Shropshire Countryfile


Shropshire

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Shropshire. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Shropshire, a county known for its heath,

0:00:300:00:34

its moorland and in particular,

0:00:340:00:36

its hills, which roll on as far as the eye can see and it was on one of

0:00:360:00:40

these craggy exposed peaks that a mining community made its home.

0:00:400:00:45

-This is a simple life, isn't it?

-Yeah.

0:00:520:00:54

Anita is exploring the site of a very unlikely nature reserve.

0:00:580:01:02

I mean, you wonder what a scrapyard and a wildlife trust could possibly

0:01:020:01:07

-have in common.

-It's all about where it is.

0:01:070:01:09

Right here we're on the edge of one of the largest peat bodies

0:01:090:01:12

in Britain.

0:01:120:01:13

Charlotte's finding out about an issue that is all too common,

0:01:150:01:18

but often hidden away.

0:01:180:01:20

Dementia can be devastating wherever you live,

0:01:210:01:24

but finding help and support in

0:01:240:01:26

rural areas can be tough and for farmers

0:01:260:01:28

especially, everyday tasks can quickly become dangerous.

0:01:280:01:32

And in the first part of a series of special films,

0:01:350:01:37

Adam is discovering how they farm on the other side of the world,

0:01:370:01:41

in New Zealand.

0:01:410:01:42

Obviously we're in the old home where you used to snore a lot.

0:01:420:01:45

You know, when you come and stayed last time?

0:01:450:01:47

You used to kick me out of bed and make me go and prune kiwi vines!

0:01:470:01:51

This wild, storm-battered rocky ridge is hardly

0:02:050:02:09

the ideal place to build a

0:02:090:02:10

new community, but in the mid-1800s,

0:02:100:02:14

that is exactly what happened.

0:02:140:02:16

This is literally life lived on the edge.

0:02:160:02:19

Migrant workers poured into this remote corner of Shropshire,

0:02:250:02:28

southwest of Shrewsbury,

0:02:280:02:30

attracted by the booming lead mine at Snailbeach.

0:02:300:02:33

Cottages began to spring up high on this hill above the mine.

0:02:350:02:38

This community, known as Blakemoregate,

0:02:400:02:43

was without doubt, one of the most isolated and these

0:02:430:02:45

squatters' cottages were built on the Welsh tradition of a house in a

0:02:450:02:50

night. This is incredible.

0:02:500:02:52

Basically, if you could build a

0:02:520:02:54

chimney and get it smoking by the morning,

0:02:540:02:57

then you had the right to stay.

0:02:570:02:59

Once given the thumbs up,

0:02:590:03:00

you would throw an axe and wherever the axe landed,

0:03:000:03:03

that was your boundary.

0:03:030:03:05

Presumably, once they had staked their claim,

0:03:050:03:08

they spent a little bit more time fine tuning the house.

0:03:080:03:10

By 1836, there were 97 cottages built on this precipice.

0:03:150:03:19

As they were sometimes cut off for months on end,

0:03:210:03:23

the residents had to survive on what

0:03:230:03:25

this unforgiving landscape could provide.

0:03:250:03:28

And this is what they used as kindling for the fire,

0:03:290:03:32

heather from the hills.

0:03:320:03:33

It was brittle, burnt easily and more importantly,

0:03:330:03:36

it was right on the doorstep.

0:03:360:03:38

Local farmer, Mary Huxley still lives by many of these principles.

0:03:440:03:48

She is the third generation of a family to make butter from scratch.

0:03:500:03:54

Now in her late 70s, this is still her livelihood.

0:03:540:03:58

Mary, do you remember a time in your life when you weren't churning

0:03:580:04:01

-butter?

-No, I don't, unfortunately.

0:04:010:04:04

-Definitely on a Saturday, always.

-Right.

0:04:040:04:07

And from what age are we talking?

0:04:070:04:09

-Eight years old.

-Eight years old!

0:04:090:04:11

This is a simple life, isn't it?

0:04:110:04:13

What have we got going on in here?

0:04:130:04:16

We've got that cream we pour in from one end to the

0:04:160:04:18

other and as it drops from one end to

0:04:180:04:20

the other, it knocks out the fatty globules and it will look like

0:04:200:04:24

scrambled egg floating in milk.

0:04:240:04:27

How do you know when it's ready?

0:04:270:04:28

Because that window will be clean,

0:04:280:04:30

that is why I am trying to reach over to have a look.

0:04:300:04:32

Do you think we're done? Screw that a little bit more.

0:04:320:04:37

We can have a look. And see if it has worked.

0:04:370:04:40

-That looks pretty good to me.

-This is how my mother used to do it.

0:04:400:04:43

Mary is the last in her family to churn for a living.

0:04:450:04:47

Is this is for your design now?

0:04:500:04:52

That's my mother's and it went down the family line.

0:04:520:04:54

Well, it's beautiful. Nobody would not look at that and think,

0:04:550:04:59

"That is a fine display of butter, Mary."

0:04:590:05:01

THEY CHUCKLE

0:05:010:05:02

But this self-sustaining way of life on these hills was soon to die out.

0:05:080:05:12

As the lead mining industry fell into decline,

0:05:140:05:17

the cottages here at Blakemoregate were

0:05:170:05:19

gradually deserted and this cottage here

0:05:190:05:21

behind me, Cook's Cottage, was the last to be abandoned in the 1950s.

0:05:210:05:26

But now Natural England have

0:05:290:05:31

painstakingly rebuilt this cottage from rubble,

0:05:310:05:34

so that the miners' way of life can be

0:05:340:05:36

recorded for future generations.

0:05:360:05:38

You know, this whole restoration project gives a wonderful glimpse

0:05:410:05:45

into what life was like for the people who lived here,

0:05:450:05:47

how rooted they were in their habitat,

0:05:470:05:49

how they lived off the land and how they responded to the seasons and I

0:05:490:05:54

don't want to over romanticise this,

0:05:540:05:56

because it was all borne out of necessity,

0:05:560:05:58

but this simple life is very attractive to me.

0:05:580:06:01

Now, dementia is a difficult diagnosis for any family to receive,

0:06:090:06:13

but as Charlotte has been finding out,

0:06:130:06:15

for those who live in our countryside, well,

0:06:150:06:17

they face very specific problems.

0:06:170:06:20

I've seen my father, who was straight as a arrow,

0:06:250:06:27

change so dramatically in the previous year.

0:06:270:06:29

It was just horrible, watching him deteriorate into a shell,

0:06:320:06:37

not recognise us or any of his friends.

0:06:370:06:39

Dad got dementia in his 60s,

0:06:430:06:46

we had to hide the car keys from him but he still wanted to work on

0:06:460:06:49

the farm.

0:06:490:06:51

Dementia is a devastating condition,

0:06:510:06:54

cruel both to those who have it and to those left to care and it's a

0:06:540:06:58

growing problem.

0:06:580:06:59

Many of us may think of dementia as simply a case of memory loss,

0:07:010:07:05

but the symptoms can be as wide-ranging as they are damaging.

0:07:050:07:09

Your whole way of perceiving the world alters.

0:07:090:07:12

It can change your personality and affect spatial awareness.

0:07:120:07:16

The University of Plymouth will soon publish a report which shows that

0:07:170:07:21

rural and farming families dealing with dementia face an even greater

0:07:210:07:25

burden than those elsewhere.

0:07:250:07:27

And the findings from that report show that those with dementia on

0:07:290:07:32

farms can find themselves in a dangerous environment,

0:07:320:07:35

often with little support available.

0:07:350:07:38

In November last year,

0:07:380:07:40

dementia was recognised as the leading cause of death in England

0:07:400:07:43

and Wales for the first time.

0:07:430:07:46

Right now there are around 850,000 people living with dementia across

0:07:460:07:51

the UK, of which a significant proportion live in rural areas.

0:07:510:07:55

Now, this is a very personal and sensitive subject,

0:07:550:07:58

one that farmers and their families are understandably reluctant to talk

0:07:580:08:02

about. We've been in touch with many families and although they didn't

0:08:020:08:06

want to appear on television,

0:08:060:08:08

they were willing to share their experiences anonymously.

0:08:080:08:11

I wept in the shed one day when I got a phone call from him saying he

0:08:140:08:17

had parked the car in town.

0:08:170:08:19

He can't find it, could I come and pick him up.

0:08:190:08:21

My own small business has taken a

0:08:260:08:27

knock because of me covering for him.

0:08:270:08:29

We have to go together in the morning to feed the sheep.

0:08:300:08:33

It's usually a 20 minute job but now it takes over an hour.

0:08:330:08:36

The man in charge of tackling dementia in our countryside

0:08:400:08:43

is Ian Sherriff.

0:08:430:08:44

He chairs the government's Rural Dementia Task Force and commissioned

0:08:440:08:48

Plymouth University's new report.

0:08:480:08:50

What are the main problems for

0:08:510:08:53

people who have dementia who are in rural areas?

0:08:530:08:56

I think the biggest thing and we are being told by carers,

0:08:560:09:00

is that they are lonely, they're isolated and quite frankly,

0:09:000:09:05

nobody gives a damn about them.

0:09:050:09:07

You look around us here in Devon and people from outside Devon

0:09:070:09:11

think it's a wonderful location, to some people that is a prison.

0:09:110:09:14

Nine times out of ten,

0:09:140:09:16

the person who has the dementia is the one that drives the car and

0:09:160:09:19

visiting people in rural locations by health and

0:09:190:09:23

social care workers is difficult.

0:09:230:09:26

You can imagine the time it takes to get to a location,

0:09:260:09:29

how much time they have on location with a person,

0:09:290:09:32

so everything is exacerbated even more, by the idyllic,

0:09:320:09:37

what other people would say, rural setting.

0:09:370:09:41

And when we put this into a farming context,

0:09:410:09:43

I guess that gets more complicated.

0:09:430:09:45

I think if you look at the environment on a farm,

0:09:450:09:47

the farmyard is a very risky place to work.

0:09:470:09:50

People have been injured.

0:09:500:09:52

But I've also heard that livestock has suffered as well.

0:09:520:09:55

Where an individual,

0:09:550:09:57

had not been feeding their animals correctly and those animals had to

0:09:570:10:01

be put down. It does worry me about the risk factors that farmers put

0:10:010:10:07

-themselves into.

-Because they are just carrying on doing what they do

0:10:070:10:10

with machinery and animals.

0:10:100:10:11

Yes, just carrying on as farmers do.

0:10:110:10:14

And farmers do just carry on, as these anonymous testimonies show.

0:10:160:10:21

Keep coming. Whoa!

0:10:210:10:27

Things like attaching something to the back of the tractor is now a

0:10:270:10:30

dangerous job. Not for him, for me.

0:10:300:10:33

Keep coming. Keep coming.

0:10:330:10:35

I've been squashed three times now.

0:10:350:10:37

Keep coming.

0:10:370:10:39

Whoa!

0:10:400:10:42

Put him in the field with a spreader or a plough and he's fine.

0:10:420:10:45

You wouldn't know he'd almost killed me 20 minutes ago.

0:10:450:10:47

We realised just how bad it was

0:10:550:10:57

getting when we looked in his tractor and

0:10:570:10:59

found post-it notes stuck all over the windscreen.

0:10:590:11:02

He had written instructions to

0:11:020:11:04

himself saying what gears he should use for

0:11:040:11:06

all the different jobs!

0:11:060:11:08

I had to persuade him that he ought to give the younger chaps a chance

0:11:100:11:13

to use the bigger machines, but he still drove the tractor.

0:11:130:11:17

In the end, it got too dangerous.

0:11:170:11:19

I remember that once he drove out of the grain store with the trailer

0:11:230:11:26

still up.

0:11:260:11:27

Only just missed the door frame.

0:11:290:11:31

We were lucky not to have a nasty accident.

0:11:330:11:35

Dementia can affect anyone but if you're somewhere rural,

0:11:370:11:40

the challenges can be huge and on farms what were everyday jobs can be

0:11:400:11:45

potentially life-threatening situations.

0:11:450:11:47

So what's being done to tackle the issues farmers face?

0:11:470:11:50

Well, that's what I'll be finding out later.

0:11:500:11:53

Shropshire...

0:11:590:12:00

..a diverse rural county.

0:12:020:12:04

Home to some unusual nooks and crannies,

0:12:060:12:09

including some of the country's rarest habitat.

0:12:090:12:12

So why am I in this polluted old scrapyard?

0:12:150:12:18

Well, believe it or not,

0:12:180:12:20

this is Shropshire Wildlife Trust's latest nature reserve,

0:12:200:12:23

or at least it will be.

0:12:230:12:25

It's part of a £5 million restoration project.

0:12:250:12:29

But what makes this toxic tip so special?

0:12:320:12:36

Why spend so much reclaiming this scrappy patch of land?

0:12:360:12:39

This is why.

0:12:440:12:45

It borders this internationally renowned nature reserve.

0:12:480:12:51

Its landscape was carved out thousands of years ago

0:12:530:12:57

in the last Ice Age but remains vital today.

0:12:570:13:01

It's quite something, isn't it?

0:13:010:13:02

Looks like Africa but I can assure you I'm on the Fenn's, Whixall and

0:13:020:13:06

Bettisfield Mosses and

0:13:060:13:07

the land here is full of peat and peat is an environmental life-saver.

0:13:070:13:13

Peter Bowyer is Natural England's senior reserve manager and it's his

0:13:160:13:20

job to look after the mosses.

0:13:200:13:22

Why is peat so important?

0:13:230:13:25

We're standing on a huge carbon store,

0:13:250:13:28

below our feet is a vast amount of carbon,

0:13:280:13:30

which is really important for climate change reasons,

0:13:300:13:32

it's taking all the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and locking it

0:13:320:13:35

here in place.

0:13:350:13:36

There is more carbon locked in the UK peatlands than all the forests in

0:13:360:13:40

Britain and France combined.

0:13:400:13:41

That's astonishing. Why does peat have the capacity to do that?

0:13:410:13:46

Sphagnum bog moss is the key to it all, really.

0:13:460:13:48

-Can I see what that looks like?

-Yeah, sure.

0:13:480:13:50

There's some here. This is sphagnum bog moss.

0:13:500:13:52

Sphagnum bog moss turns the water here very acidic,

0:13:520:13:56

all the plants that grow every year

0:13:560:13:58

become pickled and preserved and that's what the peat is,

0:13:580:14:01

it is pickled preserved plants.

0:14:010:14:03

The site is very much in different stages of development,

0:14:030:14:05

so we're trying to put it all back together to try and get it to become

0:14:050:14:08

completely self-sustaining.

0:14:080:14:10

That involves retaining the water in the centre of the moss but then

0:14:100:14:13

a lot of tree clearance around the edge of the site as well.

0:14:130:14:16

Quite a big job you've got ahead of you.

0:14:160:14:18

It is a big job, it's a very big site,

0:14:180:14:20

it's the largest peat bog in Britain.

0:14:200:14:22

It's a big challenge but it is a really exciting challenge as well.

0:14:220:14:24

I'm going to go and get my hands mucky.

0:14:240:14:26

-OK.

-Thank you Pete, I'll leave you to it.

-All right.

0:14:260:14:29

It's all hands to the pump for the volunteers.

0:14:350:14:38

Because a long history of peat cutting almost destroyed these

0:14:380:14:41

internationally important mosses.

0:14:410:14:44

Peat was commercially cut here for fuel and then for compost from the

0:14:450:14:49

1850s, a practice that only stopped here in 1990.

0:14:490:14:54

Since then, nature has been fighting back.

0:14:550:14:58

You can already see just how different this is

0:14:590:15:02

to the peat bog and they've got quite a bit of work to do.

0:15:020:15:05

Right, where's Clare?

0:15:050:15:06

-Hello there, Clare.

-Hi, Anita.

0:15:130:15:15

I'll get kitted up as well.

0:15:150:15:16

-Already seems quite boggy on the way in here.

-Yes, it is.

0:15:160:15:21

But the hope is that it will get a lot wetter once the project is well

0:15:210:15:26

underway and we have cleared some of the stuff.

0:15:260:15:29

Why volunteer, why do this?

0:15:290:15:31

I felt that I would learn something as well as getting fresh air

0:15:310:15:35

and exercise.

0:15:350:15:36

But also, you know,

0:15:360:15:38

contributing a little bit to a project I really believed in.

0:15:380:15:41

Were you a dab hand with any of these tools before you did this?

0:15:410:15:43

No, I was a complete stranger to a silky saw and to any kind of saw,

0:15:430:15:48

to be honest, but I could probably

0:15:480:15:50

build you a fence if I really had to.

0:15:500:15:53

-My kind of woman.

-With help.

0:15:530:15:54

Cutting back those trees is a huge job,

0:16:080:16:11

but turning all of this back to nature is on a whole other level.

0:16:110:16:16

How on earth do they plan on doing it?

0:16:160:16:18

I'll be finding out later.

0:16:180:16:20

Now, it's time for our winter warmer.

0:16:280:16:30

Late last summer, we asked some well-known faces from

0:16:320:16:35

DJs to comedians...

0:16:350:16:36

It's a seal. False alarm everyone.

0:16:360:16:38

-It was a seal.

-..chefs to singers...

0:16:380:16:41

# My old man said follow the van. #

0:16:410:16:45

..which part of our magnificent countryside was special to them.

0:16:460:16:50

This week Michelin-starred chef

0:16:550:16:57

Michael Caines heads out on foot into the wilds of Dartmoor.

0:16:570:17:00

Outdoor life has always been

0:17:180:17:20

something I have thrived on, the nature,

0:17:200:17:22

the feeling of being outdoors is quite liberating.

0:17:220:17:25

Being in the environment of the kitchen with all that stress of

0:17:250:17:28

work, going out and taking a moment,

0:17:280:17:30

half an hour or an hour even two hours running,

0:17:300:17:33

in and around this environment,

0:17:330:17:35

really gives me inspiration but it also gives me a chance to think.

0:17:350:17:38

I was born in Exeter and grew up in Devon,

0:17:470:17:49

so these parts of Dartmoor and the surrounding area were pretty much my

0:17:490:17:53

playground as a child.

0:17:530:17:55

Wow. What a view. Incredible.

0:17:560:17:59

So this is Cranbrook Castle. It's a hillfort, one of three in this area.

0:18:030:18:08

Hound Tor, Fernworthy, Chagford

0:18:080:18:12

and then the other hillfort over here.

0:18:120:18:15

The thing that fascinates me the most about these settlements on

0:18:210:18:23

Dartmoor is it is hard to imagine anyone really living

0:18:230:18:26

on Dartmoor now, it's so barren, it's such an extreme environment,

0:18:260:18:30

and yet actually if you can imagine in Neolithic times,

0:18:300:18:33

one of the most densely populated parts of Britain.

0:18:330:18:35

It's just incredible to see this landscape now,

0:18:370:18:40

stretching out to Devon.

0:18:400:18:41

I really get a sense of place...

0:18:430:18:44

..and a connection with this landscape,

0:18:450:18:48

massively, incredible view.

0:18:480:18:49

Because Dartmoor has always inspired me as a young man,

0:18:520:18:55

I've taken the time in the last sort of ten or 12 years to do

0:18:550:18:59

wild camping.

0:18:590:19:01

Right, I'm ready to go.

0:19:050:19:06

So, the general idea of going camping for me

0:19:080:19:11

is planning a route first,

0:19:110:19:13

couple of waypoints on the map where I'm going to head to and then I'll

0:19:130:19:17

take a bearing. Then off I go.

0:19:170:19:20

I go walking.

0:19:200:19:22

You know, as a young man I was in the cadet force,

0:19:260:19:29

we used to come on Dartmoor doing point to point.

0:19:290:19:31

But I think above all, it's a great reminder of a wonderful childhood.

0:19:320:19:38

We used to go, just the boys with my father on Dartmoor, camping.

0:19:380:19:42

When I look back, I think Father is not here any more but in a way,

0:19:430:19:46

there's lots of memories and lots of things that come back,

0:19:460:19:49

places that you have been to that you then suddenly remember.

0:19:490:19:51

Good spot for it, I think.

0:20:000:20:01

Amazing view.

0:20:050:20:06

Clouds with the light coming through, it's just so beautiful.

0:20:080:20:11

Hopefully the rain will hold off, at least until I

0:20:110:20:13

get my tent up, anyway!

0:20:130:20:15

I just love the atmosphere of the place, the moods that it gives,

0:20:210:20:24

through the weather.

0:20:240:20:26

But also the landscape itself, if you're looking out at it now,

0:20:260:20:30

it's become very,

0:20:300:20:32

almost polarised, by the shade of the clouds.

0:20:320:20:36

And then you can see the rain is coming in,

0:20:360:20:38

the weather fronts coming in and the elevation gives you

0:20:380:20:41

that broad aspect and view

0:20:410:20:42

and you really sense that different parts of the moor are

0:20:420:20:47

experiencing different, sort of, microclimates.

0:20:470:20:49

You really get that. It's very atmospheric.

0:20:490:20:52

Wow, what a completely different view this morning from last night.

0:21:250:21:30

You can't even see beyond the valley.

0:21:300:21:32

The mist is just clearing and it

0:21:320:21:35

just shows how drama unfolds on Dartmoor with the weather cycle.

0:21:350:21:39

You know,

0:21:490:21:50

Devon is the third largest county in the UK and it has an amazing

0:21:500:21:55

food larder. Lots to forage.

0:21:550:21:58

Here we are looking for some field mushrooms.

0:21:590:22:01

Here's a few here.

0:22:030:22:04

Beautiful mushroom, very tasty, very delicate.

0:22:080:22:12

I think the key thing is to remember,

0:22:120:22:14

you've got to know what you're picking and in this

0:22:140:22:17

regard field mushrooms are quite safe.

0:22:170:22:20

So I'm going to cook this Dartmoor steak with our foraged

0:22:200:22:23

field mushrooms.

0:22:230:22:25

There we go. Got plenty.

0:22:310:22:33

So what I'm going to do is, I'm going to oil and season the beef.

0:22:350:22:39

I've got just one pan to cook so I'm going to griddle it.

0:22:400:22:45

This is going to be

0:22:450:22:47

cooked in a few minutes, so just get that nicely sealed.

0:22:470:22:51

So I'm going to add some oil with the mushrooms.

0:22:510:22:55

And a little bit of seasoning as well.

0:22:550:22:56

In they go.

0:22:580:23:00

It smells good.

0:23:020:23:03

I'm cooking for two!

0:23:080:23:10

Look at that!

0:23:110:23:12

Incredible.

0:23:180:23:19

We're pretty good to go, really.

0:23:220:23:24

To think that these were in the field

0:23:400:23:43

only a few hours ago, picked, cooked with this lovely steak,

0:23:430:23:47

for me, I feel connected to the landscape and the land and,

0:23:470:23:51

of course, the produce which I use.

0:23:510:23:53

It's... Yeah, it's stunning.

0:23:560:23:59

Bit like my steak.

0:24:010:24:02

Now, Charlotte's been hearing how dementia cruelly

0:24:110:24:14

impacts on rural lives.

0:24:140:24:16

Sadly, it's an issue more and more of us will have to deal with.

0:24:160:24:19

As our population ages, the number of people with dementia is growing.

0:24:290:24:33

Within ten years there could be as many as a million people with

0:24:330:24:37

dementia here in the UK.

0:24:370:24:39

And that's expected to double by 2050.

0:24:390:24:42

Right now 15-20% of people aged over 65 in our countryside are living

0:24:420:24:48

with the condition.

0:24:480:24:49

When farmers are struck by dementia the results can be

0:24:490:24:52

catastrophic. Their families are placed under great strain

0:24:520:24:55

and can even be put at risk.

0:24:550:24:58

So what help is out there?

0:24:580:24:59

I'm meeting Joanne Jones, a dairy farmer here in Devon.

0:25:010:25:05

She's also a part-time nurse

0:25:050:25:07

and a coordinator with the charity Farming Community Network,

0:25:070:25:10

a key member of the rural support structure.

0:25:100:25:13

-Hi.

-Hi.

-Accessing help is challenging

0:25:130:25:15

for those living in isolated rural

0:25:150:25:18

locations, which is why Joanne makes house calls.

0:25:180:25:21

So what sort of things do families come to you with?

0:25:210:25:24

We help farming families if there's a problem with the business,

0:25:240:25:28

the farm, the family, or health issues.

0:25:280:25:31

How much help, realistically, can you be, though?

0:25:310:25:34

Because some people with dementia need an awful lot of care.

0:25:340:25:39

The way in which we offer help is through befriending and offering

0:25:390:25:42

support and signposting.

0:25:420:25:44

So it's finding out what's available in the area.

0:25:440:25:47

They can also meet other carers that are in the same situation,

0:25:470:25:50

so that the carer doesn't feel isolated.

0:25:500:25:52

Today Joanne's making her first visit to young farmer Duncan Wilmot.

0:25:560:26:00

Duncan's mother Sue was diagnosed with dementia aged just 55.

0:26:010:26:05

She moved into a care home last summer.

0:26:050:26:08

-Have a seat.

-Thank you very much.

0:26:080:26:10

Did you find it easy to sort of get a diagnosis and get support?

0:26:120:26:16

We had to travel to get a diagnosis, but eventually it came through.

0:26:160:26:22

And how was mum at the time?

0:26:220:26:23

Did she find that quite hard to accept?

0:26:230:26:26

Yeah, she did find it hard to accept, I remember,

0:26:260:26:29

when we got her driving licence revoked, because with forgetting,

0:26:290:26:33

she wouldn't indicate, or anything, and wouldn't check blind spots.

0:26:330:26:36

It wasn't safe for her to drive.

0:26:360:26:38

There is help available but much of it is voluntary.

0:26:380:26:41

And rural families struggling with the emotional and practical impact

0:26:410:26:45

of someone having dementia, well, often they are managing alone.

0:26:450:26:49

Jo, if you could change one thing to help rural families struggling with

0:26:500:26:54

dementia, what would you do?

0:26:540:26:56

I think it would be great if there was some sort of coordinated care,

0:26:560:27:00

so there was one place within each county you could go to,

0:27:000:27:03

that we could signpost people to,

0:27:030:27:05

that would know all about the resources and what's available in

0:27:050:27:08

their local area in terms of support for the person with the diagnosis of

0:27:080:27:12

dementia and also for the family.

0:27:120:27:14

And that's exactly what Ian Sherriff,

0:27:150:27:17

chair of the government's

0:27:170:27:18

Rural Dementia Task Force, is trying to do.

0:27:180:27:20

Ian's established a pilot scheme with local parish councils to help

0:27:220:27:25

with the coordination of services.

0:27:250:27:27

How's that working here in Devon?

0:27:300:27:32

You've got five parish councils who are being coordinated by a worker,

0:27:320:27:36

providing support, advice, information and guidance.

0:27:360:27:40

But not only doing that, it's raising the awareness.

0:27:400:27:44

When you consider there are 700 parish councils

0:27:440:27:47

in Devon and Cornwall,

0:27:470:27:48

now if all of those became dementia aware, dementia friendly,

0:27:480:27:52

then we've got the whole of our rural communities covered.

0:27:520:27:55

And not only are parish councils doing it in Devon,

0:27:550:27:58

there are other people in our rural communities, like the church.

0:27:580:28:01

So, for you, in rural communities it is actually the word community that

0:28:010:28:06

is the important word, isn't it?

0:28:060:28:07

Yes, yes. There is a saying that

0:28:070:28:09

there's no sense of community without a sense of caring.

0:28:090:28:13

Through the dementia friendly parish's initiative,

0:28:140:28:16

several support groups have been founded.

0:28:160:28:18

Here in the village of Yealmpton, people with dementia and their

0:28:200:28:24

carers meet weekly for sessions of guided reading.

0:28:240:28:27

'No man is an island entire of itself.

0:28:270:28:30

'Every man is a piece of the continent.'

0:28:300:28:33

These groups are really important to the people who use them but they are

0:28:410:28:44

also pretty rare.

0:28:440:28:46

So how's that going to change?

0:28:460:28:47

Ian Sherriff has no doubts about what needs to happen.

0:28:550:28:59

He's passionate about tackling rural dementia at a national level.

0:28:590:29:03

It is the biggest thing to hit this planet.

0:29:030:29:06

We're actually diagnosing somebody around the world every three

0:29:060:29:10

seconds. In this country, it's every three minutes.

0:29:100:29:12

I think government must focus on some of those big issues that are

0:29:120:29:15

happening around dementia within our rural communities.

0:29:150:29:19

Will they?

0:29:190:29:20

I think it isn't will, they've got to.

0:29:200:29:22

But it's going to cost a lot of money.

0:29:220:29:25

I think cost benefit analysis is one thing we can look at.

0:29:250:29:30

If we do the work now, if we set up those systems,

0:29:300:29:33

then in the long term, it will pay for government to do that.

0:29:330:29:37

How supportive can government be, though?

0:29:370:29:39

There is a commitment being given by the Prime Minister to

0:29:390:29:43

support dementia.

0:29:430:29:44

There is a commitment and the Department of Health

0:29:460:29:48

told us that improving

0:29:480:29:49

dementia care and treatment will continue to be a

0:29:490:29:53

priority for the government.

0:29:530:29:55

But there's a long way to go and it's going to cost a lot of money.

0:29:550:29:59

Because right now, those in isolated communities are reliant on the

0:29:590:30:03

kindness of volunteers.

0:30:030:30:05

The saddest thing is that Dad didn't get to see how the farm's grown

0:30:080:30:12

during better times.

0:30:120:30:14

He spent most of his life worrying.

0:30:140:30:16

It's a real shame he didn't get to enjoy his retirement with his

0:30:160:30:19

grandchildren.

0:30:190:30:20

If you've been affected by dementia,

0:30:220:30:24

you can get in touch with the BBC action line.

0:30:240:30:27

Details of organisations offering

0:30:270:30:29

information and support with dementia

0:30:290:30:32

are available at...

0:30:320:30:35

Or you can call for free at any time to hear recorded information on...

0:30:360:30:40

Well, at Christmas time,

0:31:000:31:01

we decked the hall with boughs of holly and

0:31:010:31:03

really celebrate this stuff

0:31:030:31:05

but then, for the rest of the year, it's kind of forgotten about.

0:31:050:31:08

But here on these Shropshire slopes,

0:31:080:31:10

holly stands proud throughout all the seasons.

0:31:100:31:13

These hollies are an ancient cluster of 500 gnarled and wizened trees,

0:31:160:31:21

sitting high on the hills above

0:31:210:31:24

Lords Hill Chapel in south Shropshire.

0:31:240:31:26

It's believed they were planted around 400 years ago.

0:31:260:31:30

-John, how are you?

-I'm very well, Matt.

0:31:350:31:37

John Hughes from the Shropshire Wildlife Trust has made

0:31:380:31:41

it his life's work to protect these incredible trees.

0:31:410:31:44

I'll tell you what, this is some place, isn't it?

0:31:460:31:48

-Do you like it, do you?

-I do. It's very unusual, isn't it?

0:31:480:31:51

It's more than usual.

0:31:510:31:52

I just think there's nowhere else quite like this in Britain.

0:31:520:31:56

It is a very, very special place.

0:31:560:31:58

Well, let's have a wander through.

0:32:020:32:04

Look at that holly tree there!

0:32:060:32:07

It has to be one of my very favourites.

0:32:070:32:10

-It's a belter.

-Of all the holly trees...

0:32:100:32:12

-Yeah?

-It's just remarkable, this one.

0:32:120:32:14

So you would think, on the face of it, it was dead.

0:32:140:32:16

This one has almost been put in its coffin and yet,

0:32:160:32:21

you can hear this tapping coming from it.

0:32:210:32:23

-Yeah?

-It's dead all the way round bar a few inches of bark.

0:32:230:32:29

And still, it puts out this shoot.

0:32:290:32:32

A little bird told me, John, that you love these trees so much,

0:32:320:32:35

and you believe that they're so full of character,

0:32:350:32:37

that you've given them all names.

0:32:370:32:39

Well, I've always had a particular view of each tree.

0:32:390:32:42

-Is that yes?

-It is, it is yes!

0:32:420:32:44

And the way I see them is,

0:32:440:32:47

we don't treat our elderly as well as we could, do we?

0:32:470:32:51

And these are all very elderly and they're sort of in this retirement

0:32:510:32:56

home. And therefore,

0:32:560:32:58

it's our duty to get to know them

0:32:580:33:00

individually and personally, isn't it?

0:33:000:33:03

So, this one, that's clinging on to life,

0:33:030:33:06

I think she's a bit of a Sheila.

0:33:060:33:09

-Do you know, my grandma is called Sheila.

-Is she?

-She is.

0:33:090:33:12

-Very well-suited.

-Is she? Is she as good-looking?

0:33:120:33:15

Sheila and her friends have survived for centuries because in the harsh

0:33:170:33:21

winters, the local miners harvested

0:33:210:33:23

the holly trees for their cattle to eat.

0:33:230:33:26

It was this pruning which regenerated the trees.

0:33:260:33:30

-Right, who needs a haircut, then, John?

-This lady here.

0:33:330:33:37

-Yeah.

-She's called Maureen.

0:33:370:33:39

John is carrying on this tradition.

0:33:420:33:44

Back in the day, obviously, crofters,

0:33:460:33:49

farmers would be coming down here

0:33:490:33:51

and getting all of these lovely gentle leaves

0:33:510:33:54

for their cows to feed on.

0:33:540:33:56

Yes. So if you look at that, there's barely a prickle on it.

0:33:560:33:59

And that will keep my livestock alive during the winter and that's

0:33:590:34:03

what I need, cos if my livestock aren't alive, I'm not alive.

0:34:030:34:08

Is there, I mean,

0:34:080:34:09

evidence of how they've been managed by those kind of early growers?

0:34:090:34:14

They would have gone in and they'd have climbed the tree and they've

0:34:140:34:17

sawed the top out, chopping the top out of a tree like that

0:34:170:34:20

is a very ancient technique

0:34:200:34:21

called pollarding and it causes the tree to regrow.

0:34:210:34:25

There will be new young growth next year,

0:34:250:34:27

which is ideal to feed your livestock.

0:34:270:34:29

These hollies would have been cleared long ago if the miners

0:34:310:34:34

hadn't needed them for animal fodder.

0:34:340:34:36

So we have them to thank for preserving what is now one of the

0:34:360:34:40

oldest holly groves in Europe.

0:34:400:34:42

So we're going to just leave some of this lying around, then?

0:34:450:34:48

-For the livestock?

-Yeah,

0:34:480:34:49

the cattle will come in and find this and they'll

0:34:490:34:52

think it's delicious.

0:34:520:34:53

Maureen, I'll book you in for the next appointment!

0:34:560:34:59

Tell you what, it's a good job I've got the Countryfile calendar here.

0:34:590:35:02

Anyway, there's still time, if you haven't got yours yet.

0:35:020:35:05

Here's John with all the details.

0:35:050:35:07

May 9th - cheeky trim for Maureen.

0:35:070:35:09

It costs £9.50, including free UK delivery.

0:35:120:35:16

You can go to our website, where

0:35:160:35:17

you'll find a link to the order page.

0:35:170:35:20

Or you can phone the order line on....

0:35:200:35:22

Standard charges will apply to both landlines and mobiles.

0:35:260:35:30

If you prefer to order by post, then send your name,

0:35:310:35:34

address and a cheque to...

0:35:340:35:39

And please make...

0:35:440:35:49

A minimum of £4 from the sale of each calendar will be donated to

0:35:490:35:53

BBC Children in Need.

0:35:530:35:55

Back in 1989,

0:35:580:35:59

a 23-year-old Adam and his now business partner Duncan made the

0:35:590:36:04

long trip to New Zealand, keen to

0:36:040:36:05

experience just what makes Kiwi farmers some

0:36:050:36:09

of the best in the world.

0:36:090:36:11

Now, in the first of a series of four special films,

0:36:110:36:14

he's revisiting the land of the long white cloud to discover just how

0:36:140:36:18

farming has changed since his last visit.

0:36:180:36:20

New Zealand may be the dream location for a holiday,

0:36:340:36:38

but its captivating, lush landscape is also perfect for farming and it's

0:36:380:36:42

what inspired Duncan and me to visit all those years ago.

0:36:420:36:46

We bought a little Austin 1100 and hit the road.

0:36:460:36:49

One of our first stops was the Bay of Plenty,

0:36:500:36:53

a farmer's paradise on the North Island.

0:36:530:36:56

It's so good is to be back in

0:36:560:36:57

New Zealand and the Bay of Plenty here is

0:36:570:36:59

famed for its perfect growing conditions.

0:36:590:37:02

It's warm all year round with lots of sunshine and rainfall and rich,

0:37:020:37:05

deep soils.

0:37:050:37:07

So perfect for growing grass,

0:37:070:37:09

but also lots of different fruit and veg too.

0:37:090:37:11

And that's why Duncan and I thought here would be a good place to pick

0:37:110:37:14

up some labouring work. Our point of contact was a local dairy farmer,

0:37:140:37:18

a guy called John Cameron,

0:37:180:37:20

and he found us a month's work pruning kiwi vines.

0:37:200:37:23

I thought I was going to be milking dairy cows!

0:37:230:37:26

Anyway, it was great fun and JC, as his mates call him,

0:37:260:37:30

became a good friend.

0:37:300:37:31

And now I'm really looking forward to catching up with him back on his

0:37:310:37:34

farm all these years later.

0:37:340:37:35

But farmers here have had their difficulties.

0:37:370:37:40

In 1984, five years before my visit,

0:37:400:37:43

the New Zealand government had

0:37:430:37:45

removed almost all agricultural subsidies.

0:37:450:37:48

With Brexit just around the corner,

0:37:480:37:49

there's a chance British farmers might lose theirs too.

0:37:490:37:52

So it's a poignant moment to find out how New Zealanders like JC,

0:37:520:37:56

who we stayed with, adapted to this huge change.

0:37:560:38:00

How are you keeping, mate?

0:38:000:38:01

-All right.

-I haven't seen you for ages.

0:38:010:38:03

-Great to see you.

-Yeah, you too.

-What a place you've got now.

0:38:030:38:06

Yeah, it's bloody brilliant.

0:38:060:38:08

-Isn't it, eh?

-When did you build this?

0:38:080:38:10

Um, ten years ago we started and obviously, we're in the old home.

0:38:100:38:14

Where you used to snore a lot when you came and stayed last time!

0:38:140:38:17

You used to kick me out of bed and make me go and prune kiwi vines!

0:38:170:38:20

-Yeah.

-So you've still got cows.

0:38:200:38:22

When I was here last, you had two farms, milking what, I don't know,

0:38:220:38:25

-1,000 cows or something?

-Yes, that's correct.

0:38:250:38:27

Now we've sort of diversified into, I guess, other land uses,

0:38:270:38:30

which is kiwi fruit at this stage, yeah.

0:38:300:38:32

You're growing kiwi fruit yourself now?

0:38:320:38:34

-Yes, thank you very much.

-You used to take the mickey out of those kiwi

0:38:340:38:37

-growers!

-I have to say that I never thought I'd ever do it, you know!

0:38:370:38:40

But economics is telling that, you know, land-use, etc.

0:38:400:38:44

So time to do it.

0:38:440:38:45

Well, the view has changed dramatically.

0:38:450:38:47

It was all open pasture and thousands of cows and now,

0:38:470:38:50

there's all these trees and sort of shelter belts everywhere.

0:38:500:38:53

Lucky, we've got that chance to do that, so it's all good.

0:38:530:38:57

Well, I'd quite like to get back down into the kiwi plantation.

0:38:570:38:59

-Yeah, I'd love to show you.

-Can we have a look?

0:38:590:39:01

-Yeah, love to show you, mate.

-Bring back some sweet memories.

0:39:010:39:03

-Yeah, yeah. Well, good to see you. Yeah.

-When I was last here,

0:39:030:39:06

kiwi fruit was still seen as an exotic crop to grow.

0:39:060:39:10

Pruning them earned Duncan and me some much needed cash to fund our

0:39:100:39:13

travels.

0:39:130:39:14

Today, the fruit is big business.

0:39:160:39:18

The plantations are vast.

0:39:200:39:22

And pruning is a full-time job.

0:39:240:39:26

Nathan Burt manages JC's kiwi orchard.

0:39:260:39:29

Well, this takes me back.

0:39:310:39:32

And I have to say, 20 years, 27 years on,

0:39:320:39:35

that was one of your claims to fame here.

0:39:350:39:38

I'd like you to give it a go, at least, mate.

0:39:380:39:40

Can I still remember what I'm...?

0:39:400:39:42

So when we were pruning kiwi vines, it was in the winter months.

0:39:420:39:45

I think we were taking out the dead wood.

0:39:450:39:47

But it's all growing now.

0:39:470:39:48

So basically now, we've gone through flowering,

0:39:480:39:51

so these males with the male flowers aren't needed any more.

0:39:510:39:54

So what we're doing is trying to rein them back in and get the shade

0:39:540:39:57

off the females and also get good production for flower for next

0:39:570:40:01

-season for the male.

-The gross fruit production now,

0:40:010:40:04

instead of being at 5,000 trays per hectare once upon a time when you

0:40:040:40:07

were here, 10,000 now is normal.

0:40:070:40:09

-Wow!

-So it's around, you know,

0:40:090:40:11

Nathan's ability to exercise and get new methods that we're consistently

0:40:110:40:16

trying to get better and better at what we're doing.

0:40:160:40:18

-Moving things on.

-Yeah, absolutely.

0:40:180:40:20

Now, around a third of kiwi fruit are grown in New Zealand,

0:40:230:40:26

most of them here in the Bay of Plenty.

0:40:260:40:29

It's not just kiwis that JC's started to grow.

0:40:310:40:34

In the UK, avocados are now outselling oranges

0:40:340:40:38

and they grow well in this part of the world.

0:40:380:40:41

There is a lot of fruit on here.

0:40:410:40:43

It's great to see fruit on there, believe me,

0:40:430:40:45

cos it can be difficult to grow them.

0:40:450:40:48

Any severe weather conditions from now onwards after budding is done,

0:40:480:40:52

-you can lose the fruit.

-Right.

-So it's quite rewarding and it's very

0:40:520:40:56

economic, over and above cows.

0:40:560:40:58

So are you a dairy farmer or are you a businessman?

0:40:580:41:01

Hand on heart, I'd say that I'm a dairy farmer and a stock person

0:41:010:41:05

at heart. But I would have to say I'm a businessperson as well.

0:41:050:41:10

In the UK, we've just had Brexit.

0:41:100:41:12

We'll be coming out of Europe soon

0:41:120:41:14

and there is a concern that our support

0:41:140:41:16

to farmers will be lacking from government.

0:41:160:41:18

What would be your advice to those people?

0:41:180:41:21

Well, we're obviously very,

0:41:210:41:23

very conscious of the world market and it's being open to those

0:41:230:41:26

opportunities. It may be in time, growing vegetables.

0:41:260:41:28

I don't know. I'm not going to...

0:41:280:41:30

You know, I'm not going to say no to anything.

0:41:300:41:32

As you know, I said no to kiwi fruit 27 years ago but things change.

0:41:320:41:36

And I think it's about having the adaptability and the foresight with

0:41:360:41:41

people and partnerships to make those choices and the Bay of Plenty

0:41:410:41:45

is very lucky for those.

0:41:450:41:46

Well, I'd love to come back in another ten years and see what

0:41:460:41:49

-you're up to, JC.

-Ten years is too long.

0:41:490:41:50

You've got to come sooner than that, please.

0:41:500:41:52

-I will, I promise you.

-OK.

-Cheers.

0:41:520:41:54

It's been great to catch up with JC.

0:41:560:41:59

The farm has certainly changed since I was last year.

0:41:590:42:02

-See you again.

-Take care.

0:42:020:42:03

But JC is just as I remember him.

0:42:060:42:08

I'm leaving the fertile soil of the Bay of Plenty and driving south to

0:42:110:42:15

find out how other farmers have made subsidy-free farming work for them.

0:42:150:42:19

I'm heading to the Rangitaiki Station.

0:42:220:42:24

It's one of several huge government-owned farms.

0:42:240:42:27

The state have always owned land over here,

0:42:270:42:30

and once subsidies were removed,

0:42:300:42:32

the government had to make those farms pay for themselves.

0:42:320:42:34

Deer aren't native to New Zealand and over the years

0:42:390:42:43

these wild animals were seen as a menace.

0:42:430:42:46

But with the popularity of venison soaring,

0:42:460:42:48

a market opened up to farm the deer

0:42:480:42:50

and the government saw an opportunity.

0:42:500:42:52

New Zealand has become the largest exporter of

0:42:540:42:57

farmed venison in the world.

0:42:570:43:00

The Rangitaiki Station is not only

0:43:000:43:02

the biggest deer farm in New Zealand,

0:43:020:43:05

but it's the largest in the southern hemisphere.

0:43:050:43:07

Sam Bunny is the station manager.

0:43:080:43:10

-Oh, you must be Sam.

-Yeah.

-Good to see you.

0:43:120:43:15

-How's things?

-Really good.

0:43:150:43:16

This is an amazing set up. What are you doing in here?

0:43:160:43:18

These are our two-year-old stags and the vet's just here giving them a

0:43:180:43:21

health check before sale.

0:43:210:43:22

They'll be getting sold in the next couple of months.

0:43:220:43:25

And I understand you've got the biggest herd in the country.

0:43:250:43:27

Yeah, Rangitaiki runs about 7,500 commercial hinds.

0:43:270:43:32

-Goodness me! Thousands of them!

-Yeah.

-Amazing.

0:43:320:43:35

-Keeps us busy.

-So when you've got all the hinds and the fawns and all

0:43:350:43:38

the stags, what does that add up to?

0:43:380:43:40

On any given, sort of, summer,

0:43:400:43:42

we might have about 14 or 15,000 deer running around at Rangitaiki.

0:43:420:43:45

Serious operation.

0:43:450:43:46

What are you focusing on, then, to improve the deer?

0:43:460:43:48

We've got to the deer stud here, so genetically,

0:43:480:43:51

we're working on their breeding

0:43:510:43:53

values which is traits around growth rates

0:43:530:43:55

and carcass weights, trying to get them to grow faster and get their

0:43:550:43:59

venison production up. A lot of focus around pasture management,

0:43:590:44:03

so just eating grass is better, growing more grass.

0:44:030:44:06

And the more grass we can grow and the better that grass is then the

0:44:060:44:09

more profitable and the better our business will be, so...

0:44:090:44:12

There are concerns back home that our farming subsidy system may be

0:44:120:44:15

reduced following Brexit.

0:44:150:44:17

How have you managed here since 1984 when your farming subsidies were

0:44:170:44:21

-removed?

-I mean, I know nothing different.

0:44:210:44:24

I'm only 33 years old and I...

0:44:240:44:26

All my farming career's been about trying to run a sustainable business

0:44:260:44:30

and it's not easy. It's a real

0:44:300:44:31

challenge and we have our ups and downs,

0:44:310:44:33

but, it's just all about trying to improve production,

0:44:330:44:36

improved genetics, just make it sustainable as best we can.

0:44:360:44:39

Well, it's fascinating to see how you guys were out here and how you

0:44:390:44:42

think. Beautiful looking deer. How are they, Andrew? All clear?

0:44:420:44:45

-Yeah, they're all clear. Good to go.

-Let's leave them to settle down.

0:44:450:44:48

There's good boys.

0:45:000:45:01

-They've got some size about them, haven't they?

-Take it easy.

0:45:030:45:07

Wow! Once they go, they certainly go.

0:45:070:45:10

-Certainly a lot quicker than moving sheep about.

-Yeah.

0:45:150:45:18

You have to hand it to the Kiwis.

0:45:200:45:21

These subsidy-free farmers know how to turn opportunities into

0:45:220:45:26

money-making businesses.

0:45:260:45:28

And I know when it comes to farming,

0:45:310:45:34

New Zealand is very different to back home,

0:45:340:45:37

but what really sets them apart from what I've seen

0:45:370:45:40

so far is their attitude.

0:45:400:45:41

It's this can-do attitude that many of the early pioneers

0:45:430:45:47

to these shores certainly had.

0:45:470:45:49

But that's not the only thing to have survived from them.

0:45:490:45:52

Next week, I'm on the hunt for an

0:45:520:45:54

elusive breed of old English goat that

0:45:540:45:56

took up residence on an isolated

0:45:560:45:58

New Zealand island more than 200 years ago.

0:45:580:46:02

Bordering Wales, Shropshire is a county of contrasts.

0:46:130:46:16

From the rugged hills of the south...

0:46:190:46:20

..to the patchwork of pools and bogs of the north.

0:46:220:46:25

As we found out earlier,

0:46:270:46:28

the Meres and Mosses are a landscape with an important environmental role

0:46:280:46:33

and therefore, worth protecting.

0:46:330:46:34

Not the usual Countryfile location, is it?

0:46:410:46:43

Now, it may seem unlikely, but reclaiming this scrapyard is

0:46:430:46:47

the latest stage in keeping those mosses happy.

0:46:470:46:50

I don't quite understand it either, but luckily,

0:46:500:46:52

there is a chap here somewhere with all the answers.

0:46:520:46:55

Shropshire Wildlife Trust bought this site three months ago.

0:46:580:47:01

Now in partnership with Natural England and Natural Resources Wales,

0:47:040:47:08

the most challenging work is about to begin.

0:47:080:47:10

Luke Neal is a community officer with Shropshire Wildlife Trust.

0:47:130:47:17

-Hi, Luke.

-Oh, hi, Anita.

0:47:180:47:20

I've brought another massive pair of hands.

0:47:200:47:22

-You're going to need those!

-So, what are we doing?

0:47:220:47:24

-We're lugging...

-We're moving some of these tyres.

0:47:240:47:26

We're trying to get them sorted from the ones that have got metal rims in

0:47:260:47:29

and those that haven't. Yeah, help yourself to one down there.

0:47:290:47:31

-Just piling up over here?

-Yeah, please.

0:47:310:47:34

I mean, you wonder what a scrapyard and a wildlife trust could possibly

0:47:350:47:39

have in common, don't you? I mean, why acquire this site?

0:47:390:47:42

It's all about where it is.

0:47:420:47:43

It's about the location, so right here, we're on the edge of Fenn's,

0:47:430:47:46

Whixall and Bettisfield Moss,

0:47:460:47:47

which is one of the largest peat bodies in Britain.

0:47:470:47:50

That seems quite strange to have a scrapyard positioned here.

0:47:500:47:53

I mean, it's quite rural, isn't it?

0:47:530:47:54

The scrapyard was actually brought here in the 1960s and that was

0:47:540:47:57

before this site really had its special designation.

0:47:570:48:01

Prior to that, it would have just been a farm.

0:48:010:48:03

It's not an easy job though, is it?

0:48:030:48:04

It's not. There's an awful lot that we've got to deal with.

0:48:040:48:07

I mean, you can see here, we've got piles of tyres, we've got scrap,

0:48:070:48:10

we've got oil and it's quite polluted in the ground under our

0:48:100:48:13

-feet as well.

-But despite those challenges,

0:48:130:48:15

they're using what they can from the site and transforming it to work in

0:48:150:48:19

harmony with nature.

0:48:190:48:20

So, what we're hoping to do is to keep some of these sheds back here,

0:48:220:48:25

but, kind of, clad so that it's got an earth wall and an earth roof.

0:48:250:48:29

We would like to have a viewing tower at the top because one of the

0:48:290:48:32

things about these sites, they're very, very flat,

0:48:320:48:34

so if you can get a bit of height and then you can actually see right

0:48:340:48:37

out across the whole of the Moss.

0:48:370:48:39

From there, where we want to go is we want to restore all of this area.

0:48:390:48:44

We want to try and build some walls and maybe some play features out of

0:48:440:48:47

the tyres. You know, really re-use them if we can.

0:48:470:48:50

With this lovely kind of boardwalk that leads you right out onto the

0:48:500:48:53

-edge of the Moss.

-And we'll all have as much fun as that little dog.

0:48:530:48:56

Absolutely, yeah!

0:48:560:48:57

And that's not the only way this scrap material lives on.

0:49:030:49:07

Artist Rob Holmquist is turning some

0:49:070:49:09

of it into children's play equipment.

0:49:090:49:11

That is brilliant.

0:49:150:49:17

-Cheers, thank you.

-So, what are these bits that you've got?

0:49:170:49:19

These are a couple of valves from an engine and they've been welded onto

0:49:190:49:23

the front of the snail like that to make its tentacles.

0:49:230:49:26

What we're going to do is we're going to turn it into a bug hotel,

0:49:260:49:28

so not only was it scrap,

0:49:280:49:30

it's now a habitat for small creatures and animals.

0:49:300:49:34

I mean, it's funny because I look at that and all I can see is scrap.

0:49:340:49:38

-But what do you see?

-Quite a lot of scrap, I must admit!

0:49:380:49:41

But there is a lot of potential, as well.

0:49:420:49:43

If you've got the time and the tools,

0:49:430:49:45

you can make something out of quite a lot of it.

0:49:450:49:47

I'd love to have a go at something.

0:49:470:49:48

Cool. Do you want to do some spray-painting?

0:49:480:49:50

Would I ever like to do some spray-painting!

0:49:500:49:52

What are these going to be?

0:49:520:49:53

These are parts for one of the rockers over there,

0:49:530:49:56

so this is the body of a grasshopper.

0:49:560:49:58

I'd suggest everyone take a step backwards.

0:49:580:50:00

Thank you very much.

0:50:020:50:03

It is as fun as it looks and if it's inspired you to get out there and do

0:50:180:50:21

something fantastic in the great outdoors,

0:50:210:50:23

you'll want to know what the weather's doing.

0:50:230:50:25

Here's the forecast.

0:50:250:50:26

We're in Shropshire, where I've been discovering the unforgiving

0:51:120:51:16

landscape where both people and plants have battled to survive.

0:51:160:51:19

This quiet place was once a beacon of industry.

0:51:220:51:25

Today, the wheel no longer turns.

0:51:260:51:28

And the miners have stopped streaming into these tunnels.

0:51:300:51:32

But in the mid-18th century, lead mining was big business.

0:51:340:51:38

This stuff helped to power the Industrial Revolution.

0:51:390:51:43

Now, at one point, this place, Snailbeach Mine,

0:51:430:51:46

was the richest mine per acre in Europe,

0:51:460:51:49

and it was extracting 3,000 tonnes of ore a year.

0:51:490:51:53

Now restored, there's a maze of

0:51:550:51:57

rarely-seen underground tunnels to explore.

0:51:570:52:00

Let's venture into the gloom.

0:52:000:52:02

'Andrew Wood from the

0:52:040:52:05

Shropshire Mines Trust is taking me deep underground.'

0:52:050:52:10

How big is this mine, then, Andrew?

0:52:100:52:12

It actually goes well below sea level.

0:52:120:52:14

-Right.

-It's actually 1,700-odd feet deep.

0:52:140:52:19

3,000 tonnes a year coming out of this place,

0:52:190:52:21

what was the workforce like?

0:52:210:52:23

Well, at its peak in the middle of the 19th century,

0:52:230:52:27

this site employed over 500 people.

0:52:270:52:30

So instead of the quiet country place it is now,

0:52:300:52:33

it was a hive of industry and there were people and smoke and noise

0:52:330:52:37

absolutely everywhere.

0:52:370:52:39

Instantly, it opened up here, then, Andrew,

0:52:390:52:41

so what have we come across here?

0:52:410:52:43

This is what's called a stump, where all the mineral has been removed.

0:52:430:52:47

And what techniques would they have been using to get all this out?

0:52:470:52:52

It was all done by hand and using candles.

0:52:520:52:56

The men had to buy their own candles and they had to buy their own

0:52:560:52:59

gunpowder and, of course,

0:52:590:53:01

they needed gunpowder to blast the rock down.

0:53:010:53:03

So they used an implement like a bit of a spoon, if you like,

0:53:030:53:06

on a long stick. The spoon is copper,

0:53:060:53:10

the handle is wood because the last thing you want to do is to introduce

0:53:100:53:15

iron or steel to gunpowder in case you get a spark.

0:53:150:53:18

When they were ready, they'd light the fuse, run away and hide.

0:53:180:53:21

There'd be an enormous bang,

0:53:210:53:23

all the rock would come down and when the dust had settled,

0:53:230:53:25

they'd come back and start shovelling up the ore.

0:53:250:53:28

The mind boggles, doesn't it?

0:53:280:53:29

When you've got electric lights and you can see the vast area that was,

0:53:290:53:32

kind of, excavated but then, you think, that was all done by hand.

0:53:320:53:37

In the second half of the 19th century,

0:53:480:53:50

lead production reached its peak, but in 1885,

0:53:500:53:54

after a flood of cheap imports,

0:53:540:53:56

lead prices fell and many small mines went out of business.

0:53:560:54:01

This mine has now fallen silent.

0:54:100:54:12

But it's far from empty.

0:54:120:54:14

One particular species has set up home in these cavernous chambers,

0:54:140:54:19

the lesser horseshoe bat.

0:54:190:54:21

Just hanging about ten feet away from where I'm kneeling is the most

0:54:210:54:27

beautiful lesser horseshoe bat.

0:54:270:54:30

You could see one just fly up right there.

0:54:300:54:32

And here in Shropshire,

0:54:320:54:33

numbers of this beautiful creature have been on the rise since 1999,

0:54:330:54:38

year-on-year.

0:54:380:54:39

And the Shropshire Bat Group believe that this is because they found the

0:54:390:54:43

perfect dark, dank hibernation roost right here in Snailbeach Mine.

0:54:430:54:48

It's wonderful to see that this mine is not just a museum to the past.

0:54:540:54:58

It's also helping to protect the future.

0:54:580:55:00

Perfect timing!

0:55:030:55:04

Can you let me out? What's it worth?

0:55:040:55:06

Shall I let him out? All right, come on.

0:55:060:55:09

Thank you. Just what I wanted, actually.

0:55:090:55:10

-There you go.

-Oh, my eyes! Tell me when that's off. Is that off?

0:55:100:55:13

-It's off.

-It's off.

-How is it down there?

0:55:130:55:15

Yeah, good, good. I've had a lovely time here.

0:55:150:55:17

I tell you what, I've been up on top of it and underneath the landscape

0:55:170:55:20

here, but what a view. The hills around here!

0:55:200:55:22

It has been spectacular in Shropshire, hasn't it?

0:55:220:55:24

Even a scrapyard looked gorgeous!

0:55:240:55:26

Anyway, that's all we've got time for for this week.

0:55:260:55:30

Next week, we're going to be in

0:55:300:55:31

Carmarthenshire, where I will be exploring

0:55:310:55:33

the explosive sand dunes.

0:55:330:55:35

And Helen will be finding out just how fantastic bees really are.

0:55:350:55:39

-Join

-us then. See you.

-Cheers.

0:55:390:55:41

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS