0:00:27 > 0:00:32Somerset. A county where wild countryside meets fertile farmland,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35where man-made landscapes crisscross rivers,
0:00:35 > 0:00:37canals and channels.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42Since December, this place has taken a battering from the winter storms,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45leaving large parts of the Somerset Levels flooded.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50As a result, as well as communities, animals had to be evacuated.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53But food and bedding was in short supply.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56So some resourceful folk got together and created this,
0:00:56 > 0:00:58an animal food bank,
0:00:58 > 0:01:02with supplies coming in from all over the country from farmers.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Human resilience and ingenuity
0:01:08 > 0:01:11have been a common feature in the character of Somerset people.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16I'm making myself at home
0:01:16 > 0:01:17in this bleak landscape
0:01:17 > 0:01:20like one remarkable woman,
0:01:20 > 0:01:21Hope Bourne.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26She spent 60 years drawing, painting and writing about Exmoor.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30She became known as The Woman of the Moor.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34Tom's finding out about farm power.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Turning waste like this chicken muck into energy
0:01:37 > 0:01:41seems like a perfect way of producing electricity
0:01:41 > 0:01:44and has led to a number of these anaerobic digesters
0:01:44 > 0:01:47springing up around the country.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50But they also have an appetite for crops
0:01:50 > 0:01:52that we, or animals, could eat.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55So are we getting the balance right between food and fuel?
0:01:55 > 0:01:57I'll be investigating.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Adam's in the wilds of Scotland.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03The Cairngorms is a far cry from my home in the Cotswolds,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07and it's where some of our hardiest native breeds can survive.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10And I'm here to see some of the toughest farm animals around.
0:02:27 > 0:02:28Sunny Somerset.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Bounded by the Bristol Channel,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35its varied landscape takes in the hilly moorland of Exmoor
0:02:35 > 0:02:37to the flat, lush plains of the Levels.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40A rural county, famous for its cheese,
0:02:40 > 0:02:44willow and, more recently, its floods.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49Hundreds of homes are still affected after the wettest winter on record.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55For now, it seems the waters are finally starting to recede,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58but it will be a long time until communities get back to normal.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02However, it's not the first time this area has flooded,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04and it's unlikely to be the last.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07And that's partly because the Somerset Levels,
0:03:07 > 0:03:12an area of around 160,000 acres, is reclaimed land.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16The Romans were the first
0:03:16 > 0:03:19to build defences to hold back the sea
0:03:19 > 0:03:22in order to create more land for farming.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25The new pasture was lush and fertile,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28full of goodness left behind by the sea.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30But it's never been plain sailing
0:03:30 > 0:03:33and some winter flooding has always been the norm.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Stephen Rippon, from Exeter University,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38is a Professor of Landscape Archaeology,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42so he's well versed in the history of this changeable place.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47So how have people managed to live amongst all this
0:03:47 > 0:03:49for so many years, thousands of years?
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Over the years, they've had different sorts of approaches.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Initially, they would only move down here say in the summer
0:03:57 > 0:04:00and they'd just exploit the very rich natural resources,
0:04:00 > 0:04:02like grazing for their livestock.
0:04:02 > 0:04:08The name Somerset itself means "the people of the summer lands".
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Because the whole of central Somerset comprises these wetlands.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14And how often has it flooded, historically?
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Oh, every few decades, you get a pretty major flood.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22One of the best documented was actually in 1607,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26when it's recorded on churches such as this one
0:04:26 > 0:04:28that the waters were chest high.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Was there any particular period of time
0:04:30 > 0:04:33when people were most successful at living here?
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Settlement was very extensive in the Roman period,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40when there were even some quite palatial Roman villas
0:04:40 > 0:04:42constructed down on the Levels
0:04:42 > 0:04:44with lovely mosaic pavements,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46glazed windows,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48painted wall plaster, and so on.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52This shows what the landscape would have looked like.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56The area in blue would have been an intertidal salt marsh.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58And that's where they were producing salt.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03The light green was actually reclaimed in the Roman period.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06This is where they built embankments alongside the major rivers
0:05:06 > 0:05:08and sea walls along the coast,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12and drained the land through digging ditches.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14And what about the other map?
0:05:14 > 0:05:18After the Roman period, there was a major period of flooding.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24And as you can see, the blue now covers a much, much larger area.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27And the flood waters even reach down the Exe Valley,
0:05:27 > 0:05:29almost as far as Glastonbury.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32And then it was only later in the Medieval period
0:05:32 > 0:05:37that these flooded lands were reclaimed for the second time,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39which is when the present-day sea wall
0:05:39 > 0:05:41was established along the coast.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Why are things so different today?
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Why is there such trouble with all this flooding?
0:05:46 > 0:05:49I think one of the problems has been that in the past,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53farmers weren't farming this land all year round.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Areas like we can see behind us
0:05:56 > 0:06:00- were what were known as accommodation land...- Right.
0:06:00 > 0:06:01..and it was owned by farmers
0:06:01 > 0:06:04who lived on the surrounding dry land areas.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08And they would take their livestock down to the Levels in the summer,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11fatten the livestock up on the very rich grazing,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15but they would move their livestock off the Levels in the winter.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19What we've seen in the last 100-200 years
0:06:19 > 0:06:23is that far more people have started living down here all year round.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27So for thousands of years, the people who have used these lands
0:06:27 > 0:06:30have had to adapt to the changing tides.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35But with changing tides comes changing times.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38And it was a Victorian invention that really allowed them
0:06:38 > 0:06:41to tackle the challenge of the annual floods head-on.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46A new kind of steam pump.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49It's looked after by the Westonzoyland Engine Trust,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52which is home to no less than 30 different
0:06:52 > 0:06:55steam-powered engines and pumps.
0:06:55 > 0:07:01Including this one, the Easton Amos land drainage machine.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Installed here in 1861,
0:07:04 > 0:07:09this spectacular green machine was a breakthrough in pump technology.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11Its rotor had curved blades
0:07:11 > 0:07:14and could lift 100 tonnes of water a minute,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17making it the most effective pump of its day.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Engineering lecturer Bill Jewell
0:07:19 > 0:07:22has been volunteering at the trust for ten years.
0:07:22 > 0:07:29This pump was responsible for pumping 2,000 acres of water,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31which flowed into the engine.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Now, that is outside. You can't see now.
0:07:34 > 0:07:40- It comes under a tunnel and feeds into the bottom of the rotor.- Right.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45I just happen to have concealed privily about my person
0:07:45 > 0:07:50- a model of the rotor that's in the bottom of that pit.- Yeah.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Blades top and bottom on a central jig.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Water is trapped in here,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59feeds into the top and into the bottom.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02And when it revolves at high speed,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05the water is thrown out by centrifugal force
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and then comes up inside the chamber.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11And when it gets higher than the water in the river,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15then it flows out through this channel into the river.
0:08:15 > 0:08:16Incredibly simple, really, isn't it?
0:08:18 > 0:08:20The Easton Amos drainage machine
0:08:20 > 0:08:23was such an important new design,
0:08:23 > 0:08:24it was shown at
0:08:24 > 0:08:26the Great Exhibition of 1851.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29The technology was so successful
0:08:29 > 0:08:32that seven more steam-powered pumps
0:08:32 > 0:08:34were rolled out across the Levels
0:08:34 > 0:08:38to keep the flood waters at bay in the spring and the autumn.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42But as diesel replaced steam,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44one by one, the steam pump stations
0:08:44 > 0:08:46across the Levels closed,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49consigning engines like this to museum pieces.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Yet their legacy remains
0:08:51 > 0:08:53in this lot, the modern-day pump.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55It's these that are helping to restore
0:08:55 > 0:08:57the flooded lands here today.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02Now, if Victorians were impressed by the power of steam,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05we can only imagine what they'd have made of an invention
0:09:05 > 0:09:07that turned waste into energy.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Anaerobic digestion does just that
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and, as Tom's been finding out, farmers up and down the country
0:09:14 > 0:09:16have been starting to make the most of it.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Across the British countryside,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23farmers are busy harvesting their winter crops.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28And this is what they're after. Beet.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32A staple animal feed, especially during the winter.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34But this will never be eaten.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38All the energy locked up in here is going up there.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45Farmer Simon Gittins is growing these crops as fuel, not food.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48- It's amazingly dry really, considering.- Yes, it is.
0:09:48 > 0:09:49Around a quarter of his maize
0:09:49 > 0:09:53and beet is going into something called anaerobic digestion.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56So you're making electricity out of this,
0:09:56 > 0:09:58but it's not the only ingredient you're putting in.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00What else have you got in your larder?
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Well, this here is what we'd like to digest most of.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06This is chicken muck from poultry farms.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11We also put some maize in over here, maize silage. And also, potatoes.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15So you're making electricity, you're generating kilowatts
0:10:15 > 0:10:20out of a mixture of waste materials, waste food and some crops?
0:10:20 > 0:10:22That's correct, yes.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28So how does an anaerobic digester work, Simon?
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Well, we take all the products that you've just seen
0:10:30 > 0:10:35and we load them into our mixer here.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38This is basically just the mouth of the digester.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41And we feed that every hour through a mechanism down there
0:10:41 > 0:10:45- which chops it up, adds liquid to it.- Having gone into the mouth,
0:10:45 > 0:10:47as you call it, it then comes into this,
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- which is the belly of the beast, is it?- Yeah. This is just like
0:10:50 > 0:10:53the stomach of a cow, or ourselves.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55We keep it at the same body temperature that we are
0:10:55 > 0:10:59and it's the same bugs in here that work and produce the biogas
0:10:59 > 0:11:02that work in our own stomachs to produce energy.
0:11:02 > 0:11:03That's the key product, is it,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06a biogas, which is a methane, I gather?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09That's it. Biogas is very methane-rich, just like natural gas.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12And that's what we use to run our generators on,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14which we then produce as electricity and heat.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17- Is energy the only thing that comes out of this system?- No.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20We end up with a very high quality biofertiliser,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23which is then spread on the land.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26And roughly how much energy is all this producing?
0:11:26 > 0:11:30We produce about 1,000 kilowatts per hour, every hour,
0:11:30 > 0:11:3124 hours a day.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35That's probably enough electricity to run about 1,200 households.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Anyone with an anaerobic digester, or AD unit,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43gets paid for the electricity they generate
0:11:43 > 0:11:45via something called a feed-in tariff,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47even if they use the energy themselves.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52They also get paid a bonus for any surplus they export to the grid.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56These subsidies come out of our energy bills,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58but Simon believes it's worth it.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Fuel, just the same as food, unfortunately needs subsiding.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06We need both fuel and food in this country.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08The beauty about anaerobic digesters
0:12:08 > 0:12:10are that we're a waste-management tool,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13we're producing renewable energy and electricity,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15and we're producing a very valuable biofertiliser.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19Simon installed his unit in 2012
0:12:19 > 0:12:23and now other farmers are being encouraged to join him.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25The Government's offering them £10,000
0:12:25 > 0:12:28just to see if AD will work for them.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31It's proving a popular scheme.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Around 380 farmers in England have shown an interest,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37possibly because the Government has promised
0:12:37 > 0:12:42to follow up those grants with loans of up to £400,000
0:12:42 > 0:12:45to actually set up the AD plants.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Anaerobic digestion isn't new.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52There are already more than 130 plants in the UK,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54mostly industrial and community units.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57But now farmers are seeing their potential.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00We're hoping that growth rate will continue...
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Someone who's keen to promote the benefits is Charlotte Morton,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Chief Executive of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10What is the potential of
0:13:10 > 0:13:14anaerobic digestion for our country?
0:13:14 > 0:13:16If you look at energy terms alone,
0:13:16 > 0:13:18and we get all the potential feed stock
0:13:18 > 0:13:20that's suitable for the technology,
0:13:20 > 0:13:22then we're looking at something like ten percent of
0:13:22 > 0:13:24the UK's domestic gas demand.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27So that, in itself, is quite significant. And then, of course,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30there's all the value in recycling the nutrients,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32which helps to support food security.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38Not only does AD produce biogas, electricity, fertiliser and cash,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42it's also a low-carbon energy source.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44But from April this year, the subsidies
0:13:44 > 0:13:48for small and medium units are being cut by 20 percent,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51with a further ten percent earmarked in October.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55Charlotte thinks that will harm smaller producers.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58AD plants integrated into farming have huge benefits.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00We are just starting to get the farming industry
0:14:00 > 0:14:02that's waking up to those benefits,
0:14:02 > 0:14:04and getting quite excited about them.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09But now they're seeing huge cuts and there is a risk that they will say,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12it's just too risky from now on, and they won't do it.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15It's going to be stopping smaller scale British companies
0:14:15 > 0:14:18that are starting to grow, starting to employ lots of people.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20So, yes, it's very disappointing.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24The Government told us the cuts are needed
0:14:24 > 0:14:27because they are "constantly seeking to reduce tariffs
0:14:27 > 0:14:31"to ensure consumers aren't overburdened by the scheme."
0:14:31 > 0:14:35But while some claim the funding reduction
0:14:35 > 0:14:37will stop the industry expanding,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39others believe it's already too successful.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44It competes with us, and certainly with calves like these for food,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47and also, for land to grow the crops.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51So there are some farmers who aren't so keen on seeing
0:14:51 > 0:14:55its continuing expansion, as I'll be finding out later.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09The flooded fields and villages on the Somerset Levels
0:15:09 > 0:15:13became an all-too-familiar sight during our soggy winter.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19With pumps working around the clock, the water is finally in retreat.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22But for the communities who live here, it will be some time
0:15:22 > 0:15:24before the land is dry under their feet.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30I'm joining the lads from the Fire Service,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33out on their daily inspection.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37What we're doing here is, we're depth-checking the roads.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39So we're seeing what depth of water we've got,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42to see what access we've got with vehicles,
0:15:42 > 0:15:44so that we can provide an emergency response.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49- We're on a road here?- We are. The A361 below us. Main road to Taunton.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52And we're at a depth of about 30cm on the road at the moment.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56The depth further back goes to about three metres.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58It is incredible.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00I mean, when you look back, it's like the sea!
0:16:00 > 0:16:03- I mean, there's almost waves going across there!- It is, yeah.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05And how long do you expect to be doing this for?
0:16:05 > 0:16:09We expect to be helping out here for a number of weeks to come.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11And we will continue to do so until this water is gone,
0:16:11 > 0:16:13until the roads have become accessible.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Adversity has a funny way of bringing out
0:16:22 > 0:16:24the best in rural communities.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Along with the emergency services,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30an army of volunteers have been mobilised
0:16:30 > 0:16:33to help local people return to some kind of normality.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38It's a full-scale operation.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41And here in Burrowbridge, I'm heading for mission control.
0:16:44 > 0:16:45The pub, of course!
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Inside The King Alfred, landlady Sally Taylor has set up a food bank,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55and I'm here to pick up supplies for a flooded-out farmer.
0:16:55 > 0:16:56- I'm Matt.- Hello.- Goodness me,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59what an effort you're doing here, you really are!
0:16:59 > 0:17:00- So you live here?- Yes, I do, yeah.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Just give us an idea of how all of this started.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Donations have been - well, to use the pun -
0:17:05 > 0:17:07flooding in from all over the place.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09People arriving with cars, with bag loads.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12We've also had loads of donations from supermarkets.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15- I take it nobody pays for it, then? - No.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17- How many customers are you having in here?- Quite a few, actually.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Yeah. There's quite a few people who live locally,
0:17:20 > 0:17:22but are still in partly-flooded properties.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24And it's good for them as well
0:17:24 > 0:17:25because they get to see other people
0:17:25 > 0:17:28and have a chat, which a lot of them really need.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30Quite handy, really, that it's in the pub...
0:17:30 > 0:17:33- Absolutely.- ..because it just makes it so much easier, doesn't it?
0:17:33 > 0:17:36You come and have a drink and then pick up what you need.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40- Sort of open all hours as well. - Yeah. I've got a list here.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42I've got, "Milk, bread, biscuits,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45"thick-soled size-nine wellies, thick working socks."
0:17:45 > 0:17:47I came in here and I thought,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50I am never going to be able to get everything on this list!
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Well, listen, thank you both
0:17:52 > 0:17:55- and we'll see you when we do. - Lovely. Thank you. Bye.- Bye.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58- I shall pick up the wellies on the way out.- OK.- Thanks.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10The only way to make my delivery that's not underwater
0:18:10 > 0:18:12is along this network of paths.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15It's been built by, you've guessed it, volunteers.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20When the floodwater took over on the Somerset Levels,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24thousands of livestock had to be moved in emergency evacuations.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Some farmers had to make some heartbreaking decisions
0:18:29 > 0:18:32and abandon their farms altogether.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35But there are those farmers like Geoff Miller
0:18:35 > 0:18:39who choose to barricade themselves in with bales and stick it out.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47Hello, Geoff! Are you there?
0:18:47 > 0:18:50- Hello, Matt.- Nice to meet you. - Goodness me.- There's your groceries.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Thank you very much indeed. That's ideal. Thank you.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55- Pair of size nines, as ordered. - They're very much in demand
0:18:55 > 0:18:57and very welcome, with all the water around.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01- Show me around, would you? - Certainly. We'll go in the yard and have a look around.
0:19:01 > 0:19:08Pretty much the whole of Geoff's 250-acre farm was covered by water.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11The only bit that survived was his house.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16- So, then, Geoff, this is what's been washed up in your yard.- Yes.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Weed and wood and sleepers and all sorts.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21It's like what's left on a beach when the tide goes out.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23This was high tide, if you like.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26And, of course, the cattle were in these sheds and therefore,
0:19:26 > 0:19:28had we not evacuated them,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30they would have been in a couple of foot of water.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33- The water would now have been over our wellies?- Oh, yes. Yes.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35I had a pair of waders
0:19:35 > 0:19:39and it was more than two-foot deeper than where we are now, sort of thing.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42So, how many animals did you have here, Geoff?
0:19:42 > 0:19:46- We had 88 on the farm...- Yep. - ..suckler cows and calves...
0:19:46 > 0:19:49- Right.- ..and we had to evacuate them all.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53And I was relatively lucky in that two people that I know very well -
0:19:53 > 0:19:56one was my brother, one was the contractor who does my baling -
0:19:56 > 0:19:58came up with an offer of sheds
0:19:58 > 0:20:04and we were able to put 33 to Othery and 55 to Sutton Mallet.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11Geoff's cattle might be safe, but his problems are far from over.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Most of the silage on his farm is ruined.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Now he needs to source new feed.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20With his herd split over two sites and many roads still flooded,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23getting that feed to the cattle has become a real issue.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28Later, I'll be finding out how the farming community across Britain
0:20:28 > 0:20:30is coming to Geoff's rescue.
0:20:44 > 0:20:45Away from the flooded Levels
0:20:45 > 0:20:49and nestling in a valley among Somerset's undulating hills,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52the historic town of Castle Cary.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56Built predominantly of local Ham stone,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00which gives the buildings their distinctive golden colour,
0:21:00 > 0:21:02the town grew as a centre for the textiles industry.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Initially, it was wool, linen and rope that brought
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Castle Cary its wealth.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13But around 200 years ago, the town also started producing
0:21:13 > 0:21:17a hard-wearing luxury fabric made from something quite surprising.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19Good boy.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28Tucked away round the backstreets is one of only two factories left
0:21:28 > 0:21:32in the whole world using horsehair to make its products.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I'm meeting the owner, Anna Smith.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39- Hello, Anna.- Hello.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Now, this is your rather unusual raw material, isn't it?
0:21:43 > 0:21:45How many horses do you need?
0:21:45 > 0:21:47There's about three horses' worth in this bundle here
0:21:47 > 0:21:50and it comes from live horses, working horses,
0:21:50 > 0:21:52that have their tails cut.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Now we import the hair because there's insufficient local horses.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59- And why do people want it? - It's a very unusual fabric.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02It's very durable. It'll last more than 100 years,
0:22:02 > 0:22:03if it's properly upholstered.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05It's got a very unusual sheen. It's stain resistant.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07It's even got very good acoustics,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09so it's used for covering speakers
0:22:09 > 0:22:13- and for private cinema rooms.- Wow. And how did the business start?
0:22:13 > 0:22:15People used to weave the fabric at home,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17so it's very much a cottage industry.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Then John Boyd, who was a travelling textile merchant from Scotland,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23came here, saw potential in horsehair weaving,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26liked the area and decided to stay and set up his own factory.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32And his vision is still very much alive today.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- Ha-ha! This is amazing, isn't it? - Yeah.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40- It's like walking into the past. - Yeah.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44And these are the looms that actually turn the horsehair into fabric?
0:22:44 > 0:22:47That's right. They're the original looms from 1870.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Before the machines,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55children would hand weave the horsehair for 12 hours a day.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00But the 1870 Education Act meant they all had to go to school,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04so John Boyd invented and patented these special looms
0:23:04 > 0:23:07to mimic the skills of little fingers.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13- It's a wonderful pattern that's been created here.- Yeah.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16But to get the horsehair to this point,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20it has to go through a number of stages.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Well, to see what happens next, I'm going to clock on
0:23:22 > 0:23:24at this wonderful old machine...
0:23:26 > 0:23:30..that's been clocking workers on and off since about 1900.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40Duncan has been clocking in here for 24 years
0:23:40 > 0:23:41and he's going to get me started
0:23:41 > 0:23:44with a bit of what's called "hackling".
0:23:44 > 0:23:47- Put it onto the hackle. - Onto the hackle, start at the end.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49- Just like that?- Yeah, mind your hands. And pull.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52What we're doing is hackling the hair now to get all the knots out
0:23:52 > 0:23:55and straighten it out, ready to go to the looms for weaving.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57And this is hair straight from the horse, is it?
0:23:57 > 0:24:00This has been cleaned, but, yeah.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04I've noticed that in this hair...
0:24:04 > 0:24:08I mean, this end is quite a bit darker than that end. Why is that?
0:24:08 > 0:24:11This is because the darker end is the older end of the hair.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15- It's also urine stained.- That's something I never thought about!
0:24:15 > 0:24:17So, presumably, this darker colour
0:24:17 > 0:24:20can be dealt with in the dyeing process.
0:24:25 > 0:24:26As it's a natural material,
0:24:26 > 0:24:30they can dye the horsehair any colour they want.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32The whole process is very much hands-on...
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Into the vat.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37..as it has been for nearly 150 years.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39This is orange today, is it?
0:24:39 > 0:24:41It will be an orangey-brown, yes. So all you do...
0:24:41 > 0:24:46- is tip the dye into there. - Right. Into here?
0:24:46 > 0:24:48'The dye and horsehair are mixed together
0:24:48 > 0:24:52'with water heated to 90 degrees. The process takes up to a week.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56'And here's one that Duncan started earlier.'
0:24:56 > 0:24:57So this is the tank we dyed black in.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00We dye about 100 kilos at a time in here.
0:25:07 > 0:25:1070% of the final material is made of horsehair
0:25:10 > 0:25:12and this provides the width, or weft.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20The rest is either cotton, silk, or linen,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22which gives the fabric its length.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Anna, you've got a really fascinating business here
0:25:28 > 0:25:30and an intriguing product.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34But with only two factories in the whole world making it,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37could the end be in sight, do you think, for horsehair fabric?
0:25:37 > 0:25:40It's used for lots of very modern applications, such as hotels
0:25:40 > 0:25:43and super yachts and fashion, and we export all around the world,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47so 70% of what we produce goes overseas as well.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49So hopefully, there will be a huge future.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Rural heritage and tradition
0:25:59 > 0:26:02play an important part in this landscape.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04They've provided inspiration for writers,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08artists and photographers from all over the world.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12But it's the work of someone a bit more local that I'm interested in.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19Pauline Rook is a Somerset farmer turned photographer.
0:26:19 > 0:26:20She's spent the last 20 years
0:26:20 > 0:26:23capturing the lives of farming communities here.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27So how do you make the leap from farming to photographer?
0:26:27 > 0:26:29I always was a photographer, from a child.
0:26:29 > 0:26:35When we were farming and I had 260 cows and pigs and chickens
0:26:35 > 0:26:37and children, my photography took rather a back-seat.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39And why did you make that leap?
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Because I wanted to take these photographs of the people
0:26:42 > 0:26:45who were in my world. So I studied.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48I went to college for five years and studied it.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Do you think it helps, then, that you were a farmer
0:26:51 > 0:26:54- and understand farming and live within farming communities?- Oh, yes.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Otherwise, I would never have got access to many of them.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00If they know who you are, cos you live in their world, they trust you,
0:27:00 > 0:27:04and that's the most important thing.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06I do remember one of my early photographs -
0:27:06 > 0:27:10a lovely old boy who lived on a farm that was completely original
0:27:10 > 0:27:12and you never saw any life there.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14It was the other side of the river from our farm
0:27:14 > 0:27:17and I wanted to go in there.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20But one day, my sheep escaped over the river and got in his garden,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22so I had to go and meet him,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25and I saw these wonderful buildings and things
0:27:25 > 0:27:28and said to him, "Please can I come and take a photograph of you?"
0:27:28 > 0:27:32He said, "Well, you can take one of me if I can take one of you."
0:27:32 > 0:27:34So he's got one of me there!
0:27:34 > 0:27:37He'd actually never had a photograph taken in his life.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46One of Pauline's favourite subjects is her old neighbour, Joe Samways.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49His family have farmed here since 1943.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54This is a cosy farmhouse kitchen. Look at these photos!
0:27:55 > 0:27:57They are fabulous!
0:27:57 > 0:27:59How did you feel about it all, having a camera,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02while you were going about your normal work?
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Pauline lived up next door and we knew her.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08She used to come in and take photos.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11I've been taking these photographs for 20 years,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14so many of the ones that I've photographed have gone now
0:28:14 > 0:28:17and they're converted and people have died
0:28:17 > 0:28:19and there's no record at all of the life that was there.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Being part of the community she is documenting,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27Pauline's distilled the very essence of it,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30recording a way of life that's rapidly disappearing.
0:28:35 > 0:28:36Now, as we heard earlier,
0:28:36 > 0:28:38farming is increasingly being used
0:28:38 > 0:28:40as a source of fuel, as well as food.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42But, as Tom's been finding out,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45some farmers think the move is bad for business.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51These fields are planted with crops
0:28:51 > 0:28:53not for eating, but for energy.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58They're being grown for anaerobic digestion, or AD for short,
0:28:58 > 0:29:03a source of energy from crops, food waste, or even farm slurry.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07The Government wants to see more of it and farmers are in the front line.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10They've got the crops,
0:29:10 > 0:29:13they've got the waste, and they can make use of the by-products.
0:29:15 > 0:29:16So, what's not to like?
0:29:16 > 0:29:20Well, quite a bit, if you talk to some farmers.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23They say that growing crops for fuel, rather than food,
0:29:23 > 0:29:26is leaving them out of pocket.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30The vast majority are dairy-bred bull calves.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36Andrew Mallin is a tenant farmer with a herd of 1,200 cattle
0:29:36 > 0:29:37on his Shropshire farm.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41He used to rent his land for around £100 an acre,
0:29:41 > 0:29:45but says that anaerobic digestion units on surrounding farms
0:29:45 > 0:29:48are leading to a dramatic increase in costs.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52The problem we've got here, Tom, is the grazing ground.
0:29:52 > 0:29:53It has gone up two, three
0:29:53 > 0:29:57and even, in some cases, it's gone up four-fold.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01We just can't afford to pay these kind of prices any more
0:30:01 > 0:30:03to graze cattle. In a 12-mile radius,
0:30:03 > 0:30:06we've got six anaerobic digesters in production at the moment.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09We've got one under construction.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11We've got a further one going through planning.
0:30:11 > 0:30:18Each of those digesters will suck in eight to 1,000 acres of ground
0:30:18 > 0:30:20to grow crops to fuel them.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24Don't get me wrong, I'm not against anaerobic digestion.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26I think it's a fantastic idea,
0:30:26 > 0:30:29that somebody can actually use waste product
0:30:29 > 0:30:33and convert it into energy. What a fantastic idea that is.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37But when you've such a concentration of them in one area,
0:30:37 > 0:30:39it's only going to have a detrimental effect
0:30:39 > 0:30:42to traditional farming, and I'm talking traditional farming
0:30:42 > 0:30:45which is growing food for the population in this country.
0:30:47 > 0:30:48It's not just Andrew claiming that
0:30:48 > 0:30:50AD units are pushing up rents.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53George Dunn, from the Tenant Farmers Association,
0:30:53 > 0:30:55thinks crops like maize
0:30:55 > 0:30:58that are used as fuel, not food, are squeezing the industry.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03What are you and your members worried about with AD?
0:31:03 > 0:31:06The principal worry is the extent to which
0:31:06 > 0:31:07people are now growing maize
0:31:07 > 0:31:10to put into anaerobic digestion plants
0:31:10 > 0:31:13and are willing to pay very feisty rents for that ground,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16- in excess of £300 per acre. - How would that compare to what
0:31:16 > 0:31:19a dairy farmer or normal farmer can pay?
0:31:19 > 0:31:22A dairy farmer looking to grow maize for stock for his own farm
0:31:22 > 0:31:25would be looking to pay £100, £150 per acre.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29The Government's planning to cut their subsidy,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32- what do you make of that? - Yeah, we think that's a good idea.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34We think they need to remove the subsidy altogether
0:31:34 > 0:31:36for the very largest AD plants
0:31:36 > 0:31:38and for those which are concentrated on maize.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42We think it's sill sensible to be subsidising those plants
0:31:42 > 0:31:44that are using the waste products, but not the maize.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50But although the Tenant Farmers Association claims that
0:31:50 > 0:31:55AD is pushing up land prices, the National Farmers' Union disagrees.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59It's keen to point out the benefits of AD,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02especially for farmers who use their own waste,
0:32:02 > 0:32:05where they can spread the nutrients on the field
0:32:05 > 0:32:08and gain an extra source of income.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15Certainly, Simon Gittins, who we met earlier, thinks using
0:32:15 > 0:32:17a small amount of land for fuel
0:32:17 > 0:32:19shouldn't cause a problem.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22It really is a tiny, tiny fraction, and I think it's important
0:32:22 > 0:32:26in farming that we have a small part of everything.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30You know, it's a big mix and this is modern-day mixed farming.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37But growing crops for AD doesn't have to take valuable land
0:32:37 > 0:32:39out of food production.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41At the Stoke Bardolph Sewage Works in Nottinghamshire,
0:32:41 > 0:32:44there's an anaerobic digester on site that gobbles up
0:32:44 > 0:32:4840,000 tonnes of maize and 7,000 tonnes of beet every year.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53Best of all, these crops were never intended for the dinner plate
0:32:53 > 0:32:54or even the cattle trough.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01John Jackson runs the plant for Severn Trent Water.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04We've got a sewage works which treats the sewage of Nottingham.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Surrounding that, 2,500 acres of land, and it's been used
0:33:08 > 0:33:12for sewage-sludge recycling since 1880.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15There were certain heavy metals which came down the sewers and they
0:33:15 > 0:33:17ended up in these soils here.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20So what's growing here isn't considered fit
0:33:20 > 0:33:22for human consumption or animal consumption
0:33:22 > 0:33:25- without a lot of extra work? - You're exactly right.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29So what better way to grow crops in these soils here
0:33:29 > 0:33:31- and produce renewable energy? - So what have you done?
0:33:31 > 0:33:33What they've done at Stoke Bardolph
0:33:33 > 0:33:35is built an anaerobic digester
0:33:35 > 0:33:37which supplies a large part of the electricity,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40but also the heat, into the sewage treatment works.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43Severn Trent have an agenda to produce 30% this year
0:33:43 > 0:33:46of their power requirement from renewable energy.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50Anaerobic digestion is a superb way of contributing towards that target.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53Contaminated land is limited.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56But then, currently, we're only using a small amount
0:33:56 > 0:33:59of farmland for anaerobic digestion.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03Yet, as we've heard, AD units do appear to be increasing rents
0:34:03 > 0:34:04in a few hot spots.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08As a low-carbon source of energy fed on waste,
0:34:08 > 0:34:11anaerobic digestion has few opponents.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14But when it's run for maximum financial return,
0:34:14 > 0:34:18that can encourage greater consumption of crops
0:34:18 > 0:34:21and if that trend continues,
0:34:21 > 0:34:25competition for land and feed may well intensify.
0:34:32 > 0:34:33The Highlands of Scotland.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38A wild landscape, where even the hardiest animals
0:34:38 > 0:34:40are put to the test.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45This week, Adam's heading north to meet some of the toughest around.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00It's not that often I get to travel so far afield to visit another farm.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03But it's a great opportunity to see some of the breeds
0:35:03 > 0:35:06I keep in the Cotswolds, in a completely different environment.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12I'm on my way to an unusual farm near a little village
0:35:12 > 0:35:15called Tomintoul, which is the highest village in the Highlands,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18and there's snow on the tops, so I expect it'll be pretty chilly.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25But the March snow is no problem for this lot.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31These wild and windy mountains
0:35:31 > 0:35:34are home to the UK's only free-roaming herd of reindeer.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41- Hi, Tilly.- Hi, Adam.- Hi, Alan.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43Wow, they look absolutely magnificent!
0:35:43 > 0:35:47- This is where reindeer should be. - It's a chilly spot, that's for sure!
0:35:47 > 0:35:50The land belongs to a local estate,
0:35:50 > 0:35:52but Tilly and Alan Smith have turned it into
0:35:52 > 0:35:55a Highland haven for native breeds,
0:35:55 > 0:35:57and it all started with an animal
0:35:57 > 0:35:59that's not just for Christmas.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03Most domesticated farm animals would be down there in the valley,
0:36:03 > 0:36:05where it's a bit warmer, not stood up here on the top.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09You're absolutely right. Reindeer go up in the winter. They don't go down.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11They don't want to make it hard to dig through lots of snow
0:36:11 > 0:36:14to get to their favourite food in the winter, the lichen.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17They want it where the snow's blowing, it's easy to get to.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20And with a coat like that, you do not need shelter.
0:36:20 > 0:36:26- And the hair's all over them?- It is. Right from the tips of their noses...
0:36:26 > 0:36:28I think Magnus may be able to show us here.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30- He's got a completely hairy nose. - Furry nose.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34- Right to the bottom of his feet. - All the way down.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36- ALl the way down. - There's no bare bits.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Nothing to get cold, basically, and so they're snug as a bug.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42- And they want to preserve heat and energy, I suppose?- They do.
0:36:42 > 0:36:48So they don't do a lot. They're very slow. Their metabolism is slow.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50They don't have much of an appetite,
0:36:50 > 0:36:52so they can just doll around.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55They don't urinate very much, which sounds a bit bizarre,
0:36:55 > 0:36:58but of course, every time you urinate, you lose heat.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00- And you came here first to study the reindeer.- I did.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02I came with a Zoology degree.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05"I've got a Zoology degree! What am I going to do with it?!"
0:37:05 > 0:37:08I knew about the reindeer. I had a childhood passion of deer.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11I got to know the reindeer very quickly and, luckily,
0:37:11 > 0:37:13the reindeer keeper was quite good looking, so...
0:37:13 > 0:37:15- You fell in love with the lot! - I fell in love with the lot!
0:37:15 > 0:37:18What do you reckon to that, Alan? You ended up marrying her.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20Yep. She landed on her feet when she met me!
0:37:23 > 0:37:26The Smith family have farmed here for 30 years,
0:37:26 > 0:37:29allowing their 200 head of reindeer to roam free
0:37:29 > 0:37:32on more than 6,000 acres.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34Come on, then!
0:37:34 > 0:37:36The Cairngorms are perfect for reindeer,
0:37:36 > 0:37:40with a plentiful supply of their favourite grub, lichen.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42But they never say no to an extra feed of mixed grains.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48What a great experience, feeding reindeer up in the Highlands.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50Just fantastic... Hello!
0:37:50 > 0:37:52I'm going to go down with Tilly and Alan now
0:37:52 > 0:37:55and look at some of their other hardy animals.
0:37:55 > 0:37:56Right...
0:38:00 > 0:38:03With the reindeer happily roaming the higher ground of the farm,
0:38:03 > 0:38:07Tilly and Alan wanted to make use of the lower ground too.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10While the reindeer often steal the limelight,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13all the animals here have that independent spirit
0:38:13 > 0:38:15and hardy Highland nature.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24- COCKEREL CROWS - So what are these, in here?
0:38:24 > 0:38:26Red deer calves.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29I've just weaned them, just a couple of weeks ago.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32So I've taken all the best calves off and we'll keep them
0:38:32 > 0:38:34- for breeding stock. - They're lovely, aren't they?
0:38:34 > 0:38:38- Have you always been into farming? - I was brought up on a hill farm
0:38:38 > 0:38:40over at Ballater, in Gairnside.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43And, yep, farmer through and through.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45What animals did you have there?
0:38:45 > 0:38:47Blackface sheep and cows.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50- ADAM LAUGHS - So this is a bit different?
0:38:50 > 0:38:53- Yeah, this is different. - What other animals have you got?
0:38:53 > 0:38:56We've got a herd of fallow deer. I've got 100 of them.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58We've got Belted Galloway cattle.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02- And some sheep?- And Soay sheep. - Soays?- Nothing but the best here.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07Not into this Blackface sheep.
0:39:07 > 0:39:13- We have a wild boar and Iron Age pigs.- Goodness me.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16- So all your animals are real survivors?- Look after themselves.
0:39:16 > 0:39:17That's the best way.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20But even the toughest survivors will happily accept
0:39:20 > 0:39:22a free dinner through the winter.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26Come here, you big dafty!
0:39:29 > 0:39:31Aye, they like a good scratch.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33There we go. He's nice and quiet.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35- I can't go up and scratch mine. - Can you not?
0:39:35 > 0:39:37He's quieter than he was,
0:39:37 > 0:39:39but he's still a bit lively.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41- He's always been quiet.- He's lovely.
0:39:41 > 0:39:42- He's big too, isn't he?- Great.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45- When they're this big, they need to be quiet.- Yeah!
0:39:46 > 0:39:50- And the Belties live outside no problem?- All year round,
0:39:50 > 0:39:52and in the winter. I haven't taken them in this winter.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55They're still up on top of the hill behind us there.
0:39:57 > 0:39:58And they're not the only ones
0:39:58 > 0:40:00who love a bit of high living on the hills.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02- Shall I climb in?- I think so.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07'These young wild boar and Iron Age pigs have been weaned from the sows
0:40:07 > 0:40:10'and are now being fattened up for market
0:40:10 > 0:40:12'by Tilly and Alan's son, Alex.'
0:40:12 > 0:40:15So how old are these ones?
0:40:15 > 0:40:19The smaller ones, the crosses, I suppose were born in October.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22So they're about four, five months.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24And the bigger ones,
0:40:24 > 0:40:28the more wild-boar looking ones, are about eight months.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31- I'd have a pig ready for slaughter in six months.- Is that right?
0:40:31 > 0:40:34- How long does it take these? - At least a year.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36THEY LAUGH
0:40:36 > 0:40:38Stick you in a line. Come on, piggies!
0:40:42 > 0:40:44So why do you keep the wild boar?
0:40:44 > 0:40:46Well, we keep them for their meat, obviously,
0:40:46 > 0:40:50and for live sale, for selling to folk.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55We've also had them in this woodland down here the last 25 years,
0:40:55 > 0:40:59so we'll see how that brings on the wood, the birch wood.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02- So it helps regenerate it?- Aye.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04They'll hopefully just get round all the trees
0:41:04 > 0:41:06and let the other stuff come up and let the regen come on.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12High in the Highlands, both people and animals have to be resourceful.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15So even these little boar are great multi-taskers.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19It's been a real treat for me to come up here and see these animals.
0:41:19 > 0:41:20I must say, coming in with a wild boar,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24I was a bit nervous, cos they can be quite aggressive.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27But these are just young ones and they seem really friendly.
0:41:27 > 0:41:28You can see the wild boar
0:41:28 > 0:41:30have got these very long snouts,
0:41:30 > 0:41:32perfect for rooting up the ground
0:41:32 > 0:41:34and getting in amongst the woodland,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37and long hair that keeps them warm, thick skin.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39Quite a sort of rounded body.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41Then the Iron Age ones, the crossbred, have got
0:41:41 > 0:41:45a slightly bigger, longer body, a bit more flesh on them.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47These are the ones that I've got at home.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50Having spent the day in the fresh Highland air,
0:41:50 > 0:41:55I was secretly hoping for a bacon butty to round it all off.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59Wow, struck lucky! We've got a whole roast! Thanks, Tilly.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03- This looks absolutely wonderful. - Roast wild boar.- Lovely.- The best.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07And crackling on top. Just dark, dense meat. Slow-growing.
0:42:07 > 0:42:08There you go.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10Alex, do you want to take a bit?
0:42:12 > 0:42:16- It is a dark colour, isn't it?- It is. Can't resist taking a bit myself.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Wow. Well, it's been fascinating to see all your animals.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21You've enjoyed it? You've seen them,
0:42:21 > 0:42:24eaten them, and now you can go home and talk about them.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28Goodness me, what an experience! I'm very jealous. What a place to live!
0:42:30 > 0:42:32The Highlands are an awesome place to farm,
0:42:32 > 0:42:36demanding respect and determination from both man and beast.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38But this is one farming family
0:42:38 > 0:42:40who seem to have got it just right.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52For two months, people here had to live with rising flood water.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54It would have tested the resilience of most folk,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57but for Somerset farmers, along with tough decisions,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00it's also brought incredible community spirit.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04Geoff Miller resorted to moving his animals from his flood-hit fields
0:43:04 > 0:43:08to safer ground, away from the main farm.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10This was high tide, if you like.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14Of course, the cattle were in these sheds and, therefore, had we not
0:43:14 > 0:43:17evacuated them, they would have been in a couple of foot of water.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23But with sodden silage and rotten bedding, finding food
0:43:23 > 0:43:26for livestock has been a major headache for flooded-out farmers.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30That was...until now.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41The wider farming community has come to their rescue.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44This is Sedgemoor Livestock Market near Bridgwater,
0:43:44 > 0:43:46and it's become an impromptu dropping-off point
0:43:46 > 0:43:48for donated animal supplies.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58Along with a few friends, Rebecca Horsington found herself
0:43:58 > 0:44:01at the forefront of coordinating this massive aid operation.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05And it all started through social media.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10We put a few tweets out and people started re-tweeting the tweets
0:44:10 > 0:44:13and, before you know it, we were getting lorry-loads
0:44:13 > 0:44:16and lorry-loads of forage coming from all over the country.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18We're talking thousands and thousands of pounds' worth...
0:44:18 > 0:44:20- Absolutely.- ..which those farmers
0:44:20 > 0:44:22will not see back, those that do donate.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25No, and a lot of them are doing haulage for free,
0:44:25 > 0:44:29using their own diesel to come down, they have been incredibly generous.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32It makes me very, very proud of the farming community.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35I think that they have all pulled together in such a way that
0:44:35 > 0:44:37nobody could have imagined that they would.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44Without these unsung heroes, farmers like Geoff would have found it
0:44:44 > 0:44:47almost impossible to look after their animals.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51So these are your fresh bales going on here, Geoff?
0:44:51 > 0:44:55Yes, very glad to see them. We've been desperate for these.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58I still can't get access to my farm by tractor at all yet,
0:44:58 > 0:45:01so I'm reliant on this to look after the hundred or so
0:45:01 > 0:45:03head of cattle that I've got to look after.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07Astonishingly, this additional,
0:45:07 > 0:45:10but essential help has come from far and wide.
0:45:10 > 0:45:15Charles Deakin has driven over 150 miles, all the way from Shropshire.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18Coming down the road, people start flashing and waving at you,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21- it's a really good feeling.- How many of you have been behind the wheel?
0:45:21 > 0:45:24- Just me.- You've done nine hours on your own?- Yeah.- Good lad.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27That's absolutely extraordinary, it really is.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30I'll let you get a cup of coffee, get you sorted out!
0:45:34 > 0:45:36Ed Ford is from Essex Young Farmers.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39We sent 25 loads down here,
0:45:39 > 0:45:41delivered, another 15 to go.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43If we needed help, they'd come and help us.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47There's no other industry that rallies around like agriculture.
0:45:48 > 0:45:53The true extent of farmer generosity is clear to see here.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56They want to look after each other, despite the distance.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06With Geoff all loaded up, it's a 45-minute journey
0:46:06 > 0:46:08to the first of the evacuation sites,
0:46:08 > 0:46:09where Geoff keeps half of his herd.
0:46:15 > 0:46:19"Oh", he said, "I like this Shropshire straw!"
0:46:19 > 0:46:20What a good boy!
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Oh, that's lovely, having a good old scratch!
0:46:26 > 0:46:28Geoff was a farmer without a farm,
0:46:28 > 0:46:31but now, thanks to the kindness of locals,
0:46:31 > 0:46:36he has space to keep his cattle, in what was an old machine shed.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40- How long have they been in here, Geoff?- Three weeks.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42There's about 33 here.
0:46:42 > 0:46:47I've got another 55 on another holding, so my daily routine
0:46:47 > 0:46:50means coming up here, bedding up these,
0:46:50 > 0:46:52putting out some silage along the front,
0:46:52 > 0:46:54going off to do the other ones,
0:46:54 > 0:46:59which are a bigger lot, and they're three quarters of an hour away,
0:46:59 > 0:47:02so it takes an awful long time each day to go and see them.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06So thinking back to your daily routine beforehand, Geoff,
0:47:06 > 0:47:08how does it compare now?
0:47:08 > 0:47:11When they were all out in my yard, about a couple of hours,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14where now it's taking me all day.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16The thing that's come out of it
0:47:16 > 0:47:18- is the strength in the farming community.- Yeah.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21When we moved these cattle out,
0:47:21 > 0:47:24about 15 or 20 farmers turned up with tractors and cattle boxes.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27I felt quite... You know. It does make me well up
0:47:27 > 0:47:29talking about it, really, because they were so good.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55Somerset - a wild landscape of timeless beauty.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03As wildness goes, it doesn't get much more wild than Exmoor.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10Almost 200,000 acres of moorland.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13Its vast expanse of rolling hills
0:48:13 > 0:48:18and tangled woodlands harbour unique people and secret places.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22Like here, this is Ferny Ball.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25It might look quite uninviting and fairly remote, but it was
0:48:25 > 0:48:30home to a really remarkable woman - Hope Lilian Bourne.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34For more than 60 years, she lived on Exmoor -
0:48:34 > 0:48:38much of that time alone in the land, catching and killing her food,
0:48:38 > 0:48:39drinking from streams,
0:48:39 > 0:48:43painting and writing about the wildness she adored.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45Home was wherever she could find a dry place to sleep.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48Anything from a derelict farmhouse
0:48:48 > 0:48:50to a sheltered copse of trees,
0:48:50 > 0:48:52but it was right here on this spot
0:48:52 > 0:48:54that she spent most of her time,
0:48:54 > 0:48:57in this leaky caravan she bought for 25 quid.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02The caravan is long gone,
0:49:02 > 0:49:04but signs of Hope are still around.
0:49:04 > 0:49:09Somerset-born historian John Burgess used to visit here regularly.
0:49:09 > 0:49:13I'm hoping he can shed some light on this eccentric woman.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15Why do you think she chose to live this kind of lifestyle?
0:49:15 > 0:49:18I think she liked the freedom, as she says in one of her writings,
0:49:18 > 0:49:20she'd like to be free...
0:49:20 > 0:49:23"to walk, to ride, to hunt, to write."
0:49:23 > 0:49:26So she liked the freedom, and I suppose this gave her
0:49:26 > 0:49:27certainly the freedom, away from
0:49:27 > 0:49:29the masses, as it were.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33- That's true.- And the Tarmac road, as she referred to it.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35You've got some recordings of her voice.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38- We have indeed, on this machine. - Wonderful, let's have a go.
0:49:38 > 0:49:44'I had one saucepan, that cooked everything.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47'Since everything was the same every day - meat, potatoes,
0:49:47 > 0:49:52'green vegetables, I reduced the washing up to nil.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55'I think I achieved every woman's dream!'
0:49:55 > 0:49:56SHE LAUGHS
0:49:56 > 0:49:59'Why waste time with stuff like that
0:49:59 > 0:50:02'when you've got a wonderful world to explore?'
0:50:02 > 0:50:05You can hear her age, yet she doesn't falter for words,
0:50:05 > 0:50:06she's not slowed down.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10She was very eloquent, yes. Eloquent in many ways - with her writing...
0:50:10 > 0:50:13Her writing is beautiful, she paints pictures with words.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16Eloquent with her brush and pencil as well.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19'The caravan was perched on the edge of what had been
0:50:19 > 0:50:23'the courtyard of the old house.
0:50:23 > 0:50:27'There's a little stream at the bottom, along the rise
0:50:27 > 0:50:32'of the big hill with its fringe of trees.'
0:50:33 > 0:50:35Apart from her eccentricity, there was
0:50:35 > 0:50:38a greater understanding of...certainly of Exmoor
0:50:38 > 0:50:42and the way of life here on Exmoor, "what made it tick", as she said.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47I want to experience some of Hope's countryside for myself.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51So, armed with some more recordings, I'm following in her footsteps.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57'My legs will get me anywhere and I got to the state when
0:50:57 > 0:50:59'I used to boast that I knew Exmoor,
0:50:59 > 0:51:02'or most of it, like the palm of my hand.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06'My legs would take me into all those places
0:51:06 > 0:51:09'where people in cars can't get.'
0:51:09 > 0:51:12It was during Hope's endless walks across the moors
0:51:12 > 0:51:15that she met the farmers and local people
0:51:15 > 0:51:17who came to call her their friend.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19'The country was free and open,
0:51:19 > 0:51:21'nobody minded where you went.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26'Turning up in somebody's farmyard, after a few minutes
0:51:26 > 0:51:30'of conversation, I usually get asked in for a cup of tea.'
0:51:32 > 0:51:35Not only did Hope use her walks to meet people,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38she also used them to record the changing times,
0:51:38 > 0:51:41carrying a paint palette and pencil wherever she went.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46This is just one of thousands of sketches that she made.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48It's of this river here
0:51:48 > 0:51:51and she called this her Paradise Valley.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56Hope died in 2010,
0:51:56 > 0:51:59at the ripe old age of 91.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03And to their surprise, she left all of her work to the Exmoor Society,
0:52:03 > 0:52:05a charity set up in 1958
0:52:05 > 0:52:07to protect Exmoor and its wildness.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10I'm meeting the chairman, Rachel Thomas.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15My goodness, look at all this material she created!
0:52:15 > 0:52:19It's simply amazing, isn't it? This is only a small part of it.
0:52:19 > 0:52:24She left the society over 2,000 drawings and over 700 books.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28She absolutely adored Exmoor itself, and so she went out
0:52:28 > 0:52:32and sketched in all weathers and in all seasons.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35You've got this fantastic array of different colours.
0:52:35 > 0:52:39She's terribly interested in farmyards and farms.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41The ordinary things going on in farms.
0:52:41 > 0:52:42So we have these little sketches,
0:52:42 > 0:52:44some of which would be done up into pictures.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47I love these photos, this one of her holding the rifle is hilarious!
0:52:47 > 0:52:50She looks like she means it!
0:52:50 > 0:52:52And she did, because she often would shoot things to eat.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56So how did she come to be connected to the Exmoor Society?
0:52:56 > 0:52:58Hope joined it right from the beginning.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01She was what we would call a founder subscriber.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04Hope was passionate about Exmoor
0:53:04 > 0:53:06and particularly its wild areas.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09Obviously, that's one of the reasons why Exmoor was made a National Park
0:53:09 > 0:53:12in the first place. So this attention on moorland is really important.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14It mattered to her that it stayed wild.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18Absolutely, because that was the distinctive feature from the rest
0:53:18 > 0:53:22of the countryside, that you had very traditional farming and a way of life
0:53:22 > 0:53:25that was probably very different from many other areas of the countryside.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30Hope tirelessly campaigned to keep the moors wild,
0:53:30 > 0:53:34writing for the local newspaper and publishing a number of books.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37And today, the Exmoor Society continues to do the same -
0:53:37 > 0:53:41preserving her beloved Exmoor for generations to come.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44Since I've been here, I've met and learned about
0:53:44 > 0:53:47the inspirational women who've documented
0:53:47 > 0:53:49the changing fortunes of this county,
0:53:49 > 0:53:51and I've been inspired to do the same.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55I've also got the perfect subject... Keep doing what you're doing, Matt!
0:53:55 > 0:53:58You want a photo? Hang on! Let me get a nice big forkful of silage...
0:53:58 > 0:54:00- Look busy!- Ready?
0:54:00 > 0:54:03Ready? Here we go. Big smiles!
0:54:03 > 0:54:06One, two, three! Let's have it.
0:54:06 > 0:54:07SHE LAUGHS
0:54:07 > 0:54:10Take a look at this... Aw!
0:54:10 > 0:54:13- For the calendar.- Oh, yes. At least the cows are smiling.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17- Exactly!- That's all we've got time for this week.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19Next week, I'll be on the North Norfolk coast,
0:54:19 > 0:54:21finding out how the wildlife is getting on
0:54:21 > 0:54:23following the worst storm surge in 60 years.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26And there will be a chance to look back at the most spectacular beaches
0:54:26 > 0:54:29that we've featured, so we hope you can join us then.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31- Right, this is Frosty.- Right.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33Let's get a photo of the three of us, ready?
0:54:33 > 0:54:35- Do a selfie?- Yeah. Here we go, Frosty. Ready?
0:54:35 > 0:54:37- Good lad.- Go on!
0:54:38 > 0:54:40- Say "Countryfile!"- Yeah!