We had originally hoped to be able to rebuild the structure elsewhere and open it to the public but, due to severe weather damage and the difficulties of removing the building from the hillside without damaging it, we were forced to skip it! A great shame as it looked so authentic.

Tal y Braich was a complete restoration

When asked, most visitors to the location found it impossible to distinguish between the ‘real’ cottage and the ‘replica’ one.

As for the Jones’ cottage, ‘Tal Y Braich’, is a Grade II listed structure that we had painstakingly restored in partnership with CADW. It’s available to view by appointment with the property owner. One thing to note is that the cottage interiors, as seen in the series, were furnished with hired props - all of which were removed at the end of the filming period. To arrange a visit contact the Kate Roberts Heritage Centre, Cae’r Gors on 01286 831715 or 01286 831245.

Mark and Alisa Braddock

So, for one month, they lived as closely and as realistically as possible to the experience of 1890s smallholders. There was no escape back to the 21st century. Food supplies and money were rationed so as to realistically reflect what their Victorian counterparts would have had to contend with. When Alisa Braddock broke down because she was running out of food her distress was real, as was the families’ concern that they wouldn’t be able to meet their rent.

But it’s not just viewers that have questioned just how real the 1890s experience actually was. Before they embarked on their time-travelling journey, we warned both families not to expect ‘pretend living’. We even used the phrase in the series application form! Both the Joneses and the Braddocks had to agree to live as closely as they could to experience of 1890s smallholders. But some individuals, Mark Braddock in particular, were genuinely shocked that we were true to our word. He was fully expecting ‘fluffy robes, location catering and a Winnebago’. The actual conditions on the smallholding came as a bit of a shock to him!

One of the biggest problems the families struggled with wasn't the animals, and it wasn't the tough dawn to dusk work routine. It was the food. With limited supplies, generous helpings of offal, no supermarket to pop out to and every meal having to be prepared from scratch, Alisa and Catrin faced a tough challenge to keep their broods fed.

Part of the planning for Snowdonia 1890 included extensive research into 1890s food and cooking methods, and the problems modern day families might have coping with them. We employed nutritionist Dan Kings to advise about what the main difficulties might be and were told to warn the families that planning and portion control would be vital.

Alisa, in particular, had a real struggle on her hands. The Braddocks were strangers to portion control and two ravenous teenagers, Jordan and Jamie didn't help matters. As a result Alisa worried constantly that they were about to run out of food, and a few corking arguments ensued!

Ceri Rowlands is series producer for Snowdonia 1890

Recreating the world of 1890 was a big ask. We started with pretty much a blank page but over the course of the next six months, the idea rapidly took shape.

The series development team had already found a suitable smallholding, Tal y Braich, just outside the village of Rhosgadfan near Caernarfon. Job done I thought. But a memorably rain-soaked site visit soon revealed that the property was a virtual ruin, with no running water supply or decent access road, and there was still the small matter of finding a second cottage nearby.

We quickly decided that our best option would be to renovate Tal y Braich and build a neighbouring cottage from scratch in the network of fields that made up the smallholding. That's easier said than done when you're dealing with a windswept, sodden mountainside in the depths of winter.

I thought it best to gloss over the worst of the detail when briefing our very capable set designer. The hysterical laughter that punctuated his conversation with me after his first site visit said it all. But, good egg that he is, he got on with it.

Add to this the challenge of finding a Victorian slate quarry, school, village shop and chapel, and you quickly realise the scale of the task that we'd taken on. If a structure or feature couldn't be sourced then it had to be built.

There was also the matter of finding period accurate livestock, sourcing heritage crops for the vegetable garden, researching and making period costumes, props and tools.

What and how much would families eat and drink? How should they behave? How do you build an authentic earth closet without polluting the water table? Cue more laughter from the long suffering set designer.

The list seemed never ending. Worse still, we were informed that we would also be shooting the series in high definition, so every detail, no matter how minute, had to be period accurate.

Finally, there was the important matter of finding and selecting our two brave families, not to mention populating a whole community in which they would live. They wouldn't be entering a different era so much as a whole new world.

Psychologists, nutritionists, historians and animal experts were all consulted to ensure that the selected families would be equipped to survive what would be a truly authentic experience.

The challenge we faced was immense, not helped by the worst winter in a decade, a location in which the wind could flatten a grown man, and me discovering I was pregnant.

While the production and build teams battled the elements, I grappled with morning sickness and a raft of health and safety regulations which would effectively bar me from the smallholding when lambing started.

But despite all the obstacles we did it and in March 2010 the cameras started rolling.

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