Adrian Davies, BBC Wales’s Head of English language services, takes time out to give an overview of the Real North Wales season, currently on BBC One Wales and BBC Two Wales.
It would be impossible to encapsulate everything that’s special about an area like north Wales on TV. Not in a single programme, not in a long-running series, or even in a season of programmes. Luckily that’s not what we’re trying to do in the Real North Wales season, which has just started.
What we have done is taken a small selection of stories from around the region and packaged them together in a way that offers viewers just a little glimpse of some themes that, I think, are quite fascinating - and, hopefully, offer a fresh look at life across north Wales.
Before I go on, just look at two stories we’ll be covering. On one hand we’ll be ing boatman Colin Evans on the tip of the Llŷn Peninsula as he takes tourists to Bardsey Island. He says it’s not really a money-making venture, so we’ll get to know a little bit more about what his motivation really is. On the other hand, at the eastern edge of the north, just seconds from the Cheshire border in fact, Carol Vorderman will literally be flying into Broughton - and getting hands-on with the latest in the multi-billion dollar world of cutting-edge aviation. Just an idea of the diverse content to expect…
Sian Lloyd tosses Welsh cakes at a Wrexham bakery
You might already have seen My Real North Wales with Sian Lloyd. Reporter Sian Lloyd grew up in Wrexham and in a 30-minute special, she travelled around north Wales meeting people connected with adventure tourism, country houses and heritage railways, as well the residents of a Caernarfon housing estate and an old friend who makes her favourite Welsh cakes.
Breathtakingly beautiful, the Llŷn Peninsula is one of Wales’s most popular holiday destinations. It’s also a stronghold of Welsh language and culture: tourists flock to find that corner of ‘Welsh’ Wales. But the question that worries a lot of residents is this - can Llŷn still keep its language and culture strong, while keeping a welcome for its visitors? Welsh Heartland - Llŷn Peninsula is four beautiful and thought-provoking programmes following the people of Llŷn from spring to autumn as the seasons come and go.
Next, we Llanfairfechan farmer Gareth Wyn Jones, who’s already made a name for himself in The Hill Farm and various other programmes, as well as on Twitter. In The Farmer and the Food Chain he’s on a mission to change the way we eat. He thinks the people of Wales have lost touch with where their food comes from, and in three programmes he faces three challenges: setting up a pop-up shop selling local produce in Bangor; getting to grips with the supermarkets and their supply-chains; and finding out how easy it would be to get more public money spent on local food.
The Farmer and the Food Chain - Gareth Wyn Jones finds out about school meals
If you’re looking for a thought-provoking programme, look no further than Make Me Welsh. Following eight children over the course of a school year in Gwynedd would be interesting in itself, I’m sure. However these particular youngsters come from non-Welsh speaking backgrounds and they’ve already started their primary education, so it’s a chance to learn more about the work of the county’s Language Centres, which give non-Welsh-speaking primary school children moving into the area intensive tuition in the language before they can a mainstream school. Wherever you stand on Welsh-medium education, these stories can certainly be quite emotional.
Carol Vorderman grew up in Prestatyn and Denbigh and went on to get a Cambridge degree in Engineering before recently becoming a qualified pilot. In Carol Vorderman: The Flying Engineer, her first ever programme for BBC Wales, she flies her little plane, called Mildred, into Broughton and s the top team of engineers there who are building the wings that are helping to make flights quieter, greener and smoother. Carol is well-known for her ability to convey complex matters in a simple way and this is a chance to get to know an aspect of north Wales that doesn’t get as much attention as its castles and mountains.
Further highlights in the season include two programmes looking at the work of the North Wales Police’s rural crime team in Countryside Cops. Laurence’s Extraordinary Ordinary Houses will be aiming to resolve some modern-day design dilemmas in Deganwy and Beaumaris, and Inspired by Snowdonia will look at some of the art that’s been inspired by the area’s amazing landscape. Not forgetting Flint Des Res, following the Flintshire housing team and Liverpool - Capital of North Wales - a programme with a somewhat tongue-in-cheek title that will be looking at the city’s substantial Welsh heritage.
One of the criticisms we sometimes get from some viewers in north Wales is that, on the whole, BBC Wales is Cardiff-biased or south-biased. The Real North Wales season isn’t there to address that - we feel the season stands on its own two feet and, of course, we do our best to reflect the whole of Wales across all our output throughout the year. Even across this season there will be themes, people and stories across north Wales that we’ve undoubtedly missed, but wherever you are in Wales, or even further afield, I hope you’ll find something new - and something that interests you.
To find out more, and catch up with programmes you may have missed, visit: bbc.co.uk/realnorthwales or the conversation on social media #RealNorthWales.
