Two for Joy: The untold ways to enjoy the countryside

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I had to tell them I’d need time off work and the reason why. As I tried to say the words, I completely broke down. I had been trying so hard not to do it in front of Charlie, but saying it out loud really brought the enormity of the situation home." Adam says: "The whole experience was brutal. Watching her suffer was heart-breaking. But since then, we have made a point of doing lots of things together. Travel is something we both love and we’ve tried to fit in as much as possible, to Japan and elsewhere. And our Christmas in 2021 was the best of my life." Charlie then had to book more appointments and tests, eventually telling Adam when he rang her from the airport to tell her he was on his way home, with the presenter then embarking on what felt like a "very long flight home". The pair were told at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital that it was definitely cancer, but there was a possibility that it was a neuroendocrine tumour, a rare, slow-growing type of cancer. It was going to be an incredibly complex operation,” Adam recalls. “And he wasn’t 100 per cent sure what he was going to find, but he told Charlie he would do his best, and said she would see our grandchildren one day.”

Adam - and his trusty sheepdog, Peg - are the perfect guides for your day on the farm. With colourful scenes, clever flaps that will intrigue a wide age group, and lively illustration, this is a book for all budding farmers and animal-lovers. Both entertaining and educational, this is quality, fascinating non-fiction for families. Read more Details Having children with Adam was our commitment to each other," she says. "A wedding had never been important. Now, suddenly, it was the most important thing in the world. It’s ridiculous but I really, really wanted everyone to know how much I love Adam; most importantly, I wanted him to know. It was suddenly such a big thing." Did you know that one sheep shearer can shear 200 sheep in a day? Or that robots can milk cows? Do you know what a beetle bank is? Or how peas are harvested? It took no time for Adam to agree. “I said ‘yes’, of course!” he says. The couple gave the cancer news in vague, unscary terms, to their two children – Ella, 25, now travelling in New Zealand, and Alfie, 21, who works in an investment company. Charlie went on her own to the scan because Covid restrictions were still in place, and she says that before going in she had a "terrible foreboding feeling".Her mum and sisters got busy organising and they booked the first available date at Stroud Register Office. We were both stunned," Charlie recalled. "It is hard to blame medical professionals who deal with life or death every day, but when they deliver a statement like that, so matter-of-factly, the effect is devastating." Charlie revealed that she was unable to walk after the registrar "dropped that bomb", with Adam having to carry her down the corridor of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. Due to Covid restrictions, Adam wasn't allowed in with her when she had to have blood taken. She added: "By now I had regular diarrhoea, I was washed out and drained – but the tests the GP had run were not showing anything up, nor had a colonoscopy. One final test did show that I wasn’t absorbing food properly and she prescribed a drug called Creon, which provides artificial enzymes. But I had also done what we are all told not to do: Googled my symptoms. It had brought up pancreatic cancer, so I asked if this was a possibility. She assured me that this was highly unlikely but agreed it would be sensible to organise a scan to be safe."

Adam, who owns the Cotswold Farm Park, says: "The wedding was a great distraction, giving us both something positive to concentrate on. So, for me, the full impact of what was happening only hit me at our regular Thursday morning meeting with my business partner Duncan Andrews, and the senior management team at Cotswold Farm Park. She was booked in for surgery for September 10 and the day before the couple were joined by their closest friends and relatives – who knew of Charlie’s condition – at Stroud Register Office. In the early stages, a tumour in the pancreas does not usually cause any symptoms, which can make it difficult to diagnose. Charlie chose to delay her operation by a week as the doctor said it wouldn't make much difference. This allowed them to have "the most wonderful day". Adam remembered their wedding day fondly: "Charlie wore an ivory dress and looked beautiful. When I saw her walking in on the arm of her mum, I had to struggle to hold it together. Everyone knew that she was going into hospital the next day and it was very emotional. But we also tried very hard not to think of what was hanging over us."

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Charlie's recovery is ongoing, and she has to take Creon with every meal, along with blood thinners and supplements. The family lives in anticipation of her "one six-monthly scan to the next". Charlie admitted that getting a scan is "terrifying", and she starts feeling anxious a couple of months before. Adam shared: "The whole experience was brutal. Watching her suffer was heartbreaking. But since then, we have made a point of doing lots of things together. Travel is something we both love and we've tried to fit in as much as possible, to Japan and elsewhere. And our Christmas in 2021 was the best of my life." However, Adam and Charlie were told that only two percent of pancreatic cancer is neuroendocrine and, even if it was, the size and positioning of the tumour made it difficult to operate on. If it was not neuroendocrine, then all they could do was offer palliative care. Pancreatic cancer is caused by the abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells in the pancreas, a large gland that's part of the digestive system.