- 6 hours ago
Category
π₯
Short filmTranscript
00:00Perched on Britain's north-west sits Cheshire, a county that has it all.
00:09It's a lovely mix of towns, cities and countryside.
00:14Cradled between a patchwork of rolling emerald fields sit timeless villages, criss-crossed with tranquil waterways.
00:23I mean, look at that. Love it. Wouldn't be anywhere else.
00:27Stand vast county estates and castles.
00:32Meeting with an industrial heart both old...
00:35That's the last of the cutting done.
00:37...and new.
00:38This is going to be tight this week for the delivery.
00:40...the rich tapestry of historic traditions...
00:43It's so difficult.
00:45...and modern cultures...
00:46Ta-da!
00:47...forms a vibrant and thriving community.
00:50Welcome to Cheshire.
00:52He's looking good.
00:53Oh! Ho-ho!
00:57This time, Master Thatcher Wayne preps his apprentice.
01:02He's running at a knack-wrong angle, Steve.
01:04Wayne tells me when I've gone wrong. He's not shy.
01:07The heat is on site manager Mark at Cruise Historic Trainworks.
01:12Though some of the parts haven't turned up on time, this will be tight.
01:17Only time will tell if we're going to hit this deliverer.
01:20And in the peaks, whiskey aficionados Carl and Lindsay are bringing something new to the county.
01:27Our first ever Cheshire single malt. Give it a go.
01:32The charming county of Cheshire is a sight to behold, as autumn's warm golden hues transform its spectacular landscape.
01:44The change of season brings a flurry of activity for the good folk of Cheshire.
01:49Nestled between the Welsh hills to the west and the Pennines to the east, Cheshire is a county with plenty of surprises.
02:04Once boasting almost 200 of the grandest stately homes in the country, Cheshire harbours many of the finest piles still standing today.
02:16From the Grand Palladian Tably House to the 13th century former royal castle at Beeston,
02:23these lavish dwellings continue to evoke a sense of grandeur, history and tradition.
02:33Nestled in the south of the county sits one of its finest examples.
02:39Famed not for its four walls, but for its elaborate gardens.
02:45The gardens cover 70 acres. There's a bit of everything in all parts of the garden.
02:50Making sure it remains pristine all year round is the job of head gardener Barry Grain.
02:56Despite what most people would think, the autumn and winter is always the busiest period in the garden
03:00because we're still maintaining it as well as doing our really highly seasonal jobs as well.
03:09So I'm currently deadheading helleniums.
03:11The importance of deadheading is really to extend the season of interest
03:14and getting as much as we can out of the plants for the visiting public
03:17before they naturally start to die away in a few weeks' time.
03:20And for Murray, the gardens are particularly special at this time of the year.
03:25The garden just comes alive in autumn.
03:28It's my favourite season of the year for sure.
03:31Some parts of the garden are just on fire with colour.
03:36Built in the early 19th century by architect William Turner
03:40for the first Marquess of Chumley.
03:43Chumley Castle remains a private residence
03:46but does allow visitors to explore the estate's magnificent landscape.
03:55The beautiful formal and informal grounds
03:58are all thanks to the lifetime's work of one lady.
04:01We're currently on Lavinia's walk.
04:06Lady Lavinia is the present Lord Chumley's mum
04:09and she's responsible for the whole of the garden really.
04:12She arrived here in 1949 and set about with gusto.
04:16For over six decades, Lady Lavinia passionately planned, planted,
04:21and pruned her way through this beautiful year-round garden,
04:25ensuring that even in the autumn,
04:28the garden was a unique display of colours and textures.
04:34She inherited a landscape
04:35that was mostly sweeping lawns and mature trees
04:38or a few pockets of Victorian-era planting.
04:40But she set about it and created this amazing garden
04:44and everything that she planted is now fully mature
04:47and looks terrific at this time of year.
04:50The gardens just mean everything, really,
04:52which is what they should to a gardener.
04:53That heart and that love of the garden
04:55and what it is that you do,
04:56the final product of the finished garden reflects it.
05:00And Barry learnt first-hand about this unique garden
05:03from the woman who created it.
05:05I had three fantastic years working with Lady Lavinia.
05:08Three of the best years of my professional career, I must say.
05:13She was a remarkable plantswoman.
05:15Lady Lavinia would be incredibly proud of everything
05:18that we've done with the garden.
05:19I do think it is part of my remit to really keep her spirit alive
05:24in everything that we do.
05:26And I've constantly got this little voice in the back of my head
05:30saying, you know, what would she do?
05:35Autumn is a busy time for Barry
05:37as he tries to eke out every last bit of floral magic
05:40for the paying visitors,
05:42as well as preparing the garden for the winter months.
05:47With so much to do,
05:48the last thing Barry and his team need is a problem.
05:54But, unfortunately for Barry,
05:57the weather gods have turned on him.
06:01With days of torrential rain falling at Chumney,
06:04his once lovely lawns have turned from manicured to marshland.
06:09As streams of water pour through the gardens,
06:12Barry has made a difficult decision.
06:16There's absolutely no chance of opening the gardens today.
06:19It's just inaccessible.
06:21We've still got streams running down pathways and everything,
06:23so it's just not safe for visitors.
06:25So, regrettably, and it doesn't happen very often,
06:27but every now and then we do have to close
06:30if this amount of water comes through,
06:33which sadly has happened.
06:36Barry needs to reopen the garden for visitors as soon as possible,
06:40but will the weather let up?
06:42And how quickly can Barry and his team get everything back on track?
06:53A county known for its beautiful scenery and rolling fields,
06:56Cheshire is a natural paradise.
07:03But through this landscape runs one of Britain's most vital transport links,
07:08the West Coast Main Line between London, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.
07:16To the south of this county,
07:18Crewe is a city which owes its very existence to these tracks.
07:22It's a city that still wears its railway heritage on its sleeve.
07:26Every day, thousands of people stop at Crewe's station.
07:31When the trains they're travelling on need servicing,
07:34it's Crewe they turn to.
07:36For almost 200 years,
07:39Crewe works have acted a bit like a garage for trains,
07:43making sure they're kept on the rails.
07:45Since 2021, it's been run by Allstom,
07:48and train parts still arrive daily for overhaul.
07:53Today is no different.
07:55These wheelsets, or bogies as they are known,
07:59have been taken off a train in Manchester and brought here to be serviced.
08:04All righty.
08:06Yeah, good, thank you.
08:08Now it's the job of site manager Mark Derbyshire to make sure they are overhauled.
08:13What Ian is doing now is taking the bogies off the back of the wagon.
08:18He will then sequence them into our strip process.
08:20These are the bogies that run under the trains from Piccadilly to Euston.
08:26These are the Class 390 tilting trains.
08:29Trains have been built and maintained at this site since before Crewe existed.
08:37Crewe is a railway town.
08:40The works came first.
08:42The settlement that is now known as Crewe was built for workers
08:45to build the facility and then to work in the facility.
08:49So by its very nature, Crewe is born out of the railways.
08:53Within decades, Crewe's unique position where several railways met
08:58made it one of the most important railway towns anywhere.
09:02Goods from all over Cheshire came to Crewe to be shipped across the UK and the world.
09:09This was the rail industry.
09:11This was new build.
09:12It had its own foundries.
09:13It had its own machine shop.
09:16It had its own fabrication part of the business.
09:19It's 190 years old.
09:21It's been everything to the rail industry.
09:23The works were famous for building trains.
09:27Blocks of metal would arrive and weeks later,
09:31steam trains would roll out ready to take to the rails.
09:35The heritage of the site, what it's done from a worldwide engineering perspective,
09:39is probably not as well known as it should be.
09:40The crew in Cheshire have helped shape the world in terms of engineering.
09:49Coming up, a Victorian engineering marvel that's still in use today.
09:54It doesn't always work first time, so there's always a little bit of anticipation and anxiety.
10:01And a master Thatcher is in a battle with the weather.
10:04This time of year, it's going through your mind.
10:09You need to get the job done before the really bad weather comes.
10:13Cheshire has a rich and varied landscape of rolling hills interspersed with dappled forests and lush parklands.
10:31But if there's one thing the county is not short of, that's quaint and characterful picture postcard villages with their iconic wisteria clad cottages and timber framed homes.
10:46In the east of the county is the charming village of Eton with historic white painted cottages.
10:54We've got the pattern working, and now we're going to cut it.
10:59Do you follow the pattern?
11:02Where keeping up historic appearances is all in a day's work for master Thatcher, Wayne Halfpenny.
11:08Well, I've been doing this since I was 12 years of age, with five of my brothers.
11:16I don't know anything different than doing thatching.
11:21I love it. I love it.
11:24It's like as if I go out to work for nothing sometimes, because I like it that much.
11:29Thatch roofs date back as early as 700 A.D., but it was the invading Normans who popularized them in the 11th and 12th centuries to crown their castles, churches and family homes.
11:46Today, thatch roofs on historic properties are recognized for their sustainability, and if they're well maintained, their durability.
11:54Wayne is two weeks into restoring this cottage's thatch roof, replacing some reeds and the crust ridge that runs along the top.
12:07A thatch roof is a lot warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, because of the thickness of it.
12:15In the winter, it keeps your heat in the house, and in the summer, it keeps it cool, because the heat can't get in.
12:21Thatch roofs have gained popularity in eco-conscious building practices, because as well as their natural insulating properties, they use renewable and locally sourced materials.
12:34With plenty of these types of roofs across Cheshire, Wayne is in high demand.
12:40A lot of the people who live in thatch houses around Cheshire want me to come and do the work for them.
12:45They like to become my family.
12:48I've got to know everyone in this village, because we're thatching.
12:54You do a good job for someone, and you end up doing all the jobs in the area.
13:00The thatching process involves layering bundles of straw, or reeds, on a wooden frame, creating a waterproof barrier.
13:08Typically, the roof is pitched high so that the water runs off more easily.
13:14These are called wraps.
13:16You wet them down before you bring them on the roof.
13:19You lay them along the top, and that acts like a bit of a ridge tile.
13:25And it's all fixed down with bamboo.
13:28And then it's thrashed the old-fashioned way.
13:32Sadly, this ancient craft is a skill that is dying away.
13:37It's getting to the stage now in Cheshire, there's no factures about.
13:41And I'm one of the last.
13:43And so I've got to really train someone to carry on my family business.
13:50Thankfully, Wayne has a plan.
13:53Steve's the ideal guy to do it.
13:57He's willing to learn it.
13:59I enjoy doing it.
14:01It's just a different cottage every couple of weeks, and the job's not always the same.
14:06There's something different.
14:08I love being outdoors, and you're not in the same place all the time.
14:11You're in different areas, so it's quite nice.
14:15And Cheshire, it's quite a beautiful, beautiful place to be around.
14:20Working alongside Wayne and learning the ropes is apprentice Steve Kelly.
14:25I'm just doing the patterning, really, in the middle, right across the ridge.
14:30Make it look good.
14:32I was a gas engineer.
14:34I was just in between jobs at the time.
14:36Ended up asking Wayne to see if he'd got any work.
14:39Suddenly he said, yeah, come with me.
14:42It was only supposed to be for two weeks, and now we're four years down the line.
14:46Yeah, so it's going all right. It's going great.
14:48He's the best lad so far I've ever had with me.
14:51That's just as well, because Steve isn't just Wayne's apprentice.
14:56He's his future son-in-law.
14:58It's running out of that wrong angle, Steve.
15:01Your first one.
15:02Well, Wayne tells me when I've gone wrong.
15:05He's not shy.
15:06I've been factoring for about 40 years now.
15:11I started my own business, and my brothers all are at the age where they finished.
15:19So, and I carried it on.
15:22It's starting to look good now.
15:26Now it's all cleaned off, and we're getting the ridge all up and running.
15:32But with winter drawing in, Wayne and Steve are under pressure to finish off the roof as quickly as possible.
15:39See, this time of year it's going through your mind.
15:42You need to get the job done before any really bad weather comes.
15:46With a storm scheduled to pass through Cheshire in the next few days, will the dream team get the job finished in time?
15:55The biggest problem we've got is the weather. It's stopped us in our tracks.
16:00Cheshire's beautiful rolling fields hide a manufacturing past.
16:11This county was one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution that relied on waterways to transport goods.
16:19Britain's first modern canal, the Bridgewater Canal, crosses Cheshire on its journey from Runcorn to Lee.
16:30Despite no longer humming with industry, hundreds of miles of canals still crisscross the county.
16:37In the tiny village of Anderton, in the centre of the county, is a unique Victorian canal relic.
16:48The Anderton boat lift. An example of the engineering prowess that transformed the nation.
16:54But with the industry no more, Cheshire's canals have become a haven for visitors and locals who want to experience a slower pace of life.
17:05Volunteer Jim grew up on the water.
17:08When my family was younger, we did quite a few canal holidays and they're absolutely wonderful.
17:15It's all about slowing down. It's taking life at four miles an hour.
17:20Taking your house with you and seeing some lovely countryside, whether it's in Cheshire or anywhere else in the UK that has a canal system.
17:29Although Britain might have 4,700 miles of canals, only Cheshire has this.
17:39Known as the Cathedral of Canals, this industrial marvel was built in 1875 to move canal boats the 50 feet between the Trent and Mersey Canal and the River Weaver.
17:52Almost 150 years later, it's still a marvel to ex-engineer Jim.
18:01There's something lovely about seeing a machine work.
18:06It doesn't always work first time, so there's always a little bit of anticipation and anxiety.
18:12But when it does go up, it's just a lovely piece of machinery to watch going up.
18:17At the bottom of the lift, on the river, the first passenger of the day has arrived.
18:25Welcome to Anderton. How many people on board, please?
18:29Just two of us.
18:30Two of us, and any pets?
18:32Yeah, they don't.
18:33OK, we'll be calling boats to go into the lift, once I've got the gates up and we're ready for you.
18:39OK? Thank you very much, and we'll see you shortly.
18:41OK, thank you. Bye.
18:44With the boaters prepped, it's time for this industrial beauty to spring into life.
18:50Once we've got the boats ready to come in, we need to get the gates up.
18:54Jim to Michelle, receiving.
18:56Go ahead, Jim.
18:58We're ready if you would like to wedge and flood. Over.
19:01OK.
19:02The boat lift has two large water tanks that can transport two narrowboats each.
19:07So I'm getting to this point, and I'm checking to see that both my boats are out.
19:14They are. Everything's OK.
19:17So I would now give the signal to the boaters that it would be safe to come in.
19:26Hello there.
19:28So we just need you clear of that white line behind you.
19:30And that's great.
19:31So once you're happy, then you can stop your engine.
19:33Then all it takes is one final push of a button to send them on their journey.
19:39And as one tank carries boats up to the canal, the other carries boats down to the river, cleverly acting as counterweights to each other.
19:48One level, it's a simple thing.
19:50It's two hydraulic rams lifting a tank of water up or lowering it down.
19:55But behind all that, there's obviously a lot of safety.
19:58It takes approximately half an hour from entering the lift to exiting it at the top.
20:05Although it now carries leisure passengers, when it first opened, the lift would have ferried working boats carrying pottery from Staffordshire in exchange for the finest Cheshire salt.
20:16Today, the Anderton boat lift is the only Victorian boat lift left in the country.
20:23Yet things were almost very different.
20:26In 1983, it was closed, declared unsafe due to corrosion and abandoned.
20:33It wasn't until 2002, after a huge restoration project, that it was reopened to the public.
20:40Something thousands of boaters each year are thankful for.
20:45Well, enjoy the rest of your journey, and we'll see you again sometime, hopefully.
20:50Another happy customer for Jim.
20:52I don't think I would ever tire of going through the lift.
20:58I love the experience of going up and down.
21:02It's not a wild thrill ride, it's more of a gentle journey, going from one waterway to the other, in a piece of machinery that started in 1875.
21:12I mean, it's absolutely great that something that's nearly 150 years old is still working and functioning as it was originally intended.
21:23Here's to another 150.
21:25Although canals might once have dominated travel in Cheshire, it wasn't long before they gave way to the railways.
21:36No town in the country was more famous for its railway workshops than crew.
21:42Although trains may no longer be built here, crew works are still very much alive.
21:47Hi boys, alright? How's it going? Okay? Yeah?
21:53Works manager Mark has a tight deadline to meet.
21:56They are servicing the bogies, or wheels, of a mainline train.
22:01We're already behind, because the train was late, into Manchester.
22:05That makes no difference to our time. The train has to go out on Sunday.
22:09So if these bogies are not delivered back into Manchester, for the vehicle to be in traffic on Monday, then passengers will not be getting their trains to work.
22:19The first job is to wash away all the dirt and grime from millions of miles of travel.
22:25It's a messy job as the bogies are taken apart before being put into a giant industrial washing machine.
22:31Unique in the UK, if not the world, it blasts the bogies with water and hot air for an hour.
22:42Any remaining grime is removed by hand.
22:49With the bogies cleaned...
22:52Hi Dave. Hi Kieran.
22:54...Mark gets a chance to inspect their condition.
22:56These wheels would have run for around about a million and a half miles.
23:02The bogie frame now comes off its wheels.
23:05The wheels will then go away, but overall, really important now, that the bogie frame isn't damaged during the lift, and all the wheels damaged during the lift.
23:13With 12 tons of bogies about to fly through the air, Mark is keen that everything goes to plan.
23:20Looking good. Chains on. Bolsters out.
23:23Great calipers off.
23:26Good to start.
23:30Looking a good lift.
23:33All good.
23:43Well done, fellas.
23:45With the wheels off, Mark and the team can finally start work on the bogie frame.
23:49This is the start of the beginning, if that makes sense. So this is the end of the strip. Now we start to rebuild.
23:57But with time ticking away, there's still much more to do.
24:02Many more hours to go.
24:04So in terms of turnaround time for our bogies, maximum of five days.
24:11These are probably the most complicated bogies that we do in crew.
24:16It's probably the fastest throughput time that we do in crew on these bogies as well.
24:20It's a double whammy.
24:21With the bogies cleaned and the wheels removed, it's all hands on deck to make sure they're ready to be returned to service.
24:29In terms of stresses of the job, if you like, I probably sleep like a baby, which is waking up every two hours crying.
24:38So yes, there are definitely inherent stresses with the job.
24:43Typically, we don't fail many of these.
24:46We've only had a couple fail.
24:48So experience tells us that this will be a good bolster.
24:51Fingers crossed this is going to be okay.
24:54Mark's always on the lookout for potential problems.
24:57And he's just discovered one.
25:00And it's a big one.
25:01So some of the parts haven't turned up on time, unfortunately.
25:06This will be tight.
25:08Only time will tell if we're going to hit this delivery.
25:14Coming up, Barry struggles to reopen Chumley Gardens.
25:19This is a conundrum that I'm not entirely convinced we'll solve.
25:23And we meet the couple who are getting into the Cheshire spirit.
25:26What do you reckon? Is this the one?
25:31What do you reckon?
25:32What do you reckon?
25:38Nestled into the rolling hills and fertile farmland of the charming Cheshire countryside,
25:46sit some of the UK's biggest stately homes.
25:51Surrounded by landscape lawns and lush garden paradises.
25:54To the south of the county is Chumley Castle and its expansive gardens.
26:03With Lavinia Walk at its heart, there's plenty for visitors to explore and enjoy,
26:10including the Four Seasons Rose Garden with over 800 plantings and a variety of types,
26:17from the Tuscany Superb to the Queen of Denmark.
26:20But head gardener Barry Grain has a big problem on his hands.
26:28It's pretty bad. I mean, it's come up quite significantly.
26:31Much more than we were expecting, really.
26:33It's just inundated the place, really.
26:36Severe rain over the past few days has turned parts of this 70-acre pastoral paradise
26:42into a watering nightmare.
26:45Although the rain may have stopped, the damage remains.
26:49Elsewhere in the gardens where we've got much lower-lying paths,
26:54they're going to need rebuilding in parts.
26:55A lot of the surface gravel will be washed away.
26:58So it's almost renovation time in certain areas.
27:00For Barry and his team, the flooding was the last thing they needed.
27:07They're desperate to get the gardens back open and allow visitors in to enjoy them.
27:13It'll put us back because we're going to need to spend probably the best part of a week
27:17across the whole garden putting things back as they were and reinstating paths
27:20and grassed areas and all the rest of it.
27:22So it's going to put us back considerably on what is already a tough autumn workload.
27:28With time ticking away and more bad weather expected,
27:32Barry turns his attention to the higher parts of the garden.
27:36After assessing the damage, it's not good news.
27:41The flood water, now receded, has left behind a ton of smelly pond weed and algae.
27:47This has never happened before.
27:50We've had the pond empty onto the paths before,
27:52but never with this volume of duckweed and algae.
27:54So this is a conundrum that I'm not entirely convinced we'll solve.
