Browse content similar to Compilation - The Countryfile Calendar Year. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Devon at first light - a picture of serenity. | 0:00:29 | 0:00:32 | |
The calm after the hectic rush of Christmas. | 0:00:32 | 0:00:35 | |
Wintry fields softly carpet the rolling landscape, | 0:00:36 | 0:00:40 | |
the bare bones of trees, silhouetted against the low winter sun. | 0:00:40 | 0:00:45 | |
The 12 days of Christmas are over tonight, | 0:00:45 | 0:00:47 | |
but here, at Killerton House, | 0:00:47 | 0:00:49 | |
the days ahead are going to be pretty busy. | 0:00:49 | 0:00:52 | |
There's plenty of preparation to be done to keep the house | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
and the surrounding estate ticking over as the new year unfolds. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:03 | |
Today, I'll be going behind the scenes to see what | 0:01:03 | 0:01:06 | |
it takes to get a country estate like this ready for all | 0:01:06 | 0:01:10 | |
the visitors in the year ahead. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:11 | |
And whilst they're looking forward at Killerton, | 0:01:16 | 0:01:18 | |
we'll be looking back through our archives at our own | 0:01:18 | 0:01:22 | |
Countryfile calendar year, revisiting seasonal scenes | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
as inspired by some of our winning photographs. | 0:01:25 | 0:01:28 | |
Matt blows away the cobwebs with a bracing dip. | 0:01:30 | 0:01:34 | |
It's so challenging. | 0:01:34 | 0:01:36 | |
It's like swimming up massive hills all the time. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:41 | |
Julia goes on a wildlife hunt in the Kielder Forest. | 0:01:44 | 0:01:48 | |
Oh, look, they're so fluffy! | 0:01:48 | 0:01:51 | |
Hello. Oh, gosh, so gorgeous. | 0:01:51 | 0:01:54 | |
And the weather causes havoc down on Adam's Farm. | 0:01:57 | 0:02:01 | |
Farming in the snow like this just takes up so much time | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
and is such a big effort. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:06 | |
I could really do with it going away. | 0:02:06 | 0:02:08 | |
Today, I'm in the grounds and surrounds of Killerton House. | 0:02:20 | 0:02:24 | |
With 15 working farms, extensive gardens | 0:02:24 | 0:02:27 | |
and over 60 miles of pathways, there's plenty to be done to | 0:02:27 | 0:02:31 | |
'get the place shipshape for the upcoming year.' | 0:02:31 | 0:02:34 | |
Lying a few miles north of Exeter, the Killerton estate takes up quite | 0:02:36 | 0:02:40 | |
a chunk of mid-Devon, stretching to a whopping ten square miles. | 0:02:40 | 0:02:44 | |
In fact, that's about the same size as Exeter. | 0:02:44 | 0:02:47 | |
Killerton House was built in 1779 for one of Devon's | 0:02:49 | 0:02:53 | |
oldest families, the Aclands. | 0:02:53 | 0:02:55 | |
It was their home for over three centuries | 0:02:59 | 0:03:02 | |
until Sir Richard Acland inherited it in 1939. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:06 | |
He was a strong believer in common ownership | 0:03:06 | 0:03:09 | |
and gave away the estate to the National Trust | 0:03:09 | 0:03:11 | |
so that the general public could visit and enjoy it. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:15 | |
Area ranger Ed Nicholson | 0:03:15 | 0:03:17 | |
is the man charged with getting the place ready for | 0:03:17 | 0:03:20 | |
the forthcoming year and he's got a very long to-do list. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:24 | |
What a fantastic gift this was from Sir Richard to the nation | 0:03:24 | 0:03:28 | |
and, obviously, a round-the-year job keeping it looking | 0:03:28 | 0:03:31 | |
-good for the public. -Yeah, it is. | 0:03:31 | 0:03:33 | |
We've got a great team here that work very hard year-round and we have | 0:03:33 | 0:03:36 | |
jobs that keep us busy from January right through to the end of December. | 0:03:36 | 0:03:39 | |
-And everything feeds back, does it? -Yeah, that's right. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:42 | |
We try and produce as much from the estate as we can to go back in. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:46 | |
So, we make our own cider from the orchards, | 0:03:46 | 0:03:48 | |
harvest our own venison from the forests. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:50 | |
All of those sort of things just help to keep the estate the way | 0:03:50 | 0:03:53 | |
-it should be. -So, what's the first job today, then? | 0:03:53 | 0:03:55 | |
First job today - light the charcoal kiln. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:57 | |
We're going to make some charcoal through our woodland management. | 0:03:57 | 0:04:00 | |
-I'll catch up with you later, then. -No problem. -Bye. | 0:04:00 | 0:04:03 | |
The gardens here were stocked with varieties | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
brought back by great plant hunters in the 1800s. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:10 | |
'And with 18 acres to tend, for the gardening team, there is | 0:04:10 | 0:04:13 | |
'little time for idle chat.' | 0:04:13 | 0:04:15 | |
-Can I stop you, Kate? You're the head gardener, aren't you? -I am. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:18 | |
-A job for all seasons here. -Absolutely. | 0:04:18 | 0:04:20 | |
Yes, people have this weird conception that we do | 0:04:20 | 0:04:23 | |
nothing in the winter except sit around and drink coffee. | 0:04:23 | 0:04:26 | |
That would be nice. But, in fact, it's the busiest time of year. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:29 | |
It's a really physical time of year | 0:04:29 | 0:04:30 | |
when we actually get the big jobs done. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:32 | |
So, what's going on at the moment? | 0:04:32 | 0:04:34 | |
Here, we are clearing out an area that's been slightly neglected. | 0:04:34 | 0:04:38 | |
So, a lot of brambles to come out, | 0:04:38 | 0:04:40 | |
a lot of tired, older shrubs to come out. | 0:04:40 | 0:04:42 | |
Then we will regenerate the area and replant. | 0:04:42 | 0:04:46 | |
What else is on your to-do list today, then? | 0:04:46 | 0:04:48 | |
I need to go and have a look at the Bear's Hut, | 0:04:48 | 0:04:50 | |
-which needs some restoration. -The Bear's Hut? -The Bear's Hut. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:53 | |
-A hut for bears? -It was, yes. -Really? | 0:04:53 | 0:04:56 | |
Kate tells me that one of the house's former owners | 0:05:00 | 0:05:03 | |
used to keep a pet bear cub called Tom in the Bear Hut. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:08 | |
GROWLING | 0:05:08 | 0:05:09 | |
A gift brought back from Canada in the 1860s. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:12 | |
So, this is it. I was expecting a cage. | 0:05:14 | 0:05:17 | |
It is very rustic but it was built as a rustic summerhouse | 0:05:17 | 0:05:20 | |
in about 1808, when the garden was originally laid out. | 0:05:20 | 0:05:24 | |
It was built as a wedding present for the lady of the house | 0:05:24 | 0:05:27 | |
as a sort of tea hut. | 0:05:27 | 0:05:29 | |
-What is it like inside? -Have a look. | 0:05:29 | 0:05:31 | |
-This is very rustic, isn't it? -It is. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
-The floor is made of sort of cuts of timber. Very nicely designed. -It is. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:43 | |
What have we got through here? | 0:05:43 | 0:05:45 | |
Through here, this is the room that used to be described as quite macabre | 0:05:45 | 0:05:50 | |
-and it was in decidedly bad taste. -It looks like a coconut mat to me. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:55 | |
-It is deer knuckle bones. -Never! | 0:05:55 | 0:05:58 | |
Deer knuckle bones cut in half, so you get two knuckles for each bone, | 0:05:58 | 0:06:02 | |
and set down into this pattern. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:04 | |
I have never seen anything like that before. | 0:06:04 | 0:06:07 | |
And then, on the ceiling, you've got a deerskin. | 0:06:07 | 0:06:11 | |
-A very elaborate home for a bear cub. -Very. Indeed. | 0:06:11 | 0:06:15 | |
And being so rustic, | 0:06:15 | 0:06:16 | |
you do wonder how much survived with a bear cub living in here. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:20 | |
-Yes. A wonderful place. -It is. And loved by children. | 0:06:20 | 0:06:24 | |
They come rushing up to try and find the bear cub up here. | 0:06:24 | 0:06:27 | |
Nobody's found him yet. But you never know when he might appear. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
Well, I doubt we'll see Tom the bear today - | 0:06:34 | 0:06:37 | |
he'll be hibernating away from this cold weather. | 0:06:37 | 0:06:40 | |
