Tales from the Green Valley - January

Five experts - archaeologists and historians - have taken on the challenge of running a Welsh hill farm for a year. They are trying to make it work as it would have been in the reign of James I, the year 1620, using only tools and materials available at the time. January marks their fifth month, and the very depths of winter. The team resorts to some period medicines to beat the aches and pains, boiling up and administering their own herbal oils and ointments. Following the advice of contemporary farming manuals, they head out into the coppice to manage their wood supplies, get in a professional hedge layer to help fix the boundaries and have a go at making their own 17th century-style ink. At the end of a hard day they tuck into a hearty dinner as it might have been 400 years ago, gammon pie and pease pudding.