0:00:18 > 0:00:21Today, I'm on a journey through the beautiful Peak District,
0:00:21 > 0:00:23beginning in the hamlet of Buxworth
0:00:23 > 0:00:27and ending up in Matlock in the Derbyshire Dales.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32I'll be travelling from Buxworth village to Kinder Scout.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35From there, I head south-east into Hope and on to Bamford.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39I then cross over to the Longshaw Estate, travel on to Stanton Moor,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41and I'll finish my journey in style,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45heading out by train from Darley Dale.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Along the way, I'll be bringing you the very best
0:00:47 > 0:00:51of the BBC's rural programmes from this part of the country.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07This is the Alton. She was built 74 years ago,
0:01:07 > 0:01:12and one of her main roles was to carry coal, a job she still does today.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Surprisingly, in the 18th and 19th centuries,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20it wasn't coal that was the primary material transported in this region.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24I'm heading into Bugsworth Basin,
0:01:24 > 0:01:30at the terminus of the Peak Forest Canal, at one time the hub of local industry.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35I'm meeting with Don Baines to find out about the Peak District's core product.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38- Good morning. How are you? Good to see you.- And you.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40So this is Bugsworth Basin?
0:01:40 > 0:01:46- Yes.- This was famous as a big main interchange. Is that right? - That's right.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Between the tramway and the canal.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53So the tramway would bring what down here?
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Limestone and burnt lime, both.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00The burnt lime would be loaded undercover,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04and the limestone itself would be loaded straight onto the boats,
0:02:04 > 0:02:11- and it would go away to Manchester, to Cheshire, Liverpool and wherever. - So where was the limestone quarried?
0:02:11 > 0:02:15The limestone was quarried up at Dove Holes, up in the White Peak.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17- Which is how far away, roughly? - Six miles.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21So quarried six miles away, then brought down here by tram?
0:02:21 > 0:02:26Some tramway wagons would come along the top there, charge the kilns there,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29and was loaded in a warehouse, or lime shed, that stood here.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34A breakthrough in 1791 meant limestone became the key material
0:02:34 > 0:02:39in the production of glass, soap, building and textile industries, making it a very precious commodity.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44The rock was burnt in kilns on the bank of this canal interchange.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48So this was quite a big, important interchange. Describe the scene.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50What would it have been like here?
0:02:50 > 0:02:54It was very bare. There were no trees, a lot of smoke,
0:02:54 > 0:03:02because the burning process is layers of coal and limestone, and it's continuously fed.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06You've got this sulphurous smoke coming out of the top all the time.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11- In the night-time, you'd get limelight, the glow.- Limelight? That's where the term comes from.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16- Exactly.- What about in the canals here? Would there have been dozens and dozens of boats?
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Yes, anything up to about 80 boats a day were turned round here.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24It was the largest inland port on the narrow canal system.
0:03:24 > 0:03:30By the 1960s, Bugsworth Basin was an unused and derelict site.
0:03:30 > 0:03:36It was at this point, a passionate small group of people stepped in and set about the restoration.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40The old couple that started it were called the Bunkers. Bessie and John Bunker.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45- Quite a couple, really. She was a very formidable, feisty lady.- Was she?
0:03:45 > 0:03:51She fought very hard to keep canals open in the days when they were being closed all over the place.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56She fought very hard. She'd think nothing of going into a council meeting,
0:03:56 > 0:04:03storming in and taking them to task, calling them a fool to their faces! Quite an amazing lady.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08So if that began in the '60s, when was it completed to its current state?
0:04:08 > 0:04:13To its current state - in 1998, '99. We had an opening, but we had problems.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Lots of leaks, a terrible place for leaks.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17We had to close again.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22- We finally opened in 2005. - You've studied a lot of the history of the area.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25What is it that captivates you?
0:04:25 > 0:04:31It's the only one of its kind remaining in the country. All other canal tramway interchanges have gone.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34They're under bypasses or motorways, or whatever.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37It's now a scheduled monument to protect it, preserve it.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42It's an important part of our history, really. Yeah.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47Leaving Bugsworth behind, I'm hiking into the wild to the Peak District.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52From the village of Buxworth, I'm heading north towards the famous mountain Kinder Scout,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56which marks the beginning of the Pennine Way.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Millions of years ago, this area was submerged. A sea bed.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03The layers of lime, sand and grit stone laid down then
0:05:03 > 0:05:08have given us one of the most beautiful upland areas in Britain.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10This really is a walkers' paradise.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15But it wasn't always so. An event here on Kinder Scout in 1932
0:05:15 > 0:05:18changed walking history for ever.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24In the 1930s, Britain was in recession, with unemployment at over 3 million.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Locally, people longed for the freedom of the countryside.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33But there was a problem. This part of the Peak District was controlled by a few landowners,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36who preserved it for the occasional grouse shoots.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41In fact, walkers were regarded as trespassers, with gamekeepers often chasing people off.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Kinder Scout had become a forbidden mountain.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51On April 24th 1932, over 400 people set out
0:05:51 > 0:05:54on what would later become known as "the mass trespass".
0:05:54 > 0:05:56The idea was simple.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00Gamekeepers simply wouldn't be able to deter people en masse,
0:06:00 > 0:06:05who would then claim the right to climb to the top of one of the UK's most dramatic landscapes.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12The trespassers from the surrounding towns converged triumphantly on the summit of Kinder Scout,
0:06:12 > 0:06:17but on their return to the bottom, they found the police waiting.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21The mass trespass has become an iconic historical event.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25And in 1989, Chris Baines went to meet one of the young ringleaders.
0:06:25 > 0:06:31At the age of only 21, Benny Rothman's political drive and love of the countryside
0:06:31 > 0:06:34led to his leading role in the mass trespass of 1932.
0:06:34 > 0:06:41The ramblers walked from Hayfield, from the recreation ground,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44and we finally gathered here in this quarry.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48There were far more people than we expected.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50We had a membership
0:06:50 > 0:06:55in the whole of Lancashire of about 150 to 200 members.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59There were between 400 and 600 ramblers had gathered.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02We'd given the signal and they'd responded.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04There was a real demand for something like that.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07And was there much effort to stop you?
0:07:07 > 0:07:12There was virtually no effort between Hayfield and here to stop us.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16All we were doing was walking along a public footpath
0:07:16 > 0:07:20and along the road, and they'd no grounds for stopping us.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25In fact, when we had the meeting here, in the quarry, there was quite a big group of policemen
0:07:25 > 0:07:28at the back of the crowd who had followed us there,
0:07:28 > 0:07:33detectives who were listening and possibly taking notes.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37- But the whole idea was to get up onto the hill, wasn't it?- Absolutely.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42We felt highly elated coming along here,
0:07:42 > 0:07:47talking, singing and, as I say,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50the police were in the rear
0:07:50 > 0:07:52just wondering what to do.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56# I'd been over Snowdon I've slept up on Crowden
0:07:56 > 0:08:00# I've camped by the Wain Stones as well
0:08:00 > 0:08:02# I've sunbathed on Kinder
0:08:02 > 0:08:04# Been burned to a cinder
0:08:04 > 0:08:07# And many more things I can tell
0:08:08 > 0:08:12# My rucksack is often me pillow
0:08:12 > 0:08:16# The heather has oft been my bed
0:08:16 > 0:08:20# And sooner than fall from the mountains
0:08:20 > 0:08:24# I think I would rather be dead
0:08:24 > 0:08:25# I'm a rambler... #
0:08:25 > 0:08:29So how bad was access up onto the tops?
0:08:29 > 0:08:32It wasn't bad, it was impossible.
0:08:32 > 0:08:40In those days, with the unemployment in the villages and the towns around here,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44they were able to recruit a whole army of keepers.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49They would station themselves on all the vantage points,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52on hilltops and that, particularly at weekends,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56and they would make sure that ordinary people
0:08:56 > 0:09:01wouldn't set their unclean feet on the forbidden land.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03They made sure about that.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07What do you think they made of 400 or 500 of you marching up the path?
0:09:07 > 0:09:09That was quite a headache for them.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14They very valiantly kept us under observation,
0:09:14 > 0:09:19then when we were halfway up Sandy Heys,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21approaching the top of Kinder,
0:09:21 > 0:09:27they made a charge downhill, waving their sticks and shouting, "Get back!"
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Well, they didn't get back. There were a few scuffles,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34but the ramblers went on to hold a victory meeting on the summit of Kinder
0:09:34 > 0:09:37and then walked triumphantly back down the mountain.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Several of the leaders, including Benny, were sent to jail,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44but the trespass worked, and now Kinder's accessible to everybody.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49I was longing to see the summit of Kinder in the company of the great Benny Rothman,
0:09:49 > 0:09:54but I had a nasty feeling that if we walked, I'd get left behind on the steep bits.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57I suggested he might like to see his old battleground from the air.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00It's a lot quicker by helicopter than on foot, isn't it?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Very much so!
0:10:02 > 0:10:03Very much so.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08The route on to Kinder itself, up Sandy Heys here,
0:10:08 > 0:10:15it looks quite flat but it's quite a scramble.
0:10:15 > 0:10:21# ..So I'll walk where I will over mountain and hill
0:10:21 > 0:10:25# And I'll lie where the bracken is deep
0:10:25 > 0:10:30# I belong to the mountains The clear running fountains
0:10:30 > 0:10:34# Where the grey rocks rise rugged and steep
0:10:34 > 0:10:38# I've seen the white hare in the gullies
0:10:38 > 0:10:42# And the curlew fly high overhead
0:10:42 > 0:10:46# And sooner than fall from the mountains
0:10:46 > 0:10:50# I think I would rather be dead
0:10:50 > 0:10:52# I'm a rambler... #
0:10:52 > 0:10:59- Wrong foot... Wrong-footed it again! - There we go.- Thanks, Chris.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Here we go.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03Back on terra firma.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06What will all your mates think if they know
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Benny Rothman arrived on the top of Kinder in a helicopter, eh?
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Well, why not?
0:11:12 > 0:11:14I've come up in the world.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19I can afford a helicopter trip every few days. Why not?
0:11:19 > 0:11:24- I think you'll have a lot of complaints about helicopter noise, won't you?- I'm sure I would.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26But in spite of that,
0:11:26 > 0:11:32it's still lovely to be able to come up on your own pair of feet
0:11:32 > 0:11:39and there's nothing like the wind and the sun in your face.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42A bit of rain, too, now and again.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44So what are we looking at?
0:11:44 > 0:11:49Well, you're looking down the valley from the downfall, of course.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Look at some of the young chaps there.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Taking an opportunity of climbing on these rocks.
0:11:55 > 0:12:01I think that if we get general access to all uncultivated land,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04with the exception, of course,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07of those parts of the country
0:12:07 > 0:12:12where walking will positively damage wildlife,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15if we can get more access,
0:12:15 > 0:12:20then I think the pressures on the countryside will be less.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23We'll spread the load.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25# ..I may be a wage slave on Monday
0:12:25 > 0:12:30# But I am a free man on Sunday... #
0:12:33 > 0:12:38'Benny sadly passed away in 2002, but he and the other trespassers
0:12:38 > 0:12:42'left us all a fantastic legacy - the freedom to roam.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45'Walking around the slopes of Kinder Scout,
0:12:45 > 0:12:46'I'm joining the Pennine Way,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50'and a family of ramblers who are taking full advantage of that freedom.'
0:12:50 > 0:12:54So who's the keenest walker of the family?
0:12:54 > 0:12:58- Claire.- Claire? So Claire, how did you get into walking?
0:12:58 > 0:13:01I started walking the dogs and that,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04just around the village and around the local footpaths.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09Is it important for family values to spend time like this together?
0:13:09 > 0:13:12I think it's very important for families to get out,
0:13:12 > 0:13:17talk to each other, which they don't do when they're sat at home in front
0:13:17 > 0:13:19of the television, things like that.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22There's no communication.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27What about enjoying this great landscape of ours, the Peak District?
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Yeah, there's so much to see.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32Some beautiful sights.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Claire, do many of your friends of your age come out walking like this?
0:13:36 > 0:13:39- No.- What do they think about you doing it?
0:13:39 > 0:13:42They think I'm mad, but they're supportive.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47Remember the newborn lamb that you saw being born just over here?
0:13:47 > 0:13:50- Really?- Yeah, literally just born before our eyes.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54- So you go back with all these tales? - We've got some good memories.- Yeah.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59One of the best things must be going home, feeling that you've actually done some exercise...
0:13:59 > 0:14:02You feel shattered at the end of the day!
0:14:02 > 0:14:06And you deserve it - that big, big meal and that hot cup of tea?
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Yes, definitely.
0:14:08 > 0:14:09And a bar of chocolate.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13- Ooh yes, chocolate!- Does anybody have one in their backpack?
0:14:15 > 0:14:19This really is quite beautiful up here, isn't it? Just look out there.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22- Magnificent.- Isn't that amazing?
0:14:22 > 0:14:27Of course, this is the start of the Pennine Way, and you have actually walked the whole way? How far is it?
0:14:27 > 0:14:30280 miles or something.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32We did about 286.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34She was 10 at the time.
0:14:34 > 0:14:3810 at the time? And what are your memories, did you enjoy it?
0:14:38 > 0:14:43- Yeah, it was fun.- She raised £1,700 for Rainbow's Children's Hospice.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Brilliant. So are you both proud of your daughter's achievement?
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Absolutely. How many 10-year-olds have done that all in one go?
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Non-stop, carrying a big pack,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57bed and breakfast, youth hostels, all the way.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01While we're looking at these views, how would you describe those?
0:15:01 > 0:15:03With scenery like this, who wants to go abroad?
0:15:03 > 0:15:06We've got everything in this country that we could ask for.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08It's absolutely stunning.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11- Where are you guys heading now? - Back down to Eden, hopefully.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13OK. I've got an intriguing meeting in Hope.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17So I'll say goodbye, and enjoy the rest of your trip.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Nice to meet you.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22The hills of the Peak District are shaped by the rock that has been
0:15:22 > 0:15:26a valuable resource to the area for centuries. But sometimes,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29these hills harbour something much more precious.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Treak Cliff Cavern is one of two mines in the hill where Blue John is dug out.
0:15:35 > 0:15:42It's a form of fluoride which was first discovered in the 18th century by miners looking for lead.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47These days, visitors come to the caves to see the Blue John that's still left in the rocks.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50The name comes from two French for words, "bleu,"
0:15:50 > 0:15:55meaning blue, although it looks a bit more purple to me, and "jaune," which is yellow.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57There are thin veins of Blue John
0:15:57 > 0:16:01stretching for around about half a mile in the middle of this hill.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06It's basically fluorspar, which is common,
0:16:06 > 0:16:11but the fluorspar in this one hill, trapped within its crystal system,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15peculiar chemicals, and it's those chemicals within the crystal system
0:16:15 > 0:16:18that give Blue John its colour.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21And how long have you been mining for Blue John?
0:16:21 > 0:16:24I started mining here about 1945.
0:16:24 > 0:16:30But I've been cutting and polishing it and mining it for a lot of years.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33You actually, you begin to love the stone.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Agreements with the government agency Natural England limit the extraction
0:16:37 > 0:16:45of Blue John to 500 kilos per year in each of the two mines, and work goes on away from the public areas.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47We just follow old veins.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Occasionally, while you're mining, a vein will narrow
0:16:50 > 0:16:52and almost peter out, and you think
0:16:52 > 0:16:56that's finished now, then suddenly it'll open out again and keep going.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58How difficult is it to mine the Blue John?
0:16:58 > 0:17:03It's difficult, because we have to get the limestone out that surrounds the Blue John first.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06So it gives us a nice lip, if you like, of Blue John.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11And the chisels, as we hammer them in, they split the wooden pegs,
0:17:11 > 0:17:16and that cracks the limestone, and hopefully we get a nice piece, a solid piece falling out.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19We don't know exactly how much there is left, but certainly
0:17:19 > 0:17:23we're still finding it in little bits here and there.
0:17:23 > 0:17:29Workshops on the hillside turn the brittle Blue John into ornaments and jewellery.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32It's treated with resin to strengthen it and allow it to be shaped.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34What will it look like when it's finished?
0:17:34 > 0:17:39That one there, there's one here that's nearly finished.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41This is just ready for its final polish.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46What we normally do is start off with something like that,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48and we mount it on the chucks,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52get a shape similar to this one, take out the centre,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54so all that centre would come out,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58and eventually we end up with something like this.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02- A beautiful bowl like that. - This is from our Cliff Blue Vein.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Some of the results are worth many thousands of pounds.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10Here we have two items, Peter, that are among the pride of your collection.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12Absolutely. Two very nice ornaments.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14This one, quite old, about 1800.
0:18:14 > 0:18:21This one we made on these premises in about 1960.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Hold it up like that, John, look at the banding.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Beautiful light there.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31- Can I pick this one up?- Carefully.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33It's much heavier than I thought.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Very heavy.
0:18:35 > 0:18:41That's why, if it's dropped, it breaks, because of its weight.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45I'd better be careful putting it down again!
0:18:45 > 0:18:49Together, these two, how much are they worth?
0:18:49 > 0:18:54- Altogether, I'd say there wouldn't be much change out of £40,000. - Goodness me.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56As you'd expect, Blue John features heavily
0:18:56 > 0:18:58in the gift shops of nearby Castleton,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02but it's also found in some of the world's greatest collections,
0:19:02 > 0:19:06including those of Windsor Castle, the White House and the Vatican.
0:19:06 > 0:19:13And the good news for anybody who owns a fine example of Blue John is that its value is bound to increase,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16especially once the mines are worked out
0:19:16 > 0:19:20and these rare gems become a precious part of the Hope Valley's past.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Crossing the heart of the Peak District, I'm travelling south-east
0:19:31 > 0:19:35into Hope Valley, to pick up the Hope to Bamford trail.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Our line should be 220, Skip.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44- Got that, Derek. - It's a bit murky down there, Guy.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Makes it the perfect training run.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48I hope it's more steady when we level out.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50We'll see what we can do.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52I understand there's some twisting to cope with as well.
0:19:52 > 0:19:53OK, Skip.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55Don't worry, you're not hearing things.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58That was the crew of the Dam Busters.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01You see, I'm taking part in a new twist in the history lesson.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06On these headphones, I'm listening to the Spirits Of The Past audio tour.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10It was created by the Moors For The Future Project. The idea is simple.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13You go on to the website, download the tour on to your MP3 player,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17step out into the countryside and back in time.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19- Steady.- Standby.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24High of 100, 80, 70, 60...
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Narrated by the ghosts of yesterday, this tour brings to life the rich
0:20:30 > 0:20:33history of the landscape surrounding the Hope and Derwent valleys.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37The Dam Busters, set here above the famous Howden Dam,
0:20:37 > 0:20:41is just one of many tales from the past that you can experience.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43That was fun! Can I have a go?
0:20:43 > 0:20:45By all means.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49In fact, I'll just take up a bit higher.
0:20:49 > 0:20:50Keep the same line.
0:20:50 > 0:20:56Forward! For the honour of Wessex!
0:20:56 > 0:21:00MEN CHARGE AND SHOUT
0:21:08 > 0:21:11This is the battle scene of Win Hill and Lose Hill.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15An assassination attempt on the Anglo-Saxon king of Northumbria
0:21:15 > 0:21:21led to a bloody clash between the kings of Wessex and Mercia, and the army of the King of Northumbria.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Archers, let fly!
