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60 years ago, an extraordinary man called Harold Briercliffe | 0:00:02 | 0:00:06 | |
wrote a string of books about his great passion - cycling. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:10 | |
Now largely forgotten, these overlooked gems were the culmination of a lifelong epic journey. | 0:00:10 | 0:00:16 | |
His destination? The whole of Britain, on two wheels. | 0:00:16 | 0:00:20 | |
Over half a century later, armed with one of his trusty cycling touring guides | 0:00:20 | 0:00:25 | |
and riding Harold's very own bicycle, a Dawes Super Galaxy, | 0:00:25 | 0:00:29 | |
I'm retracing his tracks to find the glorious landscape he loved. | 0:00:29 | 0:00:35 | |
I'm going in search of Britain by bike. | 0:00:35 | 0:00:39 | |
Welcome to the rugged and romantic Atlantic coastline of North Devon. | 0:00:39 | 0:00:45 | |
I've come to North Devon, a favourite destination of the cyclist and author Harold Briercliffe, | 0:00:57 | 0:01:03 | |
who described this coastline as "incomparably the finest and the grandest anywhere in the country". | 0:01:03 | 0:01:09 | |
And he said, "In quaintness and pleasantness, | 0:01:09 | 0:01:12 | |
"the villages and hamlets of the West Country stand alone." | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
Yet soon after Harold's visit here, this same landscape | 0:01:15 | 0:01:19 | |
would inflict a terrible tragedy on the people of this area. | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
I'm following just part of Harold Briercliffe's 286-mile tour | 0:01:22 | 0:01:27 | |
through what he calls "the crowning glory of the Atlantic Coast" - | 0:01:27 | 0:01:31 | |
a stunning coastline that takes in Combe Martin and the Port of Ilfracombe. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:37 | |
Along the way, | 0:01:37 | 0:01:38 | |
I'll be exploring how the landscape of Devon has shaped its destiny | 0:01:38 | 0:01:43 | |
and how the people of the area continue to look ahead at new ways | 0:01:43 | 0:01:47 | |
of making the most of their tremendous natural resources. | 0:01:47 | 0:01:51 | |
'My first port of call is Lynmouth. | 0:01:51 | 0:01:54 | |
'There'll be plenty of climbing to come, but the first bit is easy.' | 0:01:54 | 0:01:58 | |
Whee-hee-hee! | 0:01:58 | 0:02:00 | |
Harold Briercliffe, normally a straight-talking northerner, | 0:02:00 | 0:02:03 | |
was exceptionally struck by its effortless appeal. | 0:02:03 | 0:02:06 | |
"The situation of Lynmouth, at the foot of a steep-sided valley, is a most romantic one. | 0:02:06 | 0:02:13 | |
"200 yards from the shore, the two Lyn streams, east and west, unite, | 0:02:13 | 0:02:19 | |
"and even their final yards are inclined, so that Lynmouth has no untidy estuary. | 0:02:19 | 0:02:24 | |
"The courses of the two Lyns are amongst the most | 0:02:24 | 0:02:27 | |
"picturesque stretches of valley scenery in Britain". | 0:02:27 | 0:02:31 | |
Picturesque? Romantic? Undoubtedly. | 0:02:31 | 0:02:34 | |
But this place has changed dramatically since Harold cycled through. | 0:02:34 | 0:02:38 | |
In 1952, just a few years after his Cycling Touring Guides were | 0:02:38 | 0:02:42 | |
published, the worst post-war flood in Britain took place here. | 0:02:42 | 0:02:47 | |
It may look calm today, but in August 1952 | 0:02:48 | 0:02:52 | |
after 90 million tons of rain fell on Exmoor, | 0:02:52 | 0:02:57 | |
the combined force of the swollen Lyn rivers almost destroyed the entire village. | 0:02:57 | 0:03:02 | |
Local historian Tim Prosser remembers weeping when he heard the news of the disaster, | 0:03:02 | 0:03:07 | |
and ever since, Lynmouth's flood has held a peculiar fascination for him. | 0:03:07 | 0:03:12 | |
He told me what happened that dark summer day. | 0:03:12 | 0:03:16 | |
This black, ominous cloud came over in the afternoon. | 0:03:16 | 0:03:19 | |
Some people have likened it to the clouds seen after an atomic explosion. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:26 | |
And...by six o'clock, the village was in pitch darkness. | 0:03:26 | 0:03:32 | |
Excitement grew during the day, but that turned to concern | 0:03:32 | 0:03:38 | |
at about six o'clock in the evening, when May Bridge was swept away, | 0:03:38 | 0:03:43 | |
and then all hell let loose. | 0:03:43 | 0:03:46 | |
This footage, taken the next morning and never before shown in public, | 0:03:48 | 0:03:53 | |
graphically portrays the devastation caused by the Lynmouth flood. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:57 | |
In total, 34 people lost their lives when bridges and buildings collapsed | 0:03:57 | 0:04:02 | |
as water engulfed the village. | 0:04:02 | 0:04:04 | |
Shocked survivors were helped to escape from their ruined homes, | 0:04:04 | 0:04:08 | |
as the community tried to find safety and shelter from the wreckage | 0:04:08 | 0:04:13 | |
left in the wake of the relentless flood. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:15 | |
In one night, Lynmouth's relationship with the Lyn rivers was changed for ever. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:21 | |
Tim has built a scale model of the village, just as it was | 0:04:24 | 0:04:28 | |
moments before the flood struck. The model is housed in a museum | 0:04:28 | 0:04:32 | |
'dedicated to the memory of the victims.' | 0:04:32 | 0:04:35 | |
Gosh. This is it then, Tim? | 0:04:35 | 0:04:38 | |
-This is the model of Lynmouth. -How long did this take you? -Three years. | 0:04:38 | 0:04:42 | |
And a very patient wife, because it was built in the dining room. | 0:04:42 | 0:04:47 | |
A contributing factor to the flood | 0:04:47 | 0:04:51 | |
was that this Lyn Valley Hotel, | 0:04:51 | 0:04:56 | |
built in 1893, encroached onto the riverbed. | 0:04:56 | 0:05:02 | |
Consequently, the river became a narrow channel. | 0:05:02 | 0:05:05 | |
And on the night of the flood, 50-60 tonne boulders were washed down and blocked this narrow channel, | 0:05:05 | 0:05:12 | |
forcing the river to divert through the heart of the village and cause a tremendous amount of damage. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:20 | |
People in Lynton, | 0:05:20 | 0:05:22 | |
at the top of the cliff just above Lynmouth, slept peacefully the whole night, | 0:05:22 | 0:05:27 | |
without realising what was happening in the village below them. | 0:05:27 | 0:05:31 | |
It was PC Derek Harper who managed to make his way up to the hotel, | 0:05:31 | 0:05:39 | |
borrow a motorcar and drive to Porlock, ten miles away, before he found a telephone that was working. | 0:05:39 | 0:05:46 | |
And that was about 3:30 in the morning. | 0:05:46 | 0:05:50 | |
'Help arrived at first light, and soon a rescue operation was launched. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:56 | |
'114,000 tonnes of debris were cleared from the mouth of the rivers, | 0:05:56 | 0:06:00 | |
'and an appeal fund was set up to rebuild the village. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:03 | |
'Lynmouth became a cause celebre, | 0:06:06 | 0:06:08 | |
'and people who had never heard of the village were moved by its plight. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:13 | |
'Over the following years, a new road was built to improve access for cars, and the rivers were widened, | 0:06:13 | 0:06:20 | |
'their courses altered to ensure that the village would never suffer another such catastrophe.' | 0:06:20 | 0:06:26 | |
It's almost as if this is your memorial to those who died in the flood. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:32 | |
My life changed from the moment this went on display. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:36 | |
All of a sudden, the pride I had | 0:06:36 | 0:06:39 | |
and the appreciation of survivors of the flood who would come and look at the model, | 0:06:39 | 0:06:46 | |
and thank me for recreating the village they thought they'd lost for ever. | 0:06:46 | 0:06:51 | |
Many a tear was shed by the elders of the village. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:58 | |
The same power of water that had devastated Lynmouth in 1952 | 0:06:58 | 0:07:03 | |
had previously been harnessed for its benefit. | 0:07:03 | 0:07:06 | |
The steep drop of the Lyn rivers as they approach the sea is a source of enormous natural energy. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:12 | |
So this is the place where all of that water power | 0:07:13 | 0:07:17 | |
is put into action. | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
Situated at the bottom of the Glen Lyn Gorge, | 0:07:20 | 0:07:23 | |
this private hydroelectric station draws on the power of the West Lyn river, | 0:07:23 | 0:07:27 | |
but back in 1890, a similar turbine was built on the East Lyn river, | 0:07:27 | 0:07:33 | |
and Lynmouth became one of the first settlements in Britain to light its streets with electricity. | 0:07:33 | 0:07:39 | |
They also developed a pioneering system | 0:07:39 | 0:07:43 | |
using off-peak electricity to fill a reservoir at the top of the hill, | 0:07:43 | 0:07:48 | |
generating a constant supply of power regardless of the river flow. | 0:07:48 | 0:07:52 | |
Have a look at this if you want to enjoy the power of water. | 0:07:53 | 0:07:57 | |
This water cannon is just being switched now to full power, | 0:07:57 | 0:08:00 | |
and it's just the gravity of water rushing down from the top of Exmoor that's creating this. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:05 | |
There's no artificial pump happening here. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:08 | |
Gee whiz! | 0:08:08 | 0:08:11 | |
That is major league! That would water a few lawns, wouldn't it? | 0:08:11 | 0:08:15 | |
And over across the other side of the river, you can see where the flood level was that night in 1952. | 0:08:15 | 0:08:22 | |
They say in that one night, there was more water coming down here | 0:08:22 | 0:08:26 | |
than you'd get in three months on the Thames. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
Must have been absolutely terrifying. All the lights went out. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:32 | |
There was no power, that would have come from the hydroelectric station | 0:08:32 | 0:08:36 | |
on the other river, and that was swept away. It would have just been horrendous. | 0:08:36 | 0:08:40 | |
Most modern tourists arrive and leave by car, which does make life easier, | 0:08:42 | 0:08:47 | |
because Lynmouth lies at the bottom of a 500ft rock face, | 0:08:47 | 0:08:52 | |
a daunting hill which was a major obstacle to the area's economic development in the 19th century. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:58 | |
Early visitors wishing to reach the village of Lynton at the top | 0:08:58 | 0:09:02 | |
had to either climb it on foot or hitch a ride on a donkey. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:06 | |
Until, that is, the community drew on its natural resources to solve the problem. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:11 | |
This Cliff Railway opened in 1890 and immediately brought trade and tourism to Lynton and Lynmouth. | 0:09:11 | 0:09:17 | |
And do you know how it's powered? By water. | 0:09:17 | 0:09:20 | |
This isn't the only water-driven railway in Britain, but it is the last. | 0:09:20 | 0:09:24 | |
Every other one has gone electric. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:28 | |
And the mechanics are really simple - if you're an engineer. | 0:09:28 | 0:09:32 | |
Basically, it's a counterbalance system. | 0:09:32 | 0:09:35 | |
We use a big tank of water. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:37 | |
Under each carriage, when the car's ready to move away, he'll be letting water out of the tank underneath - | 0:09:37 | 0:09:43 | |
he keeps letting water out until the balance changes and the top car becomes heavier. | 0:09:43 | 0:09:47 | |
Then it's simply gravity. The top car drops and pulls the bottom car up. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:51 | |
The water we use comes from a river inland. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:55 | |
When they built the thing, they found that a point in the river slightly higher than the top station. | 0:09:55 | 0:10:01 | |
And its gravity fed along a pipe about half a mile long. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:05 | |
When we let it out down there, it goes under the road and out to sea. Very ecological and clever. | 0:10:05 | 0:10:10 | |
-It's brilliant. -Yeah. | 0:10:10 | 0:10:13 | |
And here he comes. | 0:10:13 | 0:10:14 | |
-I see. -That's the buffer. | 0:10:17 | 0:10:20 | |
Got it. And this is the tank. | 0:10:20 | 0:10:25 | |
Yeah, it's just full of water. | 0:10:25 | 0:10:28 | |
Harold says in the book that you can cycle up the long way round the road. But to be honest, | 0:10:30 | 0:10:35 | |
even he reckons this is a slightly easier option, and he writes about the people who run the cliff railway | 0:10:35 | 0:10:40 | |
and says they've made provisions for bicycles. | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
-There is a charge. How much is it to take the bike on? -£3 for a bicycle. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:47 | |
That sounds like a bargain. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:49 | |
And then you let it out with this wheel here, do you? | 0:10:49 | 0:10:52 | |
-That's the brake. -Oh, that's the brake! | 0:10:52 | 0:10:55 | |
See, I still don't understand it. | 0:10:55 | 0:10:56 | |
BELL RINGS | 0:10:56 | 0:10:58 | |
Ah! | 0:11:01 | 0:11:02 | |
Back in 1948, the charge for bikes or luggage was tuppence extra. | 0:11:08 | 0:11:11 | |
For Harold, it was a price worth paying to experience one of | 0:11:11 | 0:11:15 | |
the steepest and most spectacular railway rides in the world. | 0:11:15 | 0:11:20 | |
"Automatic brakes come into action in case of any mishap. | 0:11:20 | 0:11:24 | |
"On the ascent, a glorious view opens across Lynmouth Bay at Foreland Point | 0:11:24 | 0:11:29 | |
"and the thin strip of road up Countisbury Hill". | 0:11:29 | 0:11:33 | |
That was fantastic. | 0:11:33 | 0:11:34 | |
That is so cool. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:36 | |
It's a 500ft ride, | 0:11:36 | 0:11:39 | |
and it comes up so smoothly and so quickly and so quietly as well. | 0:11:39 | 0:11:44 | |
-Thank you. -OK? | 0:11:45 | 0:11:47 | |
Brilliant. Thank you. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:49 | |
See you. Bye. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:55 | |
"Once on firm earth again, the tourist finds himself in the smart streets of Lynton, a breezy resort. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:08 | |
"It would be advisable for the touring cyclist to eat here, | 0:12:08 | 0:12:11 | |
"for opportunities are fewer for some miles". | 0:12:11 | 0:12:14 | |
I'm travelling westwards out of Lynton in the direction of Combe Martin, | 0:12:16 | 0:12:20 | |
by way of an impressive gorge known as the Valley of Rocks. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:24 | |
The same Victorian tourists who had made the cliff railway a success | 0:12:24 | 0:12:29 | |
were equally appreciative of this landscape. | 0:12:29 | 0:12:33 | |
With its echoes of the Alps, they called this "Little Switzerland". | 0:12:33 | 0:12:39 | |
When Harold visited in the late 1940s, he too was impressed. | 0:12:39 | 0:12:45 | |
"This is one of the finest bits of country in the West. | 0:12:45 | 0:12:50 | |
"The road gives little impression of what lies to the north, closer to the sea". | 0:12:50 | 0:12:55 | |
Harold said that the view from this height out to sea is | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
"most alarming or satisfying, depending upon the beholder". | 0:13:02 | 0:13:08 | |
I think it's pretty satisfying unless, of course, you're worried about your brakes. | 0:13:08 | 0:13:13 | |
The Valley of Rocks is unique in Britain in running parallel with the sea, not inland from it, | 0:13:13 | 0:13:19 | |
due to the rivers cutting deeply during the last Ice Age. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:22 | |
Now home to a population of wild goats, the spectacular | 0:13:22 | 0:13:26 | |
weathered rock formations are eerily atmospheric. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:29 | |
Harold said that the Valley of Rocks provided "sensations in plenty". | 0:13:31 | 0:13:37 | |
And the rocks around have really weird names, there's the Devil's Cheesewring and Ragged Jack. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:43 | |
SHE LAUGHS | 0:13:43 | 0:13:45 | |
How can you call a rock the Devil's Cheesewring?! | 0:13:45 | 0:13:49 | |
That's just ridiculous! | 0:13:49 | 0:13:51 | |
Harold was very much one to stop and stare. He loved a good view. | 0:14:02 | 0:14:07 | |
If that meant getting up high to appreciate the view even better, he'd do that. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:11 | |
In fact, he says in the book, leave the bike behind and either make for North Walk | 0:14:11 | 0:14:17 | |
or climb up Castle Rock here, because it's definitely worth it. | 0:14:17 | 0:14:22 | |
So that's what I'm going to do. | 0:14:22 | 0:14:24 | |
Local legend says there's the silhouette of a woman hidden in this rock, | 0:14:49 | 0:14:53 | |
but I have to make my way down the valley and around the coast to see whether it's true. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:57 | |
And that means a steep climb. | 0:14:57 | 0:15:00 | |
-BREATHLESSLY: -Harold...was a man for cycling really, | 0:15:02 | 0:15:06 | |
really long distances. | 0:15:06 | 0:15:08 | |
But round here, | 0:15:08 | 0:15:10 | |
he said keep it short. | 0:15:10 | 0:15:13 | |
30 miles is plenty. | 0:15:13 | 0:15:15 | |
And he was right. | 0:15:15 | 0:15:17 | |
But at the top of the hill is the perfect spot to reveal the secret of the lady hidden in the rock. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:24 | |
This is meant to be the point | 0:15:27 | 0:15:30 | |
where I can see. That's where I was sitting. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:34 | |
See the slanty bit of rock? | 0:15:34 | 0:15:36 | |
Just under that, you can make it out. Oh, my word! | 0:15:36 | 0:15:39 | |
It's a white witch with a broom, and she's wearing a skirt and you can see her little leg. | 0:15:39 | 0:15:44 | |
That's incredible. | 0:15:44 | 0:15:46 | |
"Continuing along the road, quite well surfaced at this point, the tourist climbs to another gap | 0:15:51 | 0:15:56 | |
"and then drops to the gateway of Lee Abbey grounds". | 0:15:56 | 0:16:00 | |
There's a toll here at the abbey, but it's like an honesty box, so there's nobody actually manning it. | 0:16:02 | 0:16:09 | |
But it's £1. | 0:16:09 | 0:16:12 | |
That's for cars or bikes. | 0:16:12 | 0:16:15 | |
And a pound may be a bit steep, but a good joke's included in the price. | 0:16:15 | 0:16:21 | |
"During the next climb, there is a lovely outlook across Woody Bay. | 0:16:21 | 0:16:26 | |
"For nearly two miles, this coastal drive continues, giving splendid pictures of the rocky coast". | 0:16:26 | 0:16:33 | |
The views from up here are so bewitching, they led one man to his ruin. | 0:16:33 | 0:16:37 | |
In the late 19th century, Woody Bay caught the eye of a solicitor called Colonel Benjamin Lake. | 0:16:37 | 0:16:44 | |
What nature and fortune had created round the corner at Lynton, he thought he could create here. | 0:16:44 | 0:16:50 | |
As part of his grand scheme, the Colonel purchased the Hunter's Inn | 0:16:50 | 0:16:54 | |
at the bottom of the adjacent valley, and the current owner David Orton has cycled up here to meet me. | 0:16:54 | 0:16:59 | |
Hello, David. | 0:17:01 | 0:17:03 | |
Gosh, what a sight. | 0:17:03 | 0:17:06 | |
Tell me about what it was meant to be. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:08 | |
Woody Bay, as it was originally known, is a beautiful little cove. | 0:17:08 | 0:17:12 | |
Colonel Lake decided that he wanted a tourist attraction on the scale of | 0:17:12 | 0:17:16 | |
Linton, Lynmouth or perhaps even Ilfracombe. | 0:17:16 | 0:17:19 | |
His ambition was to have a big pier there, have steamers coming in. The idea was, he was going to build | 0:17:19 | 0:17:24 | |
luxurious hotels and villas, and further develop this piece of coast. | 0:17:24 | 0:17:32 | |
I assume that Colonel Lake therefore invested a lot of his own money in this place? | 0:17:32 | 0:17:37 | |
He'd had some slightly dubious dealings in coal shares, and lost a lot of money on that. | 0:17:37 | 0:17:41 | |
To be fair, he did invest a lot of his own money here, but he mortgaged an awful lot. | 0:17:41 | 0:17:46 | |
He then remortgaged his land further to buy more bits of land and help with the development. | 0:17:46 | 0:17:51 | |
He was finally declared bankrupt by the London courts, and he personally went bankrupt for £200,000. | 0:17:51 | 0:17:56 | |
That would be the equivalent of millions today. | 0:17:56 | 0:18:01 | |
A phenomenal sum of money, unbelievable. | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
He'd actually been embezzling his clients' funds, and was imprisoned for 12 years. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:08 | |
Unfortunately, he didn't complete his sentence, because he died. | 0:18:08 | 0:18:11 | |
So from these grand plans and this dream of making Woody Bay a rival | 0:18:11 | 0:18:17 | |
to the other good tourist towns around here, | 0:18:17 | 0:18:20 | |
he ended up overspending, being declared bankrupt and dying in prison. That's tragic. | 0:18:20 | 0:18:25 | |
Stealing other people's money is unforgivable. I can understand why | 0:18:25 | 0:18:29 | |
he loved this piece of coast so much. | 0:18:29 | 0:18:32 | |
The natural beauty is staggering. But there's no excuse for what he did. | 0:18:32 | 0:18:37 | |
I'm following a route that was undertaken by Harold Briercliffe, who was a really keen cyclist. | 0:18:37 | 0:18:43 | |
He came from Hitchin. He would have cycled along this path. | 0:18:43 | 0:18:46 | |
I suspect that he'd be pleased that this never was developed. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:50 | |
It hasn't changed at all in the time since he last cycled along here. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:55 | |
It's absolutely beautiful. He would love it. | 0:18:55 | 0:18:58 | |
"This is perhaps the finest part of the accessible coast of North Devon. | 0:19:00 | 0:19:06 | |
"For a mile, the road descends steeply, | 0:19:06 | 0:19:09 | |
"and then reaches the bridge at Hunter's Inn, one of the pleasantest of all spots in the West of England". | 0:19:09 | 0:19:16 | |
Hunter's Inn nestles in the heart of the Heddon Valley, one of the deepest valleys in England, | 0:19:16 | 0:19:20 | |
and it's quite a relief to ease off the pedals and freewheel down to the waiting refreshment. | 0:19:20 | 0:19:25 | |
PEOPLE CHATTERING | 0:19:25 | 0:19:28 | |
Talk about a party! What is going on? | 0:19:28 | 0:19:31 | |
I didn't think it'd be this busy. | 0:19:31 | 0:19:33 | |
This is our annual beer festival. We do it every year. | 0:19:33 | 0:19:36 | |
We all get together and have great fun. It's a big party. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:40 | |
After it was rebuilt by Colonel Lake, the Hunter's Inn became a playground for the rich and famous. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:45 | |
Its quirky charms made it a particular favourite for writers and musicians, | 0:19:45 | 0:19:50 | |
and it's still a popular watering hole today. | 0:19:50 | 0:19:53 | |
Back in the 1940s, the price of a room at the Hunter's Inn was | 0:19:55 | 0:19:59 | |
probably well beyond Harold's reach and that of most ordinary Britons. | 0:19:59 | 0:20:04 | |
But after the war, the spending power of working people was growing, | 0:20:04 | 0:20:07 | |
and so was the demand for low cost holidays. | 0:20:07 | 0:20:11 | |
Harold's cycle touring guides were written to satisfy an eager new market. | 0:20:11 | 0:20:17 | |
92-year-old Rene Stacey is the only surviving founder member | 0:20:17 | 0:20:21 | |
of the Hitchin Nomads, Harold Briercliffe's cycling club. | 0:20:21 | 0:20:25 | |
She remembers making the most of bicycle holidays with her fellow members. | 0:20:25 | 0:20:31 | |
We cycled from 9:30 in the morning. | 0:20:31 | 0:20:33 | |
We used to get home about eight, nine o'clock at night. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:37 | |
Apart from our lunches, we'd cycled all day. We loved bikes. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:42 | |
We loved the scenery to get there. | 0:20:42 | 0:20:45 | |
No looking out of coach windows. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:47 | |
No looking out of train windows. | 0:20:47 | 0:20:48 | |
All in our legs. Lovely mileage. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:51 | |
With a bike, you could get down little narrow tracks that cars couldn't get to. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:56 | |
So you were privileged, in a way. | 0:20:56 | 0:20:59 | |
Harold's route leaves the Heddon Valley, goes up to the village of | 0:21:06 | 0:21:10 | |
Trentishoe and then a few miles westwards down into Combe Martin. | 0:21:10 | 0:21:14 | |
"Combe Martin is a straggling village situated in the bottom of a valley, | 0:21:14 | 0:21:20 | |
"and has a fair amount of accommodation for cyclists". | 0:21:20 | 0:21:23 | |
And that's all Harold had to say on the matter. | 0:21:23 | 0:21:26 | |
But in fact, Combe Martin is a place well worth exploring further. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:31 | |
There are hidden depths and buried treasure in those rocks, | 0:21:31 | 0:21:34 | |
but you need more than a bucket and spade to uncover them. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:37 | |
Mick Warburton is the captain of this historic mine, | 0:21:37 | 0:21:42 | |
and he's responsible for uncovering the secrets of these hills. | 0:21:42 | 0:21:46 | |
When did you first discover what was underneath the ground here? | 0:21:46 | 0:21:49 | |
It was about 20 years ago that we first came here and started to do some rough archaeology. | 0:21:49 | 0:21:55 | |
We started to realise what a cracking site this was. | 0:21:55 | 0:21:59 | |
The old miners knew, when you had this stone, and if it was close to limestone - | 0:21:59 | 0:22:07 | |
which nearly all of those woods over the opposite side of the valley were all limestone quarries - | 0:22:07 | 0:22:11 | |
where limestone and Leicester slates and sandstones were close, there was a good chance of getting silver lead. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:19 | |
And so, for more than 600 years, Combe Martin was mined for its high-quality silver ore, | 0:22:19 | 0:22:25 | |
a source of riches for the Plantagenet kings of the 14th and 15th centuries. | 0:22:25 | 0:22:30 | |
The mines here were run by the king | 0:22:30 | 0:22:33 | |
for his own profit. | 0:22:33 | 0:22:35 | |
It has been said that the battles of Cressier, Poitiers | 0:22:35 | 0:22:39 | |
and even Agincourt have been won in the shafts of Combe Martin. | 0:22:39 | 0:22:43 | |
So Combe Martin supplied the silver that gave the Crown revenue. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:47 | |
So when they say the landscape is rich, they really mean it? | 0:22:47 | 0:22:51 | |
Yeah. This is pretty much the richest silver mine that the king had in Great Britain. | 0:22:51 | 0:22:55 | |
The medieval miners at Combe Martin worked at the cutting edge of | 0:22:55 | 0:23:00 | |
their profession, mining silver ore at astonishing depths. | 0:23:00 | 0:23:04 | |
It wasn't until steam-powered pumps came in in the 19th century | 0:23:04 | 0:23:09 | |
that modern miners could uncover the original workings. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:13 | |
When you're underground and you find something, and you've found something out, | 0:23:13 | 0:23:20 | |
you've realised the way that people have worked here in the past. | 0:23:20 | 0:23:23 | |
That's very important to us. | 0:23:23 | 0:23:25 | |
Perhaps the most important stage in the prospecting process | 0:23:25 | 0:23:29 | |
is to separate the silver from the lead ore. | 0:23:29 | 0:23:32 | |
For this, the mine captain used a tool called a vanning shovel. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:36 | |
What you do is, you put | 0:23:36 | 0:23:38 | |
a little bit of the specimen on the shovel. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:40 | |
You wash all the mud out of the sample. | 0:23:40 | 0:23:44 | |
You pick a bit of water up like this and push it forwards and backwards like that. | 0:23:44 | 0:23:49 | |
See what's happening immediately. | 0:23:49 | 0:23:52 | |
-Yeah. -See the very dark... band at the top? -Yes. | 0:23:52 | 0:23:57 | |
Silver ore sticks to the shovel, and the light stuff washes off. | 0:23:57 | 0:24:02 | |
Should I be calling you captain? | 0:24:02 | 0:24:04 | |
Well, it's an honorary position, isn't it, | 0:24:04 | 0:24:08 | |
because I'm not paid and none of the volunteers are paid. | 0:24:08 | 0:24:11 | |
But years ago, a mine captain would have been the equivalent of a mine manager today. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:16 | |
But you didn't have to pass any GCSEs, you just had to know what you were doing. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:21 | |
-Thank you, captain. -Thank you, Clare. | 0:24:24 | 0:24:26 | |
Where are you off now? | 0:24:26 | 0:24:28 | |
I am now off to Ilfracombe. | 0:24:28 | 0:24:30 | |
Oh, Ilfracombe. | 0:24:30 | 0:24:32 | |
-I'm going to take it steady. -Bye-bye. -See you. | 0:24:32 | 0:24:36 | |
Mick and his team have a deep and genuine respect | 0:24:36 | 0:24:39 | |
for the methods of their ancestors, and are determined to preserve them. | 0:24:39 | 0:24:42 | |
This area has been mined for centuries, and yet the landscape remains | 0:24:42 | 0:24:47 | |
resolutely rugged and untouched, as if to say that | 0:24:47 | 0:24:50 | |
the riches of the earth are here, but only if you're prepared to put in the work. | 0:24:50 | 0:24:55 | |
And Harold's Devon tour certainly takes legwork. | 0:24:55 | 0:24:58 | |
From Combe Martin, his route winds between the hills and the sea, through the bay of Hele, | 0:24:58 | 0:25:05 | |
and climbs up briefly before dropping back down into Ilfracombe. | 0:25:05 | 0:25:09 | |
"Ilfracombe is the largest and most sophisticated resort | 0:25:09 | 0:25:14 | |
"on the north coast of Devon, lying in a charming and hilly countryside". | 0:25:14 | 0:25:18 | |
I started my journey in Lynmouth and I'm finishing it here at Ilfracombe, | 0:25:18 | 0:25:23 | |
at this ancient harbour, | 0:25:23 | 0:25:26 | |
that provides a safe port in a stormy Bristol channel. | 0:25:26 | 0:25:32 | |
Gosh. Great colour here. | 0:25:32 | 0:25:34 | |
Suddenly you come into the sunshine, and everything is bright and alert. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:40 | |
Even the houses, it looks like a Neopolitan cake! | 0:25:40 | 0:25:43 | |
As I reach the end of my journey, I run into a pair of cyclists who | 0:25:45 | 0:25:48 | |
are setting off on theirs - a 102-mile ride coast to coast from Ilfracombe to Plymouth. | 0:25:48 | 0:25:55 | |
Now, there's some superstition, or some ritual you have to go through before you set off. | 0:25:55 | 0:26:00 | |
-Explain what that is? -I believe you have to put your front wheel in the water here, | 0:26:00 | 0:26:05 | |
and then when we get to Plymouth at that end, we'll find somewhere to put our front wheel in the water there. | 0:26:05 | 0:26:10 | |
-CHEERING AND CLAPPING -See you in Plymouth! -Good luck! | 0:26:15 | 0:26:20 | |
Ilfracombe has always made use of its sheltered setting. | 0:26:20 | 0:26:24 | |
The natural harbour here has given the town an importance beyond its size. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:29 | |
In the book, Harold says that this place was a busier or bigger port in the 14th century than Liverpool. | 0:26:29 | 0:26:36 | |
Is that true? | 0:26:36 | 0:26:38 | |
Strategically, Ilfracombe was very important. | 0:26:38 | 0:26:40 | |
It's much closer to the open Atlantic than Liverpool was, or is. | 0:26:40 | 0:26:45 | |
So you could get ships away from Ilfracombe and get them to sea | 0:26:45 | 0:26:49 | |
to fight whoever was trying to attack our shores much quicker. | 0:26:49 | 0:26:54 | |
What about Ilfracombe as a town? | 0:26:54 | 0:26:56 | |
-Is it thriving? -We've had a rocky ride, | 0:26:56 | 0:26:58 | |
but Ilfracombe is on the up again. | 0:26:58 | 0:27:02 | |
There are regeneration and development plans here, | 0:27:02 | 0:27:05 | |
and the place is starting to buzz again. | 0:27:05 | 0:27:07 | |
I guess if you live here, you look around and think, "We've got a lot of water, a lot of wind. | 0:27:07 | 0:27:11 | |
"How can we make it work?" | 0:27:11 | 0:27:13 | |
It's the second highest rise and fall of tide in the world. | 0:27:13 | 0:27:17 | |
We need to harness that 30ft rise and fall. | 0:27:17 | 0:27:19 | |
The technology to do that is not quite there. | 0:27:19 | 0:27:22 | |
The horizontal movement of tide is there with waves, | 0:27:22 | 0:27:25 | |
but we're looking very much at the vertical movement of tide. | 0:27:25 | 0:27:29 | |
When the technology gets there, we'll be first in line, I'm sure. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:33 | |
That's it, because you've got the natural resources. | 0:27:33 | 0:27:36 | |
Almost as important, if not more so is, you've got the attitude. You want to do something. | 0:27:36 | 0:27:40 | |
Absolutely. There's no cavalry coming over the hill at Ilfracombe. You've got to do it yourself. | 0:27:40 | 0:27:46 | |
That brings that community spirit. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:48 | |
And over the course of this magnificent 20 mile journey, | 0:27:48 | 0:27:52 | |
I've discovered just how important that community spirit is | 0:27:52 | 0:27:55 | |
in harnessing the area's natural attributes | 0:27:55 | 0:27:58 | |
and using them to the locals' advantage. | 0:27:58 | 0:28:03 | |
It is a stunning countryside, but you can also see the power of nature. | 0:28:03 | 0:28:09 | |
We've seen it from Lynmouth and the floods to the Cliff Railway, | 0:28:09 | 0:28:12 | |
the Hydro-Electric power station, | 0:28:12 | 0:28:15 | |
the silver mines at Combe Martin, where you really use everything that's given around you. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:20 | |
You look out here to the Bristol Channel, and it looks pretty choppy out there. | 0:28:20 | 0:28:25 | |
And yet there are still people going out in a rowboat, saying, "Yeah, we can do this. | 0:28:25 | 0:28:30 | |
"We can push against the tide". | 0:28:30 | 0:28:32 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:28:49 | 0:28:52 | |
E-mail [email protected] | 0:28:52 | 0:28:55 |