0:00:02 > 0:00:05- Welcome to The One Show: Best Of Britain with Gyles Brandreth. - And Anita Rani.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Rani is the Hindi word for queen. This is my princess for today.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13We've got a right royal selection of our favourite One Show films.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Today, we're in one of the UK's most distinctive landmarks, the Giant's Causeway,
0:00:30 > 0:00:35which is made up of 40,000 basalt columns thrusting out of the sea.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37What is a basalt column?
0:00:37 > 0:00:41It's lava that's come from a volcanic eruption that's solidified slowly.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43I knew that. I was just testing.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45We're in a World Heritage Site here
0:00:45 > 0:00:49that was discovered by the Bishop of Derry in the early 1700s.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Then there was an artist from Dublin called Susanna Drury
0:00:52 > 0:00:55who did some wonderful watercolours all set around here.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58These became famous pictures,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00so popular that people began to come to the site
0:01:00 > 0:01:04to see if it could be as beautiful as the pictures were, and it is.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08It is. It's extraordinary, and if you look at the coastline, it's perfect for seabirds.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12These rock formations have quite a lot of unusual plants growing on them,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15and if you are lucky, Gyles, in the water on a good day,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18- you can see porpoises... - Porpoises!- ..Seals and dolphins.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21But Miranda Krestovnikoff, not far from here,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24spotted something a lot more exotic.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Well, as long as it isn't a conger eel, I'll be all right.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32The fish I'm hoping to find today can provide anglers with unforgettable battles,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36and few sea fish can match its raw fighting power.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39They're found in waters all around the UK,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43but here in Northern Ireland is one of the best places to dive with them.
0:01:43 > 0:01:49There are a staggering 15,000 shipwrecks in the waters surrounding Ireland,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53and many of them are found here around Rathlin Island, off the North Irish coast.
0:01:53 > 0:01:59These wrecks provide the perfect habitat for the creature I'm hoping to find.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Jim Delaney is my man in the know.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06He's been diving these waters for 25 years,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and never tires of the underwater treasures the Irish Sea has to offer.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16This is one of my favourite sites in all of Ireland, if not all the world.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20There's so much life about here, both above the surface and below.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25- And these waters are littered with shipwrecks.- Yeah, there's thousands of wrecks around.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29In its day, it was more or less like a battlefield of the sea,
0:02:29 > 0:02:35and there's many, many shipwrecks round here. Fantastic.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39For me, the reason I have come here is to try and come face to face with a conger eel.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41What are the chances of doing that?
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Well, I think you've come to the right place.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47The wreck we're heading for is in a secret location
0:02:47 > 0:02:51and is unmarked to stop the conger eels being over-fished.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53But Jim knows just where to take me.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04This is conger heaven, isn't it, a place like this?!
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Even though the wreck hasn't broken up.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11This is just an ideal dream home for a conger.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18It's beautiful. It's encrusted.
0:03:18 > 0:03:24Every single surface is covered with algae and dead man's fingers.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Lots and lots of beautiful kelp.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33We're down here about 18 metres deep.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Normally, they're nocturnal creatures.
0:03:36 > 0:03:42You never see them swimming around during the daytime as well.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Those great big menacing eyes!
0:03:46 > 0:03:49There's no sign of congers anywhere.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Let's go and have a look over there.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05You've got to shine your torch into every little hole, haven't you?
0:04:06 > 0:04:09They can get so big. You normally only ever see their face
0:04:09 > 0:04:12as their poking their head out.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14'They can reach up to three metres in length
0:04:14 > 0:04:17'and weigh as much as 160 kilograms.'
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Look at these massive holes here.
0:04:22 > 0:04:28They love these dark holes and they can just hide away
0:04:28 > 0:04:32and wait for something to swim past for their dinner.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42Oh, my God! There's a huge, huge, blue conger eel in here.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47That is absolutely fantastic. Take a look at him.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50He is brilliant.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Now he's not going to come out.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56He's quite happily sitting there looking at me.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00'And later, as dusk set in, they did come out.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06'And to me, it seemed more curious than ferocious.'
0:05:16 > 0:05:21They can be distinguished from other eels by the long continuous dorsal fin
0:05:21 > 0:05:24that runs the length of their body.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Perhaps most fascinating about them is their mysterious life-cycle.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34They go on a long migration to the centre of the Atlantic to spawn,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37and then die soon afterwards.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41It's believed that the offspring travel back to the same coast their parents are from,
0:05:41 > 0:05:48meaning the wrecks of Rathlin could provide a home for the offspring of these two for generations to come.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54THEY SING THE CONGA
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Now that is my idea of a Conga.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00Time to be serious for a minute, whilst I give you some facts about this extraordinary place.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Now, 60 million years ago in a time just after dinosaurs,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08but right before man, even older than you, Gyles, right here, the landscape was very different.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10This used to be a river bed.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13The tectonic plates under the Earth moved,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15lava came up and created these columns.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20In fact, the lava bubbled away at over 1,000 degrees centigrade,
0:06:20 > 0:06:25creating layer upon layer of this wonderful formation,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28with most of these columns being hexagonal in shape.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Over the centuries, these stones have stood the test of time,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35and actually continue out under the sea, and year after year,
0:06:35 > 0:06:40tourists come from all over the world to marvel at the wonder of them.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43This is called the Giant's Causeway,
0:06:43 > 0:06:48and I prefer the story based on the old Irish legend concerning Finn McCool,
0:06:48 > 0:06:54the Irish giant who built these stones as stepping stones to take him from here to Scotland,
0:06:54 > 0:06:59when he wanted to get into combat with the Scottish giant Benandonner.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01- And did he win? - He didn't actually go.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04He was a no-show, and what happened is that Benandonner,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07came over to Northern Ireland to find Finn McCool,
0:07:07 > 0:07:13didn't find him, instead found Finn McCool disguised as his own son, dressed up as a baby,
0:07:13 > 0:07:18and Benandonner thought, "Oh, my gosh, this is quite a big, big baby.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21If this is the baby, what will the father be like?
0:07:21 > 0:07:24And so, shocked, he fled back to Scotland,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27tearing up the stones so he couldn't be followed.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31What an incredible story! It's got it all. Tactics, deception, disguise.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Sounds like a Dan Snow history moment.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37And that sounds like a very clever link.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42April, 1943. A body was dumped at sea
0:07:42 > 0:07:44off the coast of Spain.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47It was dressed in British uniform.
0:07:47 > 0:07:53Attached to his belt was a briefcase crammed with top secret invasion plans.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57The secret documents were, of course, false,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02designed to hoodwink the Nazis, and that's exactly what they did.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05The body was found by fishermen,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08and the decoy invasion plans were soon in German hands.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12The deception was so convincing that Hitler was fooled into believing
0:08:12 > 0:08:18Greece was the Allies' invasion target, leaving the real target of Sicily vulnerable.
0:08:18 > 0:08:25Operation Mincemeat has been hailed as the most successful wartime deception plan ever attempted.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30It saved thousands of lives, but very little is known about its silent hero.
0:08:32 > 0:08:38Examining the body, Nazi spies were convinced he was the high-ranking Major William Martin.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40But they were wrong.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45The planners of Operation Mincemeat worked out if they could convince the Germans
0:08:45 > 0:08:46this was a real character,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49they would be much more likely to believe what was in his briefcase,
0:08:49 > 0:08:54all these fake documents they've made, so they created this completely false personality,
0:08:54 > 0:08:55this person who never existed.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00And here he is. William Martin of the Royal Marines. And there's his identity card.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Who's the picture of?
0:09:02 > 0:09:07The picture is of an MI5 officer, who just happened to look a bit like the dead man.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Here you have his watch, his cigarettes, his keys,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13but the tour de force was the creation of a love life for him.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18So here they have Pam, who was actually a secretary in MI5,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22whose photograph was thought to be just saucy enough to put in his wallet.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Wonderful.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29And then we've got a completely bogus receipt for a diamond ring
0:09:29 > 0:09:32costing £53, ten shillings and sixpence.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34- A generous man. She's a beautiful woman.- Absolutely.
0:09:34 > 0:09:40These are the love letters he was carrying on his person when he was found.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44"That lovely golden day we spent together, oh..."
0:09:44 > 0:09:46"I know it's been said before,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50- "but if only time could sometimes stand still for just a minute." - So beautiful.- Isn't it?
0:09:50 > 0:09:55I've got this funny mental image of a leather trench coat-wearing Gestapo officer reading this out.
0:09:55 > 0:09:56I think that's right.
0:09:56 > 0:10:02But this was the kind of grain and the grit that convinced them
0:10:02 > 0:10:05that, yes, this had to be a living, real person.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Although the body appeared to be that of a rich and well-loved hero,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14the reality couldn't have been further from the truth.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17It was in fact Glyndwr Michael
0:10:17 > 0:10:20a vagrant from Trealaw in South Wales.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Now this is the house where Glyndwr Michael lived
0:10:24 > 0:10:27with his mother at the start of the war.
0:10:27 > 0:10:28Not just his mother but his sister
0:10:28 > 0:10:32and a brother all crammed into one tiny room.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34- This one here? - Yes, this one.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Now this was originally divided into two rooms.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40There were four of them in here. That would have been the bedroom
0:10:40 > 0:10:44- and the sort of living area in here. - Four people in this space?- Yeah.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47They lived in conditions of absolutely extraordinary poverty.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49They had absolutely nothing.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52- And there was no father to help bring in money?- No.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Here we have the only evidence of Glyndwr Michael's
0:10:56 > 0:10:59and it's on his father's death certificate.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02In Angleton Mental Hospital and it appears Glyndwr Michael
0:11:02 > 0:11:05himself may also have suffered from mental illness.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09His mother died in 1940 and he sort of slipped through the cracks.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13There was no-one to look out for him and so he wound up destitute,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16homeless and really desperate.
0:11:16 > 0:11:22He was found having poisoned himself with rat poison in a disused warehouse in King's Cross.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25This shows this young man, he was 34,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28on a mortuary gurney dressed in British uniform
0:11:28 > 0:11:31just before he's about to set sail on Operation Mincemeat.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Amazing.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Glyndwr Michael was the perfect hero for Operation Mincemeat.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40He was a nobody and nobody would miss him.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Did anyone ask permission from his nearest surviving relatives
0:11:44 > 0:11:46to actually use his body?
0:11:46 > 0:11:50There's no evidence that anyone asked anybody's permission to use the body.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54It was simply expropriated for a wartime operation.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Operation Mincemeat played a vital part in the successful
0:11:58 > 0:12:00invasion of Sicily.
0:12:00 > 0:12:06Just two months later, Mussolini had fallen and Italy had surrendered.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10An unknown vagrant had helped to change the course of World War II.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12In life he'd been abandoned by his country,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14but in death he'd done Britain proud.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Did your grandfather serve in the Second World War?
0:12:21 > 0:12:22He did, with the Indian Army.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25And my grandfather was also in the Indian Army.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27I often think, you know, if it weren't
0:12:27 > 0:12:31for the Second World War what would the Snow family do for a living?
0:12:31 > 0:12:33We're not the only people here today.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Thousands come every year to the Giant's Causeway.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Some 700,000 a year visitors now.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40That's busy. But even in the 1800s it was so busy
0:12:40 > 0:12:43that they built the world's first hydroelectric tramway
0:12:43 > 0:12:45to get the tourists here.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47- Nine and a half miles. - Nine and a quarter.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49- All the way from Portrush. - From Portrush.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52And you got a reward. You could have a glass of water
0:12:52 > 0:12:55- that sent you home feeling quite tipsy.- Why, what was in it?
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Because, well, the local women put some alcohol into it.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02- Just to perk it up a bit. - Why didn't they just serve it? - They didn't have a licence to do so.
0:13:02 > 0:13:03I think they might have been
0:13:03 > 0:13:05on something stronger than whiskey
0:13:05 > 0:13:06when they made this album.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08It's the Giant's Causeway.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11- Led Zeppelin, very famous band, your sort of music, Led Zeppelin?- No.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15- It isn't my kind of music. I am more of an opera buff.- Quite right.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18I'm going to enjoy this film presented by Marty Jopson.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Ah, the unmistakable tones of legendary opera singer
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Enrico Caruso.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29His fans said he could hit a note so pure
0:13:29 > 0:13:32and loud, that it would shatter a wine goblet.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Whether he could do it or not, the idea's certainly stuck
0:13:35 > 0:13:38in the popular imagination when it comes to singers.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Can they shatter a glass with their voice?
0:13:40 > 0:13:43SHE SINGS AN ARIA
0:13:49 > 0:13:52I've brought professional soprano Sarah Estill to Manchester's
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Trafford Centre to find out.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01I've never been asked to break a glass but I do get asked a lot,
0:14:01 > 0:14:03especially by children, if I CAN do it.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05- So you've never tried this before?- No.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Here's my glass. I'm going to polish it up.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Let's hope Sarah's successful but not too successful
0:14:14 > 0:14:18because up there is Europe's largest chandelier.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20LONG RINGING TONE
0:14:20 > 0:14:26OK, Sarah, that's the note you've got to hit to make the glass wobble
0:14:26 > 0:14:27and flex and hopefully break.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Give it a go.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32SINGS HIGH OPERATIC NOTE
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Mmm, well.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38SINGS HIGHER NOTE
0:14:38 > 0:14:40That one.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43HIGHER STILL
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Well, that's not working so far. The theory is simple enough.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52Everything makes its own particular note. This glass, if I tap this,
0:14:52 > 0:14:55it has its own particular resonant frequency.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58All that means is that's the note it really wants to make.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01And this swing has a resonant frequency, too.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04If I push the swing at its resonant frequency, gradually,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Sarah swings more and more but if I push faster than its resonant frequency,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10like this,
0:15:10 > 0:15:14nothing happens because I'm pushing and there's no swing to push.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16That's why Sarah has to sing the exact same note
0:15:16 > 0:15:20as the glass makes when you ping it.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Push harder and harder, like singing louder and louder,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26and, well, in theory, I get Sarah right over the top...
0:15:26 > 0:15:27SHE SCREAMS
0:15:27 > 0:15:29..or in the case of the glass, shatter it.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32We've come to the University of Salford
0:15:32 > 0:15:34to try our experiment in their acoustic lab.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39To give Sarah a bit of a boost,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42we're going to use a microphone and then amplify it.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44SHE SINGS A SERIES OF NOTES
0:15:44 > 0:15:46This is what makes the sound,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49the loudspeaker that you find in a PA system.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52SHE TRILLS
0:15:52 > 0:15:55We're using Mark's special high-speed camera because hopefully,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59if we get the glass to go, it will go in a fraction of a second and we want to capture that.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Sarah is outside warming up her voice.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04SHE SINGS
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Any sound you make in here completely dead. There is no echo.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10- Listen. - DEADENED CLAPPING
0:16:10 > 0:16:13That means that we'll be able to get our sound into the glass
0:16:13 > 0:16:15most effectively.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Here's the glass. And that's the note.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27SHE SINGS A SUSTAINED NOTE
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Sarah has been given a set of headphones that are playing her the correct note
0:16:31 > 0:16:33so she can hear that and reproduce it.
0:16:33 > 0:16:39If she keeps the needle in the red, she knows she's got the right note.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42You're getting there and you can see where the glass is going.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44It is kind of whoa, whoa, you can see it.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48SHE SINGS A SUSTAINED NOTE
0:16:51 > 0:16:52Whoa!
0:16:52 > 0:16:54You did it! Well done!
0:16:54 > 0:16:56That made me jump.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00- Come and look at the damage you have caused.- Wow.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05You really made a mess of that glass. That was your voice, with just a little bit of help.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08- Shall we do it again? That was great.- That was cool.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11SHE SINGS A SUSTAINED NOTE
0:17:11 > 0:17:13MUSIC: Carmina Burana
0:17:13 > 0:17:15- Oh, my God. - Come on, let's do it again.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19SHE SINGS A SUSTAINED NOTE
0:17:21 > 0:17:23GLASS SMASHES
0:17:23 > 0:17:25We did it again.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Brilliant. I'm on a roll, now. Give me a whole box of them!
0:17:31 > 0:17:36- I hope those glasses weren't expensive. Gyles, you've got your gloves on.- I've got my gloves on
0:17:36 > 0:17:39because it is quite cold and I could do with a mug of something hot.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42I've got some cocoa but we've got to finish working, first.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45The truth is, for a summer's day, it is quite chilly.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48But I don't mind because here, the views are so breathtaking,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51it is an amazing place to be. Truly beautiful.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54You must come one day and if you do, and you are an artist,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57bring your easel and your paints with you. Are you an artist?
0:17:57 > 0:18:02No, I cannot draw to save my life. However, I do appreciate art.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06My favourites include the great Irish painter Francis Bacon,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08the great Indian painter who died recently, MF Husain,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12and some modern artists as well - Banksy, Damien Hirst, and Rolf Harris.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Rolf Harris, a bit of cutting edge.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16You're cutting edge, I'm more soft centre.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20I think my favourite English artist is John Constable.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24One of the privileges that we have working for The One Show
0:18:24 > 0:18:29is we go out to see amazing places and to actually meet some remarkable people.
0:18:29 > 0:18:30For this film,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33I went in the footsteps of the great John Constable
0:18:33 > 0:18:36and this is a film not only about an artist
0:18:36 > 0:18:39but it's a love story, as well. I think you'll like it.
0:18:41 > 0:18:42The Hay Wain, Flatford Mill
0:18:42 > 0:18:48and The Leaping Horse are among our greatest landscape paintings.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50They are the work of John Constable
0:18:50 > 0:18:53and demonstrate his passion for the English countryside.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57But his greatest love affair was with his wife, Maria,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00and her death had a powerful effect on his art.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08The ruins of Hadleigh Castle here in Essex are far removed from
0:19:08 > 0:19:12the landscape we normally associate with the work of John Constable.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16The picture that he painted here is bleak and lonely
0:19:16 > 0:19:20and reflects the grief he felt at the loss of his beloved wife.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26Hadleigh Castle was painted in 1829,
0:19:26 > 0:19:28the year after Maria's death.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33She died shortly after the birth of their seventh child.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34Constable was devastated.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36He said after her death,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39"I shall never feel again as I have felt.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43"The face of the world is totally changed to me."
0:19:43 > 0:19:46His state of the mind at the time resonates through the painting.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Looking at this painting,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51it's very hard not to believe that this bleak,
0:19:51 > 0:19:56brooding dark painting isn't filled with his feelings of loss
0:19:56 > 0:19:57and sorrow at her death.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01John Constable was born in 1776 in Suffolk,
0:20:01 > 0:20:03the son of a wealthy merchant.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06He first met Maria Bicknell when she was a young girl
0:20:06 > 0:20:11but when she was 21 and he was 33, he declared his love.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13Her family, however, were against the match.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15As far as they were concerned,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18he was a ne'er-do-well unsuccessful painter.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Her grandfather threatened to disinherit her
0:20:21 > 0:20:25if she continued this alliance with John Constable.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Undeterred, they continued a courtship lasting seven years,
0:20:29 > 0:20:34played out in occasional meetings and some 200 letters.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38"One consolatory idea is always present with me,
0:20:38 > 0:20:39"our hearts are one."
0:20:39 > 0:20:40"I should not love you
0:20:40 > 0:20:44"if you did not feel my absence but feel it as a man.
0:20:44 > 0:20:45"Rejoice that..."
0:20:45 > 0:20:47It's a long, passionate,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51tender regency love affair right from the Jane Austen period.
0:20:51 > 0:20:57"Your letter, dear John, gave me the highest pleasure. To know that you are well..."
0:20:57 > 0:20:59"..that by thoughts are never a moment from you
0:20:59 > 0:21:06"and I wish for no greater happiness than to always subscribe myself ever affectionately yours.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Maria had to do as her father wished,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10regardless of what her heart told her.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12But something else stood in their way -
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Constable's passion for the countryside
0:21:15 > 0:21:19and his desire to be the greatest landscape painter.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23But his frustrated love for Maria was not wasted,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25it was channelled into his early paintings.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30Constable's work starts to become stronger, fresher, more individual.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33There's a beautiful example of that where he paints a landscape
0:21:33 > 0:21:37looking towards the rectory where her grandfather lived at dawn
0:21:37 > 0:21:39and the sky is suffused with pink
0:21:39 > 0:21:42and it's very hard not to feel that passion.
0:21:42 > 0:21:48In 1816, Constable's parents both died, leaving him a modest income.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Maria's father allowed them to marry
0:21:50 > 0:21:54but refused to attend the ceremony.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57It was a happy marriage, producing seven children
0:21:57 > 0:22:01and leading to the period when Constable produced his greatest works.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05The six-footers, like the Hay Wain and the Leaping Horse,
0:22:05 > 0:22:07are the paintings that made his name.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10You get the sense, for example, the Hay Wain,
0:22:10 > 0:22:16a tremendous sense of fulfilment and contentment. It's a wonderful picture of the English countryside,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19but it's important to remember that it was also quite radical,
0:22:19 > 0:22:25and although it's now a poster of rural England,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29those paintings were not popular when they were originally painted.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Constable struggled to sell his work,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34but a worse tragedy was to come.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Maria developed tuberculosis, and in 1828,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41she died after just 12 years of marriage.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Is it fair to say that the painting we're looking at now,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46the paining he did here at Hadleigh Castle,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49reflects his mood at the time of her death?
0:22:49 > 0:22:51He was overwhelmed by grief.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54He said, "Hourly I am reminded of the loss of my angel."
0:22:54 > 0:22:58It's really true that the sky has darkened for him.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Seven long years of courtship
0:23:00 > 0:23:04followed by 12 short years of marriage.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07It's an extraordinary romance, and in Constable's paintings,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10we have it still, that legacy of love.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Who doesn't like a good love story?
0:23:17 > 0:23:20I collect stories about artists and their love lives.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22You know the story about Augustus John?
0:23:22 > 0:23:26- No, but I can't wait to hear it. - Another great English painter.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29He was something of a Romeo, to the extent
0:23:29 > 0:23:33that whenever he met a child of any kind,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36he always patted it on the head just in case it was one of his.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38SHE LAUGHS
0:23:38 > 0:23:40That's a good one!
0:23:40 > 0:23:42I'm a townie, and I was once told that townies,
0:23:42 > 0:23:44when they go for a walk in the country,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47they always look downward, whereas country people look up.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49There's good reason to look up here,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52because the bird-watching is fantastic.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55If you're lucky you can see peregrine falcons, buzzards,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57guillemots and razorbills, all great bands.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01Uh-huh. I used to have an album from The Eagles!
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Speaking of buzzards, they're sometimes known as tourists' eagles,
0:24:05 > 0:24:10because people often mistake a buzzard for a golden eagle.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12The buzzard, of course, is quite a bit smaller.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15I'm a bit of an authority when it comes to the birds.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Gyles, you are an expert at pretty much everything,
0:24:17 > 0:24:22but when it comes to birds on The One Show, only Mike Dilger is the man for the job.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Oh, yes, I've heard about that, Mike Dilger and the birds.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31The Scottish Highlands, Britain's last great wilderness,
0:24:31 > 0:24:36and home to our most majestic bird of prey, the Golden Eagle.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44Usually, it's only the golden eagles or the odd helicopter pilot
0:24:44 > 0:24:48that gets a bird's-eye view of these rugged hills.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Today, I'm hoping that's about to change.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Lloyd Buck is a bird trainer who has always been fascinated
0:24:57 > 0:25:01by what his birds see when they're soaring in the skies.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05And he particularly liked the bird's-eye view of Tilly,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07his captive golden eagle.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10I got Tilly when she was ten months old,
0:25:10 > 0:25:15and now, after nine years, as far as she's concerned, we're partners.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17I'm her mate, so to speak.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22To get an eagle's-eye view, he's teamed up with specialist cameraman Jonathan Watts,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25to produce the world's first high-definition camera
0:25:25 > 0:25:27light enough to be carried on an eagle's back.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30You've been working on this for a long time.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33How excited are you about trying it out for the first time on Tilly's back?
0:25:33 > 0:25:37It's a mix of everything we've been playing with and hoping to get,
0:25:37 > 0:25:42so if we get a bit of lift and Tilly gets right up there, we should just get fantastic views.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46But to get the aerial footage that Jonathan and Lloyd are after,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48everything needs to be just right.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51It's what makes it hard. It's not easy, what we're doing.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54You've got to have the right conditions, not raining,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56nice wind or updraught.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00You've got to have the equipment all set up right on her,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04and most importantly, she's got to be in the right frame of mind.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06You've got to do everything at her pace
0:26:06 > 0:26:08in a way she wants it to be done.
0:26:08 > 0:26:09Good girl!
0:26:10 > 0:26:12- How's she looking, Lloyd?- All right.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16The camera is attached to a harness by Velcro
0:26:16 > 0:26:18and weighs as much as two mobile phones.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Given that a golden eagle can lift prey ten times that weight,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24carrying it shouldn't be a problem.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27But to get airborne at all, Tilly needs some wind,
0:26:27 > 0:26:31and usually, in Scotland, that's pretty much guaranteed.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34What do you think of the conditions? They're not perfect.
0:26:34 > 0:26:40No. There's hardly any wind, which is a shame, but we'll get something.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43It's not going to be the spectacular soaring we hoped for.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46But we might get a bit of gliding but let's just see.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48It'll give us a chance to see how well the camera works.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Really exciting. What do you do now? Release...
0:26:50 > 0:26:54- Oh, those wings are beautiful! - Good girl.- Go on. Go on, girl!
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Aw, lovely!
0:27:00 > 0:27:04Wa-hey! Go on, up you go, girl.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08But on this windless day, Tilly just can't get the lift to soar,
0:27:08 > 0:27:13and before long, she has to land, showing off
0:27:13 > 0:27:16those lovely golden feathers on her neck that gives golden eagles their name.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22But 24 hours later, the wind has picked up,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25and Tilly takes to the skies.
0:27:31 > 0:27:32Eagles can't move their eyes,
0:27:32 > 0:27:36and the footage shows how Tilly turns her head constantly,
0:27:36 > 0:27:41looking out for mobbing crows trying to push her off their patch.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52A golden eagle's eyesight is thought to be eight times better
0:27:52 > 0:27:55than ours, so Tilly will easily be able to spot prey,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58like mountain hares, even from this height.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09This high quality footage may be as close as we're ever going to get
0:28:09 > 0:28:11to an eagle's-eye view of the world.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15It will help Lloyd learn more about eagles' flight behaviour,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18and for Tilly, it could be her big break in television
0:28:18 > 0:28:22or the silver screen, getting unique aerial shots.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25Perhaps we should call it 'Tilly-vision'.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35- When I was a boy, there was a weekly comic called The Eagle.- Was there?
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Science fiction, not amazing birds like that.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41I have to say, here in County Antrim you do not need a bird's-eye view
0:28:41 > 0:28:44to realise you're in one of the most beautiful parts of the world.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47That's it from us. I need to get Gyles back on the bus
0:28:47 > 0:28:50- because his flask of cocoa is waiting for him.- We had a fabulous day.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52See you again soon. Bye!
0:28:58 > 0:29:00Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd