BBC Filming here... Farmers' Country Showdown

Well, we had a crazy couple of days in the middle of October here at Ty'r Cwm Farm with the BBC filming an episode of 'The Farmers Country Showdown'. The day started as normal - with our daily routine - of feeding and watering the free-range pigs, the peacocks and our two dogs, and checking everything around the farm's OK. Without sounding overly dramatic, when we wake in the mornings - we never quite know what to expect. Over the past eight years, we've had to deal with our fair share of emergencies - usually involving escaped animals, fallen trees or burst river banks. Not what you'd call major events, but always something that requires us to drop everything right away, sort out the problem, and then get on with our everyday life. It's one of the parts of farming that we, unwittingly signed up to when we bought this place.

The two weeks running up to the big day brought heavy rain - everyday. Being on clay is difficult to deal with at the best of times - but after a two week drenching - we'd begun to think filming with the BBC was going to be a washout. Strange though, on the morning when the BBC appeared, so did the sun. Ty'r Cwm Farm is a magical place no matter what the weather throws at it, but it really comes into it's own when the sun shines.

The days filming started with our introduction to a small camera crew of three. One of the team came well-prepared for trekking across the Brecon Beacons National Park. The other two decided to opt for the city look - clean chinos and canvas trainers - not ideal on the farm. Fortunately, we keep spare 'old' wellies about the place for our visitors. Although the sun was out, the residue of the last two weeks rain was still making it's way to the Garw and leaving in its path a fair amount of mud. Funny how Welsh names are often considered appropriate descriptors. Garw is the name given to the mountain river that makes its way across the farm. Garw literally means rough. After a night of heavy rain, it's no surprise how it got that name.