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00:00You like me hand-feeding you, do you?
00:02We're happier now, yeah.
00:04You're very happy.
00:05Who wants the last one?
00:07You do.
00:08You're talking to me now.
00:09Okay, for that you definitely get it.
00:11Well done.
00:30The magnificent Strangford Lock, the UK's largest sea lock.
00:56And right now, in mid-winter, when the Irish Sea over there is at its roughest, this becomes a rare sanctuary.
01:02And believe it or not, Joe, this milder weather here, the sheltered water and the rich feeding grounds sustain an extraordinary range of life.
01:11Yes, and we'll be uncovering the species, the traditions, the legends that thrive here,
01:16plus the conservation work that's helping to ensure this remains one of the UK's most important natural refuges.
01:26The 150 square kilometre Strangford Lock lies in Northern Ireland's County Down, just to the south-east of Belfast.
01:36And this winter haven is teeming with life, in and out of the water.
01:42Look at them go.
01:44I love the belly shuffle.
01:46These spores are absolutely tiny.
01:50That bear is life waiting to happen.
01:54The gentleman's just spotted some swans to our right over the hedge.
01:58Oh, really?
01:59Oh, wow!
02:01Oh, are you OK?
02:03It wasn't worth doing the hair this hard in life, was it?
02:10Back on dry land, Adam's taken a trip away from his farm to check out the very latest farming kit.
02:16Oh, look, a briggly pear.
02:18Give it an echo and have a scratch.
02:20This is a cow back scratcher.
02:21They do their side and their back, and they spin when they touch it.
02:24Come on, you muppet.
02:38In many places, the start of the year can be fairly quiet for wildlife.
02:42But here on Strangford Lock, winter brings a surge of life.
02:46The lock offers refuge to thousands of migratory birds that fly in for the winter months.
02:59And for the largest of them, the Hooper Swan, this winter is a really important time,
03:04because it's census year.
03:06It's one of the few opportunities that scientists have to assess how well this bird is coping
03:11and whether they're still using this key habitat.
03:15This census only happens every six years.
03:18So for Kerry Mackey and Gemma Davies from the British Trust for Ornithology,
03:23this is a crucial time.
03:26With the survey just days away, today's task is to identify the swans' locations around the lock
03:32to ensure accurate results in the count.
03:35Well, hello.
03:36You two know what you're doing, don't you?
03:37This is glorious.
03:38Yes.
03:39What a spot.
03:40What a great view.
03:41What are you spotting through that telescope of yours today?
03:43I'm just checking through with a flock of brent geese that are on the grass.
03:46It's rare you get a chance to check their legs for rings.
03:48Gosh.
03:49It's a good flock there, isn't it?
03:50It's a good flock.
03:51Kerry, you know the lock very well.
03:53Remind us why this is such a great habitat.
03:55It's an inner sea lock.
03:57It's got extensive mudflats at the north end, which is providing food, which is the most important thing for waders and brent geese.
04:04Right.
04:05Now, I've heard there's a survey coming up or a census.
04:07There is indeed.
04:08It is the ninth international swan census happening in just a few days and it's in order to get a snapshot of how swans are doing across both the UK and Europe as a whole.
04:20Oh, right.
04:21So it's quite a widespread thing then.
04:22Yes.
04:23So particularly counting Hooper swans and Buick swans.
04:26But here in Northern Ireland, Buick swans are very rare.
04:29So not likely to see those, but plenty of Hooper swans to be counted.
04:33And what does the census data so far tell us about the Hooper swans?
04:37Well, we haven't had a census since 2020, so we're six years adrift in our knowledge as to what's going on.
04:44Up until 2020, the Hooper swan population has doubled since the mid-80s.
04:50Wow, wow, wow.
04:51So they're doing very well.
04:52From up here, you can see lots of the winter bird life on the lock, with geese, gulls and smaller waders all on show.
05:04But unfortunately, there's not a swan in sight.
05:07So, if we're not seeing any swans here, why not at the moment?
05:11Swans prefer big, open, flat spaces.
05:14They need a bit of space for taxiing and for run-up into the wind.
05:18I see.
05:19Plus, the flatter the field, the more likely it is that you can have fresh water.
05:22OK.
05:23But we would still maybe find them on the lock a bit further up.
05:26Is that somewhere we could go and have a look?
05:27Definitely.
05:28Because the snow has melted, which is one of the reasons I'm keen to get out to see where they are.
05:32The last time I did something like this, there was a white-out and trying to find white swans in snowy fields is difficult.
05:41The swans are a protected species across Europe.
05:44As well as providing overall numbers, the census informs conservation efforts by identifying the habitats they're using.
05:51But this isn't a simple counting exercise.
05:54Finding the swans in the first place is more like, well, a wild goose chase.
05:59Who coordinates all of this then, Gemma?
06:01Well, here in the UK it's the BTO that coordinate it and then there are other birding organisations across Europe who are involved.
06:09And you don't want to double count birds, so it's all got to happen at the same time?
06:13Yes, to make sure that we have an idea of exactly what's happening in one weekend instead of someone counting on a Monday and those birds might have moved somewhere else by Thursday.
06:23Yeah. And it's never done annually, it's always a few years apart?
06:26Yes. It's more of a snapshot as opposed to a constant count.
06:33Kerry's already got a good idea of where the larger flocks of swans will be near the big salt marshes to the north.
06:38The challenge over the next few days is finding any new feeding grounds not identified on previous counts to make sure none slip through the net.
06:48In the field there.
06:50The Gemma's just spotted some swans to our right over the hedge.
06:53Oh, really?
06:54But the sun's right there, so it's hard to see.
06:55I missed it, I was totally blinded by the sun there.
06:57Yeah, it's hard to see.
06:59Well, good spot, that's encouraging.
07:01But we'll put over here and get a closer look.
07:08Here we're by a road, we're by houses, we've got noise all around us, but they're here. Why?
07:33They are in a potato field that's already been harvested, but there are still remnants.
07:38So that's what they're looking for? A slightly soft potato?
07:41Soft is important. It's been frosted, which makes it easier for them to get their bills into.
07:47If it wasn't frosted, they probably wouldn't be here.
07:51We definitely have five cygnets, so they're grey compared to the pure white.
07:59But a good size.
08:00And they're fully grown.
08:01Yeah.
08:02They've migrated the thousand miles from Iceland, so they are full-grown functional swans.
08:09They're still hanging out as a family unit?
08:11Very much so.
08:12The parents will teach the youngsters migration routes, or most of them will even stay with them for their spring migration back to Iceland.
08:21At which point they'll more than likely be driven off, because the parents may want to nest again.
08:26Start again, yeah.
08:27Do you realise they've stayed in such a tight family group for so long?
08:31There are five cygnets and three adults.
08:34Why haven't we got an extra adult? So it's not just a pair?
08:37There just seems to be a lone bird tagging along.
08:40The family may have been here first.
08:42You have a lone bird flying over, and they'll be looking for other big white birds to join.
08:48So the family group would have invited them to come into the field.
08:53I'm going to put a scoop on them, just to check the leg rings if there are any.
08:59And I would like to see the condition of that lone bird.
09:02Can you see the lone one?
09:04Yeah, it's on the left-hand side.
09:06And it's all to do with the profile of its undercarriage between the tail and the legs.
09:11If it's carrying good fat reserves, it will bulge just behind the legs, back towards the tail.
09:17That particular swan is quite flat, so it's not carrying much fat.
09:21This is a good find then. Are you happy with this?
09:24Yeah, always good to see a hooper swan.
09:26I'm with you two, which means I know what I'm looking at.
09:29But if I was on my own, how would I tell?
09:31So a swan is a big white bird, which is a good place to start.
09:34Buick swan, they're slightly smaller than a hooper, and there's more black than yellow on the beak.
09:40Right.
09:41Whereas a hooper swan, there's more yellow than black.
09:44A mute swan has a very different beak altogether, so it's more orange with a black knob at the top of it.
09:50Gemma, how many people do you think are going to be taking part in the survey?
09:53Across the whole of the UK, we have about 40,000 volunteers, but we're always keen for more people to get involved.
09:59Feels like you've got a good idea of where a few of the birds might be. Are you excited?
10:03Yes, looking forward to getting going.
10:05And Kerry, you'll be out here for the survey?
10:07Absolutely. As long as these birds stay here, I'll see them and hunt them again.
10:11And then I'll go find the rest of the flocks further north.
10:14Excellent. Well, I wish you all the best with it and look forward to hearing the results.
10:19It's a big one, isn't it?
10:20Yeah, yeah.
10:21Fingers crossed.
10:27Thanks to the work by Kerry and Gemma, the swan census went well.
10:31And although we won't get the full European results for some time,
10:35it appears that the number of hooper swans visiting the loch this winter is on the rise.
10:47While the fields surrounding the loch provide a perfect pit stop for the migrating hooper swans,
10:53its sheltered shores and cool waters are the ideal habitat for one of the natural world's most trendy resources.
11:02Seaweed is in demand like never before. I'm talking about this stuff down here.
11:08But if you start removing it from the wild, it risks damaging the very habitat that makes places like this so special.
11:15But scientists from Queen's University Belfast are hoping their work may offer a solution.
11:24From their Lockside Laboratory and experimental seaweed farm out on the water,
11:30Professor Christine Maggs and Dr Pamela Walsh are developing the science of seaweed cultivation.
11:36Hello, Chris. Hello, Pamela. Hello.
11:40What an interesting office you have. Full of seaweed. But why seaweed?
11:45It has a lot of potential. It's an alternative low carbon crop from terrestrial agriculture.
11:52The great thing about particularly this site is we've got a very high biodiversity of seaweeds.
11:58So there's lots of different species and each of those seaweeds makes special things which are valuable for people.
12:05You have seaweeds that have nutritional properties in them.
12:08Those are the ones I know. The ones you can eat are the seaweeds I know about. Tell me about the others.
12:13So most of the farm seaweeds at the moment is kelp. So kelps, it's the alginate that they take from the kelp.
12:21So alginate can be used for sausage casings. So if you're looking at vegan sausages, the casings from them are typically made from alginate.
12:30Some tablets that we take, the coatings on them, they're made from alginate as well.
12:35These are red seaweeds. Now each of these red seaweeds has its special properties as well.
12:41Antivirals would be one of the big discoveries because as you probably know antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest issues in the world today.
12:51So we need new sources of drugs and these seaweeds actually suppress pathogenic bacteria. So it's really good.
12:58Traditional agriculture has thousands of years of knowledge behind it.
13:03But for aquaculture and seaweed farming, there's a lot of catching up to do.
13:08Here at Queen's, we're looking at techniques to aquaculture. So this is an example that we have actually farmed ourselves.
13:16Ah, so this has been grown here?
13:18Yes, that's been grown. It's a species that hasn't been farmed before. So we need to first understand the life cycle of it to see how it grows.
13:26And then once we understand that, it's how we can potentially then scale it up to meet the needs of industry.
13:32And the fact that we can actually now farm it means it takes pressure off the wild populations.
13:40Seaweed has previously been farmed using plastic ropes that are seeded with spores and suspended below the surface of the water.
13:48But the team at Queen's are trialling a more sustainable alternative.
13:54Ropes made from wool.
13:56Dr Manus Cunningham is an expert on the very start of the aquaculture process.
14:03The first stage, which is after we've collected the seaweed from the shore, we have to get them prepped and cleaned for a spore release.
14:13And you can sort of see there's this darker patch in the middle of the seaweed itself.
14:18And this is the reproductive tissue that then releases spores. If you want to take a scalpel.
14:24Scalpel.
14:25Scalpel.
14:26Yeah.
14:27And then we just want this darker patch in the middle. So if I just take a bit of this, something around that size.
14:33Okay.
14:34So if you take your tweezers now, then give it a bleach wash. What this does is it kills off any other seaweeds that may be growing on that.
14:44Then we put them in seawater to sort of rinse them off.
14:47Mm-hmm. Great.
14:49We'll leave these overnight in darkness. Then we would put them back into seawater and we shake them for about one to two hours.
14:58That allows the spores to release into the water.
15:02Yesterday's seaweed samples are sufficiently shaken and now ready for inspection under the microscope.
15:10So what you should be seeing then are millions of these spores that we have just released from the seaweeds.
15:18Wow.
15:19And they're absolutely tiny. So they're in the micron size range. So if you think that we have, you know, a thousand microns in a millimetre, these spores are absolutely tiny.
15:30That's very cool looking through this. So these are the little, the ones that are moving around.
15:34Yeah. So the spores are motile, so they can move.
15:38Uh-huh. Oh, there's loads. And that there is life waiting to happen.
15:43Yeah. Yeah. So we're then going to put that into a tank with our ropes. Because the spores are motile, they will find an attached rope.
15:51Ah. Okay.
15:52And this is the rope?
15:53This is, this is one of the, the woolen lines. We would then leave them in the lab to sort of establish themselves over about a month.
16:00But we have stuff that is ready to be deployed today on our farm.
16:03Is that my next job?
