Countryfile - Season 37 Episode 13 - Watercress Line
Countryfile - Season 37 Episode 13 - Watercress Line
#Countryfile
Countryfile - Season 37 Episode 13 - Watercress Line
#Countryfile
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00:00We're in the heart of watercress country.
00:07Morning.
00:08Looking forward to your trip?
00:09Yeah, it's going to be steamy.
00:10This place has been famous for the green stuff for centuries.
00:14But it was the success of the railways that shaped the future of this area's prized produce
00:19and its growers.
00:20I think, Margarita, this is our carriage.
00:22All aboard.
00:23Right next to the buffet car.
00:24Hope they've got watercress on the menu.
00:55The watercress line in the heart of Hampshire spans 10 miles,
00:59starting at Oxford Station in the west,
01:02it stops at Ropley,
01:04Medstead and Fourmarks,
01:07before reaching its final destination of Alton.
01:12It's like a time capsule in here, isn't it?
01:14I'm loving this.
01:15Well, it's 200 years since the birth of the railways in the UK.
01:19Now, of course, they didn't just open up the countryside to city dwellers far and wide.
01:24Trains were a game changer for growers.
01:27They were indeed.
01:28Due to the speed of steam,
01:29farmers and growers were able to take their goods and fresh produce much, much further afield.
01:34Field to fork in a jiffy.
01:39The railway brought this local produce to the mass market.
01:43Look at this place.
01:45It's unbelievable.
01:46I've never been in one of these before.
01:49But it wasn't without its uphill struggles.
01:51I've heard about this line. What is involved?
01:54We go over the summit of 652 feet above sea level.
01:58That's the highest railway point in southern England.
02:01Away from Watercrest County,
02:03Tom investigates whether the system designed to protect farmers
02:06from being unfairly treated by supermarkets is working.
02:10They don't want to cause a stir,
02:13which might point at them particularly,
02:17so that they were identifiable.
02:22TRAIN WHISTLE
02:35While Matt is off to explore the farm near our first stop,
02:40my journey continues on what was once the old Midhants Railway,
02:44now charmingly named the Watercrest Line.
02:47This heritage train service now carries day-trippers
02:50and avid train spotters, but it's not always been this way.
02:55This route once had a serious job to do.
03:01James Brace is a guard on the train.
03:03Hello there. Tickets, please.
03:05And has been volunteering on the line for seven years.
03:09I understand that trains are not just like a hobby.
03:12This is part of your life.
03:14It's a hobby and a day job.
03:16So I work on the main line, currently training to be a driver,
03:20and then in my spare time I come here and work the trains here.
03:24It's fantastic.
03:25It's nice to have that overflow between working on the main line
03:29with the modern technologies and computers, phones,
03:32to suddenly come here and have almost going back to pen and paper.
03:36And how did the line get its name?
03:38So the line got the Watercrest Line name
03:42purely from the produce that was grown in the village in Oxford.
03:45Back in the day, farmers would have to send their produce up to London
03:49by horse and cart, which could take up to two to three days.
03:53When the railways came to Oxford,
03:55you suddenly now got a mode of transport
03:58which could get their produce to London within two hours,
04:00so it could be freshly picked in the morning
04:02and in London by the afternoon.
04:04Total game-changer.
04:05Total game-changer for the farmers.
04:07It really opened up that market
04:09of being able to export stuff within the country.
04:14The secret to Watercrest's success in this region
04:17lies in the water, the chalk streams that flow through the county.
04:22For centuries, Watercrest grew wild here in the streams and ditches.
04:27However, its delicate and highly perishable leaves
04:30made it difficult to distribute widely.
04:34But by the turn of the 20th century,
04:37its reputation for being packed with goodness
04:40meant the peppery crop was in hot demand.
04:43Just as urbanisation was on the rise
04:46and fewer people were growing their own food.
04:51By rapidly delivering these fresh leafy greens to the nation,
04:55the steam locomotives helped make this area famous for its watercress.
05:01Over the years, these trains shifted tonnes of the green stuff.
05:05However, the love affair between watercress and the railways
05:09wasn't going to last forever, as manager Richard Bentley knows too well.
05:14What's happened to that precious cargo?
05:16I've seen lots of passengers on the train today having a great time,
05:19but when did that cargo stop being transported?
05:22Well, the line closed in 1973
05:24and then, sadly, I think they just made other arrangements.
05:27Nobody wants to carry it four miles to the nearest station
05:30and then put it on, you might as well leave it in the van
05:33and take it straight to Covent Garden, you know, direct.
05:36With new road infrastructures and cars and vans taking over,
05:40the speed of steam was soon forgotten.
05:43Passenger numbers dwindled and the service stopped here in 1973.
05:49But amongst the demolition, there were green shoots of recovery.
05:54There was a group that set up to try and save what they could of it
05:57and from 1976 onwards, we started to put the railway back into action.
06:03Four years later, a new steam railway was opened,
06:06officially named the Watercress Heritage Railway,
06:10running just three miles of the previous route.
06:14How many people were involved in reclaiming the trains
06:18and getting the line back up and running again?
06:20Oh, there's hundreds. I mean, it's such a diverse organisation,
06:23you know, from sort of catering to school visits to heavy engineering.
06:27Probably got over 450, 500 volunteers.
06:31For me personally, it's about passing on the skills,
06:34but it's as much telling the story to another generation of
06:37this is how we travelled and this is why socially it's such an important
06:40piece of our history, in truth, you know.
06:42And through such beautiful landscape as well.
06:44It's stunning, isn't it? Yeah, I think Hampshire's, you know,
06:47quite an under-80 county in truth, you know, some beautiful, beautiful spots.
06:51Also enjoying the views are the other 120,000 passengers
06:56this railway tracks every year.
06:59And just like the trains did here before,
07:02this route is helping boost the local economy
07:05and gives a taste of times gone by to the rural community
07:08and the people that travel on the line.
07:12Can I join you for a minute? Indeed, please do.
07:14Nice to see you. Yes.
07:16Can I ask what brings you on the Watercress line today?
07:19I grew up in Bournemouth, I remember these trains in service
07:22when I was a young lad.
07:23And these sort of trains and these locomotives were everywhere
07:26back in those days, so it's kind of brought back the smell
07:29and the atmosphere of when I was young. Yeah.
07:34To truly embrace the mood, I've been invited to step up to the footplate.
07:39Hi! Thank you so much.
07:42I'm Nick, I'm the driver. I'm Nick, I'm the fireman.
07:47Nick Tippin drives the train
07:49and Nick Jackson keeps the fires burning.
07:52Between them, they have volunteered here for 27 years.
07:56And today, they're showing me the ropes.
08:00There we go. That's the best thing ever!
08:08Wow, there are a lot of moving parts here.
08:11The noise, the heat, the steam!
08:15I don't know if I can quite describe how hot that feels.
08:21I literally feel my face burning up, it's just...
08:26With over two tonnes of coal to shovel daily,
08:29it's all in a day's volunteering for Fireman Nick.
08:33We're recreating history, so you try to replicate that
08:36as close as you can within the 21st century.
08:39So we love it, we can't get enough of it.
08:42At full pelt, these trains can reach a speed of 100 miles an hour.
08:47However, today we're travelling at a leisurely 25.
08:51The speed can vary depending on the terrain
08:54and the watercress line has its share of natural obstacles.
08:58This is now the start of the climb.
09:00Oh, so I've heard about this climb. What is involved?
09:04So, it's uphill all the way up to Medstead
09:07and then we go over the summit of 652 feet above sea level.
09:11That's the highest railway point in southern England.
09:16To reach the peak, the engine needs more coal.
09:22OK. Oh, my God! Wow!
09:26If there's not enough steam, the train will grind to a halt.
09:31No pressure then.
09:34I need you to get us up the hill.
09:36More?
09:39Thank you, Mary.
09:41Less chat, more movement.
09:46As we approach the summit, Nick needs all the power he can get
09:50and that all rests in my hands.
09:55Medstead and Formark station stands nearly 200 metres above sea level
10:01and our arrival signals my job might just be done.
10:06So, we've just made it to the top of that incline.
10:11A little extra coal.
10:14Now arriving at the station.
10:17So I can take a breather.
10:19The train can take a breather.
10:27There you go. Well done. Oh, my God.
10:30Did you enjoy it? It's dream come true stuff.
10:33It really is. It's just...
10:35I'm very glad you said it.
10:36It's everything you would imagine the chance to do this would be.
10:40Well, that means we've done a good job and we've made it out. Well done.
10:58Watercress grows very differently to the other greens that we're used to.
11:02It's an aquatic plant and the fields of green that flank the railway line here
11:06aren't actually rooted in soil, but beds of water.
11:13Look at this place. It's unbelievable.
11:17At the height of production in the 1950s,
11:19there were 1,000 acres of watercress beds across the country.
11:23Today, only 150 acres remain, concentrated in Dorset and Hampshire.
11:29Tom Aymery is the managing director of the Watercress Company.
11:32I've never been in one of these before.
11:34So we're on gravel here. I can feel that then.
11:36Yeah, and that's the bit that the watercress is actually growing in.
11:39The roots don't go very deep. The water is the key bit.
11:42And that's what makes this location possible
11:45because there's springs all the way along the tops of the farm.
11:48The springs flow through the beds, so it's all potable, drinking water quality.
11:52And effectively, they're widened river beds.
11:55So you imagine the spring water would have flown from here,
11:58down through, under the road, and then off down to the streams
12:02and then the rivers of Hampshire.
12:04So here's the crop.
12:06Oh, look at that. Vibrant, isn't it?
12:08Yes. Right. Both sharp, so be careful.
12:11I'll give you the little one.
12:13All you're going to do is, if you just imagine you're going to gather stems,
12:17and then they're just basically just trimming above the yellows,
12:21so you want to avoid those lower yellows,
12:23and then they just give it a little dressing.
12:26And then effectively, that is what we're after.
12:30It's a little bunch.
12:32And the important thing is as well, you've left a couple of inches just above the water.
12:35That's it. If you wanted to get a regrowth again,
12:37it would be growing back from those stems.
12:39So I'm just gathering like this, just about there.
12:42Yes, that's it. And you can always trim it a little bit more.
12:45For generations of watercress workers,
12:48this was back-breaking work done in all weathers, all year round.
12:52There you have it. That's a long bouquet. Perfect.
12:55Can I eat a bit? Yes, of course you can.
12:58You'll get a peppery flavour.
13:00As you chew it, it just gets stronger and stronger.
13:03Where did it come from originally?
13:05Most of the brassicas came from the Far East, and they worked their way across.
13:09But the watercress, we think, would have been brought in by the Romans,
13:12maybe a bit before, and then cultivation came in,
13:15particularly during the Victorian era,
13:17when they started to get quite paranoid about health.
13:20People were harvesting watercress in dirty rivers,
13:23and so they came to farmers and said,
13:25look, we want to buy your crop that's clean.
13:27People didn't want to get sick. They wanted to eat healthily.
13:30I mean, that is just a handful of goodness, isn't it?
13:33English watercress flourishes in the warmer months,
13:36but growth slows over winter,
13:38so Tom's commercial harvesting operation moves to Spain to keep up with demand,
13:43while the beds here are cleared, ready for spring sowing.
13:47This is a big site, then.
13:49It is. This is the first farm that's going to be planted for this year's harvest.
13:53Oh, exciting, then.
13:54When we come in to harvest, this area will cover about,
13:57probably about a week's worth of harvesting for us.
14:00Right. I'm looking at this bit of kit here.
14:02This is the machine we harvest all our crop.
14:04Oh, wow.
14:05It looks complicated, but it's fairly straightforward.
14:07Can I set myself up there?
14:08Yeah.
14:09So you'll get through some watercress in a day, then, I would imagine.
14:12Well, generally, this machine will cut sort of two to three tonnes an hour.
14:15Twenty-five to thirty tonnes a week.
14:17Wow.
14:19At this time of year, whilst Tom is producing in bulk abroad,
14:22there's still a buoyant market for British-grown bunches.
14:27So, over the winter months, Will Allum harvests some of Tom's beds.
14:33So what's your story with watercress farming?
14:36Well, I started nearly 20 years ago now.
14:38My family were always involved in watercress for years.
14:40I started working with my uncle.
14:42He moved away and ran a cheese business,
14:44so I just took over my family's watercress business.
14:47And how does it work with you and the likes of Tom
14:50and the sort of the watercress beds that you've got here in the area?
14:53Tom's company, a lot bigger than mine, supply all the supermarkets.
14:57They have farms in Spain over the winter,
15:00which they cut their watercress from.
15:02So this all gets sort of left.
15:04And because my farm's only small,
15:06I don't have enough ground to last the whole of the winter.
15:09So these guys let me come in, buy the crop off of them.
15:12Wow. So everyone wins.
15:14Brilliant. It makes your business sustainable, then,
15:16and so you can keep providing your customers.
15:18I can carry on. They get English watercress.
15:20So it's quite a community, then. Yeah, it works really well.
15:23Do you harvest most of yours by hand, do you?
15:25Yeah, every day. One or two hours spent over cutting cress.
15:28Well, if I had a knife, I'd help you, mate.
15:30Have you got a spare one? I'll give you a little chop while I'm here.
15:33You can use mine. OK, you can watch me.
15:35Watch your fingers. OK.
15:38Tom taught me earlier on how to do this.
15:40Is that all right? Is that a bit long? No, that's fine.
15:42Happy with that? Yeah. It can sell.
15:46The Hampshire watercress beds lie at the very beginnings of chalk streams,
15:50some of the country's most cherished and rare habitats.
15:53Robert Aquilina is a freshwater ecologist
15:56who works with growers to make sure the farms and the water
16:00are in harmony by sampling the invertebrate life
16:03in the stream's gravel beds.
16:05So you need to be standing upstream of your net... Yeah.
16:08..and you want to dig your heel in... Yeah.
16:10..and then just twist your foot from side to side.
16:13From your experience, what are you hoping to see from these samples?
16:16The idea of kick sampling is to disturb the sediment
16:20and release the invertebrates into the water current,
16:23and the combination of diversity and abundance
16:26gives you a measure of the water quality overall.
16:29And how kind of symbiotic is the relationship
16:32between what's going on in the rivers here and the watercress farming?
16:36It's important that the water quality is maintained
16:39or else you can impact the biodiversity of the life in these rivers.
16:43And these rivers are historically really rich for fish.
16:47Have you noticed a difference over the years
16:50with farming practices changing?
16:52Well, the watercress farm itself has almost completely abolished
16:55the use of pesticides and fertilisers,
16:58so the water coming out has simply been
17:01a growing watercress. OK. Happy?
17:04Yes, that's enough to have a look at. Shall we go and sample the treasure?
17:07Yeah. OK.
17:12So what can you decipher from this?
17:14What can you see that's interesting?
17:16Well, the main thing is the fish food,
17:19so the gammarus, the freshwater shrimp,
17:22but alongside the shrimp there's the caddis and there's mayflies.
17:26That's another important element of fish food,
17:29another important element of the biodiversity here.
17:32And we have stoneflies and leeches and snails.
17:37And since you've started sampling here, what have you noticed over time?
17:41Not a huge amount of change, whereas if I go to other sites
17:45there's been a dramatic decline in the freshwater,
17:48insect life in particular.
17:50And do you put that down to the relationship with the watercress beds?
17:54Yes, the watercress beds don't use pesticides
17:57because essentially clean water is going in
17:59and more or less clean water is coming out.
18:02So it's having very little detrimental effect
18:05on the insect life in the streams here.
18:08They've been good custodians to the stream.
18:18The relationship between farmers and supermarkets can be challenging,
18:22with claims of unfair treatment and prices that are too low.
18:26There is a system in place to protect farmers
18:28and other producers supplying supermarkets.
18:31But how well is it working?
18:33Tom investigates.
18:43We've got apple trees.
18:47Cox planted in 2019.
18:50On the right we have Cox's orange pippin,
18:54the oldest apple orchard we have here on the farm, planted 1979.
19:00Richard Stogdon's family has been growing fruit
19:03on this farm near Crobra in East Sussex for the past 70 years.
19:08Tell me, where have you sold your fruit over the years?
19:11Traditionally we sold to wholesalers.
19:15Latterly we've been selling to supermarkets.
19:21We've been doing that for 40 years until last year.
19:26And why did you stop selling to retailers?
19:28We found that the returns just weren't good enough.
19:32Prices too low and not rising as we would have hoped
19:36in terms to deal with the uplift in the costs.
19:40And that's after decades of being in this business.
19:42How did that make you feel?
19:44Angry.
19:45Felt we were getting nowhere.
19:47It didn't matter who we made representations to,
19:50the price has hardly lifted.
19:5415 years ago the government introduced legislation
19:57to try to ensure that suppliers like Richard
20:00who sell direct to supermarkets were being treated fairly by them.
20:04The key part of it is the Groceries Supply Code of Practice,
20:08which is enforced by the Groceries Code Adjudicator, or GCA.
20:12It covers all the big supermarkets, 14 of them in total,
20:16accounting for more than 95% of the groceries we buy.
20:20But while making this film, Country Farm has been told by farmers,
20:24experts and unions that many suppliers are too afraid
20:28to go to the adjudicator.
20:30Richard is a leading member of a fruit association
20:33and has twice met the adjudicator as part of that.
20:36He was one of the few farmers willing to talk to us openly on camera.
20:41What's farmers' attitude to going to the Groceries Code Adjudicator?
20:44They don't want to cause a stir which might point at them particularly
20:51so that they were identifiable.
20:53So they're afraid of the consequences of that?
20:56Very much so. And even then when they do complain,
20:59I think the GCA is in great difficulty about what he can take up
21:04and what he realistically can get done.
21:07What is it that the farmers fear if they make a complaint?
21:11Delisting.
21:15Delisting is when a retailer stops buying from a supplier.
21:19That's one of the main jobs of the Groceries Code Adjudicator,
21:23making sure supermarkets don't abruptly cut contracts
21:26without giving reasonable notice.
21:30The code also exists to discourage practices like supermarkets
21:33making late payments to suppliers or from putting pressure on them
21:37to pay for premium spaces in shops.
21:41The Adjudicator can settle disputes between these supermarkets
21:45and their suppliers.
21:47It can investigate retailers for breaking the Groceries Code
21:51and can even fine them up to 1% of their annual UK turnover.
21:57But before a farmer or supplier can raise an issue with the Adjudicator,
22:02they generally have to complain to the supermarket themselves.
22:06There were 248 such issues raised with supermarkets
22:09in the last financial year.
22:12If the matter isn't resolved at this stage,
22:14the supplier can then go to the Adjudicator
22:17and ask them to settle or arbitrate in the dispute.
22:21So how frequently does that happen?
22:24Well, not very often, it seems.
22:27In the last 12 years, there have only been 13 arbitrations,
22:31just over one a year,
22:33since the Adjudicator settled an issue between a supermarket and a supplier.
22:37Andrew, not his real name,
22:39used to run a multi-million pound business supplying produce to supermarkets.
22:44He says he did go to the Adjudicator initially,
22:47but then felt he had no choice but to take legal action
22:50over the problems he was having with one particular retailer.
22:54He can't go into detail and has asked us to protect his identity
22:58because of the confidentiality agreement he had to sign.
23:02These words have been voiced by a member of our production team.
23:06I saw the Adjudicator about an issue
23:09and the Adjudicator listened to what I've got to say
23:12and warned me off and said that if you start an adjudication process,
23:16it will have implications on your business.
23:19Sorry, but the Adjudicator actually said,
23:21despite the fact that this is supposed to be anonymous,
23:24if you go through with this, this could harm your business?
23:27Yes, yeah.
23:28What did you think about that?
23:30I was gobsmacked.
23:32I was only in a meeting for 10 minutes or so,
23:35but I came away from that meeting dejected.
23:38Did you get the feeling the Adjudicator actually wanted to put you off from using them?
23:42Say, you know, try every other means before you come to us?
23:45No, I think they pointed out that the danger of using the Adjudicator
23:48would affect my relationship with the retailer
23:51and they were quite happy to start an adjudication.
23:53So it's almost like a damned if you do and you're damned if you don't.
23:56The only way I could bring it to bear was to talk to a lawyer.
23:59Surely there's a risk if you go through a lawyer as well?
24:02Going with a lawyer, you could take the retailer to court and see if it damages,
24:06but with the Adjudicator, all you're going to do is get an adjudication that says,
24:10yes, the retailer was wrong, or no, they weren't.
24:14And if it takes two years for the Adjudicator to give you this document,
24:18what good is that to anybody?
24:20The business could have folded or been destroyed in that two-year period.
24:24So there was the same amount of risk
24:26but a lot less gain in going to the Adjudicator?
24:30What you're trying to do is trying to avoid your business being destroyed.
24:34In my experience, the Adjudicator doesn't help at all in that, really.
24:37So who is out there to protect you?
24:40Nobody.
24:44Countryfile has spoken to several law firms handling these types of cases
24:48and been told that Andrew is among dozens of suppliers
24:51deciding the threat of legal action can be a more effective tool
24:55than going to the Groceries Code Adjudicator.
24:59Mark Jones is a lawyer currently working on the high-profile case
25:03of a sprout farmer suing Aldi for nearly £4 million
25:07after they allegedly cancelled a contract at very short notice.
25:11The retailer denies the claims
25:13and told us it goes to great lengths to follow the Groceries Code.
25:16It's thought to be the first time a case like this has gone to court.
25:20Mark's not able to discuss it as it's still ongoing
25:23but has agreed to talk about his experience with retailers
25:27and the Groceries Code Adjudicator.
25:29Typically, what kind of cases are you dealing with?
25:31The main one I deal with is delisting.
25:34So obviously if you're listed in 400 stores in the UK
25:38and a retailer decides to stop purchasing those goods
25:42that has a massive consequence for your business.
25:44What kind of volume of cases are you dealing with? What kind of number?
25:48In a year I probably see 10 to 15 on average
25:51and they vary in significance.
25:53Some may be about £100,000 and maybe about many, many millions.
25:59You're seeing 10 to 15 cases a year.
26:01The Adjudicator has seen 13 cases over the decade plus of its existence.
26:05Doesn't that suggest that it's not really working very well?
26:08It depends on how you look at that situation.
26:10In all the cases that I see, the vast majority,
26:13and I mean 99% of the cases I help with,
26:16are resolved retailer to supplier
26:19without any formal action ever being taken.
26:22And I think it's for that reason really
26:24that you don't see as many going to the Groceries Code Adjudicator.
26:27If the Adjudicator has adjudicated so little over their lifetime
26:31a lot of people stand back and say, what's the point?
26:34I can see that perspective from where the suppliers are standing
26:38because there hasn't been a lot of activity
26:41over the current Adjudicator's reign.
26:43So I can see why a supplier might think
26:47the Adjudicator should be doing more,
26:49but I would say he has the power to do what he needs to do.
26:56One of the most significant of those powers
26:58is the ability to launch a full-scale investigation into a supermarket
27:02that is suspected of breaking the Groceries Code.
27:05Since the Groceries Code Adjudicator was set up in 2013,
27:09they carried out two investigations,
27:11the first into Tesco's, the second into the Co-op,
27:14and both were found to have breached the Groceries Code.
27:18But the Adjudicator has never used its power to fine a supermarket,
27:22and the last investigation into a retailer was six years ago.
27:28An ongoing parliamentary inquiry
27:30by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, or EFRA, committee
27:34into fairness in the food supply chain
27:36has also heard criticism of the Groceries Code in recent years.
27:40The National Farmers Union talked of a culture of fear
27:44that prevented members from reporting issues,
27:47and the British Berry Growers Association said the Code
27:50does not address the imbalance of power between retailer and grower.
27:56Mark White has been the Groceries Code Adjudicator since 2020,
28:00and I'm meeting him near his office in London.
28:03He insists the role of Adjudicator has been a success.
28:09There have been two investigations and, is it, 13 arbitrations.
28:13That's barely one a year. Does that suggest you're doing the job?
28:18Well, I think prevention is better than cure,
28:21and my collaborative approach means that I am engaged with retailers
28:25to solve issues before they blow up,
28:30before suppliers incur any cost and any detriment.
28:34I think that it is a better approach
28:37than a perhaps very long investigation,
28:41where there might be a fine,
28:43but it doesn't then benefit the supplier concerned.
28:47The level of anguish I'm hearing from suppliers
28:50suggests to me it's not working.
28:52So, in my last survey, suppliers who responded told me
28:58that the majority of retailers comply with the Code
29:02at a level in excess of 90%,
29:05and there has been a dramatic fall in the number of issues
29:09that suppliers report in my survey.
29:12But let's just take a look at that survey.
29:15About half of suppliers said they had issues with retailers,
29:19but only one in ten had reported those issues to the retailers.
29:23Does that suggest they don't have a lot of faith in you?
29:26Well, my door is always open.
29:28People aren't confident to push it, though, are they?
29:30They can come to me.
29:32I have a statutory obligation of confidentiality,
29:35and when I approach retailers, I do so in a way
29:38that doesn't identify any particular supplier,
29:41any particular category or any particular product.
29:45We spoke to a supplier who'd been to the adjudicator
29:47sometime over the last 12 years, and the adjudicator told him
29:50that this could harm your business if you take this further.
29:53Well, I'm sorry to hear that.
29:55I'm not aware of that particular issue,
29:58and certainly since I have been in the role,
30:01I would ensure that that is not the case,
30:04and I would take up their issue with the retailer directly
30:08and ensure that there are no negative consequences for doing so.
30:12Countryfile also asked the British Retail Consortium,
30:15the trade association representing supermarkets,
30:18about claims of a culture of fear among some suppliers.
30:22They told us that the latest confidential survey by the adjudicator
30:26had found very high rates of compliance with the Groceries Code
30:30and continuing improvement in the way that retailers work with their suppliers.
30:38There are growing calls for change, however,
30:40and for the adjudicator to have a broader remit.
30:43Earlier this month, the chairman of the EFRA Select Committee,
30:46Liberal Democrat MP Alastair Carmichael,
30:49introduced a new bill in Parliament on food supply chain fairness.
30:53He said that with fewer than 10 staff members,
30:55the adjudicator needs more resources.
30:58To expect an operation of that size
31:01to take on some of the largest retail businesses in the country is laughable.
31:05It's hardly surprising, then,
31:07that businesses supplying supermarkets are reluctant to make complaints,
31:10especially when the office itself has not issued a single fine
31:13in the entirety of its existence.
31:16Without government support, though,
31:18a bill to strengthen the GCA is unlikely to become law.
31:22The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
31:25has recently introduced a separate adjudicator and new regulations
31:29to cover some farmers who sell to intermediaries
31:32or food processing companies rather than direct to retailers.
31:37They told us a routine review starts next month into the GCA's effectiveness
31:43Imbalances in the supply chain are preventing fair returns
31:47for the food farmers produce.
31:49This is why we are making the supply chain fairer
31:52with the introduction of regulations for the pig and dairy sector
31:56to make sure contracts clearly set out expectations
32:00and only allow changes if they had been agreed by all parties.
32:04We are also engaging with industry on similar proposals
32:08for eggs and fresh produce.
32:10There are other measures, too, that could make a real difference.
32:14Jed Footer worked as a supermarket buyer for a decade.
32:18He now offers training on the Groceries Code for suppliers,
32:21including through the National Farmers Union.
32:25There's still far too much risk that's passed down the supply chain.
32:29The chain needs to have much better training
32:33for people like the growers, the farmers.
32:35What level of training is there?
32:37The level of knowledge we know is actually really poor.
32:40So that means that there's a huge proportion of suppliers
32:43that just don't understand what the code is.
32:45And if you're not trained on how to negotiate,
32:47then you're going in to work with some of the most well-trained retailers
32:52and your hands are behind your back.
32:54I can imagine a farmer producer watching this saying,
32:57I've got costs with everything, I've got higher national insurance,
33:00wages, you know, weather, freak weather,
33:02and now you're saying I've got to pay on training as well.
33:04I understand that, but everybody needs to understand
33:07it's not just about being better at producing, how can I grow more.
33:11Once you've produced it, you have to sell it.
33:14And selling is all about how do you get the best price.
33:17What the focus is now from the retailers,
33:19their focus is how to negotiate, how to get the best possible price.
33:23But the growers, the farmers, the manufacturers have to keep saying
33:26no to retail and say this is the price that we need if you want this product.
33:30Possibly they're stronger than they believe,
33:32and with a bit of training they could articulate that.
33:34Absolutely, and so I know that they're stronger.
33:37I know that there is a real desire for British produce,
33:41and that desire is there from the customers.
33:44In the end, do you think that the need for food on the shelves
33:47and for food to carry on being grown in Britain
33:49is going to push the retailers to pay a bit more?
33:51They will have no choice.
33:53And that trade-off between farmers getting a fair price from retailers
33:57for their produce and us as consumers getting food we can afford
34:01is at the heart of all of this.
34:04For people watching this at home, why does it matter to them?
34:07It matters because UK farming matters, produce matters,
34:12so we want to see British produce on our shelves.
34:15And the sector is under huge amounts of pressure,
34:17so farmers are leaving the sector, and that's the reality.
34:20So if we're not giving the farmers and the growers the costs that they need,
34:25then we won't be seeing as much British produce on our shelves.
34:32We're back in Hampshire on the Watercress Line.
34:36Since its heyday in the late 19th century to the early 20th century,
34:40the use of the railway to transport produce across the UK has fallen.
34:45At its peak, there were some 20,000 miles of track in use.
34:50Today, that's down to about half.
34:52And while some of the old track lays dormant,
34:54some of the old track is still in use.
34:57Today, that's down to about half.
34:59And while some of the old track lays dormant and dangerous,
35:02elsewhere, they're more positive stories.
35:05When a railway service stops, it's not necessarily the end of the line.
35:11You can take those secateurs, I'll do the bigger lopping.
35:15Fantastic. Unless you want to do it.
35:17No, no, I'll leave it in expert hands.
35:20Mike Collis is at the heart of a project
35:23to revive an abandoned stretch of the Watercress Line,
35:26creating a space where nature can thrive.
35:30So the train used to run along this space which you've been clearing?
35:34Absolutely, yes.
35:36It was just one single track
35:38and took Watercress up towards the Midlands
35:42and kept going until 1973.
35:45And what happened after the line closed?
35:47What happened to this track?
35:49Well, basically, nothing for about 40 years.
35:52It was just left.
35:54Since late 2015, early 2016,
35:58a local group of people met to try and make a footpath.
36:05Armed with secateurs, strimmers and diggers,
36:09the Watercress Way charity was formed,
36:12inspired by a distinct vision.
36:15The aim is really to link together the various villages along the way,
36:21but also to utilise the railway heritage.
36:25It's a kind of mix of things,
36:28of ecology, heritage, exercise and access for all.
36:33The Watercress Way extends 27 miles,
36:37linking parts of the old Watercress Railway line.
36:41While the trains have long departed, there are hints of their presence,
36:45from sleepers to telegraph poles to structures like this bridge.
36:50It's so lovely to see these memories of the railway
36:53and just imagine what would have been
36:56as the sort of Watercress line cut through here.
37:02The steam engines may be in the past,
37:05but the brambles are very much present.
37:08Mike, this looks like a lot of work going on here.
37:11Yeah, recently, we've been trying to get permission
37:14to extend the railway line along,
37:16and Tony and Chris are working hard.
37:20To attack the brambles, which are growing quite large.
37:24Yes, well, this has not been touched for many years.
37:27The Watercress Way charity relies on volunteers
37:30to maintain and reclaim the 27 miles of its route.
37:35Armed with my trusty shears, the battle with the brambles begins.
37:42Also getting stuck in today is volunteer Chris Cornell.
37:46So where's your passion for the railways come from?
37:49Well, when I first started as a mere youngster,
37:52I worked on the Watercress line, which is just a bit further up from here.
37:55Really? And came here just after it had closed.
37:58It's the countryside it goes through,
38:00going through the sort of rolling hills and south downs.
38:03Just a nice part of Hampshire, really.
38:05Yeah, it keeps me happy, my retirement.
38:09Around a decade ago, this area was completely overgrown.
38:13Keeping a detailed eye on the transformation
38:16is retired ecologist Jim Thompson.
38:18So what difference does it make clearing down all this line here
38:22and sort of clearing the track?
38:24Well, what we're trying to do with the clearance
38:27is to cut back the coarse vegetation, which would be nettles and brambles,
38:31to allow the more interesting, smaller plants to thrive.
38:34Primrose and the wild garlic and these sort of things.
38:39Leave it and you end up with an area behind us...
38:43You can barely see through!
38:45..which you can barely see through.
38:47By paring down the overgrowth,
38:49each species has a fair chance to settle across the trail.
38:53And since this route's been cleared, what have you seen emerge?
38:57There's over 40 flowering plants, at least three species of ferns.
39:03The butterflies are beginning to come.
39:06In fact, I just saw a red admiral.
39:09Routes like this are really important to connect woodland to woodland,
39:14a herb-rich pasture, chalkgrassland to chalkgrassland,
39:18butterfly to butterfly.
39:20If someone was to come and take a walk along here at this time of year,
39:23what should we be looking out for?
39:25In a very short while, you'll be seeing the wild garlic in flower
39:29and then you get a whole variety of flowers and trees and shrubs
39:33and that's the kind of thing that we're looking for,
39:36a mosaic of habitats.
39:39Where once the railway connected just people and their cargo,
39:43now this route connects the natural world too.
39:46But the charity's work is far from over,
39:49as there are many more miles that will hopefully be reclaimed.
39:53For now, their hard work doesn't go unrewarded.
39:57Thank you so much for this and all of you for such an incredible day.
40:01It's been a pleasure to see the work you've done here.
40:04Cheers with a cake in and to all your work.
40:22Well, it's calm with blue skies here in Hampshire today,
40:25perfect conditions for the local watercress farmers.
40:28What has the weather got in store for the rest of us in the week ahead?
40:31Let's find out with the Countryfile five-day forecast.
40:40Hello there. The clocks went forward last night.
40:43That means British summertime is now underway.
40:46While it is a bit early in the year for the weather to feel like summer,
40:50well, it certainly has felt like spring today with lots of sunshine,
40:54as you can see on the earlier satellite image.
40:56Yes, we've had some shower cloud up towards the northeast of Scotland,
40:59but most places have seen sunshine.
41:01And of course, with that clock change, the sunshine going on into the evening,
41:05the sun setting after 7pm, even after 8pm in parts of Northern Ireland.
41:11So a bit more sunshine to enjoy out there.
41:13But through the night, we will see a bit more cloud into Northern Ireland,
41:16parts of Scotland, the odd splash of rain here, further south and east,
41:20some clear spells and a few fog patches.
41:22It will be quite a chilly night for some parts of England and Wales.
41:25We could even see a touch of frost milder further north and west
41:29with that advancing cloud courtesy of a very weak set of frontal systems
41:33across northern parts into tomorrow morning.
41:35But high pressure just about in charge for most.
41:38It's got to be fine and dry.
41:39Early fog clearing from southern parts to leave some good spells of sunshine
41:43for much of England and Wales.
41:44The odd light shower in northern England, northern Ireland and Scotland.
41:48We'll see a bit more in the way of cloud, the odd splash of rain.
41:51But that said, northeast Scotland likely to be quite warm at 17 or 18 degrees.
41:55Not bad going for the last day of March,
41:58and there'll be more warm sunshine for the start of April.
42:02The breeze picking up a little bit, making it feel cool in places,
42:05but it will be largely dry following on from what has been quite a dry March.
42:10Now, these totals show the rainfall compared with what we'd expect
42:14for the whole month of March up to the 28th of March.
42:17England and Wales overall had only had 25% of the typical March rainfall.
42:22It has been dry in most areas.
42:24It is going to stay dry into the beginning of April
42:27with our area of high pressure still in charge.
42:29That high just shifting a little bit further northwards and eastwards,
42:33that will take the cloud away from northern Scotland,
42:35so a much sunnier day here on Tuesday.
42:37Conversely, it will allow the breeze to pick up for some southern and eastern parts.
42:41So some of these North Sea coasts, 13, 14 degrees,
42:44parts of northern Scotland, 19, maybe 20 degrees.
42:47And there will be a lot of sunshine around.
42:49That continues on into Wednesday.
42:51Sunny skies for the vast majority, but still with that fairly brisk breeze,
42:56particularly for southern and eastern parts.
42:58Some of these North Sea coasts exposed to the breeze,
43:01temperatures will struggle a little bit up towards the north of Scotland.
43:04Still, those temperatures up to around 18 or 19 degrees Celsius.
43:08Now, subtle changes as we move into Thursday.
43:11High pressure still with us.
43:12This low swirling to the southwest,
43:14making for a pretty unsettled week in Spain and Portugal.
43:17And it may just start to throw some showers across the southwest of England,
43:21the southwest of Wales.
43:22Just a small chance of a shower here on Thursday.
43:24Most places fine with some sunshine.
43:26The highest of the temperatures may be shifting a little bit further south
43:30up to around 18 or 19 degrees.
43:33And it does start to turn a little bit cooler across northeastern parts into Friday.
43:37High pressure tending to drift northwards,
43:40and that will start to allow some slightly colder air to tuck its way
43:44and more of a northeasterly flow starting to develop.
43:47So some slightly lower temperatures on Friday up towards the north and the east,
43:51some patchy clouds, some sunny spells.
43:53Further south where you get some shelter from that breeze,
43:56temperatures could well climb to 19 or 20 degrees Celsius.
44:00Don't forget, you can keep track of the temperatures where you are
44:03by having a look at the BBC Weather app.
44:06But that's all from me. Bye for now.
44:10.
44:23We've been on a journey along the watercress line
44:26where I've been keeping things moving on board the heritage train.
44:30More?
44:32And Matt has been tasting the local delicacy.
44:38You'll get a peppery flavour.
44:39And it's the peppery taste of watercress that put this place on the map.
44:45In years gone by, the lanes around Allsford would have been filled
44:49with stalls selling homegrown watercress,
44:52which people paid for using an honesty box.
44:56The roadside stalls might have vanished,
44:58but selling local seasonal produce is still important to this community.
45:04Rachel Pepiat runs a farm shop which champions local producers.
45:10From its humble honesty box beginnings, it's now a thriving community hub.
45:16My vision was to just fill it with as many local suppliers
45:19as I possibly could.
45:21Make sure I got to know all the suppliers,
45:23knew where they got their produce from.
45:25You become part of the community, yeah, you're just in there then
45:29and everybody knows you and you know everybody else.
45:32Local baker Lisa Yeo delivers bread twice a week,
45:36as well as watercress pesto.
45:39Brilliant.
45:41Watercress bread.
45:43Fantastic.
45:45Pesto.
45:46Great.
45:48Emily McInnes farms six miles away and supplies her meat to the shop.
45:53So I supply homemade sausages and bacon
45:57and every now and then just some different varieties of bits,
46:01lamb chops, pork chops.
46:03I send her sort of a list of what I've got in stock at the moment
46:06and then she'll pick what she'd like me to deliver down to her that week.
46:10It's just a great local connection for everyone.
46:13One of the regulars is allotment Dave,
46:15who's been supplying the shop old and new with homegrown veg for 15 years,
46:20including his famous runner beans.
46:23Some people came in and they insisted that they wanted Dave's runner beans.
46:27I was quite chuffed with that.
46:29Why is it so important to you to support it?
46:31I think that your shop should be able to supply local produce to local people.
46:37And Dave, when do I need to be back to get your first crop of runner beans?
46:42Probably in May time.
46:44Okay, I'm booking now.
46:46Reserve me a little bunch, will you?
46:49This place began with watercress
46:51and Rachel's shop still has its own watercress beds out the back.
46:55And they're plots that her good friend Mervyn's been tending for over 25 years.
47:01So Rachel, Merv was here and the beds were here before you arrived.
47:04Oh yes, well before I was here, yes.
47:07And what are the benefits? Why do people love it so much?
47:10Is it the taste?
47:11Well, I mean the taste is deliciously peppery, depending on what time of year.
47:16This is about the best time of year because it's had all winter to mature.
47:20Whereas in the spring and the summer you're putting young stuff out
47:24and that ain't got the flavour of what this would have.
47:27It's also full of vitamins.
47:29You know, better than broccoli, better than all sorts of other veg that you get.
47:33It's a superfood, really.
47:35And Merv, you've been harvesting it for a few years now.
47:37Are you a fan of watercress?
47:39Not really.
47:41My wife does a nice soup.
47:45Oh.
47:51While smaller watercress beds like Rachel's are harvested by hand all year round,
47:56Tom, who I met earlier, farms on a much larger scale.
48:06At this time of year the farm is in a transitional phase,
48:09clearing out the beds and getting ready for the growing season ahead.
48:14In charge of preparing the next season's precious crop is Penny Ede,
48:18who starts by germinating the seeds in water,
48:21gently bubbled to stop them clumping together.
48:24Oh, it's warm, isn't it?
48:25Yeah.
48:26So there's loads of seeds in there?
48:28Yeah.
48:29Wow.
48:30Turning.
48:31Oh, look at that.
48:32That's all just full of seed and what you're doing through this sort of seed system
48:36is just separating the water from the seeds.
48:38Yeah, exactly.
48:39How long have they been in here?
48:4148 hours.
48:42Do you only do this at this time of year?
48:45We start in February, so slowly but surely,
48:48and it gathers speed as we go through the months.
48:50Yeah.
48:52Make sure we get it all.
48:54This amount of seed that we've got here, Penny,
48:57how many beds would this fill?
48:59Well, this tub is only going to be doing half a bed.
49:03Right.
49:04You can see just how well they've chitted and they've got their little tail.
49:09That, to me, is a very good seedling to go out.
49:12A chitted or pre-sprouted seed helps speed up the growing process.
49:17So that's ready now.
49:19To prevent the seeds being washed away by the flowing water in the watercress beds,
49:23they'll be mixed with guar gum before planting.
49:26OK.
49:27Does it go in and do it from there?
49:29Like that?
49:30Yeah, drop it as it goes, slowly.
49:32One more.
49:33Bit more.
49:34Guar is a thickening agent derived from guar beans and is used in food products.
49:39Penny uses it to support and suspend the tiny seeds for planting.
49:44I'm happy with that.
49:45You can see it sort of folding in, can't you?
49:47It's like that gluey mix, yeah.
49:50Now we can pop the lid on.
49:53And with the guar and germinated seeds ready to go,
49:57it's time to get to the watercress beds.
50:04This walk-along seed drill is a great chance to get hands-on with a new bit of kit.
50:09But first the seeds and guar are mixed together and poured into the machine's hopper.
50:14Be careful, it is very heavy.
50:17Woo!
50:20So our seed mix here goes down through the machine.
50:24Goes through these tubes and then it gets distributed.
50:28In these lovely rows as we go.
50:30Once in the beds, it drops the seeds suspended in the mixture into the channels scraped in the gravel,
50:36planting the crop for this year's harvest.
50:39Do you want to get it into position?
50:44The tricky part, getting it onto the beds?
50:46Yeah.
50:47OK, right.
50:49After being given a few instructions on how to control the machine by Derek...
50:53Yeah.
50:54And it's not in default.
50:55Yeah.
50:58I see.
50:59It brings the seed through the tube.
51:02Boom! Off we go!
51:09Lovely to be part of the process, certainly at this stage.
51:13The long growing season ahead.
51:16It's not only the constant flow in water that poses a risk to the crop.
51:20Getting the gravel beds right is just as crucial.
51:24Expertly preparing them is Penny's husband, Sean.
51:28My main aim now is to try and get this bed as even as possible.
51:32Are we just looking and sort of gauging it as we go?
51:35Well, as you can see here now, you've got the highest patch there and you can see you've got the lowest patch here.
51:40Yeah.
51:41You've got to remember though, you're only talking less than an inch from there to there,
51:45so you only want to pull off about half an inch.
51:47It's a fine art to this, isn't there, Sean?
51:49Well, yeah, as soon as you're raking a low spot, yeah.
51:52You need to be over it.
51:53You can see the highest spot there.
51:58This is where we need to rake it.
52:00How old were you when you started?
52:02Fifteen, just about to turn sixteen.
52:05Wow.
52:06So, around about...
52:08I'm going to make you carry me out now, aren't I?
52:11Go on, let's enter the secret. Go on, Sean.
52:14So, around about 44 years.
52:1644 years!
52:19It becomes part of your life, to be honest.
52:21It almost comes into your blood.
52:23The passion for watercress here certainly runs deep,
52:27not just professionally, but personally too.
52:30Sean and Penny have worked the watercress beds together for 37 years.
52:35My job is to make sure I get as much out of one of these beds as I can.
52:39Yeah.
52:40Penn's job is to make sure we get quality.
52:43Yeah.
52:44So, sometimes me and Penn will clash.
52:47You're married, aren't you?
52:48Yeah, yeah.
52:49Let me get... Penny!
52:51Come over here.
52:53You've got to ditch the dirt now. Come on.
52:55Yeah, she will ditch the dirt.
52:58Penny, I'm hearing about your working relationship.
53:01Oh, right.
53:03How does it seem from your perspective?
53:05Who does what?
53:06He does what I tell him.
53:08I'm only joking, I'm only joking.
53:11It works really well.
53:12Does it?
53:13We've been working together ever since we've been married, haven't we?
53:17Which is 37 years this year.
53:20Whereabouts did you grow up then?
53:22Well, actually here.
53:23Oh, here?
53:24In this village.
53:25Right in this village, yeah.
53:26Oh, gosh.
53:27So, you've been looking out on watercress beds your entire life?
53:30Grandfather and father worked here.
53:32It probably tops up to about 100 years between all three of us.
53:35That's incredible, isn't it?
53:36So, always got my hands in the cress and dabbling about
53:40and playing in the water and everything.
53:42This is a dream relationship, isn't it?
53:44With your obsession and your passion.
53:47It was actually quite weird because we had a bloke.
53:49One day he came in and he was absolutely totally shocked
53:52and sort of really sad and all that.
53:54I said, what's the matter with you then?
53:56And he said, I can't believe it.
53:58I said, what?
53:59He said, Robbie Rodenhouse died.
54:01I said, what he didn't know about watercress wasn't worth knowing.
54:04That sort of gave me like...
54:06Inspiration.
54:07Inspiration to sort of like, can I achieve that?
54:09What I didn't realise is three years later,
54:12I was going to marry his daughter.
54:15That was my father.
54:18Gosh, so it was him that gave you the inspiration to start
54:22and then the pair of you.
54:23Isn't that lovely?
54:24But unfortunately, he passed away.
54:26Yeah, he was young.
54:27So I never ever met Penny's father.
54:29So he's 56 when he passed away.
54:32But it's everything he built into me
54:35that I still use today, some of that,
54:38which is wonderful, really.
54:41Grandfathers and fathers' day,
54:43they would have all took their cress to the watercress line
54:47and that would have gone up to London,
54:50to like Covent Garden, Borough Market
54:53and Spitterfields and all that.
54:55I'll say one thing for you,
54:56your granddad would be more than proud.
54:58He did give me the inspiration, though.
55:00Yeah.
55:01Go and make a name for myself in the industry.
55:03Well, you've done that.
55:04You've done that.
55:05I'm Colesburg now.
55:08Probably the best in the world.
55:14In Oxford, watercress finds its way into everything.
55:18So we couldn't come here without sampling
55:20some of its fine produce for ourselves.
55:23So Rachel, from the farm shop,
55:25is showing us one of her favourite recipes,
55:27watercress pesto.
55:29Right, well, let's cut up some watercress.
55:31Here we go, for you to do there.
55:33This is amazing, this stuff.
55:34And we need some basil here, chopped up.
55:36Yeah, OK.
55:37And we're going to put that in.
55:38And we're going to put that in.
55:40And we need some basil here, chopped up.
55:42Yeah, OK.
55:43Have you tried this, Margarita?
55:44No, I haven't yet.
55:45I've been eating it most of the day.
55:46Have you?
55:50Just wait for it to come in.
55:51You get that little fiery kick, don't you?
55:52Oh, I love that.
55:53It's very good.
55:54It's delicious.
55:55Very good.
55:56So fresh.
55:57What ingredients have we got on the table here then, Rachel?
55:59So we've got some lemon, some garlic, pine nuts,
56:03a bit of parmesan.
56:05How many things can you use watercress for?
56:08From soup to bread.
56:09Yeah, soup was a big thing, wasn't it?
56:11We have watercress and trout quiches.
56:13Oh, that sounds gorgeous.
56:14We're going to do walnuts and pine nuts.
56:16Walnuts going in.
56:17Perfect.
56:18It's coming together.
56:19Look at that.
56:20Look at that.
56:21There we go.
56:22What a mixture.
56:23Give that a quick stir.
56:24All right.
56:25What else do you want in there?
56:26And then I'm going to get the garlic.
56:27Just gives it a little bit of extra flavour.
56:28There's your knife.
56:29Right, in the bit of lemon.
56:30Then we'll pop the garlic in.
56:32A pinch of salt, a drizzle of olive oil,
56:35and some grated parmesan finishes off this rustic pesto.
56:39Is that enough?
56:40It looks fine.
56:41I mean, you can put more.
56:42It doesn't really matter.
56:43Go on.
56:44We're just perfect.
56:45That looks great.
56:46A good chunk of freshly baked watercress bread,
56:49and all we need...
56:50Ah, here we are.
56:51Tom.
56:52We've come for rustic pesto.
56:54Good, yes.
56:55How are you, mate, George?
56:56Nice to see you.
56:57Come on in, Penny.
56:58And joining us is Tom's son, George,
57:00who's taking watercress into the future.
57:02Help yourself there, George.
57:03Get involved.
57:05What a wonderful trip we've had, haven't we?
57:07It's been incredible.
57:08It's been the best time.
57:10Honestly, thank you all so much.
57:12Here we go.
57:13Ready?
57:15Cheers.
57:16That's really good.
57:18Well, here's to each and every one of you, honestly,
57:20for keeping the traditions alive, keeping it going.
57:24George, I understand you're the next generation coming through then.
57:27Yeah, I am.
57:28I've been busy learning from Sean and Penny
57:31all the sort of tricks and skills you need to be successful.
57:34Quite an adventure then, no doubt.
57:36Yeah, definitely, a lot to learn.
57:37Super traditional and old skills that you need to know about
57:41that you can't learn anywhere else.
57:42Well, I'm sure you'll do great, mate, honestly.
57:44Fingers crossed.
57:45You've got some good teachers here.
57:46Yes, definitely.
57:47I know.
57:48I've had a good day with them all.
57:49It's been fantastic.
57:50We've had the best time.
57:51Thank you for that.
57:52Well, that's all we've got time for for this week.
57:54Next week, Adam and Charlotte will be in the Cairngorms
57:56meeting the guardians of the landscape.
57:59Johnny's just getting the dogs that he's been talking about
58:01that act as guard dogs for sheep.
58:03Hello.
58:04Oh, my goodness, it's like a small horse.
58:07You'll always have some that just want to overstep the mark.
58:10Do they understand the sensitivities?
58:12Most do.
58:13I've even been told, oh, you're the Capuchin police,
58:15so they're fully aware of what I'm doing.
58:18This has been steaming for a couple of hours.
58:21And how long have you got to bend it?
58:23About a minute and a half.
58:24Oh, my goodness.
58:25You didn't tell me that.
58:27That's next week at 5.15.
58:30Hope you can join us then.
58:31Bye-bye.
58:32Are you getting the train home?
58:42It's all about fitting in and finding your talent.
58:45The basketball team has a new star player.
58:47Press red for high hoops on iPlayer.
58:49Harsh and spectacular,
58:51the extraordinary wildlife of the frozen north of the Americas,
58:55next on BBC1.