0:21:26 > 0:21:32It's as if the whole hill has come alive to the sound of fighting.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37I can smell the fires, it really is as if the ghosts of the past
0:21:37 > 0:21:39have come back to haunt these hills.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44The day is long and hard fought on both sides,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48but as the shadow of the Western Peak grows long,
0:21:48 > 0:21:56it soon becomes clear to all but blinded eyes that Northumbria has the better of the day.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59King Quickelm has wit to see that the battle is lost.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10This morning I've decided to blow away any ghostly cobwebs
0:22:10 > 0:22:14by taking my mountain bike across this stunning landscape.
0:22:14 > 0:22:1842% of us own a bicycle in the UK.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21If you're one of the ones that doesn't, it's never too late to learn.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Sheffield is right on the edge of the Peak District National Park,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43which attracts around 20 million visitors per year.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48But there are people born and brought up in the city who just don't use this amazing natural resource.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53That's something that Kevin Buerk of the Reach For The Peaks scheme aims to change.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00Here we are, surrounded by really beautiful countryside and yet loads of people don't go. Why?
0:23:00 > 0:23:03There are a number of reasons, really.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05People are nervous to go because they don't know
0:23:05 > 0:23:08how to repair a bike and they're scared to go very far.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10We can teach that very easily.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14On other levels, people don't know what routes they can use.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17One lady came to me and said, "How do I get to Bradfield?"
0:23:17 > 0:23:19It's not far from here. I said, "Go across the commons."
0:23:19 > 0:23:23She said, "But there's a bridleway." She wasn't aware she could ride on a bridleway.
0:23:23 > 0:23:24People don't know the routes they can take,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27or that there's a bus service you can put your bike on.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29There is a problem around here - the sheer number of hills.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32I'd imagine that you do have to be quite fit.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34You do, yes, but what we're saying to people is,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37with the routes we've created, you can park in any part of those.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39So you can drive to the top of the hill where it's flat and
0:23:39 > 0:23:42cycle for a while up there and build your fitness up.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Fitness is a big issue now, certainly with children.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49I've noticed that with kids it's difficult to get them to do more than four or five miles.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53The keen cyclists tend to have their head down and off they go.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56What we're trying to say is that this is fantastic countryside, just stop and look.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00So we're allowed, are we, to stop and look at the view a lot?
0:24:00 > 0:24:05It's a good excuse if you've got a group out who are less fit than others, because you can stop
0:24:05 > 0:24:09the group for good reason, and nobody realises that you're stopping to have a rest as well.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16Debbie McCart lives in the heart of the city, but getting out of it is something she really values.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21You're amazingly lucky to live so close to both the centre of a city and open countryside.
0:24:21 > 0:24:26Sheffield, it has a really hard south-west edge, so yes, it's great.
0:24:26 > 0:24:32We're so close to the city, all the facilities, and yet we can be out on the Peak in less than half an hour.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35- Is that important to you and the rest of the family?- Incredibly.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38That's one of the reasons we've stayed in Sheffield for so long.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42We've looked at other cities and maybe moving, we love Scotland,
0:24:42 > 0:24:47but Sheffield is just ideal, because you have the Peak District right on your doorstep.
0:24:47 > 0:24:53It's just being out in the fresh air, away from the city, enjoying the views and the countryside.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55Morning, thanks for coming along.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Many of us have put off cycling in the countryside by the fear of being alone or our bike breaking.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Reach For The Peaks runs group rides and maintenance classes.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05There are two types of inner tube...
0:25:10 > 0:25:15These bike maintenance classes are essential, because if you get out into the Peak District
0:25:15 > 0:25:18and get a puncture, you look pretty silly if you have to walk home.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23- It's fairly straightforward... - Basically, all I know about bikes
0:25:23 > 0:25:26is that they've got two wheels that go round.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29So in the case of an accident, it's going to help me out a lot.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Getting back home in one piece, really.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40Kevin. What have I done wrong?
0:25:40 > 0:25:42For novices, changing an inner tube
0:25:42 > 0:25:47seems a challenge, but after some tuition it's surprisingly easy.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Hey, hey!
0:25:56 > 0:25:59I'm just trying to get it to 40lbs.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Even with a really lovely pump, it's a bit harder than it looks.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Ah, there we go. Success.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11And so we head for the hills...
0:26:11 > 0:26:16Well, actually, the flattish bit around Ladybower Reservoir, and I team up with fellow newcomer
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Philip Thorpe, hoping we won't get left too far behind.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22So what made you come out today?
0:26:22 > 0:26:25I've always liked to be out and about in the country,
0:26:25 > 0:26:29and this seemed like another thing that I could potentially do.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31There are quite a lot of challenges to master.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33I've just about worked out the gears.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38When I used to be on a bike, there were only three, so there are some difficulties, aren't there?
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Yeah, I think I did ride a Chopper last time I had one!
0:26:42 > 0:26:46This is new for me, but I'm really enjoying it.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49It's surprisingly good fun.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53So how often do you actually get out of Sheffield? It's a lovely city, but there's a lot on the doorstep.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57I probably don't get out as much as I should, but hopefully,
0:26:57 > 0:27:03doing this, it'll allow me to have an incentive to get out and about and patrol
0:27:03 > 0:27:05all the networks that Sheffield provides.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12Time to look at that view, and Kevin turns out to be a mine of information.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17Just worth stopping here to point out the trees on the far bank there.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22They're pine tree, but they actually lose their pines at this time of year, which makes them deciduous.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25They actually make a fantastic colour at this time of year as well.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28They really break up the green which goes all away round the dam.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32At the moment, we're on the Derwent Dams which is part of the Ladybower
0:27:32 > 0:27:36system of dams, and it's probably most famous of all for the Dam Busters.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39This is where Barnes Wallis tested the bouncing bombs.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41I was talking to somebody who cycled round the Ruhr Dams
0:27:41 > 0:27:44which is where they actually dropped them, and he said
0:27:44 > 0:27:47that he cycled alongside of that, and thought he was at Ladybowers.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50It's so, so similar you can't believe it. It's uncanny.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53So this place has a real place in British history.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07For once, I feel I actually deserve the cake that I've almost finished eating.
0:28:07 > 0:28:14When you've been cycling around, even a bit, it's nice to stop and even sit down.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19What would you say to people who have been watching this and are thinking, "I'm not sure"?
0:28:19 > 0:28:23Just go for it. You don't have to do a huge day out, just come out for
0:28:23 > 0:28:29the morning, hire a bike, have a little poot around, it's great.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33And with this scenery, who wouldn't be enticed out to the Peaks?
0:28:51 > 0:28:54This is the perfect terrain to bring a mountain bike.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57But all isn't quite what it seems.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01These mounds around me aren't natural. They're man-made.
0:29:01 > 0:29:08They're the remains of Tin Town, a settlement once built for the construction workers of Howden Dam.
0:29:11 > 0:29:132,500 navvies were used to build the dam,
0:29:13 > 0:29:17and they lived in this specifically designed village of Birchin Lee,
0:29:17 > 0:29:19which earned the nickname Tin Town
0:29:19 > 0:29:22because its buildings were constructed of corrugated iron.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26The town itself is long gone, buried beneath the moorland.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29These hillocks are just another reminder of how the landscape
0:29:29 > 0:29:32in the Peak District has been shaped by its industry.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37But it's not just the industrial past that dominates this landscape.
0:29:37 > 0:29:42Wherever you go in the Peak District, you can't get away from farming, and in particular, sheep.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Leaving Tin Town behind me, I'm heading 11 miles south
0:29:46 > 0:29:49to the Longshaw Estate to meet Jim Fulton,
0:29:49 > 0:29:53president of the sheepdog trials that are held here each September.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57This should certainly be the place for sheep in the Peak District,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00as they claim to have the oldest sheep dog trials in the country.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05- Jim, how are you, a little bit misty up here, isn't it?- It's really bad.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09There's obviously been a rich heritage and history of sheep dog trialling here.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11When did it actually begin on the estate?
0:30:11 > 0:30:15It began on the estate in 1898.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18- So, that's doing the maths about one 110 years ago.- Very good.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23With the first trial there were only, I think, 36 people here.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26It's gone from...its popularity has increased
0:30:26 > 0:30:33up to about 10,000 spectators at one point with buses every 10 minutes from Sheffield
0:30:33 > 0:30:35and a train from Manchester.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39Obviously it's waned as other things have taken over, but it still
0:30:39 > 0:30:43continues to be a very popular spectator and competitor event.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46So how and why did it all begin?
0:30:46 > 0:30:49It began as a competition.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52The Duke of Rutland had a gamekeeper and a shepherd and
0:30:52 > 0:30:56they had a competition, the first competition was actually shooting.
0:30:56 > 0:31:02And then the gamekeeper had a gun and the shepherd didn't so the shepherd chose the next competition
0:31:02 > 0:31:05and they decided to use their dogs to round sheep up.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08And the competition was born from there on?
0:31:08 > 0:31:10From then it's continued until this day.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13And obviously many viewers will remember One Man And His Dog,
0:31:13 > 0:31:17especially in its heyday, did that have an effect on the estate
0:31:17 > 0:31:20- and its popularity of sheepdog trialling?- It did do.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23It made it more popular, obviously, seeing it on the television.
0:31:23 > 0:31:29After the war the BBC were the first people to come here to show
0:31:29 > 0:31:32that normal life continued, in 1945.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35Now, I've been lucky enough to present One Man And His Dog
0:31:35 > 0:31:38for the last few years, I remember watching it as a little boy.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43I've never had a chance to actually try sheepdog trialling. Is there anyone who can give me a lesson?
0:31:43 > 0:31:48I'll introduce you to our shepherd, Tony, his great-grandfather
0:31:48 > 0:31:53- was a founder member of the Association.- Tony Priestley is a third generation shepherd
0:31:53 > 0:31:58whose family have always had the Peak District and its sheep trialling in their blood,
0:31:58 > 0:32:03and I'm hoping some of his expertise will rub off on me.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05When you're operating the dog he works in circles,
0:32:05 > 0:32:09so it either goes to the left clockwise or anti-clockwise.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11So you'd start off sending the dog
0:32:11 > 0:32:16to the left, round to the left is "come-by". And to the right hand side is "way to me".
0:32:16 > 0:32:19Which one is most likely to listen to me? Meg, presumably.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22- Meg, presumably, yeah.- So what command shall I give her now?
0:32:22 > 0:32:25- Try a way.- Meg, way!
0:32:25 > 0:32:27Meg, way!
0:32:27 > 0:32:29No. Unfortunate. Sorry about that.
0:32:29 > 0:32:34I thought I have command over canines, obviously none at all.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36Obviously my voice sounds different.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40- You could try "come by". - Meg, come by. Come by.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43- No.- And the whistle, can I just have a quick go anyway?
0:32:43 > 0:32:46Because I've never really been, just remind me.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48Get your tongue at the back of it.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50So the tongue against here?
0:32:50 > 0:32:54And just blow, yeah. Don't try and blow too hard.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Again, it's practice.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04Did you hear that?
0:33:04 > 0:33:07No, neither did I. I think that's why I'll stick to presenting
0:33:07 > 0:33:10One Man And His Dog rather than actually participating in it.
0:33:10 > 0:33:16- Given that I was so hopeless, can I just see an expert running these dogs?- I can try.- Can you try?
0:33:16 > 0:33:21I'm just going to show you the basic commands. So we'll go to the right first, anti-clockwise.
0:33:21 > 0:33:26We lie down, lie down. Now she's walking behind so that is "walk on".
0:33:26 > 0:33:27Walk-on. Then we got lie-down.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Meg, lie down. She'll stand.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32So we'll go for left hand command now.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35Lie-down. Come by, come by.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37So there we're to the left.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39Lie-down. Lie-down, Meg.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41There we go, and the dogs obviously love this, don't they?
0:33:41 > 0:33:45Oh yeah, a day's walk on the moor, gathering sheep,
0:33:45 > 0:33:49you know, taking a dog and as it gets better and better the more times you go,
0:33:49 > 0:33:54you get a lot of satisfaction out of being able to get it probably half a mile, a mile away.
0:33:54 > 0:34:00It takes a bit of doing for a start, you know, so there's a lot of satisfaction in it, yeah.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06So far my journey's taken me from Buxworth Basin in the village
0:34:06 > 0:34:09of Buxworth and on to Kinder Scout.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13I've crossed the heart of the Peak District through Hope,
0:34:13 > 0:34:18Bamford and Tin Town, and then finally on to the Longshaw Estate.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22I'm now heading south into the Derbyshire Dales,
0:34:22 > 0:34:25an area famed for its industrial past.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32Old disused industrial structures still scatter the horizon.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Industry and the countryside are not usually seen as natural bedfellows,
0:34:36 > 0:34:43which raises the question, do these monuments of industry enhance or spoil the landscape?
0:34:46 > 0:34:50Lead mining in the Peak District was once one of the largest, richest
0:34:50 > 0:34:53and longest worked heavy metal mining industries in Europe.
0:34:53 > 0:35:00In the 17th and 18th centuries, lead vied with iron, behind wool, as Britain's major export.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04There are very few lead mines that survive in the area today.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07This one I've crawled into is only open to tourists now.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09The mines that are still being worked
0:35:09 > 0:35:13are for the minerals that were thrown away by their original lead miners,
0:35:13 > 0:35:15which still have a commercial value today.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17Minerals such as calcite, byrites
0:35:17 > 0:35:21and fluorspar, used as fluoride in toothpastes
0:35:21 > 0:35:27and other manufacturing industries, and still currently mined in the area.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31The most visual sign that mining was once so prevalent in the area
0:35:31 > 0:35:36are these lumps and bumps that you find when you're out walking in the Peak District.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38But it's these surface remains,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42known as lead rake landscapes which are declining.
0:35:42 > 0:35:47Enter the three big-hitting organisations determined that no more lead rake land is lost.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50English Heritage, English Nature and the National Park Authority
0:35:50 > 0:35:54have joined forces to form the lead rakes project.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58Lead mining has been a feature of the Peak District for over 2,000 years.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02And it's significant for the wildlife habitats,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05for the cultural history.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09It's been a part of the local communities for hundreds of years.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11In practical terms what are you hoping to achieve?
0:36:11 > 0:36:15We're hoping to keep what's left of the lead mine landscape that still remains.
0:36:15 > 0:36:21We've lost about three-quarters of lead mine remains in the Peak District.
0:36:21 > 0:36:27So what's left is pretty significant and we need to retain as much of that as we can.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30Why have those areas been lost over the last 100 years?
0:36:30 > 0:36:35It's primarily because people have perceived of them as waste and derelict land.
0:36:35 > 0:36:41Farmers have wanted to improve the landscape to get better grazing.
0:36:41 > 0:36:47Mineral companies have been reworking the areas for what were the waste materials.
0:36:47 > 0:36:53Evidence of mining history in the Peak District is clearly visible here at Magpie Mine.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57But this is one of only a few sites with buildings still standing.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01But to get a real sense of history you need to go underground.
0:37:04 > 0:37:05Like down here -
0:37:05 > 0:37:10most mines in the Peak District are now closed to the public,
0:37:10 > 0:37:13although this was once a show mine, in Victorian times.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16And it isn't until you get underground that you fully appreciate
0:37:16 > 0:37:19the extent of the work that's gone on here.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22The mine was probably worked in the 18th century
0:37:22 > 0:37:26but before that it probably goes back to the 16th century,
0:37:26 > 0:37:29at that point the mining would have been very tough.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32They didn't have explosives, they used to have to light fires
0:37:32 > 0:37:35underground to heat their rocks up to make it break.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38How much lead would they get out of this rock every day?
0:37:38 > 0:37:44Probably in terms of advance in rock, probably about two inches, 50mm.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46- In a whole day?- In a whole day.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48That would probably be between three men.
0:37:48 > 0:37:54During the Middle Ages, mining was a family occupation or a secondary source of cash income.
0:37:54 > 0:37:59It was not unusual for farmers to run their farms and operate a small mine at the same time.
0:37:59 > 0:38:05This early form of the diversification means that there are many miles of legacy to explore.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11We don't know for sure how many miles and miles of tunnels there are
0:38:11 > 0:38:12but there it has been suggested
0:38:12 > 0:38:15there are at least 3,000 which are actually known about.
0:38:15 > 0:38:21But even I can think of one single tunnel which is 4.5 miles long, that's one of many.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25Are you hoping to bring groups of people down into the mines and show them the history and what went on?
0:38:25 > 0:38:31Yes, that's right. There are some show mines in the Castleton area and where we are here in Matlock Bath,
0:38:31 > 0:38:34but the main thing is to actually work out what we've got.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39We need to understand what we've got before we can start making decisions about the future.
0:38:39 > 0:38:44It's a fantastic world, I think, which at the moment relatively few people get to see, it would be great
0:38:44 > 0:38:48if we could find ways to actually broaden the experience of people.
0:38:49 > 0:38:55In terms of unique landscape the lead rakes have much to offer, due to the environment, mineral deposits
0:38:55 > 0:39:00and the way the land has been managed since the mining operations were abandoned.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02They've become home to some very specialist plants.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06Because of lead and other heavy metals which remain in the soil
0:39:06 > 0:39:09old lead spoil heaps encourage particular plants.
0:39:09 > 0:39:14The nationally scarce leadwort, a small white flower, thrives here.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17If you looked at a distribution map
0:39:17 > 0:39:22of this species you'd find it really closely linked to the ore fields.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24It's a nationally scarce plant.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28In Derbyshire you only find it on spoil heaps, basically.
0:39:28 > 0:39:34Part of the reason they can cope on these lead spoil heaps is that not many other plants can.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38- What are those ones over there? - This is mountain pansy.
0:39:38 > 0:39:43You know, one of the features of these sites is that they're unique in that
0:39:43 > 0:39:46each spoil heap will have varying levels of lead and heavy metals.
0:39:46 > 0:39:53It'll have perhaps a different sort of soil layer on it. If some of them are going to be mainly limestone,
0:39:53 > 0:39:58- some of them will have acidic soils. - How important is it to preserve them?
0:39:58 > 0:40:01It's really important to raise awareness to farmers
0:40:01 > 0:40:05and to local people, really, because the more people that realise
0:40:05 > 0:40:09what's here, the more people will want to keep them, basically.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13- They're sitting on a little conservation gold mine.- Definitely.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18It's impossible to look across the Peak District without being
0:40:18 > 0:40:22reminded of the centuries of lead mining activity that went on here.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26Hopefully with this new project, there's now a will to preserve
0:40:26 > 0:40:31this historically unique landscape for many years to come.
0:40:31 > 0:40:38Continuing my journey I'm walking on the edge of Stanton Moor, which is not only naturally beautiful
0:40:38 > 0:40:40but also archaeologically important
0:40:40 > 0:40:44with several stone circles and even a Bronze Age burial site nearby.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50This area is incredibly peaceful.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53It's even home to a herd of wild Norwegian fallow deer.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56But it hasn't always been like this.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59Only recently this was a battleground over the proposed
0:40:59 > 0:41:03extension of a quarry just 200 metres from this spot.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06John Craven visited in the heat of the battle.
0:41:06 > 0:41:12This stone circle called the Nine Ladies date back to the Bronze Age.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16It was built by people who lived in this part of the Peak District
0:41:16 > 0:41:18around 4,000 years ago.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Now it's a scheduled national monument.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24It's a place of tranquillity. But for how much longer?
0:41:27 > 0:41:31Quarrying is one of the major industries in the Peak District National Park.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35Producing both blocks of stone for building and aggregates for road making.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39Now there are plans to bring back to life a number of quarries
0:41:39 > 0:41:43on Stanton Moor in the park that haven't been worked for many years.
0:41:43 > 0:41:49And the protests are growing because these quarries are close to the ancient Nine Ladies monument
0:41:49 > 0:41:51and to modern-day living.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Just look across here - you can see all those trees.
0:41:54 > 0:41:59Those trees are going to disappear because they're going to quarry right through there.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02You can see down the bottom there you have a little bit of a wall,
0:42:02 > 0:42:03that's my boundary wall,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06behind that wall, that piece of ground, it'll get filled up
0:42:06 > 0:42:08with what they call spoil - waste.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11They're going to bring it all across here and that's
0:42:11 > 0:42:14going to come within 50 metres of this property here, my property.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18And didn't you know anything about this threat when you bought the house?
0:42:18 > 0:42:22We knew the quarries were there but those quarries had never been worked.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25This particular one hasn't been worked since 1959.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30The other side - Lee's Cross, the other side of the road, hasn't been worked since 1932.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34And there has been no need for these quarries to be worked
0:42:34 > 0:42:37because there are so many other quarries in the area.
0:42:37 > 0:42:42There are more than 60 sites within this national park with quarrying permission,
0:42:42 > 0:42:45many of them granted just before the park was created.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49Ten of them are now working and many of the others, including
0:42:49 > 0:42:52the dormant ones on Stanton Moor, could start up again.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56And there's not much that the park planning committee, which was set up
0:42:56 > 0:42:59to protect this beautiful landscape, can do to stop them.
0:42:59 > 0:43:07If a quarry company wants to use one of these old permissions the planners can insist on certain new conditions.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11But then they may run the risk of having to pay out millions of pounds in compensation.
0:43:11 > 0:43:16Many planners feel they're trying to do their job with one hand tied behind their back.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18It is very frustrating.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22They were granted in the days when stone was perhaps taken out
0:43:22 > 0:43:27by horse and cart, certainly nothing like the highly mechanised methods used today.
0:43:27 > 0:43:33And in many cases the road network is winding and inadequate.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35And the effects on the landscape
0:43:35 > 0:43:40are of a devastating sort that we just wouldn't allow today.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43And yet these permissions cannot be wound up without
0:43:43 > 0:43:46- quite a laborious process. - So, what do you think about that?
0:43:46 > 0:43:53Well, I think most people who come into the Peak Park are amazed to see quarries here,
0:43:53 > 0:43:58still of this level of impact on the landscape.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03But the country does need quarries.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05This is the biggest single road-building scheme in Britain,
0:44:05 > 0:44:11the new motorway north of Birmingham, and with many more road projects being planned, as well as millions
0:44:11 > 0:44:17more houses, there's going to be even greater demand on the quarrying industry to supply aggregates.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21They're materials, like sand, gravel and crushed limestone.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25On this motorway project they're trying to cut back on the amount
0:44:25 > 0:44:31that's taken from quarries by using gravel excavated as they dig the route of the road.
0:44:31 > 0:44:36But large quantities of limestone are also needed, and they've got to be quarried.
0:44:36 > 0:44:37Sure, we need some.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40The question is whether we need to dig quite as much, whether we can't
0:44:40 > 0:44:43use them more efficiently, get them from somewhere else.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47You look at this road, you can see the damage it's doing, it's covering
0:44:47 > 0:44:5227 miles of the West Midlands Green Belt with all the damage to the countryside that comes from that.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55But then every mile of that motorway takes 70,000 tons
0:44:55 > 0:44:59of aggregates which have got to come from a quarry.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03Quarry companies say they're responding to environmental concerns.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07At this plant, old concrete is being recycled and the industry has reached
0:45:07 > 0:45:12an agreement not to open new quarries for aggregates in national parks.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16They resent charges that they're "raping the countryside".
0:45:16 > 0:45:20We can only quarry where the good Lord puts the stone.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23I think that we've shown, with our attitude with the national parks
0:45:23 > 0:45:26over the last three years, that we've taken a responsible view
0:45:26 > 0:45:30of where and where we shouldn't be quarrying. We are a vital industry.
0:45:30 > 0:45:35We produce the materials that create homes, hospitals, roads, airports.
0:45:35 > 0:45:41And yet, we only take one third of 1% of the total land mass of the UK
0:45:41 > 0:45:44and I think that's fairly reasonable for such a vital industry.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47Back on Stanton Moor, eco-warriors have occupied some
0:45:47 > 0:45:52of the dormant quarry sites, hoping to stop any moves to reopen them.
0:45:52 > 0:45:57It's now the largest protest camp in the country with around 40 young activists and their main concern
0:45:57 > 0:45:59is for the Nine Ladies monument.
0:45:59 > 0:46:00Well, it's basically the proximity
0:46:00 > 0:46:04of the stone circles where the quarrying is going on at the moment
0:46:04 > 0:46:06and where quarrying has taken place
0:46:06 > 0:46:10in the past and the fact that it's causing subsidence in the hillside.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14We feel that the stone circles themselves, as well as the whole hillside, is under threat.
0:46:14 > 0:46:19It's also the whole place is an old quarry that has grown back
0:46:19 > 0:46:22and it's over 50 years ago.
0:46:22 > 0:46:23It's all took root again now.
0:46:23 > 0:46:30There are badger setts, there are Norwegian fallow deer, there are bats, there's two types of owl here.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33There's a lot of wildlife and it's 38 acres stretching right
0:46:33 > 0:46:36across both sides of the road that could be gone forever.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40The quarry companies involved didn't want to talk to Countryfile,
0:46:40 > 0:46:44but the scene is set for what could be a major confrontation.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47So how could situations like this be avoided?
0:46:47 > 0:46:52The government needs to back the local authority, the National Park Authority, much more strongly
0:46:52 > 0:46:55than it has hitherto in objecting.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59It also needs to look long and hard, as part of its review
0:46:59 > 0:47:04of minerals policy nationally, at the whole issue of compensation to quarry operators.
0:47:04 > 0:47:10What we would prefer is rather than protest groups lobbing bricks at us from the sidelines, is join us
0:47:10 > 0:47:16in a debate that will move this system forward and give everybody an opportunity of having their say.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21This highly contentious issue may become a little clearer later this year when the government,
0:47:21 > 0:47:25after consulting all sides, publishes new national guidelines
0:47:25 > 0:47:29on just how and where quarrying should take place.
0:47:30 > 0:47:35One of the joys of Country Tracks is that we get to revisit stories
0:47:35 > 0:47:37and see what has happened since.
0:47:37 > 0:47:42So I've come back to the protesters' camp to meet Geoff Henson to do just that.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44So this is where it all happened.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47This is where it all happened, and where it's all finishing.
0:47:47 > 0:47:52- What's the outcome? - Well, the outcome is that we've revocation on the two quarries,
0:47:52 > 0:47:55we finally got the government to sign to say that the quarrying here
0:47:55 > 0:47:58would be revoked for ever and a day.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00You must have a big smile on your face.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03We are very chuffed. But common sense has ruled.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06That's what it's important. Common sense has taken over.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09And through talking to people, we've realised that quarrying
0:48:09 > 0:48:14has always taken place here and it'll remain to take place here, but in a much smaller way.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17I can't help notice all this activity behind us. What's going on?
0:48:17 > 0:48:20Well, the tree houses are all down now.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22They're taking them down now.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25This is all part of the agreement with the protesters.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28- Are the original protesters here? - Oh, yes. There's Ann. Here she is.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30Hi, there.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32- Hello.- You must feel so thrilled - how long have you been here?
0:48:32 > 0:48:35- Nine years and the camp's been here for nearly ten.- Wow!
0:48:35 > 0:48:39- So this has probably become your home over that time.- It is, yes.
0:48:39 > 0:48:43It's nice to be able to leave it as woodland as well to regenerate.
0:48:43 > 0:48:49- I have a spare pair of hands. Is there anything left to be done?- OK, do you see that little barbecue?
0:48:49 > 0:48:55The Nine Ladies issue was resolved after the Peak District National Park Authority negotiated a deal.
0:48:55 > 0:49:01This involved the company that owns the quarry giving up its right to work the site in return
0:49:01 > 0:49:05for extending another quarry in a less sensitive area.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Right, I think that's almost the last thing. I'll pass you that.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10What happens to all this stuff now?
0:49:10 > 0:49:15Well, the whole camp was built from recycled materials and we're recycling as much of it as possible
0:49:15 > 0:49:17- now afterwards. - So it will be re-used?
0:49:17 > 0:49:19- Yes.- Fantastic. Well, good luck with whatever you do next.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23- Thanks very much. - You don't need to clean your hands! Congratulations to both of you.
0:49:23 > 0:49:28- Fantastic. I'm going to go and catch a train, sadly. But good luck. - Thank you.- Bye-bye.- Thank you.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39My travels through the Peak District have taken me from Buxworth Basin,
0:49:39 > 0:49:43in the village of Buxworth, on to Kinder Scout and then across
0:49:43 > 0:49:45the Hope to Bamford trail to Tin Town.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48From there, I travelled across to the Longshaw Estate
0:49:48 > 0:49:51and on to Stanton Moor. To end my journey, I'm going to join
0:49:51 > 0:49:53the Peak Railway at Darley Dale station.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01I'm just in time to catch the Peak Rail service to Matlock
0:50:01 > 0:50:06and meet Robin Smith, who's the driver of our train today, the Royal Pioneer.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08- How are you?- Nice to meet you. - Likewise.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11Just tell me a little bit about the history of this train.
0:50:11 > 0:50:16Right, well, this locomotive was originally designed for shunting
0:50:16 > 0:50:19collieries and steelworks.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21- So it worked with the industry in this area?- Exactly.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26- This is obviously coal-driven. Can we have a look down?- Certainly. - It's called the Royal Pioneer.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29That's correct. After the Royal Pioneer Corps.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32- Can I touch that? Is it hot? - No, that's the water tank.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36So, that's the water tank and that's where the steam comes out.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38That's correct, yes.
0:50:38 > 0:50:43I couldn't help but notice back here, just peering out, presumably, that's a fireman, or firewoman.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47- That's Lisa.- You've got all the coal dust all over your face.
0:50:47 > 0:50:52- That's the dirty job.- How much coal does it take to run one of these?
0:50:52 > 0:50:58In a working day, including lighting up and working the train, you're looking at about a ton and a half.
0:50:58 > 0:51:04Obviously, there are a number of different types of steam train and one of the obvious differences
0:51:04 > 0:51:08- is between oil and coal-driven steam trains.- That's correct.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11The main difference is Lisa's job.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14Instead of using a shovel to apply the coal,
0:51:14 > 0:51:18she'll use control valves to feed the oil into the firebox.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21Briefly, remind me how
0:51:21 > 0:51:26- a steam train works.- Well, you have a fire in the firebox,
0:51:26 > 0:51:30which is heating the water in the barrel around the fire box itself.
0:51:30 > 0:51:36That in turn creates steam and the steam is sent down to cylinders
0:51:36 > 0:51:38where it'll act on pistons, through a crank,
0:51:38 > 0:51:42just like the pedals of a bicycle and that drives it along.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46And off we go. This is obviously a pretty significant part, given that
0:51:46 > 0:51:49the Peak District has a heavy industrial past.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51This was a work horse for this area.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53Absolutely, yes.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56Especially on the high peak, where these did sterling work.
0:51:56 > 0:52:00- But today, just pulling passengers. - Just pulling passengers today, yes.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04- Like me. Where are you heading today?- Today, to Matlock.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07You've passengers waiting, so I'm going to hop on board. Very nice to meet you.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10- Nice to meet you, Lisa. - Thank you.- Bye.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13Morning.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Sorry to interrupt your rail journey.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27I was wondering whether you've been on Peak Rail before?
0:52:27 > 0:52:29Yes, we have. Many times. We're local.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32You have been on many times? What is it you love so much about it?
0:52:32 > 0:52:34It's just seeing lots of different places, isn't it?
0:52:34 > 0:52:37- Yes, I love the countryside and the views.- Fantastic.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42- Is this your first time on Peak Rail or have you been on before?- Yeah.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46- What do you think so far? - Fantastic. It's great for the kids.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48Are you enjoying it? Is it fun?
0:52:48 > 0:52:51What do like most about it? Do you like looking outside?
0:52:51 > 0:52:53- What's your name?- Ruben.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57- Do you like being on the train? - Yeah.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00Is it fun? Would you like to be a steam train driver maybe?
0:53:00 > 0:53:02No!
0:53:02 > 0:53:05No?! That would be a fun job, wouldn't it?
0:53:09 > 0:53:13The Peak District was once a haven for industry.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17Today, it's a haven for walkers, for ramblers, for cyclists.
0:53:17 > 0:53:22They're all here to enjoy and celebrate this magnificent land rather than exploit it.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26And I, for one, have enjoyed every single minute of it.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd