0:00:26 > 0:00:31'East Sussex - dramatic white cliffs, chalky downs
0:00:31 > 0:00:33'and secluded, rocky bays.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37'This is a county brimming with unspoilt landscapes.'
0:00:39 > 0:00:43It's also a county crowded with national treasures.
0:00:43 > 0:00:44And I'll be visiting a few
0:00:44 > 0:00:48that are at risk of being lost from our coastline for ever.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53'But there's more to East Sussex than a stunning coast.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56'Inland it's pretty inspirational, too.'
0:00:56 > 0:00:59This is where Virginia Woolf and other members of
0:00:59 > 0:01:03the Bloomsbury set came to escape the chaos of London life.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05I'll be discovering why, for Virginia,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09the East Sussex countryside provided a tonic for both body and mind.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15'Not that the local bees are helping me relax.'
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Brilliant(!) Right by my eye. In my face.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21- Ow.- Has it stung you?- Yup.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26'While Julia recovers, I'll be in East Anglia
0:01:26 > 0:01:31'searching for the cause of a mystery illness that affects dogs.'
0:01:31 > 0:01:34It appeared out of nowhere in 2009,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37and has recurred every autumn since.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41The common factors are autumn conditions like this
0:01:41 > 0:01:43and dogs walking in woodland.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46So, just how worried should we be?
0:01:49 > 0:01:52'Meanwhile, Adam's taking a break from his farm.'
0:01:52 > 0:01:53I'm here in the Swiss Alps
0:01:53 > 0:01:56meeting a famous fighting cow.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58BELL CLANGS
0:01:58 > 0:02:01But they're friendly to people. Want some bread?
0:02:11 > 0:02:14'An undulating, panoramic view of chalk downland
0:02:14 > 0:02:16'mimicking the rolling seas.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18'This is East Sussex
0:02:18 > 0:02:20'with its distinctive English coastline -
0:02:20 > 0:02:23'white cliffs, sandy beaches
0:02:23 > 0:02:24'and other familiar landmarks
0:02:24 > 0:02:27'you'd expect to find here.'
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Like this - the lighthouse at Beachy Head.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Dressed in her red-and-white uniform,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39she proudly stands out against the bright, white cliffs.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41But for how much longer?
0:02:44 > 0:02:46'The chalk cliffs of Beachy Head
0:02:46 > 0:02:49'have long been a landmark for mariners.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53'In 1902, the 40m lighthouse was built here,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57'casting her first heroic light on October 2nd.'
0:02:57 > 0:03:00In 1980, she was painted the red and white that you see today.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03But last year her owners, Trinity House,
0:03:03 > 0:03:08decided that this iconic building had no longer earned its stripes.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11'Her owners aren't planning to repaint her,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14'so the sea will eventually strip away her colours
0:03:14 > 0:03:16'and she'll return to plain grey granite.'
0:03:16 > 0:03:21So, how might she look, given that the sea erodes these cliffs
0:03:21 > 0:03:24at a staggering rate of a metre a year?
0:03:25 > 0:03:29'Margaret Turton is a local painter, who paints on canvas, not granite.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31'And she's trying to visualise Beachy Head
0:03:31 > 0:03:34'without its distinctive red-and-white stripes.'
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Margaret, what a difference this is.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43I mean, as a lover of colour, this must be quite a sobering experience.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47Yes, it's, um, looking very dull and boring to me.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51- It's much nicer to paint it with the red stripes.- Yeah.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55- That's how I remember it from my childhood.- I mean, that is...
0:03:55 > 0:03:59That, to me, seems very happy. It's kind of a smiley, sunny picture.
0:03:59 > 0:04:00This one is just...
0:04:00 > 0:04:03- drab and dull, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07As an artist, would you have ever chosen THIS as a subject?
0:04:07 > 0:04:08I don't think I would. No.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13There's plenty of places along the coast of the cliffs, where you get
0:04:13 > 0:04:17a lovely view, but that would be just a bit of an eyesore.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19If you wouldn't mind, could I take these and just have a word
0:04:19 > 0:04:22with a few people and just gauge their reactions?
0:04:22 > 0:04:26- Yes.- Their prediction. - Yes, I think that's a good idea.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31SEAGULL CRIES
0:04:31 > 0:04:34- How does that make you feel?- Yeah, it makes me feel warm and nice.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37- Warm?- Yeah.- Nice?- Yes.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- And then, what about that one? - That's boring, dull.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43- Oh...that's not so attractive.- No.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46- No.- That's not our lighthouse.- No. - No.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48If somebody doesn't do something
0:04:48 > 0:04:51about it, that's part of our history and our heritage...
0:04:51 > 0:04:54And if nobody steps up to the plate and looks after it,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56that's going to fall in the sea.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58'Beachy Head lighthouse
0:04:58 > 0:05:01'has been a part of our coastal heritage for years.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03'She acted as a visual landmark
0:05:03 > 0:05:07'to guide Spitfires and Lancasters back home in World War II.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11'Now, local people are desperately trying to save her stripes.'
0:05:11 > 0:05:14You are born and bred in the area. What are your earliest memories
0:05:14 > 0:05:17of this world-famous stripy lighthouse?
0:05:17 > 0:05:22- Coming up here and laying down on the edge looking over.- Hang on!
0:05:22 > 0:05:25- You used to lie on the edge of the cliffs?- Yes.- And it was just that...
0:05:25 > 0:05:29- The whole...- Exhilarating.- Yeah, the whole world is out there.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Yeah. How big is the group in support of keeping it red and white?
0:05:33 > 0:05:35It's about over 2,000 now, isn't it?
0:05:35 > 0:05:38And we've had a lot of support from all across the world.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41- Yeah.- OK. And where are you at now with the money?
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Last October we realised that we needed to raise 27,000.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49And since then, we've raised 22,500. So, we're two-thirds of the way there
0:05:49 > 0:05:52and we're confident that by next spring,
0:05:52 > 0:05:54which is when she's going to need a bit of a facelift,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56that we will have raised the money.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Robert, a great example of people power.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02It must feel brilliant for you guys to have achieved what you have done.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04When we first started it seemed so far away.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07And it's just purely through the support of people
0:06:07 > 0:06:09who love this lighthouse and want to keep it just as it is.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13'A lighthouse without stripes is like a leopard without spots.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16'So I, for one, hope she keeps them for years to come.'
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Whilst I've been exploring the south coast,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Tom has been up in the East Anglian countryside,
0:06:23 > 0:06:28investigating a mystery illness that's affecting dogs.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39'It's an idyllic autumnal scene around our countryside.
0:06:39 > 0:06:40'The sun is shining.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43'The leaves on the trees are turning.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46'It's the perfect time to stride out with your faithful friend at heel.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48'But in one part of the country,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50'this idyll has been shattered by
0:06:50 > 0:06:53'something sinister lurking in our woods,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56'something that's making our dogs seriously ill
0:06:56 > 0:06:58'and, in the worst cases, killing them.'
0:07:00 > 0:07:02The trouble is no-one knows what it is.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06It's inherited the name Seasonal Canine Illness.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10And with 14 recorded dog deaths since 2010,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12the race is on to find out.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Would you normally let them off around here?
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- Yeah, about here's good for them. - Give them their freedom.- Here we go.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Are you ready, Ebony?
0:07:24 > 0:07:26DOGS BARK AND RUMBLE
0:07:26 > 0:07:30'In September 2010, Viv Smee and her partner, Clive,
0:07:30 > 0:07:37'took her bearded collie, Dottie, out for a walk in Thetford Forest Park.'
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Viv, can I take you back to those fateful days in September?
0:07:40 > 0:07:41What happened?
0:07:41 > 0:07:48Um, I had a phone call at work from my daughter at lunchtime.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51She said, "Mum, can you come back and pick the dog up?
0:07:51 > 0:07:53"She's not very well."
0:07:53 > 0:07:54- That's Dottie.- So, that's her.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57She was perfectly healthy when I went to work that morning.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Um, got home...
0:07:59 > 0:08:04She could hardly get out of her bed - very, very lethargic.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06So, I just picked her up, put her in the car
0:08:06 > 0:08:09and took her down to the vets'.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Um, you know, in the...
0:08:11 > 0:08:15In the space of, like, a couple of hours,
0:08:15 > 0:08:16I'd gone to work with what I thought
0:08:16 > 0:08:19was a perfectly healthy dog at home and came back...
0:08:19 > 0:08:22to find that she'd died in my arms.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25And this was just a few days after she'd been
0:08:25 > 0:08:26for a walk out in the woods?
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Yeah, we'd taken her to the normal places that we walked.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35Um, nothing different. Nothing special.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Just a normal walk in the woods.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42'Viv's vet had no idea what had killed Dottie and neither did Viv.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44'But now, with two new dogs,
0:08:44 > 0:08:49'she doesn't risk taking them anywhere near the woods.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54'So was what happened to Dottie an isolated case?
0:08:54 > 0:08:56'Well, worryingly, no.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59'Seasonal Canine Illness
0:08:59 > 0:09:02'was first reported on the Sandringham Estate
0:09:02 > 0:09:03'in the autumn of 2009.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06'The following year,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10'53 cases of sick dogs were recorded across Norfolk,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12'Suffolk and Nottinghamshire.'
0:09:14 > 0:09:15That's when a group based here
0:09:15 > 0:09:18at this beautiful country house got involved.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21The Animal Health Trust is now spearheading
0:09:21 > 0:09:24the research into this mystery illness. But why them?
0:09:24 > 0:09:26'Based in Newmarket,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30'the Queen is the trust's patron and Princess Anne is their president.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32'So when dogs got sick at Sandringham,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35'it was immediately on their radar.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40'Doctor Richard Newton was brought in to lead
0:09:40 > 0:09:42'the investigation into Seasonal Canine Illness.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47'With between 150 and 200 cases since 2010,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51'his team have managed to establish a simple set of symptoms.'
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Dogs are presenting with sickness. So, they're vomiting.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00And they're also producing diarrhoea at the other end.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04So, it's a gastro-intestinal appearing disease.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07But particularly those animals that get quite sick,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11they're becoming lethargic, they can have pain in their stomachs
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and they can go off their food,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16and if veterinary attention is not sought quickly,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19they can become quite ill quite quickly.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20There's something else you've found,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23something that the dogs have been doing just before they become ill.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27You're absolutely right. Many of these cases had got the common theme
0:10:27 > 0:10:29that they'd been walked in woodland areas,
0:10:29 > 0:10:35and that seemed to be a very common message that was coming through.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41'Most of the reported cases have come from five specific areas
0:10:41 > 0:10:44'that the Animal Health Trust is now investigating
0:10:44 > 0:10:45'as hotspots for the illness.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52'The locations are Clumber Park
0:10:52 > 0:10:54'and Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57'Sandringham Estate and Thetford Forest in Norfolk
0:10:57 > 0:10:59'and Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk.'
0:11:00 > 0:11:04So they know where it's happening and what's happening to the dogs.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08But despite working tirelessly, they still don't know the cause
0:11:08 > 0:11:13of seasonal canine illness, so where do we go from here?
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Ah, this is sulphur tuft.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26This is one of the commonest, most adaptable British fungi...
0:11:26 > 0:11:28'Last year, the Trust called in botanist Mark Spencer
0:11:28 > 0:11:32'from the Natural History Museum to help make sense of the puzzle.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36'His job was to head out into the woods at Sandringham
0:11:36 > 0:11:39'and look for anything new or unusual.'
0:11:39 > 0:11:41So in this mystery, what were some of the early leads?
0:11:41 > 0:11:44The first one that was mentioned was a blue-green algae
0:11:44 > 0:11:48which are toxic algae that live in fresh water generally,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52but there's no permanent standing water here, so we ruled that out.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56There was no sign of really significantly poisonous plants
0:11:56 > 0:11:58in the neighbourhood and also then fungi.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02- Well, that chimes in with the autumn thing as well.- Absolutely.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04'But despite an intensive search,
0:12:04 > 0:12:10'Mark could find no sign of fungi poisonous to dogs anywhere.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12'So, he returned home.'
0:12:12 > 0:12:15There really isn't any clear suspects in this woodland.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17I'm going to carry on looking around anyway.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28'But then something unexpected happened.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32'The following morning, he woke up with a badly swollen leg.'
0:12:32 > 0:12:34I felt really, really itchy
0:12:34 > 0:12:39and had bright scarlet ankles with nasty bites all over it
0:12:39 > 0:12:43and a really, really nasty case of something that had had a go at me.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49'Despite spending half his life rooting around in the undergrowth,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52'he'd never had bites like this before.'
0:12:54 > 0:12:59So had Mark stumbled on the mystery cause of Seasonal Canine Illness?
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Later on, I'm going to be delving deeper into the undergrowth
0:13:03 > 0:13:04to find out.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14'We've come to East Sussex to discover some of the secrets
0:13:14 > 0:13:17'this lush county hides within its landscape.'
0:13:19 > 0:13:21I'm on the South Downs Way.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24This chalky trail is a magnet for ramblers,
0:13:24 > 0:13:28who can follow the route all the way down to the coast in Eastbourne.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31'There's nothing like the freedom of walking to clear the mind
0:13:31 > 0:13:33'and rejuvenate the spirit,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35'the exhilaration of becoming lost in your own thoughts.'
0:13:35 > 0:13:39One of the greatest British writers of the 20th century,
0:13:39 > 0:13:44Virginia Woolf, believed strongly in the power of perambulation.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46She was enchanted by this landscape.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49It was for her a constant source of inspiration.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54"Evening is kind to Sussex, for Sussex is no longer young."
0:13:54 > 0:13:57"And she's grateful for the veil of evening
0:13:57 > 0:14:00"as an elderly woman is glad when a shade is drawn over a lamp,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03"and only the outline of her face remains.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09"The outline of Sussex is still very fine."
0:14:10 > 0:14:14'So fine was it, Virginia and her husband Leonard
0:14:14 > 0:14:19'bought Monk's House in the village of Rodmell in 1919,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23'a place she said would be their home for ever and ever.'
0:14:24 > 0:14:26And in a way, it still is,
0:14:26 > 0:14:30watched over carefully by Alison Pritchard from the National Trust.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39Why do you think they loved this house so much?
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Virginia used to come into the village to buy her tobacco
0:14:42 > 0:14:45and they'd always known the garden. I think the garden was a big draw.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49The house was actually, is quite awkward, it still is.
0:14:49 > 0:14:50It's very little, isn't it?
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Yeah, she said she came to love it like a mongrel wins your heart.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57There's a complete escape from London life.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59'Virginia liked a daily routine.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01'In the morning at ten o'clock,
0:15:01 > 0:15:03'she would walk to her writing room in the garden.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06'Leonard said that she went "with the daily regularity
0:15:06 > 0:15:09'"of a stockbroker who commutes."'
0:15:11 > 0:15:14She paid to have this room moved from one end of the garden
0:15:14 > 0:15:18to the other, so that she could sit inside and write
0:15:18 > 0:15:22looking out over the South Downs for inspiration.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26It cost £157, which she wrote afterwards was a lot of money
0:15:26 > 0:15:29to move a writing room, but worth it.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31'One of her biggest bugbears was noise,
0:15:31 > 0:15:35'and she often complained about the racket from a local school.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38'But that view more than made up for it.'
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Afternoons were spent socialising,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45playing games and debating topical issues with friends.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Nothing special with nobody special, really.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52EM Forster, John Maynard Keynes, TS Eliot.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Just some of the greatest literary and artistic minds
0:15:55 > 0:15:57of the 20th century.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00'They were all close to the Bloomsbury set,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02'a group of highly influential intellectuals,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05'at the centre of which were Virginia
0:16:05 > 0:16:07'and her sister Vanessa Bell.'
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Vanessa lived about eight miles from here in Charleston House,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15which was a country retreat for the Bloomsbury set,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18and it wasn't unusual for Virginia to walk from this garden
0:16:18 > 0:16:21all the way across the Downs to see her.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Eight miles is quite a long way in a long skirt.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29"The country is so amazingly beautiful
0:16:29 > 0:16:34"that I frequently have to stop and say 'Good God.'"
0:16:35 > 0:16:37Walking was very important to Virginia, wasn't it?
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Yes, it was hugely important.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41She would write all morning, walk in the afternoon.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45She said she needed space for her mind to spread into.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48- It was more than just exercise to her.- Oh, absolutely.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51The rhythm of walking, pacing round the London squares
0:16:51 > 0:16:54when she was a child with her father, she'd compose sentences,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57so obviously later when she came to the South Downs,
0:16:57 > 0:17:03that expanse of space was hugely important to her work as a writer.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05"I slip easily from writing to reading,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08"with spaces between of walking,
0:17:08 > 0:17:13"walking through the long grass in the meadows or up in the Downs."
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Let's focus for a moment on the D word, the depression,
0:17:15 > 0:17:20because of course she suffered from these great bouts of depression,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23and the walking, the exposure to the outdoors
0:17:23 > 0:17:26is what helped her with those dark times.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29She suffered from terrible periods of depression,
0:17:29 > 0:17:31but I think it's important to get that into perspective.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35She's one of the most brilliant writers of the 20th century.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38She was witty and great fun to be with.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43- So it wasn't all the darkness and the gloom?- Not at all, no.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47But a landscape like this, if you are suffering from depression,
0:17:47 > 0:17:49there could be nothing more therapeutic.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52'When Virginia arrived here at Charleston, her sister's house,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55'the Bloomsbury set would indulge their passions.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58'Painting, reading and socialising.'
0:18:04 > 0:18:06There's no question
0:18:06 > 0:18:08that the dynamics within this group were complicated.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12They were highbrow, intellectual, arty people,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15and some of them were definitely more than just close friends,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19but Virginia Woolf felt very comfortable in their company.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23She wrote that "Some people go to priests, some go to poetry,
0:18:23 > 0:18:24"I go to my friends."
0:18:26 > 0:18:30'But in the end, even her friends couldn't console her.'
0:18:30 > 0:18:32On the 28th of March 1941,
0:18:32 > 0:18:36overcome by the prospect of another unbearable World War,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Virginia filled her pockets with stones
0:18:40 > 0:18:44and tragically walked into the River Ouse, never to return.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48'In her essay The Waves, perhaps she predicted her own death,
0:18:48 > 0:18:50'as she wrote,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53'"Against you I fling myself,
0:18:53 > 0:18:57'"unvanquished and unyielding. Oh, Death."
0:18:57 > 0:19:00'Marie Bartholomew was the daughter of Virginia's gardener
0:19:00 > 0:19:03'and remembers that dreadful day very well.'
0:19:03 > 0:19:04We were having our meal
0:19:04 > 0:19:07because everyone was having a meal at that time
0:19:07 > 0:19:09because the news came on
0:19:09 > 0:19:12and during the War we always listened to the news.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14And suddenly, the door burst open
0:19:14 > 0:19:16and Leonard rushed straight into the room
0:19:16 > 0:19:19and said, "Percy, come quickly! Come quickly!"
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Dad just dropped his knife and fork in his plate,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24grabbed his jacket and went.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28I knew something had happened but I was only ten,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30but I knew it was something dreadful.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35- What was his face like, Leonard's face?- Awful. Absolutely distraught.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38I can still see a picture of his face in my mind now.
0:19:40 > 0:19:46"I can fasten on a beautiful day as a bee fixes on a sunflower.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51"It feeds me, rests me, satisfies me as nothing else does.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54"This is holiness. This will go on after I am dead."
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Last month, a tip-off from a Countryfile viewer
0:20:00 > 0:20:01took Adam to Switzerland
0:20:01 > 0:20:04where he helped herd Blacknose sheep off the Alps.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12They're coming down the path and the shepherd ahead says
0:20:12 > 0:20:15we've got to move on quickly to get out of their way.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17'While he was there, he couldn't resist
0:20:17 > 0:20:20'exploring this beautiful country further.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23'But the attractions of Switzerland for this tourist
0:20:23 > 0:20:25'don't include chocolate or cuckoo clocks.'
0:20:39 > 0:20:41'The Swiss Alps.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47'Where snow-capped peaks tower into the sky
0:20:47 > 0:20:50'and descend into lush valleys.'
0:20:55 > 0:20:59The scenery around here is absolutely stunning and so varied,
0:20:59 > 0:21:03and down here in the valleys, the climate's much warmer.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06And on every spare acre, there seems to be a vineyard,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08growing grapes for good-quality wine.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11But if you want to see unusual breeds of livestock,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13then you have to be prepared to climb.
0:21:17 > 0:21:18'And I mean climb!
0:21:18 > 0:21:22'Two and a half thousand metres above sea level
0:21:22 > 0:21:24'live some big, brutal, bruising animals,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28'famous in Switzerland for fighting.
0:21:28 > 0:21:29'The Ehringer cow has to be
0:21:29 > 0:21:32'one of the most unusual breeds I've ever heard of.'
0:21:34 > 0:21:36COW SNORTS BELL RINGS
0:21:36 > 0:21:40In some parts of Spain, bullfighting is quite a common
0:21:40 > 0:21:44and controversial spectacle, but here the cattle fight each other,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48and as often the way of the Swiss, it's a lot less controversial.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54'In Switzerland, cow-fighting events are a big deal.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59'Huge crowds come to see the Ehringer cows battle it out
0:21:59 > 0:22:03'until one is pronounced the winner. It's completely natural behaviour.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05'Fighting is the way this breed
0:22:05 > 0:22:07'establishes a hierarchy within the herd.'
0:22:07 > 0:22:09CROWD CHEERS
0:22:15 > 0:22:19'Alain Zamofin farms the cows high on the slopes of the Turtmann Valley.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22'He's taking me to see his cows and he's brought along
0:22:22 > 0:22:25'his friend Florian in case he needs help with his English.'
0:22:27 > 0:22:30COWBELLS RING
0:22:30 > 0:22:34- Ah, here they are, the cows! - Yes, now we have found it.- How many?
0:22:34 > 0:22:39- This, there are between 90 and 110.- A lot!
0:22:39 > 0:22:44- I just imagined a few but there's lots.- Yes, there's a lot.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Amazing. Well, they certainly look very happy. And can we get closer?
0:22:48 > 0:22:51- Is it safe?- Yes, they are harmless.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55It's like a dog. They are really, he like really the people.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57- Great, let's go and get closer.- Yeah, OK.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08'So whilst they fight each other...'
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Hello!
0:23:12 > 0:23:14They're so friendly.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17'..they're incredibly gentle with people.'
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Look at these ones lying down here, they're lovely.
0:23:26 > 0:23:32Ha-ha! The bells are huge! Very big bells!
0:23:32 > 0:23:35Yeah, and also noisy.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Aww! They're so friendly!
0:23:38 > 0:23:42They're living up here in a mountain, but they're like pets.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Can't imagine them fighting.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59Just getting up close to these cattle is absolutely wonderful for me,
0:23:59 > 0:24:05and holding their skin, you can feel that it's really thick.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Hello!
0:24:07 > 0:24:11And their meat is just solid, it's muscle!
0:24:11 > 0:24:17And although they're short, they're powerful little beasts. Look at you.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22The thickness of its head... just incredible!
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Lovely!
0:24:34 > 0:24:37And what makes a good cow? What do you look for?
0:24:37 > 0:24:41A good cow has a solid head,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44have good big horns,
0:24:44 > 0:24:51and have a lot of neck and behind they are really much of muscularity,
0:24:51 > 0:24:56so they have enough of power for push the other one away.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00- When you do the fighting. - Yes, exactly.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03They're quite a short cow, aren't they? Short in the leg.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08It's good for going in the mountain, so they don't...
0:25:08 > 0:25:11- Fall over and break their legs. - Yeah.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25- So, this is the queen of this mountain.- The queen fighting cow?
0:25:25 > 0:25:28- Yes.- How did she become Queen?
0:25:28 > 0:25:31She win all the other cows.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34So how many fights will she have?
0:25:34 > 0:25:41This one, it is the third year she's Queen.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44I think 100 days, ten fights.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48When I have my cows at home and I let them out
0:25:48 > 0:25:52from the winter, in the spring, often they will fight just for a short time
0:25:52 > 0:25:56and then the best cow, the strongest cow, will be top of the tree.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Yes, have the best place for eat, and so.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02It's natural. It's exactly the same.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05When they're fighting, it's a big event.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10Yes, it's a big event. There are normally 200 cows.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14And if your cow wins, do you get money?
0:26:14 > 0:26:16No! You win a bell!
0:26:16 > 0:26:18- A nice bell!- A nice bell!
0:26:19 > 0:26:24So do you breed the cows for fighting or eating?
0:26:24 > 0:26:28For both, but for eating, I have prepared something for you.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33- You have?- Yes, we can go take a picnic.- Great, OK.- Let's go.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43So, what have you got here?
0:26:43 > 0:26:47So, this is cheese from this area too,
0:26:47 > 0:26:50and this is meat from the fighting cows,
0:26:50 > 0:26:54from a cow from me.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57- Wonderful. So this is from one of your cows?- Yes.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03Mmm! Great flavour.
0:27:03 > 0:27:04Like it?
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Mmm, it's fantastic.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10- And you make this yourself?- Yes, yes. - Do you farm the cows?
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Yes, and butcher, too?
0:27:12 > 0:27:18Yes, the cows, when they come older or you don't like it, you make meat.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Really delicious. Let me try some of this bread.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25The food is fantastic. You must take some, too. I'm being greedy.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29I will give you a little bit of wine.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32We have two red wine.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34You don't want to drink too much.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36We've got a long walk back down the mountain.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39You are a big man. It's no problem for you!
0:27:44 > 0:27:49I love visiting other farms to see what people are getting up to.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53But to come up here, in this fantastic scenery,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57to see a cattle farmer is really quite extraordinary.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01And that's not the end of my Alpine adventure.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Later in the programme, I'll be on the hunt
0:28:04 > 0:28:06for a very special breed of mountain goat.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10COWBELL CHIMES GENTLY
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Here on the dramatic East Sussex coast, I've been finding out
0:28:20 > 0:28:25about the appeal to save the signature red and white stripes
0:28:25 > 0:28:27of Beachy Head lighthouse near Eastbourne.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Further west, heading towards Brighton, this coastal road reveals
0:28:30 > 0:28:33another part of our seaside heritage also in jeopardy.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38This building, nestled in a bowl beneath the town of Saltdean
0:28:38 > 0:28:40is a sad reminder of its former glory.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Saltdean Lido was built in 1938,
0:28:45 > 0:28:49just as people were starting to embrace outdoor swimming.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52The joy of sunbathing was also sweeping our shores, meaning
0:28:52 > 0:28:56that lidos soon became a pleasure ground for the British holidaymaker.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00Just imagine what it would have been like.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02This place would have been buzzing.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05All the lads over here jumping off the diving boards,
0:29:05 > 0:29:08showing off, the girls lounging on the sunbeds,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11and the kids screaming and splashing around.
0:29:11 > 0:29:12SOUND OF CHILDREN PLAYING
0:29:14 > 0:29:16What a shame!
0:29:16 > 0:29:20Inside the Art Deco-style building with its distinctive curved wings
0:29:20 > 0:29:23at either end, were the changing rooms, and a cafe
0:29:23 > 0:29:28serving hot soup to warm up after what would have been a chilly swim.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30It would have been a hive of activity.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37But the arrival of cheap foreign holidays with guaranteed sunshine
0:29:37 > 0:29:40meant that lidos like this one fell out of fashion.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44Despite clinging on through some very difficult times,
0:29:44 > 0:29:47Saltdean Lido eventually closed to the public last year.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54Proposals for the site have included filling in the pool
0:29:54 > 0:29:56and building community apartments.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59The sympathetic council so far has managed to hold back such plans.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02But the future of the site is still uncertain.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04Architect Paul Zara is passionate about
0:30:04 > 0:30:07this unique and increasingly rare example of British architecture.
0:30:09 > 0:30:14- It feels quite something to be here. - It's a very special place.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18So talk us through what would have been where.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Well, you can still see the shape of the original pool, this curve, here.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24That's important. Most pools aren't that shape.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26That's the unusual thing about this lido.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28It's the most protected lido. Grade II* listed.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Most lidos have a big, square pool with a brick box
0:30:31 > 0:30:34for the changing rooms and loos, maybe a cafe if you're lucky.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Whereas this one has these beautiful curved wings.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39It's a bit like an aeroplane or a cruise liner.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42Arms holding the building, holding the pool. It's just fantastic.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44And what is happening to it now?
0:30:44 > 0:30:47Is the lido in limbo?
0:30:47 > 0:30:50It is in limbo at the moment. But it's not going to fall down.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52It feels rock solid. It's not moving.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54It's all made out of in-situ concrete.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57The floors, walls and ceilings are made of concrete,
0:30:57 > 0:31:01so it's not going to fall down. But it does need some TLC.
0:31:01 > 0:31:06- It needs to be looked after.- I like the feel of it, though. It's great.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10The future of this magnificent lido is still undecided,
0:31:10 > 0:31:14but one idea proposes to reconnect its original access to the beach.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20Now, earlier in the programme,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23we heard about a mystery illness affecting dogs in some
0:31:23 > 0:31:28parts of our countryside, but are we any closer to finding out the cause?
0:31:28 > 0:31:29Tom has been investigating.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35Over the past three years, 14 dogs have died in East Anglia
0:31:35 > 0:31:38and the East Midlands, due to Seasonal Canine Illness.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Various attempts have been made to find the cause
0:31:41 > 0:31:44of this mystery killer, but with no success.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48That is, until the botanist investigating the case, Mark Spencer,
0:31:48 > 0:31:52found some nasty bites on his leg.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55- So how bad was it?- Horrible!
0:31:55 > 0:31:59It really was all up here on both ankles, particularly this one,
0:31:59 > 0:32:01really nasty bites.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05I also had it around here, round here, it was very, very unpleasant.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08I asked my colleagues at the Natural History Museum,
0:32:08 > 0:32:13who are specialists in insects, "Can you tell me what this is?"
0:32:13 > 0:32:16And they said it looks like mite bites.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20So does this mean that mites are the cause of this mystery illness?
0:32:20 > 0:32:23That's a question that Dr Richard Newton
0:32:23 > 0:32:27of the Animal Health Trust has been trying to answer.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31So, Richard, is this a photofit of the potential killer?
0:32:31 > 0:32:34This is a mite though, is it?
0:32:34 > 0:32:39Yes, what we have here is a harvest mite that was retrieved from a case
0:32:39 > 0:32:44of Seasonal Canine Illness, and it's one of the culprits at the moment
0:32:44 > 0:32:48which is implicated, but we don't know for sure that it is the cause.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53What is it about this character, this mite, that fits with this disease?
0:32:53 > 0:32:57This critter sits in the woods, waits for a warm-blooded animal
0:32:57 > 0:33:01to come along, then it will attach
0:33:01 > 0:33:05and bite the skin, and drop off
0:33:05 > 0:33:09and continue its life cycle with no contact with animals after that.
0:33:11 > 0:33:12Mites only bite
0:33:12 > 0:33:16when they are at the larval stage, which happens in autumn.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19This could explain why the outbreaks have occurred at this time of year.
0:33:19 > 0:33:24But how can a bite from such a tiny mite make a much larger animal
0:33:24 > 0:33:26so seriously ill?
0:33:28 > 0:33:33If the dog, in being bitten, goes into a state of shock,
0:33:33 > 0:33:35there is an allergic-type reaction
0:33:35 > 0:33:39that can lead to these sorts of signs. In some dogs, but not all.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42But that's just one theory.
0:33:42 > 0:33:43To really get to the bottom of this,
0:33:43 > 0:33:46the investigating team needs to do more research.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49So we're heading to the Sandringham Estate
0:33:49 > 0:33:52on a hunt for this mysterious mite.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56Richard, how do you go about finding the elusive mite?
0:33:56 > 0:34:01Well, what we've got to do is set a trap. If you open the bag...
0:34:01 > 0:34:02Right...
0:34:02 > 0:34:07'Using warm water and rags, we're creating the effect of a body,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10'in the hope that some of these little bugs will latch on
0:34:10 > 0:34:12'like they would to a warm-blooded mammal.'
0:34:12 > 0:34:15- On the ground? - Yes, just laid out.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19As... Like that.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23And perhaps you could set one over there as well.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27Mites gathered here are examined to answer certain questions,
0:34:27 > 0:34:31not least why this is happening now. What's changed?
0:34:31 > 0:34:33This is not a new phenomenon
0:34:33 > 0:34:37in terms of these harvest mites being in this sort of environment,
0:34:37 > 0:34:40but something has changed that's triggering this condition.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42We're fairly certain of that.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45And it's unravelling that factor that's different now
0:34:45 > 0:34:48than was the case, say, ten years ago. That's the important bit.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55Catching mites is easier said than done, as is identifying them.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58So, samples need to be sent off to a specialist lab for analysis.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08There's something on my thumbnail, as well. Do you see?
0:35:08 > 0:35:09Want me to scrape it off?
0:35:09 > 0:35:14Let's hope the ones we've caught today fit the bill.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17He went outside. I think he dropped!
0:35:17 > 0:35:21Can't stop looking at my hands and rolling up my sleeves.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23Partly for the aid of science,
0:35:23 > 0:35:26but there's also an element of self-preservation in there.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30Although harvest mites are the prime suspect, the jury is still out,
0:35:30 > 0:35:33and it could be some time before a verdict is returned.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36In the meantime, are our dogs really in danger?
0:35:36 > 0:35:40Well, yes. According to the British Veterinary Association,
0:35:40 > 0:35:42we should be taking this seriously.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45Vet nurse Karen McCoy is on the front line
0:35:45 > 0:35:48of the battle against this cryptic killer.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50She's seen plenty of cases.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54Back in 2010, we had quite a few dogs being brought to us
0:35:54 > 0:35:59that were critically ill, and, actually, some of them died.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03It was affecting dogs of all ages and of health status.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07Like the British Veterinary Association, Karen thinks
0:36:07 > 0:36:11we should take this illness seriously, but we shouldn't panic.
0:36:11 > 0:36:12For a start, it is treatable.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16People who are getting prompt treatments,
0:36:16 > 0:36:20getting their pets to the vets, have recovery between seven to ten days.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22They do quite well.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24What would your recommendation to people be?
0:36:24 > 0:36:28Should they stop taking their dogs to the woods?
0:36:28 > 0:36:30No, we don't want to cause panic.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33We don't know what's causing it and where it is,
0:36:33 > 0:36:38so the proportion that we see of ill pets of the proportion
0:36:38 > 0:36:42that are walking in the woods round the forestry areas is quite small.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45Although Seasonal Canine Illness is cause for concern,
0:36:45 > 0:36:50you have to remember there are an estimated ten million dogs in the UK,
0:36:50 > 0:36:53and only a few of them have been affected so far.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58By all means take your dog for a walk in the woods at this time of year.
0:36:58 > 0:37:03But be vigilant and look out for anything unusual.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07It's unlikely, but if you spot the symptoms of Seasonal Canine Illness
0:37:07 > 0:37:13within 24-72 hours after that walk, then do get to a vet.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15And those symptoms are lethargy,
0:37:15 > 0:37:19frequently accompanied by sickness and/or diarrhoea.
0:37:19 > 0:37:24As another autumn rolls on, the mystery of this illness continues.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27It's not certain that harvest mites are the cause
0:37:27 > 0:37:30and we've yet to discover if these outbreaks are more widespread
0:37:30 > 0:37:34than the areas currently being investigated.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36And that's where you come in.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40If you think your dog has suffered from Seasonal Canine Illness,
0:37:40 > 0:37:43or you have any information about this disease,
0:37:43 > 0:37:47then don't hesitate to contact us via the website.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00This week we've been exploring East Sussex.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02Matt's been taking in the clifftop views from the coast path
0:38:02 > 0:38:06and I've been exploring the chalky hills of the South Downs.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10My next stop is Ashurst Wood, home of the Natural Beekeeping Trust,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13and its director Heidi Herrmann,
0:38:13 > 0:38:16a lady with some revolutionary ideas about beekeeping.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Heidi, tell me what natural beekeeping is.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25Natural beekeeping, as we define it, in the Natural Beekeeping Trust,
0:38:25 > 0:38:28is giving your colonies the best possible chance
0:38:28 > 0:38:32to express all facets of normal colony behaviour.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36Ordinary beekeeping, especially in the last 100 years,
0:38:36 > 0:38:38a lot of these normal colony behaviours
0:38:38 > 0:38:42have been and are being systematically suppressed,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46in order to get the bees to perform to a particular design.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48You want the honey.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52Yes, we want the honey, and natural beekeepers want the honey, too.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56But we will be very careful with taking only the honey
0:38:56 > 0:39:01that we are absolutely sure is surplus to the colony's requirements.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Deliciously sticky-sweet as honey is,
0:39:04 > 0:39:06bees don't make it especially for us.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09They store it in the hive to eat for themselves during winter,
0:39:09 > 0:39:12when there's less nectar on offer.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15But in modern beekeeping, their honey is taken away,
0:39:15 > 0:39:18and their food source is replaced with sugar water.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20Of course, you can get away with it for a number of years,
0:39:20 > 0:39:24but in the long term, taking the long view, we're not getting away with it.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26That's very clear. The bees are sick.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30Of course we want honey, and it's very good for us,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33but first of all, we need to work very hard now,
0:39:33 > 0:39:36and not just as beekeepers, but, really, everyone,
0:39:36 > 0:39:37to bring the bees back to health,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40to restore the vitality bees had 100 years ago.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42This year, Heidi's been trying out
0:39:42 > 0:39:44a new German design called the Sun Hive.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48It's made using biodynamic principles,
0:39:48 > 0:39:51which means it's designed in harmony with the colony's needs.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53Its inner workings are made locally.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56And it's finished off with a good dollop of cow dung.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58Heidi thinks it's the bees' knees.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01So this is the magnificent biodynamic beehive.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05It looks spectacular! Why is this so right for the bees?
0:40:05 > 0:40:11Well, it fulfils, really, most of the criteria
0:40:11 > 0:40:14of normal, natural colony life.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18The bees are able to build their combs from the top downwards,
0:40:18 > 0:40:22which they would do in a natural situation, in a tree trunk.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25The beekeeper will hardly ever go into this hive.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28You don't go into this hive to harvest honey.
0:40:28 > 0:40:34If bees manage to make so much honey that this hive is completely full
0:40:34 > 0:40:40then you can place a bowl, or a box, on top and that is your honey.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45The bees suspend their comb on those hoops
0:40:45 > 0:40:49and eventually that comb would go all the way down.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52This challenges everyone's modern-day thought process
0:40:52 > 0:40:54about beekeeping, doesn't it?
0:40:54 > 0:40:57Where bees live, belong.
0:40:57 > 0:40:58I mean, think about a beehive,
0:40:58 > 0:41:01you think about the square things on the floor.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04You think about a square box, you think about a whole group of people
0:41:04 > 0:41:06dressed up in a, sort of, toxic waste removal suit, you know,
0:41:06 > 0:41:08smoking the bees and I think we need to,
0:41:08 > 0:41:12if you really want to help the bees, we need to get away from this image
0:41:12 > 0:41:14and this hive enables us, in such a beautiful,
0:41:14 > 0:41:18and such a perfect way, to get away from this image.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20There are three Sun Hives in the garden,
0:41:20 > 0:41:22all of them being used by bees.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25Heidi's taking me to see them up close.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28Time to be at one with the bees.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30I feel a little underdressed but here goes.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34What tips have you got for me? Just relax and be natural?
0:41:34 > 0:41:38Well, at the moment it's a little, if you stay a little bit, maybe, here.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40- Mm.- Because it's windy
0:41:40 > 0:41:45and the bees can't control so well where they're going.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47It's lovely just to enjoy their company.
0:41:47 > 0:41:54- Yeah. And they're not bothered by us at all, actually.- They like us!
0:41:54 > 0:41:55Why should they be bothered by us?
0:41:55 > 0:41:59- They've never had anything nasty done to them.- They're friendly bees!
0:41:59 > 0:42:03You can still get an occasional sting but then you have to just accept...
0:42:03 > 0:42:06- Ah, they're trying to get into your hair.- Mm-hm.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08- Right, just stay calm.- I'm calm.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10OK, sweetheart.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13You have a box... Oh! ..on the top of...
0:42:13 > 0:42:16Oh, I've got one more in my hair.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19- Oh, there we go, love. - Can you feel it?
0:42:19 > 0:42:21Ow, it's stinging my face.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25- Brilliant. Right by my eye, in my face.- Close your eye.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27Close my eye and it's in.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30- Yeah, it's in, which is... Ah! - It stung you?
0:42:30 > 0:42:33- Yeah.- Oh, dear.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36We don't want that. That's just what we didn't want.
0:42:36 > 0:42:37- Are you OK now?- Yeah.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40- Have you got the sting? - Yeah, it's out.- Lovely.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43'OK, we'll just leave the friendly bees now!'
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Well, it could have been a lot worse.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47Insects and animals can always be unpredictable
0:42:47 > 0:42:50but I'll live to see another day.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53Well, I knew it could happen, there was every possibility.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57- You took it very well. - I took the sting like a man!
0:42:57 > 0:43:00You did, yes! It's always a possibility with bees.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03It's always a possibility but it rarely happens.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05Any chance of honey?
0:43:05 > 0:43:07I'm afraid not this year.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10We've had our gifts from the bees, the wonderful company,
0:43:10 > 0:43:13- the wonderful learning possibilities but no honey this year.- No honey.
0:43:13 > 0:43:18- Just, for me, just a sting and a memory.- A sting and a memory.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20- Worth it, though.- Yeah. - Absolutely worth it.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30The Countryfile calendar for 2013 features the winning photos
0:43:30 > 0:43:33from this year's photographic competition.
0:43:34 > 0:43:35Aren't they lovely?
0:43:35 > 0:43:39And this one, coming up, is my particular favourite today.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42If you want to get your hands on one, here's John with the details.
0:43:42 > 0:43:43Don't sting me!
0:43:45 > 0:43:49You can order copies right now, either by going to our website...
0:43:53 > 0:43:55..or by ringing the order line...
0:44:07 > 0:44:11To order by post, send your name, address and cheque to...
0:44:21 > 0:44:25Please make cheques payable to "BBC Countryfile Calendar".
0:44:26 > 0:44:28It costs nine pounds
0:44:28 > 0:44:32and at least four pounds from every sale goes to Children in Need.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40Back to Switzerland, now, and Adam's left the fighting cows behind him
0:44:40 > 0:44:44and is in search of another animal that thrives in the harsh Alps.
0:44:44 > 0:44:50It's a rare breed of goat and it's known locally as the glacier goat.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54Well, there's the glacier, all I've got to do is find the goats.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10I'm hoping to catch a glimpse of the Valais black-necked goat,
0:45:10 > 0:45:12which lives on the mountain tops.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16I'm meeting up with my guide, Lilian Bietcsch,
0:45:16 > 0:45:18and we set off in search of them.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24More beautiful cows! I've seen cows already, what I want is goats.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27- So, what is the mountain range here? - These are the Swiss Alps, of course.
0:45:27 > 0:45:32On the other side you've got Italy. Over there, that's the Matterhorn.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35- Oh, yes, the famous Matterhorn. - The most beautiful one, of course.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39So you want to have goats, they're coming up there, now.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43Oh, yes, there, yes. You've got good eyes!
0:45:43 > 0:45:45Oh, we have a little bit more walking to do.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49Yes, I think we have to go towards them. There are 300 of them.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52- Well, let's go and meet them. - Yes, see, now, they're running.- Yes.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55- Oh, they want to meet you! - THEY LAUGH
0:45:55 > 0:45:56They look forward to it.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58Wonderful.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03Head of mountain rescue Gilbert Schmidt
0:46:03 > 0:46:06has bought a small group down the mountain for me to see.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11Good morning, Gilbert.
0:46:11 > 0:46:12- Hi.- Hi.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14Thank you for bringing the goats!
0:46:14 > 0:46:17Can I feed them?
0:46:17 > 0:46:21So they follow you for the salt, is it?
0:46:21 > 0:46:22There we are.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25There we are. Look at this.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28Bit of bread. Aren't they wonderful?!
0:46:31 > 0:46:33And how many goats are there?
0:46:33 > 0:46:37- There are 200. - And where are the others?
0:46:37 > 0:46:41- There are more two steps ahead. - Let's go and see them.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45- Shall we go and see all the others? - Komm, komm, komm, komm.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59The prospect of seeing the whole herd gives me my second wind
0:46:59 > 0:47:01for the final push up the mountain.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06At the top of the hill I find the farmer, Werner Bauman,
0:47:06 > 0:47:09relaxing with his goats.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12They're actually very quiet and tame.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15I thought they'd just be running away when we turned up.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18No, and now, at the moment, they have siesta time.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22- Like the normal people!- Siesta! - Yeah, they enjoy the sun as well.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26- And this is the farmer? - This is the farmer, yes.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29This farmer is 70 years old, apparently.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36And how often do you come up to look at them?
0:47:36 > 0:47:39HE SPEAKS IN SWISS GERMAN
0:47:42 > 0:47:44It depends lately from the weather.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47He said when the weather is not good, well, he's not coming
0:47:47 > 0:47:49but if the weather is bad then they have to come afterwards.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53Why does he farm them? For the meat or the milk?
0:47:53 > 0:47:55HE SPEAKS IN SWISS GERMAN
0:47:55 > 0:47:59It's a hobby, they love them. I think that's the main reason.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02It's because in winter time otherwise we get too much avalanches
0:48:02 > 0:48:06and they have to keep, they keep the grass short.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10- And the short grass holds the snow? - Yes, yes.- OK.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12And does the farmer love them?
0:48:12 > 0:48:16THEY SPEAK IN SWISS GERMAN
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Yes, he loves them because otherwise he wouldn't be here
0:48:19 > 0:48:22and I think they've got a lot of passion for them
0:48:22 > 0:48:26and they go down and they just, they wash them and they comb them.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29- They are like babies for them. He has no children.- Oh, it's wonderful.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32Well, it's been a real treat for me to see them.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35- Can you thank him for me? It's wonderful.- Yes.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38THEY SPEAK IN SWISS GERMAN
0:48:41 > 0:48:44- He said that he thanks you as well. - Oh, great.- Yes.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03These black-necked goats are absolutely lovely
0:49:03 > 0:49:07and they're very similar to the Bagot goats that I've got at home.
0:49:07 > 0:49:08Oh, go on, go on.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12They love this salt and some historians believe
0:49:12 > 0:49:16that Richard the Lionheart brought Swiss black-necked goats
0:49:16 > 0:49:17back from his crusades
0:49:17 > 0:49:21and they ended up being gifted to the Bagot family from Northamptonshire.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25And my dad got some Bagot goats from Lady Bagot
0:49:25 > 0:49:29and so they could well be distant relatives.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36I've loved my busman's holiday in Switzerland
0:49:36 > 0:49:40but next week I'll be back on my farm doing some proper work.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52In a few minutes I am going to be behind the wheel of this beauty,
0:49:52 > 0:49:53taking her for a spin.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55She's 110 years old,
0:49:55 > 0:49:58she's all set for the London to Brighton veteran car run
0:49:58 > 0:50:01and she is, of course, very much loved by her owner.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03In fact, I'm polishing her with a pair of his underpants.
0:50:03 > 0:50:04Sorry, Michael!
0:50:04 > 0:50:06Anyway, before all of that,
0:50:06 > 0:50:08it's time for the Countryfile weather forecast.
0:52:50 > 0:52:57.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12'This week, we've been exploring East Sussex.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17'While Julia's been inland looking at its literary history,
0:53:17 > 0:53:21'I've been at the seaside, looking at its coastal heritage.'
0:53:23 > 0:53:25Well, I've now travelled further around the coast
0:53:25 > 0:53:27to the edge of Brighton
0:53:27 > 0:53:29where I'm about to meet a jewel in our heritage
0:53:29 > 0:53:32so I'm dressing for the part.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35Get the old cap on and...of course, the patches.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42'Built in the same year as the Beachy Head lighthouse, 1902,
0:53:42 > 0:53:46'this little beauty shows no sign of deteriorating paintwork.'
0:53:48 > 0:53:50Michael, how good to see you.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52Matt, good afternoon, good to see you.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55My word, this is something else.
0:53:55 > 0:53:56Goodness me!
0:53:56 > 0:53:58This is Fifi.
0:53:58 > 0:54:03Fifi's been in my wife's family for just over 80 years.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05She's a De Dion-Bouton made in 1902
0:54:05 > 0:54:09in a place called Puteaux just outside Paris.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13These were the most advanced engines in Europe at the time.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16Europe had been used to having motor cars
0:54:16 > 0:54:18that were doing maybe 10 or 12 miles per hour.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20Cars like this that were being produced in 1901, 1902
0:54:20 > 0:54:23could get up to 20 miles an hour, 25 miles an hour.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25Of course, they couldn't always stop very quickly
0:54:25 > 0:54:27but they could certainly go.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30- Shall I show you how it all works? - Yeah, please do.
0:54:32 > 0:54:33There we go.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Listen to that.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39She's got the most gorgeous putt-putt-putt sound.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43'As well as being a prominent member of Mike's family,
0:54:43 > 0:54:45'Fifi is a regular in the London to Brighton Run,
0:54:45 > 0:54:47'which is taking place in a few weeks.
0:54:47 > 0:54:52'The 60 mile journey commemorates the Emancipation Run of 1896
0:54:52 > 0:54:56'which celebrated raising the speed limit from 4 to 14 miles per hour.
0:54:56 > 0:55:01'That said, we'll be lucky to achieve speeds like that today.'
0:55:01 > 0:55:03- Dive out.- Yeah.
0:55:03 > 0:55:05Can you give us a bit of a push, Matt?
0:55:05 > 0:55:07Aargh!
0:55:07 > 0:55:10Here we go. Go, go, go.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12Come on, Matt, hurry up.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14Well done. Brilliant.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17It's the biggest event of its type anywhere in the world.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21You will never get 550 veteran motor cars
0:55:21 > 0:55:26in one place at any other time of the year.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35It's stopped. So we'll start it again.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38'This unplanned stop gives me the perfect opportunity
0:55:38 > 0:55:39'to take the wheel.'
0:55:43 > 0:55:44She's back.
0:55:52 > 0:55:57Right. Lower one towards you.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01You've got the revs up, clutch forward and away we go.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03HORN HONKS
0:56:03 > 0:56:04ENGINE DROWNS OUT SPEECH
0:56:04 > 0:56:06'Well, I've had my fun.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10'But now, Mike's back in control as we brave Brighton's rush hour
0:56:10 > 0:56:13'and head off to the seafront where the London to Brighton Run ends.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16'As the weather is taking a turn for the worse,
0:56:16 > 0:56:19'it's time to get the appropriate clobber on.'
0:56:20 > 0:56:24- This is the last slight hill before Brighton.- OK.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27When you're coming in on the run, you have to get up this small hill.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30From there onwards, it's downhill all the way.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32It just brings a smile to everybody's face.
0:56:32 > 0:56:33It does, you're absolutely right.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37I think so, anyway. I can't quite see.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41'Just like previous veteran car runs, it's nice to see
0:56:41 > 0:56:44'we're not the first to have braved the inclement British weather.'
0:56:47 > 0:56:50There we are. Let's give her a blast.
0:56:50 > 0:56:51HORN HONKS
0:56:51 > 0:56:53Yeah!
0:56:53 > 0:56:54How are you doing?
0:56:54 > 0:56:59Oh! You made it in one piece. Are you all right?
0:56:59 > 0:57:02I can hear you but I can't see you.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05I can't see you either because I got stung in the eye by a bee.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07- Oh, are you all right?- I'm fine.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09How's the jaw? Can you talk?
0:57:09 > 0:57:11I can't move my jaw. I'm mithered to the bone.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14It's a risky job, this Countryfile business, isn't it?
0:57:14 > 0:57:15Oh, brilliant.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17- Well, we better quit while we can still talk.- We will.
0:57:17 > 0:57:19That's it for this week.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21Next week we're going to be in Anglesey.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24I'm going property hunting in one of the remotest locations in Wales.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27Yes, and I'm going to be meeting a bloke who grows massive pumpkins,
0:57:27 > 0:57:30- as it's close to Halloween. - Massive?- Huge.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33- Can I get a lift? - You can. Jump in the back.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35Mind you, Julia, we're going up a slight incline here
0:57:35 > 0:57:39and whoever's sitting in the back, if we get stuck, they have to push.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42- OK.- All right. You might want to put these on as well.- Thank you.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46Anglesey, please.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Bye!
0:57:49 > 0:57:50ENGINE BACKFIRES
0:57:51 > 0:57:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd