0:00:26 > 0:00:28Carmarthenshire -
0:00:28 > 0:00:30a quiet, calm county
0:00:30 > 0:00:34where vast countryside meets sweeping sands.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39But these dunes were once far from peaceful,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42as they've had an explosive past.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46We've got the high explosives, TNT,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49which is what explodes the bomb apart,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52and then the cordite, which is the propellant.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Helen's getting a taste for beekeeping.
0:00:57 > 0:00:58I'm just testing it.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02It's good. Very good. They'll be happy with that.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04- Good. It's all right for the bees, is it?- Perfect.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Tom is on the hunt for otters,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09finding out if this recovering species
0:01:09 > 0:01:11is recovering a bit too well.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15This fishery is my livelihood. We have individual fish in here
0:01:15 > 0:01:18which are worth tens of thousands of pounds.
0:01:18 > 0:01:19If an otter got into this fishery now,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21it could put us out of business.
0:01:21 > 0:01:22And from New Zealand,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25in a second of a series of special films,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27Adam is taking to the water to search for
0:01:27 > 0:01:29rare native breeds on a remote island.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31What's that there? Look, look, what's that?
0:01:31 > 0:01:34- Just to the left and through there? - Yeah, that's a pig, is it?
0:01:34 > 0:01:37- Is it a pig? - Yeah, it is a pig. It's a pig.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39- You're lucky to see a pig. - HE CHUCKLES
0:01:50 > 0:01:55Carmarthenshire's coastline is a beautiful expanse of sand,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57stretching as far as the eye can see.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06I'm visiting Pembrey, halfway along an eight-mile swathe of beach
0:02:06 > 0:02:10between the Three Rivers Estuary and the River Loughar.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Strolling through the quiet and peaceful Pembrey Country Park,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18you would have no idea that 100 years ago,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22this place was a crucial linchpin in Britain's war effort.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27During World War I, Pembrey was home to a vast munitions factory,
0:02:27 > 0:02:29staffed mainly by woman
0:02:29 > 0:02:32and producing bullets, shells and high explosives
0:02:32 > 0:02:34following the 1915 shell crisis.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37It was a very nature of the landscape of this place
0:02:37 > 0:02:40that made it so ideal for the purpose.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43These isolated dunes not only acted as a screen,
0:02:43 > 0:02:47but they also minimised damage in the event of an explosion.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51Most of the physical evidence has long since disappeared,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54but there are still remnants, if you know where to look.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Alice Piper of Dyfed Archaeological Trust
0:02:57 > 0:03:01is finding out more about the wartime role of this site.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04- Alice, how are you? - Not too bad, thank you.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Oh, the mind boggles. The mind boggles of what went on here.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10What area are we in, as far as this munitions factory is concerned?
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Well, we are up on one of the nitro hills.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16This is where they were producing nitroglycerin.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20We're up on a high mound here, so that they can make use of gravity
0:03:20 > 0:03:24to transport a very volatile, dangerous compound -
0:03:24 > 0:03:28nitroglycerin - to the other areas of manufacturing.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30So what are you actually doing here, then?
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Are you trying to discover as many of these tunnels
0:03:32 > 0:03:34and buildings as possible?
0:03:34 > 0:03:38We've got funding from Cadw and Heritage Lottery Fund
0:03:38 > 0:03:41to do a project with volunteers
0:03:41 > 0:03:43to try and discover as much as we can
0:03:43 > 0:03:46about the First World War factory that was here.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Essentially, you've got the high explosives, TNT,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51which is what explodes the bomb apart,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54and then the cordite, which is the propellant,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56which fires it out of the gun.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58So both are being produced here.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02Then, down in this corner here, you've got the filling factory,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05which is where they're actually filling the explosives into shells,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07ready to go off, then, to the front.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09It's such an ironic situation, isn't it,
0:04:09 > 0:04:11when you wander around this country park today
0:04:11 > 0:04:13- and it's so peaceful and lovely? - I know.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15And then you look at actually what, in this past,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17- this place has experienced. - Exactly.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19It's a beautiful site now.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24A lot of these tunnels now are very good for wildlife.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27You know, you've got bat roosts in a number of these tunnels.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Nature has really reclaimed the site.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35The spot was used again during the Second World War,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37and finally closed in 1965.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Since then, the landscape has been to work,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43burying the past under dense undergrowth.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Part of the area is now a conifer forest,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48managed by Natural Resources Wales.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50'But Alice's map suggests
0:04:50 > 0:04:52'there may be another lost bunker here,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55'one that hasn't been seen for decades.'
0:04:56 > 0:04:58So, because of the huge mound that's ahead of us,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01- you know we're in the right ballpark here, Alice.- Yeah.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06Yeah, this is the only place in the area which is really high up,
0:05:06 > 0:05:12so this looks like a good candidate for another nitroglycerin hill.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Is it safe, wandering around this old explosives factory?
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Well, you have to go with caution.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22I can see brick there. I can definitely see brick here.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24There's a bit of a ledge, isn't there?
0:05:30 > 0:05:32This is fantastic, getting these...
0:05:32 > 0:05:35They look like, sort of, retaining walls, don't they,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37to create this upper part of the mound?
0:05:37 > 0:05:41If I disappear rapidly, it's been lovely.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Yes, nice knowing you.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45- That is a tunnel, isn't it? - It is.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48You can see the brickwork on the entrance there, can't you?
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Do you want me to go first?
0:05:50 > 0:05:52Yeah, if you like.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Oh, yeah, look. This is a proper tunnel, this.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58- There's a lintel and everything across the top of that.- Yeah.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Oh, yeah! Look at that.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02There's a pile of sand right in the middle,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04- but there's daylight at the other end.- Right.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07- It's about 13 metres, I would say. - Right.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10If you go round the other side and start walking,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12I'll shout when I can see you.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15The ground sort of drops away, doesn't it, on that side?
0:06:16 > 0:06:18(ECHOING) Hello!
0:06:18 > 0:06:20- Hello. (ECHOING)- Hey, Matt, I can see you.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22I can see you. There you go.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26This structural remnants are atmospheric.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29But to really get a feel for what life and the landscape
0:06:29 > 0:06:32would have been like for the women who worked here,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34I'm meeting Aveline Weston,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36whose relative was a military policewoman here
0:06:36 > 0:06:39during the war and kept a diary.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Aveline, who was Gabrielle West and where did she come from?
0:06:45 > 0:06:46Well, she was my Great-Aunt Bobby
0:06:46 > 0:06:50- and she was born a vicar's daughter in Gloucestershire.- Right.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52But then the First World War came along,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55and her mother was a member of the Red Cross,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57and so she was a member of the Red Cross.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00That started the whole of her war work.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03By 1917, she'd done various things,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05but then they were advertising for women police -
0:07:05 > 0:07:08looking for women to work in factories.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Right. That's how she ended up here, then?
0:07:10 > 0:07:12That's how she ended up here.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Once you were in the police force, you went you were sent, basically.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17- I'm with you. - She started as a constable
0:07:17 > 0:07:19and eventually got promoted to sergeant.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22What did she write about the conditions?
0:07:22 > 0:07:24She said the woman here had...
0:07:24 > 0:07:26She went to a lot of factories eventually,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29and the woman here had the worst conditions of all.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32She said something like, "On a windless night, we'd have
0:07:32 > 0:07:36"perhaps 30 girls having a fit from the ether in the air."
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Then they used to carry them out and lay them in the dining rooms
0:07:40 > 0:07:41and look after them.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45For many of the local women working here,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48the job and income provided new freedom.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Despite the dangerous conditions,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53the diary also describes a sense of optimism.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55This was her favourite place.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58The women were lively.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00She felt she was doing a good job, I think.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03They had work to do, they had conditions to do,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05they made things better for the women,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and they just had a jolly time.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10She talks about concerts in the canteen, and they used to sing.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13There was one woman there who used to bang the thing with the spoon.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Apparently this woman was a particularly good mimic
0:08:16 > 0:08:18and used to mimic all the police officers
0:08:18 > 0:08:20and managers and everybody as well.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23They just all seem to have had a thoroughly good time.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Today, it's a peaceful place.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29The landscape has healed the scars,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33absorbed the bitter chemicals and transformed these dynamite dunes
0:08:33 > 0:08:37into a paradise for people and nature.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Now, otters had all but disappeared from our rivers and waterways,
0:08:46 > 0:08:48but now they're back.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50That success, though, does come at a price,
0:08:50 > 0:08:52as Tom's been finding out.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Our countryside is deceptively tranquil.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12For many, it's a place of peace and beauty,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14but you only have to scratch the surface
0:09:14 > 0:09:18to reveal the realities of both surviving in the natural world
0:09:18 > 0:09:21or earning a living in the rural economy.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23And, to make it more difficult,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27nothing ever stays the same for long.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Take the otter, for example.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35Just a few decades ago, it was on the verge of extinction in England
0:09:35 > 0:09:38and struggling elsewhere in the UK.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42But legal protection and banning certain pesticides
0:09:42 > 0:09:46had a huge impact, and it's begun to recover.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52In fact, it's done so well it's said they can now be seen
0:09:52 > 0:09:53in every river in Britain.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59They've been so successful, they now live quite close to us.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Otters can be found in this river
0:10:01 > 0:10:04just next to a housing estate on the edge of Winchester.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Rachel Remnant is from the Hampshire Wildlife Trust,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12and those otters are on her patch.
0:10:12 > 0:10:13Hello there.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16When I see someone furtling around by the river bank,
0:10:16 > 0:10:17they must be from the Wildlife Trust.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21- What are you looking at here? - I'm looking for otter signs.- OK.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23They're quite difficult to see in the flesh,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25but what you can find is their runs.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27So you can see where it's been trampled.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30You can see the vegetation has been squashed down.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Can you see this depression in the reeds?
0:10:33 > 0:10:35It's sort of like a cylinder shape.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39That's the shape of the otter's body going through there.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42This is the real giveaway. We've got some otter poo.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44This is a really important chemical marker.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46So they're leaving their scent,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49they're saying, "This is me. I'm here. This is my river.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51"This is where I'm fishing. This is where I'm living."
0:10:51 > 0:10:54How are the otters doing in this area?
0:10:54 > 0:10:55They're doing really well.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57You will probably find maybe three animals here.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01When you do see them in the flesh, they are just amazing.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03They're this sort of enigmatic creature
0:11:03 > 0:11:05that you're very unlikely to see,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07but we know from our radio tracking work
0:11:07 > 0:11:10that you can have and otter four metres away from you
0:11:10 > 0:11:11and you just cannot see it.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13We also know from radio tracking
0:11:13 > 0:11:15that they pass through the city in the afternoon
0:11:15 > 0:11:16and nobody has seen them.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20But when you do see them, it's a really special occasion.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22The resurgence of the otter
0:11:22 > 0:11:25has been one of Britain's great conservation success stories,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28but there are people who think enough is enough.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30Otters, of course, eat fish
0:11:30 > 0:11:33and they're not too fussy about what type.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38But if those are YOUR fish, you may not be too happy about it,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41especially when they can be worth a small fortune.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49While otter numbers have been growing,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53so has the popularity of commercial fishing lakes.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57And the majority of anglers are now after just one type of fish -
0:11:57 > 0:11:59the carp.
0:12:01 > 0:12:02Incredible as it may seem,
0:12:02 > 0:12:09in 2015, £222 million was spent on carp fishing tackle alone.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11RINGING
0:12:11 > 0:12:13At these managed fisheries,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17individual carp will be caught over and over again.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21The largest are worth tens of thousands of pounds to their owners.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26But it's not just anglers who appreciate carp.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30For otters, fisheries like this are a ready-made banquet.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Simon Scott caught his first carp when he was ten, and he was hooked.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41Now, his carp farm in West Sussex is one of the largest in the UK.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46After the summer growing season, winter is harvest time.
0:12:47 > 0:12:48Doesn't it feel like cheating?
0:12:48 > 0:12:51You're not giving the fish much of a chance, taking the water away.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Well, that is the way to harvest a pond, Tom.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55- So, have you caught a carp before? - No, I haven't.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57There is a bit of a knack. There we go.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59- Oh, hello. - Well held, sir.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01They're pretty heavy, aren't they?
0:13:01 > 0:13:03- This fish will weigh about 15lbs or 16lbs.- Yeah.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07That would probably be worth £200-£300.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10So if you're a fishery owner and you've got a lake full of these,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13they could be worth many, many thousands of pounds.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16So, what's the big attraction? How come the enormous value?
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Well, carp all look different.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22If you look at a rudd or a roach or a chub, they look quite similar,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24but these fish will all look a bit different.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26If I pick this one out, look at that -
0:13:26 > 0:13:28it's an absolutely beautiful fish, covered in scales.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31If we have a look at a different fish...
0:13:32 > 0:13:34This one is a linear,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37cos it's got a big line of scales down its flank.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39- See if I can get hold of this one. - They are very wriggly.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42- OK. Oh, yeah. Strong too! - They're powerful fish.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45That makes them attractive to the anglers.
0:13:45 > 0:13:46You've got that individuality.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49So, for the angler, it's the challenge of the catch
0:13:49 > 0:13:52as well as the kind of beauty and variety of the fish.
0:13:52 > 0:13:53Yeah, absolutely.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56So, you can catch a fish that is a recognisable character.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59It might be called Heather or Big Scale or Arthur.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Those fish, they become personalities in their own right.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04They're long-lived fish.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Guys might spend three or four or five years trying to catch one carp.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11But the damage otters can do to fish can be devastating.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14And although Simon has never been bothered by otters,
0:14:14 > 0:14:19he's fenced his whole fishery to make sure it stays that way.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22So, do you understand that problem that anglers have with otters?
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Yeah, absolutely. As a carp farmer,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28it breaks my heart to grow these fish for five years
0:14:28 > 0:14:31and to see them go into unprotected fisheries.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33We have delivered fish bigger than this, 20lb fish,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35that have gone into little club waters
0:14:35 > 0:14:38only to be eaten the very next night.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40That's how much money down the drain?
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- £600-£700. - TOM WHISTLES
0:14:42 > 0:14:44I liken it to...
0:14:44 > 0:14:46If you want to set up a chicken farm,
0:14:46 > 0:14:47you put a fence around it.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50So what can you do if an otter gets into a fishery?
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Well, until very recently, you couldn't do anything at all, Tom.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55You couldn't trap the otter, you certainly couldn't shoot it.
0:14:55 > 0:14:56You would be stuck.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04Even when fisheries are fenced, otters sometimes get in,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07and one otter can very quickly destroy a business.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12But if you were to protect your stock by killing an otter,
0:15:12 > 0:15:15it could be you that ends up behind a fence.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Protecting our endangered species
0:15:19 > 0:15:22has undoubtedly had a really positive effect
0:15:22 > 0:15:25in bringing many of them back from the brink.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29But at some point, does a protected animal become fair game?
0:15:29 > 0:15:32That's what I'll be finding out later.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Hidden away in the green and rolling countryside of Carmarthenshire
0:15:42 > 0:15:44is a real treasure -
0:15:44 > 0:15:46the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55It's an amazing blend of the past, present and future.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01This is the first new botanical gardens in the UK in 200 years.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04It really is an astonishing place.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10The landscape grounds of an 18th-century stately home
0:16:10 > 0:16:12have undergone a restoration,
0:16:12 > 0:16:14which would make its former gardeners proud.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20But for real engineering innovation, you need to see inside this.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Oh, my word!
0:16:35 > 0:16:37Now, this massive dome was built to bring
0:16:37 > 0:16:40a landscape of Mediterranean plants to rainy old Wales.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Lovely, but let's be honest, it does get wet here.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Do you know what? It even smells like a foreign holiday.
0:16:48 > 0:16:49I love these.
0:16:56 > 0:17:02This great glass house, designed by Norman Foster, was opened in 2000.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Covering almost an acre,
0:17:04 > 0:17:08it houses 1,000 of the world's most endangered temperate plants,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11grouped by their country of origin.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Where else can you walk over a bridge from Australia
0:17:15 > 0:17:18and step off in South America?
0:17:22 > 0:17:25And if you think that was pretty sci-fi,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28where I'm heading now is really pushing the boundaries.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33The botanical gardens here has its own group of scientists.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35And what they've achieved in the labs,
0:17:35 > 0:17:37tucked away in a quiet corner of this place,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41has never been done anywhere else in the world.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43And it's all about bees.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Laura Jones and her colleagues have captured the DNA
0:17:46 > 0:17:48from every Welsh plant.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51That's almost 1,500 species.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56Now, she's using this DNA database to see which plants bees visit
0:17:56 > 0:17:58by studying their honey.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Identifying the plant species from pollen in honey
0:18:01 > 0:18:03can be quite difficult just by looking at it,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05so we're using DNA barcoding
0:18:05 > 0:18:07to identify the plants the bees are foraging on
0:18:07 > 0:18:09by using the DNA in the pollen.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17It's a real breakthrough, as our bee populations are in decline.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Knowing the plants they make a BEELINE for
0:18:19 > 0:18:22means we could plant perfect environments
0:18:22 > 0:18:24for these important pollinators.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Who'll use your findings?
0:18:27 > 0:18:30So, what we're hoping is, then,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33we'll definitely be able to feed back to beekeepers
0:18:33 > 0:18:36and also create seed mixes for people to use.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38Yes, because people do buy seed packets, don't they,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41that they think are going to bring bees to their garden?
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Yeah, so it's about, sort of, providing
0:18:43 > 0:18:44scientific evidence for that.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47- Then they go into that one? - Yes, so then...
0:18:47 > 0:18:50'Laura is letting me prepare the latest honey sample
0:18:50 > 0:18:52'from the garden's own beehives.'
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Oh, the pressure. I feel like I'm sweating.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00'The honey is suspended in a conductive gel.'
0:19:00 > 0:19:03So, we're going to set this to 120 volts.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06'And by running electricity through it,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09'the plant DNA will show up under UV light.'
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Laura, this is blowing my mind.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17'And the results are surprising.'
0:19:17 > 0:19:20What we've found from the early foraging results,
0:19:20 > 0:19:21so April and May,
0:19:21 > 0:19:26is that the bees aren't using the horticultural plants as much
0:19:26 > 0:19:29and instead are travelling to hedgeland, woodland species.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Things like hawthorn, gorse, willow.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35It's funny, because I know lots of gardeners
0:19:35 > 0:19:38who think that the more colourful the plant, the better for bees,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40but that's not what you're finding.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42It might be that those sort of garden species,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45the horticultural species, they're using to supplement their diet
0:19:45 > 0:19:47and get a wide variety of pollens.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53The honey some Welsh bees are making isn't just delicious.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56The botanic garden team's work has helped proved
0:19:56 > 0:20:00it can attack human infections - a natural antibiotic.
0:20:02 > 0:20:03There's been quite a lot of excitement
0:20:03 > 0:20:06about the antibacterial honey found in North Wales.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09- Is that anything to do with you guys?- Yeah.
0:20:09 > 0:20:15So, we had a PhD student, Jenny, who worked on some of the techniques
0:20:15 > 0:20:18that I'm using, in terms of extracting the DNA from the honey.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22She did find one honey that had the same sort of antibacterial activity
0:20:22 > 0:20:23as something like manuka.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26What were they foraging that led to this antibacterial honey?
0:20:26 > 0:20:28A big mix of plants in the actual sample.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31- Bluebells was one of the ones that came up highly.- OK.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34So, plant hedgerows, plant bluebells.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Round the corner from the laboratory,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46I'm taking a peek at another of the botanic garden's wonders.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50This is almost the two ends of scientific research.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54At the one end of the spectrum, Laura and her colleagues are
0:20:54 > 0:20:56in the lab looking at DNA in microscopic detail,
0:20:56 > 0:21:01but this is actually a hard copy of the plant that they have taken
0:21:01 > 0:21:04that DNA from, so they're pressed flowers, just like I did
0:21:04 > 0:21:07when I was a kid, you probably did when you were younger.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09They've got a scientific reference point
0:21:09 > 0:21:11here in the hard copy of the plant,
0:21:11 > 0:21:14but actually, they've got something very, very beautiful indeed.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Later in the programme, I'll be visiting the hives
0:21:20 > 0:21:24providing the botanic garden scientists with their honey.
0:21:28 > 0:21:29Wow!
0:21:29 > 0:21:33I mean, the only way to describe what I'm seeing is...
0:21:33 > 0:21:34magnificent.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Seriously, this is quite unbelievable.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Yes, you've guessed it.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44The Countryfile Calendar for 2017 is on sale now,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47which is sold in aid of Children In Need.
0:21:47 > 0:21:48Now, last year, your generosity
0:21:48 > 0:21:51helped us break the £2 million barrier,
0:21:51 > 0:21:53so let's see how far we can get this year.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Here's John with all the details.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00It costs £9.50, including free UK delivery.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01You can go to our website,
0:22:01 > 0:22:05where you'll find a link to the order page.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08Or you can phone the order line on...
0:22:15 > 0:22:18If you prefer to order by post, then send your name,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20address and a cheque to...
0:22:32 > 0:22:35A minimum of £4 from the sale of each calendar
0:22:35 > 0:22:38will be donated to BBC Children In Need.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Now it's time for our winter warmer.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Late last summer,
0:22:47 > 0:22:52we asked some well-known faces, from DJs to comedians...
0:22:52 > 0:22:54It's a seal. False alarm, everyone. It was a seal.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57..chefs to singers...
0:22:57 > 0:23:00# My old man said follow the van... #
0:23:00 > 0:23:04..which part of our countryside was special to them.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15This week, Falklands veteran Simon Weston shows us around
0:23:15 > 0:23:17his beloved South Wales.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34The Brecon Beacons is a special place for me.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38It was somewhere we got taken when we were kids, with the family.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Even as a young boy, I remember just thinking
0:23:45 > 0:23:48just how powerful it all felt here, but just how beautiful.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51It's so incredibly lovely here.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55And even in the rain, there's something very special about it.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Brecon is probably the one place
0:24:02 > 0:24:05that I have a fond memory of my biological father.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09There wouldn't have been too many in my life that I can remember,
0:24:09 > 0:24:10if I'm brutally honest.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14But I do remember him taking my oldest friend and myself camping.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19I must have been 10 or 11,
0:24:19 > 0:24:23and we used to go off and leave my father here,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25and we'd go off along the road there
0:24:25 > 0:24:28and walk all the way almost into Brecon from here.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31Which was just a great laugh.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35I suppose the cherry on the cake for that week was,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39as the weekend arrived, so did a great big jamboree of Girl Guides.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42They arrived at the top of the valley near Storey Arms,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44and they pitched their tents,
0:24:44 > 0:24:46and we thought all our Christmases had come at once,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48and we were only young boys.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51You know, if you've got a good memory,
0:24:51 > 0:24:55always look to the good ones. Try to put the bad ones behind you.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58And the Brecon Beacons is always somewhere very special.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10I was about 17, 18
0:25:10 > 0:25:12when I first came here to train with the military.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16It was raining then. I thought, "What have I done wrong?"
0:25:19 > 0:25:23The last time I was here training was with the Welsh Guards.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26We were getting ready to go to the Falklands and, as you can see,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28if you've ever seen pictures of the Falklands,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31this is fairly similar terrain.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34The problem was, we were training, it was quite nice,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36it was dry, and the white grass,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40and we were hiding from the helicopters that were hunting us
0:25:40 > 0:25:41because we were a mortar line,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45which meant we lined our mortars up and we were doing live firing.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47One of the guys, Mike Dunphy,
0:25:47 > 0:25:50decided he'd make a cup of tea and he set fire to the white grass,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54and next thing, you've got about 30 men like whirling dervishes,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57doing the berserker, dancing around trying to put this fire out,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and the mountainside was getting more and more alight.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Fortunately, we brought it under control,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05but my goodness, it was touch and go,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08but you look back on it as one of those funny moments,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11just one of those funny little stories you tell,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13and you just remember your friends,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17because a lot of those guys on that mortar line never came home.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20SHIP'S HORN BLARES
0:26:26 > 0:26:30I got injured on June 8th 1982.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35'The first warning came as the plane swept low over the ships.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39'Sir Galahad was immediately in flames.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42'Two companies of the Welsh Guard were still on board.'
0:26:44 > 0:26:47We lost 48 men dead and 97 injured,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49out of which I was the worst injured.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58I suffered 48% burns.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01They didn't want to send me home when I was down there.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03They wanted to keep me down and bring me back by ship.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07But, being a good Welsh boy, I wanted to come back to all of this.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14This is where I was brought up. I'm very proud of where I'm from.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Those people down there, just beyond those trees,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19down in the village of Nelson, that's what helped make me,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22and those are the people who helped me survive,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25because they supported me so incredibly well.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27CHEERING
0:27:33 > 0:27:36In my darkest days, I had PTSD,
0:27:36 > 0:27:38and nobody had diagnosed it.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41And a lot of people don't know this,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45I don't even think my family know this, as much as I'm saying now,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48that I used to come up the mountain just to look down
0:27:48 > 0:27:50on the village of Nelson.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54This is Senghenydd Mountain.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59It overlooks Nelson, which you can't see through the mist and the haze.
0:28:00 > 0:28:06But this is a place where I used to come just to get some solitude.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Everybody needs to regroup, so coming up here,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15for me, was escapism.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18It was an opportunity just to try and regroup.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20But it was somewhere that I had always come as a kid,
0:28:20 > 0:28:24and I suppose it's the child in your eye.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26You don't want to lose the child in your eye,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29and you're trying to regain that and regroup with that,
0:28:29 > 0:28:31and that's what it was for me,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34it was coming up here and trying to get back the happiness
0:28:34 > 0:28:36that I had as being a child,
0:28:36 > 0:28:40and that's the solitude you seek when you come up here.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Just to enjoy thinking and looking,
0:28:43 > 0:28:46and sometimes things just become a lot clearer.
0:28:54 > 0:28:59There's a great sense of pride in the Valleys and being Welsh.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06We don't own the Valleys. It owns us.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12Just in Nelson, all the hills that are around it,
0:29:12 > 0:29:16it helps create communities. It helps create environments.
0:29:16 > 0:29:17That's what's so special about here.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21Wales is very special, you know,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24and I am so very lucky to have been born here.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33Earlier, we heard that otter numbers throughout the UK have recovered
0:29:33 > 0:29:36to such an extent that many fishery owners believe
0:29:36 > 0:29:39they're not only threatening their stocks,
0:29:39 > 0:29:40but also their entire businesses.
0:29:40 > 0:29:45But their cries aren't falling on deaf ears. Here's Tom.
0:29:52 > 0:29:57Otters are of one of the British public's favourite wild animals,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00and fishing is one of our favourite pursuits.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03Put them together and the results can be ugly,
0:30:03 > 0:30:06especially if you own a fishery.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10But since the 1980s, otters have been legally protected,
0:30:10 > 0:30:14and they can't be removed from a fishery, even if they get in.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20But now the Environment Agency and Natural England have taken on board
0:30:20 > 0:30:22the concerns of fisheries owners
0:30:22 > 0:30:27and are licensing otter trapping in some very specific situations.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32Dave Webb, from the UK Wild Otter Trust, and Mark Walsingham
0:30:32 > 0:30:35are now licensed by Natural England to trap otters.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38- So, this is an otter trap, is it? - Yes.- How does it work?
0:30:38 > 0:30:39Simple double-entry trap,
0:30:39 > 0:30:41so an otter can come in from either end of.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43When it gets to the middle...
0:30:43 > 0:30:45If you want to push that middle plate, Tom,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47you'll see how it actually works.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50- Wow. - Both doors come down together.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54The new licences only allow the humane trapping of otters
0:30:54 > 0:30:56within properly fenced fisheries,
0:30:56 > 0:31:00and they can only be released on the other side of the fence.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03How often do you think these might be used in Britain, in a year, say?
0:31:03 > 0:31:06In the last month, we've had two calls,
0:31:06 > 0:31:08but this is a very, very new concept.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12Obviously, once people are aware that we can do this,
0:31:12 > 0:31:15it's going to be used more, we feel.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19We've now got a humane legal option,
0:31:19 > 0:31:25and it's only trained operators that can go and set these traps.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28In the UK, there's only five people that can do this.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30Once we have a better understanding...
0:31:30 > 0:31:33'Mark Walsingham owns this carp fishery in Somerset
0:31:33 > 0:31:36'and, for him, the otter issue is not a theoretical one.'
0:31:36 > 0:31:38This fishery has taken 40 years to develop.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41The biggest fish in here is just under 60lb,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44so just smaller than the weight of a sack of potatoes. It's huge.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47And people pay to come and target that individual fish.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50So an otter could kill one fish and undermine the whole of the business.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52This fishery is my livelihood,
0:31:52 > 0:31:57and my mortgage and my family depend upon the income from this fishery.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59We spent a lot of money fencing it to stop that happening,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02but if an otter got in here, it could put us out of business.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04Really, is this enough? Have we done enough now
0:32:04 > 0:32:06to deal with the otter issue in the country?
0:32:06 > 0:32:09No, I think, is the very simple answer to that.
0:32:09 > 0:32:10I think it's a very important first step.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12We don't have even hard and fast numbers
0:32:12 > 0:32:14over how many otters are out here in the countryside,
0:32:14 > 0:32:16so we need to look at things as a whole
0:32:16 > 0:32:18and understand the wider picture
0:32:18 > 0:32:20and understand what's appropriate and what, frankly,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22the countryside can cope with.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28Unlike Mark, some fishery owners have lost their patience
0:32:28 > 0:32:32and want to be allowed to cull otters to protect their businesses.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34But is it acceptable to allow the killing
0:32:34 > 0:32:38of a protected species for purely commercial reasons?
0:32:38 > 0:32:41It's a question that resonates across the countryside.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45As the numbers of some of our other protected animals increase,
0:32:45 > 0:32:51so does their impact on the natural world and rural business.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Badgers are a protected species that some people believe
0:32:59 > 0:33:01are responsible for the decline of hedgehogs.
0:33:01 > 0:33:06Now they are being culled, in an attempt to reduce TB in cattle,
0:33:06 > 0:33:10and licences can be issued for the shooting of buzzards
0:33:10 > 0:33:13and other birds of prey where they threaten commercial interests.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17Someone who's familiar with this issue
0:33:17 > 0:33:20is environmental consultant Derek Gow.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25We bring in legislation when a species is endangered.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27As it begins to be successful and recover,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29do we need to adapt that legislation,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32turn it more into management rather than protection?
0:33:32 > 0:33:34The simple answer to that is, yes,
0:33:34 > 0:33:36there's a case for looking again at wildlife management.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39But quite often, if you're looking at effective wildlife management,
0:33:39 > 0:33:42and you're looking at something like culling in the long term,
0:33:42 > 0:33:45you've got to specifically look at the animals causing you the issue,
0:33:45 > 0:33:47then maybe we should look at killing those.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50So you accept it could be valid as a last resort,
0:33:50 > 0:33:53some form of culling or killing of these species, like otters?
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Every stage, when a species like this starts to return and conflicts
0:33:57 > 0:34:00with our interest, you hear the same calls, which is, we kill them.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02In the past, the only response we had
0:34:02 > 0:34:05as a species was for anything that opposed us,
0:34:05 > 0:34:09we reached for bottles of poison, traps, steel and guns
0:34:09 > 0:34:12and, in the end, it's incredible, at the beginning of the 21st century
0:34:12 > 0:34:16that this is the only response we should be applying now.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19If you've got an individual otter that keeps getting into a fishery,
0:34:19 > 0:34:20and you know it's the same otter,
0:34:20 > 0:34:23then you may be looking at a different solution in time,
0:34:23 > 0:34:25but as far as the wider population's concerned,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28just shooting 30 or 40 of them is just senseless.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34So, should we be allowing the culling of otters
0:34:34 > 0:34:35that threaten fisheries?
0:34:35 > 0:34:38Natural England say that where wildlife poses problems
0:34:38 > 0:34:42for people's livelihoods, property or safety,
0:34:42 > 0:34:46they can issue licences to address problems at a local level,
0:34:46 > 0:34:50and nationally, they can reduce an animal's protection
0:34:50 > 0:34:52if it is no longer needed.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55But that doesn't apply to otters just yet.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59Across Europe, they're still seen as a near-threatened species.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02For now, a good solid fence and occasional trap
0:35:02 > 0:35:07solves most of the conflicts between fisheries and otters,
0:35:07 > 0:35:12but as and when otters and other recovering species
0:35:12 > 0:35:15move from being endangered to abundant,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18even some conservationists agree
0:35:18 > 0:35:22there could be a case for more aggressive management options.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36Now, last week, we saw the start of Adam's epic trip
0:35:36 > 0:35:39halfway around the world to New Zealand to revisit farms
0:35:39 > 0:35:44he worked on 30 years ago with his business partner Duncan Andrews.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52This week, he's heading to a remote island,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55seeing how early settlers gained a farming foothold
0:35:55 > 0:35:57on this far-flung part of the world
0:35:57 > 0:36:01by taking some of our classic British breeds with them.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16New Zealand has some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth
0:36:17 > 0:36:19You can understand why the Europeans
0:36:19 > 0:36:22started to settle here more than 200 years ago.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26The land is rich and fertile, and there's plenty of it.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28It's a farmer's paradise.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37New Zealand is divided into two, the North and the South Islands.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42They're separated by the Cook Strait, one of the most dangerous
0:36:42 > 0:36:45and unpredictable stretches of water in the world.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49I'm travelling across the strait to Arapawa Island,
0:36:49 > 0:36:53on the hunt for a very elusive breed of goat
0:36:53 > 0:36:56that helped put New Zealand on the farming map.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03This strait here was named after the famous explorer
0:37:03 > 0:37:06Captain James Cook who, in 1770,
0:37:06 > 0:37:09was the first European commander to sail through it.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Cook and his crew soon discovered
0:37:19 > 0:37:22New Zealand wasn't like any place they'd ever seen.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24It appeared to have no native mammals,
0:37:24 > 0:37:27and the country was dominated by birds.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29But Cook was about to change that.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37For the journey, I've got myself a great skipper,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39and to tell me more,
0:37:39 > 0:37:41rare breed expert Michael Willetts has joined me.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45He's as passionate as I am about protecting heritage livestock.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47So, tell me about your background, then.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51I was brought up in the backcountry and I used to run around the hills
0:37:51 > 0:37:54with a butterfly net in one hand and a rifle in the other.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56I just loved wildlife and animals,
0:37:56 > 0:38:00and the realisation that there was these animals in New Zealand
0:38:00 > 0:38:02that nobody really knew about
0:38:02 > 0:38:05and they were under threat changed my thinking totally.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08So, we're going to look for these goats. Tell me about them.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Cook always carried goats on board,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13particularly English goats, because they're tougher.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16They kept them for milk for the officers, and they also kept them
0:38:16 > 0:38:18to let go on remote islands like this
0:38:18 > 0:38:21so a source of food for when they came back again.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Quite standard practice.
0:38:23 > 0:38:24So, when they returned,
0:38:24 > 0:38:27- there'd be food ready-made on the island for them.- Absolutely.
0:38:28 > 0:38:33In 1773 and 1777, Captain Cook made voyages
0:38:33 > 0:38:36to Arapawa Island with animals on board.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40Amongst his special travellers, he had an old English breed of goat.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Cook released some of the goats onto the island.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48More than 50 years later, in 1839,
0:38:48 > 0:38:51a visitor to the island wrote in his diary
0:38:51 > 0:38:53that it was swarmed with goats.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00Today, this breed is critically close to extinction.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04It's pretty extraordinary, isn't it,
0:39:04 > 0:39:08here we are, all these years later, with an ancient British breed,
0:39:08 > 0:39:11that its safe haven is on a New Zealand island.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13It is almost an ark of genetics.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16I wonder what the natives thought of these white men turning up
0:39:16 > 0:39:20with these weird animals, goats, that they'd never seen before.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23Yeah. I think they were absolutely terrified to start with,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26but they soon realised the benefit of goats,
0:39:26 > 0:39:29and the Maori chief put a tapu, or protection order, on the goats,
0:39:29 > 0:39:31so that shows the respect they had for them.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38Whilst we wait to spot these goats,
0:39:38 > 0:39:42I take the opportunity to chat with our skipper, Peter Beech.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45Peter, back at home, with us coming out of Europe,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48there's going to be a lot of change, particularly in agriculture.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50How have things developed over here?
0:39:50 > 0:39:53When England joined the European common union,
0:39:53 > 0:39:57they dropped New Zealand like a hot potato, you know?
0:39:57 > 0:40:00So the government cut the subsidies to the farmers.
0:40:00 > 0:40:05The farmers, they had to find new markets.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09They had to become more productive, more efficient.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13I suspect that that is what will have to happen in England,
0:40:13 > 0:40:18because then you'll have to compete with this globalisation,
0:40:18 > 0:40:20with this global market,
0:40:20 > 0:40:23and you'll be competing against New Zealand farmers,
0:40:23 > 0:40:29who have learned to farm and produce without subsidies.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36Dolphins!
0:40:36 > 0:40:39There are some little dolphins just here.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41About six or eight of them. Wow!
0:40:42 > 0:40:45There's two there that have got small ones next to them,
0:40:45 > 0:40:49little babies. I think these are dusky dolphins, they call them.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52I just hope we manage to get a glimpse of the goats now.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57On a sunny day like today, it's likely the goats are keeping cool
0:40:57 > 0:41:00in the shade, so they're going to be hard to spot.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02But it's not long before we see something.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05- Sheep.- So, there's a breed of sheep here too?
0:41:05 > 0:41:08- Yes. - So, where did the originate from?
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Nobody's really sure, but the recent DNA research
0:41:11 > 0:41:15shows that the nearest sheep that they look like they belong to
0:41:15 > 0:41:17are some kept by North American Indians
0:41:17 > 0:41:19way up on the North American coast,
0:41:19 > 0:41:22and THEY were reputed to come from Spain in the 1500s.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25- So, sort of Navajo sheep, something like that?- Yes, exactly.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Exactly. Something like that.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29So that's the nearest link, so it's interesting
0:41:29 > 0:41:32how wildlife often link where people travel.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35Yeah, that connection with livestock and people and history,
0:41:35 > 0:41:37it's very entwined, isn't it?
0:41:37 > 0:41:40Very entwined, and you can trace people's migration
0:41:40 > 0:41:42to the livestock that they carried with them.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46- And they're enjoying that person's lawn there.- They are.
0:41:46 > 0:41:47No goats yet, though.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49Let's keep looking.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56What's that there? Look. Look, what's that?
0:41:56 > 0:42:00- Just to the left of the tree?- Yeah. That's a pig. Is it? Is it a pig?
0:42:00 > 0:42:02Yeah, it's a pig. It's a pig!
0:42:02 > 0:42:04You're lucky to see a pig.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06- It's quite a big one. - You hardly ever see them.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08That's an Arapawa pig.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11Black and tan. It's considered one of New Zealand's rare breeds.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13- Really?- Yeah.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15- So lucky to see that. So lucky to see that.- Incredible.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18So, that's a definite breed, then? Recognised as an Arapawa pig?
0:42:18 > 0:42:19Absolutely. Absolutely.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Nobody knows whether they're the pigs Captain Cook let go.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24Their DNA shows that they're European,
0:42:24 > 0:42:27so they would have come out a long time ago.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29Their real history? Not sure.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32It's great to have seen the sheep and pigs,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34but I've come a long way to see the Arapawa goat.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36It's getting towards the end of the day
0:42:36 > 0:42:39and we're just about to give up hope when...
0:42:39 > 0:42:42There's one. There's one! On the beach, on the beach.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44At least we've seen ONE.
0:42:44 > 0:42:45That's amazing.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47- It really is amazing.- Wonderful.
0:42:49 > 0:42:50I remember my dad used to have some goats
0:42:50 > 0:42:54that he called old English goats, and they were very similar to that.
0:42:54 > 0:42:55Almost identical, in fact.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58There's something moving around in the bushes up there, look.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Have a quick look.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04I can see... Yeah, yeah. There are more goats.
0:43:04 > 0:43:05A nanny and some kids there.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07This is easy, there's loads of them!
0:43:07 > 0:43:09Well, there's not, actually.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12I think we've seen more than our share.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14There must have been a dozen goats there.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16They were following each other up the track.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18So, on a normal day, if you came out,
0:43:18 > 0:43:21how regular is it to spot them like this?
0:43:21 > 0:43:23I've been up this coast several times,
0:43:23 > 0:43:25I've been here looking for pigs,
0:43:25 > 0:43:28with probably 12 people and dogs
0:43:28 > 0:43:31for three or four days - never found a pig, never saw a pig.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33- Wow.- And now we've seen one, just like that.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35And we've seen all the goats too.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38I've been on the coast looking for goats and never seen them,
0:43:38 > 0:43:41- so this is special. This is a really special day.- What a treat.- Yeah.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45Knowing how elusive these goats are, Michael wasn't going to let me
0:43:45 > 0:43:49travel from the other side of the world without seeing some up close.
0:43:50 > 0:43:51So he's arranged to have
0:43:51 > 0:43:55a couple of domestic Arapawa goats on standby.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57Look what we've got here.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59There's some Arapawa goats.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03This is the first time I've ever touched an Arapawa goat.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07A true old English, delivered by Captain Cook himself.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10And reasonable milk, but plenty of meat,
0:44:10 > 0:44:12so you can understand why Captain Cook left them
0:44:12 > 0:44:14and then knowing that people might return
0:44:14 > 0:44:17and then there was a ready source of food.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19- They are a meaty goat.- Yeah. - And a hardy goat.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23And this is the backbone of agriculture here in New Zealand.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25- It's how it all started, isn't it? - Absolutely.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28It's really quite an amazing story and, as you say,
0:44:28 > 0:44:31it is the birth of a nation, the colonisation, the release of these
0:44:31 > 0:44:35animals into the country, the effect on the country, and so it goes on.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38It's really very much the story of New Zealand.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40I think they deserve their place, don't they?
0:44:40 > 0:44:43- They need to be conserved and looked after.- They deserve their place.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45They certainly do.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56Next week, I'm back on the mainland where I am seeing
0:44:56 > 0:44:59the destruction of the recent earthquake for myself.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03Just take a look at this. This is evidence of the earthquake,
0:45:03 > 0:45:06where the road has collapsed and there's been a landslip.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08I'm also helping with a sheep muster
0:45:08 > 0:45:11on some pretty extreme terrain,
0:45:11 > 0:45:15and discovering how these mountains are kept so lush and green.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31We're at the National Botanic Garden of Wales,
0:45:31 > 0:45:36where scientists have captured the DNA of every native plant
0:45:36 > 0:45:40and cleverly used it to identify which ones the bees favour.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47And up here are some very clever women, who are creating
0:45:47 > 0:45:50an amazing piece of art based on the flowers found around here.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54I'm told it's usually a HIVE of activity.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04Translating the scientists' findings into an artwork for visitors,
0:46:04 > 0:46:0850 locals are stitching images of every plant
0:46:08 > 0:46:11known to be harvested by the garden's bees.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13It's going into the centre...
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Glenys Richards-Jones is showing me the ropes.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19And you're just sort of coming down towards the centre,
0:46:19 > 0:46:20in long and short stitches.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23- Did you pick which flower you were going to stitch?- Yes, I did.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27- This is an ivy-leaved bellflower. - So, just keep going in, like this?
0:46:27 > 0:46:30- Yes. That's lovely.- You do have to concentrate, don't you?
0:46:30 > 0:46:32You do, yes,
0:46:32 > 0:46:34and you need to concentrate on where it's coming out.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36And how long did this piece take?
0:46:36 > 0:46:39I think, to sew, it was about five hours.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45- You're doing quite well there. - You are. You're doing fantastic.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51The finished artwork being assembled by Marilyn Caruana
0:46:51 > 0:46:53is more than mere decoration.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56It reflects the botanic garden's scientific work.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Why have you put them in this order?
0:46:59 > 0:47:03We have all the trees and plants that the bees visited in preference
0:47:03 > 0:47:04at the top,
0:47:04 > 0:47:08working their way down to those that they visited less frequently.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12We've got some plants which are based from the walled garden
0:47:12 > 0:47:14and around in the botanic garden,
0:47:14 > 0:47:17and a lot of them are actually in the perimeter,
0:47:17 > 0:47:22so they are wild flowers, trees, and very high up on those - dandelions.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25So, stop weeding, everybody, you know!
0:47:26 > 0:47:30This sewing BEE stitches just a stone's throw away
0:47:30 > 0:47:32from the botanic garden's hives.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34It's here the scientists collect the honey
0:47:34 > 0:47:36for their pioneering research.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41- Yeah.- And then your hood comes over...
0:47:41 > 0:47:44'These precious bees are looked after by Linda Christie
0:47:44 > 0:47:46'and a team of volunteers.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49'And even in winter, there's plenty to do.'
0:47:49 > 0:47:53It is quite bizarre having quite a big cage on your head.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56Mind your step up here because it can be a little bit slippery.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58And how many hives have you got in here?
0:47:58 > 0:48:02- We have seven hives in here at the moment.- OK.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05We're going to look at this one, hive number three.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08Presumably, at this time of year, bees are not very busy
0:48:08 > 0:48:11because there aren't many flowers out, so what are they doing?
0:48:11 > 0:48:13So, what they're doing,
0:48:13 > 0:48:16they're clustering to keep the queen warm
0:48:16 > 0:48:20and to preserve the queen, so she's ready for laying next spring.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24During the winter time, the colony goes from the summer numbers
0:48:24 > 0:48:28of around about 60,000, and they deplete down to about 20,000.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31- Two-thirds die off? - Two-thirds die off.
0:48:31 > 0:48:36But then, come next spring, the queen will start laying again,
0:48:36 > 0:48:41and the number in the colony will peak again round July, August time.
0:48:42 > 0:48:43To see them through the winter,
0:48:43 > 0:48:46the survivors in these hives need
0:48:46 > 0:48:4830-40 pounds of honey in their larder.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52Without opening the hive to the cold,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55Linda has a simple test to find out if they've got enough.
0:48:55 > 0:49:01All I do is lift from the back and just feel the weight.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04So, this is literally just a measure of you feeling how heavy it is?
0:49:04 > 0:49:07- It is.- Do you think there's enough honey in there?
0:49:07 > 0:49:09- That's really heavy. Would you like to have a try?- OK.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12Give it a little lift and feel how heavy that is.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14- Oh, that does feel very heavy.- Yeah.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17So I'm happy that the bees have enough stores
0:49:17 > 0:49:18to get them through the winter.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22The hives that don't have enough honey are given
0:49:22 > 0:49:25a tasty substitute by Julian Caruana.
0:49:25 > 0:49:26This is baker's fondant.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Cut a small piece of this off and, very roughly,
0:49:29 > 0:49:32if you fill one of these takeaway cartons with this,
0:49:32 > 0:49:34you've got about a kilo.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38So, is this the kind of icing you put on a wedding or birthday cake?
0:49:38 > 0:49:39It's exactly that icing.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43- I'm just testing it. - HE LAUGHS
0:49:43 > 0:49:46- It's good. Very good. They'll be happy with that.- Good.- Hmm.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49- It's all right for the bees, is it? - Perfect.- Good.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52And how often do you have to do this?
0:49:52 > 0:49:55We might only have to do it once a year.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59- They will only go for this if they are really short.- OK.
0:50:04 > 0:50:05Can you give them anything sugary?
0:50:05 > 0:50:08It depends what time of year you're feeding them.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11- At this time of year, it needs to be solid.- OK.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15If it's in the spring, then you'd give them a sugar solution.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19Well, that is going to keep a bee and his friends going
0:50:19 > 0:50:21- for quite some time, I think. - It'll keep Helen going
0:50:21 > 0:50:24- for a long time as well! - Yeah, brilliant. See you.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31Well, I can see a few bees buzzing around, which suggests that
0:50:31 > 0:50:34it's actually unseasonably mild here at the moment,
0:50:34 > 0:50:36but let's see what the weather has in store for us.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39Here's the Countryfile forecast for the week ahead.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11We're exploring Carmarthenshire,
0:52:11 > 0:52:14and while Helen's been a busy bee at the botanic gardens,
0:52:14 > 0:52:17I've been finding out how this stunning stretch of sand
0:52:17 > 0:52:21once produced shells and explosives for Britain's war effort.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26The site for the munitions factory here at Pembrey was chosen
0:52:26 > 0:52:30because nearby sand dunes, like these, gave protection against
0:52:30 > 0:52:33the explosive materials that were being manufactured.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37These days, though, it's the dunes themselves that need protecting,
0:52:37 > 0:52:41but this invading force is a force of nature.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45A deciduous shrub called sea buckthorn was grown along the dunes
0:52:45 > 0:52:48to protect the woodland planted here after the war.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50It's actually native to the east coast,
0:52:50 > 0:52:52but over here on the west coast
0:52:52 > 0:52:53it's considered invasive.
0:52:53 > 0:52:58It's damaging the dunes and the species that live amongst them.
0:52:58 > 0:53:02Simeon Jones is the ranger tackling this thorny issue.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06When you look at this here, it's so robust, isn't it? It just shoots up.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09Yeah, it's a very tenacious plant.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11You've got to admire it for its tenacity.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14Does it have any benefits to the habitat here,
0:53:14 > 0:53:17- as far as you are concerned? - Well, it does have benefits.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21I mean, the berries of sea buckthorn are very nutritious.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24Birds love them, so redwing, fieldfare,
0:53:24 > 0:53:27even blackbird will come and feed on them.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29We don't want to get rid of all of it.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31It looks pretty dense that way.
0:53:31 > 0:53:32Is the idea then to get it to look
0:53:32 > 0:53:35a little bit more like what we've got here on the right-hand side?
0:53:35 > 0:53:36Yeah, that's it.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38We want to clear some of it
0:53:38 > 0:53:41so that we've got the species-rich dune grassland.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45If you look under the sea buckthorn, there's a lot of nettle there.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48And you just don't get the species diversity.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52On this side, you'll have dune flowers,
0:53:52 > 0:53:56wild flowers growing, and there are some pretty rare species as well,
0:53:56 > 0:53:59so we want to ensure that we keep some of that species diversity.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02What sort of area are we talking about?
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Because we've got a patch here on this side. How far does it stretch?
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Well, Cefn Sidan is about eight miles long,
0:54:08 > 0:54:12so from one end to the other, we've got well over a mile
0:54:12 > 0:54:15of clearing the sea buckthorn in the fore dunes.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19And if I'm going to help tackle eight miles of this spiky stuff,
0:54:19 > 0:54:22it's going to take more than a strimmer.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24Look at this bit of kit, eh?
0:54:24 > 0:54:27That's exactly what you want when you're tackling tough shrubs
0:54:27 > 0:54:30on the sand dunes. Right, get me in that crawler!
0:54:33 > 0:54:37- Hello. How are you doing? - I'm all right.- Right.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02This heavy machinery is making light work of the sea buckthorn.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06Just as well, as the short winter days are catching up with us.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13And I've had a tip-off that if daytime at Pembrey
0:55:13 > 0:55:17is about sand dunes, dusk is all about starlings.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20Matthew, you told me to get here at dusk.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22- I did.- For a special sight.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25I did. I'll be honest with you, I'm a little bit disappointed. OK?
0:55:25 > 0:55:26Believe it or not,
0:55:26 > 0:55:30there are 12,000 to 14,000 starlings in that reed bed over there.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33At the moment, well, the sky was supposed to be full of them.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36- I'll take your word for it.- Sorry. - What should it look like?
0:55:36 > 0:55:38Well, actually, it should look like this.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43One of nature's most spectacular sights.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45Tens of thousands of starlings
0:55:45 > 0:55:47flying in formation before they roost.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51We'd love to see your photos and videos of starling murmurations,
0:55:51 > 0:55:54and you might just see them in a future episode.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57Tweet us or contact us at...
0:56:00 > 0:56:02If you're having more than luck than us,
0:56:02 > 0:56:06if you've seen these fabulous birds, do send us in your photographs.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08That is all we've got time for this week.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10Next week, we're going to be on the Jurassic Coast,
0:56:10 > 0:56:12where I'll be meeting a man who's been chipping away
0:56:12 > 0:56:16for the last 30 years to unearth life from 150 million years ago.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19- Dedication. - I hope you can join us then.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21I'm sure I saw one over there, you know.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24- I think we're in the wrong place. - OK. Let's have a look over there.