:00:29. > :00:33.Hello. Today I am on a journey through the low-lying lands of
:00:33. > :00:42.Cambridgeshire, a county of watery landscapes and historic places, but
:00:42. > :00:47.also somewhere that is very near to my heart. I begin in Cambridge,
:00:47. > :00:52.where I will take part in a rather unusual race. I think if this was
:00:52. > :00:57.golf you might say I am in the rough right now. Then I will
:00:57. > :01:02.continue along the river to learn about the impact that the Cambridge
:01:02. > :01:07.University Botanic Garden had on the creation of Charles Darwin's
:01:07. > :01:11.ultimate theory. I will travel to Cherry Hinton chalk pit to hunt
:01:11. > :01:19.down the rare sight of a glow worm at night. There is one. Isn't that
:01:19. > :01:23.incredible? Matt Baker Experiences the wonders of paddle boarding on
:01:23. > :01:28.Wicken Fen. It is like a fish tank. It is like you're floating on the
:01:28. > :01:33.top of a giant aquarium. And the secrets of Ely Cathedral bill
:01:33. > :01:38.revealed -- will be revealed. My journey ends at Old Hurst where I
:01:38. > :01:44.will meet a Pharma whose diverse -- the there's a vacation plans have a
:01:44. > :01:49.bit more bite than moss. He came at me face on.
:01:50. > :01:56.I will also be looking back at the best of the BBC's rural programmes
:01:56. > :02:00.from this part of the world. Welcome to Country Tracks.
:02:00. > :02:03.Cambridgeshire is a famously flat part of the country, with the Fens
:02:03. > :02:06.being the lowest point of the whole of the UK at nine feet below sea
:02:06. > :02:11.level. With the gently flowing what always unbeatable countryside, it
:02:11. > :02:15.is easy to see why this has become a county that practically demands
:02:15. > :02:25.relaxation. And what better way to relax them punting near Cambridge
:02:25. > :02:29.on the beautiful River Cam? -- relaxed than punting. It is an
:02:29. > :02:38.image associated with Cambridge - lazy summer days, champagne picnics,
:02:38. > :02:48.men in straw boaters, and given that I was a student here, one that
:02:48. > :02:48.
:02:48. > :02:55.is close to my heart. Boy Mark -- Guy Dozer, a plan chauffeur for
:02:55. > :03:00.nine years, is here to show me the ropes. I am trying to make it go
:03:01. > :03:07.straight but I see a lot of people zig-zagging. When it is windy you
:03:07. > :03:15.need to be able to control the board. You can use the pole as a
:03:15. > :03:24.paddle, ruddering. The other ways to put the pole in at an angle. If
:03:24. > :03:29.I put the pole in like this, keep the pole parallel with the punt. It
:03:29. > :03:36.should go in a straight line. all about the slide through the
:03:36. > :03:42.hand, as easy as you like. You see a few show-offs on the river. What
:03:42. > :03:46.is their technique? One-handed punting. It slows you down but it
:03:46. > :03:50.is quite cool. You throw your pole up, catch it and stick it back in.
:03:50. > :03:59.The only advantage to it is that, if you have a beer or something,
:04:00. > :04:03.you can hold on to it whilst punting.
:04:03. > :04:08.So talk me through the punts themselves, it is quite an unusual
:04:08. > :04:16.boat. It is unusual. It would originally have been used for
:04:16. > :04:21.fishing on Mures land where water would have been too shallow. They
:04:21. > :04:25.were also used for reed cutting. It does not have a keel so it only
:04:25. > :04:30.goes one or two inches into the water, which means that you can
:04:30. > :04:35.punt over shallow what that you could not Rover. If it is
:04:35. > :04:40.originally a fishing boat, apostle of -- possibly for rate cut in, how
:04:40. > :04:45.did it make its way to Oxford? Did they just make it? I do not want to
:04:45. > :04:51.talk about Oxford! You tend to find that the two often copy each other.
:04:51. > :05:00.When something becomes popular in Cambridge it will become, gripped -
:05:00. > :05:03.- popular in Oxford. I think they like to be a little bit different.
:05:03. > :05:13.Run or counter-intuitively for this leisurely activity is also the
:05:13. > :05:16.
:05:16. > :05:25.strange tradition of racing pundits. I think it is time to give it ago.
:05:25. > :05:33.To the next bridge? In yes. Let's try and stay dry. Now it is taking
:05:33. > :05:43.into business. I am wildly off course. I am not really in control.
:05:43. > :05:48.
:05:48. > :05:57.Come on! Stuck! I think if this was golf you might say I am in the
:05:57. > :06:02.rough right now. I think I would be quicker swimming, to be honest.
:06:02. > :06:06.And where my punting journey ends, John Craven's began in February
:06:06. > :06:11.2009 when he took to the water to explore the colleges of Cambridge
:06:11. > :06:14.University. Cambridge started when a group of
:06:14. > :06:20.scholars fled here from Oxford after protesting about a hanging.
:06:20. > :06:24.And, as the university grew, so did its influence on both Thailand and
:06:24. > :06:29.countryside, with many colleges pawning large stretches of farm
:06:29. > :06:34.land. And what better way to get a feel for the place than taking a
:06:34. > :06:43.punt right down Cambridge's river, the River Cam. Alan Dickinson is my
:06:43. > :06:47.guide. This bridge belongs to St John's College, it is the Bridge of
:06:47. > :06:50.Sighs. It is a replica of the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. The
:06:50. > :06:54.students live on the right-hand side of the river and do their
:06:54. > :07:04.exams on the left, so as they walk across the side, wishing they had
:07:04. > :07:06.
:07:06. > :07:09.worked harder. -- they sigh. Before Trinity College came along, 35
:07:09. > :07:14.years after St John's College started, St Johns was the biggest,
:07:14. > :07:20.best and wealthiest, and for that reason these two colleges have a
:07:20. > :07:26.huge rivalry. Who is the Richard? Who is the wealthiest, the biggest,
:07:26. > :07:30.the best? We all know that Trinity College is. St John's have never
:07:30. > :07:34.been too happy with that. They built this college purely as a show
:07:34. > :07:40.of wealth. Trinity College are incredibly wealthy. They have
:07:40. > :07:46.assets worth well over �2.6 billion. A lot of that is in a land. What
:07:46. > :07:51.about famous students? Sir Isaac Newton. He studied mathematics here.
:07:51. > :07:54.Prince Charles came here, studied architecture. He was remembered for
:07:54. > :08:03.saying how he did not want to be treated any differently from any
:08:03. > :08:07.other student. This is Clare College, funded by Lady Elizabeth
:08:07. > :08:14.de Clare. It is the second oldest college in Cambridge, dates back to
:08:14. > :08:17.1326. Lady Elizabeth de Clare was an interesting when ritual -- an
:08:17. > :08:21.interesting woman. She was very wealthy and her wealth came from
:08:21. > :08:27.the fact that she had been married and widowed three times by that age
:08:27. > :08:34.was 27. Presumably to rich men. Each one was wealthy and each one
:08:34. > :08:40.died mysteriously, so she acquired the nickname of the Black Widow.
:08:40. > :08:43.The next college you can see, a very famous college, King's College.
:08:43. > :08:48.It was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI because he wanted
:08:48. > :08:51.somewhere for his boys from Eton school to go on to to further their
:08:51. > :08:59.studies. It must be rather nice, if you're looking for a place for your
:08:59. > :09:04.children to go to school, to be able to build somewhere like that.
:09:04. > :09:06.And which bridge is this one? This is famously non and as the
:09:07. > :09:11.mathematically bridge. Queen's College, at their wooden bridge.
:09:11. > :09:16.The most famous story is that it was designed and built by Sir Isaac
:09:16. > :09:20.Newton himself. Originally the bridge had no nuts or bolts. It was
:09:20. > :09:24.a completely free-standing structure. The legend goes that, a
:09:24. > :09:27.few years later, the Master of the college was a way for the weekend.
:09:27. > :09:31.And the students were fascinated as to how the bridge when together.
:09:31. > :09:35.They did what men do, when they do not understand something they take
:09:35. > :09:40.it apart. They then could not put it back together again. That is why
:09:40. > :09:45.it has nuts and bolts in it. Was it actually designed by Isaac Newton?
:09:45. > :09:48.It was not. You're Cambridge born- and-bred, Allen. What is it like
:09:48. > :09:52.living in a city that is so dominated by the University? It is
:09:52. > :10:00.interesting, there is a distinct divide between what we call the
:10:00. > :10:04.town and the gown. If you went back a few years it is very much
:10:04. > :10:09.dominated by the universities. It has levelled itself but. And the
:10:09. > :10:14.town and the gown live well together, in my opinion.
:10:14. > :10:20.My trip ends at Darwin College, named after the student who change
:10:20. > :10:24.the way we think about the natural world. It is 150 years this year
:10:24. > :10:28.since the publication of this book. This is a first edition. It is
:10:29. > :10:34.Charles Darwin's On The Origin Of Species, the book which introduced
:10:34. > :10:37.the world to the concept of evolution through natural selection.
:10:37. > :10:42.Darwin wrote his controversial book 30 years after his time as an
:10:42. > :10:47.undergraduate at Christ's College, but his interest in natural science
:10:47. > :10:52.started here. Now the college has commissioned a statue of him, to be
:10:52. > :10:58.unveiled later this week. So this is Charles Darwin at the age of...
:10:58. > :11:02.About 22, his last year at Christ's before leaving a few months later,
:11:02. > :11:07.joining the Beagle and sailing round the world.
:11:07. > :11:11.We're not used to seeing anything of him at this age, are we? No, it
:11:11. > :11:16.is always the elderly man with the big white beard. I thought it would
:11:16. > :11:22.be nice to show him as a younger students. How do you know that he
:11:22. > :11:26.would have looked like that at 22? There is reference material for him,
:11:26. > :11:29.it is fairly few and far between. There is a famous watercolour
:11:29. > :11:36.portrait of him in his 30s. That was quite an important reference
:11:36. > :11:42.point. This is the clay model that you worked on for top exactly.
:11:42. > :11:47.is at the foundry being cast in bronze. It will be unveiled on the
:11:47. > :11:53.bicentenary. You're a student here, is this your first big commission?
:11:53. > :11:56.Yes. It is nice for me because the reason why I apply to come here in
:11:56. > :12:02.particular was after reading On The Origin Of Species when I was 16.
:12:02. > :12:12.That triggered my whole passion for natural sciences. I ended up at his
:12:12. > :12:12.
:12:12. > :12:15.old college. Darwin came to Christ's College
:12:15. > :12:23.Cambridge and, although he was supposed to be studying theology,
:12:23. > :12:27.he spent a lot of time that my next stop - the botanic garden. Darwin
:12:27. > :12:32.had a fascination with plants and the study of botany. Through this
:12:32. > :12:37.interest, he developed a friendship with botany professor John Stevens
:12:37. > :12:41.Henslow. He introduced jar -- Darwin to the concept of variation
:12:41. > :12:46.within species and how species could vary depending on their
:12:46. > :12:51.environment. I am here to meet Dr Tim Upson, curator of the Botanic
:12:51. > :13:01.Garden, to find out about the influence that John Stevens Henslow
:13:01. > :13:07.had on Darwin. At the time, public was very much of the opinion that
:13:07. > :13:10.God put species and creatures on earth. Why he's variation so
:13:10. > :13:14.important to John Stevens Henslow and Charles Darwin? What is it that
:13:15. > :13:19.they are seeing in the significance of trees that are quite similar but
:13:19. > :13:25.basically different? John Stevens Henslow gave Darwin some of his
:13:25. > :13:29.ideas, which ultimately translated into On The Origin Of Species. One
:13:29. > :13:34.of the key concepts is the importance of variation. Variation,
:13:34. > :13:42.evolution, survival of the fittest and things change in that way, not
:13:42. > :13:47.just created by God. So it is John Stevens Henslow who planted that
:13:47. > :13:51.seed in Darwin's mind? That is a good way of putting it. Just to
:13:51. > :13:57.give a visual representation of what we're talking about. We have
:13:57. > :14:07.different examples of the black pine. We see one from the Alps,
:14:07. > :14:07.
