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00:00Perched on Britain's northwest 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.
00:32Beating 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!
00:57This time, Master Thatcher Wayne preps his apprentice.
01:02He's running at an act-wrong angle, Steve.
01:05Wayne tells me when I've gone wrong.
01:07He's not shy.
01:08The heat is on site manager, Mark, at Cruise Historic Trainworks.
01:13Some of the parts haven't turned up on time.
01:16This will be tight.
01:18Only time will tell if we're going to hit this delivery.
01:21And in the peaks,
01:22whiskey aficionados Karl and Lindsay
01:25are bringing something new to the county.
01:28Our first ever Cheshire single malt.
01:31Give it a go.
01:32The charming county of Cheshire is a sight to behold,
01:39as autumn's warm golden hues transform its spectacular landscape.
01:45The change of season brings a flurry of activity
01:48for the good folk of Cheshire.
01:53Nestled between the Welsh hills to the west
01:55and the Pennines to the east,
01:57Cheshire is a county with plenty of surprises.
02:04Once boasting almost 200 of the grandest stately homes
02:08in the country,
02:09Cheshire harbours many of the finest piles
02:12still standing today.
02:16From the Grand Palladian Tably House
02:19to the 13th century former royal castle at Beeston,
02:23these lavish dwellings continue to evoke a sense of grandeur,
02:28history and tradition.
02:33Nestled in the south of the county
02:35sits one of its finest examples.
02:39Famed not for its four walls,
02:41but for its elaborate gardens.
02:45The gardens cover 70 acres.
02:47There's a bit of everything in all parts of the garden.
02:49Making sure it remains pristine all year round
02:53is the job of head gardener, Barry Grain.
02:56Despite what most people would think,
02:58the autumn and winter is always the busiest period in the garden
03:00because we're still maintaining it
03:02as well as doing our really highly seasonal jobs as well.
03:08So I'm currently deadheading helleniums.
03:10The importance of deadheading is really to extend
03:13the season of interest and getting as much as we can
03:15out 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
03:23at 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,
04:21planted and pruned her way through this beautiful year-round garden,
04:26ensuring that even in the autumn,
04:28the garden was a unique display of colours and textures.
04:34She inherited a landscape that was mostly sweeping lawns
04:37and mature trees.
04:38There were 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.
04:49The 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,
04:57the 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 plants woman.
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?
05:32Autumn is a busy time for Barry
05:37as he tries to eke out every last bit of floral magic
05:41for the paying visitors,
05:43as well as preparing the garden for the winter months.
05:46With so much to do,
05:47the last thing Barry and his team need is a problem.
05:51But unfortunately for Barry, the 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.
06:14There's absolutely no chance of opening the gardens today.
06:18It's just inaccessible.
06:20We'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.
06:35Barry needs to reopen the garden for visitors as soon as possible.
06:39But will the weather let up?
06:42And how quickly can Barry and his team
06:45get everything back on track?
06:53A county known for its beautiful scenery and rolling fields,
06:57Cheshire is a natural paradise.
07:03But through this landscape
07:05runs one of Britain's most vital transport links,
07:08the West Coast Main Line
07:10between London, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.
07:15To the south of this county,
07:17Crewe is a city which owes its very existence to these tracks.
07:21It's a city that still wears its railway heritage on its sleeve.
07:25Every day, thousands of people stop at Crewe's station.
07:30When the trains they're travelling on need servicing,
07:33its crew they turn to.
07:36For almost 200 years,
07:38Crewe works have acted a bit like a garage for trains,
07:42making sure they're kept on the rails.
07:44Since 2021, it's been run by Allstom,
07:49and train parts still arrive daily for overhaul.
07:52Today is no different.
07:54These wheel sets, or bogies as they are known,
07:59have been taken off a train in Manchester
08:01and brought here to be serviced.
08:04All righty.
08:05How's it going, mate?
08:06Yeah, good, thank you.
