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Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of Britain

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

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Open Country: Reed cutting at Cley

01/02/2024

Reed cutting at Cley

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Reed cutting at Cley

Ruth Sanderson meets reed cutters in Norfolk's oldest nature reserve.

Ruth Sanderson meets Bernard Bishop and his family, who have been cutting reeds on the Cley marshes in Norfolk for five generations and counting.

Bernard Bishop has lived and worked on the Cley marshes for his whole life. It's the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's oldest reserve and home to a plethora of birdlife, sealife and grazing saltmarsh cattle. Bernard and his family have been cutting reeds to be used for thatching from the marsh for five generations and counting. Bernard talks to Ruth Sanderson as he cuts this year's reed crop with his son and nephew. With birds calling overhead, he reflects on a life spent working in and loving this very special landscape.

Produced and presented by Ruth Sanderson

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