0:00:02 > 0:00:0560 years ago, an extraordinary man called Clive Briercliffe
0:00:05 > 0:00:10wrote a string of books about his great passion, cycling.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Now largely forgotten,
0:00:12 > 0:00:15these overlooked gems were the culmination of a lifelong journey.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19His destination? The whole of Britain on two wheels.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Over half a century later,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26armed with one of his cycling touring guides and riding
0:00:26 > 0:00:30his very own bicycle, a hand-built door supergalaxy,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32I will be retracing his tracks
0:00:32 > 0:00:35to find the glorious landscape he loved.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I'm going in search of Britain by Bike.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45This is the stirring landscape of the Welsh Borders.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Mile after mile of quiet cycling.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Fabulous fertile farmland and peaceful valleys.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14I'm in west Shropshire at the start of my 28-mile journey
0:01:14 > 0:01:17through Border country and into Wales.
0:01:17 > 0:01:23Cycling author Harold Briercliffe described this area as being for the more discriminating cyclist.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26He says the appeal is nearly all scenic,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30but it does come with a warning, because look at those hills.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35Stunning, but not easy to ride up. Looking forward to the challenge.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42Down the centuries, this landscape has shaped people's lives in dramatic ways.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44There are stories of hill farmers who worked the land.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Wealthy aristocrats who owned it, or lost it.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51And writers and poets who were inspired to great things by it.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54I will be encountering them all on my journey.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00My route follows just part of Harold Briercliffe's 309-mile tour
0:02:00 > 0:02:03of the Welsh Borders, beginning in Shropshire,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06travelling through some memorable country I'll be following
0:02:07 > 0:02:09the course of the River Clun, heading west.
0:02:09 > 0:02:15Then on towards the the Border, crossing Offar's Dyke and heading into Newtown, central Wales.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20And we start here in Aston on Clun, where the villagers
0:02:20 > 0:02:24have a very ancient and rather quaint celebration.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28In fact it's the only place in the whole country where this happens.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33Rochdale-born cyclist Harold Briercliffe wrote about it when he cycled through here in 1947.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38At the centre of the tradition - a tree and a bride.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44'Go westwards, climbing the short hill to Aston on Clun,
0:02:44 > 0:02:48'where the bride's tree is decorated afresh every May 29th
0:02:48 > 0:02:52'to commemorate a lady who gave a bequest to the poor at the village.'
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Rosy Evans is Secretary of the Arbour Tree Committee.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01Hey, Rosie. Nice to meet you. So this is the famous tree?
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Yes, this is the famous tree, here in Aston on Clun.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11Every year this black poplar is dressed in a ceremony dating back to pagan times -
0:03:11 > 0:03:16the rites signifying a deep connection between people and the land.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19How did the ceremony develop?
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Ancient people worshipped Bridget, ancient goddess of fertility.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25They prayed for...
0:03:25 > 0:03:28large families and fertility for the land - good crops.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32They would use what they called prayer strips,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34or if they were very poor,
0:03:34 > 0:03:36they might just use a bit of wool pulled off a sheep
0:03:36 > 0:03:40and pray for their families and the land.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45A healthy family and a good crop have always been important, and for hundreds of years
0:03:45 > 0:03:49informal tree-dressing festivals were celebrated throughout Britain.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53By the late 18th century the old customs were dying out,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57but Arbour Day in Aston on Clun was given a new lease of life
0:03:57 > 0:04:00when the son of a local landowner was married
0:04:00 > 0:04:02on the same day as the festival.
0:04:02 > 0:04:08In 1786 a local squire was married just down the road,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11and on their way back from their wedding,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15the tree was all festooned with flags and people were having lots of fun
0:04:15 > 0:04:18and they were so taken within this,
0:04:18 > 0:04:23they thought, "We must pay for the upkeep of this tree and the flags."
0:04:23 > 0:04:27So they did. And they did it through their lifetime and they left a trust.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33The generous couple belonged to the Marston family, the largest landowners in the area.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Tree-dressing fell out of favour elsewhere,
0:04:36 > 0:04:42but thanks to the Marston bequest, it continued here and is still celebrated today,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44with a very special song.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47This is our recording machine. So when I wind this handle...
0:04:49 > 0:04:51..you'll hear the song, with a bit of luck!
0:04:51 > 0:04:53And you wrote this song?
0:04:53 > 0:04:55- Yes.- Is this you singing it?
0:04:55 > 0:04:58This is three of me singing it and all of the music parts.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01# Come see our famous black poplar
0:05:02 > 0:05:05# With flags flying high in the sun
0:05:06 > 0:05:10# Join in our Arbour Tree Festival
0:05:10 > 0:05:13# In the village of Aston on Clun. #
0:05:18 > 0:05:24When Harold cycled through the village in 1947, it was part of the Marstons' vast Oaker Estate.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28They owned everything, including the local pub and almost every house in the village.
0:05:28 > 0:05:34Sadly, just a few years later, the last heir to the Marstons' lands died suddenly and tragically.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37The estate was broken up and sold at auction.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42For the first time, many of the villagers were able to take ownership of their own homes.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44A land-owning dynasty was at an end
0:05:44 > 0:05:50and the daily life of people in Aston on Clun was changed forever.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54But the Arbour Tree Pageant, led by a bride and groom, continues,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57so even though the great estate is no more, the Marston name
0:05:57 > 0:06:01is remembered in the ceremony they helped to keep alive.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07I can see why this area of the country appealed to Harold, and actually he says,
0:06:07 > 0:06:13"This part of west Shropshire is remarkably unsophisticated, despite its many attractions."
0:06:13 > 0:06:15That would have appealed to him.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18He loves the simplicity of an area, if it's not too commercial.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22AE Houseman, the poet,
0:06:22 > 0:06:27actually wrote about this area as the land of lost content.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30He quotes Houseman actually in the guide.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Referring more to the quietness and the solitude of the area,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36"Clunton and Clunbury,
0:06:36 > 0:06:41"Clunenford and Clun are the quietest places under the sun."
0:06:43 > 0:06:46As I continue my journey towards Clunton,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50the sense of calm conjured by the rhyme seems appropriate.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55Although I'm not sure about Harold's route through peaceful Purslow.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Much has changed since Houseman wrote a Shropshire Lad,
0:07:01 > 0:07:05but it turns out that his feeling for the stillness
0:07:05 > 0:07:08and sadness of this landscape was entirely instinctive.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12Many of the poems were written before he had even been here.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17But one modern writer who did come here found plenty of inspiration.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Harold referred to this landscape as wild and stirring upland
0:07:21 > 0:07:24and that vast track of charcoal forestry over there.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27That's called Black Hill and you'll find it in the title
0:07:27 > 0:07:31of Bruce Chatwin's deepest and darkest novel - On The Black Hill.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36That is the house he stayed in when he started the book and that is the view that inspired him.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Combining the philosophy of a nomad with the skills of a poet,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Bruce Chatwin was a much loved writer
0:07:44 > 0:07:47who died young of an AIDS-related illness,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51which he once claimed he contracted from a bat bite.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56Back in 1979, Chatwin stayed in the coach house here at Coombe Hall,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59working on a novel set in the Welsh Borders.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03On the Black Hill vividly evokes the lives of twin brothers struggling
0:08:03 > 0:08:07to survive in the unforgiving environment of an upland farm.
0:08:08 > 0:08:14Nicholas Murray is Bruce Chatwin's biographer and an expert on the influences that shaped his work.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19So this is the landscape of the Welsh Borders, of course that was the backdrop to On The Black Hill
0:08:19 > 0:08:24and this is the place where he spent some time writing the actual book.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27He'd travelled and seen so much of the world.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31What do you think it was about this place that kept him rooted,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35albeit for quite a short time, but actually held his focus?
0:08:35 > 0:08:38It is important to think of this area as border country.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41It's at the edge of things, which for someone like him,
0:08:41 > 0:08:47who was a very divided and complex and edgy character...
0:08:48 > 0:08:50..that probably attracted him.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55He was a nomad, he moved from one place to the next.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58And On The Black Hill you might say, "Look, this is a book
0:08:58 > 0:09:01"about two Welsh hill farmers who never went out."
0:09:01 > 0:09:04But that is the whole point. Because he was putting
0:09:04 > 0:09:06his microscopic focus on two people
0:09:06 > 0:09:10in this very traditional, rural landscape,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14and looking at what happened to them when they were rooted in one place.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19And the other thing that comes out very clearly is the harshness of landscape.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24Yes, there was a sense of absolute unchanging life
0:09:24 > 0:09:28and a very elemental life. The things that we take for granted,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31flowing water and sewage and so on,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34it was a tough existence there.
0:09:34 > 0:09:40I mean, when you look around at these beautiful Welsh hills, there is a soft rolling quality to them.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44But in winter, it's a different story.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48And in terms of the farmhouse he writes about...?
0:09:48 > 0:09:54Well, one feature which one might think is almost too good to be true is that one window
0:09:54 > 0:09:58looks out on to England and one window look out on to Wales.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02And that's very characteristic feature of the Welsh Borders -
0:10:02 > 0:10:06that people are always crossing in the course of one day to do some shopping,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10they will be going from England to Wales and back to England again.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12And this sense of being between two cultures.
0:10:12 > 0:10:19What is fascinating about the book is that it is a book written by if you like an English outsider,
0:10:19 > 0:10:23about Welsh Border life, and you might expect the local population
0:10:23 > 0:10:27would be a bit sniffy, but they loved it.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Even though if you read it carefully, it's not exactly flattering.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35There is a lot of greed and Cupidity and aggressiveness,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38as well as the beauty of the landscape.
0:10:38 > 0:10:44I think it is impossible almost to think of this area without
0:10:44 > 0:10:48On The Black Hill coming in as some sort of point of reference.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Chatwin's works were as vivid as his life.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59And his early death robbed the world of a rare literary talent.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02A writer with exceptional insight into the land
0:11:02 > 0:11:05and the people who make their living from it.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08This area of Shropshire was remote,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11not just in the '40s when Harold Briercliffe cycled through,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15but also in the '70s when Bruce Chatwin came to write his novel.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Both men were attracted by the area's rural seclusion, but I'm sure
0:11:19 > 0:11:24for the people who live here, such isolation can be a mixed blessing.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Still on a clear day - and when you don't have to farm them -
0:11:27 > 0:11:29the land, those hills, look harmless.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Except when I have to cycle up them, of course!
0:11:33 > 0:11:36I can feel a down hill bit coming.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38I can feel it!
0:11:41 > 0:11:45Up above the trees now, got to come down.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Got to come down.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53From Coombe Hall the route takes me over the shoulder of the Black Hill
0:11:53 > 0:11:56and back down towards the River Clun.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03Clun is a small town, mainly situated on a hill to the north side of the River Clun.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09The village is a natural centre for the wild and varied region known as Clun Forest.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Below the town is a grand old bridge,
0:12:11 > 0:12:16narrow and with pointed recesses that serve as vantage points
0:12:16 > 0:12:19for the local worthies as they look for trout.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Amongst those local worthies, a strange sight.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Harold must have wondered if he had cycled into the wrong century.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33The early 17th century costume worn by certain elderly men in the town
0:12:33 > 0:12:35signifies that they are almsmen.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39And this is where those strangely-attired men lived.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43The alms houses of Trinity Hospital, a place that speaks volumes about
0:12:43 > 0:12:48the hardships of working the land in this beautiful border region.
0:12:48 > 0:12:54Many farm labourers would have lived in tied cottages on estates like the Marston estate in Aston on Clun.
0:12:54 > 0:13:01So when they grew too old to work, they lost both their jobs and the roof over their heads.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Trinity Hospital provided them with a home and still does.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07The warden is the Reverend Richard Shaw.
0:13:07 > 0:13:13How much would this place have changed since Harold Briercliffe, who is the cyclist I'm following,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17since he came through in the late 1940?
0:13:17 > 0:13:19It will have done, because...
0:13:19 > 0:13:24they opened it up to ladies in the '60s.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31And the wearing of the old gown, that went out as well.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35- So, yes, it loosened up quite bit. - What was the old gown?
0:13:35 > 0:13:41They had a gown which they wore on Sundays and festivals, church festivals,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44which had a badge on the pocket,
0:13:44 > 0:13:48representing the Earl of Northampton, the founder.
0:13:48 > 0:13:54What do you think it is about this place that gives it its sense of calm and serenity?
0:13:54 > 0:13:56It's not always been peaceful.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00And certainly when it was men only, there were nights when they went out
0:14:00 > 0:14:04and drank rather more than they were expected to.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07They were always given a pint of beer every day.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11A pint of beer and a pint of milk. It's a funny mixture put together!
0:14:12 > 0:14:16But I think it's probably the setting.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19It is a quiet community, quite remote, really.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23- Is working on the land here very hard?- It is quite hard.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28When you get to the top end of the valley it is about 1,600 feet,
0:14:28 > 0:14:30so it's quite cold.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34The main crop really is sheep
0:14:34 > 0:14:38and so the lambing period is always a trying period.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Quite difficult.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Depending on the weather, and it lasts probably for about three months
0:14:45 > 0:14:49and at that time the farmers are on the go seven days,
0:14:49 > 0:14:5124 hours every day.
0:14:53 > 0:14:5883% of Shropshire is given over to agriculture and for hundreds
0:14:58 > 0:15:02of years the majority of people here relied on the land for their living.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05That's why these alms houses were founded four centuries ago.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10They are said to be the product of the Earl of Northampton's guilty conscience
0:15:10 > 0:15:16after he was implicated in the murder of fellow aristocrat, Sir Thomas Overbury.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21As an act of penance, the Earl set up Trinity Hospital to provide homes for "old men
0:15:21 > 0:15:24of good character" who had worked all their lives on the land.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29Nowadays, Trinity opens its doors to people from all backgrounds.
0:15:29 > 0:15:36But retired farm worker Harold Francis is one resident who would still meet the Earl's approval.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38How long have you been living here?
0:15:38 > 0:15:41Well, I'm in my 13th year now
0:15:41 > 0:15:45and there's only one person here been here longer than I have.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49And it's very nice here.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54I've always been more or less alone. I used to love to work,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57when I was working, I used to love to work on my own.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00When I finished, I could see what I had done.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Well, I've enjoyed farming, I've had a lovely life.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07So you like the manual side of farm work...
0:16:07 > 0:16:09getting in there?
0:16:09 > 0:16:10I went straight up the field.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14You have seen the stripes up and down the field with arrows.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17You've got to took pride in having them straight
0:16:17 > 0:16:22and even turning hay with a hand rake. Those sort of jobs.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26You got satisfaction out of it. I did anyhow.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30So you're one of the only genuine residents,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34you're the person this was actually built for originally?
0:16:34 > 0:16:37It was built for shepherds, retired shepherds and farmers.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Of course if that rule persisted now, I should be the only one living here!
0:16:46 > 0:16:49In Harold Briercliffe's day, Trinity Hospital was men only.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52One of the many areas of discrimination
0:16:52 > 0:16:55even during the modernising world of post-war Britain.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59By contrast, cycling clubs were refreshingly inclusive.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Take the Hitchen Nomads, Harold's cycling club.
0:17:02 > 0:17:07Renee Stacey, now 92 years old, is the oldest surviving founder member.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11She recalls the enthusiasm of their early days.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13We started with quite a good number.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Within the first 12 months we went up to about 80.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Very, very popular.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24This was the pre-war meeting place of the Hitchen Nomads.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27That tank was the First World War tank.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30That was our meeting place and we loved it.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35One night we had an all-night run.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40And in the middle of the night, we found a great big sand pit
0:17:40 > 0:17:45and we all sat around in this sand pit and had our sandwiches.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48There was more sand than bread,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52but at least you enjoyed every bit of it, and the company was always so good.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Once you'd made a cycling friend, you've made them for life.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04The next stage of Harold's journey takes me into the heart
0:18:04 > 0:18:09of this beautiful landscape and to an impressive reminder of a centuries' old divide.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14A line climbing steeply southwards from lower Spode,
0:18:14 > 0:18:21a little east of Newcastle, has one of the best-preserved and accessible parts of Offa's Dyke for company.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Harold's route actually takes us through Shropshire and into Wales.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29And this -
0:18:29 > 0:18:31huffing and puffing up the hill! -
0:18:31 > 0:18:34and this bit's actually worth coming off the road for.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Because you get to see up here...
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Offa's Dyke.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Harold actually recommends in the book
0:18:41 > 0:18:45that you take a closer look. That is exactly what I'm going to do.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Offa's Dyke really is incredible.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Everyone's heard of Hadrian's Wall, but that's like a garden fence compared to this.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58Built in the 8th century by Offa, the King of Mercia,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01the dyke is actually created from the land.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04An imposing symbol of Offa's political power.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08This huge bank of soil separated the fertile lands of Mercia,
0:19:08 > 0:19:12from the poorer hill country in the Welsh kingdom of Powys.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Even today, 1,200 years after its original construction,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19it's a permanent reminder of that division.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21It is pretty big, you know,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24and the most impressive thing is the length of it.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29It is 176 miles long. So it was a pretty major statement by old Offa.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Legend has it that if you were an Englishman
0:19:32 > 0:19:37and you got discovered by Welsh on their side, you got hung.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42And if you were a Welshman and you got discovered on the English side, you got your ears chopped off.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Which either way isn't particularly pleasant.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49So you go this way, ears chopped off. Hung ears - chopped off.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Hung - ears chopped off.
0:19:52 > 0:19:53Grow up, Clare!
0:19:55 > 0:19:57I've just done my knee in. Serves me right.
0:19:57 > 0:20:03It is now time to go into Wales, and I don't think I'm in too much danger of being hung these days.
0:20:03 > 0:20:09Harold reckoned it was better to start outside and have that sense of transition.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15So you notice the change in temperature if you like.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17I mean that broadly speaking.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25There are many miles of hill roads and paths that will enthrall
0:20:25 > 0:20:30the adventurous wheelman when he first makes their acquaintance.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33The road undulates amidst forestry land and then turns a corner to the
0:20:33 > 0:20:37right, where there is a splendid view across the Severn valley.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Down hill bit. Definitely now.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45This is fantastic! And the view...is stupendous.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49This is the Kerry Ridgeway. Just look at that.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52Hee hee!
0:20:55 > 0:20:58The later stages of my route have taken me from Offa's Dyke
0:20:58 > 0:21:05over the border at Anchor, past Kerry and on to the closing stretch of the journey, towards Newtown.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09The sun is beginning to dip in the sky, getting towards the end.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13But my finishing point is Newtown down there and Harold mentions
0:21:13 > 0:21:18in his guide that factories and warehouses played a big part in the town.
0:21:18 > 0:21:25In fact, that factory there was one of the biggest manufacturers of bicycles in the UK
0:21:25 > 0:21:32and I'm going to head down there to meet a former cycling superstar to find out more about all of that
0:21:32 > 0:21:34and also I hope a bit more about Harold Briercliffe.
0:21:36 > 0:21:42Until recently, Barry Holborn was Britain's most successful Tour de France cyclist,
0:21:42 > 0:21:47chalking up eight stage wins between 1965 and 1978.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49His career spanned three decades
0:21:49 > 0:21:52and now aged 69, he is still a keen cyclist.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56You can't be a cyclist without passion.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58And you do have this passion.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03You can do all the right training. You can do all the dietary work.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06You can do everything under the sun and you might not just make it,
0:22:06 > 0:22:10and you wonder why, because there's a little something.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13That little speck you have got to have.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16After his professional career, Barry became involved
0:22:16 > 0:22:19in bicycle manufacturing with the Coventry Eagle brand.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21A cycling celebrity,
0:22:21 > 0:22:26he often crossed paths with author and journalist, Harold Briercliffe.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29So you knew Harold, you met him. What was he like?
0:22:29 > 0:22:34I knew Harold very well. I came back to this country after a professional career on the continent.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37I came back in '81. At that time I became involved
0:22:37 > 0:22:40with the British Eagle cycle factory, the other side of town here
0:22:40 > 0:22:47and Harold was one of these folkloric journalists who were always around at certain functions and what have you.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52Cycling journalists, they were few and far between and everyone knew who they all were.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57I can see him today with his sort of gnarled expression.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Not only was Harold an experienced trade journalist,
0:23:00 > 0:23:05he was also fascinated by the design and construction of bicycles.
0:23:05 > 0:23:11The back pages of his touring guides are dominated by adverts for famous British brands - Raleigh, Eagle,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Royal Enfield, BSA, Phillips,
0:23:15 > 0:23:19so he would certainly have been interested in the Phillips factory
0:23:19 > 0:23:22here in Newtown, although it had a hidden history.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26In the late 1930s, the Government started
0:23:26 > 0:23:31a rearmament programme and set up shadow factories across the nation.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36These top secret plants appeared to outsiders to be innocently making everyday components,
0:23:36 > 0:23:41but were fact building munitions and parts vital to the war machine.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47Bicycle manufacture was the perfect cover and the line works at Newtown
0:23:47 > 0:23:52was built as a shadow factory allegedly making cycle tubing.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56The end of the war coincided with a new appetite for cycling.
0:23:56 > 0:24:02So the work force at Newtown dropped the pretence of building bicycles in favour of the real thing.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11Here is the most modern cycle works in Europe and backed by the world's largest production resources,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15Phillips bicycles are produced from tempered steel.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18There would have been factories within factories.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22There would have been sections with foundries, producing the steel chain sets.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26There would have been sections building the frames and then
0:24:26 > 0:24:29they would have been produced the bicycles on an assembly line.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33A good design produced to the highest standard
0:24:33 > 0:24:36in one of most modern factories of the world.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44There was an era when the bicycle was the mode of transport
0:24:44 > 0:24:46for the majority of people in Britain.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49It was a means of getting from home to town,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51home to school, home to work.
0:24:54 > 0:25:01When Harold wrote his guide in 1948, there are more than 120 British companies making bicycle parts
0:25:01 > 0:25:04and demand for bicycles outstripped supply.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Only a few years later, the relaxation of import restrictions
0:25:08 > 0:25:13and the growing affordability of cars brought the British industry to its knees
0:25:13 > 0:25:16and led to closure of the Newtown Phillips factory,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19once the largest cycle store in Europe.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Harold rode past the factory and he mentions it in the tour guide.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26What do you think he would make of it now?
0:25:26 > 0:25:28I think he would have shed a tear.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Because he would say, what used to be here and what is.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35But unfortunately it is the demise. You could reel off a whole list -
0:25:35 > 0:25:42Phillips, Raleigh, BSA and these were all big, big manufacturing capacities of bicycles.
0:25:44 > 0:25:50By the '60s, cycle sales had halved and the British Cycle Corporation had taken over the manufacture
0:25:50 > 0:25:53of almost every British brand of bicycle.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57One exception was Dawes, the company that made Harold's bike.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00What about this bicycle? This was Harold's bike,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03the last bike he ever had, actually.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07But that is classic of British cycling manufacture.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Because they produced top class touring bicycles.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14The gearing system would have been low enough
0:26:14 > 0:26:18to enable people to ride hills, reasonably easy. Even handlebars.
0:26:18 > 0:26:24That is what they call a randonnee handlebar, or a leisure handlebar.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26It's much happier when it's going fast.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29It's much happier when it is flat and fast.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31That is not me saying it. It's the bike saying it.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36It's not nearly such a comfortable or smooth ride
0:26:36 > 0:26:39when I'm having to change gears and make it work.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44Well, I mean... it's still a lightweight frame.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Lightweight for the era in which it was built.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51In fact I raced on the same tubing,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54but built into a racing designed bicycle.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Exactly the same - Reynolds 531 tubing.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02What advice can you give me as I continue my journey in the footsteps of Harold?
0:27:02 > 0:27:07There's only one thing you can always do is spend time riding a bicycle.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10We all say just ride the bicycle, enjoy it.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12The more you ride, the more you will enjoy it.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17I shall take that advice to heart. Harold described this area
0:27:17 > 0:27:21as having the appeal of countryside on the edge of wilderness
0:27:21 > 0:27:25and following his route, I've discovered many stories that seem to echo that.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28An ancient tree ceremony connecting man and the land.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31A writer inspired by hill farming.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Offa's Dyke, a political statement built from the land.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41From farmers to cyclists, all have forged a lifelong relationship
0:27:41 > 0:27:43with this countryside.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47From meeting Barry in particular, I feel...
0:27:47 > 0:27:50as if I understand more
0:27:50 > 0:27:55certainly the racing cyclist's psyche, and also because he knew Harold
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and talked about him and could tell me more about this bike,
0:27:59 > 0:28:03I feel that bit more privileged to be on the Supergalaxy,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06the last bike that Harold ever owned.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10This is my companion and it was his as well.
0:28:12 > 0:28:19Many times in my cycling lifetime, I have been assured by well-meaning advisors that cycling is finished,
0:28:19 > 0:28:24slain by the advances made in motor car and motorcycle ownership.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26This is just not so.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Bicycles and bicyclists have survived.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33They will continue for a long time yet.
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