0:00:31 > 0:00:34Warwickshire, deep in the green heart of England.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43Landlocked it may be, but it's awash with green spaces.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47And today, I'll be meeting those doing their bit to preserve them.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55'I'll be hearing how one man's legacy is set to transform the
0:00:55 > 0:00:56'Warwickshire landscape.'
0:00:56 > 0:00:59How many do you think have been planted so far?
0:00:59 > 0:01:02In total, since we started, 1.6 million.
0:01:02 > 0:01:03That's mind-blowing, isn't it?
0:01:05 > 0:01:08'John's at a nature reserve with a difference.'
0:01:08 > 0:01:13It's not just all the wild flowers and the rest of the wildlife
0:01:13 > 0:01:16that make it so special.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18This is a very significant place for people.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Tom's asking why the UK's most popular fish is causing such
0:01:25 > 0:01:27a row in Scotland.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31There's a clear case here that when a farm is in the wrong place,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35to keep it remaining in the wrong place is just wrong.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40And in Cumbria, Adam's found some kindred spirits when it comes
0:01:40 > 0:01:42to keeping traditional breeds.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46These are one of the oldest recorded breeds of cattle in the world
0:01:46 > 0:01:50and the family I'm meeting have been working with them for 100 years.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Tucked between its tourist towns and transport networks,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Warwickshire's woods and wetlands make a great habitat for
0:02:10 > 0:02:12a wealth of wild creatures.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19But this can be a great habitat, too.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23A beautiful back garden, and I'm here to find out about an animal
0:02:23 > 0:02:27that you're just as likely to find in a flower bed as a nature reserve.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33It's the humble hedgehog and it's under threat from all sides.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Roads, habitat loss and modern practices in the countryside
0:02:37 > 0:02:39have all hit numbers.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Today marks the start of National Hedgehog Awareness Week and
0:02:43 > 0:02:47I've come to Stratford-upon-Avon to find out how we can all help
0:02:47 > 0:02:48this spiky species to survive.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Rural hog populations have decreased enormously since the turn
0:02:56 > 0:02:57of the last century,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00but I'm meeting three girls who have decided to do something about it.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07'Kyra, Eve and Sophie are on a mission to kelp the hedgehogs
0:03:07 > 0:03:08'of Warwickshire.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11'With the backing of several wildlife charities,
0:03:11 > 0:03:13'they've established themselves as go-to girls for injured
0:03:13 > 0:03:17'animals here in their hog hospital.'
0:03:17 > 0:03:22Hedgehog hospital, also known as the garage. Love it! So, who's in here?
0:03:22 > 0:03:26So, we have Sofia, Snowflake, and Tommy.
0:03:26 > 0:03:27Oh, lovely.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Tommy was an autumn juvenile, so he couldn't survive the winter.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34And he had ringworm on his nose, so we had to treat him with his
0:03:34 > 0:03:36medication by painting his medication on his nose.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Quite a serious condition. And what's the process today?
0:03:39 > 0:03:41What's happening today, Sophie? What are we doing?
0:03:41 > 0:03:44So, today, we're going to be cleaning out their cages,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46putting new food in, disinfecting their cages.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50- That sounds like teamwork. Shall we get on with that?- Yeah.- Yeah.- OK.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55What was it that got you into the idea of rescuing and looking
0:03:55 > 0:03:57after hedgehogs in the first place?
0:03:57 > 0:04:00We thought that if we don't help now, they're going to go extinct.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02- They're really cute animals.- Yeah.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07And they always used to come at dusk and we used to leave cat food out.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09- And we just missed seeing them. - Ah-ha.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15So, we've got mealworms in there, a few seeds. What else? Cat food?
0:04:15 > 0:04:19- And some kitten biscuits. - Gross. Just what they love!
0:04:24 > 0:04:26That looks cosy. Cosy and clean.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29And anything else before the hedgehog goes back?
0:04:29 > 0:04:31- Yeah, we need to weigh him now. - OK.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Lose the bedding and into the basket.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37- You don't handle them all the time, do you?- No.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40No, we never handle them every day, unless they really need
0:04:40 > 0:04:44monitoring on their weight because after all, they are wild animals.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47- That's definitely bigger than before.- 908g.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51908, so nearly 49g weight gain. That's pretty good, isn't it?
0:04:55 > 0:04:58'At the bottom of the garden are some healed hedgehogs,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00'ready for release.'
0:05:00 > 0:05:04- Are these the outpatients? - Yeah.- Look at this set-up! Wowee!
0:05:04 > 0:05:07'Meet Jayden, Maisie, and Horatio.'
0:05:07 > 0:05:09What's the process, then, for releasing them?
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Is it just sort of take them out from here and off they go,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15- or have you got more to do?- Well, we have to check their poo.- Urgh!
0:05:15 > 0:05:18- Go on, then. Shall we do the poo process?- Yeah.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22'It's a mucky job, but the poo has to be free from parasites
0:05:22 > 0:05:23'before release.'
0:05:23 > 0:05:27And have you done lots of looking through microscopes? You've seen
0:05:27 > 0:05:29- some with parasites, so you know what you're looking for?- Yes.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33There would be some worms and they would be moving.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36So, is this hedgehog ready for release, in your expert opinion?
0:05:36 > 0:05:39- I would say so. - You would say so. Wonderful.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41How do you think you're going to feel when they go?
0:05:41 > 0:05:42Are you going to be sad?
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Well, it is sad, but it does mean that we can make room for
0:05:45 > 0:05:49more hedgehogs to rescue, so it helps other hedgehogs get better.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51That's a very good point. We've got two more to process
0:05:51 > 0:05:54before they can go, so I'm going to pop off and leave you to it.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57I'll see you a bit later on. Good stuff.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01'One of the girls' experts advisers is Simon Thompson from
0:06:01 > 0:06:03'Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06'Their Help For Hedgehogs campaign is gathering data from
0:06:06 > 0:06:09'likeminded helpers across the county to monitor hog numbers.'
0:06:09 > 0:06:11- How are you doing, Simon?- Hi. Good to see you.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14- What do you reckon to this place? It's all right, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17It's great to see such enthusiasm from the girls for the species.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20What does it mean for you, all these different individuals looking
0:06:20 > 0:06:22after hedgehogs in their own way?
0:06:22 > 0:06:23We literally have no data,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26there's no centralised data from hedgehog rehabilitators,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29so it'd be really interesting, primarily to look at the
0:06:29 > 0:06:32numbers - how many hedgehogs are taken to rehabilitators each year?
0:06:32 > 0:06:34And then to look at the reasons that they're brought in,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37so is it through injury, is it through sickness,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40is it perhaps inflicted injuries through garden equipment?
0:06:40 > 0:06:42And we think probably we've lost about
0:06:42 > 0:06:45a third of our urban hedgehogs since the millennium.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50'We can all do things to help hedgehogs,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53'from leaving wild areas in our gardens, to making ponds safe
0:06:53 > 0:06:56'so they don't drown, and avoid using garden chemicals.'
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Is the future bleak? Should we be really, really worried?
0:06:59 > 0:07:02The message really is that we need to go out and do things to
0:07:02 > 0:07:04help our hedgehogs. We need to pass the message on,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07which is great about the work here because the girls are not
0:07:07 > 0:07:10only looking into hedgehog welfare, but they're out,
0:07:10 > 0:07:11talking to their local community.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15So no, we need to be proactive, we need to do things, but we shouldn't
0:07:15 > 0:07:18focus on the negative, we should focus on the fact that we can
0:07:18 > 0:07:21go out there and do things to help our hedgehogs.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25'Once the girls have nurtured the hogs back to health, they
0:07:25 > 0:07:29'release them locally and these guys are going somewhere rather special.'
0:07:32 > 0:07:36We couldn't come to Warwickshire without mentioning the Bard, now,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40could we? This is his wife Anne Hathaway's cottage.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Shakespeare mentions hedgehogs, or hedge-pigs,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48four times in his plays, and he could well have seen them here.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51There's certainly a thriving population here today.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57'Glyn Jones is head gardener here.'
0:07:57 > 0:08:00- I can see why the hedgehogs like all this.- Oh, it's fantastic.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Absolutely superb kind of habitat for them. Lovely foraging areas.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07We've had them here for several years because we see
0:08:07 > 0:08:10the droppings all over the place, but what we're wanting to do
0:08:10 > 0:08:14- is to encourage more of them because the site can hold more.- Absolutely.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- So, we leave habitat piles all over the place.- That's ideal, isn't it?
0:08:17 > 0:08:20We let one or two kind of corners of the garden go
0:08:20 > 0:08:24a little bit wild and a little bit native, and there's plenty of food
0:08:24 > 0:08:25round here for them as well,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28- so it's the perfect site for release, really.- Lovely.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36'Hedgehogs are, of course, nocturnal, so Kyra, Eve and Sophie
0:08:36 > 0:08:39'are placing them carefully into a nest box, so they can come out
0:08:39 > 0:08:41'in their own time after dark.'
0:08:43 > 0:08:46- Fantastic job. Well done, girls. Shall we leave them to it?- Yeah.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- Yeah.- Well done!
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Sure enough, our camera traps show that Horatio was soon exiting
0:08:55 > 0:08:59stage left in his new Shakespearean home, along with a cast
0:08:59 > 0:09:01of other characters.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04"Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08"Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11"Harpier cries, 'Tis time, 'tis time.'"
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Let's hope they don't come to any more drama than that.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24Now, a tiny parasite is causing big problems north of the border.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28It's affecting native fish like salmon and trout.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Could one of Scotland's most important industries be to blame?
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Here's Tom.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45The Scottish Highlands and Islands.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Remarkable places of breathtaking beauty.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55But they're also places of industry.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Home to businesses which generate billions of pounds
0:09:58 > 0:10:01a year for the Scottish economy.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04And in the last few decades, a new industry has emerged.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07With the backing of the Scottish Government, it's become
0:10:07 > 0:10:12Scotland's biggest food exporter, employing more than 2,000 people.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15That industry - salmon farming.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20At any one time, there are about 240 active salmon farms around Scotland,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24producing about £1.8 billion worth of fish every year.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26And there are ambitious plans,
0:10:26 > 0:10:30supported by the government here, to double that by 2030.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Good news, you might think, but not everyone's quite so keen.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48- That's not too bad.- Hang on.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51The only thing you're doing is you're coming down too much.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54That's a lot better, Tom. Well done.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00'Frank Buckley has lived near Loch Maree, in Western Scotland,
0:11:00 > 0:11:05'for 30 years and he certainly knows a thing or two about fishing here.'
0:11:05 > 0:11:10Loch Maree was the Mecca in Europe for sea trout fishing and we
0:11:10 > 0:11:13used to get people coming from all over the world.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17And year after year, it brought massive amounts of tourism
0:11:17 > 0:11:19and tourism income into the area.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22'The fishing was good on Loch Maree,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24'but Frank says that didn't last.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27'In the early '90s, something strange happened.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30'Anglers started to land fewer fish.'
0:11:30 > 0:11:35The customers noticed a decline and gradually the customers stopped
0:11:35 > 0:11:38coming because they were going out all day and not catching any fish.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40This was over a period of years, was it?
0:11:40 > 0:11:43This was over a period of a few years, not many years.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45The decline happened quite quickly.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54'Frank says this decline had a big impact
0:11:54 > 0:11:57'on the angling operations he ran at the nearby Loch Maree Hotel.'
0:11:59 > 0:12:02The records here paint a picture of a time when people were
0:12:02 > 0:12:06catching plenty of fish and big ones, too.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08We've got Messrs Purdie and Purdie here,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12they caught three sea trout and it also says they caught the
0:12:12 > 0:12:17heaviest trout that month, weighing in at 5.25 lb.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Sadly, those days seem to be consigned to the history books.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27'Locals like Frank lay the blame on one thing - sea lice,
0:12:27 > 0:12:31'tiny parasites which can kill fish like salmon and trout
0:12:31 > 0:12:35'and they say these lice only became a big problem
0:12:35 > 0:12:37'when the salmon farm was set up here.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41'It arrived n the 1980s at the start of a massive expansion in
0:12:41 > 0:12:45'the industry and that growth, helped by the Scottish Government,
0:12:45 > 0:12:50'turned salmon from a luxury into today's firm fish counter favourite.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53'But to get cheap fish, you need industrial farming
0:12:53 > 0:12:57'and critics claim this creates a breeding ground for sea lice.'
0:12:58 > 0:13:01- This is the fish farm, Tom, straight out in that direction.- OK.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05- You can see the feed barge, which looks like a boat.- Yeah.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07And then it has the feed rings round about it.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12'Bill White, chairman of the Westeros Area Salmon Fishery Board,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15'says the sea lice are spreading to wild fish.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18'And he believes it's a particular problem here
0:13:18 > 0:13:21'because the location of the farm means wild fish
0:13:21 > 0:13:23'have no option but to swim past it.'
0:13:23 > 0:13:27So we have sea trout and salmon smolts from Loch Maree coming
0:13:27 > 0:13:30down the River Ewe, into Loch Ewe,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33down here heading north and they have to pass that.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37What you're saying is because of that salmon farm over there,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39there are many more sea lice in these waters and all the
0:13:39 > 0:13:41salmon and trout go past them.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Exactly, there's a natural background
0:13:43 > 0:13:46of sea lice in any body of water on the west coast.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Where you have salmon farms, with the elevated number of salmon,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53which host the sea lice, then it's a natural occurrence that the
0:13:53 > 0:13:55sea lice levels will be elevated.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57So, what do you want to happen to that farm?
0:13:57 > 0:14:01I would like to see that farm relocated, possibly further out.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03They could be moved where it's not causing such
0:14:03 > 0:14:05a problem within this area.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Is that just another way of saying you want to see it closed?
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Not really. Moving it and closing it are two different things.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15There's jobs at stake here. Nobody wants to see anybody unemployed.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19But there's a clear case here that when a farm is in the wrong
0:14:19 > 0:14:23place, to keep it remaining in the wrong place is just wrong.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Can sea lice from the salmon farm really be to blame?
0:14:29 > 0:14:31A recent report written
0:14:31 > 0:14:34for Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland
0:14:34 > 0:14:36concluded it's highly likely
0:14:36 > 0:14:38the farm was a major cause behind the collapse of
0:14:38 > 0:14:41sea trout numbers here in Loch Maree,
0:14:41 > 0:14:45but it did note there may be other factors, such as climate change.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47No-one was available at Marine Harvest,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51the company behind the Loch Ewe farm, when we were filming.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55In a statement, the company said the fall in sea trout catches started
0:14:55 > 0:15:00years before the arrival of the farm and the area had been overfished.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02It added that salmon catches
0:15:02 > 0:15:05in the Loch Ewe area have actually increased.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Finally, Marine Harvest said it was open to looking at the
0:15:08 > 0:15:12relocation of sensitive sites into less sensitive areas.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Whether or not lice caused the collapse of
0:15:17 > 0:15:19sea trout populations here in Loch Maree,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23the fact is they are a huge problem for the fish farming industry
0:15:23 > 0:15:28and that's not just an issue for anglers and conservationists.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33At the last count, dealing with sea lice cost fish farming here
0:15:33 > 0:15:34£30 million a year.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40This is bigger than just Scotland.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43There's an appetite for cheap salmon across the world,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46but globally, prices are rising and some experts say
0:15:46 > 0:15:49the sea lice issue has contributed to that.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52So how are salmon farmers tackling this problem?
0:15:52 > 0:15:55That's what I'll be finding out later.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04We're in Warwickshire and self-confessed wildlife geek
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Steve Brown is on the trail of another vanishing species.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16You might not immediately think of North Warwickshire as a wild county.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Green and pleasant maybe, but with big cities nearby,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22this is a landscape that has been manhandled by humans.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28But over the past few years, nature has been creeping back.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39This is the River Tame and it's the largest river to flow
0:16:39 > 0:16:40out of Birmingham.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Right now, it's at the centre of a project to restore, conserve
0:16:44 > 0:16:48and connect the landscape, to create a haven for wildlife.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50The Tame is going back to the wild.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57To find out what it takes to re-wild a once industrial river,
0:16:57 > 0:17:01I'm meeting Tim Hazelton. He's the man with the plan.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03What an environment you've got here.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Tell me how you've created this, just on Birmingham's doorstep.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Well, it's an amazing site, the Kingsbury Water Park.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14It's about 250 hectares in size and it's basically left over from
0:17:14 > 0:17:15sand and gravel extraction,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18and these open pits all filled with water.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21The River Tame was incredibly polluted in the past.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Not even fungus that survives on sewage could survive
0:17:24 > 0:17:26- in the River Tame.- Wow, that is bad.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29It was really bad before, and the work from the Environment Agency
0:17:29 > 0:17:32and the money we've got from The Heritage Lottery Fund has enabled us
0:17:32 > 0:17:36to do a lot of work to re-profile the banks, cleaning out the water.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40The whole landscape has changed from this very degraded landscape
0:17:40 > 0:17:42that not many people knew about to this amazing, amazing
0:17:42 > 0:17:45band of wetlands on the doorstep of over a million people.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53These newly connected wetland spaces
0:17:53 > 0:17:56aren't just great for enabling people to get out and about -
0:17:56 > 0:17:58the wildlife is getting a helping hand, too.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Conservation relies so heavily on volunteers. You can see them
0:18:04 > 0:18:07all working hard behind us. What is it they're putting together?
0:18:07 > 0:18:10They're actually working to stabilise the banks of this
0:18:10 > 0:18:13- sand martin bank.- I see, so these holes here are for the sand martins?
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Yeah, and a little one that you can't quite see at the moment.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17There's some kingfisher nests in there as well.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19So they are nesting naturally on the river,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21but actually what we're doing is creating an area out of the
0:18:21 > 0:18:24flood plain where they can nest without getting washed out
0:18:24 > 0:18:26in times of really high river levels.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31And what other attractions are you putting in for the local wildlife?
0:18:31 > 0:18:33We're actually creating this amazing wetland in front of you with
0:18:33 > 0:18:36various ditches and reed beds and we're trying to encourage
0:18:36 > 0:18:38a lot of rare and endangered species, as well as
0:18:38 > 0:18:40a few more common species, back into the area.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43But there's still just that one thing missing, isn't there?
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Yeah, so about 10-15 years ago, the area was full of water voles,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49along with many other places in the country,
0:18:49 > 0:18:51but over the last few decades,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53they've declined and we're doing work here, because they're not
0:18:53 > 0:18:56- too far away, to try and encourage them back.- It's exciting.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59The conditions are right, so give it five, ten years,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01and we're really hopeful we'll have this really nice enigmatic
0:19:01 > 0:19:03and endangered species back in the landscape.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Water voles used to be a common sight on river banks.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12I remember seeing them back when I was a kid out fishing.
0:19:13 > 0:19:14Here in the Tame Valley,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17they managed to hang on through the industrial years,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20but they were wiped out by incoming American mink that ate them.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26Although they're currently missing in the new wetlands,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30they can be found just a few miles away upstream and Tim Precious
0:19:30 > 0:19:32knows all their favourite hang-outs.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35So what've you found there, then, my friend?
0:19:35 > 0:19:38So, we've got a tennis ball sized burrow,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40so we know for sure that this is water vole.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43There's loads of them, too. It's not just one or two.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Two, three, four, five.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Here you've got nice cropped grass where you can see the water voles
0:19:48 > 0:19:51have popped out and just nibbled around the hole and
0:19:51 > 0:19:56actually you can see another sign here, which is some vegetation
0:19:56 > 0:20:01where they've left and you can just about see that that's a water vole.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05They actually nibble it off and it's classically 45 degrees for
0:20:05 > 0:20:08- water voles.- Yeah.- So that pretty much can't be anything else.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12- I can also see some droppings just here.- Oh, yeah.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14And do you often see them?
0:20:14 > 0:20:16We've got all the signs here, we know that they're here,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18- but do you see them? - You do rarely see them.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21If you're walking along the towpath here, you do hear them plop in.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24That's more of a sort of classic sign, the plop,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26and then you won't see them, they'll just go into their burrow.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29If you're really lucky, you get to see them sort of sitting on
0:20:29 > 0:20:31the bank and feeding, if they're relaxed.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37In time, these healthy water vole numbers could repopulate the
0:20:37 > 0:20:41Tame Valley downstream, but there's a problem getting them from A to B.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47So straight away you can see the difference here between the
0:20:47 > 0:20:50stretch a little further up. These higher side...
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Yeah, it's a real, real different bankside here.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57It's hard piling and this is erosion protection, but
0:20:57 > 0:21:00it's obviously very difficult for the water voles to exit the canal.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Because this is important, isn't it?
0:21:02 > 0:21:03If you're going to get them from A to B,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06- they need to pass through here. - This is vital, yes.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08This is a real serious barrier.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12So we're just making these water vole motels or service stations,
0:21:12 > 0:21:15basically, for them to jump out, have a rest, feed and allow them
0:21:15 > 0:21:20to have that connectivity with the other better sites further down.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Well, look at this, then. So this is it all being put together -
0:21:29 > 0:21:32a water vole motel.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37A line of posts hold back bundles of brush and a sausage-shaped roll
0:21:37 > 0:21:40of coconut netting, which is filled with plants.
0:21:43 > 0:21:44So, a few sticks...
0:21:46 > 0:21:50..a few branches, five volunteers, a bit of hard work...
0:21:50 > 0:21:54- and it all comes together!- Yes. - That's it.- Brilliant stuff.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Brilliant stuff. Well done.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02It's good to know this classic character can still be found
0:22:02 > 0:22:05on the river banks of Warwickshire and hopefully the work I've seen
0:22:05 > 0:22:09here today will help to increase those numbers.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Away from the lure of Shakespeare's Stratford
0:22:23 > 0:22:25and the royal connections of Leamington Spa,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29the south of Warwickshire is the quieter end of the county,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32the perfect place for a nature reserve.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36The field on the edge of the Cotswolds used to be farmland -
0:22:36 > 0:22:40not very productive farmland - but in the last 11 years,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44it's been slowly evolving into a haven for wildlife.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52And at this time of year, nature starts to show its appreciation.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00It's all down to the work of Emma Restall Orr and her husband, David.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02This, I think, is cattail.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Hello, Emma, David. What's going on here, then?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10What we're doing at the moment is just seeing what will come up
0:23:10 > 0:23:12here in this area of wild flower meadow -
0:23:12 > 0:23:15The knapweed and trefoils and vetches - and looking for
0:23:15 > 0:23:18species that we haven't seen that often out here wild,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20which is like the musk mallow.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23And what was the land like before you started?
0:23:23 > 0:23:25We started with agricultural land.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29It was set aside for ten years and before that it was just in hay
0:23:29 > 0:23:31for about 30 or 40 years.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36So we had an empty open field with some tatty rye-grass and not
0:23:36 > 0:23:38much clover left in it and that was about it.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44Establishing a nature reserve from a standing start isn't easy
0:23:44 > 0:23:46and this is very much a work in progress.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52But this place is actually much more than just a simple nature reserve.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56It's also a natural burial ground for people.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00Named after nearby Sun Rising Hill,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04it's received a prestigious Green Flag Award for conservation.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Only one other place like this has the accolade.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09And which idea came first,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12the nature reserve or the natural burial ground?
0:24:12 > 0:24:15We were looking to create an ethical business,
0:24:15 > 0:24:20an ethical project, and the idea of creating a nature reserve
0:24:20 > 0:24:24funded by a natural burial ground made absolute sense.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31And in the woodland area, you can have a little plaque by the grave
0:24:31 > 0:24:35so it can be marked, and then a native deciduous tree is planted.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38And in the meadow areas, the graves are not marked,
0:24:38 > 0:24:39so they do disappear.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44So what happens if a relative wants to come out to pay respects?
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Well, in the woodland, you've got a good ten years before the
0:24:47 > 0:24:52grave disappears, if you like, under the trees, but in the meadow,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56some people don't need to know, don't want to know.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58They like the idea of disappearing.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01But other people want to know exactly where.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Every burial area is gridded with a metal spike into the ground,
0:25:05 > 0:25:09so using a medieval system which you can find with a spade, we should
0:25:09 > 0:25:13be able to still use that system in another 100, 500, 1,000 years.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24Natural burial means natural coffins and some are the handiwork of
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Avril Smolders, who weaves them from willow.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38They're constructed from completely natural materials, from the bases
0:25:38 > 0:25:43made from straw, to the cattail lining and the rope handles.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46The hazel comes from the garden just outside her workroom.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52- Hello, Avril.- Good morning. - How are you?- I'm fine, thank you.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55- Can I weave my way through your willow?- Absolutely.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59So, what got you into making willow coffins, then?
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Well, I've been making baskets for a while now
0:26:02 > 0:26:05and then I was collecting some willow down in Somerset
0:26:05 > 0:26:07and I saw a course advertised and I thought,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09well, as my mum was getting on a bit,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12I thought it would be lovely to actually make a coffin for her.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Right! This is in fact a rather large basket, isn't it?
0:26:15 > 0:26:18It is a very large basket. It's a bit like a Moses basket.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20You know, you start life off in one of those
0:26:20 > 0:26:22and you finish in a willow coffin.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24And how long does it take you to make one?
0:26:24 > 0:26:27It takes, probably from start to finish, two weeks.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31And is it hard work, then, to make a coffin?
0:26:31 > 0:26:33It's quite hard on the fingers, actually.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34Have a go, see what you think.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38It's just a matter of taking each one in turn, just behind an upright
0:26:38 > 0:26:42and back to the front, and then take the next one along to the left.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45- So this one goes behind this one... - And back to the front.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47- And then you push it down. - Push it down.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50And you've really got to push it down, then, have you?
0:26:50 > 0:26:55- Well, you have, but you can also use the wrapper.- A wrapper?
0:26:55 > 0:26:57This makes the weave good and tight.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00So that's one of the old tools, is it, of basket-making?
0:27:00 > 0:27:02It certainly is, yes, absolutely.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07- This coffin, is that your own design?- It is my design, yes.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09I mean, I like the idea it was more like a basket
0:27:09 > 0:27:13rather than a traditional sort of tapered shape of a coffin
0:27:13 > 0:27:17and just simple, absolutely.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Whatever a coffin is made from, for natural burial,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23it must be totally biodegradable.
0:27:23 > 0:27:28There are now around 270 natural burial sites in the UK and,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32in the past decade, more than 600 people have chosen to be
0:27:32 > 0:27:36buried here amidst a maturing nature reserve that will be a permanent
0:27:36 > 0:27:40memorial to the dead, as well as a place of beauty for the living.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51The North and West of Scotland, the setting for a modern day
0:27:51 > 0:27:55business success story, salmon farming.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Over the last 40 years, our love of salmon has turned this into
0:27:58 > 0:28:02this industry into a multimillion pound global enterprise.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06But, as Tom has been finding out, the fish farmers have a problem.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15Sea lice, tiny but often deadly parasites.
0:28:15 > 0:28:16They're an issue on salmon farms,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20where lots of fish live in a relatively small space.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23They cost the industry millions to tackle and it's thought
0:28:23 > 0:28:25they're spreading to wild fish.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28The traditional way to treat sea lice usually is chemicals,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31but there's concern over what impact that could be having
0:28:31 > 0:28:33on the wider environment.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36So the industry is coming under a lot of pressure to use
0:28:36 > 0:28:38cleaner methods of control.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Scottish Sea Farms is one firm trying alternatives.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46It claims average lice numbers in Scotland have been falling.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48At its site near Oban,
0:28:48 > 0:28:51they're using other fish to keep the parasites at bay.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54This is a ballan wrasse, which is a species of tuna fish,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57which we're using as biological control for sea lice.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02These cleaner fish eat the lice from the skin of the salmon.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04This one is a wild wrasse,
0:29:04 > 0:29:08but the company says it also uses more sustainable farmed fish.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12So how many, roughly, would you have in each of these cages?
0:29:12 > 0:29:16It's a very low proportion which is sufficient to deliver
0:29:16 > 0:29:17the control that we've require.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19It's something we're working hard on,
0:29:19 > 0:29:21to reduce the numbers we actually use.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24You are still having to use some chemical treatments,
0:29:24 > 0:29:26- aren't you, on salmon farms?- We are.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29But it's in rotation with also use of our biological controls,
0:29:29 > 0:29:30such as with the cleaner fish,
0:29:30 > 0:29:33but also with non-medicinal physical lice removal.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38These methods include pumping salmon at up to 80 tonnes an hour
0:29:38 > 0:29:42into a machine where warm water washes off the lice,
0:29:42 > 0:29:44but it's not without problems.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48Last year, a large number of fish at another company died during
0:29:48 > 0:29:50this Thermolicer treatment.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53Well, unfortunately, they had an underlying ill health issue,
0:29:53 > 0:29:58which meant they weren't able to cope with the treatment.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00So it's because they had an underlying health problem
0:30:00 > 0:30:03- with their gills that they died in the Thermolicer?- Yes.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07In fact, the entire Scottish industry has experienced more
0:30:07 > 0:30:09ill health challengers over the last 2-3 years,
0:30:09 > 0:30:13which is then making treatment for sea lice much more challenging.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20So there are other methods and other challenges.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22Along with the Thermolicer,
0:30:22 > 0:30:26hi-tech treatments include zapping the parasites with lasers.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33The Scottish economy is so reliant on salmon farming that the
0:30:33 > 0:30:36government has now joined with the industry to fund
0:30:36 > 0:30:38the search for more solutions.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43We've been funding some innovative research projects.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46We've got 15 of them underway. And the industry,
0:30:46 > 0:30:49we've got 21 different companies working with us
0:30:49 > 0:30:50and they're investing heavily.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52So they have invested £15.5 million
0:30:52 > 0:30:54in projects that we're helping them deliver.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59One solution being developed in Norway is a giant pod which
0:30:59 > 0:31:03forms a barrier between the farmed salmon and the open water.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06But we're still some way off seeing this in Scotland.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10When do you think we're going to see lice-free salmon farming?
0:31:10 > 0:31:15Sea lice are a prevailing parasite that just exist in the environment,
0:31:15 > 0:31:19so we haven't yet found a way of completely getting rid of them.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22What we're trying to do is help farmers to reduce the threat
0:31:22 > 0:31:24and manage the problem.
0:31:32 > 0:31:37So maybe the only way we can make sure salmon are lice-free is
0:31:37 > 0:31:41to take them out of the open water entirely.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43- It's extraordinary. - Yes, as a matter of fact,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46this is the biggest tank of its kind for salmon farming.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Further down the West Coast, that's something
0:31:50 > 0:31:53Norwegian entrepreneur Arve Gravdal is doing.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56And the unlikely location for his fish farm,
0:31:56 > 0:31:58a disused aircraft hangar.
0:32:01 > 0:32:02So what are you doing here?
0:32:04 > 0:32:06We are taking the fish onshore,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08the fishnet on shore in a tank,
0:32:08 > 0:32:12where we are recirculating and cleansing the water inside.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14It sounds like a dumb question, in a way,
0:32:14 > 0:32:17- but I guess no problem with sea lice here?- No. No problem.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20- You're not connected to the sea, no sea lice?- No.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23We had several test tanks before and we never had any sea lice,
0:32:23 > 0:32:27although we took seawater in directly from the sea.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30No sea lice and Arve says there are other advantages
0:32:30 > 0:32:32to his inland salmon farm.
0:32:32 > 0:32:37Waste from the 10,000 fish in this tank generates more energy than is
0:32:37 > 0:32:43used to power the pumps and he says he can cut other production costs.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46We can put the farms directly next to the processing plants,
0:32:46 > 0:32:49so there is a lot of logistical costs we can save.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Is there any reason why you couldn't put this next to
0:32:52 > 0:32:55the big markets for salmon, like London or Glasgow?
0:32:55 > 0:32:56No.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59- That is exactly what it will become in the future.- Really?
0:32:59 > 0:33:02- It'll be in, like, industrial estates outside the city?- Yes.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08So Arve has ambitious plans for a sustainable
0:33:08 > 0:33:10and lice-free salmon industry.
0:33:10 > 0:33:15And he says firms like his can be set up anywhere with a water supply.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18So, when you buy your salmon in the future, it may not come from
0:33:18 > 0:33:23the Scottish wilderness, but from a giant warehouse somewhere near you.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27This may not fit with the popular image of salmon leaping from
0:33:27 > 0:33:30the crystal waters of a Scottish loch,
0:33:30 > 0:33:34but fish farming is already food production on an industrial scale,
0:33:34 > 0:33:38and maybe this is the logical conclusion.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53Now, in a moment, I'll be hearing how one flamboyant publisher's
0:33:53 > 0:33:56legacy is set to change the Warwickshire landscape after
0:33:56 > 0:34:01he left much of his multimillion pound fortune to a forest.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04But first, we're off to Cumbria to meet a fifth-generation farmer
0:34:04 > 0:34:08who's as passionate about traditional breeds as Adam.
0:34:08 > 0:34:09Is that even possible?
0:34:18 > 0:34:23Over the last 50 years or so, the traditional British dairy cow
0:34:23 > 0:34:26has been deemed unfashionable and pushed aside in favour of
0:34:26 > 0:34:29the high-yielding black and white dairy cow.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32But I'm here on a farm near Kendal to meet a family who have
0:34:32 > 0:34:36stuck with the same breed of cow for more than 100 years.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48James Robinson is the fifth generation of his family
0:34:48 > 0:34:52to farm traditional dairy shorthorn cattle up here in Cumbria.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57Helping manage the 250-strong herd is James' father, Henry,
0:34:57 > 0:34:59and his eldest son, Robert.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03- Hi, James.- Hello, Adam.- How are you?
0:35:03 > 0:35:05- I'm very well, how are you? - This is looking lovely in here.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09- Beautiful cattle.- Thanks very much. They're all right, aren't they?
0:35:09 > 0:35:12So a lot of people moved away from these old-fashioned breeds
0:35:12 > 0:35:15and moved on to the sort of modern black and white dairy cow,
0:35:15 > 0:35:17- the Friesian and then the Holstein. - Yeah.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19- But you've stuck with these old girls?- We have.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21I wouldn't call them old or old-fashioned.
0:35:21 > 0:35:27It's a modern dairy shorthorn for a modern grassland system
0:35:27 > 0:35:29and they do a great job for us.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32And how do they differ, then, to the modern day Holsteins?
0:35:32 > 0:35:35Managed well, the Holstein can do a fantastic job for you.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37But quite difficult to manage?
0:35:37 > 0:35:39But difficult to manage as well and obviously
0:35:39 > 0:35:41a high input means high cost as well.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44These have got fantastic health traits, great fertility.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48They're a robust cow, they're not fat but they've got
0:35:48 > 0:35:52a bit of reserves to produce milk off very little, really.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55And as far as their yield goes?
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Ours are doing about 7,000 kilo average, or 7,000 litres.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00And a Holstein would do, what? 10?
0:36:00 > 0:36:0310, 11, for the high-yielding herds, yeah.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06- And what are they like to work with? - They're great to work with.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08They've got a bit of fire in them.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10They kind of remind you that they're still the boss.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12Which is why they're good at surviving.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14Which is why they have a good survival trait, they do.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Our vet bills is far lower than a commercial
0:36:17 > 0:36:19black and white herd, definitely.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22HE WHISTLES
0:36:22 > 0:36:26This traditional British breed and the Robinsons go back a long way.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32James is the current president of the Dairy Shorthorn Society
0:36:32 > 0:36:34and his herd books shows that his family first
0:36:34 > 0:36:37registered the breed nearly a century ago.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43And this one here is particularly good, born virtually 100 years ago
0:36:43 > 0:36:47today, this one, so that was bred by my great-great-grandfather, Henry.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50- Oh, wonderful.- Pretty amazing. So he was the first Robinson here.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52And how has the breed changed?
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Because, at one time, it was a dual-purpose animal, wasn't it,
0:36:55 > 0:36:57- for beef and milk?- That's it, yeah, yeah.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59So when the shorthorn breed was set up,
0:36:59 > 0:37:01it was definitely a dual-purpose animal.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04The majority of breeds around were, at the time.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07And then after the war, there was a real drive for milk
0:37:07 > 0:37:11production and meat production sort of separate, really...
0:37:11 > 0:37:14We've got a picture here, Adam. Shorthorn...
0:37:14 > 0:37:17So that was pretty much what was being bred in the 1930s,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20so that is prewar. You know, that is...
0:37:20 > 0:37:22So you can see there, fairly robust.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24She's in milk, got a nice udder on it.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26But, yeah, you can see, it's just a different style...
0:37:26 > 0:37:30- A beefy, quite meaty looking animal. - And they were even brushed up.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32You see, they had to make them look even wider than they were.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34- Like you would a beef animal.- Yeah.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37You take that to this one, which is at a different extreme again...
0:37:37 > 0:37:40So this was champion of ours at Highland Show two years ago,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44- Dairy Shorthorn Champion, and just look at the difference there.- Wow.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46You know, the dairy bone, the quality of the udder,
0:37:46 > 0:37:48and she's just made for milk.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50A beautiful looking animal, isn't she?
0:37:50 > 0:37:51What else have you got in here?
0:37:51 > 0:37:55My grandfather Willie in his Home Guard uniform with Larkerin Casket
0:37:55 > 0:37:58stood just on those steps there, just on the house steps, virtually.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00So that's a young bull.
0:38:00 > 0:38:01That's a young bull, Larkerin Casket, its name was.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04He's there in his Home Guard outfit,
0:38:04 > 0:38:06probably going to go off to a Home Guard meeting that night,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09- or something.- Very different times then,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11with war going on, food rations,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14- the country in a very difficult state of affairs.- Yes.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16But still passionate about his farming
0:38:16 > 0:38:18- and his breeding of his animals. - Yeah, definitely.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20He'd be, just like we are now,
0:38:20 > 0:38:23he'd be trying to breed the best type of cattle that he could
0:38:23 > 0:38:25for his farm and for the time,
0:38:25 > 0:38:26and that's what it's all about, really.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32As well as old photos of James's grandfather, there are other,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35even more poignant, records of the family's farming past -
0:38:35 > 0:38:39personal diaries going back to wartime that tell the story
0:38:39 > 0:38:41of a different age.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46- Henry, more history. - Oh, loads of history.
0:38:46 > 0:38:51We've got here the old diary that my father did in 1940,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54starting with the weather.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57January 8th, and it says much frost in the ground,
0:38:57 > 0:39:01they've carted some muck out, sold some cows here
0:39:01 > 0:39:06for £26 and 5 shillings, and then another one for £22 and 5 shillings,
0:39:06 > 0:39:08but rationing started,
0:39:08 > 0:39:11which is always at the bottom of the page, just as a matter of a fact.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14Incredible, isn't it? The weather being the most important thing.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16That's right. Yeah, yeah.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20Again, Friday 10th of May - fine, sunny and warm.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23Cleaned some calf pens out, went round fencing.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26There's another cow calved there, a Janet,
0:39:26 > 0:39:29but right at the bottom of the entry again,
0:39:29 > 0:39:33"Germany entered Holland and Belgium. Chamberlain resigned.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35"90-odd German planes shot down
0:39:35 > 0:39:39"in Holland, Belgium and France... and Britain."
0:39:39 > 0:39:42- And in history, that is pretty significant.- It is.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44It would have been at the top of the page.
0:39:44 > 0:39:45But as far as he's thinking about,
0:39:45 > 0:39:49- Janet calving is much more important.- It is, it is.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53And it kind of makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck a bit,
0:39:53 > 0:39:57- listening to those stories. It's amazing, isn't it...- It is.
0:39:57 > 0:39:58..to think what they went through,
0:39:58 > 0:40:01but that same passionate enjoyment of farming
0:40:01 > 0:40:03as you and your family have got now.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05That's right, yeah.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08Times may have changed, but the Robinsons still keep
0:40:08 > 0:40:12their shorthorns indoors during the cold Cumbrian winters.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15Today is a big day,
0:40:15 > 0:40:19the day when the cattle are turned out onto the fresh spring pasture.
0:40:19 > 0:40:20Come on!
0:40:20 > 0:40:25But there's one final treat before the ladies hit the new grass.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27A motorised back-scratcher.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30Cow heaven!
0:40:37 > 0:40:39Come on, then, girls. Come on.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54There's something very special about turning cattle out in
0:40:54 > 0:40:59- the spring, isn't there?- Oh, it's the best time of the year. It is.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02You get a day like this and look how happy they are. Tails up.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10This is where this breed do very well on lovely grass.
0:41:10 > 0:41:11Oh, definitely. Definitely.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14I mean, they are fantastic converters from grass to milk.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17That's what they're known for, efficient milk production,
0:41:17 > 0:41:20and that's what we need, as an industry, now.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25It's just so lovely to meet a family that's passionate
0:41:25 > 0:41:30about dairy farming, but also this wonderful British breed that's
0:41:30 > 0:41:34- standing you in good stead as a family, isn't it?- Oh, it has.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37100 years' pedigree now with this breed,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39so we're not going to give it up in a hurry.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46It's wonderful that the Robinson family have stuck with these
0:41:46 > 0:41:48beautiful British dairy shorthorns,
0:41:48 > 0:41:52a breed of cow and milking system they know that works,
0:41:52 > 0:41:56and hopefully they'll be able to continue to celebrate success
0:41:56 > 0:41:58for many years to come.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06BIRDSONG
0:42:21 > 0:42:24I'm just a few miles west of Stratford-upon-Avon,
0:42:24 > 0:42:27in a precious fragment of ancient woodland.
0:42:27 > 0:42:33But there's not much of it left. Broadleaf trees like this oak,
0:42:33 > 0:42:38hazel and birch were chopped down way back in the Bronze Age to
0:42:38 > 0:42:41create farmland, and their numbers still haven't recovered.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49However, here in Warwickshire,
0:42:49 > 0:42:51an ambitious project is under way to help change that,
0:42:51 > 0:42:55creating a vast new forest of native broadleaf trees.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04And it's largely thanks to one man, Felix Dennis - poet,
0:43:04 > 0:43:08publisher and planter of trees.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10He was a larger-than-life character,
0:43:10 > 0:43:14so much so that he commissioned this larger-than-life sculpture
0:43:14 > 0:43:17of himself, which now marks his grave
0:43:17 > 0:43:21and overlooks the part of Warwickshire that holds his legacy.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Dennis was a true one-off.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28His roots were in 1960s counterculture, as co-founder
0:43:28 > 0:43:31of controversial magazine Oz.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35With his fame and fortune came the obligatory country pile,
0:43:35 > 0:43:39but beneath the flamboyance was a mellow side, a tree lover.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42Shocked at Warwickshire's lack of trees,
0:43:42 > 0:43:46he had the idea of creating a 30,000-acre forest.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50Saplings soon stood in the landscape like soldiers on parade.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53Alison Hunter worked for Felix Dennis, and is now
0:43:53 > 0:43:57a trustee of the charity charged with making his dream a reality.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00- Hi, Alison.- Hi. - I'm just admiring this statue.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03- It is quite a memorial, isn't it? - It's amazing, isn't it?
0:44:03 > 0:44:06- I know.- So, what was he like, as a character?
0:44:06 > 0:44:09He was very generous, very generous with his time,
0:44:09 > 0:44:14very generous with his energy and his ideas and his creativity.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17He was a very different and unique character.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19Where did his love of trees come from?
0:44:19 > 0:44:21Originally it was his love of the outdoors.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24I mean, he did spend hours and hours walking in the country,
0:44:24 > 0:44:28but also the fact he just did an awful lot of reading about trees,
0:44:28 > 0:44:30bought hundreds of books,
0:44:30 > 0:44:34and he was shocked at the lack of native woodland in this country,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38and especially in this area that he was so fond of.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42When Dennis first moved here, there were no hedgerows on his land,
0:44:42 > 0:44:44so he set about putting them back.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46Then he planted his first wood,
0:44:46 > 0:44:49visible from his bedroom window.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55- So, here, yeah, this was planted '96, so...- 20 years old?- Yeah.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57It's looking good, isn't it?
0:44:57 > 0:44:59Yeah, it's slow grow, isn't it, broadleaf,
0:44:59 > 0:45:02but you can definitely get a sense of the woodland that's coming.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04This was the beginning of the forest of Dennis,
0:45:04 > 0:45:07now known as the Heart of England Forest.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11Currently, it's a patchwork of sites that stretches for 15 miles
0:45:11 > 0:45:13across the Warwickshire countryside.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17This is a great spot, really, because it just shows you
0:45:17 > 0:45:20the scale of what we're aiming to achieve with this project.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23So, just over to the south, you see that white tower,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26the water tower there, that's a couple of miles down to the south,
0:45:26 > 0:45:30and then, just up to the north there, the white tower at Oversley,
0:45:30 > 0:45:33that's three miles, halfway to our Spernal Estate,
0:45:33 > 0:45:37- so as far as the eye can see.- Yes, so horizon to horizon, pretty much.
0:45:37 > 0:45:38Indeed. Indeed.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41And we're hoping in years to come that this will all be joined up,
0:45:41 > 0:45:43and all the parcels of land will form
0:45:43 > 0:45:46one contiguous native broadleaf forest.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52More than 1,500,000 trees have already been planted,
0:45:52 > 0:45:54but that's just a drop in the ocean
0:45:54 > 0:45:58if Dennis's huge vision of a forest that goes all the way into
0:45:58 > 0:46:01neighbouring Worcestershire is to be realised.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05That's a lot of holes for head forester Stephen Coffey to dig.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11This is what it's really all about, isn't it, Stephen?
0:46:11 > 0:46:14- Planting the trees! Are you all right?- How are you?
0:46:14 > 0:46:16I'm all right. What are you putting in there?
0:46:16 > 0:46:18- This is a small-leafed lime. - A small-leafed lime?
0:46:18 > 0:46:20It's one of our native broadleaves.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23- I want to have a go. I want to leave my own little legacy here.- OK.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25Even if it's just the one!
0:46:25 > 0:46:27- We need a hole...- There we go.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29Try and get this out.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32- You can still see the relics of the crops on this fields.- You can.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34It is amazing, isn't it, to see the transformation.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38- There was wheat on here until last September.- Goodness.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40What's the technique for where they go?
0:46:40 > 0:46:41Is there, like, a plan?
0:46:41 > 0:46:44It's random spacing, so we make sure that we have got oak
0:46:44 > 0:46:47everywhere through the field, and then everything else is just
0:46:47 > 0:46:51slotted in where the planters feel it should be.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53There are 19 species altogether, of trees.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56Put it in as close as you can to the stake.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59In a bit further, that's it, so the mud goes over the top.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02- Are you happy with that?- Yes. - I want this one to last.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04- I'm probably only going to do the one. There we go.- There we go.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08And how long will these covers stay on, to stop the nibbling wildlife?
0:47:08 > 0:47:12Stay on for five to ten years, and then we will start taking them off.
0:47:12 > 0:47:17The ambition is for 30,000 acres. It's pretty impressive.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21It'll be 60 to 100 years' time before that's achieved,
0:47:21 > 0:47:26but in my time here, I think I've been responsible for planting
0:47:26 > 0:47:30just over a million trees. I hope to double that in my time here.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34- I like that. And I have added my one tree.- You have, yeah.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36You stay good, nice and strong.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40The Heart of England Forest couldn't do without its volunteers and,
0:47:40 > 0:47:46for them, the forest will be their legacy as well as Felix Dennis's.
0:47:46 > 0:47:47It's wonderful to think that
0:47:47 > 0:47:49when you look out at all these green tubes,
0:47:49 > 0:47:52to your children and more so your grandchildren,
0:47:52 > 0:47:55it's going to be a forest here, and that's why most of us do it,
0:47:55 > 0:47:58because you're investing in the future as well as what
0:47:58 > 0:48:00people can enjoy today.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02There's an old saying that the best time to plant a tree
0:48:02 > 0:48:07is 20 years ago, and that the second-best time is now.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11It was a saying that Felix Dennis lived by,
0:48:11 > 0:48:15but he wasn't just a publisher and a lover of trees.
0:48:15 > 0:48:17He was also a poet,
0:48:17 > 0:48:21so it seems only fitting that I give him the last word.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33Woodland cherries, flowers ablaze
0:48:33 > 0:48:36Holds no hint of human praise
0:48:37 > 0:48:41Leaf and shoot know naught of debt
0:48:41 > 0:48:45Twig and root are dumb, and yet
0:48:45 > 0:48:49Choirs of songbirds greet each day
0:48:49 > 0:48:52With eulogies, as if to say
0:48:52 > 0:48:55Whosoever plants a tree
0:48:55 > 0:48:58Winks at immortality.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07How about this for a spring scene full of colour?
0:49:07 > 0:49:09And if you're thinking of heading off to see the bluebells
0:49:09 > 0:49:12near you this week, you'll want to know what the weather's doing.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15Time to find out with the Countryfile forecast.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13We're in Warwickshire, the heart of England.
0:50:13 > 0:50:17So far, we've met those doing their bit to preserve
0:50:17 > 0:50:20its precious green spaces in the face of progress.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22How many do you think have been planted so far?
0:50:22 > 0:50:26- In total, since we started, 1.6 million.- That's mind-blowing.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30But what about those in the countryside trying to make a living
0:50:30 > 0:50:34from the landscape in these ever-changing times?
0:50:34 > 0:50:38I'm here to meet a family who recently won a British farming award
0:50:38 > 0:50:41for taking their business in a new direction.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45They turned their milking parlour into a microbrewery.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48The Reynolds family has been farming here
0:50:48 > 0:50:52in the shadow of Warwick Castle for more than 50 years.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55Andrew, known as Ren, grew up here
0:50:55 > 0:50:59and he's seen farming go through many changes during his lifetime.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02- Hello, Ren.- Hi, John.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05That looks to be a nice, new orchard you've got going there.
0:51:05 > 0:51:07Yeah, we planted about four years ago.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10- You used to have a dairy farm, didn't you?- We did, yes.
0:51:10 > 0:51:121983, I started milking cows.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16And that was the very same year that milk quotas came in.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19We started from scratch, so I had to build the milking parlour
0:51:19 > 0:51:22and then five years later, we started processing our own milk
0:51:22 > 0:51:25on the farm, and that was another big investment
0:51:25 > 0:51:27because we put up a new building for it.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31We used to bottle our own milk on site and deliver it,
0:51:31 > 0:51:35you know, to doorsteps, so it was quite an expensive thing to set up.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37It was good for a few years.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40And then the supermarkets decided to have a bit of
0:51:40 > 0:51:43a price war with milk and that about killed the job.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48So, Ren said goodbye to his cows, bought some barrels
0:51:48 > 0:51:52and started producing pints of beer instead of pints of milk.
0:51:52 > 0:51:57To set up the business, he used what he already had on the farm -
0:51:57 > 0:51:59both above and below ground.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01This is Audrey's Well.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05- Really?- I inherited some money a few years ago
0:52:05 > 0:52:07and I thought, because we were brewing,
0:52:07 > 0:52:10I thought it would be a good idea to find our own water,
0:52:10 > 0:52:12so that's what we did.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16So we took this borehole and we use this water to make our beer.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19- Couldn't be more local.- No, no, very, very local. Absolutely.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22- About 250 feet down, that goes. - And cheap as well.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25- And no big water bill.- No.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29'Ren even turned his grain store into a workshop.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33'The milk processing tanks he used when he first started brewing
0:52:33 > 0:52:37'are still here, but they're too small to cope with today's demands.'
0:52:37 > 0:52:40These tanks are enormous, aren't they?
0:52:40 > 0:52:423,500 litres, these hold, John.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45- That'll keep us going for a while. - It would, yeah.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49I think it should see us all right for this afternoon, that's for sure.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51Well, you're obviously being very successful here.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53What do you put that down to?
0:52:53 > 0:52:56Um, good ingredients, mainly.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00We use the only floor-malted barley in the country.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03And you just get a little bit extra from it, I think,
0:53:03 > 0:53:06as opposed to being done by a big machine.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09But you've got all these fields, why not grow your own barley?
0:53:09 > 0:53:11Well, we've just started this year, actually.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14We planted our first 20 acres this year.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16Do you miss the cows being in here?
0:53:16 > 0:53:19Er...no, as it happens, no, I don't.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22No. This is just a dream job, really,
0:53:22 > 0:53:25compared to, you know, seven days a week,
0:53:25 > 0:53:27five o'clock starts,
0:53:27 > 0:53:30I don't have to get up early in the morning to make beer.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32I can start when I like, finish when I like.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35- And no quotas? - And no milk quotas.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40This family-run, handcrafted real ale brewery
0:53:40 > 0:53:44is a classic example of modern diversification.
0:53:44 > 0:53:45It's an entirely new business,
0:53:45 > 0:53:49built from the failing foundations of a dairy herd.
0:53:49 > 0:53:54Ren's even named one of his beers after his younger son Harry.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57And the cows on the label aren't the only ones on the farm.
0:53:57 > 0:54:02Ren's keeping his hand in by looking after these for a neighbour.
0:54:02 > 0:54:07And here, as on any farm, there's always one more job to do.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10- And what have we got here, then, Ren?- These are brewers grains.
0:54:10 > 0:54:13This is the waste product from making beer.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16And this will go for cattle feed now.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18- Do they like it?- Oh, they love it.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20Which shovel's yours, then?
0:54:20 > 0:54:23- Me?- Yeah, you.- Oh, I'll have the little one, if that's all right.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26OK, then. So we'll just fill that barrow.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31Good chap.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39- Right.- That should do, shouldn't it?- Yep.- Right.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42- Let's go and find some cattle. - Yeah, where are the cows?
0:54:42 > 0:54:43Follow that road.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46COWS MOO
0:54:46 > 0:54:49- They know what's happening. - Yeah, they do.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52They know it's nearly lunchtime, don't you? Here we come.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56- Have some of this...- They're ready for you.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58..lovely leftover from the beer.
0:54:59 > 0:55:01There you are.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03Right, girls, how about that?
0:55:03 > 0:55:06I heard you were filming in a brewery, I was expecting a beer.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08Can you wait a minute cos I'm just finishing
0:55:08 > 0:55:11giving these brewers grains to the girls here,
0:55:11 > 0:55:13and they love it, don't you, girls?
0:55:13 > 0:55:15- It's all lovely and warm, as well. - It is, yeah.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17That's all we've got time for from Warwickshire.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19Next week, I'll be on the River Severn
0:55:19 > 0:55:20giving some tales from the river bank.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23- Hope you can join us then. Goodbye.- Yeah, bye for now.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25- Now, about that drink. - Yes, about that drink.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28- Anything but milk. What do you fancy?- A beer, I think.