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  • 5 days ago
Countryfile - Stroudwater Canal

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Travel
Transcript
00:00This is the perfect place for taking a little trip along a little canal.
00:10This is the Stroudwater Canal and the reason you can't get very far?
00:14Well, there are dead ends and a missing mile.
00:17But not for long because a remarkable project is underway to bring new life into this historic waterway.
00:30The Stroudwater navigation was opened in 1779.
00:59And joined Stroud to the River Severn.
01:02Now known locally as the Stroudwater Canal, the restored section currently stretches six miles.
01:08From Stonehouse in the west to just southeast of Stroud.
01:12However, the plan is to open it up even further.
01:16The aim of the project is to link up this stretch with the Gloucester Canal and the River Severn.
01:22By restoring for miles of it between here in Stonehouse and Saul Junction.
01:29And that's not all. The team is also uncovering the missing mile of the Stroudwater Canal.
01:34Which was buried when the M5 was built in the 1970s.
01:38Well, no easy job then. But the whole point of this restoration is to create a waterway for both people and wildlife.
01:46By developing new sites for nature...
01:53If I press here...
01:55Oh, it comes!
01:56Yes!
01:57Ha-hey! Look at that!
01:59One wetland in progress.
02:01And opening up the waterway for everyone to enjoy.
02:06Do you really look forward to these trips on the canal?
02:10Wow!
02:11There is nothing better than being on the water as I find it very relaxing.
02:16And a few miles northeast of us here on the canal, Adam is being given the runaround.
02:22Ivy over here is being naughty. She doesn't want to go into the shed. Go on!
02:37Work first began on the restoration of the Stroudwater Canal in 2007.
02:42But this project is incredibly complex. And needs to be completed one engineering hurdle at a time. And not necessarily in the order you might expect.
02:53Believe it or not, I am in the middle of a roundabout on the A38. Where they've carved out what must be the smallest canal in the country.
03:05That's because it doesn't actually connect to the canal at either end yet.
03:11But that is about to change, as the next part of the project is just next door, with the reed and silt-filled canal being returned to former glory.
03:22When the work can start, however, all depends on the presence, or not, of a small river-dwelling mammal, the water vole.
03:32Ecologist Mike Dean is responsible for giving the project the go-ahead.
03:37Hello. Hello.
03:38What are you looking for?
03:40Well, we're trying to catch water voles.
03:43Licensed by Natural England, yesterday he put out 40 humane traps baited with apple.
03:49This morning, I'm helping him check them.
03:52Why are you making all this effort for water voles?
03:55So water voles have suffered this massive decline over the course of the 20th century.
03:59There's something like 90% loss of sites they were known at.
04:03Water voles have become endangered in the UK because their habitats have been damaged.
04:08Predators like the American mink have made things even worse.
04:13That's why water voles are now protected by law.
04:16Anything in that one?
04:18Let's have a quick look.
04:19It's open, that one.
04:20No, open.
04:21OK, so I can see some more flags down there.
04:22Yeah, there's a couple more here to check.
04:24The disruptive dredging can't begin until Mike is confident that all water voles have been safely relocated to a restored section of canal.
04:36But he doesn't have long to check.
04:39Why is the time of year important in all this?
04:42Water voles breed from round about now all the way through to September.
04:46So we don't touch areas like this during the height of summer.
04:49And then over the winter, they become much less active.
04:51So they're tending to stay tight in their burrows.
04:54So now is about perfect.
04:55And it's much easier for us to find them and move them safely.
04:59I want to look open.
05:00Is the door open?
05:01Yeah, it's open.
05:02OK.
05:03Nobody home.
05:04That's good news.
05:05Yeah, because I suppose that does mean actually they can just come in now and clear this vegetation.
05:09Yeah, we want to get on with it as quickly as possible because the animals that we've moved, we want them to be able to be released from the pens that we've got them in.
05:16And we don't want them coming back before we've done the work and moved the vegetation.
05:20With building the missing mile section of canal, we're also linking up two separate, relatively isolated and vulnerable colonies.
05:26And that essentially means we're starting to reverse the cause of decline of water voles.
05:30Because you'll create really one massive wildlife corridor, won't you, called the canal?
05:34Exactly.
05:35The whole restoration though, because of the breeding season and when you can and can't work, everything has to wait for them.
05:41Protective species shouldn't be seen as something that's going to stop developments.
05:45They're not stopping the restoration of the canal, they don't stop other commercial projects.
05:48And actually, we can start to see them and the Canal Trust are starting to see them as a benefit for the project.
05:53Actually, they want them.
05:54There's something to be celebrated that we've got them here, rather than seen as a constraint that's going to stop anything happening.
06:00Are you pretty confident then that there aren't any water voles here?
06:02As confident as we can be, but yeah, we're ready to progress.
06:06That's good news for the project, as work can now begin on the dredging of decades worth of silt, making it possible for the canal to be opened up again.
06:16The vegetation that's a crucial habitat for the water voles is being moved to what will be Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust's new nature reserve.
06:25It'll sit on 30 acres of ex-agricultural floodplain and will be transformed into an important wetland and a species-rich grassland area, with an ancient orchard of apple and pear trees getting its own revival.
06:40Tim Andrews specialises in restoring traditional orchards.
06:45He's leading the volunteers who are hoping to revive this vital habitat.
06:51When you came here, had anybody looked after them?
06:54It had been left alone for a long time.
06:56There were quite a few of the trees where all they were really congested and full of mistletoe.
07:02And so we spent a good sort of four or five years just getting them back to a state where they're healthy again.
07:09So why have they all got numbers?
07:11So each tree's got a unique number, and we've DNA tested them all, so we've got each tree located on a map.
07:17And it just so happens that this tree, during the DNA testing, there was no match found.
07:22So this is the only tree of its type, you think?
07:25That we know of in the country.
07:27And we know it's a variety that they obviously wanted at one point, because you can see the graft line.
07:32Yeah, and so this is where they've grafted one bit onto an old trunk.
07:38Absolutely.
07:39So this would have been probably Pyrus Communists, so the wild pear.
07:43Right.
07:44And then the variety on top was the fruit in variety that they wanted, which they were going to make their perry out of.
07:49This tree's on its last legs, you can see it's all dead and starting to die off.
07:55Orchards can be a haven for biodiversity.
07:58Providing food and shelter for wildlife, and they're a magnet for pollinators.
08:05But they're under threat.
08:07In the last 125 years, the UK has lost more than 80% of its traditional orchards.
08:14And preserving struggling trees like this one is crucial to their overall survival.
08:19We'll go up and we'll take some cuttings so we can keep this tree going for the future.
08:26You don't need big bits then? Relatively little bits?
08:30It's the little bits at the end.
08:32Oh, it's even the end. Right, OK.
08:33I'll get out of the way so you can come down.
08:35Thank you very much.
08:36Right, so this is what we've cut.
08:38Yeah.
08:39So we're using last year's growth.
08:41Young wood will heal much, much quicker and better than older wood.
08:46To preserve this very important one-of-a-kind pear tree, we're taking our small cuttings to combine them with a sapling.
08:55So what we need is some pear rootstocks.
08:58And so the rootstock is basically just going to form the trunk and then the fruiting bit is the bit that we're adding.
09:05Yeah, so the rootstock controls the size of the tree.
09:07Yeah.
09:08And wood that goes on the top is our fruiting variety.
09:12Which in this case is mystery pear.
09:14Mystery pear that we haven't got a name for yet.
09:16Wow.
09:17Yeah.
09:18So the first thing we do is almost like whittling.
09:21So what we've got, we've got the bark on the outside and then you've got a green layer underneath that's called the cambium layer.
09:27And we need to make sure the cambium layer joins up on both the rootstock and on the scion wood.
09:32Because then all the water and the sap and the nutrients will be transferred from the rootstock into our scion wood.
09:38We'll get a nice seal forming.
09:40Oh, I see.
09:41So we've pushed them together and the tongues should hold the scion wood in place.
09:46Yeah.
09:47There we go.
09:48So our next job is taping it up.
09:49So bandaging it in effect.
09:50Yeah, absolutely.
09:51It seals in the water, acts a bit like a splint when you've broken your leg.
09:55Yeah.
09:56So where is this going to get planted?
09:58So what we're going to do is we're going to put this in a nursery bed for a couple of years.
10:03And once we know it's been successful, the grafts have joined, we'll probably put it in this orchard to hopefully replace that tree that's on its way out.
10:13So orchards like this will hopefully keep that genetic diversity going for years to come.
10:20It's taken just over three years to get the new nature reserve to this stage of development.
10:26Including on the opposite bank from the orchard, a new 22 acre wetland.
10:31It'll contain islands for wading birds and a home for the protected water vole.
10:37Ben Woodward is the contractor in charge of creating it.
10:41So the shelf here, because the marginal plants, they grow in shallow water, and then the water voles can go into these banks here.
10:49Right.
10:50So the water level itself is about that high.
10:51Oh, I see.
10:52OK.
10:53Yeah.
10:54And then deeper when you get to that bit.
10:55And that stops all the plants evading the whole place and taking over.
10:58Oh, I see.
10:59So this is their area.
11:00Yeah.
11:01And then that's a separate bit.
11:02Plants, water voles, water.
11:04And when will the water go in here, do you hope?
11:07Hopefully this afternoon.
11:08Really?
11:09Yeah.
11:10We're connecting the canal to the water system here.
11:13The canal water height is higher than here.
11:15So we'll lower the pipe and then hopefully it will flood the whole wetland.
11:18Hopefully.
11:19Yeah.
11:20That'll be fine.
11:22Since work on crafting the wetland started a week ago, nearly 2,000 tonnes of earth has been removed.
11:29But the resourceful project has found another use for it, helping the aquatic invertebrates that call the canal home.
11:36So Ben, what is this going to be?
11:38What's it for?
11:39This is a silt cell.
11:40We've taken the soil from the wetland habitat.
11:43Yeah.
11:44And we make these cells here.
11:45So when the canals are dredged, they can put all the silt in here and any of the invertebrates,
11:50and they can find their way back to the canal and the water can seep out,
11:53just leaving us the dry silt, which we can power harrow into the fields.
11:56Oh, I see.
11:57So it's like a temporary holding area there.
11:59Yeah, pretty much.
12:00Yeah.
12:01So we save as many invertebrates as we can do in that.
12:02Yeah.
12:03Which is really weird, isn't it?
12:04Because you're using one of the biggest machines I've ever seen to save something really tiny.
12:09Well, as I'm here, it would be rude not to have a go.
12:14Oh, yeah.
12:16So just push the little thing forward there.
12:18All right.
12:19Yeah.
12:20And then on the top.
12:21Yeah.
12:22Spin it all the way around.
12:23Oh, you have to hold it.
12:24Right.
12:25Ooh.
12:26Ooh, this is good.
12:27Perfect.
12:28Really?
12:29Yeah, yeah.
12:30So now I'm clicking this bit in.
12:31Oh, there it goes.
12:32Keep going.
12:33There it goes.
12:34Oh, I can see it coming out.
12:35Yeah.
12:36I must have done something right, as my final act today is a real honour.
12:49At the moment, there is one thing missing from this area of wetland, and that is water.
12:56Now, that's where this pipe comes in.
12:58The other end of it is up in the canal.
13:01And in theory, when I pull this bung out, the water will come streaming out and start this new area of wetland.
13:10Hopefully.
13:11If I press here.
13:13Oh, it comes.
13:14Yes.
13:15Hey, look at that.
13:16One wetland in progress.
13:19Isn't that brilliant?
13:39The UK's canal network stretches for nearly 2,000 miles.
13:46Historic waterways that once powered the industrial revolution.
13:52Today, they serve a different purpose.
13:55These waterways that carve through our towns and countryside are open for everyone to explore and enjoy.
14:03For many people, the canal is a place of sanctuary, whether strolling alongside it or boating on the water.
14:11But for others, it can feel totally out of reach.
14:16And that's where Cotswold Boat Mobility comes in.
14:19Run by passionate volunteers, it's been offering accessible boating on the Stroudwater Canal for 10 years now.
14:27Their mission is to provide water-based adventures for everyone, no matter what your age or ability.
14:37This local charity runs outings twice a week.
14:41Hello, everybody.
14:42Hello.
14:43You got room for one more on board?
14:45Yes, we have.
14:46Two wheelchair-friendly boats and five cutter canoes, which are pairs of canoes strapped together,
14:53allow people to take in the sights from stable craft.
14:59Stroudwater, here we come.
15:07This is lovely.
15:08This is the iconic bit of the canal.
15:10This is the bit that everybody photos.
15:12Yvonne Hobbs is leading today's adventure.
15:21Yvonne, how far are we going to be travelling today on the canal?
15:24Oh, we only go about a mile. It takes us between 20 and 30 minutes.
15:27That is quite an experience for all the people involved, isn't it?
15:31It is. It's a lovely bit of canal. It's calm and peaceful. We see quite a bit of wildlife.
15:36How many people do you reckon are on your boat mobility craft today?
15:40Oh, we must have about 50, I should think.
15:42Wow.
15:43We started off with one boat.
15:45We now have five cutter canoes and two powered boats, all of which are out today.
15:50Yeah, they're all out, aren't they?
15:51One of the lovely things about the boats that we have is that we can get a lot of people on.
16:00So, our cutter canoes, we can get six people on, which means that people can come with support or with their family or friends.
16:08And what kind of reactions do you get from people who have never been able to get on the water before?
16:14Oh, they love it. It's just a sort of wonderful experience, especially on a day like this. What more could you want?
16:21There's something really special about being on the canal. It's peaceful, it's a very slow pace of life, it's very relaxing and there's a social aspect to it.
16:32So, it's really nice being able to enable people to come and enjoy this wonderful canal that we've got.
16:46Sandra Powell is a regular on these trips.
16:51So, Sandra, do you really look forward to these trips on the canal?
16:55Woo!
16:56I get to see all of my friends, be with my support staff, see my dad and all of the volunteers.
17:06We have so much fun and do lots of singing and we get to wave to all the people walking along the canal.
17:14And we're not on our own, Sandra, are we here?
17:16Because there's lots of other people on the canal, a boat like ours and lots of canoes and catamarans,
17:22all with people from boat mobility on board.
17:27There is nothing better than being on the water as I find it very relaxing and calming,
17:33especially when we have lovely sunshine.
17:37And I suppose an extra bonus for you is to be able to see all the wildlife on the canal.
17:42I get to see swans, ducks, birds and if we are lucky we get to see a kingfisher.
17:51My favourite time is seeing the cygnets and watching them grow up.
18:00Before they head back, volunteers provide welcome snacks for the group.
18:04Who else? Who on the train?
18:07Do you want a veggie such a drone?
18:09Yes, please.
18:11Thank you very much.
18:15And I get a chance to meet Lisette Chapreniere, who has been blind since birth
18:20and has enjoyed many paddles along this canal.
18:22The beauty of it for me, because it's not always easy to find accessible and fun outdoor activities,
18:30but I suppose here I'm just sitting on the boat and paddling
18:35and then the volunteers will be in the back steering the boat
18:38so I don't need to worry too much about am I going the right way or anything like that.
18:43I just paddle.
18:44And do you appreciate the sort of sounds of a canal as we travel along?
18:51Yeah, definitely. I mean, there's all the birdsong and there's the sound of the water.
18:58Even the different acoustics as you're going under the bridge.
19:05It's quite fun when we're talking or sometimes people will sing on the boats as well
19:09so, yeah, there's all those different sounds going on.
19:15Bye!
19:20For the next part of my journey, I'm being guided by Pete Savage from the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.
19:28A really nice clear day. You can see the whole of the Cotswold Ridge up there.
19:33He's taking me on another accessible boat trip along this peaceful canal,
19:38a waterway safari to seek out the signs of spring.
19:44We've got this fantastic mixture of habitats where we have the lovely hedgerows,
19:51the marginal plants on both banks, sometimes mature trees.
19:55What that can offer is like a long linear corridor that wildlife can use to travel...
20:02Undisturbed?
20:03Undisturbed.
20:04..from west to east.
20:06What kind of wildlife can we expect to see under Stroud Water?
20:10So, we're kind of at the early spring at the moment,
20:13but there's still quite a lot of activity.
20:16A flock of long-tailed tits down there.
20:18Also, the moorhens are busy going across the canal, taking material to their nest.
20:23Boat mobility, obviously, to take people up and down in their canoes and boats.
20:30It's amazing, isn't it?
20:31Because sometimes on some of our reserves and some of our other wild spaces,
20:35not everybody necessarily has access to see it.
20:39And the great thing about the canal is that we have the lovely towpaths,
20:43so we're offering that accessibility.
20:45But boat mobility also offer this service for free for anyone that wants it.
20:52It's just fantastic.
20:54And how often do some people get a chance to see a water vol or a kingfisher?
20:57Not very often.
21:00And these boats are great because they're so quiet.
21:03So, actually, very often you'll be able to see kingfishers
21:07flying across the canal in front of the boat.
21:09I usually hear them first.
21:11You hear them and then you look round and then you see that lovely blue flash.
21:15The canal here has kind of soft banks, not brick banks or anything.
21:21Yeah, we're really lucky on the Stroud Water Canal.
21:23We're quite limited with how much kind of hard engineering we have.
21:27So we've got these lovely clay edges, it's lined with clay,
21:31and that allows this lovely vegetation to flourish.
21:35We've got an assortment of rushes and reeds and sedges.
21:40There's some yellow flag irises popping up over there.
21:44And then some lovely wild flowers coming up behind them.
21:47I saw some swans early.
21:49Yes, there's a pair nesting just back there in an area that we call the ocean.
21:53They're a celebrity pair, they get a lot of visitors,
21:55a lot of people coming and feeding them.
21:57They're here all the time, are they?
21:58Yeah, they're mute swans, so they don't migrate anywhere.
22:01What about otters?
22:02There are a lot of otters on this stretch.
22:04They're wonderful animals to see,
22:06and occasionally they are spotted by members of the public.
22:09But they're active overnight, at dawn and dusk.
22:13They're very aware of people's presence, so you'd be very, very lucky to spot an otter.
22:17But they are numerous along this stretch.
22:23With the canal now open to animals and people alike,
22:27you never know who you'll bump into along the way.
22:30John!
22:32Charlotte, hi. You're missing a treat down here.
22:36He's working really hard.
22:38The canal can be enjoyed from the water or the towpaths, but for those who can't visit,
22:57there's still a way to experience its beauty.
23:00Enter Paul Sirton, a local photographer passionate about sharing this treasured place with his community.
23:07This is a nice, quiet spot.
23:10We can have singing dunnocks.
23:12There's a robin up there at the moment.
23:15And at sunset, this is a nice spot with a view of the church.
23:19This is one of my favourite spots to get photographs of birds.
23:22It's an incredible place. You could stand here for an hour and see nothing, but then again, in a second, you get a flash of blue and a kingfish has gone through.
23:40Or the reeds will move and maybe an otter has gone past.
23:42And I take the photographs for people partly who can't get out, but also to just enlighten people to what is here and encourage them to come out and have a look.
23:52Because the more eyes on it, the more we're going to protect it.
23:53A few miles away, Adam is making the most of the warmer weather on his farm in the heart of the Cotswolds.
24:08Despite the fact that it's drizzling at the moment, over the last few weeks here in the Cotswolds, spring has finally sprung, which has been very pleasant.
24:19And today I've got various little jobs to do on the farm, including looking after some of our animals.
24:23But first off, I'm going out to the fields to check on some of the crops, because the growing season has really got underway.
24:32We had a tough time last year with wet weather, leading to some failed crops, and we've also been fighting a losing battle with black grass, a weed that's been severely impacting our yields.
24:46Now we're starting over and hoping for a better year.
24:49Out here is the winter wheat, and because of the horrible wet autumn, we sort of muddled it in and were quite worried about it.
25:00It was after a failed crop of sunflowers, and you can still see the remnants of the sunflowers here.
25:07But the little wheat plants now are doing quite well.
25:12I'll just dig it up and have a look.
25:14You can see here's the plants that are growing from the remnants of the seed that was planted.
25:26And then what you've got here is a single plant.
25:32There's the seed that was planted, and it's got reasonable roots on it, although they could be a bit longer.
25:38And then what we've done recently is we've rolled this field, so pressed the soil down, and that slightly stresses the plant, and then it'll produce tillers, branches off.
25:50And each of those branches will create a wheat head, which will produce the grain and then up the yield.
25:55So this is looking pretty good.
25:58But one of the reasons for growing sunflowers was to try and clean up the weeds, particularly black grass, which is a very competitive grass that swamps out the grain, and it's problematic across the whole farm now.
26:10But looking up the rows, often the black grass will grow in between the rows, and you can see it easy enough.
26:16I can't find any. That's fantastic.
26:20And what we've got this spring is an absolute joy, because we've had about 10 to 14 days of dry weather.
26:25So we've planted all our spring barley, that's all rolled in.
26:29We've put our pre-emergent sprays on that will take out any of those black grass and other weeds that caused us so many problems last year.
26:36And so, fingers crossed, it's all doing reasonably well.
26:44The arable part of the farm isn't the only place we're busy.
26:49In spring, we're flat out on the livestock side too, and although we're mostly turning animals out, I need to bring some into the sheds.
26:59Next up, I need to catch some donkeys, and I'm hoping they won't give me too much of a run around.
27:06So in here, we've got two Jennys feeding their foals.
27:13Ivy, the white one, and Shake, which is the one on the right-hand side there.
27:19And in the background is Neddy, he's the Jack, he's the Dad.
27:23And these are his little brown foals here, that are just over six months old, and they're ready to be weaned.
27:31And what you're looking for at weaning time is foals that are socialised.
27:34They've got each other, so they won't be on their own, and they're starting to eat plenty of hard food.
27:40So they're already grazing, and we're giving them a bit of hay, and so they're ready to move away from their mums like teenagers leaving home.
27:47So what I'm going to do is take them over to the cattle shed.
27:51I'm just going to put a halter, or a head collar, on one of the Jennys.
27:55I'm hoping if I lead one, they'll all follow.
28:03Come on then. Good girls.
28:07Well, it's working so far.
28:11Round the gate.
28:12Come on, Ivy. Come on.
28:14That's not working.
28:15Right, I'm just going to go and have to catch that Jenny up there, because she's walking the wrong way.
28:23Come on then.
28:25Oh no.
28:27Ivy over here is being naughty. She doesn't want to go into the shed.
28:30Go on.
28:31That's it.
28:32Let that up.
28:33Go on.
28:34Come on.
28:35In me, Mummy.
28:36Go on, there she is.
28:37Oh.
28:39Got there in the end.
28:40Shut this.
28:41Oh.
28:42Oh.
28:43Oh.
28:44Oh.
28:45Oh.
28:46Oh.
28:47Oh.
28:48Oh.
28:49Oh.
28:50Oh.
28:51Oh.
28:52Oh.
28:53Oh.
28:54Oh.
28:55Oh.
28:56Oh.
28:57Oh.
28:58Oh.
29:00Weaning is when a foal stops nursing, and donkeys naturally wean between six to twelve months.
29:05Come on, man.
29:06So all we're doing is helping it along.
29:08Come on.
29:10In there.
29:11Go on.
29:12To make the process as gentle as possible on the foals, we're easing them into it.
29:16They won't be able to suckle, but they'll still be right next to Mum.
29:20Okay.
29:23So we've kept donkeys on the farm for as long as I can remember, and I really like having
29:27them about, and they're so interactive.
29:31They're so happy to be cuddled and stroked.
29:34You're lovely, aren't you?
29:36And over the next week or ten days, we'll slowly get them used to living separately,
29:41and then we'll take the jennies away, and they'll go and live back with the Jack.
29:45And then the two foals, we've got one male and one female, are both sold.
29:49And I've got a lovely neighbour who's going to give them a fantastic home.
29:53And what's great is they're staying together.
29:55They've grown up together, they're mates, and they'll live together forever.
29:59And so hopefully have a lovely, happy life.
30:02So conveniently, my next job is to sort out these fellas.
30:06These are our billy goats, and then you might recognise the ginger one there.
30:10He's Duke, our Royal Golden Guernsey.
30:13They've been living in the shed all winter, and these billies are okay to go back out into
30:18the fields, into the sunshine.
30:19Now the spring is here.
30:22Duke was delivered to the farm last year, along with our New Hampshire ram, Quinn.
30:26He's in.
30:27After travelling all the way down from Scotland.
30:33But before he and the other boys are let loose, I need to make sure their feet are in
30:37good condition, before they're back out on grass.
30:41So I've been really pleased with Duke.
30:43He's been a lovely billy, worked well with him on the nannies.
30:46He's had lots of lovely kids.
30:49And he, the Golden Guernsey comes in various different shades of this ginger colour.
30:56So from pale right through to very dark.
30:59And I really like the darker ones.
31:02And some of his kids have taken his colour, which is great.
31:07Yeah, what a good boy.
31:09Okay.
31:10He's ready to go.
31:11And if I just stand back, he'll stand up.
31:15Here we go.
31:16Perfect.
31:21Bam Bam, our Anglo-Nubian, also needs a quick trim.
31:25Then it's time to load them up, which should be simple.
31:29But goats are notoriously naughty animals.
31:32A bit of straw on the tail board so it doesn't look so shiny and scary.
31:37Go on, man.
31:39Go on.
31:40There we go.
31:41Look, you missed.
31:42Go on.
31:43Bam Bam.
31:44Perfect.
31:45Pleased with that.
31:46These three will be in fine company.
31:58Spending the summer with some of our rare breed sheep and some more of our donkeys.
32:02Right then, boys.
32:03Whenever you're ready.
32:04After winter, it's always wonderful to see all the livestock getting out.
32:17And Duke will also be able to say hello to all his kids, who are just the other side of the fence.
32:25So we've got about ten Golden Guernsey nannies.
32:28And you can see Duke's kids here, absolutely gorgeous.
32:32And there are some paler ones, but there's lots of really lovely dark ones like him.
32:37They're really lovely.
32:38Fit and healthy.
32:39Out in the spring sunshine.
32:41Enjoying jumping on the rocks.
32:43Oh, that one's got his head stuck.
32:51That wasn't very clever, was it?
32:53Oh dear.
32:55So this one, they're very inquisitive goats.
32:58And he just shoved his head in between the trough and the fence posts and got it stuck.
33:03But there you go.
33:04You all right now?
33:05Don't panic.
33:06It's lovely, isn't it?
33:07This time of year, the weather's warming up.
33:09The crops are starting to grow.
33:10We're turning out the billies from the sheds.
33:12Baby kids jumping around in the field.
33:14It really feels like spring.
33:16And me and most farmers across the country will be hoping that this year,
33:22the weather turns right for us and we get a good harvest.
33:26Right, you want to go and see your mum?
33:27You want to go and see your mum?
33:28You want to go and see your mum?
33:29You want to go and see your mum?
33:31You'll find those other fun.
33:32Back on the Stroudwater canal, for those lucky enough to live by the water,
33:36Back on the Stroudwater Canal, for those lucky enough to live by the water,
34:00it's a fantastic place to walk and play.
34:04For Emma Robinson and daughter Clemmie, it forms part of their everyday routine.
34:12The canal is a part of our daily life.
34:14From the moment we wake up in the morning and we get to hear the ducks and we look out the window
34:18to cycling to school and we get to see the wildlife on the way.
34:22It's everything, it's our way of life.
34:25I like seeing the herons, sometimes we see coots and when the eggs have hatched from
34:31swan's nest and I like counting how many cygnets there is because sometimes when I count them
34:39for the second time I see that there's some more, like they're very cute.
34:44Being around water and the nature that we see here is so relaxing and calming, you know,
34:52after a busy day we have nature on our doorstep and we can step out into it.
34:56And the other way we can do it.
35:06Restoration of the canal is in full swing.
35:08Work over the last 18 years has reopened an extra six miles,
35:12from Stonehouse to just past the village of Thrupp.
35:18But here at Eastington there's still lots of work to be done.
35:24And just here is where the canal comes to a dead end.
35:30Look, that's the beginning of the missing mile.
35:36Now this is Westfield Bridge and the fact that it is still here is down to the determination
35:44of just one woman.
35:48In 1969 local farmer Christine Martin stood strong to save this bridge from demolition.
35:56It's something her granddaughter Lottie is very proud of.
36:00What's your connection with this bridge then?
36:02Well, my grandmother, she's an incredible lady.
36:06She was working in the fields and heard this explosion.
36:10She could see plumes of smoke so she hoofed it down here as fast as she could.
36:15And to discover that it was laced, her bridge was laced with dynamite and ready,
36:19the guy was there ready with the plunger, ready to go.
36:22And she was not having that, no.
36:24No, I can imagine.
36:27The contractor had already demolished part of the adjacent lock
36:30to make way for a link road to the new motorway.
36:35So by the time she got down here then, everything is ready to blow up this bridge?
36:38Yeah, yeah.
36:39That didn't deter her.
36:40She was on that bridge like a rat up a drain pipe.
36:43She was not moving.
36:44And she ended up making friends with the chap and they sort of sat down and had a nice chat.
36:50And then it got to five o'clock and he wanted to go home.
36:53He was quite hungry at that point, I think.
36:56And consequently, it saved the bridge.
36:59Is this bridge a sort of a monument to her in some ways?
37:02I've brought my children here, yes.
37:06Not that they obviously ever had a chance to meet her,
37:08but I can at least chat about her and keep the memories alive.
37:11And, yeah, it's an important piece.
37:15She's called Christine's Bridge, really.
37:16She should.
37:17Yeah.
37:18We should get a plaque.
37:18Yeah.
37:19Christine's Bridge.
37:20I like that.
37:22I mean, as it turns out, she was right to save this bridge.
37:24She knew.
37:25You know, she was obviously tapped in.
37:28Because it's going to be across the canal again.
37:30I know.
37:31And that's wonderful.
37:32It's kind of done the full circle now.
37:34It's not as tranquil as it once was, is it?
37:36Because we can really clearly see and hear the M5 from there.
37:38Yes.
37:39I know it's a functional need, but it is a shame.
37:41I mean, those songbirds I can hear in that direction are really having to go for it.
37:45You know, they really are to try and drown it out.
37:50A brand new canal is being built here to recover the missing mile
37:54and allow it to flow under the motorway.
37:56One person who's been instrumental in managing the canal's restoration
38:02is Chris Mitford Slade, project director at Cotswold Canals Connected.
38:09Hi.
38:10Charlotte, welcome.
38:11Goodness me.
38:13So this is the mile that's missing?
38:16Exactly.
38:16What happened?
38:18When they built the M5 motorway, they would have put all of the rubble into the canal.
38:23It was an easy way of getting rid of it.
38:24So the canal really became a rubbish tip?
38:27It was a rubbish tip.
38:28So what on earth made you want to uncover it again?
38:32It is the passion of all the great volunteers working on the canal.
38:36We've made progress and we're now doing the final section
38:39to reconnect to the National Canal network.
38:42It's only really when you stand here and look at this
38:45that you realise what you have taken on.
38:49It's quite a challenge.
38:50How are you filling in then the missing mile?
38:54So the missing mile will go sharp left once it's gone under Westfield Bridge.
38:58Or Christine's Bridge.
38:59Christine's Bridge.
39:00Yeah.
39:00And then we'll run parallel to the river frame just before we get to the M5.
39:05Even though you're doing this dogleg, you are still going to hit the motorway, aren't you?
39:09So how do you go under it?
39:12By putting in two new locks and that will control the height to get under the motorway.
39:16Why go to all this trouble? For what is, you know, basically a little canal?
39:21It's all about connectivity because it's the motorway that stopped the connectivity.
39:26We can't get people across it. We can't get wildlife across.
39:29So it's actually about much more than canals, isn't it?
39:31It's way more than canals. Absolutely.
39:33This isn't the only wave of restoration.
39:39There are currently more than 50 waterway restoration schemes across England and Wales,
39:44connecting communities and wildlife.
39:49One example's here at Dock Lock.
39:53Now what's happening down here? Because this looks like a massive project in front of us.
39:57This is the next project we're working on, but because we're now in a works compound,
40:01we've got to put on PPE, so I'm afraid we've got to wear steel cap boots, hard hat,
40:07high-vis glasses, and I'd like to hand you over to the team.
40:10I thought I might have got away without the high-vis, but no.
40:14This is where I get a more elegant look.
40:18Ready for anything.
40:20Helping to restore Dock Lock and breathe new life into the canal is an army of volunteers.
40:27Matthew Jackson has been volunteering on the project ever since he retired seven years ago.
40:34Hello. Hello.
40:35Well, this is a lot bigger and deeper than I was anticipating.
40:40So this is Dock Lock where we are at the moment.
40:42Aha. How old is it?
40:44Well, it was 1778 we know that it was actually first built.
40:48There is a recording that the first barge of coal was delivered on the 14th of January of that year,
40:53so we know exactly when they got to this point, coming all the way from the River Severn.
40:57I mean, given its age and the fact that it's been abandoned for quite a long time,
41:01it's not looking that bad, is it?
41:03Well, parts of it have been previously restored.
41:05Back in the 1990s, there was an earlier restoration programme,
41:08so the south wall that you can see down here was partially restored.
41:12That side is not looking too bad.
41:14The north wall, it was much worse and less was done to that.
41:17So that's the area that we're now tending to focus on at the moment to get that in good shape.
41:22All right, let's go and have a look at it.
41:23OK.
41:25Gosh, you can see how much work you've got, Matthew, just looking along here.
41:28Yeah, we do. This lot here has all got to come out because it's in a very poor state.
41:33So how do you do that then?
41:34So we'll do that with a breaker there. I'll give you a quick demo.
41:38Righty-ho.
41:41OK.
41:41Oh, this is good.
41:42Easy enough. OK, you'll need your safety glasses for this.
41:44OK, yep. Put those on top of my glasses.
41:48OK, right, so.
41:49Oh, that's so satisfying.
41:56OK.
41:57I'd like one of those for Christmas, that's very satisfying, isn't it?
42:01How long is it going to take to do this one log?
42:04We think about four months, something like that.
42:06Because you're all volunteers.
42:07That's right, yes, yes, the vast majority of us are, so we've been pretty much all.
42:10So do you have relevant sort of life experience for this then?
42:14Well, I was a professional engineer in the nuclear industry for many years, 40 years.
42:17Oh, well done.
42:20You OK with that?
42:21I think this one doesn't want it. Oh, no, we're getting there.
42:24Patience is a virtue.
42:26There you go, that's a...
42:27OK. They're heavy brakes as well, aren't they?
42:29We can reuse that one.
42:30I mean, some would question, in the nicest way, why you have spent years
42:35restoring a canal that doesn't really go anywhere.
42:39These days, of course, the canals are largely used for leisure purposes,
42:43rather than an industry as they used to be.
42:47So there are huge numbers of people that just love using the canals.
42:50And it's a beautiful place to be, isn't it? Oh, yeah.
42:52Particularly on a day like this, just looking in that direction.
42:55Oh, yeah.
42:56If you can guarantee the sunshine... Oh, well, yes.
43:00..I'll come back and help any time.
43:02Certainly not. This is great.
43:04Right, now we're over here, I think.
43:05This dock should be finished within the next four months,
43:16ready for work to continue on the missing mile,
43:19with the goal of connecting this section to the main canal network.
43:22The canal is home to a variety of birds.
43:38But for local Lynne Newman... Holly!
43:41..there is one species that has a special place in her heart, the swan.
43:47The people in the area know me as the swan lady,
43:50because I'm seen on the canal so often.
43:53I realised when I retired that something was missing from my life.
43:59I needed something that was good for the soul.
44:03Water and wildlife, they just fit that bill.
44:09The swans are all very individual.
44:11They all have an individual character.
44:14They all have a name.
44:16Holly, for instance, is a very sensitive swan.
44:18She's a very caring swan, a wonderful mother.
44:23Hello, lovely.
44:26Look!
44:29Most swans do have strength.
44:32They have to be to survive in their world on the water,
44:36where they have to protect themselves when they're young.
44:39You clever old things!
44:41What's that?
44:42They give me an amazing sense of joy because you learn to love an animal
44:53in a similar way that you learn to love a human.
44:57A respect develops.
44:59As I walk the canal, morning, noon or night,
45:06I feel that love.
45:08That love for nature.
45:10Well, we've had lovely spring weather here on the Stroudwater Canal,
45:21but what's it going to be like in the week ahead?
45:24Here's the Contrafair forecast.
45:25Hello.
45:36Well, the spring weather has certainly been lovely.
45:38In fact, it's been absolutely glorious with those blue skies,
45:43very reliable weather conditions with this area of high pressure over us.
45:47Mind you, it's not always been that warm, but the last couple of days certainly have.
45:51In fact, the highest temperature we had was 24 degrees Celsius, and that was yesterday.
45:56Today, we are nowhere near that.
45:58And I think it's going to be a while before we get these sorts of values.
46:01In fact, in the week ahead, we can expect some of our higher temperatures closer to 16 Celsius.
46:06And for most of us, it'll be more like 10 to 13 degrees.
46:10So the week ahead is looking very changeable.
46:13I certainly don't want to write it off.
46:15It won't be raining all the time, but certainly a lot of cloud in the sky.
46:18The rain will come and go.
46:20It will be cool.
46:21The nights and the mornings will be chilly.
46:23And we've had some April showers already today moving through Northern Ireland,
46:27parts of Scotland, some in Wales and also the Midlands, as well as the southeast.
46:32Now this evening, there's a lot of clear weather on the way, particularly central and eastern areas.
46:37A weather front is approaching.
46:39It'll be sort of parked around these western coasts early in the morning,
46:43say from the tip of Cornwall through Wales around the Irish Sea.
46:46So some rain in the morning here, but further east, it should be clear first thing.
46:50And chilly towns and cities, three or four degrees.
46:53It really will feel quite fresh out there.
46:55Now, the forecast for Monday shows this weather front sort of straddling western areas.
47:00Outbreaks of rain will come and go, but through the course of the day,
47:02that weather front is actually going to expand, produce more rain.
47:04There'll be thicker cloud everywhere.
47:06I think the last of the sunnier weather, let's call it, will be further eastern here.
47:11Temperatures say in Norwich and Hull could nudge up to around 16 or 17 Celsius.
47:15And then through the course of Monday afternoon into Monday evening,
47:18that low pressure with the weather front will just continue to spread northwards.
47:22Other areas of rain will develop around the area of low pressure.
47:25Here's that rain in the morning across the southeast, East Anglia,
47:28and then running along the North Sea coast as well.
47:31And wherever you are, the chances are it will be a generally cloudy day on Tuesday,
47:35just glimmers of sunshine here and there.
47:37And these are the temperatures, say 12 or 13, 14 for most of us,
47:41one or two spots briefly touching around 16 Celsius,
47:43depending on how much brightness or direct sunshine we get.
47:48Now, into Wednesday, an area of low pressure is actually right over us.
47:51There's certainly no sign of any high pressure.
47:54Here's that rain on Wednesday.
47:55And on top of that, there could even be some gusty winds as well.
47:58So I dare say it might even feel quite cold during the day in one or two spots.
48:04But again, I want to say we do need the rain.
48:06The gardens need the rain.
48:07Nature needs the rain.
48:08We've not had an awful lot of rain for a long time.
48:11Temperatures midweek, 11, 12, 13 degrees.
48:15Then Wednesday evening into Thursday, weather fronts pull away.
48:18And we actually find ourselves in between weather systems,
48:21almost like a little weak area of high pressure.
48:24So the chances are that Thursday could be decent,
48:26but you know, I have to say it's not a guarantee because there will be some rain
48:30around on Thursday too.
48:31And again, on the cool side, but actually I say on the cool side,
48:35this is pretty much what we should be getting this time of the year.
48:38And even in one or two spots could be higher than normal.
48:40Now here's Easter, a rather generic summary, simple summary,
48:44but it is what it is.
48:45There is a chance of rain throughout the whole Easter period.
48:47So if you've got any plans outdoors for Easter,
48:50expect that there will be at least a chance of rain most days.
48:54And if we look at this outlook, there's no sunny symbols.
48:56In fact, nearly every day,
48:58there's a bit of rain falling somewhere in the country.
49:00It will be back though.
49:01Bye-bye.
49:09We've been exploring the restoration of the Stroudwater navigation,
49:13known locally as the Stroudwater Canal.
49:17I think this one doesn't want it.
49:18Oh no, we're getting there.
49:19Patience is a virtue.
49:21Enriching lives on the water.
49:22Do you really look forward to these trips on the canal?
49:26Wow!
49:27There is nothing better than being on the water,
49:30as I find it very relaxing.
49:32And saving wildlife on its banks.
49:35Anything in that one?
49:36Let's have a quick look.
49:37It's open, that one.
49:38No, open.
49:39There's a couple more here to check.
49:43Before the Stroudwater Canal was built, this area was famous for wool.
49:48The wool industry helped shape this waterway back in the 18th century,
49:52as the woolen mills used the canal to transport their goods to the big cities.
49:57Sheep farming was very important here.
50:00I'm visiting a family who are keeping that tradition going.
50:05They are raising sheep and producing wool right alongside the canal.
50:11Jason and Sarah Spence have been farming here since 2001,
50:16when they took over the farm and renovated Nutshell House,
50:20one of the canal's most well-known landmarks.
50:22Well, Jason, I've never seen a farmhouse quite like yours.
50:26No. We think it was originally built as a warehouse, about 1804.
50:32It's thought its purpose was to connect the pre-existing track on the bridge
50:36with the waterside, making it easier to store, load and unload cargo from the boats.
50:43We think about 1829 it was converted into a house.
50:47And you can see from the brickwork that the chimneys
50:50and there's infills on the building we'll put in after.
50:53Yeah, because you can see there's a door that's gone just there, isn't it?
50:56That's been bricked up.
50:56There's a door there. There's an arch up there.
50:59So how did you come to end up here?
51:01Well, I was very fortunate.
51:02I bought it off an old friend of mine.
51:04At the time, it was in need of a full renovation.
51:07Oh, I see. So labour of love.
51:09Yeah, that's it, yeah.
51:10What's it like living on the canal?
51:12Because it's beautiful, but it's quite busy.
51:15It's very busy.
51:16When we bought it 24 years ago,
51:18it was obviously a lot quieter than what it is now.
51:21They've done a fantastic job of reopening it up and made a good job of the footpaths.
51:26But obviously there's a lot more traffic down here now.
51:29How does it work with the farm?
51:30We bought that block of land opposite in about 2011.
51:35We always had an interest in farming and we just developed a flock of sheep.
51:40My grandfather started life as a farmer.
51:42I always wanted to be a farmer, but my father steered me away from it.
51:47So I went off and got a trade.
51:48Keeps me busy most of the time.
51:50But unfortunately, we've just been able to do a bit of hobby farming really.
51:54Sarah and myself, we do it part time.
51:58Jason and Sarah have about 100 breeding ewes on their 40 acre farm.
52:03With lambing season just around the corner, the well-being of their flock is top priority.
52:09Is this your shepherd?
52:11This is the shepherd, yeah.
52:14They've moved the sheep closer to the house for lambing, so Sarah can keep an eye on them.
52:19And what sort of sheep have you got?
52:21They're a Klyn Romney cross.
52:23The Klyn breed are considered low-maintenance commercial sheep, predominantly bred for meat,
52:30whereas the Romney are dual-purpose, meaning they're farmed for both their meat
52:34and their high-quality wool.
52:37What's your main aim? Are you growing them for meat or for wool or for fun?
52:40They've always been for meat, really, and breeding females.
52:44But Sarah has tried to do something with the wool.
52:47Sarah, why concentrate on wool when the prices have been so low?
52:50Well, personally, I just feel it's a sad loss, to be honest.
52:55I know a lot of farmers are going away from it and sort of going into easy-care sheep,
53:00which are sort of self-shedding.
53:02But personally, I love wool, and I wouldn't like to be part of the decline.
53:08If we really want to be environmentally conscious, and I think using wool,
53:13which is a natural, sustainable resource for knitting and making jumpers and socks and hats,
53:19is the way to go.
53:21A few years back, we had such a dire wool check.
53:24That was sort of the start of it.
53:26We thought, we have to do something.
53:27People were just burning it, and I didn't want to.
53:31We're getting near the sheep, and they've taken one look and decided to amble off.
53:34Yeah.
53:37That's okay, though, as visual checks will more than suffice.
53:41Sarah and Jason use an outdoor lambing system, a hands-off approach,
53:45where the sheep will give birth with little to no input from the farmer.
53:50We only intervene if we can see that there's someone who's got a problem.
53:55Otherwise, they just lamb themselves.
53:57Well, they're looking pretty good, aren't they?
53:59Yeah, yeah.
54:00Oh, they're reasonably fit.
54:02Yeah.
54:02And they've got some energy.
54:04Yeah, oh, yeah, yeah.
54:05A lot of us in the late stages of pregnancy didn't have, as I remember.
54:10Their lambing method might be less labour-intensive than some,
54:14but it's still wise to prepare for all eventualities.
54:17What's the plan in here?
54:20So, we need to just build a few lambing pens.
54:23Right.
54:24Here we go.
54:25So, is it mainly you in charge of sheep then, Sarah?
54:28Yes.
54:29During the week, Jason's at work.
54:32Yeah.
54:32So, he's gone for most of the day.
54:35So, during lambing, I'm here on my own.
54:37There we go.
54:39That's it.
54:40With the flock shepherded for today, Sarah can steer the business in its new direction.
54:46Oh, right.
54:47And here's the wool.
54:48Wow.
54:48Loads of wool.
54:49Yeah.
54:50So, this is what we would end up with after shearing.
54:54You can see this lovely Romney crimp, which makes the yarn quite nice and springy.
55:01After shearing, I would sort through each and every one and pick out the top fleeces.
55:10And those are the ones that we would send off to the mill for processing.
55:14So, by sending it away, obviously, you're investing more in it, because that's going
55:18to be expensive, the processing bit.
55:20It's very expensive, and particularly because we want to keep it all British.
55:25And the price has gone up a bit, hasn't it, the price you're getting?
55:28Yes.
55:28A little bit.
55:28It's gone up a little bit.
55:29I think we're a long way off of, you know, even covering the cost of shearing.
55:35Which, I suppose, explains why you've decided to process your own wool.
55:38Yes.
55:39Because even with the cost of processing it and dyeing it, do you cover the cost at least
55:44of shearing?
55:45Well, we hope so.
55:47Once it comes back, starts like this, what does it turn into?
55:50Right.
55:50So, the end product is this.
55:54Oh, look at the colours.
55:55We decided on just a few colours this time.
55:59What I got in my head when I decided on colours was I just thought of autumn,
56:04and I thought of lovely knitted woolly jumpers,
56:08because the type of wool that it is, it makes a good, hard-wearing, outer garment.
56:15From a financial point of view, is this going to make money, break even?
56:22Well, it should make money if we can sell it, then we'll be happy farmers.
56:27Because you're farming here on quite a small scale, aren't you?
56:29Yeah.
56:30But does the meat side of the business stack up?
56:32Yes, the meat side of the business does okay, but still, the whole farm business is held up
56:40by Jason's full-time work.
56:43There is a need to make the farming side of it more profitable if we can.
56:48And hopefully, this is the key.
56:49We hope so.
56:51We'll let you know.
56:52Because wool has been so important, hasn't it, to this part of the world over the years?
56:56I mean, if you think of the history of this entire area, it was built on wool.
57:02So, hopefully, if this works and we can make a profit from it, then we've done a lovely full circle
57:08in bringing wool production back to Stroud Valleys.
57:12I'll just have to learn to knit, then, hey?
57:15You should.
57:15Well, good luck with lambing.
57:17Hello, John.
57:30Charlotte, hi.
57:31Well, you've caught me in pensive mood.
57:33What a wonderful place, isn't it?
57:35It's so tranquil, isn't it?
57:36It's lovely.
57:37A great way to travel, four miles an hour on a canal like this.
57:41You did seem very happy tootling along.
57:44I'd love to come back again, actually.
57:45Although, not next week.
57:46Not next week, because I'm going to be in Wembury on the Devon Coast with Vic Hope.
57:52In classic egg hunt style, it's a bit competitive.
57:59Yes!
58:01Come on, girls!
58:03Come on!
58:06Well, this is one of the biggest milking parlors I've ever seen.
58:12In you go.
58:12There we go!
58:13There we go!
58:15Are we going down now?
58:17Oh, that was wonderful!
58:22That's next Sunday at quarter past five.
58:25So, see you then.
58:26Bye-bye for now.
58:27Canine capers for the little ones with curious, lovable puppy Bluey.
58:42Watch on BBC iPlayer.
58:44And cute creatures in the Andes next on BBC One Wildlife Adventures in the Americas.
58:50To be continued...