0:00:18 > 0:00:22Today I'm on a Cornish journey across the striking Bodmin Moor.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25I'll be using a number of different forms of transport,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28including this beautiful horse, also called Ben.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Eventually, we'll be ending up at the Atlantic Ocean.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36I'll be zig-zagging my way across Bodmin Moor, spending a night
0:00:36 > 0:00:41at the atmospheric Jamaica Inn, before heading for the surfers' paradise of Newquay.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Along the way, I'll be looking back at some of the best
0:00:44 > 0:00:48of the BBC's rural programmes from this part of the world.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50This is Country Tracks.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Bodmin Moor is a landscape which has not only provided inspiration
0:00:54 > 0:01:01to generations of writers, poets and sculptors, but it's also steeped in legend and folklore.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06Today I'm lucky enough to be riding with Ted Moore, who runs a riding stable on the moor.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Ted, you don't sound like you're from these parts originally?
0:01:10 > 0:01:12No, that's true.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17I've lived in Cornwall now for 21 years, but I was born
0:01:17 > 0:01:23- in Hong Kong of Scottish parents, and grew up in Scotland. - That's very exotic.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25I don't know!
0:01:25 > 0:01:27How long have you been riding out on the moor?
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Well, since we came here, 21 years ago.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33What a fantastic place to come out.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35There is no better riding country in the world.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Do you find it varies every day according to the weather?
0:01:38 > 0:01:45Yes. People have often said to me "Do you get blase with the beauty all the time?"
0:01:45 > 0:01:47And I say no, because it's constantly changing.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50You get dull days and sunny days...
0:01:50 > 0:01:52- And windy days like today! - Windy days, yeah!
0:01:52 > 0:01:56And you obviously see all the wild ponies who are out here as well.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Yes, there are quite a number.
0:01:58 > 0:01:59You sometimes see them very often.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Other times, days go by and you never see one, because they've
0:02:03 > 0:02:07got the whole moor to go at, and there's about 40,000 acres of that.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13How amazing. If you've seen the wild ponies, I have to ask whether you've ever seen the Beast of Bodmin?
0:02:13 > 0:02:15- No, never.- You're laughing now.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20Well, it's...it's a good tourist attraction.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22It's a bit like the Loch Ness monster.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24I'd like to think it's here.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Well, maybe it is. I'm keeping an open mind.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31I've never seen it, and I've never spoken to anybody who has.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35Ted might not believe in the Beast, but many around here that do,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39as John Craven found out back in 2005.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43It's a bitterly cold, crisp day here on top of Bodmin Moor,
0:02:43 > 0:02:48and you can see all the way down to the coast.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53But when this place is shrouded with mist, it can feel very sinister,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57and the locals believe that strange creatures are lurking here.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Tales of the Beast of Bodmin date back right to the 17th century.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04So, is it all a historical myth?
0:03:04 > 0:03:10New video footage of what is claimed to be the so-called Beast of Bodmin has been released this morning.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13The pictures of the black 3½ foot long animal
0:03:13 > 0:03:16form part of a dossier of dozens of sightings to be
0:03:16 > 0:03:19submitted to the Government for examination by experts.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Since then, there have been many more claims of sightings
0:03:22 > 0:03:29and encounters, and a lot of people really believe that there is a beast at large on this moor.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34But of course, stories about beasts in remote areas aren't just confined to Cornwall.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38These modern-day beasts are believed by many to be what
0:03:38 > 0:03:43are known as exotic felines, animals like leopards, pumas and panthers.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48But if these exotic creatures are roaming around British countryside,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51how did they get here in the first place?
0:03:51 > 0:03:54These cats arrived in Britain in several different waves.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58I think some of the very earliest ones were from Victorian times,
0:03:58 > 0:04:03when they had travelling menageries. Certainly, big cats escaped from those. We have it on record.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Secondly, the Dangerous Wild Animals Act in the mid '70s
0:04:07 > 0:04:10made it illegal to keep dangerous animals.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14You had to pay a very big licence fee and prove you could keep them safely.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16A lot of people just let them go.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21Thirdly, the Zoos Act didn't come into force until the early '80s.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27Before then, any Tom, Dick or Harry could start their own zoo. You didn't need to know anything about animals.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30You just needed to have a big backyard and a lot of money.
0:04:30 > 0:04:36Over the years, there have been lots of stories here in St Neot about a beast out on the moor.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41But ten years ago, there was a sighting which sparked off an official inquiry.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43I've seen 'em.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48And...there's a black leopard, and there's the puma.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50That's a browner animal.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52What sort of damage did they do to your livestock?
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Well, he killed several calves,
0:04:54 > 0:04:58and about 14 sheep, we lost.
0:04:58 > 0:05:04But for how long do you think an animal like a puma could survive on Bodmin Moor?
0:05:04 > 0:05:06He could survive forever.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09There's 1,000 acres of trees.
0:05:09 > 0:05:15Behind me, there's 250 acres of trees here, and beyond that,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18there's several hundred acres of the National Forestry people.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Was any action taken by the Government?
0:05:21 > 0:05:25They sent a chappie down to do a survey.
0:05:25 > 0:05:31Now, what's the point of sending a chap down in a pinstripe suit, smelling of aftershave,
0:05:31 > 0:05:38looking for a wild animal with a nose on it, with such a terrific nose on it,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42could smell a man 150, 200 yards away?
0:05:42 > 0:05:45The official government inquiry said that none of
0:05:45 > 0:05:50the evidence it had heard supported the presence of a big cat on the moor.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52So, inconclusive, really.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56But if there is anything out here, it could be dangerous.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00All cats kill very clinically, very cleanly.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03I lost a lamb in a field below us.
0:06:03 > 0:06:10And it was eaten...it was obviously grabbed around the neck.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12There was very little blood on the fleece.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14There was none on the ground.
0:06:14 > 0:06:20And the tongue was eaten, and just down a little bit into the chest, and the rest of it was left.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Mostly, it's an attack direct to the neck, breaking the neck,
0:06:23 > 0:06:28and then very cleanly dissecting it and eating the bits they want.
0:06:28 > 0:06:35A friend who's got horses has seen a lynx, and described it beautifully.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40From our landing window across there, we saw a large,
0:06:40 > 0:06:45black cat walking along the top of this hedge bank here.
0:06:45 > 0:06:51It doesn't worry me at all. I'm quite sure that they're very timid.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55They take the odd animal, the odd lamb, perhaps the odd calf.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59But apart from that, we don't have a great problem at all.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01I know of one that was shot.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06And that farmer's kept quiet, and I don't blame him.
