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Britain's Most Scenic Counties Cheshire Season 1 Episode 4
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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 dump.
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.
01:05Wayne tells me when I've gone wrong. He's not shy.
01:08The 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.
03:08So 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 for the first Marquess of Chumley,
03:42Chumley Castle remains a private residence but does allow visitors to explore the estate's magnificent landscape.
03:55The beautiful formal and informal grounds are all thanks to the lifetime's work of one lady.
04:02We're currently on Lavinia's walk.
04:05Lady Lavinia is the present Lord Chumley's mum and 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 and pruned her way through this beautiful year-round garden,
04:26ensuring that even in the autumn, the garden was a unique display of colours and textures.
04:32She inherited a landscape that was mostly sweeping lawns and mature trees or a few pockets of Victorian-era planting.
04:41But she set about it and created this amazing garden.
04:44And everything that she planted is now fully mature and looks terrific at this time of year.
04:50The gardens just mean everything, really, which is what they should to a gardener.
04:53That heart and that love of the garden and what it is that you do, the final product of the finished garden reflects it.
05:00And Barry learnt first-hand about this unique garden from the woman who created it.
05:05I had three fantastic years working with Lady Lavinia.
05:09Three of the best years of my professional career, I must say.
05:13She was a remarkable plantswoman.
05:16Lady Lavinia would be incredibly proud of everything that we've done with the garden.
05:20I do think it is part of my remit to really keep her spirit alive in everything that we do.
05:26And I've constantly got this little voice in the back of my head saying, you know, what would she do?
05:35Autumn is a busy time for Barry as he tries to eke out every last bit of floral magic for the paying visitors,
05:43as well as preparing the garden for the winter months.
05:45With so much to do, the last thing Barry and his team need is a problem.
05:54But, unfortunately for Barry, the weather gods have turned on him.
05:59With days of torrential rain falling at Chumney, his once lovely lawns have turned from manicured to marshland.
06:09As streams of water pour through the gardens, Barry has made a difficult decision.
06:15There'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, so it's just not safe for visitors.
06:26So, regrettably, and it doesn't happen very often, but every now and then we do have to close if this amount of water comes through, which sadly has happened.
06:34Barry needs to reopen the garden for visitors as soon as possible, but 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, Cheshire is a natural paradise.
06:59But through this landscape runs one of Britain's most vital transport links, the West Coast Main Line between London, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.
07:16To the south of this county, Crewe 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.
07:25Every day, thousands of people stop at Crewe's station.
07:30When the trains they're travelling on need servicing, it's Crewe they turn to.
07:36For almost 200 years, Crewe works have acted a bit like a garage for trains, making sure they're kept on the rails.
07:45Since 2021, it's been run by Allstom, and train parts still arrive daily for overhaul.
07:52Today is no different.
07:55These wheelsets, or bogies as they are known, have been taken off a train in Manchester and brought here to be serviced.
08:04All righty.
08:06Yeah, good, thank you.
08:07Now 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.
08:21These are the bogies that run under the trains from Piccadilly to Euston.
08:25These are the Class 390 tilting trains.
08:31Trains 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 to build the facility and then to work in the facility.
08:48So by its very nature, Crewe is born out of the railways.
08:53Within decades, Crewe's unique position where several railways met, made 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. This was new build. It had its own foundries.
09:14It had its own machine shop. It had its own fabrication part of the business.
09:19It's 190 years old. It's been everything to the rail industry.
09:23The works were famous for building trains.
09:27Blocks of metal would arrive and weeks later, steam trains would roll out ready to take to the rails.
09:33The heritage of the site, what it's done from a worldwide engineering perspective, is probably not as well known as it should be.
09:41Crewe and Cheshire have helped shape the world in terms of engineering.
09:49Coming up, a Victorian engineering marvel that's still in use today.
09:55It doesn't always work first time, so there's always a little bit of anticipation and anxiety.
10:00And a master Thatcher is in a battle with the weather.
10:07See, this time of year it's going through your mind. You 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.
10:47In 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.
11:08I've been doing this since I was 12 years of age with five of my brothers.
11:15I don't know anything different than doing thatching.
11:20I love it. I love it.
11:23It's like as if I go out to work for nothing sometimes because I like it that much.
11:28Thatch roofs date back as early as 700 A.D.
11:35But it was the invading Normans who popularised them in the 11th and 12th centuries to crown their castles, churches and family homes.
11:45Today, thatch roofs on historic properties are recognised for their sustainability and if they're well maintained, their durability.
11:53Wayne is two weeks into restoring this cottage's thatch roof, replacing some reeds and the crossed 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.
13:21And 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.
13:58I 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 and you're not in the same place all the time.
14:11You're in different areas.
14:13So it's quite nice.
14:15And Cheshire is quite a beautiful, beautiful place to be around.
14:21Working 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.
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.
14:51That's just as well, because Steve isn't just Wayne's apprentice.
14:56He's his future son-in-law.
14:58It's running at a 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.
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.
15:26Now it's all cleaned off and we're getting the ridge all up and running.
15:32But with winter drawing in,
15:34Wayne 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.
15:47With a storm scheduled to pass through Cheshire in the next few days,
15:50will 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.
16:05Cheshire's beautiful rolling fields hide a manufacturing past.
16:10This county was one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution that relied on waterways to transport goods.
16:23Britain'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.
16:40In the tiny village of Anderton, in the centre of the county, is a unique Victorian canal relic.
16:47The Anderton boat lift.
16:50An example of the engineering prowess that transformed the nation.
16:55But 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.
17:19Taking 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.
17:28Although 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.
17:51Almost 150 years later, it's still a marvel to ex-engineer Jim.
18:02There's something lovely about seeing a machine work.
18:05It 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.
18:18At the bottom of the lift on the river, the first passenger of the day has arrived.
18:24Welcome to Anderton. How many people on board, please?
18:29Just the 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.
18:42OK, thank you. Bye.
18:44With the boaters prepped, it's time for this industrial beauty to spring into life.
18:49Once 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.
19:10So 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.
19:25Hello there.
19:27So we just need you clear of that white line behind you.
19:30And that's great. So 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.
19:38And as one tank carries boats up to the canal, the other carries boats down to the river, cleverly acting as counterweights to each other.
19:49One level, it's a simple thing. It'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.
19:58Takes approximately half an hour from entering the lift to exiting it at the top.
20:04Although 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.
20:17Today, the Anderton boat lift is the only Victorian boat lift left in the country.
20:24Yet 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.
20:41Something thousands of boaters each year are thankful for.
20:46Well, 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.
20:57I love the experience of going up and down.
21:01It'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.
21:22Here's to another 150.
21:24Although 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?
21:50OK.
21:51Yeah.
21:53Works manager Mark has a tight deadline to meet.
21:56They are servicing the bogies, or wheels, of a mainline train.
22:00We're already behind, because the train was late, into Manchester.
22:05That makes no difference to our time.
22:07The train has to go out on Sunday.
22:10So if these bogies are not delivered back into Manchester, with a 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.
22:24It's a messy job as the bogies are taken apart before being put into a giant industrial washing machine.
22:32Unique 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.
22:45With the bogies cleaned...
22:52Hi Dave. Hi Kieran.
22:54Mark gets a chance to inspect their condition.
22:57These wheels would have run for around about a million and a half miles.
23:03The 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.
23:12With 12 tons of bogies about to fly through the air, Mark is keen that everything goes to plan.
23:20Looking good.
23:21Chains on.
23:22Bolsters out.
23:24Great calipers off.
23:26Look at that.
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.
23:50This 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.
24:15It's probably the fastest throughput time that we do in crew on these bogies as well.
24:20It's a double whammy.
24:22With the bogies cleaned and the wheels removed, it's all hands on deck to make sure they're ready to be returned to service.
24:27In 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. We've only had a couple fail.
24:48So experience tells us that this will be a good bolster. Fingers crossed this is going to be okay.
24:53Mark's always on the lookout for potential problems. And he's just discovered one. And it's a big one.
25:01So some of the parts haven't turned up on time, unfortunately. This will be tight. Only 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.
25:22And we meet the couple who are getting into the Cheshire spirit.
25:26What do you reckon? Is this the one?
25:27Nestled into the rolling hills and fertile farmland of the charming Cheshire countryside, sit some of the UK's biggest stately homes, surrounded by landscape lawns and lush garden paradises.
25:45To the south of the county is Chumley Castle and its expansive gardens.
25:51With Lavinia Walk at its heart, there's plenty for visitors to explore and enjoy, including the Four Seasons Rose Garden with over 800 plantings and a variety of types, from the Tuscany Superb to the Queen of Denmark.
25:58But head gardener Barry Grain has a big problem on his hands.
26:04It's pretty bad. I mean, it's come up quite significantly, much more than we were expecting, really.
26:11It's just inundated the place, really.
26:12It's just inundated the place, really.
26:13Severe rain over the past few days has turned parts of this seven-year season's rose garden with over 800 plantings and a variety of types, from the Tuscany Superb to the Queen of Denmark.
26:23The Tuscany Superb to the Queen of Denmark.
26:24Severe rain over the past few days has turned parts of this 70-acre pastoral paradise into 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, they're going to need rebuilding in parts.
26:55A lot of the surface gravel will be washed away, so it's almost renovation time in certain areas.
27:02For Barry and his team, the flooding was the last thing they needed.
27:06They're desperate to get the gardens back open and allow visitors in to enjoy them.
27:12It'll put us back, because we're going to need to spend probably the best part of a week across the whole garden,
27:18putting things back as they were and reinstating paths and grassed areas and all the rest of it.
27:23So it's going to put us back considerably on what is already a tough autumn workload.
27:27With time ticking away and more bad weather expected, Barry turns his attention to the higher parts of the garden.
27:35After assessing the damage, it's not good news.
27:40The flood water, now receded, has left behind a tonne of smelly pondweed and algae.
27:49This has never happened before. We've had the pond empty onto the paths before, but never with this volume of duckweed and algae.
27:54So this is a conundrum that I'm not entirely convinced we'll solve.
27:59The quicker Barry can get rid of the unwanted algae and weed, the 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.
28:10So using a rake in reverse to try and drag it into piles.
28:14Play the best rakes you could find.
28:16All the rakes.
28:17Really?
28:18This is just a hunch, because we're not sure how else we can possibly do it.
28:22What I thought is, if we can try and just use the backs of the rakes.
28:25Yeah.
28:32Yeah?
28:33Yeah.
28:34If you knock it about a bit, then hopefully it should then start to thin out.
28:43We're hoping that this might be not too laborious a process, because 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.
29:07It's an aromatic smell.
29:08I think that's the kindest way I can put it.
29:11I'm just glad it didn't happen in the summer, because then it really would be a dust mass job to get anywhere near it.
29:16Luckily for Barry, the pond weed isn't putting up too much of a fight.
29:23Yeah, it's going pretty well.
29:24It's coming up better than we'd anticipated, to be honest.
29:27Any excess that we're left with should just wash away with the next decent downpour of rain, providing it doesn't all empty out in the pond again.
29:34A welcome relief for Barry and his team, and good news for visitors wanting to enjoy Chumley's gardens.
29:43It's just a case of letting the air get to it now for an hour or so, and then hopefully no one would ever know it happened.
29:49Crisis averted.
29:50With everything back on track, Barry 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, and it's our job to make it better and carry it on in the spirit in which she would have been proud.
30:10Cheshire may be known for its wide, flat, open plain, but east of the county, things change dramatically.
30:21A languid landscape of lush moorland plateaus, with 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, at more than 1,600 feet above sea level, sits the country's highest whisky distillery.
30:49It's run by a husband and wife team who like to keep everything local.
30:55Cheshire 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 is the passion project of Carl and Lindsay Bond.
31:11We start off with the Cheshire barley.
31:15That gets mixed into here, which is our mash tun, with hot water from here.
31:21Cheshire-born Carl and Lindsay, who is from Manchester, launched their distillery business in 2019.
31:28They also offer tasting tours and a cosy dog-friendly bar for folk to enjoy their world-famous gins and whiskies.
31:37We wanted our whiskies to taste of Cheshire and what, you know, Cheshire earth, Cheshire water, Cheshire barley.
31:44We want to be shouting about Cheshire whiskey. So, 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, with their then four-year-old daughter Hattie, and use them to infuse gin they distilled at home.
32:04But what started as a hobby took off, and now their gins are sold worldwide.
32:10In 2019, we were starting to barrel-age some of the gin and play around with different grains and different processes,
32:17and we love whisky, and we thought, why not?
32:20You loved whisky. I didn't actually like whisky at the time.
32:23You love it more than me these days.
32:25I like it more than him these days. But at the time, you just kind of convinced me, didn't you, that I was going to make whisky.
32:30When it came to a location for their whisky distillery, Lindsay and Carl were delighted when the ideal property came up.
32:40We grew up around here, and the can fiddles, just legendary.
32:45When we saw the cellars, we were like, wow, well, there's loads of space. Let's stick some barrels in here.
32:51It just made a lot of sense, really. It's local to us. It's got this stunning spot that's almost like the Highlands of Scotland,
32:56but is very grounded in Cheshire and Cheshire's history.
33:01Sitting on the edge of the Cheshire Peak District, the Cat and Fiddle was a legendary coaching inn built in 1813
33:09as a pit stop for travellers on the main road between Macclesfield and Buxton.
33:14But being so isolated, the pub struggled, and in 2016 had to call last orders.
33:21The Cat and Fiddle was an iconic building. It was such a shame when it closed for everybody in the local area.
33:27So we did a crowdfunding to see if people did support what we were doing.
33:30And half of Cheshire seemed to chip in something towards the redecoration costs.
33:35So we're really proud to see it open, busy.
33:38Now, as a further honour to their fellow Cheshire brethren, Lindsay and Carl have been creating
33:44what they hope will be the first ever Cheshire single malt whisky.
33:50So coming out of there, new make spirit, not officially allowed to be called whisky until it's three years old.
33:55This has to go into whisky casks.
33:58They've been waiting three years to see if the special barrel aged whisky is drinkable or not.
34:06And today that moment has come. Carl and Lindsay are about to discover if their new creation of a single malt Cheshire whisky
34:14is ready to be launched into the world.
34:19Oh, look at that colour.
34:20So, our first ever Cheshire single malt. Give it a go.
34:28That's lovely. It's nice and sweet, but then it's woody. There's a little bit of spice in there. It's quite warming.
34:38What do you reckon? Is this the one?
34:41I think so.
34:42First single malt?
34:43The nose says yes.
34:44The nose says yes. Let's get it bottled.
34:46Excellent. Cheers.
34:49It looks like Lindsay and Carl's first ever single malt is in business.
34:55Oh.
34:56Here it comes. Here it comes.
34:58It's really exciting, isn't it?
35:01Yeah.
35:03Three years of hard work and a lot of waiting.
35:07And finally, we're releasing our whisky into the world.
35:13001.
35:14Here we go. 001.
35:16Single malt Cheshire whisky.
35:17No going back now.
35:21Speak.
35:22Say whisky.
35:25Coming up, the thatching duo, Wayne and Steve, have hit a snag.
35:31We 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.
35:39Nice and slow.
35:41Don't want to damage anything at this stage.
35:43There's nothing that says Cheshire more than its quaint and characterful villages.
35:56But when a cold snap covered the county in a blanket of snow,
36:03Thatcher's Wayne and Steve were forced to down tools.
36:07The 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.
36:20Now they can get back to work on the roof of the 18th century cottage.
36:25Looking good. Looking good.
36:28Just getting this last little bit cut out now.
36:30And then we're getting there.
36:36This 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. I'll get it all brushed off now and then start putting the wiring on.
37:09Getting there, Stevie?
37:11Yeah.
37:13Near the end now.
37:17The netting stops any birds pulling at the straw
37:21because these bits of corn left in the ears of the straw.
37:25And that's what they go for.
37:29In years to come when it starts wearing, it holds it all together.
37:35We'll just see if Steve's measured the wire long enough to go round the end.
37:39I hope so.
37:49Moment of truth.
37:51Oh, there's plenty on it.
37:54Job done.
37:55And time to admire their expert craftsmanship.
38:01It's looking up good now, Steve, doesn't it?
38:03The ridge has brought the roof back out.
38:05It's cleaned up well.
38:07Especially for a 40, 45-year-old roof.
38:11You know, it's got another 15 years left in it now.
38:14It's always good to feel proud about what you've done, isn't 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.
38:30I'll drive past with my missus and the kids and say,
38:32well, I've done that one.
38:34Just proud, something proud to be a part of.
38:37Another job done and another one to add to the list.
38:40Yep.
38:42Of a satisfied customer.
38:53Back in Crewe, Mark Derbyshire and his team are on the homestretch of their bogey overhaul.
38:59This is going to be tight this week for the delivery.
39:03In 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.
39:15Now he just has to rebuild.
39:18This is now a precision lift where we lower it onto the wheels in preparation for pressing for ride heights and tilt.
39:25Don't want to damage anything on the bogey at this stage.
39:31Really important that we do this in a precision manner.
39:35With the frame dangling in the air, all Mark can do is watch.
39:39Any 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.
39:58So we have to be precise at this point.
40:02If the frame is even a few millimetres out, it could spell disaster.
40:07Just got to get this cornered on.
40:10We're almost home.
40:12Yes, good.
40:13We're on.
40:14We're on.
40:18Although Mark and his team are still doing vital work, keeping the UK's trains on track, this site is a shadow of its former self.
40:28In the 1930s, this was the largest railway engineering works in the world.
40:33But that soon changed.
40:38In 1967, the works overhauled its last steam train.
40:44After 124 years, the golden age of construction in Crewe was called to a halt.
40:51As 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.
41:00These are the best of the best.
41:04And 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 bogeys making it back into service on time.
41:25Morning, fellas.
41:27Ready to go?
41:28Yeah.
41:29Perfect.
41:30Great.
41:31So 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.
41:45So 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.
41:59Press looks good.
42:00The bogey has passed without a moment to spare.
42:02So 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. Relief seeing it lifted up. Finally knowing it's finished. As soon as those chains slacken, it's done. There we go. It's down complete. This train will be in traffic on Monday with the crew bogeys underneath.
42:34Despite all the delays and setbacks, Mark and his team have done it.
42:40Done. Till Monday. And we start the whole process again.
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