GROWLING | 0:06:40 | 0:06:41 | |
What was that? | 0:06:41 | 0:06:43 | |
It may be a bit grey here | 0:06:47 | 0:06:48 | |
but many of you will be starting your new year basking in the glow | 0:06:48 | 0:06:51 | |
from your wall of January's image in our Countryfile calendar. | 0:06:51 | 0:06:55 | |
Well, Matt blew away the cobwebs under Brighton Pier | 0:07:01 | 0:07:04 | |
a few years ago when he went for a bracing dip. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:07 | |
The Brighton Outdoor Swimming Club is the oldest swimming club in Britain. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:15 | |
Its members swim every day, all year round, in all weathers. | 0:07:15 | 0:07:19 | |
It's 7.30 in the morning and while most are struggling to get | 0:07:20 | 0:07:24 | |
out of bed, this intrepid bunch are about to set off for their daily dip. | 0:07:24 | 0:07:28 | |
-Well, a very good morning, team. How are we? ALL: -Good. | 0:07:29 | 0:07:32 | |
I have to say, I feel completely overdressed. | 0:07:32 | 0:07:35 | |
-Is this a good morning for it? -It's good. Not too rough. | 0:07:35 | 0:07:37 | |
Prefer it to be a bit flatter, but it's OK. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:40 | |
Of all the things that you could choose as a form of exercise, | 0:07:40 | 0:07:43 | |
why do you want to go for, you know, the "swimming in the sea" option? | 0:07:43 | 0:07:46 | |
It's free. It's just a really lovely sense of sort of being in touch | 0:07:46 | 0:07:51 | |
-with nature, really. -The sea, the coldness, makes my body tingle. | 0:07:51 | 0:07:56 | |
And it lasts for most of the day. It's a lovely feeling. | 0:07:56 | 0:08:01 | |
Right. Time to take to the water. | 0:08:01 | 0:08:03 | |
I'll tell you what, it's really, really nippy in there. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:09 | |
At this time of year, the sea's at its coldest - | 0:08:09 | 0:08:12 | |
only five degrees above freezing, which means | 0:08:12 | 0:08:14 | |
they can only stay in there for ten minutes without risking hypothermia. | 0:08:14 | 0:08:18 | |
-Good. -Yeah? Feeling OK? -Yeah, feels good now. -Invigorating? | 0:08:19 | 0:08:23 | |
-Less cold now than I was before I got in. -Really? | 0:08:23 | 0:08:26 | |
Yes. I'll get cold in about five minutes' time, though. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
-Well, you'd better head up there, then. -I will. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:31 | |
-Was that one all right for you? -Yeah. Invigorating. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:35 | |
But there's more to it than simply kick-starting your day, | 0:08:36 | 0:08:39 | |
as anaesthetist Dr Mark Harper knows. | 0:08:39 | 0:08:41 | |
Mark. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:45 | |
-How is it this morning? Fresh? -"Fresh", I think is what you'd say. | 0:08:45 | 0:08:49 | |
Give us an idea of the health benefits of the sea. | 0:08:49 | 0:08:53 | |
Quite a lot, actually. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:55 | |
The main one, really, is probably on the immune system. | 0:08:55 | 0:08:59 | |
It has been shown that improves the function of your white blood cells. | 0:08:59 | 0:09:03 | |
People who swim in the sea all year round, all through winter, | 0:09:03 | 0:09:06 | |
get less chest infections than people who don't. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:09 | |
It also has strong effect on the hormonal system. | 0:09:09 | 0:09:13 | |
Things like more adrenaline, which is a bit like...adrenaline - | 0:09:13 | 0:09:17 | |
it really gives you a buzz. This kind of buzz lasts all day. | 0:09:17 | 0:09:20 | |
When I first started swimming in the sea, this is what I really noticed. | 0:09:20 | 0:09:23 | |
God, I'm just buzzing all day. | 0:09:23 | 0:09:26 | |
'It's sounding more and more enticing | 0:09:27 | 0:09:30 | |
'but, before I take the plunge, I'm off to get inspiration | 0:09:30 | 0:09:32 | |
'from Channel swimmer Fiona Southwell, | 0:09:32 | 0:09:34 | |
'who became the oldest woman to swim the Channel at the age of 50.' | 0:09:34 | 0:09:39 | |
I put on a stone and a half for my Channel swim. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:41 | |
You know, you do need that fat. | 0:09:41 | 0:09:43 | |
It took me 20 hours to swim the Channel. | 0:09:43 | 0:09:45 | |
I was burning 6,000 calories an hour | 0:09:45 | 0:09:48 | |
but being fed 10,000 calories an hour by my feeds | 0:09:48 | 0:09:51 | |
and I still lost half a stone. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:53 | |
There's a section in the middle that's particularly... | 0:09:53 | 0:09:55 | |
The separation zone, yes. It's between the English and French | 0:09:55 | 0:09:58 | |
shipping lanes and that's quite a difficult stretch of water. | 0:09:58 | 0:10:01 | |
25mph winds and huge white-horse waves. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:04 | |
But, you know, I loved that. I just rose to that. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:07 | |
Because I'd trained here for years in quite rough seas, | 0:10:07 | 0:10:12 | |
so it didn't vex me, whereas it did vex quite a lot of other swimmers. | 0:10:12 | 0:10:16 | |
Yeah, cos there was a few out that day. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:18 | |
Five other swimmers, I think, that day attempting it | 0:10:18 | 0:10:20 | |
and I was the only one to get across on that day. | 0:10:20 | 0:10:23 | |
For all those people that would be sat watching this, | 0:10:23 | 0:10:25 | |
thinking that you are absolutely mad to go in and swim in the sea, | 0:10:25 | 0:10:30 | |
-what would you say to them? -Oh, you know, it's the most uplifting, | 0:10:30 | 0:10:34 | |
exhilarating experience and feeling of well-being afterwards. | 0:10:34 | 0:10:38 | |
Having said that, I do fall asleep in the afternoon. | 0:10:38 | 0:10:42 | |
In these temperatures. | 0:10:42 | 0:10:44 | |
It is a huge shock to the system. | 0:10:45 | 0:10:47 | |
I've got a little surprise organised for them | 0:10:49 | 0:10:51 | |
a little bit later on but, in order to experience this | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
sea swimming for myself, there's just one thing for it - | 0:10:55 | 0:10:58 | |
I'm going to have to get into the water. | 0:10:58 | 0:11:01 | |
Well, I'm not that stupid. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:03 | |
Paul, in all seriousness, it is | 0:11:03 | 0:11:05 | |
pretty dangerous getting in the water at this time of year, in the sea? | 0:11:05 | 0:11:08 | |
Absolutely. There are swimmers that swim all year round without | 0:11:08 | 0:11:11 | |
wet suits but they are swimming every single day of the year | 0:11:11 | 0:11:14 | |
and they're gradually acclimatising their bodies. | 0:11:14 | 0:11:16 | |
If you haven't done that and you're just taking a dip, | 0:11:16 | 0:11:18 | |
a wet suit, two swimming hats, a pair of gloves - essential. | 0:11:18 | 0:11:22 | |
I'll tell you what, there's some big'uns coming in here. | 0:11:24 | 0:11:27 | |
But it's time to goggle up and get out there. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
'The cold, I was ready for. But not the rough conditions.' | 0:11:38 | 0:11:41 | |
The wind kicks up an enormous amount of chop. There's one. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:48 | |
It's so challenging. | 0:11:49 | 0:11:51 | |
It's like swimming up massive hills all the time | 0:11:52 | 0:11:56 | |
and to maintain the front crawl is difficult. | 0:11:56 | 0:11:59 | |
'We're heading to a pontoon, | 0:12:02 | 0:12:03 | |
'where I've got a treat in store for my fellow swimmers.' | 0:12:03 | 0:12:07 | |
Oh, yes. Made it to the pontoon. | 0:12:11 | 0:12:15 | |
I'll tell you what, that is exhausting. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:19 | |
Well, back in 1880s, an eccentric member of the swimming club | 0:12:25 | 0:12:28 | |
set up tea parties on pontoons just like this one - | 0:12:28 | 0:12:32 | |
a welcome break for everybody. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:35 | |
Now, it's a little bit choppy today, but we're catching cups | 0:12:35 | 0:12:40 | |
and we've got a flask full of tea. So, let's celebrate! | 0:12:40 | 0:12:43 | |
And up we go, lovely. There's... | 0:12:44 | 0:12:46 | |
THEY CHEER | 0:12:46 | 0:12:47 | |
-There's one. Cheers, everyone. ALL: -Cheers. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:50 | |
Can I have mine black, please? | 0:12:50 | 0:12:52 | |
From the Victorian bathing huts of yesteryear | 0:12:52 | 0:12:55 | |
to the Channel swimmers of today, the wonderfully eccentric | 0:12:55 | 0:12:58 | |
adventures of the Brighton Swimming Club look set to continue. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:01 | |
'Back on dry land at Killerton, spring has sprung early. | 0:13:10 | 0:13:13 | |
