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