0:01:46 > 0:01:50Of all the fells and mountains in the English Lake District,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52this one, just over my shoulder,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56is probably one of the most easily recognised -
0:01:56 > 0:01:58it is Blencathra.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01For a long time it wasn't Blencathra.
0:02:01 > 0:02:02It was Saddleback.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Years ago, when Victorian travellers passed along this way,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09they would see Blencathra for the first time,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12with a natural saddle on the ridge,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14and it became known as Saddleback.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19But fortunately, thanks to the efforts of the guidebook writer,
0:02:19 > 0:02:20Alfred Wainwright,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24who wrote seven pictorial guides to the English Lake District,
0:02:24 > 0:02:29he promoted the name Blencathra, and thankfully the old name,
0:02:29 > 0:02:32the romantic name, is back in vogue.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35This is a working environment,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38it's been a working environment for thousands of years.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42It's the life and soul to everybody around this area.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46The people of Threlkeld live and work beneath this mountain.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49but, to the first-time visitor,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52this is the place where you should come, onto Threlkeld Common,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55with your map and your guidebook, and just get to know the mountain.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00Get to know it so you can actually decide where you're going to start,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03how you're going to explore this place.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08Will you spend every Sunday for the next winter going up and down
0:03:08 > 0:03:11just to find out every nook and cranny?
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Perhaps you should.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10This one smells, actually.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12This is well full, this drain.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17It's a nice day, today, but
0:04:17 > 0:04:22if anything, I quite like it when it's really wet.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Because at least you can see where the water's going.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28I mean, today it's quite dry here,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31but we're clearing this drain out.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Well, I've often asked myself why it is I come out.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38And it's literally being out in the open, in the countryside,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41it's the old chestnut of putting something back.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45- Yes, it is.- But also it's a nice long, slow walk up a fell.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51Our volunteer group
0:04:51 > 0:04:55who support Fix the Fells are an absolutely fantastic bunch.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58They're quite a small group and we always need more long-term support,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01so if any one has any free time, they're always very welcome
0:05:01 > 0:05:04to come out and help us and experience more about what we do.
0:05:04 > 0:05:10But in 2014, they gifted 1,497 days to Fix the Fells, which is enormous.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13And we just couldn't do it without them.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16They're the real backbone of what we do and support our rangers
0:05:16 > 0:05:18in doing some of the bigger project work.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20So was the... Did you do that...
0:05:20 > 0:05:22What, benching, or?
0:05:22 > 0:05:25- Well, all this was done by a machine.- Right.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29'Many of the paths we work on have been here for centuries.'
0:05:29 > 0:05:31They used to be for purposes of work,
0:05:31 > 0:05:33so the miners would use them, they were packhorse routes,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35they were coffin routes.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38So we would, you know, work on all of those
0:05:38 > 0:05:40and we'd use the same type of techniques.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42And over time, after we've finished the work,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46it will start to blend in as the grass repairs, returns,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50and it just starts to look and feel like it's been there for ever.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56One of the things we use to repair the paths is obviously rock.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59We try and source that from as close to the project as possible.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02So on Blencathra, when we're repairing paths here,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04we'll try and find rock from elsewhere on the mountain.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07And we have to fly that to the site by helicopter,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09which sounds exciting and glamorous,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12and it is great when you get to go up in it,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14but sometimes we're held up by the weather
0:06:14 > 0:06:16and it can take a long time, and it is quite expensive to do it.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19But it is the most cost-effective way.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23This path here that we're on,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25about 15 years ago, it was in a really bad way
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and the path above here was quite badly gullied.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30In fact, right the way down it was gullying.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32There was material spilling down the side right the way to the bottom
0:06:32 > 0:06:35of the comb. We had to do something with it, but
0:06:35 > 0:06:39we wanted to retain the integrity of the path as best we could.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42So we brought a machine up from the bottom,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and we don't like using machinery in the hills if we can help it,
0:06:45 > 0:06:47but sometimes it's the best way of doing it.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Unfortunately, we couldn't get past this slab of bedrock here,
0:06:50 > 0:06:52so we had to do the rest of this by hand.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Although at the time it looked like a really good job,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57and it looked as though it was one piece of work right the way through,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00you can now see that the hand-done stuff above
0:07:00 > 0:07:02is beginning to fail now.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04We're getting back to the gullying again.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06There are some cuts that need putting in
0:07:06 > 0:07:09to stop the material from spilling off the path.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Skiddaw House is the highest youth hostel in Britain,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42not only in England, but in Britain.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44I've lived here 8½ years,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47and worked here eight years.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50The building dates back about 200 years.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54The lord who used to own all the land around
0:07:54 > 0:07:57actually had it built as a shooting lodge.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01I must say, it's a bit different living here, as you can imagine!
0:08:01 > 0:08:04With no mains electricity,
0:08:04 > 0:08:09and being very dependent on our Jeep to service the hostel.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Even though the hostel is called Skiddaw House
0:08:13 > 0:08:16and it's referred to as being at the back of Skiddaw,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19we are equally close to Blencathra Mountain,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23so you can see it through all the front windows of the hostel.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25All of these years I've been here,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28I must confess I've only been to the top of Blencathra once,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30and that was last year, actually.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32When I told a friend a couple of years ago,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35a local friend, that I hadn't been, she looked rather shocked,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38and she said, "I'm going to have to come and stay at your hostel
0:08:38 > 0:08:40"and take you to the top of Blencathra!"
0:08:42 > 0:08:44I can't say that we do get lonely.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46First of all, there's two of us
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and then we can listen to the radio so we know what's happening
0:08:49 > 0:08:52in the world, if we want to, and we've got the phone line.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00I really like living here because it's just a special place.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05Years ago, before I met my partner, before I knew I would live here,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09the Lake District for me had a different connection
0:09:09 > 0:09:11because I studied English at university in France,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14so to me, the Lake District had the literary connection of Wordsworth
0:09:14 > 0:09:16and all the other poets.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52I was born and bred here in Threlkeld around about 77 years,
0:10:52 > 0:10:56nearly 78 years ago, which is a long time.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59But I've always lived here.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03Some people may say that I'm a bit of a stick-in-the-mud,
0:11:03 > 0:11:07but I've always admired the area,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10and appreciated the area that I live in.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15Threlkeld and Blencathra and its relationship is quite interesting.
0:11:15 > 0:11:21I would think that probably 80% of people who were born and bred here
0:11:21 > 0:11:23have never been up Blencathra,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25and never wish to go up it.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27That is not for the local people.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29You're a bit funny in the head
0:11:29 > 0:11:31if you live here and you go up Blencathra.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33You know? It's for the tourist.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35And that is the general thing.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39Of course, at one time, it was appreciated by the village,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43not for its beauty, but for the work.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45There was mines at Threlkeld,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49which started way back in the Elizabethan times, probably,
0:11:49 > 0:11:51maybe even before - they mined for lead.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55People didn't come here because it was a nice place to live.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56People came here to work.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00The way of life in this village has changed beyond recognition,
0:12:00 > 0:12:05from the day, the days when I was a child, there were miners,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08there were quarrymen, there were forestry workers,
0:12:08 > 0:12:09there were farmers,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12that were bonded together by their work.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Because if we have lost anything in Threlkeld,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17we've lost the old community spirit
0:12:17 > 0:12:20of the village that we did have.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Some may say no, but I think, yes, we have.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Compared to what it used to be when I was a child.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34So I live between Blencathra and Clough Head.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36I'm actually on the Clough Head side of a river.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41But I walk out of the door and I think,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44"Which way do I go as a fell runner? Clough Head, Blencathra?"
0:12:44 > 0:12:4680% of the time it's Blencathra.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48It just draws me to it.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51A lot of people run on the roads, do marathons and things on the road.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54But people, I think, are looking for something different,
0:12:54 > 0:12:55something more exciting.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58They can realise how actually boring it is running on a road.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00So they start doing trail races.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05And then, sort of, the next stage up from that is fell running.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09Well, I have to tell you that they already do fell running.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12They go out with us and they've done little races on the fell,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14haven't you, Jonty? You go running.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Out in the fells, I enjoy just running round the fells,
0:13:19 > 0:13:20but I don't do too many races,
0:13:20 > 0:13:24but there are certain ones, like this one, that are just the best.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26You feel like you need to turn out for them.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29It's also a horseshoe, I love the horseshoes,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31it's just got a really nice feel to it.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33It's just very complete, isn't it?
0:13:33 > 0:13:35You go up one side, along the ridge to the top,
0:13:35 > 0:13:39and then down the other side. How more perfect can you get than that?
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Yeah, I enjoyed the view - a great view from the top of Blencathra.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44I can look over to where I live, which is nice.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46I didn't have a long look.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Get to the top and straight down as fast as I could.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Run-wise, I was pretty slow at the moment, actually.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Not feeling my best.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59Just a bit off the pace at the moment, but that happens sometimes.
0:13:59 > 0:14:00I still enjoyed it.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06Basically, most of Blencathra is fairly grassy.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10There's a few of the rocky ridges, so obviously Sharp Edge,
0:14:10 > 0:14:11that's really well known.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13It's an accident blackspot, isn't it?
0:14:13 > 0:14:15A lot of people have died on there,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18so I tend to not run on there very much.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21You know, I can get over it, but it's just not enjoyable,
0:14:21 > 0:14:22so I don't bother.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Other than that, it's pretty much grassy,
0:14:25 > 0:14:27and so runnable and quite easy.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31What I love about fell running is just the freedom.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Just to be out on the fells by myself in all weathers.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40You know, I just enjoy being outside, and running on it.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42To me, running is quite a natural thing to do.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44If I'm feeling fit, then I can just,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48I much prefer to just run along at a steady pace, rather than walk.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36We moved here in 2004,
0:16:36 > 0:16:37the end of 2004,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39when my husband, Tim,
0:16:39 > 0:16:43took the job as head of the Blencathra Field Centre.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47I do feel a real connection to Blencathra, unsurprisingly,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49living on it.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53But painting it so often, I do feel that link to it.
0:16:53 > 0:16:58I particularly like painting the saddle and Sharp Edge.
0:16:58 > 0:17:04And I really like strong colours and shape patterns in a painting
0:17:04 > 0:17:07and I think you get that with Blencathra.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10And when you paint, whatever you're painting,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13you take more notice of the colours and the form.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16There is a spiritual feel to Blencathra.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20People do say that, and I do think it's true.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23It stands there in all its majesty,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27demanding that you look at it and respect it, really.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29You can't live here
0:17:29 > 0:17:33and not want to at least take a photograph,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36or paint or write.