:14:07. > :14:10.with downward sloping brunches, possibly to shed the snow. Then
:14:10. > :14:19.there is another example of the same species that is different in
:14:19. > :14:22.its habits. The Alpine one has low sloping branches to get rid of the
:14:22. > :14:30.snow and the Mediterranean one has branches turned towards the sun to
:14:30. > :14:34.catch the light? Yes. You accept variation as something
:14:34. > :14:40.that is naturally occurring. You expect to see it and understand it.
:14:40. > :14:45.Back then, they would not have had the same view and the idea of the
:14:45. > :14:50.world as we have today. We do have those ideas and they are
:14:50. > :14:54.represented here. The Botanic Gardens had been kept going and,
:14:54. > :15:00.thanks to John Stevens Henslow laying it out and keep in it going?
:15:01. > :15:10.Yes, this is one of the magnificent legacies, of the ideas that were
:15:11. > :15:15.
:15:15. > :15:18.embodied here and these magnificent, It was John Stevens Henslow who
:15:18. > :15:22.recommended Charles Darwin joined the crew of the Beagle on his
:15:22. > :15:30.voyage around the world. This was to lay the foundation for his
:15:30. > :15:33.famous The Origin Of The Species. Charles Darwin may have sailed
:15:33. > :15:41.around the world, but on mac Baker's trip to this region, he
:15:41. > :15:46.took to the water on a different type of craft.
:15:46. > :15:51.These were once bustling, transporting goods from defendants
:15:51. > :15:56.to Cambridge Andy Lee. But now, they are peaceful backwaters. A
:15:56. > :16:01.small oasis for budding sports men. I have got my shorts on, and I am
:16:01. > :16:10.holding a paddle, because I am going for a different view, not
:16:10. > :16:15.from a boat, but from a board. The surface not up. But this is what
:16:15. > :16:20.the best places -- one of the best ways to see this place. This man
:16:20. > :16:26.runs tours with a difference. Working alongside staff here, he
:16:26. > :16:36.helps visitors to enjoy the reserve in a very own traditional way. How
:16:36. > :16:36.
:16:36. > :16:42.are you doing? Very well. The man of the reeds! Es! This is an
:16:42. > :16:46.unusual way of getting around. when people see it for the first
:16:46. > :16:53.time, they are surprised, but it is a fantastic way to see the fence.
:16:54. > :16:57.have got my board, so I will put my buoyancy aid on. You need to stand
:16:57. > :17:00.with your legs slightly bent, which will keep your feet flat on the
:17:00. > :17:10.board. You need to keep looking ahead, and both feet pointing
:17:10. > :17:17.forward. Is it quite stable? chances of falling in of very low.
:17:17. > :17:25.It is flat water, hardly any wind, so you will get on great. Crack
:17:25. > :17:32.your paddle. Is it quite deep? is about a foot deep. If you put
:17:32. > :17:39.your right foot onto the board near the handle... Spread your feet out
:17:39. > :17:49.a bit now. That is pretty good. Keep your knees bent. That is your
:17:49. > :17:51.
:17:51. > :17:57.first lesson! Keep your knees bent, a look ahead, you will be fine.
:17:58. > :18:01.is quite responsive. Very much so. Keep paddling, keep your knees bent.
:18:01. > :18:09.If you keep looking ahead, you should be able to see down through
:18:10. > :18:14.the water, so you will be able to see the fish. We are going! It is
:18:14. > :18:18.like a fish tank. Yes, that is what most people say when I take them
:18:18. > :18:28.for a paddle. It feels like you are floating along the top of a giant
:18:28. > :18:28.
:18:28. > :18:32.aquarium. If you want to improve on your technique, because we are
:18:32. > :18:38.going to cover a fair distance, keep your bottom arm straight and
:18:38. > :18:47.push away with your top hand. That starts to use the muscles in your
:18:47. > :18:57.shoulder and your back. Where does it originate from? It feels quite
:18:57. > :18:57.
:18:58. > :19:01.tribal. Man of the jungle! It comes from her way. When they were
:19:01. > :19:05.teaching at surfing lessons, they found it easier to stand up,
:19:06. > :19:15.because he could see where the waves were coming from. You must
:19:15. > :19:18.come across lots of wildlife. You creep up. You also silent. Yes, we
:19:18. > :19:25.paddle from spring through to autumn, said you see the migrating
:19:25. > :19:35.Nature that comes through. What big fish have you got? We have got pike
:19:35. > :19:48.
:19:48. > :19:53.and perch. You will see a lot of DU fancy a go?! It is almost like
:19:53. > :19:58.meditation. Yes, because you are having to think about what you are
:19:58. > :20:03.doing, you cannot think of anything else. It completely relaxes the
:20:03. > :20:08.mind. Have you noticed the dragonflies? They are darting
:20:09. > :20:17.around all over the show. It is around here that you will often
:20:17. > :20:24.find a pike. You will come across some greener plants, small tufts.
:20:24. > :20:28.They are quite low down. The pipe will be floating above them there.
:20:28. > :20:38.The stripes are not as random as the other plants that are in there,
:20:38. > :20:46.
:20:46. > :20:50.We are just coming up to one of the bird-watching towers. As we come
:20:50. > :20:55.alongside, you will notice there are holes in the side. The
:20:55. > :21:05.woodpeckers have seen it as a giant tree. The vandals have been picking
:21:05. > :21:06.
:21:06. > :21:10.their way through! Talking of wildlife, look what we have got!
:21:10. > :21:18.How are you doing? You are looking very good! I knew he would get it
:21:18. > :21:24.sorted! Howl is it going? I am really enjoying it. I have had a go
:21:24. > :21:34.for three minutes, it is like being on a door on the water! Shall I go
:21:34. > :21:34.
:21:34. > :21:44.overboard?! Feet wide apart? And bend the knees? There we go.
:21:44. > :21:45.
:21:45. > :21:52.lot doing it! Avoid the lilies! Look at you! It is coming back to
:21:52. > :21:59.me! Where I'll be going to go? Let's head up there. Have you seen
:21:59. > :22:03.any eels? No, but it is like gliding on the top of an aquarium.
:22:03. > :22:09.I could be wearing a long skirt to do this in!
:22:09. > :22:13.What a relaxing and peaceful way to enjoy the area.
:22:14. > :22:23.I have left the water behind and travelled to Cherry Hinton Nature
:22:24. > :22:24.
:22:24. > :22:28.Reserve, where I have come to look for an unusual creature. Cherry
:22:28. > :22:35.Hinton is a strange place. It almost feels like another planet,
:22:35. > :22:40.especially at dusk, which is when I have chosen to ride. Until the
:22:40. > :22:43.1980s, this was a working quarry that provided hard chalk and live
:22:43. > :22:50.for the University College in Cambridge. After the quarry's fell
:22:50. > :22:54.into disuse, the Emir was left wild and unloved. -- every year. But
:22:54. > :23:00.then the local wildlife trust bought it and began work to reclaim
:23:00. > :23:05.the land for wildlife. I am here to look for in mysterious creature
:23:05. > :23:11.that is almost impossible to find in the daytime. I have got to wait
:23:11. > :23:16.for might fall for the search to begin. -- wait for nightfall. The
:23:16. > :23:22.glow worm is the stuff of fairy- tales, and seeing one is a rare
:23:22. > :23:29.opportunity that Moro Watson -- Laura Watson is here to help me to
:23:29. > :23:35.fill. Why are we looking for glow- worms? It seems barren and Luna,
:23:35. > :23:42.the landscape. Yes, but the glow worms really like the rough
:23:42. > :23:47.grassland around the edges. They eat snails. There is an awful lot
:23:47. > :23:51.of snails. The open areas are really good for the glow worms when
:23:51. > :23:59.they are blowing, because they want to be as obvious as possible. That
:23:59. > :24:08.is so they can attract a mate. night falls, our search begins for
:24:08. > :24:12.the aversive -- elusive glowworm. We are scanning all corners in the
:24:12. > :24:21.hope of spotting a magical glow. We are not actually looking for a
:24:21. > :24:30.worm? Not at all. They are Beatles. How big? What sort of shape? They
:24:30. > :24:36.are an inch long. The females look like a grub. The adult males look
:24:36. > :24:42.like a black beetle. But they are hard to spot, because the males do
:24:42. > :24:47.not gloat. They can be spotted in many different areas the crops --
:24:47. > :24:56.across Great Britain, but they only glow in June and July. Where are we
:24:56. > :25:04.looking? They like rough, grassy areas, generally. But in this
:25:04. > :25:12.reserve, we have seen them out in the open. They could be anywhere!
:25:12. > :25:18.When you look for them, do you know little hot spots? Yes. That will
:25:18. > :25:25.help! They do not have to be near something they will eat? Not at all.
:25:25. > :25:31.The adults do not eat. The glow- worms only eat as larvae, said they
:25:31. > :25:34.have two years eating as many slugs and snails as possible, so they
:25:34. > :25:44.grow big and strong, and turn into adults for a couple of weeks, the
:25:44. > :25:47.
:25:47. > :25:53.time it takes to make -- to mate. They have big pincers. They nicked
:25:53. > :25:59.the slugs and snails and inject an Ensign in, and they turn into a
:25:59. > :26:07.soup, and the larvae can eat them up. Where do you think we might get
:26:07. > :26:17.lucky? Our best bet is to head over here, towards the shorter grass.
:26:17. > :26:17.
:26:17. > :26:21.That is where they were saying last night. That is a good tip! As our
:26:21. > :26:31.search of the Grand intensifies, I am beginning to think we will never
:26:31. > :26:37.
:26:37. > :26:43.spot one. Until... There is one! Fishes. There is his! -- there it
:26:43. > :26:49.is! That is incredible. She has raised herself up, to be as visible
:26:49. > :26:52.as possible. Yes, she will spend the day on ground level, but when
:26:52. > :27:01.she glows, she wants to be as obvious as possible to potential
:27:01. > :27:06.mates. What is it that makes her a blow like that? It is a chemical
:27:06. > :27:13.reaction. It is a molecule which reacts with oxygen. The light is
:27:13. > :27:20.the energy from that reaction. has not eaten in her current form,
:27:20. > :27:23.so this is stored up energy which burns so brightly. As well as
:27:23. > :27:27.attracting a mate, the glowing at the men is a warning to predators
:27:27. > :27:33.to stay away. Glow-worms taste bad, and they contain chemicals that
:27:33. > :27:36.cause vomiting. It is difficult to explain to people who are not here
:27:37. > :27:45.how bright it is, because we have got a camera light, but is it
:27:45. > :27:51.possible to hold her? She will be fine. I will gently just coax her
:27:51. > :27:58.on to my hand. I would describe that like a lady, it is that kind
:27:58. > :28:08.of light. Have we got a spare camera battery? This is
:28:08. > :28:09.
:28:09. > :28:19.unscientific! But we have this light. We can see how it looks for
:28:19. > :28:19.
:28:19. > :28:23.comparison. She has done very well, she has kept going for us! We will
:28:24. > :28:29.gently let her go back onto a bit of grass. If we were to stay here
:28:29. > :28:33.for the next couple of weeks, we would see a male can in? They fly
:28:33. > :28:41.really low over the ground, searching for the females' glow
:28:41. > :28:47.wind. When she has her wicked way, where will she go? She will lay her
:28:47. > :28:57.eggs on the ground level and die. Shrivel up next to them, her
:28:57. > :28:59.
:28:59. > :29:03.mission is over! Quite a glorious two weeks. Yes, it is worth it.
:29:04. > :29:13.little further north, the home to one of the most spectacular
:29:13. > :29:17.cathedrals in England. Ely Cathedral is indeed a magnificent
:29:17. > :29:23.building. It is often known as the ship of the Fens, due to its
:29:23. > :29:27.prominence in a flat and watery landscape. It is huge. The main
:29:27. > :29:34.body of the building is 75 metres long. It is the longest nave in
:29:34. > :29:40.Britain. But it is not the size of this beautiful building that is of
:29:40. > :29:44.interest. Michael White shares with us the secrets of Ely Cathedral.
:29:44. > :29:53.The parts of it that you would overlook, and that most people do
:29:53. > :30:00.not even know are there. This is the Prior's door, an elegant door,
:30:00. > :30:05.built around 1135, we think. It is at the sacred boundary off the
:30:05. > :30:10.monastery. And the rough and tumble of the world outside. We think it
:30:11. > :30:16.is Jesus warning us to be careful of the rough-and-tumble. It seems
:30:16. > :30:22.to concentrate on the lighter side of life. Is that a kiss? Is that
:30:22. > :30:26.somebody drinking? That is a man playing a harp. At the base, we can
:30:26. > :30:36.see two little men In A Boat, throwing in opposite directions,
:30:36. > :30:41.
:30:41. > :30:45.perhaps an example of modern This is one of my favourite spaces
:30:45. > :30:50.in Ely Cathedral. The atmosphere is absolutely tremendous. It is the
:30:50. > :30:55.Lady Chapel. It was built for the worship of the Virgin Mary and it
:30:55. > :31:00.is probably one of the very largest of the Lady Chapels in Britain. It
:31:00. > :31:06.is 100 feet long, 46 ft wide. The idea was that pilgrims would come
:31:06. > :31:11.here for a final service. They would be surrounded, as if in the
:31:11. > :31:18.ante Room To Heaven, with 147 statues. It was damaged because,
:31:18. > :31:23.once the Reformation had a cart, Protestant religion had begun, Sts'
:31:23. > :31:28.statues, pictures of the Saints in the windows were thought to be
:31:28. > :31:31.idolatrous and inappropriate. So they were smashed. All of these
:31:31. > :31:37.statues of the saints that you can see have had their heads removed.
:31:37. > :31:41.One of the curious features about the Lady Chapel is that it has some
:31:41. > :31:47.elements of previous religions, previous beliefs. One element, just
:31:47. > :31:51.up here, is a figure of a green man. You can see the tendril of by be
:31:51. > :31:55.coming out of is. He seems to represent the force of the forest,
:31:55. > :32:00.some kind of ancient belief in the vigour of life. But it does seem
:32:00. > :32:06.rather strange that all of the statues around us lost their heads
:32:06. > :32:10.but Our Green man is still quite untouched. This is a wonderful,
:32:10. > :32:18.like space now, but in the Middle Ages, with stained glass all round,
:32:18. > :32:21.it was probably quite subdued. The piece of stained glass behind me is
:32:21. > :32:24.really made up of remnants that had gathered in one place to give an
:32:24. > :32:28.impression of what the whole chapel might have looked like if all of
:32:28. > :32:33.the glass had remained. It is remarkable stained-glass in that it
:32:33. > :32:37.contains pictures of ordinary folk - peasants with their Pudsey and
:32:37. > :32:47.their pointy shoes, and armed men in Armagh that has been dated to
:32:47. > :32:49.
:32:49. > :32:53.almost exactly 1325. -- armour. I am sitting in one of the alcoves
:32:53. > :32:58.of the Lady Chapel and a of May there is a little stoned joke.
:32:58. > :33:08.There is a smiley man. If you manage to look up and at the back
:33:08. > :33:15.of him, he is a miserable man. One of the virtues of this huge
:33:15. > :33:25.enclosed space is the acoustics that they created us up if I clap
:33:25. > :33:28.
:33:28. > :33:38.you can hear that the Ecole lasts for something like seven seconds. -
:33:38. > :33:38.
:33:38. > :33:41.- the echo. The effect of singing in the Lady Chapel is enhanced in a
:33:41. > :33:45.magical way. Just down the road from the secrets
:33:45. > :33:50.of Ely Cathedral, Jennie Docherty found out all about the stress ball
:33:50. > :33:53.world of celery farming on Wicken Fen.
:33:53. > :34:03.Wicken Fen is one of the only remnants of the original wetland
:34:03. > :34:03.
:34:03. > :34:11.wilderness. This is what the Fens would have looked like and this is
:34:11. > :34:21.0.1% of what were originally was here. It is a shame because we have
:34:21. > :34:21.
:34:21. > :34:31.lost a wilderness. It is this watery environment that has created
:34:31. > :34:54.
:34:54. > :34:59.Today much of the rich farmland is giving up to big horticulture. This
:34:59. > :35:06.company grows 75% of all the celery that we eat. I am signing on for
:35:06. > :35:10.the day as a picker. In this kind of farming your workforce is key.
:35:10. > :35:17.And like so much of modern British agriculture, the company relies on
:35:17. > :35:20.migrant workers. How are you getting on, guys? 2,000 agriculture
:35:20. > :35:27.students from all over Europe arrive every year to plant and
:35:27. > :35:34.harvest their crops. We will get the bikes and get going, OK? What
:35:34. > :35:44.do you mean bikes? We are very environmentally friendly. Here is
:35:44. > :35:46.
:35:46. > :35:51.my boss. -- Kier. Is it always a race in the morning to see who gets
:35:51. > :36:01.there first? There is a competitive nature amongst some of the male
:36:01. > :36:25.
:36:25. > :36:29.The company's masterstroke has been to invent a machine that takes full
:36:29. > :36:33.advantage of the manpower. They have designed unique rigs that turn
:36:33. > :36:37.handbagging into an outdoor production line. Inside these
:36:38. > :36:47.mobile factories they can trim, or wash and pack the celebrate in the
:36:48. > :36:51.
:36:51. > :36:59.field. -- celery. If I am slow and do not get paid as much, I might
:36:59. > :37:09.also hold back these guys. Cutting Celery - just how tough can it be?
:37:09. > :37:15.
:37:15. > :37:23.As you pull it, it was the blade round -- twist the blade. You use
:37:23. > :37:29.these for a secondary process. They go on the bottom conveyor, the butt
:37:29. > :37:39.should look like that. It is really fast. Don't forget, you get 3p for
:37:39. > :37:40.
:37:40. > :37:50.every one of these. So, like that? No! You have just cost us money.
:37:50. > :37:51.
:37:51. > :38:01.You have ruined the whole thing. That all has to go on there, then?
:38:01. > :38:01.
:38:01. > :38:11.Today's schedule is to cut 40,000 sticks of celery. With all the rigs
:38:11. > :38:11.
:38:11. > :38:21.working at full capacity, that is 1.6 million sticks a week. There is
:38:21. > :38:27.a lot of pressure in this job. That's right. I don't think about
:38:27. > :38:37.This machine weighs about 30 tonnes and that is continually moving
:38:37. > :38:38.
:38:38. > :38:45.forward at walking speed. -- and it is. If you are slow it pushes you
:38:45. > :38:52.forward. And you have to do this for how many hours? 10. 10 ours.
:38:52. > :38:57.You have to be tough. -- 10 hours. There is not much conversation
:38:57. > :39:02.because we are all plug into making money. They cannot afford to have
:39:02. > :39:06.fag breaks or anything like that. I would not mind a couple of them on
:39:06. > :39:11.the farm! The truth behind it is that if you do not have these guys
:39:11. > :39:18.working here it forms all run the country how are we going to get the
:39:18. > :39:23.food to the supermarket at the right price? Without these workers
:39:23. > :39:28.we would have to import food. We could not do it otherwise. Jimmy,
:39:28. > :39:32.come here. Just as I am getting the hang of it, my supervisor moves me
:39:32. > :39:42.on to driving the rig. This means that everyone will have to work at
:39:42. > :39:48.
:39:48. > :39:53.my speed. Keep cutting. I have to cut as well? Yes. You set the pace.
:39:53. > :40:03.Making 3p on every stick they cat, the fastest teams can double their
:40:03. > :40:04.
:40:04. > :40:10.wage. Look how long my line is. This is really stressful because
:40:10. > :40:18.they are all waiting on my speed, and I am behind anyway. I am coming,
:40:18. > :40:28.I am coming! We want to cut! It is not long before all hell
:40:28. > :40:35.
:40:35. > :40:40.breaks loose. TAPPING I am under pressure.
:40:40. > :40:44.Not only am I losing money, I am losing the crop as well. Before I
:40:44. > :40:54.can do any more damage, Chela pulls me out to show me the rest of the
:40:54. > :40:55.
:40:55. > :41:05.operation. -- Kier. The celery moves to the upstairs to
:41:05. > :41:11.
:41:11. > :41:21.Ayr of the rig. -- tier. The celery is lost in ice-cold water, bringing
:41:21. > :41:28.its temperature down, conserving its freshness. That is the finished
:41:28. > :41:36.product? That is it. They are ready to go to the supermarket. It goes
:41:36. > :41:40.in this tray and it is done. Off it goes, fresh as a daisy. That's it,
:41:40. > :41:44.finished. The celery can be on the
:41:44. > :41:50.supermarket shelf within hours. There are lots of tough farming
:41:50. > :41:54.jobs being done by migrant workers. And although the number of Eastern
:41:54. > :42:04.European as is now starting to go down, the face of our farm labour
:42:04. > :42:08.
:42:08. > :42:17.force is changing. I would like to buy a laptop. He is planning to
:42:17. > :42:24.earn something like �3,000. long will that take him? Three
:42:24. > :42:30.months. How long would it take at home? About eight months. So it is
:42:30. > :42:40.well paid here? Compared to warm, yes. And he will put his money into
:42:40. > :42:40.
:42:40. > :42:44.agriculture when he goes back on? For sure. -- back home? Many of the
:42:44. > :42:50.students come here to work and then go home to set up their own
:42:50. > :42:55.businesses. There are over 1,500 people engaged in agriculture here.
:42:55. > :43:00.It is great seeing this youth and this vibrant. There is no doubt
:43:00. > :43:04.that the abuse of modern workers does go on. Here, without it, this
:43:04. > :43:09.business just would not survive. What these guys are doing is
:43:09. > :43:13.amazing. OK, there is big machinery but they have used technology to
:43:13. > :43:16.come and harvest everything and packet in the field. It is as fresh
:43:16. > :43:20.as a daisy. You get something like that that has been picked out of
:43:20. > :43:30.the ground and then, in six minutes, it is in a packet and on the shelf
:43:30. > :43:33.
:43:33. > :43:41.and the same day. That his genius. At the end of a long, hard day's
:43:41. > :43:50.picking, I earned �60. Aren't you the guy who is saving up for the
:43:50. > :43:55.laptop? OK, guys, here is some beer. Cheers!
:43:55. > :43:59.Amazing, the speed at which those guys can work. I am on my way to a
:43:59. > :44:04.completely different type of farm, or one with much more snap than a
:44:04. > :44:07.stick of celery. We have all heard of farm diversification where
:44:07. > :44:10.farmers supplement their traditional livelihood with new
:44:10. > :44:15.money-making ventures. One local farmer has taken this to a whole
:44:15. > :44:21.new level. In a moment I am going to get up close and personal with
:44:21. > :44:31.one of the most dangerous predators on the planet. First, the weather
:44:31. > :44:35.
:44:35. > :44:39.Hello. We are still heading for one of the warmest Novembers on record.
:44:39. > :44:42.The weather pattern has changed in the last week - more mobility and
:44:42. > :44:48.more unsettled weather. That is the way it is going to stay over the
:44:48. > :44:53.week ahead. We will find showers or longer spells of rain coupled with
:44:53. > :44:57.spells of strong or even gale-force winds. The weather that we have had
:44:57. > :45:01.in the last 24-hours is pulling away and heading to Scandinavia. It
:45:01. > :45:08.is an improving story for the rest of the day as the winds become
:45:08. > :45:11.lighter and we get more sunshine. There are still some showers in
:45:11. > :45:20.Northern Ireland. It will feel colder than yesterday, called a in
:45:20. > :45:25.Scotland, too. -- colder. More sunshine for the eastern side of
:45:25. > :45:29.Scotland. Showers in the West. There may be some rain dripping
:45:29. > :45:39.into the Midlands. Much more sunshine east of the Pennines and a
:45:39. > :45:40.
:45:40. > :45:44.sunny afternoon in East Anglia and the south-east. The wind will be
:45:44. > :45:49.lightest in the south-west. It will be generally dry and sunny across
:45:49. > :45:53.most of Wales. The wind continued to ease. Where we have clear skies,
:45:53. > :45:56.temperatures will fall quickly overnight. The wind will fresh and
:45:56. > :46:01.again and blow more cloud into Northern Ireland and Scotland,
:46:01. > :46:06.lifting temperatures. There will be a widespread ground frost across
:46:06. > :46:09.England and Wales. Many rural areas will be below freezing. Maybe some
:46:09. > :46:13.mist and fog in the south-east of England first thing. Tomorrow the
:46:13. > :46:17.story is one of freshening south to south-westerly winds, blowing in
:46:17. > :46:27.more cloud and patchy rain. Their heaviest will be in western
:46:27. > :46:30.
:46:30. > :46:33.Scotland later. It gets even windier on Monday night and into
:46:33. > :46:39.Tuesday. And it gets wetter as these weather front become aligned
:46:39. > :46:42.in the north-west. Another 70 mm of rain in Scotland on Tuesday.
:46:42. > :46:52.Because of that we have an early warning that there could be some
:46:52. > :46:57.
:46:57. > :47:07.local flooding. Some strong winds will blow when milder rare. -- will
:47:07. > :47:10.There will be some sunshine allow up -- around on Wednesday,
:47:10. > :47:16.particularly in the east. Showers are more likely in the West. Some
:47:16. > :47:19.of those could be wintery in Scotland, and not just on the hills.
:47:19. > :47:24.We move into a time of uncertainty towards the end of the week as we
:47:24. > :47:28.head to Thursday. Low pressure is on the scene, lot of pressure
:47:28. > :47:31.fronts. A lot of doubt about the detail. Essentially it looks like
:47:31. > :47:35.Thursday could be pretty wet. A lot of heavy rain around. As that
:47:35. > :47:41.clears from the north-west of Scotland, we may briefly see a
:47:41. > :47:47.spell of snow. Colombe pressure -- the low pressure responsible for
:47:47. > :47:51.that pulls away and we have just a brief respite on Friday. There is
:47:51. > :47:55.another low pressure coming in from the Atlantic. December could turn a
:47:55. > :48:05.bit chillier than we have been used to. More rain to come in the week
:48:05. > :48:08.
:48:08. > :48:11.ahead and it will still be Today, I have been travelling
:48:11. > :48:15.through Cambridgeshire. In Cambridge, I enjoyed a relaxing
:48:16. > :48:21.punt along the River Cam and learned about Charles Darwin's time
:48:21. > :48:26.at university. A captured the sight of a group -- glow worm at Cherry
:48:26. > :48:32.Hinton, and the secrets of Ely Cathedral were revealed, but now I
:48:32. > :48:37.am at Old Hurst, about to meet some extraordinary farm animals.
:48:37. > :48:42.This farm has been in the family since 1898, but it was the BSE
:48:42. > :48:47.crisis that forced Andy Johnson to diversify. He has been looking for
:48:47. > :48:57.a suitable alternative to cattle, and he thinks he may have found it.
:48:57. > :49:01.
:49:01. > :49:06.It is not pigs. It is for more unusual. -- far more. It is dinner-
:49:06. > :49:16.time at Old Hurst, and Andy has the unenviable task of feeding his four
:49:16. > :49:17.
:49:17. > :49:25.Nile crocodiles. I am not quite sure what to make of this! Argue a
:49:25. > :49:30.few sandwiches short of a picnic?! I have brought them in for waste
:49:30. > :49:33.disposal and for production of high-quality meat. Along with that,
:49:34. > :49:42.crocodiles are one of the few animals with no by-product. The
:49:42. > :49:49.skin is useful, there is demand for the scales, and you will always
:49:49. > :49:54.have a demand for crocodile teeth. Everything is saleable. Is it
:49:54. > :50:00.dangerous? It must be dangerous. Working with all livestock is
:50:00. > :50:06.dangerous. You know that they can be a threat, so you are more alert.
:50:06. > :50:14.I always carry this board. They could bite through it, but if I
:50:14. > :50:20.stood here without it, he could lock on my leg. An easy target. You
:50:20. > :50:23.stand behind a shield, you feel happy. I do not know if I would
:50:23. > :50:29.feel happy! They are not just one of the largest and most dangerous
:50:29. > :50:34.types of crocodile, they are one of the planet's most lethal predators.
:50:34. > :50:42.They mainly live in Asia and Africa. They are responsible for killing
:50:42. > :50:47.hundreds of humans every year. Let's get a bit of meat. What is it
:50:47. > :50:51.you are feeding? Editor of rabbit and pork. We always try to
:50:51. > :50:57.encourage them to come quite high, because it gives you a good chance
:50:58. > :51:02.to inspect their belly, make sure the Health and everything is fine.
:51:02. > :51:09.It is the only time of the week you can play with them. Where did you
:51:09. > :51:15.learn all of this? They were not quite so big when we got them! We
:51:15. > :51:21.learned on small animals. Have they ever bitten you? Since they have
:51:21. > :51:26.been this size, we have been lucky. If it will bite, it will take
:51:26. > :51:34.something off. The teeth work like the perforations on your car tax
:51:34. > :51:44.disc. They break the skin, and they twist and take a mouthful off, is
:51:44. > :51:47.
:51:47. > :51:54.it to swallow. They cannot chew like a dog. This Mail decided that
:51:54. > :52:02.they would have a fight, and I could see our investment disappear,
:52:02. > :52:07.so I waded in, I grabbed their tails, and he turned around, his
:52:07. > :52:14.mouth wide open, and came at me. 18 inches from my face, he stopped
:52:14. > :52:21.dead. I believe they have got a certain amount of respect for us.
:52:21. > :52:25.Nothing else give you a kick to work with it. It is satisfying with
:52:25. > :52:35.cows and pigs, but to work with these, it is the ultimate buzz, you
:52:35. > :52:36.
:52:36. > :52:42.feel there is more of an When you are talking about waste
:52:42. > :52:46.products, you feed them all sorts from the farm, what sort of things?
:52:46. > :52:50.From the poultry industry, if you are taking chicken breasts of,
:52:50. > :53:00.you're left with a carcass, which is mainly bone, but with flesh on
:53:00. > :53:01.
:53:01. > :53:05.it. They can take backbone, digest it, and turn it back into meat.
:53:05. > :53:12.They can use what no other animal can. They Digest bone? Bones and
:53:12. > :53:17.teeth. Their stomach acid is the strongest known. They have not
:53:18. > :53:24.killed any crocodiles on site, but you do sell crocodile meat? We buy
:53:24. > :53:29.some from South Africa or Zimbabwe. It has proved quite popular. The
:53:29. > :53:35.best way to protect any animal is to make it acceptable on the table.
:53:35. > :53:45.Cows, pigs, sheep, anything we eat, it never becomes endangered.
:53:45. > :53:54.
:53:54. > :53:59.finish feeding them, and then we What to most people expect? They do
:53:59. > :54:05.not think it will be like this? That is the problem, everybody
:54:05. > :54:13.thinks it will be red meat. They are shocked at to see that it looks
:54:13. > :54:16.like fish. Very high protein. Some research believes this is what
:54:16. > :54:23.changed monkey into man, the rich protein, that helped develop the
:54:23. > :54:30.brain. Where is it eaten? Not in the northern hemisphere, but pretty
:54:30. > :54:34.much everywhere else, Africa, Asia, Australia, South America. The
:54:34. > :54:44.southern states of North America as well. It has been a while since I
:54:44. > :54:45.
:54:45. > :54:51.had this. I remembered it was the texture of fish. It is like fish
:54:52. > :55:01.with the texture of pork, and very mild in flavour. It responds well
:55:02. > :55:04.
:55:04. > :55:11.to marinading. It is good, it is dense. I cannot quite put my finger
:55:11. > :55:17.on what it tastes like. It varies. We are not slaughtering our own,
:55:17. > :55:22.this was produced in Zimbabwe. This is fed on fish waste, which gives
:55:22. > :55:27.it a fishy flavour. We have had some South Africa and, which was
:55:27. > :55:33.fed more chicken and pork. That had a totally different flavour. So,
:55:33. > :55:38.the diet plays a big park. Is it up there with your pork sausages?
:55:38. > :55:46.Nothing ever beats sirloin steak, but that is the only meat to be
:55:47. > :55:51.knighted in history! With this being the first and only crocodile
:55:51. > :55:56.farm in the UK, it is an experimental journey. He has not
:55:56. > :56:01.been able to hatch a viable egg, but with eight currently in the
:56:01. > :56:08.incubator, maybe this will be his year. To be able to get the meat we
:56:08. > :56:12.were tasting, you have to be able to breed them. How hard is it?
:56:12. > :56:18.got through the first stage, the Mail has been copulating with the
:56:18. > :56:27.females, and they can lay eggs. Now, we have to teach ourselves to hatch
:56:27. > :56:35.the X. We need to run at 98, 99% humidity. If we go over that, which
:56:35. > :56:42.ran the embryos and we try them out. And, choosing the right temperature.
:56:42. > :56:47.The first ones we had, we want to keep them for breeding stock.
:56:47. > :56:53.temperature of the eight dictates the sex of the baby crocodile?
:56:53. > :57:00.That is amazing. Can we have a look? The main thing that, once
:57:00. > :57:06.they are laid, they are kept at the same angle and not handled. These
:57:06. > :57:10.are 90 days, the incubation period. They only have a few more weeks
:57:10. > :57:16.before they are due to hatch, but if they are viable, the crocodiles
:57:16. > :57:24.that will emerge will only be the length of a pencil. You have got no
:57:24. > :57:29.idea how this is going? You are just hoping? We had bandying around
:57:29. > :57:33.the outside in the early days, the centre of the aid going a different
:57:33. > :57:39.colour from the ends, which are supposed to be a sign of fertility,
:57:39. > :57:45.but 90 days is a long time to wait. If we have done anything wrong in
:57:46. > :57:52.that process, we could have written them off all. It could be another
:57:52. > :57:57.10 years to get it right. Good luck!
:57:57. > :58:02.My journey has come to an end. I cannot believe what I found. From
:58:02. > :58:09.beautiful waterways and wildlife to incredible history. This
:58:09. > :58:13.fascinating county has more to offer than anybody could imagine.
:58:13. > :58:17.What a lovely journey, Cambridge it is somewhere I am fond of all. It