'I'm on the estate's oldest tenant farm, which is | 0:13:13 | 0:13:17 | |
'welcoming its newest arrivals. | 0:13:17 | 0:13:19 | |
'Arthur Salter runs the farm.' | 0:13:19 | 0:13:21 | |
How old do you reckon this farm is, Arthur? | 0:13:23 | 0:13:25 | |
They think it's about 15th century. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:28 | |
-And how long have your family been here? -We've... | 0:13:28 | 0:13:30 | |
The family have been here very nearly 150 years. | 0:13:30 | 0:13:34 | |
I bet a lot of people would be surprised to see | 0:13:34 | 0:13:37 | |
-lambs at this time of year. -There are a few early lambs about. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:42 | |
It just happens to fit in with the system at the farm. | 0:13:42 | 0:13:46 | |
The lambs are bred in the winter whilst | 0:13:48 | 0:13:50 | |
the workload on the farm is quiet. | 0:13:50 | 0:13:52 | |
It means they'll then be ready to savour the first shoots of spring. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:55 | |
Once the lambs are sold, the pasture can recover and then | 0:13:56 | 0:13:59 | |
the cattle will go out to graze, | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
making the best use of the farming year. | 0:14:01 | 0:14:03 | |
-Feeding time, Mark, is it? -Yeah. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:06 | |
'But before they get out to pasture, | 0:14:08 | 0:14:09 | |
'some of the lambs need a helping hand from shepherd Mark Hodgson.' | 0:14:09 | 0:14:13 | |
Here's a thirsty one. | 0:14:15 | 0:14:17 | |
This must be a really busy time of year for you, Mark. | 0:14:17 | 0:14:19 | |
How many lambs will you have all together? | 0:14:19 | 0:14:22 | |
Probably about 150-200. | 0:14:22 | 0:14:24 | |
And will they eventually get out and graze? | 0:14:25 | 0:14:28 | |
Obviously, we'll start letting them out now | 0:14:28 | 0:14:30 | |
in the next couple of weeks, probably. | 0:14:30 | 0:14:32 | |
-Well, these seem pretty fit, pretty hungry. -Fit lambs at the moment. | 0:14:32 | 0:14:36 | |
Getting through the whole bottle very quickly. | 0:14:36 | 0:14:38 | |
Three times a day, they all drink a bottle. | 0:14:38 | 0:14:41 | |
'Of course, most of our lambs don't appear until springtime, | 0:14:41 | 0:14:45 | |
'when this striking calendar image could be gracing your wall.' | 0:14:45 | 0:14:49 | |
A couple of years ago, | 0:14:50 | 0:14:51 | |
Ellie got her own glimpse of some rare birds of prey on Exmoor, | 0:14:51 | 0:14:55 | |
birds that once would have been a common sight | 0:14:55 | 0:14:58 | |
in the British countryside. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:01 | |
These days, getting a glimpse of one of these magnificent | 0:15:01 | 0:15:04 | |
creatures in the wild is a rare treat. | 0:15:04 | 0:15:06 | |
What precious few remain risk being targeted | 0:15:06 | 0:15:09 | |
by those who see birds of prey as competition. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
This is a picture of a rare goshawk found dead near Exeter. | 0:15:14 | 0:15:18 | |
It was deliberately poisoned, along with three other goshawks. | 0:15:18 | 0:15:21 | |
But with only 20 breeding pairs left in the whole county, | 0:15:21 | 0:15:24 | |
it represents a really significant loss. | 0:15:24 | 0:15:27 | |
'Josh Marshall is a wildlife crime officer. | 0:15:32 | 0:15:34 | |
'It's his job to try and catch people attacking birds of prey.' | 0:15:34 | 0:15:38 | |
Who are these people, then, doing all this? | 0:15:38 | 0:15:40 | |
With birds of prey, | 0:15:40 | 0:15:42 | |
the national picture would suggest that, with goshawks, | 0:15:42 | 0:15:45 | |
you've got gamekeepers or people you'd associate with | 0:15:45 | 0:15:49 | |
the shooting fraternity that may want to poison the birds. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:52 | |
Not saying that they all do. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:54 | |
There are some really reputable shoots out there as well. | 0:15:54 | 0:15:57 | |
What can you do to combat the problem? | 0:15:57 | 0:15:58 | |
We've got these motion-activated covert cameras now, | 0:15:58 | 0:16:01 | |
which we've placed on certain nest sites within Devon, | 0:16:01 | 0:16:04 | |
hopefully to catch these people | 0:16:04 | 0:16:06 | |
who are thinking about committing these sort of dreadful acts. | 0:16:06 | 0:16:09 | |
'Today, at a secret location, | 0:16:10 | 0:16:12 | |
'Josh is checking a goshawk nest and a camera.' | 0:16:12 | 0:16:15 | |
-Got your ladder. -Yeah. Yeah. | 0:16:15 | 0:16:17 | |
Ellie, goshawks are really sensitive and prone to disturbance | 0:16:18 | 0:16:22 | |
-so we need to keep that to a minimum on the visit. -OK. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:24 | |
So, I'm going to leave you here while I go up | 0:16:24 | 0:16:26 | |
-and service the batteries on the camera. -Oh, OK. | 0:16:26 | 0:16:29 | |
-I'll wait for you, then. -OK, then. -See you in a bit. | 0:16:29 | 0:16:31 | |
We've actually had to have special permission just to get this far, | 0:16:34 | 0:16:37 | |
let alone going up to the nest, so I'll leave Josh to that one. | 0:16:37 | 0:16:41 | |
It a pretty cold day today so he's going to have to be really quick. | 0:16:41 | 0:16:45 | |
He's got to be in there, service the camera and back out again because we | 0:16:45 | 0:16:49 | |
don't want the eggs, or the chicks, if they've hatched already, | 0:16:49 | 0:16:53 | |
-to get cold. -It's gone. -I think something's wrong. | 0:16:53 | 0:16:57 | |
-What's up? -Well, unfortunately, the camera's gone. -You're kidding. | 0:17:00 | 0:17:06 | |
The good news is that the birds are still there. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:08 | |
The female was there when I was there so... | 0:17:08 | 0:17:10 | |
And it doesn't appear that there's | 0:17:10 | 0:17:12 | |
been any attempt on the nest or anything. | 0:17:12 | 0:17:15 | |
Some of the cameras are wireless | 0:17:15 | 0:17:16 | |
so they'll e-mail the images back | 0:17:16 | 0:17:18 | |
to computers back at the police station. | 0:17:18 | 0:17:20 | |
So, potentially, we could have the image of them taking | 0:17:20 | 0:17:23 | |
-the camera there. -So, technology, actually, is a step ahead? | 0:17:23 | 0:17:26 | |
-Yeah. -You can't take the camera and get away with it. -That's right, yeah. | 0:17:26 | 0:17:29 | |
-You'll get done for theft as well. -Well, there you go. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:31 | |
'With the help of technology and policemen like Josh, | 0:17:34 | 0:17:37 | |
'perhaps one day rare birds of prey | 0:17:37 | 0:17:39 | |
'can prosper just as they did centuries ago.' | 0:17:39 | 0:17:42 | |
In medieval times, the sport of falconry was big business. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:47 | |
A bird of prey was a status symbol that said "power and wealth". | 0:17:47 | 0:17:50 | |
So, today, where we might have a flashy watch or | 0:17:50 | 0:17:53 | |
piece of jewellery, back then, it was all about the bird. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:56 | |
Oh. | 0:17:57 | 0:17:58 | |
The wide-open space of Putsborough Sands provides the perfect arena | 0:17:59 | 0:18:03 | |
to meet Jonathan Marshall, a falconer who's keeping | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
the tradition alive... and going one step further. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:09 | |
Wow, what handsome-looking animals you have here. Who's this? | 0:18:11 | 0:18:15 | |
This is Quinn, who is a peregrine falcon. A little male peregrine. | 0:18:15 | 0:18:18 | |
-Beautiful. -He's a cracker. He's a beautiful bird. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:20 | |
I bred him myself so... | 0:18:20 | 0:18:21 | |
And the hood's just to keep them... Stop from... Not spooked. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
We're just go to fly him shortly and so he doesn't waste all his energy, | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
we hood him first, so when I do fly him he's all revved up, ready to go. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:32 | |
-Amazing. So, you bred this one. -Yeah, I bred this one. | 0:18:32 | 0:18:35 | |
I've had him since he was an egg. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:37 | |
He was a very good-looking egg, but even better-looking as an adult. | 0:18:37 | 0:18:40 | |
Absolutely. And what about this horse? | 0:18:40 | 0:18:42 | |
Well, this is one of my best horses. | 0:18:42 | 0:18:44 | |
His name's Tulio and he's a Lusitano. | 0:18:44 | 0:18:47 | |
He's an ex-bullfighting horse, came from Portugal. | 0:18:47 | 0:18:50 | |
So, falconry is a sport, but how come you've brought horses into that? | 0:18:50 | 0:18:54 | |
Well, originally, falconry was practised from horseback | 0:18:54 | 0:18:56 | |
because, of course, in years gone by they didn't have | 0:18:56 | 0:18:59 | |
Land Rovers so they needed to get from A to B somehow and horses, | 0:18:59 | 0:19:02 | |
at that time, were very much part of everyday life. | 0:19:02 | 0:19:05 | |
And this particular breed of horse, | 0:19:05 | 0:19:07 | |
and all of the Spanish horses, were exceptionally good | 0:19:07 | 0:19:10 | |
for falconry because they're quick on their feet, they're very agile, | 0:19:10 | 0:19:13 | |
they're very manoeuvrable. | 0:19:13 | 0:19:14 | |
These horses were about the best and still are. | 0:19:14 | 0:19:17 | |
I'm looking forward to this, Jonathan. | 0:19:17 | 0:19:19 | |
-I'll go over there and see you in action. -Okey-doke. | 0:19:19 | 0:19:21 | |
Incredibly neat, tight riding. | 0:19:31 | 0:19:33 | |
Jonathan swings in the lure above his head to tempt the falcon | 0:19:36 | 0:19:40 | |
into diving for a catch. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:41 | |
The speed of that peregrine! | 0:19:44 | 0:19:45 | |
Oh! That's awesome! It can fly through the horse's legs. | 0:19:53 | 0:19:57 | |
HE WHISTLES | 0:20:01 | 0:20:03 | |
Through the legs again, that's amazing. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:05 | |
'Seeing horse and bird move so gracefully under Jonathan's | 0:20:05 | 0:20:08 | |
'direction is like watching a carefully choreographed ballet.' | 0:20:08 | 0:20:12 | |
It's a beautiful scene. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:17 | |
'Finally, Jonathan lets the falcon take the lure.' | 0:20:27 | 0:20:30 | |
Well deserved. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:33 | |
Ha-ha! Wow! I have never seen horsemanship like it. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:40 | |
That was amazing. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:43 | |
Jonathan, how would you even begin to start training to do this? | 0:20:43 | 0:20:47 | |
Well, rather than explaining, why don't I just show you? | 0:20:47 | 0:20:49 | |
-Yes, good thinking. -Have a go. Take a glove. -Yeah. -There you go. | 0:20:49 | 0:20:52 | |
'Jonathan brings out his second bird, the Harris hawk.' | 0:20:53 | 0:20:57 | |
HE WHISTLES | 0:20:57 | 0:20:58 | |
Oh, here we go. | 0:20:58 | 0:21:00 | |
Oh, wow! | 0:21:00 | 0:21:02 | |
'What a beautiful animal.' | 0:21:04 | 0:21:05 | |
OK, one, two, three. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:07 | |
'But I must admit, | 0:21:07 | 0:21:09 | |
'I'm a little bit nervous about doing this on horseback.' | 0:21:09 | 0:21:11 | |
SHE LAUGHS | 0:21:11 | 0:21:12 | |
-There you go. -Thank you very much. | 0:21:12 | 0:21:14 | |
-That's it. -Put one on there. -Raise your hand up nice and high. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:17 | |
Here we go. HE WHISTLES | 0:21:17 | 0:21:18 | |
Your best falconer's whistle. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:20 | |
Oh, wow. That was awesome. Jonathan, what an experience. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:25 | |
'Back on the Killerton estate, they're getting the place | 0:21:36 | 0:21:39 | |
'ready for the year ahead. | 0:21:39 | 0:21:41 | |
'With 160,000 visitors annually there's lots to do. | 0:21:41 | 0:21:45 | |
'I'm heading through the orchards to meet up again with area ranger | 0:21:47 | 0:21:50 | |
'Ed Nicholson.' | 0:21:50 | 0:21:52 | |
What's going on here, Ed? | 0:21:53 | 0:21:55 | |
Just racking off the cider, | 0:21:55 | 0:21:57 | |
so taking the part-fermented cider, a good cider | 0:21:57 | 0:22:00 | |
that's still got fermentation to go, off the dead yeast. | 0:22:00 | 0:22:03 | |
-So, it's going into another tank, is it? -Yeah, Alison's over there. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:08 | |
We've got a clean tank and eventually come April-May, | 0:22:08 | 0:22:11 | |
we'll have a finished product. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:14 | |
'Ed tells me they've got 50 acres of orchard with | 0:22:14 | 0:22:17 | |
'over 100 different varieties of apple, | 0:22:17 | 0:22:20 | |
'many of which are specially cultivated for cider. | 0:22:20 | 0:22:23 | |
'In fact in olden times farmers around here often used to | 0:22:23 | 0:22:26 | |
'pay their workers in cider. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:29 | |
'Not sure that would be allowed today!' | 0:22:29 | 0:22:30 | |
We had a great autumn last year. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:34 | |
Lots of fruit and people often say that we only use | 0:22:34 | 0:22:37 | |
half of our fruit and we waste the other half. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:40 | |
Well, yeah, we do only use half of our fruit for human consumption. | 0:22:40 | 0:22:43 | |
The other half of the fruit isn't wasted in our mind | 0:22:43 | 0:22:46 | |
because it's used for wildlife and the migrating birds that come over | 0:22:46 | 0:22:49 | |
and use these orchards as such special habitats. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:52 | |
That's deliberate policy, then? | 0:22:52 | 0:22:54 | |
Yeah, the cider is a by-product of our orchard management and | 0:22:54 | 0:22:57 | |
we manage these traditional habitats primarily for the wildlife. | 0:22:57 | 0:23:00 | |
And what kind of cider do you produce? | 0:23:00 | 0:23:03 | |
Is it scrumpy or is it pure cider? | 0:23:03 | 0:23:05 | |
This is part of the reason why we're doing the racking off. | 0:23:05 | 0:23:08 | |
We want to produce quite a fine cider. | 0:23:08 | 0:23:10 | |
We wouldn't want to leave it on the dead yeast, which can produce | 0:23:10 | 0:23:14 | |
quite a rough, scrumpy form of cider, | 0:23:14 | 0:23:16 | |
so basically we're taking this off now | 0:23:16 | 0:23:19 | |
and we do two different varieties, a dry and a slightly sparkling sweet. | 0:23:19 | 0:23:23 | |
All this talk of cider is giving me a bit of a thirst, Ed. | 0:23:23 | 0:23:27 | |
Well, I think we ought to organise a little bit of a tasting later on. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:30 | |
It is the end of the festive season, after all, isn't it? | 0:23:30 | 0:23:32 | |
'From the russet tones of autumn's harvest to the dusky hues | 0:23:36 | 0:23:40 | |
'of the sun setting behind the island of Ailsa Craig, | 0:23:40 | 0:23:43 | |
'our September image in the Countryfile calendar. | 0:23:43 | 0:23:46 | |
'I had my own island adventure off the coast of Northumberland last | 0:23:48 | 0:23:52 | |
'year, in search of a creature whose life we know very little about. | 0:23:52 | 0:23:57 | |
'Underwater cameraman Ben Burville is at the start of a five-year | 0:24:00 | 0:24:03 | |
'project to learn more about the life of this elusive mammal.' | 0:24:03 | 0:24:08 | |
What are the chances of us seeing this creature? | 0:24:08 | 0:24:11 | |
-With nature, you never know, John. -Fingers crossed. -Fingers crossed. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:15 | |
'Our high-speed RIB will take us far out to sea to an area where | 0:24:19 | 0:24:23 | |
'they've been spotted in the past.' | 0:24:23 | 0:24:26 | |
So, what exactly is it that we're looking for? | 0:24:28 | 0:24:30 | |
What we're looking for today, John, is this. | 0:24:30 | 0:24:32 | |
This is a white-beaked dolphin, | 0:24:32 | 0:24:34 | |
the most abundant dolphin in the North Sea, with about 8,000 to | 0:24:34 | 0:24:38 | |
10,000 of them in there, but one that very few people know much about. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:42 | |
Why is that? | 0:24:42 | 0:24:43 | |
It's really the fact that it tends to be in deeper waters | 0:24:43 | 0:24:46 | |
and tends to be offshore. | 0:24:46 | 0:24:48 | |
Is it important now to find out more about these dolphins? | 0:24:48 | 0:24:50 | |
It is important for their conservation and also to find out | 0:24:50 | 0:24:54 | |
whether activities that we do can affect them in an adverse way. | 0:24:54 | 0:24:57 | |
'Ben's a GP by day but away from the surgery | 0:25:05 | 0:25:09 | |
'he's an underwater cameraman.' | 0:25:09 | 0:25:10 | |
-Dolphin, definitely. -Definitely dolphin? -Yeah, got one, dolphin. | 0:25:13 | 0:25:18 | |
-Where? -Dorsal fin, five o'clock. Quarter of a mile. -Give me a range. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:22 | |
Quarter of a mile. Five o'clock. | 0:25:22 | 0:25:25 | |
-Oh, there it is, see it there? -What is it? | 0:25:27 | 0:25:29 | |
It's actually a minke whale. | 0:25:29 | 0:25:30 | |
It's a minke whale. It's not a white-beaked dolphin. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:33 | |
No, it's not a white-beaked dolphin. That's a minke whale. | 0:25:33 | 0:25:36 | |
'It's a great sighting, but thrilling as it is to spot | 0:25:36 | 0:25:39 | |
'a minke whale, it's not the reason why we're out here today.' | 0:25:39 | 0:25:43 | |
'We head further out into the North Sea to continue our search.' | 0:25:50 | 0:25:54 | |
Why have we stopped, then, because nobody has seen a dolphin? | 0:26:06 | 0:26:10 | |
No, no, we've just stopped | 0:26:10 | 0:26:11 | |
because there's quite a few puffins over there in the water. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:14 | |
Is that a sign that maybe there are dolphins around? | 0:26:14 | 0:26:16 | |
It's a sign there may be food in the water, there may be big sand eels. | 0:26:16 | 0:26:19 | |
There could be dolphins there as well. | 0:26:19 | 0:26:21 | |
There could well be dolphins there as well, we hope. | 0:26:21 | 0:26:24 | |
'To use an old landlubber saying, | 0:26:24 | 0:26:26 | |
'it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. | 0:26:26 | 0:26:29 | |
'Now, we're rendezvous-ing with Newcastle University's marine | 0:26:29 | 0:26:33 | |
'research ship, The Princess Royal. | 0:26:33 | 0:26:35 | |
'Today, Ben is working alongside Simon Laing, | 0:26:35 | 0:26:38 | |
'whose team is hoping to find out what effect the construction of | 0:26:38 | 0:26:41 | |
'wind farms at sea has on dolphins | 0:26:41 | 0:26:44 | |
'and Simon is using sound, not pictures.' | 0:26:44 | 0:26:47 | |
What have we got here, then, Simon? | 0:26:47 | 0:26:49 | |
This is a towed hydrophone, | 0:26:49 | 0:26:50 | |
-a special type of microphone that listens... -A microphone? -Yeah. | 0:26:50 | 0:26:54 | |
I've see lots of microphones in my time | 0:26:54 | 0:26:57 | |
but never one that looked like this. | 0:26:57 | 0:26:59 | |
This is a special microphone that listens for sounds underwater. | 0:26:59 | 0:27:03 | |
'But the really clever part is in here.' | 0:27:03 | 0:27:05 | |
Now the microphone's in the water we can come over to the computer | 0:27:05 | 0:27:09 | |
and as soon as we press "record", what we'll start to see is some | 0:27:09 | 0:27:12 | |
of the sounds that we're hearing right now popping up on the screen. | 0:27:12 | 0:27:15 | |
That's background noise that you're seeing on-screen. | 0:27:15 | 0:27:18 | |
What sort of symbol would you see if it was a white-beaked dolphin? | 0:27:18 | 0:27:21 | |
Well, we would hopefully see a red triangle popping up on screen | 0:27:21 | 0:27:24 | |
and that would mean we're recording something in real-time | 0:27:24 | 0:27:26 | |
and it would be about 200m behind the vessel. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:29 | |
Can you actually hear the sound of the dolphins? | 0:27:29 | 0:27:31 | |
Well, dolphins make two types of sounds. | 0:27:31 | 0:27:33 | |
They make whistles and they make clicks. | 0:27:33 | 0:27:35 | |
We can hear the whistles but we can't hear the clicks. | 0:27:35 | 0:27:38 | |
In fact I've got a recording here of some white-beaked dolphin | 0:27:38 | 0:27:41 | |
whistles, if you'd like to have a listen. | 0:27:41 | 0:27:42 | |
WHISTLING | 0:27:45 | 0:27:46 | |
-That really is a whistle, isn't it? -Yeah, yeah. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:49 | |
One of the things we're trying to determine with this project - | 0:27:49 | 0:27:52 | |
"Do the dolphins in the north-east of England have a different | 0:27:52 | 0:27:55 | |
"whistle to those in Scotland?" Because that would indicate | 0:27:55 | 0:27:58 | |
those two populations are very separate if that is the case. | 0:27:58 | 0:28:00 | |
And what's the research telling you, that they might? | 0:28:00 | 0:28:03 | |
The research at the moment is that telling us | 0:28:03 | 0:28:05 | |
they may well have different whistles, yeah. | 0:28:05 | 0:28:07 | |
So, you could well have, in this bit of the North Sea, Geordie dolphins? | 0:28:07 | 0:28:10 | |
With a Geordie accent? | 0:28:10 | 0:28:11 | |
Potentially, yes, you could have Geordie dolphins in the north-east. | 0:28:11 | 0:28:15 | |
'Whatever the accent, there's not a whistle right now | 0:28:15 | 0:28:17 | |
'from the white-beaked dolphins, so we are obviously in the wrong place. | 0:28:17 | 0:28:21 | |
'I'm going to try my luck again with Ben.' | 0:28:21 | 0:28:25 | |
There we go. | 0:28:25 | 0:28:26 | |
JOHN LAUGHS | 0:28:26 | 0:28:27 | |
Don't it, whoops! | 0:28:27 | 0:28:29 | |
'Ben reckons our best chance of seeing the dolphins lies 18 miles | 0:28:31 | 0:28:35 | |
'out in the Farne Deeps, | 0:28:35 | 0:28:36 | |
'where the sea floor will be around 100m below us. | 0:28:36 | 0:28:40 | |
'That's equivalent to the height of St Paul's Cathedral.' | 0:28:40 | 0:28:43 | |
'We've arrived at our destination. | 0:28:57 | 0:28:59 | |
'All we can do now is keep our eyes peeled and hope.' | 0:28:59 | 0:29:03 | |
Oh, there we are look, straight there! | 0:29:15 | 0:29:16 | |
CREW SHOUT EXCITEDLY | 0:29:16 | 0:29:18 | |
-15m from us. -OK, here at the front of the boat. | 0:29:18 | 0:29:23 | |
-I see them there. -Can you see it? There we are! -Wow! | 0:29:23 | 0:29:27 | |
So, this is a white-beaked dolphin and it's choosing to bow-ride. | 0:29:27 | 0:29:31 | |
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, wow. | 0:29:33 | 0:29:39 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:29:39 | 0:29:42 | |
-Goodness me. -A beautiful sight, John. | 0:29:42 | 0:29:44 | |
Isn't it an amazing sight! And I can see the white beaks so clearly now. | 0:29:44 | 0:29:50 | |
'What's incredible to me is that these wild creatures | 0:29:52 | 0:29:56 | |
'want to come so close to our boat and just play around. | 0:29:56 | 0:29:59 | |
'Now, it's illegal to disturb dolphins | 0:29:59 | 0:30:01 | |
'so Ben's been granted a special licence to dive close to them.' | 0:30:01 | 0:30:05 | |
This is a massive pod, isn't it? | 0:30:07 | 0:30:08 | |
This is a big pod. It's an aggregation here. | 0:30:08 | 0:30:10 | |
-Several pods, do you think? -Without a doubt. | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
All gathered together. It will be interesting to see what you find. | 0:30:13 | 0:30:16 | |
SQUEAKING AND CLICKING | 0:30:24 | 0:30:28 | |
-John, I am surrounded by dolphins. -What an experience! | 0:30:44 | 0:30:49 | |
When they're under the water, John, | 0:30:49 | 0:30:51 | |
they're using their echolocation | 0:30:51 | 0:30:53 | |
and they're using clicks and whistles. | 0:30:53 | 0:30:56 | |
And the whistles really are to communicate with each other | 0:30:56 | 0:30:58 | |
and the maximum we can hear is about 20 kilohertz. | 0:30:58 | 0:31:04 | |
-Here we go, I'm just going to have a quick look at that one. -OK. | 0:31:06 | 0:31:10 | |
SQUEAKING AND CLICKING | 0:31:16 | 0:31:18 | |
-Quite amazing to see, isn't it? -What did we get, then? | 0:31:28 | 0:31:31 | |
Without doubt, some identification of males and females. | 0:31:31 | 0:31:34 | |
What do you notice about their behaviour? | 0:31:34 | 0:31:36 | |
Their behaviour is that they're inquisitive. | 0:31:36 | 0:31:39 | |
They are amazing wildlife just off our shores here, you know, | 0:31:39 | 0:31:43 | |
-and these dolphins... -That we know so little about? -So little about. | 0:31:43 | 0:31:46 | |
The information you're gathering underwater | 0:31:46 | 0:31:48 | |
could be vital for the future protection of these species? | 0:31:48 | 0:31:51 | |
It certainly could for the future protection of these creatures. | 0:31:51 | 0:31:53 | |
Yes, John, you're right. | 0:31:53 | 0:31:55 | |
'That really was a first, | 0:31:58 | 0:32:00 | |
'a pioneering trip that I'll never forget.' | 0:32:00 | 0:32:02 | |
'Today, we're behind the scenes on the Killerton estate in Devon - | 0:32:07 | 0:32:11 | |
'a hive of activity as it gets ready to open its doors to the public | 0:32:11 | 0:32:15 | |
'in the months ahead.' | 0:32:15 | 0:32:17 | |
Well, this is a pretty unassuming building from the outside, | 0:32:17 | 0:32:21 | |
but I'm told that inside there's a real treasure chest. Let's go see. | 0:32:21 | 0:32:25 | |
Well, what a surprise! | 0:32:29 | 0:32:32 | |
I was expecting something vaguely agricultural | 0:32:32 | 0:32:35 | |
but instead we've got costumes. | 0:32:35 | 0:32:38 | |
Rows upon rows of costumes, by the look of it. | 0:32:38 | 0:32:42 | |
-Are you in charge of them? -Yes, I am. | 0:32:42 | 0:32:43 | |
How many have you got altogether? | 0:32:43 | 0:32:45 | |
Well, we have about 20,000 items on our database altogether. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:49 | |
And how did they get here, then? | 0:32:49 | 0:32:50 | |
They came here in the mid-1970s after the death of the original collector | 0:32:50 | 0:32:56 | |
and once they'd been displayed at Killerton, | 0:32:56 | 0:32:59 | |
we began to acquire more things. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:01 | |
These costumes are now part and parcel of the Killerton estate, | 0:33:04 | 0:33:08 | |
and some are even older than the house itself, | 0:33:08 | 0:33:10 | |
ranging from the 1690s to the 1970s. | 0:33:10 | 0:33:15 | |
Each garment has a unique number and the store room is kept | 0:33:15 | 0:33:19 | |
at a constantly cool temperature to preserve them. | 0:33:19 | 0:33:22 | |
So, do all these costumes just stay in here? | 0:33:24 | 0:33:27 | |
At the moment, they're "resting", to use a theatrical term. | 0:33:27 | 0:33:31 | |
What happens when they're not resting, then? | 0:33:31 | 0:33:33 | |
When they're not resting, their moment comes along, | 0:33:33 | 0:33:36 | |
and they go on display. | 0:33:36 | 0:33:39 | |
I make a selection every year for the annual exhibition, | 0:33:39 | 0:33:42 | |
so next month, we'll be opening the exhibition, | 0:33:42 | 0:33:45 | |
and Charlotte's just preparing some of the pieces | 0:33:45 | 0:33:49 | |
to go on show at the moment. | 0:33:49 | 0:33:51 | |
A selection of the costumes has been displayed | 0:33:51 | 0:33:54 | |
annually at the house for the past 35 years. | 0:33:54 | 0:33:57 | |
This year's theme is The Nature of Fashion, showcasing natural fibres. | 0:33:57 | 0:34:02 | |
Excuse me, ladies! | 0:34:02 | 0:34:03 | |
What are you doing here, Charlotte? | 0:34:06 | 0:34:08 | |
I'm actually using cold steam, | 0:34:08 | 0:34:10 | |
just to apply a bit of moisture to the fibres to make them relax, | 0:34:10 | 0:34:13 | |
and therefore, for the creases to drop out. | 0:34:13 | 0:34:16 | |
Obviously, with a period garment, you can't actually iron it, | 0:34:16 | 0:34:20 | |
because the hot temperature would obviously damage the fibres. | 0:34:20 | 0:34:23 | |
How difficult is it to take a dress like this from the rack | 0:34:23 | 0:34:29 | |
and turn it into something that looks real? | 0:34:29 | 0:34:32 | |
It's a process that takes about three or four days, | 0:34:32 | 0:34:35 | |
to mount something correctly. | 0:34:35 | 0:34:36 | |
And what kind of era are we talking about here? | 0:34:36 | 0:34:40 | |
This dress is about 1870. | 0:34:40 | 0:34:42 | |
This dress is going into next month's exhibition, is it? | 0:34:43 | 0:34:46 | |
Yes, this is part of the display for next month. | 0:34:46 | 0:34:48 | |
And what about this one? | 0:34:48 | 0:34:50 | |
This one, too. This is 1914, Broderie Anglaise, day dress. | 0:34:50 | 0:34:55 | |
-Which is rather pretty. -Looks more like a nightdress to me. | 0:34:55 | 0:34:57 | |
It does look like a nightdress, but no, it's a day dress. | 0:34:57 | 0:35:00 | |
-And that's cotton? -That's cotton, that one's silk. | 0:35:00 | 0:35:03 | |
All very much part of your theme. | 0:35:03 | 0:35:05 | |
Yes, we're talking about natural fibres and natural fabrics, | 0:35:05 | 0:35:08 | |
so linen, cotton, silk, wool. | 0:35:08 | 0:35:11 | |
Visitors even get their own chance to try on some of the costumes. | 0:35:14 | 0:35:19 | |
Now, here's a fine looking wardrobe. | 0:35:19 | 0:35:22 | |
And there's a notice on it. "Open me". | 0:35:22 | 0:35:25 | |
MAGIC TINKLE | 0:35:25 | 0:35:27 | |
Narnia! | 0:35:27 | 0:35:28 | |
It's a dressing room for the exhibition. | 0:35:30 | 0:35:33 | |
There's men's period fashion as well. | 0:35:33 | 0:35:36 | |
There's plenty to inspire here, as there is with our calendar. | 0:35:39 | 0:35:43 | |
October's image is of a hungry red squirrel having a snack. | 0:35:43 | 0:35:47 | |
A couple of years ago, Julia went looking for squirrels herself, | 0:35:47 | 0:35:51 | |
as well as a host of other wildlife, in one of our largest | 0:35:51 | 0:35:54 | |
man-made forests - Kielder, in Northumberland. | 0:35:54 | 0:35:57 | |
The open, rugged moorland here was transformed in the 1920s | 0:36:04 | 0:36:08 | |
to meet the demand for wood after World War I. | 0:36:08 | 0:36:11 | |
Today, it's just as vast and valuable as it ever was, | 0:36:11 | 0:36:14 | |
but it's managed for more than just profit. | 0:36:14 | 0:36:18 | |
Now, Kielder is valued for its views and its wonderful wildlife. | 0:36:18 | 0:36:22 | |
Graham Gill is in charge of managing | 0:36:22 | 0:36:24 | |
the entire 150,000-acre woodland. | 0:36:24 | 0:36:28 | |
20% of all the timber produced in England comes from this forest. | 0:36:28 | 0:36:31 | |
-From this very spot? -From this very spot. | 0:36:31 | 0:36:34 | |
If I asked you to put a price on each tree, | 0:36:34 | 0:36:36 | |
what would you come back with? | 0:36:36 | 0:36:38 | |
Well, a single tree standing in the forest isn't worth very much. | 0:36:38 | 0:36:41 | |
-It's about £5 for a tree. -No! | 0:36:41 | 0:36:44 | |
Doesn't sound a lot, when we've spent maybe 50 years growing that tree, | 0:36:44 | 0:36:48 | |
and that's what it's worth. But it does multiply up. | 0:36:48 | 0:36:52 | |
And also, the work's become easier, hasn't it, | 0:36:52 | 0:36:54 | |
-thanks to machines like this? -Well, yes. | 0:36:54 | 0:36:57 | |
It works out itself on the computer how to get the best value | 0:36:57 | 0:37:00 | |
out of that tree, and then it cuts the tree off the stump, and it | 0:37:00 | 0:37:04 | |
strips off the branches, and then it's pre-programmed to cut the right | 0:37:04 | 0:37:09 | |
length and diameter of products from the tree. | 0:37:09 | 0:37:11 | |
And it looks good! | 0:37:11 | 0:37:13 | |
So, when you're in the business of providing wood for tables | 0:37:13 | 0:37:17 | |
and chairs, just how do you add a little beauty to the mix? | 0:37:17 | 0:37:20 | |
Well, here, they've softened the woodland edges | 0:37:20 | 0:37:22 | |
and brought in broadleaf trees to make the forest that little bit | 0:37:22 | 0:37:25 | |
more alluring for the 200,000 visitors that come here every year. | 0:37:25 | 0:37:29 | |
And a lucky few may even catch a glimpse of our rarest mammals, too. | 0:37:29 | 0:37:35 | |
This might be a man-made forest, but a wide variety of wildlife | 0:37:35 | 0:37:39 | |
have quite happily taken up residence here. | 0:37:39 | 0:37:42 | |
The guy keeping an eye on the wonderful wildlife | 0:37:42 | 0:37:45 | |
is Martin Davison. | 0:37:45 | 0:37:46 | |
Well, this is a great spruce forest, | 0:37:46 | 0:37:48 | |
and a large number of cone bearing trees, | 0:37:48 | 0:37:51 | |
which means a lot of food resource for red squirrels. | 0:37:51 | 0:37:54 | |
-And here is an absolute classic red squirrel dining table. -Right. | 0:37:54 | 0:37:59 | |
These are typical chewed up cones... The squirrel picks them up, | 0:37:59 | 0:38:02 | |
feeds in the tree and just drops them, | 0:38:02 | 0:38:05 | |
or comes down onto the ground and just happily gnaws away on them. | 0:38:05 | 0:38:08 | |
But, what about the grey squirrels? | 0:38:08 | 0:38:11 | |
The grey squirrels don't survive very well on small seeded cones, | 0:38:11 | 0:38:15 | |
so, what we're hoping is that, | 0:38:15 | 0:38:17 | |
because we've got such a huge reservoir of spruce trees | 0:38:17 | 0:38:20 | |
within the forest, is that the greys will never do very well within | 0:38:20 | 0:38:24 | |
the forest and the red will continue to thrive. | 0:38:24 | 0:38:26 | |
-And thriving they are. -That's right. | 0:38:26 | 0:38:28 | |
Here at Kielder, we have two-thirds of the English population. | 0:38:28 | 0:38:32 | |
The red squirrel's not the only rare species | 0:38:32 | 0:38:34 | |
to make this forest their home. | 0:38:34 | 0:38:36 | |
So, what are we doing here? | 0:38:36 | 0:38:38 | |
I've brought you here, Julia, | 0:38:38 | 0:38:40 | |
to hopefully show you something quite exciting. | 0:38:40 | 0:38:42 | |
Down underneath that branch there's exactly what we're after. | 0:38:42 | 0:38:45 | |
There's a nice tail feather, that's off a female goshawk. | 0:38:45 | 0:38:48 | |
-A goshawk? -It is. -So, you've got goshawks in the forest? -We have. | 0:38:48 | 0:38:52 | |
We've got a few pairs of goshawks in the forest. | 0:38:52 | 0:38:54 | |
Because they're very rare. | 0:38:54 | 0:38:56 | |
They are, yes. And it's exciting to have them. Very exciting. | 0:38:56 | 0:39:00 | |
-That is exciting. So, he or she? -It's she, Julia. | 0:39:00 | 0:39:05 | |
It's a female goshawk's feather, nice, broad band in the tail, | 0:39:05 | 0:39:10 | |
-with a nice whitely-buffed tip. -Mm-hm. | 0:39:10 | 0:39:13 | |
Top predators of the forest, | 0:39:15 | 0:39:17 | |
goshawks are ideally suited to hunting in the densest cover. | 0:39:17 | 0:39:21 | |
With their malleable wings, they can manoeuvre around branches | 0:39:21 | 0:39:24 | |
in flight, and reach speeds of up to 50kmh. | 0:39:24 | 0:39:27 | |
At this time of the year, | 0:39:27 | 0:39:28 | |
they'll be nesting high up in the top of the canopy. | 0:39:28 | 0:39:31 | |
Now, this is their favourite tree, where the bird | 0:39:31 | 0:39:34 | |
-often has prey underneath, so we'll go and check that. -Right. | 0:39:34 | 0:39:38 | |
-This is exactly what we're after. -So, this is a feeding ground? -It is. | 0:39:38 | 0:39:42 | |
The bird, what happens is, a male comes into the site carrying prey. | 0:39:42 | 0:39:46 | |
He plucks, he might let the head, have a feed, | 0:39:46 | 0:39:49 | |
and then brings in the rest of the carcass. | 0:39:49 | 0:39:53 | |
And so, you end up with bits of bones. That's a wood pigeon. | 0:39:53 | 0:39:57 | |
-Right, well, it was a wood pigeon. -It was a wood pigeon! | 0:39:57 | 0:39:59 | |
-What have we got here? We've got a little skull, here. -Yeah, yeah. | 0:39:59 | 0:40:02 | |
-Oh, it's a red squirrel. -Oh, no! -It is, it is. | 0:40:02 | 0:40:07 | |
They are a forest bird. | 0:40:07 | 0:40:10 | |
Squirrels are forest animals. You'd expect them to eat red squirrels. | 0:40:10 | 0:40:13 | |
It will not harm the population at all. | 0:40:13 | 0:40:15 | |
When the squirrels are having a good year, obviously, | 0:40:15 | 0:40:18 | |
more get predated, but in a poor year, | 0:40:18 | 0:40:19 | |
when there's not so many squirrels, they are too hard to catch. | 0:40:19 | 0:40:22 | |
It's only when they're common that they take one or two. | 0:40:22 | 0:40:25 | |
Well, Julia, there's been an awful lot of signs today, | 0:40:29 | 0:40:31 | |
but I'm really hoping that we're going to show you something alive. | 0:40:31 | 0:40:36 | |
-It's a bird box. -It is. So, let's see if anybody's at home. | 0:40:36 | 0:40:40 | |
TAPPING | 0:40:41 | 0:40:42 | |
Hear that? | 0:40:44 | 0:40:45 | |
That's a bill clapping. | 0:40:48 | 0:40:50 | |
-It's a tawny owl. -It's not! -It is, it is. | 0:40:50 | 0:40:54 | |
-You can help us ring him, if you want. -All right. | 0:40:54 | 0:40:57 | |
-And it's OK to handle them? -It is, yes. -Oh, look, they're so fluffy! | 0:40:57 | 0:41:01 | |
And here, we have one very large tawny owl chick. | 0:41:02 | 0:41:06 | |
Right. | 0:41:06 | 0:41:08 | |
-So, if you want to handle and hold this one. -Yes, of course. | 0:41:08 | 0:41:11 | |
-Because there's two. -Right. | 0:41:11 | 0:41:13 | |
Look at that! | 0:41:13 | 0:41:15 | |
Absolutely lovely, aren't they? | 0:41:17 | 0:41:20 | |
Hello. Aw, gosh, so gorgeous. | 0:41:20 | 0:41:22 | |
Not long off fledging. Ha-ha! | 0:41:22 | 0:41:25 | |
If you just hold him, yes, just gently, by the leg, and just | 0:41:25 | 0:41:30 | |
put your other hand underneath, that's absolutely perfect. | 0:41:30 | 0:41:33 | |
Oh, look at that. | 0:41:33 | 0:41:35 | |
The tawnies are thriving in Kielder. | 0:41:35 | 0:41:37 | |
There are now over 200 nesting boxes in the forest. | 0:41:37 | 0:41:41 | |
By ringing the baby owls, | 0:41:41 | 0:41:42 | |
Martin can keep track of their population for years to come. | 0:41:42 | 0:41:46 | |
He's enjoying his bed. | 0:41:46 | 0:41:48 | |
If you try to do this in the middle of the night, it would | 0:41:48 | 0:41:50 | |
be jumping about, food calling, hungry, | 0:41:50 | 0:41:54 | |
but in the middle of the day, they're just having a siesta, basically. | 0:41:54 | 0:41:57 | |
-You never get sick of looking at them. -No. | 0:41:58 | 0:42:01 | |
Hopefully, this little fellow will survive, thrive and, in time, | 0:42:01 | 0:42:05 | |
return here to breed. | 0:42:05 | 0:42:07 | |
Today, we're looking forward to this new year by looking back | 0:42:15 | 0:42:18 | |
at some of our favourite moments | 0:42:18 | 0:42:20 | |
inspired by the winning entries in our photographic competition. | 0:42:20 | 0:42:25 | |
And, if you're planning for the year ahead, | 0:42:25 | 0:42:27 | |
as they are here at Killerton, well, it's not too late to get | 0:42:27 | 0:42:29 | |
a Countryfile calendar for all those important dates. | 0:42:29 | 0:42:32 | |
It costs £9, and comes with free delivery. | 0:42:34 | 0:42:36 | |
If you'd like one, then please go to the Countryfile website. | 0:42:36 | 0:42:40 | |
There, you'll find all the details you'll need to order your copy. | 0:42:40 | 0:42:43 | |
And at least £4 from the sale of every calendar | 0:42:45 | 0:42:48 | |
goes to the BBC Children In Need appeal. | 0:42:48 | 0:42:51 | |
But, you'll have to wait | 0:42:51 | 0:42:52 | |
until the last month of the year to find this snowy scene. | 0:42:52 | 0:42:56 | |
It looks stunning, | 0:42:56 | 0:42:57 | |
but there's no letup for farmers in these bleak conditions. | 0:42:57 | 0:43:01 | |
The winter of 2010 was a bad one on Adam's farm. | 0:43:01 | 0:43:04 | |
When there are animals to look after, you simply can't take a day off. | 0:43:11 | 0:43:16 | |
I'm all dressed up in thermals and waterproof trousers, | 0:43:16 | 0:43:20 | |
waterproof jacket, gloves and I'm feeling fairly toasty, | 0:43:20 | 0:43:23 | |
but these animals have to stay out in the snow all night long. | 0:43:23 | 0:43:27 | |
And Dougal, the little pet pony we've got here, has got an amazing coat. | 0:43:27 | 0:43:30 | |
In fact, you can see the snow hasn't melted on his back | 0:43:30 | 0:43:34 | |
because his coat is so well insulated. | 0:43:34 | 0:43:36 | |
And he's a real tough old beast. | 0:43:36 | 0:43:38 | |
The geese and ducks are a bit bemused by it. | 0:43:38 | 0:43:41 | |
They just went out into the snow and sit down. | 0:43:41 | 0:43:43 | |
DUCKS QUACK, COCK CROWS | 0:43:43 | 0:43:48 | |
These chickens need to be able to get round to their trough here, | 0:43:55 | 0:43:58 | |
which is frozen solid. Going to pour a bit of fresh water on the top. | 0:43:58 | 0:44:02 | |
They don't like ploughing through the snow, | 0:44:02 | 0:44:04 | |
so I'm just making a bit of a path for them. | 0:44:04 | 0:44:07 | |
This is their food. | 0:44:14 | 0:44:18 | |
It's just got wheat and chicken pellets in it. | 0:44:18 | 0:44:22 | |
Just flip the end, and it comes out onto the ground. | 0:44:22 | 0:44:27 | |
There you are, hens. | 0:44:27 | 0:44:28 | |
HENS CLUCK CONTENTEDLY | 0:44:28 | 0:44:31 | |
Every day, Charlie, my partner, | 0:44:36 | 0:44:38 | |
turns our horses out into the fields for exercise. | 0:44:38 | 0:44:42 | |
It's a little bit different today, though. Not that they seem to mind. | 0:44:44 | 0:44:47 | |
One of the major problems in this weather for livestock is water. | 0:45:03 | 0:45:08 | |
Frozen. | 0:45:08 | 0:45:10 | |
The sheep are OK, they can just lick snow and get enough | 0:45:12 | 0:45:15 | |
moisture from that, but the pigs and the cattle need to drink. | 0:45:15 | 0:45:19 | |
These conditions are pretty unusual, it's about -10 at the moment. | 0:45:19 | 0:45:23 | |
Colder in Britain than it is in parts of Russia. | 0:45:23 | 0:45:26 | |
So, it just means you have lots of extra jobs. | 0:45:26 | 0:45:29 | |
You don't usually have to cart water to things. Right. | 0:45:29 | 0:45:32 | |
I feed these pigs on this concrete pad and the powder, | 0:45:47 | 0:45:49 | |
so I've just got to clear it off a bit. | 0:45:49 | 0:45:53 | |
Pig-pig-pig-pig! | 0:45:57 | 0:45:59 | |
Pigs are really hardy. | 0:46:05 | 0:46:06 | |
They'll live out in these pig arks, you know, just... | 0:46:06 | 0:46:09 | |
We've got a wooden hut there and then just arks of tin. | 0:46:09 | 0:46:11 | |
Fill them with straw and they just lie out in it. | 0:46:11 | 0:46:13 | |
They're absolutely fine, | 0:46:13 | 0:46:15 | |
particularly these Iron Age ones that are like a cross between a wild boar. | 0:46:15 | 0:46:18 | |
They've got such a thick coat, | 0:46:18 | 0:46:19 | |
whereas the Gloucester Old Spots are a little bit softer, | 0:46:19 | 0:46:22 | |
haven't got quite as much hair and they were all tucked up in their hut. | 0:46:22 | 0:46:25 | |
The pigs are as happy as they can be, | 0:46:28 | 0:46:30 | |
but there's plenty more animals to check on yet. | 0:46:30 | 0:46:33 | |
Next, it's the sheep. | 0:46:41 | 0:46:43 | |
They may be hardy, but it's really extreme weather | 0:46:43 | 0:46:45 | |
and I want to see that they're OK. | 0:46:45 | 0:46:47 | |
It's a chance for the dogs to have a bit of a run around, too. | 0:46:47 | 0:46:50 | |
HE CALLS INSTRUCTIONS TO DOG | 0:46:50 | 0:46:52 | |
So, these are our primitive ewes, really. | 0:46:56 | 0:46:59 | |
This is a little North Ronaldsay, there's two of them there | 0:46:59 | 0:47:02 | |
and a Castlemilk Moorit next to it. | 0:47:02 | 0:47:04 | |
All of these ewes are heavily in lamb now, | 0:47:04 | 0:47:07 | |
they'll be lambing in April and you can see the North Ronaldsay's | 0:47:07 | 0:47:10 | |
got icicles and snow on her back, that's because her body warmth | 0:47:10 | 0:47:14 | |
is staying under her wool, not melting the snow on her back. | 0:47:14 | 0:47:18 | |
All these ewes will be lambing outside in this field | 0:47:18 | 0:47:21 | |
so, hopefully by April, this snow will have gone. | 0:47:21 | 0:47:23 | |
These sheep have a natural instinct to dig | 0:47:25 | 0:47:26 | |
for the grass which they know lies beneath the snow. | 0:47:26 | 0:47:31 | |
Under here is my winter barley. | 0:47:32 | 0:47:35 | |
Maris Otter is the variety that I'm growing for making beer | 0:47:35 | 0:47:38 | |
and when it's underneath the snow like this, | 0:47:38 | 0:47:41 | |
although the ground is frozen, it's actually fairly well insulated. | 0:47:41 | 0:47:46 | |
It's better off under the snow than being exposed and frosted | 0:47:46 | 0:47:50 | |
because these leaves would break off, then. | 0:47:50 | 0:47:52 | |
It's actually sitting under here reasonably happily. | 0:47:52 | 0:47:56 | |
Even in these harsh conditions, growers have to harvest winter veg. | 0:47:58 | 0:48:01 | |
Not easy with the ground frozen. | 0:48:01 | 0:48:04 | |
Next job is the cattle troughs. | 0:48:07 | 0:48:09 | |
I've had a call to say that the water supply pipe is frozen | 0:48:09 | 0:48:12 | |
and that's something I need to put right straightaway. | 0:48:12 | 0:48:15 | |
These cattle have managed to dig a hole in the ice. | 0:48:17 | 0:48:21 | |
What you've got to do is take the blocks of ice out of the water, | 0:48:24 | 0:48:30 | |
otherwise it just freezes up pretty quick. | 0:48:30 | 0:48:33 | |
I'll get the gas. | 0:48:38 | 0:48:39 | |
TORCH BLOWS | 0:48:44 | 0:48:46 | |
There we go. | 0:48:48 | 0:48:50 | |
Well, despite all the hard work on the farm, | 0:49:02 | 0:49:05 | |
the kids are off school | 0:49:05 | 0:49:06 | |
so there's still a bit of time for some sledging. Right, can I join in? | 0:49:06 | 0:49:09 | |
-Yep. -OK, together, up, ready? | 0:49:09 | 0:49:12 | |
Goodness me, I think I'm going to fall off the back! | 0:49:12 | 0:49:15 | |
Hooray-ay! | 0:49:15 | 0:49:18 | |
Look out, doggie. | 0:49:18 | 0:49:20 | |
Hey-hey, look out! | 0:49:20 | 0:49:22 | |
Oh! | 0:49:28 | 0:49:29 | |
I've been working all morning, managed to stay warm and dry. | 0:49:36 | 0:49:39 | |
Now I'm freezing cold and very tired. | 0:49:39 | 0:49:41 | |
You get fit walking up this hill. | 0:49:41 | 0:49:43 | |
DOG BARKS | 0:49:47 | 0:49:49 | |
SHRIEKS OF DELIGHT | 0:49:49 | 0:49:51 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:49:56 | 0:49:58 | |
Oh, just like big kids. | 0:50:05 | 0:50:07 | |
It's getting late, but there's still one thing | 0:50:07 | 0:50:10 | |
I want to do before I call it a day. | 0:50:10 | 0:50:12 | |
These cattle have got plenty of silage and they drink from the stream | 0:50:17 | 0:50:20 | |
and these Highlands have been bred for hundreds of years | 0:50:20 | 0:50:23 | |
to survive in these kind of conditions and they cope very well. | 0:50:23 | 0:50:26 | |
In fact, they cope a lot better than me. | 0:50:26 | 0:50:29 | |
Farming in the snow like this just takes up so much time | 0:50:29 | 0:50:32 | |
and it's such a big effort. I could really do with it going away. | 0:50:32 | 0:50:37 | |
There's a good girl. You're all right, aren't you? | 0:50:37 | 0:50:39 | |
'Today, I've been behind the scenes on the Killerton estate in Devon | 0:51:03 | 0:51:07 | |
'where they're getting the place ready | 0:51:07 | 0:51:09 | |
'for the first visitors of the year.' | 0:51:09 | 0:51:11 | |
'It's been a busy day. The gardens have been tended, | 0:51:14 | 0:51:17 | |
the cider's been taken care of | 0:51:17 | 0:51:18 | |
'and preparations for the annual costume exhibition are under way.' | 0:51:18 | 0:51:22 | |
'I'm heading out into the woodland to see what the estate's | 0:51:24 | 0:51:27 | |
'countryside team has been up to.' | 0:51:27 | 0:51:29 | |
Well, a lot of woodland to look after here, Ed? | 0:51:29 | 0:51:32 | |
Across the estate, we've got about 650 hectares of woodland | 0:51:32 | 0:51:34 | |
so quite a lot of woodland to manage. Keeps us busy. | 0:51:34 | 0:51:37 | |
-A lot of timber going on? -Yeah, we do quite a bit | 0:51:37 | 0:51:40 | |
to the local log market. Sell a lot of timber there, | 0:51:40 | 0:51:42 | |
but our woodland's primarily managed for nature conservation | 0:51:42 | 0:51:45 | |
-and then access to the public. -Any particular type of conservation? | 0:51:45 | 0:51:49 | |
Yes, this site in particular is managed | 0:51:49 | 0:51:51 | |
for the pearl-bordered fritillary. | 0:51:51 | 0:51:52 | |
We've only got a few sites where this butterfly lives in the country | 0:51:52 | 0:51:55 | |
so it's really quite important that we get this right. | 0:51:55 | 0:51:58 | |
One of the things we do, the charcoal burning here | 0:51:58 | 0:52:00 | |
helps us create the right habitat | 0:52:00 | 0:52:01 | |
for the common dog violet which is this little flower down here. | 0:52:01 | 0:52:05 | |
It's not flowering at the moment | 0:52:05 | 0:52:06 | |
-but see the little heart-shaped leaves down here? -Oh, yeah. | 0:52:06 | 0:52:09 | |
This is the larval food plant so this is a food plant that | 0:52:09 | 0:52:11 | |
the caterpillars need to feed on before they go into being an adult. | 0:52:11 | 0:52:15 | |
That one's been eaten away a bit which is a great sign, | 0:52:15 | 0:52:17 | |
shows that we've got some larval stages here. | 0:52:17 | 0:52:20 | |
So, why do you need to chop down trees then, so that these can grow? | 0:52:20 | 0:52:24 | |
The old adage was that the pearl-bordered fritillary | 0:52:24 | 0:52:27 | |
followed the forester around. | 0:52:27 | 0:52:28 | |
Once you take a tree away, extra light gets into the forest floor | 0:52:28 | 0:52:32 | |
and these are often the first flowers that pop up through. | 0:52:32 | 0:52:35 | |
If we left it as a closed-canopy woodland, these would be | 0:52:35 | 0:52:37 | |
shaded out and we'd obviously lose the butterflies as well. | 0:52:37 | 0:52:41 | |
-Well, how about this for a log fire, Ed? -That's right. | 0:52:41 | 0:52:45 | |
-Slightly larger than your average wood burner! -Yeah! | 0:52:45 | 0:52:47 | |
-You can feel the heat from here. -Yeah. | 0:52:47 | 0:52:50 | |
This is one of our charcoal kilns. So, we've got a bonfire there | 0:52:50 | 0:52:54 | |
going at the moment. What the guys are just about to do is pop the lid | 0:52:54 | 0:52:57 | |
on the top and as they do that, we'll start to see the flames | 0:52:57 | 0:53:01 | |
-and the smoke coming out... -Coming out of here? -..out of the chimneys. | 0:53:01 | 0:53:04 | |
We seal the top with sand and then, we can add | 0:53:04 | 0:53:08 | |
an element of control by just holding the airflow in and out. | 0:53:08 | 0:53:12 | |
And how long will this go on for, now? | 0:53:12 | 0:53:14 | |
After about 12 hours, we'll close it all down, cut the oxygen out | 0:53:14 | 0:53:18 | |
and that'll slowly let it cool down. | 0:53:18 | 0:53:20 | |
What kind of a demand is there these days for charcoal? | 0:53:20 | 0:53:23 | |
Locally-burned charcoal's having a bit of a renaissance at the moment. | 0:53:23 | 0:53:26 | |
People are being much more aware of where their charcoal | 0:53:26 | 0:53:29 | |
comes from for their barbecues. | 0:53:29 | 0:53:31 | |
That's good to hear because a lot of the charcoal is imported, isn't it? | 0:53:31 | 0:53:35 | |
From Portugal, places like that. | 0:53:35 | 0:53:36 | |
It is and an awful lot of tropical hardwoods are going into charcoal | 0:53:36 | 0:53:41 | |
and that's not really sustainable. | 0:53:41 | 0:53:43 | |
So, it's great to see this tradition being carried on | 0:53:43 | 0:53:46 | |
and it's great for the local wildlife. | 0:53:46 | 0:53:48 | |
After a day of hard graft, | 0:53:50 | 0:53:52 | |
it's time for one last flush of post-Christmas indulgence. | 0:53:52 | 0:53:55 | |
As we pull the plug on another festive season, | 0:53:57 | 0:54:00 | |
it's time to welcome the new year with the staff and volunteers | 0:54:00 | 0:54:04 | |
and a burger cooked over a bit of Ed's charcoal. | 0:54:04 | 0:54:07 | |
The resolutions can wait for another day. | 0:54:07 | 0:54:10 | |
And where's that cider you promised me, Ed? | 0:54:10 | 0:54:13 | |
Well, funny you should say that. | 0:54:13 | 0:54:14 | |
I have here a couple of glasses of mulled cider. | 0:54:14 | 0:54:17 | |
This is our cider mixed with a few herbs and spices, | 0:54:17 | 0:54:19 | |
-warmed over the fire. -Wow. -Perfect for a winter's evening. | 0:54:19 | 0:54:22 | |
Never had mulled cider before. And a burger. | 0:54:22 | 0:54:25 | |
-And we have some burger here, beef from our local estate. -Wow. | 0:54:25 | 0:54:27 | |
-Couldn't be more local, then. -This is it. | 0:54:27 | 0:54:30 | |
Thanks to all of you here for your hospitality, it's been fantastic. | 0:54:30 | 0:54:33 | |
-To everybody at Killerton. Here's to Killerton. -Here's to Killerton. | 0:54:33 | 0:54:36 | |
-ALL: -To Killerton! | 0:54:36 | 0:54:38 | |
Next week, we'll be in Surrey where Helen will be trying to | 0:54:38 | 0:54:41 | |
overcome her fear of horses as she attempts to get | 0:54:41 | 0:54:43 | |
back in the saddle again after a very nasty accident last year, | 0:54:43 | 0:54:47 | |
and I'll be discovering about a local man | 0:54:47 | 0:54:50 | |
who hatched a plan that transformed the future of our countryside. | 0:54:50 | 0:54:54 | |
So, I hope you can join us. Bye for now. | 0:54:54 | 0:54:56 |