0:00:24 > 0:00:27Winter. A season stripped bare.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29It may have started unseasonably mild
0:00:29 > 0:00:33and relentlessly wet, but its bite came back.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37So pull on your thermals
0:00:37 > 0:00:40and grab your gloves for a walk on the wild side of winter.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44Alternatively, you just sit in your nice, warm house and we'll do it.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Ellie is getting a bird's-eye view
0:00:49 > 0:00:52of one of wildlife's greatest wonders, winter migration.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54This is amazing,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57I am cheek-to-beak with these beautiful greylags.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Ha-ha! Love it!
0:01:00 > 0:01:04John has been lured to Cumbria by the call of the wild.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07HOWLING
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Howling with wolves!
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Sounds like John is the leader of the pack.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18In Yorkshire, Sean's winter rock fishing.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Though it's him taking a battering, not the fish.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23It's blowing a gale here, but I've been told,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26the wilder the weather, the more plentiful the fish.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28No guts, no glory.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30And Adam is in Orkney,
0:01:30 > 0:01:34where their rare seaweed-eating sheep are under threat.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38Winters up here can be pretty tough, but not as tough as these sheep.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40Many years ago, I came up here
0:01:40 > 0:01:43to help save the North Ronaldsay breed from extinction.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46But now, wild winter storms have meant
0:01:46 > 0:01:48they've had some severe setbacks.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02If there's a part of the country that knows how to cope with
0:02:02 > 0:02:05a proper wild winter, it's Upper Teesdale.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08The vast expanse of fell is a stage,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12set for the weather to play out its many different moods.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Rain, wind,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25sleet and snow.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28This place gets hammered by the weather.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31And I should know, I grew up not far from here.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Our farm is just on the other side of that dale.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Teesdale is no stranger to brutal winters.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Nearly 70 years ago, it was tested by one of the worst.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51The infamous winter of 1947,
0:02:51 > 0:02:55and in that year, Teesdale recorded the most snowfall
0:02:55 > 0:02:58of any inhabited place in England.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01In fact, it was recorded at the bottom of this hill.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08But the people who can remember that winter are slowly disappearing.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11And with them, their stories.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13It sparked an idea.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16The North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership
0:03:16 > 0:03:21started an oral history project called A Winter's Dale.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25By recording interviews with elderly locals,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28they created a treasured archive of winter memories.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35I was a ten-year-old boy at the time
0:03:35 > 0:03:37and I can remember walking along the top of the heaps
0:03:37 > 0:03:41and you could reach up and touch the telephone wires.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47The sheep were in dire need of food.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49And it was pitiful to see them.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51They were just skeletons,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53absolute skeletons.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Well, it was the most magical walk down that valley.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59A moonlight night.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02And great icicles hanging off barns.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Oh, it was a dream, a dream.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12One of the surviving contributors to A Winter's Dale
0:04:12 > 0:04:14is retired farmer Maurice Tarn.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19He is now 86, but remembers those years like they were yesterday.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25So, Maurice, what are your memories then, of that winter of 1947?
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Oh, very, very savage winter.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30It blew from the east, it blew from the west.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33And all of this snow-cutting business as well, then.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37I mean, no diggers and all this, that and the other back then.
0:04:37 > 0:04:38Was it all shovels?
0:04:38 > 0:04:43Yes. It was hand shovels. My father had to go out snow-cutting.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47When the sun shone, he came home with a tan.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- What, off the reflection on the snow?- Off the snow, yes.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54And you didn't have the five-day forecast from Countryfile, did you?
0:04:54 > 0:04:57- No.- You had to act on instinct. - Definitely, yes.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Just had to look up this valley
0:05:00 > 0:05:03and see where the clouds were coming from, like.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05So you're telling me all of this, Maurice,
0:05:05 > 0:05:07with a huge smile on your face.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- And you've enjoyed your time in the Dale, then.- Oh, yes,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14- I wouldn't live anywhere else.- No.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Times have changed since Maurice was a young lad.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21But winter is still tough here.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Tom Hutchinson is a tenant farmer
0:05:28 > 0:05:30on 100 acres near Middleton-in-Teesdale.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Today brings clear skies, a blanket of snow
0:05:33 > 0:05:35and a frosty bite in the air.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38The kind of conditions in which Tom, his dog Kyle
0:05:38 > 0:05:40and the quad bike can cope.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47Right, then, Tom, let's get these fed up, shall we?
0:05:47 > 0:05:48'It's a welcome change from
0:05:48 > 0:05:52'the eight weeks of solid rain he had before Christmas,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55'which turned his fields into a mud bath.'
0:05:56 > 0:05:59So, how has this winter been for you, so far?
0:05:59 > 0:06:02It's been very, very wet and very, very horrible
0:06:02 > 0:06:03and made life very, very awkward.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Yeah. I mean, obviously using the quad today,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09but I bet you haven't been able to use one for a while.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12The problem with the quad is you need traction.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14If you've got an inch of water and slop on the top,
0:06:14 > 0:06:18- it just doesn't go anywhere. It goes downhill quite easily.- Yeah.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20But if you want to go uphill, it's a bit awkward.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Dales and Dales folk are all the same -
0:06:23 > 0:06:26whatever the weather comes, they just get on with it.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30Tom's utter passion is his purebred Swaledales.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32He's even been known to describe them
0:06:32 > 0:06:34as the worst addiction known to man.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38It's what drives him to weather these winters year in, year out.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44The thing about the Swale sheep, you have so many different ideas
0:06:44 > 0:06:46and different thoughts on what is a good one.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48So it means when you go to the mart,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51you can have people having a conversation about the same sheep
0:06:51 > 0:06:55but have a completely different opinion of it, completely different.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57And it might just be down to one hair that's on its head.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59And when you look down a line of sheep like this,
0:06:59 > 0:07:01the wonderful thing is that back story
0:07:01 > 0:07:04and that connection that you have with each of your animals.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05Yeah, well, for me it is.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08It's probably not the same for everybody, but for me,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10I like to have a bit more history with them.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13I can go back and I know their great-great-grandmothers.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Farming these hills is no bed of roses.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23And it's not just Tom's dedication, but the efforts of the whole family
0:07:23 > 0:07:25that keep this place going.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28The Hutchinsons are typical of most farmers -
0:07:28 > 0:07:31braving the elements every day to make a living.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36It's a way of life that caught the eye of a documentary maker
0:07:36 > 0:07:39who wanted to bring the harsh realities of life as a hill farmer
0:07:39 > 0:07:43to the masses, making the Hutchinsons unlikely film stars in the process.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45We'll have more on that later
0:07:45 > 0:07:49after Ellie's looked at one of wildlife's greatest spectacles.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Lie down.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52Lie down.
