CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Hello and welcome to the National Trust

Podcast. I'm Claire Hickinbotham. Before we start

this episode, I'd like to let you know that from April, the

National Trust podcast is changing to bring you more

immersive stories from history and nature. Look out for our new

name and more by giving this show a follow in your favourite

podcast app.

Today we're out walking through the hills of Oxfordshire, the

wetlands of Wicken Fen, the valleys of the Upper Conwy

catchment and the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland.

That's quite some trek for a single walk. So join from the

comfort of your home and find out what unites all of these

unique and wonderful landscapes, and how caring for the natural

world is playing a role in the cost and taste of our pints.

I've come today for a bit of a walk that I'm familiar with. So

I’m at Coleshill, which is a village in Oxfordshire, and it's

somewhere I walk a lot with my black lab buddy.

Great rolling hills. Views to the white Horse at Uffington.

The Ridgeway. And at the other side of the estate the land

drops down towards the Thames and it's that direction I'm

going to walk first.

I'm meeting Richard, who looks after the countryside here, and

he's going to explain about some of the work that they do.

We've got to head up through the village. So up the hill past the

National Trust owned cottages. They're all chocolate box.

They're all beautiful. One of which is the Radnor Arms, an

amazing little pub with cosy nooks and crannies in it.

And we're going to have a little stop there later because it

features actually in 100 Great Pub Walks, a book from the

National Trust. And we're going to go on one of those walks. And

hopefully at the end of the day, Richard is going to take me back

to the pub and have a well-earned pint.

We've walked up from the Coleshill Estate office through

the village, past the Radnor Arms, the pub a lovely little

spot to meet Richard Watson, who's one of the countryside

team that looks after the landscape here.

Hi, Richard. Nice to meet you.

RICHARD WATSON: Good morning, lovely to meet you!

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: I'm assuming you're Richard with

binoculars around your head and wellies on your feet. You are

well equipped.

RICHARD WATSON: I am.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: This is such a lovely part of the world

to call your office.

RICHARD WATSON: It is. It's fabulous. We're lucky here

because we've got the Cotswolds to the north of us. And then

people go down towards kind of Dorset, Devon and stuff for the

holidays. But it's a bit of a forgotten corner here. But

actually, as you can see, it's beautiful, lovely rolling

countryside with the River Thames, to the north of us here.

So we're looking over the Thames kind of flood plain.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: And a lot of what we can see dropping down

away in front of us is it's land that the National Trust manages.

RICHARD WATSON: It is. Yes. so, Buscot and Coleshill Estates

amount to 2700 hectares altogether. So, yes, a large,

area of land.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Unsurprisingly for Richard, the

team and the millions that work outdoors throughout the year,

things can get a bit wet.

But working out what to do in the face of extreme and changing

weather conditions adds to the daily challenge of looking after

the countryside.

A lot of the work that you do around here, as we're looking

down at the Thames, having climbed up to the top of the

hill from the River Cole, hence Coleshill, I guess, you're doing

a lot of work on the River Cole and in the Valley then around

the Thames, because Buscot village has the Thames running

through it doesn't it?.

RICHARD WATSON: It does, so water is a key theme here, both

managing water in the winter or in the summer if there's big

storms trying to reduce flooding, but also then

conversely, in the summer during droughts, trying to keep more of

the water back.

Yeah. Managing the water is, a key theme for us and

increasingly so as the climate is changing, we're getting more

intense, weather events.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: In the time leading up to meeting Richard,

there had been four major storms in three months putting extra

strains on the landscape.

This has meant that the land Richard looks after alongside

tenant farmers has been subject to intense flooding, causing the

farmers to lose an entire crop.

RICHARD WATSON: So our farm tenants are finding it

increasingly difficult to grow cereal crops. As you can see,

the one in front of us on the top of the hill there was this

was down by the river. It would have been under water on and off

since mid-September, right the way through.

So the farmers have either been unable to plant the cereal crop,

or they did manage to get it in the ground. And then floods have

come along and it's been under water for several weeks, and

that would have killed it off.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: The effects of climate change have been more

noticeable in recent times than ever before. It's not just the

dramatic images of damage we see in the news, but deeper and

longer lasting effects at the top of our food chain.

While farmers are finding it hard to grow the crops they need

to keep the nation fed, the wonky weather is having a knock

on effect for the things we love to treat ourselves with.

In a recent BBC news article, it's reported that the changing

climate is also having an impact on the taste and cost of beer as

well, with researchers from Cambridge University identifying

a growing problem with hotter, drier summers and more intense

winters.

It's in that direction towards Cambridge, where the next stop

on our pub walk begins.

A stone's throw from the Maids head pub is Wicken Fen, the

oldest nature reserve in the National Trust. At no other

place is it more noticeable to trace the fine lines between

what is good for looking after our planet, versus the necessary

agricultural work needed to keep us ticking.

It's there that we meet Ajay Tegala, a ranger, helping to

restore some of the land previously lost to intense

farming practices.

AJAY TEGALA: The Fens of East Anglia once spread for thousands

of square miles really, it was this vast area of reeds of

water, and wildlife. But over the last sort of few centuries,

really, it's gradually been tamed and drained for

agriculture, for development.

So a lot of this happened in the 1600s. A lot of land was drained

then and up into the Victorian times, because it's really good

for growing crops.

It's a really good place to feed the nation from.

And of course we've got Cambridge nearby, so that's

growing.

So there’s all this pressure to use the land for man-made

pursuits. So over a period of several years, literally, it was

all lost apart from less than 1%. And Wicken Fen is part of

that less than 1% of original Fen.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Part of what made The Fens so attractive

for farming. It's peat rich landscape.

AJAY TEGALA: Peat is very good for farming because it has a

high moisture content, and crops need water to grow, so it's the

perfect growing medium for agriculture.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Peat is a bit of an organic super

material, great for growing, but even better at protecting our

planet.

Peatlands like Wicken Fen amount to just over 10% of the total

land in the UK.

Just that small amount holds more carbon than all of the

forests in France, Germany and Britain combined. There is,

however, a catch.

In order to stay effective at capturing carbon, peat needs to

stay wet and undisturbed, something which historically

hasn't happened.

AJAY TEGALA: When peat is removed from the environment,

whether it be perhaps being ploughed and getting sort of

whipped up into a dust, it can blow away because it's very

fine.

They used to be these big, thick, chocolate coloured clouds

years ago called fen blows. We don't get them so much now, but

occasionally we do.

So that happens. The soil is lost. It literally blows away.

And at the same time, that process releases carbon into the

atmosphere.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: The draining of the Fens for farming

to gain access to more fertile land, to grow crops on, has been

described as the greatest single ecological catastrophe that has

ever occurred in England.

Part of the work Ajay and the team are undertaking is

restoring as much peatland habitat as possible.

Not only is this helping to tackle the carbon in the

atmosphere, but it's also allowing nature to thrive. And

when it can do that, the positive outcomes keep on

growing.

AJAY TEGALA: The drainage of the Fens had a-

Well, a catastrophic effect on biodiversity and on nature. So

many things were lost. So we've got species that went extinct.

The swallowtail butterfly, for example, hung on. at Wicken Fen

until the 1950s, but even the conservation work we were doing

here wasn't enough to sustain it because, wildlife needs a large

area.

So that's kind of what we're doing here, is we're creating

wider space for nature to have more room to spread and

colonize. And actually, one of the species that were lost 500

years ago was Britain's tallest bird, the crane.

They went extinct due to hunting and loss of habitat, loss of the

wetlands because they nest in remote, reedy spots where

they're undisturbed.

But a few years ago, they made a comeback to Wicken and they're

on the up. So it's been yeah, a huge loss. But it's not

irreversible. And that's the beauty of it.

I mean, Wicken Fen’s an amazing place. So much history, so many

wildlife species recorded. But it is just a little fragment in

a desert really surrounded by intensively managed land.

