Hertfordshire Countryfile

From pretty villages to ancient woodland, canals

and fertile farmland, Hertfordshire is a Home County steeped in history.

When we moved to this place 18 months ago, this

orchard of 16 trees was fruitful but in need of some love.

So today, with the help of these burly surgeons,

this gentleman here and that lot through there,

we're hoping to return this place to its former glory.

With its wide-open spaces and green landscapes,

Hertfordshire is a county that inspires.

The world-famous sculptor Henry Moore lived here for

He adored the landscape and he also had a passion for the sheep,

so much so that to this day they are allowed to graze around

I'll be finding out more about Moore and his inspirations.

Tom's investigating the rubbish side of country life.

A secluded glade, perfect for wildlife

We'll be investigating the cost to you

and to the environment but also revealing the people

who are no longer taking this lying down,

Meanwhile, Adam's facing an uphill struggle.

Today I'm helping to move some rare-breed sheep onto

Castle Island down in Tintagel in Cornwall.

We brought them up this path, over this wooden bridge

and now they've made a dash for it up the side of the cliff.

I'm not quite sure how we're going to get them down

because there's still the worst bit to come which zigzags up

the side of this cliff, onto the top of the island.

a rural county less than an hour from central London.

It has the Anglo-Saxons to thank for the name Hertford which

roughly translated means deer crossing water.

It's a tranquil place set amongst the background of chalky

Today there are still more acres of open countryside than towns

Think of apples, and Hertfordshire doesn't really spring to mind.

Kent, yes. Herefordshire, yes. Now there you've got some orchards.

But if you rewind a few centuries money really did

grow on trees around here because orchards were big business.

Tim Elborn is a fifth-generation Hertfordshire fruit farmer.

His family have grown plums, pears, greengages

and of course apples here since 1864.

So, Tim, why are British apples so great?

They're great because they taste absolutely fantastic.

We haven't got to ship the apples halfway around the world,

so very often, especially at this time of year, the customers

are eating something that has just been picked in the last few days.

And we grow a lot of different varieties.

And there's a fantastic range of flavours.

You're eating an Ashmead's Kernel, which is a very old,

traditional English variety that you don't often see these days.

Exactly how important were the orchards to this area?

In this village alone there were up to probably around 30 fruit growers.

And it was the main industry of the village.

We managed to survive by growing a lot of heritage varieties,

that the supermarkets very often don't stock,

But people are getting something different. They are.

In this orchard alone we grow over 50 varieties of apples.

So if you wanted to you could eat a different apple every

Thousands of apples have to be picked by hand before

they naturally fall from the tree and bruise.

Since the '90s apple growers have had to diversify

But there's no such thing as a bad apple round here.

Everything we're picking now will be used in some way,

The crucial thing is that 100% of the crop is turned into profit,

makes money. In other words, nothing goes to waste.

For instance, an apple like this one here tastes

just as good as that apple you ate earlier. Yeah.

But because of those blemishes on the skin, normally we'd either

throw it away or sell it for pulp or for juice for very little money.

So you can use 100% of your crop, no waste, which is perfect. Yep.

Exactly. Absolutely nothing goes to waste. We like that.

The race is now on to get the apples back to the farm.

And it looks like I'm going to pip Tim to the post.

Normally I'm upsetting the apple cart, not delivering it.

Tim produces 30,000 litres of apple juice a year on this farm.

So that means 60 tonnes of them have to be pulped through the grinder.

We need to get through one tonne of apples to make 500 litres of juice.

We've done all of this in just a few minutes

but look how brown some of the apples are going already.

It just turns like that. Well, we need to get on with the pressing.

Because it's apple juice we want a clear juice

so we need to press it as quickly as we can.

Next, the pulp goes into the apple press.

and then crushed to squeeze out every last drop of apply goodness.

Look, you can see the juice even now seeping out of the bottom.

The lovely thing is, your hands smell of apples.

Yep, it's good for them. Does them the world of good.

Listen, I've seen your hands. Don't try and sell that as a moisturiser.

Tim adds vitamin C to keep the juice clear

and pasteurises it for a longer life before selling.

But I want to taste it fresh from the tree.

The moment of truth. Tell me what you think.

I have never, ever tasted apple juice so fresh.

All of this done within half an hour. Absolutely. Cheers. Cheers.

That is really, really good. I'm glad you enjoy it.

This farm may be the apple of Tim's eye but sadly it's the last

surviving commercial business left in Hertfordshire.

Across this fruity county you can still find small

And we've managed to track down a newcomer to the area with

one of these rare orchards in his back garden.

18 months ago, a family arrived at their new

home in the Hertfordshire countryside.

With three acres of land including a small orchard with

16 apple trees, it's someone with a really familiar face.

It's me. The trouble is... There's just a couple of problems.

We fell in love with the place from the moment we saw it.

And over the past year my wife, Nicola,

and I have done our best to get this orchard to a manageable level.

But with both of us having very little

experience of caring for apple trees, we're now a bit stumped.

Some of the trees have seen better days and we can only identify

the apples as kids' packed lunch and Dad's favourite.

We have absolutely no idea what all of these different

varieties of apples are, but we do know that there's

life in the old trees yet and we want to rescue them.

So, we've called on the services of some local orchard experts to

Mike Clarke is currently writing his second book on apple identification.

Sounds like the right chap for the job.

All right, Mike. Let's have a look at this one.

If we're identifying it, then where do you start?

The colour immediately hits you. Initially, what are the hues on it?

Is there any marking? Are there stripes?

The shape, it could be conical, it could be pear-shaped.

But it's a flattened, green, nice, smooth apple

and that immediately jumps out at me as a Bramley.

If you're uncertain about several varieties which are very similar,

you can cut them open and have a look at what the cavity's like.

If you get it about bang in the middle, there we are.

I like to look at them this way up. This is where the blossom was.

I've got the blossom on that side and the stalk that side.

That's interesting because everybody holds the apple up that way

but actually it's meant to be that way because your blossom's here.

Yep, that's how it grew. The cavity can be quite significant.

And also the length of the stalk varies quite a lot.

And the actual shape here, you can get different shapes.

A funnel shape so you've got extra things to look at

Though today man has cultivated more

than 2,000 varieties of apple, they all can be traced back to

wild relatives in the valleys of Kazakhstan.

Leaving Mike to gather the samples for identification,

it's time to look at the trees themselves.

Just in time, here's local tree surgeon John Jones.

John, this is one that we are very keen to rescue, as you can see.

It's a very old apple tree. It's certainly seen better days.

But essentially the tree is still alive,

I don't think there's any reason to take it down.

It's very precious to the area. We think it's one of the last

When we came it had a brace around it.

Or there was a brace hanging down there.

So we wondered whether we should strap it up or strap it together.

It's always a bit of a "do you, don't you" with bracing and strapping,

because your intention is to put something heavy around this tree.

Because it's still growing, even though

it's not as healthy as it could be, by putting heavy strapping around

it you could end up cutting into the tree and causing

more of a problem. It is on its last legs.

There is no denying that and I think just pruning it and trying to lessen

the weight on one side of the tree will aid it in keeping

OK, so the idea is to take a lot of this weight out of here.

because the tree has got to shut down for the winter.

So the longer you can leave it into winter the more healthy

You don't want to start making wounds on the tree.

Autumn is when all the funguses are out

and you might end up cross-contaminating the tree.

So take the weight off from around here.

Bluetit might be the final nail in the coffin for this tree.

We'll prune this back later in the winter

but there is a project that we can tackle at this time of year.

John, believe it or not, there's an apple tree in here.

We got second place at the village show with the apples.

That must have been some time ago. It looks a bit swamped at the moment.

Let's see if we can get in and we can have a look

Right, come on in. Righty-ho. Okey-dokey.

So obviously we just want to give it some fresh air. It needs it.

You can quite clearly see that this branch of the apple tree was

once alive and functioning really well

but because it's been in the dark for so long the tree has naturally

shut it down and all this branch is completely dead now.

Plenty to get your chain saws into later. Absolutely. Good.

While the chain saws will be busy today,

to help us out with the maintenance of the orchard in the long

run I'm also calling on the skills of a four-legged workforce

Matt's not the only enthusiastic amateur protecting these

precious little orchards across the county.

This bungalow and two-acre smallholding

It was built in 1920 as part of a Homes Fit For Heroes scheme

that helped rehouse soldiers returning from the First World War.

The proud owners back then were Mr and Mrs Jeacock.

Not much has changed over the last century.

Current resident and apple enthusiast Martin Hicks likes

So what did Mr Jeacock want with two acres? It's a lot of land.

He wanted an area to grow some fruit trees.

He wanted to put some pigs on the land.

He used to put geese on here as well and a few goats, as well.

So he wanted to be self-sufficient, really.

Basically a smallholding as part of his normal occupation, as well,

and making it productive, which is what the Government

wanted for people coming back from the First World War.

MUSIC: "How Ya Gonna Keep Em Down On The Farm" by Harry Fay

Not much is known about Mr Jeacock apart from the fact that he

loved his apples and he planted this orchard himself.

Why is it so important to you to protect this land?

Well, orchards are now considered national priority habitat and

they're particularly valuable because they've got a range of old trees

with lots of blossom in the spring, lots of fruit in the autumn,

lots of crenulated bark... Crenulated bark, I love it!

So do mosses and so do lichens and there's as many lichens

here as there are in some of the best orchards in the county.

There's over 50 species of lichens here.

unimproved grassland with lots of wild flowers in it.

So orchards are a fantastic veneer of habitat for a whole wide range

of species and that's why they're considered really important habitats.

I feed some of them to the sheep, I pick what I can.

I squash all the apples and they all get used.

The point is these habitats, these orchards were planted to be used.

They were functional components of our countryside.

And when that functionality disappears,

so do the orchards and so does all the biodiversity associated

with them and so do the landscapes and so does the culture.

Martin's certainly passionate about this place.

He works hard organising community projects to help spread

and why we should cherish these precious Hertfordshire orchards.

You can't deny the beauty of this enchanted isle,

But there are people who profit by intentionally spoiling it.

Tom has been investigating the growing problem of illegal

The unlawful dumping of thousands of tonnes of rubbish

Nails, rubble, plasterboard, wallpaper...

It really is an infuriating thing to deal with.

Farmer Calum Sutherland recently found this lot dumped on his land.

It posed a danger to the environment and his livelihood.

It made me furious and I was annoyed that people could

Calum works on this sheep farm near Blandford Forum in Dorset.

Not only do they have 3,500 ewes to look after,

they're also fighting a costly and never-ending battle with fly-tippers.

Tell me, how do you feel that you have to spend a lot of time

clearing rubbish off your land? Furious.

It made my blood boil that people can come out into the countryside

and simply dump their waste to the expense of myself or my employer.

Considerable expense and also a danger to your stock. Yeah.

A fundamental danger to the stock and to machinery, as well.

The stuff that was in the waste, we had nails and shrapnel

If that punctures a tyre we're talking thousands of pounds.

If we had stock in the field that would have been another issue

with hoofs and nails and it's not a good combination.

But this is just a tiny fraction of the problem.

There's an ever-growing mountain of rubbish left in rural Britain.

It ranges from a few bin bags of nuisance waste to criminal

gangs who've made a business out of it.

Fly-tippers can undercut legitimate waste businesses

because they don't cough up for things like landfill tax or permits.

So you pay to have your waste taken away,

the criminals pocket the profit and the environment pays the price.

These waste criminals are dealing in truckloads of rubbish

Environment Agency knows only too well.

That's quite a rogues' gallery you've got laid out, Matt. What have we got?

We've got a selection of the kind of bad things people get up to

This involved a case where material contaminated with lead and

other things was going onto a site and being let to run into the river.

We found that cos the fish were dying and we chased that upstream.

Wow! Got another example here which is a construction of waste tyres.

Basically they've left it abandoned on land

and just cleared off and taken the money.

Some are using criminal cunning to avoid paying for disposal.

An example in this last year that sticks in my mind is mixed

waste that's baled to make it look like bales of hay

Of course, that's a natural thing to see in the countryside

and it was only when those bales started to split that it was

Now, we made sure that the local farmers

and others were extra vigilant with that and two people were

arrested earlier this year and the investigation is still ongoing

Basically, if it's big, bad or nasty it's the Environment Agency's

job to deal with it, whether on public or private land.

Last year it shut down 1,300 illegal waste sites that were

it's the local authorities who do the lion's share of the work.

Last year they dealt with an astonishing 700,000 incidents.

So what about the rubbish dumped on private land?

Well, there it's up to farmers like Calum to sort it out for themselves.

Because it's private land the farmers have to pay to clear it up

They get the danger of the waste on their land and end up paying,

well, can be thousands of pounds to clear up the mess.

For the National Farmers Union this is putting an unfair,

They think farmers should be getting more support.

If they're unfortunate enough to be the victim

they're left with the cost and the time it takes to clear up that mess.

We'd like to see the authorities make it easier for farmers to deal

If the farmer is unfortunate enough to be the victim of someone

dumping some waste illegally on his land, we'd like to see them be able

to see them take that waste to a local authority site free of charge.

So how bad is the problem of fly-tipping?

Our research suggests that the problem on farmland has increased

massively in the last year or so. Up about 64%. 64% within a year? Wow.

Why do you think we're seeing such a steep increase?

I think the answer to that is that fly-tipping has been displaced,

less on public land but happening more on farmland in particular.

You're bearing the brunt of successful campaigns elsewhere.

The NFU plans to make illegal waste dumping part of their next

not only to make the public more aware

but also to encourage the authorities to give farmers more help.

Illegal waste dumping is costing farmers

and taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds a day.

And it's scarring some beautiful parts of our countryside.

So what can we do about it? I'll be finding out later.

Normally, I'm away from home exploring the best our lovely

landscape has to offer. But not this week.

This week I'm in my Hertfordshire garden.

As well as us, it's home to an orchard that's over 100 years old,

an increasingly rare sight in Hertfordshire,

where 90% of all orchards have been lost.

My wife and I want to get this orchard up and running as

and these lads have already made a great start on getting as much

sunlight into the trees as possible, but I've also got a few

permanent employees in here and you can just see them through there.

I've recently got hold of this flock of six ewes to graze the land.

And I'm hoping to let them loose in the orchard soon.

These are me grass cutters. Hebridean sheep.

They're a native breed that hail from the Scottish Isles

and we have a flock up on our farm in Durham

so I knew the perfect breed for a plot this size.

They're not big eaters and they're certainly not fussy eaters.

They're brilliant for conservation grazing

so all of these new brambles that are making their way up

through the grass, they're going to nibble all of this and keep it down.

And they're just perfect. Lovely temperament.

They're also a little reminder of home.

But if I'm honest the sheep aren't just for keeping the grass down,

they are also a present for a new addition to the family.

Last week I introduced you to our new collie pup, four-month-old Bob.

I'm keen that Bob grows up familiar with sheep.

He's already showing his natural instincts

when he's out playing with our black Lab, Annie, and so I'm

keen for him to meet who he will be working with when he grows up.

and the idea is that Bob doesn't even know he's got it on, really.

But if anything does happen I can just stand on that string

and suddenly I've got control of him again

but I really just want to see what stage he's at.

We'll just see how he goes. His ears might twitch.

He might just do a little bit of the old stalking, we'll see.

He's definitely keen but he doesn't know how to cope at the moment.

I don't want to spoil him so I've got my string here

and I can just give it a little tug and say, "Bob, that'll do."

What a good lad. There now. There now.

Every other day we'll come out and we'll do this. OK?

But we won't concentrate on any major training for a long

We'll tell Annie all about it then. You want the tummy tickle, do you?

Now, as we heard earlier, waste criminals are ruining

beautiful parts of our environment by illegally dumping rubbish.

So what's being done to clean up our countryside? Tom's been finding out.

The illegal dumping of waste blights our landscape

from the farmer suffering frequent fly-tipping...

It made my blood boil that people can come out into the countryside

and simply dump their waste to the expense of myself or my employer.

..to the government agency spending millions preventing and clearing up

mountains of hazardous waste, much of it dumped by organised criminals.

We found that cos the fish were dying and we traced it upstream.

While some are making big money from this shady business,

others are being left to pick up the bill.

But the authorities aren't taking the problem lying down.

I'm in Carmarthenshire in South Wales spending time with

a group of people who are using technology to fight

back against the fly-tippers and the waste criminals.

It certainly is a secluded spot coming in off the hills there.

Yes, this is an ideal location for fly-tippers

'Mike Roberts from Carmarthenshire County Council

'is on the front line against fly-tipping

'and he certainly sees more than his fair share of rubbish.'

There's so much different stuff here. I don't know where to start.

It must have taken a lot to bring that down here, as well.

Got the sofas. Everything including the kitchen sink up there.

And over there, that's asbestos. That's nasty stuff.

Mike works with an organisation called Fly-Tipping Action Wales,

a collection of local authorities working with people like the

police, the Forestry Commission and the NFU to clean up rural Wales.

There's no excuse for this but this is what every local authority,

every landowner is subjected to at the moment.

but I guess you're dealing with this sort of stuff all the time, are you?

This is what we come across on a daily basis, unfortunately.

Every year 42,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste is reported

in Wales, costing the taxpayer ?2.1 million to clear up.

But Mike and his team are using some pioneering technology to turn

When we arrive on site put it in camera mode.

This tracking device records the location of waste sites then

plots a red dot on a map to show the hotspots,

and South Wales appears to have a nasty rash.

Larger dots indicate there's a higher frequency of

So some of those big ones, that's not just one incident,

It could be multiple incidences in one location.

That's giving you the prime sites, isn't it? What do you do with that?

The benefits of having a mapping system shows where local

authorities have got to put their resources.

It will indicate the level of fly-tipping,

the type of waste being left and the frequencies.

So rather than just fighting blind you know where to

That's where we'll put our resources.

Knowing where the criminals might strike is just half the battle.

These cameras are ideal because they are quite small

This particular location has been subject to fly-tipping in the

past so as you can see around you there are various

ways in which the cameras can be hidden

so that the fly-tippers don't know that they're there.

There's no shortage of undergrowth and brush to put them in. Exactly.

I have a feeling that's definitely not getting my best side,

Hidden cameras like this are used to catch offenders red-handed

We don't want to give away the tricks of the trade

and make it easier for the villains so we'll let Pam hide her

secret camera without showing you the details.

This pioneering method of mapping illegally dumped

waste before catching the criminals in the act is now being rolled

out in other areas. Gary Evans has been managing the project.

So how are you doing in protecting the beautiful landscape of Wales?

It is beautiful and it's typical of South Wales

and we're passionate at Fly-Tipping Action Wales to maintain

this for local communities and future generations.

There were still 36,000 incidents of fly-tipping in Wales last year.

That equates to about 100 every day and that's far too many,

the amount of money that's spent on clearing fly-tipping

That money could be better spent in other services like education

And it's because our countryside is so open

and relatively isolated that fly-tippers can thrive,

but you're saying there is nowhere to hide any more.

Very much so. With the GPS tracking system we've got

and the covert surveillance techniques that local

authorities can employ now that we're helping them with.

there's very few places that if we believe fly-tipping is going to

go on that we couldn't target with our covert surveillance techniques.

The group's efforts seem to have had a real impact

But what about private landowners, like farmers?

We've been working with landowners, the National Farmers Union for one,

We appreciate that fly-tipping is going up in some areas

and we're keen to address that and we've been working with them

only this month to look at alternative ways of tackling

so it doesn't become such a blight for those individuals.

and surveillance things on private land as well?

and there's a lot of legal implications we've got to go

through before that's actually put in place

but we're looking at systems and methods and processes that will help

those landowners tackle fly-tipping in the future.

Fly-tipping takes advantage of the tranquillity

But if the enthusiastic response we've seen in South Wales

and fewer places for the waste criminals to hide.

And we can all help by checking our own sofas and tellies

are being legally disposed of, not ending up ruining the countryside.

Moving livestock can be tricky at the best of times.

But throw in sheer-sided cliffs, an island, and a narrow bridge,

and you've got a recipe for mayhem, as Adam's about to find out.

But first he's got some of his own livestock to deal with.

Somewhere in this valley are my Exmoor ponies.

Looks like it's going to be one of those days.

There's lots of gorse bushes and thorn bushes,

I need to find them and take them back up to the farm.

These Exmoor ponies are really tough and hardy

and they're pretty quick on their feet.

Once they get going, they can certainly motor.

But I should be able to keep up with them in this.

Ah, here they are. They're at the top there.

They're already cantering away from me.

Thankfully they're being fairly well behaved at the moment.

I've almost got them now. Just a bit further to go.

I'm taking them closer to the farm, to a new field for the winter.

On this farm I'm very lucky with the terrain.

There's some land that suits grassland

but also some good-quality arable land, too.

But there's plenty of farmers across the world who really aren't so lucky,

and over the years I've witnessed some pretty extreme farming.

Last year I visited Valais in Switzerland to witness

the homecoming of the Blacknose sheep

as they returned from a summer spent on the Alps.

I thought farming sheep in the Cotswolds was quite hard work

They're bringing 1,200 sheep off the side of this mountain,

Closer to home, North Devon's Valley of the Rocks is known for

And it's also where a large herd of feral goats roam free.

When it comes to their annual routine checkup,

The billy goats have spotted them, jumped over the wall

and gone straight up the mountain like mountain goats do.

And it doesn't bode well for the first part of the mission -

And today I'm in Cornwall at Tintagel Castle.

And I've come down here to help move some sheep onto this rocky outcrop,

across some pretty unforgiving terrain,

Set on the rugged North Cornwall coast,

Tintagel Castle is steeped in legends and mystery.

It's known for the myths surrounding King Arthur

But I'm here to help make some history of our own

Tintagel property manager Matt Ward is on hand

We've got 30 sheep that are just arriving in a few minutes' time

and I'm glad you could come and help. We've just got to move them

and drive them up the steps and get them onto the castle island.

We've got a little photo, if you want to see.

That's the last time the sheep were up here.

In fact, the breed look like Cotswolds, where I'm from.

Right, OK. That's your expertise and that's why you're here.

And why are you putting sheep up here again?

Part of our conservation maintenance plan.

We've got some very rare wild flowers up there

so in conjunction with Natural England,

having sheep up there hopefully will improve and increase

the amount of wild flowers from their hundreds to their thousands.

And the great thing about sheep is they play a vital role

because they'll graze on coarse grasses

Now, I know you wanted me here early, so there's a bit of a rush, is there?

Well, we've got to get this walkway open by ten o'clock.

I've been here putting up some temporary fences and some hurdles,

so fingers crossed that it should all go according to plan.

Get the sheep through and then the public arrive? Yeah, hopefully.

Soays. Absolutely. You're a brave man. They're pretty lively sheep.

So I've heard, you know, they are a bit sketchy.

And the Soay comes from the stacks off the west coast of Scotland and so

they're used to living in this kind of environment

but it must get pretty rough in the winter down here. Yeah.

When you're getting a gale coming in from the north all winter it's

pretty wild up here so that's one of the reasons we chose these Soay.

So they'll survive the winter up here. Hopefully, they'll be fine.

How are your running legs? Cos they're pretty quick. Right, OK.

I'm quite used to doing the steps. How are yours?

I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up. Shall we let them go? Yeah, let's go.

They're lively! Go on, little girls. Go on.

That's it, off they go. They're going up the steps well, aren't they?

That's it, stay here, stay here, let's let them come back down.

It looks like we've got some problems already.

They've run up the grass bank. They didn't like being on this path.

'As we tried to surround them, they spot a hole in our defences.'

I've done some pretty crazy things in my time.

Half the flock were just too quick for us

We will have to retrieve that lot later.

A quick re-position to prevent this from happening again,

They seem frightened of the wooden walkway

but we have a plan to tempt them down.

What the farmer has done is tied one of the Soay to the fence down there

and because sheep are flock animals they'll hopefully draw to her.

Well, we might have some sheep on your island after all. I think.

There's only another 150 metres of treacherous cliff road to pass

They're going well now. Oh, hang on. Where are they going?

'But just as we congratulate ourselves,

'they scale the cliff on the other side

'and it starts to get a bit dangerous.

'I've no idea how we're going to get them back from there.'

And it's not safe for me to get round behind them

cos I might fall to my death off the cliff.

As we stand around wondering what to do,

He's on top of the cliff trying to persuade the sheep to move.

I can't believe my eyes when he starts to climb down the cliff.

Don't come any further, you're right at the edge of the cliff there.

Oh, my word, I don't think I can look.

That's it, that's it. They're going, they're going.

Right, now you need to get yourself safely back.

It's the very first time this breed have been on Tintagel.

Where have they gone? We've made it. Look.

There they are. Goodness me. Wow, this is an extraordinary place.

We're standing in the courtyard of a medieval castle here.

This was built in 1236 by Earl Richard of Cornwall

and what he basically wanted to do was build a castle on what

he thought was King Arthur's birthplace.

At the time it had no strategic value.

There was no reason for him to build a castle here

other than the legend of King Arthur.

So what he built was basically a holiday cottage.

His main castle was at Launceston and this is his weekend retreat.

So they probably would have had sheep right back then.

Yeah, sheep have been up here since the 13th century

but it's a great source of meat and wool.

Imagine up here in the depths of winter,

you'd need a pretty big woolly jumper. You would, yeah.

So where have you got to get them from here?

We've got to just try and get them through that little gateway there.

Nice to see you've given me the easy job.

Go on. You're having a nice time up here, aren't you?

We finally made it, the sheep are going to be quite happy.

I've got no idea how we're going to get them off in April

but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

'but it should make a big difference to the wild flower population.'

It's wonderful that such an important breed of primitive

This may have once been home to King Arthur,

On the surface, Hertfordshire boasts a familiar British landscape.

Nothing too out of the ordinary here.

Until, perhaps, you happen upon some sculpture so monumental

and extraordinary it takes your breath away.

These magnificent pieces can be none other than

arguably the most outstanding sculptor of the 20th century.

This piece dominating the landscape is called Large Reclining Figure.

It's one of the many sculptures on display in the grounds

his work has been safeguarded by the Henry Moore Foundation.

This is my last chance to see his work up close this year

because the collection is now closed for winter.

Curator Sebastiano Barassi has offered me a special tour.

he was born in Castleford in 1898 and he was the son of a coal miner.

His father insisted that he should train as a school teacher

And then he went on to fight in World War I and when he returned

he decided that he really wanted to be an artist.

He came to Perry Green and he fell in love with the place.

For more than 40 years. For the rest of his life, yes.

He set up his studios and also created the ideal landscape to

show his sculptures and to create his sculptures.

He chose very simple names for many of his sculptures -

He wanted people to understand that these sculptures,

although they may not look like human figures, they are of human figures.

He's leaving it to you to decide and form your own opinion. Yes.

You've told me a little secret about this piece. That's right.

At some point, someone pointed out that the torso

element of the figure looks very much like a rabbit's head.

And so I think it stuck. Completely unintentional.

Completely unintentional, but once you see that, I think that's

All right, I'm renaming this piece Three Piece Rabbit. Wonderful.

Moore was so passionate about showing off his work

in the landscape he often sent it round the world to be

In 1972, his work was being packed up in preparation for what

was set to be the most important exhibition of his life, in Florence.

There were people packing and wrapping everywhere.

We're not just talking about a few padded envelopes

It was organised chaos and it made it impossible for him to sculpt.

And so he sat right here and he sketched instead.

And the view from this window was his inspiration.

I think there's something about sheep. No other animal...

One of the things that I found one could do is,

the sheep couldn't see inside because it's darker in here

but they were curious, they could hear, and they'd stand just

looking in this way, trying to find out where the noise came from.

And they'd stay like that for nearly five minutes.

After the birth of his daughter Mary,

he became fascinated with the bond between mother and young.

Many of his sheep sketches were of ewes protecting their lambs.

the idea of combining a larger form with a smaller form in order

to create the sense of protection and closure

and I think it's something that you see up here.

And he didn't mind the proximity of the animals to his pieces.

Not at all, not at all. In fact, he really enjoyed that.

The fact that the animals that had inspired the sculpture were

actually happy to go and rub against the work really appealed to him.

see the marks where the sheep have brushed up against them.

It's almost sort of sheep sacrilege. Absolutely.

we all love that and it's a wonderful anecdote to tell visitors the

idea that the sheep actually have a physical relationship with the work.

Moore also loved sheep grazing around his sculpture,

because he believed they gave his work scale.

Farmer Robert Pryor remembers him

So, Robert, this all started for you as a schoolboy. Yes, indeed.

As I was leaving school, Henry Moore asked my father - they'd been

friends for many years, they were in the Home Guard together -

whether we'd be interested in grazing sheep

on his land amongst the sculptures that were going to be here.

He was a Yorkshireman, he enjoyed to see the sheep

out there with the sculptures. When I speak to farmers,

they all tell me they've got the best view in the world.

I haven't spoken to any farmer who gets Henry Moore

sculptures on a daily basis. Yeah, we're very lucky, aren't we?

It's quite nice to come out in the mornings

and drive round the sheep and see this fine art.

I'm not sure whether I appreciate it quite as much as I should.

The important question is not whether you appreciate it,

it's whether the sheep appreciate it. Indeed, yeah, yeah.

Oh, I'm not sure they've got a real favourite, apart from on a real

hot sunny day they like to shade under the Sheep Piece.

Moore was a countryman at heart and he was happiest knowing

his life's work would live on in the landscape he cherished so dearly.

It is the beautiful Countryfile calendar for 2014,

The theme this year was our living landscape.

Here's how you get your hands on one.

The calendar costs ?9 including UK delivery.

You can buy yours either via our website...

To order by post send your name, address and cheque to...

Please make cheques payable to BBC Countryfile Calendar.

A minimum of ?4 from every sale will be donated to the

It is a splendid autumnal day here at the Henry Moore Foundation

but what has the rest of the week got in store?

Well, I know someone who has all the answers to all things weathery.

Thank you. It has been hard to find a decent day in the past week. The

week ahead is very autumnal. There will be sunshine tomorrow, but there

will be more wet and windy weather to come. Hopefully not quite as

violent as it has been in the past week. We saw some stormy conditions

yesterday, the low pressure system responsible for that is still

affecting the far north-east of Scotland and more wet and windy

weather from another low sweeping across areas currently. A wet night

in the South. Blustery yet again, very gusty conditions along the

south coast. The rain extending across the Midlands into parts of

East Anglia. With all the wet weather in the south it will be a

mild night, a very mild night in the extreme south-east. Further north,

it is going to be a cold night. Temperatures in many rural areas

will drop to -10 minus two degrees. A chilly start, still some rain

leftover. A few showers will graze eastern areas, one too scattered

showers in North Wales and perhaps later in the day we will some patchy

rain returning to the Isles of Scilly and West Cornwall. For most,

tomorrow promises some autumn sunshine, temperatures struggling to

double figures. It will feel cold at times on the East Coast, some clouds

billing in, so turning grey in Norfolk. There will be some showers

across parts of Wales. Parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland, after

a cold start, looking fine for the afternoon with sunny spells. It will

turn chilly again on Monday night with clear skies, a blue tinge on

the map suggesting some frost. More blue in western areas, that is rain

spreading in and it will change things. Temperatures starting to

lift through the night but in eastern areas there could be a touch

of frost on Tuesday morning. The rain arriving is from a weather

front attached to low pressure. This front will tend to zip across the

country during Tuesday, so we start off wet in the West on Tuesday

morning, brightening up across many western areas through the day, rain

lingering in eastern areas through the afternoon but the rain is

getting out of the way by Tuesday evening. Tuesday is November the 5th

so if you are having a bonfire on Tuesday night, it is a good chance

it will be dry. But it is still breezy. Midweek, we have some

questions. This rippling weather front is giving us some headaches.

Some questions about how far north that weather front and the rain will

get on Wednesday but be prepared for some rain in southern areas. If the

weather front arrives on Wednesday, it could make for a wet night on

Wednesday night and it may not have completely cleared on Thursday

morning. Generally on Thursday, we are between weather systems so most

places dry and bright with sunny spells. Some showers in the West,

the next weather system arriving in the far north-west. That is another

low which drifted north of Scotland on Friday, plenty of isobars on the

chart and a set of the rippling weather front in the third. Friday

provides some uncertainty but we could see perhaps a more persistent

rain in the South, a breezy day with showers and some spells of pressure.

This week we're exploring the Home County of Hertfordshire.

Julia's been spending time on the estate of legendary sculptor

because it's home to this lovely old orchard.

Now, I really do love these trees, but as you can see, some of them

and help them produce as much fruit as possible and extend their

life for as long as we can so Nicola and I have called in a bit of help.

Mike Clarke's ID-ing our varieties.

And a team of tree surgeons are here to help get the orchard

We've been cutting back the growth that's been blocking

the light to a small apple tree hidden in the middle of that lot.

And with the lovely tree now revealed,

it's time for it to get a little attention.

What a difference. It's just incredible, isn't it?

You get a feeling now for sort of the actual space

and area that all that was taking up and, you know,

it's giving the apple tree a lot more light.

But the tree itself, it looks absolutely beautiful, doesn't it?

You would never have known it was underneath there, would you?

Do you know, I've always wanted a bonsai.

I think maybe now I'll just put some decking down here

All that really remains is for you to remove the last dead

The idea being to keep this limb here that you see all

So we're going to cut this back to this branch just over here.

And then it's, yeah, job done. And do we do...

Are we going to do this in one cut or in stages?

I'm quite confident you can do this in one cut. Just straight down there?

Straight down there, yeah, absolutely. All right then.

When you think of the conditions that it was producing

the fruit in before, and you think now, it's going to thrive, isn't it?

You're not going to have enough crates.

That's good. Lovely. Well, listen, thanks for your help.

Good. So am I, to be perfectly honest. I'm well pleased with it.

It's up there with my favourite trees now. Yeah?

Time to see if Mike can put names to our apples.

That's the last one off the tree you were working on over there.

That's Cox's Pomona, which is quite a local type.

I haven't seen these in Hertfordshire.

Hang on, you've never seen that in Hertfordshire? No. Wow.

Mike can also reveal that the one we've always

known as Dad's favourite is actually Brownlees' Russet.

Kids' packed lunch is, in fact, Cox's Orange.

I think the name comes more from the colour. It has this banana...

Somebody here was very keen on apples

Yeah, we almost felt the need to do a drum roll before we eat

I think that would probably be Keswick Codlin but it could be

a West Country cider apple, which they were very keen to have here.

Again, it's a sign of people who knew their apples

But you've got a wonderful mixture here.

We have a Hitchin Pippin here for you.

Oh, Mike. So we'll make a start to your new orchard.

And it's one of the rarest trees, that's just been rediscovered.

Well, listen, thank you very much indeed. Thank you.

Make sure you protect it from the rabbits.

'Leaving Mike and Nicola to make a map of our varieties,

'and Bob and Annie cleaning up the windfall,

'I'm off to plant our precious Hitchin Pippin.

'And just in time - the gardener's arrived.'

Hiya. I can see it now - "Baker's own apple juice."

You and Nicola, picture on the label,

That's a good idea, actually. We should do it, we should do it.

Don't be. Full of character. Take a bite of that.

Lovely, isn't it? Quite sharp. Yeah. Nice, though.

Good, I'm just planting this new one in.

It's going in, there we are, that's good depth.

Break it up a bit. Get the old roots out.

Now, next week I'm afraid you are going to have to leave your home.

You're kidding me. It's very inconvenient for you, isn't it?

That's it from Hertfordshire. We're going to be on Cannock Chase

and I'm going to be doing a little bit of mountain biking.

A little bit? Yeah, just a little bit. You know me. OK, good.

Well, I'm going to be celebrating 100 years of County Council Farms,

a brilliant way for young people to get involved in farming.

Hope you can join us then. See you then. Bye-bye.