Montrose Countryfile


Montrose

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This is the Montrose Basin, a huge expanse of sand

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and sea just inland from the town of Montrose in Scotland.

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and it's a haven for rare wildfowl and all kinds of bird life.

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But when the tide's out, it's all too easy to get stuck in the mud.

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She is well and truly stuck. That's serious business.

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We're coming! Don't worry, we're on our way.

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discovering the hidden history of the dunes.

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I can't quite believe that you've created all of this from scratch.

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And with the EU referendum looming, Tom's looking

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at the biggest decision to face our countryside in decades.

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I've met up with both the Prime Minister and Boris Johnson

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to find out why they think our rural landscape

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will be better off either in or out of the European Union.

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And Adam's finding out just how smart his working dogs really are.

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Straight in, that was very quick. There's a good girl.

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This is Montrose, on the east coast of Scotland.

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It's where you'll find an extraordinary natural feature.

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This is the Montrose Basin, a vast inland disc of mudflats,

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flooded twice a day by the North Sea.

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the Montrose Basin is a vast inland estuary,

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It's internationally important for the sheer numbers

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and varieties of birds it shelters and feeds.

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but a cataclysmic natural disaster 7,000 years ago

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It's incredible to get your head around,

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that a chunk of land the size of Iceland

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broke off Norway, creating a huge tidal wave,

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which then flooded the east of Scotland for 50 miles inland.

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As the tsunami ebbed back out to sea,

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it left sandbanks which silted up the mouth of the estuary,

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Today the Montrose Basin is a place of peace and quiet,

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a haven for thousands upon thousands of birds.

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The basin is a nature reserve, managed by Scottish Wildlife Trust.

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It's overseen by the watchful eye of ranger Anna Cheshire

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and a team of wildlife volunteers who, like the birds,

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That's quite some view, isn't it? It's pretty special. What a sight.

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How many different species of birds do you get here?

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but there's over 200 species of bird here at different times.

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Before you came, I was observing the tern raft we've got out there.

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At the moment, there are about 120 common terns on there,

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and that's their breeding site for the summer. Fantastic, isn't it?

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Absolutely, yes. It's not a bad place to work, is it? No.

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I think I might need to get out there.

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The basin is a wonderful natural creation, but Anna and her team

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also give Mother Nature a helping hand.

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This is our sand martin bank. It's for breeding sand martins.

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What do they think it is? Why are they attracted to this wall?

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This is similar to what their natural breeding site would be.

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Normally, they would go in cliff faces.

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So they think that's a cliff face? They do.

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Do they not mind that it's a man-made, prefab housing estate?

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No, it's very popular. We've got about

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30 pairs breeding in there this year.

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And you've handily numbered each hole for the sand martin postman.

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ANNA LAUGHS Well, that helps us as well.

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That means that when we do our surveys,

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we can keep track of which holes are being used.

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Are some holes more popular than others? Yes.

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These ones get more sun, and that might be why. Of course.

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Prime real estate over there. Absolutely!

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Spring sees the return of thousands of seabirds and wildfowl

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It makes the monthly task of counting the birds

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especially challenging for Anna and her team.

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Can you see all the black and white birds with the orange bills? I can.

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Those are oystercatchers. We need to count those.

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How do you count thousands upon thousands of birds?

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I would normally, at this point, have a rough estimate

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in case they get up and go and then you've missed them.

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So a rough estimate for me would be 70 to 80.

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I think that's experience, because my rough estimate would be way out.

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You get used to what size the bird is

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and how densely they're packed in, and then you can make a rough guess.

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Then you've got that in your mind while you're doing your count.

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At the moment, they don't look like they're going anywhere,

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Imagine if you got to bird number 5,756 and they all flew away.

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Anna's trying something different - with straw.

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so we're giving them somewhere to breed.

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The idea is that we're making basically a tube of hay

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that's encased in wire to hold it all together.

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And we're positioning that over water

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so that it's a bit more secure from predators.

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We roll this along, and then we pin this together.

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What did the mallards do without cable ties?

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My wellies have definitely got a hole in, but I'm fine.

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We're nearly there now. We're OK. We should be fine. All right. OK.

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This is not a duck house, this is a duck palace.

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Let's hope they appreciate it. Do you reckon they will?

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Let's get your holey welly out of this water. Are you managing?

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From duck nests on poles to man-made rafts for the terns,

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the birds of the Montrose Basin get the very best of care and attention.

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And that's thanks in no small part to the efforts of Anna

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and her hard-working team of volunteers.

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For decades now the British countryside has been shaped

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by our membership of the European Union,

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but will its future be best served in or out of the EU?

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With the Brexit vote imminent, we're looking at the key issues

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of the EU referendum debate that will affect Britain's countryside.

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Last week, we heard from the Prime Minister,

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from the Britain Stronger In Europe campaign...

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..and Boris Johnson, from Vote Leave,

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about issues relating to farming, trade and migration

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This week, we asked both about the environment and fisheries.

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The Remain camp claims the EU has helped our countryside

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in protecting our precious environment

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with legislation on wildlife habitats, clean lakes and rivers

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But one environmental issue that prompts particularly fierce debate

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Some believe they threaten the environment,

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others that they could help farmers cut their chemical usage.

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Recently, the UK government has backed GM,

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whereas the EU has been much more sceptical.

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who's an arable farmer in the Vale of York,

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feel that it's the EU's stance that is holding back British farmers

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that we really aren't unlocking at all.

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And while we're in the EU, I don't think we'll ever get the opportunity

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If you could breed a variety of wheat or potato that was resistant

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to diseases they get that cost us as farmers lots of money to treat,

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increase the yields of the crop at the end of the day,

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it all leads to cheaper food production,

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I really can't see how that's going to be anything

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but a beneficial thing for the industry.

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the possibilities that GM could offer.

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So, what's the Prime Minister's position?

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This Government and previous governments in the UK

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have basically been in favour of genetically modified crops,

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and yet it doesn't happen because European politicians say no.

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I'm not a great enthusiast for everything to do with the EU.

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There are drawbacks, problems, difficulties and frustrations.

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but GM is quite a good example where we have now negotiated

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a situation so countries have more flexibility.

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More flexibility to say no, but not yes.

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No, we have the flexibility here in Britain now to say yes

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I'm interested because if there are advances in science that are safe,

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where we could develop grains that might help us

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feed the starving in the world, we'd be mad not to look at that,

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in protecting the environment of Britain?

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If you think of the Habitats Directive and Birds Directive,

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there's a lot of power there, isn't there?

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I think the truth is this - if you're in the EU or out of the EU,

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you would have to have some important directives,

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laws to protect habitat, to encourage biodiversity.

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And I think you can say, with Europe, there's a mixed scorecard.

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Sometimes it feels a bit over-prescriptive

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and can be frustrating, but generally speaking,

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actually, we have to have rules on habitat

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and if you look at species and biodiversity,

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often used as overzealous European behaviour

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There are cases of enormous amounts of money being spent...

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Newt bridges. ..on newt bridges and also,

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infrastructure not happening, houses are not being built,

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because of something which isn't particularly rare in Britain,

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and you just end up with European rules being imposed.

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Through my renegotiation we now have, for the first time,

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targets to cut unnecessary regulation,

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including the stock of regulation in Brussels,

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and that can be applied to all sorts of regulation

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including the sorts of things you talk about.

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But I would argue, whether you're in or out,

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you still need habitat and wildlife and biodiversity rules.

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Sometimes, they will be frustrating for developers

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it's an important thing that we try to leave a country,

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where there are species thriving and not degrading.

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Looking after our wildlife is one thing,

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but looking after our fisheries is, well, a different kettle of fish.

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But many who are trying to make a living from our seas

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when it comes to our fishing industry and our fish.

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Britain had more than 20,000 fishermen.

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40 years on, and that number has nearly halved.

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In the Cornish coastal town of Looe, Angela Pengelly's family

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have been in the fishing business for five generations,

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what she believes is Europe failing the industry she loves.

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I've seen such a decline. 32 trawlers at one point.

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We should be the guardians of our own seas,

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not ministers who we do not know, we haven't voted in,

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We understand it's an ecological thing,

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And so, to survive, to keep our industry going, we've got to be out.

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who rely on the industry for their livelihoods,

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our waters should be controlled by our Government.

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Well, let's look at the Common Fisheries Policy.

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Basically, it's been a disaster for fish and for fishermen, hasn't it?

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Well, I think if you go back 20 years,

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it was not a good policy. It's still not now...

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If you take the last five years since I've been Prime Minister,

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actually, the value of the British fishing industry

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and fish-processing industry has gone up.

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The value of the fish that we've been landing, British boats,

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the UK fleet, is up 20% over the last five years.

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So I think there are big changes that took place

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we got rid of the mad discards policy.

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It's still not perfect, but again, the single market...

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It's about as far from perfect a system you can get.

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The fish are still declining, the fishermen are still in trouble...

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Actually, if you look at what's happened recently

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on the important species for us - things like cod and plaice -

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we're actually seeing the quota go up.

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But also, here's the point again about the single market.

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We land and sell into Europe about ?1 billion worth of fish

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That's twice as much as we sell anywhere else in the world.

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and again, there's not a country in the world

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that has tariff-free access on those sorts of goods.

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Even the Norwegians actually pay tariff on their fish.

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But the countries that have been able

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to protect their fish and fishermen are places like Iceland and Norway,

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where it's in their hands. Surely that tells us something?

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I think you're seeing now, with this greater regional control

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that we have managed to negotiate, you're seeing fish stocks recover.

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So if you look at the most recent figures,

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we're actually allowing our fishermen now

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That's why I say, over the last five years,

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the UK-landed fish has actually increased by 20%.

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So I think, when we talk about the Common Fisheries Policy,

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A lot of it has changed. Is it perfect? No.

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Are we better off fighting from within? Yes.

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Is this market vital for our farmers and our fishermen? Absolutely, yes.

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So, that's what David Cameron, for the Stronger In Europe campaign,

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thinks the future holds for Britain's seas and countryside.

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on the issues of fisheries and environment,

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Boris Johnson believes we would be better off leaving the EU.

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MATT: The Montrose Basin is a vast, almost circular inland sea.

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And it's this stuff that makes the basin perfect

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Back in 1913, the Royal Flying Corps, as the RAF was first known,

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chose Montrose to build Britain's first ever military airfield.

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The all-important grass landing strip ran along here,

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It may not look like much today, but the grass and -

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more importantly - the sand that was underneath it was ideal

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for the primitive planes that would often come down with a bump.

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The planes were built in Hampshire, and took four days to fly here.

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Their arrival in Montrose was a sensation for townsfolk,

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most of whom had never even SEEN a plane.

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and there's an incredible amount of the original airbase left.

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still have the frames of World War I hangars,

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were the nerve centre of Squadron HQ.

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Today, this airbase is a museum run by volunteers, mostly retired.

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At the controls is chairman Alan Doe.

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Alan, here we are on the first operational airbase in Britain,

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if not the world. How did it come to be here?

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The land is sandy, it's well-drained.

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So you're not going to get bogged down when you land.

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There's no cliffs and horrible natural obstacles around,

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recreation and so forth. Absolutely ideal.

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So No.2 Squadron was established here,

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to find out what could be done with aircraft.

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in their single-engined aircraft across the Irish Sea,

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and they were working out very capably for war,

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At the outbreak of war, No.2 Squadron reached for the sky,

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with skills they'd learnt here, over Montrose.

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From a location perspective, there's real risks here.

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if you run into trouble and you've gone that way,

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there's not much chance of a safe landing.

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No-one's going to come to your aid, because you haven't got a radio.

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So you're down there and you hope you can perhaps ditch it

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by a fishing boat, if they're out there at the time.

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But the one navigational aid was the spire of St Cyrus Church,

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So you would take your bearing from that spire,

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and then you would arrive over the airfield

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Montrose airbase became hugely important for pilot training,

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and as more young men were drawn into the war in France,

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local women became key players on the base

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And in this hangar is something remarkable

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This is quite a creation. How are you? Nice to see you.

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I can't quite believe you've created all of this from scratch.

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It's just absolutely beautiful to look at.

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This is a replica de Havilland BE2 -

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one of the longest-serving planes of the Great War.

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My ground crew today are Brian, Andy and Jules,

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volunteers who've built this warbird from scratch -

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The ladies have helped stitch all the ribs to the canvas.

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and all the feathering has been done as it was in 1914, we believe.

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What a team effort. How long have you been on with it?

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Listen, lads, the question has to be, which one of you brave souls

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is going to take this up into the sky, then?

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Well, since you're here, would you like to be our test pilot?

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It's just beautiful, even from the side. Look at this...

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The team has allowed me to moonlight

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Not to worry, try the next one. We'll take that one out.

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That's dodgy nails. You did that on purpose, Brian, I know.

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Bit stubborn there. It's not easy, is it? My son will be over the moon.

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He won't believe his eyes when he sees this.

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What are you going to build when it's finished?

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Well, I'd like to build a jet aircraft.

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It's been a privilege being here with Brian

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and his team on the airbase where it all began,

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where the first of the few learnt to fly,

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NAOMI: Inland from the Montrose Basin,

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the landscape begins its sweeping climb

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towards the mighty Grampian Mountains.

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Nestled in the dramatic folds of rock is the Invermark estate -

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but I've come here for a different reason.

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Just like the basin, this too is a haven for wildlife.

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But the animals of Invermark are very different

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I've spent my career documenting wildlife all over the globe.

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but it still has some celebrated species,

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and this is a great place to see them.

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On a good day here you can spot black grouse...

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And with the coming of spring to the glen,

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this SHOULD be the best time to see them.

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But today, the weather is anything but springlike,

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so I may have to search to find them.

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If anyone knows how to locate these animals in the mist,

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it's gamekeeper Andy Malcolm, who now also runs guided tours

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to show off the estate's wild inhabitants.

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Hello, Andy. Hi, Naomi, very pleased to meet you.

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Very nice to meet you, too. Thanks for inviting me to see this place.

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What is it about this area that is so good for wildlife?

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It's a wonderful, big expanse of really pristine ground,

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is show people some of the hidden corners of some of the things

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What really gives me a buzz is when you can take people

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how to work out where they might find these things for themselves.

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What do you think we might see today?

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Shall we get going? Definitely. Great.

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We're heading deep into the glen in search of the local fauna,

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to think Andy has got superhuman eyesight.

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Ooh! I see a little bird fluttering about in the bracken down there.

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I think you've just missed the action. Oh, sorry.

:24:02.:24:08.

That could be the deer up there. Where am I looking?

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'He is eagle-eyed. I need to raise my game.#

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I think you are literally one of the people

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who can read the bottom line of the optician's chart.

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much of the land management here is geared towards this small bird.

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That is basically the bread and butter of the whole estate.

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That's what keeps everything running. And why is that?

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It's a very valuable bird in that people pay

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a lot of money to come and shoot grouse.

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Every year we do if you like a stocktake,

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and when we're sure we've got a sustainable surplus,

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And normally we're only shooting for four or five weeks,

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and then that's us finished for another year.

:25:08.:25:10.

And the money we bring in in that short period

:25:11.:25:12.

is what keeps the estate running for the rest of the year.

:25:13.:25:15.

They are so well camouflaged, aren't they? They have to be.

:25:16.:25:19.

They've got a lot of different predators out looking for them.

:25:20.:25:32.

Back on the road, and Andy's other senses are coming into play.

:25:33.:25:39.

So we'll stop here and we'll just have a listen.

:25:40.:25:42.

BIRDS CHIRP Oystercatcher down there.

:25:43.:25:55.

BIRD CALLS OUT Pheasant.

:25:56.:25:58.

That's a thrush singing behind us here.

:25:59.:26:04.

The weather is really turning against us.

:26:05.:26:25.

So Andy heads for a spot where he reckons some of the wildlife

:26:26.:26:29.

Right, this is a really good spot to have a little nose around.

:26:30.:26:36.

So we're going to get out and have a walk and see what we can see. OK.

:26:37.:26:41.

We brave the elements and continue on foot.

:26:42.:26:44.

I'm really starting to see what makes Andy tick.

:26:45.:26:49.

How long have you been looking after this landscape?

:26:50.:26:52.

Er, I've been here for over 25 years.

:26:53.:26:55.

So I know the ground reasonably well by now.

:26:56.:26:58.

You're obviously extraordinarily passionate

:26:59.:27:01.

Erm, I've always been interested in the countryside.

:27:02.:27:08.

And being in this job, you feel a responsibility for them.

:27:09.:27:12.

And yes, we are looking after our grouse and our deer herd,

:27:13.:27:16.

but the spin-off is that so many other species benefit,

:27:17.:27:19.

and it gives you a real buzz when you see animals

:27:20.:27:22.

and birds flourishing - often, the animals and birds

:27:23.:27:25.

that are struggling in other places -

:27:26.:27:27.

and when they're flourishing on your patch,

:27:28.:27:29.

I'm beginning to give up hope of seeing any more wildlife.

:27:30.:27:37.

Hare! There, hooray! Mountain hare. Just, yeah...

:27:38.:27:42.

Normally, they're an animal that you will see

:27:43.:27:46.

but there's something about this glen that they like.

:27:47.:27:50.

They are an animal that for a while -

:27:51.:27:52.

they really weren't doing so well here

:27:53.:27:56.

and the numbers dropped way, way down.

:27:57.:27:59.

But the numbers really seem to have come up again... Good.

:28:00.:28:04.

..to the point that I can see hundreds in a day.

:28:05.:28:14.

we can't see more than a few metres

:28:15.:28:17.

so I don't think we're going to be seeing much else today.

:28:18.:28:20.

But it has been a real privilege to explore this stunning landscape

:28:21.:28:24.

and to find out a bit more about the animals that call it home.

:28:25.:28:29.

But time for a cup of tea? Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

:28:30.:28:32.

TOM: Earlier, we heard from David Cameron for the Stronger In campaign

:28:33.:28:48.

on why he believes our countryside would be better off IN the EU.

:28:49.:28:55.

I'm back on Boris Johnson's family farm in Exmoor

:28:56.:28:59.

to find out how the Vote Leave campaign

:29:00.:29:02.

see the future of our environment and the UK's fisheries post-Brexit.

:29:03.:29:08.

When it comes to our environment, the Remain camp claim

:29:09.:29:11.

the European Union has been key in passing legislation that has

:29:12.:29:15.

helped protect and clean up the countryside around us.

:29:16.:29:19.

In fact, Boris' own father, Stanley Johnson,

:29:20.:29:23.

was instrumental in the 1992 EU Habitats Directive which protects

:29:24.:29:29.

many wild species, from the humble dormouse to the natterjack toad.

:29:30.:29:35.

Here in Cumbria, Alistair Maltby from the Rivers Trust has

:29:36.:29:39.

concerns about what leaving the EU might mean for our environment.

:29:40.:29:44.

My fear, if we were to leave the EU, is that we might lose

:29:45.:29:48.

some of the protection and some of the aspirations -

:29:49.:29:51.

our future aspirations we have for how we want our rivers to be.

:29:52.:29:55.

EU legislation has led to some of the greatest improvements

:29:56.:29:59.

in water quality and river health that we have seen in a generation.

:30:00.:30:03.

So, if the EU does so much to safeguard our environment,

:30:04.:30:08.

The EU has been a champion and protector of the natural

:30:09.:30:14.

environment of Britain, and if we left, surely that is in peril.

:30:15.:30:19.

I certainly think that the agreements that have been

:30:20.:30:25.

reached at a European level have been valuable for the environment.

:30:26.:30:29.

But the question that you need to ask yourself, Tom...

:30:30.:30:32.

Who wrote them? Your dad wrote a lot of them! A great man.

:30:33.:30:36.

Stanley Johnson was an architect of EU environmental protection,

:30:37.:30:39.

you should be proud of it. I am, I am.

:30:40.:30:41.

But the question you need to ask yourself is,

:30:42.:30:44.

do you need the full apparatus of the European Court of Justice

:30:45.:30:49.

and thousands of regulations coming through,

:30:50.:30:53.

imposed in this top-down one-size-fits-all way,

:30:54.:30:57.

which cannot be deviated from or dissented from in any way?

:30:58.:31:02.

I think that we're... We love our countryside,

:31:03.:31:06.

we love the farming industry in Britain,

:31:07.:31:08.

it's part of our souls, it's part of our character,

:31:09.:31:10.

we are going to want to protect our countryside.

:31:11.:31:14.

I think, by the Attlee government, from memory.

:31:15.:31:18.

This idea of protecting rural Britain is very deep

:31:19.:31:21.

and very dear to us. So that's going to continue.

:31:22.:31:23.

But you know a lot of people in this country care passionately

:31:24.:31:26.

about the natural environment, birds, wildlife... Yeah.

:31:27.:31:30.

..and they believe the EU has done a lot to protect what they care about.

:31:31.:31:34.

there will be the same level of protection?

:31:35.:31:37.

That's very important, because I think people do passionately

:31:38.:31:40.

care about it and they do see that the EU has done a lot of good.

:31:41.:31:43.

But you could do so much of that protection through

:31:44.:31:46.

all sorts of intergovernmental arrangements - which,

:31:47.:31:49.

by the way, non-EU countries in this area already sign up to.

:31:50.:31:54.

So, we'd be in the same position as them, signing up to that level

:31:55.:31:58.

of protection and perhaps even going further where it was necessary.

:31:59.:32:02.

An example of an environmental issue, if you like, where the

:32:03.:32:06.

EU differs from Britain just taking GM crops - if we voted to leave,

:32:07.:32:12.

would we be more likely to see GM crops in our fields?

:32:13.:32:15.

Well, you know, I'm a technological optimist, I am pro

:32:16.:32:19.

where possible, but it would be a matter for the government

:32:20.:32:22.

to decide, but at least we would have that freedom.

:32:23.:32:26.

So it seems both Boris Johnson and David Cameron are pro-GM -

:32:27.:32:31.

but where they differ is on how the decisions around it are made.

:32:32.:32:35.

many believe membership of the EU has destroyed the industry -

:32:36.:32:41.

with its troubled history of sharing our waters, arguments

:32:42.:32:46.

over quotas, and throwing perfectly good fish back into the sea.

:32:47.:32:54.

At Europe's largest fish market, at Peterhead in Aberdeenshire,

:32:55.:32:57.

you'd be hard pressed to find anyone wanting to stay in Europe.

:32:58.:33:01.

the Chief Executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, has concerns

:33:02.:33:07.

about what Brexit might mean for the industry, so he remains undecided.

:33:08.:33:14.

It seems self-evident that recovery of sovereignty and jurisdiction

:33:15.:33:18.

over some of the best fishing grounds in the world

:33:19.:33:21.

would be a good thing, so it looks like a no-brainer.

:33:22.:33:25.

However, what would the UK do with that sovereignty and jurisdiction?

:33:26.:33:29.

when it comes to arguments about resetting everything

:33:30.:33:35.

with our relationship with Europe, and we would be fearful

:33:36.:33:38.

that in a reset, fishing would be used as a bargaining tool.

:33:39.:33:44.

So, how would the fishing industry be viewed by a post-Brexit

:33:45.:33:47.

government, when it came to renegotiating with Europe?

:33:48.:33:52.

It's difficult to paint the EU as a great success on fisheries.

:33:53.:33:56.

I mean, you know, we've got half as many people

:33:57.:34:00.

involved in fishing now as there were when we joined, possibly fewer.

:34:01.:34:05.

And that would be a great thing, take back control of our fish.

:34:06.:34:09.

"but at least fisheries is a powerful lobby in Europe, whereas

:34:10.:34:17.

"it's not in Britain, and if we left the EU, the fisheries would

:34:18.:34:20.

"end up having an even smaller voice in government than they do now."

:34:21.:34:23.

Well, I don't agree with that at all.

:34:24.:34:25.

I've just literally come from Cornwall where, as I say,

:34:26.:34:29.

You know, there's a strong, strong constituency.

:34:30.:34:39.

Look at what's happened to our coastal towns.

:34:40.:34:42.

They are areas, in many cases, where you've seen too much...

:34:43.:34:47.

Bringing back the fishing industry in those areas would be fantastic.

:34:48.:34:52.

But in the last few years, we've begun to turn it around -

:34:53.:34:55.

some stocks are improving, there's been some

:34:56.:34:57.

recovery in the levels of the monetary value coming from fishing.

:34:58.:35:01.

We just abandon the Common Fisheries Policy as it gets it right?

:35:02.:35:05.

You know, my view is that I'm not hostile to our friends

:35:06.:35:11.

I just think we can do it just as well ourselves,

:35:12.:35:15.

and if we managed our waters, some of the rules -

:35:16.:35:17.

fish to manage the quotas - I mean, come on, that's got to be crazy.

:35:18.:35:23.

There's got to be a better way of doing it.

:35:24.:35:28.

So, now we've heard from both sides of the debate

:35:29.:35:30.

This referendum will be keenly felt across our countryside, and is

:35:31.:35:37.

arguably the biggest decision that voters have had to make for decades.

:35:38.:35:43.

Let's go on having a living, working countryside.

:35:44.:35:49.

Being inside the EU helps with that, and so therefore if we love

:35:50.:35:53.

the countryside and we want farmers to succeed, let's stay in.

:35:54.:35:57.

the EU, there is absolutely no reason

:35:58.:36:06.

why our countryside in Britain should not be as beautiful,

:36:07.:36:09.

if not more beautiful and wonderful, than ever before.

:36:10.:36:14.

Whichever way the UK votes on June the 23rd, change to our countryside

:36:15.:36:23.

will be inevitable, but how that change is shaped

:36:24.:36:27.

ANITA: We're a nation of dog lovers, but for Adam, they're more than

:36:28.:36:37.

just a pet - they're part of his working team, too.

:36:38.:36:42.

It takes animals with intelligence to work closely with us,

:36:43.:36:52.

but how can we gauge how smart they really are?

:36:53.:36:55.

One of the things that I love about having a flock of sheep

:36:56.:37:02.

And as far as the sheep are concerned,

:37:03.:37:06.

the dog relates way back to the wolf and is their predator.

:37:07.:37:10.

And as a shepherd, the great skill is understanding the sheep and then

:37:11.:37:14.

positioning the dog in the right place to keep the flock moving.

:37:15.:37:17.

HE WHISTLES Peg here, I would say,

:37:18.:37:19.

is probably one of the most intelligent dogs I've ever had.

:37:20.:37:22.

And that's absolutely essential with a working dog.

:37:23.:37:30.

How we measure how clever a dog is can be difficult.

:37:31.:37:34.

As a farmer, it's important that I understand my animals,

:37:35.:37:37.

so when I discovered dogs' IQ can be tested, I had to find out more.

:37:38.:37:43.

Dr Rosalind Arden is an expert in human intelligence.

:37:44.:37:48.

'But her latest research involves devising an IQ test

:37:49.:37:52.

they're not stressed by working with us, they like it.

:37:53.:38:00.

And they're tractable, they're easy to work with,

:38:01.:38:03.

they're fun, they like doing the tests, and that's really important.

:38:04.:38:06.

We were just trying to see whether, as with people,

:38:07.:38:12.

a dog that's good at one test tends to be reasonably good at another,

:38:13.:38:15.

even if it's a different kind of test.

:38:16.:38:17.

It would also be helpful to know, from when a dog is young,

:38:18.:38:20.

whether it's likely to be more trainable.

:38:21.:38:22.

I've got three dogs - shall we go and put them through their paces?

:38:23.:38:25.

So we've got Peg here, who's an ex-trialling dog.

:38:26.:38:35.

And then Millie, who's also a working sheepdog.

:38:36.:38:37.

But she's just from basic working stock. Sweet little natured dog.

:38:38.:38:41.

And then Boo, who's a Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla,

:38:42.:38:44.

who's a house dog, really. Bit of a bumbling buffoon,

:38:45.:38:46.

but it'll be interesting to see how bright she is. Yes.

:38:47.:38:49.

Shall we try Peg first? Sure. Hi, Boo.

:38:50.:38:54.

We're putting the dogs through a series of five tests.

:38:55.:38:58.

Based on how well each of the dogs does,

:38:59.:39:00.

Rosalind will calculate a score at the end.

:39:01.:39:03.

We've set up this little experiment here where the dog is going to see

:39:04.:39:11.

some food on the other side of a barrier,

:39:12.:39:14.

and we're going to see how long it takes Peg to figure out she

:39:15.:39:18.

has to go around the barrier and not under it to get to the food reward.

:39:19.:39:21.

She'll probably just run off and try round up some sheep. OK!

:39:22.:39:29.

'First up is Peg. I've got high hopes for her.'

:39:30.:39:36.

So she's a bit baffled by the netting. She is.

:39:37.:39:41.

It looks really like a simple test to us, but dogs aren't people.

:39:42.:39:45.

She's gone round it now. There you are. Smart sheepdog.

:39:46.:39:48.

'But how will she compare against her sheepdog rival, Millie?'

:39:49.:39:58.

Oh, it was quicker, wasn't it? She was very quick, you're right.

:39:59.:40:01.

She's also very greedy. I know she loves her food.

:40:02.:40:04.

There she goes, she's got it. That was quick, too, wasn't it? Yes.

:40:05.:40:16.

So Peg, who I thought was going to be the brightest,

:40:17.:40:19.

is actually losing on this task. She's really lagging.

:40:20.:40:21.

I mean, my guess is that Peg maybe is very vigilant

:40:22.:40:24.

in looking around her to see what's going on -

:40:25.:40:26.

it could be that in this slightly less scientific farm setting

:40:27.:40:29.

"let me check around before I actually go straight for the food."

:40:30.:40:34.

That's why we need to do lots of different tests.

:40:35.:40:36.

'but we've added two more barriers to make it slightly harder.

:40:37.:40:56.

'achieved the task in just 12 seconds.

:40:57.:41:01.

'Boo, however, started to show her true colours...'

:41:02.:41:04.

Pretty quick on the stick. THEY LAUGH

:41:05.:41:06.

Rosalind would repeat these tests to get a more scientific result.

:41:07.:41:24.

But for our demonstration, we move onto the next task.

:41:25.:41:32.

So what's this about with the two bowls?

:41:33.:41:35.

We've got two bowls, both with food in,

:41:36.:41:37.

and we're going to see if Peg goes to the bowl that you point out.

:41:38.:41:40.

whether or not she picks up on a human-delivered social cue.

:41:41.:41:57.

You're not allowed that one, I didn't point at that one.

:41:58.:42:02.

'Millie was up next, but got slightly confused by this test.'

:42:03.:42:09.

Naughty dog. HE LAUGHS

:42:10.:42:12.

'Boo, however, had no problem following the human command.'

:42:13.:42:18.

Straight in, that was very quick. There's a good girl.

:42:19.:42:24.

if the dogs can differentiate between quantities.

:42:25.:42:28.

Will they go for the plate with the most food on it?

:42:29.:42:32.

So she went straight for the big one. More is better. Very clever.

:42:33.:42:36.

'but for a dog that sees the world differently, this can be very hard.

:42:37.:42:44.

'Millie just goes straight in for the small portion.'

:42:45.:42:47.

'Boo, however, is not going to miss out on the opportunity to eat more.'

:42:48.:42:54.

'before Rosalind can come up with a meaningful score.'

:42:55.:43:09.

Well, this looks a lot more elaborate, Rosalind. It is.

:43:10.:43:12.

The dog has to get the food from outside,

:43:13.:43:14.

so although, you know, for us, it looks simple,

:43:15.:43:17.

it's not so simple for the dog because she has to realise

:43:18.:43:19.

she has to go backwards and come around to get the food.

:43:20.:43:22.

Shall we see how she does? Yeah. Peg...

:43:23.:43:30.

Oh, she mastered that really quickly.

:43:31.:43:32.

because it's quite a thing to think, "Oh, I've got to go backwards

:43:33.:43:36.

"and then around," so that was not a trivial task for a dog.

:43:37.:43:39.

I'll get Millie. All right, see how SHE does.

:43:40.:43:53.

She was really good at that, wasn't she? Very good for Millie.

:43:54.:43:56.

'Millie pulls back some points on the last test.

:43:57.:44:01.

She was a little bit confused to start off with, wasn't she?

:44:02.:44:20.

She did better than I thought she would do,

:44:21.:44:21.

but she got the hang of it. So where are we with the scores?

:44:22.:44:25.

Well, Peg did best of all with nine points.

:44:26.:44:28.

Millie did middle with seven, and Boo was just behind with six.

:44:29.:44:33.

Well, one thing is, it shows there's variety, that dogs differ

:44:34.:44:38.

from each other in their mental abilities, as we thought they did.

:44:39.:44:42.

And it showed that when we did a bunch of different tests,

:44:43.:44:45.

we found that Peg really sort of came out in front.

:44:46.:44:47.

So although Boo was last, she hasn't got a terribly low IQ, has she?

:44:48.:44:51.

No, she hasn't. And IQ is just one thing,

:44:52.:44:54.

and we love our dogs for lots of different reasons, right?

:44:55.:44:59.

I've discovered how my dogs' skills at different tasks can really vary.

:45:00.:45:08.

The more we can understand a man's best friend,

:45:09.:45:12.

the better we can work together in the future.

:45:13.:45:16.

For information on this dog IQ test, please visit our website.

:45:17.:45:27.

a vast tidal estuary that drains twice a day to reveal huge mudflats.

:45:28.:45:37.

It's a haven for sailors, fishermen and bird-watchers.

:45:38.:45:41.

But at low tide, the mud is 40 feet deep and it can be fatal.

:45:42.:45:49.

Over the years, many visitors have come unstuck - or rather, STUCK.

:45:50.:45:55.

And so, Her Majesty's Coastguard has stepped in.

:45:56.:45:58.

It might seem like a bit of harmless, squelchy mud

:45:59.:46:01.

but, believe me, that is treacherous.

:46:02.:46:05.

But the team here in Montrose have come up with a unique way

:46:06.:46:08.

of rescuing people who get stuck in it.

:46:09.:46:14.

The Montrose Coastguard, led by Ross Greenhill, is one of 50

:46:15.:46:18.

specialist coastguard mud-rescue teams based around the UK coastline.

:46:19.:46:22.

Hello, Ross. Hi, Anita, how are you doing? I'm very well.

:46:23.:46:26.

Lovely to see you. Lovely to see you.

:46:27.:46:28.

Now, the basin, to me, looks absolutely picturesque

:46:29.:46:31.

and beautiful. Just how dangerous is it?

:46:32.:46:34.

It's much more dangerous than it looks.

:46:35.:46:36.

We often think of people getting stuck in mud up to their waists,

:46:37.:46:39.

up to their chest. You don't need to go that far.

:46:40.:46:42.

Literally just above your ankles and you won't be able to move an inch.

:46:43.:46:45.

To enable the rescue teams to move freely without sinking,

:46:46.:46:49.

they use special mud shoes designed to mimic the feet of wading birds.

:46:50.:46:57.

Basically, it spreads out as you put the foot down.

:46:58.:46:59.

And as you lift your foot up, it comes back in again

:47:00.:47:03.

and reduces the vacuum so that you can pop your foot out.

:47:04.:47:05.

Must be a really strange experience walking on the mud in these.

:47:06.:47:09.

Today, the team is staging an emergency exercise

:47:10.:47:13.

that will test these mud shoes to the limit.

:47:14.:47:15.

has volunteered to become stuck in the mud.

:47:16.:47:22.

The more she struggles, the deeper she sinks.

:47:23.:47:27.

I'm all right, I am properly stuck, though...

:47:28.:47:30.

And the tide will soon be racing back in.

:47:31.:47:34.

This exercise replicates the very real dangers of the basin.

:47:35.:47:44.

And it's not even that far out - look how deep she is.

:47:45.:47:49.

She is well and truly stuck. That's serious business.

:47:50.:47:51.

Yeah, it doesn't take very much at all. You all right, Hayley?

:47:52.:47:54.

She says she's all right. That's a lie.

:47:55.:47:59.

We're coming, don't worry, we're on our way.

:48:00.:48:05.

Heels in first, that'll spread the weight out.

:48:06.:48:13.

'And these special shoes really do stop you sinking.

:48:14.:48:17.

'I wonder if this is how a duck feels.'

:48:18.:48:19.

Unfortunately, the smell will only get worse as we go.

:48:20.:48:25.

'The specialist sleds we're pulling are multipurpose.

:48:26.:48:28.

'They carry equipment, they're floating work stations,

:48:29.:48:31.

'and they're also stretchers to carry casualties back to dry land.'

:48:32.:48:36.

It's unlike anything I've ever experienced.

:48:37.:48:43.

This is horrendous. What is this stuff?

:48:44.:48:55.

And then underneath that level, it's sort of like clay.

:48:56.:49:00.

'There's only so much you can do with your bare hands,

:49:01.:49:06.

'so an air lance is used to blast compressed air into the mud.'

:49:07.:49:12.

'And that's the sound of the compressed air

:49:13.:49:20.

'breaking the grip of the mud around Hayley's leg.'

:49:21.:49:23.

'Even with Hayley free, the mud can still kill.

:49:24.:49:38.

'Mud pressure squeezes blood out of the legs, which can cause

:49:39.:49:41.

'life-threatening medical conditions,

:49:42.:49:43.

'so it's vital the casualty is kept horizontal to avoid this.'

:49:44.:49:48.

I know that was a practice, but did you feel quite terrified out there?

:49:49.:50:03.

I did feel quite frightened at one point.

:50:04.:50:06.

The more I was wriggling, the more I was sinking.

:50:07.:50:09.

And only we will know the stench. Absolutely. It's disgusting.

:50:10.:50:13.

Absolutely disgusting. I think we both need a shower. Well done.

:50:14.:50:16.

Well done. Well done, everybody. Thank you. Thanks, guys.

:50:17.:50:19.

I am amazed at how quickly Hayley got stuck in that mud.

:50:20.:50:25.

She sunk. And it's terrifying, it's sticky, it's disgusting,

:50:26.:50:29.

it stinks, but I am so impressed with the coastguard volunteers.

:50:30.:50:33.

The way they got out there, how professional they are

:50:34.:50:36.

and how quickly they managed to get her out of there. I'm amazed.

:50:37.:50:39.

If you've been inspired by the mud-rescue volunteers,

:50:40.:50:56.

then go to the BBC Do Something Great website, do the quiz

:50:57.:50:59.

and you'll get personalised suggestions of volunteering

:51:00.:51:02.

Let's hope you get the weather for it. Here's the forecast.

:51:03.:51:15.

Hello. There is some more warm and rather humid weather to come this

:51:16.:51:24.

week, but first let's take a moment to look back at today. The

:51:25.:51:28.

temperature at Porthmadog in West Wales made 27.8 Celsius, the highest

:51:29.:51:36.

the UK has seen so far this year. The verdict on me from the Met

:51:37.:51:42.

Office, April was cold, but me was warm, and we got to 27.7 in northern

:51:43.:51:49.

Scotland, and me was slightly drier than average. It is the end of the

:51:50.:51:53.

three months which for statistical purposes which make up

:51:54.:51:59.

meteorological spring. This is rainfall, much of England wetter

:52:00.:52:02.

than normal, much of the north and west at or below average rainfall,

:52:03.:52:08.

and with the heat this week, that may explain why the gardens are

:52:09.:52:12.

looking a little drive. And there is not a huge amount of rain in the

:52:13.:52:16.

forecast this week. Your eyes will be drawn to a low pressure in the

:52:17.:52:20.

Atlantic, but that is staying here for now. It can't stay there

:52:21.:52:23.

forever, we will get to that in a moment. Starting with tomorrow,

:52:24.:52:31.

misty low cloud early on the east coast, a few showers heading in

:52:32.:52:35.

through the afternoon. A greater chance of catching a shower tomorrow

:52:36.:52:40.

compared with today. Very warm sunshine around for many of us, but

:52:41.:52:43.

this sunshine influenced by the breeze off the sea. If you get to

:52:44.:52:49.

see some sunshine, it will be pleasant. On Tuesday, a weather

:52:50.:52:54.

disturbance is working East across the UK, so it is on Tuesday there is

:52:55.:52:58.

the greatest chance of catching a thundery downpour. Not everybody

:52:59.:53:05.

will catch one, and there are still warm spells and sunshine. By

:53:06.:53:10.

Wednesday, high-pressure starting to come back in, diminishing the shower

:53:11.:53:14.

potential. There could still be the odd heavy downpour on Wednesday,

:53:15.:53:20.

particularly across western parts. The arrows indicate the breeze off

:53:21.:53:25.

the sea, and still the range of temperatures. By Thursday,

:53:26.:53:32.

high-pressure is right across us, the brightest day of the week. You

:53:33.:53:38.

can see the flow of air around that area of high pressure. And now we

:53:39.:53:44.

get to Friday, and we are beginning to look to the West. That low

:53:45.:53:49.

pressure in the Atlantic starting to push the whether our way. Whenever

:53:50.:53:54.

you break down from high pressure to low pressure, there is a lot of

:53:55.:53:57.

uncertainty as to when that will happen, so Friday may not look like

:53:58.:54:04.

this. These are the main headlines for this week, though. Warm and

:54:05.:54:09.

humid with the exception of the cooler North Sea coasts. A few

:54:10.:54:14.

showers or thunderstorms in the first half of the week. Pollen looks

:54:15.:54:19.

likely to be high this week, and the grass pollen is starting to ramp up.

:54:20.:54:26.

Now I want to show you the jet stream, then next weekend on the

:54:27.:54:29.

following week, more active, stronger across the Atlantic. This

:54:30.:54:34.

will take those areas of low pressure and push them across the

:54:35.:54:39.

UK. Wetter, rain to the garden, windy and a little cooler,

:54:40.:54:51.

MATT: We're exploring the stunning Montrose Basin.

:54:52.:54:56.

It's not just the aircraft of the local historic airbase

:54:57.:55:10.

that benefited from a soft, sandy landing.

:55:11.:55:13.

It also takes the sting out of rugby, too.

:55:14.:55:15.

Just behind Montrose Beach and dunes is the town's rugby club.

:55:16.:55:23.

And they've come up with an ingenious way of getting

:55:24.:55:25.

Britain's newest sport has arrived in Montrose.

:55:26.:55:30.

It's a sport that's aimed at everybody, young and old,

:55:31.:55:34.

And I'm just enjoying watching Scotland's first team.

:55:35.:55:41.

That's why they're playing against themselves.

:55:42.:55:47.

Walking rugby - the clue's in the name.

:55:48.:55:49.

It has no running, and there's no tackling. You can only intercept.

:55:50.:55:56.

Helping spread the word about walking rugby is Willie Officer,

:55:57.:55:59.

Willie's also a farmer, with 1,000 acres of potatoes

:56:00.:56:05.

and flower bulbs, six miles north of Montrose.

:56:06.:56:10.

Walking rugby helps him keep fit for the farm.

:56:11.:56:14.

Tell you what, you've got good numbers here, haven't you?

:56:15.:56:17.

It's a Friday afternoon but people are having a good day,

:56:18.:56:21.

Some grandparents here, some right down to some of the younger kids.

:56:22.:56:27.

So how do you win as a team, what's the idea of the game?

:56:28.:56:30.

At the end of the day, we just need to get the ball over the line.

:56:31.:56:33.

Just exactly the same as the full game.

:56:34.:56:36.

It's very difficult, actually, to try and control,

:56:37.:56:38.

Because that's your natural instinct, to want to run

:56:39.:56:41.

when you've got the ball. Right, let's do this.

:56:42.:56:44.

OK, so we're going to play on the non-bib team. OK. Hello, everybody.

:56:45.:56:47.

'Well, a very, very warm welcome to Montrose Park

:56:48.:56:51.

'Newest signing Matt Baker is getting his first taste

:56:52.:56:58.

'They know the rules - hold on to the ball for no more than three

:56:59.:57:04.

'seconds and absolutely no running. Good self-discipline.'

:57:05.:57:08.

'Close teamwork - that's the key to getting that ball over the line.'

:57:09.:57:15.

'Oh, what about that, he's been sin-binned! Baker's gone.'

:57:16.:57:21.

Do you know what? It's such good fun, there's a wonderful sense

:57:22.:57:24.

of community here which, at the heart, that's exactly what rugby is.

:57:25.:57:27.

And there's camaraderie there, and you don't half have a good workout.

:57:28.:57:32.

'Well, what about this for a shock move?

:57:33.:57:33.

'Nobody expected the Montrose Bibs to introduce their latest signing.

:57:34.:57:37.

Come on, how hard can this be? Walking rugby...

:57:38.:57:44.

'Baker's really going to have to up his game here.'

:57:45.:57:47.

Right, what do I do? Head down and pace. Ready?

:57:48.:57:50.

I don't know what he did, but it was cheating. That's how you do it.

:57:51.:58:02.

Look at this! Pass it, pass it... Oh, this is too tempting.

:58:03.:58:06.

Excuse me, Morgan, I'm going in. Wahey!

:58:07.:58:09.

Next week, we're going to be in Hampshire,

:58:10.:58:11.

where I'm following in the footsteps of some old smugglers.

:58:12.:58:14.

And I'll be celebrating British Flowers Week,

:58:15.:58:16.

hopefully on my own two feet. This is a foul, Matt Baker!

:58:17.:58:20.

I've got the ball! See you next week! See you!

:58:21.:58:30.

Now, there's no Countryfile next Sunday.

:58:31.:58:32.

Instead, we're on at 7:30 on Wednesday. That's the 15th of June.

:58:33.:58:38.

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