0:17:36 > 0:17:37If you don't,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40I think there's probably something a bit wrong with you!
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Some people say to me
0:17:44 > 0:17:47that you've got one of the best jobs in the country.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50I think I have. I've got one of the best views.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53We always say it's probably the finest view from an office
0:17:53 > 0:17:58in the country, looking one-way at Helvellyn, the other way at Skiddaw.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03Before it was a field centre, it was a sanatorium for tuberculosis
0:18:03 > 0:18:07and occupied a brilliant position on the mountain,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11experiencing fresh air, diet, exercise.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16One of the early pioneers of the sanatorium was Dr Wilbert Goodchild.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20He was a medical superintendent, he really established it in 1903.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24He actually lived here until 1944, when he died in Yonder End,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28where I live now. Of course, I hope I'm not going to die in that house,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31but it was his life's work, and he was a very inspirational character.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35He was an early pioneer of the environmental movement.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38He established the first hydro scheme in the 1920s,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40generating electricity.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42It was an idea that inspired me to do the same thing
0:18:42 > 0:18:44and develop our own hydro scheme.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48We are generating over 50 kilowatts of electricity
0:18:48 > 0:18:50up in the Roughten Gill.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Of course, we're very much at the forefront of climate change.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57And we do study that with our young people.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00We also study rivers, the Glenderaterra,
0:19:00 > 0:19:02we see how those processes shaped the landscape.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04RUSHING WATER
0:19:09 > 0:19:13We're at the Glenderaterra beck, just on the side of Blencathra.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Over the course of this field trip they've been learning about
0:19:16 > 0:19:19flooding and the hydrology in the river.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21Yesterday we were in Keswick looking at flood defences,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23and this puts it all into context as well.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26Thinking of why this area might be at risk of floods.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28So we've got Skiddaw slate geology,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31which means we've got very fast run-off in the area,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34and few trees to intercept any water, as well.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37So it all mixes with what the students are learning about
0:19:37 > 0:19:39in their whole geography course,
0:19:39 > 0:19:41so it's another reason to bring them out here.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43It makes it a lot easier to understand
0:19:43 > 0:19:45when you can do it in the actual river,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48rather than just looking at it on the whiteboard.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51You've got more understanding of what the river's like,
0:19:51 > 0:19:52rather than just being taught it.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Yeah, you can write about it in your exam, your actual experiences.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00So, being outside doing this job is fantastic.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02It's much better than sitting in a classroom all the time.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04The kids appreciate it more,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07they get their concepts they learn at school into real-world contexts.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10And it just makes my life fantastic as well,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12being outside and not sitting in an office,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14or anything like that all day.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26I live just along the road.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29There's a mountain surrounding it,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33which you can go up whenever you like.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Especially in the morning,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39when the sun has just rised,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43and all the mountains are just seeing the sun,
0:20:43 > 0:20:45and it looks really, really nice.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50I think we're lucky living by Blencathra
0:20:50 > 0:20:54because it's a really nice mountain.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57I think it's about 7,000 years old.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00And I think it was made by a glacier.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04It's different from quite a lot of mountains
0:21:04 > 0:21:06because it's got different shapes.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Because one end's like, nice and smooth,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11and in the middle, it's like, all rocky.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15You can find different types of birds
0:21:15 > 0:21:19and you can find different types of little insects,
0:21:19 > 0:21:20like cricket and bees.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23And on the heather you can find
0:21:23 > 0:21:26a load of beetles and crickets jumping around.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30And on the heather that's in bloom you can see lots of bees
0:21:30 > 0:21:32and wasps, collecting nectar.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Good morning.
0:21:37 > 0:21:38Stuart.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- David, as I live and breathe. - Nice to see you again. And Ed?
0:21:41 > 0:21:42Nice to meet you, how are you doing?
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- I'm all right.- You guys know each other already, then?
0:21:45 > 0:21:47- Yes.- We've done some of this stuff before.- We have.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51- We've got form. - We've got form in this.- Nice spot.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53It is, absolutely wonderful. Scales Tarn, you know.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56- Beautiful.- And we're doing Sharp Edge, I believe.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58- So I understand. - Which would be that, there?
0:21:58 > 0:22:01That's it there, wonderful skyline we've got there.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Have you ever had anybody freak out and not want to do it?
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- Yeah.- No, no.- I'm not great with heights, but I'm going to try it.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10No, no, no. We'll just take our time.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13And if you sit down, you sit down. You know?
0:22:13 > 0:22:17- How do you mean?- There's bits up there...- You do it on your bum?
0:22:17 > 0:22:20- If you have to.- Come on, let's go. You going to lead the way?
0:22:20 > 0:22:22- Yeah.- You should. - Just take our time.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Just go steady.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26It would be nice if the wind would drop a little bit.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28- Yeah.- OK. Any tips?
0:22:28 > 0:22:31Just use your hands where you need to.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Don't be frightened to sit down if you need to as well.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40- OK.- These are just general tips for life, really, you're offering now!
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Yeah! Yeah, it works out that way.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47But it is a bit of a black spot
0:22:47 > 0:22:50so far as the mountain rescue are concerned,
0:22:50 > 0:22:54so we do our best not to have to call them out.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Now, we need to, we need to stick to the ridge.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01OK. Whoa! It's getting pretty windy up here.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Have we got to the bit I'm allowed to do on my bum yet?
0:23:04 > 0:23:06No, not yet!
0:23:06 > 0:23:08OK.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11This is getting interesting.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14Is this the bit where I can sit down?
0:23:14 > 0:23:16You can sit here, yes indeed.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Tell me when we get to the bit I can do on my bum!
0:23:19 > 0:23:21- Yeah.- OK.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25Whoa, that is a long way down. OK...
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Just get a hold...
0:23:27 > 0:23:31- Right.- Good handhold, good foothold. Just watch what you're doing.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34- Sound.- Woo!
0:23:35 > 0:23:38- Right.- I mean, you could just jump over that, couldn't you?
0:23:38 > 0:23:39If you were of a mind to.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42- What?- You could just leap that, couldn't you?
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- Well, you could, yeah.- But...
0:23:45 > 0:23:46..I didn't feel like it.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54No, I certainly didn't bloody feel like leaping it.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Woo. That was interesting.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04As in a... "I never want to do it again" kind of way!
0:24:04 > 0:24:05In a sort of...
0:24:05 > 0:24:09But you can see now why it's called Sharp Edge
0:24:09 > 0:24:11and previously it was called Razor's Edge.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13- Razor's Edge?- Razor's Edge, yeah.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15- Yeah.- How long ago was it called that?
0:24:15 > 0:24:19I have no idea. Wainwright talks about it, the previous name.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Talks about how you could shave with it, or something like that.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Dave does not look like a man who wants to talk about shaving.
0:24:26 > 0:24:27- No, that's true.- No.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Doesn't look like a man who's fond of such a thing as a razor.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Much prefers being called Sharp Edge.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Are we nearly there yet, David?
0:24:34 > 0:24:35Nearly there?
0:24:38 > 0:24:41- You all right? You happy? - I wouldn't go that far!
0:24:41 > 0:24:42Happy might be a bit much, yeah.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Nice spot here. I'm just going to go in here and have a little cry.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52OK, you have a little weep, get it out.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54- You'll feel better. - I'll feel better, yeah.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Nice, this, isn't it? Why do we bother?
0:24:58 > 0:24:59Why do we bother?
0:25:01 > 0:25:02I might take up a new hobby.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06I might start going to traction engine rallies.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09I might start doing...
0:25:09 > 0:25:11- Airfix kits.- Yeah!
0:25:11 > 0:25:13THEY LAUGH
0:25:14 > 0:25:16I have got this...
0:25:16 > 0:25:17Oh.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21I prefer to come down these things backwards, actually.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25OK. I prefer not to be here at all.
0:25:27 > 0:25:28Right.
0:25:33 > 0:25:34Whoa!
0:25:40 > 0:25:42'Tis but a Sunday afternoon stroll.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46There's only a couple of bits there
0:25:46 > 0:25:49where, if you'd fallen, you'd have really been in trouble.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52- Do you think?- Most of it, I think, you'd only fall so far.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55I suppose people who don't like this sort of thing would say
0:25:55 > 0:25:58is, "You know when you're in the pub?
0:25:58 > 0:26:01"There's NO bits where you can fall and kill yourself!".
0:26:01 > 0:26:03- Yeah.- Well, there are in some pubs.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06I reckon there are pubs not far from here
0:26:06 > 0:26:09- that are more dangerous than this. - Probably right, actually.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Anyway, that's Sharp Edge finished.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13I enjoyed it. I really liked it.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15I did in a mad way, yeah.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18I felt like Louis Walsh there. "I liked it!"
0:26:18 > 0:26:20No, it's good, yeah.
0:26:20 > 0:26:21It's...
0:26:21 > 0:26:24It's very... It's quite involved.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26You've got to pick your way very carefully.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29I think people must be nuts to come up here in the ice and snow.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45It's... Yeah, it's the first time for both of us,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48and we're staying really close by.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53And we wanted to climb the hill that we could see out of the window.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Yeah!
0:26:55 > 0:26:57It's so nice, for England.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01It's convenient, despite how exhausted I feel.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Yes, to escape, you know, we were just saying, from New York,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08to do anything like this, we would have to fly somewhere,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10book a holiday or, you know,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13spend days trying to do something like this.
0:27:13 > 0:27:14Whereas this is a day trip for us.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17We'll be back home comfortably in our bed.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21And she'll sleep.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23The kids have done a few Munros in Scotland,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25so they found this a wee bit easier.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29And obviously because the weather's been a lot calmer as well.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32- This one was harder. - He thought it was harder!
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Walking up Blencathra, or any fell in the Lake District,
0:27:35 > 0:27:37the pain is like giving birth.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41It's painful, but it's worth it for the final result.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43- The view. - Only the women would know that.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47- Yeah, yeah. - And you forget about it afterwards.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51It's just brill being up here. I love Blencathra, me!
0:27:51 > 0:27:54I think I'll go and see if any of these people want a photo with me.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56Maybe one of those selfies.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Or an autograph. They're free, you know, even from a Yorkshireman.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21# On summit ridge, a fountain head
0:28:21 > 0:28:24# So oft a tear, a voice shed
0:28:24 > 0:28:28# And sunrise in its glory greets the mountain
0:28:30 > 0:28:33# The mountain feels, consoles and heals
0:28:33 > 0:28:35# Kindles and inspires
0:28:35 > 0:28:40# Many a yarn and fable spun between the fire
0:28:40 > 0:28:42# Of rock and sun
0:28:44 > 0:28:47# For generations, dawn to dusk
0:28:47 > 0:28:50# A hardy folk have earned a crust
0:28:50 > 0:28:53# The studies and hard work on the mountain
0:28:55 > 0:28:58# In summertime the pilgrims throng
0:28:58 > 0:29:01# To climb, to cycle, walk or run
0:29:01 > 0:29:03# Step lightly on Sharp Edge, my son
0:29:03 > 0:29:05# The shepherd
0:29:05 > 0:29:07# He shined a warning
0:29:35 > 0:29:39# 500 million years
0:29:39 > 0:29:41# What mortal could define
0:29:41 > 0:29:44# Such chiselled art is worlds apart
0:29:44 > 0:29:47# A monument in time
0:29:47 > 0:29:50# As time and spirits like an eagle soar and glide
0:29:50 > 0:29:53# When mountains meet the sky
0:29:55 > 0:29:59# And spirits like an eagle soar and glide
0:29:59 > 0:30:02# When mountains meet the sky
0:30:10 > 0:30:12# When mountains meet the sky
0:30:17 > 0:30:20# When mountains meet the sky. #
0:30:29 > 0:30:33Of course, it's the mountain with two names.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36Saddleback - Wainwright might not have liked it,
0:30:36 > 0:30:38but at least it does what it says on the tin.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40But Blencathra...
0:30:40 > 0:30:45That takes us into a world of myths and legends.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48A landscape populated by strange creatures
0:30:48 > 0:30:50such as the two immortal fish
0:30:50 > 0:30:54that live in Bowscale Tarn behind the mountain.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58And apparently, they'll talk to you, if the mood takes them.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02It must be true, because William Wordsworth wrote about it.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04And then, if you're lucky,
0:31:04 > 0:31:09and you turn up at Souther Fell on Midsummer's Eve,
0:31:09 > 0:31:14You might just get a chance to see the spectral army,
0:31:14 > 0:31:19which marches across the fell and disappears into a cleft in the rock.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22Dozens of people claim to have seen it.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26But these local myths and legends pale into insignificance
0:31:26 > 0:31:30compared with the great sweep of Arthurian legend
0:31:30 > 0:31:32that lies across this landscape.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38Near Eamont Bridge, at Penrith, is King Arthur's Round Table,
0:31:38 > 0:31:40a Neolithic henge,
0:31:40 > 0:31:44where King Arthur and his knights apparently gathered.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48Further down the River Eamont there's Pendragon Castle,
0:31:48 > 0:31:53named after Uther Pendragon, Arthur's father.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55Then there's this place,
0:31:55 > 0:31:57"Blenc...artha".
0:31:57 > 0:31:59Arthur's seat.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01Arthur's throne,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04from which he led the defence of Britain
0:32:04 > 0:32:06against the invading Saxons
0:32:06 > 0:32:09in the late fifth and early sixth centuries.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11Or maybe not.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14But it doesn't matter, because an echo,
0:32:14 > 0:32:19a faint echo of those heroic, epic times
0:32:19 > 0:32:24remains in the name of our mountain, Blencathra.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33We're in the hamlet of Wescoe, near Threlkeld,
0:32:33 > 0:32:37on the shoulder of Blencathra, where a man who has been described
0:32:37 > 0:32:40as the greatest poet writing in English
0:32:40 > 0:32:42in the second half of the 20th century,
0:32:42 > 0:32:44lived and worked for a while.
0:32:44 > 0:32:50The family of WH Auden bought this holiday cottage in the early 1920s.
0:32:50 > 0:32:55And Auden regarded it as his northern bolthole,
0:32:55 > 0:33:00where he could test out the craft of his poetry.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04From his base here at Westcoe, Auden spent joyous days
0:33:04 > 0:33:10exploring the mine workings on the outer slopes of Blencathra.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Mines for zinc and lead and copper.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16Graphite mines in Borrowdale,
0:33:16 > 0:33:20that he could see from his office window across the valley.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24And eventually, the images that he gathered on these trips
0:33:24 > 0:33:27found their way into the essence of his work.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31And we've got Blencathra to thank for that.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39It's a bit breezy, mate, isn't it?
0:33:39 > 0:33:41Come on, keep it up. Good lad.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Wow, look at this. The colours here.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48I bet you could if you could see over that wall, pal.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51I think for many people visiting Cumbria today,
0:33:51 > 0:33:54there's a real focus on Wordsworth and on daffodils.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57And as a writer in the Lakes, you know,
0:33:57 > 0:34:00there's a real self-consciousness about that
0:34:00 > 0:34:02sheer volume of literature
0:34:02 > 0:34:04that's been written about this landscape over the centuries.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07I think the process of really just being here
0:34:07 > 0:34:10and just exploring the landscape, being outside,
0:34:10 > 0:34:13seeing the landscape first-hand, and moving through it,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16and just trying to capture something of the essence of the place
0:34:16 > 0:34:18and maybe, hopefully, your work is adding something
0:34:18 > 0:34:20to the overall stewardship of this place.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24I think it's probably true to say that a poem could be considered
0:34:24 > 0:34:26as the shortest form of a short story.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30So really, every word in there has got to earn its keep.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32So you're trying to distil it down,
0:34:32 > 0:34:34really to keep the essence of the place.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37And hopefully to speak to people about the experiences you've had
0:34:37 > 0:34:41out on the fell, so here we are, sat here in autumn,
0:34:41 > 0:34:43and it's taken me probably since about March
0:34:43 > 0:34:45to work through this poem.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Whether it's finished is another question - you be the judge of that.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50Certainly, you come back to it in a year's time, maybe,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53and you'll see something else out on the fell
0:34:53 > 0:34:54and you'll tweak the words again.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Or you'll learn something new in your craft,
0:34:56 > 0:34:59and find that you've maybe, you know, not quite got it right.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Certainly, you know, it's an evolving process.
0:35:03 > 0:35:04'Blencathra.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08'A geology of cloudscape.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12'Layering time in a wind rush of changing light.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18'Herdwicks fossilised in bracken-fronded strata
0:35:18 > 0:35:20'Move imperceptibly,
0:35:20 > 0:35:22'grazing down the fell,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24'one grain at a time.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29'Ravens with wind ruffle of outstretched fingers test the air.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34'Inquisitors searching you with gabbro eye.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37'And still it endures.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40'Wept from a glacier's grazing undertow,
0:35:40 > 0:35:45'which never saw a horse to shape a saddle, yet, here it is.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49'But who could wrangle, tame a mountain such as this?
0:35:51 > 0:35:53'Cloud-ratcher, mist-splitter,
0:35:53 > 0:35:55'snow-etcher,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58'anvil to winter's hammer blows.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03'Fashioning spring's curving light to fit the combe
0:36:03 > 0:36:06'and pave the walker's pilgrimage.
0:36:07 > 0:36:13'Returning by sheep-trod ridge, edge, grass bleached moor.
0:36:14 > 0:36:20'Bitpart in another day in the life of a mountain.'
0:36:24 > 0:36:27I'm the luckiest person in the world, to live here.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29It's just wonderful.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33The farm's been in the family for 104 years.
0:36:33 > 0:36:38It was bought on the 11th November, 1911.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41Obviously it's only 50 acres, which means it's tiny,
0:36:41 > 0:36:44even Lake District sizes,
0:36:44 > 0:36:46it's very, very small.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48So we have diversified.
0:36:48 > 0:36:53Which does involve a lot of work, so we farm tourism,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56or tourists now, as well as sheep.
0:36:56 > 0:37:01The animal side of things is really William's input.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03He's absolutely marvellous.
0:37:03 > 0:37:09He runs sort of rare breeds, as well as some semi-commercials.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17Late autumn, early winter,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20the diversified side of things calms down.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23So it gets quieter.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25From the farm side of things,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28it's obviously tupping time, so Will's sorts all the sheep out
0:37:28 > 0:37:30into their various breeds.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34Then we decide what we're going to keep pure,
0:37:34 > 0:37:36and what we're not going to keep pure.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40We decide what we want for meat lambs,
0:37:40 > 0:37:42and what we want for fleeces.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Because we're trying to diversify further
0:37:46 > 0:37:52by processing our own fleece into actually knitting yarn.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Oh, Blencathra. I've been up it loads of times.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59Aye, I see it every day.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02When we're working on the farm. Any time we go anywhere,
0:38:02 > 0:38:06if we go to Penrith or Keswick, we drive right past it.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08It's quite dominating, it's part of daily life.
0:38:10 > 0:38:11Yeah.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13Yes, yeah, it's keeping an eye on us.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19Aye, it's a hard place to work and farm.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22A lot of rainfall.
0:38:22 > 0:38:23You're quite isolated.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Road access isn't very good.
0:38:25 > 0:38:32And when the snow comes it can be, it can linger and cause problems.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36Yes, but luckily we've got the visitors that come.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38And that makes it better.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43THUNDER RUMBLES
0:38:48 > 0:38:50Hello, good evening. You don't need me to tell you
0:38:50 > 0:38:52that we've had an exceptional amount of rain.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56Over two months' worth of rain in 72 hours in some parts of Cumbria.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59And, while the worst of the rain is over,
0:38:59 > 0:39:01we do have further spells of rain this week.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03They wouldn't normally cause us any problems,
0:39:03 > 0:39:06but the ground is so saturated, the river levels so full,
0:39:06 > 0:39:08it's a very sensitive situation out there,
0:39:08 > 0:39:10so keep tuned to the Environment Agency and the forecasts
0:39:10 > 0:39:13as we go through the next few days...
0:39:55 > 0:39:59- Yeah, no, that's right. - Everyone's going absolutely potty.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02- That's what we're trying to avoid. - And that's what you need to avoid.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04That's why we put it at the start,
0:40:04 > 0:40:06with the map of where they are and how to get round it, sort of thing,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10- or where it is, an alternative route.- Do you like the bridge?
0:40:10 > 0:40:12- Sorry?- Do you like our bridge?
0:40:12 > 0:40:13Yeah.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18That's one to have some work done on it, I think.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22- Really?!- The railway bridge is on the Keswick railway line.
0:40:22 > 0:40:28It has, as you can see by the damage, been absolutely devastating,
0:40:28 > 0:40:33so my son and I went round, dear old Will, we went round,
0:40:33 > 0:40:37we picked the gates off the hinges, we strapped them to the fences,
0:40:37 > 0:40:40we moved the sheep as best we could.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43And then it's out of your hands.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45The implications are huge.
0:40:45 > 0:40:50For example, the other day we had to bring some animal feed in
0:40:50 > 0:40:52and it all has to come in in sacks,
0:40:52 > 0:40:55because we've obviously got no vehicle access,
0:40:55 > 0:40:59you're not going to get a car over that, or even through the river.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03So the cost implications are enormous,
0:41:03 > 0:41:07and sadly it's put us out of business,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10because we can't have visitors staying,
0:41:10 > 0:41:14using our wonderful scaffolding as their form of access,
0:41:14 > 0:41:20so the ongoing effects of the storm are actually going to be felt
0:41:20 > 0:41:22for quite a long time.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24From a very personal point of view,
0:41:24 > 0:41:27seeing this damage, it's devastating,
0:41:27 > 0:41:29it's almost like a bereavement,
0:41:29 > 0:41:32because your whole life,
0:41:32 > 0:41:35and your life's work, has gone.
0:41:35 > 0:41:40And we're basically left with a blank canvas to build it up again.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27I've been a photographer,
0:43:27 > 0:43:31trying to be a professional photographer, since 1996,
0:43:31 > 0:43:35but before that I was actually a chemist,
0:43:35 > 0:43:38but my dad, my father, was always a bit of a photographer,
0:43:38 > 0:43:42and used to teach me how to take pictures and things,
0:43:42 > 0:43:46and I'd follow him into the hills, especially in and around Scafell,
0:43:46 > 0:43:48Scafell Pike, up in the mountains, the big mountains.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50He loved the big mountains.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52And now I just,
0:43:52 > 0:43:54I'm just really happy when I'm out in the landscape,
0:43:54 > 0:43:59and if there's a really good light, I'm very driven by the light.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02I just feel I've got to capture that landscape.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09So, I'm here now at Tuffet Tarn,
0:44:09 > 0:44:11which I've been coming to for many years,
0:44:11 > 0:44:15trying to get a decent picture of Blencathra.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17This little tarn is quite handy,
0:44:17 > 0:44:21because it gives us a bit of foreground to the mountain.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25At the moment, it's a bit of a monochromatic sort of image.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33The first time I came to Blencathra,
0:44:33 > 0:44:38I actually climbed it up Sharp Edge back in 1986,
0:44:38 > 0:44:40I think, 30 years ago.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43And in those days I was quite brave
0:44:43 > 0:44:46and it was winter - winter conditions.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48And I just remember it was very foggy.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52Luckily, the fog hid the sheer drops either side.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55But nowadays, I've lost my nerve,
0:44:55 > 0:44:57so I don't think I'll be doing it in winter conditions.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59I'm a bit of a coward.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02The other thing, Blencathra, it's been teasing me for years,
0:45:02 > 0:45:06because I've tried all sorts of different viewpoints.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09It's a very long, wide mountain.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12And I've been up on the old coach road over there.
0:45:12 > 0:45:17And when you look across, if you want to get the whole mountain in,
0:45:17 > 0:45:21you get quite a wide angle lens, but it makes it look fairly small.
0:45:21 > 0:45:22But if you zoom in on it,
0:45:22 > 0:45:26then you're chopping off most of Blencathra either side,
0:45:26 > 0:45:30so you either have to do a panorama and stitch a few images together...
0:45:30 > 0:45:34Also, because of, like I said before, it faces south,
0:45:34 > 0:45:38the best way to get a more three-dimensional image
0:45:38 > 0:45:41is to have side lighting or backlighting,
0:45:41 > 0:45:43so, because Blencathra faces south,
0:45:43 > 0:45:47you go early in the morning or in the evening,
0:45:47 > 0:45:49but I just find Blencathra hard.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51It's a hard mountain to photograph.
0:46:00 > 0:46:01Sharp Edge in winter.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03Glorious.
0:46:03 > 0:46:08Full-on winter with a few spikes on my feet, the crampons.
0:46:11 > 0:46:12Fantastic.
0:46:17 > 0:46:22So, this is a mini mountaineering expedition.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26It's...Sharp Edge at its best.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29Full winter conditions.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32You could say, who needs to go up the Himalaya
0:46:32 > 0:46:34or the Alps when it's like this?
0:46:36 > 0:46:38But as lethal as any mountain ridge.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41It's not going to be forgiving if I slip off to the left.
0:46:41 > 0:46:46That's it. It's about 500 foot down there, by the looks of it,
0:46:46 > 0:46:47300-500 foot.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50Fall off this and you're just straight down.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55Sharp Edge. In the snow.
0:46:57 > 0:46:58What more could you want?
0:47:04 > 0:47:06We've got it to ourselves.
0:47:14 > 0:47:15There we go.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Fantastic.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20Yep, value for money.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24Sharp Edge in winter.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30But I've been here when it's just been sheet ice
0:47:30 > 0:47:32and that's when it's most dangerous.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35I was here once with a friend who set off on the thin sheet ice,
0:47:35 > 0:47:38the ice just broke away and he was just slipping over the edge there.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40We just caught him.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44And I've been here in verglas, which is really thin black ice.
0:47:44 > 0:47:45And that's really scary.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48That's as if someone's come up here and coated it in butter,
0:47:48 > 0:47:50or some sort of cooking oil.
0:47:50 > 0:47:51That's pretty grim as well.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54So, today is fantastic conditions.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58It's as good as being in the Himalaya or the Alps.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01Or the Karakoram. I'm in my element here.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03It's fantastic. The snow.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05The clouds are parting.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07We're getting blue sky.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09Who'd be anywhere else?
0:48:11 > 0:48:15I remember seeing pictures that the Abraham brothers took
0:48:15 > 0:48:19on the side of Sharp Edge here.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21It was in summer, most of it.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24But some hairy and quite loose,
0:48:24 > 0:48:27sort of, unsound climbing down there.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29But some great photographs taken
0:48:29 > 0:48:33from those huge plate cameras that they had to lug up.
0:48:33 > 0:48:34It was quite impressive.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37Of course, the Abrahams are based in Keswick,
0:48:37 > 0:48:39had a studio not far from here.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42Fantastic all-time photographers.
0:48:43 > 0:48:49And this is the last bit up the face.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51There's sort of gullies you can go up here.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53Or straight up the mixed ground.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03- What are you doing later on, anyway? - Eh?- What are you doing later on?
0:49:03 > 0:49:06Might go to the pub, actually.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10Be rude not to, wouldn't it?
0:49:10 > 0:49:15Yeah, after this, but then for my tea, go down The Lion.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18Well, if it stays like this, we're on a winner.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23Ha! As soon as I said that...
0:49:23 > 0:49:26The weather's changing!
0:49:26 > 0:49:28What did I say that for?!
0:49:30 > 0:49:32There's sort of good ground, thin snow coverage.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34We're all right on that.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38It gets a bit tricky in mixed terrain, doesn't it?
0:49:38 > 0:49:39Ups and downs...
0:49:39 > 0:49:43Well, I like the fact it's just... You've got comfortable boots on.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45It's like going for a walk.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47And then the bonus is you snowboard down at the end of it.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50So, why wouldn't you?
0:49:50 > 0:49:51Basically.
0:49:51 > 0:49:53Better on mixed terrain, I think, as well.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55A bit easier than skis.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59But just, once again, fun - fun to be had!
0:50:56 > 0:50:58# Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
0:50:58 > 0:50:59# Oo-oo
0:50:59 > 0:51:01# Oo-oo-oo
0:51:01 > 0:51:03# Oh-ho
0:51:03 > 0:51:05# Oo oo-oo
0:51:05 > 0:51:08# Oo-oo, oo oo-oo
0:51:08 > 0:51:12# We turn our faces to the wind
0:51:13 > 0:51:18# And in our hearts begin to sing
0:51:18 > 0:51:19# The timeless song
0:51:19 > 0:51:28# That re-unites the Earth and sky
0:51:28 > 0:51:33# Beyond the boundaries of time
0:51:33 > 0:51:37# The past and present side by side
0:51:37 > 0:51:40# Our ancestors
0:51:40 > 0:51:46# And all our futures unified
0:51:47 > 0:51:51- # We are one - Spirit and land
0:51:51 > 0:51:56# Spirit and land are one
0:51:56 > 0:51:58# Are one
0:51:58 > 0:52:01- # Spirit and land - Spirit and land
0:52:01 > 0:52:07# Spirit and land are one
0:52:07 > 0:52:10# Are one
0:52:10 > 0:52:14# We walk the paths our fathers walked
0:52:14 > 0:52:18# And sing the songs our mothers sang
0:52:18 > 0:52:23# A song of joy, a song of hope
0:52:23 > 0:52:28# For those to come
0:52:30 > 0:52:34# We turn our faces to the wind
0:52:34 > 0:52:38# And in our hearts begin to sing
0:52:38 > 0:52:40# A song of hope
0:52:40 > 0:52:43# A song of joy
0:52:43 > 0:52:47# A song of love
0:52:50 > 0:53:01# Spirit and land are one. #
0:53:03 > 0:53:07APPLAUSE
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Absolutely lovely.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11Really picks up the feel of the mountains,
0:53:11 > 0:53:13and evokes all the feelings.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15Very nice indeed.
0:53:15 > 0:53:16That was amazing.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19It was just like hearing the wind whispering through the trees,
0:53:19 > 0:53:22on the fell up there. Yeah, fantastic.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24Brilliant. Excellent. Really enjoyed it.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28Yeah, thank you very much. That was lovely. Loved it.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31Thank you. Even the dog loved it.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33LAUGHTER
0:53:33 > 0:53:35- Did you like it?- Yes!
0:53:35 > 0:53:37Can you sing it again?
0:54:49 > 0:54:51The year's come full circle.
0:54:51 > 0:54:56And here I am again on Threlkeld Common, having a look at Blencathra.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59What makes Blencathra special to people?
0:54:59 > 0:55:02It's what every hill walker wants to do.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05It's what every hill walker remembers climbing.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08Their first ascent, that first adventure.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10It's etched in their minds for ever.
0:55:11 > 0:55:17It's five fells. It's five fells that make one very special mountain.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19And yet it's not the biggest.
0:55:19 > 0:55:24It's 18th in a list of the high points in England.
0:55:24 > 0:55:29Cross Fell in the Pennines is higher than Blencathra.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31But who would remember going up Cross Fell?
0:55:33 > 0:55:39Walt Unsworth, in his book about the high fells of Lakeland, in 1972,
0:55:39 > 0:55:42said that there was nothing to compare with Blencathra.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46Alfred Wainwright suggested that Blencathra
0:55:46 > 0:55:49was a mountaineer's mountain.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52And on a day like today, perhaps he's right.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55But surely... SURELY it's more than that?
0:55:55 > 0:55:58It's the people's mountain.