Ardal y Llynnoedd Natur Gwyllt Iolo

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-I'm on a journey

-to six areas in England.

-These areas are renowned for

-their beauty and incredible scenery.

-I'm heading to the Lake District.

-Millions are attracted here

-by the scenery and famous poets.

-I'll head to the ancient north and

-cross Hadrian's Wall to Northumbria.

-My next stop is the Peak District...

-..the vast wilderness

-between Manchester and Sheffield.

-This is Norfolk,

-Britain's largest wetland.

-I'll cross the Severn Bridge

-to visit Somerset.

-I'll walk along

-its levels and hills.

-I'll follow

-the southern hills path...

-..to the white cliffs

-of southern England.

-These locations attract

-millions of tourists every year...

-..to enjoy the splendid landscapes.

-There's some excellent wildlife

-that you will rarely see in Wales.

-That's the main reason for visiting

-these remarkable locations.

-My first journey takes me

-to the Lake District.

-It's a part of England that looks

-very similar to parts of Wales.

-The name Cumbria suggests

-close links to Wales in the past.

-It's a mountainous area

-with four summits over 3,000ft.

-The lakes are the major attraction.

-There are 16 lakes in all.

-Some names, such as crag

-for 'craig' (rock) sound Welsh...

-..but most local names

-come from the Norse language.

-Many Vikings settled here

-after the Celtic Age.

-A stream is called beck,

-from the Norse bekkr.

-A mountain is a fell,

-from the Norse fjall.

-A small lake is tarn, from the

-Norse tjorn, which means earthquake.

-My journey begins in a nature

-reserve close to Lake Windermere.

-It's the second week of April.

-This lake is very popular.

-It attracts millions of visitors

-every year...

-..but it's possible to find

-quiet little nooks like this.

-I've followed an ancient path.

-To illustrate its age, this

-stone wall is covered in mosses.

-Much of this area

-reminds me of Wales.

-Something else that reminds me

-of Wales is the rain.

-As I walk

-through such a beautiful copse...

-..it's easy to forget

-that much of the Lake District...

-..was shaped my man and industry.

-This building, in the shape

-of a wigwam, has caught my eye.

-It's been recreated.

-When people used to work

-in the forests many years ago...

-..they would build huts

-such as this for shelter.

-This is the most important area.

-This is original - it's an old kiln.

-I've seen a charcoal kiln,

-I've seen a lime kiln...

-..but this is different.

-They would fill it with wood and

-bracken and build a roof over it.

-Once that was lit

-and burnt to ash...

-..the ash was used to make potash.

-Centuries ago, there were numerous

-industries in this rural location.

-Before travelling further north,

-I meet Will Williams on Scout Scar.

-It's a limestone hill

-near Will's home in Kendal.

-Will, hello.

-Hello there, how are you?

-Hello there, how are you?

-

-Are you alright? What a morning.

-What a great view too.

-It's a glorious morning.

-I'm going to take a closer look

-at the Lake District.

-Let's descend and we can see

-all the mountains on our way.

-Can you tell me their names?

-This area is to the south

-of the Lake District.

-You can see from the sea to the

-highest peak on the Lake District...

-..Scafell Pike.

-That's Morecambe Bay,

-England's largest bay.

-You pass the Old Man of Coniston...

-..and the Langdales,

-Crinkle Crag, Bowfell...

-..mountains that Wainwright

-enjoyed walking across.

-Wainwright Walks.

-I've seen the programmes.

-It's a wonderful landscape -

-I'm looking at the big picture.

-It's magnificent.

-I can understand why you live here.

-Where are you from originally -

-Llandeilo?

-I was born near Llandeilo. I lived

-on my father's farm near Trapp.

-I left Llandeilo about 40 years ago.

-You probably walk

-across these mountains regularly.

-Well, yes.

-Have you seen the numbers

-of visitors increase?

-The Lake District

-is England's largest national park.

-It's a wonderful area...

-..with wonderful mountains,

-valleys, forests, moors...

-..and many people live here.

-I'm in Swindale now.

-This farm is called Swindale Head.

-I'm heading up this mountain.

-I'll cross the moors and come out

-on the other side in Haweswater...

-..another large lake.

-There's an interesting path

-called Old Corpse Road.

-Many years ago, back before 1750...

-..there was a village

-on the other side call Mardale...

-..but there was no graveyard there.

-When someone died, they carried

-the body, in a coffin...

-..across the mountain and down

-this way to the village of Shap.

-I'm following the Old Corpse Road

-over the mountain...

-..to Haweswater.

-Similar to Wales, these valleys

-were formed during the Ice Age.

-The highlands are home to sheep,

-as you would also expect in Wales...

-..but you'll also find

-red deer on the summit here.

-These are all males.

-They live apart from the females...

-..until it's time to mate

-in the autumn.

-This lake is called Haweswater.

-I'm going to head around the lake

-to the far side.

-Haweswater differs

-from the other lakes.

-It's a reservoir.

-The dam was built in 1929.

-Two lakes and two villages

-were flooded.

-That's another similarity

-to Wales...

-..when you think back

-to Tryweryn, Vyrnwy and Elan.

-One bird you're guaranteed to spot

-in the highlands is the raven.

-This is its primary habitat.

-It's here because it has plenty

-of food to eat on the slopes...

-..especially animal carcasses.

-I've walked around the lake

-to sit down here.

-Only when you look

-in that direction...

-..do you appreciate

-the size of Haweswater.

-It's vast.

-The whole valley was flooded.

-The raven I saw

-on the far side of the lake...

-..has flown across the lake

-to nest.

-Here it comes.

-Its nest is up there.

-I've been sitting here

-for about an hour and a half.

-It's flown in with food

-every 15 minutes.

-It's fed itself and its chicks.

-Then it flies away to search

-for more.

-I could never do this at home.

-In Wales, they're very shy birds.

-Once your head

-pops above the horizon...

-..it'll fly away from the nest

-right away.

-There's a path

-between the nest and myself.

-They're used to seeing people.

-It's given me the chance

-to enjoy the raven's secret life.

-I think there are two chicks

-in the nest...

-..but as many as five can survive.

-You can see the chicks' beaks

-when the parents feed them.

-The second week of April is early -

-the chicks are still small.

-What I like most about the raven

-are its calls.

-It has around 30 of them.

-They're very sensible birds.

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-I'm at the most northerly point

-of the Lake District.

-This is the Borrowdale valley.

-It's a well-known area

-that attracts a lot of visitors.

-I've come off the beaten track.

-There's an ancient oak forest here.

-The damp climate is influenced

-by the Atlantic Ocean.

-Numerous mosses and ferns

-cover the landscape.

-I hope this is a good place

-to spot birds.

-The best way to find birds

-is by listening.

-One call is easy to recognise.

-The call of the nuthatch.

-It builds its nest in a hole

-in a broken branch of an old tree.

-People ask me how I find nests.

-When you have a noisy bird like

-the nuthatch - can you hear it...

-..it's difficult

-not to find the nest.

-It tells you where it is.

-It's going into a hole in the tree.

-You'd think its behaviour

-would be similar to other birds.

-Collecting moss, wool, grass

-or something comfortable...

-..but these don't.

-They go back and forth with small

-pieces of bark from nearby trees.

-They lay their eggs on the bark.

-I wouldn't imagine

-it's a comfortable nest.

-The hole is too big...

-..so the nuthatch makes it smaller

-by adding mud to the entrance.

-It then strengthens the mud

-using its beak.

-When it's finished, the entrance

-has become a tight squeeze!

-There are numerous small bridges

-in this area.

-This is just down the road

-from Keswick.

-They're very small bridges.

-They would have been built

-centuries ago for a horse and cart.

-Today, they carry cars

-and they're still here.

-The bridge is almost 300 years old.

-It leads to an old road

-to the highlands above Keswick.

-It passes a very special copse.

-You don't see mature birch trees

-like this very often.

-If you went back

-around 4,000 years...

-..you would have found trees

-like this on the upper slopes.

-They're excellent trees

-for all kinds of wildlife...

-..especially in places like this...

-..where dead trees

-are left to rot naturally.

-This is a good tree -

-there's another one behind me too.

-Fungi are growing on the trees.

-This is birch polypore...

-..and it creates

-a wonderful pattern.

-When it starts to rot,

-it attracts all kinds of insects.

-Some of the trees have holes

-in them.

-They were made by woodpeckers

-searching for food.

-This is the great spotted

-woodpecker.

-It's a male. It's made a hole

-in the tree to make a nest.

-I often find woodpecker nests

-in birch trees.

-I don't know why they choose birch

-over any other tree.

-This tree in particular,

-it's starting to rot.

-It's still quite hard but

-it's softer than the living trees.

-It's chosen that one because it's

-easier to make a hole inside it.

-You can tell this one's a male.

-If you look behind its head,

-there's a red patch.

-I've been watching birds

-since I was a young boy.

-This is the first time I've ever

-seen a woodpecker making a hole.

-I've seen nests before but I've

-never seen a woodpecker at work.

-Usually, woodpeckers

-make a new nest every spring.

-It takes around three weeks

-to complete the nest.

-Both the male and female

-make the nest.

-This one's partner

-waits her turn in a nearby tree.

-They fill the bottom of the hole

-with small pieces of wood.

-This is the Castlerigg stone circle,

-a mile outside Keswick.

-No-one's sure when it was built...

-..possibly three or four thousand

-years ago by the early Celts.

-It's well worth coming here

-at dawn...

-..as the sun rises

-over the mountains.

-I must say, there's a very special

-atmosphere here.

-It's one of Britain's

-best stone circles.

-There are 38 stones here.

-We don't know much about the people

-who brought them here...

-..but we know they were erected

-accurately in order of the stars.

-That's what makes this place

-so special.

-It was created by people

-who were very close to nature.

-This is the most northerly point

-of my journey - Bassenthwaite Lake.

-Skiddaw, one of the highest peaks

-of the Lake District...

-..is to my left.

-This is Dodd Wood.

-I'm told this is a great place

-to find one very special animal...

-..the red squirrel.

-Before the 18thC, there were no

-evergreen forests in Great Britain.

-These aren't native trees -

-they were imported and planted.

-The natural habitat for

-red squirrels are deciduous trees...

-..but they moved to pine trees

-because of the grey squirrel.

-Red squirrels spend so much

-of their time in the trees.

-Even if you know they're here,

-it's still difficult to find them.

-It's a case of watching

-and listening.

-Sometimes,

-you'll hear a quiet bark...

-..or see a quick movement

-in the trees.

-It's difficult to find

-red squirrels...

-..but this forest is one of the

-best in the country to find them.

-According to a recent survey...

-..around 400 of them live here.

-They appear to be

-quarrelsome animals at times...

-..and attack each other.

-These quarrels are usually

-between two partners.

-Seldom do things go too far.

-They're used to people because

-of the nearby feeding station.

-Nothing makes me happier

-than seeing a red squirrel.

-The battle to safeguard

-the future of the red squirrel...

-..continues in this area now.

-The grey squirrel was introduced

-from America 150 years ago.

-It's pushed the red squirrel out

-of Wales and many parts of England.

-They survive only in the north

-of England, in areas like this.

-The nuts and the feeding station

-behind me look very artificial...

-..but this is an important part

-of the work to safeguard its future.

-You need places like this where the

-public can see the red squirrels.

-Only when we see them

-do we appreciate them.

-Safeguarding their future

-through this work is very important.

-My journey around

-the Lake District ends...

-..with Derwentwater

-in the background.

-The land of high mountains,

-the land of lakes.

-If you're here to search

-for wildlife...

-..you'll see many things you see

-at home with a few additions...

-..but you must work hard

-to find them.

-The landscape here is magnificent.

-S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.

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