0:00:30 > 0:00:34The Peak District, where lofty tors and rolling moors
0:00:34 > 0:00:37shelter the dales from the brunt of nature's elements.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44But over the centuries, these moors have suffered terrible damage,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47and I'm going to be meeting the team whose mission it is to
0:00:47 > 0:00:51restore this landscape back to its former glory.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Ellie's meeting a photographer who's harking back to a golden age.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I thought it would be interesting to shoot contemporary climbing
0:00:58 > 0:01:01with the camera that was there from the birth of the sport.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Tom's looking into poor mobile phone and broadband services
0:01:05 > 0:01:06in rural areas.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12It's just so frustrating that society is geared to the assumption
0:01:12 > 0:01:17we've all got very good broadband and mobile signal, and we haven't.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19And in Adam's final film from New Zealand,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23he's meeting an inspirational farmer.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26I said to Ian, "Shall I go back and get the buggy?" And he said,
0:01:26 > 0:01:28"No, no, I'll go. I'll just run down."
0:01:28 > 0:01:30And he literally meant "run down".
0:01:30 > 0:01:33He's headed off downhill like a mountain goat.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35This guy's 78, it's quite remarkable.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58I'm in the Peak District, near the summit of Snake Pass.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04These vast, wild moorlands make a stark midwinter snowscape.
0:02:09 > 0:02:15Sculpted by penetrating icy winds, it's bleak and bitterly cold.
0:02:15 > 0:02:16But glaringly beautiful.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22For the people of Manchester and Sheffield,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25this is a popular place to get out onto the tops,
0:02:25 > 0:02:30but if I can just make my way down here, I can show you that
0:02:30 > 0:02:34gullies like this are a symptom of catastrophic damage.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40These aren't the best conditions to see it, but in many areas,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43the plant that built these moors is missing.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Killed off by centuries of pollution and acid rain
0:02:45 > 0:02:49blown over the moors from the neighbouring industrial powerhouses.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Now, this whole area should be covered in
0:02:54 > 0:02:58a lovely rich green carpet of this stuff.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00Sphagnum moss.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05But if I just dig down a couple of feet into this snow...
0:03:07 > 0:03:10..you'll see that all that's here...
0:03:14 > 0:03:15..is bare peat.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25The hills of the South Pennines were once covered with sphagnum moss.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Over thousands of years, it's decayed to form
0:03:28 > 0:03:30a deep layer of peat.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33But with the top layer of sphagnum moss gone,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36that peat's been exposed to the erosive forces of nature.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Heavy rain carves up the landscape, flowing rapidly down eroded gullies
0:03:44 > 0:03:48into the valleys below. Sometimes with disastrous consequences.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57These photographs of a family on the same trig point clearly show how
0:03:57 > 0:04:00much peat was washed away in just 27 years.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Now an ambitious restoration project called MoorLIFE is underway,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09to reintroduce this tiny, but significant,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13plant to the whole of the South Pennines.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18'Conservationist Brendan Wittram explains why this work is so vital.'
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Sphagnum has multiple benefits.
0:04:20 > 0:04:21In the first instance,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24the sphagnum is the building block of the peat that's up in the
0:04:24 > 0:04:28uplands. It also has amazing properties for water quality,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32for natural flood risk management, for biodiversity.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36The gaps in the ear provide a great habitat for invertebrates to
0:04:36 > 0:04:38thrive, which then provide the food for the chicks that then
0:04:38 > 0:04:41breed and grow on the moors.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Sphagnum's good for other plant life, too,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48providing a foothold for cotton grass, cranberry,
0:04:48 > 0:04:49cloudberry and other moorland berries
0:04:49 > 0:04:52that feed the local wildlife.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56But it's the ability of sphagnum to absorb and filter rainwater
0:04:56 > 0:04:57that's most impressive.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04So this is what happens when it rains on an exposed peat.
0:05:04 > 0:05:05So, as you can see,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08the impact of the rain is washing the peat off the hills.
0:05:08 > 0:05:09I mean, look at that,
0:05:09 > 0:05:14it's a very small quantity of water, and producing a lot of sludge.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Where there's bare peat,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18we lose two centimetres a year through erosion.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20All that goes into the reservoirs.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22The water companies pay to clean that.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25OK, moving on to this other tray, then, that's got exactly the
0:05:25 > 0:05:28same kind of peat bottom, but with this sphagnum moss top.
0:05:30 > 0:05:31And there's the result.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34So the revegetation has a massive impact in holding the water
0:05:34 > 0:05:38up on the hills, slowing the flow, reducing the erosive forces.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41And in the experiments, we've found it will actually reduce the
0:05:41 > 0:05:44amount of peat that's been washed off by up to 90%.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46You can see, even at the bottom there,
0:05:46 > 0:05:48the water that's running out is actually pretty clear.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50It's clean, yes.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53So that's why the water companies invest so much in our works,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55because they see the benefits of it.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59In the first five years of the MoorLIFE project,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02more than 6,000 acres were restored.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06This required 1.5 billion sphagnum plants.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16But where do you get 1.5 billion sphagnum plants from,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19and how on earth do you go about spreading them across an area as
0:06:19 > 0:06:21vast as this?
0:06:22 > 0:06:25The answer was to go micro.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Matt Barney explains.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30We were able to take a tiny amount of source material that we
0:06:30 > 0:06:33actually found out here on the moor, and from that,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35back at our laboratory in Leicestershire,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37we were able to bulk that up through a process called
0:06:37 > 0:06:38micro-propagation.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Which is plant tissue culture, it's effectively cloning.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44We've been able to come up with these unique products.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46They're kind of right inside these little beads, then?
0:06:46 > 0:06:49They are indeed, yes. And each bead, we've got multiple varieties
0:06:49 > 0:06:52of sphagnum. There can be up to 15 different species of sphagnum
0:06:52 > 0:06:54in each bead.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57OK, so that's this bucket. What about this stuff in here?
0:06:57 > 0:07:02This product here, they are slightly larger sphagnum plantlets.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05And so with this, we're able to spread this in environments where
0:07:05 > 0:07:09the conditions are slightly better, and you get a faster growth rate.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12So with this stuff, then, does it just lay on the top and then when
0:07:12 > 0:07:15it rains and what have you, that's what washes it down into the peat?
0:07:15 > 0:07:16Absolutely.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19So the best place to put this is where's there's a nice, damp
0:07:19 > 0:07:22environment, where the sphagnum can really thrive and take off
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- and flourish.- Do you expect this stuff, in hundreds and hundreds and
0:07:25 > 0:07:30hundreds of years' time, still to be producing new peat?
0:07:30 > 0:07:32I expect this, once the sphagnum establishes,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34to be producing peat within five years.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40At first, the beads were spread by helicopter,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42but it was too hit and miss.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47Now, specially adapted kit means the moss can be distributed evenly.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Right, let's go spreading.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52'Mine blows beads.'
0:07:52 > 0:07:54So there's my throttle.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59OK, when do I start squirting beans out, and how?
0:07:59 > 0:08:03- I think you're firing. You're going.- Am I?- Yeah, yeah.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05- Oh, I didn't realise, sorry. - You squirted the cameraman!
0:08:05 > 0:08:09I'm actually firing at you without even realising. Oh!
0:08:09 > 0:08:13'And Brendan has a contraption that drops blobs of slime.'
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Is it a good idea that we're doing this in quite deep drifting snow?
0:08:17 > 0:08:20This is not the ideal conditions to apply it, you would look
0:08:20 > 0:08:22for much warmer weather, but, you know, we'll give it a go.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25All right, then. Let's go for a walk.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Right, my spreader's empty and my wellies are full of snow.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Time to call it a day, I think.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Now, parts of the Peak District, like many other rural areas across
0:08:49 > 0:08:53the UK, have no broadband or even a mobile phone signal.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56But is there hope on the horizon? Here's Tom.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08Just a few miles down the road from Matt, I'm in Hathersage.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13Not so long ago in many of our towns and villages, the everyday
0:09:13 > 0:09:17services were quite literally built in, and with some grandeur.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22Need to go to the bank? Just pop down the high street. But now...
0:09:22 > 0:09:27it's closed. And the Post Office there shut just a few months ago.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31The expectation is that we can do so many of these things online.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38The trouble is that for 1.4 million homes and businesses in the UK,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41the internet is unreliable or non-existent.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43These are the so-called "not spots",
0:09:43 > 0:09:46and most of them are in the countryside.
0:09:46 > 0:09:47You'd think, in the modern world,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50you could just get on the internet on your smartphone,
0:09:50 > 0:09:55but many internet "not spots" also have no mobile phone signal.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Just experiencing some of the frustration that's all too
0:09:58 > 0:10:03regular on Countryfile. Pulled over to make a call here - no signal.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06And I've just noticed that a few e-mails I tried to send from
0:10:06 > 0:10:11the rural pub down the way last night didn't go then,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and they're still not sending today.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Kind of winds you up after a while.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19I'm visiting Robert and Sarah Helliwell.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Their beef and sheep farm in the Peak District is on the edge of
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Edale village. And it's a "not spot",
0:10:25 > 0:10:28with broadband often as slow as old-fashioned dial-up.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34- So, Sarah, Robert, how is the signal doing this morning?- Not brilliant.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38No, I got up early this morning to do the VAT returns and there was
0:10:38 > 0:10:42no signal, so I've completed my VAT here, but I haven't sent it off yet.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44But the other thing is, I couldn't get on to look at my bank
0:10:44 > 0:10:48details either because online banking and things like that.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51It's not just the farm paperwork that's a problem,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Sarah needs online access for her work as an NVQ assessor,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58and they run a small campsite.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00People expect to be able to book online,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03and if there's a delay in our response because we haven't
0:11:03 > 0:11:06got e-mails, they've generally gone elsewhere.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10- If you can't get internet here, what do you do?- I get really cross.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11And after that?
0:11:11 > 0:11:13And after that, I go and find a friend,
0:11:13 > 0:11:15or I go and sit in a supermarket... on the way home.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19- You literally go roam the valleys trying to find a signal?- Yes, yes.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21What about the mobile signal?
0:11:21 > 0:11:23If you go across the field and you're on the right network,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25you can get one or two bars.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28That is quite an issue with campers who come expecting to be able
0:11:28 > 0:11:31to get Wi-Fi, e-mails, 4G.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35It's hard to describe how exasperating it is on occasions.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39I had an incident the other day where I picked up an e-mail that was
0:11:39 > 0:11:43sent three days ago and they were expecting an answer the next day.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Where that had been, goodness only knows,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47but it didn't get through to me.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49And when you've got a problem, you ring the support lines,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and they say, "Well, go to our website," and...
0:11:53 > 0:11:55you can't. They just can't seem to grasp the fact
0:11:55 > 0:11:59that you can't use their support that's web-based.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Do you feel like you're living in a different world from those people?
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Sometimes. It's just so frustrating that society
0:12:06 > 0:12:09is geared to the assumption
0:12:09 > 0:12:12that we've all got very good broadband and mobile signal,
0:12:12 > 0:12:13and we haven't.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20It's not just remote homes like the Helliwells'.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23In huge areas of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,
0:12:23 > 0:12:27more than one in ten premises can't get acceptable broadband.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31And there are so many other pockets of "not spots" across the UK,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35no-one has mapped them all.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36But they're easy to find.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39This is Wigginton, just 15 miles from Birmingham.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43The broadband here barely works at all.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46With rural areas most affected, it's often farmers who suffer.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50I'm meeting Suzanne Clear from the National Farmers' Union,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53which is campaigning for change.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55When you've been doing your survey, and it's not just about facts and
0:12:55 > 0:12:59figures, what have the farmers told you about how they feel about this?
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Farmers are incredibly frustrated.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04They go out of their way to pay extra to get lines,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08they offer to dig trenches, they get involved with community groups.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11So there's a lot of frustration about the additional cost and
0:13:11 > 0:13:14time they end up wasting because they're not connected.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Why is it so important that farms and other rural businesses
0:13:17 > 0:13:18have good internet?
0:13:18 > 0:13:21We find that it's for business needs, for environmental permits,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24for doing the wages, but also for productive agriculture.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27There's some really good productivity gains if you've
0:13:27 > 0:13:30got the best use of broadband and mobile phone coverage.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Do farmers think the blame for this lies mainly with the
0:13:32 > 0:13:37government, or also with the phone companies, BT, the mobile operators?
0:13:37 > 0:13:40To be honest with you, farmers get frustrated with both, but at the
0:13:40 > 0:13:44end of the day, they want a reliable broadband and mobile phone signal.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47They don't really worry so much about where it comes from and
0:13:47 > 0:13:50who provides it, they just need to be able to do their job.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55Without mobile phones and broadband, farmers and everyone else living
0:13:55 > 0:14:00in or visiting these "not spots" are genuinely disadvantaged.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04So, what's being done?
0:14:04 > 0:14:09Well, in 1840, the UK introduced the Penny Post, the world's first
0:14:09 > 0:14:15universal service obligation with a promise to deliver and collect.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17And currently, Parliament is discussing
0:14:17 > 0:14:20a similar idea for broadband.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23A promise to provide everyone with a good service.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Too good to be true? Join me later in the programme.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36The majestic, brooding Peak District.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44With its rocky crags and gritstone edges, it's climbing country.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55The gritstone escarpment here at Stanage Edge
0:14:55 > 0:14:57is a climber's dream.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01People come from all over the world to test their skills against
0:15:01 > 0:15:03its daunting facade.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11And that makes it the perfect setting for award-winning
0:15:11 > 0:15:15photographer Henry Iddon to capture the final images for his outdoor
0:15:15 > 0:15:17sports exhibition.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Ah, what a beautiful camera, Henry, look at this.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25- So, modern tripod, old camera. Tell me about this part.- That's right.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29Well, the camera was owned and used by the Abraham brothers of Keswick.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32And they were the first to sort of pioneer rock climbing
0:15:32 > 0:15:36photography in Britain around the sort of late 1800s and around 1910.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38This was their actual camera?
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Yeah, this was one of their cameras that they'd have used, yeah.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43Why would you use something like this rather than a digital camera?
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Well, I've photographed action sports and mountain sports
0:15:46 > 0:15:51for nearly 20 years and I'm always looking for new ways to do it,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53so I thought it'd be interesting to shoot contemporary climbing
0:15:53 > 0:15:56with a camera that was there from the birth of the sport, really.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59- How does this work, then? Show me around.- Quite simple, really,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02it's just a box with a hole at the front where the lens would go,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05then there's the bellows, which allow you to focus,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08then at the back of the camera is the plate where you would
0:16:08 > 0:16:10capture the light.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12- So there's a lens... - The lens goes on, yeah.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15The lens itself is older than the camera.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18The lens was made in London around 1870.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21And what's the difference with the images that you'll get from this
0:16:21 > 0:16:23compared to what you'd get digitally?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26The lens and the camera give a real lovely feel to an image.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30Whereas now someone might take a photograph on a telephone,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33and they'll use filters to give a vintage look or feel.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36All they're trying to do is replicate what the camera does.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39So this is the authentic look and feel without having to rely
0:16:39 > 0:16:42- on technology or an app.- Yeah.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45'Today, Henry is here to photograph a portrait
0:16:45 > 0:16:49'of bouldering world number one Shauna Coxsey.'
0:16:49 > 0:16:51I'll just focus.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- Looks amazing against that boulder, doesn't it?- That's nice, yeah.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57- Happy with that?- That's good. - It's going well?
0:16:57 > 0:16:59If you keep perfectly still just while we get the dark slides ready,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01don't move an inch.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Pass me the dark slide, Ellie.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07This is what contains the film.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Slot that into the back of the camera and that's great,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12- just need to take the shot now. - This is the moment of truth,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14in which case you need to concentrate. I'll leave you to it.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16- Good talking to you.- OK.- All right.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26'The plan was for me to have a go at bouldering - which is
0:17:26 > 0:17:29'a climbing discipline without ropes -
0:17:29 > 0:17:30'but it's not looking great.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35'Let's see what instructor Claire thinks my chances are.'
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Basically none. It's really, really wet and you can't climb on this rock
0:17:38 > 0:17:41when it's wet because of the erosion. And you can see here...
0:17:41 > 0:17:43These paler patches here?
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Yeah, where it's been climbed on when it's been slightly damp
0:17:46 > 0:17:49and it just erodes the top layer away and then as soon as this
0:17:49 > 0:17:52top layer's gone, you can see it's a lot paler underneath -
0:17:52 > 0:17:53that's a lot softer.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55And then it's just going to keep eroding and keep eroding
0:17:55 > 0:17:57and then it can't be climbed on any more.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01So more worried about the health of the rock than my own safety?
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Pretty much, yes, it is all about looking after the rock.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07- And I wore my jazzy leggings especially.- They are amazing
0:18:07 > 0:18:09but I'm sorry they're not going to get a chance to get on the rock.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12There is a reason why I'm wearing these, I wouldn't normally.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21I can't go bouldering today but that's OK because I'm meeting
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Shauna Coxsey to find out about her love of the sport.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28What was it that first got you into climbing?
0:18:28 > 0:18:31I started climbing at the age of four,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34after seeing a lady free climbing without ropes on the TV.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37And your family were supportive of that, even though you were
0:18:37 > 0:18:38so young when you decided to do it?
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Yeah, my family were incredibly supportive.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Why did you decide to do bouldering rather than climbing with ropes?
0:18:43 > 0:18:46I always climbed with ropes and also bouldered as well,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49I kind of did both and then it was in my teens
0:18:49 > 0:18:51I decided to predominantly boulder.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54I just found it to be less faff, really, you don't need anyone else
0:18:54 > 0:18:57to do it, you don't need any ropes and it's much more free,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00it's easier to do on your own and when you're actually on the wall
0:19:00 > 0:19:01it's just you and the wall.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05You're incredibly young, early 20s, and you've got the World Cup title,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07you're the best female in the world,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10and an MBE - where do you go from here? What's next?
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Our sport's just been accepted into the Olympics so that's
0:19:12 > 0:19:15a very exciting opportunity and, yeah, something that I didn't think
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I'd see in my career, like climbing as part of the Olympic Games.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21- Team GB, then.- Yeah, hopefully. - That'd be amazing.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23- I can't believe I missed the opportunity...- Sorry.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- ..to get a bit of coaching by the world number one.- Not great weather.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29But there is a snow storm going on so we better duck out of this.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39I'm in the middle of gritstone bouldering country and the weather
0:19:39 > 0:19:42has hampered my plans. But this is about the extent of the bouldering
0:19:42 > 0:19:44I'm going to get to do today.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Up I go. There we go.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49I've made it! Right, I'm ready, Henry.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Now it's time for our winter warmer.
0:20:02 > 0:20:03Late last summer,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07we asked some well-known faces, from DJs to comedians...
0:20:07 > 0:20:10It's a seal. False alarm, everyone, it was a seal.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12..chefs to singers...
0:20:12 > 0:20:14# My old man
0:20:14 > 0:20:16# Said follow the van. #
0:20:16 > 0:20:21..which part of our magnificent countryside was special to them.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29This week, radio DJ Edith Bowman returns home to the rugged
0:20:29 > 0:20:32coastline of the East Neuk of Fife.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45I grew up in a little fishing village called Anstruther,
0:20:45 > 0:20:47which is on the east coast of Scotland.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55When I was a teenager, I felt very differently about this place
0:20:55 > 0:20:59than I do now. I...probably hated it.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I couldn't wait to get out.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04I left to go to university in Edinburgh.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08I kind of did that gradual thing of going from the little village
0:21:08 > 0:21:11to the kind of bigger city but then to the biggest city - London.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15So I think the further away I got from it the more I crossed that line
0:21:15 > 0:21:18into missing it and loving it and needing it.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Everything's kind of all right when I come back here,
0:21:25 > 0:21:29just inhale that sea air and see this landscape, which is...
0:21:29 > 0:21:32You know, it's not typically picturesque and kind of
0:21:32 > 0:21:37postcard-pretty - it's rugged, it's real,
0:21:37 > 0:21:42it's angry - the waves and the sea's angry when it's like this, but I...
0:21:42 > 0:21:45I love it. I could just stare out there for hours.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51It does remind me of things like Wuthering Heights, you know,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54and I think the landscape's really kind of like that,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56it's got this real kind of character about it.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07There's always been cameras in our house,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09we were encouraged to take pictures as kids.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15But then it was only really when I was at Radio 1 and I saw this
0:22:15 > 0:22:20great opportunity to take pictures of bands and things like that,
0:22:20 > 0:22:22and it became more than a hobby.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25And then I went back to college to do a night course.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29I had to do a little project on landscapes.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35I was terrified cos all I'd really done up to that point was faces,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39was bands, you know, but the first place I thought of when I was
0:22:39 > 0:22:42asked to do a project on landscapes was here.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45There's so much that you can photograph,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49be it the rock formations and every step you take it's different.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53It just really opened my eyes to being able to see what was
0:22:53 > 0:22:56around me and to acknowledge what's around me and capture
0:22:56 > 0:22:57what's around me as well.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06And so these buildings, a lot of them were salt houses.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10So, it would be where the coal was brought to burn
0:23:10 > 0:23:12the sea water to make salt.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18You know, when the industry was no more,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21these buildings are the only thing that remains.
0:23:22 > 0:23:27I love photographing things like this cos you can use the natural
0:23:27 > 0:23:29parts of it, like the window frames.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32There are little bits of history ingrained in the rock
0:23:32 > 0:23:34and in the stone and the foundations.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Every little village has a harbour.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49And every harbour at one point was thriving.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54This is Pittenweem Harbour.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57I spent a lot of time here as a kid growing up.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59There's a lot of history with my family here.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02My dad grew up in a house just over the other side of the fish market
0:24:02 > 0:24:05and, you know, it's where he spent his childhood.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08My great-grandfather used to mend nets and we've got the most
0:24:08 > 0:24:11brilliant pictures of him mending these nets.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15My Uncle Brian as well,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18he was a fisherman and we used to go
0:24:18 > 0:24:20out on the boat with him all the time and, you know,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23bring home fresh lobsters and crabs and eat them straightaway.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27I've got this real...
0:24:27 > 0:24:31want to document this place through my photography.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34There's some people I know still work in that industry and are
0:24:34 > 0:24:36still keeping it going.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57I have so much respect for... especially the men and women
0:24:57 > 0:25:00who are still involved in the fishing industry round this coast
0:25:00 > 0:25:04because it's not an easy life, it's brutal out there.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13This is May Island and it's the most bonkers and brilliant little island
0:25:13 > 0:25:17with these natural statues that have risen from the sea,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20it's beautiful and scary.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Fishing was such a thriving industry here.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36And it's part of my family history as well
0:25:36 > 0:25:40and so I'm intrigued by that and I'm intrigued by, you know,
0:25:40 > 0:25:46people still living here and being here and making their life here,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50having more courage to stay here than I did.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Is this the last one?
0:25:53 > 0:25:55OK, this is good.
0:26:07 > 0:26:08I loved that.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11It reminded me of being out in the boat with my Uncle Brian,
0:26:11 > 0:26:16before he passed away, which is just the loveliest memories of him.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22It really confirms that respect I have for people I know who still
0:26:22 > 0:26:25live here and people who are trying to keep these industries,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28that are so connected to the area, alive.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34This place is home.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38It always has been and it always will be, to be honest.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43I still find things that I've never seen before or I look at things
0:26:43 > 0:26:47and I see them in a different way than I did before.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55I would hope that I never take it for granted ever again.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Our countryside is being left behind
0:27:04 > 0:27:07in the mobile phone and broadband revolution.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11But now the government's planning a Universal Service Obligation -
0:27:11 > 0:27:15the right to have decent broadband wherever you are.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16Here's Tom.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Nearly 1.5 million homes and businesses have poor
0:27:21 > 0:27:23or no broadband,
0:27:23 > 0:27:27and many of them also have very patchy mobile phone signal.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Most of these so-called "not spots" are in the countryside and they're
0:27:31 > 0:27:36having a very real social and economic impact.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39But country folk are a resourceful lot.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Gary makes wrought-iron plant supports at Kingsley Moor
0:27:42 > 0:27:44in Staffordshire.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48He was struggling with internet sales because of slow broadband,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51then he discovered a wireless solution, using microwaves
0:27:51 > 0:27:54instead of cables.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58I'd never heard of it before, so didn't know what to expect,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00didn't hold out a lot of hope for it,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03but we went with it and it's proved to be a major success for us.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06- So how does it work? - I don't really know,
0:28:06 > 0:28:08I just know that we've got a dish on the house,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12like a small satellite dish, there's a radio mast which is about
0:28:12 > 0:28:15six miles as the crow flies from here,
0:28:15 > 0:28:19- and it works between the two. - What has it meant for the business?
0:28:19 > 0:28:22I can contact courier companies, I can dispatch my products,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25I can deal with customers, I can process orders.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28So you often hear the story of rural businesses struggling with
0:28:28 > 0:28:30really poor broadband - what do you make of that?
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Well, I don't think we should have to deal with that sort of problem
0:28:33 > 0:28:37in this day and age, I just think let's get the basics right.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39If there's a way of doing it wirelessly,
0:28:39 > 0:28:41why don't we do it wirelessly?
0:28:44 > 0:28:48The solution here is a great example of creative technical thinking
0:28:48 > 0:28:50but it does have limitations.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52Today, when it's snowy,
0:28:52 > 0:28:56the signal from the mast isn't getting through very well.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59And his neighbours, some of them don't get it at all because that
0:28:59 > 0:29:03line of trees just blocks the signal.
0:29:03 > 0:29:04And that's the problem.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08In rural areas there's no one-size-fits-all solution.
0:29:08 > 0:29:13The Helliwell family I met earlier don't have line of sight to a mast,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16so microwave broadband wouldn't work for them.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21But Parliament is discussing a new law promising broadband for all,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24a modern-day Universal Service Obligation.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28Karen Bradley is the Secretary of State responsible.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31So what does that Universal Service Obligation actually mean for
0:29:31 > 0:29:34the family that we met earlier who's really struggling
0:29:34 > 0:29:37in a fairly remote part of Derbyshire?
0:29:37 > 0:29:41It's a right to demand a minimum of ten megabits.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46And everybody in the country will have the right to demand that
0:29:46 > 0:29:49- by 2020.- Not quite sure what the "right to demand" means.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53Will they be guaranteed decent broadband?
0:29:53 > 0:29:57The USO is that backstop that says if there's no other options
0:29:57 > 0:30:02then a minimum of ten megabits can be available for the home
0:30:02 > 0:30:05by 2020 at demand of the homeowner.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07And who will fund that in those difficult to reach places?
0:30:07 > 0:30:10It'll be funded with a combination of government money,
0:30:10 > 0:30:12commercial providers' money,
0:30:12 > 0:30:16but there is a possibility there will be some funding required from
0:30:16 > 0:30:17the homeowner - in much the same way
0:30:17 > 0:30:20as there is for telephone lines today.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Travelling across the UK for Countryfile, I'm constantly
0:30:24 > 0:30:27aware of patchy rural mobile phone coverage,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30so what's the government doing about that?
0:30:30 > 0:30:32There's a long way to go.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35I make no bones about the fact that progress still needs to be made
0:30:35 > 0:30:37and that's why we have set the challenge to the mobile phone
0:30:37 > 0:30:41operators that by the end of this year, they have to have achieved
0:30:41 > 0:30:47at least 90% coverage of mobile signal across the whole geography.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50So that's not premises, that is across the geography,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52meaning that there will be parts of the country that today
0:30:52 > 0:30:55don't have mobile coverage that will do by the end of the year.
0:30:57 > 0:31:02There's no doubt that broadband and phone not-spots are shrinking
0:31:02 > 0:31:05but those promises on mobile coverage still leaves
0:31:05 > 0:31:07swathes of the countryside with nothing.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11And is a legal right to demand broadband quite the same
0:31:11 > 0:31:14thing as a promise that you will get it?
0:31:15 > 0:31:212017 may prove to deliver a step change in rural digital access,
0:31:21 > 0:31:25with pledges that 90% of the landmass will get phone signal
0:31:25 > 0:31:28and legislation for universal broadband.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32But country dwellers have had promises before and are still
0:31:32 > 0:31:37waiting for access to truly 21st century communications.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45Now Adam's continuing his incredible journey in New Zealand.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50This week, in the final part of this special series,
0:31:50 > 0:31:52he's visiting an inspirational character with a lifetime
0:31:52 > 0:31:56of experience farming on the other side of the world.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08I first visited New Zealand 30 years ago.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13Its spectacular scenery is what drew me here but, most of all, I wanted
0:32:13 > 0:32:17to experience what New Zealanders do best - farming.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22This is a classic New Zealand scene - vast mountains,
0:32:22 > 0:32:26grazing livestock on lush pastures that go on forever.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28It's absolutely remarkable.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31What a wonderful place to live and work.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41I'm visiting a farm on the east coast of North Island
0:32:41 > 0:32:42at Hawke's Bay.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47Te Wae Wae is a spectacular farm located on the edge of the beautiful
0:32:47 > 0:32:52Mohaka River, a fine example of the North Island's rich farmland.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57It might look stunning but this terrain is unforgiving
0:32:57 > 0:33:00and challenging at the best of times.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02A lot of this farm
0:33:02 > 0:33:04is only accessible by foot.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07So you've gotta be fit to work here.
0:33:09 > 0:33:11I'm getting out of breath. Come on, Adam.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15In 1967, at the age of 27,
0:33:15 > 0:33:20Ian Brickell purchased his first farm with his wife, Carolyn.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24What's remarkable is, at the age of 78, Ian still farms this
0:33:24 > 0:33:27remote location that's an hour off the beaten track.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30Hi, Ian.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32- Good to see you. - I'm pleased to meet you, Adam.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34Goodness me, you're a tough man to find.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37I was coming all the way through the forest and I thought I was lost
0:33:37 > 0:33:40and then got to your farm in what a remote spot, it's remarkable.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43It is remote, I agree, but that's the way I like it.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47And you're 78, how do you manage farming here?
0:33:47 > 0:33:51I honestly believe that you grow unfit more than you grow old.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53As long as you can keep your fitness and obviously if you've got
0:33:53 > 0:33:57good health, then, yeah, you just keep going.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00So what are you farming here? I see livestock everywhere.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03Well, we've got 600 breeding ewes,
0:34:03 > 0:34:07we've got 83 Welsh Black cows,
0:34:07 > 0:34:11- and I also breed horses.- Wonderful. So can we go and take a look at
0:34:11 > 0:34:14- your Welsh Black cattle? - You can.- Let's go.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20Today, Ian needs to muster his cattle from the mountain
0:34:20 > 0:34:23to do some routine checks in the handling pens.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28'His grandson Jacob and his team of working dogs are on hand to help.'
0:34:28 > 0:34:31Goodness me, how many dogs have you got?
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Six here, six working dogs and a Jack Russell.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37- Wow. Can you control them all at once?- Try to, yeah.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40- Do my best.- And what are they? Huntaways, I recognise.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42Yeah, Huntaways and Heading Dogs.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45- So the Heading Dog is a bit like our Border collie, is it?- Yeah, yeah.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48- And how many cattle have we got to gather? How many altogether?- 200.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51And if I'm in the wrong place, just shout at me.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00The tranquillity is about to be broken.
0:35:00 > 0:35:01HE WHISTLES
0:35:01 > 0:35:04DOGS BARK
0:35:15 > 0:35:18WHISTLING AND BARKING
0:35:32 > 0:35:35Goodness me, those Huntaways can really go, can't they?
0:35:35 > 0:35:37Jacob's a really good young shepherd,
0:35:37 > 0:35:40he's probably mature beyond his years when it comes to his dogs.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42He's got very good dogs.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45So the black and white ones are the Heading Dogs who get round in
0:35:45 > 0:35:47- front and round them up? - That's right.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50- And then a Huntaway hunts them away up the mountain.- That's correct.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53And why do you love this wild country so much?
0:35:53 > 0:35:56I mean, what is it in you that makes you want to be out here?
0:35:56 > 0:35:58We're miles from anywhere.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02I can't answer that. I guess it's my genetic make-up or something.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06But I just love the wild places, always have done.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16And were all these calves born outdoors or do you have to
0:36:16 > 0:36:18bring them in to the sheds out here?
0:36:18 > 0:36:20We don't have sheds.
0:36:20 > 0:36:26No, no, my cows calve completely on their own, unassisted, no problems.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28And is that part of your mantra, part of what you want to try
0:36:28 > 0:36:31and achieve, a cow that looks after itself?
0:36:31 > 0:36:33I think it's part of the New Zealand hill country farming.
0:36:33 > 0:36:38We've looked to breed a type of animal that are perfectly
0:36:38 > 0:36:41capable of looking after themselves.
0:36:41 > 0:36:46- Low-cost animal, really.- Yep, and low input, from our point of view.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48- Sure.- We don't have to pamper them.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51But the Welshies are brilliant at surviving on rough grass,
0:36:51 > 0:36:52they really are.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56It's great to see traditional British breeds still thriving here.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58How popular are the Welsh cattle?
0:36:58 > 0:37:02Not as popular as they should be, but let me say,
0:37:02 > 0:37:07I have tried all those breeds - Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn,
0:37:07 > 0:37:11Charolaise - and the Welsh leave them for dead,
0:37:11 > 0:37:12in my opinion.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16I judged Welsh Black cattle once, actually, and really liked them -
0:37:16 > 0:37:19and I'm half-Welsh, so, you know, I'm feeling quite patriotic.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21THEY LAUGH
0:37:26 > 0:37:28Well, that's the young cattle through the first gate where
0:37:28 > 0:37:30there's still quite a long way to go.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32I said to Ian, shall I go back and get the buggy? And he said,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35"No, no, I'll go. I'll just run down."
0:37:35 > 0:37:36And he literally meant "run down".
0:37:36 > 0:37:39He's headed off down the hill like a mountain goat.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42This guy's 78! It's quite remarkable!
0:37:47 > 0:37:51Now that Britain is coming out of Europe, there's some concern
0:37:51 > 0:37:56for farmers, particularly those who are reliant on government support,
0:37:56 > 0:38:01but here in New Zealand in 1984, your subsidies were removed.
0:38:01 > 0:38:02How did you cope here?
0:38:02 > 0:38:05Well, it wasn't easy, you know, some struggled
0:38:05 > 0:38:12but I think the key factor was that those who were willing to cut
0:38:12 > 0:38:17their cloth to suit the situation, they got by.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21The ones that were used to a lavish lifestyle found it a lot harder.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25I'm seriously concerned back home that once that support is removed,
0:38:25 > 0:38:28particularly from the hill farmers who farm sheep and beef,
0:38:28 > 0:38:31that they're going to really find it very,
0:38:31 > 0:38:32very difficult and quite stressful,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35those who are heavily borrowed in particular.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38I'm sure there's truth in that but you've made your decision for Brexit
0:38:38 > 0:38:41and there will be plenty of positives as well as the negatives
0:38:41 > 0:38:45and I'm sure that if the farmers get the support of
0:38:45 > 0:38:48- the rest of the nation, they'll be fine.- Yeah.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05We're just chasing these cattle up here now.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Jacob's still working his dogs and moving them along nicely.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11The herd have split a bit and some have gone along the track
0:39:11 > 0:39:14and then the others are going down this really steep hill.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16Just remarkable, really.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20This is really exciting for me, you know, coming back to
0:39:20 > 0:39:24New Zealand and rounding up cattle, out in the middle of nowhere.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27This is what dreams are made of, really. I love it.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33You never get sick of it.
0:39:33 > 0:39:34No.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36You can never get sick of doing things like this,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38it's absolutely brilliant.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40Meeting fantastic characters like Ian here,
0:39:40 > 0:39:44with a great outlook on life, it's really refreshing.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02The cattle are being rounded up for an annual TB test.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08In New Zealand in 1990, the percentage of cattle with TB
0:40:08 > 0:40:11was about seven times greater than in Britain.
0:40:11 > 0:40:16But by 2011, it was about 40 times less.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19I'm keen to know how they've achieved this incredible reduction,
0:40:19 > 0:40:23as back home my animals have suffered with TB for decades.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27'Michelle Murphy is an animal technician
0:40:27 > 0:40:30'and TB testing is her full-time job.'
0:40:30 > 0:40:36Michelle, over here you've managed to reduce your prevalence of TB
0:40:36 > 0:40:39in the herds very dramatically. How have you succeeded doing that?
0:40:39 > 0:40:43It's controlling the infected wildlife.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Which wildlife are you controlling?
0:40:45 > 0:40:48Possums, feral deer,
0:40:48 > 0:40:50ferrets, wild pigs.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54Anything that can carry or spread TB.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57- And so they're all non-native species.- Yes.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00- They are.- And do they cause damage out in the environment as well?
0:41:00 > 0:41:02Is that why they're considered as pests?
0:41:02 > 0:41:08Yes, they do. The possums ruin the native trees and birdlife.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11And how much TB would be in this area now?
0:41:11 > 0:41:14Very little, if any.
0:41:14 > 0:41:19We've got a similar problem at home but the animals in the wild
0:41:19 > 0:41:21that carry TB, particularly badgers,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25have been in our country for centuries, if not thousands
0:41:25 > 0:41:28of years, so they're a native species, very symbolic to Britain
0:41:28 > 0:41:31and there's a huge amount of controversy over culling them,
0:41:31 > 0:41:34although the government has taken that decision, but also we are
0:41:34 > 0:41:36TB testing our herds.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39So it's really difficult for us to get on top of it.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41But interesting how you've managed it over here.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44- You've been really robust about it, haven't you?- Yes, yes.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49Thankfully, the herd got the all-clear.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52It's a stressful process for the cattle, so we release them
0:41:52 > 0:41:56as quick as we can and drive them towards some fresh mountain pasture.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05Well, it's been about a ten-hour day and we're still climbing up
0:42:05 > 0:42:09the hills and I'm starting to fade, but Ian's still going strong here.
0:42:09 > 0:42:10I have to say,
0:42:10 > 0:42:13I'm so jealous of the place you live and work,
0:42:13 > 0:42:16your wonderful cattle - this farm's just extraordinary.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20I know I'm truly blessed, I know that.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23I've got a wonderful wife, she's been very supportive, too,
0:42:23 > 0:42:26and I've still got my health. I've got no reason to stop
0:42:26 > 0:42:28and I certainly don't want to stop.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31And you've got lots of children and grandchildren all following in
0:42:31 > 0:42:33- your footsteps. - We've got seven children
0:42:33 > 0:42:35and 24 grandchildren and, yeah,
0:42:35 > 0:42:38there's a bit of talent starting to show up amongst the grandkids, too.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41Well, that's just good breeding on your part, isn't it?
0:42:41 > 0:42:44I wouldn't say that. Maybe they get it from their mother.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48I have to say, this is a day I'll remember for a very long time.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52- That's lovely, Adam, I hope you've enjoyed yourself.- It's been great.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56That's good, that's good, it's a pretty special place.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08My time here in New Zealand has come to an end.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16I've been on an incredible journey. It's amazing how far farming's come
0:43:16 > 0:43:19in a relatively short space of time.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21Since those early arrivals of livestock,
0:43:21 > 0:43:23it's gone from strength to strength.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29I'm in complete awe of this country and love the way its people
0:43:29 > 0:43:32have a positive, forward-thinking attitude.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35I really hope I'll be back before too long.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58The Peak District. Jutting crags and bleak moorland.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02At once a howling wilderness and a rich, rolling landscape.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07And this setting is said to have inspired many storytellers,
0:44:07 > 0:44:11including Charlotte Bronte, who stayed near here while
0:44:11 > 0:44:14writing her best-known book, Jane Eyre.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20So are these the moors on which St John Rivers discovered
0:44:20 > 0:44:25a near-dead Jane after her dramatic departure from Thornfield Hall?
0:44:27 > 0:44:32Storytelling is one of our oldest artforms and helps us make sense
0:44:32 > 0:44:34of our experiences.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37So today at the start of National Storytelling Week,
0:44:37 > 0:44:41we're celebrating stories in all their glory.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49But it's not just literature.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52These hills are home to musicians and artists, too.
0:44:55 > 0:45:00'Award-winning songwriter Bella Hardy grew up in Edale.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04'She's travelled across the Peak District, gathering folk tales
0:45:04 > 0:45:08'for her own original songs and composing music for existing verse
0:45:08 > 0:45:10'inspired by the landscape.'
0:45:12 > 0:45:13Bella, why is songwriting...
0:45:13 > 0:45:17Why are songs so good for storytelling, do you think?
0:45:17 > 0:45:21Well, I think there's a history of great song storytelling and
0:45:21 > 0:45:24in the times when you didn't have TV and theatre to go to, it would be
0:45:24 > 0:45:29a way to pass the time and tell a story and relate to people,
0:45:29 > 0:45:32and I think having it to a song is just an extra way of adding
0:45:32 > 0:45:35emotion and empathy to words and stories and to keep people
0:45:35 > 0:45:37listening all the way through the story.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40What is it about this landscape that inspires you and your songs?
0:45:40 > 0:45:44Obviously just the gloriousness of the vista with the hills around you,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47but I think also the names of the places are a wonderful inspiration.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54- This is pretty.- Uh-huh.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57How would you go about starting to write a song?
0:45:57 > 0:46:00I just use all sorts of different starting points.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03But I often find that Edale creeps back into my songs,
0:46:03 > 0:46:05even if they're more modern songs.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08And last year I got to go to China and I wrote
0:46:08 > 0:46:11a song about the beautiful stars I saw out one night
0:46:11 > 0:46:13and how much they reminded me of my stars back here,
0:46:13 > 0:46:16and the hills I was looking at were reminding me of my hills of Edale,
0:46:16 > 0:46:19so it just seems to creep back into everything I do.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22- Edale's in your heart. - Certainly is. It's inescapable.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24Before you dash off, can I hear at least one of your songs?
0:46:24 > 0:46:25Of course you can.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28You can have one from my album The Dark Peak And The White,
0:46:28 > 0:46:30which is a few years ago now but is all about this area.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34- Lovely.- And this song is called the Peak Rhapsody.- Very fitting.
0:46:35 > 0:46:41# Give me the land where the wild thyme grows
0:46:41 > 0:46:45# O'er the heathery dales among
0:46:45 > 0:46:50# Where sol's own flower with crimson eye
0:46:50 > 0:46:54# Peeks the sunburnt banks along
0:46:54 > 0:46:59# Where the tor hangs o'er the dell
0:46:59 > 0:47:04# While its pinnacles pierce the sky... #
0:47:04 > 0:47:07Stories can take many forms,
0:47:07 > 0:47:10from song and dance to pictures and poems.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13They're an intrinsic part of our culture.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17Even early evidence from cave paintings suggests that we've
0:47:17 > 0:47:19always told stories through art.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29'A tradition narrative artist Ingrid Karlsson continues today
0:47:29 > 0:47:31'from her Derbyshire home.'
0:47:31 > 0:47:33What a gorgeous view.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37'She's form Sweden but has lived in the Peak District for 14 years.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40'I'm meeting her in one of her favourite places -
0:47:40 > 0:47:45'Eccles Pike near Chapel-en-le-Frith overlooking Combs reservoir.'
0:47:45 > 0:47:49I feel a real connection with this wood and it's going back to
0:47:49 > 0:47:50childhood, really,
0:47:50 > 0:47:53because I'm a northern Swede and I come from the big forests.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56And the wood was always a safe place to go to.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00And how is storytelling a part of the work you do?
0:48:00 > 0:48:04I think I always look for the stories because I tend to
0:48:04 > 0:48:07want to talk about something as a part of the visual piece,
0:48:07 > 0:48:10the work that you see. And I love doing that.
0:48:10 > 0:48:15It could be on my personal journey but very often here in the
0:48:15 > 0:48:18Peak District, linked to something that I have found in the landscape.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21I brought my own inspiration today, I've got my wooded leggings.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24You can't really miss them, I'm afraid.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27When I saw them they looked just like this wood and they've got my
0:48:27 > 0:48:30- colours in them.- So I'll blend right in in the studio?- You will.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33- We won't be able to see you.- Great!
0:48:35 > 0:48:39As with all good stories, there are many layers to Ingrid's work.
0:48:39 > 0:48:40Back in the studio,
0:48:40 > 0:48:45she's showing me how she creates her first layer with monoprinting.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47- So squirt out a bit of that. - What's this?
0:48:47 > 0:48:52This is a mix of water and a bit of washing-up liquid.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55'And that helps spread our first watercolour.'
0:48:55 > 0:48:58- Ultramarine.- Yeah, exactly. - We're going to go by your leggings.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01That's such a good guideline, you know.
0:49:01 > 0:49:07'Now a touch of rose and some deep red and we're ready to create.'
0:49:07 > 0:49:09This is where the magic happens.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11So the colours all bleed into each other.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15Then let this drop,
0:49:15 > 0:49:19then use the base of your hand and just gently go over it.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23Oh, that's great. That is very intense.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25A sense of fading in the sky.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27- Look at this.- Beautiful.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29'As we wait for that monoprinting to dry,
0:49:29 > 0:49:32'we add texture with a second layer, using collage.'
0:49:34 > 0:49:38In the woods I've been collecting leaves. Can you see how I have
0:49:38 > 0:49:41actually sewn in the imprint?
0:49:41 > 0:49:42- Ready?- Yeah, you ready?
0:49:42 > 0:49:45My mum will be watching intently, she taught me how to sew.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48- So is this the piece that it's going to eventually be in?- Yeah.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51And how would you describe your style of work?
0:49:51 > 0:49:55Well, I am known as a narrative mixed media artist.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59I would explain that as using mixed media to tell a story.
0:49:59 > 0:50:04And one of things I love is the layering because that brings in
0:50:04 > 0:50:06the layers of a story.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08Right, don't laugh.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11- There you go, look. - That's brilliant.
0:50:11 > 0:50:16Just seeing that red reminds me of the network of veins.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19- It's like the lifeblood. - I like that, all that meaning.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21Well, that's part of the story.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24Not too shabby for a beginner.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44We're in the Peak District.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47Whilst Ellie's been immersed in the stories of the landscape,
0:50:47 > 0:50:50I've been discovering a conservation project high on the
0:50:50 > 0:50:52snow-covered moors.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55As this snow melts, it will help fill the reservoirs.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59But some will make the long journey down through more than half a mile
0:50:59 > 0:51:04of limestone to be heated by warm rocks deep underground,
0:51:04 > 0:51:08before emerging as geothermal spring water.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14This area's famous for its spa towns - Matlock Bath and Buxton.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18But here, in the former mining village of Stoney Middleton,
0:51:18 > 0:51:22they have their very own humble little spa bathhouse...
0:51:22 > 0:51:24fed by a warm spring.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30'Geologist Barry Smith is an expert on thermal springs and he's
0:51:30 > 0:51:33'come equipped to see if we really are in hot water.'
0:51:36 > 0:51:39Well, here we are in the middle of winter and I am very intrigued
0:51:39 > 0:51:42to feel what the temperature of this water's going to be like.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45I think you'll be surprised.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47Hang on a second. Oh, my word, that is warm!
0:51:47 > 0:51:49That is surprisingly warm.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51It's kind of the temperature, to be honest,
0:51:51 > 0:51:55that I'm left with every morning as the last person in the shower.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57That's what it feels like.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01'It's just about 17 degrees Celsius.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05'More tepid than hot. But what about the mineral content?'
0:52:05 > 0:52:08It's been in limestone so therefore it's dominated by calcium and
0:52:08 > 0:52:12bicarbonate. This water itself differs a little bit from, say,
0:52:12 > 0:52:16Buxton spring water. This contains a little bit more sulphate
0:52:16 > 0:52:17and a little bit more chloride.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19And in the world of water,
0:52:19 > 0:52:24does that mean anything as far as the old medicinal qualities?
0:52:24 > 0:52:26- It means it's good for beer.- Right!
0:52:26 > 0:52:29- Sulphate is good for beer.- Yeah.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32But its purity, it's a very good, nice, hard water.
0:52:32 > 0:52:37Hard water's always been thought to be good for heart disease.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45The water is low in harmful trace elements like arsenic,
0:52:45 > 0:52:46which is reassuring,
0:52:46 > 0:52:50as some of it's diverted underground into the bathhouse.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52It's been closed to the public for decades but now there are
0:52:52 > 0:52:54plans to change all that.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58Is the idea to get people back in that water?
0:52:58 > 0:53:01I think that would be great. That's what it was made for, wasn't it?
0:53:01 > 0:53:04- Sure. Have you been in this water? - No, I have to confess.- You haven't?
0:53:04 > 0:53:06I haven't yet been in it.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09And obviously, the connection with tourists and locals
0:53:09 > 0:53:12with spa water goes way back.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16Yeah. The actual settlement here probably is here because of
0:53:16 > 0:53:18a clean water spring.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21You know, for the Celts and the Romans it's hugely important
0:53:21 > 0:53:23and it's venerated.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25It was in the 18th and 19th centuries that the fashion
0:53:25 > 0:53:28for spas really took off.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31But would a spa have been built for tourists in
0:53:31 > 0:53:34a small village like Stoney Middleton?
0:53:34 > 0:53:35Somewhere like this,
0:53:35 > 0:53:40I almost wonder whether you've got the emerging industrial village
0:53:40 > 0:53:43and you've got mines and things round here,
0:53:43 > 0:53:47was this thing part-built for local people simply to come and bathe?
0:53:47 > 0:53:50The posh people tended not to bathe so much in those days but if
0:53:50 > 0:53:52you're a worker, you know,
0:53:52 > 0:53:56imagine coming out of a mine covered in dust and everything then,
0:53:56 > 0:54:00actually, probably bathing would be a huge benefit.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02The special thing for me
0:54:02 > 0:54:05is this is still here and it's been safeguarded.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08One person has suggested it could be a dog spa.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10What about a microbrewery?
0:54:10 > 0:54:12Bathhouse beer. What a great idea.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15See yourself as a bit of a Del Boy with a bottle of water?
0:54:15 > 0:54:17That's very possible. Nice idea!
0:54:18 > 0:54:21Right, the stage is set.
0:54:21 > 0:54:25Let's just hope that Ellie's expectations aren't too high.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28- Ellie!- Hello! I'm so excited about this.- It's going to be great.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31- I can't wait.- We'll say goodbye first and then we'll get on
0:54:31 > 0:54:34- with things.- OK.- Well, that's all we've got time for this week.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36Next week, we're going to be learning all about
0:54:36 > 0:54:37our feathery friends.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41And Helen will hopefully be seeing one of nature's greatest spectacles.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43- We'll see- you then. Bye-bye. - Right, is it this way to the spa?
0:54:43 > 0:54:45- Follow me.- Excited!
0:54:45 > 0:54:47Going to be great!
0:54:48 > 0:54:50WATER SLOSHES
0:54:50 > 0:54:53- Oh, that's lovely! - It's a bit chilly.- Whoo!
0:54:53 > 0:54:56Here, try this, I've got some sphagnum moss here.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00- Apparently it works just like a sponge. Ooh!- Oh, yeah.