So much has been lost and as good as Wicken itself is, it's

so small and it's almost like an upside down saucer.

It's kind of like a little mound surrounded by lower lying

ground.

And that means that the water, by the nature of gravity, drains

away.

And so we're constantly trying to keep it wet so those species

that need that wet environment have the habitat they need to

thrive.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: When it comes to working with gravity,

one of the more challenging spots for peatland restoration

is on the side of a mountain.

And it's there where our next pub walk takes place.

Around the peaks and valleys of the Mourne Mountains in Northern

Ireland are some stunning walks for the more adventurous, with a

cosy rest stop, the Harbour House Inn and Macken’s Bar in

Newcastle.

Like Wicken Fen, the area is cared for by a team of rangers,

one of which is James Fisher, who has some unique ways of

keeping the peatlands healthy.

JAMES FISHER: Whenever we look at the plants that are growing

here, it actually it would come out is that as almost an acid

grassland or dry heath because there's so little water is

actually being retained by the deep peat here.

So what we're doing in the erosion gullies is constructing

small timber dams. And where we have shallower gradients we use,

bunds.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: A bund is a type of embankment, sort of like

a dam that's designed to keep water in one place.

The bunds that have been created at the Mournes have been made

with some special help from some woolly creatures.

JAMES FISHER: The bunds themselves, which, it's really

interesting, we've been trialling the use of sheep well,

to make the bunds.

These would normally be made from the coir, which is a

byproduct of that sort of coconut fibre.

If we can use the sheep wool which is from the sheep that are

actually grazing the site, it's a good use of that wool.

And it's, it allows circularity to the process.

Whenever we install these dams, the water then collects behind

them. We're not trying to keep the water on the mountain as

such, just to slow it enough that the surrounding landscape

then starts to wet up and we get the regeneration of some of the

peat building plants, such as the Sphagnum Moss and the

sedges.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: By allowing these plants to grow and then

naturally decay in order to form the peat, it’s hoped that this

can kickstart some organic regeneration, but it's a very

slow process.

JAMES FISHER: Peat forms at something like a millimetre a

year, so you can imagine the length of time it takes for any

sort of depth of peat to accumulate.

But, over time, that forms a thick blanket over the

landscape, which is why we call it a blanket bog.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: The final stop on our pub walk takes us to

North Wales and the Upper Conwy catchment. The area accounts for

3% of the total land in Wales, which is roughly equivalent to

the size of the Isle of Wight.

With an area that vast, there are too many great watering

holes and walks to mention fully but aside from the physical work

of restoring the peatland within it, Ranger Dewi Davis explains

that it's the connection with the people in the landscape that

can really help to make a difference.

DEWI DAVIS: The area that I work in is to the northeast of Eryri

National Park, also known as Snowdonia National Park, and

it's basically the river catchment of Afon Conwy. The

river Conwy.

It starts in the uplands of somewhere called Y Migneint and

it flows down all the way to Conwy itself, where the famous

Conwy Castle is.

There's parts of the catchment higher up, certainly where it's

pretty idyllic, you know, it's the typical views and scenery of

a national park such as Eryri, the mountains are a bit more

rugged there.

But to the south and to the east, and you've got this vast

area of peatland called Y Migneint. And that's a focus, an

area of focus for our project, really, in terms of the

restoration of the peatland there.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Like the other rangers we have met on our

walks, Dewi and the team work tirelessly to keep the peatlands

wet and the water in places it's supposed to be.

DEWI DAVIS: But none of that would or could happen on the

ground if we hadn't engaged with, the community we're

working in.

You know, ignore the people at your peril. has always been my,

sort of mantra in the project, because if you don't bring them

along with you, I'm paraphrasing Attenborough here, you know, if

they don't understand the work that you're doing, and why, how

can they possibly care about it themselves?

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: For Dewi, there is a special connection

between the Welsh language and a sense of belonging, with a

phrase taken from sheep farming.

DEWI DAVIS: One of them, one of my favourites, really, is, the

notion of Cynefin. The notion of it sort of translates across to

humans as well.

You belong to a Cynefin. This is your Cynefin, your patch. You're

comfortable there. It's where you were born and bred.

And you know pretty much everyone there.

And you know the rhythms of the place and all sorts so.

I think if you talk about Cynefin, you truly understand

the concept of Cynefin not just for farming, but for, from a

human perspective as well.

You're already there, some way with some of our communities.

Some of the best time I've spent has been in a farmer's kitchen,

just having cups of tea and talking about everything but

work that sort of builds that trust.

Then you can get on to the task or the job, or the idea that

you've got and yeah, without the people, you don't get anything

done.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: When it comes to connecting with people,

there are fewer places, more perfect than the pub, and it's

there that local community action and care for our spaces

can grow.

Tom Cox looks after his local meetup of a group called People,

Planet, Pint. It's a worldwide collective started by Small 99

that aims to get people together and chatting about the world

around them.

TOM COX: I like to think of it as a very inclusive community

for anyone who is interested or concerned or just wants to talk

about sustainability, to kind of come along and talk about it.

It's got no specific agenda. We've got no topics that kind of

have to be discussed.

It just really is, just a space for folks to, to come and have a

chat.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Thinking about the environment and what

to do as an individual can often feel a little bit of a daunting

task.

But Tom is confident that by getting the conversations going

at the local and by making the planet a little bit more front

and centre in our social lives, we can work together to achieve

our goals.

TOM COX: I think I'm optimistic about, about people and kind of,

you know, People, Planet, Pint is an excellent example of how

people come together and talk about these things and take

these problem seriously and, and think of ways to solve the

problem.

I have absolutely no idea what it's going to be like in five

years time.

But I am, always encouraged by the amount of mobilization and

about the amount of passionate people that are out there trying

to create solutions to solve the problem.

It’s too big of a challenge to really predict where we're going

to be.

But I'm hoping at least socially, we'll be in a much

better place and we'll have a lot more people mobilized and

focused on solving these issues.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Back home in Oxfordshire having just

finished our walk and coming back to the Radnor Arms for our

pit stop, Richard tells me about some of the things that we can

do at home to help nature thrive.

RICHARD WATSON: If you've got room to plant a small tree, a

birch or crab-apple or cherry or something like that then do.

That's great.

Provide, nectar, fruit, nuts, seeds for, birds and animals and

insects.

A pond is one of the best things you can do for wildlife. So even

if that's just a bucket sunk in the ground, with fresh water in,

then the water boatmen and insects will, come to that

within a few days.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: The journey from wise, an insect important

to saving our planet is a is a huge leap, isn't it?

RICHARD WATSON: It is.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: But what you're saying is, actually,

these are the fundamental things. This is the stuff you

can do at home. And this is what is going to start that positive

snowball effect, that chain of events that is going to have an

impact.

RICHARD WATSON: Yes. The experts say that actually, if you add up

the area of all our gardens in the UK, then it's much greater

than the area of other nature reserves. So by all of us doing

a little bit in our garden, we can help wildlife that will help

with climate change as well.

And it can be a real positive, exciting journey and you can

share it with your children, your grandchildren.

You know, we all live to see, insects and things. And so yeah,

it's really great to have the wildlife in our garden.

We can all provide a bit of space. We can all help do our

little bit, and then at a cumulative scale and it starts

to make a really big difference.

CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: That's a wonderful idea. And I think we

can all raise a glass to that!

Thank you for listening to this episode of the National Trust

Podcast.

If you like what you've heard and would like to join me on

more walking adventures, then you'll love our new podcast,

Nature Escape.

Each episode, we will be exploring a natural landscape

from the comfort of wherever you're listening and hearing

from experts about how they care for our favourite places.

And from April, the National Trust podcast is changing. Look

out for our new shows for nature and history and keep up to date

with all things podcast by visiting

nationaltrust.org.uk/podcasts.

I look forward to joining you next time for me, Claire

Hickinbotham. Goodbye.