08:07Now it's the job of site manager Mark Derbyshire
08:09to make sure they are overhauled.
08:12What Ian is doing now is taking the bogies off the back of the wagon.
08:17He will then sequence them into our strip process.
08:21These are the bogies that run under the trains
08:24from Piccadilly to Euston.
08:26These are the Class 390 tilting trains.
08:32Trains have been built and maintained at this site
08:35since before Crewe existed.
08:38Crewe is a railway town.
08:40The works came first.
08:42The settlement that is now known as Crewe
08:44was built for workers to build the facility
08:47and then to work in the facility.
08:49So by its very nature, Crewe is born out of the railways.
08:53Within decades,
08:55Crewe's unique position where several railways met
08:58made it one of the most important railway towns anywhere.
09:03Goods from all over Cheshire came to Crewe
09:05to be shipped across the UK and the world.
09:09This was the rail industry.
09:12This was new build.
09:13It had its own foundries.
09:14It 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.
09:24The works were famous for building trains.
09:27Blocks of metal would arrive and weeks later,
09:30steam trains would roll out ready to take to the rails.
09:34The heritage of the site,
09:36what it's done from a worldwide engineering perspective,
09:39it's probably not as well known as it should be.
09:41Crewe and Cheshire have helped shape the world
09:44in terms of engineering.
09:50Coming up, a Victorian engineering marvel
09:53that's still in use today.
09:55It doesn't always work first time,
09:57so there's always a little bit of anticipation and anxiety.
10:02And a master Thatcher is in a battle with the weather.
10:05See, this time of year it's going through your mind.
10:09You need to get the job done
10:11before the really bad weather comes.
10:13Cheshire has a rich and varied landscape
10:25of rolling hills interspersed with dappled forests
10:30and lush parklands.
10:33But if there's one thing the county is not short of,
10:37that's quaint and characterful picture-postcard villages
10:41with their iconic wisteria-clad cottages
10:44and timber-framed homes.
10:47In the east of the county is the charming village of Eton
10:51with historic white-painted cottages.
10:54We've got the pattern working,
10:56and now we're going to cut it.
10:58Do you follow the pattern?
11:01Where keeping up historic appearances is all in a day's work
11:05for master Thatcher, Wayne Halfpenny.
11:09I've been doing this since I was 12 years of age
11:13with five of my brothers.
11:16I don't know anything different than doing Thatcher.
11:20I love it. I love it.
11:23It's like as if I go out to work for nothing sometimes
11:26because I like it that much.
11:29Thatcher roofs date back as early as 700 A.D.
11:35But it was the invading Normans who popularized them
11:39in the 11th and 12th centuries
11:41to crown their castles, churches and family homes.
11:45Today, Thatcher roofs on historic properties
11:48are recognized for their sustainability,
11:51and if they're well-maintained, their durability.
11:54Wayne is two weeks into restoring this cottage's Thatcher roof,
12:01replacing some reeds and the crossed ridge
12:04that runs along the top.
12:06A Thatcher roof is a lot warmer in the winter
12:09and cooler in the summer
12:11because of the thickness of it.
12:14In the winter, it keeps your heat in the house,
12:16and in the summer, it keeps it cool
12:19because the heat can't get in.
12:22Thatcher roofs have gained popularity
12:24in eco-conscious building practices
12:26because as well as their natural insulating properties,
12:30they use renewable and locally-sourced materials.
12:34With plenty of these types of roofs across Cheshire,
12:37Wayne is in high demand.
12:39A lot of the people who live in thatched houses around Cheshire
12:43want me to come and do the work for them.
12:46They like to become my family.
12:48I've got to know everyone in this village
12:52because we're thatching.
12:54You do a good job for someone,
12:56and you end up doing all the jobs in the area.
13:00The thatching process involves layering bundles of straw
13:04or reeds on a wooden frame, creating a waterproof barrier.
13:09Typically, the roof is pitched high
13:11so that the water runs off more easily.
13:14These are called wraps.
13:17You wet them down before you bring them on the roof,
13:19and you lay them along the top,
13:22and 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.
13:33Sadly, this ancient craft is a skill that is dying away.
13:37It's getting to the stage now in Cheshire.
13:39There's no factures about, and I am one of the last,
13:42and so I've got to really train someone
13:46to carry on, like, 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,
14:04and the job's not always the same.
14:06There's something different.
14:08I love being outdoors,
14:09and you're not in the same place all the time.
14:11You're in different areas, so it's quite nice,
14:14and Cheshire, it's quite a beautiful,
14:16beautiful place to be around.
14:20Working alongside Wayne and learning the ropes
14:23is apprentice Steve Kelly.
14:26I'm just doing the patterning, really, in the middle,
14:29right across the ridge, make it look good.
14:32I was a gas engineer.
14:34I was just in between jobs at the time.
14:36I ended up asking Wayne to see if he'd got any work.
14:39Soon he said, yeah, come with me.
14:42It was only supposed to be for two weeks,
14:44and 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.
14:52That's just as well,
14:54because Steve isn't just Wayne's apprentice,
14:56he's his future son-in-law.
14:58He's running at a wrong angle, Steve.
15:01Your first one.
15:02Well, Wayne tells me when I've gone wrong.
15:04He's not shy.
15:06I've been factoring for about 40 years now.
15:11I started my own business,
15:13and my brothers all are at the age where they finished.
15:19So, and I carried it on.
15:25It's starting to look good now.
15:27Now it's all cleaned off
15:28and we're getting the ridge all up and running.
15:31But with winter drawing in,
15:34Wayne and Steve are under pressure
15:36to 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
15:44before any really bad weather comes.
15:47With a storm scheduled to pass through Cheshire
15:49in the next few days,
15:51will the Dream Team get the job finished in time?
15:55The biggest problem we've got is the weather.
15:59It's stopped us in our tracks.
16:04It's been a long time.
16:06Cheshire's beautiful rolling fields hide a manufacturing past.
16:12This county was one of the birthplaces
16:14of the Industrial Revolution
16:16that relied on waterways to transport goods.
16:23Britain's first modern canal, the Bridgewater Canal,
16:26crosses Cheshire on its journey from Runcorn to Lee.
16:31Despite no longer humming with industry,
16:33hundreds of miles of canals still crisscross the county.
16:40In the tiny village of Anderton,
16:42in the centre of the county,
16:44is a unique Victorian canal relic,
16:47the Anderton boat lift,
16:49an example of the engineering prowess
16:52that transformed the nation.
16:55But with the industry no more,
16:57Cheshire's canals have become a haven
16:59for visitors and locals
17:01who want to experience a slower pace of life.
17:04Volunteer Jim grew up on the water.
17:07When my family was younger,
17:10we did quite a few canal holidays
17:13and they're absolutely wonderful.
17:15It's all about slowing down.
17:17It's taking life at four miles an hour.
17:19Taking your house with you
17:22and seeing some lovely countryside,
17:24whether it's in Cheshire
17:26or anywhere else in the UK
17:28that has a canal system.
17:29Although Britain might have 4,700 miles of canals,
17:35only Cheshire has this.
17:39Known as the Cathedral of Canals,
17:42this industrial marvel was built in 1875
17:45to move canal boats the 50 feet between the Trent
17:49and Mersey Canal and the River Weaver.
17:55Almost 150 years later,
17:57it's still a marvel to ex-engineer Jim.
18:02There's something lovely about seeing a machine work.
18:06It doesn't always work first time,
18:08so there's always a little bit of anticipation
18:10and anxiety.
18:12But when it does go up,
18:14it's just a lovely piece of machinery
18:16to watch going up.
18:18At the bottom of the lift on the river,
18:22the first passenger of the day has arrived.
18:25Welcome to Anderton.
18:28How many people on board, please?
18:29Just the two of us.
