Countryfile - Hengistbury Head
Countryfile - Hengistbury Head
Transcript
00:00We're at the National Coast Watch station of Hengistbury Head in Dorset.
00:12It is a fantastic, if rather windy, vantage point to see how the Head here protects Christchurch
00:18Harbour over there, but the cliffs and the beaches are open to the full force of the
00:23sea.
00:24Over thousands of years this landscape has been transformed by nature.
00:27At the end of the Ice Age, the sea was many kilometres over there, but now its waves come
00:31crashing in at its doorstep.
00:33And in true King Canute style, people are trying to hold back the tide with massive
00:38diggers and huge 10-tonne boulders, all to protect this vital landscape.
00:57Jutting out towards the English Channel from Dorset, east of Bournemouth and south of Christchurch
01:23Harbour is Hengistbury Head, a narrow stretch of land of only 432 acres.
01:30At its eastern end is a man-made coastal defence.
01:35The long groin here at Hengistbury Head plays a crucial role in reducing erosion all along
01:40this coast.
01:41Without it, the ground we're walking on would disappear.
01:44In its current condition, it can no longer perform its protective services, so it's time
01:49for a refit.
01:50And it's not just people and their properties that'll benefit.
01:54As well as getting an insider's view of this major coastal project, I learn how marine
02:00life will prosper from the revamp.
02:02And these are designed to retain water and to also create a surface texture for things
02:07to live on.
02:09While the creatures of Hengistbury Head carry on their own industrious work.
02:13That's why I'm so interested in willow emeralds, just wonderful creatures.
02:18I think you've made us all interested, now that's amazing!
02:22Mankind's left its mark here in more ways than one.
02:26This is ironstone, this is the whole reason Hengistbury Head is here today.
02:29And then in the 18th century they removed it.
02:33And in Yorkshire, Adam's finding out how new uses for wool could help our sheep farmers.
02:39By creating innovation in wools that are definitely overlooked, then we can lift the price.
02:45It's a fantastic way of looking at it, isn't it?
02:48Very new.
02:55It's incredible that so much of the future of this landscape rests on the success of
03:00the work being carried out here on the beach at Hengistbury Head.
03:06Even just standing here watching these massive machines at work is pretty cool.
03:10A dream come true for me when I was a boy.
03:13And anyone else who used to play diggers in a sandpit as a child.
03:19But of course there's much more to this major coastal undertaking than moving a few rocks around.
03:24So I'm meeting the Council's Head of Flood and Coastal, Matt Hosey, who has a vision
03:30for this coastline.
03:33So Matt, why is this project so important?
03:37Well ultimately it's about protecting homes and people.
03:40If we didn't do this work, then over the next 100 years we'd see up to 6,000 properties
03:45at risk of erosion from the cliffs.
03:47Really? So what would happen?
03:49So historically, before we did coast protection, the sea would attack the toe of the cliffs,
03:54the cliffs would erode, the material would just collapse onto the beach and get soaked
03:57up into the beach and it would drift farther offshore.
04:00So the cliffs naturally want to erode, and if we let it do that it would go back at such
04:07a rate that it would take a lot of properties with it.
04:10To tackle this, Matt's team is reconstructing the Hengistbury Head long groin, an armoured
04:16breakwater that stretches towards the English Channel from the end of Hengistbury Head,
04:21protecting this coastline from erosion.
04:23And there is an old groin in place now, or it's been taken down.
04:29Is that original groin not fit for purpose?
04:32It's 85 years old, so actually it's done a really good job.
04:34At some age, did they know then when they built it that it would last that long?
04:38I don't think they'd have had really good knowledge of how long it would last, but obviously
04:43it was built to be a long-lasting structure.
04:45So conditions are changing, and if you're looking ahead to 100 years' time, sea levels
04:50will rise.
04:51It's a bigger challenge for you than it was, say, for the people in the 1930s, just because
04:56of the sea level rise.
04:57No, absolutely.
04:58I mean, the primary defence really is the beach, is what stops the run-up and over-topping
05:02and the attack on the cliff toe.
05:04It's like a buffer, is it then?
05:05Absolutely, yeah.
05:06It's the primary buffer to stop the cliff from eroding.
05:09The groins, they stop that beach from eroding too quickly.
05:12So we've got longshore drift, which takes the material from west to east.
05:16They slow that down to keep that beach in shape.
05:19And then the long groin, where we are at the moment, that's a terminal groin really at
05:23the end of the bay.
05:24It's much longer, because actually we want to build the beach out much wider here, because
05:28that's got to protect the whole of the Hengistbury headland.
05:30So that's why we've got the size of groin that we have here.
05:33Now, I'm just trying to get my head around where you start on a project like this.
05:37They're just absolutely huge boulders here.
05:39I mean, how do you build a massive groin in the coastline like this?
05:44It's actually a really carefully engineered structure.
05:46So the rocks that we're looking at here, we've sourced them from Somalo.
05:51The underlayer that we've got is 60 to 300 kilos, and that's coming from Larvik.
05:54So France and Norway you're getting them from.
05:57But local rock is just not tough enough?
05:59It does sometimes, but not always.
06:00To get the quantity needed, that's a big ask.
06:02So that's not locally viable.
06:06To build the new groin, the team here have to move a total of 34,800 tonnes of rock,
06:14including material salvaged from the old groin, and deposit it in a 150 metre straight line.
06:22The rocks can weigh up to 10 tonnes each, and the new groin will be one and a half metres
06:27higher than its predecessor to combat the rise in sea level and the increase in stormy
06:32weather.
06:35I'm hitching a lift in one of the giant dumper trucks with site manager and expert driver
06:41Mazen Tamimi.
06:42So what are we going to be doing today?
06:43We are now about to go and collect some sand out from where the break is in the rock groin,
06:52collect the sand out, tip it there, and then it will migrate back down so we're not losing
06:59any to longshore drift, which is the entire purpose of the groin.
07:04It's actually really fun being up here.
07:07This is your everyday isn't it?
07:08Yeah.
07:09So I'm just thinking about myself as a little boy, this would have been the dream, all these
07:12massive diggers and lorries and trucks and things.
07:15Yeah, we're all just really big kids.
07:17You're living the dream aren't you Mazen?
07:19I'm living the dream.
07:21Now we're about to go and collect some sand so people at Bournemouth can keep living the
07:25dream with their sandy beaches.
07:27Yeah.
07:31I can feel that, they're loading us up.
07:35Thirty tonnes of sand on board, we're off back down the beach.
07:41So when you go to the beach, is it like a busman's holiday?
07:43You're just a bit like, oh, we've dug up the beach.
07:45No, I still enjoy it.
07:47Once the groin is built, we'll tidy it up and make it look brand new again and it'll
07:52be as it was before.
07:54You feel it when the sand comes out don't you?
07:56Yeah, yeah.
07:57Get a bit of a kick up the backside.
08:00Now the sand has been moved, it's time for some of the material from the old groin to
08:04be shifted.
08:06Four, which is just to reuse what we've already got on site instead of having it taken away
08:12at extra cost.
08:13It's that or the other and environmentally it's a bit better to use what we've already
08:17got existing on site.
08:22Before long, we're off again.
08:25Back to unload on the groin.
08:35Oh, look at that.
08:38That's actually really satisfying, isn't it?
08:42I actually really like that.
08:44Oh my gosh, that's a great feeling, isn't it?
08:47We're building a groin.
08:51This project means that huge changes are taking place above and below the water's surface.
09:00To minimise the impact to the marine environment, Dr Alice Hall, marine biologist, has been
09:06consulting with the construction team.
09:09So Alice, I can see there are signs of life.
09:11What have we got here?
09:12Yeah, so on this rock here you can see we've got a variety of different seaweeds.
09:15We've got spiral wrack here, which is the brown seaweed.
09:18We have some green seaweed here, which is an ulva.
09:21And you can also see that we've got some limpets.
09:23So these limpets will be grazing away at the green algae to kind of clear the rock.
09:27You can see here that it's smooth.
09:29We also have hydraids here, which this may look like a plant, but it's actually an animal.
09:34It's a colony of multiple animals that all live together.
09:36So it's not a plant?
09:37No, no, it's an animal.
09:38Lots of animals.
09:39It's a hydraid, yeah.
09:40Wow, that's so strange, isn't it?
09:42Yeah.
09:43This all points to it being in actually quite a good condition when it comes to wildlife,
09:47or would you expect more?
09:48No, it's quite low in terms of diversity, yeah.
09:50You typically get kind of fish, crabs, anemones, sponges and things like that that are living
09:55on these boulders as well.
09:57But because you haven't got those rock pools and that water retention, it can't survive.
10:01It just dries out at low tide.
10:03When you see this groin being built, I mean, it's a massive operation, isn't it?
10:08How much of an impact does that have on the wildlife?
10:10So this scheme itself, so before we did the work, we conducted what's called a baseline survey.
10:15So rather than having a negative impact, we want to increase the number of species that
10:19come back to it once the groin is finished.
10:21The construction itself, although a lot of the rocks and stuff have been moved, a lot
10:25of the rocks have been reused.
10:26So they're already colonised in marine life, so that colonisation will help speed up the
10:31decolonisation of the new structure.
10:32So it's really beneficial to kind of reuse those colonised boulders.
10:36And in terms of sustainability, what can you do with a site like this?
10:41Yeah, so various things have been done.
10:43So some of the granite is actually a by-product.
10:45So some of the granite that we've got from France would typically be used to make kitchen
10:50work tops, and the rock we're using is just the leftovers.
10:52So it's actually a really novel use.
10:55So the granite, those boulders that we see, those massive boulders, that's waste?
11:00Yeah, it's just a by-product, yeah.
11:01So under the water, the big thing you can do is basically just create refuges, so things
11:05like holes, tunnels, nooks and crannies, just areas of shelter, and that'll help the marine
11:10life flourish.
11:17To add nooks and crannies to the new groin, some giant cubes will be going in alongside
11:22the rocks and boulders.
11:26So you can see the front of it here, there's lots of pockets, there's lots of texture,
11:29there's lots of holes for the animals to be able to latch into.
11:32And you can see here they've got some deep pools on the top of the unit.
11:35So this will retain water at low tide and help things to survive.
11:38You expect this to be, in years to come, covered in all sorts of things, so there'll be seaweed,
11:42there'll be limpets, all sorts of things fastening themselves to it.
11:46Yeah, so they'll just camouflage in with the rest of the rock that'll be there, so it'll
11:49all become part of nature and part of the whole groin structure.
11:52And what sort of difference can all of this make?
11:54So this will really help.
11:55So with global warming, with climate change, a lot of the marine species are struggling.
11:59So if you can create habitat for them, if you can create refuge, it'll really help them
12:03thrive and survive.
12:04So hopefully, if we come back in 10 years' time, there'll be a whole host of animals
12:07living on this structure.
12:08Yeah, and when are these going in the water?
12:10Hopefully, in the next few weeks.
12:12It's quite exciting.
12:13It is, it's very exciting.
12:14Yeah, I mean, I'm excited, you must be really excited.
12:16Yes, really excited.
12:17It's great to see it all happening and it all coming together.
12:25This coastline's been formed over millions of years and it's still changing today.
12:38So it's perhaps not surprising that artists are drawn here to try and capture this beautiful
12:44place.
12:49Sarah Humby has been documenting the changing moods and seasons of Hengistbury Head for
12:54more than 30 years.
12:58I've always drawn here.
13:00It's like my backyard.
13:02I brought my children here and walked my dogs here.
13:06It's my patch, I suppose.
13:11All my work starts outside in the environment.
13:14I love the way the Head is like a constant landmark, but there's always stuff changing
13:21around it, the light and the weather and everything that's going on, especially with the groynes.
13:25That's a real focal point at the moment.
13:30Since the diggers have been up there, I've done a lot more drawing because it's such
13:33a contrast with the natural world with all this heavy plant material.
13:36It's just fascinating sitting there and watching them.
13:42My drawing style, it's very spontaneous.
13:45It's very quick.
13:47It's so responsive to the environment, people and animals and the interaction of weather
13:54and time and light.
14:02I've captured a lot of life over Hengistbury Head over the years.
14:08In the summer, of course, it's fantastic because the colours are just so vibrant.
14:16It's wonderful to sit and listen to all the sounds, the birdsong and people walking
14:23by, their dogs, children, the motorboats.
14:29All life is here and in the winter, it's just wonderful because it's so peaceful.
14:39Actually, some of the best times up here is when it's wild, in rain, snow and wind.
14:46Which actually is really good fun.
14:49Trying to hold your paper down and it's getting wet and stuff.
14:52It distracts you from what you're doing, so you can get some really excellent work that way.
15:01What started out as a solitary pursuit for Sarah is now a joy she shares with others.
15:08So during the pandemic, I spent more time drawing up here because it was the only place
15:14that we were allowed to go and myself and another local artist, Jane Sokal,
15:20we'd come up about twice a week for a whole year, all around the Head.
15:25And we recorded it for a year and we had an exhibition and there was a lot of interest in it.
15:30And we realised that a lot of people wanted to come out and do the same thing, really.
15:36And so we built up quite a following of people coming out and drawing with us.
15:42It was fantastic and it made me realise it's good for mental health, it's good for physical health,
15:47it's good for spiritual health, it's good for your brain.
15:51And there's no pressure, you don't have to be good at it.
15:55You don't have to hang it on a wall at the end of the day.
15:59You're just recording the experience of the time that you've spent here in nature, in a beautiful place.
16:05And I think people enjoy that.
16:08I never get bored of sketching here.
16:12I love drawing all around the Head, on the wild side where the sea comes right up,
16:20right on the end where you can see over to the Isle of Wight, round into the estuary.
16:25Some days the water is light against a dark sky, sometimes it's black, sometimes it's purple.
16:35Every time you come up here it's different.
16:38Every time I come up here it's like, wow, it's beautiful up here.
16:43You couldn't be more lucky to live and work here.
16:55Away from Hengistbury Head, Adam's in the UK's wool capital, Bradford,
16:59to find out how wool innovations could help sheep farmers.
17:08Over the last month or so, farmers across the country have been shearing their flocks.
17:15At one time that would have been a healthy payout for the farmer, but sadly that's not the case anymore.
17:21But wool is still a fantastic natural product with amazing properties
17:26and has great potential in the modern world.
17:32One person who shares my passion for wool is fourth generation sheep farmer, Kate Drury.
17:38She's a wool innovator and champion of finding new uses for one of our oldest fibres.
17:44I'm meeting her at British Wool's headquarters in Bradford.
17:50Looking around the room, there's a beautiful array of products that wool can be used in.
17:55Yeah, and wool is so diverse, so obviously I can't bear to see the price that we get back.
18:00And it didn't make sense to me how it works, so that's why I wanted to study the supply chain.
18:05And it shows me where we can champion UK wools.
18:08It's always been very clever and very beautiful,
18:11so it makes sense that we try and use it in every industry that we can.
18:15So we need to create as many products so that industry can really get it into all sorts of places.
18:22One of Kate's innovations is a rope that can be used in marine environments
18:26and reduce microplastics in the ocean.
18:29For that, she needs tough, long wool, and that's where British Wool come in.
18:33Across the UK, 35,000 farmers drop 25 million kilos of fleece at British Wool,
18:39and they're the only organisation in the world that collects, grades, sells and promotes fleece wool.
18:45So this is from one farmer.
18:47Yeah, lovely.
18:48And then this would be like a Suffolk cross or a mule.
18:51This being slightly coarser and a shorter, less crinkles.
18:55Yeah.
18:56So high value, low value.
18:57Not necessarily like that, but they'll go into different products.
19:00So it's value of the end product.
19:01Okay.
19:02Yeah.
19:03The science of the wool dictates where we send it.
19:05It doesn't necessarily mean one grade is more valuable than the other.
19:09After grading, the fleeces are compressed into bales, weighing around 350 kilos,
19:15preserving the fleeces and making them easy to ship.
19:19But before it's ready to be sold, buyers like Kate need to know exactly what they're going to get.
19:25So this is where we core test every single bale.
19:28So what happens is, it goes through the core test.
19:31It goes through the core test.
19:32It goes through the core test.
19:33It goes through the core test.
19:34It goes through the core test.
19:35So this is where we core test every single bale.
19:38So what happens is, it goes in and it takes a core sample and this goes off to be tested.
19:42Because obviously we've got lots of stuff in here, straw, lanolin, muck.
19:47But then it gives me the yield.
19:49The yield's really important because different grades create different yields.
19:52And if I say buy 1,000 kilos of wool, raw wool here, I need to know how much end yarn I'm going to get.
19:59Once Kate selects the best fleeces for her rope, they're washed and blended
20:05before being delivered to BR Winding, a mill on the outskirts of Huddersfield,
20:10who manufacture it into a strong yarn.
20:12Steve Rowley is the mill's owner.
20:15Hi, Steve.
20:16Hi, nice to meet you, Adam.
20:17And you.
20:18Yeah.
20:19Boy, what an incredible place.
20:20I mean, this area is famous for wool production, isn't it?
20:23It is. The textile industry evolves from around here, yeah.
20:26Can you take me through the process?
20:28Yeah, so Kate's wool comes in from the blenders.
20:32We're going to card that wool and spin that wool.
20:35Feels lovely now, doesn't it?
20:36It does, yeah.
20:37From here, we then blow it.
20:40Oh, wow, amazing.
20:41Yeah.
20:42Have a go.
20:43Yeah, have a go.
20:44What a great job.
20:45Yeah.
20:46It goes up through the fan and then up into the tower.
20:50And then into these rowing machines.
20:52Yeah.
20:57This giant is a carding machine.
20:59It takes the fleece and processes it into a fibre that can be spun.
21:04It's made up of a series of rollers with tiny pins on the surface
21:08that pull apart, crush and mix the fleece,
21:11removing unwanted organic matter.
21:14And as they break down and mix, the fibres align into thin sheets
21:19and at the other end,
21:20out come strands of fibre ready to be spun into yarn.
21:24This roller is going a little bit faster than this roller,
21:27so it's stretching the fibres,
21:30it's putting twist into the thinner places,
21:33which gives it strength so we can draft out the thicker places
21:37to make a more even yarn.
21:39How strong is this now?
21:41Yeah, there's quite a bit of strength in it.
21:43Do you want me to show you, Adam?
21:44Yeah, yeah, great.
21:46Beautiful.
21:48Oh, yeah, that's really strong, isn't it?
21:50Yeah.
21:51But such a fine fibre.
21:52Yeah.
21:53I'm really pulling that.
21:54Oh, there we go.
21:55Yeah.
21:56Amazing.
21:58Once it's spun, two to four of these yarns are then twisted
22:02into a single, thicker yarn in the final stage of production.
22:06We're now putting twist into those barrels.
22:10So these are the finished product.
22:13All within this building, from that wool coming in to this?
22:17Yeah, yeah.
22:20After leaving here, the yarn goes off to Kate
22:23and she manufactures it into her sustainable commercial rope.
22:27It's a bit of a long process, isn't it?
22:29Yeah, it is.
22:30It's a bit of a long process, isn't it?
22:32Yeah, it is.
22:33It's a bit of a long process, isn't it?
22:37So you've seen how this has been made from the wool.
22:41I then take this yarn, we put it on a commercial rope machine
22:45and basically it just puts loads and loads of yarns together,
22:50as you can see here, just loads of ends.
22:53They're all twisted to make one ply
22:55and then the machine then plies the three strands
22:58to make a three-plied rope.
23:00And what sort of things are you making?
23:02It looks like quite an array.
23:04So we've got dog leads, sheep halters
23:06and then people have taken our braids
23:08and started manufacturing all sorts of beautiful stuff.
23:11Kate's business model for her products
23:13involves using poorly valued wools, which could help hill farmers.
23:18So, you know, we've got a chocolate mule here,
23:21this is a swaledale and this is the Welsh mountain.
23:24I've picked these wools because they give the lowest return to our farmers.
23:28And those hill breeds, because they live on the hills,
23:31have got very coarse wool, so they don't suit cloth
23:34or particularly carpets and those sorts of things.
23:37But the farmer will be shouting, saying,
23:39well, hang on a minute, you only give me two, four pence a kilo.
23:43How is that going to help me?
23:45Well, if we can create new markets through innovation,
23:48so by creating innovation in wools that are definitely overlooked,
23:52then we can lift the price.
23:54Sure. That's a fantastic way of looking at it, isn't it?
23:57Very new.
23:59Yeah, and hopefully, you know, hopefully it will work,
24:02but we need consumers and government policy
24:05and local authorities to invest in UK wool.
24:08As well as invigorating the market for these wool grades,
24:11Kate also hopes to help the marine environment
24:14with her rope replacing synthetics
24:16in places like seaweed, oyster and mussel farms,
24:19where the ropes currently in use break down over time,
24:22shedding microplastics into the sea.
24:25We have lots of abrasion in ropes.
24:27You think how many times we haul ropes in and stuff,
24:30and it sheds off fibres,
24:32and the microplastics are almost worse than the plastic pollution
24:36because they're eaten by our food source,
24:38they're in our fish, they're in our animals.
24:40And the beauty about using wool rope
24:42is that we know it's just made of natural products,
24:45so it will degrade, and if we degrade at the bottom of the sea,
24:48that's captured carbon.
24:50So wool has obvious environmental benefits,
24:54but is it strong enough to do the job in rough seas?
24:59Goodness me.
25:03That's still going. How many kilograms is that?
25:06It's 1,076 newtons at the moment.
25:10Wow.
25:11Can you hear it?
25:13Yes, I can feel it sort of starting to crack.
25:15Is it going to go pop any minute?
25:17Some of Kate's strongest ropes
25:19can hold roughly the weight of four big blokes,
25:22around 370 kilos.
25:24I'm getting a bit scared.
25:28I'm absolutely astounded how much that has stretched.
25:31Look at that stretch. Yeah.
25:33I know, isn't it clever?
25:35Oh, there we go.
25:36Even this thinner rope...
25:38Very good.
25:39..still withstood 200 kilos of force.
25:44Well, congratulations on everything you're doing.
25:46It's wonderful to see wool being put to such good use.
25:49I can't believe it's so strong.
25:51Absolutely brilliant.
25:52Thank you.
25:54Hopefully, products like Kate's
25:56could help us give greater value to our wool
25:59and bring a smile back to more farmers' faces come shearing time.
26:17Hengistbury Head and the wider harbour area
26:20is home to more than 500 plant species,
26:23300 types of birds
26:25and a variety of insects, amphibians and small mammals.
26:28Many of which are only here
26:30because of the mix, the mosaic of habitats
26:33and, of course, the protection from the sea,
26:36if not the wind, from the sea defences.
26:42Countryside area manager Robin Harley
26:44has been managing nature reserves in the county for 26 years.
26:50Hengistbury Head is a relatively small area, isn't it?
26:53Why is it so important for wildlife?
26:55It's massively important for wildlife
26:57and that's because it's a mosaic of different habitats
27:00from salt marsh, mudflats, reedbed, heathland, grassland,
27:04woodland, sand dunes
27:06and each of those habitats is going to support a different array of wildlife.
27:09Where we are now, you also have a building site.
27:12Has that had an impact?
27:14It's all cordoned off.
27:16We're keeping the building site on the beach
27:18where it's having much less impact
27:20and protecting all the really sensitive parts of the site at the same time.
27:23Now here we've got the cliff gently eroding down
27:27to meet the sand and the sea.
27:29So we've got heathland on top of the head, acid heathland,
27:32meeting sand dunes and loose sand.
27:35And where those two habitats meet you get this really unique condition.
27:38A lot of the wildlife that it's good for are quite small things.
27:41So it tends to be moths, ants, beetles, bees and wasps.
27:45But those small things are really important
27:47because they feed the larger things like the birds.
27:51Monitoring the moth species of Hengistbury Head
27:53is retired teacher Mike Jeffs
27:56who first started light trapping here 30 years ago.
28:01Since then, more than a third of the 2,500 species of moths
28:05found in the UK have been recorded here.
28:09He's hoping that last night's light trap has turned up a few more.
28:13Hi Mike.
28:14Good morning.
28:15I'm loving the windbreak.
28:16It's the only way to keep it on a lovely day like today
28:19that we've got some moths to look at
28:21because when they get warm and windy they will all just fly away.
28:25So this is the trap here.
28:26How does this work then?
28:27Well, this is the light.
28:28Moths are attracted to light due to an evolutionary thing.
28:31They would normally navigate by the moon.
28:34And then they go down the funnel and then they can't get back up the funnel.
28:37And then inside you've got loads of egg boxes.
28:39Why have you got these?
28:40So the egg boxes just make loads of sort of dark little crevices
28:44and quite often the interesting ones are right at the bottom
28:47because they want to get to the darkest place possible.
28:50I've got to be honest, I can't see any moths.
28:53That's because they're hiding.
28:54Oh, look there.
28:55There we go.
28:56So this is a small elephant hawk moth.
28:58That's beautiful. Look at that.
29:00It's a moth of grasslands really, but sand dunes as well.
29:04It feeds on bed straw.
29:05There's a lot of it at Hengistbury Head and it's a really strong site for it.
29:08Yeah, that is one of the spectacular ones, isn't it?
29:11It is really. I mean, that's beautiful.
29:14This one is a shore wainscot and we had over 25 of them last night.
29:20So that's the most I've ever known.
29:22Oh, look, more. I'm getting into this now.
29:24This is the sand dart moth,
29:26which is probably our most notable species of moth on this site really.
29:31The caterpillars feed in the roots where the sand is loose.
29:35So it'll only be on the emergent dunes.
29:38And there's probably four sites from Portsmouth all the way to Weymouth and that's it.
29:43It's very restricted.
29:45This was one of the key moths to come and have a look for years ago.
29:49The irony is that, yeah, the first one we found was almost to the day 30 years ago.
29:55It was the 30th of June, 1994.
29:57So it's a bit of an irony that we're now talking about this moth.
30:00Robin, this small little moth must make you really happy.
30:06Totally. It's so nice.
30:09And it's so nice to have people like Mike who give their time to help us look for things like this on our site.
30:14When you see this, it's almost like getting a commendation, isn't it?
30:17You've done it right.
30:18To some extent, but then, you know, nearly a thousand species of moths.
30:21We've got to try and do it right for all 1,000 species.
30:25We're not just trying to look after moths here.
30:28Alongside moths, there are many creatures which have made their home here,
30:33which becomes abundantly clear as we continue down the headland.
30:39Chris Ogilvie, a volunteer member of Christchurch Harbour Ornithological Group,
30:43monitors the breeding birds on the headland.
30:46Hi.
30:47Hello.
30:48What are you looking at?
30:50I'm looking at the sand martins that are nesting high up in the cliff here.
30:54Why do they nest there in particular?
30:56Because that's a perfect spot for them.
30:58It helps to reduce predation.
31:00They like to be fairly high up on a cliff,
31:03and they also like to nest in quite large colonies.
31:06So there's over 70 holes there.
31:08But there are just over 30 that are occupied.
31:11And when did they make those nests?
31:13They actually arrive here late March.
31:16And now we've gone through the egg phase.
31:18The fledglings are about to leave, which is fantastic.
31:21They come out to the edge of the burrows,
31:23and you can see one or two right poking their heads out.
31:26Just sort of having a look and deciding.
31:28Just deciding, when am I going to go?
31:30Amazing for you to watch that whole cycle.
31:33Yes, very much.
31:35How protected are they here, though?
31:37Because, I mean, it's pretty exposed.
31:40It is, but they create tunnels that are slightly rising,
31:44up to a metre long.
31:46So they help to keep a nice concentration of the sand.
31:49So they help to keep a nice constant internal environment.
31:52It's lovely just watching them curl around in the wind.
31:55It is, and we have marshland just beyond at Stampitt Marsh,
31:58which is a fabulous feeding ground for them.
32:01So again, the mosaic.
32:03And they're particularly associated with water, sand martins.
32:06They like to feed above water.
32:11Hengistbury Head is dotted with freshwater pools,
32:14a perfect breeding ground for the flying insects
32:17needed to feed hungry chicks.
32:20And this is beautiful. We've got lily ponds now.
32:23Dragonflies and damselflies are a defining feature of this site,
32:27and entomology enthusiasts Barry Taylor and Paul Morrison
32:31are looking for signs of them around the water's edge.
32:36Hello, gentlemen. Hi there.
32:37May I interrupt? Oh, yeah, of course.
32:39How are you doing? What are you gazing at?
32:41Well, we're looking at exuvia,
32:43or the larval skins of a southern hawker dragonfly.
32:47And it's actually coming out of the water probably early morning.
32:51And then it's broken open, the adult's crawled out,
32:54the wings expand and it's flown off into the local area.
32:58So they actually come out of their own skeleton, in effect?
33:01Yeah.
33:02Dragonflies and damselflies have three life stages,
33:05egg, larvae, or nymph, and adult.
33:08They spend most of their life underwater in their larval stage
33:12before emerging onto land for a brief few weeks as an adult.
33:17And what do these skeleton-y bits then that they leave behind,
33:19what does that look like?
33:20Well, the exuvia. Can I show you some?
33:22Of course you can, yeah.
33:23Yeah, these are the exuvia of the various ones that live here.
33:27Oh, look, and you can see where they've come out. Yeah.
33:29So they've come out just at the top there, there's a big hole.
33:31That's right. So these are the tiny damselflies. Yeah.
33:34It's almost in a progression of when they come out during the year.
33:37Oh, OK, so these are first? Yeah.
33:39Then the hairy dragonfly. Right.
33:41Then the full-bodied chaser, forced-bodied chaser.
33:44Then the emperor. Mm-hm.
33:46And then southern hawker, brown hawker.
33:48And those are both dragonflies, then? Yeah.
33:50Sorry, yeah, these are all dragonflies. Yeah.
33:52And then the commandos, that's the last of the year.
33:54They can go through till, well, almost December.
33:56Wow.
33:58One species in particular is of interest to Barry and Paul.
34:02It's called a willow emerald,
34:04a damselfly that was only found in Sussex,
34:06but is now extending its range.
34:09Just over a year ago, we were fortunate enough
34:12to find the third one here in Dorset,
34:14but they have a fascinating life cycle.
34:17Why?
34:19The female has an unusual way of laying her eggs.
34:22She looks essentially for a twig and it must overhang the water.
34:27She deposits the eggs in and she flies away.
34:30Now, April or May, those eggs begin to wake up.
34:34They drop straight into the water and begin their larval stage.
34:38There is one big problem.
34:41What happens if it drops on land?
34:44And there's a most amazing in-built mechanism
34:48that the little egg has the ability to orientate
34:52into the direction of the water
34:55and then this unbelievable thing takes place.
34:59The egg is so tiny,
35:01but it has an ability to jump 100 times its own length.
35:06Towards the water?
35:08Towards the water and then into the water
35:11and within seconds that what we call the pro-larva
35:14before the egg stage just dissolves, its life is finished.
35:18But the larva itself is then free to swim off and begin its life.
35:23That's why I'm so interested in willow emeralds.
35:26Just wonderful, wonderful creatures.
35:28I think you've made us all interested now.
35:30That's amazing!
35:33And, I mean, what a place to sit.
35:35This is magical.
35:36And watch the world go by. It's magical, isn't it?
35:39You're right, it's a magical place.
35:41Perfect. Thank you very much.
35:43What a joyous afternoon!
35:54The wildlife and scenery at Hengistbury Head
35:57would be good subjects for Countryfile's photographic competition.
36:01Here's John with all the details of how you can enter.
36:07Every part of this country is blessed with miracles of nature
36:14and breathtaking beauty.
36:21So here in this beautiful setting provided for us by nature,
36:25it's my great pleasure to launch our photographic competition
36:29with this year's winning photos starring in the 2025 Countryfile calendar.
36:39This annual tradition has been going on since 1998
36:43and since then you've helped raise more than £30 million for BBC Children in Need.
36:49The photographic competition culminates with 12 of the best images
36:53being turned into the Countryfile calendar
36:56so we can enjoy those pictures throughout the year.
37:00This year's theme is natural wonders
37:03and we want you to capture the wild side of our countryside in all its glory.
37:08Whether it's a magical moment of wildlife or a captivating landscape,
37:13whatever it is, we want to see your interpretation of what a natural wonder really is.
37:20Once all the entries are in, we'll be joined by a celebrity judge
37:25to choose the winning photos that will appear in the Countryfile calendar for 2025
37:31which is sold in aid of BBC Children in Need.
37:34And there'll also be an overall winning photo chosen by you, our Countryfile viewers.
37:42Not only will that picture feature on the cover of the calendar,
37:46but the winner will also get a £1,000 gift card to spend on photographic equipment of their choice.
37:52And the person who takes the judge's favourite photo will receive a gift card for £500
37:58to be spent on their choice of photographic equipment.
38:03You can enter up to three photographs.
38:06To submit your photos, go to bbc.co.uk forward slash countryfile
38:11where you'll find a link to the entry form.
38:15We're looking for original images that represent our theme of natural wonders.
38:22Photographs that have won national or international competitions
38:26or have been taken by professionals can't be submitted.
38:29Pictures must have been taken within the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
38:35And I'm sorry, but we can only accept online entries.
38:39All the details on how to enter the competition can be found on our website
38:43plus the terms and conditions and privacy notice.
38:47The submission period closes at 10am on Monday 22nd July 2024.
38:56So now it's over to you.
38:58Grab your camera, your smartphone, your tablets and capture your images of natural wonders.
39:05We can't wait to see them.
39:26Here in Dorset, we've been exploring how Hengistbury Head is being protected from coastal erosion.
39:32By the reconstruction of the long groin on the beach.
39:37But landscaping isn't all about giant diggers and dumper trucks.
39:47Come on Jackson, come on.
39:50On the steep sandstone cliffs above Bournemouth Beach, a herd of goats has a crucial role to play.
39:56That's it, good boy.
39:58Down you get.
40:00Mark Jackson's goats have been hired by the local council to graze the overgrown cliffs.
40:05Eating the invasive species and thick scrub which have taken over and threatened the stability of the cliffs.
40:12Well we've got five of our goats here.
40:14We've got King, who's about six, seven months old.
40:17Jackson, who's a year.
40:20His brother Josh.
40:22Come on.
40:23Then we've got Red, who's a castrated red boar goat.
40:27And Llewellyn, who is a cashmere.
40:30He used to be one of the regimental goats for the Welsh Fusiliers.
40:33He accidentally broke his horn, so they retired him.
40:37He's fitted in quite nicely.
40:41In 2013, Bournemouth Borough Council conducted a group survey.
40:45In 2013, Bournemouth Borough Council conducted a goat grazing trial on a small section of cliff.
40:49In 2013, Bournemouth Borough Council conducted a goat grazing trial on a small section of cliff.
40:55The goats proved their worth and Mark was offered the grazing rights.
41:00It's worked out really well.
41:02And everything's snowballed from having half a dozen goats to now having 50.
41:07Because we've got ten enclosures from Southbourne to Westcliffe, all varying in size and number of goats in.
41:14And we watch it and manage it with BCP Council, so we can see how heavy it's been grazed or not heavy enough.
41:22And then we can adjust the numbers to each enclosure.
41:26Every other day I do a little bit of a feed for them so I can get up close, see how their hooves are, and their general health and well-being.
41:35Goats like browsing on the fresh leaves and buds of trees and shrubs.
41:40Useful when you want to clear scrub and return an area to grassland.
41:45They're eating back the trees and the different evasive plants that are here and shouldn't be on here.
41:51So as you can see here, the gorse has died off a bit.
41:54And over in the background there, you can see some of the home oak has died off.
41:58A couple of years ago, this area here was like that up there.
42:02So over the four-year period, you can see how much that they've done.
42:07And that then allows the grasses to come in, which makes the cliffs stronger.
42:13Restoring native grasslands will cover the cliffs like a mat, stabilising the shallow, sandy soils, unlike tree roots, which may break up the underlying sandstone.
42:26There's an awful lot more grassland back here on the cliffs now.
42:31It also enriches the environment for the Dartford warbler.
42:36There's more butterflies and little lizards that I've seen over the years.
42:44Keeping goats runs in the family for Mark.
42:48My German cousins keep goats as well.
42:51And my great-great-grandfather, Charlie Jackson, was on the committee for about 15 years of the British Goat Society.
42:59So I feel I'm carrying on the family tradition by keeping goats.
43:04See, what a headbutt me. Naughty boy.
43:07No more food in there.
43:13Some people have cats or dogs or play darts.
43:16I keep goats as a hobby.
43:19The goat's not a commercial meat herd, we're just an environmental herd.
43:23It's just a nice way of relaxing after work.
43:27And I just enjoy the peace of mind and the relaxation that they give me.
43:34Well, here at Hengistbury Head, the sun has been out today.
43:42It's absolutely scorching.
43:44But what's the weather got in store for you?
43:46Here's the Countryfile five-day forecast.
43:53Hello. One thing we haven't seen much of so far this July is warm weather.
43:58In fact, we haven't yet recorded a temperature above 25 Celsius.
44:03But one thing there's been a lot of is rain, particularly in southern and eastern parts.
44:08Loftus in North Yorkshire has already seen more than twice the rainfall it would normally expect in the whole month of July.
44:15And there is more to come this week.
44:17This is the rainfall we are expecting to accumulate over the next five days.
44:2140, 50 millimetres of rain falling in quite a few locations.
44:25So heavy rain is part of this week's weather story.
44:29But it is not the whole story.
44:31There is some drier and warmer weather on the way, at least for a time.
44:37Now, in the short term overnight tonight, a lot of dry weather around,
44:40still some bits and pieces of rain across eastern Scotland and parts of northern England.
44:44And then some rain starts to approach the far southwest of England and the Channel Islands by the end of the night.
44:50That's a sign of what is to come tomorrow.
44:52This area of low pressure swirling its way in from the southwest.
44:56And this frontal system is going to bring some really heavy rain across parts of the Channel Islands,
45:01southwest England into Wales.
45:03There could be enough rain falling here to give some issues with localised flooding,
45:06some travel disruption further east.
45:08Some pretty hefty showers, maybe some thunderstorms moving in.
45:12But for northern England, northern Ireland, Scotland, a lot of dry weather,
45:15some spells of sunshine, one or two rogue showers.
45:18And a warmer day, particularly for some of these North Sea coasts,
45:20where it has been really cool over the last few days.
45:23Temperatures of around 21 degrees.
45:25Now, that area of low pressure and that frontal system shifts northeastwards.
45:29High pressure starts to build in behind for Tuesday,
45:32but we will see some outbreaks of rain affecting some parts of eastern England,
45:36maybe just fringing into the southeast of Scotland.
45:38Elsewhere, sunny spells, still one or two showers.
45:41But as that ridge of high pressure builds,
45:43weather not looking too bad across western parts of the UK on Tuesday afternoon.
45:48And that ridge of high pressure continues to build its way in as we get on into Wednesday.
45:53Frontal systems waiting out towards the west.
45:56But in advance of those weather fronts, some warmer air pushing its way northwards.
46:02So certainly quite a warm day on Wednesday and there will be a decent amount of sunshine.
46:08However, one or two showers and we may just see this frontal system bringing rain
46:12into northern Ireland later in the day.
46:14Ahead of that, temperatures up to 20 degrees in Glasgow, 24.
46:18Maybe we could get to 25 degrees in parts of south and southeast England through Wednesday night and into Thursday.
46:25It looks like this frontal system in the west will make its move.
46:28We will see some outbreaks of rain, particularly across northern Ireland.
46:31Parts of Scotland may be fringing into Wales, the southwest of England.
46:35The detail may change between now and then.
46:37Further south and east, we are likely to hold on to some dry weather with some spires of sunshine.
46:41Still some warmth as well, 23, 24, maybe 25 degrees.
46:45But turning cooler again further north and west.
46:48And as we head towards the end of the week, while that frontal system moves its way eastwards,
46:52there is another one that will be pushing in from the Atlantic.
46:54So rain, particularly across the north of the UK.
46:58Further south, high pressure continues to extend some influence.
47:01So more in the way of dry weather, some spires of sunshine.
47:04And it will be across southern and eastern areas where we have the highest of the temperatures, 23, 24 degrees.
47:09Further north and west, though, we are back to something cooler.
47:12And as we head into the weekend, it looks like we'll see further frontal systems,
47:15more outbreaks of rain and some cooler conditions for all of us.
47:34We're in Dorset on Hengistbury Head,
47:37where a large-scale coastal project is underway reconstructing the long groin,
47:42which is crucial for stabilising the headland for all its inhabitants, both wildlife and people.
47:51There's been continuous human activity in this area for more than 12,000 years,
47:56dating back to a time when mammoths walked the earth at the end of the Ice Age.
48:02But it's the time of the Iron Age, around 2,500 years ago, that's also of interest on Hengistbury Head.
48:12Around 25,000 objects have been unearthed here since excavations began back in 1912,
48:22with the collection being looked after by Dr Hayden Scott Pratt,
48:26archaeologist and curator of the Hengistbury Head Visitor Centre.
48:31A place where the techniques of Iron Age production are alive and well today.
48:38Hello Hayden, what are you working on there?
48:40I'm having a go at making some replica Iron Age pots.
48:42Do you want to have a go?
48:43I'd love to, yeah.
48:44Fabulous.
48:45The apron behind you, grab that, pop that on.
48:47I'll tear you off a bit of this.
48:48So we're going to get messy, are we?
48:50Yeah, but the aprons will help with that.
48:52OK, so we're making an Iron Age pot.
48:54Yes, that is the plan anyway.
48:56So we're firing some of our replica kiln here,
48:58but I think we're going to make some more just to keep our stock and supply going.
49:00So if you want to have a go.
49:01OK, so grab that, nice and sticky.
49:03This is really sticky, isn't it?
49:05It's really sticky.
49:06So once you've got your ball, we're going to make a pinch pot.
49:08So people have been making these on Hengistbury Head for like 4,000 years,
49:12so it's a kind of Neolithic technology.
49:14It's a really simple pot that you can make.
49:16So what you do is get your thumb, push it into the centre of the ball of clay,
49:19not all the way to the end, that's about perfect there,
49:22and you literally just pinch towards your fingers.
49:24That's it.
49:25And then what?
49:26Rotate a little bit, do the same, rotate a little bit,
49:28and just take your time, don't rush it,
49:30and just gently squeeze it, and it will start to kind of become nice and...
49:34I've got a pattern on the outside.
49:37That's lovely, don't worry about it, keep going, yeah.
49:40So how does Iron Age pottery differ from other forms of pottery, modern pottery?
49:44Well, a lot of pottery now is wheel-thrown,
49:47so that's actually a kind of a continental craft which comes over with the Romans,
49:52whereas all prehistoric pottery in Britain is hand-built.
49:55What's the point in redoing this sort of ancient craftwork?
50:00What do we learn from it?
50:02Well, I think there's scientific things we can learn.
50:05You know, how exactly did people make their pots?
50:07How long does it take to make a stock of pots?
50:09I think there's huge benefits to be had from learning about the past,
50:12if not only to sort of understand who we are, where we've come from.
50:17In the Iron Age, this was the largest port of trade in Britain.
50:20Ships were turning up with loads of ceramics from the continent,
50:23containing all sorts of rare and exotic goods,
50:25and we were exporting this type of local pottery.
50:27So from here, this was a bit of a world hub or European hub for pottery.
50:31It was the largest in Britain.
50:34And what does it teach us about just the Iron Age era right across Britain?
50:38It tells us that the Iron Age was much more interconnected than we originally thought.
50:42People moved great distances, so did goods.
50:44You know, there are complex relationships between Hengistbury Head
50:48and places across the Channel in western France,
50:50so it's actually a much more dynamic time than I think we would have, you know, thought otherwise.
51:00That actually looks quite good, doesn't it?
51:01It's not bad, isn't it?
51:02And that's from, you know, just a couple of minutes of just playing with some clay.
51:04I like that.
51:07Right, well, we're done here.
51:08Yeah, it looks good.
51:09We'll leave these to dry in about three weeks' time, then we're ready to fire,
51:12and I'll send you some pictures.
51:14Love it.
51:16The sheer amount of archaeological evidence that's been found on Hengistbury Head
51:21has enabled the team here to build up a pretty good picture
51:24of how people would have lived during the period in this bustling Iron Age port.
51:33So this is home.
51:34This is a replica of an Iron Age roundhouse, I guess?
51:37We don't say it's a replica because we're not 100% sure exactly how they built them.
51:41It's an interpretation from archaeological evidence.
51:43So from excavations on the headland, we find all the post holes,
51:46basically how that's being built from the foundations,
51:48and we find this big ring ditch which collects rainwater beautifully when it rains,
51:51which it's not today.
51:52So you know the shape of it as a plan, but you don't know what was on top.
51:55Yeah, yeah.
51:56Can we go in?
51:57Absolutely.
51:58Great.
52:01Well, it's very dark.
52:03Yeah, I know.
52:04But really, it's kind of homely, isn't it?
52:06What would it have been like?
52:072,000 years ago, living in one of these would be very, very smoky.
52:10You know, you probably wouldn't spend much time actually in here.
52:12You'd wake up.
52:13It's very agricultural.
52:14You'd go.
52:15You'd leave.
52:16You'd tend your crops and your animals.
52:17But when you would be in here, you'd be eating with your family.
52:19You'd be probably doing craft activities near the light of the door
52:22and, yeah, probably telling stories and trying to sort of express yourselves in that form.
52:26So this was built by you and volunteers, a team, was it?
52:30Yeah, me and about 50 very, very enthusiastic local volunteers.
52:40We were working out as we go.
52:41We asked other people who had done this work before, you know, how to build them.
52:45But essentially, we learned as we went.
52:47And it's all using traditional hand tools.
52:49We moved every piece of timber by hand.
52:51We've tied every single knot and pegged every single rafter.
52:55So really authentic.
52:56Yeah, really authentic.
52:57Yeah, it was a lot of hard work.
52:58But, you know, it's a community aspect.
53:00You know, you bring people together.
53:05What I've seen so far is only a tiny snapshot of what was going on here thousands of years ago.
53:12In the centre's collection are artefacts that can help reveal even more about life on Hengistbury Head.
53:21There is over 10,000 artefacts from over 12,500 years of human history in this room.
53:27I'm going to show you the objects individually.
53:28But what's important about this collection is that it comes from archaeological excavation.
53:32So we know exactly where every single object is.
53:34And together, it paints this history, this story, rather than individual finds.
53:38But anyway, should we start with the oldest?
53:40Yeah, let's go for it.
53:41Okay, right.
53:42So this is a Paleolithic hand axe.
53:45So what's Paleolithic?
53:46How far back is that?
53:47Paleolithic is the Old Stone Age, and it is 12,500 years ago.
53:51This is the peak of technology.
53:53Now, they say hand axe, but actually, you can hold it.
53:56It's not actually used for cutting down trees, we don't think.
53:58It's actually better for butchery, for animal butchering.
54:00So making these, yes, you can hold onto it because of the shape.
54:04You can get inside the animal.
54:05It's a bit gory, but you can separate all the skin, the muscles and the bone.
54:08You can butcher the animal really effectively without cutting yourself.
54:10Of course, back then, no doctors, so really bad.
54:12So when this was found, 12,000 years before that,
54:16someone had just lost it, thrown it in the ground or whatever.
54:19That was the last time it was touched by anybody.
54:21It was deposited, so 12,500 years later,
54:23someone excavated it on top of Hengistbury Head at Warren Hill.
54:26That's just absolutely bonkers.
54:27Crazy, isn't it?
54:28To think that that's so old.
54:30So we're going to go forward in time by about 10,000 years.
54:34What I have to show you here is one of the most complete Iron Age brooches
54:38that we have in our collection.
54:40It's absolutely fantastic.
54:42Gosh, the detail is...
54:43I know.
54:44You would pin it through your clothing and this would keep your cloak on your body
54:47or, in many cases in burial, your burial shawl together.
54:50So this...
54:51Can I tell us about it?
54:52Yeah, it's very gentle.
54:53Just absolutely incredible.
54:54Dainty.
54:55And you can see all the decoration as well in it.
54:57So what else have we got?
54:58Right, so this looks a little bit unassuming,
55:00but I'd like you to hold this like that.
55:02OK.
55:03From that end, it looks like a human bone, but it's not.
55:05It's not quite.
55:06So you've already played with this material already today.
55:08You've had a go at making some pottery.
55:10So it's in ceramic, so it's ceramic.
55:12And that actually is the handle from an amphora.
55:14So if you imagine a giant ceramic vessel about this big.
55:18And this came all the way from the Mediterranean to Hengistbury Head.
55:22These were basically the prized exotic goods
55:25that were imported from the continent in Britain.
55:28Inside this would be wine, fish sauce or olive oil,
55:31things that weren't being made or couldn't be made here.
55:34So again, if you had access to this, you were very important.
55:36So they were wealthy people here if they were trading with Italy.
55:38And at Hengistbury Head, we have the largest proportion
55:40of these types of ceramics in the whole of the UK.
55:42Again, that's why we think it's the largest port of trade in Britain
55:45because we've got so many of these from Italy and then from Spain as well.
55:48So, like, you've got to imagine these big boats
55:50turning up in the harbour at Hengistbury Head,
55:52people coming off there unloading all these goods,
55:54you know, different languages, different coloured clothing,
55:56you know, stuff that you would never have access to
55:58in your wildest dreams, you know.
56:00It's a really incredible place.
56:02Wow, that is amazing.
56:04How did you top that? We've had three amazing things.
56:06It's going to be hard.
56:08So, this. This is a rock.
56:10This is iron stone.
56:12So this is the whole reason Hengistbury Head is here today.
56:15It's heavy. It's heavy. Very heavy.
56:17And it's been really important to people.
56:19Hengistbury Head, for lots of different reasons,
56:21but most primarily, this forms the underlying geology
56:23of the whole headlands.
56:25So over, like, thousands of years,
56:27before people were even here at Hengistbury Head,
56:29they just built up a big defensive curtain
56:31around the headlands, and that stopped
56:33pretty much all the coastal erosion for thousands,
56:35thousands, tens of thousands of years.
56:37And then in the 18th century, they removed it all,
56:39and over two-thirds of the whole headland
56:41washed into the sea.
56:43So it wasn't even that economically viable.
56:45It was just ballast for the ships when they came here.
56:48So the work they're doing over at Long Groyne
56:50is basically stabilising a lot of that
56:52and preserving that coastline,
56:54because otherwise it just erodes out.
56:56Which I've been doing.
56:58So the long groyne that they're building,
57:00that wouldn't have been needed had this not been taken out.
57:02No.
57:04So nature was preserving this area.
57:06Nature had its own headland.
57:08Nature had its strong bits of land against the sea.
57:10We took it out just for ballast for ships.
57:12For profit.
57:14And now we're having to pick up the pieces.
57:16Yeah, and basically that Long Groyne
57:18would have been made out of this.
57:20What a story, just in four different,
57:22five different objects here.
57:24It's an almost impossible story to tell,
57:26but it's always a passion.
57:28Well, Hayden, I'd better give this back to you before I drop it.
57:30Cheers.
57:32Hey, it's been a real pleasure to see all of these objects
57:34and see behind the scenes here.
57:36Thank you.
57:38Thank you very much.
57:44Well, this is the life, isn't it?
57:46It's glorious here.
57:48Hi, Charlotte.
57:50Hi.
57:52I've been immersing myself in Iron Age culture.
57:54Beautiful Dorset.
57:56Next week, Joe is exploring the Chew Valley.
58:00Where do you want me? Just out the way, I suppose.
58:02Yeah, if we just come on through and keep walking.
58:04Oh, the excited cry.
58:06As they come through.
58:08They're getting the chute ready, I think.
58:10It's like a slide.
58:12It is a bit like a slide, isn't it?
58:14Okay, three, two, one.
58:16Bye, all.
58:18Bye.
58:20Just get your hands in and see what's what.
58:22Oh, there we go.
58:24That's the classic dung dweller.
58:28I hope you can join us next week.
58:30Bye.
58:32Sorry, I must show you that pot.
58:38Countryfile next Sunday at seven.
58:42Can meat ever be environmentally friendly?
58:44And what about substitutes?
58:46The Rare Earth podcast explores
58:48the carbon cost of our diet
58:50in the latest edition on BBC Sounds.