0:07:52 > 0:07:53Get on the bike.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04The wonder of migration.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Millions of wild birds
0:08:09 > 0:08:12escaping the bitter winters of their breeding grounds,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16travelling thousands of miles to warmer climes.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Here at Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25one early visitor put everyone on winter alert.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Now, there's an old saying that the swan brings snow on its bill,
0:08:33 > 0:08:37with the arrival of the first heralding the start of the season.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41So, when Bewick's swan number one arrived here back in October,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43there was quite a bit of speculation
0:08:43 > 0:08:45that we'd be in for a long and cold winter.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Well, Matt might have got the snow in Teesdale,
0:08:51 > 0:08:54but here the forecast was a little off.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57But whatever the weather, the team here at Slimbridge
0:08:57 > 0:09:01has to prepare the wetlands for the influx of migrating visitors.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Reserve manager Dave Paynter is the man in charge.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Let's start off with some raking.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11This is an area that we've just cut.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16How many additional birds do you get here in the winter?
0:09:16 > 0:09:21We're looking at anything up to 30,000 or 40,000 waterfowl.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24That's ducks, geese, swans and waders.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29But add to that anything up to 60,000, 70,000 gulls
0:09:29 > 0:09:31are roosting out here each night.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35So, how do you manage the land for those additional winter visitors?
0:09:35 > 0:09:36Grazing is important,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40getting the swards right for the birds when they return.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44You've seen the big one, of course, which is water level management.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Holding on to the floodwaters across the fields here.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Some of this willow management is really important
0:09:50 > 0:09:54for runways for the birds. It's all about flight lines,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57allowing the birds easy access into open areas.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Flood levels here at Slimbridge are carefully managed,
0:10:03 > 0:10:07so it's not too soggy or too dry when the birds arrive.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12This year, around 300 Bewick's swans made the extraordinary journey.
0:10:14 > 0:10:15- Julia, how are you doing?- Hi.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Julia Newth has been studying these beautiful birds
0:10:22 > 0:10:23for more than ten years.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Well, the Bewick's swans are very special birds.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30They embark on this 2,500-mile migration
0:10:30 > 0:10:32to reach us here at Slimbridge.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34Several winters ago,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38four Bewick's swans were fitted with trackers that enabled the team
0:10:38 > 0:10:41to gain a greater understanding of their migratory route.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45You can see this is one particular bird called Maisie.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48And she spent the whole summer up in the Arctic,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52near the Pechora Delta, which is a key hot spot for them.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54On the 9th of September she left the Arctic,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58came down through Russia and she ventured into Estonia.
0:10:58 > 0:10:59- So a refuel and rest. - Exactly.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01So she was there for a couple of weeks.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Then, you can see she's left the coast of Latvia
0:11:04 > 0:11:06and heading towards the UK.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09So she made that overseas crossing there in about six hours,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12before venturing on to Slimbridge here.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14And this study will help with their conservation,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16it's a pretty perilous journey.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19What this allows us to do is to be able to track the Bewick's swans.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23We can see where they are going in relation to these hazards.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25So, for example, offshore wind farms,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28we can see whether the Bewick's swan migration
0:11:28 > 0:11:31coincides with the proposals for new turbines.
0:11:34 > 0:11:35But when they are here,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39Slimbridge is a safe haven for these extremely timid birds.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44And this hide is as close as I'd normally be able to get to them.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50But here, when the low winter sun goes down,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52there's a magical experience
0:11:52 > 0:11:55that will allow me to get just a little closer.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Slimbridge are allowing me
0:12:00 > 0:12:03to give the overwintering guests their floodlit feed.
0:12:05 > 0:12:06Now, I can only do that
0:12:06 > 0:12:10because these birds have learnt to trust the source of the food.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12And it's particularly important for their cygnets
0:12:12 > 0:12:15who might be learning this for the very first time.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20So there's only one thing for it. Do not mess it up, whatever you do.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25'So, while the camera crew film from the hide,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28'I venture out alone with my wheelbarrow.'
0:12:28 > 0:12:29See you later.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32SHE WHISTLES
0:12:35 > 0:12:38I'm not just being the jolly postman, I've been told to do that.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43Right, down to the water's edge, slow and steady wins the race.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Demeanour is quite important when doing this kind of thing.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53I've been told the way to act is...bored.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Which is definitely not what I am right now.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01OK, this is good. Here we go with the first scoop.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Oh, yeah, yeah, the Bewick's are coming in.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Just a few cheeky mallards in there. Some lovely shelduck.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12There's even some pochard in here.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Here you go, everybody, how's it all going?
0:13:15 > 0:13:19I've been told that I can't actually leave the arms of this wheelbarrow,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23because if I step out of the way of it, they won't like that.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26I've never felt so stressed feeding the birds.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30These Bewick's are absolutely beautiful.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33You can actually see the different markings on their bill here.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39There we go, my friends, that's your lot. Bye-bye, Bewick's.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49You've been posting your own wintry scenes on Twitter lately,
0:13:49 > 0:13:51but we'd love to see more.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Tweet us your photos at...
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Or send via our website...
0:14:04 > 0:14:08For some, wild winters bring extreme adventures.
0:14:08 > 0:14:13The tragic death of British adventurer Henry Worsley this week
0:14:13 > 0:14:16showed just how dangerous polar exploration can be.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Earlier this winter, we went to the Cairngorms
0:14:19 > 0:14:22to meet a woman who knows the perils only too well.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28The preconceived image of your polar explorer to this day remains
0:14:28 > 0:14:32tall, hairy, handsome bloke.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Nothing to do with my sort of dimensions and size.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38And yet, the irony lies in the fact
0:14:38 > 0:14:42that it's not at all about brute strength and biceps.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47It's about the strength that lies in your head and your heart.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Rosie Stancer has been described by some
0:14:53 > 0:14:56as a cross between Tinkerbell and the Terminator.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02She's already earned the accolade for being the first solo female
0:15:02 > 0:15:04to reach the South Pole.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08And ten years ago, Rosie came agonisingly close to becoming
0:15:08 > 0:15:10the first woman to also reach the North Pole.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15On the last expedition, day three,
0:15:15 > 0:15:18I got frostbite in my toes,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22which then got infected with gangrene and I had to amputate them.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27Incredibly, it wasn't this that prevented her reaching the Pole.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Winter storms caused treacherous ice conditions,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34and she was forced to abandon the trip just 89 miles from her goal.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39But next year, Rosie is taking on the Arctic again.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45The harder it is, the better training,
0:15:45 > 0:15:50because you've got to be ready to get through any sort of rubbish
0:15:50 > 0:15:55and go on and past it, because that's what the Arctic's all about.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58You've just got to get past whatever obstacle it throws at you.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01So, er, the meaner the better.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Rosie's fundraising travels take her all around the globe.
0:16:06 > 0:16:07Aside from the Arctic,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11she also plans to trek across a desert in China later this year.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14But her first love is the British landscape.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Especially in the wilds of winter.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Can't get much better than this.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Whiteout, lousy visibility.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Got snow, it's cold.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30It's perfect training for polar expeditions.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36Life on the ice is unimaginably tough.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Especially in the Arctic.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Yes, of course it is cold, it is bitterly cold, it is
0:16:43 > 0:16:49hard to describe how cold -60 feels on the flesh.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51It's very intimidating.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Three times colder than your deep freeze at home.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59Your flesh must be covered up - it'll freeze within two minutes.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01It hurts to breathe -
0:17:01 > 0:17:03it's like inhaling daggers.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09My major concern is the ice and the shifting ice,
0:17:09 > 0:17:14because it's moving around you all the time and it's very violent.
0:17:14 > 0:17:20And at any given moment, that ice can break up right beneath you.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Even beneath your tent at night.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Thankfully, the snow-covered ground
0:17:27 > 0:17:30of the Cairngorms is far more stable.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32This is what it's like on the ice,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36and this is about as fast as you go, so...
0:17:36 > 0:17:41if this were my first day on the ice, I know I'd probably be
0:17:41 > 0:17:45very pleased with achieving two nautical miles at the end of it.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Only 415 to go.
0:17:54 > 0:18:02There is nothing winter - here or in the Arctic - can throw at me
0:18:02 > 0:18:06and defeat me. I will not be conquered.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10This sort of training makes me feel invincible.
0:18:12 > 0:18:18At least in my head, I am Superwoman, and mighty strong.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23In fact, really, I'm just a bit of fluff,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26but with a hell of a big attitude.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29And it's that attitude that drives Rosie forward,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33taking her to places very few will ever experience, and to
0:18:33 > 0:18:38witness first-hand the fragility of the northernmost part of the Earth.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42There's added importance to this expedition,
0:18:42 > 0:18:47because it's no longer about these big, macho firsts.
0:18:47 > 0:18:52It's really rather more about a big last,
0:18:52 > 0:18:57because I don't think the ice is going to be there in years to come.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01And this could be the last solo expedition
0:19:01 > 0:19:03all the way to the North Pole.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05Not just by a woman, but by anyone.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22I've come to the snow-capped fells of Cumbria for a slightly less
0:19:22 > 0:19:25strenuous walk on winter's wild side.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28And centuries ago, it wasn't
0:19:28 > 0:19:32just the landscape around here that was wild.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35The hills and fells of this region were home to
0:19:35 > 0:19:39ferocious animals that struck fear into the hearts of local people.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45And the wildest of them all was the wolf.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50WOLVES HOWLING AND BARKING
0:19:50 > 0:19:55This is called Humphrey Head, and it's said that back in the 1390s,
0:19:55 > 0:20:00the very last wolf in England was speared to death up there
0:20:00 > 0:20:02after killing a child from a nearby village.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Or so the story goes.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09From the Humphrey Head wolf to Little Red Riding Hood, wolves have
0:20:09 > 0:20:13always made a good subject for stories - usually as the baddies.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18But one Cumbrian couple are keen to separate
0:20:18 > 0:20:19the fact from the fairytale.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Just a stone's throw from Humphrey Head,
0:20:24 > 0:20:30Dee and Daniel Ashman offer people the chance to walk with wolves.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34To meet them, I've come to private land well off the beaten track.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39- Ah, Dee, Daniel, good to see you. - Good morning.- Morning to you.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44And it's the first time I've ever seen wolves in the back of a truck.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48- This is Kajika and this is Maska. - Great names.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Yeah, they are Native American Indian names.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Maska means "strong" and Kajika means "walks without sound".
0:20:54 > 0:20:56They're an F3 hybrid.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59What that means is we have crossed a pure wolf with a Czechoslovakian
0:20:59 > 0:21:02wolf dog to third generation.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03Because they are hybrids,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06humans are legally allowed to get closer to them
0:21:06 > 0:21:10and interact more than they would be able to do with pure wolves.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12For us, it's conservation by connection.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15We're not here to teach people about what a wolf hybrid is,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18we're here to teach people to care about the plight of wolves
0:21:18 > 0:21:19and how wolves affect an ecosystem.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22- And they still look pretty much like wolves to me.- They do.
0:21:22 > 0:21:23Handsome creatures, aren't they?
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Yeah, they are beautiful, they really are.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Do I have to introduce myself to them, Daniel?
0:21:28 > 0:21:30Put your hand up towards the bars here.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33So they've got the opportunity just to lick and smell.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Oh-ho! I got a lick, then.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Had a lick from a wolf, that's the first time that has ever happened.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42- So they have accepted me, do you think?- They have, yes.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- You are part of the pack.- Good, so we can let them out now, then.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47We'll let them out.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52And off we go.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00'Understanding just how wolves communicate with one another
0:22:00 > 0:22:02'and the complex social structure
0:22:02 > 0:22:04'of the pack is important to Dee and Daniel.'
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- Is it at all risky, doing this?- No.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Even a wild wolf is actually a suspicious,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12but actually a social animal.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15If people come across wolves in the wild,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17they are more likely to run away than anything else.
0:22:17 > 0:22:23- Anything we shouldn't do?- The most important thing is don't bend down.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- Really? Why?- Because that is actually inviting them.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28If you go down to greet them, bend down to greet them,
0:22:28 > 0:22:30they will assume you are greeting them
0:22:30 > 0:22:33and that is like saying to them, "Put my neck in your mouth."
0:22:33 > 0:22:34- Oh, they want to play. - So they would.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Yeah, they would greet you and then they'd start playing.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41- I don't fancy my neck in your mouth, mate.- It's very gentle.
0:22:41 > 0:22:42THEY LAUGH
0:22:42 > 0:22:45'With permission from private landowners, we are able
0:22:45 > 0:22:49'to let the wolves run freely inside a fenced enclosure.'
0:22:51 > 0:22:53There we are.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Off they go.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02'Here, you can really appreciate their superb predatory powers.'
