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00:00Four miles south of mainland Britain sits a diamond in the Solent, an island
00:10paradise blessed with golden beaches. Who wouldn't want to look after something
00:17as beautiful as this? Verdant forests, ancient valleys and chalk white cliffs.
00:26It's a land steeped in rich history. I love the location here. I look at the view
00:33it's fantastic. Farmed by ancient civilizations. It's a Roman coin. It's about
00:391,700 years old. Favoured by kings and queens. This is where King Charles used to
00:46apparently stay. And today home to a thriving community. Proud of their
00:53heritage. The high sheriff. Madame. And tradition.
01:00Every year millions visit these shores. To step back in time. Immerse in the culture.
01:09Every year you see Yemen. Yemen. And experience the raw power of nature. Welcome to an island of old memories.
01:21You're touching history. It's a lovely feeling. And new stories. It's just so different
01:31compared to the mainland. Welcome to the Isle of Wight.
01:35It's early spring. Along the coast, magnificent slate blue waves crash against the shoreline,
01:50reshaping the rugged beaches and sending seabirds swirling in hungry frenzies high above.
01:57In the countryside, the first bright splashes of colour are painting out the lifeless browns
02:03and greys of winter. Carpets of wild daffodils and primroses and early sunshine to the sprawling
02:11hedgerows and bridleways. While the swarming summer months still feel a long way off, the
02:17residents on the island are already busy dealing with the demands of springtime.
02:22In Limerston, on the south-west of the island, it's lambing season on Mary Case's farm.
02:32BIRDS CHIRP
02:33And she's busy chatting to her pregnant ewes.
02:37BIRDS CHIRP
02:38If you make the noise of a lamb, anybody who is thinking of lambing very often will talk
02:43back to you and blat back at you. So it's a good way of finding out what's going on.
02:50Oh, it looks like there is somebody who might be starting to lamb. You can see at the back
02:54there, she's actually beginning to push. So with luck, we should have a lamb in a minute.
03:00BIRDS CHIRP
03:01Farming runs in Mary's blood. Her family have deep roots on the Isle of Wight that stretch
03:07back over three centuries. Today, she's the proud custodian of this 250-acre farm.
03:18With 300 pregnant ewes to attend to, someone needs to check the group regularly to see if
03:24any mums need help during labour.
03:28BIRDS CHIRP
03:29We've been at it for three weeks, night and day, and so of course we are all on our knees.
03:36So far we've had about 250 that have lambed, and we've got another 50 to go. So we can see
03:44the light at the end of the tunnel. Hooray!
03:46Provided there are no complications, the ewes can give birth on their own, and Mary will only
03:52lend a hand if one of the lambs is in trouble.
03:55BIRDS CHIRP
03:55She's pushing to get the lamb out. And it'll be fine as long as the lamb's round the right
04:02way and it's coming with its legs and its nose and its head all at the same time. Hopefully
04:08we'll see some feet in a minute, I'm hoping. No, it's... Oh, we've got a head out and no legs,
04:14I think. So we will have to help.
04:17BIRDS CHIRP
04:17To deliver the lamb safely, Mary calls on her husband, Geoff.
04:23Hello, where are you? Only that ewes got a head and one leg back, I think. So it'd be
04:28great if you could come and give me a hand to catch her.
04:30Yeah.
04:31Mary hasn't always farmed sheep. She grew up, just down the road from Livingston, on a dairy farm.
04:38I've been lambing for 40 years. This is our 40th wedding anniversary this year, and ever
04:44since I've married Geoff, I've been lambing.
04:47With years of experience between them, the pair hope to deliver this lamb swiftly and
04:52safely.
04:53When she comes back this way, we'll try and grab her.
04:57There you go.
05:00Oh, you've got one leg out there, mate, haven't you?
05:04Oh, you've got to get the other leg up. So I'm just pulling it by the shoulder on the
05:10other side. There you go, mate. And that's good. That's fine. Come on.
05:17That's one successfully delivered, but Mary's little lamb has a sibling also in need of some
05:22coaxing.
05:23And there's the other one of the twin. There. Great.
05:34Lovely. That's great. And with luck, she will go on and raise those two lambs beautifully,
05:41which is fantastic. They will very quickly get up and hopefully start to feed. Oh, look,
05:50both standing up now. Goodie, goodie. Well done, old girl.
06:04In the West White, the historic port town of Yarmouth is already gearing up for another
06:09busy year of visitors. The cobbled streets might not yet be full of holidaymakers, but
06:17the daily to-ing and fro-ing of the ferry that connects the island to the mainland provides
06:22a reassuring heartbeat to this ancient town. Tranquil moments are rare for Howard Spooner,
06:33who's usually flat out running his 17-room hotel in the heart of the town. When I stay here in
06:40the hotel when it's quiet and you open up the doors to this, it's just incredible. This time represents
06:49getting your ducks in a row, planning for what is about to happen, a season that's going to be even more busy
06:56than the season before. I just hope it arrives.
06:59In preparation for the season, over the winter, his team have been busy converting this former boathouse into an extension of his high-end accommodation.
07:14So this will be a family suite when it's done. We've put a bedroom and an en-suite bathroom where there was just a sort of plain mezzanine floor.
07:28It will be a hotel suite on steroids, if you like. And no family member is left out of the luxury here. Even four-legged visitors get their own en-suite.
07:39In here is the doggy wet room, and you'll have a hand-held shower that you can wash the doggy down, because I know how much people love their dogs.
07:49There's still a way to go before this swanky guest suite meets Howard's exacting standards, but with the clock ticking, there's no time to rest.
07:58I've sold this comprehensively from June onwards, so it's got to be ready, and it's a mile off being ready right now, to be honest.
08:07And it's not just the boathouse where the steaks have been raised. It's also hotting up in the hotel kitchen for head chef Mehdi.
08:15A check on, two covers, one doctorine, one soup to follow, two cut croquette.
08:19Yes, chef!
08:20I've been in the UK since 2018. It's been a good experience, yeah. It is crazy in the summer, from what I heard.
08:30Mehdi needs to be on his A-game more than ever today, as his boss and Howard's chef partner is coming from the mainland to sample dishes from the new summer menu.
08:41We source as much as we can from the island. When things are in season, it's possible to get most things from here.
08:48There's always a certain amount of stress when we present something, stress and pressure, because we want to make it nice and we want to make sure that he's happy with the food.
08:56So everything has to be perfect.
08:59But when your boss is too Michelin-styled chef, Claude Bossy, that's a lot of pressure.
09:05He's quite famous in our job. I mean, in hospitality, everybody knows of him. And it's an honour to work for him, obviously.
09:13Mehdi is out to impress. Among the dishes on today's menu, a succulent spring lamb dish, marinated for 12 hours and slowly cooked for a day.
09:23There's a little bit of pressure on Mehdi, because Claude can be very brutal. He doesn't have time to put his foot around.
09:30Start with the salmon first.
09:31Yes, chef.
09:32After we do the lobster and we finish on the lamb and the pastry.
09:35Yes, chef.
09:36Amazing. See you in a bit.
09:37Great.
09:38He'll give his feedback and Mehdi will then take that on board and get it right for the customer when it goes out.
09:45It's the moment of truth for Mehdi, who's hoping that when it comes to Claude's assessment, it's just the lobster that gets the grilling.
09:54Service.
09:56Later, at Mary's farm, new arrivals create a bit of a buzz.
10:02Oh, there's a bee on the flower. There she is.
10:07And in Godshill, Stuart has a mini-moment at the model village.
10:12You're constantly thinking, right, how many days have we got left to go? Can I fit it all in?
10:18I'm not panicking. I'm not panicking at all.
10:20With its southerly position and unique maritime climate, spring comes early to the Isle of Wight.
10:39After an unseasonably dry February, the March rainfall adds vibrancy to the lush green hills and clifftops,
10:47while ancient woodland paths are pungent with the sweet perfume of the first wild garlic.
10:54Up above, cloud-speckled skies ring out with the rallying cries of the island's many migratory visitors.
11:06On Limerston Farm, there are sure signs that milder weather is around the corner.
11:12Oh, there we go. There's a bee on the flower. There she is. Brilliant.
11:19This sighting is great news for farmer and honey producer Mary.
11:24Not only is the bee pollinating her apricot tree,
11:27it's a sign her bees are active after a long winter in the hives.
11:32The bees start flying at about 12 degrees, and so once that happens and it's a warm day without too much wind,
11:39then you know that spring is springing. It's good.
11:45This marks the start of the beekeeping season and time for Mary to get busy herself.
11:51Oh, I put my hood on.
11:53She hasn't tended to her hives since October, and today she's checking on the health of her bees.
12:00So we're looking to see if there's any brood, which is the young bees,
12:05which also signifies that the queen is laying,
12:08and so it'll be very interesting to see how many of the colonies have survived the winter, so I can't wait.
12:15Mary uses a smoker to keep the bees calm.
12:19She's hoping to find healthy hives to produce the award-winning honey she's famous for across the island.
12:26My mother kept bees very badly, and they were a real pest most of the time.
12:31My great-grandfather was a really good beekeeper,
12:34and so I suppose there's been a smattering of beekeeping in our family for generations,
12:39but I'm the first one to have actually gone to college to learn how to do it.
12:44Mary runs the beekeeping business entirely by herself,
12:48but despite the hard graft, she cherishes life on the island.
12:52I spent three years working in London.
12:55It broadened my horizon, but it made me appreciate how much better life is here than on the mainland.
13:01Each of Mary's bee colonies must have a queen bee in order to survive,
13:08so she's checking every hive for signs of a queen that's alive, active and producing eggs.
13:17Well, that's a lovely sign.
13:19Beneath the wax-covered cells are hatched larvae from the queen's eggs,
13:23which should eventually emerge as worker bees.
13:26The queen is well and truly starting to lay, and it's only in the middle of March, so that's fantastic.
13:33But Mary has concerns about one of her other hives.
13:37These bees do seem a little distracted.
13:41Ah, I can see the reason why they're not happy.
13:44There's no eggs at all, so there is no queen in this hive.
13:49This colony won't survive without a queen, but Mary has a plan to merge the bees with another group in a neighbouring hive.
13:58Oh, and there's a queen in here that's laying very well, so this is the ideal colony to put the queenless bees onto the top of them.
14:08To stop the two colonies fighting, the bees need a little time to get used to each other's scents,
14:14so Mary slows down their introductions by using a tried-and-tested beekeeper's trick.
14:20To mix them together, what we have to do is put a sheet of newspaper between them,
14:24and then we can put a queen excluder on top of that,
14:29and that means that the queen that's down below in the bottom hive won't be able to come up and lay in the top hive.
14:38That newspaper will stop them meeting straight away,
14:41and when they do chew through the newspaper, they'll all be friends.
14:46Today marks the start of seven months of hard graft for Mary,
14:50as this year's honey-making begins in earnest,
14:53and with 65 hives spread across the island,
14:56this able apiarist will clearly be kept as busy as her bees.
15:07In the picture postcard village of Godshill,
15:10the medieval church tower and thatched cottage roofs
15:14are bathed in early spring sunshine.
15:20The usual summer throngs of tourists are yet to arrive,
15:24but with Easter just around the corner,
15:26there's no time to rest for couples Stuart and Penny Dyer.
15:30They're already sweating the small stuff, quite literally.
15:35This has been a family business for over 50 years.
15:37This is our passion.
15:38We bought the business from my dad in the early 2000s.
15:41Twenty years later, we're still here, having a go.
15:44Yeah.
15:45This model village has captured the hearts of its visitors for generations.
15:49Set in more than two acres of manicured gardens,
15:52it's a faithful representation of this pretty corner of the island,
15:57immortalised in a bygone era.
15:59One of the things we like to do is to make everything look as authentic as possible.
16:03Everything is etched with a broken hacksaw blade to give it that relief
16:09that makes it look like a real building.
16:11That's me when I was considerably younger.
16:21For Islander Penny, this was once her childhood playground.
16:25Growing up here was a magical place to grow up.
16:28It was lovely.
16:29There's ponds, there's models.
16:30I mean, what's not to love as a five- and six-year-old?
16:33Dad was an avid model maker.
16:35He used to fly model aircraft.
16:36So coming here was like a dream come true.
16:39This may be a tiny village, but maintaining it is a mammoth task,
16:45and with the attraction due to open to the public next week,
16:48they need to get a move on.
16:50We are, you know, in the throes of getting ready.
16:54None of our little model figures are out just yet.
16:56There's five, six hundred of them, so they take quite a while to position.
17:05We're good.
17:06I'm not panicking.
17:07I'm not panicking at all.
17:08I am calm.
17:10Fortunately, Stuart has a truly dedicated team behind him,
17:14including gardener Fred,
17:16who's notched up an incredible 38 years of service here.
17:21I spend about 16 hours a week cutting grass,
17:24because I cut the bottom garden on Monday,
17:26top garden Tuesday, petrol mower at Wednesday.
17:29What I cut on Monday, I cut Thursday.
17:31What I cut Tuesday, I cut Friday.
17:33Do it frequently enough, because it only has to be an inch high,
17:35and it's all knee high, isn't it?
17:37Hmm.
17:39It's a labour of love to preserve one of the oldest attractions on the island.
17:45The centre of operations.
17:47And keeping it alive is a lifetime's work for its passionate custodians.
17:55It's a bizarre way to make a living.
17:57It's a bizarre way to make a living.
17:59Let's be fair.
18:00Is it?
18:01We've got the bowls marks taking place.
18:02They're all out.
18:03But Penny and Stuart wouldn't have it any other way.
18:07It's crammed with a lifetime of precious family memories.
18:11We won't make a million dollars, but it's a lovely, lovely place to live.
18:15We got married here.
18:16We actually got married in the church on the hill in God's Hill.
18:18Actually, we've got a model of the church that we got married in.
18:20We have, yeah.
18:21Not many people can say that.
18:22No, that's true.
18:24After a spring clean, lawns are trimmed, models are painted,
18:29and the village is beginning to come back to life,
18:32so Stuart and Penny can look ahead to the priceless rewards
18:36their garden brings.
18:38One of the things that I really enjoy is hearing people laugh in the garden,
18:42you know, the laughter,
18:43because that tells you people are enjoying being in what is
18:47a very old-fashioned, retro tourist attraction,
18:50and laughing means that we're doing the right thing.
18:55It smiles all round in this pint-sized playground.
19:06With its mild maritime climate, fertile soil and around 60 miles of fishable coastline,
19:14the Isle of Wight is a year-round garden of delights,
19:18offering up a feast of local ingredients.
19:21In Yarmouth, hotelier Howard Spooner is hoping their new summer menu
19:27will bring the foodies flocking in.
19:30But serving up something special requires expert instruction,
19:34and Howard's partnered up with culinary king Claude Boissy.
19:39Claude handles everything beyond the kitchen door.
19:44The menus, where we get the produce, all the recipes.
19:48He's an absolute culinary genius.
19:50Yeah, working with Howard has been amazing.
19:53I find it's a great partner because I don't think he can cook an egg.
20:00Luckily, Howard put his eggs in the right basket
20:03as the Michelin-starred master chef jumped at the opportunity to work on the island.
20:08I came to the island three years ago, three and a half years ago,
20:12and I fell in love with it.
20:14It's a beautiful island, absolutely beautiful.
20:16They've got for the quality, the small producer.
20:19What was amazing, it's like a little treasure island.
20:22Claude may have created the menu,
20:25but bringing it to the plate is the job of head chef Mehdi.
20:29He's spent days preparing the dishes for Claude to sign off.
20:33It's a huge test of Mehdi's talent,
20:36and he's delved deep into the island's natural larder to impress his boss.
20:41These lobsters are from Bembridge,
20:42so they don't have a lot of egg right now as it's not the season.
20:45And after, once it's full into the season,
20:47then we will put it a la carte, give it a little flesh.
20:50Today, Howard and Claude are looking for nothing short of excellence from their tasting.
20:56Mehdi needs to prove only the highest standard of dishes will leave his kitchen.
21:01Service.
21:03Presentation is key with food, and ultimately, you know,
21:07we are a 700-cover-a-day restaurant in the height of the season.
21:12The presentation has got to be absolutely spot on.
21:19I'll give you, what, 10, 15 minutes? You ready?
21:21Yes, chef.
21:22The young chef has spent days preparing for his big moment.
21:25So this has been now cooked. It's 24 hours in the oven.
21:28Now all Mehdi can do is hope his tender cut melts his toughest critics to date.
21:37Later, there's something strange lurking in Bembridge Harbour.
21:42So we've got down here...
21:43Exactly, the speeches are off.
21:45And it's rockets away for Dan at Sandown Airport.
21:49There she goes, up she goes!
22:05On the eastern tip of the island,
22:07the charming coastal village of Bembridge is enjoying a rare period of calm
22:12before the industry of the warmer months takes hold.
22:18Down at the harbour, many of the fishing boats are still wrapped up for winter,
22:23but in among the salt marsh and saline lagoons, nature is thriving.
22:31For the hungry, wintering waterfowl,
22:33the tidal mud and shingle provide much-needed feeding grounds,
22:37while out at the harbour mouth,
22:39the quieter waters are a welcome nursery for spring shoals of bass and flounder.
22:51For marine biologist and underwater photographer Theo Vickers,
22:55the abundance of sea life on his doorstep
22:58is a unique treasure chest waiting to be explored.
23:03I grew up locally on the island.
23:05I developed a real passion for marine natural history.
23:08Growing up here, I spent my childhood rock pooling and snorkelling.
23:13The Isle of Wight geologically is a very diverse place,
23:15and so it's allowing people to actually see something
23:17they may not ever really see or encounter,
23:19and to make them kind of feel impassioned and empowered about protecting it.
23:27Theo's passion for underwater photography has recently brought him award-winning recognition.
23:32He now wants to build on his national success
23:35to raise local awareness of the natural wonders in these islands' waters.
23:41Below the waves, that creates lots of different types of seabed.
23:44That can support lots of different habitats.
23:47An incredible array of places for life to live surrounding the coastline.
23:51Without the holiday crowds and bustle of the harbour boats,
23:56March is the perfect time to capture images of some of the more delicate underwater species
24:02native to these shores.
24:04So today we're hoping to shoot sea slugs.
24:07Most people associate the word slug with grey, slimy things in their garden,
24:11but actually their marine cousins are very vibrant and beautiful animals.
24:15The grey skies above might be gloomy, but for this maritime mission,
24:23things are looking brighter already.
24:26Water's pretty clear.
24:27It feels relatively warm at the moment.
24:30We've got a nice good depth,
24:31and we've got to show up some really, really good opportunities,
24:33I think, for some photography today.
24:35If they're here, we're going to see them.
24:40Armed with his underwater camera and torch,
24:42Theo starts his search for the elusive creatures.
24:53There's no time to be sluggish in these chilly waters,
24:56and it's not long before Theo eyes his prize shimmering in the seaweed.
25:03So we've got down here exactly the species we're after,
25:06so it's a sea slug called Polycera.
25:08So it's quite iconic, in British species, a sea slug.
25:12But you can see really nicely that kind of yellow colouring that they often have.
25:16It shows that even on days we look grey, murky,
25:19there's actually fantastic life colour right below the surface.
25:23Mission accomplished.
25:25But with some around the corner,
25:27there are plenty more incredible discoveries to be made in this little corner of paradise.
25:32I feel very, very lucky to live here, yeah.
25:35It's a spectacular place,
25:37and I think a large part of that beauty also lies below the surface as well.
25:41In Yarmouth,
25:47Hotelier Howard Spooner is getting ready to launch his new restaurant menu
25:51in time for the summer season.
25:54Designed by his chef partner, the renowned Claude Bossie,
25:57the responsibility to prepare each mouth-watering dish
26:01falls to head chef Mehdi,
26:03who's only been at the hotel a few months and wants to impress.
26:06It's beautiful food, it's well cooked, it's local,
26:10obviously it has to taste everything,
26:12so it's about making sure that everything is perfect,
26:14so there's always a certain amount of stress when we present something.
26:19And he's hoping his starter of gin-cured salmon
26:22with blood orange and compressed cucumber salad will hit the spot.
26:27Salmon?
26:28OK, amazing.
26:30Thank you very much.
26:31This looks amazing.
26:32Is that a mint in there as well?
26:35Yeah.
26:36Little bit of mint, a bit of dill.
26:38No, go for it, go for it.
26:44Next up is the catch of the day,
26:46sumptuous but simply cooked Benbridge lobster,
26:49a summer favourite for Howard's diners.
26:52Oakley sauce lobster with cafe de presse.
26:57Amazing.
26:58Thank you very much.
27:01Wonderful.
27:02Mmm.
27:03My word.
27:07I mean that is a very good lobster.
27:09Yeah.
27:10No, it's a beautiful lobster.
27:11Mehdi's put his own twist on the dish,
27:13serving with the shell open but Claude spots an issue.
27:17But the problem is, cut it off if you eat it like this, it's fine.
27:21But when you start going on the terrace and it's a bit windy,
27:24the lobster will get cold very quickly.
27:26You want to leave it uncut?
27:28Uncut.
27:29We don't even pull it out of the shell.
27:31We leave it in.
27:32People will pull them.
27:33Because if not, it cools down too fast.
27:34It wouldn't even occur to me, that sort of thing, you know.
27:37But that's where you need an expert.
27:40Some tweaks needed for Mehdi's lobster dish then,
27:43but the star of the show is still to come.
27:46The island's finest slow-roasted lamb shoulder,
27:49served with seasonal kale and creamy mash.
27:52OK, so we're going to send the lamb.
27:57But will his hearty comfort food classic warm the cockles of his critics?
28:04Lamb shoulder.
28:05Wow, I must say I love lamb.
28:07It smells beautiful.
28:10Really moist.
28:11Wow.
28:12See that?
28:13Because the proper people pleaser.
28:24After a tough day in the kitchen, Mehdi has pulled it off.
28:28The lamb is delicious as ever.
28:30Yeah, it's really nice.
28:32It's a bullet-proof one.
28:33It was melting.
28:34The sauce was very good.
28:36The lobster was cooked graphically.
28:39It was delicious.
28:40OK, thank you very much.
28:42It went well.
28:43This is why we do tastings,
28:44to make sure that everything is up to the standards,
28:46and then just a few things to redo,
28:48but I'm quite happy with the end result.
28:51The kids can cook.
28:52It's no problem.
28:53We know he can cook.
28:54He's a fantastic chef.
28:56It's a huge relief for Mehdi.
28:58As for Howard, with his taste buds truly tickled,
29:01it's hard not to have a few stars in his eyes as well.
29:05Now that I have Claude alongside us,
29:09it would be a shame not to have the team work towards some form of recognition.
29:15If we could attain a star, that would be fantastic for the team as much as anything else.
29:19For now, though, satisfied customers are the only thing on Howard's mind,
29:24and with an A1 team and a menu in place,
29:27he can look forward to another busy season.
29:30Without the hustle and bustle of the summer crowds,
29:40the vast beach at Sandown takes on a new wild magnificence,
29:45as the swollen springtime waves heave against the cast-iron piling of the majestic Victorian pier.
29:53For most local residents of this pretty coastal town,
29:57March is the month to breathe in the restorative sea air
30:00and enjoy the solitude of the season.
30:04But down the road at Sandown Airport, there's no time to rest,
30:08as married duo Dan and Tracey prepare for the busy flying calendar ahead.
30:15They moved here from North London six years ago,
30:18so aviation fanatic Dan could fulfil a lifelong ambition.
30:23I was born to run an airport, to be honest.
30:26It's the best thing I've ever done.
30:28I should have done it years ago.
30:32We are a good team.
30:33We have our moments, obviously, just like any other married couple would do.
30:37I'm a bit more hands-on with the DIY and the maintenance side of things.
30:43And Dan is more of the brains behind the business.
30:54It's definitely not flying weather today, but with the ground wet and malleable,
30:59it's the perfect chance to roll the runway.
31:04Tracey, could you do me a favour?
31:06Start getting the rolling done, because I know it's bad weather,
31:09but we need to get this done for when the weather improves.
31:12OK. It's not a brilliant day for it, though, is it?
31:14I know it's not a brilliant day for it.
31:16It should be warm in the tractor.
31:17Ah.
31:18Yeah.
31:19All right.
31:20I'll see you in a bit.
31:21OK.
31:23The roller attached to the rear of the tractor
31:28will ensure the landing strip is as flat and bump-free as possible,
31:33vital for the safe landing of light aircraft.
31:37Oh!
31:38Oh!
31:39Dan and Tracey have christened their tractor Esmeralda,
31:42but fortunately, there are no hunched backs in this cosy cabin.
31:53I love driving any vehicle.
31:58My favourite is driving Esmeralda,
32:01but I'll put my hands to anything.
32:03But it's great fun.
32:04I love it.
32:09As Tracey flattens the airstrip,
32:11Dan turns his attention to one of the airport's stellar attractions,
32:16and he's brought in a team of volunteers to help him.
32:19Right, guys. OK.
32:22Um, I know the weather's a bit rubbish,
32:24but let's get the rocket up.
32:26We've got a huge team of very experienced volunteers.
32:30The team behind you is as important as the work that you do.
32:33Yeah.
32:34So all that we do is give them the energy
32:37that sort of excites them and that makes them want to be there.
32:41The rocket in question is a full-sized replica
32:44of the Black Arrow space rocket.
32:47During the Cold War in the 1950s,
32:50secret rocket testing took place near the famous Needles,
32:54and by the 1960s,
32:56the Isle of Wight played an important role
32:58in the UK's aerospace industry,
33:00manufacturing rockets that took satellites into space.
33:06With a tractor at one end
33:08and Dan in the pickup at the other,
33:10they've a system of ropes and pulleys in place
33:12to gently ease the rocket up into a launch position.
33:18OK, guys. OK.
33:23Right, so the cable's tense now,
33:25and let's start putting her up.
33:30There she goes. Up she goes.
33:31The annual ritual of raising the Black Arrow rocket.
33:50Is a signal to the rest of the island
33:51that the airfield is officially open for business.
33:53Roll on the summer.
33:54It's hard work. Don't get me wrong.
33:55We're on our feet all day.
33:56Yeah, people say you work really hard.
33:57I don't see it as work.
33:59Later, Philippa gets tanked up at the vineyard.
34:00Very technical, this wine making thing.
34:01And the only way you can get to the back of the tank
34:02is the airfield of raising the Black Arrow rocket.
34:03The airfield is officially open for business.
34:05The airfield is officially open for business.
34:06The airfield is officially open for business.
34:07Roll on the summer.
34:08It's hard work. Don't get me wrong.
34:10We're on our feet all day.
34:11Yeah, people say you work really hard.
34:12I don't see it as work.
34:13Later, Philippa gets tanked up at the vineyard.
34:18It's very technical, this winemaking thing.
34:19And the only way you can get to the back of the tank
34:21is to put me in here.
34:22And Mary's lambs enjoy their first taste of freedom.
34:23Don't they look happy that they're all outside?
34:24Yeah.
34:25Yeah, it's great.
34:26At Adgeton Vineyard, the first wisps of springing,
34:27the only way you can get to the back of the tank
34:29is to put me in here.
34:31And Mary's lambs enjoy their first taste of freedom.
34:35Don't they look happy that they're all outside?
34:37Yeah.
34:38Yeah, it's great.
34:40At Adgeton Vineyard, the first wisps of spring air
34:56are breathing new life into the vines,
34:59heralding the start of a new season.
35:01But while nature is gently easing herself back into the year,
35:06for vineyard owners Russ and Philippa Broughton,
35:09March is a critical month in their calendar.
35:13Nine years ago, the husband and wife team left successful careers
35:17in engineering and law to try their hand at winemaking,
35:21and they've never looked back.
35:23I think moving to the island in the first place
35:25was just the biggest change that you could ever make.
35:29One of the oldest vineyards in the UK,
35:32Adgeton, Seval, Orion and Pinot Noir grapevines
35:36yield enough plump fruit to fill around 30,000 bottles every year.
35:41This morning, they're preparing to filter the first batch of wine
35:45they've produced from last summer's crop.
35:48First bottled one of the season.
35:50It's been looking forward to getting this done.
35:52Well, harvest came in late September...
35:55No, early September, actually.
35:57It was a really, really good year because of the heat.
35:59And the wine's been settling in tanks for the last seven months.
36:05So that's just about to go through filtration and into a sterile tank.
36:09The tank needs to be sterilised every time they want to fill it with wine,
36:17which means getting stuck in, quite literally.
36:24No wine, just boiling water,
36:26which Philippa uses to ensure it's ready for their precious product.
36:30PhD in tax law, this is the pinnacle of her career.
36:35It's a bit like a sauna in here.
36:37It's lovely in the middle of winter.
36:39And the only way you can get to the back of the tank is to put me in it.
36:45Very technical, this winemaking thing.
36:47Next, wine in the vat is passed through a filter
36:59and pumped into the cleaned tank.
37:02That's it. Now the oak white is going through the filter sheets
37:05and it will come out the other side looking absolutely crystal clear.
37:12Outside, there's plenty to get on with,
37:14with two with 9,000 vines to maintain.
37:17Every year, new plants are added to ensure the strength of the crop.
37:23The majority of the planting is not actually done until April.
37:26We can get these seven done today
37:27and then we've got another 700 to do in a couple of weeks' time.
37:30We think these are the oldest commercial vines in the whole of the UK,
37:33planted in 1968, so they're over 50 years old now.
37:36We've got over 200, but it would be a terrible shame to not keep them going.
37:41And all of that grape, I'm going to get lovely big bunches on the Seville Blanc,
37:44and that all goes into our blue wine.
37:46Something old, something new, something blue.
37:49I think the most beautiful thing about this time of year
37:52is that everything's just, just starting to wake up.
37:57You can just feel springs in the air.
37:59It's right on the edge of a precipice of something amazing happening.
38:08Back indoors, Russ and Philippa's final task today
38:11is to cork a batch of their sparkling blue wine.
38:15It's been fermenting for 18 months,
38:18with added yeast and sugar to create their signature fizz.
38:22I think the bit that would shock people
38:25is to see how much work actually goes into trying to produce a single bottle.
38:29Each bottle is cooled to freeze the sediment,
38:32which is then popped out of the neck and replaced by a cork.
38:36The pressure inside the bottles is at 90 psi,
38:40three times the average car tyre.
38:43So for Russ, caution is the order of the day.
38:46It goes pop. It's not ideal.
38:49A final touch of sweetness,
38:51and the wine is ready for Philippa to cork.
38:54You can get up quite a decent speed on this.
38:58No point in me being quicker than that machine.
39:00You just end up with bottlenecks.
39:01That's a really poor pun, bottlenecks.
39:0490 minutes later,
39:06120 bottles are ready to hit the shelves
39:09in preparation for what the couple hope
39:11will be a busy, fizzy summer ahead.
39:15It's a very rewarding part of the process.
39:18It's that final stage,
39:21and you actually see it come together in its final form.
39:30At Limerston Farm,
39:32it's been a busy month of beekeeping and lambing for Mary.
39:37Tess, get aboard. Up!
39:39And the jobs keep coming.
39:41She has a couple of lambs that need a little help with feeding.
39:45I feel it's not too hot.
39:48Two of the ewes have had triplets,
39:51and their mothers can't feed them all.
39:53Ewes only have two teats,
39:56and so it's much easier for them to feed two
39:58than it is to feed three.
40:01We've only got two to feed at the moment,
40:03which is quite lucky,
40:04because obviously they're fed four times a day,
40:07and it takes up quite a bit of time.
40:10They'll go out into the fields and join the others
40:12once they're weaned.
40:14While these two aren't yet ready to venture far...
40:17There we go. You've finished it.
40:19Well done.
40:21Very good.
40:24Today's a big moment for some of Mary and Geoff's other lambs.
40:29Out we go, girls. Come along.
40:33Around five days old,
40:35they're ready to take their first steps beyond their pens.
40:38Come on, girls. Off you go.
40:40Walk on. Walk on.
40:42Come on.
40:43Come on, boys.
40:44On, on, on, on, on, on.
40:46Come on.
40:47And they're guided by Mary, Geoff,
40:49and their two sheepdogs to experience life out in the field.
40:54Don't they look happy that they're all outside?
40:56Yeah.
40:57Yeah, it's great.
40:59Sun's nearly shining.
41:01They're really pleased to be out.
41:05These ones will be in here for a couple of days.
41:07just so that we can check in this small paddock
41:10that they're fine.
41:11And after that,
41:12they'll go on and join the bigger bunch,
41:15which are in the big field.
41:18It's been a long journey to ensure the safe delivery
41:21of more than 250 lambs.
41:25Lambing time is a lot of work,
41:27but it also is a happy time.
41:29It's the culmination of six months of work towards those ewes lambing.
41:37And so to see them going out in the field
41:40and going on their own four feet, so to speak, is quite good.
41:45After all that hard work, it's made it worth it.
41:49Brilliant.
41:51For Mary and Geoff, lambing season is a labour of love,
41:57and the rewards are plain to see.
42:00Their family farm might be hundreds of years old,
42:04but there's always the promise of new life just around the corner.
42:07Next time, thrills and chills in Seaview,
42:13when the wild swimmers take the plunge.
42:17You get into the water and your whole body just feels alive.
42:20It just screams at you,
42:21I'm alive, I'm alive!
42:24Spirits are riding high at the distillery.
42:27Another good batch.
42:29That's done, Zav.
42:31No, Frank.
42:34While down at the farm, everyone has a spring in their step.
42:38Oh, I just love to see them frolicking along.
42:42They're like little spring lamb.
42:45And summer comes early for the Curtis family.
42:48It's great to be out on the water again,
42:50on a lovely sunny day on the Isle of Wight.
42:52And you can see that next Thursday at eight.
42:58With six patrol cars on his tail,
43:00a suspect tries every trick in the book to evade the motorway cops.
43:04Catching Britain's speed is new Monday at nine.
43:06Joining the search for missing loved ones across the nation,
43:09we go live with Dan Walker next in Vanished,
43:12the hunt for Britain's missing people.
43:22Let's see.
43:23So next to episode.
43:26You're up on the left.
43:30I'm usingünf pédales to tear,
43:32he's shushed during the number to Orc,
43:34he's showing him a beautifulνεثر,
43:37his sony little guy.
43:39Got it Charlie aura the last thing and the cat Festival,
43:41what's the songry to tear?
43:44Yeah.
43:46So as the guy on the other day,
43:49he looked forward,
43:50it's called Le girls strong enough to then find him