0:07:06 > 0:07:12The last sighting in this area was lodged on the Big Cat Society website three months ago.
0:07:12 > 0:07:19But if these creatures were released into the wild many years ago, you'd expect them to be dead by now.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21So how come there are still sightings?
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Cats seem to suffer less from inbreeding than other animals,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27for reasons that aren't really understood yet.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Cats can withstand inbreeding quite well.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35So from a very small nucleus, a larger population could blossom.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39But the official Government inquiry back in 1995 said
0:07:39 > 0:07:43that cross-breeding of big cats would not occur in the countryside.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Now there have been demands for a fresh inquiry, but Whitehall says
0:07:47 > 0:07:51it's got no new evidence to suggest the situation would have changed.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55If DEFRA reopened the investigation, I'd like the conclusion to be
0:07:55 > 0:07:58that they can prove that big cats exist in Britain,
0:07:58 > 0:08:03that there might be a breeding population, not really to scare the public,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05but just tell the public the truth that they are there,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09and they are not dealing with the Loch Ness monster.
0:08:10 > 0:08:17Since that report was made in 2005, DEFRA have ceased all inquiries into the presence of a beast on the moor.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Among the locals, of course, the debate rages on.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24But there's much more to see than beasts on Bodmin Moor.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28So Ted, obviously there's a huge man-made impact on the moor as well.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30I can see lots of mines around.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Yes, that's true.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Copper mines, tin mines.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Arsenic was mined here, and in a few paces, gold.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44Really? And you've still got the old relics of the mines left?
0:08:44 > 0:08:45Yes, yes.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Chimneys seem to be the thing that survived most.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50You can see them sticking up everywhere.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Most of the deep shaft mining in this area sprang up in
0:08:54 > 0:08:58the late 1830s, but the boom ground to a halt after only 60 years.
0:08:58 > 0:09:06During that time, over 600,000 tonnes of copper alone was extracted from mines on Bodmin Moor.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10But there are signs of human activity that go back much, much further.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15Now, what are all these extraordinary stones that we're riding through now?
0:09:15 > 0:09:19They're known as the Hurlers, and the local legend is that
0:09:19 > 0:09:26some people were playing hurling on the Sabbath, and as a punishment were turned into stone.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31If you think about it, this is utter nonsense, because they reckon they're
0:09:31 > 0:09:37Bronze Age, which makes them about 3,500 years old, long before there was such a thing as the Sabbath.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39It's a nice story, though, isn't it?
0:09:39 > 0:09:43The moor is littered with relics of the past, both man-made and natural.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47It's something the locals live alongside every day.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52But not many have anything quite as spectacular as Adam Henson found in one back garden.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Well, this may look like an ordinary house, but it isn't.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Hidden beneath the back garden is a geological marvel that tells
0:10:00 > 0:10:04the tale of around 500 million years of history.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06- Hello, Caroline.- Hello.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08What attracted you to this house, then?
0:10:08 > 0:10:11We saw it for sale in one of the glossy property magazines that
0:10:11 > 0:10:13you browse through when you're bored,
0:10:13 > 0:10:18and it looked so beautiful, a house with a beautiful green, wooded valley around it.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21- And there was a surprise?- There was. We came down to view the house,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25- and got the surprise of our lives, literally.- Can I have a look?
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Certainly. This way.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31The property appealed to Caroline and her husband because of its forest setting,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34but they didn't bargain for the former quarry that came with it.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39The building used to house steam engines that transported slate from the mine.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Now they look out at the moss-covered rock face every day.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45What a remarkable thing to having your back garden.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Not bad for a water feature, is it?
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- Tell me about it. - This is part of the old quarry face.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55They were open cast quarrying the rock out of the valley here for many years.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58But this represents about 500 million years' worth of geology.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02It started off as mud on the ocean floor all those years ago,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05and was metamorphosed into slate about 300 million years ago.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09- What an amazing thing to find. - Not bad! You ain't seen nothing yet!
0:11:15 > 0:11:20Here we are, Adam. Welcome to Carnglaze Caverns.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24- Goodness me!- Right, hats on.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27- So what happened here?- This is where they were mining the rock out
0:11:27 > 0:11:30from underground until about 100 years ago.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34In the 19th century, this would have been a hive of activity,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38alive with the sounds of drills and the blasting of gunpowder.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40So this is where they got the slate out.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42How many miners would have worked down here?
0:11:42 > 0:11:46In teams of 4 or 5, there would have been perhaps 20 teams,
0:11:46 > 0:11:50or in later days anything like three or four teams, perhaps.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52What was life like for the slate miners, do you think?
0:11:52 > 0:11:56It was a pretty long, hard working day and a jolly difficult way of life.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59But an altogether better life than for tin or copper miners.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01That was a much more dangerous environment,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Here, it's a very stable rock.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08You've got plenty of wide open space, and it's ten degrees all year.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13It's very peaceful, so I don't think anything too awful could have happened here.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18Used by the Navy to store its precious rum supplies in the Second World War,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21now it's open to the public six days a week.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24For some, it's the site of a particularly special event.
0:12:24 > 0:12:25What happens here now?
0:12:25 > 0:12:29We are just going to be very still and quiet for a minute and listen.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35- Wow, look at that! - This is where we get married.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39People get married on the platform here with the lake as a backdrop.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Well, I've yet to get married, so maybe this could be the romantic spot for me.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45So what else happens in this stunning space?
0:12:46 > 0:12:48Well, one thing you might not expect.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51With its beautiful acoustic and awe-inspiring height,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54the cave provides a perfect venue for concerts.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Pop, jazz and classical groups play here regularly,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01a fitting use for this natural cathedral hidden inside the rock.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04CHOIR SING
0:13:44 > 0:13:48Reluctantly, I've left my horse, Ben, behind, and I'm hiking
0:13:48 > 0:13:53the next leg from the Minions to my rest stop for the night, Jamaica Inn.
0:13:53 > 0:14:01As well as legends of ferocious beasts, Bodmin Moor has other sinister associations - smugglers.
0:14:01 > 0:14:07It was this 18th century coaching inn halfway between Launceston and Bodmin
0:14:07 > 0:14:12which inspired Daphne du Maurier to pen her chilling epic, Jamaica Inn.
0:14:12 > 0:14:13This is where I'll be spending the night.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17But Daphne du Maurier didn't just write about Jamaica Inn.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22She took inspiration from all over Cornwall, as Charlotte Smith found out in 2006.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28The Cornish landscape, from cosy fishing ports
0:14:28 > 0:14:30to craggy coastline and bleak moorland.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33It's inspired generations of writers,
0:14:33 > 0:14:34but one woman's name
0:14:34 > 0:14:36has become synonymous with this county.
0:14:36 > 0:14:42Her tales of smuggling and shipwrecks, murder and intrigue have fascinated millions of readers.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45This is Daphne du Maurier country.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50Daphne was born in 1907, the daughter of the celebrated actor Gerald du Maurier.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54By her own account, she spent her childhood in a world of make-believe,
0:14:54 > 0:15:00but it was Cornwall which turned this imaginative child into a writer.
0:15:00 > 0:15:05The family lived in London, but took regular holidays here in Cornwall
0:15:05 > 0:15:10and in 1926, bought a holiday home here in the town of Fowey.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14That house was Ferryside, which is the cream and blue building just over there.
0:15:14 > 0:15:20Daphne du Maurier's son, Kits Browning, now lives in the house, which was her first Cornish home.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Why do think it was that Cornwall was such a draw for your mother?
0:15:24 > 0:15:26- She grew up in London.- She had.
0:15:26 > 0:15:32They'd come as young kids on family holidays, but it wasn't until
0:15:32 > 0:15:35the late '20s that they actually were looking for a holiday home,
0:15:35 > 0:15:40because her father had just done a very successful play in London,
0:15:40 > 0:15:42so they had some spare readies to buy.
0:15:42 > 0:15:49She just wanted to leave Hampstead and get down here, because she longed and craved for independence.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52You can't imagine the books without Cornwall, can you?
0:15:52 > 0:15:57It's always been said that places meant more to her than people.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02I think that's very true. Most of her books, certainly the Cornish books, it is the landscape
0:16:02 > 0:16:09that has influenced her and fired off this very fertile imagination she had.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13We're here in Fowey, and this place too, was inspirational for your mother.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18Absolutely. This was really the inspiration for all her work.
0:16:18 > 0:16:24It started with The Loving Spirit. She was walking one day up Pont Creek,
0:16:24 > 0:16:28and came across this old ruined schooner, and saw this figurehead,
0:16:28 > 0:16:33which was the figurehead of the Jane Slade.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38She fell in love with this figurehead. That inspired her to write.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41"This was herself, this was she fulfilling her dream,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45"placed there on the bows of the vessel which bore her name.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47"She forgot everything but that her moment had come,
0:16:47 > 0:16:52"the moment when she would become part of a ship, part of the sea forever".
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Away from the cosy cottages of Fowey, there is a much harsher side to Cornwall,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59and here, halfway between Bodmin and Launceston,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03is the setting for one of du Maurier's darkest novels, Jamaica Inn.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08"Ahead of her on the crest and to the left was some sort of building
0:17:08 > 0:17:09"standing back from the road.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14"She could see tall chimneys, murky, dim in the darkness.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17"There was no other house, no other cottage.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22"If this was Jamaica, it stood alone in glory, four-square to the winds".
0:17:22 > 0:17:25The inn was built in 1750,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28and was built as one of a series of inns
0:17:28 > 0:17:30across the moor and down to Falmouth.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35The reason for the building of the inn was to service the new turnpike,
0:17:35 > 0:17:43the new road which was then being constructed across what was then a very wild, inhospitable moor.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47In the book, this place is all tied up with wreckers and smugglers.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Is there any evidence that that's actually how Jamaica Inn was?
0:17:50 > 0:17:56Nobody left the ledgers behind for study. Obviously it was a very clandestine business, smuggling.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00People often say to me, "Why on earth would anybody
0:18:00 > 0:18:05"be interested in Jamaica Inn, so remote from the coast, to have anything to do with smuggling?"
0:18:05 > 0:18:08It's precisely for that reason that they used Jamaica Inn.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12So do you think the stories she wrote were based in some way on fact?
0:18:12 > 0:18:19Absolutely. This was obviously Daphne du Maurier's brilliance, that she would move into an area,
0:18:19 > 0:18:24learn all the local legends, learn of the local families, and weave a story
0:18:24 > 0:18:28so close to the truth that people would believe it was actually true.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34I've come just a few miles from the moor to the village of Altarnun.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38Don't be deceived by the picture-postcard prettiness of this place.
0:18:38 > 0:18:44It provided the inspiration for one of du Maurier's most sinister characters, the vicar of Altarnun.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47He's the anti-hero, if you like, of the book Jamaica Inn,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50and he hides a secret that surely no visitor will guess.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55"Mary looked at him, her hands gripping the sides of the chair.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57"'I don't understand you, Mr Davey.'
0:18:57 > 0:19:00"'Why yes, you understand me very well.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04"'You know by now that I killed the landlord of Jamaica Inn, and his wife too.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08"'Nor would the pedlar have lived, had I known of his existence.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13"'You know it was I who directed every move made by your uncle and that he was leader in name alone'".
0:19:13 > 0:19:17Daphne du Maurier's most famous book is, of course, Rebecca.
0:19:17 > 0:19:24It's a dark tale about secrets, and it concerns the rather gauche second wife of Max de Winter,
0:19:24 > 0:19:28who's haunted by the memories and influence of his first wife, Rebecca.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32Its setting is unmistakably the countryside around Menabilly,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35the house that Daphne du Maurier called home.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39And it has one of the most famous opening sentences in literature.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45"It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48"and for a while I could not enter, for the way was barred to me.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52"There was a padlock and a chain upon the gate.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55"I called in my dream to the lodgekeeper and had no answer,
0:19:55 > 0:20:00"and peering closer through the rusty spokes of the gate, I saw that the lodge was uninhabited."
0:20:00 > 0:20:05In the book, this cottage here on Polridmouth Bay, acts as Rebecca's refuge.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09But it's also where she meets her untimely death.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11"'The woman buried in the crypt is not Rebecca', he said.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16"'It's the body of some unknown woman, unclaimed, belonging nowhere.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18"'There never was an accident.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20"'Rebecca was not drowned at all.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24"'I killed her. I shot Rebecca in the cottage in the cove.'"
0:20:24 > 0:20:28The great thing about reading a du Maurier book when you're actually here in Cornwall
0:20:28 > 0:20:30is that you feel truly immersed in the story.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34This is Frenchman's Creek and I was up most of last night finishing it.
0:20:34 > 0:20:40It's all about a pirate who hides his boat in the small creeks off the River Helford.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44And honestly, this could be Frenchman's Creek.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48"It was darker here in the creek than it had been in the open river.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50"And the trees threw long shadows down to the quay.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53"There was a radiance in the deepening sky belonging only
0:20:53 > 0:20:56"to those nights of midsummer, brief and lovely,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59"that whisper for a moment in time and go forever."
0:20:59 > 0:21:04Much of the inspiration for her writing continued to come from her Cornish surroundings.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Du Maurier remained in the county until her death in 1989.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12When she came here, she found it was the most wonderful place to walk.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14To be alone. She loved being alone.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17And later in life, she really enjoyed her walks
0:21:17 > 0:21:21when she was at Menabilly and then even at the end at Kilmarth.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25The walking, swimming, all this sort of thing,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27was really the most important thing to her.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30"There was a smell in the air of tar and rope and rusted chain.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33"A smell of tidal water.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35"Down harbour, around the point, was open sea.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40"Here was a freedom I desired, long-sought for, not yet known.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43"Freedom to write, to walk, to wander.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47"Freedom to climb hills, to be alone."
0:21:55 > 0:21:58A new day, and time to move on from Jamaica Inn.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02I'm heading five miles south-west to a place called Tremoreland.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07Bodmin Moor may look uncultivated and untamed, but this vast expanse
0:22:07 > 0:22:11of apparent wilderness was first farmed more than 4,000 years ago.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Making a living on this harsh landscape's never been easy.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19And farming has had to be inventive.
0:22:19 > 0:22:2520 years ago, we followed some farmers as they tried to introduce a very unusual herd indeed.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30In 1986, mohair was all the rage.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35Britain was the world's leading processor of this natural fibre, which comes from Angora goats.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37The goats are not native to this country.
0:22:37 > 0:22:43So, during the boom in demand, some farmers on Bodmin Moor invested heavily in importing the breed.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47But, by 1989, the bottom had fallen out of the market.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Bodmin Moor isn't the easiest place to farm.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54It had been an uphill struggle for Mike Dickinson.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59In 1986, he was looking for something to give a positive boost to his income.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Everyone was talking about Angora goats.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05The media was giving them massive and uncritical publicity.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07So he borrowed £35,000 to buy some.
0:23:07 > 0:23:08And lost the lot.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13I'd seen the programme on the Farming Programme about goats in New Zealand.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18We managed to get my sister-in-law to video this for us.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22And we hired a video from the local butcher, of all things,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25to show the bank manager when he came.
0:23:25 > 0:23:276,000 guineas, you have a bid in here.
0:23:27 > 0:23:316,200. Now 5. 6,500...
0:23:31 > 0:23:35In 1986, the big news was the astronomic prices paid at this sale.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Just too late. I'm sorry, sir. 6,500.
0:23:38 > 0:23:44The received wisdom then was that Angora goats were just like sheep, only more profitable.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46The reality was different.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Certain parts of them need more attention.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51The feet need more attention.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53But generally, they're an easy animal to handle.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55You can go out with a bucket and call them,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59they'll come instead of having to go and round them up most of the time.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02They do need more housing than sheep would need.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Obviously, they've got to have some form of shelter, particularly in the wet.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07It's the wet they can't stand.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11They seem to be able to stand the cold fairly well.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18Anyone who knows anything about Angora goats in Britain has heard of Marianna Rosenberg.
0:24:18 > 0:24:24An unlikely farmer, perhaps, but this well-connected lady first gained respect as a sheep breeder.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29Then, one day, she saw an Angora goat and the rest, as they say, is history.
0:24:29 > 0:24:36It started as a hobby and frankly, I can afford to not sell goats if I don't want to.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39I brought my goats in 1981 and sat here with them.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42No-one even came to see them for a couple of years.
0:24:42 > 0:24:48And then somehow, a phone call came, did I have any for sale?
0:24:48 > 0:24:50And I didn't, really, and didn't want to.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53But the price and the offers kept going up and up.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57And eventually I realised that everybody wanted Angora goats.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01New Zealand farmers have a reputation for spotting a good thing.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Hugh Fullerton-Smith farms on Bodmin Moor.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08But in 1986, he went home to New Zealand in search of new ideas.
0:25:08 > 0:25:16The goat industry was really boiling, it was amazing. People were busy importing goats from Australia
0:25:16 > 0:25:21and the farmers saw a very, very serious future in mohair production.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23The thing looked very, very solid.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28For Pancho, as he's known, importing, breeding and exporting
0:25:28 > 0:25:32deer have now replaced goats as his main farming enterprise.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36But he was one of the first to bring Angoras into this country
0:25:36 > 0:25:40and he helped establish the market for breeding stock.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44I didn't really intend to, at that point, come back with a lot of Angora goats.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49I was more interested to see whether I thought it would play a place over here, in England.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Particularly in Cornwall, where I lived.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56Pancho found all sorts of people were interested in buying his Angora goats,
0:25:56 > 0:26:00including farmers like his neighbour, Mike Dickinson.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Predominantly, they were smallholders,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05you know, who liked the idea of what we were trying to achieve.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08There were some very serious farmers on board as well,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12but they weren't prepared to pay big money for a lot of animals.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15They were prepared to pay quite big money for a few.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18So quite a cross section, really.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21What sort of big money? What was big money in '86?
0:26:21 > 0:26:28Big money in '86 was probably £5,000 for a female, from Australasia.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31And maybe the same for a buck.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35In 1986, the British Angora Goat Society had a sale.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38- Yes. Unforgettable! - Why was it unforgettable?
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Well, the prices made every newspaper.
0:26:42 > 0:26:48They were ridiculous, in that they were just over the limit for everything.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53- What sort of prices? - 5, 6, £7,000 for a buck.
0:26:53 > 0:27:00I believe I sold one of mine for £6,500. 3, 4, £5,000 for does.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05I have to admit, it was a very successful day for me, because I was one of the major vendors.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07I had most of the goats at that time.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10But we all knew that it was a bubble that would burst.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14I mean, anyone who thought it was going to continue like that was foolish.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17I took a very big risk at the beginning as well.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20You know, you imagine the cost of pulling 50 goats out of Tasmania.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Although it was a three-way cost with two other colleagues.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27Flying the goats to England, you know, we took our risks as well.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29We made decisions on the spur of the moment.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32The people that purchased stock from us did exactly the same.
0:27:32 > 0:27:3620 years have passed since that film was made.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38But today, I've caught up with the man who brought Angora goats
0:27:38 > 0:27:42to Bodmin Moor, all the way from Tasmania,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Hugh Fullerton-Smith.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47So Hugh, how do you feel now, looking back on that period?
0:27:47 > 0:27:52Well, they were really exciting times. And you know, as I say, it's quite a ride, really.
0:27:52 > 0:27:59There was a huge buzz on this place, you know, for a moorland farm.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01Things were really happening.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03And people had to make their own decisions.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08I don't have a huge conscience about people going into the business
0:28:08 > 0:28:12of farming Angora goats to produce mohair.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15It was their decision. They had to decide whether to jump in.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19Of course, it was one of those businesses where you had to decide whether to jump out.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24It was soon obvious that the climate here in Britain wasn't really conducive
0:28:24 > 0:28:25to producing quality mohair.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28The climate being the wet weather you have down here?
0:28:28 > 0:28:33Yeah, absolutely. I mean, these goats originated from Turkey.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37And, you know, the climate that's there.
0:28:37 > 0:28:42Underfoot, as well. Wet ground all the time on a goat's foot isn't the best thing.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45So it was quite a challenge, quite a management challenge.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49And you were also tied into the fashion world and what people wanted and what they didn't.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54I imagine the market fell out of mohair jumpers and mohair jackets?
0:28:55 > 0:29:00Yeah. It's all cyclical, isn't it? Whether it's cashmere, mohair, round it goes, and it just happens
0:29:00 > 0:29:06to be, at the time you come into these things, how long it's going to be sustained, really.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10You know, for a place like Bodmin Moor to be on the map as
0:29:10 > 0:29:16a producer of quality mohair was quite a thing at the time.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21So once that bottom fell out of the market, was there a trail of destruction across the country,
0:29:21 > 0:29:23of farmers that had lost out?
0:29:23 > 0:29:28Well, certainly people lost out on it. Because they were in the main quite wealthy farmers,
0:29:28 > 0:29:32I'd suggest, who were quite prepared to step outside of a regular cheque
0:29:32 > 0:29:36in the form of a subsidy, and take a risk for the first time, really.
0:29:36 > 0:29:42Because, if you think about it, sheep and beef have been groaning on for years, and this was brand new.
0:29:42 > 0:29:47And we were being encouraged by banks, by government, to diversify.
0:29:47 > 0:29:52So you'd had, for you, a successful experiment with Angora goats. How did you go on from there?
0:29:52 > 0:29:54What form of diversification did you go into?
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Well, you're right there, because we had the taste for it!
0:29:57 > 0:29:59We thought, right, here we go!
0:29:59 > 0:30:04And we did a lot with deer, importing deer from Europe.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08But wild boar really caught my eye. I thought, "I've got to find something
0:30:08 > 0:30:10"that's really tangible, people can eat,
0:30:10 > 0:30:15"that the price isn't going to go away, that you can promote all its
0:30:15 > 0:30:18"high health virtues and things."
0:30:18 > 0:30:21So we imported a herd from Sweden,
0:30:21 > 0:30:2738 wild boar came in and we built that up to 300 sows.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31They're notoriously difficult creatures to keep in?
0:30:31 > 0:30:34They are. We had to get a dangerous wild animals licence.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38And can you imagine the local Cornish council having to wrestle with this?
0:30:38 > 0:30:40You know, a zoo on Bodmin Moor!
0:30:40 > 0:30:42But it worked.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46The beauty of pigs, of course, is they have a lot of piglets!
0:30:47 > 0:30:49And we were getting up to eight per sow,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52which is quite good for wild boar.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56All here? So this is 300 wild boar all racing around in these fields?
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Exactly, yeah. We had to keep them all in family groups.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05You couldn't afford for the boars to mix up, there'd be huge squalling, fighting and things.
0:31:05 > 0:31:11But we got good at the job and put Bodmin on the map again, yeah.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15And for three or four years, it went really well
0:31:15 > 0:31:20but unfortunately, the whole thing was undone by foot and mouth.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22This is one of the problems of farming.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26You just never know when something's going to drop on you from a great height.
0:31:26 > 0:31:32Just like BSE or mad cow disease, foot and mouth was just a terrible thing.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35So where now? Where do you live, what do you do now?
0:31:35 > 0:31:39Well, I actually manage an estate called Alladale up in the Scottish Highlands.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43Last year we imported some European elk
0:31:43 > 0:31:48and the elk are nice to be able to explain to children
0:31:48 > 0:31:50what used to be there after the last Ice Age.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52It's a really exciting project.
0:31:52 > 0:31:57So you've been responsible for bringing in Angora goats, wild boar, and now elk.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01- What next? What is there left?! - There's nothing left in my cabinet!
0:32:01 > 0:32:03- That's it?- I think so, yes!
0:32:03 > 0:32:08So far, I have travelled from the tin mines and standing stones of the Minions
0:32:08 > 0:32:12to my rest stop at Jamaica Inn, then on to Tremoreland.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22Continuing my journey, I'm leaving the moor and heading to the Atlantic coastline.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24It's a long way, so I've taken to four wheels.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Along the way I'm going to be passing the Camel Estuary.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31A few years ago, Adam Henson explored it on a bicycle.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39The Camel Trail's got nothing to do with camels.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43It's a 17-mile cycle route that runs alongside the River Camel.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47And I'm taking the part that runs from Bodmin down to the coastal town of Padstow.
0:32:48 > 0:32:55This stretch gently winds its way down through the woods, past the old Dunmere platform near Bodmin.
0:32:55 > 0:33:01Like the railway, there is a start to the trail up near Bodmin Moor at Wenfordbridge.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04It then weaves its way down past the estuary at Wadebridge
0:33:04 > 0:33:07before heading out to the coast and finishing up in Padstow.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13It's a smooth ride, taking advantage of the early railway engineering
0:33:13 > 0:33:17which avoided steep inclines and turns.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21There are remnants of this route's steam heritage all the way down the line.
0:33:21 > 0:33:26I stopped off at Boscarne junction which is the one platform on the Camel Trail in working order.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Steam trains run tourists from the original Camel Trail here
0:33:29 > 0:33:33into the town of Bodmin on a later branch line.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39Keith, the railway's run through here for quite some time now?
0:33:39 > 0:33:41Yes, since 1834.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45There was a problem getting sea sand and seaweed up to the farms,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48which they used to act as manure
0:33:48 > 0:33:54so as to sweeten the acidic soils or the peaty soils up on the moors.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56Here we were way out on a limb,
0:33:56 > 0:34:00but the need to get the fertiliser up to the farms was so important,
0:34:00 > 0:34:05and also to bring down the minerals and the granite from the mines further up.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08And at the same time, it was also found that
0:34:08 > 0:34:12passenger traffic played an important part of the railway,
0:34:12 > 0:34:15especially on days when they were hanging people at the local jail.
0:34:15 > 0:34:20And it was such a popular event that on one occasion, in 1840, when there was two brothers being hung,
0:34:20 > 0:34:23they had to lay on three extra trains
0:34:23 > 0:34:25with a total of 1,100 people going there!
0:34:25 > 0:34:27It was the big event of the day!
0:34:27 > 0:34:29- It sounds horrendous!- Well, it was.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31When did it close down?
0:34:31 > 0:34:38The railway closed down to passenger traffic in 1967 and to freight traffic in 1978.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42Then the Wendford drives, they still kept the play going until 1983.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45That's when the whole lot came to a grinding halt.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49And the cycle path that I've been riding along was the original line? What is this one here?
0:34:49 > 0:34:52This is the line which is run by the Bodmin and Mountford Railway.
0:34:52 > 0:34:58This is the railway which took on the old Great Western trail, which came down from Bodmin Parkway.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01- And it stops at the end here? - It stops here, yes, unfortunately.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04But having said that, we are now trying to build an extension
0:35:04 > 0:35:08which will take the railway back down to Wadebridge where it belongs.
0:35:10 > 0:35:16The idea of re-establishing the tracks to run alongside the current path is a serious proposal.
0:35:16 > 0:35:22However, the original track bed has long since been converted to into the Camel Trail.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26To the benefit of cyclists like Bob Oakes.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30- It's a very popular ride, Bob, isn't it?- Yes, there's loads of people use the trail.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33Almost half a million a year, Adam.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36Goodness me! And I see some walkers as well, all sorts of people?
0:35:36 > 0:35:42Yeah. It's a multi-use trail, so there are people walking with their dogs and their babies.
0:35:42 > 0:35:47There are people going fishing, people looking at nature,
0:35:47 > 0:35:52and there's quite a lot of local history along the trail as well. So lots of things to do.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56- The great thing about this bit, it's all downhill to Padstow, isn't it? - That right.
0:35:56 > 0:36:01I mean, the thing that people who don't ride bikes often are looking for
0:36:01 > 0:36:03is no traffic and no hills.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07And this trail's got both of those things.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12- And it links up to a national trail? - Yes. The National Cycle Network
0:36:12 > 0:36:15has 10,000 miles throughout the whole of the country
0:36:15 > 0:36:18and in Cornwall, there are 250 miles of route.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22So when people have ridden on the Camel Trail,
0:36:22 > 0:36:26we hope that they'll have a go at some of these other routes
0:36:26 > 0:36:29within Cornwall or nearer to their own homes.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35At the abandoned Grogley Halt, you can see where embankments
0:36:35 > 0:36:39were gouged out by labourers over 170 years ago,
0:36:39 > 0:36:44bringing steam trains to this part of Cornwall, way before they appeared in London.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46Now, it's returned to quieter times.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50Perfect for local photographer Adrian Langdon.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54The River Camel here is a really peaceful spot.
0:36:54 > 0:36:55Wonderful for photography.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00Yeah, it's super. And we've got so many distinct habitats
0:37:00 > 0:37:03the whole length of the trail.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06We start at the coast and then we come up,
0:37:06 > 0:37:09we've got the estuary and then up through here, the wooded valleys,
0:37:09 > 0:37:13and they wend their way all the way up onto the edge of Bodmin Moor.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17So flora and fauna, totally different as you go along the trail.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21What sort of things are you looking to photograph?
0:37:21 > 0:37:25Well, the ultimate would be otter. I've photographed them a few times,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28but they haven't necessarily read the text books!
0:37:28 > 0:37:31So they don't always turn up where and when you think it is!
0:37:31 > 0:37:33A lot of wildlife is like that.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35Kingfishers are another favourite.
0:37:35 > 0:37:40The whole Camel Valley is a Site Of Special Scientific Interest.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42Sounds like a photographer's dream!
0:37:42 > 0:37:47Yeah. Yeah, I may be biased, because I'm born and bred here,
0:37:47 > 0:37:49so I love it. I love the area.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53And years ago, it would have been a very busy, noisy railway?
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Yeah. I used to go to school on a train from Wadebridge to Bodmin every day.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00And very sad to see it closed down.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03It was one of the cuts from Dr Beeching
0:38:03 > 0:38:09and a lot of my family had to move away to get employment when the railways closed.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13But it has certainly taken on a new lease of life now.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22This part of the Cornish countryside has been inspiring people for years.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26Sir John Betjeman holidayed here by train as a child,
0:38:26 > 0:38:30an experience he recounted in his autobiography.
0:38:30 > 0:38:36"On Wadebridge station, what a breath of sea scented the Camel Valley.
0:38:36 > 0:38:42"Cornish air, soft Cornish rains and silence after steam."
0:38:43 > 0:38:48Wadebridge train station is now the John Betjeman Centre.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52In 1899, the track was laid from here to Padstow, connecting it to London.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57And then carrying thousands of holidaymakers to the small fishing town.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03This train line used to cut right through the centre of Wadebridge,
0:39:03 > 0:39:05but now it's a road.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08The only place you meet cars along the trail.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11It's also where people go to hire bikes.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13Hello, Nigel!
0:39:13 > 0:39:14Hi there, Adam. How are you doing?
0:39:14 > 0:39:16Yeah, that was a good ride.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18Good ride up river? Lovely that,
0:39:18 > 0:39:22the riverside is beautiful, you know, but the contrast to the estuary.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24- Going to do a bit more now?- How long have you been running this?
0:39:24 > 0:39:28About 25 years now. Started off with half-a-dozen bikes, about 400 now.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32I'm going to head to Padstow, so I need something with a bit more pizzazz.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36- Something with a bit of style. What have you got?- The choice is yours, really!
0:39:36 > 0:39:38Got 400 bikes, choice is yours!
0:39:38 > 0:39:41But maybe try Easy Rider, or a Cruiser?
0:39:41 > 0:39:43- Let's try that Easy Rider.- OK.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46- Looks a bit different!- OK. The trick of it is, lean back into the seat
0:39:46 > 0:39:48and head to Padstow!
0:39:48 > 0:39:51All right! Thanks a lot! See ya!
0:39:51 > 0:39:52See ya!
0:39:59 > 0:40:02This Easy Rider's pretty comfortable!
0:40:02 > 0:40:05Lying back and soaking in the scenery.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16It's great here, heading towards Padstow, lovely views of the day.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Fantastic way to spend the day!
0:40:18 > 0:40:20Particularly with a family and young kids.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22There's loads of people out enjoying this path.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32Imagine what it must have been like for the holidaymakers, travelling along this same route,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35but by train, steaming over this old wrought-iron bridge.
0:40:39 > 0:40:44The Atlantic Coast Express, which ran from Waterloo to Padstow,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47made its final journey in January, 1967.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51Padstow station is now a car park, jammed with holiday hordes
0:40:51 > 0:40:53scrambling for gourmet fish and chips.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55But it's still great to see that this trail,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58which was blazed by steam,
0:40:58 > 0:41:01is now used by so many on foot and by bike.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07Well, Padstow harbour's the end of the line for me.
0:41:07 > 0:41:08It's been a great day along the cycle path.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10Time now for some fish and chips!
0:41:20 > 0:41:22I've now left Bodmin Moor behind
0:41:22 > 0:41:26and driven on to the Atlantic coast at Newquay.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36It was at the beginning of the 20th century
0:41:36 > 0:41:39that Newquay burst on to the tourist map
0:41:39 > 0:41:42and became a popular holiday destination,
0:41:42 > 0:41:46thanks to its golden sands, cream teas and sunshine.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49But the Swinging Sixties brought a new type of visitor, surfers.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56Newquay is now considered Britain's surf capital.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00And Juliet Morris came here a few summers ago to catch some waves.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04Every summer, surfers from around the world descend on Fistral Beach
0:42:04 > 0:42:08in Newquay for the annual Boardmasters Surf Festival.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12Whether to compete or simply watch the professionals,
0:42:12 > 0:42:16people here prepare themselves for one long surf party.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23But for the serious competitors, there's a lot at stake.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Aside from the £17,000 prize money,
0:42:26 > 0:42:31the event forms part of the World Qualifying Series, or WQS,
0:42:31 > 0:42:33an international qualifying tour.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36It's the highest level of competitive surfing in the UK.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39One of the biggest events on the WQS world tour.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42This tour feeds the premiership within surfing.
0:42:42 > 0:42:4512 elite events with the top 40 in the world.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48What the competitors here are trying to do is score points
0:42:48 > 0:42:51and obviously, the prize money, to qualify for this tour.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54Once you're on that, you know, it's the elite of surfing.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59- It's a fantastic beach, Fistral, but is it a world-class surf beach?- It is.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03For competitive surfing, you need a really consistent beach break.
0:43:03 > 0:43:08We've got a surf from eight in the morning till six in the afternoon. We have 192 men here and 60 women.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12So for the seven-day contest, we need to use almost every hour of every day to surf.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16We need a beach to surf right through the tidal range. Looks good for this week.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21People here are crazy about surfing. They love it.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24It's one of the biggest festivals we've got in the surfing world.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26If you do really well here, it sets you up really well
0:43:26 > 0:43:29for the rest of the leg and in the end, the rest of the tour.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31Everyone's fighting for top spots.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34There's a lot of hungry guys out there!
0:43:34 > 0:43:39But to be in with the chance, the surfers will have to pull off the right moves to impress the judges.
0:43:39 > 0:43:45And it's not just about style, there's a very precise art to picking the right wave.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48Well, we'd hope for a ground swell, what we call a storm-out
0:43:48 > 0:43:52in the Atlantic, to create a swell coming towards the beach.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55And then an offshore wind would make the waves bigger
0:43:55 > 0:43:57and it would give them what we call a wall,
0:43:57 > 0:44:01which is an open face on the wave for surfers to perform and do big turns.
0:44:01 > 0:44:06The surfers themselves are quite astute at picking the waves they think will offer the best manoeuvres.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10But they've got to push their surfing ability so they beat their competitors.
0:44:10 > 0:44:15One of the UK's most successful surfers to date is Russell Winter,
0:44:15 > 0:44:19the first European to qualify for the prestigious World Tour.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23So whereabouts are you in terms of world ranking?
0:44:23 > 0:44:28At the moment I'm 55 on the World Qualifying Tour.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32There's about 200 guys on that tour, 200 or 300 people.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35And we're all trying to get into the top 16.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37Surfing's got a very cool, laid-back image.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41Is it that cool and laid back when you're out there competing?
0:44:41 > 0:44:43No, it's incredibly competitive.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46There's a lot of psyching people out,
0:44:46 > 0:44:50a lot of arguments, a lot of pushing and shoving and stuff in the water.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54And people are fighting to get to the top and when you get to the top,
0:44:54 > 0:44:56there's a lot of money involved,
0:44:56 > 0:44:59like anything, you've got to fight hard to get there.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02Often you think about countries like Australia, Hawaii,
0:45:02 > 0:45:06as being far superior to what we've got here.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09The whole Cornwall coast has got excellent waves around it.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13And also, you know, up in Scotland and Newcastle, Ireland,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16there are actually world-class waves.
0:45:17 > 0:45:21And in time, there's going to be a lot more British surfers on the tour.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27Jayce Robinson has been surfing on Cornwall's beaches since the age of nine.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31And he's being seen as a future star of the British surf scene.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36And you must be one of the youngest, taking part in this competition?
0:45:36 > 0:45:38Yeah, I think so.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40I probably am the youngest, yeah. I've just turned 18.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44You're still in the juniors, most of these people are in the seniors, aren't they?
0:45:44 > 0:45:49They've all been doing it for ages. They've got the experience and everything. I'm learning!
0:45:49 > 0:45:56You're tipped as one of this country's brightest hopefuls.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58Does that put responsibility on you?
0:45:58 > 0:46:00Do you get nervous about that?
0:46:00 > 0:46:03I am starting to, actually. I'm starting to feel the pressure.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05And there's younger guys coming up
0:46:05 > 0:46:09and beating me. They shouldn't be, really, but I'm just starting to feel the pressure.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11I need to relax a bit, I need to chill out.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Back out on the water, the heats are well under way
0:46:16 > 0:46:20and a team of commentators is keeping a close eye on things.
0:46:20 > 0:46:26But to those of us that don't surf, understanding what they're actually saying isn't always easy.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30Snap, off the lip, carve, cut back...
0:46:30 > 0:46:33they're really all the different manoeuvres that the surfers are doing.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35There's also the corrupt flip.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39The corrupt flip is a stalefish mute grab alley-oop.
0:46:39 > 0:46:44So you've got the mute grab across your board, the stale fish grab,
0:46:44 > 0:46:48your back hand through your back legs, grabbing the other rail,
0:46:48 > 0:46:51and then an alley-oop is an opposite 360 aerial.
0:46:51 > 0:46:56This, unfortunately, means very much to someone like me who can't even stand up on a board!
0:46:56 > 0:46:58Classic! All right,
0:46:58 > 0:47:02currently out on the water, this is heat number nine in a round of 144...
0:47:02 > 0:47:07Surfing's really what you want it to be. A sport, a lifestyle, a culture.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09Surfing's just a lot of fun.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21Since the 1960s, Newquay has generally been thought of as Britain's surf capital,
0:47:21 > 0:47:25thanks to the powerful Atlantic swell that hits its coastline.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30But a proposal for an artificial reef in the bay, first put forward by a group of local surfers in 2001,
0:47:30 > 0:47:37could have made surfing in Newquay even better, according to local surf shop owner, Andy Reid.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41So can you just explain exactly how the artificial reef works?
0:47:41 > 0:47:45At the moment, we've got a wave that comes straight into the beach.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47It comes and breaks over in one go.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51It's beautiful, but it doesn't actually do anything.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53The energy is just spent all in one hit.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56When you put a reef in the water, you're making it break
0:47:56 > 0:48:01in a way which suits surfers. So it breaks continually down the side of the reef, creating a rolling wave.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04And how exactly do you create this artificial reef?
0:48:04 > 0:48:06Well, when we put the reef in the water,
0:48:06 > 0:48:11we use something like a big Hessian bag which is shaped to suit the reef template.
0:48:11 > 0:48:17And we pump it full of sand, so we gradually build it up into the shape of a computer-designed reef.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21Of course, perfect waves would be a magnet for surfers.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25But they could also boost Newquay's flagging economy.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28We'd benefit massively from several angles.
0:48:28 > 0:48:34One, you're creating a world-class stadium, almost, for our surfing industry.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36So it's a showpiece.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40Secondly, you're going to have a lot more money spent on the town
0:48:40 > 0:48:43to create nice apartments overlooking the bay,
0:48:43 > 0:48:46watching this perfect wave break all the time.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50And then when the wave's not breaking, you've got an artificial reef with kelp beds,
0:48:50 > 0:48:52a rabbit warren of different avenues
0:48:52 > 0:48:56where people can go and explore snorkelling in a safe environment,
0:48:56 > 0:48:58which is covered by life guards.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01So it's just...it's a wonderland for people who want to play in the sea.
0:49:01 > 0:49:08Some have estimated that up to £60 million would be generated by an artificial reef.
0:49:08 > 0:49:13But plans ground to a halt in 2005 after opposition from members of the local community.
0:49:13 > 0:49:18You've got the sailing club, the ordinary boatmen, young rowers,
0:49:18 > 0:49:21novices, and a lot of pleasure craft who use the bay,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24especially when the wind's south or south-easterly.
0:49:24 > 0:49:30And the big thing of all, nobody can make any guarantees of sand movement
0:49:30 > 0:49:32on the inside edge of it, with the swell that we get here.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35There's a large number of people who argue
0:49:35 > 0:49:38the artificial reef would have brought in a huge amount of income
0:49:38 > 0:49:42from the extra surfers visiting the area. What do you think of that?
0:49:42 > 0:49:47Oh, the predictions I hear reading the papers, 60 odd million
0:49:47 > 0:49:51is the surfing contribution to the economy in Cornwall,
0:49:51 > 0:49:54but where they get some of their figures from, I don't know.
0:49:54 > 0:49:59I know plenty of surfers, and I know plenty of surfers who think the reef
0:49:59 > 0:50:04would not maintain the amount of income that they're talking about.
0:50:04 > 0:50:11So, for the last four years, Newquay's plans for a perfect wave have remained dead in the water.
0:50:11 > 0:50:16But later this year, an artificial reef is due to be completed in Bournemouth.
0:50:16 > 0:50:20If successful, it could have a devastating effect on Newquay.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25If you think about it, everywhere below the M4 is virtually within two hours of Bournemouth.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29So any surfer, especially from London, from Brighton, from Reading,
0:50:29 > 0:50:32is going to be able to pop down to the reef for a day.
0:50:32 > 0:50:37They would normally come to Newquay to buy all their kit, because you've got a massive selection of kit here.
0:50:37 > 0:50:42But they've got new shops in Bournemouth, right on the beach, within two hours of where they live.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44So they're going to go down, surf on the reef.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47Maybe there's no surf there, but while they're there,
0:50:47 > 0:50:49they're going to buy the surf boards, wet suits,
0:50:49 > 0:50:52so on that angle, we're going to lose out on retail.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55And because they've gone to the beach and had a good surf,
0:50:55 > 0:50:57that's one weekend they're not going to come to Newquay.
0:50:57 > 0:51:02So with Bournemouth committed to opening an artificial reef,
0:51:02 > 0:51:05is it time for the people of Newquay to think again?
0:51:05 > 0:51:10I can't believe that we aren't the first people in Europe to have a reef.
0:51:10 > 0:51:16We had the best location, we had everything in place, and it's just such a shame
0:51:16 > 0:51:19that we lost the opportunity to be the first and the best.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23Do you worry that Newquay will be left deserted of surfers?
0:51:23 > 0:51:27There's no way that Bournemouth will get anything of the quality of surfing
0:51:27 > 0:51:29that you can get facing the Atlantic. No way.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33I mean, sometimes when it's 10ft, only the experienced stay behind.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37The rest come in the bay, they cannot handle it, it's so big.
0:51:37 > 0:51:42And there is no way that Bournemouth is going to compete with Newquay when it comes to surfing.
0:51:47 > 0:51:51I've been visiting these parts ever since I was a young boy.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55And on this journey from Bodmin Moor down to the Atlantic coast here in Newquay,
0:51:55 > 0:52:00I've revisited some of Cornwall's rich heritage, from its literature to its mythical beasts.
0:52:00 > 0:52:05But what I've also discovered is that if Cornwall wants to keep attracting people like me,
0:52:05 > 0:52:10they can't just look at the past, they also have to keep one eye on the future.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd