0:00:15 > 0:00:21Imagine yourself on a windswept hill, nothing around you apart from towering peaks and river torrents.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25In the early 1900s, that was the scenery that people craved.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27So many lived in cities that they longed
0:00:27 > 0:00:31for the wild and the beautiful, but to find it they needed a map.
0:00:33 > 0:00:39The Bartholomew's Reduced Survey for Tourists and Cyclists was an answer to a prayer -
0:00:39 > 0:00:4137 maps, all in colour,
0:00:41 > 0:00:46that could lead you to a pastoral idyll anywhere in England and Wales.
0:00:46 > 0:00:47They sold in thousands.
0:00:50 > 0:00:56Many of those intrepid travellers set off on one of these, the classic roadster bicycle.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Bikes were new then and were intended to deal with everything.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03On my journey I'll be facing dirt roads,
0:01:03 > 0:01:05deep rivers and mountain passes.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07What I'd like to find out is,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09can I use THIS map
0:01:09 > 0:01:10to get THIS bicycle
0:01:10 > 0:01:14deep into the heart of England's most romantic landscape -
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Wordsworth's country, the Lake District?
0:01:45 > 0:01:46Bartholomew's half-inch maps -
0:01:46 > 0:01:49the Bart's maps, as they came to be known -
0:01:49 > 0:01:52just looked like the countryside they depicted.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Decked out in browns and greens,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58they gave an immediate sense of being away from it all.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03But they were extremely practical too.
0:02:03 > 0:02:09Bart's aimed for greater accuracy and more information than any of their rivals.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13A cyclist with just one map could follow it for over 100 miles.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19And where better to test out a cyclist's map
0:02:19 > 0:02:24than the Lake District, Edwardian England's favourite playground?
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Tourists started coming to the Lake District in the 19th century.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39They were attracted by what they'd read and seen in the poetry and painting of the Romantics.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41They would arrive by train at Windermere
0:02:41 > 0:02:44and continue by horse and carriage, or bicycle,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46crossing Lake Windermere on the steamer.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54The Bartholomew's map of the Lake District
0:02:54 > 0:02:58shows how all the lakes radiate out from a central mountainous hub.
0:02:58 > 0:03:04The modern motor roads wriggle all the way round the outside, making very long detours.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08What I'd like to do is to get into this incredibly rugged heartland.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12The question is, can the routes on this map get me from where I am,
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Lake Windermere,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18all the way to the Queen of the Lakes, Derwentwater?
0:03:18 > 0:03:23And, just as important, is my classic 1930 roadster bicycle.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27It's 50% heavier than a modern mountain bike.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Can it survive five mountain passes
0:03:31 > 0:03:34and 65 miles of tough winter cycling?
0:03:34 > 0:03:37This could be crazy.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46Someone who knows all about cycling in this area is Guy Fitzgerald.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50He's going to give me a few tips and, I suspect, a few warnings.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54- This was a state-of-the-art machine when it was built.- Really? Wow.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56- British-made.- A British-made bike.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59- How old is this, can I ask? - It's only about 70.
0:03:59 > 0:04:0070 years old, wow.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03I might just check the brakes over.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07The... The rear brake...
0:04:07 > 0:04:11is not actually working very well, I'm afraid.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14- No, it's not a modern system, rods! - It's not, no.
0:04:14 > 0:04:20I'd advise controlling your speed very carefully and don't let yourself get out of control.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22And the heels of my boots on corners.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Possibly, as a last resort, it's an option.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Another thing to watch out for is the tyres.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32There's not much tread on there, so you're not gonna get much grip.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35- Well, it was very good when it was new.- Absolutely!
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Now, what about the saddle? It seems to have a bit of movement in it.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Is it meant to do that? That's not a primitive suspension system, is it?
0:04:43 > 0:04:48It's not, no, that is actually supposed to be secure and fixed level in one position,
0:04:48 > 0:04:53so I'd advise you to get that tightened up, which I'll be happy to do before you set off.
0:04:53 > 0:04:54So, marks out of ten?
0:04:54 > 0:04:59For doing a very technical route, like you're taking on,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01I'd probably give it a two.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Two out of ten? Is that all you'll give it?
0:05:03 > 0:05:08A two out of ten on a difficult technical circuit like you're doing.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10It's difficult on a bike of this nature.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13'Hmm, it doesn't sound too encouraging.'
0:05:22 > 0:05:27Stretching west of me is the most inhospitable terrain in England.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31I'm heading for Langdale, one of the Lakes' most beautiful valleys,
0:05:31 > 0:05:35and the first problem I've got is finding the route.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Some of the Bart's roads are minuscule.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45The people who first rode these iron horses must have been a breed apart.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48They were dubbed devotees of the wheel
0:05:48 > 0:05:54and there was no shortage of them - men and women in search of a bit of wild rural bliss.
0:05:55 > 0:06:01This was a brief period between the horse and the car when the bicycle was king.
0:06:03 > 0:06:09Bart's realised that the Ordnance Survey maps, on which their new leisure maps were based,
0:06:09 > 0:06:14were no good for cyclists. They lacked detail, the surveying was 50 years old,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17and they were no longer accurate.
0:06:17 > 0:06:23So Bart's turned for help to the obvious people - the cyclists.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25From 1898 right up to the 1970s,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28the Cyclists' Touring Club,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32or CTC, provided information about landmarks and dangers
0:06:32 > 0:06:35to the map makers at Bart's.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38This looks like a bump in the road!
0:06:38 > 0:06:42'They also described the condition of the cycle routes.'
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Amazingly, there are 11 different grades of road and track on this map.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50At the top end, some of the roads, like this one here,
0:06:50 > 0:06:52are rated first class.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57But some, like this one here, are not recommended at all.
0:06:57 > 0:07:03For cyclists, this map could make the difference between a good, safe holiday and a disaster.
0:07:04 > 0:07:10So what's the difference between a route that's not recommended and one that is?
0:07:10 > 0:07:14This track goes north from High Tilberthwaite to Little Langdale.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18The Bart's map describes it as, "Indifferent, passable."
0:07:18 > 0:07:20But it looks like a good short cut.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26There's a slate quarry marked on it, which should mean
0:07:26 > 0:07:30that there's a reasonable track for moving the slate out of the valley.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35On the other hand, there's a ford through a river up here and that could be a problem.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36So let's just see.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42The bike doesn't seem too bad at the moment,
0:07:42 > 0:07:47no punctures yet, though I can't say I'm too thrilled by these brakes.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53According to the map, there should be a slate quarry on the right,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57and there it is, that's the slate that used to roof Edwardian England.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Oh, that's amazing! Right down here...
0:07:59 > 0:08:01in the bedrock of the track,
0:08:01 > 0:08:03there's some cuts caused by wagon wheels
0:08:03 > 0:08:06taking the slate down the valley.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Those are just ordinary cracks in the rock,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12but this line here is where a metal-rimmed wheel
0:08:12 > 0:08:15has cut into the bedrock, and it's along here, too.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17So this road was being used by industry
0:08:17 > 0:08:19long before it was a cycle track.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22But if it was a road also used by civilian traffic,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25I should find some signs further up there
0:08:25 > 0:08:28of some kind of engineering to keep it in good repair.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35So far, I'd say this was a cyclist's dream -
0:08:35 > 0:08:37a firm surface, well maintained.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41I can't imagine why you'd call it, "Indifferent, passable."
0:08:41 > 0:08:42That sounds very second-rate.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Yep, just as I thought!
0:08:56 > 0:08:58This is absolutely wonderful.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01There's a culvert underneath the track here,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04and this river has had its flow broken by this weir here,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07so that when the river's in spate,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10it doesn't rise up and wash away this bridge.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15The river's also been channelled to direct the current underneath the road and then on top...
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Here we've got a huge slab of slate
0:09:18 > 0:09:20that's been carried from the quarry above here.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25Now, the thing is, it's a very, very good piece of engineering,
0:09:25 > 0:09:29and in the early 1900s this would have been one of the better roads in the Lake District.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Well, why isn't it one of the top-grade roads on Bart's,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36the first-class category? Very puzzling.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39'Hmm, so maybe there's worse up ahead.'
0:09:51 > 0:09:53That's a pretty scary sight.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56When I saw the ford marked on the map,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59I thought I'd be able to ride the bicycle through it.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04But this river is in spate, all this heavy rain's swollen the river,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07and it looks pretty... a pretty fearsome sight.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10On the map, the nearest bridge is a mile that way,
0:10:10 > 0:10:14or a mile that way, so what would an Edwardian cyclist have done?
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Pressed on right through the water, I think.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20I'm so wet from this rain, it's not gonna make any difference,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22so here goes - fortune favours the brave.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31God, this is... oh, absolutely freezing!
0:10:32 > 0:10:36It's quite deep, too. You can't tell from the bank...
0:10:37 > 0:10:39..how deep it is.
0:10:39 > 0:10:45And the current's quite strong, because the river's in flood, and it's pushing the bike.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50Those Edwardians certainly had a wonderful spirit of adventure...
0:10:50 > 0:10:53because this is a recommended cycling route.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Great guys!
0:10:57 > 0:11:01'Recommended but definitely not first class.'
0:11:03 > 0:11:07When cyclists in the 1900s stepped out of rivers like this,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10they'd have been wearing heavy, waterlogged tweeds,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14and what they needed was somewhere warm they could go and get dry.
0:11:14 > 0:11:20So the CTC asked Bartholomew's to mark on their maps inns and hotels,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22and that is where I'm going now.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42Well, I've got to Langdale, but it's taken me all day,
0:11:42 > 0:11:46and if it is beautiful, there's no way of telling at this hour.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54The most exciting thing about this map is that it's coloured.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56At the time, most British maps,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59like this Ordnance Survey one, were black and white.
0:11:59 > 0:12:00Which would you rather have?
0:12:00 > 0:12:05This multi-coloured work of art, or this monochrome map here?
0:12:05 > 0:12:06So perhaps it's not surprising
0:12:06 > 0:12:11that Bart's could sell 10,000 copies of a map like this
0:12:11 > 0:12:13and the Ordnance Survey just 1,000.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Now, the first thing you have to decide when you're making a map
0:12:17 > 0:12:18is which scale to use.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22Bart's chose a scale of half-an-inch to the mile,
0:12:22 > 0:12:23or about one to 127,000.
0:12:23 > 0:12:29And that reflects the kinds of distance a cyclist could cover in any one day, quite large distances.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Now, just one Bart's map would cover the whole of the Lake District,
0:12:33 > 0:12:37whereas you'd need nine Ordnance Survey maps to do the same job.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39So Bart's is much, much cheaper.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42The amazing thing is that, despite the small scale,
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Bart's managed to cram on more detail
0:12:44 > 0:12:47than many of the Ordnance Survey maps.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49It has everything you need to know as a cyclist.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52It's got hotels, it's got inns,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55we've got the footpaths up Scafell Pike.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59All of that detail was only possible because the engravers
0:12:59 > 0:13:02that Bartholomew's employed were incredibly skilled,
0:13:02 > 0:13:07and miniaturised the place-names so a huge amount of detail's visible.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11But what makes this a major milestone in British map-making
0:13:11 > 0:13:14is a technique that Bart's used called layer colouring.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Down here you've got 16 different colours
0:13:18 > 0:13:22from deep green through light green, light brown to dark brown.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26And each of those colours represents a different altitude or contour.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29What that means is you can get an overview of the Lake District
0:13:29 > 0:13:33as if you're looking down from space and you can see the terrain.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37It was the first time it had ever been used on a British map,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39and it's absolutely brilliant.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Well, I'll be glad of some rest tonight
0:13:43 > 0:13:46because my journey is about to turn extreme.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51Tomorrow I have to ride over the Rhinos and Hardknott Passes
0:13:51 > 0:13:54and then somehow cross the mountains to Buttermere,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57so it's as well I get some expert advice.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04Pete Collins trains people in abseiling and gorge scrambling
0:14:04 > 0:14:06and he's involved in mountain rescue work.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09The first thing to know is what the weather's going to do.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13Things that can get you are the cold, the wind, erm...
0:14:13 > 0:14:16rain or snow and...
0:14:16 > 0:14:18also cloud.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22If the cloud's low, you'll have real difficulties with navigation.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24So have you got a map and compass?
0:14:24 > 0:14:27I've got a map and a compass. My map is 100 years old.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30It's a Bartholomew's half-inch to the mile map.
0:14:30 > 0:14:31No contours to speak of.
0:14:31 > 0:14:37It gives you an idea, but you're gonna struggle in bad weather to navigate with that map.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39- What else do I need? - Waterproof clothing.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44- Ah, well, I've got this. This is waterproof.- Is it?- Yep.- OK.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48And I've got a spare, er... warm jacket here.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53- Have you got waterproof trousers? - I don't believe in the trousers, I've got windproof trousers.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Windproof's all right if you keep moving.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58And...a spare pair of socks there.
0:14:58 > 0:14:59Right, for river crossings.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02- Have you got gloves? - I've got gloves.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Cos socks, when you have to stop, you can stick on instead of gloves
0:15:05 > 0:15:09or put them over your gloves, so they've got two uses.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12- The other thing that's concerning, you're taking a bike.- I am.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17- Have you got anything to fix problems with the bike? - Well, I do have a toolkit here.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19If the chain breaks, would you be able to fix that?
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Er...I'd have trouble if the chain broke,
0:15:22 > 0:15:28but I have got a rope with me just in case I have to lower the bike over cliffs or anything like that.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Yeah, I wouldn't trust myself to it cos I don't think it's enough.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36No, it's not a human-lowering rope, but it'll carry the weight of a bicycle.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52On to the next leg of my journey and Rhinos,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55the first of my mountain passes.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Ahead, you can see the road rises very steeply,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03and this is making me a little anxious
0:16:03 > 0:16:06because the map isn't telling me what I'm seeing on the ground.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10According to the Bart's map, I should be on a gentle decline.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Which this clearly isn't!
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Rhinos Bottom!
0:16:20 > 0:16:26Sounds like something an Edwardian cyclist gets after a week in the saddle.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33Over the bridge now and into the second pass, Hardknott,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36which is about the same height as Rhinos -
0:16:36 > 0:16:41just short of 1,300 feet - but it's considerably steeper.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44The weather's changing every five minutes.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48And when it rains, boy, does it rain!
0:16:53 > 0:16:57The Lake District gets up to 140 inches of rain a year,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00more than anywhere else in England.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Well, I've covered only about eight miles,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07but the sheer weight of this bike
0:17:07 > 0:17:11makes it feel like a week's worth of cycling!
0:17:11 > 0:17:15I've a long way to go. I've just got to find a quicker route.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20If I can take a short cut across the mountains
0:17:20 > 0:17:24to Lake Buttermere, I'm going to save myself an awful lot of pedalling.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27The Bart's map shows a very thin black dotted line
0:17:27 > 0:17:31crossing two mountain passes - Black Sail and Scarth Gap.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35The question is, can I cross those passes and get down before dark?
0:17:35 > 0:17:38And the weather is terrible!
0:17:39 > 0:17:44Mountain passes can be dangerous places, especially in winter.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47It used to be said that people take their bikes over Black Sail
0:17:47 > 0:17:49and never come back.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51THUNDER RUMBLES
0:17:51 > 0:17:55This pass rises to nearly 2,000 feet,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57and if the map's anything to go by,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01the road is a thin path that I could lose at any time.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06In the past, a narrow track like this would have been the quickest,
0:18:06 > 0:18:10safest route for pack horses crossing the mountains.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15The shepherds and the drivers of the pack trains
0:18:15 > 0:18:18that used to cross this mountain pass
0:18:18 > 0:18:22knew a thing or two about using the lie of the land.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27The path they cut created a series of zigzags in the mountain side,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31so that they could climb steadily and gently,
0:18:31 > 0:18:36the idea, of course, being to conserve the energy of man
0:18:36 > 0:18:39and the energy of the beasts of burden.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45The trouble is that nowadays not everybody's prepared to take the long route
0:18:45 > 0:18:50and you can see here where modern mountain walkers have been taking short cuts
0:18:50 > 0:18:54up and down the mountain side by cutting off all the zigzags.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57And their boot prints have scarred the mountain side,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59water's collected in those prints
0:18:59 > 0:19:01and created a gully running down here.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05The National Trust have had to put these huge boulders along here
0:19:05 > 0:19:07to keep walkers on the old zigzags.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09And if the National Trust hadn't done that,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12this gully would have widened with flash floods
0:19:12 > 0:19:15and the whole mountain side would have slithered into the ravine.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32At 1,800 feet, it's fairly alarming
0:19:32 > 0:19:34in this cloud and mist...
0:19:34 > 0:19:36and the cold.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39No matter how good your clothing,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42the cold always gets through eventually.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46I was warned I'd have trouble navigating this with a Bart's map,
0:19:46 > 0:19:50but I must surely be at the top of Black Sail by now.
0:19:56 > 0:20:02They must have been absolutely determined, those cyclists, simply to get over this pass.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The way down is even worse in parts than the way up.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37The Bartholomew's half-inch to the mile map is a wonderful map
0:20:37 > 0:20:40if you're cycling on roads and good tracks,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43but it's not such a great map if you go mountaineering
0:20:43 > 0:20:47because at that scale, it doesn't show obstacles
0:20:47 > 0:20:49like rivers that are too big to ford,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52or big mountain crags you've got to climb down.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55So if you go mountaineering with Bart's,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57you're gonna find yourself
0:20:57 > 0:21:01coming across lots of obstacles... and this is one of them.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07I've got a rock step here, and I'm going to lower the bike over it
0:21:07 > 0:21:10on a length of rope I've brought with me for just this purpose.
0:21:10 > 0:21:16It sounds a slightly eccentric thing to do, but actually it's a much safer way of getting down
0:21:16 > 0:21:17this very greasy wet rock
0:21:17 > 0:21:22because I don't want to try walking down it with a bicycle around my neck.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25This way, if the bicycle slips, it doesn't take me with it.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34If you wanted to come here on a bike, you had to have quite a lot of initiative
0:21:34 > 0:21:36and obviously be very fit as well...
0:21:36 > 0:21:40because it's not an ordinary kind of bike ride.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Now I'm headed over to Scarth Gap.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Not sure the light's going to hold, though.
0:21:56 > 0:22:01The bicycle as we know it was invented in 1888.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04It transformed Victorian leisure.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08By 1904, there were over one million machines on the road.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11The bicycle had so much going for it.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16It cost less than a horse, it didn't need food or a stable overnight,
0:22:16 > 0:22:21and, generally, you could cover more ground on a bike than a horse.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23Well, maybe not going over mountains.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29THUNDER RUMBLES
0:22:33 > 0:22:34Growing darker now.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37With this mist, it's still impossible to know
0:22:37 > 0:22:40how far it is to the top of the second pass.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44Every time I think I'm getting near it, there's another slope to climb.
0:22:44 > 0:22:50If I don't reach the top soon, I'll be climbing down to Buttermere in the pitch black.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56I just hope this is it.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Wow, that's fantastic!
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Just look at that mountain! Everywhere there are huge drops,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10towering peaks, fantastic slabs of rock!
0:23:10 > 0:23:12It's absolutely wonderful!
0:23:12 > 0:23:14Over there's Fleetwith Pike.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16I wonder what the view's like from up there.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20It's like being up in the heavens, looking down on the wrinkled,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23detailed surface of the planet - a map-maker's view.
0:23:23 > 0:23:28And down there is Lake Buttermere, where I'm going next.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29So, I've made it,
0:23:29 > 0:23:34and just in time to get down to the lake before nightfall.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43The final day of my journey.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45The route I've been cycling and climbing
0:23:45 > 0:23:48is a semi-circular tour of the Lakes
0:23:48 > 0:23:51and now I'm 80% of the way round,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54but there's just one more thing I have to do.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Derwentwater's only about ten miles away now,
0:23:57 > 0:24:02but before I get there later, I've set myself a little challenge.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06A hundred years ago, most cyclists coming to the Lake District
0:24:06 > 0:24:08wouldn't have left before climbing a decent peak,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11and I saw a great one yesterday from the top of Scarth Gap.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15It's called Fleetwith Pike, and it's this monster up ahead.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20The mountains and lakes on Bart's
0:24:20 > 0:24:23look a bit like the spokes of a wheel on my bicycle.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28That's a result of the glaciation that created the landscape.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32And one man who knows all about that is geologist Alan Smith.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35The Lake District has been subjected to glaciations,
0:24:35 > 0:24:41cold climate conditions, for nearly two and a half million years.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43The ice was moving out in all directions,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46and standing here looking down at Buttermere
0:24:46 > 0:24:50and Crummock Water, this was one of the main routes that the ice was taking.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53So we have to imagine Buttermere Valley
0:24:53 > 0:24:56- filled to the brim with ice creeping down towards the sea.- Yes.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00The ice was over the top of the highest fells.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03What you've got in front of us now
0:25:03 > 0:25:06are these two lakes in the floor of the valley, steep sides.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11The reason why the left-hand side is steeper than the other side
0:25:11 > 0:25:13is that the rocks are different.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15On the left volcanic rocks
0:25:15 > 0:25:18and a fine-grained granite, whereas, on the other side,
0:25:18 > 0:25:20we've got slatey, shaley rocks
0:25:20 > 0:25:22which break down easily
0:25:22 > 0:25:26and streams are able to carry material away from those.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28And you can see the effects of that
0:25:28 > 0:25:32with the way the alluvial fans are building out into the lake
0:25:32 > 0:25:36and the way the alluvial fan has built right across the valley
0:25:36 > 0:25:40and separated what we call Buttermere from Crummock Water.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43The two used to be one continuous sheet of water.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48And the whole of this skyline in the heart of the Lake District is so rugged, what caused that?
0:25:48 > 0:25:53Well, it's partly a reflection of these hard volcanic rocks,
0:25:53 > 0:25:57but the ice, you've got to remember, was streaming over this landscape,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59picking material up and carrying it away -
0:25:59 > 0:26:02sandpapering the landscape, if you like.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06And it's left behind these rocky knolls and rocky hillocks,
0:26:06 > 0:26:09so the whole area is an ice-roughened landscape.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Last leg now and, true to form,
0:26:16 > 0:26:22the Lake District is throwing at me every one of those 140 inches of annual rainfall.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25I can't get over how changeable the weather is!
0:26:25 > 0:26:27This has to be as bad as it gets -
0:26:27 > 0:26:33icy rain straight in the face and a wind to blow your head off.
0:26:40 > 0:26:4255 miles done.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46I started by crossing the largest lake, Windermere,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48I cycled past the deepest, Wast Water,
0:26:48 > 0:26:50and now, all being well,
0:26:50 > 0:26:54I should be about to see the one they call the Queen of the Lakes.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03Here I am, the edge of the lake, Derwentwater!
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Why is this the Queen of the Lakes?
0:27:05 > 0:27:09Because, to many people, this is the most beautiful of them all,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11and I can't wait to get out there.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14In the middle of the lake is St Herbert's Island,
0:27:14 > 0:27:18once occupied by a monk of that name in the seventh century.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23And, much later, it was home to Beatrix Potter's character Squirrel Nutkin.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26And it's on Bart's half-inch map.
0:27:31 > 0:27:37Sadly, the Bart's map in the form I have it didn't last.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Bart's soon fell in love with the motor car.
0:27:39 > 0:27:45By 1904, there were already 8,500 cars on the road.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48The Bart's map, so easily adapted for motorists,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52began to ignore specific cycling information,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56and the special relationship between cyclists and Bart's came to an end.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02But all is not lost.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07The great news is that cycling and cyclists' maps are booming again.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11A century after Bart's, an organisation called Sustrans
0:28:11 > 0:28:15has just opened a 10,000-mile network of cycling routes,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18and they're mapped on maps like this -
0:28:18 > 0:28:22layer coloured with cyclists' information and recommended routes.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26And the scale on these new maps is one to 100,000,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29the close metric equivalent of half-an-inch to the mile.
0:28:29 > 0:28:35So the old Bart's half-inch never died, it just had a 100-year rest!
0:28:47 > 0:28:50Subtitles by Laura Jones BBC Broadcast 2005
0:28:50 > 0:28:54E-mail us at subtitling@bbc.co.uk