27:58The quicker Barry can get rid of the unwanted algae and weed,
28:03the quicker visitors can return.
28:05So time is of the essence.
28:07We think the best method is to use the backs of some rakes.
28:11So using a rake in reverse to try and drag it into piles.
28:14Play the best rakes you can find.
28:17Really?
28:18This is just a hunch because we're not sure how else we can possibly do it.
28:22What a thought is if we can try and just use the backs of the rakes.
28:25Yeah?
28:26Yeah.
28:27If you knock it about a bit, then hopefully it should then start to thin out.
28:39We're hoping that this might be not too laborious a process,
28:43because we've got a mountain of other jobs to do.
28:48I hate being right all the time.
28:50So hopefully this is a quick fix.
28:52It's an aromatic smell. I think that's the kindest way I can put it.
28:58I'm just glad it didn't happen in the summer, because then it really would be a dust mask job to get anywhere near it.
29:03Luckily for Bowery, the pond weed isn't putting up too much of a fight.
29:08Yeah, it's going pretty well.
29:09It's coming up better than we'd anticipated, to be honest.
29:10Any excess that we're left with should just wash away with the next decent downpour of rain,
29:14providing it doesn't all empty out of the pond again.
29:16A welcome relief for Bowery and his team,
29:17and good news for visitors wanting to enjoy Chemley's gardens.
29:19It's just a case of letting the air get to it now for an hour or so,
29:20and then hopefully no one would ever know it happens.
29:21It's just a case of letting the air get to it now for an hour or so,
29:22and then hopefully no one would ever know it happens.
29:23It's going pretty well.
29:24It's coming up better than we'd anticipated, to be honest.
29:28Any excess that we're left with should just wash away with the next decent downpour of rain,
29:33providing it doesn't all empty out of the pond again.
29:37A welcome relief for Bowery and his team, and good news for visitors wanting to enjoy Chemley's gardens.
29:44It's just a case of letting the air get to it now for an hour or so,
29:47and hopefully no one would ever know it happened.
29:49Crisis averted.
29:53With everything back on track,
29:55Bowery can open the doors for everyone to enjoy Lady Lavinia's gardens once again.
30:02It's all about building on her legacy this fantastic gift that she left to us,
30:06and it's our job to make it better and carry it on in the spirit in which she would have been proud.
30:11Cheshire may be known for its wide, flat, open plain,
30:17but east of the county, things change dramatically.
30:21A languid landscape of lush moorland plateaus,
30:25with mountaintops popping up producing rugged ridges that define the Cheshire Peak District.
30:32With its stunning scenery, this national park truly is an area of outstanding beauty.
30:39Overlooking the magnificent Macclesfield Forest,
30:42at more than 1,600 feet above sea level, sits the country's highest whiskey distillery.
30:49It's run by a husband and wife team who like to keep everything local.
30:54Cheshire malted barley.
30:57Yep.
30:58Really good stuff.
30:59We're proudly Cheshire.
31:01Literally grows in the fields down the road.
31:04The tiny independent forest distillery
31:07is the passion project of Carl and Lindsay Bond.
31:11We start off with the Cheshire barley.
31:14That gets mixed into here,
31:17which is our mash tun,
31:19with hot water from here.
31:21Cheshire-born Carl and Lindsay, who is from Manchester,
31:25launched their distillery business in 2019.
31:28They also offer tasting tours and a cosy dog-friendly bar
31:33for folk to enjoy their world-famous gins and whiskies.
31:37We wanted our whiskies to taste of Cheshire,
31:39and what, you know, Cheshire earth, Cheshire water, Cheshire barley.
31:44We want to be shouting about Cheshire whiskey.
31:46So, all of our ingredients, our bottles, all from here.
31:50All of this began in Macclesfield Forest in 2014.
31:55Lindsay and Carl would forage for botanicals
31:58with their then four-year-old daughter, Hattie,
32:01and use them to infuse gin they distilled at home.
32:04But what started as a hobby took off,
32:07and now their gins are sold worldwide.
32:10In 2019, we were starting to barrel-age some of the gin
32:14and play around with different grains and different processes,
32:17and we love whisky.
32:19And we thought, why not?
32:20You loved whisky. I didn't actually like whisky at the time.
32:23I think...
32:24You love it more than me these days.
32:25I like it more than him these days.
32:26But at the time, you just kind of convinced me, didn't you,
32:28that I was going to make whisky.
32:32When it came to a location for their whisky distillery,
32:35Lindsay and Carl were delighted when the ideal property came up.
32:40We grew up round here,
32:42and the cat and fiddle's just legendary.
32:45When we saw the cellars, we were like,
32:47wow, well, there's loads of space.
32:49Let's stick some barrels in here.
32:51It just made a lot of sense, really.
32:52It's local to us.
32:53It's got this stunning spot
32:54that's almost like the Highlands of Scotland,
32:56but is very grounded in Cheshire and Cheshire's history.
32:59Sitting on the edge of the Cheshire Peak District,
33:03the cat and fiddle was a legendary coaching inn built in 1813
33:08as a pit stop for travellers
33:10on the main road between Macclesfield and Buxton.
33:13But being so isolated, the pub struggled,
33:17and in 2016 had to call last orders.
33:21The cat and fiddle's an iconic building.
33:23It was such a shame when it came out
33:25it was such a shame when it closed for everybody in the local area.
33:28So we did a crowdfunding to see if people did support what we were doing.
33:31And half of Cheshire seemed to chip in something
33:34towards the redecoration costs.
33:36So we're really proud to see it open, busy.
33:39Now, as a further honour to their fellow Cheshire brethren,
33:42Lindsay and Carl have been creating what they hope
33:45will be the first ever Cheshire single malt whisky.
33:50So coming out of there, new make spirit,
33:52not officially allowed to be called whisky
33:54until it's three years old.
33:56This has to go into whisky casks.
33:58They've been waiting three years
34:00to see if the special barrel aged whisky
34:03is drinkable or not.
34:05And today that moment has come.
34:08Carl and Lindsay are about to discover
34:10if their new creation of a single malt Cheshire whisky
34:13is ready to be launched into the world.
34:17Oh, look at that colour.
34:20So, our first ever Cheshire single malt.
34:23Give it a go.
34:26That's lovely.
34:27It's nice and sweet, but then it's woody.
34:35There's a little bit of spice in there.
34:37It's quite warming.
34:38What do you reckon?
34:39Is this the one?
34:41I think so.
34:42First single malt?
34:43The nose says yes.
34:44The nose says yes.
34:45Let's get it bottled.
34:46Excellent.
34:47Cheers.
34:48It looks like Lindsay and Carl's first ever single malt
34:53is in business.
34:54Oh.
34:55Here it comes.
34:56Here it comes.
34:57That's really exciting, isn't it?
35:01Yeah.
35:02Three years of hard work and a lot of waiting
35:06and finally we're releasing our whisky into the world.
35:09001.
35:10Here we go.
35:11001.
35:12Single malt Cheshire whisky.
35:13No going back now.
35:14Speak.
35:15Take whisky.
35:16Coming up, the thatching duo, Wayne and Steve, have hit a snag.
35:30We got snow last week so it really stopped us in our tracks.
35:35And is Mark on schedule to get his train back on the rails?
35:38Nice and slow.
35:39Don't want to damage anything at this stage.
35:43There's nothing that says Cheshire more than its quaint and characterful villages.
35:57But when a cold snap covered the county in a blanket of snow,
36:03Thatcher's Wayne and Steve were forced to down tools.
36:06The roof froze solid.
36:09It really stopped us in our tracks because if you touch it, you end up with big holes in it.
36:15You've got to leave it to fall out before you attack it again and get it finished.
36:19Now they can get back to work on the roof of the 18th century cottage.
36:25Looking good.
36:26Looking good.
36:27Looking good.
36:28Just getting this last little bit cut out now.
36:31And then we're getting there.
36:37This village, Heaton, I've worked here most of my life.
36:40It's got seven faxed houses and I've done six of them.
36:48That's the last of the cutting done.
36:53Steve, it's down for you now for the wiring and making it look pretty.
36:58Yeah, no worries.
36:59I'll get it all brushed off now and then start putting the wiring on.
37:09Getting there, Stevie?
37:10Yeah.
37:11Near the end now.
37:13The netting stops any birds pulling at the straw because these bits of corn left in the ears of the straw.
37:27And that's what they go for.
37:30In years to come when it starts wearing, it holds it all together.
37:36Let's see if Steve's measured the wire long enough to go round the end.
37:42I hope so.
37:49Moment of truth.
37:51Ah, there's plenty on it.
37:54Job done.
37:56And time to admire their expert craftsmanship.
38:01Look, it looked good now, Steve, doesn't it?
38:03The ridge has brought the roof back out.
38:06It's cleaned up well.
38:08Especially for a 40-, 45-year-old roof.
38:12You know, it's got another 15 years left in it now.
38:15It's always good to feel proud about what you've done in it.
38:18Yeah.
38:20With every roof comes a feeling of job satisfaction that Steve and Wayne can be proud of.
38:27It's always nice to be a part of the heritage as well.
38:29I'll drive past with my missus and the kids and say, well, I've done that one.
38:34Just proud, something proud to be part of.
38:37Another job done and another one to add to the list.
38:40Yeah.
38:42Of a satisfied customer.
38:43Back in Crewe, Mark Derbyshire and his team are on the home stretch of their bogey overhaul.
38:59This is going to be tight this week for the delivery.
39:01In just a couple of days, these need to be back in service.
39:08Luckily for Mark, the missing parts came through last night and the maintenance is finally complete.
39:14Now he just has to rebuild.
39:16This is now a precision lift where we lower it onto the wheels in preparation for pressing for ride heights and tilt.
39:28Don't want to damage anything on the bogey at this stage.
39:31Really important that we do this in a precision manner.
39:34With the frame dangling in the air, all Mark can do is watch.
39:40Any failure at this point will result in rework, which will delay the build.
39:47This is a difficult part of the process now, as you can appreciate.
39:51Two forces coming together.
39:53We've got a static force in the wheels and a lower force dropping them from a bogey point of view.
39:59So we have to be precise at this point.
40:01If the frame is even a few millimetres out, it could spell disaster.
40:08Just got to get this cornered on.
40:10We're almost home.
40:12Yes, good.
40:13We're on.
40:18Although Mark and his team are still doing vital work, keeping the UK's trains on track,
40:24this site is a shadow of its former self.
40:27In the 1930s, this was the largest railway engineering works in the world.
40:35But that soon changed.
40:38In 1967, the works overhauled its last steam train.
40:43After 124 years, the golden age of construction in Crewe was called to a halt.
40:50As I've said, I'm very proud.
40:53It's more than a job.
40:56There is a sense of community here.
40:59There's a sense of family here.
41:01These are the best of the best.
41:04And now, now we're building towards a bright future.
41:08So I think Cheshire should be very proud of the fact that Crewe Works sits where it sits.
41:19The pride of Cheshire now rests on these bogies making it back into service on time.
41:25Morning, fellas.
41:27Ready to go?
41:29Perfect. Great.
41:30So this part of the process is almost at the final stage.
41:36This huge hydraulic press is a final test of the team's handiwork.
41:42It simulates the weight of a fully loaded train.
41:44So from a platform perspective, it sets the ride height so people are not stepping too far up or dropping too far low from a platform point of view.
41:56Yeah, everything looks good so far. We're getting no abnormal readings. Press looks good.
42:01The bogey has passed without a moment to spare.
42:05So the wagon will come to about this point in the shot. The girls will load off the crane onto the back of the wagon.
42:11We'll strap them down, then they will be delivered into Manchester in time for the weekend exchange.
42:18Relief seeing it lifted up, finally knowing it's finished.
42:22As soon as those chains slacken, it's done.
42:26There we go. It's down, complete.
42:30This train will be in traffic on Monday with the crew bogeys underneath.
42:35Despite all the delays and setbacks, Mark and his team have done it.
42:39Done. Till Monday.
42:43And we start the whole process again.
42:45Then we look forward to it.
42:47There we go.
42:49Hmm.
42:50The people the people.
42:52Then we're taking the whole process again.
42:53When we look forward to it again.
42:56We're going forward to it again.
42:57And the ΟΟ
Π½Π΅ΠΉ, every single day and fire.
43:04The making of a small culture in the circus.
43:10And as soon as possible.
Recommended
46:54
|
Up next
26:50
59:14
18:52
56:06
44:25
39:47
47:18
36:38
59:40
46:54
50:55
28:10
21:19
29:08
47:05
46:57
Be the first to comment