Iolo on the Ffestiniog Railway

Iolo at Campbell's Platform

We welcomed Iolo onto Campbell’s Platform as he stepped off the first train of the day with film crew in tow – actually, the main cameraman was already there.

They are working on a new series commissioned by the BBC called Iolo’s Great Welsh Parks. The series will have four programmes, each thirty minutes long, and this programme is based on Plas Tan y Bwlch. We saw and filmed some great wildlife, in oak woodland once owned by The Plas, but it’s up to the executive producer to decide what goes in and what gets cut - fingers crossed they’ll keep the footage of the goats which were on their best behaviour.

The series is due for broadcast in 2013 and is being produced by Cardiff based Aden Productions. This is the same company that produced Secret Life of Birds and Wild Wales and which are now available as DVD box sets. There is a review of both in the next edition of Natur Cymru. 

Iolo's Wild Wales - series preview

The Wild Wales series was broadcast in three, one hour episodes: The Beautiful South, Heart of Wales and The Rugged North. It includes spectacular footage of hen harriers passing prey and an osprey diving into the Dwyryd estuary - after several attempts a fish was caught then repositioned mid flight, to be head first aero dynamic, as the bird flew at eye level past Portmeirion’s visitors seemingly oblivious to the natural spectacle. Did you know the red deer on Ramsey are bigger than those in Scotland? What comes across in the series is the immense range of plants and creatures for what is a relatively small piece of geography.

The series was first shown on BBC and is now available as a DVD box set.  

Iolo's Wild Wales

FREE COPY of Iolo’s Wild Wales 3 disc DVD box set RRP £17.99 [WE HAVE RUN OUT OF COPIES SO THIS OFFER NO LONGER AVAILABLE. You will need to order elsewhere.]

The first five people to phone through and order a new Natur Cymru subscription will receive a copy of Wild Wales, first shown on BBC in three, one hour episodes, which is being released as a DVD box set on 9^th April.

Here’s what one reviewer said about it:

The series was broadcast in three, one hour episodes: The Beautiful South, Heart of Wales and The Rugged North. Much of the most spectacular footage from Secret Life of Birds made its way into this production interspersed with red deer on Ramsey, bats, stoats, waxcaps, the Radnor lily, jumping salmon, red squirrels, sand lizards, otters, Risso’s dolphins, arctic charr, purple saxifrage, bottlebrush mosses, fallow deer, feral goats and seals on Bardsey.

New footage on birds included spectacular dives of an osprey into the Dwyryd estuary. After several attempts a fish was caught then repositioned mid flight, to be head first aero dynamic, as the bird flew at eye level past Portmeirion’s visitors seemingly oblivious to the natural spectacle.

It’s the sort of programme that makes you feel Grand Slam proud to be Welsh!

CALL 01248 387373 to take advantage of this offer: if you leave a message, please remember to give your phone number and mention Wild Wales.  Five copies available. Please have your credit / debit card details ready.