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Richard Uridge climbs Moel Findeg, in North Wales. It's only a small mountain at 1200 feet, but from the top you can see six counties and on a clear day, Blackpool tower and Liverpool Cathedral. It is in the Clwydian Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The mountain's been inhabited for 2000 years and Richard meets some of the 21st century people who live there and hears about their passion for the place, which can sometimes lead to conflict.


At the summit, 71-year-old farmer Will Thomas and his son Richard tell how their family has owned and farmed this half of the mountain for 120 years. Welsh mountain sheep do well here, but like farmers throughout the UK, times are tough and Will struggles to make ends meet. One of his sidelines is to allow off-road motorcycling events on his land five times a year, which isn't always appreciated by his neighbours. He argues that each event only lasts for three hours and with only five per year it really is only a small inconvenience for the locals. It's a great help in clearing the bracken and, when he restores land after the bike races, it's better than before.

On the other side of the mountain, Richard meets Glyn Williams, the AONB Warden. A key priority for the area is the conservation of the heather moorland. Unusually it's actually a lowland heath in an upland area and many plants normally associated with coastal sand dunes thrive there. There was a huge fire in March and, although this was bad for the insect and birdlife, it was also an opportunity to deal with the bracken which threatens the heather that they want to conserve. Glyn is using a quad bike trailing what looks like an iron bedstead to harrow the bracken: weakening it, and allowing other vegetation to return.