The fourth and final programmes produced by CBTV Media productions for ITV Tyne Tees about the shepherds of the Coquet Valley in Northumberland. Title: The Last Shepherds The programme begins during a snowstorm in the Coquet Valley, the ground is covered in white. On Blindburn Farm husband and wife team Stewart and Gwen Wallace drive around on a quad bike feeding sheep with hay and cake. Stewart talks about how these ewes are being fattened up and how they don't mind being on the hills...

The fourth and final programmes produced by CBTV Media productions for ITV Tyne Tees about the shepherds of the Coquet Valley in Northumberland. Title: The Last Shepherds The programme begins during a snowstorm in the Coquet Valley, the ground is covered in white. On Blindburn Farm husband and wife team Stewart and Gwen Wallace drive around on a quad bike feeding sheep with hay and cake. Stewart talks about how these ewes are being fattened up and how they don't mind being on the hills in the snow. Traditionally shepherds used to go by foot or horseback, but quad bikes now reduce the time it takes to check on flocks, but also reduce the need for more shepherds. Interviews with Raymond MacPherson and Viv Bellingham who talk about the negative influences of the bikes in that it is helping to breed different dogs which have less stamina and less intelligence. Around Angryhaugh Farm Dave Baxter is looking to makes his own crooks and 'stick dressing'. He walks along a riverbank looking for White Hazel which is the best kind of wood. Using a saw he cuts a section from a tree. Back in his workshop he uses a jigsaw to cut the basic shape of the crook's head. He then uses a blowtorch to soften a sheep's horn which will be fitted onto the crook. There are views of some of the crooks he has made and the detailed 'stick dressing'. Inside a village hall the Harbottle Shepherds Supper with soup being dished up onto bowls. Around a number of tables male shepherds sit, chat and drink beer. Interview with Stewart Wallace who helps organise both the food and entertainment. This is the last chance for shepherds to get together before the start on the next lambing season. Some of the men begin to play the Scots Small Pipes and another telling jokes whiles playing the accordion. Very few of the shepherds in the room are under 50. Title: The Last Shepherds Back on Angryhaugh Farm Dave Baxter continues to train new sheepdog Meg who is now nearly 9 months old. In a field he gives commands to her as she learns to work the sheep. She is headstrong and has good balance which is important for controlling the sheep. On Blindburn Farm it is January and Stewart and Gwen are bringing the sheep of the hills into pens on the farm to check them over for Fluke, foot rot and any other potential ailments. The sheep have the hoofs clipped and are medicated. Medicine, says Stewart, is much better than 100 years ago, but today there are much large flocks. There has been a lack of really harsh winters, and Andrew Miller of the Northumberland National Park is concerned that some newer shepherds don't have the experience to prepare them for when there will be a harsh winter. Stewart and Gwen are moving away from the Coquet Valley to Dumfriesshire. For Stewart it is 'semi-retirement'. At The Star Inn at Netherton Dave Baxter present Stewart with one of his crooks as a going away present. At 65 Dave is also retiring and is filmed feeding a number of chicks in a heated crate. Interview with Graham Dick, singer as well as shepherd, who says that as long as there are sheep there will be shepherds but there are getting fewer and fewer. The programme and series end on Glenwhargen Farm in Dumfriesshire where Stewart and Gwen have been for five weeks. It is lambing season again and they are herding and moving the lambs and ewes from the fields onto the hill. Title: In memory of Dave Baxter's wife Mona who died during the production of this series Title: With Thanks to Mary Carruthers, Judith Ridley, Buccleugh Estates Credit: Archive Beamish Museum, Peter Dawson, Edgar Charlton Credit: Narrator Andy Kluz Credit: Camera Lee Sutterby Credit: Dubbing Mixer Andy Ludbrook Credit: Editor Dave Hindmarsh Credit: Executive Producer Jane Bolesworth Credit: Producer Charles Bowden © ITV 2004 End credit: A CBTV production in association for ITV