0:00:26 > 0:00:28Carpets of sunshine...
0:00:28 > 0:00:31birds singing, and new life all around.
0:00:31 > 0:00:32It's Easter.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39We're exploring the three counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire
0:00:39 > 0:00:42and Gloucestershire, as the first signs of spring are emerging.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44And this week, I'm going to be finding out about some
0:00:44 > 0:00:49of the traditional, rural crafts that are still practised here today.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52It's proper old school, this, it's incredible.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Ellie's visiting the ultimate hi-tech wildlife garden.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58- Already I can see signs of your wildlife studio.- Indeed.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01There's plenty to show you here today.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Charlotte's looking at the controversy surrounding
0:01:03 > 0:01:07nature's most active engineer, the beaver.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10The beavers have tunnelled in, made their lodge in there,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14and that's leaving my neighbour with a bill of £4,000-£5,000.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17And Adam's meeting three-year-old Lily,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20- who's already got the lambing bug. - Now then, Lily.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23I was about eight when I lambed my first sheep,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25but you're only three. What was it like?
0:01:25 > 0:01:27- Slimy.- Slimy, was it?
0:01:41 > 0:01:44The rolling hills and mellow meadows of the three counties.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47A famous farming trio in the heart of England.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Herefordshire to the west, Worcestershire to the east,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54and Gloucestershire to the south.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00A land of pasture, winding rivers and ancient orchards.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03With a country church at every turn.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Well, this is a familiar sight in a British landscape.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11The village church, with its steeple and weather vane, but many
0:02:11 > 0:02:17would walk past a building like this and not even look up to take notice.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Weather vanes were a medieval status symbol,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23found on the village church and manor house.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25But for farm labourers and peasants,
0:02:25 > 0:02:29they gave a heads up about the weather. Quite literally.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Weather vanes on buildings have been recorded as far
0:02:32 > 0:02:33back as the ancient Greeks.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39And a detail of the Bayeux tapestry shows Westminster Abbey
0:02:39 > 0:02:41getting its first weather vane in the 11th century.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Well, thankfully, this historic metalworking craft is still
0:02:47 > 0:02:50alive in this old Georgian granary.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55And these weather vanes can rival any that have ever been produced.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03There are now only a handful of weather vane makers in Britain.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Karen Green, who hails from the US, and her husband, Gordon,
0:03:06 > 0:03:11have been sculpting them in all shapes and sizes for 25 years.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Do you know, Karen, it seems such a shame that these are going to end up
0:03:15 > 0:03:17so high on a building that people can't appreciate this
0:03:17 > 0:03:20incredible detail and beauty.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Yeah, a lot of people do say that,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26but it's amazing what light will do and catch that detail.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28You can see it as you spin it, that on the wings,
0:03:28 > 0:03:33you sort of get these moments where it flares at you, the light.
0:03:33 > 0:03:34And, I mean, talk us
0:03:34 > 0:03:36through the process of creating something like this.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39I start with a full-scale drawing.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42And that's generally a sketch that's been blown up.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45- And then it goes to pattern makings. - Pattern...
0:03:45 > 0:03:49- So we're saying similar to, like, making an outfit, a dress?- Exactly.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51It's very much like dressmaking.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03- If this is your office, this is your desk.- Yes.- Which I love.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06And I never leave it. I never leave it.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09- I kind of live in a six-foot space.- Right.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12'And I'll be hot-desking in Karen's unusual office, as she's
0:04:12 > 0:04:16'set me the challenge of making a traditional miniature weather vane.'
0:04:16 > 0:04:19This is a two-pattern piece.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23We've got the tail and the body, and that's very much how the
0:04:23 > 0:04:28traditional English weather cock would be constructed.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34'The first step is to cut out a bird shape to match Karen's half.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37'Easier said than done.' There we are.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41It's kind of not great, but it's a bit frayed on there, but...
0:04:41 > 0:04:45'Next, shaping the flat sheet, turning it from 2-D to 3-D.'
0:04:49 > 0:04:53Nice and hard, you want to bend that side over. That's right.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56I'm thoroughly enjoying myself here, Karen.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57SHE LAUGHS
0:04:57 > 0:05:01'Copper has always been the material of choice for weather vane makers.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03'It's a soft metal that's easily manipulated.'
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Feel it - it comes alive, doesn't it?
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Suddenly it's taking a - it almost gets a character of its own.
0:05:09 > 0:05:10It does.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Great! He's going to need a tail, though, isn't he?
0:05:13 > 0:05:15So, in order to function,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18a weather vane needs more surface area downwind,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21- and that is why the cockerel works as such a great design.- Ah!
0:05:21 > 0:05:25He's got a great skinny head, and then this great big tail...
0:05:25 > 0:05:28- Almost like a sail. - ..to catch the wind. That's right.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32And that tail, the wind blows it in the direction the wind is going.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34- Mm-hm.- So, it takes the tail.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38So, the nose of the weather vane is then pointing in the direction
0:05:38 > 0:05:39the wind's coming from,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42and that's how you know which way the wind's blowing!
0:05:42 > 0:05:45So, yeah - effectively, it's like a metal kite.
0:05:45 > 0:05:46- It is, yes.- Yeah.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50We're done with hammering.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Now it's time to bring out the blunt chisel -
0:05:53 > 0:05:56and grooving the copper sheet makes it more resistant,
0:05:56 > 0:05:57so the wind can't bend it.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02These are really the only tools I have -
0:06:02 > 0:06:05I've got a couple of chisels, one smaller than that,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07and the hammers that you've seen,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09and that's how I create all my details,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12so there's a plethora of marks you can make
0:06:12 > 0:06:16by using these very simple, basic tools,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19and you can be creative, then.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Do you want to see how the two match up?
0:06:21 > 0:06:22Let's have a look.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27So, you can actually...
0:06:27 > 0:06:31- Do you want me to help you in any way, or are you all right?- No.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36- I've got some kind of a ridge going on.- That's good!
0:06:36 > 0:06:37- That's...- Yeah?- Oh, feel that.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39That is actually quite strong.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42And then...you get...
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Look at that! Actually looks like a cockerel.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48Ohh! There we go.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51A three-piece cockerel.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53I thoroughly enjoyed that process -
0:06:53 > 0:06:54honestly, thank you very much indeed.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Now, the British beaver lost its battle against extinction
0:07:04 > 0:07:07hundreds of years ago - but could we soon see them
0:07:07 > 0:07:09being reintroduced in large numbers?
0:07:09 > 0:07:10Here's Charlotte.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29It's really hard to believe,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31but here, where I'm paddling along,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34was, until just six years ago, a forest -
0:07:34 > 0:07:38well, now it's been transformed into a small loch.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49And this is the reason - a massive 25-metre-long dam.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53The amazing thing about this dam is that it isn't man-made -
0:07:53 > 0:07:58it was made by an industrious rodent - the beaver.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Famous for their ability to remodel a landscape,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07the ambition of bringing beavers back to Britain
0:08:07 > 0:08:09has proved controversial,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13with some viewing them as destructive pests.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15The Scottish Government is due to decide
0:08:15 > 0:08:17if beavers can live in Scotland -
0:08:17 > 0:08:21now, that could have ramifications for the rest of the UK.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Should beavers be allowed to return,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26and, if they do, what impact would it have on the environment?
0:08:27 > 0:08:31Beavers have been officially extinct in the wilds of Scotland
0:08:31 > 0:08:33for more than 400 years.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Now a growing number have been finding their way
0:08:36 > 0:08:38into the wild across the UK.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41In 2009, the Scottish Beaver Trial was set up
0:08:41 > 0:08:45to bring them here to the remote Knapdale Forest in Argyll.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49It was the first time a mammal had been legally reintroduced
0:08:49 > 0:08:51to the wild anywhere in Britain.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57Well, either someone has been through here with a very small axe,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- or this is beavers - is it? - This is recent feeding.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03We'll see a distinctive chisel-like effect, so -
0:09:03 > 0:09:04that's a single bite.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06- That's a beaver chip. - A single bite?!
0:09:06 > 0:09:07That's a single bite.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Peter Creech is a volunteer for the Scottish Beaver Trial.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16OK, Charlotte - this is the dam.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18So, what was the idea behind this?
0:09:18 > 0:09:20Why put the beavers back in the first place?
0:09:20 > 0:09:23There's been 24 reintroductions throughout Europe,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26but it was considered that we needed to see how
0:09:26 > 0:09:29this would affect Scottish ecosystems in particular.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32They have a big effect, don't they? If we look at the dam.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35- They do. - How many were put back here?- 16.
0:09:35 > 0:09:3716 animals - a mixture of adults and juveniles.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40And would it take 16 beavers, then, to build this large dam?
0:09:40 > 0:09:42- No, not at all. Three made this dam. - Three?- Yes.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45So, they do have quite an impact, then, don't they?!
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Yeah, they live up to their reputation, certainly.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53The beavers have been busy - toppling trees, constructing dams
0:09:53 > 0:09:56and making a rather impressive home for themselves,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59and Peter says this has helped increase biodiversity.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02OK, Charlotte, just through the trees, there,
0:10:02 > 0:10:04you can see a beaver's lodge.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07We've seen what an effect they can have on a landscape -
0:10:07 > 0:10:09why is it good to have beavers?
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Beavers create habitats.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13They'll quite often be known as a keystone species,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16so, lots of other species of animals and plants
0:10:16 > 0:10:18benefit from the beavers' actions.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20We saw some evidence of that at the dam,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22where that large pool of still water
0:10:22 > 0:10:24has encouraged a host of invertebrates -
0:10:24 > 0:10:27the rotting wood has attracted another range of insects,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29that attracts birds.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32The increase in fish numbers in that pool will also increase
0:10:32 > 0:10:34the number of predatory birds,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36so we'll see things like herons, kingfishers -
0:10:36 > 0:10:40all of these species are benefitting from the beavers' actions.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45But the beavers haven't only helped provide habitats for other species -
0:10:45 > 0:10:49they've also had a positive effect on the local community.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01The reintroduction has proved to be a real draw for tourists.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03We'll look forward to seeing you.
0:11:03 > 0:11:04Thanks very much.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Hotel owner Darren Dobson
0:11:06 > 0:11:08says he's benefitted from the boom
0:11:08 > 0:11:09in wildlife watchers.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11Check off, Darren!
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Wow, full Scottish. That looks fantastic.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20- There we go. - What a way to start the day!
0:11:20 > 0:11:23So, Darren, what do you make of these beavers?
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Has it honestly made a difference to the business?
0:11:25 > 0:11:27Tens of thousands of pounds.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Every single weekend we have somebody staying
0:11:29 > 0:11:31that's come for the beavers.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Half the time, people see the beavers -
0:11:33 > 0:11:35so, you know they're going to come twice.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38How would you feel, then, if the beavers were removed?
0:11:38 > 0:11:39I'd feel cheated. I would -
0:11:39 > 0:11:42but it seems to me that they pay for themselves time and time again.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Bear in mind, there's no public money spent on them -
0:11:45 > 0:11:48it was all charity, and now they're producing money for the area.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50They certainly bring more than they ever will take,
0:11:50 > 0:11:51as far as I'm concerned.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56In total, official estimates suggest the local area
0:11:56 > 0:11:59has benefitted by hundreds of thousands of pounds -
0:11:59 > 0:12:04but, after five years of monitoring, the Scottish beaver trial is over,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06and their future looks far from certain.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11To keep this population healthy, more beavers are needed here -
0:12:11 > 0:12:13but that requires the Scottish Government
0:12:13 > 0:12:15to make a decision on their fate.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18When were you hoping for a decision from the Scottish Government?
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Well, we were hoping for a decision last year,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23so it's now been delayed for the better part of the year.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Does it make any difference, really, when they decide?
0:12:26 > 0:12:29We have a population here of about 12 to 14 beavers,
0:12:29 > 0:12:31and, obviously, the longer that situation remains,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34possibly the less viable that population will become,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36because of the possibility of inbreeding.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38It was always deemed to be a trial,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42so this wasn't meant to be an ecologically sustainable population
0:12:42 > 0:12:45which was put back into the environment, here.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49For now, the beavers remain in the forest,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53awaiting a decision from the Scottish Government -
0:12:53 > 0:12:58but that could be affected by what's happening more than 100 miles away
0:12:58 > 0:13:01here in Scotland's low-lying farmland.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03So, beavers are generally wonderful -
0:13:03 > 0:13:06they improve the environment and help the local economy.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09How is it, then, that here on the other side of Scotland,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12they're being blamed for damaging river banks?
0:13:12 > 0:13:16In fact, some people say they're being forced to shoot beavers
0:13:16 > 0:13:18to protect their livelihoods.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Well, join me later in the programme
0:13:20 > 0:13:21when I'll be finding out.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31It's an age-old problem -
0:13:31 > 0:13:34you love wildlife, but how do you get close enough
0:13:34 > 0:13:37to truly appreciate it without disturbing it?
0:13:37 > 0:13:41The nature-loving owners of this private garden in Worcestershire
0:13:41 > 0:13:44brought in wildlife expert Kate MacRae
0:13:44 > 0:13:47to help them solve the problem - and it's worked!
0:13:54 > 0:13:58Kate has cleverly adapted technology from the urban jungle
0:13:58 > 0:14:01and introduced it into this rural paradise -
0:14:01 > 0:14:04with spectacular results.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12- This place is fab, isn't it? - It certainly is, it's wonderful.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Already I can see signs of your wildlife studio.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Indeed - there's plenty to show you here today.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18So, what are we looking at up there, then?
0:14:18 > 0:14:20- Right, this is our tawny box.- Oh!
0:14:20 > 0:14:24We knew there were a pair here - when I first came,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26- we could see them and hear them calling.- Yeah.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29So, we put up this big box, cameras, lights, the lot,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32and they've been prospecting the last two years,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35so it's fingers crossed - we really want them to choose this box
0:14:35 > 0:14:38so that we can film them raising their family.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42But it's not just this one owl box -
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Kate has rigged up 30 CCTV cameras,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48which cover every inch of the garden.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54What was it that got you into this in the first place?
0:14:54 > 0:14:55How did you get started?
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Well, it was a nest box camera kit
0:14:58 > 0:15:01that really got me involved in the wildlife technology.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05It was a kit like this - you can see it's a standard nest box,
0:15:05 > 0:15:09but the addition is that we've got a little camera in there.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11I started off really simply, with this -
0:15:11 > 0:15:14just watching it on the telly in my kitchen -
0:15:14 > 0:15:15got completely hooked.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21As well as using off-the-shelf CCTV cameras to get the best results,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Kate thinks outside the box and experiments with her kit.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Basically, I'm trying to encourage small mammals to come in
0:15:30 > 0:15:33- and feed here, so that I can film them with the camera.- Wonderful.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36I wondered if - today I wanted to put some new stuff in here.
0:15:38 > 0:15:39So, sort of tucking things in -
0:15:39 > 0:15:41just make sure you leave the entrances
0:15:41 > 0:15:43- so that they can get in and out. - Oh, yes.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47- Oh, it looks lovely in there! - Yeah.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49That looks good - shall we put some food in?
0:15:49 > 0:15:53- And then...- Lid goes on.- Lid on.
0:15:53 > 0:15:54Nice. Ready for action.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59Voles, shrews and mice have all been recorded
0:15:59 > 0:16:01in this des res mammal box -
0:16:01 > 0:16:05and it's not just daytime visitors Kate's able to capture on film.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Now, this is a project I'm really interested in,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12because I, too, have had a go at building a badger sett before.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14- Really?- But it's unusual.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17How many entrances have you got? How big is this sett?
0:16:17 > 0:16:20This sett has two chambers and two entrances,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22here and here,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25and these are actually interlinked, so, we've got footage of them
0:16:25 > 0:16:27- going in there, going along and coming back out...- That's great.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30..and footage of them going in the chambers.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Kate's night-vision cameras
0:16:34 > 0:16:36have also been rigged up on the river bank,
0:16:36 > 0:16:37and filmed a male otter -
0:16:37 > 0:16:41and there was an even greater surprise in the daylight...
0:16:41 > 0:16:44I've got some fantastic footage of a female with two grown-up cubs
0:16:44 > 0:16:48last year, basically investigating around this area.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51..and the surprises don't end there.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54At the man-made pond, Kate's all-seeing eye
0:16:54 > 0:16:57recorded one of Britain's most colourful creatures.
0:16:58 > 0:16:59What a joy this is!
0:16:59 > 0:17:04Two of the big factors with wildlife in gardens is trees and water.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06I know - and having a pond this big
0:17:06 > 0:17:10has attracted a slightly more unusual visitor to our garden,
0:17:10 > 0:17:12and that's kingfisher.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13Oh, wow!
0:17:21 > 0:17:24The kingfisher, fairly quickly we established
0:17:24 > 0:17:28that he was sitting on here and hunting from this post.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31The kingfisher has been pulling out dragonfly nymphs,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35damselfly nymphs - even a water stick insect, and water boatmen,
0:17:35 > 0:17:40so the kingfisher has almost told us what we've got in the pond!
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Here in the reeds, the cameras captured footage of something
0:17:47 > 0:17:50the owners never thought they'd see on their land -
0:17:50 > 0:17:52a harvest mouse.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55This tiny mammal has rarely been filmed in the wild.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Kate's hoping a new feeding station hidden in the reed bed
0:17:59 > 0:18:02will capture more extraordinary glimpses of them.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04It looks quite odd that it's up high like this,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07but harvest mice would feed high up in the stalks, wouldn't they?
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Yeah - they're so tiny and so light that they clamber around
0:18:10 > 0:18:12with hardly even moving this.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18A screen of reeds should encourage the timid harvest mice to feed here.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22- Right in the reeds.- Yeah.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24- There we go.- Perfect.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26- Bit of food.- Yeah.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27Let's tempt them in.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Good luck with that one!
0:18:29 > 0:18:30- KATE LAUGHS - Thank you!
0:18:33 > 0:18:37And this is where all the hard work pays off.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39- The control centre!- Indeed.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Kate can finally get up close and personal
0:18:42 > 0:18:45to all to the wildlife in their remarkable garden.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47- Is this live, then...- Yeah. - ..or is this pre-recorded?
0:18:47 > 0:18:50- No, this is...- Those feeders are really active, aren't they?- Yeah -
0:18:50 > 0:18:52- so, this is all live now.- Fantastic.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55So, there's tonnes of bluetits down by the river, there.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59- Yeah, and we've got redpoll, siskin and goldfinch...- Goldfinch, there.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01..down on our Nyjer feeders.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04And here's the badger sett - those are the two chambers inside.
0:19:04 > 0:19:05Oh, it's lovely!
0:19:05 > 0:19:07There's the mammal box that we set up.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Did we get anything in there?
0:19:09 > 0:19:11Yeah, so let's have a look.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13If I hit playback on here...
0:19:13 > 0:19:15- There we go, here comes a... - Oh!- ..here comes a vole.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17- So, straight in, and...- Super quick.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21..and using our new set-up.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- That was incredible! We really haven't been gone that long.- No.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Just goes to show there's so much activity around us all the time.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30I know - most of it we wouldn't even know was happening.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33We don't even see it. It's brilliant! I love that.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39Kate never imagined she'd be capturing such incredible footage -
0:19:39 > 0:19:42and who knows what discoveries are still to be uncovered?
0:19:55 > 0:19:58At the heart of every village is its Parish church...
0:20:01 > 0:20:04..and country-folk have congregated at this one
0:20:04 > 0:20:06for more than 800 years.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12This is Holy Trinity Church in Bosbury,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15and it was built to be the jewel in the crown
0:20:15 > 0:20:18of the Bishops of Hereford, who had a palace just over there -
0:20:18 > 0:20:20so, it was very, very important to the clergy
0:20:20 > 0:20:22and the medieval villagers,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24who used this separate tower
0:20:24 > 0:20:29as a stronghold against Welsh raiders...
0:20:29 > 0:20:32but today Bosbury is not the powerhouse that it once was,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35and this poor old dear is starting to show her age.
0:20:39 > 0:20:40With roof problems
0:20:40 > 0:20:42and damp taking hold,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Bosbury Church was placed on the "at risk" list by English Heritage.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51So, villagers, led by churchwarden Liz Clutterbuck, have taken action
0:20:51 > 0:20:55and raised a quarter of a million pounds to stop the rot.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58How important is this building to you?
0:20:58 > 0:21:00To me personally -
0:21:00 > 0:21:03well, it's been part of my life since we moved here.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Brought my daughter to Sunday school, children's church,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10through...ending up being a churchwarden.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15How did it feel when you heard that this building was under this review,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19and they were saying, "Goodness me, it's in a bad way"?
0:21:19 > 0:21:23I was devastated, really, because you've got to turn round
0:21:23 > 0:21:27- and say, "What do we do about it?" - Yeah.- It's been here for so long.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31- Yes, yeah.- I don't want to be the one who lets it fall apart!
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Liz and her team have put their beloved church
0:21:37 > 0:21:40in the safe hands of heritage builders Richard and Rhys,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44who relish working on leaky, creaky historic buildings.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46They're using ancient techniques and materials
0:21:46 > 0:21:48to repair the church.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53- Morning, chaps. Are you all right? - Good morning, Matt.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Got the nippy side of the building, haven't you?!
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Out of the sunlight this morning.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Richard and Rhys are currently tackling the west end -
0:22:00 > 0:22:02the oldest part of the church.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- We're going to repair this panel here...- Yeah.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08..and areas here, where mortar's missing,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10- we're going to replace.- I see.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12So, we're going to patch it.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15- So, we have to take all the loose pointing out and repair it.- Yeah.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18They're raking out old cement
0:22:18 > 0:22:21and replacing it with a traditional mortar
0:22:21 > 0:22:24made of crushed burnt limestone and gritty sand.
0:22:24 > 0:22:25That's it. Just ram it in.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Make sure it's really pushed in there.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29It's flexible, and it breathes.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34The technique which we're using today is the original technique,
0:22:34 > 0:22:36when the stonework was put together.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40They used to use mud rather than... and soil rather than sand,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44but sands make a much better mortar than the original clay.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46You know, when I was a young lad,
0:22:46 > 0:22:48I used to spend a lot of time repointing.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51All our buildings on our farm are all stone, so...
0:22:51 > 0:22:52Do you want to come and work for me?!
0:22:52 > 0:22:54I was going to say! THEY LAUGH
0:22:54 > 0:22:58I'd be very, very happy to spend most of my day here doing this.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06But repairs alone won't save Bosbury Church.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09These pews are no longer full on Sundays.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Change is always difficult,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14but the villagers have asked architect Philip Belchere
0:23:14 > 0:23:18to create a versatile community space in their place of worship.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21- You've done this before in other churches, haven't you?- Yeah.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Surely there must be those people within the community
0:23:24 > 0:23:28that are very against this taking pews out and what have you?
0:23:28 > 0:23:30There is a great resistance to change.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34I've come across people that don't even go to the church,
0:23:34 > 0:23:40but they have this feeling that that pew was where their grandfather sat
0:23:40 > 0:23:43and it's unassailable, you cannot move that pew.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47Philip's vision of communal use actually harks back
0:23:47 > 0:23:50to how the church would have been used when it was first built.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53- Everybody was here enjoying themselves.- Right.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56And in some churches, there would have been ox roasts.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59This is where brewing started, in the churches.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02- Yeah. - This is where the entertainment was.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08So bearing in mind what this building
0:24:08 > 0:24:11and buildings like it have witnessed in the past
0:24:11 > 0:24:13as far as how vibrant it was here,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17what is your hope and your vision for this place?
0:24:17 > 0:24:21- Longevity.- Right.- Everything that we can possibly do
0:24:21 > 0:24:24to make sure that these buildings survive.
0:24:26 > 0:24:32I'm hoping that what we are doing will leave our generation's mark
0:24:32 > 0:24:34on the building so that it looks...
0:24:36 > 0:24:39..and stays here for many, many more years.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41It's like we're getting married backwards.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43SHE LAUGHS
0:24:43 > 0:24:45- Where's the vicar?- Exactly.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56Now, earlier, we heard that after being extinct for centuries,
0:24:56 > 0:24:57there have been efforts
0:24:57 > 0:24:59to re-establish beaver colonies in Britain,
0:24:59 > 0:25:01but not everyone is happy to have them back.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04So can beavers successfully coexist with humans?
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Charlotte has been finding out.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21This is Tayside in the southern Scottish Highlands.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25It's home to more than 150 beavers living in the wild.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28It's not known whether they escaped from captivity,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32or were illegally released some ten years ago.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35This area is low-lying farmland,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38intensive for agriculture, with quite a few people, too.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41And it's this close proximity to humans
0:25:41 > 0:25:43that's been causing problems,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46leading some landowners to resort to extreme measures.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52What we're seeing here is where the beavers tunnelled in
0:25:52 > 0:25:55below the water level and come up through here
0:25:55 > 0:25:57and it's all starting to collapse.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59You can see it's going, look, just here.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00Don't stand on top of it,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04because otherwise you just go down through and it's gone.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08David Colville runs a 750-acre arable farm.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11He's one of several landowners in Tayside who say their livelihoods
0:26:11 > 0:26:15are being hit by beavers burrowing and destroying flood protection.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20The end point of that damage is what we're seeing across the river.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23The beavers have tunnelled in, made their lodge
0:26:23 > 0:26:24and the river's come up
0:26:24 > 0:26:27and the pressure has actually exploded out the lodge
0:26:27 > 0:26:31and that's leaving my neighbour with a bill for about £4,000-£5,000
0:26:31 > 0:26:34if he's got soil nearby.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37If he's got to import soil, that bill could double quite quickly.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38How do you know it's the beavers, though?
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Cos we've had a really wet winter, the river has flooded -
0:26:41 > 0:26:42it could just be that.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46It's been a bad winter all over, but there are bursts that we've got
0:26:46 > 0:26:49that you can look and say, "That's beaver damage."
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Although beavers have been shown to help prevent flooding
0:26:55 > 0:26:57in upland areas, here in low-lying Tayside,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59they're said to have been responsible
0:26:59 > 0:27:01for some flooding-related problems.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08As it's illegal to trap and relocate the beavers without a licence,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11landowners like David believe they're left with few options
0:27:11 > 0:27:13and some have resorted to shooting them.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Recently in the Tayside area,
0:27:17 > 0:27:1921 beavers were shot.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21Now, some of them were heavily pregnant
0:27:21 > 0:27:24and that's raised concerns about the beavers' welfare.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Some environmental groups are demanding that Scotland's beavers
0:27:29 > 0:27:32get legal protection, as in other European countries.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36But farmers like David say if beavers are here to stay,
0:27:36 > 0:27:38they must be controlled.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41What do you think will happen to the beaver population here
0:27:41 > 0:27:44if it is allowed just to explode, as you put it?
0:27:44 > 0:27:47The beaver populations are already exploding.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50It's not going to be long before they're throughout the length
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and the breadth of the country.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Somerset Levels - they'd have a field day down there.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59What would you like the Scottish Government to decide?
0:27:59 > 0:28:01I don't see there's any chance of eradicating them.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03It's beyond that now.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07I hope it will allow us to control them in the Lowlands,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10but they've got to allow us to do what we are here to do -
0:28:10 > 0:28:12produce food to feed the country.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15If we can't do that,
0:28:15 > 0:28:16then we've got problems.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19'The future of beavers in Scotland has polarised opinion...'
0:28:19 > 0:28:20I'm nervous now, walking up here.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24'..but both sides agree there's an urgent need for a practical
0:28:24 > 0:28:26'and sustainable solution.'
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Last year, Scottish Natural Heritage prepared this report.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32It draws on the experience of having beavers here in Scotland,
0:28:32 > 0:28:34but also across Europe
0:28:34 > 0:28:39and sets out different scenarios for government ministers to consider.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43The proposals range from removing the current population from the wild
0:28:43 > 0:28:46to an accelerated, widespread reintroduction.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Look at this. It's just amazing what they can build.
0:28:56 > 0:28:57They really are engineers.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01You can see why you say, "Busy like a beaver," can't you?
0:29:01 > 0:29:02They don't sit around.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06The Scottish Government is advised by, among others,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12Sarah Robinson believes there are challenges ahead,
0:29:12 > 0:29:15but to see beavers successfully established in the UK,
0:29:15 > 0:29:17a compromise must be found.
0:29:18 > 0:29:19If we just look around us here,
0:29:19 > 0:29:21the plan had been to plant a woodland,
0:29:21 > 0:29:25but the beavers have pretty much felled everything that we can see.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28In other places, they're undermining river banks
0:29:28 > 0:29:30and destroying flood prevention measures.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32Yeah, I think some of it is around
0:29:32 > 0:29:34how we're using the land at the moment,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37so if you are going to take your agriculture
0:29:37 > 0:29:40right up to the edge of the river, then you add beavers to that mix
0:29:40 > 0:29:41and you are going to see problems.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44There is mitigation available and it's been proven
0:29:44 > 0:29:46throughout Europe and in agricultural landscapes to work.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49You do have to spend some time tailoring it to the situation
0:29:49 > 0:29:51and it's been proven time and time again.
0:29:51 > 0:29:52What do you think the Government should do?
0:29:52 > 0:29:55Obviously, we're pro, so we'd like to see the option
0:29:55 > 0:29:59where they're allowed to remain and do further introductions.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02I absolutely accept that it requires a management plan
0:30:02 > 0:30:05and that management plan should be robust and should,
0:30:05 > 0:30:07in certain unsuitable cases,
0:30:07 > 0:30:11under licence, be taken all the way to a lethal removal
0:30:11 > 0:30:15or relocation of beavers that are causing a real problem.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Returning a species to the wild when it's been absent
0:30:18 > 0:30:22for many centuries is a significant decision for any government to take
0:30:22 > 0:30:25and what it decides may not please everyone.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30Farmers here on Tayside say they're not anti-beaver,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34they're just anti-too many of them in what they see as the wrong place,
0:30:34 > 0:30:38while in Argyll, they'd like to see more beavers.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41But what the two sides can agree on is that they need a decision
0:30:41 > 0:30:43from the Scottish Government, and soon,
0:30:43 > 0:30:46but there are elections here in Scotland in May
0:30:46 > 0:30:48and it really doesn't look likely
0:30:48 > 0:30:50that there'll be a decision before then.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05For me, the arrival of fields of golden daffodils
0:31:05 > 0:31:09bobbing in our landscape is one of the great heralders of spring.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19Nearly every daffodil we see has been especially grown
0:31:19 > 0:31:20or cultivated.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26But there is one daffodil found in the fields and woodlands
0:31:26 > 0:31:29of Gloucestershire that has not been grown in this way -
0:31:29 > 0:31:32the native wild daffodil.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36Once found in large numbers,
0:31:36 > 0:31:40the native wild daffodil now only exists in small pockets.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43Like this woodland in an area
0:31:43 > 0:31:46famously known for its native daffodils,
0:31:46 > 0:31:48the Golden Triangle.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51But why do we not see them in such abundance any more
0:31:51 > 0:31:53and how can we tell the difference?
0:31:55 > 0:31:56Well, to answer that,
0:31:56 > 0:32:01I'm meeting Rosie Kelsall of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03- Hi, Rosie. You look busy. - Yeah, indeed!
0:32:11 > 0:32:15- So, Rosie, this is the native wild daffodil.- It is, that's right.
0:32:15 > 0:32:16Yes, isn't it a beautiful thing?
0:32:16 > 0:32:20- Really small compared to your normal daffodil.- Absolutely, yeah.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22In fact, that's one of the distinctive features
0:32:22 > 0:32:25about the native daffodil. They are generally much shorter.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29They say the leaves are also this very kind of silvery-grey colour,
0:32:29 > 0:32:31rather than the deep green of some of the cultivated ones.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34But if you look at the flower, the petals around it -
0:32:34 > 0:32:35again, very delicate.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37Almost papery, aren't they, in appearance?
0:32:37 > 0:32:40I've seen cultivated daffodils flowering in January.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43The cultivated varieties are bred to look a certain way
0:32:43 > 0:32:44and to grow at a certain time of year,
0:32:44 > 0:32:47whereas these native species will only flower
0:32:47 > 0:32:51when the conditions are right, so it needs to be the temperature right,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54the amount of daylight needs to be right, the amount of rainfall,
0:32:54 > 0:32:56so when all of those things come together,
0:32:56 > 0:33:00that's when you get this wonderful carpet of native daffodils.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Another name for the native daffodil is the Lent lily.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15Lent really is because of the time of year that it flowers,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18so it's thought that it will grow and flower and die back
0:33:18 > 0:33:21in the period between Ash Wednesday through to Easter Sunday.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24I like the name lily. My daughter's called Lily.
0:33:24 > 0:33:25Ah, there we are, you see.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28Bring her out to have a look at them and to enjoy them as well.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36Despite the native daffodils flowering
0:33:36 > 0:33:37here in the Golden Triangle,
0:33:37 > 0:33:39elsewhere in the area,
0:33:39 > 0:33:41the picture is not so golden.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Changes in agriculture and poor land management
0:33:46 > 0:33:49have meant that much of its habitat has been destroyed.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53But help is on hand -
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Dymock Forest Rural Action has been growing thousands of native flowers
0:33:57 > 0:33:58from seed and today,
0:33:58 > 0:34:02some of those are being planted in one of the local villages.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06Hello. You look like you're hard at work.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08- What are you up to?- Yeah, we are.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11We are planting out these precious wild daffs,
0:34:11 > 0:34:14back where they belong, in the verges.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18- Can I do something? - Yeah! You can put them in!
0:34:19 > 0:34:21So why are you doing this?
0:34:21 > 0:34:28Because we're very concerned that people have put some cultivated ones
0:34:28 > 0:34:30to make the place look pretty,
0:34:30 > 0:34:35but we don't want them interbreeding with our very special native ones.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39We've got some more people from the village who are taking out
0:34:39 > 0:34:41the cultivated daffodils.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43So they're the bad bullies that we want to get out?
0:34:43 > 0:34:45And these are the lovely, little, delicate ones.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Once we get them in, they will take over and it'll be fabulous.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Every year, you see a new area of verge
0:34:51 > 0:34:54that's got these beautiful daffodils in.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00These delicate, characterful flowers will be gone in a few weeks,
0:35:00 > 0:35:02just a memory of spring.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14But this year, they are to live on, as they are to be immortalised
0:35:14 > 0:35:17in a poignant tribute to those who died in World War I.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23I've come to Eastnor Pottery for a lesson in ceramic daffodil making.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25- Just place your petals... - Are the petals...?
0:35:25 > 0:35:27- They're not very good, are they?- That's OK.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30Are you trying to stitch me up here, Sarah?
0:35:30 > 0:35:33Because of Gloucestershire's connections with the daffodil,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36it was decided to use the flower as a mark of respect
0:35:36 > 0:35:38and celebration.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42Local people are making hundreds of these flowers.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45They'll be used to create a field of ceramic daffodils
0:35:45 > 0:35:47to commemorate the fallen.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50That's pretty good.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53- It should be the Ugly Daffodil, shouldn't it?- Yes!
0:35:53 > 0:35:54It's not very good, really.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00During the 1930s, as a young boy,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03Horace Dudfield worked as a daffodil picker.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Harvesting the native daffodils
0:36:08 > 0:36:10was an important cottage industry in the area
0:36:10 > 0:36:12and of huge economic importance.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Horace has written a poem to remember those times.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20I used to laugh when, as a child
0:36:20 > 0:36:24I walked through fields where daffs grew wild
0:36:24 > 0:36:26In such profusion did they grow
0:36:26 > 0:36:29All scattered wide, none in a row
0:36:29 > 0:36:32Then wartime fields were ploughed
0:36:32 > 0:36:36And we those lovely blooms no longer see
0:36:36 > 0:36:40But still I dream of those days olden
0:36:40 > 0:36:43When fields for miles around were golden
0:36:43 > 0:36:45And local ladies thousands sold
0:36:45 > 0:36:48To reap their own particular gold
0:36:48 > 0:36:52Alas, those days I'll no longer see
0:36:52 > 0:36:54I'm fast approaching 93.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12Most are familiar with an Easter that promises a few days off work
0:37:12 > 0:37:14and a chocolate egg or two to look forward to,
0:37:14 > 0:37:18but down on Adam's farm, the Easter holidays are anything but relaxing.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25Lambing is still in full swing.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27We've got about another 300 ewes to go
0:37:27 > 0:37:30and the goats gave birth a couple of weeks later than expected,
0:37:30 > 0:37:34but they've all kidded now and are doing really well.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37As well as sheep and goats, we've got cattle to look after
0:37:37 > 0:37:40and the first job of the day is weighing a young bull.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44This is a herd of pedigree Hereford beef cattle
0:37:44 > 0:37:47that we help manage for a neighbouring farmer.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50Last year, they won a prestigious national prize
0:37:50 > 0:37:52with a bull calf called Moreton.
0:37:52 > 0:37:57This year, we need to make sure he's piling on the pounds.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00My stock manager, Mike, is taking Moreton for a weigh-in.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04- Hello, Mike.- Hi, Ad.
0:38:04 > 0:38:05He's looking good, isn't he?
0:38:05 > 0:38:08Yeah, he's always looked good, ever since he was a little calf
0:38:08 > 0:38:10and he's growing really quickly as well.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14It's interesting to see him next to the heifers that are the same age
0:38:14 > 0:38:17and some of his sisters in there. He's a really beefy-looking animal
0:38:17 > 0:38:19and for a young breeding bull like this,
0:38:19 > 0:38:21it's important that they have the right genetics
0:38:21 > 0:38:23and they're the right-looking animal,
0:38:23 > 0:38:24but also, growth rates are important,
0:38:24 > 0:38:27how much meat they're putting on on a daily basis,
0:38:27 > 0:38:29so Mike's going to pop him in the scales.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32There's a good boy. Walk on, then.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34MORETON BELLOWS
0:38:35 > 0:38:39Farmers want beef cattle that grow quickly.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42A bull like this should be putting on more than a kilo a day.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45Anything less could be a sign there's a problem.
0:38:47 > 0:38:52- The moment of truth. So what's his weight, then, Mike?- He's 581 kilos.
0:38:52 > 0:38:53So what does that mean?
0:38:53 > 0:38:57At the moment, he's putting on about one and a quarter kilos per day.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59One and a quarter kilos a day?
0:38:59 > 0:39:00That's good - are you pleased with that?
0:39:00 > 0:39:02Yeah, that's very good
0:39:02 > 0:39:04and it means the food's doing exactly what it should do.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07So, there we go, Moreton's doing really well.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09Over half a tonne of rippling muscle,
0:39:09 > 0:39:10and he's not even 12 months old.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Well done, Mike. I'll catch up with you later.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18We're keeping these Herefords under cover and feeding them
0:39:18 > 0:39:20silage for a week or two yet.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23But, come Easter, there's just enough grass to start
0:39:23 > 0:39:26returning the ewes and newborn lambs back to the field.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42This is the field that I'm going to drop them off.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45There's a few ewes and lambs in here already that I'll just check
0:39:45 > 0:39:46they're all settled.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Number sixes are fine in there. Mum OK.
0:39:52 > 0:39:53They're looking well.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55What I'll do is I'll take the ewes
0:39:55 > 0:39:59and lambs I've got in the back just a little bit further away from these
0:39:59 > 0:40:02others so they don't get muddled up initially, let them get settled.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07Right, this should be a good spot to let them out.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15We're only turning out the strongest looking lambs for the time being.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19Once they're out in the field, it's up to the ewes to look after them.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21EWES AND LAMBS BLEAT
0:40:21 > 0:40:23All right, want to get your babies?
0:40:27 > 0:40:32Anybody who grew up on a farm will know when things get really busy,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35you have to get stuck in and help out, even from a young age.
0:40:35 > 0:40:40So, when I saw a clip of young Lilly Nicholas helping out
0:40:40 > 0:40:42at the tender age of three...
0:40:43 > 0:40:45..I just had to go and meet her.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55'Lilly's family have been farming just outside
0:40:55 > 0:40:58'Raglan in Monmouthshire for five generations.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01'I'm meeting Lilly's mum, who filmed the clip,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04'and Lilly herself, the star of the show.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10'The video was posted online by mum, Rachel,
0:41:10 > 0:41:15'and features young Lilly delivering her first-ever lamb.'
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Yay! That's it.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21'The clip's been viewed millions of times,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25'and has understandably attracted a lot of media attention.'
0:41:25 > 0:41:28- It's a girl.- Yay, it's a girl!
0:41:28 > 0:41:31- Hi, Rachel.- Hiya. All right? - Good to see you.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33And you must be Lilly. Hello.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35THEY LAUGH
0:41:35 > 0:41:37So, this video clip has gone mad, hasn't it?
0:41:37 > 0:41:40Why did you decide to do it in the first place?
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Cos friends kept saying, "Oh, I'd love to see her lambing,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45"I'd love to see her lambing." So we had the opportunity, and that,
0:41:45 > 0:41:49so I thought, I'll take a couple of pictures.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51I thought, no, you can see it better on a video.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54So I worked out how to video on my phone, and done it,
0:41:54 > 0:41:56and it just spiralled from there.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58- Incredible, isn't it?- Yes, mad.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01Now, Lilly, I was about eight when I lambed my first sheep.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03But you're only three. What was it like?
0:42:03 > 0:42:06Er... Slimy and hot.
0:42:06 > 0:42:07Was it slimy and hot?
0:42:07 > 0:42:11What could you feel of the little lamb when you put your hand in?
0:42:11 > 0:42:14- Her legs.- Yeah? What else?
0:42:14 > 0:42:19- Her foot.- Yeah?- And a.. - Anything else?
0:42:19 > 0:42:22- And...- Did I ask you if you could feel her nose?
0:42:22 > 0:42:26- And what did you say you could feel? - Her mouth.- That's right.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29So, do you know how a lamb is born? What position is it born in?
0:42:29 > 0:42:31You show me.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33That's it. How does it go?
0:42:33 > 0:42:36That's it, and forwards.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38Wonderful. That's very clever.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43Earlier on, I saw for myself just how hands-on Lilly is.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46'Some people might be concerned about a child
0:42:46 > 0:42:49'putting their hand inside a ewe when they're lambing it,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52'but, actually, they've got tiny little hands,
0:42:52 > 0:42:53- 'quite handy, really.- Yes, they are.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55'Like you said, she'd...she'd be
0:42:55 > 0:42:58'a lot better than my husband or somebody like you with bigger hands,
0:42:58 > 0:43:02'you know, especially on more the yearling type, first timers,
0:43:02 > 0:43:05'you know, cos there's not an awful lot of room.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08'And the smaller your hand is, the better, really.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10- 'Flick the legs into the right position...- That's it.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12'Yes, you can still manoeuvre whilst you're in there,
0:43:12 > 0:43:15'whereas if you've got a lamb and a big hand,
0:43:15 > 0:43:19- 'it narrows the space down a lot, doesn't it?- Yeah, yeah!
0:43:19 > 0:43:22'It's all part of farming life, isn't it? They know their boundaries.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25'Don't get me wrong, we wouldn't endanger them
0:43:25 > 0:43:27'just for the sake of it.'
0:43:27 > 0:43:29What have we got to do now, Lills?
0:43:29 > 0:43:31- Wash our hands.- Why have we got to wash our hands?
0:43:31 > 0:43:33- Cos they're mucky. - Cos they're mucky!
0:43:34 > 0:43:37Do you think you'd like to be a farmer one day?
0:43:37 > 0:43:40What sort of animals do you think you might have on your farm?
0:43:40 > 0:43:45Sheep, pigs...piglets. Dogs. Cats.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48And cows, and calves.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50- And a truck.- And a truck, yes.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54- And a trailer.- Yeah, you'll need a big farm.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59'Well, if she does get one, she can count on help from her
0:43:59 > 0:44:00'ten-year-old sister, Catherine,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03'who's also more than happy to muck in.
0:44:04 > 0:44:09'This is one farm whose future is in safe but small hands.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15'Easter is all about new life.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18'You might remember a few weeks ago we found out that our pet
0:44:18 > 0:44:21'vizsla, Boo, was pregnant.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25'Not to be outdone by all the lambs at this time of year,
0:44:25 > 0:44:29'she's gone and had some rather cute puppies of her own.'
0:44:29 > 0:44:33PUPPIES SQUEAK
0:44:33 > 0:44:36It's been a few days since Boo gave birth.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40And, in the end, it was just six she ended up with.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43She's been a little bit stressed by it all over the first
0:44:43 > 0:44:46couple of days, but she's settled down now,
0:44:46 > 0:44:48and she's keeping them clean and feeding them really well.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52And all six puppies are very healthy.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54They've still got their eyes shut.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57It'll be a few days before their eyes open up.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59There's a good girl, don't worry, I'm not going to hurt her.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02I'll pop her back down.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05There's a good girl. Lie down, then. There's a good girl.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10PUPPIES SQUEAK
0:45:10 > 0:45:14I adore having dogs. I'd never really want to be without one.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17And I'm very proud of Boo. She's made a great job of this,
0:45:17 > 0:45:21and you're a very good mum, aren't you? I'll leave her to it.
0:45:43 > 0:45:44TURKEY GOBBLES
0:45:51 > 0:45:55Easter is not normally the time of year to talk turkey,
0:45:55 > 0:45:58but in this part of Gloucestershire, it's a different story.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02Turkeys are very much the talk of the town.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09'Sarah Hawkeswood has an EGGS-traordinary passion
0:46:09 > 0:46:11'for these birds. (I didn't write this.)
0:46:11 > 0:46:14'But you won't find these turkeys on your Christmas dinner table.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17'These birds are bred for the amazing eggs they lay.'
0:46:17 > 0:46:22Look at you! He's handsome!
0:46:22 > 0:46:24- How are you doing? - We're great, thank you.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27Good, good, good. Gosh, it's quite a noise up here, isn't it?
0:46:27 > 0:46:29I know, you can hear it right from the road outside.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32Good thing about turkeys, they're great guard dogs.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34They always tell you first if somebody's coming.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36That's true, that's true. How many have you got here?
0:46:36 > 0:46:38There seem to be more coming out by the second.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41Yeah, I think there's probably about 70
0:46:41 > 0:46:46- of these bronze egg-laying turkeys out here.- Yeah.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48The black one there, he's a boy.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52He makes the gobbling sound. All these you can see are all females.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55So that gobble sound we're quite familiar with, that's all male?
0:46:55 > 0:47:00That is all the male. The females make a kind of high-pitched sound.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04TURKEYS MAKE HIGH-PITCHED SOUND
0:47:11 > 0:47:13How did you get into this, then, keeping turkeys?
0:47:13 > 0:47:16It first started out, it sounds quite bizarre,
0:47:16 > 0:47:21I had one pet turkey, a female, and one morning I came home
0:47:21 > 0:47:23and I discovered she'd laid a beautiful egg.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26I thought, how wonderful! It's so pretty, I thought,
0:47:26 > 0:47:28how come no-one's... I'd never seen one,
0:47:28 > 0:47:31no-one I knew had seen one, you couldn't get them in the shops.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34I suppose there's so many of them that don't make it past Christmas,
0:47:34 > 0:47:35don't get into laying season.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40Turkeys only usually live until about six months of age, maximum.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43- Yeah.- And they're not going to lay an egg in that time
0:47:43 > 0:47:45cos they don't start laying until around about Easter time.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48I've never seen a turkey egg. Is there any here we can see?
0:47:48 > 0:47:50Well, yeah. I mean, if you look there,
0:47:50 > 0:47:54- that turkey is actually busy building a nest.- Oh.
0:47:54 > 0:47:58- Let's take a look.- I think they're absolutely beautiful.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01- They are beautiful. That beautiful speckle.- Look at that.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03- Yeah, that's a cracker. - They're pointed at one end,
0:48:03 > 0:48:06- they're quite distinctive, the shape of them as well.- I'm getting
0:48:06 > 0:48:08a little bit of a warning here - "Stay out of my eggs."
0:48:08 > 0:48:12You'll see that the speckles are actually different,
0:48:12 > 0:48:16- and they've each got their own distinctive pattern.- Oh, really?
0:48:16 > 0:48:20- What are these eggs like to eat, then?- Well, I'm biased.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23They are... I call them the Champagne of the egg world.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26The yolk is much larger than a chicken egg,
0:48:26 > 0:48:28and it takes up most of the size of the egg.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31And you've got all the nutrients concentrated in there.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34However you like them, they really are...
0:48:34 > 0:48:35like I said, something special.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40ROOSTER CROWS
0:48:40 > 0:48:43'And it's not just turkey eggs.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47'Sarah has a host of feathered friends, producing eggs of all
0:48:47 > 0:48:51'shapes, sizes and colours, which she sells at farmers' markets.'
0:48:53 > 0:48:55These eggs are really beautiful.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58It's hard to imagine improving on nature.
0:48:58 > 0:49:02But there is one Easter tradition that can add a bit of colour.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09'I've come to a local school,
0:49:09 > 0:49:12'where they're carrying out a lovely Easter custom.'
0:49:13 > 0:49:15Egg painting.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25There's some fantastic artwork going on here,
0:49:25 > 0:49:28let me see these eggs. Oh, they're beautiful.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35Who can tell me why we paint eggs at Easter time? Does anybody know?
0:49:35 > 0:49:39- Do you know? - Cos it's a symbol of new life.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41Because Christ came back to life.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45I see, so the breaking of the egg is like the tomb opening.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47That's really good.
0:49:47 > 0:49:48KIDS LAUGH
0:49:49 > 0:49:52- Does nobody like chocolate eggs? - I do.- Oh, you do?- I do!
0:49:52 > 0:49:55You do like chocolate eggs? Do you?
0:49:55 > 0:49:59- Have you two even finished yet?- No.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11Well, here is an EGG-citing display, if ever there was one.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15Another great Easter tradition is heading out for the chocolate hunt.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18And if you're going outside for yours, you're going to want to know
0:50:18 > 0:50:19what the weather's got in store.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22Time for the Countryfile forecast for this week.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11I always like looking in there, going...
0:52:11 > 0:52:14'Earlier, I was at Bosbury Church in Herefordshire,
0:52:14 > 0:52:17'meeting the team fighting centuries of neglect.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23'Holy Trinity's windows were made by highly-skilled craftsmen
0:52:23 > 0:52:25'and have, remarkably, survived the centuries.'
0:52:27 > 0:52:31And while many craftspeople are creating stained glass windows
0:52:31 > 0:52:33fit to grace a medieval church,
0:52:33 > 0:52:36others are taking the art form into the 21st century.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38Looks like I'm in the right place.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45- Hi, Matt.- Hiya, Tamsin. Oh, I love your workshop!- Well, welcome.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47Nice to see you.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49'With a background in fine art,
0:52:49 > 0:52:53'Tamsin Abbott has been working with glass for 16 years.'
0:52:55 > 0:52:59It's a lovely space to be working in. I mean, it just feels right.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01I mean, I don't even know if it's just because of
0:53:01 > 0:53:03the stained glass window that's surrounding us here.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06I feel like I've made a sort of nest of all the things
0:53:06 > 0:53:08that are important to me.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12'And she takes inspiration from her time spent in the countryside.'
0:53:13 > 0:53:18Well, ever since I was a small child, I drew and drew and drew.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22And it was always animals. That was always my passion, really.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26The idea is that we are there in the landscape, in our houses,
0:53:26 > 0:53:30but, actually, the landscape is alive outside of our awareness.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34And that's the magic, for me, about the countryside, is that
0:53:34 > 0:53:37even if you go for a walk and you don't see anything,
0:53:37 > 0:53:40- you know it's there. - Yeah, absolutely.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43'And the one creature that particularly captures
0:53:43 > 0:53:46'Tamsin's imagination is the hare.'
0:53:47 > 0:53:50Of all the animals, they've got a real mythical, sort of,
0:53:50 > 0:53:52quality to them.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56With regards to Easter, people thought that hares laid eggs
0:53:56 > 0:53:59because leverets are always found out in the field,
0:53:59 > 0:54:02they're born fully furred with their eyes open,
0:54:02 > 0:54:04so people thought they hatched out of eggs.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08So, that's where the sort of theory of the Easter bunny
0:54:08 > 0:54:09with the Easter eggs come from.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12'The glass Tamsin uses is all handmade,
0:54:12 > 0:54:16'and the vibrant colours often inspire her work.'
0:54:16 > 0:54:18- It's so beautiful.- It is.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21You're starting with a real beautiful product already.
0:54:21 > 0:54:25So, all the colours in the glass are already in the glass.
0:54:25 > 0:54:26They're underneath the black.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30'Tamsin's technique requires covering the glass in a thick layer
0:54:30 > 0:54:32'of gummy black paint.'
0:54:32 > 0:54:33It's proper old school, this, isn't it?
0:54:33 > 0:54:36- Here we are, in the lovely hut... - Yeah!
0:54:36 > 0:54:38..with the old pestle and mortar
0:54:38 > 0:54:42and the glass that's all being made by hand, and blown.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44- It's incredible. Lovely process. - Yeah.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49I think this might be a little bit thin, but it doesn't matter.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52'Now it's my turn to be creative,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55'scraping the paint off to reveal the glass below,
0:54:55 > 0:54:58'similar to a photographic negative.'
0:54:58 > 0:55:02We've got an actual feather here, which is the barn owl.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04And I've done a couple of examples.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07So, if you draw the stem of the feather.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12- So, a bit wider at the bottom, yeah? - Yeah, that's fine.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15So, here, you've got these lovely little, sort of, fluffy...
0:55:15 > 0:55:17- Wispy bits.- Wispy bits.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20And, so, this is a very nice way of doing that.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24- So, just... - Oh, yes, isn't that lovely?
0:55:24 > 0:55:28- It is all about confidence, this, surely.- It is, yes.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31You've just got to be sure of what you're doing.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33You get a lovely surprise, don't you, when you see...
0:55:33 > 0:55:35- The colours coming through, yeah. - ..through the glass, yeah.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41So, that's looking good, Matt.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44- It's knowing when to stop, I guess.- I know.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47- I think you might need to stop now. - You've got to leave it on
0:55:47 > 0:55:49- in order for it to actually... - Hold it up to the light,
0:55:49 > 0:55:52- then you can see it properly. - There we are.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56- Oh, that's great. That's lovely. - Quite happy with my first one.
0:55:56 > 0:55:58Fluffy and light and feathery.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01- What more do you want from a feather?- Exactly!
0:56:14 > 0:56:17Well, that's all we've got time for for this week.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19Next week, we're going to be taking an in-depth look
0:56:19 > 0:56:20at the nation's cattle.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24Until then, happy Easter to you all.
0:56:24 > 0:56:25Happy Easter.