0:00:21 > 0:00:24Today, I am on a journey through the heart of East Anglia.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Below me these vast swathes of fertile land have seen a huge amount
0:00:28 > 0:00:30of change over the centuries.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34From the green roots of agriculture, to the sport of kings.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39My journey begins high in the sky above Tibenham airfield.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I'll travel along an ancient Roman road before ascending
0:00:42 > 0:00:44into the trees of Thetford Forest.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48I'll stop at Lynford, visit the strange landscape of Grime's Graves
0:00:48 > 0:00:50before racing on to my final destination,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52the famous turf at Newmarket.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Along the way, I'll be looking back at the very best
0:00:54 > 0:00:58of the BBC's rural programmes from this part of the country.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01This is Country Tracks.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11I can't explain just how magical it is
0:01:11 > 0:01:15to be soaring thousands of feet above the patchwork of fields below.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22It really is the most awesome way to see this county.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28Known as the bread basket of England, East Anglia grows a quarter of the country's wheat,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32a third of its potatoes and over half its sugar beet crop.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37Little wonder that it has the largest agricultural workforce in the country.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Now that's Thetford Forest just below me.
0:01:40 > 0:01:46A little later in the programme, I'll be exploring the canopy a little closer to the ground.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51Straddling the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk,
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Thetford Forest is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59Below me is a working landscape.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04It's provided an income for British people for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09But in recent times, less and less Brits have been inclined
0:02:09 > 0:02:14to follow the seasonal work as Tom Heap found out back in 2004.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19I've been pressed into service on this asparagus grading line.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23I'm trying to get the right thickness into the right crate,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26so thinner ones in there, thicker ones in that one there.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31Everybody in this room is from overseas, mostly Bulgaria and Poland, and this is just
0:02:31 > 0:02:35one production line on one farm, of one kind of vegetable.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39What's happening here in the summer is repeated across Britain.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42But with 1.5 million people unemployed within this country,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45why aren't hardly any of them doing this work?
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Roger Burrows finds workers for this packing plant in Norfolk.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54Ten years ago, the whole workforce was British. Today, that figure has radically changed.
0:02:54 > 0:03:00Two-thirds of the men and women on the factory floor are foreign, just one third British.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03It's clean work, it's not horrendously cold,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06is not horrendously wet, it's not horrendously dirty.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10The pay is good. But for some reason the traditional British worker
0:03:10 > 0:03:14is more interested in moving into the city and other types of work.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19How important is it that we continue this flow, that you continue the supply of foreign workers?
0:03:19 > 0:03:22It's vital to this type of industry. There's no question about that.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25The production line wouldn't keep rolling
0:03:25 > 0:03:28without the influx of foreign workers as we have at the moment.
0:03:28 > 0:03:34Without talking to all Britain's unemployed, it's hard to be sure why seasonal jobs are so unappealing.
0:03:34 > 0:03:40Such unpredictable employment doesn't sit easily with the bureaucracy and box-ticking of the benefits system.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Because it's short-term work,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45you may have difficulties when the job finishes.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Then you've got to reclaim all your benefits again,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49which means filling in the forms,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52and quite often there's a long wait before you get the benefit through.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56Particularly housing benefit can be a real problem where you end up...
0:03:56 > 0:03:59We've had people who've almost lost their home because of delay
0:03:59 > 0:04:03paying housing benefit after they've done some temporary work.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08This asparagus farm employs nearly 30 students from Eastern Europe.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13The farmer gives them at least the minimum farming wage of £4.85 an hour.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15I'm in this to earn a living out of it.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Therefore, it's not cheap labour. We have minimum standards,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21or minimum wages that we have to adhere to.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25Just like any other vegetable that we bring into this country,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28it's a world market. They're bringing it in from nine countries,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30just during our English season.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34It's coming from South America, Peru, Chile, also from Spain,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37where their labour costs are considerably lower than our own.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Labour's a big input into the production of this crop?
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Probably 75-80% of the cost of production of asparagus.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Therefore, it has a big influence on what we do.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51Farms like this need a lot of work but only at a very few weeks of the year, the high season.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56So you bring in homes, but you make them temporary, there's no point building permanent structures.
0:04:56 > 0:05:02These container homes come off the back of a truck, and they contain dormitories.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04There's toilet and washing facilities
0:05:04 > 0:05:08and in other ones, television, lounges and things like that.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11The students pay £25 a week for accommodation.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15They earn ten times more than they would for the same work back home.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19- How many of you live in here? - Four girls.- Four girls live here.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23How do you find working generally here? OK?
0:05:23 > 0:05:26It's not so hard. It's hard when you're on the field,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30but we rest in the pack house, we listen usually music.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34- All the time we are enjoying. - You are from university in Bulgaria?
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Yes, I am studying at university, macro economics.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40- Macro economics?- Yes.- Golly!
0:05:40 > 0:05:44What do you hope to do when you've earned the money from this job?
0:05:44 > 0:05:49I will continue my education. I need this money for my education.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Legal migrant workers on schemes such as Daisy's are lucky.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56When 20 Chinese cockle pickers drowned in Morecambe Bay in February,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59it highlighted the plight of illegal migrant workers.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02But even those here legally can be exploited.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Lukie Gooda is a Portuguese liaison officer.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Every name here is a person with a problem.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Most stem from ignorance and fear.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13It started with the transport provided for them.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18Then the amount of work. Most of these people work 12-hour shifts.
0:06:18 > 0:06:24The health problems, due to health and safety conditions that are not met by the employers.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28They have to work under conditions that people in this country would not accept.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Most of them when they come over here already have debts back home, you know,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35that they need to send money to deal with.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38The moment they are here and they don't speak the language,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42the employer, whatever the employer says, goes. They trapped.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47They really trapped. That provokes all kind of exploitation, really.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51For the public, the word illegal has become attached to the word migrant labour.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56- What do you think about that? - It's very sad because the majority of it is perfectly above board.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59It's very legal. They all have work permits.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02They're all working to the minimum wage requirements.
0:07:02 > 0:07:08It's sad to see the industry run down by, you know, the few.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13As shoppers, we demand fresh produce at the lowest price.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Because such a large percentage of the cost of producing fruit and veg
0:07:17 > 0:07:24is made up by labour, there's no real escaping from the fact that workforce will have to get a pretty low wage.
0:07:24 > 0:07:30Too low it would seem to attract British workers to dig carrots or cut asparagus.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35So foreign migrant labour is going to be part of the horticultural scene for years to come.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39The Government is backing a change in the law so the companies which
0:07:39 > 0:07:43provide migrant labour, gang masters, will have to be registered.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48But it will need enforcement muscle and political will to be sure illegal working is stamped out.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59The good news is that since that report was made, the Government has set up
0:07:59 > 0:08:05the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, making it a criminal offence to supply labour without a licence.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08It remains to be seen if the changing global economy
0:08:08 > 0:08:10will bring British workers back to the fields.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24That was brilliant.
0:08:24 > 0:08:25- OK?- Thank you very much.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27- I loved that.- You're welcome.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Wow! I'm almost lost for words, that was incredible.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38What a fantastic way to see the landscape below, and a perfect way to begin my journey.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41With my feet firmly back on the ground,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I've headed 17 miles north-east to Knettishall
0:08:44 > 0:08:48where I'm joining the ancient Roman road known as the Peddar's Way.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Peddar's Way was built by the Romans around 61 AD
0:08:58 > 0:09:02to provide a route across East Anglia for policing purposes.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Typically, it was built in a very straight line using local materials
0:09:06 > 0:09:10to provide a link between the Roman garrison town in Colchester
0:09:10 > 0:09:13and the heartland of Queen Boudicca's tribe, the Iceni.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19As you walk the Peddar's Way, it's tempting to conjure images
0:09:19 > 0:09:23of all the others who've trodden the same ground - Stone Age hunters,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Roman soldiers, Saxon settlers, or medieval pilgrims.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Walking in your time, you really do feel part of history.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Inspired by the Australian Aboriginal belief
0:09:40 > 0:09:45that each ancient trail is part of a vast, epic musical score,
0:09:45 > 0:09:50the verses of which tell the tale of how that landscape and its landmarks came into being,
0:09:50 > 0:09:56storyteller Hugh Lupton collaborated with a group of local artists to create a Norfolk song line.
0:09:56 > 0:10:01Taking inspiration from land, they used story, poetry, image and
0:10:01 > 0:10:06song to evoke the landscape history and geology of the Peddar's Way.
0:10:06 > 0:10:12# The winding welter of tracks Pulls towards
0:10:12 > 0:10:15# As a bow stri-i-ing
0:10:15 > 0:10:18# Straight as a rod of iron... #
0:10:25 > 0:10:28It's incredible to think the Romans would have used this route.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33To listen to this music is incredibly evocative.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36# ..The sole of a boot to the taken land
0:10:39 > 0:10:42# The sole of a boot to the taken land... #
0:10:49 > 0:10:54In the words of one of the artists, "All the past that has led to your moment in time
0:10:54 > 0:10:58"is held like a great secret in the landscape that surrounds you."
0:11:01 > 0:11:06As I saw from the air, the land in this area has been put to many different uses over the centuries.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11Crops have been grown here but there's another type of farming that rather less is known about.
0:11:11 > 0:11:17Adam Henson came to find out how rabbits were harvested for their fur and for their meat.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Rabbits were brought into the country by the Romans,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26but it was the Normans who first introduced the idea of farming them.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29By the 16th century, bunnies were big business -
0:11:29 > 0:11:33both the fur and meat was in demand, and even worth fighting for.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38This is quite a structure, isn't it, like a mini fortress?
0:11:38 > 0:11:41It is, yes. It's like a miniature castle keep, really.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44The reason for it being here, and built like this,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47was it was the home of a rabbit warrener
0:11:47 > 0:11:50from about the 1340s onwards, we think here.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52Where would the rabbits have been kept?
0:11:52 > 0:11:56The rabbits were roaming free all over the warren,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59and they were guarded, nurtured and trapped by the warrener.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03The warrener was one of the highest paid of all the manorial officials
0:12:03 > 0:12:07in the Middle Ages, and he needed to be able to regulate the number
0:12:07 > 0:12:11of bucks to does, to look at the economies of the market,
0:12:11 > 0:12:13when was the best time to sell the rabbits.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18He even needed to do things, certainly when the warrens were first established in Breckland,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21like digging burrows for the rabbits to shelter in.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Because rabbits come from the Mediterranean, they're native there,
0:12:25 > 0:12:29they don't need shelter in such a better climate, really.
0:12:29 > 0:12:35Better management meant rabbit numbers increased. By the...1840s,
0:12:35 > 0:12:40we are talking about an annual cull on this warren alone of 28,000 rabbits.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44It's because they were so valuable they had to build these fortresses?
0:12:44 > 0:12:49Yes. Because of a rise in demand for the rabbits, poaching was really big business.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53We know, for instance, of armed gangs attacking the warrens,
0:12:53 > 0:12:58killing their lurcher dogs, which the warreners used to help them track the rabbits.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02So, defence was a matter of great importance to them, really.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07For another 500 years, rabbits played a pivotal role in local history.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Their meat was part of the staple diet,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12and rabbit fur was also at the height of fashion.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16By the 20th century, three fur factories opened up in the area.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20One of the workers, 86-year-old Harold Glaister, remembers a time when rabbits
0:13:20 > 0:13:24were an important source of income for those living near the forest.
0:13:24 > 0:13:30There were hundreds of rabbits about everywhere you went.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34On the road you'd see them, on the warrens at the side of the road...
0:13:34 > 0:13:39Even the milkman came around with two or three rabbits on his cart
0:13:39 > 0:13:41and says, "Do you want to buy a rabbit?"
0:13:41 > 0:13:44What was your job in the fur factory?
0:13:44 > 0:13:48Well, I was a machinist, you could say.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52There were others with me, there were two or three departments there.
0:13:52 > 0:13:58When the rabbit skins arrived, they were what they call wet ones.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03When they were dry, they then used to go into the openers.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07They handled them then and cut all the waste bits off
0:14:07 > 0:14:09and opened the skin right out.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14Then they went to their cardners who cleaned the skin up,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18and then the cutting shop to take the fur off the skin.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24So do you enjoy a rabbit now?
0:14:24 > 0:14:27I wouldn't like one now, that's funny, isn't it?
0:14:30 > 0:14:36By the 1970s, all factories had been closed down as rabbits had almost disappeared from the forest.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41The rabbits we'd once wanted were now taking over the countryside and we wanted them out.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46Myxomatosis was deliberately introduced and spread through Thetford's rabbit population,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48killing 99% of them in just two years.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52The disease was far more effective at killing rabbits
0:14:52 > 0:14:57than anyone had expected, and with a loss of the rabbit population came the loss of a whole industry.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02Today the disease has been controlled and the rabbit population has bounced right back.
0:15:02 > 0:15:08So much so, they're an official pest, causing vast amounts of damage to young trees and other crops.
0:15:08 > 0:15:14Controlling rabbit numbers is a constant struggle for Trevor Banham and his team of rangers.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17How many rabbits are you having to get rid of in a year?
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Currently around 10,000 a year, in the forest
0:15:20 > 0:15:23which is nothing compared to the old days when the forest
0:15:23 > 0:15:27was being established in the '20s when 100,000 plus a year would be killed.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29Where do the rabbits go once you've caught them?
0:15:29 > 0:15:34All these rabbits here will go off to the game dealer and they go into the food chain.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38The rangers themselves may feed their dogs or ferrets on them.
0:15:38 > 0:15:39How do the guys work this, then?
0:15:39 > 0:15:43What you've got is Dudley and Paul here, they're working the ferret
0:15:43 > 0:15:47to hopefully bolt the rabbits out so they can get shot.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49They have just put the ferret in there.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Now you just wait for the rabbit to bolt?
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Hopefully, yes. The ferret's got a collar around his neck.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59This collar has a transmitter in it and Dudley or Paul will have the receiver
0:15:59 > 0:16:04in his pocket and they'll have to draw that out and find out where the ferret is laying up underground.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Some people would think it was cruel to kill rabbits.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12In some areas, we need rabbits. They can be a useful tool.
0:16:12 > 0:16:18For somewhere like heathlands, we need them grazed, in conjunction with sheep, we get that happening.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22But what else can we do? Rabbits are rabbits, and as we know they breed like rabbits!
0:16:22 > 0:16:24We have to control numbers.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29It's all part of the management of the forest, the habitat, the environment.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31It's all part of a bigger picture.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Lucky for the rabbits, an unproductive day for the ferret and wardens,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38and proof that controlling their numbers seems to be working.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Thetford's rabbits may have fallen from grace over the last few years,
0:16:41 > 0:16:47but with careful management it's hoped that their future here is a more harmonious one.
0:16:52 > 0:16:59I've left Peddar's Way behind me and followed Adam deep into the shady heart of Thetford Forest.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04It may seem hard to believe, but this magnificent forest was actually
0:17:04 > 0:17:08created after World War One to provide a strategic reserve
0:17:08 > 0:17:14of timber as most of the oaks and slow-growing trees in this country had been lost to the war effort.
0:17:16 > 0:17:22Its creation destroyed much of the typical Breckland environment of gorse and sandy ridges.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26But, of course, that environment was itself man-made, since the area
0:17:26 > 0:17:30had been stripped by activities like flint mining and rabbit grazing.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Today, the forest feels and looks completely established.
0:17:35 > 0:17:42There's something incredibly peaceful and quiet about walking in the forest enveloped in the trees.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44But that tranquillity is about to be shattered
0:17:44 > 0:17:49because I'm taking to the canopy and a high-wire, I'm going ape.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04The origins of Go Ape lie in France.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Back in 2001, Triss and Becks Mayhew were on holiday in the Auvergne.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12They came across a French family swinging through the trees.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15From the looks on their faces, it was clear both the kids
0:18:15 > 0:18:18and their parents were having the time of their lives.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22Eight years later, they've built one of the fastest growing companies in the country.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Right, I'm harnessed up, let's find out what this is all about.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- Simon.- Nice to meet you.- I'm Ben.
0:18:31 > 0:18:32- How are you?- Very well.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36- What's going to happen today, what's Go Ape about?- We're about to have a couple of hours of fun.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38It's effectively an assault course
0:18:38 > 0:18:40which is up to about 40 feet up in the air.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45What I love is already the forest is reverberating to the sound of laughter. That's a good sign.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47What's the first plan of action?
0:18:47 > 0:18:52The first step, we've checked you're in the equipment safely and now we have to run through the safety brief.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57Attached to the front of your harness there are two yellow and blue safety lines.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Around about belly-button height we have a metal ring,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03- and you also have a pulley attached to your harness.- Yep.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06Around every tree on the course, there is a red safety halo
0:19:06 > 0:19:09into which you must clip your carabiniers one at a time.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12When I clip them in, I clip one in one direction and the second one
0:19:12 > 0:19:17in the opposite direction, making sure they're both closed. Release the pulley from the harness,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20pop it over the top of the cable, from the halo around the tree,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24place that straight through both the holes in the bottom of the pulley, long safety on.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Clip that onto the cable directly behind the pulley,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30it always goes behind it, and notice how the carabiniers are opposite.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40So, Simon, what would you hope the visitors here get out of an experience like this?
0:19:40 > 0:19:44It's really just to get them back out in the countryside and really,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48as our company ethos says, to live life a bit more adventurously.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Does it have a negative impact on the environment?
0:19:50 > 0:19:55The local bird population seems to be fluctuating well, and as they're a top end indicator
0:19:55 > 0:19:57of what's happening here, they seem to be showing us
0:19:57 > 0:20:01that what we're doing here is, if anything, having a beneficial effect.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06Fantastic. This is where we're going to start. Am I all set, then?
0:20:06 > 0:20:09We've completed your training, Ben. Now it's up to you.
0:20:09 > 0:20:10- Go have some fun.- I can't wait!
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Let's see if I can remember everything. This clips onto here.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18- Ta-da.- Perfect.- OK.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Right. Wish me luck!
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Really excited about this.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Right, now this is called the Tarzan Swing.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31To be honest, it looks quite scary.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Anyway, here we go. We're all on.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Oh, I missed it!
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Ha, ha, ha! Woo-hoo!
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I LOVE this!
0:21:05 > 0:21:11Woo! You don't have to take the high wire to enjoy the Thetford forest.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13THEY CHEER
0:21:13 > 0:21:18Using the forest as a playground brings many pleasures, not all of them planned.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Under cover of night, things are even less predictable.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28I'm really excited
0:21:28 > 0:21:30because I've been invited to the equinox star party.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32I'm nearly there.
0:21:37 > 0:21:38Ta-da!
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Put that light out! >
0:21:40 > 0:21:43I should have realised, not those sort of stars.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Forget glamour and celebrities, think tents and anoraks.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50This is the only convention for British amateur astronomers.
0:21:50 > 0:21:56200 people are camping here in Thetford Forest in Norfolk to look at stars, and planets, and galaxies.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59It's a field where size and technology matter.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02This is one that I've had for a couple of years now.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05So what can you see through that, then? Everything?
0:22:05 > 0:22:10Oh, yes. This is what you would call a computer-controlled telescope.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12What you would do is...
0:22:13 > 0:22:17..you'd punch in the coordinates of an object that you want to look at
0:22:17 > 0:22:21and the telescope's computer will automatically slew the telescope to the object.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Which may take some of the skill out of it,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28but does mean that we can see views once reserved for scientists, like the sun.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33You need special filters to see the sun through a telescope - without them, it would blind you.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Here at the sky party, there are plenty of experts to help the uninitiated.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Konrad, what can I expect to see at this time of year?
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Now that we're approaching autumn,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46you'll find that Orion would be rising.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Not too far from the constellation Orion
0:22:48 > 0:22:50is the constellation of Taurus.
0:22:50 > 0:22:55And in Taurus the Bull, you'll find a nebula called the Crab Nebula,
0:22:55 > 0:22:59which is the result of a supernova explosion about 900 years ago.
0:22:59 > 0:23:05Now, since then, it's been discovered that the centre of the supernova explosion
0:23:05 > 0:23:09is a rotating, hyper-dense object called the neutron star,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12a model of which I'm presently holding in my hand.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14And it goes extremely fast.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17This particular model isn't actually the Crab Nebula pulsar,
0:23:17 > 0:23:22but it does go around like this and if you happened to be standing
0:23:22 > 0:23:24so that the torch sweeps in your direction,
0:23:24 > 0:23:30you will see the lights and see flashes once every 30 seconds.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Right, that's clear, then.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35At least there's a chance of seeing a pulsar,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38whereas astronomers have to leave the country
0:23:38 > 0:23:40to get photographs as stunning as this.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42The skies in Britain are awful.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45We suffer from something called light pollution.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48This is stray lights blocking out the beauties of the night sky.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51We go abroad to do away with that problem.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55We go to a protected site in the Canary Islands, on top of a mountain
0:23:55 > 0:23:57where the sky is arguably the best in the world.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01You take these fantastic pictures. We're standing in the middle of nowhere,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03surely there's no light pollution here?
0:24:03 > 0:24:06There's light pollution in virtually every site in the UK.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10No matter how far you travel in the UK, you'll find some form of light pollution,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14and it's getting worse all the time. It's a growing problem.
0:24:14 > 0:24:20Caused by us. So this event is open to the public to give astronomers the chance to explain
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and, of course, to show off their equipment in the hope that more of us
0:24:23 > 0:24:28will be inspired to spend sleepless nights gazing into the sky.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30I'm enjoying just seeing all the telescopes
0:24:30 > 0:24:34and being able to use them, because I hope that they're going to
0:24:34 > 0:24:36let me come round this evening and use them.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39You need to see the stars at night to appreciate
0:24:39 > 0:24:41what it really is, and how far away they are.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45It's amazing, it blows your mind. Phenomenal, really.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47It really is, yeah.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49And that's before the bar opened.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51As for the astronomers...
0:24:51 > 0:24:53I always come here and go home full of ideas,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56so plenty of ideas to build a new telescope for next year.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59We came along really to meet other astronomers,
0:24:59 > 0:25:04to see the equipment and generally just to meet other people, really.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07- And drink?- And drink, yes! We had a few!
0:25:08 > 0:25:12As darkness falls, the stargazers prepare for a long night.
0:25:12 > 0:25:18Warm food and thermal undies at the ready. All we need is a clear sky.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22It's night, and it's cold, and there are a lot of telescopes set up,
0:25:22 > 0:25:24but everybody's gone to the bar.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27That's because it's really cloudy and you can't see a thing.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34About two or three years ago, I discovered a new minor planet, an asteroid,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38a lump of rock going round between Mars and Jupiter.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40So I went out one night and found it.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43It's a bit of real estate, it's only 30 miles across,
0:25:43 > 0:25:45but there's a bit of real estate that's mine.
0:25:45 > 0:25:46Take you a long time to visit it,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49- wouldn't it?- Yeah, take a fair amount of time to do that!
0:25:49 > 0:25:51How long would it take to get there?
0:25:51 > 0:25:55It's something like about 270 million miles away.
0:25:55 > 0:25:56So have any of you seen a UFO?
0:25:56 > 0:25:59There was one occasion when it was about 4am,
0:25:59 > 0:26:00I was probably a bit tired
0:26:00 > 0:26:03and I saw a little green dot appear and disappear.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06I was really confused for several days
0:26:06 > 0:26:08as to what that could have been. It was a meteorite.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13One night I was out in the garden and I could see all these things
0:26:13 > 0:26:17moving round in the sky. I thought, "What the hell are they?"
0:26:17 > 0:26:20What it was, it was a flock of pigeons
0:26:20 > 0:26:23that the lights from the high street where shining up
0:26:23 > 0:26:28and catching underneath their wings as they were going round.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33I was looking up, "What the hell is that?"
0:26:39 > 0:26:42The sky cleared, the bar cleared, the stars came out.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48As did the men. This is a bit of a boys' night out.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Maybe women simply appreciate the view without the gizmos.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Low-tech...
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Hi-tech...
0:26:58 > 0:27:01even computer imaging, it's all here.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05This is one advantage, the poor visual observers can't see Saturn at all,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08and yet look how clear it is on a computer screen.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11But in a way, though, because this is computerised,
0:27:11 > 0:27:15it doesn't seem real. Whereas if you look up and can see something, then it...
0:27:15 > 0:27:19- Do you see what I mean? Or am I being a purist?- You are being a purist!
0:27:19 > 0:27:21THEY LAUGH
0:27:21 > 0:27:23You need to be elsewhere and amongst others!
0:27:23 > 0:27:24THEY LAUGH
0:27:34 > 0:27:38After a starry night comes dawn, and the rain.
0:27:45 > 0:27:52Close to Thetford Forest is Lynford arboretum, and I'm starting the day here listening to birdsong.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01It seems that rain really is a big part of this area.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05I've been to rainforests before, but never in the UK.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09Now, a feature of spring and summer is the dawn chorus,
0:28:09 > 0:28:14something that very few of us get to experience intentionally.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18But I set the alarm early, it's 4.30am and I'm off to listen
0:28:18 > 0:28:21to one of these musical wonders of the natural world.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30I'm armed with a special parabolic microphone
0:28:30 > 0:28:35that can pick out individual birdsong over great distances.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40Luckily, I'm also armed with a forest ecologist who can explain exactly what I'm hearing.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45First of all, what is the dawn chorus? Why are the birds so active at this early time in the morning?
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Birds are up and they're wanting
0:28:47 > 0:28:51to basically drive a stake into the ground and say, "This is mine,
0:28:51 > 0:28:53"I'm here, this is my territory, keep out"
0:28:53 > 0:28:56to all of the other birds of the same species.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00So is it a case of the noisiest bird wins, or the most musical?
0:29:00 > 0:29:05It's a combination of both. Studies have shown
0:29:05 > 0:29:11that it's birds with both the brightest and loudest song,
0:29:11 > 0:29:15but also, other species, it's the ones with the most clever song,
0:29:15 > 0:29:18the most complex and involved and intricate song.
0:29:27 > 0:29:32I can hear, somewhere along here, it sounds like it's in that tree.
0:29:32 > 0:29:38Yeah, the sedge warbler, he's definitely chirping away quite loudly in this willow just here.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41In this low bit of scrub on the edge of the meadow.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46He's got a very complex series of calls, different phrases,
0:29:46 > 0:29:50from those scratchy noises right through
0:29:50 > 0:29:56to trilling and fluty warbling sort of sounds.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00- Is it true that birds can have regional accents?- Yes, yes, they do.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04They gradually become more complicated, the sounds,
0:30:04 > 0:30:07and regionally become different, more varied.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10Some experts can tell which part of the country they're in
0:30:10 > 0:30:14by just listening to the range of sounds that certain species make.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25We've got something in this tree over here. Can you tell what that is?
0:30:25 > 0:30:30Yes, he's a male chaffinch, probably our most common finch,
0:30:30 > 0:30:35he'll turn up in anybody's garden or in the park.
0:30:35 > 0:30:41He gives a very short trill and then a series of descending little sounds.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45It's a very compact and quite a short call, it's not complex.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50That's, I think, him at the top there. You can't really distinguish the colours in this light.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54No, but if you saw him on a nice sunny day,
0:30:54 > 0:31:02you'd see he has a nice, warm, peachy breast and a nice blue cap and a green rump.
0:31:02 > 0:31:03Quite a handsome bird.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14Well, we are in England after all.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18I'm soaked through, but I've had a magical morning.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21While I dry off from this very British weather,
0:31:21 > 0:31:25it's intriguing to think that one of Thetford's most famous residents
0:31:25 > 0:31:28would have been used to a very different climate.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32Duleep Singh was the last Maharajah of the Punjab.
0:31:38 > 0:31:44This fine statue of him stands by the river in Thetford, but how did he get here?
0:31:44 > 0:31:47He became Maharajah at the age of five,
0:31:47 > 0:31:54but the defeat of the Sikh Army by the British during the 1840s meant that he lost his kingdom.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57The Maharajah was offered a deal by the British -
0:31:57 > 0:32:00"Give up everything in the Punjab, live in exile in England,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03"and we'll give you a hefty pension.
0:32:03 > 0:32:08"Reject that, and you can live in poverty in the Punjab under British rule."
0:32:08 > 0:32:10He didn't have much of a choice, did he?
0:32:10 > 0:32:14He handed everything over, including the famous Koh-I-Noor diamond.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16This isn't the real one,
0:32:16 > 0:32:19this is a replica in the Ancient House Museum in Thetford,
0:32:19 > 0:32:21which was set up by one of his sons.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24The real diamond is part of the Crown Jewels.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29Duleep Singh was the first Sikh to live in England.
0:32:29 > 0:32:34He brought an estate at Elveden near Thetford and became a favourite of Queen Victoria.
0:32:34 > 0:32:40He converted to Christianity and enjoyed the privileged life of an English country gent.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43There's no doubt that he took to East Anglia, he took to Thetford.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47After all, his roots lay in the countryside.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49The Punjab, which was his kingdom,
0:32:49 > 0:32:50is an agrarian community.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53He hosted many royal shooting parties here,
0:32:53 > 0:32:58he still holds a record for the greatest number of grouse shot in one day.
0:32:58 > 0:33:03It seems that he fitted in very well into a rigid Victorian society.
0:33:03 > 0:33:08He was affectionately known as the Black Prince, and although he was a bit of an enigma,
0:33:08 > 0:33:10the fact that he was Christian,
0:33:10 > 0:33:15the fact he was a philanthropist, a benefactor, meant that he had a very good reputation.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17Was he ever allowed back to the Punjab?
0:33:17 > 0:33:20He was never allowed to go back to his own kingdom, Punjab.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22So he did try to go back?
0:33:22 > 0:33:24He tried, and towards the end of his life,
0:33:24 > 0:33:28we see him leading agitations against the government to say,
0:33:28 > 0:33:31"Look, can I be restored to my kingdom?
0:33:31 > 0:33:35"Can the promises made to me as part of the treaty be kept?"
0:33:35 > 0:33:37Unfortunately, they were all broken.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41His allowance was reduced, he was deprived of all of his assets.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45But he remains a very potent figure for the Sikhs.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50He was our last ruler, so whilst he doesn't have any spiritual significance,
0:33:50 > 0:33:53as a cultural and historical figure he's unmatched.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57At the end of his life,
0:33:57 > 0:34:02Duleep Singh was living in Paris, his health broken, virtually penniless.
0:34:02 > 0:34:08He died in 1893 at the age of 55 and his body was brought back to England
0:34:08 > 0:34:12to be buried here in the churchyard at Elveden.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16The final resting place of the last Maharajah of the Punjab.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24I'm on a journey in the heart of East Anglia.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28I began in Tibenham and travelled to Knettishall.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31I then went into the canopy of the Thetford forest.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35Now I've travelled to a place called Grime's Graves.
0:34:38 > 0:34:44This grassy, lunar landscape is actually evidence of an ancient industrial site,
0:34:44 > 0:34:49consisting of over 400 shafts, pits, quarries and spoil dumps.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Set in the distinctive Beckland Heath landscape, Grime's Graves
0:34:52 > 0:34:56is the only Neolithic flint mine open to visitors in Britain.
