0:00:39 > 0:00:47The Gower was designated the UK's very first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty back in 1956.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50It's not difficult to see why.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55But the Gower was popular for some while before it was given official recognition.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00People have been coming here for at least 30,000 years.
0:01:00 > 0:01:07Proof of such early visitors came in a spectacular discovery made here over a 170 years ago.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Even today, the very name Paviland Cave brings a sparkle to the eyes
0:01:11 > 0:01:14of hardened archaeologists and anthropologists alike.
0:01:14 > 0:01:20And for our own anthropologist Alice Roberts, the trip down to the cave is long overdue.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Now, this is actually the first time I've ever been to Paviland,
0:01:24 > 0:01:25so I'm very excited.
0:01:25 > 0:01:31It's a bit of a pilgrimage for me, because it's somewhere I've always wanted to visit. It is fantastic.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33- It's beautiful here.- Gorgeous.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35'My guide on the rocky road to Paviland
0:01:35 > 0:01:39'is archaeologist and expert on Early Man in Britain, Paul Pettitt.'
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Where is the cave Paul?
0:01:41 > 0:01:47The cave is round the corner, just out of sight, about 20m above where you see the waves.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51- How long have we got when we go around to the cave? - Well, low tide is in about an hour.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54We'll probably have about an hour down there, to be safe.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Right. We'd better get on with it.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08- There's amazing shapes that the sea has carved out of this limestone. - It's a weird landscape, isn't it?
0:02:08 > 0:02:11- It's very strange. - But quite impressive.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17To an anthropologist, Paviland Cave is like the Holy Grail
0:02:17 > 0:02:22because here, in 1823, an ancient burial was discovered.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26In it were the red-ochre-stained bones and relics of the young person
0:02:26 > 0:02:29who was to become known as "the Red Lady of Paviland".
0:02:29 > 0:02:35It took decades to discover that not everything about HER was as it first appeared.
0:02:36 > 0:02:42- Wow, so Paul, this is Paviland Cave? - This is Paviland Cave, yes.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44- Fantastic.- It's beautiful, isn't it?
0:02:44 > 0:02:47It's wonderful. Where was the burial actually found?
0:02:47 > 0:02:52The burial was placed against the wall back here. I'll take you to it.
0:02:55 > 0:02:56So this is it,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59in this nice little alcove here.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03The Red Lady was tucked against the side of the cave here, the cave wall.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07- Right up against the wall? - Laid out, right up against the wall, as far as we can tell.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10And this almost complete mammoth skull was placed here,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14most definitely in association with the burial.
0:03:14 > 0:03:20- And the whole skeleton was covered with red ochre, wasn't it?- It was. The whole sediments were bright red.
0:03:20 > 0:03:26And there were a number of artefacts placed with the burial that had that similar staining as well.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31- What sort of artefacts?- I can show you some examples, much of which we can see was definitely jewellery
0:03:31 > 0:03:33worn by the red lady.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38First we had about two handsful of these periwinkle shells
0:03:38 > 0:03:42coloured in red ochre and pierced to be suspended, probably as a necklace.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46- Right.- We also had a couple of these fox canines
0:03:46 > 0:03:49pierced, again, for suspension...
0:03:49 > 0:03:52but also more enigmatic items such as these.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56- These are broken fragments of rods of mammoth tusk...- How strange!
0:03:56 > 0:04:01..polished with red ochre. We don't understand what they were used for.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05But they were broken and placed on the body of the Red Lady.
0:04:05 > 0:04:12When the person who found the bones told the Press - surprise, surprise, there was wild speculation.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17There's a lot of Roman activity nearby, and he thought, "Well it's the burial of a young female,"
0:04:17 > 0:04:24- he thought, "coloured in red, in a cave, Romans nearby. It's got to be a prostitute."- Really?- Or "a witch".
0:04:24 > 0:04:28- So the SCARLET Lady of Paviland. - Yes, red in more senses than one.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33The interpretation has changed completely. It wasn't a red lady at all, it was a male burial.
0:04:33 > 0:04:40- In fact, it's the earliest burial in Britain, isn't it?- Yes, we've radiocarbon-dated the Red Lady
0:04:40 > 0:04:43- to about 30,000 years old.- So, it's a skeleton of a modern human.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45You've got somebody about 5 foot 10.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50Yes, probably lived as part of a small, highly mobile band of hunter-gatherers.
0:04:50 > 0:04:57So the Red Lady HIMself was buried here at a time when the surrounding environment was very, very different.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04The "Red Lady" of Paviland was no unsophisticated "caveman".
0:05:04 > 0:05:08He was simply BURIED in a cave 30,000 years ago,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12with dignity and ceremony, by people very much like us.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19By the time we modern humans were able to return
0:05:19 > 0:05:21about 20,000 years later,
0:05:23 > 0:05:30As a kid I used to spend hours doing this, staring into rock pools at miniature parallel universes,
0:05:30 > 0:05:35whole communities assembling and dispersing with every tide.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40Down at the far end of The Gower, our team zoologist, Miranda, is taking a closer look
0:05:40 > 0:05:42at these fantastic miniature worlds.
0:05:43 > 0:05:49Between the Gower Peninsula and Worm's Head, a vast causeway is revealed twice a day,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51every day on the ebbing tide.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Amongst the great ribs of exposed rock are some fantastic rockpools,
0:05:55 > 0:05:59many of them host to constantly-changing colonies of plants and sea creatures
0:05:59 > 0:06:02for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
0:06:03 > 0:06:09Showing me round the causeway is local expert rockpooler Russ Spencely.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Ah, here's something really interesting.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23Oh, yes!
0:06:24 > 0:06:30'What a great start - a mermaid's purse! Actually the egg of a dogfish, a kind of small shark.'
0:06:30 > 0:06:34And we're very lucky, because this one is actually alive and kicking.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38- You can see the...!- You normally find they're empty, already hatched.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43- Oh, look, look.- You can see the embryo swimming around, attached to the egg yolk.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47The yolk is huge. That is like an inch across! And there's this tiny little dogfish.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51The yolk has got to keep that embryo growing for nine months.
0:06:51 > 0:06:57- It's like a baby in a womb - but you can see in.- That's exactly what it is.- How beautiful!
0:06:57 > 0:07:04- I'll put it back in there. Hopefully, that'll hatch.- Oh, brilliant, that was really good.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08What are the best tips for getting close to the critters you don't often see?
0:07:08 > 0:07:14You're totally reliant on the tide. You've got to get down on a low tide to find the most interesting things.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20- A dead crab?- This time of year, the odds are it's a moulted crab.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22As they grow, they cast off their old shell.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26- You can tell. Open it up and there's nothing in it but the gills.- Gosh.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32The more you look, the more you feel a real sense of privilege,
0:07:32 > 0:07:40being able to peer into these perfect little worlds stranded for a moment between the waves and the sea-shore.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44This is brilliant. This is really rockpooling high-tech style.
0:07:44 > 0:07:50- It looks idyllic from up here, but life in a rock pool is pretty tough. - One of the harshest environments.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53All these creatures have evolved to live in salt water.
0:07:53 > 0:08:00For about four hours a day, they're exposed to the elements when it may be hot or cold, raining, snowing...
0:08:00 > 0:08:03These creatures face all sorts of extreme challenges.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06On a hot day, evaporation can increase salinity,
0:08:06 > 0:08:13and without waves to aerate the pool, you'd think a lack of oxygen could also be a threat to life. But no,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16seaweed kicks in, providing oxygen through photosynthesis.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20The biggest problem for a rockpool's lodgers can be a sudden cold wave
0:08:20 > 0:08:25causing the temperature to drop by as much as 15 degrees Celsius.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27For a tiny creature,
0:08:27 > 0:08:31that's like jumping from a hot Jacuzzi into an ice-cold bath.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35I'm always amazed at how many species survive and thrive in our rockpools.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Well, there's various reasons for this.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42The British Isles is where the northern species and the southern, warm-water species meet.
0:08:42 > 0:08:48We get some of each. We've a huge tidal range here, so there's a vast area for them to live in.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51That's why we have all these wonderful creatures.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55In some of the deepest pools, exposed at very low water,
0:08:55 > 0:09:01you might even get to see a lobster waiting eagerly to see what's going to drop in on the next tide.
0:09:01 > 0:09:07- The tide is moving quite rapidly. - Oh, heck! OK.- Another 20 minutes or so, we'll be underwater again.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12- This will revert back to the seabed. - OK, shall we get out of here? - I think it's time to gather the kit.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18Rockpooling is such a great way to while away a few hours,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21and there's a wealth of fabulous animals to discover on our shores.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26We're blessed here in the UK with a huge, extensive coastline,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29so you'll be spoilt for choice with where to go.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Just across the Tywi Estuary from Pembrey,
0:09:44 > 0:09:49a literary landmark - the pretty, sleepy seaside town of Laugharne.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55This was the last boozing place, and the last resting place,
0:09:55 > 0:09:59of one of the 20th century's best known poets, Dylan Thomas.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03Indeed, many claim that Laugharne and its people were the inspiration
0:10:03 > 0:10:07for Thomas' lyrical radio play, Under Milk Wood.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14"It is Spring, moonless night in the small town,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16"starless and bible-black,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18"the cobblestreets silent
0:10:18 > 0:10:22"and the hunched, courters'-and-rabbits' wood limping invisible
0:10:22 > 0:10:26"down to the sloeblack, slow, black,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29"crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea."
0:10:29 > 0:10:34Having visited Laugharne for myself, it doesn't worry me in the least if the characters in the play
0:10:34 > 0:10:40were based on real-life villagers. But from now on, every time I hear Richard Burton's treacle tones
0:10:40 > 0:10:44or read for myself the verbal wizardry of Under Milk Wood,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47it's images of this place that will come to mind.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50"Listen. It is night moving in the streets,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53"the processional salt slow musical wind
0:10:53 > 0:10:56"in Coronation Street and Cockle Row,
0:10:56 > 0:11:01"it is the grass growing on Llareggub Hill, dew fall, star fall,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04"the sleep of birds in Milk Wood."
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- MALE CHOIR SING: - # We are not wholly bad or good
0:11:08 > 0:11:14# Who live our lives under Milk Wood
0:11:14 > 0:11:22# And Thou, I know, wilt be the first
0:11:22 > 0:11:30# To see our best side, not our worst. #
0:11:30 > 0:11:32CURLEW CALLS
0:11:38 > 0:11:43After the vast half-moon of Carmarthen Bay, the coast begins to twist and turn
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and, as we reach the holiday haven of Tenby,
0:11:46 > 0:11:51majestic cliffs and glorious sandy coves begin to dominate the coastline.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58This is Pembrokeshire, home to the UK's only coastal National Park.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03It's also where you'll find the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08And if you're going to stay the course, you're in for a bracing 186-mile walk,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12clambering over more than 400 stiles
0:12:12 > 0:12:16and negotiating 11,000m of ascent and descent.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21And if all that sounds a bit too much like climbing Everest before breakfast,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24you can always hop on the bus. It's no ordinary bus.
0:12:27 > 0:12:33'It's one of a chain of buses called the Puffin Buses, and they all run on environmentally friendly fuel.'
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Hi. How much is it to Stackpole, please?
0:12:36 > 0:12:38'It's walker-friendly, too,
0:12:38 > 0:12:44'picking you up and dropping you off at various points along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48'They'll even accommodate your dog, your pushchair and your surfboard.'
0:12:55 > 0:12:56Bye-bye!
0:12:56 > 0:12:59Time for me to get some exercise again.
0:13:14 > 0:13:20There's something truly magical about the coast between Stackpole and St Govan's Head.
0:13:20 > 0:13:26Although it's in all the guidebooks, it's a very private moment when you stumble across St Govan's church
0:13:26 > 0:13:28nestling in a deep gully.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34Tradition has it that this was the last resting place of Sir Gawain,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36one of the knights of the round table.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41Whatever the truth, there's an atmosphere here that rivals that of any great cathedral.