0:00:28 > 0:00:32'Calderdale, the southernmost Yorkshire Dale.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34'Not as famous as its northern neighbours
0:00:34 > 0:00:37'but the landscape is just as stunning.'
0:00:38 > 0:00:42It's an inspiring terrain of craggy hills and deep valleys,
0:00:42 > 0:00:46and one which inspired local author Whiteley Turner who wrote this -
0:00:46 > 0:00:50A Spring-Time Saunter: Round And About Bronte Land -
0:00:50 > 0:00:54because he loved this area so much he wanted people to know about it.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Now, 100 years on from when his book was first published,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00I'm going to be walking in his footsteps.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04'Not only is Calderdale blessed with stimulating scenery,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08'it's also got some great food to shout about.'
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Here in the heart of the Dale, they've taken the idea of local food
0:01:11 > 0:01:13to the extreme and are aiming to become
0:01:13 > 0:01:15a self-sustaining foodie town.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19Now, this lot have put raised veg beds in the local graveyard.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22They've put free herbs outside of the railway station.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26But their latest idea involves making full use of fish poo.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29And I'll be finding out how.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31'Tom's looking at the disappearance
0:01:31 > 0:01:34'of one of our most important insects.'
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Britain's bee numbers are in the red and in this lab,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41they're investigating whether a particular pesticide
0:01:41 > 0:01:43is part of the problem.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Europe thinks the chemical should be banned
0:01:46 > 0:01:50but is that a knee-jerk reaction or sensible science?
0:01:50 > 0:01:51I'll be investigating.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58'Meanwhile, Adam's counting the cost of a bleak start to spring.'
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Here we are in the middle of April
0:02:00 > 0:02:04and these snowdrifts are about three foot deep.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Today I'm visiting a farmer who's on the Welsh-Shropshire border.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10And this weather couldn't have come at a worse time
0:02:10 > 0:02:13because his ewes are in the middle of lambing.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33'This is Calderdale in West Yorkshire.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36'A mix of Pennine moor and mill towns,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39'craggy hills and wooded vales.'
0:02:39 > 0:02:40It's beautiful.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48'Calderdale sits a few miles west of Halifax.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52'The bit I'm exploring is round and about the village of Luddenden.'
0:02:55 > 0:02:58A little-known area that features prominently in this work,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02the rather marvellously titled A Spring-Time Saunter.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10'Published 100 years ago,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13'it was written by a local chap called Whiteley Turner.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17'And though winter still lingers in this landscape,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21'I'll be making my own springtime saunter regardless.'
0:03:21 > 0:03:23So, David, who was this Whiteley Turner?
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Whiteley Turner is an ordinary guy
0:03:25 > 0:03:28who works in the textile mill down in Luddenden.
0:03:28 > 0:03:29And when he was 12,
0:03:29 > 0:03:31he has an accident in the mill
0:03:31 > 0:03:34and his arm gets caught in a carding machine
0:03:34 > 0:03:36and it rips off the arm, basically.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- Oh, God...- He has to have the rest of it amputated.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41He can no longer work in the mill because of that
0:03:41 > 0:03:43and it means he has to do something else.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46He goes back to school and then he gets a job
0:03:46 > 0:03:50taking around tea and coffee round these isolated farms.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53'It was on these rounds that the remarkable Turner
0:03:53 > 0:03:56'started writing newspaper articles about what he saw.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58'From them came the book.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06'When Turner make this journey, there would have been mills
0:04:06 > 0:04:09'all along this valley. They've long gone
0:04:09 > 0:04:11'but the power behind them remains.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20'Not the howling wind, but water.'
0:04:20 > 0:04:24"Now we command a goodly view of Fly Flat Reservoir,
0:04:24 > 0:04:26"how shallow the water looks,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29"so low that little islands of black heath
0:04:29 > 0:04:31"protrude above its surface,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35"seemingly making it possible to hop from one another
0:04:35 > 0:04:37"to the embankment on the far side."
0:04:37 > 0:04:40And here it is. There's not a lot of hopping across it today, though.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42No, certainly couldn't hop across it today, could you?
0:04:42 > 0:04:45There's far more water in it than when he saw it.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48This is Warley Moor Reservoir. Fly Flat is the other name for it.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51And the community of Fly Flat is behind us and you can see
0:04:51 > 0:04:54it in the picture - all the various farms are on the picture.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57They've all gone now, nothing but heaps of stone.
0:04:57 > 0:04:58It looks quite different.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01So what happened to all the farms and all the activity up here?
0:05:01 > 0:05:03It just wasn't viable any more.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07The farms were too high, nearly 1,400 feet up. It's too cold.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- And the lower-down farms can compete far more.- Yeah.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22'The coming of the reservoirs changed the landscape
0:05:22 > 0:05:24'and made the mill owners rich.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27'They built huge stately piles with this new-found wealth
0:05:27 > 0:05:31'and there was none grander than Castle Carr.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34'In its day, the finest building in the area.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36'Now no more than a pile of ruins.'
0:05:36 > 0:05:39This place is extraordinary, isn't it?
0:05:39 > 0:05:41It's amazing, isn't it?
0:05:41 > 0:05:44It's weird seeing something in such a state of disrepair
0:05:44 > 0:05:47compared to its picture in the book, which is ...
0:05:47 > 0:05:49- Well, it's indistinguishable, isn't it?- Yes.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52And all that's left is just the entrance and the portcullis
0:05:52 > 0:05:56is still there. This is their main gateway to a big courtyard.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57Carriages would have come in here
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and the fountain that was actually in the courtyard,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03in the centre, has ended up in Leeds near the railway station.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09'Castle Carr fell into disrepair and, in 1960, was finally broken up.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13'The lead from its roof and most of its stone was sold off.'
0:06:14 > 0:06:16You're looking down into the cellars here,
0:06:16 > 0:06:18you wouldn't have ordinarily been able to see this.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20If we'd have been able to walk in here,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23you'd have been able to see the big hallway above it here,
0:06:23 > 0:06:27and leading onto the big banqueting room on the corner.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30- And now it's full of trees.- And now it's full of trees, absolutely.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34- Nature will claim it back in the end. - It is, very much. Very much.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Time to check where I'm headed,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44'as the next part of the saunter I'm doing alone,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48'over the wild open moors and that can only mean one thing.'
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Bronte country.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Even in Whiteley Turner's day, the Bronte sisters would have been huge.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57No surprise, then, that he devotes more than half his book to them.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02'And I'm delighted Whiteley Turner is taking me
0:07:02 > 0:07:05'back to one of my favourite places.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08'Haworth Parsonage, the place the Bronte sisters grew up.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12'Now a museum housing some of their most personal belongings.'
0:07:12 > 0:07:16- So, Ann, this is the saddle bag that Turner's recorded here.- That's right.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20Wow. It's interesting, the selection of things he's pointed out.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Yeah, they're all very ordinary, everyday objects.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26But I think they bring it home to you
0:07:26 > 0:07:28that the Brontes were real people.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33- They had oil lamps and trunks and boots.- Have you got the shoes?
0:07:33 > 0:07:37We do have the boots. They're actually on display behind us.
0:07:37 > 0:07:38Oh, they're just there.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41- They look dainty. I bet everybody says that.- They're tiny, yes.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43So diddy.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Do we learn anything about the Brontes
0:07:45 > 0:07:47- from Turner's fascination with them? - Yeah, definitely.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51He actually sought out some of Charlotte Bronte's
0:07:51 > 0:07:55former Sunday school scholars and prolonged his stay in Haworth
0:07:55 > 0:07:56in order to do that.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59So he clearly had a real, strong interest in the Brontes,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02which comes across quite strongly in the book.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12"A little further and the road branches away up to Haworth Moor.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15"A post points the way to the cemetery and waterfall.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18"Bronte Waterfall sounds alluring
0:08:18 > 0:08:21"but the fall itself is mostly disappointing."
0:08:22 > 0:08:23Well, well.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26Whiteley Turner wasn't that impressed with this waterfall, was he?
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Well, it's...it's not overly spectacular.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Apparently, early photographers used to pay small boys
0:08:33 > 0:08:35to actually dam it up and release it
0:08:35 > 0:08:38as they were taking their photograph.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42- For money, they would dam it up there?- Yep.- That's extraordinary.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45- It is a spot the Brontes were known to come to.- That's right.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50In November 1854, Charlotte came here with her husband.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Unfortunately, on the way back,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56it started to rain very heavily and Charlotte got wet through.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58And she caught a chill which...
0:08:58 > 0:09:01It used to be believed that it actually led to her death.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05- So there's a tragic association, really.- Yeah, there is.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19'The Brontes passed into legend, Whiteley Turner into obscurity.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22'The cost of publishing his book left him penniless
0:09:22 > 0:09:25'and he died aged just 54.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28'But Spring-Time Saunter remains a fitting testament
0:09:28 > 0:09:31'to one of Yorkshire's most beautiful landscapes.'
0:09:42 > 0:09:47Now, the mystery of disappearing bees has baffled scientists for years.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Now many are pointing the finger of blame at a pesticide
0:09:50 > 0:09:54at the heart of modern farming. So, should it be banned?
0:09:54 > 0:09:56Tom's been finding out.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01'The humble bee is in decline.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05'According to some, their numbers have fallen by half in the UK
0:10:05 > 0:10:07'since the 1980s.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10'And it's not just a sad loss for our gardens.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13'It's a potential disaster for British agriculture
0:10:13 > 0:10:15'and further afield, too.'
0:10:15 > 0:10:19So, right across the world, scientists have been searching
0:10:19 > 0:10:23for the cause of their mysterious decline.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28And in Europe they think they might have found a culprit.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30'The European Commission believes the blame lies
0:10:30 > 0:10:35'with some of the world's most widely-used agricultural pesticides,
0:10:35 > 0:10:37'neonicotinoids.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40'It wants to ban them from 1st July.'
0:10:40 > 0:10:42But not everyone is convinced
0:10:42 > 0:10:46and Britain is now one of a number of countries resisting a ban,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50not least because of its impact on farming.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53'I've come to Kent to meet farmer Andy Barr.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56'Like many, his crop is already suffering a slow start,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58'thanks to the cold spring weather.'
0:10:58 > 0:11:01It's not quite what you'd expect for mid-April, is it?
0:11:01 > 0:11:03No, it's horrible.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06It's really having an effect on these oilseed rape plants.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08'Rather than spraying his fields,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11'Andy uses seeds treated with neonicotinoids.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16'But he's worried that a ban would make a bad year even worse.'
0:11:16 > 0:11:20You had me bring this bag of seed with us in order to show
0:11:20 > 0:11:23how the neonicotinoids work, but talk me through it.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26- What are the stages?- Right, well this is the seed we would plant
0:11:26 > 0:11:28in the autumn, basically.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32Each one of those seeds will produce one plant.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36- This seed is already treated with the neonicotinoids?- It is.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Do you think there could be something in there, hidden,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43that's killing our bees? Because that's what's being suggested.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45To me, as a farmer,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48there is a very tiny amount of neonicotinoid on there.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52That tiny seed, one of them, grows into a plant taller than me
0:11:52 > 0:11:54and about this wide.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59And I plant it one August and it's flowering in the next May.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Is there enough there, in real field situation,
0:12:02 > 0:12:04to have an effect on the bees?
0:12:04 > 0:12:08At the moment, the scientists don't have an answer for me.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10No-one has said there is a definitive,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13real field situation effect on bees.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17So, what did you do before you had neonicotinoids?
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Before we had them, we had to come through very soon after planting,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22when the plants were very small,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25and spray the whole field two or three times.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27And did you feel that had other collateral damage?
0:12:27 > 0:12:30That's why I was so pleased when they came along.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33I felt it was a good thing cos we weren't spraying everything,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35we were just treating the seed and the plants.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37So it was much more targeted.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42'Neonicotinoids protect around a third of our crops
0:12:42 > 0:12:44'from being eaten by insects.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47'It's claimed banning them would leave farmers relying
0:12:47 > 0:12:50'on less efficient methods that would cost them millions.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56'But farmers need bees, too.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59'They play a vital role in pollinating many crops,
0:12:59 > 0:13:03'like oilseed rape. 'Losing them would slash yields.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06'So, to keep a healthy supply on Andy's farm,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10'he leaves space for wild flowers and even has his own beekeeper.'
0:13:10 > 0:13:14So, if I can just take the top off there.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16And again.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19'Alistair Wormsley has kept hives here for five years.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22'I'm helping him prepare for the warmer weather.'
0:13:22 > 0:13:27Because it's so cold, are the bees pretty unlikely to venture out?
0:13:29 > 0:13:32I would think the bees are unlikely to venture out
0:13:32 > 0:13:35at much below eight degrees centigrade.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37'It seems we spoke too soon.'
0:13:37 > 0:13:41The bees are basically wild animals, so even when we expect them
0:13:41 > 0:13:43to do one thing and stay in in the snow,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46they've actually decided to come out.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48So I'll leave Alistair there with his veil to do the work.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53'Those supporting a ban on neonicotinoids
0:13:53 > 0:13:56'claim they disorientate bees.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59'So much so that many never find their way home.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03'Alistair says he's seen evidence of that confusion for himself.'
0:14:03 > 0:14:10The symptoms were very much like the bees were being given Alzheimer's.
0:14:10 > 0:14:11They were, if you like...
0:14:11 > 0:14:17There was 30-40,000 bees in the colony one week, going strong.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19You come back the next week,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22and there'll be a couple of hundred bees there with the queen
0:14:22 > 0:14:25and all the working bees had deserted.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28'Yet, despite seeing some of the symptoms,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31'Alistair says he's not seen enough to convince him yet
0:14:31 > 0:14:33'it's time to take drastic action.'
0:14:33 > 0:14:37- So, would you want to see a ban? - No. No, no, no.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40What I want to see is the work done to prove the situation
0:14:40 > 0:14:42one way or the other.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47'The search for that proof is still going on and beekeepers,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51'farmers and even governments are all looking to the world of science
0:14:51 > 0:14:53'to give them a definitive answer.'
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Hundreds of scientists from right across the world
0:14:58 > 0:15:01are working on the great mystery of what's killing our bees
0:15:01 > 0:15:05and that includes at least a dozen projects from the UK.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Hi, Chris, how's it going?
0:15:09 > 0:15:13'Dr Adam Vanbergen is from the Insect Pollinators Initiative,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16'which oversees nine UK research projects.'
0:15:16 > 0:15:17OK, I'll do the lights.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22See if we can just collect one to take a sample. Back towards me.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30'Like many other scientists, he's yet to be convinced
0:15:30 > 0:15:33'that neonicotinoids are such a menace
0:15:33 > 0:15:36'that they should be banned right now.'
0:15:36 > 0:15:40This lab here has actually shown some effect of neonicotinoids
0:15:40 > 0:15:44- on bees' brains, so is it time for a ban?- Yeah, I think...
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Well, it's interesting you say that.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50The results coming out of this lab and others are extremely concerning.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52They're showing impacts on the brain function.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54What I think we need to do is to increase
0:15:54 > 0:15:56the complexity of those experiments,
0:15:56 > 0:15:58to mimic what goes on in the real world
0:15:58 > 0:16:01and perhaps also carry out field experiments in the real world too.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Shouldn't we apply the precautionary principal here?
0:16:04 > 0:16:07We're talking about something as vital and sensitive as bees.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10A lot of people think there's a single smoking gun
0:16:10 > 0:16:11with respect to pollinator decline,
0:16:11 > 0:16:14but the reality is that pollinators and other biodiversities
0:16:14 > 0:16:17have been declining over a much longer period of time
0:16:17 > 0:16:19and there is a whole suite of factors threatening them,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22including the intensification of the landscape,
0:16:22 > 0:16:24which leads to loss of resources,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27so I think we need to consider things in a much more holistic way,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30so I'm a bit concerned about treating pesticides
0:16:30 > 0:16:32as a single issue that we need to react suddenly upon.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38With many scientists, farmers and even beekeepers
0:16:38 > 0:16:42saying a ban is premature, the UK government has been trying
0:16:42 > 0:16:46to block attempts to get neonicotinoids restricted.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49But many on the European mainland, including the European Commission,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52are convinced that a ban is the way forward.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55So, do they know something that we don't?
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Well, it's all based on this 58-page report
0:16:59 > 0:17:01prepared for the European Commission.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04So does this contain the definitive proof
0:17:04 > 0:17:07that neonicotinoids are killing our bees?
0:17:07 > 0:17:09I'll be taking a closer look later in the programme.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Lying in the heart of Calderdale is Todmorden,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17a small town with big ambitions.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24It straddles the ancient border between Yorkshire and Lancashire.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30And what's happened in this town is having repercussions
0:17:30 > 0:17:33right across the world.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Here, they're bringing the countryside
0:17:35 > 0:17:38into the heart of the town by growing food in public places.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41It's part of a movement known as Incredible Edible.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Pam Warhurst is the powerhouse behind it.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49So, Pam, what's the idea behind this? What is the goal?
0:17:49 > 0:17:53The goal is to help people be more self-reliant,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56the goal is to get people thinking of themselves, about their future,
0:17:56 > 0:17:58and to use food as the driving force,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01so you start with what we call propaganda gardens.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03All over the town, there's spaces
0:18:03 > 0:18:05where you could grow food, you just don't see them.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Very public - railway station, front of the police station,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11along the towpath here, where people can see what can grow.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12And they can taste it.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Everything we plant in these propaganda gardens is food for free.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18So everybody who lives here is entitled
0:18:18 > 0:18:21- to come down to the towpath and harvest?- Absolutely.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24It starts conversations and once you do that,
0:18:24 > 0:18:26it becomes part of your life,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29so you want to grown more of your own food in your own garden,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32you want to go to your market and support more local growers
0:18:32 > 0:18:34and your farmers, you want to get your kids
0:18:34 > 0:18:36learning how to grow and process food.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39All this because you've started to plant propaganda gardens
0:18:39 > 0:18:42and just shown people what local food looks like.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48This seed of an idea began just six years ago and now it's spread
0:18:48 > 0:18:54to more than 30 towns across the UK and even around the world.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57There's not a continent that isn't doing Incredible Edible.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Isn't that totally fantastic?
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Who'd have thought ordinary people saying, "I want a bit of that,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04"let's do it, we'll never stop it,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06"we'll be doing this till the day we die,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09"and there's nothing better in the world that we'd rather do."
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Even at the school, they've caught the passion
0:19:12 > 0:19:13for producing their own food.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18They've got a remarkable way of growing fruit and veg indoors
0:19:18 > 0:19:20and I hear it involves fish.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23What's happening here could revolutionise
0:19:23 > 0:19:25the local schools' food supply.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- Now then, Steve, how are you? - Hello, Matt. I'm fine, thank you.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Right then, sir, as we're in a watery classroom,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36you'd better give me a lesson. What's going on here?
0:19:36 > 0:19:38- Welcome to the world of aquaponics... - Thank you!
0:19:38 > 0:19:42..where fish feed vegetables. So do you want to find out how that works?
0:19:42 > 0:19:45- Yes, please, yes!- We've got a little diagram over here.- Over to the board.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Very good. Right, OK.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51So, if you're paying attention, aquaponics is a system
0:19:51 > 0:19:55of three tanks with water flowing in between all of them.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58So, in the first tank, we have fish.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Fish do what comes naturally - they poo and they pee.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03The ammonia from the fish poo and pee
0:20:03 > 0:20:06goes into the tank with the bacteria in it
0:20:06 > 0:20:09where the ammonia is changed into nitrates
0:20:09 > 0:20:11by the action of friendly bacteria.
0:20:11 > 0:20:12So the nitrates are then pumped
0:20:12 > 0:20:15into the tank where the vegetables are growing
0:20:15 > 0:20:19and vegetables need nitrates to grow
0:20:19 > 0:20:21and then the water goes back into the fish tank
0:20:21 > 0:20:23and the whole process starts again.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25- Feeding time at the zoo!- Yeah!
0:20:25 > 0:20:28So we've got a big tank here full of 400 goldfish
0:20:28 > 0:20:29and we know all their names, Matt.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- Really?! - Yeah, Fred 1, Fred 2, Fred 3...
0:20:32 > 0:20:33MATT LAUGHS
0:20:33 > 0:20:37So what's the connection between this project and Incredible Edible?
0:20:37 > 0:20:39This project grew out of Incredible Edible
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and its aim is to produce fish and vegetables for the local schools,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44so we'll be feeding the school kiddies.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47We're learning on goldfish and then we will move onto edible carp.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50How many fish do you actually need for a large quantity of vegetables?
0:20:50 > 0:20:53That's where the maths comes in and it helps with the kiddies,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56so what it is, is there's a ratio - one kilogram of fish waste
0:20:56 > 0:20:58produces sufficient poo and pee
0:20:58 > 0:21:02to feed three square metres of vegetables.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05- So this is the floating vegetable patch?- Absolutely, Matt.
0:21:05 > 0:21:06Do you want to have a look here?
0:21:06 > 0:21:09If you move one of the floating beds down slightly, you can see
0:21:09 > 0:21:13the water underneath and the roots of the vegetables go into the water.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- You can see this from the garlic. - Oh, my word!
0:21:16 > 0:21:18There's no soil then?
0:21:18 > 0:21:21It's amazing, there is no soil whatsoever in this whole process.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Is it better than growing in soil?
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Because we can control all the temperatures and the nutrients,
0:21:26 > 0:21:28we can produce all year round.
0:21:28 > 0:21:29What we're finding at the moment
0:21:29 > 0:21:31is some plants are growing quite quickly.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35This mint, for instance, has come up a centimetre a day.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37And I can only attribute that to the fact
0:21:37 > 0:21:40that there's a huge amount of nitrates in this water.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43I guess the proof is in the pudding. Is it all right to eat it?
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Well, you've got a big table here in front of you.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47- What would you recommend? - Well, what shall we have a look at?
0:21:47 > 0:21:52There's a bit of lettuce here, Matt. Go for that? Aquaponic lettuce.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54That's a first.
0:21:54 > 0:21:55Well...
0:21:55 > 0:21:58- It tastes lovely, yeah.- Good man.
0:21:58 > 0:21:59I'm convinced, absolutely.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02I tell you what, you lot down there, you've done some good work!
0:22:02 > 0:22:04It's lovely, this lettuce.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Later on, I'll be discovering how the power of pigs
0:22:09 > 0:22:14can turn fruit into wine, but first Helen is also in Calderdale
0:22:14 > 0:22:17and it's not food that's caught her attention, it's water.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29The hills of Calderdale - most are more than 1,300 feet high,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31so they catch the prevailing weather.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Often, that's rain, more recently, snow.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39But this landscape also has a more unexpected look -
0:22:39 > 0:22:42water, water everywhere.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47It's believed that this area has the highest concentration
0:22:47 > 0:22:48of reservoirs in the UK.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52Now, if you look at this satellite image, you can see you can see why.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56It's absolutely peppered with blue dots and those dots are reservoirs.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00But why build so many just here?
0:23:00 > 0:23:03I'm meeting up with Robin Gray to find out.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07It's all down to the Industrial Revolution.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09You had a lot of cotton mills.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13In fact, you could say that Manchester was the powerhouse
0:23:13 > 0:23:17of the Industrial Revolution and one of the main ingredients was water.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20You had mill owners - they wanted water.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24You had the canals - they needed water for transportation.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26But also, drinking water.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28You've got to remember, in the 19th century,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31they described drinking water as "as black as ink".
0:23:31 > 0:23:33So without this water,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35that Industrial Revolution might not have happened?
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Everyone knows about coal, but it was actually water that was
0:23:38 > 0:23:42the vital ingredient that powered the Industrial Revolution.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Many of those reservoirs still remain.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51This is one of them, now known as Hollingworth Lake,
0:23:51 > 0:23:56built more than 200 years ago to supply the Rochdale canals.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02It might have been built for industry,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04but it was soon held in deep affection
0:24:04 > 0:24:06by the Victorian day-trippers
0:24:06 > 0:24:09who came here to enjoy paddle steamer rides
0:24:09 > 0:24:10and the rowing club.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13It became the Rochdale Riviera of its day -
0:24:13 > 0:24:16an escape from the grime of industry.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21Today, this lasting legacy of our industrial past is no lifeless relic.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23On the contrary, it's buzzing with activity.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25I've never tried windsurfing.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28I've always wanted to and apparently this is the perfect place to start.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39Instructor Alistair Pitman reckons he can get me surfing in no time,
0:24:39 > 0:24:43but first I need to learn a few of the basics on dry land.
0:24:43 > 0:24:44Right, Al, where do we start?
0:24:44 > 0:24:46I want you to get both knees up here,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48then I want you to reach around the mast
0:24:48 > 0:24:51and there should be an uphaul there, so if you grab hold of that
0:24:51 > 0:24:54with both hands, it'll help you balance when you stand up.
0:24:54 > 0:24:55So I want you to stand up
0:24:55 > 0:24:58and get your feet one either side of the mast.
0:24:58 > 0:24:59Then I want you to crouch down,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02reach as far as you can down that uphaul and then hand over hand,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04pull it up and then put your hands onto the mast.
0:25:04 > 0:25:05Hands onto the mast, OK.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07If you lean the sail towards the back of the boat,
0:25:07 > 0:25:09you'll find the boat turns one way.
0:25:09 > 0:25:10HELEN GIGGLES Sorry!
0:25:10 > 0:25:12And if you lean it towards the front of the boat,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14you'll find it turns the other way.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18OK, well, that seems straightforward enough. Shall we take it to water?
0:25:18 > 0:25:21- Yep, why not? I think we're good, I think we're ready.- Yeah?
0:25:21 > 0:25:23'It's now or never.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26'I really hope I'm not in for a soaking.'
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- It is quite cold, isn't it? - Just a little chilly.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31It's probably about minus seven with the wind chill,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34but the water temperature's about one degree.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36So we're just going to get you up into that sailing position.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39- So grab hold of your mast, remember? - Oh, yeah, the mast.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42I'm practically signing up for the Olympics now, aren't I?
0:25:42 > 0:25:43- Oh, yes, definitely.- Yeah.
0:25:45 > 0:25:46And you're off!
0:25:46 > 0:25:50That's it, Helen. Well done. Keep your front leg straight.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Pull in with your back hand a little.
0:25:52 > 0:25:53Whoa!
0:25:53 > 0:25:56I'm not setting any world records just yet.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Oh, I'm actually moving, aren't I?
0:26:00 > 0:26:03- Whoops!- I'm on! I'm still on!
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Pull it back up.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Whoa! There we go! There's a little gust!
0:26:12 > 0:26:15- Woo-hoo! I'm doing it, yeah? - Yeah. Well done.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19'I can see why people get a kick out of this
0:26:19 > 0:26:22'and I'll definitely be back to give it another go.'
0:26:22 > 0:26:23You've done really well today.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26You've still got dry hair, which is impressive!
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Hollingworth Lake is easy to get to, so it's well used
0:26:31 > 0:26:35and well looked after, but how do the more remote reservoirs fare?
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Gaddings Dam is perched around 500 feet higher.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43It's a lung-burning hike up a steep hill,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45but I'm assured it's well worth it.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48- Hello, gang.- Hiya.- Hi.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50'There were plans to drain the reservoir,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53'but people here loved it so much, they clubbed together to buy it
0:26:53 > 0:26:56'and that means they have to keep an eye on it.'
0:26:56 > 0:26:59What is it about this place that's so special?
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Well, you'll have to see when we get up there, Helen,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04but it's got a unique quality.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06It's on nearly 1,200 feet elevation,
0:27:06 > 0:27:10it's a very popular spot with swimmers
0:27:10 > 0:27:13and with people from the town coming up for picnics and so on.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15It's a real wonderful place.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Toby, you keep sort of burying your neck into your coat. It is cold.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23- But you've been up there. Is it worth the walk?- Yeah.- Definitely?- Yeah.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36- Can you remember coming up here as a little girl, Margaret?- Yes, I do.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39We just used to come up here all the time in the summer.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41At that time there were a lot of mills in the valley,
0:27:41 > 0:27:43so it was quite polluted.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47Places like this were a way of getting away from the smoke.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Do you come up here to clear your head and gather your thoughts?
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Definitely. It's a steep hill, but within a short period of time,
0:27:52 > 0:27:54you're just on top of the world.
0:28:01 > 0:28:02Wow!
0:28:04 > 0:28:06- Oh, my word! That is a lot of water!- It is a lot.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09This doesn't feel like Northern England,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12it feels a bit like...Russia when you look over there!
0:28:15 > 0:28:17Hello, chaps.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20This is part of the essential ongoing maintenance
0:28:20 > 0:28:23that we have to go through to keep the dam walls in good shape.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26They're lifting stones that have fallen down near the water's edge
0:28:26 > 0:28:29to replace them along the top of the wall.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33'As a final treat, Tim wants to share his favourite spot with me.'
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Here we are, Helen, this is our beach.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42I don't think I've ever sat on a beach surrounded by ice and snow.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45It is stunning, though. I can see why people love it.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48You're a world away from everyone and everything, aren't you, up here?
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Oh, completely, completely.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54We've always claimed it was the highest sandy beach in England
0:28:54 > 0:28:55and nobody's challenged that yet.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58If you came back here on a summer's day, you'd see people swimming,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01you'd see people from Todmorden up here having picnics,
0:29:01 > 0:29:05people walking their dogs around, it really is a playground for people.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07I want to say that I'm disappointed
0:29:07 > 0:29:09I haven't brought my swimming costume...
0:29:09 > 0:29:11but that would be a complete lie! Cheers.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16Now, as we heard earlier, Europe is on the verge of banning
0:29:16 > 0:29:19pesticides vital to many British farmers
0:29:19 > 0:29:23because they're being blamed for the dramatic decline of bees,
0:29:23 > 0:29:25but are they doing too much too soon?
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Here's Tom.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32With bees disappearing from our countryside,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35we're being encouraged to do
0:29:35 > 0:29:37all kinds of imaginative things to help them.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42These balloons all contain a handful of seeds
0:29:42 > 0:29:43and they're going into the ground
0:29:43 > 0:29:46here at Mote Park in the heart of Maidstone
0:29:46 > 0:29:49and the idea is, when the kids have finished their little balloon dance,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52stepping on them all, that in few months' time, it will grow up
0:29:52 > 0:29:56with lovely wild flowers, so let's go and do some popping.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59'In simple terms, more flowers means more bees
0:29:59 > 0:30:02'and with bee numbers down by a half since the 1980s,
0:30:02 > 0:30:04'they need all the help they can get.'
0:30:06 > 0:30:08Right, what we're going to do now,
0:30:08 > 0:30:10we need to tread these seeds in, right?
0:30:12 > 0:30:15So the best way to tread the seeds in is to dance on them,
0:30:15 > 0:30:17so what we're going to do, we're going to do the Hokey Cokey.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19Two, three...
0:30:19 > 0:30:21- ALL:- # Oh, hokey cokey cokey... #
0:30:21 > 0:30:24I'm going to make my excuses from the dance floor right now.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27It's clearly great work that's being done here
0:30:27 > 0:30:29to get more bee-friendly plants growing,
0:30:29 > 0:30:32but is all this good work going to be undone
0:30:32 > 0:30:35by pesticides out there in our fields?
0:30:37 > 0:30:39The European Commission certainly thinks so.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43It says some of the world's most widely-used agricultural pesticides,
0:30:43 > 0:30:47called neonicotinoids, could be killing our bees.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50It wants to ban them from the 1st of July.
0:30:50 > 0:30:55Earlier, we heard from a farmer, a scientist and even a beekeeper,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58who were all currently against the ban,
0:30:58 > 0:31:02but not everyone in the UK feels the same way.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06Some British environmental groups,
0:31:06 > 0:31:08including the RSPB and the Soil Association,
0:31:08 > 0:31:12say evidence is mounting of a danger to bees.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Vanessa Amaral-Rogers from the charity Buglife wants action now.
0:31:16 > 0:31:21How worried are you about the pesticides and the neonicotinoids?
0:31:21 > 0:31:23We're really worried.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26We've been doing a lot of work on neonicotinoids back in 2009
0:31:26 > 0:31:28when we sort of found that there was
0:31:28 > 0:31:31a lot of scientific research around at the time
0:31:31 > 0:31:35which showed that there was an effect on neonics in pollinators.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38A small amount of the chemical can affect in different ways,
0:31:38 > 0:31:40so making honeybees forage less
0:31:40 > 0:31:44or not return back to the hive because they get lost.
0:31:44 > 0:31:45It's something that Buglife
0:31:45 > 0:31:47have been campaigning for right from the start,
0:31:47 > 0:31:49that we want the Government to put a ban in
0:31:49 > 0:31:52because we're worried about it, the evidence is there.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58But how strong is that evidence? I've been taking a closer look.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01This is the document on which the European Commission
0:32:01 > 0:32:03have based their opinion in favour of a ban,
0:32:03 > 0:32:07but when you look inside, the data is far from clear-cut.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09Where they've got an R in a column,
0:32:09 > 0:32:14it shows there has been a risk identified, but where there's an X,
0:32:14 > 0:32:18they're not so sure, or as they put it, "assessment not finalised".
0:32:18 > 0:32:24Now, there are a couple of columns with Rs, but all the rest...Xs.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Basically, we still lack definitive proof
0:32:27 > 0:32:32and the uncertainty over the level of risk has caused mixed reactions.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36So, while many MPs support a ban on neonicotinoids,
0:32:36 > 0:32:39the British Government still thinks we need more evidence.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42People are looking to science for answers,
0:32:42 > 0:32:44but even there, the experts can't agree.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49We're basically measuring everything we can measure about these nests -
0:32:49 > 0:32:52how many new bees they've produced...
0:32:52 > 0:32:55'At Stirling University, there's yet another research project,
0:32:55 > 0:33:00'this time on the effects of neonicotinoids on bumblebees.'
0:33:00 > 0:33:03So these nests have been variously
0:33:03 > 0:33:06exposed or not exposed to neonicotinoids.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09'Professor David Goulson is looking for a link
0:33:09 > 0:33:13'between these pesticides and smaller, underdeveloped nests.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16'He is in favour of a ban.'
0:33:16 > 0:33:17When we were speaking to the farmer,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20he said, "Look, this is a seed dressing,
0:33:20 > 0:33:23"there's a small amount in the seed. By the time the plant's grown
0:33:23 > 0:33:27"and the bees are feeding on the actual flower, it's infinitesimal,"
0:33:27 > 0:33:31- but are you saying that's still enough to harm a bee?- Well, if...
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Yes, it is.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35I mean, it wouldn't work as a pest-control strategy
0:33:35 > 0:33:38if they weren't toxic at very low concentrations.
0:33:38 > 0:33:39The evidence suggests that
0:33:39 > 0:33:42if you feed those concentrations to bees,
0:33:42 > 0:33:46you get measurable biological effects - they lay fewer eggs,
0:33:46 > 0:33:47they get lost on the way home,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50they're not so good at gathering food.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53So the long and the short of it is, the concentrations in nectar
0:33:53 > 0:33:56and pollen of flowering crops ARE enough to affect bees.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59If we have evidence, but inconclusive evidence,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02that these things seriously harm bees and other wildlife,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05then we should stop using them until we've got that evidence,
0:34:05 > 0:34:09until we can definitely say how much they're harming wildlife,
0:34:09 > 0:34:12rather than just carry on blithely chucking them
0:34:12 > 0:34:16around the countryside until some indefinite future date
0:34:16 > 0:34:18where we may have acquired that evidence.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24There is a growing consensus among scientists that neonicotinoids
0:34:24 > 0:34:27have some effect on bee health,
0:34:27 > 0:34:31but without conclusive evidence linking them to the decline of bees,
0:34:31 > 0:34:34currently it's all about weighing up risk.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36So is it better to be safe than sorry?
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Or should we hold out for a clearer answer?
0:34:40 > 0:34:43If science can help resolve this debate,
0:34:43 > 0:34:47it will be doing a great service to the bees and possibly to farmers too.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51Come on, in you go.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54'In the meantime, the decision on banning neonicotinoids
0:34:54 > 0:34:58'will have to be made without the luxury of absolute proof.'
0:35:02 > 0:35:04Heel!
0:35:07 > 0:35:10We all know the weather has been really cold
0:35:10 > 0:35:12and wet over the past few months.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15For most of us, it's just been rather grim and a bit inconvenient,
0:35:15 > 0:35:19but for farmers like Adam, it's had more serious consequences.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28This may look like a beautiful spring day,
0:35:28 > 0:35:31but actually it's bitterly cold with these easterly winds.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33The snow is still lying under the hedges
0:35:33 > 0:35:35and, as we know, right across the country,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38people have been suffering with all this cold weather.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42And here on the farm, it's just not a spring scene.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45The grass over there should be long and lush and bright green,
0:35:45 > 0:35:49and it's just lying there, a pale colour.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51Across there, we've got a brown field that's been ploughed,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54ready to plant spring barley that should have gone in a month ago,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57but it's just been too cold and too wet.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00This field should have oilseed rape growing in it
0:36:00 > 0:36:02with plants about this high, bright green,
0:36:02 > 0:36:06with buds on that are going to burst into yellow flower,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09but as it is, there's absolutely nothing here.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12The crop should have been planted in the middle of August last year,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15but we didn't get it in until late September
0:36:15 > 0:36:18because of all the wet weather, so it had a difficult start,
0:36:18 > 0:36:20then the slugs have got into it
0:36:20 > 0:36:23and the easterly winds have absolutely hammered it
0:36:23 > 0:36:27and the pigeons have been coming on here and eating it as well.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29And now I can hardly find a plant.
0:36:29 > 0:36:35There's one here that's just a few little stalks, it's virtually dead.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40'We'll have to give up on more than 100 acres of winter oilseed rape,
0:36:40 > 0:36:42'which is a real disaster.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45'It'll have to be ripped out over the coming weeks
0:36:45 > 0:36:48'and be replanted with a spring rape crop.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52'For my farming business, that's a big financial hit.'
0:36:54 > 0:36:55Come on then.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01Well, it's a pretty sorry state on this farm
0:37:01 > 0:37:04but I know I'm not alone so I've invited a good friend of mine,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08David Neill, who meets farmers all across the UK
0:37:08 > 0:37:10and advises them on their arable crops,
0:37:10 > 0:37:13so that I can get an understanding of the bigger picture.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16- David, it's not great, is it? - No, it's certainly not, Adam.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18And, as you said, you're not alone.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21Your rape fields are no different to many others.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25Probably 30% of the national crop has now been lost
0:37:25 > 0:37:29through the same circumstances. It really is a desperate situation.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31This is the wheat field.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33We managed to get all of our wheat planted in the autumn.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35This isn't looking too bad, is it?
0:37:35 > 0:37:39No, this is pretty good compared with most people round the country.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43You don't have to go many miles from here to see the state of devastation
0:37:43 > 0:37:47we have with the compaction and the wet soil conditions.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50And probably we're looking at about 20% reduction
0:37:50 > 0:37:52in our wheat planting at the moment.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55And what are the overall consequences then?
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Well, the consequences are pretty dramatic
0:37:57 > 0:38:00from the point of view of overall food supply in the UK
0:38:00 > 0:38:02because whether you look at potatoes,
0:38:02 > 0:38:04whether you look at veg production,
0:38:04 > 0:38:08it's all under pressure, so I guess it's a hard one to call
0:38:08 > 0:38:11but food prices are going to remain high,
0:38:11 > 0:38:15fragile and certainly with the British public buying
0:38:15 > 0:38:17more and more home-produced food, farmers want to make sure
0:38:17 > 0:38:20it's on the shelves and it's very frustrating for them
0:38:20 > 0:38:23at the moment with the pressure that they're under.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31'Whilst it's frustrating for arable farmers,
0:38:31 > 0:38:35'for those with livestock, it's been heartbreaking.'
0:38:35 > 0:38:37We were very fortunate at home.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39We managed to get round to all the animals
0:38:39 > 0:38:41and make sure they had food and water and shelter
0:38:41 > 0:38:43and the lambs that were freshly born,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46we kept them inside the sheds with their mothers
0:38:46 > 0:38:50but there are many farmers across the UK that haven't been so lucky.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55Parts of Britain are still struggling with the snow
0:38:55 > 0:38:56and freezing temperatures.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59Roads over higher ground running impassable
0:38:59 > 0:39:04and farmers are struggling to rescue livestock stranded by the blizzards.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15But it wasn't until the snow started to thaw
0:39:15 > 0:39:18that the harrowing picture really started to reveal itself
0:39:18 > 0:39:21and farmers could get back out into the fields
0:39:21 > 0:39:24and were picking up dead sheep everywhere.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27Look at it. Here we are in the middle of April
0:39:27 > 0:39:29and the snow is still really deep.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33I'm on my way to meet Errol Morris who's a sheep farmer
0:39:33 > 0:39:35a little bit further up in the mountains.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41'At his farm on the Welsh borders, Errol has more than 800 acres
0:39:41 > 0:39:43'and keeps more than 1,000 sheep.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48'Sadly, I'm not the only visitor to his farm today.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50'He's had to arrange for some contractors
0:39:50 > 0:39:52'to remove his dead sheep.'
0:39:58 > 0:40:01It's a horrible sight, isn't it, a pile of dead bodies like that?
0:40:01 > 0:40:07Well, it's a terrible sight to see. It brings me back memories of 2001.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10- The foot and mouth.- That devastating foot and mouth disease.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13And I hope we never see that again, obviously.
0:40:13 > 0:40:18And also, we don't want a storm like we've just had.
0:40:18 > 0:40:19How many sheep are there in that pile?
0:40:19 > 0:40:22There's 138 in that pile
0:40:22 > 0:40:27- and there's about 50 little lambs as well.- Horrible.
0:40:27 > 0:40:28I mean, it's harrowing to watch
0:40:28 > 0:40:32- but financially it must be devastating as well.- It is.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36The thing is, it doesn't stop there because the ones that survive,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39lots of them have slipped their lambs due to the harsh weather.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41- Aborted.- Aborted, yeah.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45I'll be very, very, very lucky if I get 50% lambing this year.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49Unbelievable. A ewe would be worth, what, £60-80?
0:40:49 > 0:40:5280-odd quid, yes, yes, I should think. Yeah.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01'With nearly 200 sheep already dead and the numbers still mounting,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04'Errol won't know the true financial and emotional cost
0:41:04 > 0:41:06'until the snow has gone.'
0:41:06 > 0:41:10Watch out you don't fall. It's starting to melt.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12'We're heading up to the top fields
0:41:12 > 0:41:15'to try and get a better picture of what's happened.
0:41:19 > 0:41:20So, when the storm came,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24they ran for shelter and the walls were where they went.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26- Can you feel anything there, Adam? - No.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33- Is that a dead one up there? - Oh, there's another one there, yes.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36Have they died mainly of the cold?
0:41:36 > 0:41:40Well, yes, it's the cold and suffocation in the drifts, isn't it?
0:41:40 > 0:41:44They haven't got... If they're under the snow like this -
0:41:44 > 0:41:47it's like concrete - they've got no hope, have they?
0:41:52 > 0:41:54'Even for the lucky ones that survived the snow,
0:41:54 > 0:41:56'there's still a struggle ahead.'
0:41:58 > 0:42:02Where the snow has melted, the grass doesn't look very good, does it?
0:42:02 > 0:42:04No, it's going yellow, isn't it? It's burnt off completely.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08- So, there's no nutrients in this for the ewes.- Nothing whatsoever.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12I've bought in silage, turnips as well.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14More and more and more expense. But that's it,
0:42:14 > 0:42:18- you've got to feed them or you won't have anything left.- No.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21There's one here that doesn't look very well.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30- Oh, yeah, she is not very well at all, Errol, is she?- No, she's not.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32She's gone blind in one eye, hasn't she?
0:42:32 > 0:42:35- She's got a touch of snow fever, I think.- Really lean.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38- So the lambs inside of her are drawing all her energy.- Yeah.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41What will you do? Take her down to the shed and to try and save her?
0:42:41 > 0:42:45- Yeah, take her down to the shed. - She can hardly stand up.- No.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47Poor thing.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51It looks like this little wood, it's had sheep all round it.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55Well, you can see where they've been pushing to go into the wood.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58You can see the wool on the barbed wire
0:42:58 > 0:43:01and they've even eaten the bark on the tree trunks.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04So there'd have been a lot of sheep sheltering inside that.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07All around there. It's saved a lot of lives.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14'Errol and his sheep are clearly fighters.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17'I just hope he can overcome this terrible experience
0:43:17 > 0:43:20'and look forward to brighter times.'
0:43:22 > 0:43:25The crops are suffering on my farm
0:43:25 > 0:43:28but coming here to this farm in Wales
0:43:28 > 0:43:32and seeing so many dead animals has been really disturbing.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35I am taking this ewe back down to the yards
0:43:35 > 0:43:38and hopefully... she'll be one that makes it.
0:43:53 > 0:43:58"I stood on a dark summit among dark summits
0:43:59 > 0:44:04"Tidal dawn splitting heaven from earth
0:44:04 > 0:44:07"The oyster opening to taste gold."
0:44:10 > 0:44:13Those words were written by Ted Hughes,
0:44:13 > 0:44:15one of our greatest ever poets.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18He was describing this place -
0:44:18 > 0:44:21the Calder Valley, the place he was born.
0:44:29 > 0:44:33'Ted Hughes was born in Mytholmroyd, the West Yorkshire town
0:44:33 > 0:44:36'where he spent the first seven years of his life
0:44:36 > 0:44:38'and although he left when he was still a child,
0:44:38 > 0:44:41'it was a landscape that was to shape his writing.'
0:44:42 > 0:44:46Many of his most celebrated and personal poems were set here
0:44:46 > 0:44:51among the steep hills and stones, the mill towns and moors.
0:44:51 > 0:44:52And if you know where to look,
0:44:52 > 0:44:55you can still find the places he wrote about.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01'I'm off to find some of them. But I'm not going alone.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03'I have enlisted the help of someone who's made it his mission
0:45:03 > 0:45:06'to seek out the places in Ted Hughes' poems.'
0:45:06 > 0:45:09A kind of literary detective, if you will.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12But best of all, he actually knew Ted Hughes as a boy.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17'His name is Donald Crossley.
0:45:17 > 0:45:19'Here he is at school with Ted in 1935.'
0:45:21 > 0:45:23'They grew up in the same street -
0:45:23 > 0:45:25'Aspinall Street.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28'A plaque marks the house Ted was born in.'
0:45:28 > 0:45:30- Donald.- Ellie. Ah, pleased to meet you.- Lovely to meet you.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32- How are you doing?- Very well.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34It's a glorious day but, by Jove, it's a cold wind.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38Yeah, sure is. So, you knew Ted as a child then?
0:45:38 > 0:45:41We were brought up here in Banksfield, four boys.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44There was Derek Robertshaw, Brian Seymour, Donald Crossley
0:45:44 > 0:45:48- and Teddy Hughes. He was always Teddy to we boys.- Teddy?- Yes, he was.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51What sort of things to do you get up to? What was it like around here?
0:45:51 > 0:45:53All kinds of things. Redacre Wood,
0:45:53 > 0:45:55that was the Mecca for boys to go and play in.
0:45:55 > 0:46:00Then up the fields and lighting fires, trapping, shooting rabbits.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03- All that kind of thing up on the hillside.- Wow.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06What was he like then as a character, as a young lad?
0:46:06 > 0:46:10We looked up to Teddy. He was that bit more special than we were.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12He was a clever lad, right from the beginning.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19'Today, with Donald's daughter, Ruth,
0:46:19 > 0:46:22'we're seeking out the places mentioned in the poems.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25'When Donald first set about this task,
0:46:25 > 0:46:29'he called upon some very special help - Ted's elder brother, Gerald.'
0:46:29 > 0:46:33So, Donald, you have a load of knowledge about his poetry,
0:46:33 > 0:46:36Ted's work, and incredible knowledge about this area.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38So how did you marry up the two
0:46:38 > 0:46:40to figure out where the poems were based on?
0:46:40 > 0:46:43Well, of course, when I wanted to find these things out,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46I wrote to Gerald and he sent me this map.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48'It's hand-drawn
0:46:48 > 0:46:51'and shows many of the places Gerald and Ted spent in childhood.'
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Where they smoked weasels out of the walls.
0:46:54 > 0:46:58There is a poem of that and that's just there, up the lane.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01'There are all sorts of clues about the poems in the letters
0:47:01 > 0:47:05'but they also reveal the young Ted's fascination with nature.'
0:47:06 > 0:47:09"Ted at my side, wide-eyed, taking everything in,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12"making a continuous recording of everything we did,
0:47:12 > 0:47:15"asking questions - 'Where do you think that owl
0:47:15 > 0:47:17" 'we saw last week will be roosting?' "
0:47:17 > 0:47:19- What fabulous detail. - It is fabulous.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21What did you think when you first got these letters then?
0:47:21 > 0:47:25Well, I began to realise, over the years, they're so very precious.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31'But there was one place Gerald's letters couldn't identify.
0:47:31 > 0:47:35'Donald had to turn literary sleuth all on his own.'
0:47:35 > 0:47:39And it concerns this picture, taken of six young men
0:47:39 > 0:47:44on the eve of going to France to fight in the First World War.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46None of them returned home
0:47:46 > 0:47:49and it inspired one of Ted Hughes's most poignant poems.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54"The celluloid of a photograph holds them well
0:47:54 > 0:47:59"Six young men, familiar to their friends
0:47:59 > 0:48:03"Four decades that have faded and ochre-tinged this photograph
0:48:03 > 0:48:07"Have not wrinkled the faces or the hands
0:48:07 > 0:48:12"Though their cocked hats are not now fashionable, their shoes shine
0:48:12 > 0:48:17"One imparts an intimate smile, one chews a grass
0:48:17 > 0:48:20"One lowers his eyes, bashful
0:48:20 > 0:48:23"One is ridiculous with cocky pride
0:48:23 > 0:48:26"Six months after this picture, they were all dead."
0:48:28 > 0:48:31'But where was the place in the poem and the picture?'
0:48:33 > 0:48:39This certain morning I said, "Hilary," I woke, "It's the water!"
0:48:39 > 0:48:41In the middle of the poem it says,
0:48:41 > 0:48:45"From where these sat, you'll hear the water of seven streams
0:48:45 > 0:48:47"Fall to the roar in the bottom
0:48:47 > 0:48:50"The collective water of seven streams."
0:48:50 > 0:48:53And then I had a good idea where it was.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55'It brought him here, to this secluded valley
0:48:55 > 0:48:57'called Crimsworth Dean.'
0:48:58 > 0:49:02There is the tree. That very stone is still there.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04And you will just see faintly,
0:49:04 > 0:49:07the black wall and the bilberried banks over there.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11- Amazing.- I was over the moon when I found it, yeah.
0:49:11 > 0:49:16Dad suggested that we place a plaque to remember the six young men
0:49:16 > 0:49:20which, you know, is a lovely, lovely memorial to six men
0:49:20 > 0:49:23- who really made the ultimate sacrifice.- Absolutely.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32'Ted Hughes' writing made him famous.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36'He became poet laureate in 1984
0:49:36 > 0:49:40'but he never forgot this landscape or the place of his birth.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42'As his brother, Gerald, writes,'
0:49:42 > 0:49:45"Wherever we were, whatever we did,
0:49:45 > 0:49:48"that lovely valley remained our true home
0:49:48 > 0:49:52"because I know that is where his heart was - those early years
0:49:52 > 0:49:56"at 1 Aspinall Street anchored both of us there for life."
0:50:08 > 0:50:11It's clearly an ideal spot for reflecting and if you're heading out
0:50:11 > 0:50:14into the countryside this week for some quiet time,
0:50:14 > 0:50:16you'll want to know what the weather has in store.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18Here's the Countryfile forecast.
0:51:49 > 0:51:56.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11'While Ellie's been finding out about the literary greats
0:52:11 > 0:52:14'who were inspired by the Calderdale landscape,
0:52:14 > 0:52:17'I've been unearthing its culinary delights.'
0:52:19 > 0:52:20'As I discovered earlier,
0:52:20 > 0:52:25'there's been a real push in these hills to grow more local food.'
0:52:25 > 0:52:28And now I'm off to meet a man who's set himself the challenge
0:52:28 > 0:52:31of making his eight-acre plot of land pay its way.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35'And that's not easy up here.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38'The land's steep and the winters are bitter
0:52:38 > 0:52:41'but Gwyn Evans has found a way to do just that.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44'Would you believe it, by making wine?'
0:52:44 > 0:52:47- Gwyn.- Matt.- How are you doing? - Pleased to meet you.- Nice to see you.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49- Welcome to Luddenden.- You've got a bonny view here, haven't you?
0:52:49 > 0:52:52It's fantastic, yeah. We never get tired of it.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01So, Gwyn, what gave you the idea, then, of making wine?
0:53:01 > 0:53:03Well, I'd been looking to try and do something with the land
0:53:03 > 0:53:07- which was going to be profitable and sustainable.- Yeah.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10I was aware of an interest locally in local produce
0:53:10 > 0:53:14and buying local things and I thought we'd found a gap in the market.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18- Let's go and sort them out. - We're on our way, don't worry.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21'But there's no sign of a vineyard yet.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23'All Gwyn's showing me are pigs.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25'They're rare-breed Oxford Sandy and Blacks.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29'Apparently, they're all part of the process.'
0:53:29 > 0:53:32Come on, girls. Come on, girls.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35Do you know, Gwyn? You don't often think, right,
0:53:35 > 0:53:37if you're going to start making wine, you've got to get some pigs.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39Where do they fit into all this?
0:53:39 > 0:53:43If you give them a piece of land with some scrubby overgrowth on it,
0:53:43 > 0:53:46they'll eat off all the overgrowth, all the weeds...
0:53:46 > 0:53:49- They do this, basically. - Well that's it.
0:53:49 > 0:53:50Once they've finished on the top,
0:53:50 > 0:53:53they just turn it upside down and eat what's underneath.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56So, at the end of the day, you've got a lovely, clean piece of ground
0:53:56 > 0:53:58ready to be planted on.
0:53:58 > 0:53:59'Even in the height of summer,
0:53:59 > 0:54:03'only a few vineyards thrive in this part of Yorkshire
0:54:03 > 0:54:06'so Gwyn's planting fruit and veg for the basis of his wine.'
0:54:06 > 0:54:10Autumn-fruiting raspberries. Plums.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12Damsons - they're really nice.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15Gooseberries and blackcurrants.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17And, of course, especially rhubarb.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19Is that popular, is it, the rhubarb?
0:54:19 > 0:54:22- Oh, absolutely, yes. It's really delicious.- Is it?
0:54:22 > 0:54:25- The thing about it is it's just synonymous with West Yorkshire.- Yeah.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28How productive would you expect this plot of land to be?
0:54:28 > 0:54:30How many bottles of wine can you get from this?
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Well, the rhubarb alone, I could probably expect
0:54:33 > 0:54:36- about 200 bottles next year, just from the rhubarb.- Really?
0:54:36 > 0:54:39And then the year after that when it becomes thick and bushy,
0:54:39 > 0:54:41between 300 and 400 bottles.
0:54:41 > 0:54:42People, I guess, your customers,
0:54:42 > 0:54:45will just love the fact that the wine has been, you know,
0:54:45 > 0:54:47whatever the fruit is, has been grown here.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51Well, I'm hoping so. There are fruit wines grown throughout the country
0:54:51 > 0:54:55- but it's the local appeal which I'm trying to...- To tap into.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57To tap into, yes.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02'Gwyn's keen for me to taste the finished article.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06'Do you know, it's a tough life being a Countryfile presenter.'
0:55:06 > 0:55:08- But this is what it's all about then, Gwyn.- Absolutely.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10It's in a bottle and it's ready to be drunk.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13- What have you selected here? - This is a parsnip wine.- Yeah.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16- It's one of my favourites. - Shall I do the pouring?- Go on.- OK.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20- Why is this one of your favourites? - Well, it's just delicious.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23- I hope you like it. - Right, here we go.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25I'm not going to do the sniffy or swirly thing,
0:55:25 > 0:55:27it's going straight down the hatch. OK? All the best.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35Ooh, now that's a surprise. I can see why you like that.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39- Lots of people say that. - Yeah, that's got... It's...
0:55:39 > 0:55:42Well, it's like a white wine but that's a lovely...
0:55:42 > 0:55:44It leaves you with a lovely, warm sensation, doesn't it?
0:55:44 > 0:55:46Right down through your chest.
0:55:46 > 0:55:48- Here we go. Look who's here. - Now then.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51- How are you?- Look, I've spotted this. An empty glass.
0:55:51 > 0:55:52You are going to love this.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55- Go on then.- Let me tell you, this is special.- What is it?
0:55:55 > 0:55:57- It's parsnip wine. - Parsnip wine?- Yeah.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01Mmm. I'll try it. I'll give it a try.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05- Ooh, it's lovely. Very dry. - Isn't that nice?
0:56:05 > 0:56:07- Have you got that warm sensation? - Yeah.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10On a day like today, we need it. I'm going to have to try it again.
0:56:10 > 0:56:11Yeah, I'm just keep drinking this.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14Anyway, that's all we have time for from Calderdale.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16Next week, I'm looking back at some of the best-loved
0:56:16 > 0:56:18Countryfile stories involving rural architecture -
0:56:18 > 0:56:21- anything from stately homes to beach huts.- I'll be watching.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23- Yes, you will.- See you later.- Bye.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd