Countryfile - Borrowdale
Countryfile - Borrowdale
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00:00Steep mountains, high humidity, rare creatures and a rainforest.
00:15No, it's not Costa Rica, it's Cumbria.
00:30I remember coming here for our first family holiday, our daughter had just been born and
00:59we were getting away for a short break. That was over 25 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday
01:05because this place is just so memorable. It's a stunning area and it's crammed with biodiversity.
01:15This year, areas around the Borrowdale Valley in the Lake District were declared a National Nature Reserve,
01:21including England's largest remaining fragments of temperate rainforest.
01:26And it's home to a rich variety of flora and fauna.
01:31The new nature reserve spans 721 hectares across the Borrowdale Valley surrounding Derwent Water.
01:39It's the green jewel in Borrowdale's crown, an area with a powerful draw.
01:46For some, it's the microscopic wonders.
01:49I absolutely love this tree. It has loads of really fantastic lichens on.
01:55For others, it's the night-flying pollinators.
01:59Oh, got one over here.
02:01Did you get it?
02:02Yep.
02:03You got it?
02:04Our first moth of the evening.
02:06Over in the Cotswolds, Adam is bringing in the barley.
02:10This bag could cost us or make us quite a bit of money.
02:16And Tom investigates the so-called forever chemicals that are finding their way into our food and environment.
02:23It's not going to be something that hurts you tomorrow,
02:25but if we don't do something now, it might be too late by the time we see the effects.
02:35Temperate rainforests are some of the rarest habitats on Earth.
02:41Not only are they home to a rich variety of animals, plants and fungi,
02:46they're also an important carbon store.
02:50And the Borrowdale Oakwoods are one of England's largest remaining pieces of temperate rainforest.
02:58The boundary of the new Borrowdale National Nature Reserve is just under 40 miles long.
03:05And working within it, helping to conserve the rainforest, is nature conservation advisor John Hewson.
03:14John, what difference does the National Nature Reserve status make to Borrowdale?
03:19What it brings is a real focus on these amazing series of woodlands and wood pastures and ancient trees.
03:27And going forward, the focus will be primarily on the nature conservation value, managing for that into the future.
03:37It also brings a huge amount of kudos to the woodlands here.
03:43What the National Nature Reserve status is doing is reflecting that national, international, global significance of this type of woodland here.
03:54I mean, forgetting all the status, forgetting all those things, actually you just come to a place like this.
04:01You've got the sun just shining through the trees, the dappled light.
04:04I mean, it does make you want to just take a deep breath and relax, doesn't it?
04:07They are really special places.
04:09It's got an atmosphere, hasn't it?
04:11You're lucky enough to work in it.
04:12Yes, very lucky.
04:14That's why you're so relaxed. You look very chilled out.
04:16I've spent a couple of decades working in the Lake District and wouldn't want to be anywhere else, really.
04:24John, when you think of rainforests, you don't think of places like this.
04:28You think of Central America, South America, the Amazon, but this is a rainforest.
04:34We get three and a half metres of rain on average every year.
04:39That compares very favourably with the Amazon Basin, which we all think of as being very wet.
04:44They get two and a half to three metres of rain a year.
04:47More rain here than the Amazon?
04:48Absolutely.
04:49I mean, that's quite mind-blowing, isn't it? Most people are really surprised by that.
04:54Yes, that's where the similarities end, though, because of course the Amazon is hot.
04:59It never gets hot here and the characteristic of our temperate rainforest is this more moderate climate right through the year.
05:08So is that what constitutes a rainforest? Is that what makes it a rainforest, just that it's got a lot of rain?
05:13So the rainfall is important.
05:16The fact that we've got a tree canopy that keeps the humidity down underneath that canopy.
05:22The fact that we've got the north-facing aspect to be really moist and humid,
05:27so we get the really special species on those particularly humid sites.
05:31Particularly these what we would call lower plants, the mosses and the liverworts,
05:36together are called bryophytes and there's about 200 species in this one wood.
05:42Even here you can see we've got fantastic cushions of mosses.
05:47There's a rock under there somewhere, but there must be six inches.
05:50That's so squidgy, isn't it? That's inviting me to sit down.
05:53Absolutely. You can look around here.
05:55Everything is cloaked in shades of green, this mossy cushion,
06:00which absorbs water and will have a function in actually slowing the flow of heavy rainfall
06:06down into the river system, down into the town.
06:10So it's a very valuable ecosystem function.
06:15To help protect this rare habitat from livestock that traditionally graze these fells,
06:20the boundaries are maintained by Greg Dobransky,
06:25along with Miriam Abbas.
06:30Hi Greg, Miriam. Hi Sean.
06:32It looks like a sort of area where there's a lot of jobs that need to be done
06:35and you're dry stone walling. How important is that?
06:38This is really important. Our team's been established for about a year
06:43and so we've been walking the woodland boundaries throughout Borrowdale and beyond,
06:49just surveying and securing these boundaries to prevent the stock getting into the woodland
06:54and you can see the difference that this is beginning to make.
06:57It's just incredible the difference, the amount of vegetation.
07:00You've even got small trees growing there. They just wouldn't grow on this side, would they?
07:03That's right, yeah, the sheep would eat them. That'd be a tasty meal.
07:07If you want to give it a go, we've got some gloves there.
07:09From the level that we are here, what you want to do is, as you're laying the stones on,
07:13try and cover the joins.
07:15The walls, when you're building them, I always picture a letter A,
07:19so they're wider at the bottom and they're narrower at the top.
07:21So just as you're building the courses, if you just set the stone that you're putting on
07:25just ever slightly in from the last stone.
07:27I feel like I've picked up the wrong type of stone. That's not going to work, is it?
07:30Well, we'll just give it a go.
07:32No.
07:33That's pretty good.
07:34Is it? Is it alright?
07:35Yeah, as soon as you've got one on, a great thing to do is just kind of pack and fill behind it,
07:39make sure it's secure and that's where the one that you've got there might...
07:42This one, you think?
07:43Yeah.
07:44Maybe I could get something in to wedge it in there.
07:46Yeah.
07:47I put that one there, is that okay?
07:48We could just knock that to one side and then we'll try something different.
07:52That's a polite way of saying that was a really bad move.
07:54No, it's all fine.
07:55Yeah.
07:56Doing really well.
07:59The construction of these boundaries is vital to conserve the rare woodland,
08:03but that does affect the local farmer's grazing areas.
08:06For the last 30 years, tenant farmer Will Cockbane has been involved with a National Trust Conservation Project
08:13to help manage his sheep and protect the land.
08:19So before the start of this scheme, this was just grazed by sheep?
08:23There wasn't anywhere near as many trees then as there is now.
08:27It involved approximately 15-20% of our fell land that we rented from the National Trust being taken out of production,
08:34so it wasn't a huge amount of land to lose.
08:38We're still farming sheep the other side of the fence on the Heathermooland.
08:45Will's experience of taking sheep off the fell for nature conservation has been a positive experience,
08:51but he knows that others might be wary of the process.
08:55Farmers feel threatened by it and the reason this has worked is because we were part of the solution
09:00and we weren't threatened, we had a good conversation with the National Trust.
09:04So farming and conservation can work together and produce results,
09:08but it needs to be a recognition of what both parties need.
09:12There needs to be productive farming and those productive farmers can still deliver for the environment.
09:18One of the scheme's goals was to increase the biodiversity of the area.
09:23We've got peregrine falcons up on the crag there, there's red squirrels, there's quite a range of species.
09:29As a result of the extra tree growth and the vegetation mat getting thicker,
09:33there has been an increase in the amount of voles, which has also led to an increase in the amount of barn owls.
09:39So it's a fairly small area of land, but I think it's delivered quite a lot.
09:48The rainforest is home to so many different types of birds, plants and invertebrates,
09:53but there's one thing that's guaranteed to be found here, and that's lichen.
10:02My name is April Windle and I'm a naturalist from the south-west of England, down in Devon,
10:08and I have a particular interest in lichens.
10:12These have been a hobby now for nearly 10 years and I've managed to turn this interest into a job.
10:18So my day-to-day role is mainly doing lichen surveys.
10:23When Borrowdale was designated as a National Nature Reserve,
10:27with lichens, mosses and liverworts being a key component of these rainforests,
10:32they were absolutely fundamental in this decision for the designation.
10:36I absolutely love this tree.
10:38It has loads of really fantastic lichens on, but two in particular.
10:43This is the loop lichen here, which is known as Hypertrichina taylorensis,
10:49and it forms these fantastic green leafy patches on the trunk with these overlapping lobes.
10:56And then the other species on this tree, which is called the green lichen,
11:02and it forms these quite distinct white patches on the trunk.
11:06Now, lichens are such fantastic indicators of these rainforests,
11:11and the reason for that is they have a super high dependency for rainfall
11:17and a mild temperature over the course of the year.
11:20So they're a great source of light.
11:22They're also a great source of moisture.
11:25They have a super high dependency for rainfall and a mild temperature over the course of the year.
11:32And that's exactly what we get here in Borrowdale.
11:36A big project that I've been involved with in Borrowdale
11:39was the translocation project of the lungwort lichen, or Liberia pulmonaria.
11:47Some of the lichens found in this ancient rainforest are incredibly rare.
11:53So April and her team have carefully translocated some samples to other living trees
11:59to help preserve these rare fungi.
12:03I am absolutely delighted because this is one of the translocations that I did about four years ago now.
12:10And as you can see, the translocation has actually taken to the tree
12:15and has grown from underneath the netting,
12:18where you can see these lobes just on the outside here.
12:23Lichens are absolutely incredible.
12:26Despite their very plant-like appearance, they actually sit within the kingdom fungi.
12:32But they are a very special type of fungus
12:35because what they do is they partner up with either an algae or a photosynthetic bacteria.
12:41And then only when you get these different organisms come together
12:45do you get the formation of a lichen.
12:49Now Borrowdale has been designated as a National Nature Reserve,
12:53I feel hugely hopeful for the future of the lichens and their associated habitat
12:59because you would hope that large amounts of money are going to be invested into survey
13:04and generating evidence that can inform decisions and management of this valley.
13:11BORROWDALE VALLEY
13:15Away from the Borrowdale Valley, Tom investigates the so-called forever chemicals
13:20that are finding their way into our food.
13:35Well, the sun is out for once.
13:37It's a beautiful day and it's great to be out on a stroll
13:40to discover new beauty spots in our countryside.
13:43And that looks like a great place for a picnic.
13:52But there could be something else on my lunch menu,
13:55something I didn't ask for, so-called forever chemicals.
14:00They can last for centuries in the environment
14:03and you can find them in every corner of our lives
14:06from non-stick pans to waterproof clothing and cosmetics.
14:12So what does my picnic have to do with any of that?
14:16Well, you might be surprised to know
14:18that strawberries are the food most likely to contain forever chemicals.
14:26So what else in my picnic could contain forever chemicals?
14:30Or, as they're officially known, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS for short.
14:37The ham, the tomatoes, the bread or the cream I bought to top off my strawberries
14:42to find out I'm sending my lunch to a lab.
14:47And it's not just my picnic getting tested
14:50because I want to find out whether I've got forever chemicals inside my body.
14:55Have you not had any problems in the past with blood tests?
14:58No, no, no fainting.
15:00Marvellous, so we don't need to lie you down or anything.
15:02No, I might drop off.
15:04So I'm getting a blood test too.
15:10Very good, well that was actually pretty painless.
15:12Perfect.
15:14My results will be back in 48 hours,
15:17but while I'm waiting I want to find out more about these chemicals
15:21and what sort of risk they could pose.
15:29Professor Crispin Halsall is an expert on PFAS.
15:34Crispin, what are the health concerns around exposure to these PFAS chemicals?
15:39A lot of it ends up in landfill and that doesn't mean the end of the chemical.
15:43The chemical then gets leached out, it ends up in landfill runoff,
15:48contaminates groundwater, ends up in river water, etc.
15:52and they circulate around the food web and in our food and in our drinking water.
15:58There's myriad health effects associated with exposure to PFAS.
16:03Some of the common ones are immunosuppression, liver disease,
16:09endocrine disruption, particularly of the thyroid functioning
16:15and also an array of cancers associated with PFAS exposure.
16:20So that's quite a list.
16:22Yeah, there's two issues with these chemicals really.
16:24One is their persistency.
16:27Very little breaks them down and that means that once they enter your body
16:33they can accumulate in tissues.
16:35They tend to bind to proteins, either tissue surfaces or in the blood
16:40or in breast milk for example.
16:42So that's a problem.
16:44I had a blood test earlier on to see the levels of my blood
16:47and I'm due to get the results shortly.
16:49Should I be worried?
16:51Keep in mind these are very persistent.
16:53I'm confident, Tom, that you will have levels which are typical
16:57of a background UK adult population.
17:00At what levels, I suppose, is the key thing?
17:03Are we seeing these risks manifest?
17:05There's more uncertainty there, but long-term low-level chronic exposure,
17:10for example in drinking water or in our food,
17:14that could give rise to a long-term decline in, say, fertility rates.
17:21There is much less work and much less evidence for the whole array
17:25of PFAS chemicals that we need further science
17:30and a better understanding of where these chemicals go.
17:36One of the potential sources for forever chemicals in our food
17:39could be pesticides.
17:42Nick Mole is from the group Pesticide Action Network UK.
17:47The issue of PFAs in agriculture as pesticides is a fairly new one.
17:52We only became aware of it last year when our colleagues in Europe
17:55discovered that there were 31 active substances approved for use there
17:59that can be classified as PFAS chemicals.
18:03So when a pesticide or a PFAS pesticide has been used,
18:08it can often stay on the plants and end up on people's plates
18:12as a pesticide residue.
18:14The research that we undertook of the 25 PFAS pesticides
18:18that are used in the UK, we found residues of 10
18:21in the most recent government testing of pesticide residues
18:24in a range of different things, from strawberries to grapes to spinach.
18:29And this is on imported and domestically grown food.
18:33The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA,
18:37says that in nearly all of those tests from 2022,
18:41the levels of forever chemicals in foods were considered safe to eat.
18:46But Nick says part of the issue here is that it's not always clear
18:50what pesticides contain.
18:52I don't think this is something that farmers will necessarily be aware of,
18:55and we need some clarity about what else is going into pesticide products.
18:59Currently, a lot of what is in a pesticide product,
19:02which could be PFAS chemicals, is hidden under commercial confidentiality.
19:06We need to understand what is actually going out into our lands.
19:13One farmer in the dark about PFAS in pesticides
19:16is Rhys Keane from Gloucestershire.
19:18He grows fruits and vegetables on his 170 acres,
19:22including strawberries.
19:25So, strawberries need a little bit of insecticide or pesticide? Why is that?
19:29People like a nice, big, succulent, juicy strawberry,
19:32and if we don't treat them with chemicals and what have you,
19:36they tend to be very small and bitter.
19:39This is an example of a blossom weevil.
19:41So you see where the weevil bores into the stem of the flower
19:44and it kills the flower off, and that's the end of that strawberry.
19:48Had you heard of these forever chemicals?
19:51I've not heard of them in agrochemicals, no.
19:54And what do you think about the fact that these forever chemicals
19:57could be on your strawberries?
19:59It's not a nice thought, is it?
20:01I guess that as we progress through our journey with growing crops over the years,
20:06we sometimes use chemicals that future generations prove aren't going to be good for us.
20:11This is what we use to help kill off insects.
20:14But as far as you know, this doesn't say,
20:18No, obviously this is all industry standard.
20:20This is a whole book behind the label.
20:23Difficult to find out, isn't it?
20:25Yeah, yeah, that's it.
20:27Do you think it's up to you as a farmer
20:29to perhaps have a better knowledge of what's going on?
20:32It's the government and the scientists that are advising the government.
20:35They will say, this product is unacceptable for human health.
20:38I kind of feel like they're the people who need to guide us here.
20:42It's not just a chemical.
20:45It's not just our food where the forever chemicals are ending up.
20:49They're all around us in our environment.
20:53The Royal Society of Chemistry has been studying PFAS
20:56and believes the government should be doing much more.
21:00Stephanie Metzger is their policy advisor.
21:05There's a number of sources of PFAS that might end up in the environment.
21:09So things like places where there were fires
21:12or firefighting training like military sites.
21:15There could be PFAS from industrial facilities
21:18or from the liquid that comes out of the landfill into the ground.
21:22And these ultimately end up with PFAS in our groundwater
21:26and in our rivers and our surface water.
21:29And when it's in the natural environment,
21:31OK, we're worried about our health, but what about wildlife?
21:34There's been a lot of testing of various animals in the UK
21:37that have shown that they have high concentrations of PFAS,
21:40above the environmental quality standards.
21:43So fish are definitely known to have PFAS in them,
21:46and otters and seals and dolphins.
21:49It's in everything, really.
21:52Including the sources of our tap water.
21:57Stephanie thinks the UK is falling behind the rest of the world here
22:01in terms of regulation.
22:04Our drinking water does have PFAS in it.
22:06Water companies are required to remediate PFAS
22:10if it goes above a certain level.
22:12So in this case, it's 100 nanograms per liter.
22:15So in the EU, they have 100 nanograms per liter limit as well.
22:18But instead of for every individual PFAS,
22:21like it is here in the UK,
22:23it is for actually a sum of 20 PFAS.
22:26And so that is going to be a much lower level
22:29compared to ours for every individual one.
22:31And in the US, they've actually just introduced new standards
22:34for nanograms per liter,
22:36which is, again, very low compared to our 100 nanograms per liter standard.
22:42And there are also questions about how joined up our approach is
22:45to the thousands of different PFAS chemicals.
22:51In the UK, we have quite a fragmented system for chemicals regulation.
22:54Because at the moment, depending on where you're looking,
22:58for example, food contact materials or consumer products
23:03or industrial uses,
23:05each of those applications that might use PFAS
23:08are going to be regulated by a different body.
23:10They're often doing their own science and evidence gathering
23:13and they're often making different decisions.
23:15And so this means that there's more likely the case
23:18that something might fall through the cracks
23:20or that we're not going to have a cohesive approach
23:22to managing these chemicals.
23:23That's something we really desperately need.
23:28DEFRA told us they're currently considering
23:30the best approach to chemicals regulation.
23:32And when it comes to forever chemicals and food,
23:35they're looking at their priorities for pesticides.
23:40They also told us that,
23:42this month we announced a rapid review
23:45of the environmental improvement plan
23:47to deliver on our legally binding targets to save nature.
23:51This includes how best to manage chemicals,
23:54including the risks posed by PFAS.
23:57And we will set out more detail in due course.
24:07We may have to wait for those details,
24:09but for our samples, the waiting is over.
24:14I've come to a lab in the New Forest
24:16where Karolina Petit has my results.
24:19So we've got the test results on the screen here, Karolina.
24:22Yes, so we analysed strawberry, tomato, bread, cream and ham.
24:26Put my glasses on first, I think. Let's see.
24:28OK, go through them.
24:29We tested for PFOS, PFOA, PFNA and PFHS.
24:33But there are trace amounts of all four.
24:37Yes.
24:38And just to be clear, so in all these five ingredients,
24:41strawberry, tomato, bread, cream and ham,
24:43there is some level of these four different PFAS
24:46in every single one?
24:47That's correct.
24:50From the tiny traces in these results,
24:52the food item with the lowest PFAS levels was the tomatoes.
24:56And the highest, not the strawberries,
24:59but the bread followed by the cream.
25:03And now for me.
25:05What are the results showing for my blood?
25:07So the numbers indicate they are slightly elevated.
25:11However, they are on the lower end of the detection.
25:16We would expect to be nothing detected in the blood.
25:20Obviously, there are some parts.
25:22It shows I, like probably possibly all of the human race,
25:26have some level of PFAS in my body.
25:28It does.
25:29It shows how persistent...
25:31They are.
25:33So what can we all do to reduce our future exposure to forever chemicals?
25:39People can take things into their own hands by their buying choices.
25:43You can buy from farmers you trust, buy locally,
25:47buy organic where you possibly can.
25:49But also you can tell your retailers, if you shop at big retailers,
25:52tell them you don't want PFAS in the food you're buying on their shelves.
25:56You know, be educated about these compounds.
25:58Where are they likely to occur?
26:00Do you really need to buy that product?
26:02You know, 30, 40 years ago, we never used non-stick pans.
26:06We didn't have stain repellent clothing and we got buy okay.
26:10It's not going to be something that hurts you tomorrow.
26:13But if we don't do something now,
26:15it might be too late by the time we see the effects.
26:20BORIDALE VALLEY
26:35Back in the Boridale Valley,
26:37the ancient woodlands of the National Nature Reserve
26:40support a diverse ecosystem.
26:43But bordering the natural rainforest is a very different kind of landscape,
26:47one that's man-made but designed to help wildlife just as much as it does people.
26:56Britain's hay meadows were traditionally filled
26:59with a variety of grass and wildflower species,
27:02but they've been almost entirely replaced with modern pastures
27:06that feature a single species of high-yielding ryegrass.
27:10However, traditional hay meadows may be on the verge of a comeback.
27:14Chloe Lumsden runs the National Trust's Meadow Restoration Project in Cumbria.
27:19She's brought me to one of their sites,
27:21Thornythwaite Farm, nestled in the Boridale Valley.
27:25This is a stunning spot, Chloe.
27:27What's happening here?
27:29So the fields have just been cut
27:31and we're now about to plant some wildflowers
27:34to hopefully restore these meadows to lovely species-rich hay meadows in the future.
27:38We're going to do the bulk of the planting next week with a load of volunteers,
27:42but we thought we'd get a head start today.
27:44You've got me as the guinea pig?
27:45Yeah, you can test it out for us.
27:47Why are you planting traditional hay meadows? What's the benefit?
27:51So a traditional hay meadow can support up to 150 different plants and grasses
27:58and those in turn will support a huge wealth of biodiversity in the landscape.
28:05The more invertebrates there are, the more birds and bats will feed on them
28:10and then they'll be a great place for large mammals to hide and feed on as well.
28:16There's some plants which can host up to 120 different species, just that one plant.
28:21So you can really see how that will expand to the wider countryside.
28:26So what's the plan today?
28:27If you could dig two holes in the ground.
28:30So that's one square.
28:32Perfect.
28:33So how common are these traditional meadows?
28:36So they used to be really commonplace across the whole of the UK,
28:39but since the 1930s we've lost about 97% of our species to its grassland.
28:44Gosh, I mean that's loads, that's a huge amount.
28:46There was a big push after the war to produce more food
28:49and then since then over the last century agriculture's intensified,
28:53more fertiliser on the land.
28:55What are we doing next?
28:56So now you want to choose a wildflower.
28:59What is this?
29:00This is Wood Cranesbill. It has a lovely purple flower.
29:03When we're planting the plant in the soil we want to make sure it's got the best chance of life
29:08so we want to try and reduce the competition of the other grasses around it.
29:11So what I normally do is get the top of the soil.
29:14That you just cut out.
29:15Yeah, and then break it up a bit and then make sure that the grass is down.
29:19That will decompose.
29:20In the hole to sort of prop it up.
29:22And then you can stick the plant in it.
29:24So we're at the sort of end of a restoration project.
29:28These fields have been managed in a sympathetic way for five years or so.
29:33Gosh, it's that long?
29:34Yeah, so we've been waiting until the conditions in the soil are right to be able to plant and add seeds in.
29:40Why would they not be right? Because they've been farmed so intensively for years.
29:43Yeah, if the nutrient levels are too high then that favours more competitive grasses and competitive species.
29:51So things like nettles and thistles and docks will thrive as well as grasses such as perennial ryegrass.
29:58Whereas we want the nutrients to be low and this reduces the competition
30:02so you get a more diversity of species that are able to thrive.
30:05So these thrive off low nutrients, sunshine and rain. That's all they need really.
30:14So far, Chloe's team has surveyed 40 Lake District farms to help them restore their traditional hay meadows.
30:21It's clearly great for wildlife, but a project like this depends on the support of those who work the land.
30:28Farmer Robert Tyson has 18 acres of traditional hay meadows on Moore Farm near Keswick.
30:35Robert, it feels unusual to see a field like this of traditional hay meadow on a modern farm.
30:41It feels like a bygone era.
30:42I think we're privileged now to have these meadows here on the farm.
30:46We've lost a lot of the traditional hay meadows and it's just good to have them brought back into the Lake District
30:52and get them flourishing again.
30:54I always think the livestock seem to like it better.
30:59Farming on the edge of a temperate rainforest means dry stretches are few and far between.
31:04So while the sun shines, it's time to make hay.
31:08So Chloe, as Robert gets on with cutting the meadow there,
31:11what's the difference between managing a traditional hay meadow and a modern hay meadow?
31:15I guess the key difference is in a traditional hay meadow the grasses will be allowed to grow,
31:20flower and then set seed.
31:22At the end of summer, once all the flowers have set seed, it's time to cut the hay.
31:26And then after that, he'll ted it.
31:29So he'll sort of turn the hay and that allows the hay to dry out.
31:33But it's really important for all of those wildflower seeds to drop to the floor
31:37and then they'll germinate next year.
31:45There's something quite therapeutic about what we're doing.
31:48It's something quite therapeutic about watching someone cutting a hay meadow, isn't it?
31:52It is.
31:53It just goes round and round.
31:54Yeah, it's a lovely part of the cycle.
31:57All your hard work from earlier on in the year is then turned into hay bales
32:02which are going to make the farm sustainable over the winter time.
32:05Come October, the cattle currently speckling Robert's land will come indoors.
32:10Throughout the winter, they'll be fed entirely with the hay from these fields.
32:15Well, Robert, you've just done a couple of laps of the meadow.
32:17Do you get a sense of how much hay you're going to produce?
32:20Yeah, it's been a good growing season this year.
32:22There looks to be a good crop on it.
32:24Roughly on this field, I think there could be about 35 bales.
32:27Wow.
32:28Somewhere about there.
32:29And that seems like a lot. Is that more than normal?
32:30It'll be a little bit more than normal because it has a better crop on this year.
32:34Something suited the meadows this year and they've grown well.
32:37You've got the magic ingredient this year.
32:39The magic ingredient, yeah.
32:40Last year, the seed was taken off it and it went to neighbouring farms,
32:44one at Glencoyn and one across the valley.
32:46It's almost like the springboard for other farms to have traditional hay meadows.
32:50Yeah, it's helping them to get started, to restore the meadows that have long gone.
32:53How does that feel?
32:55Yeah, good. I go to different farms and I see meadows that have probably had some of our seed on,
33:00so it's a good thing.
33:02It's good to know that this could be the starting place of a real change in this area,
33:07in the Lake District, where we'll see a lot more traditional meadows.
33:09And this is one of the starting points?
33:11This is one of the starting points, yeah. It's good.
33:23The Borrowdale Rainforest National Nature Reserve is not only a vital ecosystem for rare plants and wildlife,
33:29but also provides a stunning backdrop for a truly challenging event.
33:35The Borrowdale Fell Race is held here every August
33:38and this year marks its 50th anniversary.
33:44The race runs across 17 miles of fells with 7,000 feet of ascent,
33:50including England's highest mountain, Scarfell Pike.
33:55The event is hosted by the Borrowdale Fell Running Club
33:58and one of the key founders is local running legend, Billy Bland.
34:03I was born in this valley 77 years ago
34:06and been involved with the fell race for the last 50 years,
34:11both as a runner and a helper.
34:14The race over the 50 years has had a lot of friends who've given their days up for nothing
34:20and that's how it still is.
34:22My fastest time was 2.34, 38.
34:25I wasn't a good runner, I was just a trier who trained hard.
34:28It was my hobby and I really liked what I was doing.
34:35Fellow fell runner Andrew Schofield is in charge of the race organisation.
34:41I've been a fell runner all my life for 40, 45 years.
34:45I'm not going to say it's spiritual or anything like that,
34:48I just like being out in the hills and I like keeping fit.
34:51Just love it and why wouldn't you?
34:53I think the conditions today are pretty perfect really.
34:56It looks like it's going to be clear on the tops.
34:58It's nice and cool.
35:03I'm Jacob Tonkin, I'm a fell runner from Keswick.
35:06I run for Keswick Athletics Club.
35:08I'm born and bred Keswickian, which makes me a bit of a dying breed these days.
35:12But my mam and my aunties grew up in Borrowdale here in Rosslet
35:15and my nan and grandad used to run the youth hostel just down the road.
35:19So I always want to come back and do this fell race, the Borrowdale,
35:22because it's really part of my family really and my running career.
35:31So it's over some of the biggest mountains in the country
35:34with Schofield Pike and Great Gable and it is really rocky underfoot.
35:38There's a mixture of rock, bogs.
35:40You really need to know where you're going navigational-wise
35:43because there's no markers or anything out.
35:46So it's down to you having done recces and learning the route
35:50before you set out to do it.
35:54I had a bit of an accident on Thursday and fell down a hole orienteering,
35:57so I have hurt my leg a little bit.
35:59So I've been stressing out all morning and all last night.
36:03A lot of us get our excuses in really early, like me and my leg,
36:06because you never want to stand on the start line and proclaim
36:09that you're feeling really fit because it's just not what we do.
36:12We don't really like making a fuss.
36:14I've been through the first checkpoint on top of Bessie Boot
36:17and unfortunately my sore leg's flagged up.
36:21So I'm going to give it another 20 minutes of hobbling,
36:26see if it eases off.
36:28But look at all these views. Beautiful.
36:36To be a good feller running, a really good one,
36:38you've got to be good at downhill as well.
36:41We'd never have been out of hospital if we didn't know what we were doing.
36:44We were confident at running downhill.
36:47And if you're not confident, then you break a lot more.
36:52Back at the starter field and the first competitors
36:55are beginning to cross the finish line after an epic 17-mile race.
37:01My name's Tom Simpson.
37:03I run for Ambleside and I've just won the 50th Boroughdale.
37:06I think I did it in three hours and a minute.
37:093.26, so, yeah, happy with that.
37:15Fellow runners are really humble people.
37:17It's just all one big happy family, shall I say.
37:20I don't do any training. I just like going out running.
37:24If I did some training, I might have gone under three hours.
37:27I'm a police officer. I had a night shift last night
37:30and then I'm back in in the control room at 7 o'clock tonight
37:33till 7 o'clock in the morning, so I'm going to go have a nap.
37:40I've dropped out cos my leg was a bit sore.
37:42I've hobbled down feeling sorry for myself.
37:44So I'm now set for probably another 12 months of abuse
37:48and I expect next year when I'm back on the start line here
37:51that this story will get brought up.
37:55If everyone's back safe and sound, I'm happy.
37:57And my field doesn't get too muddy.
38:00Over at the Cotswolds, Adam is at the very beginning of harvest season.
38:08Over the last few days, we've been harvesting barley.
38:11It's our first cereal crop of the year
38:13and, fortunately, we've had some great weather for combining.
38:21But now it's in the shed, the work is far from over.
38:25So this is how it comes off the combine into the trailer
38:27and then back here to the shed.
38:29And this is Maris Otter, that's the variety.
38:33It's quite an old-fashioned variety
38:35and it's quite difficult to grow because it isn't very disease-resistant.
38:39It's quite susceptible to funguses and those sorts of things.
38:43But it's also lower-yielding.
38:45A modern feed variety of barley would yield at about 8.5 tonnes a hectare.
38:50This yields at about 5.5 tonnes.
38:52So why are we bothering?
38:54Well, it's because it can command a premium.
38:56This Maris Otter is like the Rolls-Royce of malting barley.
39:00The beer producers absolutely love it.
39:02And so it collects a premium price, if you can get it right.
39:06So feed barley would be worth, at the moment, about ÂŁ150 a tonne.
39:10This is worth about ÂŁ250 a tonne.
39:13So ÂŁ100 premium.
39:15But it's got a premium.
39:17But it's got to hit the spec, it's got to make the quality.
39:20If it fails, we've got a low-yielding crop that's cost a lot to grow
39:24and we get feed barley price, which would be a disaster.
39:31To make sure the grain is of the highest quality to sell at a premium,
39:35first we have to test it.
39:38Hi, Martin.
39:39Hiya.
39:40Martin, our farm manager, has been checking all the barley
39:43as it comes in from the fields.
39:45The first thing to test is the moisture percentage
39:47to see if it needs to go through the dryer.
39:49It needs to be below 14% or thereabouts.
39:5212.7.
39:53Yeah.
39:54God, that's really dry, isn't it?
39:55It is.
39:56So we don't have to put it through the dryer at all?
39:58No, no.
39:59It's a good start.
40:00But one worry, due to the wet spring, is the size of the grain.
40:03The molsters will only accept healthy grains that will germinate well
40:07to produce the sugars they need for brewing.
40:09So we need to make sure the individual grains are up to standard
40:12by removing the small and broken ones.
40:14Yeah, that's pretty much spot on.
40:16The hope is we don't lose too much of our yield in the process.
40:19So this is a two and a half mil sieve.
40:21Tip the 100 grams in there.
40:23Vigorously shake it up and down.
40:26Stir it around a bit.
40:28And that's the best we can do for a farmer test
40:30to make sure we've got it right.
40:32Sure.
40:33And then whatever we've got left, pop into here.
40:37So you can see there, so there's like 20% of the grain
40:41and there's like 23% of small grains.
40:45So we need to reduce that, hence why we're cleaning.
40:48So if we have a look in here,
40:50now you can see some of these really small grains.
40:53Now, otherwise it would get rejected or a price reduction.
40:56Yeah, we'd probably get a claim on that.
40:58So we'll run it over the cleaner
41:00and we'll probably see that reduced to somewhere around 10.
41:03The plumper grains, these can't be damaged either, can they?
41:08No, so we're looking in there, so we've got no cracked grains,
41:11there's no dark marks on them,
41:14there's none of them that are skinned,
41:16so quality should be excellent.
41:18I would hope the germination would be 99%, really.
41:21Amazing, fantastic.
41:22Well done, Martin, it's all looking pretty positive so far, isn't it?
41:25Yeah, it's all good at the minute.
41:28Test complete.
41:29We now have to process the grain in the largest machine on the farm.
41:33In this shed, we have our grain drying and cleaning equipment,
41:36which can handle up to 50 tonnes of grain every hour.
41:39As the grain is dry, we only need to clean it.
41:42One filter takes out large pieces of waste,
41:45such as bits of straw and weeds,
41:47while another takes the small grains not wanted by the brewers.
41:52Under these slats is all the...
41:57These are all the small grains that have been taken out.
42:03And in the top here is all the larger bits of straw and weeds,
42:08but they're all falling through this
42:10and separating it from the clean grain.
42:14With all the stuff we don't want on the lorry removed,
42:17only the cleaned-up premium grain remains,
42:20and it's transported to the storage sheds by a system of conveyor belts.
42:26So in here is the final product,
42:28and it's dropping down onto the heap,
42:30and it will slowly fill this whole bay
42:32that will then be loaded onto the lorries.
42:34What we've got to do now is take a sample.
42:41This will go to the grain trader,
42:43who will check it for its germination.
42:47It has to be 98% or above,
42:49but also they check its nitrogen level
42:52so that it's suitable for molting.
42:54So this bag could cost us, or make us, quite a bit of money.
43:01Fingers crossed.
43:09For now, it's a nervous wait for the results in a few days.
43:14But there's still lots going on on the farm.
43:18So this is grass that we've allowed to grow long and go to flower,
43:22and then we've cut it to produce hay.
43:25And when you cut it, of course, it's bright green and very wet,
43:29but to make hay that you can store in the shed
43:31without it going mouldy or overheating, it needs to be dry.
43:35So out here we've got two hay turners
43:38that are just spreading this hay out.
43:40What's happening here?
43:42We've got two hay turners that are just spreading this hay out.
43:46What's happening is it's got these spinning discs
43:49with tines on the end of them that's spreading the hay.
43:52It's lifting it off the ground gently and throwing it behind.
43:58Making a really good job.
44:02What happens is you can get lumps of wet grass,
44:06and so that just keeps it spread out
44:09and allows the sun to get to it right through.
44:15There's a lovely smell about good quality hay.
44:17That smells good.
44:18And then actually if you get it and twist it in your hand,
44:21if it untwists, then that's not going to be too moist.
44:27That's great.
44:28There's a lot here.
44:29This is going to make plenty of bales that'll see us through the winter.
44:35This hay needs a little more sunshine before it's ready.
44:39But across the farm in the fields where we grew our barley,
44:43the leftover straw is already getting baled up.
44:47So in this field we've got our barley that's been harvested
44:50that's now packing the shed, and what's left behind is the straw.
44:53So these are all the stalks,
44:55and the barley heads were on the top that has been thrashed out,
44:58and the straw is what's left behind that comes out the back of the combine.
45:01And now we're baling it up.
45:03Not such a high nutritional value as hay, but still quite good stuff.
45:08What's happening is the tractor straddles the straw,
45:10and then it's got a pick-up on the front load of tines that picks up the straw,
45:13goes into the guts of the baler,
45:15where it rams it up and cuts it and puts it in bales,
45:18and then wraps string around and then drops the bale out the back.
45:22So you can see there's a complete bale.
45:25That straw has been completely compressed up,
45:29and then the strings have gone round it,
45:32and there's six strings that are automatically put on holding that bale together.
45:37So when you're growing a crop, we're after the seed, we're after the barley seed,
45:40that's where most of the money comes from.
45:42But then the straw is a secondary income,
45:45and this year straw is worth a lot of money.
45:48It's worth about the same as hay.
45:50Usually hay would reach quite a big premium.
45:53It's an unusual situation to be in.
45:57Well that's this field done,
45:59and it's really great with this hot dry spell.
46:01We've got the barley harvested, the hay being made, the straw baled.
46:05All we've got to do now is load these straw bales up and get them back into the shed.
46:09And if that barley passes the tests and goes for malting,
46:12that should make the premium, get this sold,
46:15and hopefully we should be in for a bit of a profit, which is great news.
46:31Well it may be one of England's wettest environments,
46:33but today that's not the case.
46:35But what's the weather got in store for the week ahead where you are?
46:38Here's the Countryfell forecast.
46:48Good evening. Wow, what a month August is shaping up to be.
46:52Beginning of last week we recorded the hottest day of the year so far,
46:56just shy of 35 Celsius, 95 Fahrenheit.
47:00Really extreme.
47:01And interestingly enough, Cambridge is one of the driest places so far this month.
47:06We've only had 3% of the month's worth of rain,
47:09but just look at the extreme further north and west.
47:12We've seen significant rainfall over a month's worth of rain
47:15across northwest England, parts of western Scotland and Northern Ireland.
47:19And if we take a look at what we're going to get through this week, rainfall accumulation,
47:23well anywhere that's bright green denotes that we could see around 80 millimetres or more.
47:29So more heavy rain to add to those totals,
47:31but once again across eastern and southeast England in particular,
47:35hardly any noticeable rain to come.
47:38So what is happening?
47:39Well we are going to see areas of low pressure moving in from the Atlantic,
47:42bringing some wet and windy weather at times.
47:45And as we go through the middle point of the week,
47:47this area of low pressure has the remnants of ex-hurricane Ernesto.
47:52So there's going to be a lot of energy in the atmosphere,
47:54which means a lot of heavy rain and unseasonably windy to go with it as well.
47:59Let's take a look at Monday in a little more detail though.
48:01Eastern England really will see some sunshine once again clouding over from the west
48:06and there will be some rain turning increasingly heavy through Northern Ireland,
48:10northwest England and Scotland.
48:12Here, highs of around 14 to 17 degrees,
48:15but further east with that sunshine 25 degrees, 77 Fahrenheit once again.
48:21Now that rain will push its way steadily east and heavier bursts across Scotland,
48:24but look how it just turns into a band of showers really as it pushes across southeast England.
48:29And here is going to be another uncomfortable night for getting a good night's sleep
48:33with 17 degrees as overnight lows.
48:36Tuesday we'll see a day generally of sunny spells and scattered showers.
48:40Some of those showers across eastern England, heavy and thundery.
48:43Closest to the area of low pressure, that's where we'll see more frequent showers
48:47and generally a fresher feel as the wind direction across the country swings around to more of a westerly.
48:53Now, high pressure is trying to keep things quiet on Wednesday across southern England,
48:58but here's that low bringing increasingly wet and windy weather as we go through the day on Wednesday.
49:04Some heavy rain, some gale force gusts of winds to come across Scotland during daylight hours.
49:09And here it's going to feel disappointingly cool, 14 to 17 degrees,
49:13but we could see highs of 22 or 23 if we keep that sunshine for a time in the south.
49:19The wettest and the windiest of the weather arrives through the night Wednesday into the early hours of Thursday morning.
49:25Gale force gusts of winds, heavy rain moving its way from west to east,
49:29but notice how it stays largely fine and dry once again across east Anglia and southeast England.
49:35Here, just a few scattered showers as we go through the day on Thursday.
49:40And again, temperatures, if we get that sunshine, 23 degrees, but notice it'll be fresher further north and west.
49:46As we move out of Thursday into Friday, we've got another frontal system pushing in,
49:51this time just a little bit further south potentially.
49:54It's a long way away, so you'll have to firm up on the details throughout the week,
49:58but that could bring some wet weather across northern England and some stronger, unseasonably strong winds
50:03running up through the Bristol Channel. Temperatures again, 13 to 23 degrees.
50:08So all in all, an unsettled flavour to our weather with the heaviest of the rain and the strongest of the winds
50:13further north and west, drier in the southeast.
50:26We've been exploring Cumbria's Borrowdale Valley,
50:29uncovering the secrets of one of the last remaining fragments of temperate rainforest in the UK.
50:36Come here at any time of the year and you may be lucky enough to see some amazing wildlife.
50:41These ancient woodlands are filled with everything from red squirrels to peregrine falcons,
50:46but there's one elusive resident that shows up for a mere two week window every year
50:52and hopefully I've come just in time to see it.
50:57The netted carpet moth is one of the UK's most endangered and rarely seen moth species,
51:02emerging for just a fortnight in the summer to mate.
51:05National Trust Conservation Advisor John Hewson has led the effort to protect this species.
51:13I've brought you here because we're not going to see the netted carpet moth itself just now.
51:17It's too light. That will be later in the evening.
51:20What we've got here is the sole food plant that the carpet moth caterpillars feed on,
51:26the touch-me-not balsam.
51:28It's the caterpillars, it's the larvae that are doing the eating and they feed on the seed pods
51:34which are the high source of sugars and proteins which the caterpillars want.
51:41It all sounds straightforward, but this plant has a surprise in store.
51:45The reason the plant's called touch-me-not is because the pods are like spring loaded
51:50and so when they're ripe, when they're touched, they tend to explode,
51:54spreading the seed two or three metres potentially.
51:57Give it a go.
51:58I'm going to just take that off.
52:00Sort of touch the base of it.
52:02Oh.
52:03You jumped.
52:04It's like an explosion, isn't it? That was amazing.
52:08As they fly out of the pod, it's believed the seeds can be propelled at up to 22 miles an hour.
52:14This explosive way of spreading seeds is known appropriately as ballistic dispersal.
52:20So for a caterpillar, that's pretty dangerous, isn't it, if you're that size?
52:24Yes, they diffuse it by chewing their way through these tensioned tendrils in the pod
52:30so they can diffuse the pod.
52:33But sometimes even the most expert of bomb disposal caterpillars chew on the wrong spot.
52:41When a series of warm winters in the late 1990s caused the balsam to be out-competed by other plants,
52:47the moth went extinct from Borrowdale and had to be reintroduced from elsewhere in the Lake District.
52:55But with the population so fragile, it's vital to constantly monitor the number of netted carpet moths here
53:02to make sure they don't disappear again.
53:04Ryan Clark is an ecologist for butterfly conservation,
53:08and with the sun going down, I'm joining him to survey this most mysterious of moths.
53:15Well, this all looks very complicated to try and catch some moths.
53:19What have we got here?
53:20So this is a moth trap, a special piece of equipment which draws in the moths
53:24and allows us to see which moths are around us.
53:27OK, shall we...
53:28Yeah, let's put it together.
53:30So if you just grab one of those panels there, like so,
53:34put our egg boxes in,
53:36just create a variety of different gaps for the moths to crawl into.
53:41The light that we use just sits on the top of that.
53:44The way I started was just with an old bed sheet in the garden
53:47and a bucket and a lampshade,
53:50and just put a normal light,
53:53and that's a really good way to learn.
53:55You don't get as many moths, and you can start to work out the different types.
53:58Why do you love moths so much, then?
54:00They're just a whole hidden world, basically.
54:03You have to go out and look for them at night, and they're really colourful,
54:06and that's just not what you'd expect.
54:08So it's a way to discover a whole different world.
54:11And it's like Christmas, opening up the moth trap in the morning.
54:14You never know what you're going to get.
54:16So lots of people think of moths as they just eat your clothes,
54:19and what are they for?
54:21But you see moths in a completely different light.
54:23Yes. In the UK, we have over 2,500 different species of moth,
54:27and only four of them will feed on clothes.
54:30The rest are really big pollinators,
54:33and the caterpillars are really important for our bird populations.
54:37So blue tits alone eat up to 20,000 moth caterpillars a year.
54:41And part of that tapestry of moths is the netted carpet moth,
54:45which is what we're looking for tonight.
54:47Are you hopeful?
54:48I'm hopeful, yeah. Fingers crossed.
54:52So we leave that on. What else do we do?
54:55So as it's getting quite dusky now and it's quite humid,
54:59we can look for moths around the food plant.
55:01We can wait for the moths here and use these nets.
55:05So from the high-tech to the really low-tech.
55:10Oh, there we go. We've got one over here.
55:13Oh, I missed it. It's gone out there.
55:16Sorry, I let the tin down there right in.
55:20Oh, there we go.
55:22Oh, gosh.
55:25Oh.
55:26Did you get it?
55:27Yep.
55:28You got it.
55:31And you put the lid on the net.
55:33Yeah. Our first moth of the evening.
55:35So it's not a netted carpet.
55:37No.
55:38This is a moth called the small fan-footed wave.
55:41Why is that? Is it, God, a fan foot?
55:43Yeah, sometimes the legs on the males can be quite hairy.
55:47The fan-footed wave is common in the south of England,
55:51but slightly less so in the north,
55:53so it's great to see them thriving here.
55:56Did I get it?
55:57Yeah.
55:58Yes, got it.
56:00So this is one of our micro moths,
56:04so out of the 2,500 species of moth that we have,
56:08only about 800 of those are macro moths,
56:10so over a centimetre,
56:12and these smaller ones make up the majority.
56:15It's all useful data that feeds into the picture
56:18Ryan is building of the moth populations in this area,
56:22but still no sign of Borrowdale's star species yet.
56:26So let's open this up and see what we've got.
56:28Yeah. There's loads of them in there.
56:30But not the netted carpet.
56:32What's that big moth there? Can you see that?
56:34Yeah.
56:35That's nice.
56:36So this is the snout moth.
56:38If you have a look, it's got a really long nose on it almost.
56:41It's got a massive snout, hasn't it?
56:43They've got some great names, haven't they, moths?
56:45Yeah, so they've got some fantastic names.
56:47So obviously we've got the snout here.
56:49There's some such as confused,
56:51because they're really hard to separate from one another.
56:53If I was a moth, I'd be a confused moth, I think.
56:56So we haven't managed to find a netted carpet moth,
56:59but are you confident that they're out there?
57:01Yeah.
57:02They'll be out there just hiding from us tonight.
57:04And this is why we go and count the caterpillars as well.
57:07And that's another great way that we can confirm
57:09that they're still here and see how they're doing.
57:11It feels like this rainforest is teeming with life.
57:15Exactly, yeah.
57:16So many different trees and so many different lichens
57:19for the moths to be feeding on.
57:21So many moths. It's incredible.
57:23And one very nosy snout moth.
57:25Yeah, exactly.
57:26Just sat there showing off.
57:27Amazing moths we've seen today, yeah.
57:29Yeah.
57:32Well, that's all from me, the team,
57:34and the moths here in the Lake District.
57:36Next week, join John, Charlotte and guest judge Vic Hope
57:40as they judge the entries
57:41for this year's Countryfile Photographic Competition.
57:48Gosh, this is hard.
57:49I love this one.
57:51I've put it through.
57:52Onward.
57:54Welcome to the most biodiverse place on the planet.
57:57It doesn't look biodiverse, does it?
57:59No, we like to keep our seeds tucked up in the cauldron.
58:02Finally got there, haven't we?
58:04It's really difficult.
58:06And you get quite connected to certain pictures.
58:09And here they are.
58:10Here are our final 12.
58:12That's next week at 7 o'clock.
58:15We'll see you then.
58:17Right, let's see if we can find this moth.
58:19What do you reckon?
58:21Maybe they're somewhere.
58:23It's travel and then some.
58:25The adrenaline rush of new celebrity race across the world.
58:29The journey begins with these famous-faced backpackers
58:32on iPlayer now.
58:34NX Treasures and Greenfingers.
58:36Antiques Roadshow comes from Dufferin Gardens near Cardiff.
58:52NX Treasures and Greenfingers.