麻豆社

What better way to spend a bitterly cold day than on a Winter Wildlife Safari. Ellie聽starts her quest in one of the largest and oldest swathes of Caledonian forest in Rothiemurchus, Aviemore.聽This is a 鈥榮pecial area of conservation鈥� and the local wildlife relies on the ancient pine forest. In fact it鈥檚 become a stronghold for one of our rarest mammals, the red squirrel. Ellie spends some time with 鈥榞uide in the hide鈥� Alph McGregor and together they watch the winter wildlife spectacle unfold.聽

Matt is in Cumbria meeting Herdwick Sheep Farmer Peter Bland.聽With temperatures often falling to -10掳C or less the Herdwick's blizzard-proof fleece is invaluable to help them through the harsh winters.聽The hardiness of the Herdwick, and their access to amazing grazing, creates a real depth of flavour to their meat. Peter, and a collection of local farmers recently campaigned to get Herdwick Lamb awarded a Product of Designated Origin status. It took years to get the recognition but now the local farming community is making the most of their new found status.

Norman Ackroyd CBE is one of Britain鈥檚 most renowned landscape artists. His pictures hang in galleries all over the world, but the man and his work are quintessentially British.聽Inspired by extremes of weather, Norman embraces winter and creates shadowy studies of some of the harshest landscapes in the British Isles. He uses an unusual process called 鈥榓quatinting鈥� 鈥� a pre-photo technique that etches with acid.聽We join Norman as he makes the most of a grey winter鈥檚 day, and discover just how he sets about capturing the British landscape in such a beautiful way.

Matt meets local butcher Stephen Airey, the only butcher licensed to process 鈥楬erdwick Lamb鈥�. Stephen鈥檚 family has been butchering here for 175 years and the family has one of the last remaining abattoirs in Cumbria. Matt discovers the importance of the PDO status and traceability of the meat.聽To celebrate its taste he joins local chef Tim Brown back in the farmyard overlooking the fells as he cooks up some Herdwick mutton and we find out why this is 鈥楾op of the chops鈥�.

The Isle of Sheppey has become one of best places in the UK to spot birds of prey, we join wildlife cameraman Richard Taylor-Jones as he takes up the challenge to see just how many he can track down within one winters day.聽Starting at sunrise, Richard begins to tick off his list by capturing footage of a Kestrel, Barn owl, Merlin, Hen Harrier to name but a few. He ends a long days filming at sunset with Hen Harriers coming home to roost, a winter spectacle not to be missed.

Ellie鈥檚 next mission on her Winter Wildlife Safari is to try and catch a glimpse of that seasonal chameleon that is the mountain hare. She heads high up in the mountains to meet wildlife photographer, and all-round 鈥榟are whisperer鈥�, Andy Howard.聽 He assures Ellie he has the stealth manoeuvres and 鈥榝ieldcraft鈥� to guarantee her a close encounter of the 鈥榝urred鈥� kind.

We all know he鈥檚 got a penchant for a pullover - but John un-ravels a yarn he鈥檚 never heard about fishermen鈥檚 winter woolies.聽For centuries, fisherman braved the winter weather to bring in the catch of the day. To help protect them from the elements they wore traditional knitted sweaters, known as 鈥榞ansey鈥檚鈥� or 鈥榞uernsey鈥檚鈥�.聽On the East coast of Yorkshire, in Filey, John meets fisherman Graham Taylor and his wife Margaret. Her family have been hand-knitting the traditional sweaters for the past two hundred years. John hears how a fisherman鈥檚 Guernsey was his most distinctive feature, and how each individual pattern and stitch tells a story.

Meet Jamie Kunka, of 鈥楲onely Mountain Skis鈥� in Perthshire, Scotland. Jamie crafts sustainable wooden skis from a blend of traditional and modern materials.聽We join him in his workshop to see the process and methods he uses to create these bespoke skis. He then takes us for a hike up into the Highlands to explore the landscape that inspires his designs 鈥� and shows us what they can do on the slopes!

Adams travels to Wales to see how two farmers are looking helping their rare breed cattle through the winter. The Dinefwr National Trust estate in Llandeilo is the ancestral home of the incredibly rare White Park cattle and just over the hill Bernard Llewellyn is one of a handful of farmers behind the amazing recovery of the once rare English Longhorns. It maybe freezing outside, but that doesn鈥檛 mean the Longhorns get to skip their monthly shower!聽