0:23:04 > 0:23:08We, as humans, have 400 sensory receptors in our nose.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11They have over 200 million.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15And our 400 allows us to smell a trillion scents,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18- so you can imagine what 200 million for you.- That's why they never stop.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20- They are always on the alert. - They are always on the go.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23And always smelling and looking.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25The wolf is the perfect all-terrain mammal.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28They can run, they can jump, they can swim,
0:23:28 > 0:23:32they can climb up steep areas of screed or embankment.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35For that ability, they have got fully developed webbed feet.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39They are webbed right up to the nail bed.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Also, they have a dual-layered coat.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44They have got their inner thermal layer and then they've
0:23:44 > 0:23:48got their outer layer of fur, traditionally known as guard hairs.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54'And the hairs that make up the coat are hollow, like a polar bear's,
0:23:54 > 0:23:58'allowing them to tolerate temperatures as low as -40.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01'It makes our winters rather mild for them.'
0:24:01 > 0:24:04So, lots to be learnt, then, from walking with wolves - and of
0:24:04 > 0:24:07course, they do have their classic form of communication, don't they?
0:24:07 > 0:24:09- The howl.- Yeah, there's lots of different howls.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11There isn't one magical howl that does everything,
0:24:11 > 0:24:13there's lots of different ones.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15And they all change in tone and structure, depending on what
0:24:15 > 0:24:18- they are trying to say.- Can you do them to communicate with these?
0:24:18 > 0:24:22We can, yes. The one we use the most is a family-bonding howl.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24And what does that sound like, then?
0:24:24 > 0:24:27You do it first and I'll try and copy. And see what happens.
0:24:27 > 0:24:28We'll see how it goes.
0:24:30 > 0:24:31THEY HOWL
0:24:31 > 0:24:34WOLVES HOWL
0:24:34 > 0:24:37ALL HOWL
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Howling with wolves!
0:24:42 > 0:24:44THEY LAUGH
0:24:54 > 0:24:58It seems to me that wolves are much misunderstood creatures.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02It probably goes back to those childhood tales of the Big Bad Wolf.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06But having just walked with them - and howled with them -
0:25:06 > 0:25:09it's made me realise that they are in fact highly intelligent,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13very social creatures, really worthy of our respect.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16WOLVES HOWLING
0:25:19 > 0:25:20I'll tell you what,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23John's pretty impressive at howling like a wolf, isn't he?
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Don't worry, there's no wolves around here.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Now, these Swaledales, they're rock hard, they're hardy,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31they're bred for conditions like this.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35But from here in Teesdale, it's over to Adam, who's in Orkney,
0:25:35 > 0:25:39where the wild winter weather is threatening their native sheep.
0:25:39 > 0:25:40Come on, then.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49North Ronaldsay. The northernmost of the Orkney Islands.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Low-lying and exposed to the elements.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56This is a tough place to live - man or beast.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Many years ago, Dad and I came up to these islands to help secure
0:26:02 > 0:26:06the future of these wonderful little North Ronaldsay sheep.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09And it's a trip that brings back fond memories.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23In the 1970s, this rare breed only lived on this one isolated
0:26:23 > 0:26:27island, so they were vulnerable to disease wiping them out.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30But with the help of the locals, my dad and I managed to move
0:26:30 > 0:26:34some of the sheep to safer locations around the UK.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Now, with several flocks established on the mainland,
0:26:37 > 0:26:39the future of the breed looks more secure.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45However, back here on their tiny native island,
0:26:45 > 0:26:47things aren't looking so rosy.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53The North Ronaldsays were banished to the beach
0:26:53 > 0:26:57back in 1832, when the Laird built a sheep dyke around the whole
0:26:57 > 0:27:01island to reserve the pastures for cattle.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Deprived of grass, the sheep soon adapted to their new environment,
0:27:07 > 0:27:09living solely off seaweed.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15'Kevin Woodbridge moved from England 39 years ago to become
0:27:15 > 0:27:17'the island's GP.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19'Now retired, he's become clerk
0:27:19 > 0:27:23'of North Ronaldsay's grandly titled Sheep Court.'
0:27:23 > 0:27:25I know here, it's very different to our sheep back home -
0:27:25 > 0:27:26they get fat in the summer.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Your sheep get fat in the winter, don't they?
0:27:29 > 0:27:30Yes, yes, in the summer,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33they are entirely dependent on what they can pick up in the ebb tide.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36In the winter, the storms uproot all the seaweed beds out in the sea,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39and bring huge banks of seaweed on to the foreshore
0:27:39 > 0:27:41and the sheep will actually gorge themselves
0:27:41 > 0:27:43on that and they are fittest and fattest
0:27:43 > 0:27:46at this time of year, and the best time to send them off for market.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48- Can we get up closer to one, catch one?- Yes.- What's a good one?
0:27:48 > 0:27:52- He looks pretty big, that one. Him? - A good one there, yeah.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Let's have a feel of him.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01There's a good covering of meat over his backbone and on the rib there.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05- He's really quite podgy.- Yeah. - And the meat's delicious, isn't it?
0:28:05 > 0:28:08The meat's wonderful, it's very lean and very tasty.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12During the winter months, on that seashore, it must be so harsh.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16What is it, then, in the sheep, that makes them such good survivors?
0:28:16 > 0:28:19It's a primitive breed which has been adapted entirely to living
0:28:19 > 0:28:20here on the seaweed.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23You can see the fleece is really lovely and thick
0:28:23 > 0:28:26and downy underneath, and you've got these hairs coming through
0:28:26 > 0:28:28and the guard hairs on the outside,
0:28:28 > 0:28:30which gives both a warming and a lining,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33but also it sheds the rain,
0:28:33 > 0:28:37the snow and the sleet away from getting in and soaking the fleece.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40So, they are in fine fettle, pretty good condition,
0:28:40 > 0:28:42there's plenty of them. What's the problem?
0:28:42 > 0:28:45The problem really is that the depopulation of the island
0:28:45 > 0:28:48has reduced the number of people who are keeping sheep
0:28:48 > 0:28:52and so maintaining the full flock is a challenge for the reduced
0:28:52 > 0:28:54numbers, and also maintaining the dyke,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57which has been very seriously storm damaged in the last few years.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59We haven't got the manpower on the island to get it back up.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02The dyke being the sea wall that keeps the sheep on the seashore.
0:29:02 > 0:29:03Yes.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Like the rest of the UK, in the last few years,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Orkney has experienced some huge storms.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Whilst the sheep and the islanders have adapted to cope with
0:29:14 > 0:29:16the worst the winter weather can throw at them,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19the stone sheep dyke has been devastated.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27'Peter Titley is a former chairman of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30'and founder of the Orkney Sheep Foundation -
0:29:30 > 0:29:34'a special organisation dedicated to the North Ronaldsay's survival.'
0:29:36 > 0:29:39- Hi, Peter, great to see you. - Hello, Adam, great to see you.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41Goodness me, I knew the dyke was bad,
0:29:41 > 0:29:44- but it's absolutely devastated, isn't it?- It's dreadful.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47It's very hard to imagine the power of the sea.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51How important is it, then, to keep the sheep on the seashore?
0:29:51 > 0:29:53If they were to go elsewhere and mix with other breeds of sheep,
0:29:53 > 0:29:57we'd lose the genetic integrity, and once that's gone,
0:29:57 > 0:30:02then these special sheep with thousands of years of history
0:30:02 > 0:30:06are lost to the world for ever, because this is the only place
0:30:06 > 0:30:10where they actually live in this traditional way.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14This is a very special place, very special sheep.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17So, a daunting task ahead, but maybe fencing is the answer.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20We have a fence here already that can contain the sheep.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22Well, it's a temporary answer.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26If the dyke's down, one has to rely on this temporary fencing,
0:30:26 > 0:30:29this wire fencing, but it's not ideal.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31What we want to see is some restoration.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33We want to see the dyke rebuilt
0:30:33 > 0:30:36so that we can actually return these sheep to something that
0:30:36 > 0:30:40actually fits their ancient history on this shoreline.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45The islanders are doing what they can...
0:30:46 > 0:30:49..but in the face of such devastation, they need help.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55Kate Trail Price is the great-great-great-granddaughter
0:30:55 > 0:30:58of the Laird who originally commissioned the dyke.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02She's also working with the Orkney Sheep Foundation to help rebuild it.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06Back in the day, you'd have had over 500 people living on the island.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08Everybody was in charge of their own section,
0:31:08 > 0:31:10they'd help to repair it
0:31:10 > 0:31:13every time it was down, and it really worked for generations.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16And, of course, now, with less than 50 people living on the island,
0:31:16 > 0:31:18it's a mammoth task for these guys.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20As you can see, they are all skilled,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23they all know how to do it, but there's just not enough hands.
0:31:23 > 0:31:24It's a massive job.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27Presumably you've got to raise funds and awareness.
0:31:27 > 0:31:28We do indeed.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31Yeah, we are applying for funding, taking donations,
0:31:31 > 0:31:33and we are looking into things like bursaries,
0:31:33 > 0:31:36so dry-stone wallers of the future who want to come over to the island,
0:31:36 > 0:31:39maybe learn from these guys, learn the skills, learn the secrets.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41There's not that many rules to it,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43but there are skills and things to be learnt
0:31:43 > 0:31:45and so people could come over, learn
0:31:45 > 0:31:49and then come back every summer and help to rebuild what's come down.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51It's quite a skilled job.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54I'd better have a word with some of the masters at work here,
0:31:54 > 0:31:55find out how they do this.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59With the dry-stone walls in the Cotswolds,
0:31:59 > 0:32:01we build them really tight so you can't see through them.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03Here, there's lots of gaps in the wall.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06The sea is meant to be able to come through the holes in the dyke
0:32:06 > 0:32:08and we like to see it coming through,
0:32:08 > 0:32:11rather than staying on the other side and knocking down the dyke.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Oh, I see. If you had a solid barrier,
0:32:14 > 0:32:16the wave would just knock it down, rather than come through.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19Yes, of course, it only works in a limited way,
0:32:19 > 0:32:21because eventually, it knocks it down anyway.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24So, how long have you been building dry-stone walls on Orkney?
0:32:24 > 0:32:30- Getting on 70 years.- 70 years? So, how old are you, then?- Er, 79.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32Goodness me. It must be this Orkney air.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36- Actually, come to think of it, I'm just 79 today.- No! Really?
0:32:36 > 0:32:39- You should wish me a happy birthday. - Happy birthday!- Thank you.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42What a way to spend your birthday - what a treat -
0:32:42 > 0:32:44building a dry-stone wall!
0:32:47 > 0:32:50The islanders have a huge task ahead of them
0:32:50 > 0:32:53to win their constant battle with the sea.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58Hopefully, they will get the help they need to rebuild the whole
0:32:58 > 0:33:02dyke and keep these rare sheep on the beaches they now call home.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13Like Adam, Sean's also on a wild and windy shoreline,
0:33:13 > 0:33:15a bit further south in North Yorkshire.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19The angry North Sea waves that batter
0:33:19 > 0:33:23the coast are one of winter's most deadly weapons.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25This wintry weather keeps many people away,
0:33:25 > 0:33:30but, for some, these are the perfect conditions for a spot of fishing.
0:33:30 > 0:33:36But I'm not talking about your average angling. This is extreme.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40Winter cod fishing is said to be one of the most difficult
0:33:40 > 0:33:42forms of the sport that there is.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45And it's that challenge that attracts committed anglers
0:33:45 > 0:33:49like Glenn Kilpatrick to these blustery beaches.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51So, Glenn, I've done some fishing in my time,
0:33:51 > 0:33:55but it was coarse fishing in tranquil lakes and rivers.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57Quite a bit different to this.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00Yeah, this is going to be a very different day for you, I think.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03'Glenn's been fishing the numbing North Sea around Whitby
0:34:03 > 0:34:05'since he was a boy.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09'His real passion is winter rock fishing for cod.'
0:34:09 > 0:34:12I never would have thought you could do cod fishing from the land.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15I always would assume that you'd be out on a boat.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19Yeah, well, this time of year, because of the winter storms
0:34:19 > 0:34:23we get, it churns all the food up out of the local shoreline,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27so you've got worms and shrimps and everything living in the sand here.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29You've got sand eels underneath us.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32In the rocks, you've got crabs and shrimps.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34So the fish will come right in,
0:34:34 > 0:34:37right into a few feet of water, to find that food.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39It's like a big banquet for fish, really.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42And in this part of the country, it's really popular, isn't it?
0:34:42 > 0:34:46Yeah, each weekend, there's some big competitions right across the coast.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49Hundreds and hundreds of people enter.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52You get large groups of people out most nights of the week,
0:34:52 > 0:34:54right through winter, fishing.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58'Glenn and his die-hard mates think nothing of braving gale-force
0:34:58 > 0:35:01'winds like this in pursuit of a prized catch.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05'This lot are like the SAS of the angling world.'
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Is this the most difficult type of fishing you can do?
0:35:08 > 0:35:10Most definitely, yeah.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14I think the skill and the knowledge involved here to really get
0:35:14 > 0:35:16the best out of this type of fishing environment,
0:35:16 > 0:35:19yeah, it is probably the most difficult.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26On a day like today, nowhere finer than this little place here
0:35:26 > 0:35:29because of the shelter of the bay.
0:35:29 > 0:35:30We've also got a big reef
0:35:30 > 0:35:33that runs offshore about half a mile out off here.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37So, on the roughest of rough days, this is a place to fish.
0:35:37 > 0:35:38'I've got to be honest,
0:35:38 > 0:35:40'with these fierce winds hammering away at us,
0:35:40 > 0:35:44'it doesn't feel that sheltered to me and the camera crew!'
0:35:54 > 0:35:56So, this is the bait. What is it?
0:35:56 > 0:35:57There's a mix there.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00There's peeler crab, there's mussel and there's lugworm,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03which are all found naturally here. That's the reason we use them.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05Doesn't look very nice to you and I,
0:36:05 > 0:36:07but I guess that's a cod's feast, is it?
0:36:07 > 0:36:09To a cod, that's a big fillet steak.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13Glenn, is it always like this? These conditions are awful!
0:36:13 > 0:36:15This is as harsh as it gets.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18As long as the sea is rough, we like to be out in this sort of weather.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21- This is when the fish come in to feed.- My hands are getting so cold.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24- I find the back of my hands go very numb.- Yeah.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26I find all of my hands go very numb.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31'Glenn has caught a 15-pounder here in the past.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35'But today is proving tough for all of us.'
0:36:38 > 0:36:45- He's caught a fish.- He's caught one? - Yeah, in the red.- Is that lunch?
0:36:45 > 0:36:46That could be lunch.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51'These guys are hugely experienced,
0:36:51 > 0:36:56'but the dangers of winter rock fishing shouldn't be underestimated.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59'For us, today, the weather has continued to worsen.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02'So we're playing it safe and heading in.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05'Thankfully, we can seek refuge in a local restaurant,
0:37:05 > 0:37:07'where chef Simon,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09'an honorary member of Glenn's fishing fraternity,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12'is going to work his magic with our catch of the day.'
0:37:12 > 0:37:15Here we are, Simon, this is what we caught this morning.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18- It's not a lot. Is this going to be enough?- It's not very big,
0:37:18 > 0:37:22but I'm sure I'll be able to put something together with it.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25The local people, they love it deep-fried in batter, but I'll do
0:37:25 > 0:37:29something a bit different today and do you a nice piece of pan-fried.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46- So, what do we all think of the food?- Unbelievable.- Fantastic.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Great, isn't it? Can I just point out, when I took the fish in there,
0:37:49 > 0:37:51he was pretty derogatory about it.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54He said it was very small - how is he going to do this?
0:37:54 > 0:37:56How is he going to cook for you guys?
0:37:56 > 0:37:58He's sort of performed a biblical miracle, hasn't he?
0:37:58 > 0:38:00- Feeding all six of us. - He's done well.
0:38:02 > 0:38:03I think maybe after we get finished,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06we could pop out and do a bit more fishing.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10- Yeah, sounds good.- I think I'm going to sit this one out, guys.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13- The fishing's always better at night.- No, it's all right.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15I'll leave it.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17LAUGHTER AND CHATTER
0:38:17 > 0:38:20'Mm. Perhaps I'll stick to the coarse fishing.'
0:38:26 > 0:38:29We're leaving Yorkshire's stormy shoreline now,
0:38:29 > 0:38:32and heading inland, yet we're still out on the edge.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37Nature writer Rob Cowen draws inspiration for his work from
0:38:37 > 0:38:42the edgelands of Harrogate - the wilderness between town and country.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46Winter may be cold and cruel, but look hard enough,
0:38:46 > 0:38:48and there is beauty in the bleak.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53It was something about the winter landscape that I've always loved.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58You get less tree cover. You see things you wouldn't normally see.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03Buildings, old gateways, bits of industrial relics.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07Each of these things helps create this idea of the layers to
0:39:07 > 0:39:11the landscape - this landscape freighted with stories.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15You can see further, the sun is lower in the sky,
0:39:15 > 0:39:18so you get these dramatic shots of light and length and shadow.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26I found this patch of interesting ground.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30It was just amazing, it was a kind of immediate
0:39:30 > 0:39:34shift from the urban into this strange, wild edgeland.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38I began to come here sort of obsessively, day and night,
0:39:38 > 0:39:41and look and record and start to write what I saw.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48"There is a depth that comes from revisiting a place relentlessly.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50"I would pass a fallen pine and suddenly see it
0:39:50 > 0:39:52"as a sapling breaking through the mud.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55"I would see the river - not as a man, but as a mayfly.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59"I'd approach hares with the tread of a medieval trapper.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01"Tracing the screaming arcs of swifts,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04"I could feel thermals above as keenly as they did."
0:40:05 > 0:40:08People think of winter as a dead time. It's not dead.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Everything is just lying dormant or starting to break through
0:40:11 > 0:40:14the winter crust.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16This is an alder.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19You can see the beautiful colour of its buds here.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22This kind of dusky, purple, lilac colour.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24Absolutely lovely, lovely colour.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33This is around all over the place. A mushroom called wood ear.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37It's a great mushroom for that fallow period in wild food
0:40:37 > 0:40:39when there isn't much going on.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48Often I'd stay out, and so I'd set up a hammock in the trees,
0:40:48 > 0:40:50get up early with the first light.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57You see completely different things at that time, especially in a place
0:40:57 > 0:40:59like this where you wouldn't imagine
0:40:59 > 0:41:01there could be such a density of wildlife.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04But it is all here. There are otters in the river.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06There are buzzards in the fields.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09I've seen roe deer and watched them move at dawn.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16I think edgelands are incredibly valuable.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18There isn't any of the manicured-ness.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21There isn't any of the management. There's the kind of...
0:41:21 > 0:41:25The raw negotiation between human and nature occurs all the time here.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32I hate to think that a place like this would one day just be
0:41:32 > 0:41:37forgotten, lost, waiting to get built over, but, actually,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41they are the honest sort of space. There is nothing hidden.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43It exposes and reveals itself to you,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46and I've found that hugely rewarding.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58I'm in the upper reaches of Teesdale,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01a place where I feel very comfortable.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06Growing up on a sheep farm not so far from here,
0:42:06 > 0:42:08I've experienced many a Dales winter.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13Do you know, I just love this part of the world.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16It's wild, it's rugged, but it's beautiful.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20And I may be biased - because, for me, this area is home -
0:42:20 > 0:42:24but I'm not alone in admiring its filmic appeal.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31Tom and Kay Hutchinson farm these isolated hundred acres
0:42:31 > 0:42:34with their children, Jack, Esme and Hetty.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38Theirs is not a lifestyle that seeks the limelight.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41Hill farming can be a lonely existence.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43But a film-maker sought out the Hutchinsons
0:42:43 > 0:42:47and turned their everyday life into a feature-length documentary.
0:42:51 > 0:42:52- He loves every minute, really.- Yes.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54He just...
0:42:54 > 0:42:58- He's a typical, grumpy old farmer.- Yeah.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01Which was an ambition in life, obviously, from day one.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03That he's fulfilling quite well.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09The film is called Addicted To Sheep,
0:43:09 > 0:43:12and it follows the year in the life of a hill-farming family.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Now, just as farming is a labour of love,
0:43:15 > 0:43:17so was the film-making process.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20This is the director who almost got hypothermia
0:43:20 > 0:43:23getting the perfect shot. I don't know -
0:43:23 > 0:43:26the directors on Countryfile think that they've got it tough!
0:43:26 > 0:43:29'Her name is Magali Pettie -
0:43:29 > 0:43:32'a farmer's daughter from Brittany in France.'
0:43:32 > 0:43:34So, what are you doing there, Tom?
0:43:34 > 0:43:36We are going to trim the ends of his horns to stop them
0:43:36 > 0:43:38growing into his face.
0:43:38 > 0:43:43'Back in 2010, Magali set out to compare French and British farming,
0:43:43 > 0:43:47'but became so fascinated with life on a Teesdale hill farm,
0:43:47 > 0:43:49'it took over the show.'
0:43:49 > 0:43:51Magali, have you stopped filming? Can I come in?
0:43:51 > 0:43:53- Is that all right? Have a chat?- Yes.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55So, this is such an intriguing concept, then,
0:43:55 > 0:43:59this documentary-maker from France here in Teesdale.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01What were you hoping to achieve with this?
0:44:01 > 0:44:04In France, we don't have tenant farmers, and I just thought
0:44:04 > 0:44:08it was such a fascinating thing, really, that it still existed.
0:44:08 > 0:44:10I saw my parents kind of struggle as farmers
0:44:10 > 0:44:13and I wanted to see, why on earth would anyone want to be a farmer?
0:44:13 > 0:44:15But a tenant hill farmer at that!
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Kay, were you really excited about this,
0:44:17 > 0:44:19or were you a little bit reluctant?
0:44:19 > 0:44:23We were a little bit reluctant, but we were hoping that it would
0:44:23 > 0:44:27showcase exactly what we do, how passionate we are about our work.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30It's certainly a place you've got to want to be -
0:44:30 > 0:44:34you've got to want to live here - because it is literally 24/7,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38and to show people what it is like to produce food
0:44:38 > 0:44:40and to put food on people's plates in this country.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44Do you think this, Magali, will attract people to hill farming,
0:44:44 > 0:44:48or just kind of surprise them, or put them off?
0:44:48 > 0:44:51I think it will certainly surprise them.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53I think some people have come to us and said, "Actually,
0:44:53 > 0:44:56"it's made me want to be a hill farmer after this."
0:44:56 > 0:45:00I think a lot of people even live in the countryside,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03but don't live on a farm, and they have no idea what the farmers
0:45:03 > 0:45:06go through every day, and the challenges.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09And without getting too political, who has it harder -
0:45:09 > 0:45:11French or British farmers? SHE LAUGHS
0:45:11 > 0:45:16Right, I've been asked that before and I have said French people,
0:45:16 > 0:45:18and they all booed me, basically.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Listen, we won't boo you, don't worry.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23You were just filming a little scene as I walked over there,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26talking about cutting one of the horns off this Swaley tup.
0:45:26 > 0:45:29Let me come in there and give you a hand.
0:45:29 > 0:45:30His horn is just a little bit close.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32You can see there, it is close to his cheek.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35Just going to take the end of this horn off
0:45:35 > 0:45:37with Kay's good cheese wire.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41- This is... Yes, fresh out of the kitchen.- Yeah, exactly.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43Just start pulling, just there.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47- That's it, good lad. - See, it doesn't hurt him
0:45:47 > 0:45:50- because it's just like getting your fingernails cut.- Absolutely, yeah.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56'I think I'll pass on the cheese and biscuits.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58'Nearly through.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02'Almost there. And there you have it.'
0:46:02 > 0:46:05There you go. Through.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09That is a very good way of keeping warm on a snowy day.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11Job done.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14Tom's farm would be nothing without his Swaledales,
0:46:14 > 0:46:16and neither would Magali's film.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18SCREAMING
0:46:18 > 0:46:22The other stars of the show are Tom and Kay's three children.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24There's nine-year-old Jack...
0:46:24 > 0:46:28You've got certain ewes that you want to put to a certain tup.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32So you put them in the same field without another tup in.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34..eight-year-old Esme...
0:46:34 > 0:46:36I might not be a farmer when I'm older,
0:46:36 > 0:46:42I might just keep horses and do artwork and stuff.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44..and six-year-old Hetty.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47I don't really want to be a farmer
0:46:47 > 0:46:50because you have to work on the farm,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53muck up the sloppy, sloppy poo.
0:46:53 > 0:46:59I think they should pick it up theirselves instead of us.
0:47:05 > 0:47:06Your dad said I'd find you in here.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09Oh, my word, haven't you grown?
0:47:09 > 0:47:10Great to see you.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12'It's been a few years since this lot
0:47:12 > 0:47:14'have had to perform for the camera.'
0:47:14 > 0:47:20- Jack, how old are you now?- 14 now. - 14. Esme, how old now?- 13.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22- 13, and that must make you 11.- Yes.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24And have you worked out, Hetty,
0:47:24 > 0:47:26why these cows can't clean up their own poo?
0:47:26 > 0:47:29- Yeah, because they don't have any hands.- No, that's fair enough.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32I love that clip so much.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35So, having watched the film, is the plan at all for you to
0:47:35 > 0:47:38carry on farming, or have you got your sights set on other things?
0:47:38 > 0:47:41I don't know what I'd like to do in the future,
0:47:41 > 0:47:42but I wouldn't mind farming.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45It wouldn't be bad, but I want to see what else there is, as well.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47Fair enough, fair enough. Go on, Esme.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51Well, I don't mind farming, but I don't know if I could do it.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54But I'd like to do something with animals, because I've worked
0:47:54 > 0:47:58with them all my life, so I'd like to carry on a bit or something.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01You're just enjoying life at the moment, Hetty, aren't you?
0:48:01 > 0:48:03- Still shovelling.- Yeah. - That's the way.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06Keep going, girl, that's what I say, just keep shovelling.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12Sometimes, looking at life through a lens can skew reality,
0:48:12 > 0:48:16but when you're working with animals and children in a landscape as wild
0:48:16 > 0:48:21and as windswept as Teesdale, what you see is exactly what you get.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25- Very good work. Right, Hetty, where is your muck heap?- Over there.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29- Over there.- Over there, right.
0:48:41 > 0:48:42Winter.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46Harsh and unforgiving.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48A time for us all to adapt.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57And, as I've been exploring at Slimbridge Wetland Centre,
0:48:57 > 0:48:59for some migratory birds,
0:48:59 > 0:49:04that means undertaking a perilous journey over thousands of miles.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10It's one of the most impressive sights in nature -
0:49:10 > 0:49:15millions of birds on the move with flocks in their thousands.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19We can track their migratory route with technology,
0:49:19 > 0:49:23but just how do their avian instincts get them here?
0:49:23 > 0:49:26As head of research Geoff Hilton knows.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29All migratory birds have a genetic sense that they want to
0:49:29 > 0:49:31- migrate at certain times of year.- Right.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33But the trigger that actually makes them
0:49:33 > 0:49:36start doing it is usually day length.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38They are then looking for a good weather window,
0:49:38 > 0:49:41because they really want a nice, calm following wind that will
0:49:41 > 0:49:43sort of steer them on their way.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46Once they get ready and they've got their fat onboard to fly,
0:49:46 > 0:49:48they are then looking for that weather window that will
0:49:48 > 0:49:49take them where they want to go.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52The young birds, they kind of have a direction they want to travel in,
0:49:52 > 0:49:55that their genes are telling them to travel in,
0:49:55 > 0:49:57and a sort of approximate distance before they stop.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59The bigger birds, and especially things like these geese
0:49:59 > 0:50:02and the swans that we have on the reserve,
0:50:02 > 0:50:04their first migration is guided by their parents.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06The bird follows them for their first flight
0:50:06 > 0:50:08and after that they kind of know the route for future years.
0:50:08 > 0:50:12It is a big, arduous journey, isn't it? It takes a lot of their energy.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15How do they try and make these energy efficiencies along the way?
0:50:15 > 0:50:17Migration is incredibly energetically demanding,
0:50:17 > 0:50:20but they are trying to find ways to save energy.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23One of these ways to save energy is to fly in a V formation.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26What they're doing there is the bird is following its neighbour,
0:50:26 > 0:50:29just behind it, and picking up its slipstream.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31Not only are they getting this slipstream advantage,
0:50:31 > 0:50:34but they are timing their wing beats absolutely perfectly
0:50:34 > 0:50:37to pick up the sort of maximum benefit of this
0:50:37 > 0:50:39airflow off the back of their neighbour.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41And this can save them as much as 20% of the energy costs
0:50:41 > 0:50:44of the flight, which can be life or death, really.
0:50:50 > 0:50:55Now, obviously, if I wanted to experience up close just how birds
0:50:55 > 0:51:00fly in this formation, I couldn't just tag along on a migration.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02But there is another way.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07I've come to a gliding club in the heart of the Cotswolds
0:51:07 > 0:51:12to meet a family of greylag geese with an unconventional mother.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16When these geese hatched,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19the first moving object they saw was Rose Buck...
0:51:19 > 0:51:22Good lads. Go on, Thomas.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25..so they instinctively thought she was their mother
0:51:25 > 0:51:28and followed her, even as adults.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30It's known as imprinting.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36- Hi, Rose, good to see you.- Hi! - These are your lovely greylags.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39- They are fantastic, aren't they? - Yeah.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41How much work is involved in imprinting them?
0:51:41 > 0:51:43It's a huge amount of work.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47As soon as they hatched, I spent 24 hours a day with them
0:51:47 > 0:51:49until they were four weeks old.
0:51:49 > 0:51:54We spent the whole time together, forming that bond.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56And now they'll follow you in flight.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58How do they behave as a group when they are doing that?
0:51:58 > 0:52:00I'm always the lead goose
0:52:00 > 0:52:04and they're always looking to see what I'm doing. They switch around.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06And will they communicate with each other, as they would do
0:52:06 > 0:52:08in the wild, when they're flying with you?
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Oh, yes, they absolutely do.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14I talk to them a lot when we're flying, to encourage them.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16"Come on, guys," and, "You're doing really well," which is
0:52:16 > 0:52:18exactly what they do in the wild.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30Now for the moment I've been waiting for,
0:52:30 > 0:52:34a bird's-eye view of one of nature's most recognisable sights.
0:52:35 > 0:52:36They're on their way now.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53And we're off! There we go. Yeah!
0:52:56 > 0:53:00Whoo-hoo! They're flying right overhead. Hello. That's beautiful.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06So quickly, they've taken flight, that's amazing.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12Come on, boys.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15Right next to us now. Look at that. What a beaut!
0:53:20 > 0:53:24This is amazing. I am cheek-to-beak with these beautiful greylags.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27Ha-ha! Love it.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30- Come on, boys.- What a sight.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34This is the formation they'd be in for thousands of miles on migration.
0:53:36 > 0:53:37From this distance, you can
0:53:37 > 0:53:41really see how each bird benefits from the one in front.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46You really get a sense of being part of this formation
0:53:46 > 0:53:47when you fly like this.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50- Come on, then. Good boys. - GEESE HONK
0:53:50 > 0:53:52Rose is communicating to them.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56There's a few vocalisations going on, which helps them.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59That's another reason for flying in this formation.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02Ha-ha!
0:54:02 > 0:54:04Come on.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07It really makes you appreciate what an almighty migration
0:54:07 > 0:54:11birds like these undertake, year in, year out,
0:54:11 > 0:54:13to reach their wintering grounds.
0:54:14 > 0:54:19Here we go. End of the runway now. Whoo-hoo! Hey!
0:54:19 > 0:54:24- That was fabulous! Well done.- Good boys.
0:54:27 > 0:54:31We've reached the end of our walk on winter's wild side...
0:54:32 > 0:54:37..from those seeking sanctuary to those living dangerously.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42..we've seen how winter can transform our landscape
0:54:42 > 0:54:44into a wild wonderland.