0:00:24 > 0:00:25An unspoiled coast...
0:00:27 > 0:00:30..fringed by rich, fertile farmland.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37An estuary filled up by the tide and full of life.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43This is South Hams, the most southerly sheltered part of Devon.
0:00:43 > 0:00:48A place brimming with natural beauty and a dash of English eccentricity.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52We are here at the first ever South Devon Crab Festival.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54The locals here are very, very passionate
0:00:54 > 0:00:57about the seafood they catch around these shores.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59And it's not all serious because Matt and I
0:00:59 > 0:01:03- well, it could be quite serious - will take on some of these locals
0:01:03 > 0:01:05head-to-head in a crab-cracking competition.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07If we're unsuccessful at that,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10we're going to try and beat them at crab-pot rolling.
0:01:12 > 0:01:13I'll get the pot.
0:01:15 > 0:01:16I'll also take to the water
0:01:16 > 0:01:20to get a different perspective on this stunning scenery
0:01:20 > 0:01:22and discover a rather strange phenomenon.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26- It's incredible, isn't it? It's like a Jacuzzi.- A cold one!
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Meanwhile, I'm on the South Hams border in search of
0:01:30 > 0:01:32a real live bat cave.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36The greater horseshoe bat is one of Britain's largest and rarest,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39but I have a confession - they aren't my favourite creatures.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42- And was anyone scared?- ALL: No.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44It was just me, wasn't it?
0:01:44 > 0:01:45THEY LAUGH
0:01:45 > 0:01:48And with vast quantities of perfectly good food
0:01:48 > 0:01:51being thrown away every day in the UK,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54I'll be asking, "Can we change our wasteful ways?"
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Also on Countryfile tonight...
0:01:56 > 0:01:59James is catching a new Devon delicacy -
0:01:59 > 0:02:01sand eels.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04These don't look anything like eels to me.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06I'd say that was a kind of elongated sardine.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10And Adam's hoping for a premium price
0:02:10 > 0:02:12when he takes his sheep to market.
0:02:12 > 0:02:1460. 60 lambs. Lovely!
0:02:14 > 0:02:16What a lovely morning for a lamb sale.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Nestled among the lush valleys of the South Hams,
0:02:29 > 0:02:32by the creeks of the Salcombe Estuary, several miles
0:02:32 > 0:02:36along the coast from Dartmouth, it's the county's most southern point.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38But sheltered from the Atlantic blasts,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41these are tranquil waters,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44disturbed only by the frequent comings and goings
0:02:44 > 0:02:46of the many boats which moor here.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50This place boasts some of the warmest weather in Britain.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Once you've factored in the golden sandy beaches and seaside charm,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57you can understand why it's a popular tourist destination.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00But there's a lot more to Salcombe than meets the eye.
0:03:02 > 0:03:03Underneath the waves
0:03:03 > 0:03:06lies one of the most protected marine habitats in Britain,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09home to all kinds of rare sea life.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11But before I get to grips with that,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14I'm exploring above the surface.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17And I'm going in search of parts of the estuary
0:03:17 > 0:03:20that most people who come here never get the chance to see.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25With miles to explore, the Salcombe Estuary is made for canoeing.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30My guide, instructor Dave Halsall, knows it like the back of his hand.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33If you just get in the front of the boat, Matt, and I'll get in the back.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44How often do you get out on this estuary, Dave?
0:03:44 > 0:03:47I'm lucky enough to get out most days, actually.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49And where are you navigating us to?
0:03:49 > 0:03:52We're just going to have a look at little bits on the estuary,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55there's no particular route we need to take.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58We can just go where the wind takes us.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01- It's a perfect day for it, Mike. - It's beautiful, yeah.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06'We're travelling from Kingsbridge in the north of the estuary
0:04:06 > 0:04:10'back down to Salcombe. Joining us is a team from the National Trust,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13'one of the biggest landowners around here.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15'And, as warden Simon Hill explains,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17'the Trust wants to get more people canoeing.'
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Lots of people would associate the National Trust with stately homes
0:04:22 > 0:04:25on-land, but you're encouraging people to get out on the water.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Indeed, yeah.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30We very much want people to get out and explore
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and have memorable experiences in the countryside, and it's not just
0:04:34 > 0:04:39necessarily about getting out by feet. We own 700 miles of coastline
0:04:39 > 0:04:42and what better way to get out and explore it by on a boat?
0:04:42 > 0:04:45And how are you encouraging people to get out on the water?
0:04:45 > 0:04:49We're doing that by having a canoe partnership on the Salcombe Estuary
0:04:49 > 0:04:53with Dave here, but also more recently we built on that very much
0:04:53 > 0:04:57to develop a canoe trail for the estuary.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01From a short one-hour beginner trail, right through to something to
0:05:01 > 0:05:04go along the length of the estuary, five hours, and explore everything.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09'They reckon that by canoe you get to see things
0:05:09 > 0:05:13'you might otherwise miss, and it's not long before we find one of them,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16'which Dave likes to call... the phenomenon.'
0:05:17 > 0:05:20- The phenomenon?- Yes.- Right, OK.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24- That's all this bubbling, fizzing water?- That's it.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27The rocks here are porous. They've got lots of little holes in them.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32And when the tide goes out, air's sucked into the holes.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35When the tide comes back in, it forces the air out of the holes
0:05:35 > 0:05:39- and out of the rock and into the water.- Oh, yeah. Look at the bubbles
0:05:39 > 0:05:42coming up from the holes in the rocks. I can't believe it.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44FIZZING SOUND
0:05:45 > 0:05:49That fizzing sound's being amplified by the canoe, isn't it?
0:05:49 > 0:05:51It comes straight up through the hull. It's fantastic.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55How long does it bubble for, then?
0:05:55 > 0:05:58It'll bubble for about three or four hours while there's water here.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03- It's incredible, isn't it? It's like a Jacuzzi.- A cold one!- Yeah!
0:06:06 > 0:06:07'Well, I'm not jumping in just yet,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11'especially when there's so much more of the estuary yet to explore.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13'And not just the wonders of the natural world
0:06:13 > 0:06:16'because there's history here, too.'
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- What's this, then, Dave? - It's a lime kiln.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22- A lime kiln?- Yeah.- OK.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Why would these have been built right along the edge of the estuary?
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Well, in the 1700s, the roads locally
0:06:27 > 0:06:31would be just mud tracks, so you could bring in limestone and coal
0:06:31 > 0:06:33quite easily by water, so boats used to come in.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38Into here, put the coal and the limestone in the lime kiln,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42burn it, and then at low tide the horse and cart could come round
0:06:42 > 0:06:46and take out the fertiliser which was spread on the lands.
0:06:46 > 0:06:47It supposedly made the fields sweeter.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50There's quite a few of these all the way down the estuary?
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Yeah, there's about 12. And in pretty similar condition to this.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58- Very well preserved. I mean, obviously very well built.- Yes.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00- I love 'em. They're like little castles.- Yeah!
0:07:03 > 0:07:04'The tide has turned
0:07:04 > 0:07:07'and the water is beginning to drain from the estuary.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11'Later on, I'll be discovering what secrets it'll reveal.'
0:07:11 > 0:07:14But first, as part of our food and farming series,
0:07:14 > 0:07:16John is tackling the problem of waste.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Over the last few weeks,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29we've been investigating the threats facing our food supply
0:07:29 > 0:07:33and the global food crisis that's looming on the horizon.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38The startling reality is that, across the world, a third of all food
0:07:38 > 0:07:43is wasted, and what we threw away in the UK is mind-boggling.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47That's 16 million tonnes of it a year, enough to fill
0:07:47 > 0:07:52Wembley Stadium, right to the tip of its magnificent arch 20 times.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54But who do we think the culprits are?
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Who's responsible for this shameful statistic?
0:07:58 > 0:08:00Last year, I discovered that all across Britain
0:08:00 > 0:08:05fields of perfectly good vegetables are being ploughed back into the soil
0:08:05 > 0:08:09as they've failed to meet stringent supermarket specifications.
0:08:09 > 0:08:1350% of this crop may not end up in the food chain
0:08:13 > 0:08:18purely because it doesn't fit the very tight aesthetic parameters
0:08:18 > 0:08:21that are demanded for supermarkets.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27But, in fact, the majority of food waste is created not by retailers
0:08:27 > 0:08:31but by you and me. In our individual homes up and down the country,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34we throw out more than half of Britain's waste.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39But have we got any idea just how much this is costing us?
0:08:39 > 0:08:43According to the Countryfile survey we commissioned, no we don't.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46We asked 1,000 households how much they think
0:08:46 > 0:08:48they throw out each month.
0:08:48 > 0:08:519% said more than £20 worth,
0:08:51 > 0:08:56with double that, 18%, saying they wasted between £10 and £20 worth.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58But the vast majority, 53% of people,
0:08:58 > 0:09:03said that they wasted less than £10 worth of food every month.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05But official figures show that we actually throw out
0:09:05 > 0:09:11over six times that - an average of £680 per house per year.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17It really seems that most of us have no idea just how wasteful we are.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Absolutely. But it hasn't always been that way.
0:09:19 > 0:09:20Before World War II,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22we're talking about between 1% and 2%
0:09:22 > 0:09:24of the food we were buying we wasted.
0:09:24 > 0:09:25Then, by the 1980s,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27we were looking at about 6%.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31But now we're looking at as much as 25% of all the food we're buying.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33I mean, that's an incredible leap.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Is it, do you think, because food is relatively cheap these days?
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Absolutely. In terms of the proportion of our income,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43we spend much less now, compared to how it used to be.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47'To help us discover exactly what we're wasting,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51'we've enlisted the help of Jane Davidson and her family.'
0:09:51 > 0:09:54- What's the date today? - The 5th.- That's OK.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59'As a busy mother of two, Jane does her main food shopping once a week.'
0:09:59 > 0:10:03- That is 23rd July! - THEY LAUGH
0:10:03 > 0:10:05'We're asking her to clear out her fridge
0:10:05 > 0:10:08'to find out which foods she buys ends up uneaten in the bin.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12'But it's not just households who are the culprits.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14'So, while Jane and the kids get to work,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18'I've got another appointment to keep.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21'The next biggest offender for food waste is the hospitality industry,
0:10:21 > 0:10:26'which accounts for a quarter of the UK's total.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29'To learn more, I'm catching up with a man whose organisation is trying
0:10:29 > 0:10:32'to cut the amount of waste restaurants create.'
0:10:32 > 0:10:36The average restaurant in the UK is producing 21 tonnes
0:10:36 > 0:10:37of food waste every year -
0:10:37 > 0:10:40the equivalent to three double-decker buses.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42That seems incredible, why is it?
0:10:42 > 0:10:44There's food waste being produced
0:10:44 > 0:10:47from all parts of the process in the restaurant.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50So, a lot of food goes off when it spoils as stock,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52a lot of food's wasted in the preparation process,
0:10:52 > 0:10:54and ending up in the bin.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57And if you don't finish your meal then food's scraped into the bin.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59And a lot of that ends up in landfill.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Well, here's some that won't end up in landfill.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05- That looks delicious, thank you very much.- Thanks very much.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10The restaurant we're in today is taking action.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14It's one of a small but growing minority of food outlets,
0:11:14 > 0:11:19joining the Sustainable Restaurant Association in a bid to slash waste.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Time for a visit to the kitchen.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27And, Jo, just how seriously are you taking waste?
0:11:27 > 0:11:28We take waste pretty seriously
0:11:28 > 0:11:32and it's something our customers are interested in.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35There are all sorts of different things that we can do.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37So, for example, the ends of the leeks, here,
0:11:37 > 0:11:38we always use in the stock.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41All the bones will also go into a stock.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43We keep all our bread for breadcrumbs,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45anything left over we can feed our staff,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47so we all sit down and eat together.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50And we can put extra things into the daily specials.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52What else would you like to do?
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Food waste goes in with our general waste,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57so it would be great to know what else we can do there.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Let's take a quick look in their waste bin.
0:11:59 > 0:12:00What do you make of that?
0:12:00 > 0:12:02It's a lot better than many restaurants.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04This is recycling here.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07This is general waste - here's an opportunity to separate general waste
0:12:07 > 0:12:09from some of the food waste in there.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11That gives an opportunity to ensure
0:12:11 > 0:12:14that food waste gets disposed of responsibly.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16And what else can be done?
0:12:16 > 0:12:19What about the size of portions, if people are leaving things?
0:12:19 > 0:12:22We'd like to encourage those people to ask to take it home with them.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25- A doggy bag?- Exactly, a doggy bag. In the States
0:12:25 > 0:12:27you wouldn't think twice about doing it.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30We're a little bit embarrassed here about asking to do that.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Do think people are a bit embarrassed?
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Yes, I would say they are embarrassed.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38But we don't have a problem with it. We'd love to see them take it home.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- And the food, not just for the dog, maybe.- Definitely not.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Back in Jane's kitchen, we're tackling the biggest contributor
0:12:44 > 0:12:46to food waste -
0:12:46 > 0:12:48individual households throughout the UK.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50We've asked her to clean out her fridge
0:12:50 > 0:12:54and throw away the food that she wouldn't now use.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Time to see the results.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Jane, you've rummaged through your fridge
0:13:00 > 0:13:02and you are casting all these away. Why is that?
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Because they're out of date,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07what I would say is out of date, really.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- How typical is this?- Very typical.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Essentially, 25% of the stuff that we're throwing away
0:13:14 > 0:13:16is fruit, vegetable and salads.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19- Fruit's always a problem, isn't it? - Yes, definitely.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23Yeah, this says display until the 1st August, which is four days ago.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Display until is just for the shops.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29You don't need to think about it at all, it's for stock control.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32- So, these are still OK.- Absolutely.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Now, what about these blueberries heading for the bin.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39Best before 24th July. Two weeks ago, now.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43There's a golden rule. There are three different types of date.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45The first one is 'display until' or 'sell-by'.
0:13:45 > 0:13:46That's purely for the shop.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50It's stock control, we should never worry about it, we just ignore it.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52The next one is 'best before'.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Now, that's only about the quality of the food.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59So you can continue to eat it perfectly safely
0:13:59 > 0:14:01after the best-before date.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Never eat past the use-by date,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- that's the most important thing. - That's the golden rule,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09'use by' is what you should take note of.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12What about this spreadable butter stuff?
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Well, butter is a best before, so, again, it's purely quality.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19- We're only on the third, so, have a look at it.- Yes.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22If you're happy to eat it, because there's no safety issue,
0:14:22 > 0:14:26- you can carry on.- Food for thought, then.- Yes, definitely. Good tips.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31But is there a solution to the mountains of food waste?
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Later, I'll be investigating what happens to the 16 million tonnes
0:14:35 > 0:14:38of food we throw out every year
0:14:38 > 0:14:41and asking how we can bring the amount of waste we create
0:14:41 > 0:14:46under control and the consequences if we fail to act.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57- CLARE BALDING:- This week I'm with Matt, exploring the southernmost tip of Devon.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02Miles of glorious beaches, acre upon acre of beautiful countryside.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08This place has one of the mildest climates in the UK,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11making it perfect for a spot of sunbathing.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14But it's not just sun-worshippers who love this part of South Devon,
0:15:14 > 0:15:19it's also a surprising hit with the least sun-loving of all mammals -
0:15:19 > 0:15:21bats.
0:15:21 > 0:15:22Not just any bat.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26This corner of South Devon is among the best areas in Europe
0:15:26 > 0:15:29to see one of Britain's largest and rarest,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32the greater horseshoe bat.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36I'm on the furthest edge of the South Hams Conservation Area
0:15:36 > 0:15:38at Berry Head.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40And when this sun sets I'll be heading out
0:15:40 > 0:15:42to see if I can catch a glimpse of some.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44There's just one snag.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Just got to tell you something,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52I would be game for any challenge, I'm up for anything,
0:15:52 > 0:15:54but I have one major fear,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56call it a phobia if you will,
0:15:56 > 0:15:57and it's bats.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00One flew into my room when I was little, went round and round by my head
0:16:00 > 0:16:03and it made squeaking noises. I had to crawl to the door
0:16:03 > 0:16:06and my father came and I wouldn't go back in until I knew it was gone.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10That kind of phobia. So I might not handle this particularly well.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Unlike much of Britain's intensively farmed land,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17the Devon countryside is still one of ancient pastures
0:16:17 > 0:16:19and thick hedgerows.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24In fact, there's around 33,000 miles of insect-rich hedges,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26more than any other county in the UK.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29They're perfect larders for the bats
0:16:29 > 0:16:33Berry Head ranger, Chris Smallbones, has been tracking for years.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36- OK?- What have you got there?
0:16:36 > 0:16:40Just a couple of beetles and a nice harvestman spider, there.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42It's amazing, looking closely at the hedgerow,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44it's all moving, isn't it?
0:16:44 > 0:16:46It is. This is all perfect for bugs.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50- So, what sort of things would they eat?- Well, I have a collection.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55We have some beetles that the bats really like to feed on.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57They're enormous!
0:16:57 > 0:17:00They are. The greater horseshoe bat is quite a large bat
0:17:00 > 0:17:03and as you can see it needs large prey.
0:17:03 > 0:17:04We've got these guys, here.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06These are the may bug or cockchafers
0:17:06 > 0:17:11and these are Geotropes beetles, or dor beetles.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Will they always come back to the same spot to feed every night?
0:17:15 > 0:17:19Well, actually, I can show you. So I'll just get my map.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Because we're on a large headland, sticking out into the sea,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26we're surrounded by water, they've only got one way to go.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27So, this is like a bat motorway?
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Essentially, yeah.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31All this area's lovely little fields
0:17:31 > 0:17:36and all these little lines are all lovely hedgerows.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39It's important, because the bats know where to go as the feed is there.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43But it's not just the hedges that bring in the bats.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47These Red Devon grazing cattle haven't come here for the view,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50they're here because the bats, as well as all the stuff
0:17:50 > 0:17:54they can find in the hedgerows, absolutely love dung beetles
0:17:54 > 0:17:56and for dung beetles, you need dung.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59And there's plenty of that round here.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03With the sun starting to set and my anxiety on the rise,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07it's almost time to face my fears.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Chris has brought me to this disused limestone quarry.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15So, Chris, how can you be sure that we'll see bats here tonight?
0:18:15 > 0:18:19Well, just under here is where our bat cave is.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22We can pretty much guarantee we're going to have bats
0:18:22 > 0:18:24because we go in and survey them.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26How many bats are we talking?
0:18:26 > 0:18:28How many live here underneath us?
0:18:28 > 0:18:32In the summertime, we have about 75, this year's count,
0:18:32 > 0:18:34with 35 babies which, actually,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37this year was one of our best baby counts.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39But they leave them in a creche,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42so all the babies are in together and they're keeping themselves warm
0:18:42 > 0:18:45in the little creche that they've been left in, essentially.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49In their bat creche, I love it!
0:18:49 > 0:18:51I'm actually starting to quite like them.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Already.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56There's very little light pollution in this spot.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59New developments are planned with bats in mind.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02You won't find bright porch lights round here.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04So, we'll have to be equally careful,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07we'll be switching to infra red lights very soon.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11And we're about to be joined by 20 girl guides.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17So, hands up, who's excited about tonight?
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Who's scared of bats?
0:19:20 > 0:19:22A few of you are still scared of bats, OK.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Why are you scared of bats?
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Because, like, the flapping wings scares me a little.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Now, the big challenge is, one, that none of us will be frightened
0:19:31 > 0:19:33cos we're going to be brave together.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36The second thing is we have to be really, really quiet.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38And we're going to go dark now,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41we're going to switch the camera light off. And wait for the bats.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47'Now, the moment of truth, how will my nerves hold up?
0:19:47 > 0:19:49'The guides certainly seem up for it.'
0:19:49 > 0:19:52They'll be out quite quick because yesterday it rained
0:19:52 > 0:19:55so the bats probably wouldn't have been able to go out and fed.
0:19:55 > 0:19:56Here they come.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58You've got all this vegetation on the edge,
0:19:58 > 0:20:00on the lip of the quarry, here.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03And moths and insects will be coming out of those bushes.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06They'll have a quick, if you like, snack,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08on their way to their feeding areas.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10So, they sort of...
0:20:10 > 0:20:12circle around as if they're in a holding pattern
0:20:12 > 0:20:15before they take off? You can see all these shapes darting across.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17BAT SQUEAKS
0:20:17 > 0:20:18Oh, my word!
0:20:18 > 0:20:20CLARE LAUGHS
0:20:21 > 0:20:25- Do they hunt on their own or in pairs?- They hunt on their own.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Oh, wow! That was really close.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32'They're so quick it's a struggle
0:20:32 > 0:20:35'to glimpse them. In their own environment, they aren't half
0:20:35 > 0:20:38'as threatening as I'd imagined.'
0:20:38 > 0:20:40BATS SQUEAK
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Wow, did you see that one?
0:20:45 > 0:20:48- And was anyone scared?- ALL: No. - It was just me, wasn't it?
0:20:48 > 0:20:50THEY LAUGH
0:20:50 > 0:20:52'Actually, truth be told,
0:20:52 > 0:20:57'I quite enjoyed it. It's magical watching their nocturnal dance.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00'And the girls seemed to agree.'
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Wow!
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Later on this week's programme...
0:21:06 > 0:21:09will Adam get a good price at the sheep auction?
0:21:09 > 0:21:12One, now. 61, now. All away at 63.20.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15£63, £63.20.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18So, I'd have hoped we'd get a bit more than that.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22'Have I got what it takes to become a crabber?'
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Any time today would be helpful.
0:21:24 > 0:21:25Yes, all right.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28'And, find out what the weather has in store for the week ahead
0:21:28 > 0:21:31'with the Countryfile forecast.'
0:21:39 > 0:21:42While Matt and I have been exploring the South Hams,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45James has been further along the Devon coast
0:21:45 > 0:21:48at Teignmouth, finding out how
0:21:48 > 0:21:52a little-loved fish is making its way onto restaurant plates.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57The seas around Devon are absolutely packed with marine life.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Unsurprisingly, they eat a lot of seafood down here.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02But the fish I'm having for lunch
0:22:02 > 0:22:04is not something you would expect on a menu.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09The shallow seas here are perfect for catching sand eels.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13There's enough demand for them to drum up business for local fishermen.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17But that's mostly to sell to anglers as bait.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Some people think that sand eels are right for human consumption
0:22:21 > 0:22:27and I've managed to track down a chef who has promised to cook me some up, if I can catch them first.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34'Award-winning chef Tim Bouget is on a one-man mission to rebrand sand eels as a gourmet food.'
0:22:34 > 0:22:36Trevor, good to meet you.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40'And to get the ingredients for lunch, I have enlisted the help of fisherman Trevor Hall.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48'The eels live on a sandbank not far from shore.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51'To catch them, Trevor and his team drag their net between two boats
0:22:51 > 0:22:54'and they've got to get the job done before the tide turns.'
0:22:54 > 0:22:59You say they live up to a foot under the sand. Does this scoop up the sand?
0:22:59 > 0:23:03No. We take the ones swimming in the sea. They'll come out of the sand on the incoming tide.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05- You just pick the occasional one? - Yeah.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08- As opposed to the whole lot in one go?- Yeah.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13- How much were you expecting to get? - Hopefully, we will be up to 20 stone, I hope.
0:23:13 > 0:23:14Wow!
0:23:16 > 0:23:19- So how sustainable is it? - We feel they're very sustainable.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22We only take what we need. We don't take any other fish.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25'The fish stocks certainly seem healthy
0:23:25 > 0:23:30'and Trevor's team can fill their net in just a matter of a few minutes.'
0:23:30 > 0:23:32- How's that for a catch? - Yes, very happy.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37- These don't look like eels to me. - No.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40I'd say that was an elongated sardine.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44And these are different sizes. Some are tiny. Some are enormous.
0:23:44 > 0:23:50This is called a lance. The longer green ones. The others are sand eels.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55- These are sand eels. - They're not just different ages? - No, just different species.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59'Despite the name, sand eels are not eels at all.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01'They are actually small fish
0:24:01 > 0:24:04'and Trevor's catch sells for £4 a kilo.'
0:24:04 > 0:24:09- So where are these destined? - Some will go for food and some will be for angling baits.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13- What's your proportion?- Angling baits is probably 99%.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16It's incredible. It's quite a new thing people are eating?
0:24:16 > 0:24:20Yeah, it seems to be picking up as the years are going on.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23- Have you eaten them? - Only the once.- Once!- Yeah.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26- How many years have you been fishing for them?- About 20.
0:24:26 > 0:24:31- Fishing for 20 years. We got about 20 stone today and you've eaten them once?- Yes.- Disgraceful!
0:24:33 > 0:24:38'Eels in hand, I've headed across the harbour to the picture-perfect village of Shaldon,
0:24:38 > 0:24:40'where lunch awaits.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44'I'm still missing some vital ingredients, but I won't have to go far to find them,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47'because around here they've their own way of doing things.'
0:24:49 > 0:24:55Everyone around here seems to know each other and where would a Shaldon foodie go for exotic fruit?
0:24:55 > 0:24:57A neighbour's garden, of course.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00- DOG BARKS - Good morning.- Hello, James.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04- I've come to forage in your back garden.- Lucy, shush!
0:25:04 > 0:25:07- Come on, Lucy! - Come on, there's a good girl.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Look at this, this is a spectacular fig tree.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12- Yes. She's lovely. - How long have you had this?
0:25:12 > 0:25:17We think it's about 50 years old. We're not sure. This one here...
0:25:17 > 0:25:20'Figs are not your typical English fruit.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23'They normally grow in warmer climates, like the Mediterranean.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28'But basking here in the South Devon son, Wenna Curry's tree is doing just fine.'
0:25:28 > 0:25:34- You can feel how soft and full of yum it is.- "Full of yum". I like that.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38I get a bit too enthusiastic, fruit picking,
0:25:38 > 0:25:43but there is one prize-winning one up there.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50'These figs look and smell great and now I've got everything I need for lunch.
0:25:50 > 0:25:55'All that's left is to borrow a venue with a seaside view and Tim has done us proud.'
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Wow! This is amazing!
0:25:57 > 0:26:01I've heard of beach huts, but you've got a kitchen and a bed.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04- Fantastic. What have you got? - A collection of things. - Let's have a look.
0:26:04 > 0:26:10I've got everything you ordered. Sand eels, sea lettuce, figs.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14- A whole smorgasbord. - Absolutely beautiful. Look at that.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16'And the menu's sounding pretty good.'
0:26:16 > 0:26:20I'll make a salad with the figs and we've got eels and we we'll do the eels in two ways.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23We'll pickle them and do a lovely fried dish.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30What is the texture like? It looks like a white fish as opposed to an oily one.
0:26:30 > 0:26:37- Is it like giant whitebait?- Yeah, I prefer calling them little sea bass, really.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40It has a backbone through the eel, but it's so fine.
0:26:40 > 0:26:45You get a slight crunch, but you'll get more of a crunch from the breadcrumbs.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53- This might be a silly question. Why sand eels? They'll hardly be on a restaurant supplier's list.- No.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56But they are on our doorstep, they're very sustainable.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01They're competitively priced, so there's a nice, natural circle.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06If they're so good, why does no one eat them?
0:27:06 > 0:27:09I think it's our best-kept secret, really.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12'But eels aren't the only thing on my mind.'
0:27:12 > 0:27:14Tell me about this beach hut.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18It's bigger than my apartment and a lot posher than my apartment.
0:27:18 > 0:27:24These are special huts. Underfloor heating, state-of-the-art technology, great kitchens.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28Rumour has it that we're talking a quarter of a million pounds for this beach hut.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- It's quite special. - I won't be moving in any time soon!
0:27:31 > 0:27:35'But it is a fitting setting for our special lunch,
0:27:35 > 0:27:36'which is just about ready.'
0:27:37 > 0:27:40- Try it with the fig sauce.- OK. Fish and figs.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43We'll see if it's a marriage made in heaven.
0:27:46 > 0:27:52- That's pretty good.- It's not bad. - To be honest, I had my doubts.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55That's fantastic. It's sweet and sour.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58- A little bit zesty, lemon. - It's like a fruity sweet-and-sour sauce.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00It's incredible.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05People pay a fortune for cod, which is not as sophisticated or interesting and not as sustainable.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08So that's the cooked one, James. Let's try these.
0:28:08 > 0:28:09This is the cured salad.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13I feel quite vulgar going in with my fingers on a salad like this, but...
0:28:15 > 0:28:17That's possibly even nicer.
0:28:17 > 0:28:23I've got to say pickled eels isn't a great seller, but that's fantastic.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25'Add cider champagne
0:28:25 > 0:28:30'and this delicious meal of nearly all fresh local produce is going to go down a treat.'
0:28:30 > 0:28:35- What shall we toast to, sand eels? - Sand eels, I think.- To sand eels.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37Cheers.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45- MATT BAKER:- 'Back in Salcombe, we're following the retreating tide towards the sea.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49'As the low water beckons, the estuary's secrets are beginning to be revealed.'
0:28:51 > 0:28:53What's the story here, Dave?
0:28:53 > 0:28:59This is the wreck of the Iverna, which used to be a racing yacht.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01And why is she in this state now, then?
0:29:01 > 0:29:07- She finished her racing days and then she was used on the estuary as a houseboat.- Right.
0:29:07 > 0:29:12She sprung a leak, unfortunately, and was beached and stripped of her valuable timber.
0:29:13 > 0:29:18- How good was she?- She was fast. In her heyday, she won all the races.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21So she was the top boat of the day.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23She used to race against the King's boat
0:29:23 > 0:29:27and the Kaiser's boat, anyone else who had one.
0:29:27 > 0:29:32- People with money would have a racing yacht. She would beat them all. - Oh, wow! Look at that sail!
0:29:32 > 0:29:36- Oh, my word. - A lot of sail area.- Yeah.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41- Can you see the man? - There's somebody up there! Yeah. That's incredible, isn't it?
0:29:41 > 0:29:45- And this is one when she was beached. - Oh, wow.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47Yes. She was lovely, wasn't she?
0:29:47 > 0:29:55Such a shame to see her like that and then look back at what's left. Basically, just there for the fish.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00And the Iverna is not alone.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04There are traces of seven more wrecks in this one ship's graveyard.
0:30:04 > 0:30:09Everyone has its own story to tell. But all have been left to rot
0:30:09 > 0:30:11and be slowly carried away on the tides.
0:30:13 > 0:30:19Now, as John has been discovering, we throw away huge amounts of perfectly good food in this country,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22so is there any way we can change that?
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Earlier, I learned how it's our own households up and down the country
0:30:34 > 0:30:38that are the main culprits when it comes to wasting food,
0:30:38 > 0:30:43with an estimated quarter of all the food we buy ending up in the bin.
0:30:43 > 0:30:49But the problems extend across the board, from homes to schools, to restaurants to supermarkets.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54As pressure grows on our food resources, it seems to me
0:30:54 > 0:30:57there are two things we have to do about waste.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01Crack down on it, but also make use of whatever's left.
0:31:01 > 0:31:06At the moment, almost 40% of all the food we waste ends up in landfill sites,
0:31:06 > 0:31:14where it slowly breaks down, giving off around 20% of the UK's greenhouse-gas methane emissions.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17Not only that, we're running out of landfill sites
0:31:17 > 0:31:22and one of the answers is to have more of these - anaerobic digesters.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24This one is on a farm in Staffordshire
0:31:24 > 0:31:28and turns food waste into electricity for around 1,300 houses.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33Anaerobic digesters are the Government's preferred method
0:31:33 > 0:31:37of treating food waste, and the benefits seem obvious.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39Food goes in and electricity or gas comes out.
0:31:39 > 0:31:44In fact, the Government is so keen on them, it wants to expand plants like this
0:31:44 > 0:31:47to handle 5 million tonnes of food a year -
0:31:47 > 0:31:51a third of the UK's total waste.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55How many of these anaerobic digesters are there at the moment operating?
0:31:55 > 0:31:58There are about 60 to 70. If we're going to get near
0:31:58 > 0:32:01tackling the 16 million tonnes of food waste
0:32:01 > 0:32:04which the Government recently identified for UK producers,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07then we'll have to see more of them come online quickly.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09And there must be a catch?
0:32:09 > 0:32:12So, contracts for food waste tend to be quite short term,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15and the payback for a plant is going to be longer than that.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18We need longer-term contracts from local authorities
0:32:18 > 0:32:22and waste producers to really bring the industry forward.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24And why aren't councils doing that?
0:32:24 > 0:32:26Some of them have been hesitant about cost.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29The examples where councils segregate waste
0:32:29 > 0:32:33have seen that they can do it at the same cost as normal waste collection,
0:32:33 > 0:32:35and they save an awful lot on landfill.
0:32:40 > 0:32:45Anaerobic digestion seems to be popular with everyone from policy-makers to environmentalists,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48but a word of caution is being added.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53And that is that our priority must be feeding people with as little waste as possible
0:32:53 > 0:32:56before we turn to feeding machines like this.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00I'm visiting a place that is doing just that
0:33:00 > 0:33:06and which gives a stark illustration of just how wasteful our society has become.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Shelves stacked high with food.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11It looks like a supermarket warehouse to me.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16We are in a way, but we're just a charity that redistributes food rather than sells it.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20What about this - long-life orange juice - how did you come by these?
0:33:20 > 0:33:22This is a great example of supply and demand.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25The manufacturer of that
0:33:25 > 0:33:29has to keep the supermarket happy by having enough of that stock in.
0:33:29 > 0:33:34We get a cold snap, you and I drink a little less - there is a surplus.
0:33:34 > 0:33:40Fareshare say it is cheaper for retailers to send food to them than to use landfill,
0:33:40 > 0:33:43and it's redistributed to many charities.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48The latest consignment. What have we got? Fresh fruit and veg.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53- It's always exciting. You never know what you're going to get. - How much food per day do you take in?
0:33:53 > 0:33:58In total last year, we distributed 3,600 tonnes.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02That averages 35,500 people being fed a day.
0:34:02 > 0:34:08- And well fed, by the look of it. - Yeah, it's good quality. - Strawberries here. Asparagus, even!
0:34:08 > 0:34:12But is this all stuff that is now past its sell-by date?
0:34:12 > 0:34:16No, this is all within date. Everything that we pass out is fit for retail.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20It's within date and fit for human consumption.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24- I suppose that makes things even more scandalous.- Yes.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28That it's actually fit to eat and yet it's been thrown away!
0:34:28 > 0:34:32While schemes like this are great, they hardly touch the sides
0:34:32 > 0:34:36of the 16 million tonnes of food we waste each year.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40And with world demand for food expected to increase by 50%
0:34:40 > 0:34:44by the middle of the century, we simply have to waste less.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48As increased demand drives prices up, ultimately it may be cost
0:34:48 > 0:34:53rather than conscience that forces us to change our wasteful ways.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57To find out more about food waste and other countryside issues,
0:34:57 > 0:35:02tune into Farming Today on Radio 4 every weekday morning at 5.45.
0:35:06 > 0:35:07Still to come on Countryfile -
0:35:07 > 0:35:11can Clare and I beat the locals in our crab-cracking challenge?
0:35:11 > 0:35:14- Don't do it like that.- Oh, shut up!
0:35:14 > 0:35:18And will there be a nip in the air in the week ahead?
0:35:18 > 0:35:21Find out with the Countryfile forecast.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32But first, summer is a busy time on the farm
0:35:32 > 0:35:35and Adam is having a break from the harvest
0:35:35 > 0:35:38to take some of his ewes to a prestigious sheep sale.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41But will he get the price that he's hoping for?
0:35:44 > 0:35:47I love summer. It's a time of year
0:35:47 > 0:35:51when we can start reaping the rewards of all our hard work. Harvest is underway,
0:35:51 > 0:35:55and plenty of my animals are in good shape for market.
0:35:56 > 0:36:01We've got around 2,000 sheep on the farm at the moment, and I really enjoy sheep farming.
0:36:01 > 0:36:07It's an exciting part of the business, and quite important to us. The price of lamb is quite high,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10and I'd usually sell quite a few of these lambs for meat,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13but I'm going to try my hand at selling them as breeding females.
0:36:13 > 0:36:18We picked out the very best females and I'll take them to Honeybourne sale.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20So I'm just going to get them loaded up.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24We've got a healthy flock and I'm feeling positive about these ewe lambs.
0:36:24 > 0:36:30But selling my sheep is always a nervous time, as you never know what they'll fetch at auction.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35The price of sheep has soared recently.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38That's partly because New Zealand lamb is going into China,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41and there's a big demand for UK lamb into Europe.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45And that's great news for sheep farmers and great news for me,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48particularly with these 60 lambs in the back to sell.
0:36:55 > 0:37:0060, 60 lambs. Lovely. What a lovely morning for a lamb sale.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04Honeybourne sheep sale goes back to the 1800s.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07The sale field is owned by Edward Righton.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11There's been an auction here stretching back to him great-grandfather's time,
0:37:11 > 0:37:16so I'm keen to meet Edward to find out what makes this traditional sheep sale so special.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20- Very nice to meet you.- And you. - It's a real annual get-together,
0:37:20 > 0:37:24and when I was young, farmers brought their year's production here.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27This was their main cheque and livelihood for the year.
0:37:27 > 0:37:33Some ridges have been occupied by the same farming families at this sale for several generations.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Do you think it will carry on? Will you let the field out to them?
0:37:36 > 0:37:41If farmers' fortunes are good and they want to support it, I'm happy for it to carry on.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45It's not long now until the buyers arrive,
0:37:45 > 0:37:50but before they cast their eyes over my ewe lambs, I need to sort them into size and breed.
0:37:50 > 0:37:55We've got Charollais, which are these ones with the slightly more tanny face.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59And we've got Texels, like these white-faced lambs.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02And the buyers want to be looking at a pen of even lambs,
0:38:02 > 0:38:05and so we're going to take the Texels out
0:38:05 > 0:38:07and sell the Charollais on their own.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14Tom Greener, one of the auctioneers, has kindly offered to give me a hand.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17It's great to get some of his expert advice.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19The worst lamb will always bring a pen down.
0:38:19 > 0:38:24The best one doesn't bring it up. So if you have got a good one...
0:38:27 > 0:38:31What sort of money do you think we might make for these?
0:38:31 > 0:38:36- The Texels will be good money. We'll see £80 to £85 on them.- Great.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39Anywhere between 70 and 80 and I'll be happy.
0:38:39 > 0:38:45- The Charollais, these'll be £55, £60, this pen. - I'd be more than happy than that.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48A couple of years ago, I was getting roughly half that price.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51The atmosphere here is buzzing.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53Sheep are literally arriving by the lorry-load.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58Sad as it may sound, I just love all these great big lorries unloading these lambs.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00There's about 400 on here.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04When I was a kid, I used to mess around in the living room with pillows
0:39:04 > 0:39:08and pretend I was loading and unloading sheep. It's just fantastic.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10I'm small, in comparison to these big boys.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13BELL RINGS
0:39:13 > 0:39:18As the bell rings, it signals the start of the auction, and Tom gets things underway.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for turning out today. We'll get underway.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26The first lot - what are they going to be?
0:39:26 > 0:39:30- £80. 75.- 70.- 70 bid. 70 bid there.
0:39:30 > 0:39:322? At 72, 72. 72.
0:39:32 > 0:39:37I have. 3, I have. At 73. At 3, at 3, at 3...
0:39:37 > 0:39:42At 73, sold, you've got them, at £73.50. And on we go.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45So, the first lot sold for £73.50 per lamb.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48A fair price. This gives me high hopes.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52But there's no time to hang around. The horse and cart moves along from pen to pen
0:39:52 > 0:39:55with the auctioneers selling the lambs.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59On this side, all the buyers are jostling for space trying to outbid each other,
0:39:59 > 0:40:03winking and nodding and a flick of the hand, and they'll be buying these lambs.
0:40:03 > 0:40:0761... And a half one? 61...
0:40:07 > 0:40:10These are Charollais lambs. They look a bit like mine.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14£63. £63.20.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18- So, I would hope we would get a bit more than that.- £61.50.
0:40:18 > 0:40:24Right, it's my Texel sheep next. £70-£80 would be a fair price.
0:40:24 > 0:40:29Texel ewe lambs. Look at them, they are good, strong ewe lambs.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32What are they going to be? 85?
0:40:32 > 0:40:37- I am really pleased with how my lambs look.- These are ewe lambs?- All ewe lambs, yeah.
0:40:37 > 0:40:3875. Come on, start me.
0:40:38 > 0:40:43- The starting price dropped a bit to get the bidding going. - Half six...half seven.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46- There's lots of interest. - 80 half, 80 half, 80 half.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49- 86. 86. 86... - This is sounding really good.
0:40:49 > 0:40:55- Before I know it, the hammer goes down.- At 93. 93, 93. Sold. Away at 93.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56£93.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58That's good. I'm very, very happy with that.
0:40:58 > 0:41:03My second lot of Texels go for £87.50. Another good result.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05Seven-and-a-half.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Right, let's see what the Charollais make.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12It's harder to guess what the larger Charollais will fetch.
0:41:12 > 0:41:18- They're not as popular as the Texels.- At 88-and-a-half...
0:41:18 > 0:41:21That's £88.50 a lamb for these Charollais. That's good.
0:41:21 > 0:41:28Let's see what the last ones make. Up next, the small Charollais. Tom thought these would fetch less.
0:41:28 > 0:41:35- 67, 67, 67... Sold! Away they go at £67.- They all sold well.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39I'm going to catch up with one of the buyers to find out what his plans are for the lambs.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43- Where will they be going now? - Down to South Wales now.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47They'll be bred on until next year. I'll sell them at market.
0:41:47 > 0:41:53- So you will run them on at your farm and try and make a bit on them next year?- Yes.- Excellent.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56- They won't end up for meat. They'll go for breeding?- Yes.- Great.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59One and a half...32, 32.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03The sale will carry on for hours. But my work here's done.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08I just picked up my sale ticket from the office and I'm delighted with how they went.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11The top pen sold very well. These ones, not quite so good.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14But the overall average was about £85 a lamb.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18So I'm taking home best part of five grand. A good day's work.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24While my livestock sales have been a success, my crops haven't fared so well.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28My winter barley is down 20% from last year.
0:42:28 > 0:42:33This week, we're harvesting the oilseed rape, and I'm praying for better results.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36The oilseed rape was planted this time last year
0:42:36 > 0:42:40and just over a fortnight ago, we sprayed it off with a weedkiller.
0:42:40 > 0:42:45It not only kills the weeds but it kills off the rape too, so it's all even and brown and dry
0:42:45 > 0:42:47to make easy work for the combine.
0:42:47 > 0:42:52It's a far cry from what it looked like in the spring, when it was bright yellow and in flower.
0:42:52 > 0:42:58The combine is cutting off the plants that go up into a massive crushing mechanism.
0:42:58 > 0:43:04It then bashes the crop to hopefully extract all the oilseed.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07And there's the black oilseed. That's what we're after.
0:43:07 > 0:43:13I sell this to a neighbour who crushes it and from it gets the rape oil
0:43:13 > 0:43:17that you can use for frying, or to replace olive oil, really. It's lovely stuff.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22It's a mammoth task, harvesting these crops.
0:43:22 > 0:43:27The team work in shifts to keep the combine moving. It's my turn to take over in the cab.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31Just setting the cutter knife going.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36It was always my dream as a boy to be the combine driver
0:43:36 > 0:43:39and when I was a lad, I was never allowed to.
0:43:39 > 0:43:43There were tractor drivers on the farm, it was their pride and joy
0:43:43 > 0:43:47looking after the combine and driving it. And as I got older,
0:43:47 > 0:43:51I was eventually allowed the job of driving the combine.
0:43:53 > 0:43:58Oh, look, there goes a deer fawn. You can see it jumping around.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02This oilseed rape crop makes a wonderful canopy.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05It's like a little forest, and you get lots of wildlife.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09You get foxes and rabbits and pheasants and all sorts in here.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13The tractor is just coming up alongside now to unload,
0:44:13 > 0:44:16so I need to put out the unloading auger,
0:44:16 > 0:44:18and once the spout is over the trailer,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21I will press this button and start unloading.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23That's it now.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27And you want to unload on the move because it saves time,
0:44:27 > 0:44:31and while the sun is shining, we really want to make the most of it.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41This trailer carries about 12.5 tonne of rape.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45I'll climb in and show it to you. Here it is. The lovely rapeseed.
0:44:45 > 0:44:50It's amazing the job the combine makes. It's a really lovely sample.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54And this trailer has got about £3,500 worth in it. Pretty valuable.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56The price is high at the moment.
0:44:56 > 0:45:01And for us, this is the culmination of a year's hard work all coming together.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03It's pretty satisfying, I can tell you.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21My canoe journey in Salcombe is nearing its end.
0:45:21 > 0:45:26But as we reach the mouth of the estuary, the going is getting tougher.
0:45:26 > 0:45:29The tide is going out so it's pushing us along this way,
0:45:29 > 0:45:31but we are padding into the wind,
0:45:31 > 0:45:36and the water looks choppier, so it just seems a little bit more frantic here.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39We're headed for the beach to go snorkelling.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45The sea-life here is so rare that the estuary is one of only two marine environments
0:45:45 > 0:45:48in the whole of the UK to be given legal protection
0:45:48 > 0:45:51as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55Here to tell me why, is marine conservationist, Nigel Mortimer.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59OK, before dive, give us an idea of why the marine life around here is so special.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02It's a very special estuary.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04In fact, in some ways it's not an estuary at all.
0:46:04 > 0:46:09There's no river flowing into it, so it's a very sheltered marine inlet.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13The diversity of habitats and wildlife here is something special.
0:46:13 > 0:46:14Well, you're suited up.
0:46:14 > 0:46:19I'll get the wetsuit on and we'll get in there and have a good look.
0:46:19 > 0:46:23Nigel wants to show me something called seagrass.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26At first glance, it doesn't look anything special
0:46:26 > 0:46:28but it's actually quite rare.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31Around here, though, there's tons of it.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44Well, Nigel, as its name suggests, seagrass is a grass.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47It looks similar to grass but why is it so special?
0:46:47 > 0:46:50All the other vegetation in the sea is all seaweeds.
0:46:50 > 0:46:55This is a flowering plant from the land that's made its way back into the sea again.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58It's got roots, leaves and it's actually got flowers.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01What's incredible about it is it gives a whole lot of cover
0:47:01 > 0:47:04for a lot of animals to thrive in.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08But seagrass is under threat. Over the past 60 years,
0:47:08 > 0:47:13huge swathes of it have been lost across the north-east Atlantic.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17100 years ago, there would have been ten times as much.
0:47:17 > 0:47:22It was hit by a wasting disease thought to be pollution related,
0:47:22 > 0:47:28- so we're keen to protect what we do have now. - Is it still in decline today?
0:47:28 > 0:47:32Locally, we believe that, if anything, it's starting to grow back a little bit
0:47:32 > 0:47:34but around the coast,
0:47:34 > 0:47:38it's under some threat just from human activities.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42There's plenty more to see here, though, besides the grass.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45I'll only get to glimpse a fraction of it today
0:47:45 > 0:47:48but along the length of the estuary, a dazzling array
0:47:48 > 0:47:51of colourful creatures is hiding beneath the waves.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08Now, if you've been inspired by our snorkelling
0:48:08 > 0:48:10and are keen to get out into the great outdoors,
0:48:10 > 0:48:13log on to our website and click on "things to do".
0:48:13 > 0:48:16The BBC has teamed up with a range of organisations that offer
0:48:16 > 0:48:18some fantastic activities
0:48:18 > 0:48:21so I'm sure you'll find something that'll whet your appetite.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25But don't rush off just yet, because whatever you've got planned,
0:48:25 > 0:48:29you'll need the Countryfile weather forecast for the week ahead.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10Today, Matt and I have been exploring the sprawling
0:51:10 > 0:51:12tidal estuaries of South Hams.
0:51:12 > 0:51:17Our final stop it brings us to the picture-postcard village of South Pool.
0:51:17 > 0:51:22In a few hours' time, this peaceful village will be buzzing with people paying homage
0:51:22 > 0:51:26to one of the area's finest residents, the south Devon crab.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29It even has its own festival.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34They land over 2,000 tonnes a year of these critters in south Devon
0:51:34 > 0:51:38but two-thirds of them head back overseas to France and Spain.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43So, the locals have come up with an ingenious plan to up the profile
0:51:43 > 0:51:47of what they believe is the best crab in the world,
0:51:47 > 0:51:50the first South Devon Crab Festival.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54Later, Matt and I will be going head to head with the locals
0:51:54 > 0:51:56in a bit of a crabby contest.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03So, I'm heading out with one of the local crab fisherman, Phil Cardew.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07His family have been fishing these waters for generations.
0:52:09 > 0:52:13Is there a theory, Phil, about why the crab is so good here?
0:52:13 > 0:52:17There are big areas here which are dedicated solely to static gear -
0:52:17 > 0:52:20crab pots - untouched by trawlers.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24The crabs get a good chance to breed and rest.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28Why do you think it is that you struggle to sell crab to people in this country,
0:52:28 > 0:52:31that they don't prepare it themselves?
0:52:31 > 0:52:34They might order it at a restaurant but rarely cook it at home.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38I think a lot of people are fazed by the fact of cooking a crab.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41They get it live, they need to have at live to cook it.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45They have to kill it, prepare it themselves,
0:52:45 > 0:52:50whereas on the continent, people are brought up with it and they love their shellfish.
0:52:52 > 0:52:57Phil's checking on a string of crab pots laid on the seabed the day before.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00While he assesses the night's bounty, I'm baiting the new pots.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03- Any time today would be helpful. - Yes, all right(!)
0:53:03 > 0:53:08The pressure is on, he'll need about eight of these barrels to earn himself a decent day's wages.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10But it's not just a numbers game.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12The young crabs go straight back.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16- Too small.- Too small, yeah. Two small. Female.
0:53:16 > 0:53:21Do you think you understand crab? Appreciate their characteristics?
0:53:21 > 0:53:23Yeah, I'm very much like a crab.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25You've got to think like a crab to catch a crab.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36So, thanks to Phil, I've got my crab.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39Time to head to the festival for the next step.
0:53:39 > 0:53:44Matt's on his way to help me take on the locals in the inaugural McCrab Challenge.
0:53:44 > 0:53:49I'm going to need some practice, so while my crab's boiling away for later,
0:53:49 > 0:53:56I'm getting some tips from crab processor Trevor Bartlett on the art of crab-cracking.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59So, Trevor, what are we doing?
0:53:59 > 0:54:03I'm going to show you how easy it is to pick the crabmeat out of the crab.
0:54:03 > 0:54:08Obviously, in the competition, we want to make sure you can do it as quickly as anybody else.
0:54:08 > 0:54:14So pick up your crab, hold it in your left hand and take the claws away first of all.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17So, just move the claw away from the mouth, and up.
0:54:17 > 0:54:22- Nice and easy, there we go. Bang down and push. Push.- Oh, look! - There we go.- That's magic.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27So, we've got 12 dead men's fingers on each of the...
0:54:27 > 0:54:31and all we've got to do is scrape all the dead men's fingers away.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35And the real challenge is not just doing it fast,
0:54:35 > 0:54:38it's getting as much meat as possible.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40Oh!
0:54:40 > 0:54:43Oh, I ruined it! I had that really nicely.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47It's OK. Every crab's got two claws, so there's a second chance.
0:54:47 > 0:54:52Doesn't exactly bode well. Let's hope Matt's on form today.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55- Now, then.- Oh, good.- How are we doing? What's going on?
0:54:55 > 0:54:59- What's going on here?- We've thrown ourselves into a situation.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02- I didn't realise it was fancy dress. - No, this is Sue.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05- She looks lovely, she looks great. - I will shake your claw.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07- Nice to see you. - We've got to crack some crabs -
0:55:07 > 0:55:12- they look a bit like this - against some people who are really good at it.- OK.
0:55:12 > 0:55:18- But I've heard you're good at everything.- Have you been practising?- Yeah, but...a bit.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21You're really good at everything so I'm leaning on you.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24This team is a one-man team, and it's you.
0:55:24 > 0:55:29On your marks, get set...go!
0:55:29 > 0:55:32- So what are we doing? - Yeah, just pull those around.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34- Look at the size of those! - Well done.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37We're up against locals Rob and Jeff.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40Jeff's a crab fishermen and Rob is a crab processor
0:55:40 > 0:55:43so it's fair to say they've got a head start.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45- I wouldn't do it like that. - Oh, shut up!
0:55:45 > 0:55:49These things here are called devil's something-or-others. Fingers!
0:55:49 > 0:55:52And take them off, because they're not good, they're bitter.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54And just crack it... Ooh!
0:55:59 > 0:56:01I wouldn't stand that close if I were you, sir.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06Oh, great God! Let's get that one on there.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11If you do it all in one, it's really...
0:56:11 > 0:56:14and then it's like a cocktail thingy. My God, look at this.
0:56:14 > 0:56:18- Oh, wow! Look at that.- I don't think we're doing that badly.
0:56:18 > 0:56:23- ALL: Five, four, three, two, one. - This is so random!
0:56:23 > 0:56:26THEY ALL CHEER
0:56:26 > 0:56:28Brilliant, well...
0:56:29 > 0:56:32All I've done is just smashed a crab up.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36- Look at that!- What's that shell doing in there? Extra weight.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40'Speaking of which, moment of truth. First up, the local lads.'
0:56:40 > 0:56:43We have...1744.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47- Oh, 1744, that's good.- Very good. - 1744.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49And these guys...
0:56:51 > 0:56:52..1756.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56We've won! Did we win?!
0:56:56 > 0:56:59- We won! - It's a wonderful trophy, this.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03It almost feels criminal to take it away from the village.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07- You can have it for the first week. - And then we'll swap. Wonderful.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10What a wonderful note to finish the programme on.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13Next week, Adam and his dad Joe are taking a trip up to North Ronaldsay
0:57:13 > 0:57:16for a special edition of the programme looking back
0:57:16 > 0:57:19at all the rare breeds that are such a feature of his farm.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23Adam first went there as a lad so it's a trip down memory lane.
0:57:23 > 0:57:26- Join them if you can.- See you then, bye-bye.- Bye-bye.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28- Crab salad to celebrate? - Oh, yeah!
0:57:45 > 0:57:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:57:49 > 0:57:52E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk