Episode 7 The One Show - Best of Britain

1991191 hallooed, and welcomed to The One Show: The Best of Britain,

with Miranda Krestovnikoff the and Matt Allwright. It is a chance to

see some more of our favourite One Yes, we are on the island of Arran,

which some people call Scotland in miniature because it has beautiful

mountains in the north and stunning lowlands in the south. None of

which, of course, you can see today. It is covered in cloud, probably

like the rest of Scotland. Arran is a little island off the west coast

of Scotland in the Firth of Clyde, only a couple of hours away from

Glasgow. The island is 90 miles long and a wildlife paradise. 250

bird species have been spotted here, including the rare golden eagle and

hen harrier. I believe I can see a red squirrel or a red deer if I am

lucky? Not today, not unless one happened to pop up to the Post

Office. We have seals just off the coast here, amazing animals, very

inquisitive and interactive with humans, as I found out just off the

humans, as I found out just off the Farne Islands.

Just a few miles from the Northumberland coast, it is merely

seal pup in time. Grey seals are the only British mammal to give

birth in the autumn, and as the females gather at their breeding

grounds it is the perfect time to see them. Today I am heading to the

Farne Islands to dive with somebody who knows these seals perhaps

who knows these seals perhaps better than anyone else. Hello, how

are you? For the past nine years when he is

not working professionally as a GP, Ben Burville has spent every spare

moment on his favourite pastime, filming seals. What is it about the

seals? They are my passion. Everybody needs a way to relax.

Being with wildlife in close interaction is a privileged thing

to do. Because of its extensive rocky coastline, Britain is home to

nearly half the world's population of grey seals. We will not have a

problem finding seals! There are loads! If tiny coastal islands like

the Farne Islands are the perfect environment for them as they need

to come ashore within birth but state in easy access of the sea.

-- they need to come ashore to give birth but stay within easy access

Hello! Come on! Oh! There are four, They all look as though they are

just waiting for us to play. They Around the time that they pup, they

become more sociable, it is a good time to be around them, but you

have to be careful and respect them. It is easy to see how, over the

years, Ben's respect for these animals has earned him the trust of

this particular colony. They even seem to recognise him.

It is lovely when you get up close, you can see how streamlined the

body is. They are beautifully designed. They can slip through the

water as fast as possible. Everything is tucked in, their

front flippers and back flippers are tucked in.

And these big, big eyes, they are so appealing. It is also exactly

what they need to feed at very deep depths where there is not a lot of

light. Can they get up to about 250 metres when they are diving?

Sometimes even deeper. They can lower their heart rate. Your and my

heart rate is pretty much 60, they can lower theirs to four or five

beats per minute at very deep levels.

That is a pregnant female. It is a very, very fat one that has just

descended behind me. The females have had all summer to

fatten up, and the fatter they are, the richer their milk will be,

giving their newborn pups the very best chance of survival. I can feel

something tugging at my things! You were very good with them. I had

great fun, it is always fun when a wild animal seems to want to

interact with you and investigate and just play.

Are you ready for a mystery? Yes. You were reading upon the local

history? You see the mountain behind us? There is a lot of cloud.

I got you a postcard! That mountain is Goat Fell. In 1889, two climbers

went up Goat Fell but only one came down! Edwin Rose's body was

discovered underneath a bolder, and his climbing partner John Laurie

was accused of his murder. Lorries said I only robs him, I did not

kill him, but nevertheless he was convicted of murder, given the

death sentence, which was commuted to a life sentence. He spent 41

years and died in the Scottish Prison, and for a short time Arran

was the centre of a media maelstrom, the ire of the storm. A great

mystery. Something that dear Gyles Brandreth might like? Speaking of

Gyles, he is on fine form investigating another mysterious

character, Bram Stoker's Dracula. The ancient Yorkshire town of

Whitby, a beautiful place, remaining as it always has - busy

both with fishermen and tourists. But in the 19th century it would

find a new frame, giving inspiration for one of the most

frightening literary characters of all time. It is 1890 and an

Irishman called Bram Stoker, a theatre manager and would-be

Auxerre, has come to take a six- week holiday here. -- a would-be

author. He has the germ of an idea for a terrifying tale about the

supernatural villain. The story would become the horror classic

Dracula. As the cloud passed, I could see the ruins of the Abbey

coming into view. The church and churchyard became gradually visible.

The light struck a half reclining figure, snowy white, but it seemed

to me as though something dark stood behind. What it was, man or

beast, I could not tell. It is here in the St Mary's

churchyard that Count Dracula claimed his first victim. And here,

too, that Stoker came for inspiration. In this graveyards

even the stones tell you that Stoker came here when he was

writing the Dracula story. From the grave stones heated names for his

characters. One grave bears the name of Swales, which would be

taken for an old seafarer in the story. From another, Jon Stewart,

he inspires the name of Jack psyllid, one of the heroes of the

books. The Gothic atmosphere of nineteenth-century Whitby which so

inspired Bram Stoker survives today in this gallery. The work of the

town's renowned Victorian photographer Frank Sutcliffe gives

a vivid look at the town that Bram Stoker new. Mike runs the shop.

These pictures are so evocative and atmospheric. Gothic horror is

written all over the photograph? You can see how Bram Stoker was

inspired by both Whitby and these photographs. I am especially

interested in one photograph of a ship, ran aground here five years

before Bram Stoker visited. In the book, Count Dracula himself arrives

in Whitby in a very similar way. The waves rose in growing fury and

swept the light houses which rise from eyes appear of Whitby Harbour.

Before long the searchlight discovered a schooner with all

sails set. It was rushing in such speed that, in the words of one of

salt, she must fetch up somewhere, even if only in Hull. The ship ran

aground on this beach beneath the East Cliff of Whitby, within

earshot of the bells of St Mary's. A local historian can tell me more.

It was on this very beach that Dracula landed? Of a Russian ship,

in the guise of a large, black dog. Five years before Stoker wrote his

book, a Russian ship ran aground here. The difference between fact

and fiction was that in the fictional version, Stoke Abbott

captain dead, lashed to the steering wheel, clutching his

crucifix and rosary -- Stoker had the captain dead. In real life, the

captain was charged with being drunk and disorderly in charge of a

vessel. It came from a Black Sea ports in both the book and the real

story. He made an anagram of the port? Yes. And what was the ship

called? In real life it is called Demeter. Very similar to the name

and the book. He is playing games with us.

Among these houses and cobbled streets, Stoker not only found key

locations for his horror story but the most important thing of all.

And he found it right here in what is now a modern waterfront bar. In

his time, it was Whitby's Library and the place where he spent hours

reading. In his head, Stoker had a great story, the perfect setting

and a sinister character in the shape of the count. At first he

called him Count Wampyr, and then one damp afternoon sitting in this

very place, reading an old history of Romania, he came across this

sentence. The King of Hungary, preparing to make war against the

Turks, engaged Dracula up to form an alliance with him. It was the

first time that Stoker had ever seen the name Dracula, and the

author's footnotes, Dracula means devil. In an instant, Count Wampyr

became Count Dracula. It was a lucky chance, and it happened here

in Whitby. Count Wampyr, it does not have the

same ring to it. It would not have worked. I don't think so, not for

me. What he had lived in a place like this? I suppose so. It is

imposing enough. Welcome to Brodick Castle and the

beautiful grounds which seemed to stretch for miles and miles.

They are lovely. I was reading in a guide book recently that this one

we are standing in his over 300 years old, one of many within the

castle grounds and home to hundreds of different types of plants, trees

and shrubs. The castle belonged to the Hamilton family for many

centuries and it was the daughter of the 12th Duke of Hamilton, Mary,

Duchess of Montrose, who had the green fingers and was responsible

for most of the gardening. She had a little army of explorers who went

around the world, bringing back seeds, especially rhododendron

seeds. It really is beautiful. Do you know who has it absolutely

covered when it comes to taking pictures of fruit and flowers? It

is our resident photographer Jamie Crawford. Check this out.

John Keats' season of mists and mellow fruitfulness brings with it

the apple harvest, which due to 2009's exceptionally cold winter

has produced this latest British apples for decades. These days,

apples are such a staple of everyday life it is easy to forget

how beautiful and very they can be. And with a palette of colours

ranging from pale yellow to deep reds, an orchard in autumn really

can be a special place. But what is the best way to capture all that

colour in a photograph? The good news is you can make both fair

weather and foul your friend if you know how to approach them. If you

catch a sunny day like today, the best time to take photographs is

around sunrise and sunset, the Golden hour when the light is soft

and the shadows are long. It if you are shooting by 7:30am, you might

get one of these, laced in early- morning dew. Picking up the

sunlight. Don't worry if you are not, because

a planned Mr full of water and a few drops of glycerine can produce

exactly the same effect. The non- toxic grocery makes the water more

viscous, creating longer-lasting droplets. Spiders like these have

been around all summer but only now do you start to spot them, when the

females have bred and they are laying eggs. But much like the

apples they will not be around Paul Long, most will die in the winter

Here at Barrington Court in Somerset, Rachel Brewer is a

National Trust garden and is responsible for preserving some of

the rarest apples in the UK. last count we have just over 90

different varieties. They are spread over 10 acres. What is the

aim of the apple growing project? All the we do actually produce

apple juice and cider, it is more of a conservation project. Apples

are really famous for weird names. What have you got in your line-up?

We have got some of the strangest varieties. Things like Kingston

Black, sheep's noes and slap my girdle! What I like about taking

pictures here is there is an amazing contrast between shapes and

colours. Look at the fruit. You've got bright red apples, perfectly

round, against these pointy, jagged, dark green leaves. All of that,

hopefully, makes for a great photograph. Within the orchards

there is an entire world of tiny but fascinating detail. If you by

using an SLR, why not try taking your lens off and holding it back-

to-front to create an extreme lens? In fact, it's so close up that it

goes out of focus. Close-ups and playing with contrasts of colour

and shape our great ways to mitigate the effects of the

changeable light conditions in autumn. But what if you want to go

wider? If you want to take a classic portrait of an amazing

apple tree, this would be the perfect subject. But that a lot of

colour, light and detail. How will I get it all in one photograph?

First, we'll turn the camera on its side because there's lots of

vertical detail I want to include, the grass, the tree and the sky. We

also get a typical and take two instead of one. One will taking

delight bits, the other will take in the dark bits. Then we stick

them together. Come the return of Golden hour, towards sunset, the

warm and slanting sun provides plenty of opportunity to play with

flares and shadow. To create imagery that evokes the wistful

feeling of summer coming to a close. The other great thing about

photographing apples is, if the weather turns miserable and you run

out of ideas, then you can just come inside. Apples make fantastic

subjects. With over 7000 varieties worldwide, you're never going to be

short of shots. So, this year, why not forget the cliche of fallen

golden leaves and head to an orchard to photograph the real

Some sound advice from Jamie Crawford. I think I might stop

using my phone as a camera and actually take a leaf out of his

book, using the real thing. carry all of that kit around? It's

a right pain in the bum. Just a little pocket one would do it.

the years, you must have made hundreds of wild life once for The

One Show. We've been all around the country, do most of the species.

can't imagine you ever made films about pigeons, everybody hates them.

People think they are vermin, they described them as rats as -- with

wings. That some of them were positively heroic.

When one thinks of the two world wars, it is that human suffering

that comes most to mind. But did you know that thousands of animals

were also killed in action? It is commemorated here, at Park Lane in

London, at the animal war memorial. Animals were awarded the Dickin

Medal, the animal equivalent of a deep Victoria Cross. Of the 53 that

were awarded, 32 were given to the small, silent achiever, the pigeon.

At the outbreak of World War II, 7000 pigeon fanciers were asked to

donate their pigeons to the war effort. They were needed to act as

message carriers for the newly formed National Pigeon Service.

Bletchley Park is better known as the site of the UK's main

decryption establishment. It was here that Germany's Enigma code was

broken. It was also come to carrier pigeons and their lofts. So, why

were pigeons used during the war? Well, mainly to obtain information,

particularly from the occupied territories of Holland, Belgium and

France. They were absolutely necessary, in the event of advance

units wanting radio silence, they employed the pigeons. That was the

only means of getting messages through without using the radio.

How did you get them into occupied territory? By parachute. Each one

was put into a cardboard container. There was pigeon food, a message

career, a message pad, a pencil that was sharpened at both ends. On

the reverse, in the language of the country that they were being

dropped, full instructions on how to handle the pigeon and apply the

message carrier to its leg. We dropped 16,000, just during that

period, 1941-1945. Of the returns we have 1852 with valuable

information. So, their effort was invaluable? Oh, yes. These days,

pigeons are Riyait for racing by dedicated pigeon fanciers. -- Riad

for racing. Today we are going to get a bird's-eye view of their

flight from Bletchley Park to their loft seven miles west. We are

placing a camera on one of them. It's just below its chest. We are

placing a message container on another one. It's the sort of

container that would have been used in the war? Definitely. Since we

are doing an experiment, can I give you a message from The One Show? We

will roll that up. Hopefully we We set the pigeons off about a

minute to go and I'm racing back to the loft. Let's see if I beat them.

I'm limited to 30 miles an hour, the pigeons can fly at over 60 mph.

Crucially, they only fly in one direction, that being home ground.

To navigate, pigeons use their natural homing skills, the soul and

magnetic compass, along with landmark recognition. During the

war they would fly in excess of 300 miles. One message container!

message is delivered, safe and sound. It is still there. So, every

single pigeon is back safe and sound? All home, safe and sound.

Excellent. During World War II, pigeon lofts

were built at all RAF and army bases. Even mobile lofts were

created, as it was the demand for services. It estimated that 250,000

pigeons flew messages during the war. As a result, thousands of

servicemen's lives were saved thanks to the actions of these

heroic birds. So, has that altered your opinion

about pigeons? A bit. It doesn't excuse what they do to my car. They

lift the paint right off, it's terrible. I will never forgive.

What about the weather, it's not getting any better? Not really,

that's a shame. I would have loved to have shown you this wonderful

island of Arran, formed by volcanic activity. A glacier pushed its way

through to make this incredible shape. Do you know why you know

that stuff? It's all down to wait chap called James Hutton. He's the

founder of modern geology and he was attacked -- attracted to the

island by the amazing rocks that we find here. He came up with the idea

that different rocks are formed in different ways, volcanic rock,

sedimentary rock. Really? And tan stone has been used for all sorts

of exciting things, to build with, and you can use it to colour things

with. They use it for curling stones on ice rinks as well. Even

that is not the most exciting thing Every September the tiny Scottish

island of Easdale plays host to the stone skimming World Championships.

It started in 1983, when one islander came up with the idea of

using a disused slate quarry as a venue for the competition. Today,

it attracts people from around the world. So, what is the secret of

making one of these skip almost magically across the water? And can

science help us all become champion skimmers? Donald, nice to meet you.

Donald Melville organises the stone skimming championships. Apparently,

there are strict rules governing the competition. This is the lane

that the Stones have to go along during the competition. The idea is

that I have to get it is get as many times as possible within a

lane? No, that is what they do in the world stone skipping

championships in America. The record there is 51. We go by the

distance it goes. It's got to bounce at least twice before it is

valid and it's got to sink with in this plane. First minute the

perfect stone? Yes, and I need -- know the very place. The ones that

work best are a regular oval in shape, about the size of the palm

of your hand and the weight of a tennis ball. But why is a flat

stone better than a rounded stone? Well, when any stone hits the water

it pushes some water out of the way. That water pushes back up and the

facts don't pushers more water out of the way, weight for weight, than

the rounded stone. So the flat stone gets pushed back off the

surface and it skips. The rounded stone sinks. Now I've got some

textbook stones I've got to discover the textbook technique.

Eric Robertson is a former skimming world champion. He won the

competition in 2008 with a throw of 54 metres. What are the important

pointers you have got for me? first thing would be the speed of

the stone. A fast arm is very important. To achieve a record-

breaking skim, it needs to leave your hand at about 50 mph. Secondly,

the angle that the stone hits the water is crucial. We've got to

throw it almost parallel to the water. Very good, yes. You need to

impart as much spin as possible using your forefinger and your

wrist. The spinning helps to stabilise it as it goes on its

roller-coaster ride. All those skimmers have discovered these key

rules through practice, but there is actually some solid -- solid

physics behind them. In fact, the science of skimming has been deemed

worthy of intensive research by French scientists. By using a

catapult and some spinning discs, they worked out the magic angle

that a stone should hit the water. It needs to be as close to 20

degrees as possible. So, Donald, you have shown me the perfect stone,

you have shown me the perfect technique. You have also gathered a

crowd for me. A motley crew. The pressure is on, I suppose I should

Yes, that's the one! Her cracked it, nice one forced up that was a good

You did exceedingly well, even though you didn't hit the back wall.

Stone skimming, that really reminds me of childhood. I still do it,

what is your record? I'm rubbish, about five or six. 18! You should