16:04Yes.
16:05Excellent. Yeah.
16:06Manus, this is brilliant. I'm fully invested in the, the lives of the seaweed. And this is just incredible to think that these spores will then grow into seaweed and the, the implications are huge.
16:17Yeah.
16:18Not least, uh, sausage casings.
16:21Yes, absolutely.
16:22Yeah. Yeah.
16:23Important stuff.
16:32Seaweed is just one part of the underwater ecosystem here. In the loch, sea grass plays an equally important role.
16:41But here's the catch. Sea grass loves the same shallow spots we use to moor boats like these. And that puts it at real risk.
16:53Traditional boat moorings consist of a heavy anchor and chain connected to a buoy at the surface of the water.
17:00But as the chain needs to be long enough to reach the surface at high tide, that leaves slack, dragging on the sea floor at low tide.
17:08Bad news for sea grass.
17:10I'm joining Anna Murtagh, who helps oversee the Strangford Lock Marine Protected Area, and Ulster Wildlife's Nick Baker Horn, to see two mooring systems that could provide a solution.
17:21Anna, boat moorings, do they really do that much damage?
17:25Yeah, they do. So a traditional boat mooring, it has the big chain.
17:29Yeah.
17:30And what that does, it drags along the seabed. So it leaves a circular scar where it's been moored.
17:36The mooring is moving with the tide and that's dragging the chain backwards and forwards?
17:39Yeah, so it disturbs the sediment so it can't ever regrow because it's constantly being hit by the tides.
17:46Oh, gosh.
17:48They're trialling two mooring systems at different depths, and here in the shallows of the bay is their newest addition.
17:54Today it's the first inspection since it was fitted in October, and although it's a chilly nine degrees in the water, Nick has a volunteer that doesn't feel the cold.
18:05So this is our ROV, our remotely operated vehicle, which we are able to take a look underwater and it saves us a little bit on the health and safety and costs of putting down divers every time.
18:18Okay. Have you ever lost one of these or so far so good?
18:21So far so good.
18:22Okay.
18:23It is a risky business, but Cara's here to keep an eye on the tether.
18:25Right.
18:26Which is the important thing that's very easy to get tangled.
18:28Oh, we have a physical tether to it?
18:29Yeah.
18:30Good on you, Cara.
18:31Thank you very much.
18:32Yeah, so this is the main bulk of the ROV, and it has a few extra bits of gadgets on, so it's got a camera on the front, and then this is the really good bit of kit.
18:42So if I let go of the remote, this basically senses the water movement and stops it from drifting with the current.
18:48Got it, so it holds its position.
18:49It holds its position, yeah.
18:50Oh, that's really good.
18:51It makes my life a lot easier.
18:52Yeah.
18:53During the summer, divers analyse and measure the seagrass by hand.
19:02We're ready to go.
19:06But the ROV gives the team more freedom to monitor growth year-round, even in murky winter conditions.
19:13This is the tricky bit, it's trying to get your bearings where the ROV is.
19:16Yeah.
19:17The first system we're looking at is very similar to a traditional mooring, but rather than hanging loose,
19:22this chain is kept off the seafloor, even at low tide.
19:26So Anna, what are we seeing here?
19:29Which system is this?
19:30So this is our system that's called the Stirling Eco-muring, and it's very similar to a traditional
19:36mooring, as you can see the chain there, and the only modification is the riser boys.
19:41So they are positioned all the way up through the water column, and this just keeps the chain
19:48suspended in the water column and stops it from hitting the seabed.
19:51Okay.
19:52Well that seems very simple.
19:53Yeah.
19:54So it's sort of mini-buoys, so it's not enough to bring the chain to the surface, but just
19:57enough to keep it off the seabed.
19:58Exactly, yeah.
19:59And that would be true at any state of the tide, because that's the crucial thing.
20:02Exactly.
20:03You don't want a low tide suddenly to be rubbing around on the bottom.
20:05Yeah.
20:06This one's only been in three months, and what we can see from the ROV, we are happy
20:11with the results.
20:12We've got seagrass.
20:13This time of year is not normally great for seagrass.
20:16It's sort of in its dieback season.
20:18Yeah.
20:19So the fact that we're seeing it at all, it's proof that the system's already working, even
20:23though it's only been in a few months.
20:25But we'd be hoping in a few years that there'd be no bare patches.
20:29This mooring system has already performed well at a deeper site, and they installed it
20:34here to provide a direct comparison with another trial system.
20:38OK.
20:39So.
20:40Right is depth.
20:41So we'll go just down a bit, just little nudges.
20:46Just for your due diligence, I once had a go with someone's precious prize remote-controlled
20:51aeroplane on Countryfile.
20:52Yeah.
20:53It didn't end well.
20:54Hey, seagrass.
20:57I'd like to be known as the submarine captain from here on.
21:00Yeah.
21:01You could just refer to me as captain.
21:02Yeah.
21:03Right, Nick, I've had my fun.
21:06Yeah.
21:07I think you better take control to actually do the tricky bit and look at the boy, so
21:10I'll swap back with you.
21:11Super.
21:12With Nick back in charge, we can now look at the second system, which replaces the chain
21:17altogether with a flexible solution.
21:20It's already been here for five years, so the seagrass recovery should be much more advanced.
21:26So talk me through that.
21:27As we move down the mirroring, what we'll be able to see, instead of a chain, we have
21:33a rope.
21:34Yeah.
21:35And we have, essentially, a big piece of rubber.
21:39And it works like an elastic band would work.
21:42Uh-huh.
21:43So as the tide increases, it becomes more taut and pulls it harder.
21:49Yeah.
21:50And then as the tide goes out, it sort of slacks a bit.
21:52Okay.
21:53But always maintaining.
21:54Tension.
21:55Yeah, that tension.
21:56So essentially the chain is never on the seabed.
21:57Yeah.
21:58Never touches the seafloor.
21:59Feels a bit more complicated, but does it work?
22:01Works perfectly.
22:02Don't take my word for it.
22:04Okay.
22:05So this is good seagrass.
22:06Yeah.
22:07And even though we're in the sort of dieback phase, the length of the seagrass is still
22:11very impressive.
22:12So this is sort of the proof of the pudding, really?
22:15Yeah.
22:16This is exactly the results that we would have hoped for in our last survey.
22:20We have blades up to 45 centimetres.
22:22So the evidence seems very good.
22:24What happens next?
22:25So we hope to roll out 75 more eco-moorings across Drankford Lock within the next five-ish
22:30years.
22:31And from there, we will be working closely with mooring owners to help them make the switch.
22:36Hopefully you're preaching to the converter because people who have boats love this environment
22:39and surely they will want it to succeed and thrive.
22:42Yeah, exactly.
22:43I think a lot of people just don't really realise the effects of traditional moorings.
22:47So with this evidence of what their traditional moorings are currently doing and what we can
22:52restore, we're all hopeful that people will make the switch.
22:55Yeah, fantastic.
22:56Well, I hope next time we're back here with Countryfile, we can see these abundant areas
23:00of seagrass and all your eco-moorings.
23:02So best of luck with the project.
23:03Thank you very much.
23:04Absolutely.
23:14Over in the Cotswolds, winter is in full effect.
23:20And although it doesn't slow work down on Adam's farm, it certainly makes it more challenging.
23:26But having the right kits for the job can make all the difference.
23:39When we bring the cattle into the shed for the winter, we want them fit and healthy and comfortable.
23:45And the beds are very important.
23:47So we don't want them lying and sitting on concrete because that would be very uncomfortable.
23:51So we put a straw bed down.
23:53And as it gets mucky and wet, we then put fresh straw on the top.
24:06And in years gone by, of course, we'd have had little bales that we'd have to carry in and chuck into the shed
24:11and then fork about, or big round ones that you cut the string off and then roll around in the shed.
24:17So huge amount of effort, whereas mechanisation has just revolutionised our lives.
24:22Now, these machines are so brilliant and they just take a lot of the hard work out of it
24:28and get the job done quicker and easier.
24:37So this machine does a wonderful job.
24:39And over the years, it must have saved us thousands of man hours chucking straw around when we used to do it by hand.
24:45But it's 17 years old now, so it's time we started to look for a replacement.
24:51And when farmers need something new,
24:55this is the place to find it.
25:00That's a serious bit of kit, Duncan, isn't it?
25:02I'm not sure it would fit in our sheds, would it?
25:04What a monster.
25:05Duncan's my business partner on the farm.
25:09And this is Lama, the Lincolnshire Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Association.
25:15Oh, look, a prickly pear.
25:17I've got another scratch.
25:18This is a cow back scratcher.
25:20They do their side and their back and they spin when they touch it.
25:23Come on, you muppet.
25:24What started as a small local show has grown into the UK's largest event of its kind.
25:31These days, it's held at the NEC in Birmingham, showcasing the latest in agricultural machinery and technology.
25:38And some of the kit on display really stops you in your tracks.
25:44What do you think you're doing?
25:45I want one, Duncan.
25:46Well, you can't have one.
25:48Well, you can.
25:49Yeah, if you come out with 400 grand.
25:51400 grand, huh?
25:52Yeah.
25:53The most powerful tractor you can buy in the UK.
25:55Many millions are spent on farm machinery each year across the UK.
26:00Not because profits are booming, but because when margins are tight, efficiency is everything.
26:06In reality, plenty of farms are running at a loss and many more are only just scraping by.
26:12And look at the size of this bucket.
26:14They don't do things by halves here, do they?
26:16Incredible.
26:17The most expensive kit is usually owned by contractors and brought in only when farms are at their busiest.
26:24So, well, we both know what it is.
26:27You know, it's a maize harvester.
26:28If you weren't from a farming background, you wouldn't know what this is, would you?
26:31Is it a banana harvester?
26:33Yeah.
26:34Godzilla's fingers.
26:35While we're here, I'm catching up with Eleanor Gilbert, who won our Countryfile Young Countryside Champion Award in 2022.
26:43And she knows her way around some seriously big bits of kit.
26:48So, we've got a 30-metre boom here with the self-propelled sprayer, all run on satellite.
26:53So, last time I saw you, you know, you were driving all the big arable kit at home and then about to go travelling.
27:00How was that?
27:01I've actually seen over there there's a combine which I was operating in the US, completed the 2,000-mile harvest, started in Texas and worked all the way up to North Dakota.
27:10In Montana, we were in 1,000-acre fields, so we could be going for hours and then we might turn around and carry on again.
27:17And tell me about the combines then. How big were they?
27:19So, we had ten combines in our custom harvest fleet and we run anything from the basic series all the way up to AF series.
27:26They are monster machines. Over 700 horsepower, the tank capacity, 20,000 litres. We were running 45 and 50-foot headers.
27:36So, the header being the bit of the front that cuts the grain that goes into the combine.
27:39Yeah. 50-foot. I mean, ours is a 30-foot header at home, so yours is a monster.
27:43I know, and taking it through Kansas with it on, down the roads. Every time I saw a car, I had to lift it sideways.
27:49Down the roads? Yeah. Amazing.
27:52I know.
27:53And so, do you think combines of that scale have got a place in the UK? Is it coming our way?
27:58Well, I think farmers always want bigger and better and faster combines, so if it's here today, then I'd say so.
28:05Yeah, and that's probably for something like the eastern counties, our little fields in the Cotswolds.
28:09Not sure they'd even fit down the lanes. No, it's crazy.
28:12Well, congratulations for everything you've achieved. Thank you.
28:14And there's lots more to see, so enjoy the rest of your day. Great to see you.
28:17Nice to see you again. See you soon. See you.
28:19Modern combines are all about efficiency through scale.
28:23But here at the show, there's also a glimpse of where farming could be heading in the future,
28:27and the kind of kit that, as a farmer, you can't help but get excited about.
28:32Take a look at this. This has got some incredible technology on it.
28:36This is a fully automated machine, a precision planter.
28:39So planting things like fodder beet, sugar beet, salad onions.
28:43And in the old days, you'd have had a tractor and then a drill behind planting the seed.
28:47But this does it all in one. Fully automated, no tractor required.
28:51It drives itself. The solar panel here is providing the energy that drives the machine along.
28:57It'll just work all day and then work all night as well, then recharge in the sunlight and keep going.
29:04And it's all pre-mapped, the field, so we know the size of the field,
29:08whether there's any obstacles like pylons or trees.
29:10And then the seed goes in these hoppers.
29:13And as it drives up the field, it precision plants the seeds all the way up the field.
29:19And then once the seeds are planted, what's extraordinary is it has these little wire fingers.
29:25It'll then weed. So where the seeds are, it knows exactly where they are.
29:29And these bits of metal will just trickle through the soil, taking out the weeds.
29:34We've also got a spray tank on it, so it can precision spray around that seed in exactly the right place.
29:41So if you can save on pesticides, you know, you're ticking lots of boxes, financially and environmentally.
29:47And a machine like this apparently costs around £90,000 to £100,000,
29:51so cheaper than most tractors, and apparently there's already 25 of these working in the UK.
29:59It's just extraordinary the way technology is going.
30:02In my short lifetime, how things have changed.
30:05So if you're a technically-minded individual, then there's a place for you in agriculture.
30:10Back on Strangford Lock, the future of farming is taking shape in a slightly different way.
30:29Oh, there's loads. And that there is life waiting to happen.
30:34As scientists test new ways of growing seaweed sustainably,
30:39including growing it on woolen ropes.
30:42So we've seen the first half of the process,
30:44and now it's time to take those woolen ropes with the spores attached out to the lock.
30:51Senior technician Emma Healey is loading the precious cargo.
30:56Hey. Hello.
30:58Are you going with it?
30:59Off we go. I am ready. Thank you so much.
31:01OK.
31:02Do you mind if I take a seat up the front?
31:03Yeah, you. Grab a seat up the front there.
31:05Quite excited about going in this rope. How fast can it go?
31:08But it's not the speed of the boat that's getting my heart racing.
31:11It's the company we're keeping.
31:14Amazing!
31:16Oh, wow!
31:22How good is that?
31:27So we're just going to be heading up around this headland,
31:29and the seaweed site will be kind of tucked in around this corner.
31:32So with any luck, we'll get a little bit of shelter up there to do the work that we need to do.
31:36Shelter? We're so exposed!
31:38I know!
31:42Oh, are you OK?
31:43Wasn't worth doing the hair this morning, like, was it?
31:48I mean, we're getting a real experience here, aren't we?
31:50We're not expecting the Bahamas.
31:52No.
31:53This is the real Stryford Law.
31:54And do you know what? Seaweeds like the cold weather.
31:57Seaweed likes cold.
31:58It does.
31:59And what seaweed likes, seaweed gets.
32:05This is us arriving at our seaweed agriculture site now.
32:08Where?
32:09I know. It's hard to see, isn't it?
32:11So we have a lot of boys floating around in the water here,
32:13so you have to sort of use your imagination a little bit.
32:17About a metre below the surface,
32:19we've got a series of lines which are floating between all of the boys
32:22that you can see on the surface there.
32:24Yeah.
32:25So being seaweeds, they like sunlight.
32:27So we need those boys to help bring them up to the surface
32:30so that they're in a nice growing range.
32:32So we're getting enough light from the sun,
32:34but they're also not getting too much in the way of the wave action.
32:37Perfect. So this is, in theory, the perfect conditions for them.
32:41Yeah, well, this is it.
32:42Well, we only grow local species here.
32:44So everything that we are growing on the site
32:46really has been obtained from within about two-mile radius.
32:51So what's the plan?
32:52So we are going to deploy some of that new sort of sustainable material
32:56that we're looking at onto the lines
32:58and hopefully when we come back in a few months' time
33:00we'll start to see growth of seaweed on there.
33:02Wonderful. Right.
33:03Step one, catching the boy.
33:06I've been warned, it's a tricky job.
33:09That's our boy.
33:10That is our boy.
33:11Let's go get it.
33:16Come on, you. I'm going to get you.
33:17I'll do that again.
33:18I feel like I'm at some kind of fairground attraction.
33:22Hook a duck.
33:26Here we go. This is the one.
33:27This is the one.
33:28Come on, team.
33:29This is called dedication to duty.
33:37Well done. Great job.
33:41Just a wee bit of effort to bring on.
33:42Well done.
33:43There we go.
33:44Oh, look at this.
33:45Oh, it's already got seaweed growing on it.
33:47It does.
33:48So this is all natural growth.
33:49We'd like to take credit for this,
33:50but unfortunately this is not our seaweed.
33:53But this is what is naturally growing in the area.
33:56It gives you an idea of the size as well.
33:58It's huge.
33:59That these seaweeds can grow to.
34:00Wow.
34:01And I mean, this isn't even up to maximum size,
34:03so we would have had seaweeds that would grow on the site up to maybe four metres in length.
34:07It's quite beautiful.
34:08We'll leave this nice natural growth on this side
34:10and we're going to work on the other side and try and deploy some of those spores.
34:14Right, so this is the wool rope with the spores attached.
34:17Yeah, exactly.
34:18So these are about, say, ten weeks down the line from what you were doing this morning.
34:22So we've given those little juveniles just an opportunity to grow up a little.
34:27With a simple twist, we tie the spore-laden woolen rope to the line.
34:32So if you can try and keep as much tension on that as you can,
34:35what we will do is just finish off that little bit of line there.
34:39And we'll do the same again at this end and just tie this on.
34:43So, obviously, if we were doing this in a commercial way,
34:47what we would be doing is looking at methods where we don't handle this anywhere near as much.
34:51Sure, but this is about testing to see what can happen
34:54and whether we can move away from plastics.
34:56Exactly.
34:57And it's as much really about testing the longevity of the material itself.
35:00Here we go.
35:02Maybe do you want to do the honours and tie that off?
35:04Yeah, so.
35:05Kind of like this?
35:06Yeah, just, yeah.
35:07Let's take it back through there.
35:09There we go, right.
35:10There we go.
35:11And so we'll come back in June or July to see how...
35:14July.
35:15July.
35:16And hopefully, yeah, we'll have some...
35:17And we'll be shining.
35:18Exactly.
35:19We'll have a nicer day.
35:20But this is actually, it's coiled out really nicely, nice and spaced out,
35:24and then hopefully all those little juveniles will start to develop.
35:27So, good luck.
35:28Yeah, you let them go.
35:29Off you.
35:36Well, that was really satisfying because I feel like I've understood the process.
35:40Yes.
35:41You know, from collecting the spores to putting it in the water.
35:44But this is very much still an experiment, right?
35:47Absolutely, yeah.
35:48So the site that we're working on today is relatively small, and I suppose seaweed farming in this
35:53part of the world, Northern Ireland in particular, is in its infancy at the moment.
35:57We have people who are now interested in seaweed farming, and I think our main aim at the moment
36:02is to try and make sure that we can really help those people to put their farms in place,
36:07do that in a sustainable and ethical way, finding those areas that will work well for that
36:13and work in harmony with the loch.
36:16This is really a very promising potential industry, but we obviously want to make sure that we do it well,
36:21and we do it right, and we do it ethically.
36:23Strangford Lock may be at the cutting edge of marine science, but its shores are steeped in much older stories.
36:42To the south-west lies the beautiful Coil River.
36:46Here is a landscape full of surprising history, carved by water and transformed by human activity.
36:53For tour guide and local history enthusiast, Dwayne Fitzsimons, this area is home.
37:02My family have farmed this landscape for centuries.
37:08I love to explore the history and heritage of this area.
37:11Coil is from the Irish and Coil, which means the narrow, and it refers to the narrowest point between two bodies of water,
37:23which were formerly part of Strangford Lock.
37:26What fascinates me about this landscape is the dramatic change from a tidal estuary to a nature reserve.
37:33So in 1745, the landowner of Downpatrick decided to build floodgates,
37:38and they reclaimed 500 acres of land from what was formerly the most westerly branch of Strangford Lock.
37:47In 1957, a larger tidal barrier was developed at Hare Island.
37:53And one of the unintended consequences of that was the creation of the landscape that you see behind me.
37:58And today this is a nature reserve known as the Coil Pondage.
38:05The connection to the sea is key to unlocking the history of this area.
38:10And it's seen numerous people arrive by boat over the centuries.
38:14In the fifth century, St. Patrick himself landed on the shores of Strangford Lock not far from this point.
38:19He was followed by the Vikings who gave the lock its name, Strong Fjord, which means the lock with the strong currents,
38:29and also the arrival of the Normans in 1177.
38:34This landscape would have been quite spectacular to any invading party.
38:47As you came up the estuary, you would arrive here to Inch Abbey,
38:51which was the first Gothic building built in Ireland.
38:54Inch is from the Irish Inish, which means island.
38:57And the original name for this island was Inish Kuskri.
39:02Kuskri is one of the great heroes from the Ulster cycle of mythology.
39:07I always recall my first visit to Inch Abbey being when I was doing art in sector school.
39:13We were sent out to go and photograph it for ourselves.
39:17And this area has such a concentration of ancient monuments
39:22that are just so serene despite the fact that they're in a ruinous state.
39:27They are real havens of tranquillity to come to.
39:41The landscape around Downpatrick is quite flat, and that was formerly foreshore.
39:46In that though, you'll find green verdant hills, and these were formerly islands in Strangford Lock.
39:51Their names still exist to this day.
39:54Horse Island, Hog Island, Hay Island, and Sargent's Island.
39:58All reminders of that former shore that flowed around here twice a day when the tide came in.
40:04Over my shoulder there, you've got the Down Cathedral.
40:08In the 5th century, that's where St. Patrick was buried.
40:10And in the 9th century, his remains were joined by those of St. Bridget and St. Columba.
40:19So the three patron saints of Ireland are buried over there on that hill.
40:23Not all islands in the former lock were natural.
40:29The magnificent Mound of Down was built during the Norman invasion of the 12th century.
40:36It's one of the largest earthworks in Western Europe, and it's where County Down takes its name from.
40:46It's more important to me though, because it was in February of 1177 that my family arrived here with the Norman knight John de Courcy.
40:54Nearly 850 years later, you'll still find my family's name around these parts, and it's one of the most common in the area, Fitzsimons.
41:04The fact that I know that part of my family arrived here 850 years ago and are still in the area, says there's something about this place that's just home.
41:14There's a lot of really significant heritage in this area, and my mission is to make sure that it's valued and understood and brought to new audiences so that they can appreciate it for themselves too.
41:28Well, isn't this glorious? We have totally lucked out with the weather for this wonderful view of Strangford Lock.
41:45But what's coming up in the next few days? Here's the Countryfile forecast for the week ahead.
41:49Jo, thanks. One of the few drier days in Northern Ireland, because we know January was the wettest for 149 years across Northern Ireland, but it's also exceptionally wet as we know for Eastern Scotland, many parts of southern and western UK, but not in the northwest of Scotland.
42:12It's quite interesting contrast. The problem we have is that February has taken up where January left off.
42:18So the moisture-laden southeasterly winds for Eastern Scotland and the weather fronts rolling in from the south and west, and that will continue for the next few days.
42:26So there is a real concern for further flooding. There are still numerous flood warnings in force across England and across Scotland, and I run the rainfall totals here for the next few days.
42:36You can see the highest rainfall likely in the north and east again and southern and western areas.
42:41So we have yet more weather fronts, a succession of them coming in off the Atlantic for the coming few days, perhaps a change though midweek, so stay with me.
42:48As we go through this evening and overnight though, further showery rain pushing northwards and eastwards.
42:52We've had a few thunderstorms across Wales. Where the skies clear, perhaps Northern Ireland, we could see some mist and fog towards morning and possibly southern and eastern areas.
43:00But generally the next few nights should be largely frost free.
43:04But it's going to be quite grey to start our Monday morning with some patchy fog around.
43:08And then with the rain in northern and eastern areas, a few showers elsewhere.
43:12And then the next area of rain, Met Office warnings out for that coming into southern and western areas.
43:17Temperatures this time of year, six in the north to eight in the south, so it is above average.
43:21And we might see a few more glimmers of sunshine tomorrow in southern and eastern areas, but more notably again the northwest of Scotland.
43:27But then Northern Ireland and Northern England look quite wet with that weather system tomorrow evening overnight.
43:31And that moves into Scotland then again on Tuesday.
43:35By then we've got our next area of rain and low pressure marching back into the southwest.
43:40So with these some fairly brisk winds in between the lighter winds, meaning some mist and grey weather again in the morning.
43:46But it looks quite wet once again for those areas already saturated as we go into Tuesday and still relatively mild because we've got that moisture with us coming in off the Atlantic.
43:57But just the hint of a change later in the week.
44:01That low pressure by Wednesday is slipping into the North Sea.
44:04So the high pressure that's been blocking them across Scandinavia is just giving way a little bit.
44:08It means two things. Still, we've got the rain, but we're slightly picking up a north easterly.
44:13So the snow levels will start to drop across Scotland.
44:16Still quite wet here. Still showers elsewhere.
44:18Remember, we've got that low pressure sat across the UK.
44:21Really mild in the south, 13 or 14, but starting to drop those temperatures in the north.
44:25And that process will continue because that low pressure pulls away into Scandinavia.
44:29The Baltic state snow here and allows a northerly wind to come across the UK.
44:35And with that northerly wind coming right down from the Arctic, some much colder air with pretty brisk wind as well.
44:42So we'll see some wind chills as well as we head towards the end of the week.
44:45So it's wintry showers with us.
44:47I think during the day on Thursday, there's still a question mark about how quickly these weather fronts will clear from southern areas.
44:53It's still relatively mild at 10 or 11. The temperatures fall away through the day and we'll start to pick up some nighttime frosts as well through the latter part of the week.
45:02So cold by day and cold by night.
45:04And then obviously those wintry showers along with that northerly wind.
45:08But look at the temperature by the end of the week. They're dipping away.
45:11But it does look drier because the ridge of high pressure is coming in from the west.
45:15The question mark is how quickly and how long will that high pressure last bring you as the dry weather?
45:22As ever, you can get more on the website, including our warnings.
45:32We're exploring the wonders of Strangford Lock.
45:36With its rich feeding grounds and mostly sheltered waters.
45:47It's a vital refuge for wildlife.
45:49Here we're by a road, we're by houses, we've got noise all around us, but they're here.
46:01The sheltered waters of the lock are visited by some of the largest creatures in our seas.
46:08But it's seals that have truly made it their home.
46:14To understand how seals are using the lock at this time of year,
46:17National Trust rangers Tomasz Czeczewski and Faye Nixon monitor them closely.
46:28Tomasz, Faye.
46:30Look at you two hanging out on the beach in the nice weather.
46:33How's it going?
46:34Not the easiest weather conditions for what we're doing, but it has to be done.
46:38What do we know about how the seals use the lock?
46:40Primarily it's sheltered and because there is such a variety within the lock, the different fish and shellfish that are here, they'll take advantage of that to go hunting as well.
46:50So let's have a stab at numbers then. What do we think today? That's a colony over there, isn't it?
46:55There could be 130 there, couldn't there?
46:57About 37.
46:59Roughly.
47:00Never know, sometimes a tail will kick up from behind a rock and we have to redo it all.
47:04Oh no!
47:06Right now they're likely digesting.
47:08Whenever a seal goes into the water, their heart rate drops to 10 beats per minute.
47:1310 beats per minute?
47:15It's to conserve their oxygen.
47:17Wow.
47:19So grey and harbour seals, they'll take a bunch of deep breaths and then they expel all the air in their lungs and they'll go down so that they don't get nitrogen in sickness.
47:26So that's a beat every six seconds?
47:28Pretty much.
47:29So our heart is doing this a lot, isn't it?
47:31Yeah.
47:32And ours is just doing...
47:33Very slow. It doesn't matter if they're hunting or not, it will stay at that rate.
47:37Wow!
47:38But then whenever they come back up, it goes to 150 roughly.
47:42And so they have to rest. It's the only time they can digest. They can't digest in the water.
47:47So right now their hearts will be going bang, bang, bang, bang, bang as their bodies processing and they're working through everything.
47:51Yeah.
47:52And then they'll get this calm, zen moment where they slow everything down and go hunting and that's how they stay in the water.
47:57Yeah.
47:58And that's why they don't need to breathe. They can hold their breath for so long.
48:00Mm-hmm.
48:01I mean, I knew they held their breath but I didn't know how they do it. That's fascinating.
48:04Yeah.
48:05It's also why it's not ideal for them to be disturbed because then they can't digest food. They're too stressed.
48:10And how worried are you about disturbing them?
48:12Their safety is in the water, not the rocks. They cannot move so fast. That's why crucial is to not disturb them because they're losing a lot of precious energy, especially at this time of the year.
48:23Every time they have to haul out and get across the rocks, it's hard work for them.
48:27We're finding more and more dead seals on the beach. So you don't want to affect them. We're always asking people to be careful. We have to keep the distance.
48:36Yes, it will be easier to identify them if they will get closer. Yeah.
48:40But then there is higher chance of disturbing them. That's what we're trying not to do.
48:45Disturbances, and winter in general, can be especially hard, even fatal, for young seals.
48:52But some vulnerable pups get life-saving help from headkeeper Ewan Morrison and his team at the Explorys Aquarium and Seal Sanctuary in Portoferri.
49:02Their aim is to rehabilitate and return seals to the wild.
49:08But for those that can't be released, the sanctuary provides lifelong care and a chance for people to see seals up close without disturbing those living wild in the lock.
49:18So these are our three resident seals. They're all harbour seals. They will live the rest of their lives here. They were pretty much all born in captivity.
49:26This is Silver. He's the big one. Yeah.
49:28Silver. These are fully grown.
49:29Yeah. Doug might have a little bit of growing still to do.
49:32Is Doug the smallest?
49:33Yeah, he's a little bit younger than the rest of them.
49:35Look at that.
49:36Oh, he's got a little scratch.
49:39They are absolutely adorable, aren't they?
49:41What's the plan for these today, Ewan?
49:43So these guys are probably about ready for some food.
49:45So when I head round, we can get a little bit closer to them.
49:47Lead the way then.
49:48Excellent.
49:49Ooh, what's in the bucket?
50:00Yeah, so we're on herring for these guys.
50:02Herring, okay.
50:06I can see some nervous water, the ripples.
50:09Oh, look at that.
50:17Touch.
50:18Good boy.
50:20What are you doing with the ball?
50:22For us to be able to work with them, we need to do lots of training.
50:26If we need a vet to look at them.
50:27Oh, like medical intervention.
50:28Yeah.
50:29So you have an understanding with them.
50:30They come, they touch that with their nose.
50:32Yeah.
50:33And when you work with them this closely, I mean, do you get to know their characters?
50:36Do they have individual characters?
50:37Yeah, they are all a little bit different.
50:39Doug here is a little bit more nervous.
50:40So he's a little bit more tentative.
50:41He's a little bit younger and probably gets kind of pushed out of the way by the other two a little bit.
50:46I mean, Silber must be fully grown.
50:48He doesn't miss many meals, yeah.
50:50He doesn't miss many meals.
50:51That's a good way of putting it.
50:52And so what do you do here with the seals in terms of the general public?
50:56So these guys are actually really good and really help us with our kind of rehab work.
50:59Lots of what we see is seals coming in with disturbance issues, so where people have gone too close to pups.
51:04So it's a great chance for us to talk to people about what they should do around wild seals.
51:08So people can come in and you can help them understand how to deal with them,
51:12when they might see them out and about and how to give them space.
51:15Exactly.
51:16Ewan, I can't resist.
51:17Is it all right to just see?
51:18Yeah, definitely.
51:19They might have had enough, but if not, could I dangle a herring for them?
51:21Yeah, we can definitely have a go.
51:23Oh yeah, are you going to come out?
51:26Which one's this?
51:27This is Luna.
51:28Can I just dangle it for Luna?
51:29Yeah.
51:30There we go, Luna.
51:31Well, that went down very easily, didn't it?
51:33Do you want another one?
51:34I thought you'd had enough.
51:37Yes.
51:38Incredible, isn't it?
51:39It just slides down.
51:41You're still here.
51:42You like me hand feeding you, do you?
51:44Yes.
51:45We're happier now, yeah.
51:46You're very happy.
51:47Who wants the last one?
51:49You do.
51:51You're talking to me now.
51:52Okay, for that you definitely get it.
51:54Well done.
51:55Come on.
51:56They've been rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing wild seals here for over 30 years.
52:05And today marks a big day for two grey seal pups, Banzai and Ed.
52:10So these two boys are getting released today.
52:12They are grey seals.
52:13They're not quite as friendly as the other guys.
52:15They're waiting by the gate, so I sense they know you're coming in with a bucket.
52:18Yeah, if you just want to hang on a little bit, I'll get them to the pool.
52:21Okay.
52:22They're very cute, even if they're not the most friendly.
52:25Look at them go.
52:27I love the belly shuffle.
52:30So how did Banzai and Ed come to be here in the sanctuary?
52:34Ed came in first.
52:35He was very, very skinny.
52:37Like we could see his heart beating on his chest.
52:39He wasn't doing very well.
52:42So nobody teaches them how to hump.
52:44Sometimes they struggle a little bit with that.
52:45If there's any rough weather in there where they've got to swim through big waves,
52:48they get tired really quickly.
52:50They have to come on shore to rest and sometimes they just don't do very well.
52:53So for the first two, three weeks, mum would be providing milk for them.
52:57Yes.
52:58And then they're sort of weaned and it's up to them just to catch their own fish.
53:02Yeah, mum clears off and leaves them.
53:03That's her job done.
53:04And then they are independent from a pretty young age.
53:08Right.
53:09What would have happened if Ed hadn't come in?
53:10I mean, was he at the point where he'd have only lasted another day or two?
53:13If that, yeah.
53:14He was really struggling.
53:15So yeah, he's done really well.
53:17He's nice and chunky.
53:18He is nice and chunky.
53:19Normally we'll look for him to be around about 30 kilos to release them,
53:22which is still pretty small for these guys.
53:24So fully grown.
53:25He's going to be somewhere near 250.
53:28Wow.
53:29A quarter of a ton.
53:30Yeah.
53:31And that was their final easy meal.
53:33Yeah.
53:34They're on their own from now.
53:35What happens next then, Ewan?
53:36So next we're going to get them loaded up into some crates.
53:38This pool needs to be drained.
53:40I'm not going to swim after them.
53:41Ah, okay.
53:42And then we'll get them down to the beach.
53:44Great.
53:45Okay.
53:46We've got an escapee.
53:47Great escape.
53:49The riot shield has come out.
53:52The seal riot shield.
53:54That was originally our shield when we had a big crocodile for working with.
53:58Oh, well, these guys are nothing then if you've been dealing with crocodiles.
54:02Actually, these guys should be fairly reluctant because they are wild animals.
54:15These aren't the very sociable resident seals.
54:18These are the guys that you want to keep wild.
54:20And very soon they'll be hopefully back out there in the loch.
54:23With their sharp teeth, the pups need very careful handling.
54:30There we go.
54:34This is what everyone here has been working towards.
54:37After weeks of dedicated care, the seals are finally heading back to the wild.
54:42Now, are you going to release these into the water or on the sand?
54:58So, we're going to go just a little bit back from the edge of the water.
55:01It's the first time in quite a while these guys have seen waves and that sort of thing.
55:05So, just give them a little second to kind of get their bearings a little bit.
55:10The bay is nice and flat for carrying them down and it should provide a good launch point to get them back living free.
55:17And what will their chances be, Ewan, when they get out there?
55:22You know, do you expect them to survive?
55:24Yeah, so a few years ago we did a tracking project with the University of Cork.
55:28They set GPS trackers on the back of all the harbour seals that we released.
55:32And those trackers last about four months before the batteries in them die.
55:36Of the sort of roughly 20 seals that were tracked, there was only one of those that wasn't moving at the end of that four months.
55:4195% of them made it?
55:43That's right about that, yeah.
55:44Yeah, amazing.
55:45Once they've got to that four months, obviously they can find food, they can keep themselves away from predators,
55:49they can find sort of sensible places to get out the water where they're not getting disturbed by people all the time.
55:54You know, they can do everything they need to do to be a seal.
55:57Yeah.
55:58So they should be fine.
55:59Now it's the moment of truth.
56:02From here, they're on their own.
56:04How are we doing, chaps? We're ready?
56:06They look good, OK.
56:08Yeah, I think we're ready to go.
56:17We'll stand back and let you have your moment. Look at that.
56:21Real sand, real water.
56:37It's just thinking about it, and then he's in. There he goes.
56:43You've got them back into good condition.
56:47It is really nice, yeah.
56:48That's our goal when we take these guys in.
56:50Look at that, they're together now, aren't they? Look at that.
56:53They're so sweet, aren't they?
56:55Well, that is a lovely sight. The two of them seem very playful, very happy, very content in this environment.
57:08They're just diving down, exploring it all, and instantly they look at home, back in their natural environment.
57:15Hello, Joe.
57:27Anita, how's it going?
57:29Brilliant, as always.
57:30Good news, the seal population here has just gone up slightly.
57:33We've just released one.
57:34I'm slightly jealous.
57:35Very good.
57:36Hey, do you know what? It's like every time we film Countryfile, it's the people who are so amazing.
57:44They are so dedicated here to preserving the wildlife and this stunning look. Very impressive.
57:50Yeah, I'm sorry to go, but that is it for this week.
57:53Next week, Dashiani and Hamza are on the Pembrokeshire coast, 30 years on since the Sea Empress oil disaster.
58:00He's about to jump out and climb up that ladder into the tanker to steer it out of the harbour.
58:07Oh, it's a skota!
58:09This is the closest I've ever been to a common skota like this.
58:14This is a very, very big ship. This ship is three football fields.
58:17You're talking about three million cars worth of petrol.
58:22All this area you can see here from the harbour to beyond Gosco Rock was just black.
58:27And I'm talking sort of that depth of oil.
58:31Don't forget to join us then. Bye!
58:33Bye-bye.
58:34Oh, here comes the ferry!
58:35Oh, come on! Perfect timing!
58:37Yes!
58:38Pulp, Melanie C and Macey Grave all performed in Radio 2's Piano Room this week.
58:47Hear them on BBC Sounds.
58:49And why was Jonathan Ross wrestling in the middle of the night?
58:52Watch Michael McIntyre's big show now on BBC iPlayer.
58:56Down in the middle of the night
58:581,800-119-1977.
58:591,800-119-3366.
59:055,800-119-2666.
59:115,800-119-2003.
59:121,800-119-2877.
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59:161,800-119-119-2666.
59:172,800-119-2776.
59:182,800-3,800-119-33++,
59:201,800-119-2877.
59:213,800-2,800-119-7666.
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