0:34:58 > 0:35:03The area was once known as Grimm's Graves, or The Devil's Holes.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07It wasn't until one was excavated in 1870 that they discovered
0:35:07 > 0:35:13they dated back more than 5,000 years, to late Neolithic times.
0:35:17 > 0:35:23What the prehistoric miners were looking for was the fine-quality, jet-black flint floor stone,
0:35:23 > 0:35:26which occurs some nine metres below surface level.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30Digging with red deer antler picks, they sank shafts
0:35:30 > 0:35:34from which radiated gallery tunnels, following the seams.
0:35:34 > 0:35:39John Lord, a master flintknapper, is going to show me how this prized stone was worked.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46So, there are different types of flint, obviously?
0:35:46 > 0:35:50It differs in where it is in the chalk strata.
0:35:50 > 0:35:51You get the upper flints,
0:35:51 > 0:35:55they're usually rather small, irregular nodules
0:35:55 > 0:35:57and not much use for a great deal.
0:35:57 > 0:36:03A bit further down, you get larger, very regular-shaped nodules and then, lower than that,
0:36:03 > 0:36:10you get lenticular boulders, sometimes metres across, as you find here in parts of Grime's Graves.
0:36:10 > 0:36:15So, how would they have then started working a piece of flint like this?
0:36:15 > 0:36:22They pick an area that's got either a natural fracture or a concavity,
0:36:22 > 0:36:28and they'd start working it into a rough out, depending on what they were making.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32If you want me to show you this, do you want to pop a pair of these on?
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Eye protection. I'm sure they didn't have these,
0:36:35 > 0:36:37but I'm sure they had this weather,
0:36:37 > 0:36:39and they would have been out whatever.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43- Wow. Oh, look at that! - Beautiful stuff.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46It's amazing how easily it shatters.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49Does that mean that it's not very strong?
0:36:49 > 0:36:51It's incredibly strong.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55The surface of the flint is harder than steel.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59Any cutting edge that you produce will last a lot longer than steel.
0:36:59 > 0:37:05And in late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age times, what would they have made out of flint?
0:37:05 > 0:37:07What would they have used it for?
0:37:07 > 0:37:11Axes, knives, scrapers, really general tools.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Can I have a go at breaking it?
0:37:14 > 0:37:20- Whack it with the round edge, about there.- About there.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23Not much good in wetting the spot, because it's already wet!
0:37:23 > 0:37:26- So, quite hard?- Positive.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28Good shot.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32Yeah? That's amazing. It shatters like glass.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36If you warmed it up, it's got the components, it would turn to glass.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39So, how did you learn how to do this?
0:37:40 > 0:37:42I'm still learning, really.
0:37:42 > 0:37:49I've been doing it for 35 years, but I think I started really learning this when I worked here.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53There were so many people interested in the site,
0:37:53 > 0:37:59and exactly what went on. I was answering questions, or trying to answer questions.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04I thought, I'd better find out how it's done before I start telling anybody.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06Can you see that taper now?
0:38:06 > 0:38:09- Yes, exactly.- Just gradual.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13It's going to go into a haft, and the wedge shape will hold it there.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16So, the wooden handle effectively?
0:38:16 > 0:38:20- So, we've now got the workings of a Neolithic axe?- Yeah.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Do you think you could fell some trees with that?
0:38:23 > 0:38:28This will penetrate and cut timber down. If you can haft it comfortably, certainly.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31That was absolutely fascinating, thank you very much.
0:38:31 > 0:38:32And in the rain!
0:38:32 > 0:38:34THEY LAUGH
0:38:42 > 0:38:46I've left Grime's Graves behind, and I'm heading further south,
0:38:46 > 0:38:50to the town of Newmarket, and its world-famous racetrack.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08This is the home of one of Britain's top racehorse trainers,
0:39:08 > 0:39:12and I've been given exclusive access to follow the day in the life of a thoroughbred.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16And what's more, today is no ordinary day - it's race day.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25- Good morning.- Hello. - You must be Linda.- Yes.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28Hi, Linda, I'm Ben. Nice to meet you. Who's this very handsome boy?
0:39:28 > 0:39:32- This is Marosh.- He's beautiful.
0:39:32 > 0:39:33He is, very. He's very nice.
0:39:33 > 0:39:38So, early in the morning, this is his big race day. Do you know what time he's actually racing?
0:39:38 > 0:39:39He's running at 5.45.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41So, he's got the whole day ahead of him.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43So, what's the first thing this morning?
0:39:43 > 0:39:46He's going on to the walker in a moment,
0:39:46 > 0:39:49and he's going to have an exercise on there for half an hour.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52So, he has a groom now, before he goes on.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56And then, after that, he'll spend the day relaxing before this afternoon.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58- So, how old is Marosh?- He's two.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00And is that the age of most racehorses?
0:40:00 > 0:40:03Yes, they begin their career at two
0:40:03 > 0:40:05and they can go on for a good few years.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09Is your heart in your mouth when you watch them racing? Do you get nervous?
0:40:09 > 0:40:14It is, because you're really rooting for them, and obviously you do so much work with them every day,
0:40:14 > 0:40:17and it's so good to see them do well.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19It's really good to watch them progress.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28- Does he know where we're going now?- Yeah.- Do they enjoy it?
0:40:28 > 0:40:31- Yeah, he loves his exercise.- Really?
0:40:32 > 0:40:35He's anxious to get going, isn't he?
0:40:35 > 0:40:36He loves it on there.
0:40:36 > 0:40:42So, the idea of this, this is just a fast walking pace?
0:40:42 > 0:40:44They'll get a nice brisk walk on here.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47- He looks quite frisky. - He is quite frisky.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50Obviously, he's a colt so he can be quite playful,
0:40:50 > 0:40:57quite boisterous, but that's all part of who he is and that's obviously a good thing in a racehorse.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01Marosh's race-day is set to a strict schedule.
0:41:01 > 0:41:07Following his morning exercise on the walker, he's put back into his freshly mucked-out stable.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12At lunch, he has a special mix feed, fresh water then, in the afternoon, a good rest.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16Finally, he's groomed, tacked up, and given some finishing touches
0:41:16 > 0:41:23to make sure he's looking his best before he's put into the trailer for the short drive to Newmarket races.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30There we have it, Marosh is safely in the horsebox.
