0:00:02 > 0:00:04'This is the River Taff in south Wales.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07'It runs from the wild summits of the Brecon Beacons
0:00:07 > 0:00:10'to the capital city, Cardiff.'
0:00:10 > 0:00:12I love this river, I absolutely love it.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16'40 years ago the Taff was declared officially dead,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19'killed by centuries of heavy industry,
0:00:19 > 0:00:23'but today it's one of the finest fishing rivers in Wales.'
0:00:24 > 0:00:26How is that fish still on?
0:00:26 > 0:00:30'My name is Will Millard, I'm a writer and a fisherman.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34'I want to see how this river has come back to life.'
0:00:34 > 0:00:35So cold!
0:00:35 > 0:00:39'It may be short - you can walk the length of the Taff in three days -
0:00:39 > 0:00:44'but it runs through a stunning landscape, packed with history.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49'I want to get to know this river from source to sea.'
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Salmon from the city centre.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53What a river!
0:00:53 > 0:00:56'This is the story of the River Taff.'
0:01:01 > 0:01:03I moved to Cardiff seven years ago,
0:01:03 > 0:01:07but had no idea it was home to such a special little river.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11The Taff runs through the heart of the city.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15And in recent years has seen a resurgence in salmon
0:01:15 > 0:01:18and other fish species returning to spawn.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22It's a fascinating place to fish.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Right, this is my magic box of tricks for today.
0:01:27 > 0:01:28I've got a tub of maggots.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33And then hopefully in here I've got some floats.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38I first started learning to fish when I was four years old.
0:01:38 > 0:01:44My grandad bought me a "welcome to coarse fishing" package from Argos.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48It had this little red rod, this little steel thing,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51so I learnt a lot off my grandad.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56A proper waterway, it's never just going to give up its secrets.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01The River Taff is such an unlikely river.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04It's an urban environment,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07and yet you've also got a genuinely clean river
0:02:07 > 0:02:09that's got genuinely big fish in it.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Got it. I'm in.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Oh, it looks like a grayling.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Now, these fish will fight to the death.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22They are as slippery as butter.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Oh, he's pulled out.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28The amount of times that happens, you wouldn't believe it!
0:02:34 > 0:02:37This 100 metre stretch of the river here,
0:02:37 > 0:02:42I've been fishing it fairly solidly now for about five years,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46and I feel that I know it intimately well.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Oh... Yes!
0:02:50 > 0:02:54You know, I know that that trio of rocks behind there,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57there's a bit of a gutter and it's a really good fish holding area,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00I know that there's fish underneath that willow tree over there
0:03:00 > 0:03:02and I know that there's fish directly downstream of that big
0:03:02 > 0:03:05sort of rocky patch of fast water.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08But if you take me out of here...
0:03:09 > 0:03:10..I know nothing.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12I don't know this river at all.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Upstream of here, I really don't have a clue.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22From Cardiff, the Taff stretches north,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24running through the industrial heartland
0:03:24 > 0:03:26of the South Wales Valleys,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29but its story begins high in the Brecon Beacons.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38This is one of Britain's most popular national parks,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42attracting over four million visitors every year.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45And the most well-trodden path of all
0:03:45 > 0:03:47is the trail to the top of Pen y Fan.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52There are actually two River Taffs amid these hills,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56the Fawr and the Fechan - the big and the small -
0:03:56 > 0:03:58which come together further downstream.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03And here it is, the summit of Pen y Fan,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06the highest point in southern Wales,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09and it's a very, very popular spot, as you can see.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12It is simply stunning.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18I can see almost everything out here.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21This ridgeline here separates the two main arms
0:04:21 > 0:04:25of the Taff Fawr on that side
0:04:25 > 0:04:27and then the Taff Fechan down there.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32And you can just make out in the far distance, the reservoirs,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36and I can even see so far as the Bristol Channel,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39so actually right here in this spot,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42the whole stretch of the river
0:04:42 > 0:04:45is encapsulated in one view.
0:04:45 > 0:04:46Marvellous.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51I want to follow the Taff from its highest point,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54and that's the source of the Taff Fechan.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Oh, hang on. This looks promising.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Goodness me.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07I think this could be it, actually.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10Oh!
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Isn't that just the prettiest thing?
0:05:13 > 0:05:16A tiny, tiny little stream.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19This is it.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23This is the source of the River Taff.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27And just in here, if I peel back this moss...
0:05:29 > 0:05:32..I can feel the water running over my fingers.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Do you know what? That was actually quite easy!
0:05:34 > 0:05:38I was expecting to spend most of the day out here looking for this.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45From the Brecon Beacons the two Taffs tumble south,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47growing in strength.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53On the way, they flow through the heavily industrialised South Wales Valleys.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59But the upper Taff is still a wild place,
0:05:59 > 0:06:01where people come to lose themselves.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06OK, tonight's scenario, then, for this training
0:06:06 > 0:06:10is we have a casualty out on the hill...
0:06:10 > 0:06:13'The job of finding them again falls to
0:06:13 > 0:06:16'the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team -
0:06:16 > 0:06:19'over 50 volunteers from all walks of life.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23'And one who knows this stretch of the river better than most is
0:06:23 > 0:06:29'Huw Jones, a civil servant, who's been with the team for 34 years.'
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Dave, our navigator, now will pick up a point on the river
0:06:31 > 0:06:33- that we'll aim for.- Right. - Get down to the river,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36and then that's when the search will start in earnest.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40'Tonight, another member of the team is posing as an injured hiker,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42'lost somewhere in the valley.'
0:06:43 > 0:06:45It's pretty wild out here.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Just looking at the volunteers now, fanning out in their search,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52it is pretty much like looking for a needle in a haystack.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55'The team covers over 1,000 square miles,
0:06:55 > 0:06:59'but this uncompromising landscape sits cheek by jowl with the towns
0:06:59 > 0:07:03'of the South Wales Valleys, some of the poorest places in the country.'
0:07:03 > 0:07:06- RADIO:- Control send a message, over.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09'This presents a unique challenge for the volunteers...'
0:07:09 > 0:07:10Hello, Kate.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15'..who often find themselves called upon to search for vulnerable individuals -
0:07:15 > 0:07:17'so-called despondents...'
0:07:20 > 0:07:24'..some of whom don't intend to return.'
0:07:27 > 0:07:30We get called to search for people who perhaps have gone off
0:07:30 > 0:07:32with the intent of doing the ultimate,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34and not coming back themselves.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Our urban searches, where we get called to search for,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44as we classify them, vulnerable people,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48missing from the valleys towns and communities,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51can be up to as many times as we're called up to the Brecon Beacons
0:07:51 > 0:07:54here for hill walkers, climbers and bikers.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04- Is there an underlying social cause? - Quite possibly.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Difficult to identify an exact reason for it,
0:08:07 > 0:08:11but when you look at the course of the area the Taff flows through,
0:08:11 > 0:08:16real strong legacies of mining backgrounds, industrial backgrounds,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18ironworks, steelworks,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22and is the infrastructure in place there
0:08:22 > 0:08:26to help sort of safety net that once it has withdrawn from the area?
0:08:26 > 0:08:28I guess is a question to ask, perhaps.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41We like to think that by finding them and
0:08:41 > 0:08:44getting them back down off the hill, we're giving them another chance.
0:08:47 > 0:08:52The thought of somebody coming out here to commit suicide is...
0:08:53 > 0:08:56..is quite a harrowing one, really.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59And I think that for people like Huw and the volunteers,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03it can't help but change the way you...
0:09:03 > 0:09:06you view the countryside in your own back yard.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28There is no getting away from the fact that
0:09:28 > 0:09:31I am only 45 minutes from a city centre,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34I'm only ten minutes away from a town,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36but actually out here, right now,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39in this forest, in the dark,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42with the River Taff behind me, there, making its noise...
0:09:44 > 0:09:48..I feel so, so far from home.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52And I guess that's the thing about the Taff -
0:09:52 > 0:09:54it's 45 miles long, that's it.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Yet, I'll challenge you to find any other river in Britain
0:09:59 > 0:10:02that goes through such a varied landscape.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15As I push on south, the mountain river has been dammed
0:10:15 > 0:10:18to form a series of vast reservoirs.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22This is the first sign of the Industrial Revolution
0:10:22 > 0:10:26that took place along this river 250 years ago,
0:10:26 > 0:10:31a revolution that changed the Taff, Wales and the world.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35In the mid-1700s, iron ore was found in abundance
0:10:35 > 0:10:39just downstream of here, and an industry was born.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44People poured into the valley, but such rapid growth proved lethal -
0:10:44 > 0:10:48both for the river and for the local population.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Waste, industrial and human, flowed into the Taff.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Cholera, typhus and dysentery were rife.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59To provide clean water, this valley was flooded
0:10:59 > 0:11:04around the turn of the 20th century, creating these reservoirs.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12'The waters are dark and deep, and I can't resist casting a line.'
0:11:12 > 0:11:13Oh, dear me.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Is something wrong with the hook?
0:11:17 > 0:11:19No.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Must be a problem on the other end of the rod.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Oh. Yep.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30This one is well-hooked, he's not coming off.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32There we go. Look at that in the light.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Fantastic little perch.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39He's still fighting. Pugnacious animal.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Just look at that.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46I mean, he has absolutely engulfed that lure. That is ridiculous.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49That has to be the greediest fish in Wales.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53You can see, there, that is just built for predation -
0:11:53 > 0:11:56big spiky dorsal fin,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58armoured gill plates,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01beautiful dark stripes down the body,
0:12:01 > 0:12:02impossible to see from the top.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Pale underneath, can't be seen if you're underneath it.
0:12:06 > 0:12:12If you are a fish of this size or smaller, you are history.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15There we go.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Let's pop him back and see if we can find his mum.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26I'm approaching Merthyr Tydfil, once the biggest town in Wales.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32But on the way, I pass through one of the Taff's best kept secrets.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35I'm in the Taff Fechan Nature Reserve
0:12:35 > 0:12:38and this has got to be one of the most beautiful pieces
0:12:38 > 0:12:40on the whole River Taff.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43And I'm here to meet a group of community volunteers that do
0:12:43 > 0:12:47more than anyone else to keep this place as stunning as it is.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59'It's a magical place
0:12:59 > 0:13:05'and Wildlife Trust officer Carys Solman is responsible for keeping it that way.'
0:13:05 > 0:13:07Hazel isn't really a tree, it's more of a shrub,
0:13:07 > 0:13:11and so, if you chop it completely down it will just all sprout back.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14'She grew up just south of here, in Merthyr,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17'and leads a team of dedicated local volunteers.'
0:13:17 > 0:13:19If you're not from around these parts a lot of people
0:13:19 > 0:13:22wouldn't even realise this place is here, would they?
0:13:22 > 0:13:23No, loads of people don't.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27They don't and lots of local people still are yet to discover it.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30It's, yes, a really well-kept secret for Merthyr.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35The Gurnos Estate is just up there, Trefechan Estate is just up there,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38so it's sort of sandwiched between the two but you'd think
0:13:38 > 0:13:41- you're in the middle of nowhere, you wouldn't know.- Absolutely.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42It's a lovely place.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47'The river has carved its way through the rock over millennia,
0:13:47 > 0:13:51'creating a deep gorge, lined on either side by thick woodland.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54'But somehow, a car has ended up in the river.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56'There's not much left of it now,
0:13:56 > 0:14:01'but fallen trees have become jammed against it, causing a blockage.'
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Why is it important to remove it, though, Carys?
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Why can't you just leave it where it is?
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Um, well, apart from the sort of...
0:14:07 > 0:14:09you know, it doesn't look nice,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13it does form an obstruction for migrating fish.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16We've got trout in here and recently, very recently,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20we've started having Atlantic salmon come back up these rivers,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23so we want to make it a place for them to come and breed.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27A research project was tracking them with radio satellite signal,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30and it got this far, and it kind of turned around and left again,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34so we are working to make this part of the river more welcoming.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Carys is running things from up top,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Paul's running things from down below.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55And I'm stuck in between like a lemon.
0:14:55 > 0:14:56Not doing anything!
0:15:02 > 0:15:03How's it going, Paul?
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- Going pretty well so far. - Yeah?- Yeah.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08It's not going to sweep you downstream then?
0:15:08 > 0:15:10With a bit of luck, no!
0:15:18 > 0:15:20The guy that was here manning the safety rope
0:15:20 > 0:15:22which presumably is attached to Paul,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25to stop him from disappearing down the river, has gone.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32I've got him.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39I can't wait to see this out of the river.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42There it is. SHE CHEERS
0:15:42 > 0:15:45You've been looking at that on all of your walks, haven't you?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47- It's been annoying me. Oh! - Absolutely.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51'The volunteers are drawn from Merthyr and the villages around.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53'They find peace working in the woods,
0:15:53 > 0:15:57'and a cup of tea shared with friends.'
0:15:57 > 0:15:58There's a whole world out here
0:15:58 > 0:16:02and pick up a log, or look in the river,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04and you see something you've never seen before
0:16:04 > 0:16:07and suddenly the world's bigger.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09'For some in the group, volunteering
0:16:09 > 0:16:12'has made a real difference to their lives.'
0:16:12 > 0:16:16I needed some sort of outlet cos I've just lost my mother,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20and my doctor said I should sort of face it head on.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Then one day I saw this poster,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26they're looking for volunteers for the Taff Fechan Nature Reserve.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29I thought, "Why not? I'll give that a go."
0:16:30 > 0:16:33It helped me a lot cos I could have been sat in the house,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36dwelling on things, and probably go on a downward spiral.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41If anyone else has gone through the same, I recommend they should get out,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44do a bit of voluntary work, or whatever is right for them,
0:16:44 > 0:16:48help them get over something that's happened in their lives.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50It gives you a lot of strength to carry on.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10The River Taff and Merthyr, people associate that with industry
0:17:10 > 0:17:12and possibly the river as being maybe polluted
0:17:12 > 0:17:15and quite industrial, but if they did just stop
0:17:15 > 0:17:17and have a look at the river here,
0:17:17 > 0:17:20it is really beautiful and they'd really be surprised, yes.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Just south of the reserve is the confluence of the two Taffs...
0:17:34 > 0:17:36..where the Fechan meets the Fawr
0:17:36 > 0:17:39in the shadow of the Cefn Coed viaduct.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49The contrast at this point is quite remarkable.
0:17:49 > 0:17:55Up there it still looks very wild and very natural
0:17:55 > 0:17:57but down there,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59well...
0:17:59 > 0:18:02the hand of man is quite obvious.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07This is beginning to look like a river that's being harnessed.
0:18:07 > 0:18:08You'd never know,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12but this was once one of the greatest industrial sites on Earth -
0:18:12 > 0:18:15the Cyfarthfa Ironworks.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18People flocked from far and wide to work here.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22At its height it employed over 5,000 people.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27The waters of the Taff turned a massive 50-foot high waterwheel,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29that powered the furnaces.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32This is the site of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34- Oh, it is impressive, isn't it? - It is impressive, yes.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38'Local historian Chris Parry is going to show me around
0:18:38 > 0:18:40'this lost wonder of the industrial age.'
0:18:40 > 0:18:44- Massive, isn't it?- It is. It's 50 feet in total, really.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48'Under the control of the pioneering and powerful Crawshay family,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51'these works had a profound effect on the modern world.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54'But today this is all that remains.'
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Six complete blast furnaces.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01All dating back from the early 19th century,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and arguably even before that when the works were founded in 1765.
0:19:04 > 0:19:05Wow.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09You can count on one hand, if that, the amount of sites around the world
0:19:09 > 0:19:12that have six complete blast furnaces dating back
0:19:12 > 0:19:14to this early period, I mean,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16the start of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21When the furnace at Cyfarthfa started in 1765,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23there wasn't a town, really.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Cyfarthfa was Merthyr's first true big success story.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29It was Britain's biggest ironworks,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31producing more than any other ironworks in Britain,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34and arguably the world's largest ironworks,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36so it wasn't just of huge significance to Merthyr,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39it was of huge significance to the world essentially at this time.
0:19:41 > 0:19:42'By the early 1800s,
0:19:42 > 0:19:47'Merthyr was responsible for 40% of Britain's iron exports,
0:19:47 > 0:19:51'but 100 years later, as the First World War came to an end,
0:19:51 > 0:19:55'the works closed, and have since fallen into ruin.'
0:19:55 > 0:19:59- As you can see, the site is vandalised pretty randomly.- Yeah.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Cos kids locally... The local name for it is The Cave,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05they don't really know what it is,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08and that's partly kind of education's fault overall.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12It's how can you expect any younger people to take care
0:20:12 > 0:20:14of a site that they have no idea or no knowledge of?
