0:00:25 > 0:00:28Hills with views over fields of gold.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31A coastline that's rugged yet beautiful.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34And vast expanses of marshland as far as the eye can see.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37This is Kent.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41If you're looking for isolation,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44you can't go far wrong here on Elmley Marshes.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48It's a haven for wildlife it's perfect for a bit of bird spotting.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50But as these old ruins will reveal,
0:00:50 > 0:00:53it hasn't always been a picture of tranquillity.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57Further inland, one of the county's impressive country piles
0:00:57 > 0:01:00is getting a 21st century make over.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02This rather stately of homes
0:01:02 > 0:01:04is in good nick on the outside,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08but step inside Knole and it's rather a different story.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Previously unseen rooms in this magnificent house
0:01:11 > 0:01:14are being transformed on a grand scale.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17And I'll be one of the lucky few to get a sneak peak.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Helen's in the Wiltshire countryside -
0:01:21 > 0:01:24a place that's provided inspiration for artists,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27poets and writers for centuries.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31One of the country's most famous war poets, Siegfried Sassoon,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35chose to live here in Wiltshire for more than 30 years of his life.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37He was famous for reflecting the horrors of war,
0:01:37 > 0:01:39but when he moved here,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42he chose to write about the beauty he found in the countryside.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Tom's looking into the pitfalls of mining.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49This wet winter hasn't just meant extraordinary floods on the surface.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51It's also waterlogged the ground,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54making it incredibly heavy,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57sometimes with jaw-dropping results.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Here, around 10,000 tons of rock and soil
0:02:00 > 0:02:04simply fell down into an old lead mine.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08So what can be done about the legacy of old mine workings
0:02:08 > 0:02:12and their occasional tendency for catastrophic collapse?
0:02:12 > 0:02:13I'll be investigating.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26Hugging the country's south-eastern hip, Kent's a county of contrasts.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Patchwork fields give way to rugged coastline.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Stark shingle beaches hold austere beauty.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35I'm just off the north Kent coast,
0:02:35 > 0:02:36on the Isle of Sheppey.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38It was once made up of three islands,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Sheppey, Harty and Elmley,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43before the channel separating them silted up.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Now, today, we're being blasted by the wind
0:02:46 > 0:02:48that's coming off the North Sea - the English Channel
0:02:48 > 0:02:50and the Netherlands are just over there.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52London is 46 miles in that direction
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and you can just see Southend, appearing through the mist
0:02:55 > 0:02:58on the Essex coast and there are some brilliant place names
0:02:58 > 0:03:01around here, Halfway Houses and Horrid Hill,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03not to mention Bedlams Bottom,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06which you have to go down Raspberry Hill to get to.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10But today, I am here to discover a ghost of Sheppey's past,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12the Lost Village of Elmley.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16I'm hoping islander Ken Ingleton can take me on an unconventional tour
0:03:16 > 0:03:19through the wind and rain to find it!
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Now then, Ken, are you all right?
0:03:22 > 0:03:23Good lad, come on in.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25KEN LAUGHS
0:03:25 > 0:03:29It's absolutely horrendous! Very nice to see you, welcome.
0:03:29 > 0:03:30LAUGHTER
0:03:30 > 0:03:33- It's not exactly the day for a wander, is it?- No,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37it's probably one of the worst days to be here, ever, I think!
0:03:37 > 0:03:38LAUGHTER
0:03:38 > 0:03:41So, it's hard to believe that this area,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44it was a hive of activity, wasn't it?
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Yes, there used to be probably just over 300 people
0:03:47 > 0:03:50lived in the spot we're on now.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Right - what were they doing here, why were they here?
0:03:52 > 0:03:56They found a stone around the Isle of Sheppey
0:03:56 > 0:04:01that they could bake in a kiln and make it into cement.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06And during the 1800s, it was in great demand for the new bridges...
0:04:06 > 0:04:13- Down in London?- In London and here round the Isle of Sheppey.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16The village of Elmley grew up around its Turkey Cement Works -
0:04:16 > 0:04:18another great name.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22The cement workers would beach their barges as the tides went down,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25dig out the clay and float it round to the works.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29There are still the remains of a boat here in the...
0:04:29 > 0:04:32- can you see the ribs of it? - Oh! Yeah!
0:04:32 > 0:04:36In the dock and that's where they used to bring the clay
0:04:36 > 0:04:37and the claystone in.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43So, all these workers that were around here, where did they live?
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Well, the houses actually were on the road leading down to here.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- Right.- There were a few terraces,
0:04:50 > 0:04:55- there were records of about 30 houses.- Uh-huh.- And a pub.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00The Turkey Cement Works closed in 1902,
0:05:00 > 0:05:04ground down by competition from across the water in Sittingbourne.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06The village population dwindled dramatically,
0:05:06 > 0:05:10as residents moved away in search of work.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Within a few years, the whole place was deserted.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Now, as it's stopped raining,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18I've popped out to have a look at the old schoolhouse.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22In 1919, a local newspaper reported that this,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24the smallest school in England would be closing,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27because it only had five children on its books.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30And three of them were the teacher's!
0:05:30 > 0:05:33These skeletal remains are all that's left
0:05:33 > 0:05:36of Elmley's industrial past.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39But what industry lost, nature has reclaimed,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41as I will be finding out later.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Not all the relics of our industrial past are as visible as this.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51Beneath the British countryside, there are thousands of disused mines
0:05:51 > 0:05:53and, as Tom has been finding out,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56we're still paying the price for venturing underground.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Two centuries ago, this stunning gorge in Shropshire
0:06:07 > 0:06:11was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14But the revolution craved power,
0:06:14 > 0:06:18so we went in search of this.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22British industry was built on the backs of hundreds of thousands
0:06:22 > 0:06:26of men, tunnelling beneath our landscape in search of this
0:06:26 > 0:06:30precious source of energy, coal.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33But that headlong rush for this industrial fuel
0:06:33 > 0:06:36has left us with a potentially damaging legacy,
0:06:36 > 0:06:41that, in places, risks taking the very ground from beneath our feet.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Ironbridge is claimed to be the birthplace
0:06:46 > 0:06:51of the Industrial Revolution and now, it's a World Heritage Site.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55But it WAS a cauldron of industry.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57This has lead to unexpected consequences
0:06:57 > 0:07:02and it falls to council engineer Neal Rushton to sort them out.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04So, wow! What did happen here?
0:07:04 > 0:07:06This hole collapsed in the road,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10it's part of the legacy from past mining in the area.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12Did it just open up like it is now?
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Pretty much, it's getting steadily bigger,
0:07:14 > 0:07:16which is what we'd expect to happen.
0:07:16 > 0:07:17They're filling in the void,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20but it'll keep collapsing down into the mine workings underneath.
0:07:20 > 0:07:2315m down, there's a void and things are gradually settling in it?
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Settling into it, exactly.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27But the bad weather we've been having,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31does make the risk higher and from an engineering point of view,
0:07:31 > 0:07:35we've a period at the beginning of the year that we call shaft season,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37when these collapses are most likely to occur.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41If this hole is growing, I'll take one or two little steps back here!
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Ironbridge may be particularly fragile,
0:07:47 > 0:07:52but it's by no means the only place that has a problem with old mines.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57'Imagine waking up to this -
0:07:57 > 0:08:02'a hole that's swallowed your car, right outside your doorstep.'
0:08:02 > 0:08:08There are more than 300 mine shaft collapses every year in the UK.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11'It's at this moment, as a drill rig falls,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13'that a workman is dragged, screaming in fear,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16'into the exposed earth of a collapsing mineshaft.'
0:08:16 > 0:08:20And he was holding on to my fence, screaming.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24The recent wet weather means we've seen far more than usual
0:08:24 > 0:08:26over the past few months.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29We were rushing out and she was looking out the window,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32"My car! My car! It's gone."
0:08:32 > 0:08:34But as dramatic as these collapses are,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36they're just one of the problems
0:08:36 > 0:08:40caused by more than 300,000 disused mines and shafts
0:08:40 > 0:08:44lurking beneath our feet.
0:08:44 > 0:08:45Thank you.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Well, in order to understand the impact that mining can have
0:08:48 > 0:08:50on the surface, I need to get down
0:08:50 > 0:08:54and, quite probably, dirty, to where the problem starts.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Houses in the many ex-coal-mining communities like this one
0:09:04 > 0:09:09near Wakefield are at risk, not only from the occasional collapse
0:09:09 > 0:09:14of old shafts, but also from the more widespread problem of subsidence.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18To find out why, I am joining mining engineer, Andy Smith.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22So, how does coal mining actually work down here?
0:09:22 > 0:09:26This disc spins round and cuts the coal,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30the cowl pushes all the coal onto this chain conveyor
0:09:30 > 0:09:32and it takes it out of the mine.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35So those big teeth are cutting a slice of coal off there?
0:09:35 > 0:09:37It's like a bacon slicer, yeah.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40So, what about this lot here, all these hydraulic rams
0:09:40 > 0:09:41and these machines?
0:09:41 > 0:09:43These are what we call hydraulic chocks
0:09:43 > 0:09:46and they control the roof lowering. When you bring these forward,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50all the rock above us, all collapses because it becomes unsupported
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- at the back.- So, the whole thing is gradually moving in this direction
0:09:53 > 0:09:57and as you're cutting out coal over here, it's collapsing over there.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58It's collapsing at the back, yes.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00So all that goes up towards the surface then.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04Really, so even down here, and we're over 100m down here,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06will eventually have an effect on the surface?
0:10:06 > 0:10:08It produces the sagging on the surface, yes.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13From mineshaft collapses to subsidence,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16the legacy of our exploits underground
0:10:16 > 0:10:18is still being felt today.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22So, what's the extent of the problem that mining has left behind?
0:10:22 > 0:10:25The responsibility for managing the effects of past coal-mining
0:10:25 > 0:10:28falls to the Coal Authority.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32Carl Banton is the head of public safety and subsidence.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35This is an example of the legacy of mining above ground,
0:10:35 > 0:10:37but most of it is below ground.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40What's the scale of that impact on the surface?
0:10:40 > 0:10:41It's quite extensive,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44there are 26,000 square kilometres of coalfield area
0:10:44 > 0:10:47of which we think is around about 20 percent of that,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49where there is potential problems.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53What kind of scale of problem, what number of properties are involved?
0:10:53 > 0:10:56We think eight million homes on the coalfield,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59but, bringing that down to around about two million
0:10:59 > 0:11:01on the shallow coalfield.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03Two million sounds like a lot of properties,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05how many of them are actively at risk?
0:11:05 > 0:11:08We get reported 1,000 projects per year,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11but when we investigate, around 40%,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13400-odd are actually our liability
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and they can range from a minor problem, minor cracking
0:11:16 > 0:11:18to something a little bit larger.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Coal-mining accounts for more than half of the disused mines
0:11:24 > 0:11:26and mine shafts across the UK.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30There are also miles of tunnels that we've used to get at lead,
0:11:30 > 0:11:33copper and the many other precious materials
0:11:33 > 0:11:35that lie beneath the British countryside.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38All of these can cause problems, too.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41If you've ever read your house survey
0:11:41 > 0:11:45and seen the word subsidence on it, you'll know it can cost you dear,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49so with more and more homes being built on undeveloped land,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52is this a problem we should be tackling more seriously?
0:11:52 > 0:11:54That's what I will be investigating later.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01It's not hard to find beauty within the Kent countryside.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04I'm taking a wander through woodland,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07where a quiet and peaceful retreat awaits.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Deer have roamed this parkland for 500 years,
0:12:10 > 0:12:15but older still is the ancestral pile that sits at its head,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Knole.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21It's been on show since the 15th century,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23owned by former Archbishops of Canterbury
0:12:23 > 0:12:28and later by the infamous Tudor King, Henry VIII.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32But it's the Sackville family who have made this place their home
0:12:32 > 0:12:34for the past 400 years.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42What an impressive abode.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47This place has got 365 rooms, one for every day of the year,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49nice!
0:12:49 > 0:12:51And 1,000 acres of prime countryside,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55which is pretty much all the land you can see.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Once a private house, the National Trust took over most of the property
0:13:03 > 0:13:09in 1946. Since then, it's opened its doors to the public.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13But come winter, the team are painstakingly cleaning and dusting
0:13:13 > 0:13:14every inch on show.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21A house this size needs a lot of TLC,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24and for the past two years it's been under renovation,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26both outside and in.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30But it goes way beyond your average DIY job.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35With the exterior now wind and water tight,
0:13:35 > 0:13:40it's down with the scaffolding as attention turns to the interior.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42As part of the restoration project,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44conservation volunteer, Vicky Patient is
0:13:44 > 0:13:47working in Eddy Sackville's old tower rooms,
0:13:47 > 0:13:52barely touched since the 1940s, and yet to be revealed to the public.
0:13:52 > 0:13:53So, who was Eddy?
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Well, Eddy was the fifth Lord Sackville
0:13:56 > 0:14:01and he inherited from his father, so you can imagine a place like this,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04it looks really grand and they were very asset-rich,
0:14:04 > 0:14:09but running a place like this is a huge burden, financially.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13So, a lot of them were a bit cash-poor, Eddy in particular.
0:14:13 > 0:14:18- This is him, he had a taste for the fine tailoring.- Look at that outfit!
0:14:18 > 0:14:21I know!
0:14:21 > 0:14:24The Sackvilles negotiated a 200-year lease
0:14:24 > 0:14:26to stay in Knole's private apartments,
0:14:26 > 0:14:28but in these unoccupied tower rooms,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31there are many thousands of items to conserve,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34before they're opened up in 2015.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36So, are these his love letters?
0:14:36 > 0:14:40Sadly not, no. A lot of tailors' bills.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Forster and Sons of Bond Street, 1924.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46£464!
0:14:46 > 0:14:48- Yeah!- That's quite a lot of money.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Yeah, I think he had a thing for silk shirts and vests.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Dresscoats, lined with satin. Wow!
0:14:58 > 0:15:02So you'd write a little description of exactly what it is
0:15:02 > 0:15:04and there's a box to tick whether you're confident
0:15:04 > 0:15:06in your measurements or not!
0:15:06 > 0:15:10- Why wouldn't you be? - Well, you never know!
0:15:10 > 0:15:13It's a very dynamic place, this house, always something to be done.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Yes, and with any luck, at some point,
0:15:15 > 0:15:18we might actually get to the end of it, but I doubt it!
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Like Eddy Sackville and his ancestors,
0:15:23 > 0:15:25we all like to put a stamp on our homes,
0:15:25 > 0:15:27through decorations or furnishings.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34Everywhere you look at Knole, there's the family leopard motif.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36But with every change of owner, and decor,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39where does the unwanted furniture go?
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Into the attic, of course,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45or rather, the retainer's gallery.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48It's here that inherited pieces or perks
0:15:48 > 0:15:50from royal palaces have been stored over the years.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53It's recently been handed over to the National Trust
0:15:53 > 0:15:57and this once private space, where Sackville children
0:15:57 > 0:15:59would have played, will soon be filled with the echo
0:15:59 > 0:16:02of visitors' footsteps.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04And in this house, the resident family
0:16:04 > 0:16:07are never far from prying eyes.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13The 7th Baron Sackville, Robert Sackville-West
0:16:13 > 0:16:17and his family moved into a private wing six years ago,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20inheriting his ancestors' intrigue
0:16:20 > 0:16:22for the smouldering secrets of Knole.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30I am now in the poets' parlour at Knole, it's our family dining room.
0:16:30 > 0:16:36The reason I'm in this room now is because of this gentleman here.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40A distant ancestor, Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Charles was the patron of many, fairly distinguished
0:16:44 > 0:16:47late 17th-century poets and playwrights.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49Charles was something of a hellraiser.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53He was a close friend of King Charles II,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57who got him off two criminal charges, the first for manslaughter
0:16:57 > 0:17:00and the second, in the words of the diarist Samuel Pepys,
0:17:00 > 0:17:05for exposing himself indecently from the balcony
0:17:05 > 0:17:07of a brothel in Covent Garden.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Living at Knole has inspired many Sackville family members
0:17:12 > 0:17:15to put pen to paper, Robert included.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18But perhaps the most famous was his father's cousin,
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Vita Sackville-West. A celebrated writer and poet
0:17:22 > 0:17:25in the early 20th century, Vita was born and raised
0:17:25 > 0:17:27in this magnificent house.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30As an only child, she roamed the attics
0:17:30 > 0:17:34and used the eclectic family history to feed her imagination.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40As a teenager, Vita wrote an impressive eight novels
0:17:40 > 0:17:43and five plays in the summer house just behind me,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46which was her favourite writing spot.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54But for Vita, her time here ended on a sour note.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58Had she been a man, she'd have inherited her beloved Knole
0:17:58 > 0:18:00when her father passed away.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02Sadly, it went to her uncle.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08This was a house that probably meant more to her than any human being,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11she absolutely loved it and was distraught to leave here.
0:18:13 > 0:18:19Vita sought her own path and, in 1913, she married a young diplomat,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Harold Nicholson, in the Knole family chapel.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29Theirs was to be a very happy, but very unconventional marriage.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Because over the course of their marriage,
0:18:32 > 0:18:39each of them had a series of lovers of their own sex.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43One of those lovers was Virginia Woolf, the novelist.
0:18:43 > 0:18:49Woolf wrote a novel dedicated to Vita called Orlando.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53With many references to Knole, the story ends with Orlando,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56or Vita, taking possession of the ancestral home -
0:18:56 > 0:18:59the only way she could inherit.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04It was, as Vita's son, Nigel Nicholson, described,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08the longest and most charming love letter in literature.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Although the sadness of losing Knole never left her,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Vita did find a happy home just a few years later,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23deep in the heart of the Kent countryside she so loved
0:19:23 > 0:19:25and that's where I will be heading.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35JOHN: The Kentish countryside,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38a landscape shaped by farmers and growers,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40fertile soil and a warm climate
0:19:40 > 0:19:44create perfect conditions for their produce.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Kent has long been proud of its foodie reputation.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51There's no denying that the Kent landscape
0:19:51 > 0:19:53really is good enough to eat -
0:19:53 > 0:19:57it produces some fantastic food and drink as well.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59But I am going to be finding out about a new product
0:19:59 > 0:20:03that is produced entirely on one farm.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Kentish blue cheese.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Steve Reynolds comes from a long line of dairy farmers.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12He bought this 250-acre farm
0:20:12 > 0:20:16in the heart of the Kent countryside, 25 years ago.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19It's a family business, with sons Archie and Frank
0:20:19 > 0:20:22- helping out whenever they can. - Come on.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27Steve keeps around 100 Holstein Friesian cows in a closed herd,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30meaning he doesn't buy in replacement animals.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35All of the new stock is born and bred on the farm.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38That means that all these ladies are related,
0:20:38 > 0:20:43mothers, aunts, sisters, daughters, even granddaughters!
0:20:48 > 0:20:50It's a fine looking herd you've got here, Steve -
0:20:50 > 0:20:54how important to you is it that it's a closed herd?
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Very important, John. We keep all the disease away.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Vet bills become minimal and it's a much healthier herd.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04You know everything about every animal as well.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06We know everything about every individual animal,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09every animal is identifiable.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12With dairy farming having a rough ride over the past few years,
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Steve and his wife Karen wanted to add value to the milk,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18so they started making cheese.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23By diversifying, they hope to secure the farm's future for the boys.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25I think dairy farming is a good industry to be in,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28I think dairy farmers have got to look,
0:21:28 > 0:21:30particularly the smaller family farms,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33we've got to look at our end product and how we sell our end product,
0:21:33 > 0:21:36rather than just selling it to the supermarket.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40- Why blue cheese? - Purely because I love it.
0:21:40 > 0:21:4420% of the herd's milk is pumped straight from the udder
0:21:44 > 0:21:48to the cheese vat, so no food miles here, just a few metres.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50We want all that warm milk to come,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53we use it straightaway from when it comes out of the cow,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55it goes through the filters, straight into the cheese vat,
0:21:55 > 0:21:59it's much better like that, it's the raw, natural product.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02The warm milk gets mixed with a powdered culture
0:22:02 > 0:22:04called penicillium roqueforti.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08This is the mould that makes blue cheese blue.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12Then, rennet is added, which curdles the milk
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Finally, the liquid, the whey, is drained off
0:22:15 > 0:22:18and you're left with the curds.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23- Can I have a taste?- Have a taste. It should taste quite sweet.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28- It's not like cheese, is it?- No. - It's more like scrambled egg.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32- It's a cottage cheese texture.- Yes.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36Did you know anything at all about cheesemaking before you started?
0:22:36 > 0:22:39No, we were complete novices,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42Steve went on a couple of cheesemaking courses,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46but the most important thing is that you learn on the job
0:22:46 > 0:22:47and trial and error.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Are you tempted to go really big-time?
0:22:50 > 0:22:52No, we're happy as we are.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56We don't want to be supplying supermarkets or anything like that,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00we're a family farm, we want to be able to pass it on
0:23:00 > 0:23:03to our children and just enjoy what we do.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05With just the two of them making it,
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Steve and Karen produce only around 80 wheels of cheese a week,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12which they sell at farmers' markets and to local businesses.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14After about seven days,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17the culture that was added starts to work its magic,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21but it needs a helping hand for the distinctive blue veining
0:23:21 > 0:23:23to develop inside.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25And that's elder son Frank's job.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Gosh, there's a strong smell in here, isn't there?
0:23:28 > 0:23:30- Ammonia!- Yeah, it's not good.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32You get used to it after a while,
0:23:32 > 0:23:34but when you first come in, it smells quite bad.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36What's your role in this family business?
0:23:36 > 0:23:40Where you're standing, you put holes in the cheese to let oxygen in,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42allows the mould in the cheese to develop.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45How many stabs do you have to give each cheese?
0:23:45 > 0:23:49Roughly, each one gets about 80 holes, 40 stabs,
0:23:49 > 0:23:51so it takes quite a while.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54How long are the cheeses in here before they're ready for sale?
0:23:54 > 0:23:57They come in here for five weeks.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00They develop around the outside, it gets quite furry,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03the mould develops and after five weeks,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06when they're eight weeks old, they go off for sale.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09So, tell me honestly, do you just do this for a bit of pocket money,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12or do you have a long-term interest in cheesemaking?
0:24:12 > 0:24:17I plan to take over the business, and work on the farm
0:24:17 > 0:24:19and cheesemake with my brother, Archie,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21who's very interested in the animals.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Me and him, working together, I think will be quite good.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29Seems that the boys' plans are, like the cheeses, maturing nicely.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Earlier we heard about the potential dangers
0:24:36 > 0:24:39from hundreds of thousands of disused mines and mineshafts
0:24:39 > 0:24:41underneath our countryside.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45So, should we be making them safer? Here's Tom.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52We've been digging out the rocks and minerals from under our feet
0:24:52 > 0:24:56since the Romans were here, creating a vast void.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59The result of that could be small earth movements
0:24:59 > 0:25:05or sometimes catastrophic collapses, so just how firm is
0:25:05 > 0:25:07our terra firma?
0:25:08 > 0:25:12Here in the Peak District, the countryside was once heavily mined
0:25:12 > 0:25:16for coal, copper, lead and other minerals.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19The British Geological Survey estimates
0:25:19 > 0:25:23there are around 50,000 mine shafts sunk in this area alone
0:25:23 > 0:25:25and many more smaller workings,
0:25:25 > 0:25:30leaving the land prone to gradual subsidence or worse.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37And when the ground does give way, the results can be shocking,
0:25:37 > 0:25:39especially if you live nearby.
0:25:39 > 0:25:40At Christmas, we heard
0:25:40 > 0:25:42a noise in the house,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45sort of a whoosh!
0:25:45 > 0:25:48And my wife thought she heard the central heating boiler rattle.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Looked round the house, couldn't find anything wrong and ignored it.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54We looked out, and there it was.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Quite astonishing, something that size had appeared in the hill.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01This gigantic hole opened up just before Christmas last year
0:26:01 > 0:26:05and has been steadily growing ever since.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08It was a shock, but it's something that happens in the Peak District.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15The man who owns the land - and now a hole - is Peter Robinson.
0:26:15 > 0:26:21That's an extraordinary great mouth opened up in the earth, isn't it?
0:26:21 > 0:26:23I can't see the bottom. How deep does it go?
0:26:23 > 0:26:28This is 90m deep, we survey it weekly,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30because one of the important issues
0:26:30 > 0:26:35is to monitor whether it's going to grow or stabilise.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39It really is like something out of a Greek myth, the mouth of Hades.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43What did it fall down into?
0:26:43 > 0:26:46It's basically a build-up of surface water
0:26:46 > 0:26:50that has created weight and it's basically slumped down
0:26:50 > 0:26:53into the old lead workings,
0:26:53 > 0:26:57dating back to 1600, that lie beneath this area.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01The tunnels were timber-lined and have probably rotted
0:27:01 > 0:27:04and collapsed many years ago
0:27:04 > 0:27:06and it's just slumped down into the workings.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Work will start soon on filling this hole
0:27:10 > 0:27:13and in a couple of months' time, you'd never know it was here.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17But the repair may cost up to a quarter of a million pounds,
0:27:17 > 0:27:23so is there a way to identify potential hazards before they occur?
0:27:25 > 0:27:28This instrument you're putting in now,
0:27:28 > 0:27:30is this to look for movement or to look for holes?
0:27:30 > 0:27:34This is to look for the movement associated with instability
0:27:34 > 0:27:35under the ground.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39'Peter Styles is a specialist in geophysics
0:27:39 > 0:27:42'and an expert in mapping disused mines.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47'When the ground opens up, his team get called in, whatever the weather.'
0:27:47 > 0:27:51So, how often are people like you asked to come in
0:27:51 > 0:27:54and look at areas, what's the trigger for your arrival?
0:27:54 > 0:27:58If you want my opinion, we're asked to come in too late,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01because what usually happens is something becomes unstable
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and you'll get one cavity and people will come and see it
0:28:04 > 0:28:06and ask if there are any others.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09It's quite clear that there are problems which we need to look at
0:28:09 > 0:28:12in a more proactive manner. They need to take some notice
0:28:12 > 0:28:16and start to inspect these sites before they give permission
0:28:16 > 0:28:20for huge housing developments or large infrastructure,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23because that's the only way we'll actually make these safe.
0:28:24 > 0:28:31So, are we being too complacent about potentially dangerous disused mines?
0:28:31 > 0:28:32Well, as we heard earlier,
0:28:32 > 0:28:36the Coal Authority has responsibility for old coal mines.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39Do you think you're doing enough to keep the homes of Britain
0:28:39 > 0:28:41safe from falling down?
0:28:41 > 0:28:44We are, we have to be very proportionate on risk,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47we take risk seriously.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49We heard from our geophysicist earlier,
0:28:49 > 0:28:51that they thought people could be more proactive
0:28:51 > 0:28:54in looking for potential problems
0:28:54 > 0:28:56where they may be building a new housing estate
0:28:56 > 0:28:58or new infrastructure - what do you think about that?
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Although under our legislation we're reactive,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04we've a proactive mine entry inspection programme,
0:29:04 > 0:29:07we're inspecting 20,000 mine entries per year
0:29:07 > 0:29:10to ensure that are any problems with these mine entries
0:29:10 > 0:29:12that are under our responsibility
0:29:12 > 0:29:15and we found that only 1% per year
0:29:15 > 0:29:16is something we have to look at
0:29:16 > 0:29:19and that's to do further investigation work.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23The Coal Authority doesn't just deal with subsidence
0:29:23 > 0:29:28and mine collapse, it also cleans up water contaminated by old workings.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32Yet even with thousands of mineshaft inspections annually,
0:29:32 > 0:29:36it'll take years to examine them all.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39The coal authority only deals with old coal mines,
0:29:39 > 0:29:43so what about other underground workings hidden beneath our feet?
0:29:45 > 0:29:49Getting an answer to that question wasn't as easy as you might imagine,
0:29:49 > 0:29:53but after being referred from one government department to another,
0:29:53 > 0:29:55we were told that old non-coalmines
0:29:55 > 0:29:59are mostly the responsibility of local councils.
0:29:59 > 0:30:03That means there is no national inspection scheme
0:30:03 > 0:30:07for well over 100,000 old workings and mineshafts.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11We tend to think of mining, particularly coal mining,
0:30:11 > 0:30:13as belonging to the past.
0:30:13 > 0:30:14But what I've seen is that
0:30:14 > 0:30:18you can't hide its consequences away from the present.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22The land beneath our feet is likely to carry on moving a little
0:30:22 > 0:30:23long into the future.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33I'm on the Isle of Sheppey.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36Earlier, I heard about the lost village of Elmley
0:30:36 > 0:30:39that crumbled under the closure of its cement works.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Well, the industry may have long gone,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45taking with it the people who lived and worked here,
0:30:45 > 0:30:48but the neighbouring farm has managed to survive
0:30:48 > 0:30:50in this wild and desolate place.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54In fact, it's flourishing because not only is it a working farm,
0:30:54 > 0:30:56but it's also a national nature reserve
0:30:56 > 0:30:58and it really is one-of-a-kind.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04This is the only national nature reserve in the country
0:31:04 > 0:31:06to be run by a farming family.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08That means they're top of the tree
0:31:08 > 0:31:10when it comes to conservation management.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14It's been Philip Merricks' labour of love since 1974.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17So, Philip, was it always your intention, then,
0:31:17 > 0:31:19to create a nature reserve here?
0:31:19 > 0:31:21Oh, not at all.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24- No, we came up here in the early 1970s.- Yeah.
0:31:24 > 0:31:25And I was a very young, keen farmer
0:31:25 > 0:31:29- and we'd farmed marshes all our lives.- Right.
0:31:29 > 0:31:30So we were busy into farming
0:31:30 > 0:31:33and of course it was arable farming in those days, very much so.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37And how easy is it to farm and have a nature reserve as well?
0:31:37 > 0:31:39Because I guess in your heart...
0:31:39 > 0:31:41you're a farmer's son, you're a farmer yourself.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43They are absolutely as one.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46Don't put farming in one box and conservation in another.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49They're completely intertwined. One is dependent on the other.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52And I call it land management, whatever the objective is.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55Managing the land means going with the flow.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58Water is the key to its success.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00As we look out here then, just give us an idea
0:32:00 > 0:32:04of what is going on from a water management point of view.
0:32:04 > 0:32:05Right, as you look at those rills,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08- you'll come upon these little creeks we've created.- Yeah.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11At the moment, of course, they're filled with winter water
0:32:11 > 0:32:14and that will gradually drop.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16Don't forget, although we're wet here,
0:32:16 > 0:32:18you're in a normally dry part of England.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21They will drop. And as they drop, they expose the wet mud,
0:32:21 > 0:32:26which is of course a wonderful food source for the birds,
0:32:26 > 0:32:29the breeding birds, and the chicks, the vitally important chicks.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32I mean, the lovely thing is that nature has evolved
0:32:32 > 0:32:35through what man has done over the years.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38So if you actually make it more interesting,
0:32:38 > 0:32:41then wildlife will come in straightaway.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44And this year, they have come in record numbers.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47The reserve has the largest concentration of breeding waders
0:32:47 > 0:32:49in the lowlands of the UK.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54These ducks you can see over here, they're wigeon.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57They're fuelling themselves - they're grass-eating ducks.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59They breed up in the Arctic Circle.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01They come down for us in huge numbers.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04We recorded, this year, over 27,000.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13The whole marsh is like a giant bird table,
0:33:13 > 0:33:17providing rich pickings for hungry beaks.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20A lot of that is thanks to the animals that graze here.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23Hold the doors, it's a bit blustery!
0:33:23 > 0:33:26Looking after them is Steve Gordon's job.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29So how many sheep would you be running here, in any one year?
0:33:29 > 0:33:31Up to 1,000 sheep.
0:33:31 > 0:33:36About 400 remain here all year round, until they go back for lambing,
0:33:36 > 0:33:40and then I bring in about another 500 or 600 during the winter.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42These Romney sheep act as living lawnmowers,
0:33:42 > 0:33:44nibbling down the grass,
0:33:44 > 0:33:47creating perfect conditions for ground-nesting birds
0:33:47 > 0:33:49and the insects that they feed on.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52But that's not all they're good for.
0:33:52 > 0:33:53- Let's talk about poo.- OK, yeah.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56- Because that's all part of it. - That is the integral part of it.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58One of the most important parts of the system, actually,
0:33:58 > 0:34:01both from the point of view of bringing in the insect life...
0:34:01 > 0:34:04It also gives a bit of camouflage for the chicks and the eggs
0:34:04 > 0:34:07during, sort of, April, May - for the breeding season.
0:34:08 > 0:34:09Elmley Reserve shows
0:34:09 > 0:34:12that farming not only works in harmony with nature,
0:34:12 > 0:34:14but if approached in the right way,
0:34:14 > 0:34:18positively benefits wildlife by creating ideal habitats.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29From the marshlands of Kent to the chalklands of Wiltshire.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Helen's at Heytesbury House,
0:34:31 > 0:34:33once the home of one of our greatest war poets,
0:34:33 > 0:34:35Siegfried Sassoon.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38Before World War I,
0:34:38 > 0:34:42the young Sassoon lived the life of a wealthy country gentleman,
0:34:42 > 0:34:46indulging his passions for fox hunting and writing poetry.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49But then came The Great War.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51At first, Sassoon's poems
0:34:51 > 0:34:53were filled with patriotism and enthusiasm.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55But as time went on
0:34:55 > 0:34:57and he witnessed the horror of trench warfare first-hand,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00they were peppered with inhumanity and brutality.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08'Men jostle and climb to meet the bristling fire
0:35:08 > 0:35:11'Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear
0:35:11 > 0:35:15'They leave their trenches, going over the top
0:35:15 > 0:35:19'While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists
0:35:19 > 0:35:23'And hope, with furtive eyes and grappling fists
0:35:23 > 0:35:26'Flounders in mud.
0:35:26 > 0:35:27'O Jesus, make it stop!'
0:35:31 > 0:35:35As the country settled into peace after the war,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Sassoon found solace in the depths of the Wiltshire countryside
0:35:38 > 0:35:41and bought Heytesbury House in 1933.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43The house and grounds offered a
0:35:43 > 0:35:46welcome relief from the pain of war.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49Rupert Pulvertaft is the step-grandson of Sassoon.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51He lives on a cottage on the old estate
0:35:51 > 0:35:55and has some of the poet's very precious belongings.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57This is Siegfried Sassoon.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01Yeah, Siegfried Sassoon as painted by his wife Hester.
0:36:01 > 0:36:02And she began the picture
0:36:02 > 0:36:06when she moved to Heytesbury House with Siegfried, in the early 1930s.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08But unfortunately, they'd divorced
0:36:08 > 0:36:11by the time she'd actually got round to finishing it
0:36:11 > 0:36:13so it remains unfinished.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17- But I did manage to find the hat. - So this is the hat in the painting?
0:36:17 > 0:36:20The very same hat that you'll see in the painting,
0:36:20 > 0:36:21that was in a barn somewhere,
0:36:21 > 0:36:24covered in spiders and assorted other pieces of cobweb.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27And if you look at the family album over here...
0:36:28 > 0:36:31..you'll see Siegfried wearing the very same hat.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35And this is George Sassoon, who was Siegfried's only son,
0:36:35 > 0:36:37- who's my stepfather. - Your step-father.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40And then Siegfried looking very poetic.
0:36:40 > 0:36:41I love that photograph.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43Just the light and the way he's looking -
0:36:43 > 0:36:45it's brilliant, isn't it?
0:36:45 > 0:36:47And this is Heytesbury House, which he bought after the war.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50Yeah, it was bought in the early 1930s,
0:36:50 > 0:36:52with a legacy from Hester.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55And that's when he started to write poems that were based around here?
0:36:55 > 0:36:59- Around this general area, as well. - Is this Heytesbury Wood?
0:36:59 > 0:37:00Yeah, that's Heytesbury Wood
0:37:00 > 0:37:02and indeed he wrote a poem about the wood itself,
0:37:02 > 0:37:04which he loved very much,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08called In Heytesbury Wood, where he did quite a bit of planting.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10- Which is just out here? - Just out here, yeah.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13- Let's go and have a look. - I'll bring the poem with me.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Here, it's incredibly peaceful, isn't it?
0:37:21 > 0:37:22Yeah, very much so.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26It was his country retreat where he was able to lay back
0:37:26 > 0:37:28and enjoy the peace and solitude.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32And he wrote a sequence of poems to do with the wood,
0:37:32 > 0:37:33call The Vigils.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36And he also replanted the wood quite extensively.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40The perfect setting to write a bit of poetry.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43Indeed. "In Heytesbury Wood."
0:37:43 > 0:37:45"Return I think, next summer
0:37:45 > 0:37:47"And you'll find such change
0:37:47 > 0:37:50"Walking some low-lit evening in the whispering wood
0:37:50 > 0:37:53"As will refresh your eyes and do them ghostly good
0:37:53 > 0:37:55"See redolence befriend
0:37:55 > 0:37:58"Neglect, no more estrange."
0:37:58 > 0:38:01It wasn't just the woodland that Sassoon enjoyed.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04He was often found on the village cricket pitch,
0:38:04 > 0:38:06also in the grounds of the great house.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09Through his love of the game, he made lifelong friends.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13Dennis Silk was an up-and-coming international cricketer
0:38:13 > 0:38:17and Andrew Pinnel's grandfather played village cricket with Siegfried.
0:38:17 > 0:38:18This picture is 1936.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22And you've got the landowner, the owner of the big house,
0:38:22 > 0:38:25with his team.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27And what Siegfried was prone to do...
0:38:27 > 0:38:29He always wanted to have a bat in the week.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32So he'd sit up all night writing his prose and poetry
0:38:32 > 0:38:35and one of my grandfather's first jobs every morning
0:38:35 > 0:38:36was to go into the study.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38And he always said it reeked of pipe smoke
0:38:38 > 0:38:42cos Siggy would smoke his pipe all night, as he was writing.
0:38:42 > 0:38:43Then he'd say to the garden boys,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46"Right, guys, come and bowl at me in the nets."
0:38:46 > 0:38:48So he had his own net in the garden.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51So they'd stop what they were doing and they had to bowl at him...
0:38:51 > 0:38:52but very gently!
0:38:54 > 0:38:55They wouldn't let him have it,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57they had to bowl at him very gently.
0:38:57 > 0:39:03Siegfried was not going to pull a muscle or anything like that!
0:39:03 > 0:39:04He stood at mid-on
0:39:04 > 0:39:08and if the ball was hit straight at him,
0:39:08 > 0:39:10he would fold his arms
0:39:10 > 0:39:13and present his shins to it.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15But what he looked forward to most,
0:39:15 > 0:39:19and it's documented very well in his diaries and his notebooks,
0:39:19 > 0:39:21was when you came along to visit
0:39:21 > 0:39:25and you sat on the porch and you'd listen to the cricket,
0:39:25 > 0:39:26the test matches,
0:39:26 > 0:39:28and you just talked about cricket.
0:39:28 > 0:39:33And particularly in his later life, that was one of his great joys.
0:39:33 > 0:39:34Dennis and his wife Diana
0:39:34 > 0:39:37spent lots of time with Siegfried at Heytesbury,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40until he died in 1967.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42The house is now apartments
0:39:42 > 0:39:45but it still holds fond memories for both of them.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50Dennis, you spent many hours and many nights here with Siegfried.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53Tell me about your evenings. What did you do?
0:39:53 > 0:39:55I did a lot of listening
0:39:55 > 0:39:58because there was such a wonderful thing to listen to,
0:39:58 > 0:40:01as Siegfried in full cry.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04And mostly about World War I.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07He talked unforgettably
0:40:07 > 0:40:12about what it had been like to be on the Western Front.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16And more important than anything else,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19the lives of his men.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25Now, you managed to persuade him to record some of his poems,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27- didn't you?- Yes, I did.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29Was that difficult?
0:40:29 > 0:40:31Not difficult,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34but I had to wait around a bit!
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Well, luckily for us, you persisted, Dennis.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40So this is some of your recordings.
0:40:40 > 0:40:41'The Dug-out.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46'Why do you lie with your legs ungainly huddled
0:40:46 > 0:40:52'And one arm bent across your sullen, cold, exhausted face? DENNIS MOUTHS ALONG
0:40:52 > 0:40:55'It hurts my heart to watch you
0:40:55 > 0:40:59'Deep-shadowed from the candle's guttering gold
0:40:59 > 0:41:02'And you wonder why I shake you by the shoulder
0:41:02 > 0:41:07'Drowsy, you mumble and sigh and turn your head
0:41:07 > 0:41:10'You are too young to fall asleep for ever
0:41:10 > 0:41:13'And when you sleep, you remind me of the dead.'
0:41:20 > 0:41:21How does it feel, Dennis,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25to listen to your friend read some of his great poems?
0:41:27 > 0:41:28Well...
0:41:28 > 0:41:34I can only tell you that it was a great experience.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37What do you think that Siegfried will be remembered for?
0:41:37 > 0:41:39Quite honestly,
0:41:39 > 0:41:42I think that with 1914-18
0:41:42 > 0:41:46already being hammered around,
0:41:46 > 0:41:51his poems will have real meaning.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56And, we hope, making damn sure
0:41:56 > 0:41:59that no other country
0:41:59 > 0:42:02is allowed to make a world war.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06Because that would be the end of the game.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15How did his writing change when he lived here?
0:42:15 > 0:42:20Well, he loved the country, the trees.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24He wrote wonderful poems about the trees.
0:42:24 > 0:42:29He was superb at picking up
0:42:29 > 0:42:32the really important bits of one's life.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37One of the poems that he wrote about a tree outside
0:42:37 > 0:42:40he named after his good friend Edmund Blunden, the great poet.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42Would you do us the honour of reading it for us, Dennis?
0:42:44 > 0:42:48"I named it Blunden's Beech
0:42:48 > 0:42:50"And no-one knew that this
0:42:50 > 0:42:52"Of local beeches
0:42:52 > 0:42:55"Was the best
0:42:55 > 0:42:59"Remembering lines by Clare
0:42:59 > 0:43:02"I'd somehow rest
0:43:02 > 0:43:05"Contentful on the cushioned moss
0:43:05 > 0:43:09"That grew between its roots
0:43:09 > 0:43:12"Finches, flitting crew
0:43:12 > 0:43:15"Chirped their concern
0:43:15 > 0:43:19"Wiltshire, from east to west,
0:43:19 > 0:43:21"Contained my tree."
0:43:32 > 0:43:36While Wiltshire provided inspiration for the poet Siegfried Sassoon,
0:43:36 > 0:43:38it was the Kent countryside
0:43:38 > 0:43:41that was a muse for writer and poet Vita Sackville-West.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46So enamoured was she with this landscape
0:43:46 > 0:43:49that when Sissinghurst Castle came up for sale,
0:43:49 > 0:43:51Vita bought it.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53And for a writer with romantic ideas,
0:43:53 > 0:43:56this place ticked all the boxes.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02It had land, and lots of it,
0:44:02 > 0:44:04a pink-bricked ruin,
0:44:04 > 0:44:06traditional Kentish oast houses
0:44:06 > 0:44:08and this - an Elizabethan tower.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15Together with her husband Harold Nicolson,
0:44:15 > 0:44:20the couple slowly rebuilt the once dilapidated Sissinghurst,
0:44:20 > 0:44:23to make it their home and her place of work.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27Vita continued to write poetry, inspired by the new adventure.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32"Green is the eastern sky and red the west
0:44:32 > 0:44:36"The hop-kilns huddle under pallid hoods
0:44:36 > 0:44:39"The waggon stupid stands with upright shaft
0:44:39 > 0:44:42"As daily life accepts the night's arrest."
0:44:46 > 0:44:50Although Sissinghurst looks well kept and much-loved today,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53when Vita and Harold bought it in 1930,
0:44:53 > 0:44:55there was a lot of work to do.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01And it was here that Vita developed another talent -
0:45:01 > 0:45:04gaining a reputation for garden design.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07It was at this desk that Vita
0:45:07 > 0:45:10wrote her popular gardening column for The Observer.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12For 14 years,
0:45:12 > 0:45:16her readers got to know Vita and her grand garden well.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18And many of them became so taken with it
0:45:18 > 0:45:21that they flocked here in their droves
0:45:21 > 0:45:22to see it for themselves.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29More than 80 years after Vita started planting this garden,
0:45:29 > 0:45:32the greenhouses are full to bursting
0:45:32 > 0:45:34with seedlings destined for the flower beds.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39Gardner Jo Jones and senior propagator Emma Grigg
0:45:39 > 0:45:42are following in Vita's muddy footsteps.
0:45:43 > 0:45:46- Hiya, how are you doing? - All right, thanks.- Very good.
0:45:46 > 0:45:47Glad to be working indoors!
0:45:47 > 0:45:50- Yes.- Yeah, windy and rainy out there at the moment, yes.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52So what do you have to do in the depths of winter here?
0:45:52 > 0:45:54What's involved?
0:45:54 > 0:45:57I'm getting the seedlings sown for use for our head gardener,
0:45:57 > 0:46:01Troy. He's planned what plans he wants to do this year.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03Jo, how big is this garden?
0:46:03 > 0:46:05- It's about seven acres.- Wow!
0:46:05 > 0:46:07So it's relatively small-sized
0:46:07 > 0:46:10but it's very intensely planted
0:46:10 > 0:46:13so it means it creates a lot more work for us, here.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Do you find yourself, as a gardener, inspired by this place?
0:46:16 > 0:46:19It certainly was very special for Vita.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21Oh, yeah. It's beautiful
0:46:21 > 0:46:24to see all the different progressions through the season
0:46:24 > 0:46:27and really nice to see different bits of the garden
0:46:27 > 0:46:29evolving and changing, as well.
0:46:31 > 0:46:36There are nine horticulturalists and 25 dedicated volunteers
0:46:36 > 0:46:39dealing with the garden's very long to-do list.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43Keeping true to Vita's experimental planting style,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46I'm here to help assistant head gardener Wendy Tremenheere
0:46:46 > 0:46:49reintroduce one of Vita's former flowers.
0:46:49 > 0:46:50Hi, Wendy.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53- I've got just the thing... - Thank you.- ..for that hole here.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55One of these...well, it's hard to identify, isn't it?
0:46:55 > 0:46:59- It's a rose, isn't it? - Yeah, this is Empress Josephine.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01It's a lovely gallica rose,
0:47:01 > 0:47:03semi-double, pink, with veined petals...
0:47:03 > 0:47:06So we're going to plant it on the edge of the path here
0:47:06 > 0:47:08where people can actually admire the flowers
0:47:08 > 0:47:10and smell it as they walk by.
0:47:10 > 0:47:11- There we go.- We'll sprinkle that.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14A bit of bone meal.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17And what was Vita's vision for her rose garden?
0:47:17 > 0:47:19What did she have here? How many varieties?
0:47:19 > 0:47:21In 1953,
0:47:21 > 0:47:25Vita's head gardener made a list of the roses in the garden
0:47:25 > 0:47:27and came up with 194 Roses.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29Wow!
0:47:29 > 0:47:32Wonderful, like this lovely rose. Job done!
0:47:35 > 0:47:38It was Harold who drew up the layout for this garden,
0:47:38 > 0:47:40using clean lines and corridors
0:47:40 > 0:47:44to connect different rooms for Vita's abundant blooms.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46And its in winter, this time of year,
0:47:46 > 0:47:49that you really get a sense of his blueprint for Sissinghurst.
0:47:49 > 0:47:54But come the summer, when every inch is packed with flowers,
0:47:54 > 0:47:55it's very much Vita's garden.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04Yet Sissinghurst was more than plants and planning,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07it was also Harold and Vita's treasured home.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10Their grandson Adam Nicholson, also a writer,
0:48:10 > 0:48:12spent his formative years here.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16What was it like having visitors around and eyes everywhere?
0:48:16 > 0:48:20Well, visitors were like weird alien creatures.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23We used to drop eggs on them from the top of the tower.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25- You didn't?- Yeah!
0:48:25 > 0:48:28But it was a magical place to be a boy, you can imagine,
0:48:28 > 0:48:32it was beautiful, a completely life-shaping time for me.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35How would you describe Sissinghurst?
0:48:35 > 0:48:40Well, I think that it is a garden in a ruin in a farm.
0:48:40 > 0:48:45It's like a precious garden with this abandoned Elizabethan house,
0:48:45 > 0:48:48the farm buildings, the fields, the woods
0:48:48 > 0:48:50and then the wider landscape beyond.
0:48:52 > 0:48:57Vita died in 1962 and Harold six years later.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01Like Knole before it, the heavy weight of death duties meant
0:49:01 > 0:49:04Adam's father Nigel gave Sissinghurst to the National Trust.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11But with strong ties to the place, Adam's had his own ideas
0:49:11 > 0:49:15to reinvigorate the traditional and once thriving farm.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19Now there's a lovely herd of Sussex beef cattle,
0:49:19 > 0:49:23there's a flock of sheep, you've got a big fruit orchard.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26We've put in, down in that wet bottom of the valley there,
0:49:26 > 0:49:29we've put in a lovely hay meadow.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31There was one in the Middle Ages,
0:49:31 > 0:49:35and there hasn't been one for the last 50, 60 years,
0:49:35 > 0:49:38so with the idea being that this is a rich
0:49:38 > 0:49:40and beautiful frame for the garden.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43It's no good having the garden as a little thing
0:49:43 > 0:49:46just with a car park attached to it,
0:49:46 > 0:49:48you want to feel the country embracing it.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54Sissinghurst's a hive of activity in every season.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58It might be most famous for its stunning summer blooms,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01but this is a place of transformation -
0:50:01 > 0:50:04a tribute to the vision of Vita Sackville-West,
0:50:04 > 0:50:07writer, gardener, romantic.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24We're exploring Kent.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27While Ellie's been on the mainland at the home of writer and gardener
0:50:27 > 0:50:28Vita Sackville-West,
0:50:28 > 0:50:31I've been exploring the remote Elmley Marshes
0:50:31 > 0:50:33on the Isle of Sheppey.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36Well, it wasn't just Vita who was inspired by this landscape -
0:50:36 > 0:50:39Charles Dickens was pretty taken by it, too.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42In fact, he took inspiration for Great Expectations
0:50:42 > 0:50:44from these very marshes.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49The marshland you see today is actually a man-made wilderness.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52The water levels can be raised and lowered as needed
0:50:52 > 0:50:55to create the optimum conditions for the birds.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59And it's this delicate balance that keeps them flocking.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02I'm joining Gareth Fulton, son-in-law of Philip the landowner,
0:51:02 > 0:51:06who's using a nifty technique to combat the recent heavy rainfall.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09Seems like the birds aren't the only ones wading around here.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12What are we doing here then? What's the job?
0:51:12 > 0:51:16We are managing the water level across the reserve.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19What we want to do is keep just enough water in the fields,
0:51:19 > 0:51:21to keep them moist, keep a good habitat for the breeding waders.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24And we know there's a lot of rain coming through,
0:51:24 > 0:51:26so we don't want any more water in this field,
0:51:26 > 0:51:28so we'll take this top off, this pipe here,
0:51:28 > 0:51:31and there's a tube going under this bank behind us
0:51:31 > 0:51:34and it will drain the water out into another part that's not got as much.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45I'll take that out now. Have you found that hole?
0:51:45 > 0:51:48- Yeah.- Brilliant. So if you just let that lean.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52We'll just walk out and we'll be able to see the water flowing through
0:51:52 > 0:51:54and going out the other side.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58This amazingly simple technique allows the water to drop to
0:51:58 > 0:52:02the level of the pipe - gravity takes control
0:52:02 > 0:52:05and pushes it elsewhere, just like a bath overflow.
0:52:05 > 0:52:09How long will it take for this to get to the level that you want it?
0:52:09 > 0:52:12It should take a couple of days, depending on how much rain we get.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15You never really know in advance, you've just got to judge it, really.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18- You can see that little trickle down there, can't you?- Yeah.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20If you just see over there,
0:52:20 > 0:52:22you see the upwelling where the water is coming up.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25And the water going across will eventually end up through
0:52:25 > 0:52:28the sluice and into the swale.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31Have you thought about the miles of pipe you've got?
0:52:31 > 0:52:34Yeah. There must be over five miles of piping in this place.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36It's mind-boggling.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41Managing this complex habitat so closely
0:52:41 > 0:52:43is a huge undertaking for the family.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46But the rewards are everywhere to be seen
0:52:46 > 0:52:48as you drive through the watery wilderness.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51I hear there's a view from a hide just up here that offers
0:52:51 > 0:52:52the best of the marshes.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58Is that some wigeon coming in?
0:52:58 > 0:53:01Two people who love nothing more than escaping the city
0:53:01 > 0:53:04and getting twitchy in the wilderness are amateur photographers
0:53:04 > 0:53:07John Whitting and his son... John Whitting!
0:53:08 > 0:53:11Now then, lads, hands up if your name's John.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15- Good to see you, how are you? - Very good.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19- Have you had a successful morning? - Oh, very good. Very nice day.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21And is it a good day for bird watching?
0:53:21 > 0:53:24Cos obviously a lot of stuff's been up and down, it's all over the shop.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27It's a good day for what we've got here at the moment.
0:53:27 > 0:53:33It is flocks and wildfowl and wild country, really, so today it suits.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36You don't just obviously come down here with binoculars,
0:53:36 > 0:53:39you come here with your camera and you have got some incredible shots.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43John, just talk us through when you took these.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45- These are all from here. - Yes, it's all from Elmley.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47That's a ringtail hen harrier.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49- Who took this shot?- I took that one.
0:53:51 > 0:53:52Very good.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55That's a stoat which is a deadly predator.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59They've got all the predator fences up around the reserve,
0:53:59 > 0:54:02but the predators still get through and that's the damage they can do.
0:54:02 > 0:54:03Now, that is a rarity, isn't it?
0:54:03 > 0:54:09- Yeah.- On both accounts I guess. - Marsh frog with a cattle egret.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11You don't see many of them, but they are starting to increase now.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16I've seen for myself the hard work involved
0:54:16 > 0:54:18in managing this landscape -
0:54:18 > 0:54:22judging by these photos, I'd say it's definitely worth it.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25Well, that's all we've got time for this week.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27Next week we're going to be in Scotland where Ellie
0:54:27 > 0:54:30will be finding out why Perthshire is known as Big Tree Country
0:54:30 > 0:54:33and John will be trying his hand at reed cutting on
0:54:33 > 0:54:35the longest reed bed in Britain.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38But from here in this cosy hide in Kent,
0:54:38 > 0:54:39and from these two Johns,
0:54:39 > 0:54:41- it's goodbye. Bye-bye.- Cheerio.