Tales from the Country Episode One transmission 12/01/06

In the first of the new series, Tony Francis looked in the life of one of our most loved, yet secretive birds – the swift.

One of the last birds to arrive in the UK from its migration and one of the first to leave, the swift has a remarkable life as most of it is spent flying. Swifts barely ever rest – they even sleep on the wing – and spend the majority of their time rushing around the skies searching for insects. Swifts rely on the ease of access to the eaves of our home and public buildings to make their nests, and as building techniques and insulation advances as been made then the needs of the swift has been pushed to one side.

One man is trying to make a difference. Edward Mayer has been watching swifts since he small boy, and has taken it upon himself to improve the lot of London’s Swifts. For more on Edward’s work visit http://website.lineone.net/~edwardmayer/

Edward travels around the capital advising people and places about how best they can help swifts by building special swift nesting boxes. We travelled with Edward to a number of his sites that he is currently advising. They included trips to the top of Canary Wharf, to the Castle Climbing Centre in Stoke Newington – www.castle-climbing.co.uk, and to the Oxford Museum of Natural History.

At the museum, based in Oxford, they have a swift colony which comes to roost every year. Viewers can watch the goings-on in the swift nests via CCTV watching the swifts in the museum’s tower, which are on-site between May to August.

For more on the museum visit http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/swift1.htm

1 Swifts
2 Burnham on Crouch
3 Ridgeway Pt1 and Kent Pos tOffices
4 Ridgeway Pt2
5 French in Kent, Coriander Club
6 Slugs, Moles and Fossils
7 Lee Valley
8 English Wine, Country Curry & Green Burial
9 Foxes and Deer
10 Wildfowling and Maldon
11 Marmalade and Fox Pack

Tales from the Country Episode Two transmission 19/01/06

Burnham on Crouch lies, believe it or not, on the banks of the River Crouch in Essex. Tony Francis travelled to the town back in the summer to find out more.

He visited the village of North Fambridge which lies further inland on the estuary of the Crouch. Directly across the estuary lies South Fambridge – two villages separated by a river trip lasting 30 seconds, or a drive of an hour and a half! There are now plans afoot to re-establish a ferry running between the two Fambridges to speed up the journey. A ferry used to run many years ago – leaving from the pub to which Tony paid a visit, the aptly named Ferry Boat Inn. For more on the pub visit their website at www.ferryboatinn.net/index.asp

Tony was also given a trip along the estuary in a boat from the marina around the corner – the North Fambridge Yacht Haven – and it’s they who hope to restart the ferry service sometime in 2006. For more on the marina visit their website at www.fambridgeyachthaven.com

Tony also took to the water to see the seals on the banks of the estuary. The seal watching trips take place throughout the summer, and run most weekends. For more information visit www.essexmarina.co.uk/ferry/

For more on the City farm visit the website at www.spitalfieldscityfarm.org

Tales from the Country Episode Six transmission 16/02/06

Tony Francis kicked off the programme taking a look at the world of the much maligned slug.

Tony was in the company of Brian Eversham from the Wildlife Trust, an acknowledged slug expert.

Britain is the slug capital of the world. Our mild climate with no lurches in temperature, create the perfect environment for the slug to flourish. There are around 30 different types of slug to be found across the UK.

Slugs in fact can be very beneficial to the gardener, as they consume dead leaves turning it into humus for the soil, much the same as earthworms.

Caffeine, garlic and of course beer are amongst the numerous ideas put forward to either capture or prevent slugs infesting your garden.

For those seeking ideas about how to combat slugs in an environmentally friendly way, check out the Wildlife Trust’s guide to combating the slug without resorting to pellets.

For more go to
http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/
index.php?section=environment:people:gardening&id=000012

Jeff Nicholls is a Berkshire based molecatcher, who uses traditional methods to capture his quarry. We visited Ascot Golf Course to watch him in action.

In the UK we have the ‘European Mole’, which can burrow up to 20 metres of freshly dug tunnel a day – and every day they will have to eat nearly their 80 gram body weight in earthworms to keep on the move.

In the 1700’s a molecatcher had a fine life. They would travel from country estate to estate and given free board and lodgings whilst they practised their craft. Not only would they be paid per mole produced from the ground, they could sell the valuable moleskin on again for further profit.

But the introduction of the poison strychnine took the mystery away from the molecatcher’s art. Now anyone with a jar of poisoned worms could kill moles.

But in September 2006, the use of strychnine to control moles will be banned. Jeff’s skills, long forgotten by most, are now much in demand.

Jeff covers areas such as golf courses, gardens and racehorse gallops, where a rogue molehill can prove very damaging indeed.

To contact Jeff, or to learn more about the history of molecatching, you can visit his website at http://www.molecatcher.co.uk/

Finally Tony was with 2 fossil hunters as they combed the estuary of the River Crouch.

Jeff Saward and Rick Johnson have been collecting sharks teeth, bear’s bones and fossilised crabs for many years.

Millions of years ago the Essex Marshes were underwater, and processes helped form the London Clay which lines the banks. As these banks erode, they reveal beautifully preserved ancient fossils.

For those wishing to head out and look for the fossilised evidence of their past, remember that permission is often needed to investigate sites.

This can be best done via the numerous local clubs which exist across the UK. To find your closest local group visit http://www.ukfossils.co.uk/

For more information about the fossils of Essex, and sites where they can be found visit http://www.essexwt.org.uk/Geology/intro.htm

Fossil finding is Jeff’s hobby, while his day job is designing mazes! For more on that you can visit his website at http://www.labyrinthos.net/

Finally Tony visited an part of the Lee Valley Park, which covers 26miles either side of the River Lee. The park has become a haven for a number of species including Bittern, Little Owls and Goosander.
For more on visiting the park please visit their website at http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk

Chapel Down Wines is the biggest wine producer in the UK, winning numerous awards for their drinks. Such is the demand for their products, that Chapel Down literally cannot meet it, so the company is on the look out for new grape growers in the South East of England to make up the shortfall.

Over the coming 5 years, the company hope to have access to a further 1000 acres of vineyards from which to produce their wines. The company themselves is NOT purchasing the land to grow the grapes on. Rather they are combing the South East looking for suitable plots of land. They then approach the landowner with a proposition – you provide the land, and pay for the cost of growing the grapes, they’ll provide the expertise you need to grow them, and, providing the quality is what they require, will buy the crop off you.

With the downturn in traditional agricultural earnings, the grapes could provide an alternative crop to those looking for new ways of maximising their income from their land. Indeed, in the ‘Champagne’ region of France, suitable grape growing land can fetch up to £200,000 an acre.

But before would be landowners start dreaming of riches, remember that the land has to be free-draining, with certain types of soil and be south facing to catch the sun. Also it takes 3 years before the vines begin to produce grapes which can be used for wine-making.

For more information on Chapel Down Wines, who are based at Tenterden in Kent, visit their website at www.chapeldownwines.co.uk

During the programme Tony visited the Squerreys estate in Kent, who are about to plant some 20 acres of vines to supply Chapel Down. The estate gardens and 17th Century house are open from the beginning of April to the end of September. Cost of entry to the house and gardens is £6. For more on Squerreys visit their website at www.squerryes.co.uk/

In the Berkshire village of Compton, lies a small taste of India. Mahinder Sethi was widowed around 5 years ago. She left India to come and live with her son in an English village – quite a cultural difference. Mahinder’s son and his wife Nina would invite their friends over for ‘proper’ Indian food made by Mahinder. It was duly declared delicious and recommended it should have a wider audience.

So Mahinder’s meals were advertised on the village notice board, and the local diners flocked to sample her creations. Now every week, people email their requirements through, and then collect them from Mahinder at the village hall in Compton on a Friday evening.

For more on Mahinder and her meals visit http://www.compton-village.org.uk/Tickled%20Tastebuds/index.htm

Finally Tony was in Essex, at the site of an unusual farm diversification scheme. Samantha Lonergan has turned over part of her family-run farm close to the River Crouch to become a ‘green burial site’

Crouch Valley Meadow aims to offer an alternative to traditional graveyards – as well as the lack of headstones (a tree is planted instead), they offer cardboard, willow and bamboo coffins. The site itself is beautifully situated overlooking the river.

For more on the scheme – you can pick your plot well in advance of a death – visit the website at www.crouchvalleymeadow.co.uk/

For more information on that you can visit Barry’s website at www.deerwatching.com

A wildfowlers quarry is wild geese and ducks – such as pink-footed goose, teal and widgeon – which migrate to the UK from the Artic Circle and Scandinavia in the autumn. Generally the birds fly in across the coastal foreshore – where the majority of wildfowling takes place – at dawn, as they head to the fields to feed. The birds then return back to their roosts on the mudflats at dusk. It is these key times – daybreak and dusk – when the wildfowler has to be in position and ready. The wildfowling season runs from the 1st of September to 20th of February –meaning that most of the time is spent in freezing conditions.

Wildfowling is generally a lonely activity, and requires the participant to sit stock-still for many hours waiting for that chance to shoot.But the pursuit is not one for the amateur. Such is the terrain wildfowling takes place on – on costal mudflats, in the dark, in midwinter – that is not a place for the inexperienced.

Tony Francis travelled out onto the Medway marshes in the company of members of the Kent Wildfowling and Conservation Association, Britain’s largest wildfowling society. For more on them, how to join, take part etc, you can visit their website at http://www.kentwildfowlers.co.uk

For more general information on wildfowling, and finding the closest club to you, contact the national body which oversees the regulation of game shooting in the UK, the British Association of Shooting and Conservation – the BASC. You can visit their website at www.basc.org.uk

Described as “one of the least spoilt towns in Essex”, Maldon was named as one of the best market towns in the UK, by that bible of rural living ‘Country Life’ magazine. Every year the town hosts an oyster festival to celebrate the arrival of the new seasons’ oysters from the nearby beds. This year’s festival will be held down at the quayside on Friday 1st of September 2006 as part of Maldon seafood month. For information on the festival call Russell Dawes on 01621 875 853.

The oysters in question are provided by The Maldon Oyster Company, who manage 3500 acres of beds in the River Blackwater, and were the first shellfish company to gain organic status back in 2003.

You can buy the companies oysters from Marylebone, Maldon and Chelmsford farmers markets. For more on the company visit www.maldonoysters.com

For more general information on the town visit http://www.maldon.co.uk/

The programme also visited the National Trust owned island which sits just off the coast next to Maldon – Northey Island.

In 1978, worried about future development of Northey Island the owners of the Island, the Lane family, who thought the Island may become a marina. Worried about this possible commercialism, the family wanted to place in into the hands of the National Trust. There is one house on the island, managed by the only two islanders Bo and Martin Palmer, who got the job after seeing an advert in the local paper.

The house, which sleeps 10 people, is available to rent out as a holiday home. For more visit http://www.holiday-rentals.com/England/holiday-chateau/country-house-Essex/p2411.htm

To visit the island you need a permit and prior permission from the local warden. For more call the warden on 01621 853142.

Fanny Maiklem is one such marmalade devotee. Together, with her family, she runs ‘Fanny’s Farm Shop’, an oasis of real home cooking just off the M25.

Fanny’s farm shop has been in business since 1979, when she began selling local vegetables and produce from the gate at her house.

Since then things have grown to a farm store, tea house, museum, and flower garden. Here you can buy (at various times throughout the year) honey, pickles, mustards, vegetables, bacon, cakes etc.

In the depths of mid-winter, it is all hands making marmalade – and Fanny’s has been judged the best in Surrey. And all this without mains electricity or drainage.

The farm shop’s pride and journey is Fanny’s treehouse. Here you can literally take ‘high tea’, as you look out over the garden and taste Fanny’s award winning marmalade.

A lack of mains electric doesn’t mean the 21st Century has not arrived at Fanny’s. Her website is up and running and provides full information about what’s on offer.

For more go to www.fannysfarm.com Fanny’s can be found at on Markedge Lane off Gatton Bottom Road in Merstham, near Redhill Surrey, England. For more call Fanny’s on 01737 554444.

Tony also visited The Citrus Centre, where amongst many others, the Seville Orange can be found growing. This specialist nursery sells all manner of citrus – lime, oranges, grapefruits etc – can be bought. The Citrus Centre can be found at West Mare Lane, Pulborough in West Sussex. For more tel 01798 872786 or go to their website www.citruscentre.co.uk/

The face and methods of fox hunting has altered drastically over the last few years. Tony Francis joined a small hound pack out hunting the fox in the Surrey countryside.

It is currently legal to hunt a fox using two hounds which will ‘flush’ out a fox to waiting guns.