A precious place.

We've been working with Chwarel Productions on BBC's The One Show.  Fleur and Carney have been filming with Owain Evans and the team in a beautiful Welsh village nestled between Snowdonia National Park and the Irish Sea.  You can watch the piece, which aired today, here.

Each year, right along the North Wales coast, winter storms hit many seaside communties hard.  Fairbourne residents are right at the forefront of the battle with the encroaching sea.  Fairbourne has been identified as being at high risk of future flooding because of climate change, with residents told it is beyond saving.  In 2014, Gywnedd Council, which has oversight of Fairbourne, said it could not maintain flood defences indefinitely and that from 2054 the village will no longer be inhabitable. The council plans to "decommission" the entire village, dismantling all homes, roads, shops and infrastructure, and turn it back into marshland. 

Chwarel interviewed local business owners and residents for The One Show as well as Natural Resources Wales' Sian Williams.  Fairbourne’s beautiful golden sands are backed by a steep bank of pebbles. They fringe a narrow finger of land that extends most of the way across the mouth of the Mawddach Estuary, with stunning views of mountains, woodlands and the sea it was the perfect spot for our drones. The west-facing side of the beach can receive strong winds, making it ideal for watersports, especially windsurfing, surfing and sailing, but difficult for drones.  Our pilots all have specific category qualifications and we only ever launch when the conditions are safe.  

The beach at Fairbourne has traces of World War Two – its ‘Dragon’s Teeth’ were tank traps to stop the enemy from landing here. The delightful narrow-gauge Fairbourne Railway – the tiniest of Wales’s many ‘little trains’ – runs to the end of the beach, connecting with a small passenger ferry which completes the journey to Barmouth at the opposite side of the estuary. 

Fairbourne is a wonderful village and we were fortunate to spend time there with this fantastic crew.

Having worked with some of the Chwarel team before we were thrilled when they got in touch to ask us to provide drone services on the show.  Chwarel has produced outstanding documentaries with compelling stories for over 19 years.  From programmes like The Horse Hoarder to Children’s Ward, Chwarel’s productions uncover the human story in our own unique way.  Chwarel’s latest production, The Great House Giveaway, showcases a pioneering new take on the property renovation format.

You can watch the full episode, hosted by Alex Jones and Ronan Keating here.  They were joined in the studio by Lorraine Kelly, Chris Harris and Freddie Flintoff, AND Sir Rod Stewart helped to spring a surprise in One Big Thank You.