0:41:30 > 0:41:35He's been groomed, he's had a nice relaxing day, and now, the really hard stuff begins.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38We're off to the 5.45 at Newmarket.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45Race-day is the measure of all the hard work and preparation a stable puts in.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47All these horses are bred to be winners,
0:41:47 > 0:41:52and the showcase for British thoroughbred breeding is the National Stud.
0:41:59 > 0:42:04It's reckoned one in four people living in Newmarket is involved in the racing business.
0:42:04 > 0:42:09Just outside the town is the National Stud, dedicated to breeding thoroughbreds.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14And perhaps its most famous stallion was the great Derby winner Mill Reef.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19As part of its educational brief, the stud is open to the public.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24So, was the National Stud actually set up to breed racehorses?
0:42:24 > 0:42:25Not originally, no.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28It was originally set up in 1916,
0:42:28 > 0:42:30when a chap called Colonel Hall Walker,
0:42:30 > 0:42:33who later became Lord Wavertree,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36gifted his horses to the government,
0:42:36 > 0:42:40with the idea of breeding and producing horses for the army.
0:42:40 > 0:42:47Obviously, that need became less and less as time passed by and we've evolved into what we are now.
0:42:47 > 0:42:52Horse racing is an elitist sport, you've got to be pretty wealthy to get really involved in it,
0:42:52 > 0:42:56so is the National Stud trying to do anything to make it more accessible?
0:42:56 > 0:43:00Yes, that's the whole raison d'etre actually, of the National Stud,
0:43:00 > 0:43:03is about raising awareness and educating people.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06One of the means of doing that is our owner breeders' clubs.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09The most recent one is the Blakeney Club,
0:43:09 > 0:43:16which is open to anybody to join for £1,500 and it's a five-year club.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20They own their own mares, the mares have foals,
0:43:20 > 0:43:22one of the foals per year may be retained
0:43:22 > 0:43:26to go into training as a two-year-old, and the others are sold.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30So they have the experience of being involved with the purchase of mares,
0:43:30 > 0:43:34the covering and mating plans of mares, the racing of the two-year-old,
0:43:34 > 0:43:38and then the selling of all the bloodstock at the end of the five years.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42The National Stud also runs government-funded diploma courses,
0:43:42 > 0:43:45which are free to young people from all backgrounds
0:43:45 > 0:43:50who are wanting to take up a career in the racing industry.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52What kind of things are you learning?
0:43:52 > 0:43:56We're learning about the care of the mare and foal,
0:43:56 > 0:43:59how to look after sick foals, or ill foals.
0:43:59 > 0:44:04And the problems we have getting mares and foals sometimes.
0:44:04 > 0:44:09Would you have been able to do this course if you had to pay for it?
0:44:09 > 0:44:11It would have been quite difficult,
0:44:11 > 0:44:15cos it would have cost quite a bit, with accommodation and food.
0:44:15 > 0:44:16So what's your ambition,
0:44:16 > 0:44:20once you've got the Diploma? And you're going to get it, aren't you?
0:44:20 > 0:44:24I'm going to get it! I'm hoping to go travelling across the world
0:44:24 > 0:44:29and experience how studs are run in Australia and New Zealand.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33The stud has a line-up of six top-class stallions,
0:44:33 > 0:44:36and owners of mares pay competitive rates to have them mated,
0:44:36 > 0:44:39hoping for winners like this.
0:44:39 > 0:44:45Because gestation lasts for 340 days, owners have a long wait before they see the results.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49Right now, it's foaling time. This little filly was born six weeks ago.
0:44:49 > 0:44:54She was one of the first. Since then, there have been another 40, and there could be 50 more to come.
0:45:03 > 0:45:08Can you tell at this early age, this one is just a few weeks old, whether it's got potential?
0:45:08 > 0:45:14You can always tell if you've a nice foal when they're born
0:45:14 > 0:45:15and then you hope...
0:45:15 > 0:45:18you hope everybody else, when they go to the sales,
0:45:18 > 0:45:20will see they have potential.
0:45:20 > 0:45:27Over the years of working with these animals, you do get to instantly recognise if it's a nice foal.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29Would you put your money on this one or not?
0:45:29 > 0:45:35This foal here is by a first-season sire called Starcraft.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39He was an exceptional racehorse. Hopefully, this has every chance
0:45:39 > 0:45:43and will be, hopefully, as good as his dad one day.
0:45:43 > 0:45:48Do you ever have a bet on a foal that you've seen delivered here?
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Every mare I've foaled, I've followed their offspring
0:45:51 > 0:45:54and I always like to keep track of which trainer they go to,
0:45:54 > 0:45:57their names and like to watch them on the racecourse.
0:45:57 > 0:46:04If there's one or two I always was very fond of, I normally support them when they go to the races.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06You make a profit from it then?
0:46:06 > 0:46:10No, no! The biggest tip is not to back them.
0:46:20 > 0:46:27And, who knows, maybe in a few years' time, this young colt could be a star of the turf.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34Today, I'm hoping the star of the turf will be Marosh.
0:46:34 > 0:46:41We're arriving at the famous Newmarket racecourse for his big race. The 5.45.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44Marosh's trainer is already here.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46First of all, what makes a good racehorse?
0:46:46 > 0:46:50Pedigree, conformation... size of the engine.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52Here he comes, in fact, with Linda.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Looking a bit frisky today.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57Yes, he's a bit friskier than he was this morning.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59This morning, he wasn't subdued at all,
0:46:59 > 0:47:01but he was very quiet and very relaxed,
0:47:01 > 0:47:04but he's definitely a little bit more on his toes,
0:47:04 > 0:47:05which is a good sign.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07- You're happy with that?- Definitely.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09What do you think his chances are today?
0:47:09 > 0:47:13I'd say he's got a very good chance. If we were second, I'd be delighted.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Third, I'd be a smidgen disappointed,
0:47:15 > 0:47:19fourth, very disappointed, fifth, I'll be home before he gets home.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27- This is the saddle? - This is the saddle.
0:47:27 > 0:47:32Not much of it. It's teeny. That's just extraordinary, isn't it?
0:47:32 > 0:47:36Yes, that's a fair-sized saddle, actually, compared to what some of them use.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40It's very important, the weight of the jockey, the saddle and the horse, is that right?
0:47:40 > 0:47:47It adds up to the weight on the race card, which is nine stone three, I think. Yes, this is a weight cloth.
0:47:47 > 0:47:53A chamois to stop the saddle from slipping and a number cloth.
0:47:59 > 0:48:04With the saddle fitted, the remainder of the nine stone three is our jockey for the day.
0:48:04 > 0:48:06You're confident today?
0:48:06 > 0:48:09- Yes, very much so.- Is there much rivalry between you jockeys?
0:48:09 > 0:48:13Um... Yeah, we're all mates, but at the end of the day,
0:48:13 > 0:48:17when we come out here, it's about winning.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20No inches asked and no inches given.
0:48:20 > 0:48:26It's just part and parcel of the job. It's the way it goes.
0:48:26 > 0:48:31- I'm going to put some money on you. Please win.- I'll do my best.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35I don't think any of the newcomers are going to lead. I doubt that.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39If Johnson wants to go on, just sit right on its quarters all the way.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42Yeah, I'm going to quarter-up to him pretty much from the word go.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45Beautiful. I don't mind if you lead all the way.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48You know he's as straight as a die. He knows his job. Good, OK.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50Good luck.
0:48:51 > 0:48:57The time's come to part with some of my hard-earned cash on the lovely Marosh.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01Hello. Can I please put £5 on Marosh?
0:49:02 > 0:49:03£5 on Number 2.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06Yes, please. So that's 9 to 2?
0:49:06 > 0:49:09Four-and-a-half to one. If it wins, I'll pay you 5-1.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12Yes, will you? Can I shake on that, a gentleman's agreement?
0:49:12 > 0:49:145-1 on Marosh.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23I began my Norfolk journey high in the sky above Tibenham Airfield.
0:49:23 > 0:49:29I travelled along the Peddar's Way before going ape up in the trees of Thetford Forest.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33I then went to Lynford and on to the Neolithic site of Grime's Graves
0:49:33 > 0:49:37before arriving at my final destination, Newmarket.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45Newmarket is known as the historic home of horseracing.
0:49:45 > 0:49:49It has two racecourses and 50 miles of gallop turf.
0:49:49 > 0:49:54Typically, there are over 2,500 racehorses training in this area.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56But for me, it's all about one horse.
0:49:56 > 0:50:01We've followed Marosh throughout the day and he's about to compete in his big race,
0:50:01 > 0:50:03the 5.45.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07Right, I have put my bet on.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09- How much have you put on?- £5.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11- Each way or on the nose? - I don't know.
0:50:11 > 0:50:18I got the worst odds, I got 9-2, but then he promised me 5-1. But I assume I just put it on winning.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21Apparently, I take home about £27 if I win.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24That would buy you fish and chips and a nice bottle of wine.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26- You must be Tom.- I am, indeed.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28You're one of the owners of Marosh?
0:50:28 > 0:50:29I am, yes.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33You look very... Everyone is relaxed. I think I'm the only one that has got nerves today.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36We're probably more used to it than you, in fairness.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39I was nervous when he ran in France because it's a long way to go
0:50:39 > 0:50:43if he had underperformed. Here, it's only just down the road.
0:50:43 > 0:50:49He's run before. We're hopeful, but there's a horse that's really quite well fancied in the race.
0:50:49 > 0:50:54Perhaps if we were that horse, I'd be more nervous because we'd be expected to win.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57You're the underdogs and therefore the pressure isn't on you?
0:50:57 > 0:51:01We're still second in the betting, so fingers crossed we can come second.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04What would it mean to you if Marosh did win?
0:51:04 > 0:51:07It would be very nice, to be honest.
0:51:07 > 0:51:12With the youngsters, it's always, I think, an extra little buzz
0:51:12 > 0:51:15that you've actually bought when they're a yearling,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19that you've found something that's quite nice and you watch them grow up
0:51:19 > 0:51:21at the stables, whereas perhaps with an older horse,
0:51:21 > 0:51:25a lot of what they do on the racetrack has already been there before.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27It's not unexpected.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30Perhaps an element of surprise and added buzz with a young one.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32We're off. Here we go.
0:51:32 > 0:51:37Wearing orange and blue and the number two is our horse, Marosh.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44- ANNOUNCER:- Social Grace on the right through the first furlong.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47The favourite's leading and we're third.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52- We're closing up now. - Come on!
0:51:52 > 0:51:58Furlong and a half complete, it's The Hermitage, Joe Fanning controlling the pace here.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02Marosh, Shane Kelly in the blue and orange striding on.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05Social Grace pushed along...
0:52:06 > 0:52:09The finish line is just here.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11- Where is he?- He's just up there.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Come on! Here they come!
0:52:13 > 0:52:20Social Grace begins to run on from Audacity Of Hope, Marosh and Rosedale.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24The Hermitage has quickened a couple of lengths clear.
0:52:24 > 0:52:29Social Grace is back in third. The Hermitage is extending.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33Roaring away. Joe Fanning steals a peek. No dangers for The Hermitage...
0:52:36 > 0:52:39Ohhhh! Fourth place for Marosh.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41- He finished.- He did.
0:52:41 > 0:52:43And we can blame you for cursing him.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46Are you disappointed by that?
0:52:46 > 0:52:49Yes, there may possibly be an explanation,
0:52:49 > 0:52:54the ground may not have been right for him, it might have been a false pace, we don't know.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57- I think we should see what the jockey says.- Absolutely.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00That's a bit disappointing.
0:53:12 > 0:53:17So, I think everyone's a bit disappointed, really.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21Fourth, but we'll go and find out how the jockey found it.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23The conditions are pretty quick.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27It was all happening a bit too fast for him.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29Because of the downhill into the dip,
0:53:29 > 0:53:33he didn't handle that well because he wasn't travelling that well.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35The conditions were just against him.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39He's a horse for the future, I'd say, more so than actually now.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42Do think so? So there is a bright light?
0:53:42 > 0:53:47Absolutely. The ground was just a little bit too lively for him.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49- Yes.- OK.- Thanks. - Thank you very much.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52And thank you guys for letting me follow you throughout the day.
0:53:52 > 0:53:58- Sorry it wasn't as happy an ending as we hoped, but, hey, he lives to run another day.- Exactly.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00- Fantastic.- Thanks very much. - Thank you.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02He's having a deserved bath.
0:54:09 > 0:54:14Well, I began this journey soaring thousands of feet above the East Anglia countryside
0:54:14 > 0:54:19and I've ended it with my feet firmly on the ground here at the famous racecourse in Newmarket.
0:54:19 > 0:54:24Sadly, Marosh was not a winner and it looks like my million will have to wait for another day.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd