1 00:00:08,300 --> 00:00:12,640 Many years ago, I used to work in a factory, and one of the jobs was mowing 2 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:13,640 lawn outside. 3 00:00:14,020 --> 00:00:15,020 Love it! 4 00:00:18,380 --> 00:00:20,020 Are you all right, though? 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:21,360 It's very noisy. 6 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:23,240 What do you reckon? 7 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:28,940 Well, you would expect the lawn to be lovely, considering they make lawn 8 00:00:28,940 --> 00:00:30,060 inside this factory. 9 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:34,800 If only we had a drone to look at all my lovely handiwork. 10 00:00:36,620 --> 00:00:37,620 Oh, yeah. 11 00:00:37,870 --> 00:00:38,870 That's the ticket. 12 00:00:39,530 --> 00:00:40,530 Anyhow. 13 00:00:43,530 --> 00:00:47,730 Today, we're at one of the UK's biggest lawnmower factories. 14 00:00:48,850 --> 00:00:50,610 Oh, beautiful. 15 00:00:51,150 --> 00:00:52,830 And I'm mower man. 16 00:00:53,430 --> 00:00:54,870 Well, sort of. 17 00:00:55,450 --> 00:01:00,190 I look like a cross between Buzz Aldrin and a Teletubbies. 18 00:01:00,690 --> 00:01:05,850 On a mission to learn how high -tech machinery... It's like a nitro butter 19 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,640 Makes mighty mowers that deliver. 20 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,040 Right to be proud of. Gorgeous. 21 00:01:11,340 --> 00:01:14,720 It's a factory dedicated to engineering precision. 22 00:01:15,220 --> 00:01:17,820 Would you say that it's like the Bentley of the factory? 23 00:01:18,220 --> 00:01:19,780 Rolls Royce, mate. Rolls Royce! 24 00:01:21,260 --> 00:01:26,280 And while I find out how to get the perfect lawn, Cherry's been let loose on 25 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:27,640 most hell of a tip of all. 26 00:01:29,300 --> 00:01:30,298 That's right. 27 00:01:30,300 --> 00:01:31,980 I'm at Wembley. 28 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,690 Wow. getting it fit perfect for the biggest game of the season. 29 00:01:36,910 --> 00:01:41,270 I feel like I've died and I've gone to grass heaven. 30 00:01:41,570 --> 00:01:47,810 And historian Ruth Goodman is uplifted by hovercraft technology. 31 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:58,300 They've been making lawn mowers at this factory since the 1940s. So they 32 00:01:58,300 --> 00:02:01,760 certainly can cut it when it comes to mower construction. 33 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,180 Apologies for that. Welcome to Inside the Factory. 34 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:23,680 You've done it all. 35 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:28,840 Chaps. 36 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:32,480 Anything good on? 37 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:34,780 Right, OK, I'll move on. 38 00:02:36,140 --> 00:02:37,980 It's forced to stay inside the factory. 39 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:46,980 Never mind. I can clearly see they're a happy bunch here. 40 00:02:51,950 --> 00:02:52,950 Very important. 41 00:02:55,650 --> 00:03:01,390 This is the Toro factory in Hertfordshire, where they make over 15 42 00:03:01,390 --> 00:03:02,990 lawnmowers every year. 43 00:03:05,010 --> 00:03:07,570 They make all sorts of mowers here. 44 00:03:08,110 --> 00:03:09,710 Oh, look at these. 45 00:03:10,150 --> 00:03:15,290 From biggins for the largest of country manors... That's proper, that. 46 00:03:16,250 --> 00:03:20,880 ..to high -tech machines for Wimbledon tennis... and Premier League football 47 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:21,880 clubs. 48 00:03:25,380 --> 00:03:30,160 But today, I'm following production of this little beauty. 49 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,500 The Hayter Harrier 56 petrol -powered lawnmower. 50 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,360 What a gorgeous bit of kit this is. 51 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,180 Producing something like this is no mean feat. 52 00:03:48,170 --> 00:03:54,790 It's a complex three -dimensional jigsaw puzzle, made up of 87 individual 53 00:03:54,790 --> 00:04:01,650 parts. At its heart is an engine, which powers a rotary cutting 54 00:04:01,650 --> 00:04:08,490 blade underneath, as well as a roller at the back, which propels the 55 00:04:08,490 --> 00:04:12,850 machine forward whilst giving your lawn that classic striped finish. 56 00:04:13,770 --> 00:04:18,000 Production begins with the main body of the mower, called the debt. 57 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,340 And how's that for TV timing? 58 00:04:27,740 --> 00:04:32,800 As design engineer Richard Carter just happens to be receiving a delivery of 59 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:33,800 them. 60 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:37,480 Hey -up, Richard. 61 00:04:37,580 --> 00:04:38,580 Hey, Freddie. How are you? 62 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:40,000 Good to see you, buddy. 63 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:44,910 I've got to be honest with you, I've had every lawnmower... Under the sun over 64 00:04:44,910 --> 00:04:48,070 the years, I've had petrol ones, electric ones, ride -on ones. 65 00:04:48,730 --> 00:04:53,310 I love a good lawnmower, but these days I've gone a little bit to the dark side. 66 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:54,780 Artificial grass. 67 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:56,040 Oh, no. 68 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:57,400 Well, 69 00:04:57,780 --> 00:05:00,340 hopefully by the end of today, we'll have you back to where you should be. 70 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:05,180 fingers crossed, you know, because every time I see Chris Packham, he looks at 71 00:05:05,180 --> 00:05:06,180 me in disgust. 72 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:08,120 So these are the decks. 73 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:13,220 These are the aluminium decks that we use to create the main part of the 74 00:05:13,220 --> 00:05:17,500 lawnmower. And instantly recognisable for me, that. Now, why aluminium? 75 00:05:17,940 --> 00:05:19,820 With aluminium, it doesn't rust. 76 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:21,300 It'll last you a lifetime. 77 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:22,880 Are these done on site? 78 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:24,580 These are done off site in Asia. 79 00:05:24,860 --> 00:05:29,200 So just looking at the gubbins, I suppose the main things in there are 80 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:30,500 the blade and the roller. 81 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:34,100 That's right. So you can see on the underside, there's a lot of engineering. 82 00:05:34,100 --> 00:05:37,460 the rear roller goes here. The engine gets mounted there. And then the blade 83 00:05:37,460 --> 00:05:40,020 sits right in the middle and goes, sweeps around the cutting chamber here. 84 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,680 Well, what we need to do now is get this ready for paint. So we're going to take 85 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,340 this over to the paint line over there and get it hung up. 86 00:05:48,700 --> 00:05:53,640 Even aluminium mowers need painting to prevent corrosion in the British 87 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:54,960 Here we go. 88 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:56,120 Here we are. 89 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:57,960 Let's help on here, Paddy. Yeah. 90 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:01,420 Clicking them in there. That's it, just hooks into there. 91 00:06:02,300 --> 00:06:05,800 And they make their way round to the first station to get cleaned up, ready 92 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:06,800 get painted. 93 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:07,920 Send them off, pal. 94 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:09,000 Let's go. 95 00:06:10,980 --> 00:06:11,980 Let's go. 96 00:06:16,970 --> 00:06:19,090 You've got to have a bit of authority in your voice, Richard. 97 00:06:20,730 --> 00:06:22,370 Time to start the stopwatch. 98 00:06:24,450 --> 00:06:28,630 As the decks head off at quite a leisurely speed, I have to say. 99 00:06:34,330 --> 00:06:36,090 Can we have a look at where the paint is at? 100 00:06:36,350 --> 00:06:39,470 We'd like you to help out, Paddy, but you might want to cover yourself up a 101 00:06:40,910 --> 00:06:42,750 Is it going to be that messy? 102 00:06:43,250 --> 00:06:46,170 Just a little bit. I've done a bit of painting and cutting in at home. 103 00:06:46,690 --> 00:06:50,110 What's going on here? This kind of paint, Paddy, is quite different to what 104 00:06:50,110 --> 00:06:51,230 you're used to at home. You know what? 105 00:06:51,550 --> 00:06:55,090 I was enjoying today because I can see the whites of your eyes. I've not got 106 00:06:55,090 --> 00:06:56,090 the PPE on. 107 00:06:56,570 --> 00:07:00,830 But just as I get out, they drag me back in again. And I'll tell you something 108 00:07:00,830 --> 00:07:04,310 now. Ruth Goodman, our historian, will not have to put up with this. She'll be 109 00:07:04,310 --> 00:07:05,490 swallowing about at the minute. 110 00:07:05,950 --> 00:07:07,710 Some manor house living the dream. 111 00:07:14,370 --> 00:07:15,370 There you go. 112 00:07:15,450 --> 00:07:16,450 Told you. 113 00:07:20,970 --> 00:07:25,690 300 years ago, grand lawns were not really a thing. 114 00:07:26,270 --> 00:07:32,310 Posh country houses had straight gravel paths, box hedging in elaborate 115 00:07:32,310 --> 00:07:33,390 patterns. 116 00:07:34,710 --> 00:07:40,990 And they don't come much posher than the magnificent 18th century Blenheim 117 00:07:40,990 --> 00:07:42,590 Palace in Oxfordshire. 118 00:07:42,790 --> 00:07:47,590 To find out how these formal grounds were transformed by a very special 119 00:07:47,590 --> 00:07:49,890 gardener, I'm meeting historians. 120 00:07:50,540 --> 00:07:56,900 kate feller hello hi ruth lovely to see you what a wonderful 121 00:07:56,900 --> 00:08:03,000 patterned sort of a garden this is isn't it amazing very very formal but this is 122 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:09,760 just a fraction of what was here here's a plan from 1717 which shows the 123 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,560 scale of the great parterre so what we're in is just that little beast there 124 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:20,100 it's tiny in comparison this is yeah the great parterre was 30 times 125 00:08:20,100 --> 00:08:26,820 larger than today's patterned garden and this was built to emulate 126 00:08:26,820 --> 00:08:31,780 french gardens so it was like the versailles of england but i want to show 127 00:08:31,780 --> 00:08:34,640 what it looks like today okay follow me 128 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:40,900 oh 129 00:08:40,900 --> 00:08:44,880 it's all gone it's all gone all ripped out 130 00:08:50,250 --> 00:08:54,770 And what you get instead is this beautiful sweep of lawn. 131 00:08:57,510 --> 00:09:02,290 The kind of embodiment of the English landscape style, they called it. It was 132 00:09:02,290 --> 00:09:05,450 reaction against the French gardens of the earliest century. 133 00:09:06,090 --> 00:09:07,470 Here you get simplicity. 134 00:09:09,610 --> 00:09:14,810 The fourth Duke of Marlborough had grown tired of the fussy, formal French style 135 00:09:14,810 --> 00:09:16,770 he'd inherited at Blenheim Palace. 136 00:09:17,370 --> 00:09:23,130 And so in 1764, the Duke employed the celebrity gardener of the day, 137 00:09:23,130 --> 00:09:26,090 Brown, to transform his vast estate. 138 00:09:26,750 --> 00:09:32,770 The lavish project cost the equivalent of over £2 million and took ten years to 139 00:09:32,770 --> 00:09:33,770 complete. 140 00:09:34,530 --> 00:09:38,610 He did an awful lot of tree planting. He created the lake around the other side 141 00:09:38,610 --> 00:09:43,230 of the palace. And here particularly, he got rid of the great parterre. So the 142 00:09:43,230 --> 00:09:47,150 scale... of the job of removing it was absolutely vast 143 00:09:47,150 --> 00:09:53,810 the original great parterre was 144 00:09:53,810 --> 00:10:00,550 10 times the size of the palace but undaunted capability brown swept it away 145 00:10:00,550 --> 00:10:06,610 hundreds of tons of stone gravel and hedging were hauled off by as many as a 146 00:10:06,610 --> 00:10:07,930 thousand laborers 147 00:10:11,180 --> 00:10:17,760 It's all done by hand with men with shovels and wheelbarrows. It's before 148 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,880 even, let alone the sort of machinery that we have today. 149 00:10:21,900 --> 00:10:27,220 They did have horsepower, which was used to plough the soil before grass seed 150 00:10:27,220 --> 00:10:28,220 was sown. 151 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:31,500 When finished, the results were spectacular. 152 00:10:35,580 --> 00:10:38,080 With both the front and back of the palace. 153 00:10:38,610 --> 00:10:44,130 framed by vast lawns. So this is about celebrating those elements of the 154 00:10:44,130 --> 00:10:46,770 countryside, the greenness of it. Absolutely. 155 00:10:47,090 --> 00:10:51,310 With the fields, the grass, this openness, the trees, the hills. 156 00:10:51,750 --> 00:10:53,850 Real quintessential Englishness. 157 00:10:54,070 --> 00:10:57,730 And these long vistas. I mean, they're busily saying, I own all this. 158 00:10:59,530 --> 00:11:04,810 But the 60 acres of newly created grass did leave the Duke with a bit of a 159 00:11:04,810 --> 00:11:05,810 problem. 160 00:11:07,020 --> 00:11:10,320 How on earth are they cutting a lawn on this sort of scale? 161 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:15,180 Before the invention of the mechanical lawnmower, you had this very clever 162 00:11:15,180 --> 00:11:16,560 invention called sheep. 163 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:19,560 Right. 164 00:11:20,020 --> 00:11:24,020 And they can graze it quite short, down to about five centimetres. But you 165 00:11:24,020 --> 00:11:27,640 wouldn't want the sheep wandering into your house, would you? No, you wouldn't. 166 00:11:27,820 --> 00:11:32,920 But equally, you wouldn't want to see a fence. So here he used this wonderful 167 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,840 invention, the ha -ha. The ha -ha. 168 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:39,460 A ditch but with a wall on one side, so it's a sheer face. 169 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,300 Exactly. But it's invisible in the landscape. 170 00:11:46,740 --> 00:11:50,400 It looks as if this lawn just carries on forever. 171 00:11:50,740 --> 00:11:54,680 That's the whole trick of it. And you get to the edge and you realise at the 172 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:57,920 last minute that it's there, aha, you say. 173 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:00,560 Hence the word, aha. 174 00:12:02,260 --> 00:12:05,760 But with sheep banished from the lawns near the house... 175 00:12:06,030 --> 00:12:11,450 and the invention of the mechanical lawnmower some 60 years away, the Duke 176 00:12:11,450 --> 00:12:17,070 to employ a large team of gardeners whose sole job was to keep the lawn 177 00:12:17,070 --> 00:12:19,090 using scythes. 178 00:12:20,550 --> 00:12:25,030 How many people would you need to be able to keep a lawn scythed like that? 179 00:12:25,250 --> 00:12:30,150 Well, the Duke had 80 outdoor servants and probably 35 of them were employed 180 00:12:30,150 --> 00:12:31,710 just on the south lawn here. 181 00:12:31,950 --> 00:12:33,930 I mean, talk about a status symbol. 182 00:12:34,390 --> 00:12:35,390 Exactly. 183 00:12:35,980 --> 00:12:37,960 And that is hard work. 184 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:42,340 But it's skilled as well. They could judge it just right. The grass would be 185 00:12:42,340 --> 00:12:45,500 about three centimetres, same as a modern mechanical lawnmower. 186 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,400 After the grass was cut, there would be weeder women who would come out 187 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,040 regularly and they would pull out those last weeds. 188 00:12:55,900 --> 00:12:57,640 And then it would be rolled. 189 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:01,260 And all of that for a lawn. 190 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:03,900 Absolutely. But it has its uses. 191 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,240 You can play cricket out here. You can have big parties. 192 00:13:07,580 --> 00:13:10,780 And really, the lawn became the height of fashion. 193 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:17,120 King George III was so impressed by the view of the lawn when he visited 194 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:20,840 Blenheim in 1786 that he demanded one of his own. 195 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:27,000 And soon, Buckingham Palace had a perfectly manicured lawn for royal 196 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:28,000 parties. 197 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:31,820 And then, we all wanted one. 198 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:36,160 We can but dream, Ruth. 199 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:37,640 We can but dream. 200 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:51,640 Back at the factory, things are moving on. 201 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:57,740 The bodies of my lawnmowers have been cleaned with phosphoric acid to remove 202 00:13:57,740 --> 00:13:58,740 dust. 203 00:13:59,140 --> 00:14:01,580 And sprayed with a protective primer. 204 00:14:04,140 --> 00:14:08,360 And I've got my own protective coating to have a go at painting them. 205 00:14:13,780 --> 00:14:15,180 Look at the state of that. 206 00:14:15,380 --> 00:14:17,220 I look like I'm breaking out of an egg. 207 00:14:21,700 --> 00:14:26,240 I look like a croft between Buzz Aldrin and a Teletubby. 208 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:28,099 Lead on. 209 00:14:28,100 --> 00:14:29,940 You can never be too careful. Say no more. 210 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,580 That's all right for Richard. He doesn't have to wear it. 211 00:14:37,740 --> 00:14:42,220 The decks are sprayed by both human hands and robot arms. 212 00:14:42,740 --> 00:14:48,280 Not with traditional paint, but a plastic polymer powder, which provides a 213 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:50,720 strong, weather -resistant coating. 214 00:14:51,940 --> 00:14:53,280 Would you like to have a go? 215 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:58,380 Well, Richard, I've not spent half an hour getting all this on for nothing. 216 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:00,240 Is my oxygen on? 217 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:01,640 You're on and running. 218 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:03,100 Beautiful. Right. 219 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:09,140 It's Jordan Edwards' job to make sure every deck is covered with a precise 0 220 00:15:09,140 --> 00:15:12,280 .1mm layer of polymer powder. 221 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:13,879 You all right, Jordan? 222 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,920 So what am I doing, Paul? Right. You can see it's both areas of the aluminium 223 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,560 part. Oh, yeah. All you want to do is fill in the nooks and the crannies, and 224 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:23,660 then you're all done. Beautiful. 225 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:25,920 Beautiful. Right, here we go. 226 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:29,580 Hey, I'll tell you what. 227 00:15:41,329 --> 00:15:46,570 As the green powder leaves the nozzle of the paint gun, it's given a negative 228 00:15:46,570 --> 00:15:48,050 electrostatic charge. 229 00:15:52,190 --> 00:15:58,010 Which causes it to cling tightly to the aluminium surface. 230 00:15:58,940 --> 00:16:00,380 perfectly caught in the deck. 231 00:16:01,380 --> 00:16:03,520 How's that looking, Joe? Have I missed any bits, pal? 232 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:06,540 Absolutely perfect, Paddy. We're all done. 233 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,660 I've got to say, I think you've got the best job here. 234 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:11,980 That's belting, that. Look at that. 235 00:16:12,580 --> 00:16:13,580 Quite therapeutic. 236 00:16:14,260 --> 00:16:15,300 Yeah, relaxing. 237 00:16:17,540 --> 00:16:18,580 I'm going to go again. 238 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:20,760 I'm going to go again, Joe. 239 00:16:21,300 --> 00:16:23,360 Get yourself a cup of tea, pal. 240 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:39,360 While I lose myself in powder coating heaven, our rather 241 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:44,060 dull decks travel through what looks like a giant doner kebab grill. 242 00:16:49,860 --> 00:16:56,220 Inside, they're blasted with 300 degrees Celsius heat, melting the polymer 243 00:16:56,220 --> 00:16:59,780 powder coating to give a smooth and toughened finish. 244 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:08,500 And one and a half hours into lawnmower production, we've got a glossy, 245 00:17:08,619 --> 00:17:10,700 deep green, weatherproof deck. 246 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:15,680 Oh, look at these. 247 00:17:16,540 --> 00:17:18,940 This is a beautiful colour. 248 00:17:19,460 --> 00:17:23,180 Looking good, aren't they, Paddy? Look at the finish on them. They are looking 249 00:17:23,180 --> 00:17:24,880 absolute top draw. 250 00:17:25,180 --> 00:17:26,480 Yes. Beautiful. 251 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:30,360 Can you just give me a hand with that, Paddy? Of course, yeah. 252 00:17:30,970 --> 00:17:35,810 and we'll just lower it into the box lower it in so i give you a push let's 253 00:17:35,810 --> 00:17:42,370 from the painting area our decks 254 00:17:42,370 --> 00:17:45,010 travel to the start of the assembly line 255 00:17:45,010 --> 00:17:52,970 it's 256 00:17:52,970 --> 00:17:59,210 the beating heart of the factory we're a team of highly skilled workers 257 00:18:01,390 --> 00:18:04,470 busily attach over 80 different components. 258 00:18:06,590 --> 00:18:13,130 Along the line there are six main stations to construct different sections 259 00:18:13,130 --> 00:18:14,130 the mower. 260 00:18:14,530 --> 00:18:20,250 Each one crewed by a specialist worker who has six minutes to do their bit. 261 00:18:22,870 --> 00:18:29,750 Assembling the specific parts onto each deck before rolling it down the line to 262 00:18:29,750 --> 00:18:30,750 the next stage. 263 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:38,540 It all seems to run like clockwork. 264 00:18:39,140 --> 00:18:40,280 Here we are. 265 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:42,980 I hope I don't put a spanner in the works. 266 00:18:43,540 --> 00:18:46,820 This is the first stage where we put the decks and the engines together. 267 00:18:49,340 --> 00:18:54,000 Our mower features a 159cc petrol engine. 268 00:18:54,840 --> 00:19:00,340 It'll power the rotary cutting blade and drive the roller at the back, 269 00:19:00,460 --> 00:19:02,400 propelling the machine forward. 270 00:19:03,980 --> 00:19:08,520 The man responsible for attaching this vital component is Yip Le. 271 00:19:09,900 --> 00:19:11,120 Nice to meet you, Yip. 272 00:19:11,620 --> 00:19:15,380 I realise I'm extending a handshake as you're mid -screw there. 273 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:16,880 Carry on screwing. 274 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:23,440 If we use car analogies here, would you say this particular amour is like the 275 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:24,520 Bentley of the factory? 276 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:26,440 It's Rolls -Royce, mate. Rolls -Royce? 277 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:27,840 Yeah. Beautiful. 278 00:19:29,340 --> 00:19:31,140 It's not quite a Rolls -Royce. 279 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:36,960 But this engine has 4 .5 horsepower, roughly the same as a moped, 280 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:42,660 which is more than enough to propel the mower and spin the cutting blade 46 281 00:19:42,660 --> 00:19:44,300 times every second. 282 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:49,860 This is a bit of me there. I love out like this. 283 00:19:50,220 --> 00:19:53,520 Would you like to do the next one, Paddy? Do you know what? I'd love to. 284 00:19:53,780 --> 00:19:54,759 I'll get out your way. 285 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:59,640 Oh, that's nice. He's gone. Right, yep, shows how it's done. First of all, we've 286 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:00,640 got two stickers. 287 00:20:01,010 --> 00:20:04,310 This is a rules race. I've got to get it absolutely bang on. 288 00:20:06,170 --> 00:20:07,410 Not bad for your first attempt. 289 00:20:07,650 --> 00:20:10,410 If you'd like to lift this engine, I'll put it on the actual case over there. 290 00:20:10,550 --> 00:20:11,550 Right, okay. 291 00:20:12,190 --> 00:20:13,250 What weight is that? 292 00:20:13,910 --> 00:20:15,250 About five, six kilos. 293 00:20:15,910 --> 00:20:17,390 Maybe more, isn't it? Maybe more. 294 00:20:17,610 --> 00:20:18,610 This is about 12. 295 00:20:18,870 --> 00:20:20,110 You've worked here too long. 296 00:20:20,790 --> 00:20:22,590 Your arms are too strong. 297 00:20:22,790 --> 00:20:24,130 That way? That's right, yeah. 298 00:20:26,090 --> 00:20:28,030 Got that in there, yeah. Smash in. 299 00:20:30,250 --> 00:20:34,010 Feel a bit like the f1 team here when it comes in for a pit stop, but we're 300 00:20:34,010 --> 00:20:39,070 doing a little bit more on it Say they should be absolutely perfect them 301 00:20:39,070 --> 00:20:39,890 I painted up 302 00:20:39,890 --> 00:20:46,930 Three 303 00:20:46,930 --> 00:20:52,870 30 millimeter tough and steel bolts say what I'm enjoying this is all it takes 304 00:20:52,870 --> 00:20:54,070 to attach the engine 305 00:20:57,550 --> 00:21:00,370 It's not quite as quick as a Formula One pit stop. 306 00:21:02,470 --> 00:21:03,470 Got it, yeah. 307 00:21:03,750 --> 00:21:08,270 But if I don't get this done within six minutes, I'll be holding up the whole 308 00:21:08,270 --> 00:21:09,270 production line. 309 00:21:09,910 --> 00:21:11,110 Great bit of kit, this. 310 00:21:12,490 --> 00:21:13,670 You know what I love? That. 311 00:21:15,130 --> 00:21:17,210 No putting it down. Up in the air. 312 00:21:17,550 --> 00:21:18,970 A little bit of good fun axle. 313 00:21:19,290 --> 00:21:20,290 Yeah. 314 00:21:20,390 --> 00:21:23,430 This axle is where the front wheels will attack later. 315 00:21:24,940 --> 00:21:27,480 You can see why it's only six minutes now. You work quick. 316 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:31,840 Done. Clear. 317 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:33,200 Off it goes. 318 00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:34,760 Thanks very much for that, pal. 319 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:36,140 I'll see you in a little bit. 320 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:44,160 This factory is so calm and well organised. 321 00:21:46,180 --> 00:21:47,500 Everything's in its place. 322 00:21:48,060 --> 00:21:49,280 Just ready to go. 323 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:50,760 Gorgeous. 324 00:21:51,850 --> 00:21:55,510 All geared up to make mowers fit for our back gardens. 325 00:21:56,530 --> 00:22:01,530 But when it comes to grass for top -level sport, how do the pros do it? 326 00:22:05,470 --> 00:22:08,530 Cherry, the lucky rascal, is finding out. 327 00:22:09,750 --> 00:22:14,290 I've got some pretty amazing access to a little football ground you may have 328 00:22:14,290 --> 00:22:19,050 heard of. It is the home of English football. It is the one and only Wembley 329 00:22:19,050 --> 00:22:20,050 Stadium. 330 00:22:28,270 --> 00:22:33,250 Over the decades, this famous ground has witnessed the highs and lows of our 331 00:22:33,250 --> 00:22:34,250 national sport. 332 00:22:36,190 --> 00:22:43,170 With some of the greatest players in the history of the game taking centre stage 333 00:22:43,170 --> 00:22:44,890 on its hallowed turf. 334 00:22:46,530 --> 00:22:51,330 I've been given a very special invitation to come and see how they 335 00:22:51,330 --> 00:22:53,750 ground for the FA Cup final. 336 00:22:56,040 --> 00:23:02,160 In just a few days, 90 ,000 fans will greet the players as they emerge from 337 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:03,900 famous Wembley Tunnel. 338 00:23:13,540 --> 00:23:15,220 Oh my goodness me. 339 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:18,280 Wow. 340 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:22,200 This is epic. 341 00:23:25,420 --> 00:23:30,700 And the man in charge of making sure it's all pitch perfect for the big match 342 00:23:30,700 --> 00:23:32,800 grounds manager Carl Standley. 343 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,400 Well, this is kind of amazing. 344 00:23:37,500 --> 00:23:39,200 Carl, so nice to meet you. 345 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:44,860 Welcome. How are you? I feel like I've died and I've gone to grass heaven. 346 00:23:44,860 --> 00:23:48,040 you very much. We're getting it ready for the busiest time of the year. There 347 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:52,220 are millions of blades of grass out there. Each one of them has to be 348 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:53,860 yeah. It's so vibrant. 349 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:56,340 How do you grow this grass? 350 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:58,680 It's the Wembley Pitch, actually grown in sand. 351 00:23:58,980 --> 00:23:59,719 Oh, wow. 352 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:00,880 Why do you grow it in sand? 353 00:24:01,220 --> 00:24:04,600 It's a winter sports pitch, so in the wintertime, it rains. You want to be 354 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:08,720 pushing water through it. What would happen if this was grown just on a soil 355 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:11,440 base? It would be very much a mud bath. 356 00:24:12,430 --> 00:24:13,850 And is this the grass growing here? 357 00:24:14,170 --> 00:24:16,550 No, so this is polyethylene plastic fibres. 358 00:24:16,750 --> 00:24:17,770 Isn't that cheating? 359 00:24:18,190 --> 00:24:22,490 The reason we have plastic in here, a very small amount, is that when the 360 00:24:22,490 --> 00:24:26,190 actually germinates, a root comes out of it. And the idea is that that root 361 00:24:26,190 --> 00:24:31,350 actually wraps itself around this plastic, which goes down 55 millimetres, 362 00:24:31,350 --> 00:24:34,950 that's what gives you the stability, which allows us to do multiple games. 363 00:24:35,210 --> 00:24:36,210 Oh, I see. 364 00:24:36,330 --> 00:24:39,150 It's almost like scaffolding for the grass. 365 00:24:39,650 --> 00:24:40,650 Very much so, yeah. 366 00:24:42,410 --> 00:24:47,490 Unlike this small sample, the Wembley pitch is created on a massive scale 367 00:24:47,490 --> 00:24:52,830 at a turf nursery in a top secret location. 368 00:24:54,850 --> 00:25:01,470 Grown for three months, it's 95 % real grass with soil and sand and 5 369 00:25:01,470 --> 00:25:02,470 % plastic. 370 00:25:05,110 --> 00:25:10,440 Every year after a summer of concerts, the old pitch is ripped up with the 371 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:12,300 plastic recycled into benthos. 372 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:19,540 And the brand -new pitch is laid out, using 720 1 .2 -metre wide 373 00:25:19,540 --> 00:25:23,320 rolls. It takes just five days to install. 374 00:25:25,460 --> 00:25:27,500 Once you've laid it down, is it happy as Larry? 375 00:25:27,780 --> 00:25:31,900 No, it's not. It's like growing grass in a giant shoebox. So for six months of 376 00:25:31,900 --> 00:25:33,720 the year, the one thing we need is sunlight. 377 00:25:33,980 --> 00:25:37,460 So we have artificial lighting systems that actually roll out onto the playing 378 00:25:37,460 --> 00:25:41,590 surface. We have under -salt heating pipes, so we can constantly keep the 379 00:25:41,590 --> 00:25:46,270 at around about 16 degrees throughout the winter. That is so bougie. In the 380 00:25:46,270 --> 00:25:49,230 summer, we have to have an irrigation system that we can water the pitch. 381 00:25:51,830 --> 00:25:57,570 The surface is mown every day and three times on the morning of the FA Cup 382 00:25:57,570 --> 00:25:58,570 final. 383 00:26:00,250 --> 00:26:01,970 Carl, how does everyone know where to go? 384 00:26:02,270 --> 00:26:05,550 You see some strings down the playing surface, and that's how we keep the 385 00:26:05,550 --> 00:26:06,389 really straight. 386 00:26:06,390 --> 00:26:09,670 Why don't you just have a great big ride -on mower? 387 00:26:10,010 --> 00:26:12,270 Well, first of all, it's more weight on the playing surface, which we want to 388 00:26:12,270 --> 00:26:13,229 keep away from. 389 00:26:13,230 --> 00:26:15,490 And also, you don't really get the feel of the playing surface. 390 00:26:15,830 --> 00:26:18,130 They could be cutting, they could be looking at what they're doing, and then 391 00:26:18,130 --> 00:26:20,650 suddenly you see an area of, OK, there's an issue there or a problem there, we 392 00:26:20,650 --> 00:26:21,650 can sort that. 393 00:26:26,090 --> 00:26:29,050 It takes a total of 12 miles of walking. 394 00:26:29,500 --> 00:26:36,040 to cut the Wembley pitch just once, pushing 34 -inch -wide specialist 395 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:42,280 mowers with razor -sharp teeth that cut each blade of grass to precisely 23 396 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:43,280 millimetres. 397 00:26:44,820 --> 00:26:50,460 These mowers are also equipped with large rollers to create those iconic 398 00:26:50,460 --> 00:26:51,460 stripes. 399 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:54,720 Imagine it's the day of the FA Cup final. 400 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:57,460 It's a huge day, high pressure. What's your routine? 401 00:26:58,060 --> 00:27:01,680 First thing is we walk the pitch, look at any issues, concerns, and then we 402 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:02,680 start to prep the pitch. 403 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,560 So we have to add a little bit of water to the playing surface to put in a 404 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:06,960 little bit of slickness on the surface. 405 00:27:07,340 --> 00:27:11,780 So when the ball flicks across the surface, it gives it speed, and that's 406 00:27:11,780 --> 00:27:12,780 the players want. 407 00:27:12,940 --> 00:27:14,500 And then suddenly we're in game mode. 408 00:27:15,020 --> 00:27:16,260 The noise erupts. 409 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:18,820 You then realise, my God, this job's pretty cool. 410 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:23,280 That must be the most incredible feeling. 411 00:27:23,540 --> 00:27:25,680 I sit there with my cup of tea and I watch the game. 412 00:27:28,450 --> 00:27:32,790 And then throughout the game, I'll just move around to each corner, watching how 413 00:27:32,790 --> 00:27:33,790 the pitch is performing. 414 00:27:33,890 --> 00:27:37,550 I mean, Carl, to me, it looks completely pristine. 415 00:27:37,970 --> 00:27:41,430 What about you? Do you think it's 10 out of 10? I think there's only one way 416 00:27:41,430 --> 00:27:43,910 you've got to find out, and that's by you giving it a quick run. 417 00:27:50,490 --> 00:27:52,490 I think it's perfect. 418 00:27:52,830 --> 00:27:54,330 Thank you. I'll tell the grounds team. 419 00:27:57,710 --> 00:28:00,090 Oh, you jammy so -and -so. 420 00:28:00,630 --> 00:28:01,630 Wembley Stadium! 421 00:28:06,170 --> 00:28:11,110 Do you know what? Cherry gets all the best gigs. 422 00:28:11,590 --> 00:28:17,010 When I'm watching football at home, I'm watching the football, but I should 423 00:28:17,010 --> 00:28:19,290 imagine you're sat looking at the pitch. 424 00:28:19,510 --> 00:28:23,950 What would you say is your best pitch to look at? You go, that's a lovely cut. 425 00:28:24,230 --> 00:28:26,470 I'm a bit of a fan of what they do at the West Ham Stadium. 426 00:28:27,470 --> 00:28:31,290 Olympic Stadium, lovely ground, lovely pitch. 427 00:28:38,330 --> 00:28:43,770 On our lawnmower assembly line, Yip is busy bolting engines to the deck. 428 00:28:45,390 --> 00:28:50,490 And at the next station, the lads are adding a plastic chute that will carry 429 00:28:50,490 --> 00:28:54,370 grass cuttings from the blade to the collection bag. 430 00:28:55,790 --> 00:29:00,730 But next comes the key to getting those stadium -quality lawn stripes at home. 431 00:29:01,590 --> 00:29:06,330 The roller, which sits at the back instead of rear wheel. 432 00:29:07,150 --> 00:29:12,970 And is held in place by a roller frame made from 11 separate steel components. 433 00:29:14,090 --> 00:29:18,830 Production of the frame begins away from the assembly line at the laser cutter. 434 00:29:20,270 --> 00:29:24,030 So if we want to put that big stripe on our lawn, we need to hold a roller on 435 00:29:24,030 --> 00:29:27,190 the back of the mower. Do you know, I think when you say about the stripes on 436 00:29:27,190 --> 00:29:30,950 the lawn, there's certain things in life that are just heaven. 437 00:29:31,290 --> 00:29:36,910 And a good stripe on a lawn, honestly, is as boring as it sounds. I could 438 00:29:36,910 --> 00:29:39,090 literally sit with a cup of tea just looking at it. 439 00:29:42,310 --> 00:29:47,990 The framework for the roller starts live as a 5mm thick sheet of steel. 440 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:54,700 Inside the cutting machine, a 5 -kilowatt laser begins to carve out 441 00:29:54,700 --> 00:29:55,700 brackets. 442 00:29:59,460 --> 00:30:04,380 It's like a knife through butter. It is. It works with a near -infrared light 443 00:30:04,380 --> 00:30:08,380 wave that comes from a laser generation unit in the corner. It beams down 444 00:30:08,380 --> 00:30:09,800 through the unit down to a lens. 445 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:15,260 Now, to translate Dr Spock here... 446 00:30:15,580 --> 00:30:21,120 The laser heats the molecules in the steel to 1 ,500 degrees Celsius. 447 00:30:22,300 --> 00:30:25,060 Enough to melt and precisely cut the steel. 448 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:28,800 Here we go. Set your phasers to dumb. 449 00:30:31,900 --> 00:30:33,240 It's just mind -blowing. 450 00:30:33,460 --> 00:30:34,700 Quite hypnotic, actually. 451 00:30:35,060 --> 00:30:36,820 Looks very effortless, doesn't it? Yeah. 452 00:30:39,950 --> 00:30:44,770 In just over one hour, the laser makes parts for 54 roller frames. 453 00:30:49,050 --> 00:30:50,110 There they are. 454 00:30:52,310 --> 00:30:57,750 When I look at the thickness of that, it amazes me how it cuts through it so 455 00:30:57,750 --> 00:31:03,470 effortlessly. We've got a lovely, lovely clean cut around here. Look at that. 456 00:31:04,370 --> 00:31:08,350 Fantastic. We'll get them all together and take them down to the welding shop. 457 00:31:08,530 --> 00:31:09,530 Perfect, let's do it. 458 00:31:12,850 --> 00:31:17,490 Three steel bracket plates from the laser cutter, along with eight other 459 00:31:17,490 --> 00:31:22,410 components, are clamped onto a jig, which holds the pieces in place. 460 00:31:24,790 --> 00:31:26,770 Ready to be welded together. 461 00:31:29,410 --> 00:31:32,670 So, Paddy, here's our welder, our robot welder. 462 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:33,960 Who named her Betty? 463 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:37,060 Ah, always been known as Betty. Lost in the mess of time. 464 00:31:37,340 --> 00:31:43,160 OK. A pre -programmed robot goes around and puts everything together and does 465 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:44,160 the full weld. 466 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:54,440 On Betty's robot arm is a hot torch which belts copper -coated steel wire 467 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:56,460 into the joints of the roller frame. 468 00:32:00,470 --> 00:32:05,470 permanently welding the 11 pieces together in just three minutes. 469 00:32:10,490 --> 00:32:14,270 You can see that all of these welds have been put neatly into place around all 470 00:32:14,270 --> 00:32:16,210 of the rods with the magic hot torch. 471 00:32:16,410 --> 00:32:17,650 Yeah. Here, here and here. 472 00:32:18,630 --> 00:32:21,530 All nice and bonny and ready for the next day. Correct. 473 00:32:21,950 --> 00:32:23,990 Smashing. See you later, Betty. 474 00:32:26,030 --> 00:32:27,170 Didn't reply to me. 475 00:32:31,500 --> 00:32:37,460 Once Betty's done her thing, the roller frames are sprayed black with the same 476 00:32:37,460 --> 00:32:40,000 kind of polymer powder we used for the decks. 477 00:32:40,820 --> 00:32:46,600 And after being fired in the kebab grill and then cooled, they're ready for the 478 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:47,820 all -important roller. 479 00:32:51,669 --> 00:32:54,490 These are made from glass reinforced plastic. 480 00:32:54,750 --> 00:32:58,730 And why are the little ridges in there? To give traction. These rollers are 481 00:32:58,730 --> 00:33:01,530 driven by the engine, and that drives the machine along. 482 00:33:01,930 --> 00:33:02,709 Love that. 483 00:33:02,710 --> 00:33:05,230 Who's this, by the way? This is Dave. Oh, are you Dave? 484 00:33:05,430 --> 00:33:08,530 We've got a bit of a malfunction with this roller. Oh, we've come at the wrong 485 00:33:08,530 --> 00:33:12,090 time. Don't worry, Dave. It's not as though it's on the telly. You're the man 486 00:33:12,090 --> 00:33:13,090 fix it. 487 00:33:13,510 --> 00:33:18,410 Dave connects the rollers together so they'll spin smoothly, which sometimes 488 00:33:18,410 --> 00:33:20,190 takes careful adjustment. 489 00:33:20,940 --> 00:33:22,700 Have you sorted that out, Dave? 490 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:27,480 So now he's applying grease into those mechanisms. 491 00:33:28,180 --> 00:33:33,800 Here at Dave's station, the roller is even fitted with a gearbox, which will 492 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:35,980 connected to the engine via a chain. 493 00:33:36,460 --> 00:33:42,340 Once fired up, it'll send power to the roller, propelling the mower forward at 494 00:33:42,340 --> 00:33:43,340 various speeds. 495 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:47,660 It reminds me a little bit like when you go to somewhere like McLaren. 496 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:52,460 So they're working on F1 car and everything's just calm. 497 00:33:52,820 --> 00:33:55,780 Yeah. People are getting on with it. Clean work areas. 498 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:57,680 Yeah. It's great to see. 499 00:34:00,660 --> 00:34:06,840 I'm telling you now, the longer I spend here, the more I want to get back to 500 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:07,840 having a real lawn. 501 00:34:08,460 --> 00:34:10,239 Is that you done, Dave? It is, mate. 502 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:15,000 Fantastic. Dave, F1's loss is lawnmowers gain. 503 00:34:15,260 --> 00:34:16,260 Beautiful. 504 00:34:21,739 --> 00:34:27,560 Back on the main assembly line, Keith has the job of installing the roller and 505 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:29,739 frame onto the underside of the deck. 506 00:34:34,020 --> 00:34:39,179 It's connected to the engine, and then it's on to Paul, 507 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:43,159 who fixes two wheels onto the axle. 508 00:34:49,110 --> 00:34:54,830 And with those front wheels on, we're ready for the cutting edge part of the 509 00:34:54,830 --> 00:34:55,830 assembly. 510 00:34:59,010 --> 00:35:01,150 This is where Paul is putting on the blades. 511 00:35:01,430 --> 00:35:02,910 The sharp end of the factory. 512 00:35:03,470 --> 00:35:05,750 Indeed it is. Yes, well done. 513 00:35:05,990 --> 00:35:09,830 So this is your cutting blade, and you can see that it's got the cut edge put 514 00:35:09,830 --> 00:35:10,669 the tip there. 515 00:35:10,670 --> 00:35:12,830 It's not very sharp. No, but it doesn't need to be. 516 00:35:13,190 --> 00:35:16,970 Only that section of the blade really does all of the work while it's spinning 517 00:35:16,970 --> 00:35:20,190 through the grass as you're walking forwards. Okay. You think this thing is 518 00:35:20,190 --> 00:35:25,790 turning at 2 ,800 RPM, now around sort of 180 miles an hour, that tip speed. 519 00:35:26,250 --> 00:35:29,370 And it's the speed of that impact that really does a lot of the work. Yeah, I 520 00:35:29,370 --> 00:35:34,230 don't think any blades of grass are standing up at 180 like that. Not 521 00:35:34,450 --> 00:35:35,550 You're pretty quick though, Paul. 522 00:35:35,810 --> 00:35:37,330 How long does it take you to do that? 523 00:35:37,980 --> 00:35:38,799 30 seconds. 524 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:39,960 Oh, my word. 525 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:44,940 He's throwing them out there. There's a new one for you. Thank you very much. I 526 00:35:44,940 --> 00:35:45,940 mean, 527 00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:51,120 looking at the inside of that, how do you develop it to cut so well? 528 00:35:51,380 --> 00:35:55,540 We use the same kind of aeronautical software they use to design Formula One 529 00:35:55,540 --> 00:35:56,540 wings on cars. 530 00:35:56,580 --> 00:36:00,320 So we will model the shape of the deck, the shape of the blade, the shape of the 531 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:03,800 wings to cut that grass and get it up that chute and into the grass bag. 532 00:36:06,510 --> 00:36:11,870 The blade has wings on its edges, which creates suction and pushes her upwards, 533 00:36:12,210 --> 00:36:17,590 lifting freshly mown grass away from the cutting area and into a collection bag 534 00:36:17,590 --> 00:36:18,930 at the back of the mower. 535 00:36:19,170 --> 00:36:23,530 Right, well, I've been in here all morning. I'm not being rude, Richard, 536 00:36:23,530 --> 00:36:25,070 you've not offered me a cup of tea yet. 537 00:36:25,290 --> 00:36:27,010 So let's get the kettle on. 538 00:36:27,610 --> 00:36:28,610 Milk, no sugar. 539 00:36:29,190 --> 00:36:34,570 So, while Richard brews up and our mowers travel to the next station on the 540 00:36:34,570 --> 00:36:39,420 line... Ruth's getting to grips with the history of a very different kind of 541 00:36:39,420 --> 00:36:42,300 lawn cutting machine, the hover mower. 542 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:48,820 You all right there, Ruth? 543 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:58,160 The very first mechanical lawn mower, invented in 1830, was such 544 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:01,320 a beast that it took two people to operate it. 545 00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:02,920 Ready, Clive? 546 00:37:03,500 --> 00:37:05,580 One, two, three, go! 547 00:37:08,460 --> 00:37:14,760 It used a cutting blade on a cylinder powered by a heavy roller and a lot of 548 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:15,760 push and pull. 549 00:37:17,940 --> 00:37:23,780 London Zoo even tried using camels to help. And early steam and petrol mowers 550 00:37:23,780 --> 00:37:28,200 introduced in the 1890s also proved cumbersome. 551 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:36,560 But... Fast forward through the decades to the 1960s. 552 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:45,600 When the suburbs were expanding with new homeowners, all desperate to 553 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:52,120 create perfectly cut lawns, and suddenly a new lightweight mower 554 00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:53,680 landed on the scene. 555 00:37:54,100 --> 00:37:58,040 Hello, madam. I've come to demonstrate the revolutionary Flymo lawnmower. 556 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:00,520 Complete with a free demo. 557 00:38:01,610 --> 00:38:03,710 So the fly mower is totally revolutionary. 558 00:38:04,390 --> 00:38:08,830 Lawmower historian Clive Gravett has certainly learnt the salesman's patter. 559 00:38:09,270 --> 00:38:14,130 You've got no rollers, no wheels, and it just simply floats on a cushion of air. 560 00:38:14,310 --> 00:38:17,230 It was invented by Carl Darlem in 1963. 561 00:38:17,470 --> 00:38:21,530 He was inspired by David Cockrell's hovercraft. 562 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:29,600 The hovercraft had made global headlines with its first successful crossing of 563 00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:31,320 the English Channel in 1959. 564 00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:39,700 It could float across water and hover over land using a unique jet propulsion 565 00:38:39,700 --> 00:38:45,520 system. A fly mower, because it's a flying mower. We've got a petrol engine 566 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:48,020 you have these vents where air is sucked in. 567 00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:50,520 Yeah. And an impeller goes round underneath. 568 00:38:50,900 --> 00:38:51,839 An impeller. 569 00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:55,740 Oh, that's what this disc is. And that pushes the air down, creating a cushion 570 00:38:55,740 --> 00:38:56,419 of air. 571 00:38:56,420 --> 00:38:59,900 And the blade, obviously, also going round to actually cut the grass. 572 00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:03,800 Apparently, Carl Darlem experimented with a dustbin lid. 573 00:39:04,300 --> 00:39:06,440 And then you can hover in any direction. 574 00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:10,940 So no more straight lines. You can... You can go round. You can even go round 575 00:39:10,940 --> 00:39:12,680 a circle. It just floats on air. 576 00:39:13,140 --> 00:39:17,920 It is a completely different way of thinking about lawn mowing. Every man 577 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:19,660 have his own hovercraft in the garden. 578 00:39:22,060 --> 00:39:28,660 But despite an initial flurry of excitement, most blokes soldiered on 579 00:39:28,660 --> 00:39:30,820 traditional heavy roller mowers. 580 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:38,220 So in the early 1970s, attention was turned to the women of the home, when 581 00:39:38,220 --> 00:39:43,980 Swedish consumer goods company, Electrolux, marketed an all -new, fully 582 00:39:43,980 --> 00:39:49,000 hover mower in flexible, colourful, lightweight plastic. 583 00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:53,420 Top advertising executive Rosie Arnold. 584 00:39:53,660 --> 00:39:55,740 Welcome to the 1970s. 585 00:39:57,080 --> 00:40:02,020 Believed the fashionable women of the 70s gave this mower liftoff. 586 00:40:03,060 --> 00:40:08,080 So what was it about the Flymo that turned it into the brand that we know 587 00:40:08,500 --> 00:40:11,660 What they'd identified at that time was a new market of housewives. 588 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:16,340 In the house, there were so many new gadgets. There were vacuum cleaners, 589 00:40:16,340 --> 00:40:20,460 were washing machines, there were blenders. It was all about speed, 590 00:40:20,700 --> 00:40:22,320 That was the way the world was going. 591 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:27,360 And they identified that women were the major buyers of these things. Right. And 592 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:30,920 they thought, why not talk about the garden? So how were they doing this 593 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:32,940 I think, you know, one of the first ads here... 594 00:40:33,310 --> 00:40:35,050 Jenny, you're not a grass widow again. 595 00:40:35,270 --> 00:40:39,150 And it says, you're not going to tell us your husband still has that old tank of 596 00:40:39,150 --> 00:40:44,530 a mower. So that's leading straight in to that idea about this big, archaic, 597 00:40:44,550 --> 00:40:48,630 masculine machine, whereas this is this light thing that even a woman can use. 598 00:40:48,850 --> 00:40:52,940 My eyes are drawn to this one, I have to say, and that's mostly because... I 599 00:40:52,940 --> 00:40:53,940 want that dress. 600 00:40:55,260 --> 00:40:56,260 Doesn't she look wonderful? 601 00:40:56,440 --> 00:41:00,260 So little effort, in fact, that when eight arrives, you and your lawn are 602 00:41:00,260 --> 00:41:01,260 looking good. 603 00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:05,100 It's a very odd thing, isn't it? This is being marketed at women, and yet, to 604 00:41:05,100 --> 00:41:07,300 our modern ears, it's as patronising as heck. 605 00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:10,420 What you have to remember is that it was men doing the advertising. 606 00:41:11,050 --> 00:41:15,690 In these mid -70s adverts, I noticed that the mirror itself is blue. 607 00:41:16,090 --> 00:41:20,950 The story goes that they were doing a research group amongst housewives, and 608 00:41:20,950 --> 00:41:24,750 they all got together and asked for it to be changed to the much more 609 00:41:24,750 --> 00:41:25,790 fashionable orange. 610 00:41:26,170 --> 00:41:28,970 Because at the time, orange was massively fashionable. 611 00:41:29,230 --> 00:41:32,470 So we've got the space hopper and the Dukes of Hazzard car. 612 00:41:32,790 --> 00:41:33,790 It was an it colour. 613 00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:42,160 And actually, it was a stroke of marketing genius because it set it aside 614 00:41:42,160 --> 00:41:46,820 all the other mowers that were out there. So that, combined with 615 00:41:46,820 --> 00:41:49,200 women, you'd got an absolute killer strategy. 616 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:57,900 And after 1977, all fly mowers were orange. 617 00:41:58,760 --> 00:41:59,760 Marvellous. 618 00:42:00,180 --> 00:42:01,180 Ooh! 619 00:42:03,380 --> 00:42:05,140 I think we have liftoff! 620 00:42:07,820 --> 00:42:13,500 By the end of the 1980s, the Orange Hover was making up a third of all 621 00:42:13,500 --> 00:42:16,260 purchases across the UK and Europe. 622 00:42:17,260 --> 00:42:23,920 And it's all thanks to a Swede with a fascination for the hovercraft. 623 00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:27,800 Yeah, it's OK, Ruth. We can hear you. 624 00:42:37,230 --> 00:42:38,230 there pal. 625 00:42:38,570 --> 00:42:40,810 I've been pepped up with a nice brew. 626 00:42:44,630 --> 00:42:49,130 And after nearly three and a half hours our mowers are rolling along the 627 00:42:49,130 --> 00:42:50,130 assembly line. 628 00:42:51,410 --> 00:42:53,730 Where work starts on the upper body. 629 00:42:56,110 --> 00:43:00,350 With the addition of a mechanism to adjust the cutting height of the grass. 630 00:43:02,010 --> 00:43:04,550 But I'm off in search of a secret. 631 00:43:05,580 --> 00:43:08,800 This is where they keep Cherry Healy's dental records. 632 00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:12,460 Various teeth she puts in and out. 633 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:17,060 Look at these curtains. 634 00:43:18,380 --> 00:43:20,220 Like a Kubrick movie, this. 635 00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:23,840 Never look in there. 636 00:43:26,380 --> 00:43:31,020 The secret I'm looking for is how to mow those perfect stripes. 637 00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:34,700 And for that, I need to head out into the sunshine. 638 00:43:35,580 --> 00:43:36,580 Oh, beautiful. 639 00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:46,200 Oh, at last. This is what we're talking about. 640 00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:47,600 Yeah. 641 00:43:49,260 --> 00:43:51,280 This is one of our test fields, Paddy. 642 00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:55,820 I've been on loads of test track. This is my first test field. 643 00:43:56,440 --> 00:44:00,080 What's the optimal height for good stripage? 644 00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:03,880 Well... For stripes, you actually need a little bit of length left in the grass, 645 00:44:04,100 --> 00:44:07,940 because it's the bending of the grass that gives you that striped effect. 646 00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:12,200 All them years we've struggled, and that's the answer. 647 00:44:12,700 --> 00:44:14,260 A bit longer in length. 648 00:44:15,100 --> 00:44:19,920 According to Richard, for the best stripes, set your blade height to cut 649 00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:22,540 grass at 46 centimetres. 650 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:25,460 Pull up the handle, then pull the engine start. 651 00:44:25,720 --> 00:44:26,820 Right, OK, then. Right. 652 00:44:27,820 --> 00:44:29,220 A pull cord... 653 00:44:31,130 --> 00:44:32,930 Start the engine to light. 654 00:44:33,150 --> 00:44:34,610 Push on there and you'll be away. 655 00:44:35,550 --> 00:44:40,330 Squeezing the handlebar engages the gears in the roller, propelling it 656 00:44:41,590 --> 00:44:43,770 Oh, beautiful. 657 00:44:44,670 --> 00:44:45,670 Look at that. 658 00:44:46,430 --> 00:44:48,010 Feels smooth as silk. 659 00:44:51,450 --> 00:44:53,850 Tripod that. Might want to get rid of that off the lawn. 660 00:44:55,030 --> 00:44:56,030 Occupational hazard. 661 00:44:56,490 --> 00:44:58,710 Shall I go back up the other way, get the strike going? 662 00:44:58,930 --> 00:44:59,930 Yeah. 663 00:45:02,120 --> 00:45:05,120 We're all going on a summer holiday. 664 00:45:05,500 --> 00:45:08,340 No more working for a week or two. 665 00:45:08,740 --> 00:45:09,820 Oh, now we're more thrilled. 666 00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:12,240 I am here for this. 667 00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:16,420 Oh, what a treat. 668 00:45:17,300 --> 00:45:23,680 The mower weighs 47 kilograms, which pushes down on the roller, creating the 669 00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:24,680 stripes. 670 00:45:26,820 --> 00:45:28,060 Oh, my God. 671 00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:31,700 I've got two bad lines. 672 00:45:32,110 --> 00:45:33,110 At least it's consistent. 673 00:45:33,350 --> 00:45:34,950 And I'm getting the two different colours. 674 00:45:35,190 --> 00:45:36,149 You are. 675 00:45:36,150 --> 00:45:39,930 When the grass is bent away from you, you get a lot of light reflecting back 676 00:45:39,930 --> 00:45:43,570 from the blades. That looks like a light green stripe. When the grass is bent 677 00:45:43,570 --> 00:45:46,030 towards you, you're looking down the ends of the tips of the blades of grass, 678 00:45:46,190 --> 00:45:47,430 that gives you the dark stripe. 679 00:45:47,630 --> 00:45:51,630 I honestly thought it was how low you put your mower. 680 00:45:51,850 --> 00:45:54,190 No, the lower you go, the worse the stripe you'll get. 681 00:46:03,950 --> 00:46:05,510 Oh, I think that's a bit better, Paddy. 682 00:46:06,130 --> 00:46:10,890 I could happily spend the day here on my own testing lawnmowers. 683 00:46:11,810 --> 00:46:14,410 If you're looking for someone, I'm your man. 684 00:46:14,650 --> 00:46:16,190 You're more than welcome. Thank you. 685 00:46:20,630 --> 00:46:21,630 Oh, 686 00:46:24,470 --> 00:46:25,470 it's so satisfying. 687 00:46:29,610 --> 00:46:31,370 Hey, don't walk on the stripes, mate. 688 00:46:32,279 --> 00:46:33,820 Straight across me handiwork. 689 00:46:34,780 --> 00:46:36,780 Oh, sacrilege. 690 00:46:39,620 --> 00:46:42,540 All right, shall we head back inside? 691 00:46:43,100 --> 00:46:45,760 You can, Richard. I'm just going to have another five minutes here looking at me 692 00:46:45,760 --> 00:46:47,800 stripes. Go on, pal, I won't be long. Fair enough. 693 00:46:48,380 --> 00:46:49,380 Hmm. 694 00:46:51,540 --> 00:46:52,540 Gorgeous. 695 00:46:55,160 --> 00:46:57,040 Surely you can't beat this, Jerry. 696 00:47:00,650 --> 00:47:05,350 Well, actually, I think I can, with a day trip to sunny Cambridge. 697 00:47:09,210 --> 00:47:13,250 This is so beautiful, the historic buildings, the punting. 698 00:47:13,490 --> 00:47:18,810 But look at that perfect, gorgeous lawn, stretching all the way down to the 699 00:47:18,810 --> 00:47:21,810 river. But I'm not here for a lesson in how to look after your lawn. 700 00:47:22,210 --> 00:47:24,990 I'm actually here for a lesson in how to not mow your lawn. 701 00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:32,140 They've had a finely manicured lawn here behind the King's College Chapel for 702 00:47:32,140 --> 00:47:34,180 over 250 years. 703 00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:39,600 But now a large section of it has been transformed. 704 00:47:43,660 --> 00:47:44,660 Wow. 705 00:47:52,330 --> 00:47:56,490 all under the watchful eye of botanist Dr. Cicely Marshall. 706 00:47:56,950 --> 00:47:58,570 Hi, Cicely. Hi, Terry. 707 00:47:58,810 --> 00:48:00,430 Welcome to our wildflower meadow. 708 00:48:03,730 --> 00:48:10,730 Why did you decide to dig up half of the lawn of this iconic setting and grow a 709 00:48:10,730 --> 00:48:15,990 meadow? It's been a fine lawn since 1772, and in 2019 we wondered if we 710 00:48:15,990 --> 00:48:17,690 make more of the area for nature. 711 00:48:18,250 --> 00:48:22,590 We've lost 97 % of our species -rich grasslands in this country, mainly 712 00:48:22,590 --> 00:48:23,590 intensified agriculture. 713 00:48:23,950 --> 00:48:26,690 We also wanted to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions. 714 00:48:27,070 --> 00:48:29,110 We also thought it would be beautiful. 715 00:48:29,330 --> 00:48:31,410 It is absolutely stunning. 716 00:48:33,640 --> 00:48:34,940 What plants can I see here? 717 00:48:35,280 --> 00:48:38,940 Well, we've got a species that are typical of hay meadow, so things like 718 00:48:38,940 --> 00:48:44,480 carrot, the oxide daisy, the field scabious. Beautiful, those purple ones. 719 00:48:44,500 --> 00:48:49,900 the slightly pinkier, the greater knapweed. I mean, the difference is so 720 00:48:49,960 --> 00:48:55,680 Here you've got this explosion of flowers, and then you've got almost 721 00:48:55,680 --> 00:48:56,980 else except grass on here. 722 00:49:00,940 --> 00:49:05,600 The meadow was created by scattering a mix of local East Anglian wildflower 723 00:49:05,600 --> 00:49:08,760 seeds and then letting nature do its thing. 724 00:49:10,260 --> 00:49:17,260 Incredibly, 51 of the 84 plant species here today flew in on the wind or 725 00:49:17,260 --> 00:49:19,880 were dormant under the grass all along. 726 00:49:21,840 --> 00:49:26,280 Tending to this huge variety of plants is gardener Charlotte Waters. 727 00:49:26,900 --> 00:49:28,720 I mean, this is so... 728 00:49:29,470 --> 00:49:30,470 stunningly beautiful. 729 00:49:30,610 --> 00:49:35,210 How is it that when I've tried to grow wildflowers at home, nothing's happened? 730 00:49:35,510 --> 00:49:37,650 So I think your key is the yellow rattle. 731 00:49:37,870 --> 00:49:42,710 And you need yellow rattle to help establish the flowers because the yellow 732 00:49:42,710 --> 00:49:44,730 rattle helps break down the grass growth. 733 00:49:44,990 --> 00:49:49,550 The yellow rattle competes with the root of the grass to stunt the growth of the 734 00:49:49,550 --> 00:49:52,030 grass, which means the flowers can then thrive. 735 00:49:52,330 --> 00:49:56,270 It's thanks to this little plant that we have all of this and all this 736 00:49:56,270 --> 00:49:57,590 diversity. Yeah. 737 00:49:58,440 --> 00:50:00,180 What are your favourite things growing in the meadow? 738 00:50:00,480 --> 00:50:04,900 So it has to be a bee orchid because they're so rare and when they arrive, 739 00:50:04,900 --> 00:50:06,200 just, everyone gets excited. 740 00:50:06,600 --> 00:50:09,960 It's like the gossip around the college that there's a bee orchid in the meadow. 741 00:50:12,100 --> 00:50:17,480 It may look gorgeous, but have these wildflowers really provided more food 742 00:50:17,480 --> 00:50:18,480 shelter for wildlife? 743 00:50:18,880 --> 00:50:23,940 To find out, I'm joining a group of volunteers who monitor how the 744 00:50:23,940 --> 00:50:27,160 differs between the meadow and the lawn. 745 00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:31,400 I mean, on the mode lawn, I can see there's not much action happening, but 746 00:50:31,400 --> 00:50:37,180 minute you step into the wild meadow, just a couple of sweeps with my net. 747 00:50:38,320 --> 00:50:43,780 Oh, yeah. Mother Nature's having a party. Look at that. Absolutely teeming 748 00:50:43,780 --> 00:50:45,160 life. Hello, Jiminy Cricket. 749 00:50:48,740 --> 00:50:53,660 As well as using nets to capture and release sun lovers like grasshoppers and 750 00:50:53,660 --> 00:50:59,880 butterflies... UB Light insect traps are set up overnight to monitor nocturnal 751 00:50:59,880 --> 00:51:02,140 critters. Oh, fun, look at this. 752 00:51:03,060 --> 00:51:06,380 Oh, this is a dune bug, which is the type of chafer beetle. 753 00:51:06,720 --> 00:51:07,578 Oh, look, what's that? 754 00:51:07,580 --> 00:51:08,620 That is a heart and club. 755 00:51:08,980 --> 00:51:15,540 Heart and club. We've got a caddis fly, a moth, a beetle and a mayfly. So that's 756 00:51:15,540 --> 00:51:19,700 four different insect orders, which really shows the sort of diversity that 757 00:51:19,700 --> 00:51:20,700 we're getting. 758 00:51:20,730 --> 00:51:24,490 And we have a rather wonderful feast here. Look at this. 759 00:51:25,950 --> 00:51:28,070 Oh, my goodness me. 760 00:51:28,310 --> 00:51:32,330 It's an elephant hawk moth. That's a moth. I had no idea they came 761 00:51:32,330 --> 00:51:35,230 multicoloured. It looks like something from a tropical country. 762 00:51:35,510 --> 00:51:37,270 This is absolutely... 763 00:51:38,270 --> 00:51:42,430 Beautiful. We've got 2 ,500 species of moths in Britain. 764 00:51:42,650 --> 00:51:47,490 The flat lawn gives them nowhere to hide, but that lovely, rough, sort of 765 00:51:47,490 --> 00:51:50,570 -dimensional architecture of the meadow makes a big difference. 766 00:51:50,850 --> 00:51:52,990 They make really good food for bats as well. What, he does? 767 00:51:53,290 --> 00:51:55,270 Yeah. No, don't say that! 768 00:51:55,730 --> 00:51:56,830 Shh, you didn't mean it. 769 00:51:57,090 --> 00:52:02,030 So is it working? Is the wildflower meadow attracting more diverse plant and 770 00:52:02,030 --> 00:52:02,988 animal species? 771 00:52:02,990 --> 00:52:03,990 Absolutely it is. 772 00:52:06,640 --> 00:52:12,020 The results of the study have so far revealed over three times more bugs and 773 00:52:12,020 --> 00:52:17,720 bats in the meadow, which now creates a vital wildlife corridor in the city. 774 00:52:18,520 --> 00:52:22,020 And no mowing has also reduced carbon emissions. 775 00:52:24,820 --> 00:52:27,900 What can we do at home to create something like this? 776 00:52:28,120 --> 00:52:31,260 Well, a simple thing you can do is just to stop mowing your lawn and see what 777 00:52:31,260 --> 00:52:34,920 you've got. And you might find your lawn is more species rich than you think it 778 00:52:34,920 --> 00:52:39,450 is. So more diverse flowers, more diverse animals, a happier ecosystem. 779 00:52:43,690 --> 00:52:50,270 If letting our lawns grow wild means attracting more beauties like this, I 780 00:52:50,270 --> 00:52:51,270 let it grow. 781 00:52:54,910 --> 00:52:56,850 Yep, that does look nice, Cherry. 782 00:52:58,470 --> 00:53:01,930 But some lawnmowers are absolute beauties too. 783 00:53:20,200 --> 00:53:20,979 Having fun? 784 00:53:20,980 --> 00:53:23,460 Yes. Oh, well. Inside time. 785 00:53:23,880 --> 00:53:24,880 Oh. 786 00:53:25,580 --> 00:53:26,700 Party pooper. 787 00:53:27,180 --> 00:53:28,580 Thoroughly enjoyed that. 788 00:53:29,580 --> 00:53:30,760 Frankie Dittori. 789 00:53:38,040 --> 00:53:41,920 Luckily, Richard does have some classic power tools inside. 790 00:53:42,800 --> 00:53:43,800 Ah. 791 00:53:44,560 --> 00:53:45,680 Look at that. 792 00:53:46,540 --> 00:53:49,840 Proper. To lure me back in. 793 00:53:50,200 --> 00:53:51,200 Wow. 794 00:53:51,500 --> 00:53:53,460 This is like being in a thought shop. 795 00:53:54,240 --> 00:53:55,240 Oh. 796 00:53:57,580 --> 00:54:02,280 On the assembly line, we're ready to finish the fittings on the top of the 797 00:54:02,280 --> 00:54:03,280 lawnmower deck. 798 00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:09,940 There we are. All right, Paddy. This is Merrick. We're just going to put on some 799 00:54:09,940 --> 00:54:13,460 of the last parts of the assembly now. So we've got a top cover to go on. We've 800 00:54:13,460 --> 00:54:14,560 got one here for you. Yep. 801 00:54:15,260 --> 00:54:17,380 Stand aside, Merrick. I'm going in. 802 00:54:18,920 --> 00:54:21,160 You just lower that cover over the top. 803 00:54:21,860 --> 00:54:28,400 That's it. The black plastic cover provides a nice finish around that all 804 00:54:28,400 --> 00:54:30,320 -important height adjustment lever. 805 00:54:35,720 --> 00:54:38,800 Oh, we like that. 806 00:54:40,340 --> 00:54:42,620 Little cap on the top of that lever. 807 00:54:47,819 --> 00:54:48,819 More, more, more. 808 00:54:48,960 --> 00:54:49,960 More? More. 809 00:54:51,120 --> 00:54:51,999 How's that? 810 00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:53,520 Yeah, and you check. 811 00:54:54,000 --> 00:54:55,000 Don't move. 812 00:54:55,120 --> 00:54:56,120 Ah. 813 00:54:56,660 --> 00:54:57,660 Pretty solid, that. 814 00:54:58,120 --> 00:54:59,120 I'll just give it one more. 815 00:54:59,960 --> 00:55:01,540 Yeah. Feels good. 816 00:55:01,860 --> 00:55:03,240 So next stage is handlebars. 817 00:55:03,960 --> 00:55:09,100 If you'd like to pass these over to Merrick and he'll get them fitted up. 818 00:55:09,560 --> 00:55:11,160 Merrick, you're back on, pal. 819 00:55:11,940 --> 00:55:12,960 Okay. Good luck. 820 00:55:13,200 --> 00:55:14,200 Thank you. Look after her. 821 00:55:15,710 --> 00:55:20,070 Merrick installs the steel handlebars which can fold away for storage. 822 00:55:20,870 --> 00:55:24,370 And now we've nearly finished, look who's turned up. 823 00:55:24,670 --> 00:55:25,670 Woo! 824 00:55:26,590 --> 00:55:30,650 All the hard work is done and Cherry's here to steal the glory. 825 00:55:33,430 --> 00:55:36,270 Ah, here we are. 826 00:55:36,670 --> 00:55:37,670 Ta -da! 827 00:55:38,110 --> 00:55:40,170 Look at this, isn't it beautiful? 828 00:55:40,710 --> 00:55:43,570 So shiny and new. And I can spin it round. 829 00:55:44,270 --> 00:55:45,270 Like a lazy Susan. 830 00:55:45,570 --> 00:55:48,810 Do you have any chance of Richard putting hand look first, Cherry? That's 831 00:55:48,810 --> 00:55:49,669 right, though. 832 00:55:49,670 --> 00:55:50,589 Brilliant, that. 833 00:55:50,590 --> 00:55:53,270 This is your final mower, Paddy and Cherry. Ready to go. 834 00:55:53,510 --> 00:55:54,510 Oh, beautiful. 835 00:55:54,870 --> 00:55:57,430 What a piece of kit that is. 836 00:56:02,150 --> 00:56:07,050 And now we've got a shiny, finished mower. I think I'll go and put my feet 837 00:56:07,050 --> 00:56:10,050 and let Cherry give Gavin a hand boxing up. 838 00:56:11,390 --> 00:56:12,990 We'll put this under the handlebar. 839 00:56:13,270 --> 00:56:18,490 There we go. Put that down. That is one big box. That is one big box. 840 00:56:19,050 --> 00:56:22,510 And it's ready to go in. Okay, here we go. Light it up perfectly. 841 00:56:23,090 --> 00:56:27,030 Oh, use your muscles. 842 00:56:27,270 --> 00:56:28,270 There you go. 843 00:56:28,330 --> 00:56:29,330 All right. 844 00:56:32,250 --> 00:56:34,490 Lift her up. Oh, my God. Don't drop it. 845 00:56:35,310 --> 00:56:36,310 Don't drop it. 846 00:56:37,050 --> 00:56:38,050 There you go. 847 00:56:38,410 --> 00:56:39,410 Perfect. 848 00:56:39,490 --> 00:56:40,490 Woo! 849 00:56:41,950 --> 00:56:42,950 Nice one, Cherry. 850 00:56:43,030 --> 00:56:46,090 Right, let's get these boxes over to dispatch. 851 00:56:48,170 --> 00:56:49,950 We've got a delivery to fulfil. 852 00:56:55,770 --> 00:56:56,770 You all right, Richard? 853 00:56:56,850 --> 00:56:57,870 Hey, Paddy. Hey, Cherry. 854 00:56:58,090 --> 00:57:00,130 I'm going to go over there and I start boxing these. 855 00:57:04,190 --> 00:57:05,190 No, hey, up. 856 00:57:05,550 --> 00:57:06,550 That's it, down. 857 00:57:07,740 --> 00:57:10,600 How many mowers on a lorry like this? So with the one that Paddy's been 858 00:57:10,600 --> 00:57:12,280 building, we get 96 in a lorry. 859 00:57:12,980 --> 00:57:13,980 Beautiful stuff. 860 00:57:14,180 --> 00:57:15,180 Let's wrap her up. 861 00:57:15,460 --> 00:57:17,920 We get up to four lorries a day going out of this side. 862 00:57:20,540 --> 00:57:24,360 And on they go, onto the lorry ready for dispatch. 863 00:57:28,200 --> 00:57:30,340 Not sure the wrapping on that's very good. Who did that one? 864 00:57:31,160 --> 00:57:32,160 Couldn't possibly say. 865 00:57:33,240 --> 00:57:35,680 Good job. You did so good. Thank you. It looks great. 866 00:57:35,960 --> 00:57:39,940 Beautiful. Hey, Richard, thank you so much for showing us around today, pal. 867 00:57:40,240 --> 00:57:43,360 Been a pleasure, Paddy. It's fully loaded. Get the doors down. 868 00:57:43,680 --> 00:57:44,680 Off it goes. 869 00:57:52,060 --> 00:57:57,720 Just four hours and 20 minutes after the start of production, our mowers are 870 00:57:57,720 --> 00:57:58,720 leaving the factory. 871 00:58:00,680 --> 00:58:06,140 From Hertfordshire, they head out all over the UK and Ireland, ready to make 872 00:58:06,140 --> 00:58:10,020 neighbours green with envy over perfectly mown grass. 873 00:58:12,280 --> 00:58:17,760 But as far as I'm concerned, there's only one way to properly christen a 874 00:58:17,760 --> 00:58:18,760 mown lawn. 875 00:58:26,990 --> 00:58:30,770 I've not got real grass at home, but after spending the day here, I'm very 876 00:58:30,770 --> 00:58:32,870 tempted to get it put back in. Enjoy. 877 00:58:33,390 --> 00:58:34,390 Game on! 878 00:58:38,830 --> 00:58:39,830 Go on, Ian. 879 00:58:41,810 --> 00:58:48,710 Tell you what's kicking off over on 880 00:58:48,710 --> 00:58:53,930 BBC Three now, a brand new episode of RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World. 881 00:58:54,400 --> 00:58:58,700 And from glamazons to gut health, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall serves The Fibre 882 00:58:58,700 --> 00:59:00,260 Factor. Listen on sound. 883 00:59:00,580 --> 00:59:02,820 Here next, Silent Witness.