0:20:15 > 0:20:18- The A470's just there, isn't it? - Exactly, yes.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Just behind here, so I've driven past the site
0:20:20 > 0:20:22dozens of times myself, up to the Brecon Beacons,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25and not even realised I'm driving over an ancient ironworkings.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29What was it about this particular site that was
0:20:29 > 0:20:31really ideal for ironworking?
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Cyfarthfa is at the confluence of two rivers,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37the Fawr and the Fechan, and so you're getting two very substantial
0:20:37 > 0:20:42rivers flowing into one and you've got a nice access to water then.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45The ironstone itself, which Merthyr had in abundance,
0:20:45 > 0:20:49coal, which was totally and utterly needed,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51and then limestone which again was everywhere
0:20:51 > 0:20:54and so you had everything you needed, this kind of
0:20:54 > 0:20:57perfect storm of ingredients and it all came together.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00So it's fair to say then, Chris, that without the River Taff,
0:21:00 > 0:21:04without Merthyr's natural resources and Crawshay's vision,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07we probably wouldn't have had a British Industrial Revolution?
0:21:07 > 0:21:10I'd argue that. Definitely I'd argue that.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14This was one of four massive ironworks in Merthyr.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19The flames and smoke from which would have filled this valley.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21These furnaces wouldn't stop.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25- They'd be going every day of the week for years.- 24/7.- Yes.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27- Burning pits.- Yes.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30I bet at night-time down here it must have looked pretty Satanic.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33It did. Well, people often compared Merthyr to Pandemonium -
0:21:33 > 0:21:35you know, in Milton's poems.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Pandemonium and hell and things like that.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44People couldn't tell night from day when you came to Merthyr.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47- Seriously. You must have been able to see this place for miles.- Yes.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Yes, you could. As soon as you came over the valley, it was like,
0:21:50 > 0:21:52it was just like hell, like you said.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55'The conditions would have been at their most hellish
0:21:55 > 0:21:59'inside the warren of narrow tunnels that lead to each of the furnaces.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01'Today they're cold and dark, but
0:22:01 > 0:22:06'over 100 years ago it would have been a totally different place.'
0:22:06 > 0:22:09A very knowledgeable guy who wrote several books on the iron industry
0:22:09 > 0:22:12called the men who were tapping out the furnaces
0:22:12 > 0:22:15"cycloptic workmen" and what he meant by that is,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17they were kind of always closing the one eye,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20kind of struggling to keep their eyes open
0:22:20 > 0:22:23and see what they were doing in work cos the light coming from
0:22:23 > 0:22:26the molten mixture and from the fire was so intense.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Deafness, blindness, all these things were regular occurrences
0:22:33 > 0:22:37working in an ironworks, because the light was so intense,
0:22:37 > 0:22:41the noise was so intense, the heat was so intense.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45All of these things could really take a toll on a person.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48It's difficult to overstate the legacy of this place,
0:22:48 > 0:22:53and the explosion of industry that happened here 250 years ago,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57but it wasn't only metal that poured out of this valley.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01The power of the ironmasters created such brutal inequality
0:23:01 > 0:23:04that Merthyr became a hotbed for social change.
0:23:04 > 0:23:10Workers' unions, the Labour movement and socialism were forged here,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13with Merthyr electing Keir Hardie as the first ever
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Labour Member of Parliament.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20It's hard to imagine but the iron that was made here
0:23:20 > 0:23:24built our empire, it built our industry, railways,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27fought our wars, and here it is, just...
0:23:27 > 0:23:30underneath a main road,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33crumbling, litter strewn,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35forgotten.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40It's hard not to feel a sense of sadness about that, really.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43It's an absolutely remarkable place.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52In recent years, like many valleys towns,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Merthyr and its people have fallen on hard times,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58blighted by unemployment and ill-health.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03But to come here on a fine summer's day,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07with the flies dancing on the river, it's hard to see why.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10With the heavy industry all but gone,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14the waters of the Taff run clear once more.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16A funny old place to start a fishing trip, Dan, though,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19with the city centre bus stop over there and
0:24:19 > 0:24:20in the middle of a car park.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23You do get some people who say, "Oh, there's no fish in there,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26"it's too polluted," and stuff like that, but no.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- They say that and you catch a fish straight in front of them.- Right!
0:24:29 > 0:24:33Yeah. But there's plenty of fish in here
0:24:33 > 0:24:35and I am sure we'll have a good couple today.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Dan Popp is a Merthyr boy and top trout fisherman.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43He's seen first-hand how the river has recovered.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47I'm pretty nervous, actually. I'm not going to lie to you.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51This water is considerably faster than I'm used to.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53I'll follow you.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55We have to jump over a fence here now, mind.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58- Oh, right. Brilliant. - And down onto the river bank.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01- Yes, put the bag down here. - Yes, over we go.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04It's a bit high, mate.
0:25:04 > 0:25:05No!
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Just watch your footing, for any big boulders.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12- There's a big boulder here. - Steady on.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15- You ever fallen in, Dan?- Yes.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19I think I'm all right, Dan, but...
0:25:19 > 0:25:22I'm not so macho that I won't ask you for your hand if I need it.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27It's a funny old feeling, Dan,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30to be effectively stood, wedged between an A road
0:25:30 > 0:25:32and a car park in...
0:25:32 > 0:25:35- You know, fishing in the middle of a town, basically.- Yes.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38It's surprising sometimes what an urban river can produce, isn't it?
0:25:40 > 0:25:42'Dan hasn't just witnessed a change in the river,
0:25:42 > 0:25:44'but in Merthyr too.'
0:25:44 > 0:25:48The industries had all gone, there was nothing here
0:25:48 > 0:25:50and it got a bit of a reputation then,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54and it stuck unfortunately.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59But the town itself has changed incredibly.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00You've got to look around us here.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Now you've got a new college there,
0:26:03 > 0:26:07and the town itself has been redone and they're still improving it.
0:26:08 > 0:26:09I'm in.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13- Can you feel anything shaking? - Serious, mate, serious.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Oh, that's a big fish. Don't leave the line go slack.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Keep tension all the time. Reel in a bit.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Otherwise the fish is bullying you, you're not bullying the fish.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25- Oh, right, got you. - Not too tight, though.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27If it needs to run, leave it run.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30- Oh, Dan! - Watch out for them boulders.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35- The fish is bullying you now. - BLEEP!
0:26:36 > 0:26:40Oh, I'm shaking. Please stay on, please stay on.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44- Keep his head above the water. - This is brown trouser time, mate.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46- Got it.- Yes, get in!
0:26:46 > 0:26:47HE LAUGHS
0:26:47 > 0:26:51- Nice work. Nice fish, buddy.- Buddy!
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Oh, he's beautiful.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56That is, by far and away, the biggest wild brown trout
0:26:56 > 0:26:58- I've ever had.- He's lovely.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01It certainly is. He's wild by name and nature.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Just look at those markings, those iridescent spots,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06running the whole length down him.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08You know, sometimes you'll catch these fish and,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11you know, you might get half a dozen or a dozen spots
0:27:11 > 0:27:13but you see here it's gone all the way down
0:27:13 > 0:27:16and that's the sign of a clean, clear river.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19It has to create that incredible camouflage,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22just to survive in a place like this, and he's obviously done
0:27:22 > 0:27:24very well, hasn't he, cos he's got to a big old weight?
0:27:25 > 0:27:27There it is.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29That is absolutely extraordinary.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32You don't know what's on your doorstep, some people, do they?
0:27:32 > 0:27:34Absolutely. Absolutely.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36There we are. One last look.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42People would travel a very long way for a fish like that.
0:27:42 > 0:27:43Wait till it gives that kick.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45There he goes. You can feel that.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47He's pretty strong, he's going.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Oh, mate! Put it there, son.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Thank you so much, Dan. Thank you so, so much.
0:27:55 > 0:27:56Wow.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01'Next time, I see how coal has shaped the Taff Valley...'
0:28:01 > 0:28:03How is he holding that with one hand?
0:28:03 > 0:28:07'..I fish a stretch of the river that once ran black...'
0:28:07 > 0:28:10The fishing is just unbelievable.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13'..and get to see the face of modern mining.'
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Goodness me! Wow.