18:30Two of us.
18:31And any pets?
18:32Yeah, they don't.
18:33OK.
18:34We'll be calling boats to go into the lift
18:36once I've got the gates up and we're ready for you.
18:38OK?
18:39Thank you very much, and we'll see you shortly.
18:41OK.
18:43Bye.
18:44With the boaters prepped,
18:45it's time for this industrial beauty
18:48to spring into life.
18:50Once we've got the boats ready to come in,
18:52we need to get the gates up.
18:54Jim to Michelle, receiving.
18:56Yeah, hi, Jim.
18:58We're ready if you would like to wedge and flood.
19:00Over.
19:01OK.
19:02The boat lift has two large water tanks
19:04that can transport two narrowboats each.
19:07So I'm getting to this point,
19:12and I'm checking to see that both my boats are out.
19:14They are.
19:15Everything's OK.
19:16So I would now give the signal to the boaters
19:19that it would be safe to come in.
19:25Hello there.
19:26So 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
19:36to send them on their journey.
19:39And as one tank carries boats up to the canal,
19:42the other carries boats down to the river,
19:45cleverly acting as counterweights to each other.
19:49One level, it's a simple thing.
19:51It's two hydraulic rams lifting a tank of water up
19:54or lowering it down.
19:55But behind all that, there's obviously a lot of safety.
19:58It takes approximately half an hour
20:00from entering the lift to exiting it at the top.
20:04Although it now carries leisure passengers,
20:07when it first opened,
20:09the lift would have ferried working boats
20:11carrying pottery from Staffordshire
20:13in exchange for the finest Cheshire salt.
20:16Today, the Anderton boat lift
20:19is 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,
20:31and abandoned.
20:32It wasn't until 2002, after a huge restoration project,
20:38that it was reopened to the public.
20:41Something thousands of boaters each year are thankful for.
20:45Well, enjoy the rest of your journey,
20:47and we'll see you again sometime hopefully.
20:50Another happy customer for Jim.
20:53I don't think I would ever tire of going through the lift.
20:57I love the experience of going up and down.
21:02It's not a wild thrill ride.
21:04It's more of a gentle journey,
21:07going from one waterway to the other
21:09in a piece of machinery that started in 1875.
21:13I mean, it's absolutely great that something
21:16that's nearly 150 years old
21:18is still working and functioning
21:20as it was originally intended.
21:22Here's to another 150.
21:28Although canals might once have dominated travel in Cheshire,
21:32it wasn't long before they gave way to the railways.
21:35No town in the country was more famous
21:38for its railway workshops than Crewe.
21:41Although trains may no longer be built here,
21:44Crewe Works are still very much alive.
21:48Hi, boys, all right?
21:49How's it going? OK? Yeah?
21:52Works manager Mark has a tight deadline to meet.
21:55They are servicing the bogies, or wheels, of a mainline train.
22:00We're already behind because the train was late into Manchester.
22:04That makes no difference to our time.
22:07The train has to go out on Sunday.
22:09So if these bogies are not delivered back into Manchester
22:12for the vehicle to be in traffic on Monday,
22:15then passengers will not be getting their trains to work.
22:19The first job is to wash away all the dirt and grime
22:22from millions of miles of travel.
22:25It's a messy job as the bogies are taken apart
22:28before being put into a giant industrial washing machine.
22:31Unique in the UK, if not the world,
22:35it blasts the bogies with water and hot air for an hour.
22:42Any remaining grime is removed by hand.
22:45With the bogies cleaned...
22:51Hi, Dave. Hi, Kieran.
22:53Mark 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.
23:04The wheels will then go away, but overall, really important now,
23:08that the bogie frame isn't damaged during the lift
23:11and all the wheels damaged during the lift.
23:14With 12 tons of bogies about to fly through the air,
23:17Mark is keen that everything goes to plan.
23:20Looking good. Chains on. Bolsters out.
23:24Great calipers off.
23:26Good to that.
23:30Looking a good lift.
23:33All good.
23:34Well done, fellas.
23:44With the wheels off,
23:46Mark and the team can finally start work on the bogie frame.
23:50This is the start of the beginning, if that makes sense.
23:53So this is the end of the strip.
23:55Now we start to rebuild.
23:57But with time ticking away,
23:59there's still much more to do.
24:01Many more hours to go.
24:06So in terms of turnaround time for our bogies,
24:09maximum of five days.
24:12These are probably the most complicated bogies that we do in crew.
24:15It's probably the fastest throughput time that we do in crew
24:18on these bogies as well.
24:20It's a double whammy.
24:21With the bogies cleaned and the wheels removed,
24:23it's all hands on deck
24:25to make sure they're ready to be returned to service.
24:28In terms of stresses of the job, if you like,
24:32I probably sleep like a baby,
24:35which is waking up every two hours crying.
24:38So yes, there are definitely inherent stresses with the job.
24:42Typically, we don't fail many of these.
24:45We've only had a couple fail.
24:47So experience tells us that this will be a good bolster.
24:50Fingers crossed this is going to be okay.
24:53Mark's always on the lookout for potential problems.
24:57And he's just discovered one.
24:59And it's a big one.
25:01So some of the parts haven't turned up on time, unfortunately.
25:05This will be tight.
25:07Only time will tell if we're going to hit this delivery.
25:10Coming up, Barry struggles to reopen Chumley Gardens.
25:19This is a conundrum that I'm not entirely convinced we'll solve.
25:22And we meet the couple who are getting into the Cheshire spirit.
25:26What do you reckon?
25:27Is this the one?
25:28Nestled into the rolling hills and fertile farmland
25:40of the charming Cheshire countryside,
25:42sit some of the UK's biggest stately homes,
25:46surrounded by landscape lawns and lush garden paradises.
25:54To the south of the county is Chumley Castle,
25:57and its expansive gardens.
26:00With Lavinia Walk at its heart,
26:03there's plenty for visitors to explore and enjoy,
26:06including the Four Seasons Rose Garden,
26:09with over 800 plantings and a variety of types,
26:14from the Tuscany Superb to the Queen of Denmark.
26:18But head gardener Barry Grain has a big problem on his hands.
26:25It's pretty bad.
26:26I mean, it's come up quite significantly,
26:28much more than we were expecting, really.
26:30It's just inundated the place, really.
26:33Severe rain over the past few days
26:36has turned parts of this 70-acre pastoral paradise
26:40into a watering nightmare.
26:42Although the rain may have stopped, the damage remains.
26:47Elsewhere in the gardens where we've got much lower-lying paths,
26:51they're going to need rebuilding in parts.
26:53A lot of the surface gravel will be washed away,
26:55so it's almost renovation time in certain areas.
26:59For Barry and his team,
27:01the flooding was the last thing they needed.
27:04They're desperate to get the gardens back open
27:07and allow visitors in to enjoy them.
27:09It'll put us back because we're going to need to spend
27:12probably the best part of a week across the whole garden
27:15putting things back as they were
27:16and reinstating paths and grassed areas and all the rest of it.
27:19So it's going to put us back considerably
27:21on what is already a tough autumn workload.
27:24With time ticking away and more bad weather expected,
27:28Barry turns his attention to the higher parts of the garden.
27:33After assessing the damage, it's not good news.
27:38The flood water, now receded,
27:40has left behind a tonne of smelly pondweed and algae.
27:45This has never happened before.
27:47We've had the pond empty onto the paths before,
27:49but never with this volume of duckweed and algae.
27:51So this is a conundrum that I'm not entirely convinced we'll solve.
27:56The quicker Barry can get rid of the unwanted algae and weed,
28:00the quicker visitors can return.
28:02So time is of the essence.
28:04We think the best method is to use the backs of some rakes.
28:07So using a rake in reverse to try and drag it into piles.
28:11Are they the best rakes you can find?
28:13All the rakes.
28:14Really?
28:15This is just a hunch because we're not sure
28:17how else we can possibly do it.
28:19What I thought is if we can try and just use the backs of the rakes.
28:22Yeah.
28:29Yeah?
28:30Yeah.
28:31If you knock it about a bit, then hopefully it should
28:34then start to thin out.
28:36We're hoping that this might be not too laborious a process
28:42because we've got a mountain of other jobs to do.
28:45I hate being right all the time.
28:48So hopefully this is a quick fix.
28:50It's an aromatic smell.
29:05I think that's the kindest way I can put it.
29:07I'm just glad it didn't happen in the summer
29:09because then it really would be a dust mask job to get anywhere and hear it.
29:13Luckily for Barry, the pond weed isn't putting up too much of a fight.
29:20Yeah, it's going pretty well.
29:21It's coming up better than we'd anticipated, to be honest.
29:25Any excess that we're left with should just wash away with the next decent downpour of rain,
29:30providing it doesn't all empty out of the pond again.
29:32A welcome relief for Barry and his team,
29:36and good news for visitors wanting to enjoy Chumley's gardens.
29:41It's just a case of letting the air get to it down for an hour or so
29:43and then hopefully no one would ever know it happened.
29:46Crisis averted.
29:50With everything back on track,
29:52Barry can open the doors for everyone to enjoy Lady Lavinia's gardens once again.
29:58It's all about building on her legacy, this fantastic gift that she left to us,
30:03and 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,
30:14but east of the county, things change dramatically.
30:19A languid landscape of lush moorland plateaus,
30:22with mountaintops popping up producing rugged ridges
30:26that define the Cheshire Peak District.
30:30With its stunning scenery,
30:31this national park truly is an area of outstanding beauty.
30:37Overlooking the magnificent Macclesfield Forest,
30:40at more than 1,600 feet above sea level,
30:43sits the country's highest whisky distillery.
30:47It's run by a husband and wife team who like to keep everything local.
30:51Cheshire malted barley.
30:54Yep.
30:55Really good stuff.
30:57We're proudly Cheshire.
30:58Literally grows in the fields down the road.
31:01The tiny independent forest distillery
31:04is the passion project of Carl and Lindsay Bond.
31:08We start off with the Cheshire barley.
31:11That gets mixed into here, which is our mash tun,
31:16with hot water from here.
31:18Cheshire-born Carl and Lindsay, who is from Manchester,
31:22launched their distillery business in 2019.
31:26They also offer tasting tours and a cosy dog-friendly bar
31:30for folk to enjoy their world-famous gins and whiskies.
31:34We wanted our whisky to taste of Cheshire and what, you know,
31:37Cheshire earth, Cheshire water, Cheshire barley.
31:41We want to be shouting about Cheshire whisky.
31:43So all of our ingredients, our bottles, all from here.
31:47All of this began in Macclesfield Forest in 2014.
31:52Lindsay and Carl would forage for botanicals
31:55with her then four-year-old daughter Hattie
31:57and use them to infuse gin they distilled at home.
32:01But what started as a hobby took off
32:04and now their gins are sold worldwide.
32:07In 2019, we were starting to barrel-age some of the gin
32:11and play around with different grains and different processes
32:14and we love whisky and we thought, why not?
32:17You loved whisky. I didn't actually like whisky at the time.
32:20I think... You love it more than me these days.
32:22I like it more than him these days.
32:23But at the time, you just kind of convinced me, didn't you,
32:25that I was going to make whisky.
32:27When it came to a location for their whisky distillery,
32:32Lindsay and Carl were delighted when the ideal property came up.
32:37We grew up round here and the cat and fiddles, just legendary.
32:42When we saw the cellars, we were like, wow, what?
32:45There's loads of space. Let's stick some barrels in here.
32:48It just made a lot of sense, really. It's local to us.
32:50It's got a stunning spot that's almost like the Highlands of Scotland,
32:54but is very grounded in Cheshire and Cheshire's history.
32:57Sitting on the edge of the Cheshire Peak District,
33:01the cat and fiddle was a legendary coaching inn built in 1813
33:06as a pit stop for travellers on the main road
33:09between Macclesfield and Buxton.
33:11But being so isolated, the pub struggled
33:15and in 2016 had to call last orders.
33:19The cat and fiddle is an iconic building.
33:22It was such a shame when it closed for everybody in the local area.
33:25So we did a crowdfunding to see if people did support what we were doing
33:28and half of Cheshire seemed to chip in something
33:31towards the redecoration costs.
33:33So we're really proud to see it open, busy.
33:36Now, as a further honour to their fellow Cheshire brethren,
33:40Lindsay and Carl have been creating what they hope
33:43will be the first ever Cheshire single malt whisky.
33:47So coming out of there, new make spirit,
33:50not officially allowed to be called whisky until it's three years old.
33:53This has to go into whisky casks.
33:56They've been waiting three years
33:58to see if the special barrel-aged whisky is drinkable or not.
34:03And today, that moment has come.
34:05Carl and Lindsay are about to discover
34:07if their new creation of a single malt Cheshire whisky
34:11is ready to be launched into the world.
34:16Oh, can I cut that?
34:17So, our first ever Cheshire single malt.
34:20Give it a go.
34:27That's lovely.
34:28It's nice and sweet, but then it's woody.
34:32There's a little bit of spice in there.
34:34It's quite warming.
34:35What do you reckon?
34:36Is this the one?
34:37I think so.
34:39First single malt?
34:40The nose says yes.
34:41The nose says yes.
34:42Let's get it bottled.
34:43Excellent.
34:44Cheers.
34:45Cheers.
34:46It looks like Lindsay and Carl's first ever single malt is in business.
34:51Oh.
34:52Here it comes.
34:53Here it comes.
34:54It's really exciting, isn't it?
34:58Yeah.
34:59Three years of hard work and a lot of waiting,
35:03and finally we're releasing our whisky into the world.
35:10001.
35:11Here we go. 001.
35:12Single malt Cheshire whisky.
35:14No going back now.
35:15Speak.
35:16Take whisky.
35:17Coming up, the thatching duo, Wayne and Steve, have hit a snag.
35:27We got snow last week, so it really stopped us in our tracks.
35:32And is Mark on schedule to get his train back on the rails?
35:36Nice and slow.
35:37Don't want to damage anything at this stage.
35:40There's nothing that says Cheshire more than its quaint and characterful villages.
35:53But when a cold snap covered the county in a blanket of snow,
35:57Thatcher's Wayne and Steve were forced to down tools.
36:01The roof froze solid.
36:03It really stopped us in our tracks,
36:06because if you touch it, you end up with big holes in it.
36:09You've got to leave it to fall out before you attack it again and get it finished.
36:14Now they can get back to work on the roof of the 18th century cottage.
36:19Looking good. Looking good.
36:21Just getting this last little bit cut out now.
36:24And then we're getting there.
36:30This village, Heaton, I've worked here most of my life.
36:34It's got seven faxed houses and I've done six of them.
36:42That's the last of the cutting done.
36:47Steve, it's down for you now for the wiring and making it look pretty.
36:52Yeah, no worries.
36:53I'll get it all brushed off now and then start putting the wiring on.
37:04Getting there, Stevie?
37:05Yeah.
37:07Near the end now.
37:08The netting stops any birds pulling at the straw,
37:15because there's bits of corn left in the ears of the straw.
37:21And that's what they go for.
37:25In years to come, when it starts wearing, it holds it all together.
37:29Let's see if Steve's measured the wire long enough to go round the end.
37:36I hope so.
37:43Moment of truth.
37:45Ah, there's plenty on it.
37:48Job done.
37:50And time to admire their expert craftsmanship.
37:53Look, it looked good now.
37:56See, done it.
37:58The ridge has brought the roof back out.
38:00It's cleaned up well.
38:02Especially for 40, 45-year-old roof.
38:06You know, it's got another 15 years left in it now.
38:09It's always good to feel proud about what you've done in this.
38:12Yeah.
38:14With every roof comes a feeling of job satisfaction
38:18that Steve and Wayne can be proud of.
38:21It's always nice to be a part of the heritage as well.
38:24I'll drive past with my missus and my kids and say,
38:26well, I've done that one.
38:28Just proud, something proud to be a part of.
38:31Another job done and another one to add to the list.
38:35Yep.
38:37Of a satisfied customer.
38:38Back in Crewe, Mark Derbyshire and his team are on the home stretch of their bogey overhaul.
38:54This is going to be tight this week for the delivery.
38:57In just a couple of days, these need to be back in service.
39:02Luckily for Mark, the missing parts came through last night
39:07and the maintenance is finally complete.
39:10Now he just has to rebuild.
39:12This is now a precision lift where we lower it onto the wheels
39:17in preparation for pressing for ride heights and tilt.
39:23Don't want to damage anything on the bogey at this stage.
39:25Really important that we do this in a precision manner.
39:30With the frame dangling in the air, all Mark can do is watch.
39:36Any failure at this point will result in rework, which will delay the build.
39:42This is a difficult part of the process now, as you can appreciate.
39:46Two forces coming together.
39:47We've got a static force in the wheels and a lower force dropping them
39:52from a bogey point of view.
39:54So we have to be precise at this point.
39:57If the frame is even a few millimetres out, it could spell disaster.
40:02Just got to get this cornered on.
40:04We're almost home.
40:06Yes, good.
40:08We're on.
40:09We're on.
40:13Although Mark and his team are still doing vital work,
40:16keeping the UK's trains on track,
40:19this site is a shadow of its former self.
40:22In the 1930s, this was the largest railway engineering works in the world.
40:30But that soon changed.
40:32In 1967, the works overhauled its last steam train.
40:36After 124 years, the golden age of construction in Crewe was called to a halt.
40:44As I've said, I'm very proud.
40:47It's more than a job.
40:50There is a sense of community here.
40:53There's a sense of family here.
40:55These are the best of the best.
40:58And now we're building towards a bright future.
41:02So I think Cheshire should be very proud of the fact that Crewe Works sits where it sits.
41:13The pride of Cheshire now rests on these bogies making it back into service on time.
41:19Morning, fellas.
41:21Ready to go?
41:23Perfect. Great.
41:24So this part of the process is almost at the final stage.
41:30This huge hydraulic press is a final test of the team's handiwork.
41:36It simulates the weight of a fully loaded train.
41:40So 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.
41:50Yeah? Everything looks good so far. We're getting no abnormal readings. Press looks good.
41:56The bogey has passed without a moment to spare.
42:00So the wagon will come to about this point in the shot.
42:03The girls will load off the crane onto the back of the wagon.
42:07We'll strap them down.
42:09Then they will be delivered into Manchester in time for the weekend exchange.
42:13Relief seeing it lifted up.
42:15Finally knowing it's finished.
42:17As soon as those chains slacken, it's done.
42:20There we go.
42:21It's down. Complete.
42:24This train will be in traffic on Monday with the crew bogeys underneath.
42:29Despite all the delays and setbacks, Mark and his team have done it.
42:35Done.
42:37Till Monday.
42:39And we start the whole process again.
42:40One of history's most famous archaeological moments, head back with Dan Snow to remember the discovery of King Tut, brand new next Friday at eight.
42:53And then at nine, even more extraordinary revelations as we discover what lay behind the bandages in brand new, unwrapping King Tut, Secrets of the Mummy.
43:01Don't miss all that next Friday.
43:03Next night, Billy Connolly in his own words.
43:05The End
43:08The End
43:09The End
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