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Hello. Today I am on a journey through the low-lying lands of

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Cambridgeshire, a county of watery landscapes and historic places, but

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also somewhere that is very near to my heart. I begin in Cambridge,

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where I will take part in a rather unusual race. I think if this was

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golf you might say I am in the rough right now. Then I will

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continue along the river to learn about the impact that the Cambridge

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University Botanic Garden had on the creation of Charles Darwin's

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ultimate theory. I will travel to Cherry Hinton chalk pit to hunt

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down the rare sight of a glow worm at night. There is one. Isn't that

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incredible? Matt Baker Experiences the wonders of paddle boarding on

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Wicken Fen. It is like a fish tank. It is like you're floating on the

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top of a giant aquarium. And the secrets of Ely Cathedral bill

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revealed -- will be revealed. My journey ends at Old Hurst where I

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will meet a Pharma whose diverse -- the there's a vacation plans have a

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bit more bite than moss. He came at me face on.

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I will also be looking back at the best of the BBC's rural programmes

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from this part of the world. Welcome to Country Tracks.

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Cambridgeshire is a famously flat part of the country, with the Fens

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being the lowest point of the whole of the UK at nine feet below sea

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level. With the gently flowing what always unbeatable countryside, it

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is easy to see why this has become a county that practically demands

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relaxation. And what better way to relax them punting near Cambridge

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on the beautiful River Cam? -- relaxed than punting. It is an

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image associated with Cambridge - lazy summer days, champagne picnics,

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men in straw boaters, and given that I was a student here, one that

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is close to my heart. Boy Mark -- Guy Dozer, a plan chauffeur for

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nine years, is here to show me the ropes. I am trying to make it go

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straight but I see a lot of people zig-zagging. When it is windy you

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need to be able to control the board. You can use the pole as a

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paddle, ruddering. The other ways to put the pole in at an angle. If

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I put the pole in like this, keep the pole parallel with the punt. It

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should go in a straight line. all about the slide through the

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hand, as easy as you like. You see a few show-offs on the river. What

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is their technique? One-handed punting. It slows you down but it

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is quite cool. You throw your pole up, catch it and stick it back in.

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The only advantage to it is that, if you have a beer or something,

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you can hold on to it whilst punting.

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So talk me through the punts themselves, it is quite an unusual

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boat. It is unusual. It would originally have been used for

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fishing on Mures land where water would have been too shallow. They

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were also used for reed cutting. It does not have a keel so it only

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goes one or two inches into the water, which means that you can

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punt over shallow what that you could not Rover. If it is

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originally a fishing boat, apostle of -- possibly for rate cut in, how

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did it make its way to Oxford? Did they just make it? I do not want to

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talk about Oxford! You tend to find that the two often copy each other.

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When something becomes popular in Cambridge it will become, gripped -

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- popular in Oxford. I think they like to be a little bit different.

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Run or counter-intuitively for this leisurely activity is also the

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strange tradition of racing pundits. I think it is time to give it ago.

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To the next bridge? In yes. Let's try and stay dry. Now it is taking

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into business. I am wildly off course. I am not really in control.

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Come on! Stuck! I think if this was golf you might say I am in the

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rough right now. I think I would be quicker swimming, to be honest.

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And where my punting journey ends, John Craven's began in February

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2009 when he took to the water to explore the colleges of Cambridge

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University. Cambridge started when a group of

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scholars fled here from Oxford after protesting about a hanging.

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And, as the university grew, so did its influence on both Thailand and

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countryside, with many colleges pawning large stretches of farm

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land. And what better way to get a feel for the place than taking a

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punt right down Cambridge's river, the River Cam. Alan Dickinson is my

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guide. This bridge belongs to St John's College, it is the Bridge of

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Sighs. It is a replica of the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. The

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students live on the right-hand side of the river and do their

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exams on the left, so as they walk across the side, wishing they had

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worked harder. -- they sigh. Before Trinity College came along, 35

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years after St John's College started, St Johns was the biggest,

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best and wealthiest, and for that reason these two colleges have a

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huge rivalry. Who is the Richard? Who is the wealthiest, the biggest,

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the best? We all know that Trinity College is. St John's have never

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been too happy with that. They built this college purely as a show

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of wealth. Trinity College are incredibly wealthy. They have

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assets worth well over �2.6 billion. A lot of that is in a land. What

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about famous students? Sir Isaac Newton. He studied mathematics here.

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Prince Charles came here, studied architecture. He was remembered for

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saying how he did not want to be treated any differently from any

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other student. This is Clare College, funded by Lady Elizabeth

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de Clare. It is the second oldest college in Cambridge, dates back to

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1326. Lady Elizabeth de Clare was an interesting when ritual -- an

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interesting woman. She was very wealthy and her wealth came from

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the fact that she had been married and widowed three times by that age

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was 27. Presumably to rich men. Each one was wealthy and each one

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died mysteriously, so she acquired the nickname of the Black Widow.

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The next college you can see, a very famous college, King's College.

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It was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI because he wanted

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somewhere for his boys from Eton school to go on to to further their

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studies. It must be rather nice, if you're looking for a place for your

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children to go to school, to be able to build somewhere like that.

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And which bridge is this one? This is famously non and as the

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mathematically bridge. Queen's College, at their wooden bridge.

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The most famous story is that it was designed and built by Sir Isaac

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Newton himself. Originally the bridge had no nuts or bolts. It was

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a completely free-standing structure. The legend goes that, a

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few years later, the Master of the college was a way for the weekend.

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And the students were fascinated as to how the bridge when together.

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They did what men do, when they do not understand something they take

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it apart. They then could not put it back together again. That is why

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it has nuts and bolts in it. Was it actually designed by Isaac Newton?

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It was not. You're Cambridge born- and-bred, Allen. What is it like

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living in a city that is so dominated by the University? It is

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interesting, there is a distinct divide between what we call the

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town and the gown. If you went back a few years it is very much

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dominated by the universities. It has levelled itself but. And the

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town and the gown live well together, in my opinion.

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My trip ends at Darwin College, named after the student who change

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the way we think about the natural world. It is 150 years this year

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since the publication of this book. This is a first edition. It is

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Charles Darwin's On The Origin Of Species, the book which introduced

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the world to the concept of evolution through natural selection.

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Darwin wrote his controversial book 30 years after his time as an

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undergraduate at Christ's College, but his interest in natural science

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started here. Now the college has commissioned a statue of him, to be

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unveiled later this week. So this is Charles Darwin at the age of...

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About 22, his last year at Christ's before leaving a few months later,

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joining the Beagle and sailing round the world.

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We're not used to seeing anything of him at this age, are we? No, it

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is always the elderly man with the big white beard. I thought it would

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be nice to show him as a younger students. How do you know that he

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would have looked like that at 22? There is reference material for him,

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it is fairly few and far between. There is a famous watercolour

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portrait of him in his 30s. That was quite an important reference

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point. This is the clay model that you worked on for top exactly.

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is at the foundry being cast in bronze. It will be unveiled on the

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bicentenary. You're a student here, is this your first big commission?

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Yes. It is nice for me because the reason why I apply to come here in

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particular was after reading On The Origin Of Species when I was 16.

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That triggered my whole passion for natural sciences. I ended up at his

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old college. Darwin came to Christ's College

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Cambridge and, although he was supposed to be studying theology,

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he spent a lot of time that my next stop - the botanic garden. Darwin

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had a fascination with plants and the study of botany. Through this

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interest, he developed a friendship with botany professor John Stevens

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Henslow. He introduced jar -- Darwin to the concept of variation

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within species and how species could vary depending on their

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environment. I am here to meet Dr Tim Upson, curator of the Botanic

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Garden, to find out about the influence that John Stevens Henslow

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had on Darwin. At the time, public was very much of the opinion that

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God put species and creatures on earth. Why he's variation so

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important to John Stevens Henslow and Charles Darwin? What is it that

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they are seeing in the significance of trees that are quite similar but

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basically different? John Stevens Henslow gave Darwin some of his

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ideas, which ultimately translated into On The Origin Of Species. One

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of the key concepts is the importance of variation. Variation,

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evolution, survival of the fittest and things change in that way, not

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just created by God. So it is John Stevens Henslow who planted that

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seed in Darwin's mind? That is a good way of putting it. Just to

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give a visual representation of what we're talking about. We have

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different examples of the black pine. We see one from the Alps,

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with downward sloping brunches, possibly to shed the snow. Then

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there is another example of the same species that is different in

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its habits. The Alpine one has low sloping branches to get rid of the

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snow and the Mediterranean one has branches turned towards the sun to

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catch the light? Yes. You accept variation as something

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that is naturally occurring. You expect to see it and understand it.

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Back then, they would not have had the same view and the idea of the

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world as we have today. We do have those ideas and they are

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represented here. The Botanic Gardens had been kept going and,

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thanks to John Stevens Henslow laying it out and keep in it going?

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Yes, this is one of the magnificent legacies, of the ideas that were

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embodied here and these magnificent, It was John Stevens Henslow who

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recommended Charles Darwin joined the crew of the Beagle on his

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voyage around the world. This was to lay the foundation for his

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famous The Origin Of The Species. Charles Darwin may have sailed

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around the world, but on mac Baker's trip to this region, he

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took to the water on a different type of craft.

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These were once bustling, transporting goods from defendants

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to Cambridge Andy Lee. But now, they are peaceful backwaters. A

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small oasis for budding sports men. I have got my shorts on, and I am

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holding a paddle, because I am going for a different view, not

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from a boat, but from a board. The surface not up. But this is what

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the best places -- one of the best ways to see this place. This man

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runs tours with a difference. Working alongside staff here, he

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helps visitors to enjoy the reserve in a very own traditional way. How

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are you doing? Very well. The man of the reeds! Es! This is an

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unusual way of getting around. when people see it for the first

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time, they are surprised, but it is a fantastic way to see the fence.

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have got my board, so I will put my buoyancy aid on. You need to stand

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with your legs slightly bent, which will keep your feet flat on the

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board. You need to keep looking ahead, and both feet pointing

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forward. Is it quite stable? chances of falling in of very low.

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It is flat water, hardly any wind, so you will get on great. Crack

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your paddle. Is it quite deep? is about a foot deep. If you put

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your right foot onto the board near the handle... Spread your feet out

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a bit now. That is pretty good. Keep your knees bent. That is your

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first lesson! Keep your knees bent, a look ahead, you will be fine.

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is quite responsive. Very much so. Keep paddling, keep your knees bent.

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If you keep looking ahead, you should be able to see down through

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the water, so you will be able to see the fish. We are going! It is

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like a fish tank. Yes, that is what most people say when I take them

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for a paddle. It feels like you are floating along the top of a giant

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aquarium. If you want to improve on your technique, because we are

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going to cover a fair distance, keep your bottom arm straight and

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push away with your top hand. That starts to use the muscles in your

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shoulder and your back. Where does it originate from? It feels quite

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tribal. Man of the jungle! It comes from her way. When they were

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teaching at surfing lessons, they found it easier to stand up,

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because he could see where the waves were coming from. You must

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come across lots of wildlife. You creep up. You also silent. Yes, we

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paddle from spring through to autumn, said you see the migrating

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Nature that comes through. What big fish have you got? We have got pike

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and perch. You will see a lot of DU fancy a go?! It is almost like

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meditation. Yes, because you are having to think about what you are

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doing, you cannot think of anything else. It completely relaxes the

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mind. Have you noticed the dragonflies? They are darting

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around all over the show. It is around here that you will often

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find a pike. You will come across some greener plants, small tufts.

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They are quite low down. The pipe will be floating above them there.

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The stripes are not as random as the other plants that are in there,

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We are just coming up to one of the bird-watching towers. As we come

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alongside, you will notice there are holes in the side. The

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woodpeckers have seen it as a giant tree. The vandals have been picking

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their way through! Talking of wildlife, look what we have got!

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How are you doing? You are looking very good! I knew he would get it

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sorted! Howl is it going? I am really enjoying it. I have had a go

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for three minutes, it is like being on a door on the water! Shall I go

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overboard?! Feet wide apart? And bend the knees? There we go.

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lot doing it! Avoid the lilies! Look at you! It is coming back to

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me! Where I'll be going to go? Let's head up there. Have you seen

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any eels? No, but it is like gliding on the top of an aquarium.

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I could be wearing a long skirt to do this in!

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What a relaxing and peaceful way to enjoy the area.

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I have left the water behind and travelled to Cherry Hinton Nature

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Reserve, where I have come to look for an unusual creature. Cherry

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Hinton is a strange place. It almost feels like another planet,

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especially at dusk, which is when I have chosen to ride. Until the

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1980s, this was a working quarry that provided hard chalk and live

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for the University College in Cambridge. After the quarry's fell

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into disuse, the Emir was left wild and unloved. -- every year. But

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then the local wildlife trust bought it and began work to reclaim

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the land for wildlife. I am here to look for in mysterious creature

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that is almost impossible to find in the daytime. I have got to wait

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for might fall for the search to begin. -- wait for nightfall. The

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glow worm is the stuff of fairy- tales, and seeing one is a rare

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opportunity that Moro Watson -- Laura Watson is here to help me to

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fill. Why are we looking for glow- worms? It seems barren and Luna,

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the landscape. Yes, but the glow worms really like the rough

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grassland around the edges. They eat snails. There is an awful lot

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of snails. The open areas are really good for the glow worms when

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they are blowing, because they want to be as obvious as possible. That

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is so they can attract a mate. night falls, our search begins for

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the aversive -- elusive glowworm. We are scanning all corners in the

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hope of spotting a magical glow. We are not actually looking for a

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worm? Not at all. They are Beatles. How big? What sort of shape? They

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are an inch long. The females look like a grub. The adult males look

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like a black beetle. But they are hard to spot, because the males do

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not gloat. They can be spotted in many different areas the crops --

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across Great Britain, but they only glow in June and July. Where are we

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looking? They like rough, grassy areas, generally. But in this

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reserve, we have seen them out in the open. They could be anywhere!

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When you look for them, do you know little hot spots? Yes. That will

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help! They do not have to be near something they will eat? Not at all.

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The adults do not eat. The glow- worms only eat as larvae, said they

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have two years eating as many slugs and snails as possible, so they

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grow big and strong, and turn into adults for a couple of weeks, the

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time it takes to make -- to mate. They have big pincers. They nicked

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the slugs and snails and inject an Ensign in, and they turn into a

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soup, and the larvae can eat them up. Where do you think we might get

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lucky? Our best bet is to head over here, towards the shorter grass.

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That is where they were saying last night. That is a good tip! As our

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search of the Grand intensifies, I am beginning to think we will never

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spot one. Until... There is one! Fishes. There is his! -- there it

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is! That is incredible. She has raised herself up, to be as visible

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as possible. Yes, she will spend the day on ground level, but when

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she glows, she wants to be as obvious as possible to potential

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mates. What is it that makes her a blow like that? It is a chemical

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reaction. It is a molecule which reacts with oxygen. The light is

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the energy from that reaction. has not eaten in her current form,

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so this is stored up energy which burns so brightly. As well as

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attracting a mate, the glowing at the men is a warning to predators

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to stay away. Glow-worms taste bad, and they contain chemicals that

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cause vomiting. It is difficult to explain to people who are not here

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how bright it is, because we have got a camera light, but is it

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possible to hold her? She will be fine. I will gently just coax her

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on to my hand. I would describe that like a lady, it is that kind

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of light. Have we got a spare camera battery? This is

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unscientific! But we have this light. We can see how it looks for

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comparison. She has done very well, she has kept going for us! We will

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gently let her go back onto a bit of grass. If we were to stay here

:28:24.:28:29.

for the next couple of weeks, we would see a male can in? They fly

:28:29.:28:33.

really low over the ground, searching for the females' glow

:28:33.:28:41.

wind. When she has her wicked way, where will she go? She will lay her

:28:41.:28:47.

eggs on the ground level and die. Shrivel up next to them, her

:28:47.:28:57.
:28:57.:28:59.

mission is over! Quite a glorious two weeks. Yes, it is worth it.

:28:59.:29:03.

little further north, the home to one of the most spectacular

:29:04.:29:13.

cathedrals in England. Ely Cathedral is indeed a magnificent

:29:13.:29:17.

building. It is often known as the ship of the Fens, due to its

:29:17.:29:23.

prominence in a flat and watery landscape. It is huge. The main

:29:23.:29:27.

body of the building is 75 metres long. It is the longest nave in

:29:27.:29:34.

Britain. But it is not the size of this beautiful building that is of

:29:34.:29:40.

interest. Michael White shares with us the secrets of Ely Cathedral.

:29:40.:29:44.

The parts of it that you would overlook, and that most people do

:29:44.:29:53.

not even know are there. This is the Prior's door, an elegant door,

:29:53.:30:00.

built around 1135, we think. It is at the sacred boundary off the

:30:00.:30:05.

monastery. And the rough and tumble of the world outside. We think it

:30:05.:30:10.

is Jesus warning us to be careful of the rough-and-tumble. It seems

:30:11.:30:16.

to concentrate on the lighter side of life. Is that a kiss? Is that

:30:16.:30:22.

somebody drinking? That is a man playing a harp. At the base, we can

:30:22.:30:26.

see two little men In A Boat, throwing in opposite directions,

:30:26.:30:36.
:30:36.:30:41.

perhaps an example of modern This is one of my favourite spaces

:30:41.:30:45.

in Ely Cathedral. The atmosphere is absolutely tremendous. It is the

:30:45.:30:50.

Lady Chapel. It was built for the worship of the Virgin Mary and it

:30:50.:30:55.

is probably one of the very largest of the Lady Chapels in Britain. It

:30:55.:31:00.

is 100 feet long, 46 ft wide. The idea was that pilgrims would come

:31:00.:31:06.

here for a final service. They would be surrounded, as if in the

:31:06.:31:11.

ante Room To Heaven, with 147 statues. It was damaged because,

:31:11.:31:18.

once the Reformation had a cart, Protestant religion had begun, Sts'

:31:18.:31:23.

statues, pictures of the Saints in the windows were thought to be

:31:23.:31:28.

idolatrous and inappropriate. So they were smashed. All of these

:31:28.:31:31.

statues of the saints that you can see have had their heads removed.

:31:31.:31:37.

One of the curious features about the Lady Chapel is that it has some

:31:37.:31:41.

elements of previous religions, previous beliefs. One element, just

:31:41.:31:47.

up here, is a figure of a green man. You can see the tendril of by be

:31:47.:31:51.

coming out of is. He seems to represent the force of the forest,

:31:51.:31:55.

some kind of ancient belief in the vigour of life. But it does seem

:31:55.:32:00.

rather strange that all of the statues around us lost their heads

:32:00.:32:06.

but Our Green man is still quite untouched. This is a wonderful,

:32:06.:32:10.

like space now, but in the Middle Ages, with stained glass all round,

:32:10.:32:18.

it was probably quite subdued. The piece of stained glass behind me is

:32:18.:32:21.

really made up of remnants that had gathered in one place to give an

:32:21.:32:24.

impression of what the whole chapel might have looked like if all of

:32:24.:32:28.

the glass had remained. It is remarkable stained-glass in that it

:32:28.:32:33.

contains pictures of ordinary folk - peasants with their Pudsey and

:32:33.:32:37.

their pointy shoes, and armed men in Armagh that has been dated to

:32:37.:32:47.
:32:47.:32:49.

almost exactly 1325. -- armour. I am sitting in one of the alcoves

:32:49.:32:53.

of the Lady Chapel and a of May there is a little stoned joke.

:32:53.:32:58.

There is a smiley man. If you manage to look up and at the back

:32:58.:33:08.

of him, he is a miserable man. One of the virtues of this huge

:33:08.:33:15.

enclosed space is the acoustics that they created us up if I clap

:33:15.:33:25.
:33:25.:33:28.

you can hear that the Ecole lasts for something like seven seconds. -

:33:28.:33:38.
:33:38.:33:38.

- the echo. The effect of singing in the Lady Chapel is enhanced in a

:33:38.:33:41.

magical way. Just down the road from the secrets

:33:41.:33:45.

of Ely Cathedral, Jennie Docherty found out all about the stress ball

:33:45.:33:50.

world of celery farming on Wicken Fen.

:33:50.:33:53.

Wicken Fen is one of the only remnants of the original wetland

:33:53.:34:03.
:34:03.:34:03.

wilderness. This is what the Fens would have looked like and this is

:34:03.:34:11.

0.1% of what were originally was here. It is a shame because we have

:34:11.:34:21.
:34:21.:34:21.

lost a wilderness. It is this watery environment that has created

:34:21.:34:31.
:34:31.:34:54.

Today much of the rich farmland is giving up to big horticulture. This

:34:54.:34:59.

company grows 75% of all the celery that we eat. I am signing on for

:34:59.:35:06.

the day as a picker. In this kind of farming your workforce is key.

:35:06.:35:10.

And like so much of modern British agriculture, the company relies on

:35:10.:35:17.

migrant workers. How are you getting on, guys? 2,000 agriculture

:35:17.:35:20.

students from all over Europe arrive every year to plant and

:35:20.:35:27.

harvest their crops. We will get the bikes and get going, OK? What

:35:27.:35:34.

do you mean bikes? We are very environmentally friendly. Here is

:35:34.:35:44.
:35:44.:35:46.

my boss. -- Kier. Is it always a race in the morning to see who gets

:35:46.:35:51.

there first? There is a competitive nature amongst some of the male

:35:51.:36:01.
:36:01.:36:25.

The company's masterstroke has been to invent a machine that takes full

:36:25.:36:29.

advantage of the manpower. They have designed unique rigs that turn

:36:29.:36:33.

handbagging into an outdoor production line. Inside these

:36:33.:36:37.

mobile factories they can trim, or wash and pack the celebrate in the

:36:38.:36:47.
:36:48.:36:51.

field. -- celery. If I am slow and do not get paid as much, I might

:36:51.:36:59.

also hold back these guys. Cutting Celery - just how tough can it be?

:36:59.:37:09.
:37:09.:37:15.

As you pull it, it was the blade round -- twist the blade. You use

:37:15.:37:23.

these for a secondary process. They go on the bottom conveyor, the butt

:37:23.:37:29.

should look like that. It is really fast. Don't forget, you get 3p for

:37:29.:37:39.
:37:39.:37:40.

every one of these. So, like that? No! You have just cost us money.

:37:40.:37:50.
:37:50.:37:51.

You have ruined the whole thing. That all has to go on there, then?

:37:51.:38:01.
:38:01.:38:01.

Today's schedule is to cut 40,000 sticks of celery. With all the rigs

:38:01.:38:11.
:38:11.:38:11.

working at full capacity, that is 1.6 million sticks a week. There is

:38:11.:38:21.

a lot of pressure in this job. That's right. I don't think about

:38:21.:38:27.

This machine weighs about 30 tonnes and that is continually moving

:38:27.:38:37.
:38:37.:38:38.

forward at walking speed. -- and it is. If you are slow it pushes you

:38:38.:38:45.

forward. And you have to do this for how many hours? 10. 10 ours.

:38:45.:38:52.

You have to be tough. -- 10 hours. There is not much conversation

:38:52.:38:57.

because we are all plug into making money. They cannot afford to have

:38:57.:39:02.

fag breaks or anything like that. I would not mind a couple of them on

:39:02.:39:06.

the farm! The truth behind it is that if you do not have these guys

:39:06.:39:11.

working here it forms all run the country how are we going to get the

:39:11.:39:18.

food to the supermarket at the right price? Without these workers

:39:18.:39:23.

we would have to import food. We could not do it otherwise. Jimmy,

:39:23.:39:28.

come here. Just as I am getting the hang of it, my supervisor moves me

:39:28.:39:32.

on to driving the rig. This means that everyone will have to work at

:39:32.:39:42.
:39:42.:39:48.

my speed. Keep cutting. I have to cut as well? Yes. You set the pace.

:39:48.:39:53.

Making 3p on every stick they cat, the fastest teams can double their

:39:53.:40:03.
:40:03.:40:04.

wage. Look how long my line is. This is really stressful because

:40:04.:40:10.

they are all waiting on my speed, and I am behind anyway. I am coming,

:40:10.:40:18.

I am coming! We want to cut! It is not long before all hell

:40:18.:40:28.
:40:28.:40:35.

breaks loose. TAPPING I am under pressure.

:40:35.:40:40.

Not only am I losing money, I am losing the crop as well. Before I

:40:40.:40:44.

can do any more damage, Chela pulls me out to show me the rest of the

:40:44.:40:54.
:40:54.:40:55.

operation. -- Kier. The celery moves to the upstairs to

:40:55.:41:05.
:41:05.:41:11.

Ayr of the rig. -- tier. The celery is lost in ice-cold water, bringing

:41:11.:41:21.

its temperature down, conserving its freshness. That is the finished

:41:21.:41:28.

product? That is it. They are ready to go to the supermarket. It goes

:41:28.:41:36.

in this tray and it is done. Off it goes, fresh as a daisy. That's it,

:41:36.:41:40.

finished. The celery can be on the

:41:40.:41:44.

supermarket shelf within hours. There are lots of tough farming

:41:44.:41:50.

jobs being done by migrant workers. And although the number of Eastern

:41:50.:41:54.

European as is now starting to go down, the face of our farm labour

:41:54.:42:04.
:42:04.:42:08.

force is changing. I would like to buy a laptop. He is planning to

:42:08.:42:17.

earn something like �3,000. long will that take him? Three

:42:17.:42:24.

months. How long would it take at home? About eight months. So it is

:42:24.:42:30.

well paid here? Compared to warm, yes. And he will put his money into

:42:30.:42:40.
:42:40.:42:40.

agriculture when he goes back on? For sure. -- back home? Many of the

:42:40.:42:44.

students come here to work and then go home to set up their own

:42:44.:42:50.

businesses. There are over 1,500 people engaged in agriculture here.

:42:50.:42:55.

It is great seeing this youth and this vibrant. There is no doubt

:42:55.:43:00.

that the abuse of modern workers does go on. Here, without it, this

:43:00.:43:04.

business just would not survive. What these guys are doing is

:43:04.:43:09.

amazing. OK, there is big machinery but they have used technology to

:43:09.:43:13.

come and harvest everything and packet in the field. It is as fresh

:43:13.:43:16.

as a daisy. You get something like that that has been picked out of

:43:16.:43:20.

the ground and then, in six minutes, it is in a packet and on the shelf

:43:20.:43:30.
:43:30.:43:33.

and the same day. That his genius. At the end of a long, hard day's

:43:33.:43:41.

picking, I earned �60. Aren't you the guy who is saving up for the

:43:41.:43:50.

laptop? OK, guys, here is some beer. Cheers!

:43:50.:43:55.

Amazing, the speed at which those guys can work. I am on my way to a

:43:55.:43:59.

completely different type of farm, or one with much more snap than a

:43:59.:44:04.

stick of celery. We have all heard of farm diversification where

:44:04.:44:07.

farmers supplement their traditional livelihood with new

:44:07.:44:10.

money-making ventures. One local farmer has taken this to a whole

:44:10.:44:15.

new level. In a moment I am going to get up close and personal with

:44:15.:44:21.

one of the most dangerous predators on the planet. First, the weather

:44:21.:44:31.
:44:31.:44:35.

Hello. We are still heading for one of the warmest Novembers on record.

:44:35.:44:39.

The weather pattern has changed in the last week - more mobility and

:44:39.:44:42.

more unsettled weather. That is the way it is going to stay over the

:44:42.:44:48.

week ahead. We will find showers or longer spells of rain coupled with

:44:48.:44:53.

spells of strong or even gale-force winds. The weather that we have had

:44:53.:44:57.

in the last 24-hours is pulling away and heading to Scandinavia. It

:44:57.:45:01.

is an improving story for the rest of the day as the winds become

:45:01.:45:08.

lighter and we get more sunshine. There are still some showers in

:45:08.:45:11.

Northern Ireland. It will feel colder than yesterday, called a in

:45:11.:45:20.

Scotland, too. -- colder. More sunshine for the eastern side of

:45:20.:45:25.

Scotland. Showers in the West. There may be some rain dripping

:45:25.:45:29.

into the Midlands. Much more sunshine east of the Pennines and a

:45:29.:45:39.
:45:39.:45:40.

sunny afternoon in East Anglia and the south-east. The wind will be

:45:40.:45:44.

lightest in the south-west. It will be generally dry and sunny across

:45:44.:45:49.

most of Wales. The wind continued to ease. Where we have clear skies,

:45:49.:45:53.

temperatures will fall quickly overnight. The wind will fresh and

:45:53.:45:56.

again and blow more cloud into Northern Ireland and Scotland,

:45:56.:46:01.

lifting temperatures. There will be a widespread ground frost across

:46:01.:46:06.

England and Wales. Many rural areas will be below freezing. Maybe some

:46:06.:46:09.

mist and fog in the south-east of England first thing. Tomorrow the

:46:09.:46:13.

story is one of freshening south to south-westerly winds, blowing in

:46:13.:46:17.

more cloud and patchy rain. Their heaviest will be in western

:46:17.:46:27.
:46:27.:46:30.

Scotland later. It gets even windier on Monday night and into

:46:30.:46:33.

Tuesday. And it gets wetter as these weather front become aligned

:46:33.:46:39.

in the north-west. Another 70 mm of rain in Scotland on Tuesday.

:46:39.:46:42.

Because of that we have an early warning that there could be some

:46:42.:46:52.
:46:52.:46:57.

local flooding. Some strong winds will blow when milder rare. -- will

:46:57.:47:07.

There will be some sunshine allow up -- around on Wednesday,

:47:07.:47:10.

particularly in the east. Showers are more likely in the West. Some

:47:10.:47:16.

of those could be wintery in Scotland, and not just on the hills.

:47:16.:47:19.

We move into a time of uncertainty towards the end of the week as we

:47:19.:47:24.

head to Thursday. Low pressure is on the scene, lot of pressure

:47:24.:47:28.

fronts. A lot of doubt about the detail. Essentially it looks like

:47:28.:47:31.

Thursday could be pretty wet. A lot of heavy rain around. As that

:47:31.:47:35.

clears from the north-west of Scotland, we may briefly see a

:47:35.:47:41.

spell of snow. Colombe pressure -- the low pressure responsible for

:47:41.:47:47.

that pulls away and we have just a brief respite on Friday. There is

:47:47.:47:51.

another low pressure coming in from the Atlantic. December could turn a

:47:51.:47:55.

bit chillier than we have been used to. More rain to come in the week

:47:55.:48:05.
:48:05.:48:08.

ahead and it will still be Today, I have been travelling

:48:08.:48:11.

through Cambridgeshire. In Cambridge, I enjoyed a relaxing

:48:11.:48:15.

punt along the River Cam and learned about Charles Darwin's time

:48:16.:48:21.

at university. A captured the sight of a group -- glow worm at Cherry

:48:21.:48:26.

Hinton, and the secrets of Ely Cathedral were revealed, but now I

:48:26.:48:32.

am at Old Hurst, about to meet some extraordinary farm animals.

:48:32.:48:37.

This farm has been in the family since 1898, but it was the BSE

:48:37.:48:42.

crisis that forced Andy Johnson to diversify. He has been looking for

:48:42.:48:47.

a suitable alternative to cattle, and he thinks he may have found it.

:48:47.:48:57.
:48:57.:49:01.

It is not pigs. It is for more unusual. -- far more. It is dinner-

:49:01.:49:06.

time at Old Hurst, and Andy has the unenviable task of feeding his four

:49:06.:49:16.
:49:16.:49:17.

Nile crocodiles. I am not quite sure what to make of this! Argue a

:49:17.:49:25.

few sandwiches short of a picnic?! I have brought them in for waste

:49:25.:49:30.

disposal and for production of high-quality meat. Along with that,

:49:30.:49:33.

crocodiles are one of the few animals with no by-product. The

:49:34.:49:42.

skin is useful, there is demand for the scales, and you will always

:49:42.:49:49.

have a demand for crocodile teeth. Everything is saleable. Is it

:49:49.:49:54.

dangerous? It must be dangerous. Working with all livestock is

:49:54.:50:00.

dangerous. You know that they can be a threat, so you are more alert.

:50:00.:50:06.

I always carry this board. They could bite through it, but if I

:50:06.:50:14.

stood here without it, he could lock on my leg. An easy target. You

:50:14.:50:20.

stand behind a shield, you feel happy. I do not know if I would

:50:20.:50:23.

feel happy! They are not just one of the largest and most dangerous

:50:23.:50:29.

types of crocodile, they are one of the planet's most lethal predators.

:50:29.:50:34.

They mainly live in Asia and Africa. They are responsible for killing

:50:34.:50:42.

hundreds of humans every year. Let's get a bit of meat. What is it

:50:42.:50:47.

you are feeding? Editor of rabbit and pork. We always try to

:50:47.:50:51.

encourage them to come quite high, because it gives you a good chance

:50:51.:50:57.

to inspect their belly, make sure the Health and everything is fine.

:50:58.:51:02.

It is the only time of the week you can play with them. Where did you

:51:02.:51:09.

learn all of this? They were not quite so big when we got them! We

:51:09.:51:15.

learned on small animals. Have they ever bitten you? Since they have

:51:15.:51:21.

been this size, we have been lucky. If it will bite, it will take

:51:21.:51:26.

something off. The teeth work like the perforations on your car tax

:51:26.:51:34.

disc. They break the skin, and they twist and take a mouthful off, is

:51:34.:51:44.
:51:44.:51:47.

it to swallow. They cannot chew like a dog. This Mail decided that

:51:47.:51:54.

they would have a fight, and I could see our investment disappear,

:51:54.:52:02.

so I waded in, I grabbed their tails, and he turned around, his

:52:02.:52:07.

mouth wide open, and came at me. 18 inches from my face, he stopped

:52:07.:52:14.

dead. I believe they have got a certain amount of respect for us.

:52:14.:52:21.

Nothing else give you a kick to work with it. It is satisfying with

:52:21.:52:25.

cows and pigs, but to work with these, it is the ultimate buzz, you

:52:25.:52:35.
:52:35.:52:36.

feel there is more of an When you are talking about waste

:52:36.:52:42.

products, you feed them all sorts from the farm, what sort of things?

:52:42.:52:46.

From the poultry industry, if you are taking chicken breasts of,

:52:46.:52:50.

you're left with a carcass, which is mainly bone, but with flesh on

:52:50.:53:00.
:53:00.:53:01.

it. They can take backbone, digest it, and turn it back into meat.

:53:01.:53:05.

They can use what no other animal can. They Digest bone? Bones and

:53:05.:53:12.

teeth. Their stomach acid is the strongest known. They have not

:53:12.:53:17.

killed any crocodiles on site, but you do sell crocodile meat? We buy

:53:18.:53:24.

some from South Africa or Zimbabwe. It has proved quite popular. The

:53:24.:53:29.

best way to protect any animal is to make it acceptable on the table.

:53:29.:53:35.

Cows, pigs, sheep, anything we eat, it never becomes endangered.

:53:35.:53:45.
:53:45.:53:54.

finish feeding them, and then we What to most people expect? They do

:53:54.:53:59.

not think it will be like this? That is the problem, everybody

:53:59.:54:05.

thinks it will be red meat. They are shocked at to see that it looks

:54:05.:54:13.

like fish. Very high protein. Some research believes this is what

:54:13.:54:16.

changed monkey into man, the rich protein, that helped develop the

:54:16.:54:23.

brain. Where is it eaten? Not in the northern hemisphere, but pretty

:54:23.:54:30.

much everywhere else, Africa, Asia, Australia, South America. The

:54:30.:54:34.

southern states of North America as well. It has been a while since I

:54:34.:54:44.
:54:44.:54:45.

had this. I remembered it was the texture of fish. It is like fish

:54:45.:54:51.

with the texture of pork, and very mild in flavour. It responds well

:54:52.:55:01.
:55:02.:55:04.

to marinading. It is good, it is dense. I cannot quite put my finger

:55:04.:55:11.

on what it tastes like. It varies. We are not slaughtering our own,

:55:11.:55:17.

this was produced in Zimbabwe. This is fed on fish waste, which gives

:55:17.:55:22.

it a fishy flavour. We have had some South Africa and, which was

:55:22.:55:27.

fed more chicken and pork. That had a totally different flavour. So,

:55:27.:55:33.

the diet plays a big park. Is it up there with your pork sausages?

:55:33.:55:38.

Nothing ever beats sirloin steak, but that is the only meat to be

:55:38.:55:46.

knighted in history! With this being the first and only crocodile

:55:47.:55:51.

farm in the UK, it is an experimental journey. He has not

:55:51.:55:56.

been able to hatch a viable egg, but with eight currently in the

:55:56.:56:01.

incubator, maybe this will be his year. To be able to get the meat we

:56:01.:56:08.

were tasting, you have to be able to breed them. How hard is it?

:56:08.:56:12.

got through the first stage, the Mail has been copulating with the

:56:12.:56:18.

females, and they can lay eggs. Now, we have to teach ourselves to hatch

:56:18.:56:27.

the X. We need to run at 98, 99% humidity. If we go over that, which

:56:27.:56:35.

ran the embryos and we try them out. And, choosing the right temperature.

:56:35.:56:42.

The first ones we had, we want to keep them for breeding stock.

:56:42.:56:47.

temperature of the eight dictates the sex of the baby crocodile?

:56:47.:56:53.

That is amazing. Can we have a look? The main thing that, once

:56:53.:57:00.

they are laid, they are kept at the same angle and not handled. These

:57:00.:57:06.

are 90 days, the incubation period. They only have a few more weeks

:57:06.:57:10.

before they are due to hatch, but if they are viable, the crocodiles

:57:10.:57:16.

that will emerge will only be the length of a pencil. You have got no

:57:16.:57:24.

idea how this is going? You are just hoping? We had bandying around

:57:24.:57:29.

the outside in the early days, the centre of the aid going a different

:57:29.:57:33.

colour from the ends, which are supposed to be a sign of fertility,

:57:33.:57:39.

but 90 days is a long time to wait. If we have done anything wrong in

:57:39.:57:45.

that process, we could have written them off all. It could be another

:57:46.:57:52.

10 years to get it right. Good luck!

:57:52.:57:57.

My journey has come to an end. I cannot believe what I found. From

:57:57.:58:02.

beautiful waterways and wildlife to incredible history. This

:58:02.:58:09.

fascinating county has more to offer than anybody could imagine.

:58:09.:58:13.

What a lovely journey, Cambridge it is somewhere I am fond of all. It

:58:13.:58:17.

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