0:00:24 > 0:00:27Cambridgeshire - a county of contrasts...
0:00:28 > 0:00:31..from the man-made flat lands of the Fens
0:00:31 > 0:00:33to rolling hills and heath land.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39It's a place where horse racing reigns supreme.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41It's a centuries-old tradition -
0:00:41 > 0:00:44hundreds of jockeys up at the crack of dawn
0:00:44 > 0:00:47to train on this historic heath land.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51It's here that the sport of kings was born.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54I'll be taking a sneak peek behind the scenes at Newmarket,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56the home of racing.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59John's on the trail of one of our unsung literary giants.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03He was one of the greatest poets of our countryside.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06John Clare was born here in the village of Helpston,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09and he wrote about the landscape all around him.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11I'll be exploring that landscape and asking,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14as we approach the 150th anniversary of his death,
0:01:14 > 0:01:20why only now is he getting the critical acclaim he truly deserves?
0:01:20 > 0:01:24And is our thirst for adventure threatening the landscape we love?
0:01:24 > 0:01:26Whether you're out here mountain biking,
0:01:26 > 0:01:28climbing or simply walking,
0:01:28 > 0:01:30as more of us flock to the countryside,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33are we in danger of destroying the very thing
0:01:33 > 0:01:35we've all come here to enjoy?
0:01:35 > 0:01:37I'll be investigating later.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41And Adam's newborns need plenty of TLC.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44These are North Ronaldsay twins, just a few days old,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47and what baby lambs need is lots of milk,
0:01:47 > 0:01:49but because of the cold spring,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52their mothers are struggling to give them enough.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07Cambridgeshire - a patchwork of fields and vast, open fen land.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14I'm on the border of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, in Newmarket,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17the antithesis of a one-horse town.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23For the past 350 years, it's been an equine epicentre.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31What makes Newmarket famous isn't really its racetrack -
0:02:31 > 0:02:3558 other towns have them - but its historic heath land.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41And that's what makes Warren Hill Gallops one of the best
0:02:41 > 0:02:45training grounds for horse and rider in the country.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49While most of us are still contemplating breakfast,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52this place is alive with the sound of thundering hooves.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59These gallops are the heart of the whole racing scene
0:02:59 > 0:03:01that Newmarket is built on.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04I'm meeting Nick Patton, whose job it is to maintain the heath land.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08- What about it is so good? - We been here since the 1600s.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10It's a fantastic bit of land.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13It's so free draining, fantastic grass gallops.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15There's everything here that the trainer wants.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18It must take a lot of work to maintain this.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21- That's your job, right? You and your team.- Yes.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25- What have you got to do to keep this up?- It's a 365-day-a-year operation.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27We've got 2,500 acres here
0:03:27 > 0:03:30and 90 miles of all-weather artificial gallops,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32and of course, you know, we've had a long, hard winter,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34and even in the hardest winters
0:03:34 > 0:03:37we'll be able to keep the artificial gallops open and operational,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39so when airports and highways are closed,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41we're still getting horses out here to train.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44So, we're on grass here now. Surely that's just a bit of mowing, is it?
0:03:44 > 0:03:46Yeah, you would think so.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49This is one of our peat moss gallops that we've got here.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Ever since the Second World War, a layer of peat has been added to it.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55- What, every year?- Not every year. Every second year now.
0:03:55 > 0:03:56And worked into it.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59So it always retains that little bit of moisture,
0:03:59 > 0:04:00so even in the driest conditions,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03it still adds a bit of cushion for the horses to gallop on.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09To keep the legendary gallops in fine form, Nick employs
0:04:09 > 0:04:13a team of heath men to make sure the going is consistently good.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18As well as the peat moss grass gallops,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22there is an all-weather artificial track.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25It looks more like the contents of a vacuum cleaner bag to me.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28- It's predominantly sand... - Oh, yeah.- ..fibre,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31little bits of PVC rubber, all joined together with wax.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34We're trying to mimic a turf surface,
0:04:34 > 0:04:39- so it's got a bit of spring and bounce to it.- What is that for?
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Every now and again we just check the compaction of the surface,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45so we will push that in and feel how compacted the surface is.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48We'll rotovate it a bit deeper or work the surface a bit deeper
0:04:48 > 0:04:50if that's a bit firm underneath.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53There are currently 80 racehorse trainers exercising
0:04:53 > 0:04:58just over 2,500 horses on these gallops every day.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02William Haggas has been training his horses here for 25 years.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06What is it that makes Newmarket so good?
0:05:06 > 0:05:09We've just got everything here.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Absolutely. We got every grass gallop you can imagine.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16We've got... We can go right handed, left handed.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19We've got all-weather surfaces that go right handed, left handed,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21uphill, downhill even. We've got everything.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24A trainer's job has got so many things involved with it,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26I guess anything from finances to physio,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29but this moment where they're really letting rip
0:05:29 > 0:05:31and galloping, that must be a special thing for you?
0:05:31 > 0:05:34It's a joyous thing, doing what we do. It's fantastic,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36especially good in the summer when it's light and warm.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38No better job than this.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43The historic heath land may be at the heart of race horsing,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46but later I'll be visiting its headquarters,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49the place where the racing rule book was written.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Now, while we're exploring Cambridgeshire,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Tom is over in the Peak District enjoying a bit of R and R.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04These days, it seems like everyone wants
0:06:04 > 0:06:08a part of the British countryside. Last year alone,
0:06:08 > 0:06:12there were nearly 1.5 billion visits to our natural landscape.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17For more and more of us, our countryside is a playground,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21a beautiful space where we can satisfy our need for peace
0:06:21 > 0:06:23and relaxation...
0:06:24 > 0:06:28..or hunger for adventure, but as it gets more popular,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32are we in danger of ruining the natural world we love so much?
0:06:35 > 0:06:39With one in ten holidays in the UK now involving adventure sports,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43gone are the days when people only went to the countryside
0:06:43 > 0:06:45for a leisurely stroll.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50Now we cave, climb, or for the more adventurous amongst you,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53there are things like power kiting...
0:06:53 > 0:06:57And then something I'm trying for the first time today -
0:06:57 > 0:06:59gorge walking.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02So, you realise we're standing in snow meltwater at this point?
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Snow melt? It's not a hot tub, then(?)
0:07:05 > 0:07:08It's not the warmest water in the world.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11In the search for new ways to explore the countryside,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14thrill-seekers are now wading up rivers and mountain streams
0:07:14 > 0:07:18to satisfy their thirst for adventure.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21- OK, Tom.- Ooh-hoo!- There you go.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25But the sport has come under attack for its impact
0:07:25 > 0:07:27on delicate parts of the landscape.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30I love it coming straight down the sleeve(!)
0:07:30 > 0:07:32And out the bottom. Yeah!
0:07:32 > 0:07:37I'm joining Nottinghamshire County Council worker Phil Baker
0:07:37 > 0:07:40at Hagg Farm Outdoor Education Centre
0:07:40 > 0:07:42to find out what the issues are.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Clearly, in an area like this, there's things like
0:07:45 > 0:07:48bank-side erosion - there's where you get in, where you get out -
0:07:48 > 0:07:49footpath erosion.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53There's very vulnerable ferns and bushes around that you can see,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57but this here is one of the side cloughs
0:07:57 > 0:08:00that we deliberately instruct groups not to go up.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03And because it's a small, narrow cascade,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06there's lots of sensitive things around
0:08:06 > 0:08:08- which you could easily tear off. - Yeah, yeah.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11And you can see where the moss is very close to the stream,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14and if you climbed up there, you'd wear that away straight away.
0:08:14 > 0:08:15And it's kind of...no need.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18- And there's noise, of course, and disturbing nesting birds.- Right.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Does that mean there are certain times of year when you avoid it?
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Yeah. Basically, we work very hard with the National Trust
0:08:24 > 0:08:26to set up some operation procedures
0:08:26 > 0:08:29that means we only do it on a seasonal basis,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32that we have restricted numbers, restricted use,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35so there is a whole bunch of control measures in place
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- that the Trust are happy with. - Let's give it a go.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42You only live once!
0:08:43 > 0:08:44Whoo-hoo!
0:08:44 > 0:08:47- Well done.- That is bracing! Whoo!
0:08:47 > 0:08:51Well, it's not just gorge walking that makes a few people uneasy.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55There are loads of new adventure sports, fads if you like,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58and many people have concerns about those, too.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59Whoo!
0:08:59 > 0:09:03There have been complaints about the new craze of coasteering -
0:09:03 > 0:09:07a combination of swimming, climbing and diving around our coastline -
0:09:07 > 0:09:09causing rock falls.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Some fell runners have upset farmers by leaving gates open
0:09:12 > 0:09:15and disrupting livestock.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20Even something apparently as benign as flying a kite can be damaging.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23The shadow can disturb ground-nesting birds,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27and there is a risk of me trampling on them.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Most of these activities are fairly niche, though.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34But there's another extreme sport that attracts
0:09:34 > 0:09:37thousands of us into the countryside each week.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40It feels a bit perilous, so nice and tight, please.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Climbing is on the up.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45In the last 20 years, the British Mountaineering Council
0:09:45 > 0:09:50has seen its membership triple from 25,000 to 75,000.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Oh, it's slippery.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56The sport, pioneered in the 19th century,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59was once only the pastime of the upper classes.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Now it has mass appeal,
0:10:01 > 0:10:05and people are flocking to the crags in their thousands,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08as local climbing instructor Ed Chard knows only too well.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10- Well done.- Firm handshake?- Yeah.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14So, Ed, you've been climbing around here for a few years.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16What changes have you seen in that time?
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Well, the increase of climbers.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21The sport is radically changing over the last few years.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24More and more people are coming to areas like this,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26and it's just very accessible.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29I think people are recognising the value of climbing,
0:10:29 > 0:10:33that they can come and they can have excitement on short edges like this,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36but be in this fantastic environment as well.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40But has this popularity damaged the landscape?
0:10:40 > 0:10:42According to the BMC, quite the opposite.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45It sees climbing now has more guidelines than
0:10:45 > 0:10:49almost any other adventure sport, and as the numbers have grown,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51so has environmental awareness.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54I think with any activity when you come to the outdoors,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57you have to be switched on to your environment.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Lots of organisations are working together to make sure
0:11:00 > 0:11:02that we keep this environment as it is.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05A lot of us will cycle or walk to the crag.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07There's not lots of impact.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09What about birds nesting in the cliffs?
0:11:09 > 0:11:12- Do you have to be careful about them?- Absolutely.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16I think climbers are very aware of our environmental surroundings.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Ringed ouzels are the sort of mountain blackbird, if you like,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24and will nest on edges very much like this,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28so we'll get together and we'll say, "Let's stay away from that area.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31"Let's do that ourselves. There's lots of other rock to climb.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35"Let's let those birds fledge." And we'll share that information
0:11:35 > 0:11:38with RSPB and all those other folks, you know.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Of course, not everyone sticks to the rules,
0:11:43 > 0:11:44but if we act responsibly,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47the impact of these sports should be minimal.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Yet, as I'll be finding out later,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54there are more mainstream activities that can be cause for concern.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06I'm in North Cambridgeshire, in the village of Helpston.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10It's here that a man described as one of the poorest and most troubled
0:12:10 > 0:12:14of the great English Romantic poets found inspiration.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19John Clare was born in 1793,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22and spent most of his life in this cottage.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25He was a son of a humble labouring family,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27and though he had little education,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29he had no trouble in finding the words
0:12:29 > 0:12:32to write about the countryside that he loved.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Up this green woodland-ride
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Let's softly rove
0:12:37 > 0:12:39And list the nightingale
0:12:39 > 0:12:41She dwells just here
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Hush! Let the wood-gate softly clap
0:12:44 > 0:12:47For fear the noise might drive her
0:12:47 > 0:12:49From her home of love.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54At one point, John Clare, who was known as "the peasant poet",
0:12:54 > 0:12:56even outsold Keats.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02His family home is now dedicated to his life
0:13:02 > 0:13:04and his rich imagination,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07and I'm meeting the curator, David Dykes, to learn more.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12David, can you set the scene for me? Apart from John Clare,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16who else would have been living in this quite small cottage?
0:13:16 > 0:13:20We had six children, his wife, his sister, his mother and father.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24So, you've got three generations of Clare family in this small cottage.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26And he was writing his poetry while all the mayhem was going on?
0:13:26 > 0:13:29That's why he'd walk out into the fields
0:13:29 > 0:13:32and write his poetry where he got his inspiration.
0:13:32 > 0:13:33All nature has a feeling
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Woods, fields, brooks
0:13:36 > 0:13:37Are life eternal
0:13:37 > 0:13:40And in silence they speak happiness
0:13:40 > 0:13:42Beyond the reach of books.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46And this humble boy from this little cottage found himself
0:13:46 > 0:13:51- in London as a literary star. - Absolutely.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53That's where he got the name "the peasant poet",
0:13:53 > 0:13:57because he didn't fit in there, and nor did he fit in here,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59and when he came back here, fame came at a cost.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02People didn't believe he'd written the poems.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05They thought somebody else had written them for him.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08And this is a diary that he kept in 1825,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and in it he records some of the people who came
0:14:11 > 0:14:13and looked at him and said,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15"Are you actually the person who wrote the poem?",
0:14:15 > 0:14:17and so became almost like a sideshow.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20- So, he didn't cope well with celebrity, then?- Absolutely not, no.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22And nor did he make money out of it.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24He was always just a labourer who wrote poetry.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27It's as if there were two John Clares -
0:14:27 > 0:14:31one placed by the literary elite alongside Wordsworth and Byron,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35and the other, scraping a living alongside his illiterate
0:14:35 > 0:14:37fellow farm workers.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40One of his modern local admirers is Penny Stevens.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Penny, what is it that makes Clare's poetry so special to you, today?
0:14:44 > 0:14:48It's because he looked at the world around him all the time,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50every bit of nature, every hour of the day, every animal,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53every species, all the insects and birds,
0:14:53 > 0:14:57- and he described them so beautifully.- In a way, then,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59- he was one of the very first environmentalists.- He was.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02He wrote very personally and very, very beautifully.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06And in his poetry, he used an awful lot of local dialect, didn't he?
0:15:06 > 0:15:10He did. My favourite is the word he uses for the long-tailed tit,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13the little birds, and he calls them bumbarrels.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17And for the haw round fields
0:15:17 > 0:15:18And cloven rove
0:15:18 > 0:15:20And coy bumbarrels
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Twenty in a drove
0:15:22 > 0:15:23Flit down the hedgerows
0:15:23 > 0:15:25In the frozen plain
0:15:25 > 0:15:27And hang on little twigs
0:15:27 > 0:15:29And start again.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31But could that be one reason why he fell out of favour?
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Because a lot of people outside this area probably
0:15:34 > 0:15:36- didn't know what the words meant. - I think so.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Now we love it and celebrate the use of the old dialect,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42but in those days, maybe some of the educated people thought it
0:15:42 > 0:15:44was a bit peasantry, a bit uneducated.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48- Because all the other Romantic poets were quite posh, weren't they?- Yes.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Clare loved the woods
0:15:50 > 0:15:51and the flat lands.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53They represented freedom.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56But that joy was to be short lived, because the common land,
0:15:56 > 0:16:00the open fields where his family had toiled for centuries,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02was taken away from them.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07During the 19th century, right across the country, Enclosure Acts,
0:16:07 > 0:16:12approved by Parliament, put much of that land into private hands.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16This denied Clare the right to explore the countryside
0:16:16 > 0:16:18that defined his writing.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21He had long struggled with his mental health
0:16:21 > 0:16:26and in his early 40s was sectioned and sent to an asylum in Essex.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31He continued to write poetry but after a few years absconded,
0:16:31 > 0:16:36walking for four days back to his beloved village of Helpston.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39A few steps from his cottage, perhaps a little too close,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41there's the Bluebell Inn,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43and what with his love of ale
0:16:43 > 0:16:46and his increasingly fragile mental state,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49things started to go downhill for John Clare.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52To cope with his black moods,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55he spent a bit too much time in the pub, drinking
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and playing folk songs that he'd picked up from Gypsies
0:16:58 > 0:16:59who lived in the woods.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05He was admitted again to an asylum and eventually,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07the words stopped flowing.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13Someone wrote to him at the asylum saying, "Why no more poems?"
0:17:13 > 0:17:17He writes, "Dear sir, I am in a madhouse.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19"I quite forget your name.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21"You must excuse me for I have nothing to communicate,
0:17:21 > 0:17:23"I have nothing to say."
0:17:23 > 0:17:28A tragic end for a man who'd found so many wonderful words to say.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33John Clare died at the age of 71,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36and this is his grave in the village churchyard at Helpston.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41And there's an inscription which reads "a poet is born not made".
0:17:41 > 0:17:44And this man, the peasant poet, is now being rated
0:17:44 > 0:17:48so long after his death as one of England's greatest.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52But John Clare isn't the only unsung hero
0:17:52 > 0:17:55to have called this beautiful area his home.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59James has been finding out about a little-known
0:17:59 > 0:18:02but crucially important Victorian naturalist
0:18:02 > 0:18:07who devoted his life's work to the flora and fauna of Cambridgeshire.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12Nestled in the heart of the Fens
0:18:12 > 0:18:15is the pretty village of Swaffham Bulbeck.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18It was the home of Rev Leonard Jenyns,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22a man who left an extremely precious gift for us today.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25He was born right here in Bottisham Hall.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29You could be forgiven for not knowing who Leonard Jenyns is
0:18:29 > 0:18:32because his work has been almost totally eclipsed
0:18:32 > 0:18:36by a good friend of his, Charles Darwin, a man we've all heard of.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39One man has almost been completely forgotten by history,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43and the other one is a household name, and I'm here to find out why.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Dr Richard Preece knows everything there is to know
0:18:48 > 0:18:50about Jenyns and Darwin,
0:18:50 > 0:18:54and I'm told it's got something to do with catching beetles.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- Hi, there.. You must be Richard. - I am. You must be James.- Hello.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00I understand we're going bug-hunting. I've got my net.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02- Indeed. Shall we go? It's just round the corner.- Excellent.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05So they were proper super-geeks of their generation.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- They did great science, they were great friends.- Yes.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Yet we know one really well,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12and I've never even heard of the other.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13How does that happen?
0:19:13 > 0:19:18Well, Jenyns was offered the opportunity to go on the Beagle,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22this voyage around the world, collecting specimens and so on.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25He considered this for a day
0:19:25 > 0:19:28and decided that his calling in Swaffham Bulbeck
0:19:28 > 0:19:30was the higher calling,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34but he did recommend Darwin, who was the younger man,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37nine years younger, and the rest is history, as they say.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40So where do beetles come into this story?
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Well, both Jenyns and Darwin were avid beetle collectors,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45- particularly Darwin.- So, where did he collect these beetles?
0:19:45 > 0:19:48He collected some of them right here, as well as in the Fens,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51but we can go and have a look.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55OK, this looks a good place for beetles. Shall we give it a go?
0:19:55 > 0:19:58- Yeah, rotting wood. Good sign.- Yeah.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04If I turn it, you see if you can catch them. Oh, look. What's that?
0:20:04 > 0:20:06- There we are! That is a beetle. - OK, there we are.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09They say, "Don't work with children and animals,"
0:20:09 > 0:20:12and one appears on cue. It's amazing.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Darwin could have been right here, looking at the same things,
0:20:15 > 0:20:19my hero, and here, 150 years later, I'm doing the same thing.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24So, in 1831, Darwin set off on an ambitious voyage around the globe,
0:20:24 > 0:20:29and his findings would revolutionise our understanding of life on Earth.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33But back home in Cambridge, Jenyns set himself a remarkable task -
0:20:33 > 0:20:38making an encyclopaedic record of our own flora and fauna.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40He was a full-time vicar and devoted to his flock,
0:20:40 > 0:20:44but he spent every moment of his spare time
0:20:44 > 0:20:47combing the local landscape, recording the different species
0:20:47 > 0:20:50and documenting their habits in his legendary notebook.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- So, here's the infamous book. - Indeed. This is it.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02So this is, essentially, an inventory of all the animals that were
0:21:02 > 0:21:06known in Cambridgeshire in the second quarter of the 19th century.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09So, you have a snapshot of what the ecosystem looked like
0:21:09 > 0:21:11at the time - a Noah's ark in written form.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14I think the extraordinary thing is his handwriting. Look at this.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18It looks like it's been printed in some kind of handwriting font,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21and it shows what a methodical mind this guy must have had.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Well, he records all sorts of animals in these notebooks
0:21:25 > 0:21:27that are today extremely rare.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29For example, what are we talking about?
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Well, one example is this fish called the burbot,
0:21:32 > 0:21:36which he says here is common in the Cam
0:21:36 > 0:21:39and in the navigable cuts communicating with that river.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43So this is one of the last burbot ever collected in this country.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Still lives on the Continent,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49but in Britain it became extinct in about 1970.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- That's amazing. - And that's the last one.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Jenyns has left us vital information to understand
0:21:55 > 0:21:58how the nature around us has changed,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01but that wasn't his only contribution.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03So, in all of these recordings,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06did he discover anything new to science, the ultimate goal?
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Yes, he did.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11He was very interested in land and freshwater molluscs,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15which is an interest very close to my own heart, and he recorded
0:22:15 > 0:22:19lots of land and freshwater snails, including some little pea mussels,
0:22:19 > 0:22:24these tiny little bivalves that occur in streams and ponds.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26- So are pea mussels still common today?- Yeah.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28- We'll go and have a look for them. - Let's do it.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33Pea clams sound extremely small, but Richard's a world expert
0:22:33 > 0:22:36on molluscs, so I couldn't be in better company.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40- So, when you say small, how small are we talking?- You're talking...
0:22:40 > 0:22:45Most of the species are between 2 and 3 millimetres.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48- So...- They say pea clam, but that's a lot smaller than a pea.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51- A lot smaller than a pea.- OK.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54I'm not sure if snail-hunting is going to be my forte,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57but I'm willing to take up the challenge.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00So we're looking just below the surface of the mud?
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Just get the very top couple of centimetres of the mud.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08- OK. Just skimming away.- Just skim away. There's a stickleback.- Yeah.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- We don't want him, so we'll put him back.- OK, OK.- It's teeming with life.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13It looks a very nice little stream.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18- Tip out what you've got onto the tray.- OK. You go first.- Yeah.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23It's got all sorts of things here, look. You need to look carefully.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26I'm beginning to get a feeling of exactly how methodical
0:23:26 > 0:23:28and thorough this guy had to be
0:23:28 > 0:23:30to even find this stuff in the first place.
0:23:30 > 0:23:35- So, that is a pea mussel. - Hold that up and I'll get up close.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39- It doesn't get any bigger than that. - It's like a tomato seed. It's tiny.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42That is as big as that particular species gets.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47- These pea clams look like tiny bits of grit.- This one's dead.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49- So it's opened up?- It's opened up.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53- You can see the gaping... - A proper clam shell shape.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55- It's like a bonsai clam. - There you go.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00- It's exactly the same proportions, just tiny.- So there it is.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03Who needs Darwin's exotic giant tortoises
0:24:03 > 0:24:08when you have almost microscopic nano clams?
0:24:10 > 0:24:11Jenyns' notes are crucial
0:24:11 > 0:24:15to understanding the world we live in today.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19By comparing the species he saw over 100 years ago
0:24:19 > 0:24:21with what we can or can't find now,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25we get vital clues as to how things like climate change
0:24:25 > 0:24:29and agriculture transform the natural world we know and love.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35I think you need to be a really special kind of person
0:24:35 > 0:24:38to not only be that excited about nature,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41but also that dedicated to this almost creepily level
0:24:41 > 0:24:44of methodical detail of which he noted it down
0:24:44 > 0:24:47in this 19th-century version of a spreadsheet,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50but it's that detail and that dedication
0:24:50 > 0:24:54that means that information is so useful and so valuable to us today.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07Newmarket, the headquarters of British horse racing.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10The Jockey Club Rooms have been the countryside's seat
0:25:10 > 0:25:15of Britain's most influential racing body for more than 250 years.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19There's a world-famous private members' club
0:25:19 > 0:25:23few people have had the privilege of stepping inside.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Within these four walls, a rare glimpse into the proud
0:25:27 > 0:25:31and quirky history of British horse racing.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Rooms steward Alan Medlock is giving me
0:25:34 > 0:25:37a guided tour through the corridors of power.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43Decisions made here shaped horse racing as we know it today,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46and this chap, Henry Rous, wrote the rulebook.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51He was the man who pulled all the rules and regulations that existed
0:25:51 > 0:25:56by word of mouth, and wrote them down and invented the handicapping system.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59They pull together the registration of silks
0:25:59 > 0:26:02and the colours that horses ride under, and also weighing.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05So he was the man who put all this structure into racing.
0:26:05 > 0:26:06And it still exists to this day.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09- So he deserves his place on the wall?- Oh, absolutely.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12- Absolutely. An essential part of the industry.- Excellent.
0:26:12 > 0:26:13Another horse.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Another horse, another horse...
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Well, this is the Coffee Room, the spiritual home of the Jockey Club.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25What about in here? What are these little cubby-holes?
0:26:25 > 0:26:30These were the areas where people would meet and congregate,
0:26:30 > 0:26:32- making book.- What does that mean? - Bookmakers.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36Probably this group here might be offering,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39say, 7-2 if you bet 5,000 guineas.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Another group might be offering slightly better odds
0:26:43 > 0:26:45if you put 10,000 guineas.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50And in 1827, we know that, in one bet,
0:26:50 > 0:26:52a gentleman called John Gully,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54a notorious gambler,
0:26:54 > 0:27:00lost £40,000 on one race.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04- In today's terms, that's £2.8 million.- Oh, wow.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07So, who were these people? Why did they have so much money to gamble?
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Landed gentry and dukes and peers of the realm,
0:27:10 > 0:27:12and knights, and goodness knows what else.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17- So, fortunes were won and lost here? - And probably estates.- Wow!
0:27:22 > 0:27:25Well, we're going into the Morning Room now
0:27:25 > 0:27:27and of all the pictures in here,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31the most important one is this one of Eclipse.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35When they started to keep a record of bloodlines,
0:27:35 > 0:27:39a crucial aspect of breeding horses, he is number one.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44If you buy a thoroughbred horse anywhere in the world,
0:27:44 > 0:27:4796% of the bloodlines can be traced
0:27:47 > 0:27:51back through the male line to Eclipse.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Goodness, he's the grand-daddy of them all.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55He is the grand-daddy of them all. When he died
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and they performed an autopsy on him,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01they found that he had a 14.5-lb heart.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04The average horse is 10, 10.5lb,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06so you've got a 40% supercharger.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09What's this? This looks a bit macabre.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11It's one of the hooves of Eclipse that was presented
0:28:11 > 0:28:15to the Jockey Club in 1832 by King William IV
0:28:15 > 0:28:19to mark the work that the Jockey Club were doing in racing.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21This is a snuff box?
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Snuff box, ink wells, they were made in different forms,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27but this one, I would imagine, would be a stuff box.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30While the Jockey Club no longer makes the rules, it still invests
0:28:30 > 0:28:35money to ensure the long-term success of this sport of kings.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39And later, I'll be going back to school to meet the wannabe riders
0:28:39 > 0:28:42hoping to capitalise on that investment.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Now, earlier, we were in the Peak District
0:28:49 > 0:28:52asking about the impact of adventure sports on our countryside.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56But what about some of our more popular pastimes? Here's Tom.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04Our appetite for adventure sports seems insatiable.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Adrenaline junkies flock from far and wide
0:29:07 > 0:29:11to bag the perfect crag and shred the toughest trail.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15But as the countryside gets more popular,
0:29:15 > 0:29:17and we get more adventurous,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21questions are being asked about the impact on our natural world.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25We are out here doing all sorts these days - power kiting,
0:29:25 > 0:29:30caving or, if you like your thrills a little bit more gnarly,
0:29:30 > 0:29:32there's mountain boarding.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34But all these pale into insignificance against
0:29:34 > 0:29:38the most popular adventure sport of them all - mountain biking.
0:29:38 > 0:29:39Go on, son.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41Go on, son!
0:29:41 > 0:29:45Nearly one in four of British households now own a mountain bike,
0:29:45 > 0:29:48and the sport has never been so popular.
0:29:48 > 0:29:53But not everyone I met in the Peak District is happy about it.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56If it got much busier with the bikes, it would be tricky,
0:29:56 > 0:30:00especially in the very popular weekend tourist areas.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05The worry is that you've got to preserve paths, haven't you,
0:30:05 > 0:30:08and a lot of the trees are getting damaged,
0:30:08 > 0:30:10because tree roots get damaged, and that's the danger.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14And some bikes just rattle through at the speed of knots.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17It's great that mountain bikers use the countryside
0:30:17 > 0:30:21and use paths like this, but I do think that they have to be
0:30:21 > 0:30:24more aware of people walking,
0:30:24 > 0:30:26and with their animals especially.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29It's clear there's some concern about the increasing number
0:30:29 > 0:30:32of mountain bikers in our countryside.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36But are they as bad for the paths and landscape as some people think?
0:30:36 > 0:30:40- So, why is it you like it so much? - It's the places it takes you to, Tom.
0:30:42 > 0:30:47John Horscroft is a local mountain biker here in the Peak District.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51He's all too aware of the bad press.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55What do you think most people out here think about mountain bikers?
0:30:55 > 0:30:58The caricature that has perhaps built up over the years
0:30:58 > 0:31:01is that mountain bikers are just adrenaline junkies
0:31:01 > 0:31:02with their brains switched off
0:31:02 > 0:31:05when they're riding through a majestic landscape like this.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07It's just wrong.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11I'd like to think we were beginning to be viewed as much a part
0:31:11 > 0:31:13of the countryside as everyone is,
0:31:13 > 0:31:17but, yeah, there is some friction between different user groups.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20We all have to share these paths, and I hope that, in time,
0:31:20 > 0:31:21we can all get on.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25What is the damage that mountain bikes can do to a landscape?
0:31:25 > 0:31:26I think where you're leading me is,
0:31:26 > 0:31:30do mountain bikes do more damage than the passage of feet?
0:31:30 > 0:31:33And I personally think that's a red herring.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36I think that some of the evidence points to the fact that
0:31:36 > 0:31:38walkers widen trails,
0:31:38 > 0:31:40while mountain bikers deepen them.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42But it's a red herring.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46We use trails, they get eroded, we fix them.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49You can't just come out to a place like this and treat it as a right.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52You've got responsibilities as well.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56Certainly here, at Wimble Holme Hill, mountain bikers have joined
0:31:56 > 0:32:01forces with other users to fix paths and maintain the landscape.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05According to John,
0:32:05 > 0:32:09mountain biking is far less destructive than many people think.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12It's now widely suggested that something rather pedestrian
0:32:12 > 0:32:14is actually causing more damage.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21The Peak District National Park is smack bang in the centre
0:32:21 > 0:32:25of England, and it's home to the start of the Pennine Way.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28It's visited by 10 million people each year,
0:32:28 > 0:32:30the majority come to walk.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33One of the people who deals with this is the National Trust's
0:32:33 > 0:32:35countryside manager, Simon Wright.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40So, which activity causes more damage, mountain biking or walking?
0:32:40 > 0:32:42In terms of overall numbers, walking,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45but it's a different sort of damage that you get from a bike,
0:32:45 > 0:32:49and we are increasingly seeing more damage on bridleways,
0:32:49 > 0:32:51and off bridleways as well, from bikes,
0:32:51 > 0:32:53but the bulk of our work so far
0:32:53 > 0:32:55has gone into alleviating the pressure from walking.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57Just because that many footfalls are...
0:32:57 > 0:33:00You can even see it here. Cause erosion.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03It's just pressure on very, very vulnerable soils in some cases.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05A lot of our ground is peat,
0:33:05 > 0:33:09and it's just sheer numbers in quite often a tightly controlled area.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12They walk the same routes all the time.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15Nobody wants to walk on long heather if they can walk on short grass.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Overall, what is your attitude to people having
0:33:18 > 0:33:20an appetite to get out here?
0:33:20 > 0:33:22It's something we would actively encourage.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24We want people to enjoy the countryside.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27That's one reason why the Trust has been given land
0:33:27 > 0:33:28to look after for the nation.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31So maybe it's not WHAT we're doing in the countryside
0:33:31 > 0:33:35that threatens its future, but the sheer volume of us who are using it.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37We'd like to know what you think.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40To share your views, contact us via the Countryfile website.
0:33:42 > 0:33:47Some come to our natural world for nerve-jangling thrills,
0:33:47 > 0:33:51others for calm and communion with nature.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56Both are legitimate and, if done sensitively and responsibly,
0:33:56 > 0:34:00this landscape will be preserved for us all to enjoy.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09JOHN CRAVEN: Spring on Adam's Cotswolds farm.
0:34:09 > 0:34:14The fields are buzzing with new life, and the animals are putting
0:34:14 > 0:34:17their parenting skills into practice, often for the first time.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20And it doesn't come naturally to all of them.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23When one poor mum is confused about her role,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Adam's shepherding skills come in handy.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41Hello, little fella. Are you shivering under the wall there?
0:34:41 > 0:34:44It's been a very difficult lambing season for us,
0:34:44 > 0:34:48with all the rain, snow and freezing conditions.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52Thankfully, we lamb the majority of our flock indoors, that is
0:34:52 > 0:34:55apart from primitive and hill breeds that we've got out here.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57They lamb outside.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59They Herdwick here is probably one of the toughest
0:34:59 > 0:35:01breeds of sheep in the country,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04and then there are breeds like the little North Ronaldsay
0:35:04 > 0:35:06that come from the Orkney Islands,
0:35:06 > 0:35:11and they're primitive because they've been isolated on hills or islands
0:35:11 > 0:35:15around the country, and have remained unchanged through history.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19This is a little Castlemilk Moorit, and the great thing about them,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22apart from their lovely wool, is they're wonderful mothers.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25The ewes have got their lambs sheltered,
0:35:25 > 0:35:26they'll chase off the foxes,
0:35:26 > 0:35:29you know, just great sheep.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36But for first some first-time mums, it doesn't come naturally.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38One of the Herdwicks has a straightforward delivery
0:35:38 > 0:35:41but it doesn't seem to know what to do next.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43So I move in to help clear the airways
0:35:43 > 0:35:46and remove the birthing fluid.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48What she needs to do now is lick this lamb dry
0:35:48 > 0:35:51and encourage it to its feet.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54This first few hours of life, really,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57it's very important they make a strong bond.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00Oh, no! She just knocked it away.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04I'll see if she comes around and starts to mother it.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08If she doesn't, I'll get her into the sheds and put her in a pen
0:36:08 > 0:36:10and suckle it on, and make sure they're OK.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18Like my primitive ewes that are lambing outside,
0:36:18 > 0:36:21so are my Highland cows calving outside,
0:36:21 > 0:36:26and this is one of Eric...my Highland bull's second batch of calves.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30He had some last year, and this is the first one born this year.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33It's a little heifer and it's really lovely.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36It's got the same colouring as Eric, and if she'll let me
0:36:36 > 0:36:37get nice and close to it...
0:36:39 > 0:36:40There we are.
0:36:40 > 0:36:41COW MOOS
0:36:41 > 0:36:43There. I'm not hurting it.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45There's a good girl.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49You have to be quite careful with young calves, particularly Highlands.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53But what I need now is the sun to start shining and the grass to grow,
0:36:53 > 0:36:57and for these cattle to have a lovely summer.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01They haven't had good weather on their backs since last May.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04There's a good little baby.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15It's not an ideal start for many of the animals on my farm.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18The cold spring early on prevented the grass from growing,
0:37:18 > 0:37:22and the result is poor-quality pastures with little goodness.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26Most of my animals rely on grass as their main source of food,
0:37:26 > 0:37:28so I need to do something about this.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30This is a nearby farm to mine,
0:37:30 > 0:37:34and it's a great example of two different types of grass.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37On the bank there, we've got old, permanent pasture
0:37:37 > 0:37:40that's very pale and yellowy-brown in places,
0:37:40 > 0:37:42where it's been burnt off by the easterly wind,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45similar to the majority of the grass I've got on my farm.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47And then on this side,
0:37:47 > 0:37:50there's lush, green grass that was probably planted in the autumn.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54It's fresh seeds and it looks fantastic and, thankfully,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56I've got a farmer nearby to me who's offered me
0:37:56 > 0:37:59some grass similar to this, but before I take my sheep over there,
0:37:59 > 0:38:03I've got to get it tested to make sure it's suitable.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06And as there's a man that specialises in just that.
0:38:06 > 0:38:11Barry is a mineral adviser, and he's an expert in this field.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14- Hi, Barry.- Hello, Adam.- How are you today?- All right, good, yeah.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17- This is quite nice pasture here. - We've certainly got some grass,
0:38:17 > 0:38:19which a lot of people don't have at the minute.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22- It's obviously an ex-dairy farm, and it looks good.- Yeah.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25Because it looks good, it doesn't necessarily mean it IS good, does it?
0:38:25 > 0:38:29Well, grass is a good feed, but it's not always a complete feed.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32So, if we take some samples of this and send this to the laboratory,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35we can get an analysis back to show how good the copper levels,
0:38:35 > 0:38:38the iodine levels, the trace element levels are across the board,
0:38:38 > 0:38:40because if they are deficient,
0:38:40 > 0:38:42it will of course affect the stock and their performance.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45- So, shall we cut some grass? - Yes.- How much do you need?
0:38:45 > 0:38:48It's in great shortage, so it won't be too much!
0:38:48 > 0:38:51- ADAM LAUGHS I'll hold the bag.- OK.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54So, now we've got the grass, what happens?
0:38:54 > 0:38:57We take that, we send it off to the laboratory tonight.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00They'll analyse the grass, it will come back within a week,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03or thereabouts, and I can come back to you then and suggested
0:39:03 > 0:39:07a product which will suit your farm, to get the best out of this grazing.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09And that's a bucket with minerals
0:39:09 > 0:39:12- and all the trace elements in it that the stock will need?- Yeah.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15And we will vary the levels of those trace elements to match
0:39:15 > 0:39:19- the pasture.- Wonderful. Thanks, Barry. I'll leave you to it.- OK.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21- Thank you very much.- Bye.- Bye.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26Hopefully, I'll be able to get my animals
0:39:26 > 0:39:28onto fresh, green pasture soon.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32But for some of my stock, their time has come to leave the farm.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36This is a Gloucester steer, or castrated male,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38just over two years old.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41I've been feeding him up all winter and now he's ready for the butcher,
0:39:41 > 0:39:43so I've just got to load him up.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45Go on, there, fella. There we go.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50I've also got three Gloucester Old Spot pigs to load up
0:39:50 > 0:39:52with the help of my son Alfie.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55Go on!
0:39:55 > 0:39:58THEY LAUGH
0:39:59 > 0:40:00Go on, piggies.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10I like to supply locally,
0:40:10 > 0:40:12and a nearby abattoir and butcher is having these.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15Gary is on hand to help me unload them.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19- There's the paperwork.- Lovely. Thank you.- Three pigs and a steer.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23- We'll have the pigs off first, OK? - Go on. Keep going.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25There's a good boy. Go on.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32Lovely. So, where does all the meat go, Gary, that you're slaughtering?
0:40:32 > 0:40:35A lot to local butcher shops, farm shops.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38And are you doing the butchering here or do you just send the carcasses?
0:40:38 > 0:40:41- We do both.- I've got these three pigs
0:40:41 > 0:40:42that are going to a local butcher,
0:40:42 > 0:40:46just carcass ready, and then a steer to unload now.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49- OK, we'll have that into the other...- OK.
0:40:49 > 0:40:50COW MOOS
0:40:50 > 0:40:53There's a good boy.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59So this steer will now just wait here in a holding pen
0:40:59 > 0:41:03next to these other cattle before it goes through to be slaughtered.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06And the animals seem very relaxed, quite content.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09There doesn't seem to be any fear or distress in them at all,
0:41:09 > 0:41:13and I like to bring the animals to the slaughterhouse myself,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16or one of the guys from the farm, and it isn't without emotion.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19You know, I do feel for them, but I've seen them born,
0:41:19 > 0:41:21we know how they've been reared
0:41:21 > 0:41:24and now we know that they've been slaughtered cleanly and quickly.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26And that's how it all goes.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36I'm heading back to the farm.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39The last job of the day is to check on that Herdwick ewe and lamb.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42They still have a love-hate relationship.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45She doesn't want to be separated from her lamb for too long,
0:41:45 > 0:41:49but just as it looks like they're getting close, she rejects it again.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52They need some extra encouragement to help them bond,
0:41:52 > 0:41:54so in the lambing shed, I've prepared a space
0:41:54 > 0:41:57where they have no choice but to get intimate.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59The first thing I need to do is just check she's not going
0:41:59 > 0:42:03to have a second lamb, so I do that by just holding her stomach
0:42:03 > 0:42:07and just bouncing it... So there's nothing else in there,
0:42:07 > 0:42:11and now I'm going to tip her over and suckle the lamb on.
0:42:13 > 0:42:14Right, missus.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18There we go.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20They're so woolly, these Herdwicks.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24Just plucking a little bit of wool away from around her udder
0:42:24 > 0:42:27so the lamb can find the teats easier.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29There we go.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32I'll just grab my lamb.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34So this ewe definitely loves her lamb,
0:42:34 > 0:42:37she calls for it when it's missing.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40She doesn't quite understand the whole concept of it suckling on her
0:42:40 > 0:42:42and getting too close,
0:42:42 > 0:42:44so I'm going to suckle the lamb on,
0:42:44 > 0:42:47it needs this sustenance,
0:42:47 > 0:42:52but she'll then get used to the sucking sensation on her teat,
0:42:52 > 0:42:57and once the lamb is stronger and it knows where to find the milk,
0:42:57 > 0:42:59it'll get under her and suckle
0:42:59 > 0:43:03and hopefully in a day or two, they'll be absolutely fine.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05There's always work to be done.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07Always something different happening on the farm.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11It never gets boring. But often, it's full of challenges.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17Next week, I'm shopping for a new bull
0:43:17 > 0:43:20that could give Eric a run for his money.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35JOHN CRAVEN: In the heart of Cambridgeshire
0:43:35 > 0:43:39stands Ely Cathedral, majestic, awe-inspiring.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41Once it was surrounded by water,
0:43:41 > 0:43:45and it's always been known as "the ship of the Fens".
0:43:45 > 0:43:48It's easy to imagine how this great building,
0:43:48 > 0:43:50appearing through the mists,
0:43:50 > 0:43:54offered the promise of refuge and safety to weary pilgrims.
0:43:54 > 0:43:59For centuries, the cathedral has dominated the surrounding landscape,
0:43:59 > 0:44:02and I'm here today to watch and to listen to
0:44:02 > 0:44:07a remarkable experiment involving its world-famous octagon tower.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11Created in the 14th century,
0:44:11 > 0:44:16it's a masterpiece of medieval design and engineering.
0:44:19 > 0:44:24Well, I've just climbed 165 steps to the top of the octagon,
0:44:24 > 0:44:27and I'm now amongst the angels.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30Now, seven sides of this tower are said to represent everyday life,
0:44:30 > 0:44:35the seven days of the week, but the eight side represents eternity,
0:44:35 > 0:44:38hence the angels.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45The angels guide the faithful to the heights of heaven,
0:44:45 > 0:44:47with Christ at its centre.
0:44:49 > 0:44:54Centuries ago, the Benedictine choir stood in exactly this spot,
0:44:54 > 0:44:56and from here, their voices reached up
0:44:56 > 0:45:00to the uppermost heights of the tower. In medieval times,
0:45:00 > 0:45:04the monks had their choir stalls directly underneath the octagon.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07In fact, some of them would be up there, 50 metres high,
0:45:07 > 0:45:11and the idea was that voices unite heaven and earth.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15Well, it's an interesting theory, but would it really work?
0:45:15 > 0:45:18We're going to try it out now with the help of the choristers
0:45:18 > 0:45:20and their director of music. What do you think, Paul?
0:45:20 > 0:45:23Is it possible to hear voices from right up there?
0:45:23 > 0:45:26It's a story we've heard a number of times.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28Whether we're actually going to hear it well
0:45:28 > 0:45:31and whether it's going to work at this kind of distance
0:45:31 > 0:45:32is something we just don't know,
0:45:32 > 0:45:36because we've never tried it before. We've got four of our choristers
0:45:36 > 0:45:40right up there in the angel windows, we've got the main group down here.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42We're going to do it!
0:45:44 > 0:45:48# He's got the whole wide world in his hands
0:45:48 > 0:45:53# He's got the whole wide world in his hands
0:45:53 > 0:45:56# He's got the whole wide world in his hands
0:45:56 > 0:46:00# He's got the world in his hands
0:46:00 > 0:46:04# He's got the tiny little hedgehogs in his hands
0:46:04 > 0:46:08# He's got the tiny little hedgehogs in his hands
0:46:08 > 0:46:12# He's got the tiny little hedgehogs in his hands
0:46:12 > 0:46:15# He's got the whole world
0:46:15 > 0:46:18# He's got the whole world in his hands
0:46:18 > 0:46:21# The whole world in his hands. #
0:46:21 > 0:46:23- It worked, didn't it?- You did it. - Yeah, well done.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25Well done!
0:46:25 > 0:46:27JOHN LAUGHS
0:46:31 > 0:46:32Now, there's a very good reason why
0:46:32 > 0:46:35the choristers have just been singing about hedgehogs.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39For centuries, this cathedral has been a sanctuary for pilgrims,
0:46:39 > 0:46:45but now it's also just about become a safe haven for hedgehogs as well.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51Out in the cathedral grounds, head gardener Aine Rodriguez
0:46:51 > 0:46:55is putting the finishing touches to a temporary hedgehog pen.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58This is an example. We've made three separate houses,
0:46:58 > 0:47:00- because apparently, they like their own space, John.- Right.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04- And the houses have been made from recycled wood.- You built this?
0:47:04 > 0:47:05Yeah, from offcuts of wood.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08Not quite as elaborate as the building I've just been in.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11No, not at all. That's taken centuries.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14- Well, that's awesome.- Thank you. - All we need now are some hedgehogs.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16Exactly.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21So, here come the new arrivals.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24- Let's take them to meet their new home, shall we?- Absolutely.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28Heading up the release scheme at the Shepreth Hedgehog Hospital
0:47:28 > 0:47:29is Rebecca Willis.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32How long would you like them to be in the pen for, then?
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Ideally 10 to 14 days, if possible, just to acclimatise them.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39They've been in a hospital environment, some for many months,
0:47:39 > 0:47:41so this is what they need just to give them a bit of a boost.
0:47:41 > 0:47:45- What's that little blue tag on him? - He's known as 45.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48This is his number all throughout.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50When they come in to us, we track them from day one,
0:47:50 > 0:47:52when the person will bring them in,
0:47:52 > 0:47:54because they've been underweight or injured.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57They're given a tracking number and the idea is that if you,
0:47:57 > 0:47:58or anyone else, sees this one,
0:47:58 > 0:48:01you know it's one of ours, we can come straight back.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03A little nose coming up there.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06Hedgehogs are in serious decline, aren't they? How bad is it?
0:48:06 > 0:48:07Oh, it's serious.
0:48:07 > 0:48:12If you look back to the 1950s, there are estimates of maybe 32 million.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16Today, we're lucky if we've probably got a million left in the UK.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19They're being hit, motor cars, hedgerows are disappearing,
0:48:19 > 0:48:21where you would naturally find them.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24If we should find one in our back garden, what should we do?
0:48:24 > 0:48:26OK, if you find it at night, that's not a problem.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29- That should be normal, healthy behaviour.- Just leave it?- Yes.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32If you want to put food out, that's great. If you want put cat food out.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35Water is super. Most importantly, if you find it out during the day,
0:48:35 > 0:48:37you've got to contact someone straight away.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41- If you see one in the daytime?- That's not right. That's dehydration.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44That might be parasitic load, it could be injured.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48To find out more, visit the Countryfile website.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51- I think it's time to introduce this one to its new home, don't you?- Yes.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54And while the hedgehogs are settling in,
0:48:54 > 0:48:57Ellie is across at Newmarket meeting the jockeys of the future.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01But before that, let's find out what the weather is going to be like
0:49:01 > 0:49:03in the week ahead with Countryfile forecast.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10I'm in Newmarket, the historic home of horse racing.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15But Newmarket isn't just home to one of our finest racecourses,
0:52:15 > 0:52:18it also produces some of the world's leading jockeys,
0:52:18 > 0:52:22so who are the runners and riders of the future?
0:52:22 > 0:52:24To find out, I'm going back to school.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28The British Racing School is a centre of excellence offering
0:52:28 > 0:52:31apprenticeships in racehorse care.
0:52:31 > 0:52:36Run with military precision, this place isn't for the fainthearted.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40Gemma Waterhouse is going to show me the ropes.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43So, what does a standard day look like for the students?
0:52:43 > 0:52:45They're up super early, at 5.30am,
0:52:45 > 0:52:47and they come straight down to the yard
0:52:47 > 0:52:50and they have a few horses to muck out every day.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54They ride for just over an hour before they're back in,
0:52:54 > 0:52:57make their horses comfortable, put their tack away
0:52:57 > 0:52:58and up for breakfast.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01They've got about half an hour to get that down their necks
0:53:01 > 0:53:04and they pull out again for another hour or so, back in the yard.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07- Make the yard look beautiful. - It does!
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Everything has got to be perfect,
0:53:09 > 0:53:14and then they're back up around midday, when they have their lunch
0:53:14 > 0:53:18and they've got two hours to chill out and probably get a bit of sleep.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20The live here, don't they?
0:53:20 > 0:53:22- It must be tough being away from home so young.- Yeah.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25For a lot of them, this is their first time away from home,
0:53:25 > 0:53:28and it can be tough and they do get homesick,
0:53:28 > 0:53:31and we often get a lot of tears in those first few weeks,
0:53:31 > 0:53:33where they're missing home and finding it hard,
0:53:33 > 0:53:37but at the end of the course, we get a lot of tears when they're leaving,
0:53:37 > 0:53:40because they're sad to go and they've really enjoyed it
0:53:40 > 0:53:44and made some amazing friends, friends for life, so yeah, it's tough
0:53:44 > 0:53:48at the beginning, but they're always sad to leave at the end as well.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51The course is open to anyone from any background
0:53:51 > 0:53:54between the ages of 16 to 25,
0:53:54 > 0:53:56whether they've ridden before or not.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58Places are in high demand,
0:53:58 > 0:54:02with around 850 applicants regularly applying for 220 places.
0:54:02 > 0:54:07Rebecca was one of the lucky ones. So, how tough is this course?
0:54:07 > 0:54:09- It's pretty tiring.- Is it?- Yes.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12It's just...just getting up in the morning,
0:54:12 > 0:54:15you just kind of lie there for five minutes and you're like, aw...
0:54:15 > 0:54:17But then once you're up, it's fine.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19What were you doing before this?
0:54:19 > 0:54:22Straight after high school, I did three years of A levels,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25because I failed one year, and ended up re-sitting,
0:54:25 > 0:54:28but it was never for me.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32I'd always just worked in bars and stuff, waitressing,
0:54:32 > 0:54:37and doing my horses on the side, in the night-time and in the morning.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40Rebecca and the other determined students
0:54:40 > 0:54:44hope to turn their hobby into a full-time career.
0:54:44 > 0:54:49It's Rory MacDonald's job to make sure they have everything in order.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52After all, these are the Formula 1 of horses.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55And what we're looking for here is attention to detail.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57Because these are expensive animals
0:54:57 > 0:55:00and it's very important that they understand that detail matters.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02They need to take pride in what they do,
0:55:02 > 0:55:05so it's not just about the horse, but it's about themselves.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08They are very privileged to do this job, I think,
0:55:08 > 0:55:11and it's important that they get that across.
0:55:11 > 0:55:13And I think they are very proud of what they do.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16How long have this lot been here with you?
0:55:16 > 0:55:17They have been here eight weeks.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20They're due to finish in a week's time,
0:55:20 > 0:55:23- so if we haven't got it right now, something's gone amiss.- Absolutely.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25And then, after this week, where's their future?
0:55:25 > 0:55:28Well, they will go and work in trainers' yards,
0:55:28 > 0:55:32starting as stable staff, and then hopefully establish
0:55:32 > 0:55:35a good and happy and successful career in racing.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38Once they've passed muster with the boss,
0:55:38 > 0:55:41the students take the horses to the straight gallops.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44All the staff at the school are either ex-jockeys
0:55:44 > 0:55:47or industry professionals, and Julie here passes on
0:55:47 > 0:55:51her professional experience in a rather innovative way -
0:55:51 > 0:55:53four wheels and an earpiece.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56This kind of tuition you can't shout from a van.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59First of all, the rider is unlikely to hear you.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01The instructor speaks into a radio
0:56:01 > 0:56:05and both of these guys can hear the instruction that's being given.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08It's very effective and keeps everybody calm.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11So, this is one on one? This is really invaluable for the students.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14Yeah. Every day, this is what happens here.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16They ride two lots and they have one-on-one tuition.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18The riders are videoed, so they have video review,
0:56:18 > 0:56:21so they can see exactly what they're doing well
0:56:21 > 0:56:23and what they're doing not so well.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26So, the filly that's being ridden here, she's quite a tricky filly.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28Rebecca here is riding her very well.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30Rebecca is a very good rider, in fact.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34And it's all about keeping your hands down near the horse's withers,
0:56:34 > 0:56:37and she's very happy, the filly. She keeps pricking her ears.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40There's a little bit of dip in the gallop here, which often,
0:56:40 > 0:56:43the horses just try and take advantage of and get ahead.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45She's doing a great job.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48Rebecca is almost at the end of the course,
0:56:48 > 0:56:51and after three hours' hard graft already,
0:56:51 > 0:56:53it's nearly time for her and the others
0:56:53 > 0:56:55to have a well-earned breakfast.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59Are you amazed how far you've come in this short time?
0:56:59 > 0:57:01Oh, yeah, definitely.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05I never thought I'd be this good on, like, just eight weeks.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07I could always ride,
0:57:07 > 0:57:13but it's a lot different from what I was doing, so it's really good.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16- You looked fabulous to me.- Thanks.
0:57:16 > 0:57:20Hopefully, Rebecca and the others will go the distance,
0:57:20 > 0:57:23making it out of the stable yard
0:57:23 > 0:57:27and into the famous winners' enclosure at Newmarket Racecourse.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31I tell you, John, those jockeys are so dedicated.
0:57:31 > 0:57:33You'd make a good jockey, I think.
0:57:33 > 0:57:37With the 5.30 starts, they'd have me at the first hurdle, I'm afraid.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40- See any stars in the making there?- Um...possibly, yes.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42You never know. I might even put money on it, you know!
0:57:42 > 0:57:45Well, that's it from Newmarket. Next week, we'll be in Hampshire
0:57:45 > 0:57:48where Matt will be taking a trip along
0:57:48 > 0:57:50the newly established Shipwrights Way.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52And I'll be out on its mudflats
0:57:52 > 0:57:55helping conservationists find and record our native oysters.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58- See you then.- Bye for now.
0:58:16 > 0:58:19Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd