16:59 | |
as wave after wave soar over the salt marsh. | 0:16:59 | 0:17:03 | |
They go out to feed on the mudflats. What a perfect group to end on. | 0:17:04 | 0:17:09 | |
-A lovely, big flock. -Yeah. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:11 | |
Ah, amazing. | 0:17:11 | 0:17:13 | |
I did get treated to a beautiful, close-up experience of these birds, | 0:17:21 | 0:17:25 | |
and there's more than just wading birds to this part of the country. | 0:17:25 | 0:17:29 | |
As the marshes along the coast become flat fenlands further in, | 0:17:30 | 0:17:34 | |
intensive farming increases, | 0:17:34 | 0:17:36 | |
but surprisingly so too does the population of a much-loved | 0:17:36 | 0:17:39 | |
and rather elusive native bird - the barn owl. | 0:17:39 | 0:17:43 | |
They love to hunt along the grassy corridors | 0:17:46 | 0:17:48 | |
that separate these wide, open fields, | 0:17:48 | 0:17:50 | |
and local farmers have been encouraged to allow that habitat to grow to boost their numbers. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:55 | |
-Hi, Colin! -Hello! -So you've got some barn owl chicks for me to see. | 0:17:55 | 0:17:59 | |
I have. We'll look in this nest box, and hopefully, find some chicks. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:04 | |
-I'll give you a hand with the bag. -Thank you. I'll take the ladder. -OK. | 0:18:04 | 0:18:08 | |
Why is Lincolnshire so good for barn owls? | 0:18:08 | 0:18:11 | |
These dishes and dykes provide their lifeline for food. | 0:18:11 | 0:18:14 | |
The short-tail vole is their favourite prey. That lives in this rough grass and habitat. | 0:18:14 | 0:18:19 | |
There's a lot of conservation effort gone in and, as a result, | 0:18:19 | 0:18:22 | |
population now about 1,000 pairs in Lincolnshire. | 0:18:22 | 0:18:25 | |
-This is what we call a pole box. -I can see why you call it that! | 0:18:25 | 0:18:29 | |
They're good in Lincolnshire, because when we look across this habitat and landscape, | 0:18:29 | 0:18:34 | |
there's so few buildings suitable for barn owl, | 0:18:34 | 0:18:37 | |
so we have to provide these artificial sites. | 0:18:37 | 0:18:40 | |
'Barn owls had been in long-term decline, but since boxes were introduced over 20 years ago, | 0:18:40 | 0:18:44 | |
'numbers have trebled here in Lincolnshire, | 0:18:44 | 0:18:47 | |
'and this one is home to a healthy young brood, ready for ringing.' | 0:18:47 | 0:18:50 | |
Ah, now that's too cute. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:53 | |
SHE LAUGHS | 0:18:53 | 0:18:56 | |
-Gently in the bag. Yes, we've got three. -Three! | 0:18:56 | 0:19:00 | |
Are you all set? | 0:19:02 | 0:19:04 | |
Oh, look, a bag of chicks! | 0:19:04 | 0:19:06 | |
That's ridiculously sweet. Shall we have a go at this ringing? What's the best thing to do? | 0:19:06 | 0:19:11 | |
If we sit down on the grass... | 0:19:11 | 0:19:12 | |
'To keep track of the local population, the chicks are ringed every year. Carefully, of course.' | 0:19:12 | 0:19:18 | |
-And that'll stay on the barn owl all its life? -It will. | 0:19:18 | 0:19:20 | |
We'll check the weight. That's what we'll do now. | 0:19:20 | 0:19:23 | |
I just pop them in the cradle. They don't need to go in a bag. | 0:19:23 | 0:19:27 | |
They're usually happy to sit there. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:30 | |
-So, if you could read that off of the scale. -460, I'd say. -460. | 0:19:30 | 0:19:35 | |
-So the bag weighs 100, so it's 360. -360. Right. Any other measurements we need to take? | 0:19:35 | 0:19:41 | |
What we're going to do is measure the wing and get an idea of the age. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:45 | |
By saying idea, we can be accurate to plus or minus a day with this measurement. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:50 | |
That's incredible! How do you do that? | 0:19:50 | 0:19:52 | |
These are the primary feathers here, and there's ten of these, | 0:19:52 | 0:19:55 | |
so we put the ruler on where it's breaking through to the tip of the feather. | 0:19:55 | 0:19:59 | |
-That's 65... -65, 65, 66... Bob? | 0:19:59 | 0:20:03 | |
65. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:05 | |
Well, it's six weeks old tomorrow. | 0:20:05 | 0:20:07 | |
These little ones are this year's second brood of chicks, | 0:20:07 | 0:20:11 | |
something which only happens every three or four years, | 0:20:11 | 0:20:14 | |
when the vole population peaks, and they certainly seem fairly content. | 0:20:14 | 0:20:19 | |
Barn owl chick babysitting service! | 0:20:19 | 0:20:22 | |
'They'll be ready to fledge in a couple of weeks, | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
'and hopefully they'll be strong enough to make it through the winter.' | 0:20:28 | 0:20:33 | |
Earlier in the programme, we were looking at | 0:20:33 | 0:20:35 | |
the expected huge rise in wind power across the UK, | 0:20:35 | 0:20:38 | |
but in the race to create more of our energy this way, | 0:20:38 | 0:20:41 | |
who will win, and who is set to lose out? Here's John again. | 0:20:41 | 0:20:45 | |
Earlier, I discovered how the plan to put wind power | 0:20:52 | 0:20:55 | |
at the heart of our future energy supply | 0:20:55 | 0:20:57 | |
is creating a building boom in wind farms, both on land and out at sea. | 0:20:57 | 0:21:02 | |
With billions being poured into wind power, | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
and with it being at the centre of the Government's strategy on renewables, | 0:21:05 | 0:21:09 | |
the future seems certain. | 0:21:09 | 0:21:11 | |
So, who will the losers and winners be, in this wind revolution? | 0:21:11 | 0:21:16 | |
The most obvious winner is the environment, as less fossil fuels are burnt. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:22 | |
But who else benefits? | 0:21:22 | 0:21:24 | |
Well, another clear winner is big business. | 0:21:24 | 0:21:27 | |
Companies building the wind farms get a generous price for the electricity they produce. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:33 | |
To learn more, I'm meeting a man whose Norwegian company | 0:21:33 | 0:21:37 | |
is creating the wind farm that I visited off the Norfolk coast. | 0:21:37 | 0:21:41 | |
What kind of incentives does a company like yours | 0:21:41 | 0:21:44 | |
get from the Government, to set up big wind farm at sea? | 0:21:44 | 0:21:48 | |
All the investments upfront is paid by ourselves, | 0:21:48 | 0:21:52 | |
but after we start producing electricity, | 0:21:52 | 0:21:55 | |
we are paid by selling the power into the market. | 0:21:55 | 0:21:58 | |
We also receive a bonus from the Government, | 0:21:58 | 0:22:01 | |
because it is renewable electricity. | 0:22:01 | 0:22:04 | |
Electricity is bought from producers at an average price of five pence per kilowatt hour. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:10 | |
But wind farms get bonuses. | 0:22:10 | 0:22:12 | |
For offshore wind, that's around nine pence extra per kilowatt hour, | 0:22:12 | 0:22:16 | |
guaranteed for 20 years, | 0:22:16 | 0:22:18 | |
and when you're talking about nearly three million of these units every day, that figure soon adds up. | 0:22:18 | 0:22:25 | |
Is it going to make your company very rich? | 0:22:25 | 0:22:27 | |
No, not very rich compared to other investment, | 0:22:27 | 0:22:29 | |
but it's a fairly good return on £1 billion investment, yes. | 0:22:29 | 0:22:34 | |
So, big firms may be cashing in, but are they British businesses? | 0:22:35 | 0:22:39 | |
Well, in most cases, no, | 0:22:39 | 0:22:41 | |
and for opponents of the push for wind power, that raises concerns. | 0:22:41 | 0:22:45 | |
I don't have a massive issue with the fact that these are foreign firms. | 0:22:45 | 0:22:49 | |
Four of the big six energy companies are now foreign owned. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:52 | |
I think the key issue is, do we get high-skilled | 0:22:52 | 0:22:54 | |
British manufacturing jobs involved in this sector? | 0:22:54 | 0:22:57 | |
At the moment, a lot of this material is manufactured overseas. | 0:22:57 | 0:23:01 | |
Nick Clegg talks about a green jobs revolution. | 0:23:01 | 0:23:03 | |
We need to see that starting to develop. | 0:23:03 | 0:23:05 | |
But how many jobs in Britain is it going to create, this industry? | 0:23:05 | 0:23:09 | |
We are now in the process... we are transforming | 0:23:09 | 0:23:12 | |
from a pan-European project into a local business. | 0:23:12 | 0:23:16 | |
A year from now, around 70 people will be directly involved | 0:23:16 | 0:23:19 | |
in operating and maintaining the wind farm, | 0:23:19 | 0:23:22 | |
and 95% are recruited here, locally. | 0:23:22 | 0:23:24 | |
Even if a lot of the big business profit goes abroad, | 0:23:24 | 0:23:28 | |
at least some much-needed jobs will be created here in the UK. | 0:23:28 | 0:23:33 | |
But while a handful of people might benefit from new employment, | 0:23:33 | 0:23:36 | |
critics say it's the majority of us, already feeling the pinch, | 0:23:36 | 0:23:40 | |
who'll pay a high price for embracing wind. | 0:23:40 | 0:23:43 | |
So, what's your prediction, then, | 0:23:43 | 0:23:46 | |
about how much fuel bills will rise, because of green power? | 0:23:46 | 0:23:50 | |
Fuel bills, up until 2030, could double. The Government acknowledges there will be an increase. | 0:23:50 | 0:23:55 | |
It claims there will then be a decrease. | 0:23:55 | 0:23:57 | |
But for every 1% increase in fuel bills, | 0:23:57 | 0:24:00 | |
44,000 households slide into fuel poverty, which is a social crisis. | 0:24:00 | 0:24:04 | |
Supporters of wind farms say that, | 0:24:04 | 0:24:06 | |
although we do pay a green premium in our electricity bills, | 0:24:06 | 0:24:09 | |
those figures are vastly exaggerated. | 0:24:09 | 0:24:12 | |
Just how much we'll really end up paying seems uncertain. | 0:24:12 | 0:24:15 | |
Other winners are the landowners, who get paid thousands of pounds a year | 0:24:15 | 0:24:20 | |
to have wind farms on their fields, | 0:24:20 | 0:24:22 | |
and livestock can still graze underneath, | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
and crops can still be sown. | 0:24:25 | 0:24:27 | |
Here, for example, they grow wheat and oilseed rape under the turbines. | 0:24:27 | 0:24:31 | |
But while those owning the fields enjoy good rental income, | 0:24:31 | 0:24:35 | |
for others, there's an age-old problem - | 0:24:35 | 0:24:38 | |
-having something right on your doorstep. -See this road? | 0:24:38 | 0:24:41 | |
At the end of it, it's a nice, typical scene. | 0:24:41 | 0:24:44 | |
But soon there will be eight wind turbines put in, | 0:24:44 | 0:24:47 | |
and if I can show you a picture on here. | 0:24:47 | 0:24:50 | |
That's an impression, is it? | 0:24:50 | 0:24:51 | |
You'll see, here, that we have got | 0:24:51 | 0:24:55 | |
a huge wind turbine at the end of the road. | 0:24:55 | 0:24:57 | |
This is one of the eight, which is about a kilometre away. | 0:24:57 | 0:25:01 | |
But, if I may say so, it does seem rather like "not in my backyard". | 0:25:01 | 0:25:07 | |
Well, it's got to be in somebody's backyard, yes, you're right, | 0:25:07 | 0:25:11 | |
but if they had a two kilometre rule in this country, | 0:25:11 | 0:25:15 | |
as is the case with many other countries, and it's increasingly so, | 0:25:15 | 0:25:19 | |
the two-kilometre rule would get rid of all this problem, | 0:25:19 | 0:25:22 | |
and people would accept wind farms more. I'm all in favour of renewable energy, | 0:25:22 | 0:25:27 | |
but putting wind turbines this close is just too much. | 0:25:27 | 0:25:30 | |
Love them or loathe them, | 0:25:30 | 0:25:32 | |
wind turbines look set to become an increasing feature of our landscape, | 0:25:32 | 0:25:36 | |
as the race to meet Britain's renewable targets gains pace. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:40 | |
What also seems certain is that the controversy | 0:25:41 | 0:25:45 | |
surrounding wind power will continue to rage, | 0:25:45 | 0:25:48 | |
especially as a minority cash in, while the rest of us pay the price. | 0:25:48 | 0:25:52 | |
Next week, we'll be investigating controversial plans | 0:25:52 | 0:25:57 | |
to connect these wind farms to the Grid, using hundreds of new pylons, | 0:25:57 | 0:26:00 | |
something you can also hear about | 0:26:00 | 0:26:04 | |
on Radio 4's Costing The Earth, this Wednesday night at 9pm. | 0:26:04 | 0:26:07 | |
'Later in the programme, I'll be learning how to speak Fen...' | 0:26:10 | 0:26:13 | |
-Seeing you ain't found no proper Lincolnshire stuff charn. -Say again?! | 0:26:14 | 0:26:17 | |
'..Ellie's got some feeding to do...' | 0:26:17 | 0:26:20 | |
-They don't like when you get in the way of breakfast. -No, quite. Who does? | 0:26:20 | 0:26:24 | |
'..and Adam's looking for a dry-stone-walling champion.' | 0:26:24 | 0:26:28 | |
It's looking really smart. | 0:26:28 | 0:26:30 | |
I've got money riding on you that's looking pretty impressive. | 0:26:30 | 0:26:33 | |
'Plus, if you want to find out what the weather's up to, | 0:26:33 | 0:26:36 | |
'then we've got the Countryfile forecast for the week ahead.' | 0:26:36 | 0:26:40 | |
The waters of the Lincolnshire Wash flow along a man-made landscape | 0:26:50 | 0:26:54 | |
reclaimed from the sea over the centuries. | 0:26:54 | 0:26:56 | |
Katie's been to find out who's putting this new land to use. | 0:26:56 | 0:27:01 | |
These rich, coastal flats are in the heart of | 0:27:03 | 0:27:06 | |
Lincolnshire's farming country - prime land for cultivating crops. | 0:27:06 | 0:27:10 | |
But there's something a little different about these farmers. | 0:27:15 | 0:27:20 | |
This may look like a farm. It produces food like a farm. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:24 | |
But actually...it's a prison. | 0:27:24 | 0:27:26 | |
It's one of a handful of our open prisons. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:33 | |
For the men working here, it's an opportunity - | 0:27:33 | 0:27:36 | |
the first chance many of them will have had, in decades, to start over. | 0:27:36 | 0:27:41 | |
North Sea Camp has over 350 inmates. | 0:27:49 | 0:27:53 | |
It's also home to 791 sheep and 151 pigs, | 0:27:55 | 0:27:59 | |
all looked after by the prisoners. | 0:27:59 | 0:28:02 | |
And they take pride in their animals here. | 0:28:03 | 0:28:06 | |
-Hello, Dan. -Hello. -What are you doing here? | 0:28:06 | 0:28:09 | |
We're just getting these pigs ready to show. | 0:28:09 | 0:28:12 | |
'Dan's been here six months, after spending eight months in a closed prison.' | 0:28:12 | 0:28:16 | |
-Anywhere in particular? -Anywhere you like! -Are they quite friendly? -They're OK. This bites! | 0:28:16 | 0:28:21 | |
But not all the pigs here get this special treatment. | 0:28:21 | 0:28:24 | |
The destination for most is a prison kitchens. | 0:28:24 | 0:28:27 | |
What you eat at breakfast... | 0:28:27 | 0:28:29 | |
-..Is what we rear on the farm. -Ohh! -The majority of it. -What's that like? | 0:28:29 | 0:28:33 | |
Well, it's all right, I suppose! | 0:28:33 | 0:28:35 | |
Was it strange coming from somewhere where all your minutes | 0:28:35 | 0:28:38 | |
and hours were accounted for, to coming here? | 0:28:38 | 0:28:40 | |
Definitely, because you've got to think for yourself here. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:44 | |
Before, they're telling you what to do, when to get up, when to go to bed, sort of thing. | 0:28:44 | 0:28:49 | |
But here, as long as you toe the line, it's a good job. | 0:28:49 | 0:28:52 | |
-Do you think you'll keep pigs when you get out? -I'm thinking about having a couple, yeah. | 0:28:52 | 0:28:57 | |
-I've got a 14-year-old daughter, so the chances of having a pig, rearing it... -She'd love that. | 0:28:57 | 0:29:02 | |
-Until it's time to eat him! -Do you think she'd get on with that? -No! | 0:29:02 | 0:29:07 | |
Open prisons like this are made to test if inmates are ready for release. | 0:29:09 | 0:29:13 | |
Every day, 80 or so are allowed out to work in the local community | 0:29:13 | 0:29:17 | |
and on the odd family visit. | 0:29:17 | 0:29:19 | |
The rest work here in prison. | 0:29:19 | 0:29:21 | |
The success that hard graft like this can have has been witnessed | 0:29:21 | 0:29:26 | |
over the years by the prison's farm manager, Bob Betts. | 0:29:26 | 0:29:29 | |
Do you really think that this work will help these men in the future? | 0:29:29 | 0:29:33 | |
It does, a lot of them. It gives them a sense of worth, | 0:29:33 | 0:29:37 | |
and when they go outside, some will go into farming. | 0:29:37 | 0:29:40 | |
You've got this land, you're producing pigs and sheep | 0:29:40 | 0:29:43 | |
and hen's eggs and all sorts of things, | 0:29:43 | 0:29:45 | |
-is this commercially viable? -Yes, it is. | 0:29:45 | 0:29:48 | |
We supply the kitchens and the staff mess. | 0:29:48 | 0:29:51 | |
We just wouldn't be able to manage without the produce from the farm. | 0:29:51 | 0:29:56 | |
North Sea Camp's rich farmland produces enough to feed the prisoners...and some. | 0:29:57 | 0:30:02 | |
The remainder gets sent to local market. | 0:30:02 | 0:30:04 | |
And it's all down to prisoners this fertile land is here in the first place. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:12 | |
If you follow me up this mound and look out, you can see the sea. | 0:30:12 | 0:30:17 | |
And on an average high tide, the level of the water over here | 0:30:17 | 0:30:22 | |
is two metres higher than the land on the other side of the mound. | 0:30:22 | 0:30:26 | |
This farmland was once the sea bed | 0:30:26 | 0:30:29 | |
and the tough job of reclaiming it from the sea | 0:30:29 | 0:30:32 | |
was given to borstal boys. | 0:30:32 | 0:30:34 | |
In the 1930s, 20 borstal boys, the young offenders of yesteryear, | 0:30:38 | 0:30:43 | |
set up camp here after a long march from Stafford Prison. | 0:30:43 | 0:30:48 | |
They were made to painstakingly build sea wall after sea wall, | 0:30:48 | 0:30:52 | |
using just basic hand tools. | 0:30:52 | 0:30:55 | |
The work carried on into the 1970s, | 0:30:55 | 0:30:58 | |
until 1,000 acres of salt marsh had been reclaimed. | 0:30:58 | 0:31:02 | |
Today's workers, though, are no longer the boys of the borstal days. | 0:31:08 | 0:31:13 | |
Two-thirds of them are long-term offenders, | 0:31:13 | 0:31:15 | |
often on life sentences with no release date. | 0:31:15 | 0:31:18 | |
They have to earn it. | 0:31:18 | 0:31:20 | |
This inmate spent 20 years behind bars before arriving here. | 0:31:21 | 0:31:25 | |
For the sake of victims connected to his crime, we can't show his face. | 0:31:25 | 0:31:30 | |
What was it like the first time you came from a closed prison to here? | 0:31:30 | 0:31:34 | |
It was daunting, absolutely daunting. In closed prison, everything is done for you. | 0:31:35 | 0:31:40 | |
You come to these places, it's all about motivation for you to be | 0:31:40 | 0:31:43 | |
more responsible for your own actions. That's what they do. | 0:31:43 | 0:31:47 | |
They give you more responsibility, to see how you handle it. | 0:31:47 | 0:31:50 | |
For this inmate, that means taking care of the farm's sheep. | 0:31:50 | 0:31:55 | |
-You're becoming like a sheep farmer? -Yeah. | 0:31:55 | 0:31:57 | |
A stockman they call it, because you're looking after the general welfare of the animals, | 0:31:57 | 0:32:02 | |
-making sure they're well, healthy, fed, they've got no injuries. -You sound quite passionate about it. | 0:32:02 | 0:32:08 | |
I absolutely love it. At first, I thought, "Stink of the farm," but now it doesn't even bother me. | 0:32:08 | 0:32:14 | |
-"What are they on about? Stink of the farm?" -How do you feel looking after these sheep? | 0:32:14 | 0:32:19 | |
-Does it give you a sense of pride? -Yeah. What it is, you feel human again. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:24 | |
Someone is thinking, "You're quite capable of doing it." | 0:32:24 | 0:32:27 | |
-Is this something you'd like to do? -Without a doubt, yeah. I wish I'd discovered it years ago. | 0:32:27 | 0:32:33 | |
All I want to do is go out and lead a law-abiding life. | 0:32:33 | 0:32:36 | |
I'd do this from first thing in the morning until last thing at night if I could, | 0:32:36 | 0:32:40 | |
and let the whole world pass me by. | 0:32:40 | 0:32:42 | |
Hearing stories like that may make these prisons seem worthwhile, | 0:32:42 | 0:32:46 | |
but in recent years, open prisons have courted a lot of controversy. | 0:32:46 | 0:32:51 | |
After all, with no walls or fences, | 0:32:51 | 0:32:54 | |
if they want to misbehave, what's to stop them? | 0:32:54 | 0:32:57 | |
North Sea Camp is one of nine open prisons in the countryside around England and Wales. | 0:32:57 | 0:33:03 | |
Earlier this year, riots at Ford Prison in rural Sussex hit the headlines. | 0:33:03 | 0:33:08 | |
Four years ago, North Sea Camp found itself at the centre | 0:33:08 | 0:33:12 | |
of a drugs and alcohol scandal. | 0:33:12 | 0:33:15 | |
It's been governor Graham Batchford's job to turn the place around. | 0:33:16 | 0:33:19 | |
Open prisons can be quite controversial - do they work? | 0:33:19 | 0:33:23 | |
I see them as an essential part | 0:33:23 | 0:33:26 | |
in reintegrating long-serving prisoners back into the community. | 0:33:26 | 0:33:29 | |
A lot of our guys have spent 10, 15, 20, 25 years in prison | 0:33:29 | 0:33:32 | |
before coming to an open establishment. | 0:33:32 | 0:33:34 | |
Those are the ones that will benefit most from this. | 0:33:34 | 0:33:37 | |
Prisons are all about carrot and stick. | 0:33:37 | 0:33:39 | |
Open prisons provide a huge carrot for the right sort of prisoner. | 0:33:39 | 0:33:43 | |
It may be a gamble, but if it does work, | 0:33:45 | 0:33:48 | |
then the results can be, quite literally, life changing. | 0:33:48 | 0:33:53 | |
The Cotswolds are well-known for their gentle hillsides | 0:33:59 | 0:34:02 | |
and honey-coloured limestone, | 0:34:02 | 0:34:04 | |
and this week Adam's farm is hosting a competition | 0:34:04 | 0:34:07 | |
that couldn't do without them. | 0:34:07 | 0:34:09 | |
ADAM: Come on, lambs. | 0:34:11 | 0:34:13 | |
These dry-stone walls are a really important | 0:34:13 | 0:34:15 | |
part of the look of the Cotswold Hills. | 0:34:15 | 0:34:18 | |
They've been the field boundaries for centuries. | 0:34:18 | 0:34:21 | |
We're about 1,000 foot up here, so for my animals in the winter, | 0:34:21 | 0:34:24 | |
they provide shelter from the rain and the sleet and the snow, | 0:34:24 | 0:34:28 | |
and on a hot day like today, provide a bit of shade. | 0:34:28 | 0:34:31 | |
With the onset of winter, | 0:34:31 | 0:34:33 | |
my walls need to be in good shape to provide that protection. | 0:34:33 | 0:34:37 | |
Luckily, my farm has been chosen to host the 10th anniversary | 0:34:37 | 0:34:40 | |
of the Cotswolds dry-stone-walling competition this year, but more about that later. | 0:34:40 | 0:34:45 | |
The farmland round here is known as Cotswold Brash. | 0:34:48 | 0:34:51 | |
It's made up of this very thin topsoil that's full of limestone. | 0:34:51 | 0:34:57 | |
Because it's so thin and stony, | 0:34:57 | 0:34:58 | |
it droughts out, and it can be quite difficult to farm. | 0:34:58 | 0:35:02 | |
But in days gone by, | 0:35:06 | 0:35:07 | |
the presence of all this accessible rock on and under the surface, | 0:35:07 | 0:35:12 | |
was the reason why you see the estimated 4,000 miles of dry-stone walls in this area. | 0:35:12 | 0:35:17 | |
Rocks like this are obviously a pain for me, in arable farming, | 0:35:18 | 0:35:22 | |
but you can understand, in the mediaeval times, | 0:35:22 | 0:35:25 | |
that they were seen as a good natural resource for building things like the sheep cots, | 0:35:25 | 0:35:30 | |
that were enclosures that kept the famous Cotswold Sheep in, | 0:35:30 | 0:35:33 | |
that are well known for their wonderful wool. | 0:35:33 | 0:35:38 | |
It was a job for the farmers in the winter, building dry-stone walls and enclosures. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:42 | |
Now that the fields are mainly arable crops, | 0:35:44 | 0:35:46 | |
they're not needed as a barrier to keep livestock in, | 0:35:46 | 0:35:49 | |
and so, because they're so expensive to repair, | 0:35:49 | 0:35:52 | |
often they're falling down, and you get gaps like this. | 0:35:52 | 0:35:55 | |
Look at those deer! | 0:35:55 | 0:35:56 | |
Before the dry-stone-walling competition can begin, | 0:36:03 | 0:36:06 | |
I've got to get some supplies. | 0:36:06 | 0:36:08 | |
Fortunately, I don't have to venture too far. | 0:36:08 | 0:36:11 | |
There are numerous quarries a stone's throw away from my farm. | 0:36:11 | 0:36:15 | |
They've been quarrying round here for centuries. | 0:36:15 | 0:36:18 | |
This is Tinker's Barn Quarry, which is on the edge of my farm, | 0:36:23 | 0:36:26 | |
and they shift about 40 tonnes of walling stone a day. | 0:36:26 | 0:36:30 | |
There's about 20 tonnes here, so I need all of this, and more, for my walling competition. | 0:36:30 | 0:36:35 | |
-Gary, hi. -Hi. -Good to see you. | 0:36:35 | 0:36:37 | |
-Good to see you. -Still producing some good stone? -Absolutely. | 0:36:37 | 0:36:40 | |
Stone from this area, around your farm, | 0:36:40 | 0:36:42 | |
has been producing walling stone | 0:36:42 | 0:36:44 | |
and Cotswold roofing slates for 400 years. | 0:36:44 | 0:36:49 | |
There are a number of very skilled wallers in this area. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:53 | |
So, as a general rule of thumb, how much stone do you need of a metre of wall? | 0:36:53 | 0:36:58 | |
We would say you would get 2 to 2.5 face metres to one tonne of stone. | 0:36:58 | 0:37:02 | |
So, to build a one-metre stretch of wall, | 0:37:02 | 0:37:06 | |
you'll need about a tonne of stone, costing about 85 quid. | 0:37:06 | 0:37:10 | |
Back on the farm, the competitors are ready for a day's hard graft repairing my wall. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:18 | |
Sorry, competing for first prize! | 0:37:18 | 0:37:21 | |
And this is their task - to dismantle and then rebuild this stretch of wall | 0:37:21 | 0:37:26 | |
that probably hasn't been touched for well over 100 years. | 0:37:26 | 0:37:30 | |
This year's 21 participants have come from all over the UK. | 0:37:32 | 0:37:35 | |
Each of them will work on an average two-metre stretch of wall. | 0:37:35 | 0:37:39 | |
Yorkshireman Trevor Wragg is one of the judges. | 0:37:39 | 0:37:43 | |
Now, your stone, up with you, is rounded and knobbly, | 0:37:43 | 0:37:46 | |
-very different to this? -Yes. | 0:37:46 | 0:37:47 | |
Every area has got their own style of walling. | 0:37:47 | 0:37:50 | |
How long do you think this wall has been here, then? | 0:37:50 | 0:37:53 | |
-I should say it's over 200 years old. -Incredible! -It is. | 0:37:53 | 0:37:56 | |
-Hopefully what they build today will well outlive me? -I hope so. | 0:37:56 | 0:38:00 | |
If it falls down at the end of the week, I'll be making phone calls! | 0:38:00 | 0:38:04 | |
Not to me, I haven't built it! | 0:38:04 | 0:38:07 | |
Ready, wallers? | 0:38:07 | 0:38:08 | |
WHISTLE BLOWS | 0:38:09 | 0:38:11 | |
Well, the whistle's gone, | 0:38:16 | 0:38:18 | |
and everyone is now frantically pulling the wall down. | 0:38:18 | 0:38:21 | |
I didn't realise how fast they were going to work. | 0:38:21 | 0:38:24 | |
Why do they have to go so fast? What's the rush now? | 0:38:27 | 0:38:30 | |
You've only got about seven hours to build the wall in that time, | 0:38:30 | 0:38:34 | |
-so you have got to knock on. -The quicker you get it down, the more time you've got to build it? -Yes. | 0:38:34 | 0:38:38 | |
Come on, ladies, stop faffing about. No time for talking. | 0:38:44 | 0:38:48 | |
-< You know what you can tell him to do, don't you? -We would, but this is a family programme! | 0:38:48 | 0:38:53 | |
Now the old wall is down, the new one can start going up. | 0:38:55 | 0:38:58 | |
I wouldn't even know where to begin, | 0:38:58 | 0:39:00 | |
so what are the judges looking for at this stage? | 0:39:00 | 0:39:03 | |
It's important putting the length into the wall, | 0:39:03 | 0:39:07 | |
that gives it its strength as well. | 0:39:07 | 0:39:09 | |
And as you can see, they're nearly all back to back. | 0:39:09 | 0:39:12 | |
Hardly any middle fill. | 0:39:12 | 0:39:13 | |
Once they start building up, they won't have all the stone that will reach back to back, | 0:39:13 | 0:39:19 | |
-so they've got to use the hearting, or the packing, as we call it. -It's pretty technical. -It is. | 0:39:19 | 0:39:24 | |
Is it right, once you've picked a stone up to put on the wall, | 0:39:24 | 0:39:27 | |
-you shouldn't be putting it down again? -That's the sort of old story they used to say. | 0:39:27 | 0:39:32 | |
They see the stone on the ground that WILL go into the place that you're looking for. | 0:39:32 | 0:39:39 | |
-How many years have you been walling? -50 years. -Goodness me! | 0:39:39 | 0:39:42 | |
Have things over the years? | 0:39:42 | 0:39:43 | |
This last sort of 25 years, a lot of people learn how to do it, | 0:39:43 | 0:39:47 | |
even if they're not going to be professionals. | 0:39:47 | 0:39:49 | |
They're interested in maintaining traditional rural crafts. | 0:39:49 | 0:39:54 | |
While you're here, | 0:39:54 | 0:39:55 | |
if you just fancy finishing it down to the road, that'd be good for me! | 0:39:55 | 0:39:58 | |
As you drive around the countryside, | 0:40:00 | 0:40:03 | |
you see these miles of dry-stone walls, and I don't think | 0:40:03 | 0:40:06 | |
we think about the effort and work that went into putting them up. And still goes into it now. | 0:40:06 | 0:40:11 | |
Four hours in, and I think it's about time I found out how they choose the choice material. | 0:40:11 | 0:40:17 | |
How do you tell the difference between good and bad stone? Cos it's got a ring to it. | 0:40:17 | 0:40:21 | |
It has. Especially quality stone. Let's pick up a couple of pieces, | 0:40:21 | 0:40:26 | |
This is stone that is freshly quarried. | 0:40:26 | 0:40:28 | |
It has a higher-pitched sound to it, so you know that stone is good. | 0:40:28 | 0:40:33 | |
This is some stone we've taken from the wall behind us, | 0:40:33 | 0:40:37 | |
and you can see the laminations running through the stone. | 0:40:37 | 0:40:41 | |
Those pockets are there, cause a much more duller sound. | 0:40:41 | 0:40:45 | |
That stone is really useful for the skip. | 0:40:45 | 0:40:48 | |
You wouldn't even put this stone in the middle of the wall. | 0:40:48 | 0:40:51 | |
What are you looking for there? | 0:40:55 | 0:40:57 | |
I'm just seeing if all the stones are tight. | 0:40:57 | 0:41:00 | |
Especially when you've got little ones, like that. | 0:41:00 | 0:41:04 | |
-Ah! So that should be stuck in nice and tight? -Shhh. | 0:41:04 | 0:41:08 | |
-How are you getting on? -Not too bad, nearly there. | 0:41:13 | 0:41:17 | |
It's looking really smart. | 0:41:17 | 0:41:18 | |
-I've got some money riding on you - that's looking pretty impressive. -Thanks. | 0:41:18 | 0:41:23 | |
ADAM LAUGHS | 0:41:23 | 0:41:24 | |
-You haven't got any clear winners yet, then? -No. -Right. | 0:41:27 | 0:41:30 | |
No, just have to wait a little bit longer. | 0:41:30 | 0:41:33 | |
THEY ALL LAUGH | 0:41:33 | 0:41:35 | |
Are you husband and wife? | 0:41:37 | 0:41:39 | |
Yes, we are. And we're still speaking to each other! | 0:41:39 | 0:41:43 | |
You don't end up throwing stones at one another? | 0:41:43 | 0:41:46 | |
No, we've heard it hurts! | 0:41:46 | 0:41:47 | |
These are the coping stones going on now, they go up vertical. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:53 | |
They act as a really good barrier to stop the sheep | 0:41:53 | 0:41:56 | |
jumping over the top of the wall and knocking it down. | 0:41:56 | 0:41:58 | |
WHISTLE BLOWS | 0:42:05 | 0:42:07 | |
That's it. Final whistle. | 0:42:07 | 0:42:10 | |
What happened? You haven't got your coping stones on. | 0:42:10 | 0:42:13 | |
-No, I ran out of time. 15 minutes short. -Oh, no! | 0:42:13 | 0:42:17 | |
It must be so frustrating, because you worked so hard, and the wall looks great. | 0:42:17 | 0:42:22 | |
As long as it's right. There's no point going quicker because it wouldn't have been right. | 0:42:22 | 0:42:26 | |
-Are you going to stay and finish it off? -Yes. I won't leave you with a hole in your wall. -Thank you! | 0:42:26 | 0:42:32 | |
Although some didn't finish in time, | 0:42:35 | 0:42:37 | |
everyone here has put their own individual stamp on a new stretch of Cotswold wall. | 0:42:37 | 0:42:42 | |
The only thing left is for the judges to pick their favourite bit. | 0:42:42 | 0:42:46 | |
The winner of this year's Cotswold Conservation Board dry-stone-walling competition, | 0:42:46 | 0:42:51 | |
professional class, is Andrew Mason. | 0:42:51 | 0:42:54 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:42:54 | 0:42:56 | |
Andrew Mason - aptly named - took top spot for his wall. | 0:42:59 | 0:43:02 | |
His sheer attention to detail in the early stages of the foundations certainly paid off. | 0:43:02 | 0:43:07 | |
I'm delighted with this. I've got 36 metres of brand-new walling. | 0:43:07 | 0:43:12 | |
Some good and some very good. | 0:43:12 | 0:43:13 | |
Even though I've been around dry-stone walls all my life, | 0:43:13 | 0:43:16 | |
today has been an insight into not only a craft, but an art. | 0:43:16 | 0:43:20 | |
Think of Lincolnshire, and the vision you're likely to conjure up | 0:43:25 | 0:43:28 | |
is one of crop-filled fields under big skies. | 0:43:28 | 0:43:32 | |
But when it comes to putting food on our plates, | 0:43:34 | 0:43:36 | |
it's got another claim to fame. | 0:43:36 | 0:43:40 | |
The county has a proud tradition of pork production. | 0:43:40 | 0:43:43 | |
About 100 years ago, | 0:43:43 | 0:43:44 | |
most families would have had a pig or two in the back yard. | 0:43:44 | 0:43:47 | |
They fed on scraps, so they were pretty easy and cheap to keep, | 0:43:47 | 0:43:50 | |
and when it came to the eating, you could use every single bit. | 0:43:50 | 0:43:54 | |
But Lincolnshire's most famous pork product is, of course, the sausage. | 0:43:54 | 0:43:59 | |
The renowned Lincolnshire sausage has been produced here | 0:44:01 | 0:44:04 | |
for well over 100 years, not on a commercial scale, | 0:44:04 | 0:44:08 | |
but as good old-fashioned, home-made grub to feed the family. | 0:44:08 | 0:44:12 | |
Terry and Jane Tomlinson are working to keep that artisan tradition alive. | 0:44:12 | 0:44:17 | |
-Are they hungry ladies? -Yes. | 0:44:22 | 0:44:25 | |
Come on, girls. | 0:44:25 | 0:44:27 | |
Oh, stand back! | 0:44:28 | 0:44:29 | |
-They don't like it when you get in the way of breakfast. -Well, quite. Who does? Let's be honest! | 0:44:29 | 0:44:36 | |
Their pig farm may be just a tad larger than the old-style family setup, | 0:44:36 | 0:44:41 | |
but they're staying true to the free-range tradition. The pigs live entirely outdoors, | 0:44:41 | 0:44:45 | |
sheltering and sleeping in these huts. | 0:44:45 | 0:44:48 | |
-And this is to keep it all nice and dry? -Yes, so they clean their feet before they go into the huts. | 0:44:48 | 0:44:54 | |
-So what breed are these, Terry, these pigs? -The pigs we have here, they're Duroc-cross-Landrace - | 0:44:54 | 0:45:00 | |
-that's why you get the different colours. -Why those breeds? | 0:45:00 | 0:45:03 | |
The Duroc is a very, very hardy animal, fantastic mothers, and the eating quality's brilliant as well. | 0:45:03 | 0:45:09 | |
Their 72 sows have two litters a year, | 0:45:11 | 0:45:15 | |
so the farm has a constant flow of pigs of all ages. | 0:45:15 | 0:45:20 | |
Look how small they are! | 0:45:20 | 0:45:23 | |
These guys here are about a fortnight old. | 0:45:23 | 0:45:26 | |
They like to come out and do a bit of exploring, | 0:45:26 | 0:45:29 | |
but we like to keep them in for about the first fortnight. | 0:45:29 | 0:45:34 | |
If they're let out altogether, you get a lot of cross-suckling, | 0:45:34 | 0:45:38 | |
so the big boys get all the milk and the little ones get pushed out. | 0:45:38 | 0:45:42 | |
The farm produces 700 kilos of sausages a week, | 0:45:42 | 0:45:46 | |
which they sell at market. | 0:45:46 | 0:45:48 | |
-Hi, Jane. -Hello, Ellie. | 0:45:48 | 0:45:49 | |
Jane is obsessed with keeping the tradition of real Lincolnshire sausages alive. | 0:45:51 | 0:45:57 | |
So much so, that for the last seven years, | 0:45:57 | 0:46:00 | |
she's been backing a campaign to get them protected status under European law. | 0:46:00 | 0:46:05 | |
The PGI status is to protect the geographical indication of our Lincolnshire sausages, | 0:46:05 | 0:46:11 | |
which means they can only be made in Lincolnshire, and also, to protect the specification. | 0:46:11 | 0:46:16 | |
They're made like this. They're natural skins. They're coarse, open texture. | 0:46:16 | 0:46:22 | |
-They're not overly minced. -Why does it matter to YOU to get PGI status? | 0:46:22 | 0:46:26 | |
It's part of our heritage, and stays within the county for generations to come. | 0:46:26 | 0:46:30 | |
I'm going to leave Jane and Terry to it now, | 0:46:30 | 0:46:34 | |
because I'm off to make a Lincolnshire sausage the old-fashioned way, | 0:46:34 | 0:46:38 | |
with a woman who's so passionate she's written a book about them! | 0:46:38 | 0:46:41 | |
Every family in Lincolnshire has its own closely guarded sausage recipe, | 0:46:43 | 0:46:47 | |
handed down through the generations, | 0:46:47 | 0:46:49 | |
but I found a lady who's prepared to divulge her family secrets... | 0:46:49 | 0:46:54 | |
local chef Rachel Green. | 0:46:54 | 0:46:57 | |
Come on, then, how do we do it? | 0:46:57 | 0:46:58 | |
You need some coarsely ground shoulder, rusk, | 0:46:58 | 0:47:02 | |
or it could be breadcrumbs, if you want. And I've got sage, | 0:47:02 | 0:47:06 | |
lots of, because that's what Lincolnshire sausages are about. | 0:47:06 | 0:47:09 | |
So, is this your secret? | 0:47:09 | 0:47:12 | |
Well, it is, actually, it's from my great-great-grandmother, | 0:47:12 | 0:47:15 | |
so there's one ingredient that people generally don't put into Lincolnshire sausages, | 0:47:15 | 0:47:20 | |
-and that is freshly ground nutmeg. -Ooh! | 0:47:20 | 0:47:22 | |
-I know. It's different. -Quite a bit? -Yeah, quite a bit. | 0:47:22 | 0:47:26 | |
And I remember, as a girl, you used to have pig parts on the side. | 0:47:26 | 0:47:30 | |
We kept pigs, obviously, and we'd make sausages, | 0:47:30 | 0:47:33 | |
and the head would be there, and the trotters there, and it would be a real family thing. | 0:47:33 | 0:47:39 | |
Making the sausages was the fun bit for me, | 0:47:39 | 0:47:41 | |
because I could relate to that as a girl. Get passionate with it. | 0:47:41 | 0:47:45 | |
-You got to really work hard at it. -Work hard. -Harder, Ellie! Put your back into it. | 0:47:45 | 0:47:49 | |
Do you want to stuff a bit in, then, first? | 0:47:49 | 0:47:52 | |
The skins are made of pig intestines, | 0:47:54 | 0:47:58 | |
so the end product is entirely natural. | 0:47:58 | 0:48:00 | |
I'm doing Lincolnshire a very bad service here! | 0:48:00 | 0:48:03 | |
-Do you know why sausages are called "bangers"? -Because of the way I made them? -No! | 0:48:03 | 0:48:07 | |
No, after the Second World War, they put a lot more water in, | 0:48:07 | 0:48:10 | |
so the moment you cooked them, they'd explode. | 0:48:10 | 0:48:13 | |
Here we go. Brace yourselves! | 0:48:13 | 0:48:16 | |
-You've just got a bit of air in them. -A bit of air!? | 0:48:16 | 0:48:21 | |
-A bit of air in the bottom! -I'm so sorry, Lincolnshire. -No, no. | 0:48:21 | 0:48:24 | |
Thankfully, I don't have to eat my handiwork. Rachel's got some of her own ready and waiting. | 0:48:25 | 0:48:30 | |
The best thing in the world - a really good Lincolnshire sausage before the dogs get it. | 0:48:30 | 0:48:35 | |
Mmm. You can taste that texture. And lots of sage. Mmm, really good. | 0:48:38 | 0:48:41 | |
-Thank you very much. -My pleasure. | 0:48:41 | 0:48:44 | |
Now, in a moment, Matt will be at Sleaford Farmers' Market | 0:48:44 | 0:48:47 | |
finding out what locals think about the attempts to win protection for the county's humble sausage. | 0:48:47 | 0:48:52 | |
But first, the Countryfile weather forecast. | 0:48:52 | 0:48:54 | |
. | 0:50:49 | 0:50:56 | |
From the vast, flat fields of the fenlands | 0:51:08 | 0:51:11 | |
to the rural tranquillity further north, we're in Lincolnshire, | 0:51:11 | 0:51:15 | |
and we couldn't have come here at a better time, | 0:51:15 | 0:51:18 | |
cos it's Lincolnshire Day. | 0:51:18 | 0:51:19 | |
I'm getting into the swing of things. | 0:51:19 | 0:51:22 | |
With the help of a sat-nav that's got a real local lilt. | 0:51:22 | 0:51:26 | |
LINCOLNSHIRE ACCENT: 'After 300 yards, turn left. | 0:51:28 | 0:51:32 | |
'At the end of the road, turn right. Then turn right.' | 0:51:34 | 0:51:38 | |
I'm going to be meeting the man behind this voice a bit later on. | 0:51:38 | 0:51:42 | |
-'Cross the roundabout, third exit.' -I think we're nearly there. | 0:51:42 | 0:51:47 | |
'You've landed, mate.' | 0:51:47 | 0:51:48 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:51:48 | 0:51:49 | |
Thank you. | 0:51:49 | 0:51:51 | |
And I've landed in the historic market town of Sleaford, on this rather special day. | 0:51:53 | 0:51:57 | |
Hear ye! | 0:52:00 | 0:52:02 | |
Welcome, one and all, on this day, Lincolnshire Day! | 0:52:03 | 0:52:10 | |
Celebrating all things Lincolnshire. | 0:52:10 | 0:52:14 | |
Recently, Lincolnshire was voted Britain's favourite food county. | 0:52:14 | 0:52:19 | |
Wandering around Sleaford's Farmers' Market, it's easy to see why. | 0:52:19 | 0:52:24 | |
-I think it's a wonderful county. -Yes. | 0:52:24 | 0:52:26 | |
And if you are going to celebrate it, it's got to be with its food. | 0:52:26 | 0:52:30 | |
We have a history in Lincolnshire of keeping ourselves to ourselves. | 0:52:30 | 0:52:36 | |
-We don't blow our own trumpet. -You ring your own bell, though. -We ring our own bell! | 0:52:36 | 0:52:41 | |
And we are proud of Lincolnshire. | 0:52:41 | 0:52:45 | |
Lincolnshire Day actually marks a very short-lived rebellion | 0:52:45 | 0:52:49 | |
against Henry VIII. | 0:52:49 | 0:52:50 | |
Well, it may not be the best excuse I've ever heard for a celebration, | 0:52:50 | 0:52:54 | |
but while I'm here, let's get into the swing of things by meeting a real-life yellowbelly. | 0:52:54 | 0:53:00 | |
I'm not being rude - that is apparently what they call the locals. | 0:53:00 | 0:53:03 | |
Remember that voice on the sat-nav? | 0:53:03 | 0:53:06 | |
Well, I'm about to meet the man himself. | 0:53:06 | 0:53:09 | |
Well, Farmer Wink, I have you to thank for getting me here safely and efficiently. | 0:53:09 | 0:53:13 | |
Did you come on sat-nav, mate? | 0:53:13 | 0:53:15 | |
-I did, even though I did think I was listening to the Scandinavian voice. -Did you? | 0:53:15 | 0:53:19 | |
Your dialect and your accent and all of that, | 0:53:19 | 0:53:22 | |
it was born within the land and the fens. | 0:53:22 | 0:53:25 | |
STRONG LINCOLNSHIRE ACCENT: Oh, aye. | 0:53:25 | 0:53:27 | |
I've never changed, mate. | 0:53:27 | 0:53:29 | |
I still talk the same because I've gone to work in the morning | 0:53:29 | 0:53:32 | |
and I've got on my tractor and gone to work and never seen nobody all day, and I've gone home at night. | 0:53:32 | 0:53:37 | |
That's why I've never changed. I've never seen nobody to talk to. | 0:53:37 | 0:53:41 | |
I've lived here all my life. This is the first time I've ever been in Sleaford. | 0:53:41 | 0:53:45 | |
This is long-distance for me, 20 mile away from home! | 0:53:45 | 0:53:48 | |
-What do you think of it? -It's all right, innit? | 0:53:48 | 0:53:51 | |
Will you be back? | 0:53:51 | 0:53:52 | |
Oh, I don't know about that. | 0:53:52 | 0:53:54 | |
'And Wink teaches me a few choice phrases.' | 0:53:54 | 0:53:58 | |
Don't go off the course when you're walking down here. | 0:53:58 | 0:54:01 | |
You'll get in all that scrad and blather. | 0:54:01 | 0:54:04 | |
Erm, don't veer from the preferred route, | 0:54:04 | 0:54:08 | |
because you're going to get covered in mud and water. | 0:54:08 | 0:54:12 | |
-Scrad and blather. -Farmer Wink, it's been super. It really has. | 0:54:12 | 0:54:15 | |
-All the very best. -All right. Seeing you ain't found no proper Lincolnshire stuff charn, are you? | 0:54:15 | 0:54:20 | |
Say again? | 0:54:20 | 0:54:22 | |
Well, from one local speciality to another, | 0:54:23 | 0:54:26 | |
and I've just spotted Jane Tomlinson, | 0:54:26 | 0:54:28 | |
who Ellie visited earlier to find out about the true Lincolnshire sausage. | 0:54:28 | 0:54:33 | |
-Jane, it smells absolutely gorgeous over here. -Thank you. | 0:54:33 | 0:54:37 | |
-So these are the sausages that Ellie was packing -Yes, our Lincolnshire sausages. | 0:54:37 | 0:54:41 | |
I thought it'd be nice if you wanted to give people some samples | 0:54:41 | 0:54:45 | |
-of a proper Lincolnshire sausage and see what they think. -I'm just going to try that end bit. | 0:54:45 | 0:54:49 | |
-Just make sure they're not too hot. -Oh, man. -You enjoying that? -Yeah. | 0:54:49 | 0:54:54 | |
Right, let's get these little sausage samples out to the masses. | 0:54:54 | 0:54:58 | |
-I'm sure I'll be back very quickly. For more! -OK. -All right. | 0:54:58 | 0:55:03 | |
Would you like some sausage? | 0:55:03 | 0:55:06 | |
'With these plans to protect the status of the Lincolnshire sausage, | 0:55:06 | 0:55:09 | |
'just like the Cornish pasty, what do the locals make of a true Lincolnshire banger?' | 0:55:09 | 0:55:14 | |
Is that the best sausage that you've ever eaten? | 0:55:14 | 0:55:17 | |
-Would you like some of this? -I would. -You would?! | 0:55:17 | 0:55:19 | |
-I like my Lincolnshire sausages. -Oh, right. -Thank you. | 0:55:19 | 0:55:22 | |
-I'm not all that keen. -Why do you say that? -They're a bit spicy. -OK, try that. | 0:55:22 | 0:55:27 | |
-It's jolly nice. -Oh, lovely! We've got a convert. | 0:55:27 | 0:55:30 | |
You have, actually, yes. | 0:55:30 | 0:55:31 | |
As a retired pork butcher, what do you think of the news | 0:55:31 | 0:55:34 | |
that they're aiming for protected status? | 0:55:34 | 0:55:37 | |
It's a good idea. Should have happened a long time ago. | 0:55:37 | 0:55:39 | |
'I can see why the sausages are so popular, but now I've got a product of my own to show off.' | 0:55:39 | 0:55:44 | |
-Everybody, how are we doing? All right? -OK. | 0:55:44 | 0:55:47 | |
This is our brand-new Countryfile calendar for 2012. | 0:55:47 | 0:55:51 | |
I'm going to flick through the pictures. Tell me which ones you like. | 0:55:51 | 0:55:54 | |
-I like that. -That was my personal favourite. | 0:55:54 | 0:55:58 | |
-And December. -ALL: Ah! | 0:55:58 | 0:56:01 | |
Ohh! On that note, you obviously like what you see, and if you like it too, | 0:56:01 | 0:56:06 | |
here's John with all the details of how you can get your hands on one. | 0:56:06 | 0:56:10 | |
The calendar costs £9, and a minimum of £4 from each sale | 0:56:12 | 0:56:17 | |
will go to Children In Need. | 0:56:17 | 0:56:18 | |
You can order it right now on our website. | 0:56:18 | 0:56:22 | |
Or you can call the order line. | 0:56:26 | 0:56:30 | |
You could also order by post. Send your name, address and cheque to... | 0:56:33 | 0:56:38 | |
Please make your cheques payable to BBC Countryfile Calendar. | 0:56:45 | 0:56:49 | |
Right, well, I've made my way round to the beer tent, | 0:56:54 | 0:56:58 | |
and what a great place to finish, because that is all we've got time for. | 0:56:58 | 0:57:01 | |
Next week, we'll be in rural Sussex, | 0:57:01 | 0:57:04 | |
discovering why one of its villages has two very different claims to fame. Hope you can join us then. | 0:57:04 | 0:57:09 | |
Right, what do you recommend? | 0:57:09 | 0:57:10 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:57:27 | 0:57:31 | |
E-mail [email protected] | 0:57:31 | 0:57:35 |