Dartmoor Natur Gwyllt Iolo

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-I've been birdwatching

-and observing wildlife all my life.

-But pressures on nature

-due to man's intervention...

-..have seen some species decline

-or disappear altogether in Wales...

-..over the past half a century.

-I'm travelling to England, to

-locations teeming with wildlife...

-..to rediscover species

-no longer found at home.

-When you think of Dartmoor,

-you think of a historical place...

-..the backdrop for Sherlock Holmes

-and the Hound of the Baskervilles...

-..misty, precarious

-uplands and moors...

-..where people lose their bearings.

-Well, that's my destination

-for this programme.

-Dartmoor is one of

-Britain's oldest national parks...

-..spanning more than

-400 square miles of Devon.

-This is the most sprawling

-expanse of land in southern England.

-Most of it is deserted moorland.

-The loftiest hills in these uplands

-stand 600 metres high...

-..2,000 feet above sea level.

-Many of these hills are capped

-with large rocks called tors.

-There are more than 160 of them...

-..which give Dartmoor

-its distinctive character.

-I'm in Dartmoor

-during the second week of May...

-..as the warmth of spring

-begins to wake the marshland.

-It's an important habitat for birds

-who nest in bushes or on the ground.

-When you come to an marshland

-where trees are scarce...

-..you see many different birds...

-..perching on the same tree to sing.

-It's not often

-you see a blackbird...

-..a greenfinch and a yellowhammer

-singing from the same tree.

-It's delightful

-hearing the three of them.

-I'm on Holne Moor here...

-..and I'm heading to Bench Tor...

-..where I hope to get a good view

-of the Dart Valley.

-I've spotted a meadow pipit

-over there in the gorse.

-He or she wants to go its nest.

-It has lots of insects and so on

-in its beak.

-It's difficult finding their nests.

-They're hidden in the vegetation.

-It's just gone now. It falls down.

-But then it runs through

-the vegetation for quite a while.

-The nest might be five or six metres

-away from where it's fallen down.

-The nest's tucked in

-beneath the undergrowth.

-It's a nest full of chicks.

-They must feed...

-..but they mustn't draw attention

-to the nest at the same time.

-You see them rising regularly.

-Another thing it's doing...

-..is carrying the chicks' droppings

-away from the nest.

-If it left them there,

-the nest would smell in no time...

-..and the stench would attract

-the attention of the weasel or fox.

-They keep the nest very clean...

-..in order to give the chicks

-enough time to hatch.

-I've almost reached the top,

-with the Dart Valley below me.

-I can hear the river.

-There are oak trees on either side.

-This area reminds me of

-the Rheidol Valley near Ponterwyd.

-Dartmoor takes its name

-from the River Dart, of course.

-The river runs through

-the centre of the national park.

-What a view!

-All this forestry

-is a nature reserve.

-Next, I'm going down the valley

-and exploring around the corner.

-Many of the valleys beneath

-Dartmoor's uplands are wooded.

-This is Holne Woods,

-with the River Dart...

-..running through it.

-It's a wonderful spot in spring.

-You'll see the brimstone

-feeding on the bluebells' nectar.

-And the majestic grey wagtail

-feeding on insects.

-It has a nest next to the river.

-The slopes above the river

-are an ideal habitat.

-Though it looks ordinary

-with gorse and ferns...

-..similar to that which you'll find

-in many places in Wales...

-..it attracts very rare butterflies.

-I was hoping I'd see this here.

-It's called

-the pearl-bordered fritillary.

-You can see it on the fern there.

-It's beautiful.

-It's an orange colour

-with dark spots.

-They were relatively common

-during my childhood in Llanwddyn.

-They're exceedingly rare nowadays.

-This is an ideal habitat for them -

-a south-facing slope...

-..which makes it

-a very warm environment.

-It's covered with ferns,

-but not too densely.

-Among the ferns are small violets.

-That's what this butterfly needs.

-She lays eggs on those...

-..and the caterpillar

-feeds on the plant.

-This section of the Dart Valley...

-..has Britain's highest population

-of pearl-bordered fritillary.

-The reason for that...

-..is because the land

-is tailored to their needs.

-There's a small patch

-of bugle here...

-..which are these purple flowers.

-It's important food

-for the fritillary.

-The flowers

-are shaped like a trumpet.

-Not every insect

-can reach the nectar...

-..but these can.

-They produce a lot of nectar too.

-It's very important food for them.

-Dartmoor's

-a great environment for them.

-There are plenty of south-facing

-terrain and it's also controlled.

-Their numbers are dwindling

-throughout Wales and England...

-..but in this area,

-they seem to be holding their own.

-With Dartmoor

-so remote and deserted...

-..it's famous

-for its legends and folklore.

-The ambience of this woodland

-has inspired many a tale.

-Large black dogs with blood-red

-eyes and large yellow teeth...

-..hunt here

-for human flesh and souls.

-The woodland was also an important

-location for the Celtic druids.

-Look at this place.

-There's a carpet

-of thick moss all around.

-It even covers

-the stones on the ground.

-The lichen hangs from the branches

-like an old man's beard.

-This place is called Wistman's Wood,

-not far from the town of Tavistock.

-It's a rare habitat.

-There are only three woods

-like this left in Dartmoor.

-The trees are remarkably short.

-You'd think they're young trees but

-they're not, they're centuries old.

-There are records...

-..dating from 1632 which state

-that the trees back then...

-..were only

-as tall as a person's height.

-We were in the middle

-of a short ice age back then.

-Since then, there's been

-global warming and it's wetter.

-The trees have grown slightly

-but they're still quite short.

-The oldest trees here today

-are around 400 years old.

-There's an old Bronze Age village on

-the site, dating back 2,000 years.

-This isn't the best forest

-in the world in terms of wildlife.

-I've seen better in Wales.

-Perhaps because it's so isolated.

-Perhaps it's because it's so high

-up, over 1,000 feet above sea level.

-However, it's May

-and there are a few birds singing.

-The robin and the willow warbler,

-who's also looking for food.

-A pair of chaffinches

-have finished building a nest...

-..on a branch down below and

-they've built it on top of the moss.

-The nest is almost entirely made

-from moss.

-It blends

-into the background perfectly.

-She comes down now and again

-and sits in her nest...

-..to make sure it's the right size

-for her to lay her eggs.

-It looks very comfortable.

-Overseeing the female's handiwork...

-..is the male.

-Sometimes it's nice to be idle.

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-This is the River Dart,

-or the East Dart, to be precise.

-It meets the West Dart further down.

-The water is crystal clear.

-This bridge

-is called Clapper Bridge...

-..which refers to...

-..these large, flat rocks.

-Each one weighs eight tons.

-Imagine that.

-What's pleasing for me is looking in

-the water and seeing a brown trout.

-There aren't many places...

-..where the rivers are so clear

-that you can spot a brown trout.

-The bridge

-was built 700 years ago...

-..for pack-horses to transport tin

-from Dartmoor to Tavistock.

-You can imagine the horses

-being led over the bridge...

-..with bags on their backs...

-..and the drovers being greeted by

-the same sight I'm seeing today.

-Stone crosses can be found

-in many places in Dartmoor.

-The oldest,

-such as Bennett's Cross...

-..date back 1,000 years

-to the Middle Ages.

-Most of them are boundary markers.

-It's a good place

-to meet a local Welshman.

-Before he retired, Tegwyn Harris

-was a lecturer at Exeter University.

-Today he's taking me to a hill

-above the cross to see another tor.

-Birch Tor this time.

-Tegwyn, I understand

-you live in Exeter.

-The Welsh name for Exeter

-is Caerwysg, if you don't mind!

-You've been coming to Dartmoor...

-..fairly regularly.

-I used to come quite regularly

-with students from the university.

-From what I remember

-of coming here as a boy...

-..it's a deserted place...

-..it's always cold, it's

-always raining and always foggy.

-Yes, and it can be dangerous

-because of the fog.

-What people don't realize

-is that we're on top of a mountain.

-Dartmoor is a mountain.

-If you'd driven with me from Exeter

-today, you'd realize that.

-Parts of Dartmoor

-are 2,000 feet above sea level.

-What exactly are these tors?

-Most of them are slabs of granite.

-They've been formed from the land

-over a long period of time.

-This is a small tor.

-Some of them are huge and reach the

-heavens, like the Tower of Babel.

-Whilst chatting to Tegwyn,

-I noticed a cuckoo was singing.

-This is a perfect habitat for it.

-There are at least two calling

-further down the valley.

-I was walking along the mountain

-and heard the cuckoo calling.

-I haven't seen a cuckoo this year,

-so I tried to get near it.

-I thought

-this was a natural ravine...

-..but that's not what this is.

-The landscape's been scarred

-from the days of tin mining.

-They've excavated

-the earth and the rock...

-..in order to get to the tin.

-I came up the ravine

-and saw the cuckoo from afar.

-It was on the rock in the heather

-on the left-hand side.

-I crept up,

-thinking it had gone...

-..but then I realized all it'd done

-was move to the other side...

-..to stand

-on the heather on that side.

-This is the closest

-I've ever come to a cuckoo.

-It's a very shy bird.

-Getting close to it is difficult.

-I could see everything from here.

-Its yellow legs

-and its body bobbing up and down.

-I'm thrilled.

-The weather's changed.

-The rain's moving in.

-It's not too bad, nonetheless.

-This is a quiet spot. It's a nature

-reserve called Emsworthy Mire.

-It's a mixture

-of marshland and trees.

-I'm going down to see

-what I can find.

-There are thick layers of peat

-on much of Dartmoor's marshland.

-This instantly absorbs the water

-and retains it.

-In some areas, water collects,

-creating dangerous bogs.

-There's not as much wildlife

-as I thought on this bog.

-If you're on the lowlands...

-..in the middle of May...

-..it's a great time to come and see

-flowers, snakes and birds and so on.

-I tend to forget...

-..that I'm close to

-1,000 feet above sea level.

-A fortnight later would be the best

-time to visit a place like this.

-At the end of May,

-beginning of June.

-Here's something amusing.

-This is a bog, of course.

-The local name

-for an area like this...

-Let me show you first.

-Look, it's springy, like a bed.

-The local name for it is shaker.

-It's easy to see why.

-There would've been

-a lake here years ago...

-..but the vegetation

-has grown over it, the bog moss...

-..and the sundew.

-It can be very dangerous

-but it isn't too bad here.

-Hopefully!

-Though much of Dartmoor

-is deserted uplands...

-..there are woodlands

-teeming with birds in spring.

-The best can be found in

-the eastern section of the park...

-..a few miles from Newton Abbot.

-This is Yarner Wood.

-It's a national nature reserve.

-It was the first of its kind

-to be designated in England in 1952.

-It's very different from

-Wistman's Wood, where I was before.

-Look at these oak trees.

-They're very tall.

-They're around 80 or 90 feet high.

-It goes to show

-that the soil is far richer.

-There are fewer stones here.

-It gives you an idea of how

-England and Wales would've looked...

-..4,000 years ago.

-It would've looked

-something like this...

-..with berries growing everywhere.

-In a habitat like this, you

-nearly always find field cow-wheat.

-A pretty yellow flower.

-As it's the middle of May

-and a fine day...

-..the leaves

-have newly blossomed...

-..which means

-it's much harder to spot the birds.

-But there are a number of them here.

-I've spotted a pair of nuthatches

-on the oak tree.

-They have a nest and they're going

-back and forth to feed their chicks.

-You can see it

-with a beak full of insects...

-..disappearing inside.

-It's impossible to say...

-..exactly

-how many of them there are.

-I can see

-the chick's beak popping out.

-In a forest like this, there's

-plenty of food for them here.

-Of all the forest's birds,

-my favourite is the pied flycatcher.

-When the male sings, he tends

-to sing from a prominent position...

-..so it's easy to spot him.

-He's a very smart bird.

-While the male sings...

-..the female will sit on her eggs

-in a nest in one of the trees.

-Hay Tor is one of

-the biggest tors on Dartmoor.

-It's only

-when you come close to it...

-..that you appreciate its size.

-It's fitting

-that I finish my journey...

-..next to one of these tors,

-which make Dartmoor so famous...

-..throughout the world.

-Talking of Dartmoor, the terrain

-extends for miles behind me.

-I've come here in May, but it

-doesn't matter when you come here...

-..it's a wonderful place.

-Next time,

-I begin my journey closer to home.

-I set out from Formby,

-opposite the North Wales coast...

-..and travel

-through the Lancashire countryside.

-It's a vast county, stretching from

-the Mersey to the Lake District.

-And it's teeming

-with exceptional wildlife.

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