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| | | From Shetland to the Scilly Isles, Open Country travels the UK in search of the stories, the people and the wildlife that make our countryside such a vibrant place. Each week we visit a new area to hear how local people are growing the crops, protecting the environment, maintaining the traditions and cooking the food that makes their corner of rural Britain unique.
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|  | | The Cothi Valley | |
Helen Mark travels to Carmarthenshire, where she starts her visit at Llandre Farm, high on a hilltop overlooking the Cothi Valley. Huw and Sheila Davies, the third generation to farm here, point out the local landmarks - Llandovery, Caio, Pumpsaint and, of course, the River Cothi itself. There are also ancient drovers' routes, a Roman church and burial place, the line of a Roman aqueduct used in gold mining, which all serve as clues for anyone researching the history of this ancient part of Wales.
Carmarthenshire County Council
Neil Ludlow, of Cambria Archaeology takes Helen to the remains of 12th-century Talley Abbey, founded by the Welsh king Rhys ap Gruffydd. The end wall still towers 80 feet above the remote valley. The writings of Gerald of Wales, which mention the Abbey, describe a thickly wooded landscape and the countryside has remained, essentially, unchanged. The landscape, says Neil, is like a piece of parchment - generation upon generation make their mark, only to have it scraped away and replaced again and again in later years - but dig just a little below the surface of any part of Britain and you will find very clear signs of who went before and how they lived. This part of Wales is fascinating largely, he says, because you don't have to dig down very far at all to bring the past to life.
 | | Talley Abbey | |
The Romans left their mark on Carmarthenshire in the shape of gold mines. Paul Faulkner takes Helen down into one of the cold, wet corridors of Dolaucothi mine, used by the Romans to extract quartz and, as he says, they didn't do things by halves. They used mining engineers and contractors, rather than the unskilled slave labour as is commonly imagined, broke new ground in mining technology and used vast quantities of water - up to two and a half million gallons a day. Some Romans would have married into the local native population and the next research project in this area will be to excavate the nearby village where the two communities would have lived together.
Dolaucothi Mine
Local rivers can be extremely rich in sea trout and salmon and Andy Schofield is one of the people trying to keep it that way. He's working with the Environment Agency to restore fish stocks not only in the interests of local wildlife like otters and birds, but to attract anglers and to feed the local economy. He's not in favour of direct restocking because, if fish aren't thriving in a river, there's probably a fundamental problem which won't be solved by adding more fish. He also believes that expensive, hatchery-bred fish are less "river-wise" than river-bred fish and less likely to survive in the long-term. One of the biggest threats to fish is soil erosion from river banks, which raises the temperature of the water by making the river wider and shallower, and which clogs the clean gravel required by fish to lay their eggs. Andy is encouraging local farmers to plant trees and build fences along the river banks, protecting the banks and, indirectly, the fish and the livelihoods of local people who profit from the angling industry.
Carmarthenshire Fishermen's Federation
Helen next goes to a tributary of the River Towy, which also plays an important role for wildlife - this time, for otters. Geoff Liles, who first became interested in the species when they were really on the brink 20 years ago, wades into the river with Helen to follow the tell-tale trail of otter droppings, or spraints, along the bank. It's a perfect river for otters, despite the traffic thundering on the A40 overhead. When the waters rise and form a torrent under the nearby road bridge, the otters are forced onto the bank and across the road, putting their lives at risk. Several, mostly females, have been killed at this spot, so a metal shelf under the bridge coupled with a fence on the bank to funnel the otters in the right direction has been installed. Life still isn't easy for the otter, but at least the roadkill toll will now be lower in this part of Wales.
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