0:00:03 > 0:00:06"One should always have a definite objective.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09"In a walk, as in life,
0:00:09 > 0:00:13"it is so much more satisfying to reach your target by personal effort
0:00:13 > 0:00:17"than to wander aimlessly.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20"An objective is an ambition
0:00:20 > 0:00:24"and life without ambition is, well, aimless wandering."
0:00:26 > 0:00:31The late Alfred Wainwright was a man full of effort and ambition.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34The much-loved fell-walker created for us
0:00:34 > 0:00:36one of the great walking challenges.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42From west coast to east coast - the ambition for me is simple -
0:00:42 > 0:00:45to walk across the whole of England.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Hello and welcome to the West Cumbrian coastline
0:01:03 > 0:01:04here by the village of St Bees.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06This is the Irish Sea
0:01:06 > 0:01:09and it marks the beginning of a very simple proposition -
0:01:09 > 0:01:11from here, the west coast,
0:01:11 > 0:01:13I'm going to head as far as I can in that direction
0:01:13 > 0:01:15towards the east coast.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Over the next six programmes
0:01:17 > 0:01:20I'm going to adventure across the whole of Northern England
0:01:20 > 0:01:22with a familiar friend for company.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31The signature of Alfred Wainwright
0:01:31 > 0:01:34is a symbol well known to all who walk in these parts.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39The man known simply as "A.W." is a legend of Cumbrian fell-walking.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45But one of his last grand projects would take him far beyond the fells
0:01:45 > 0:01:49and would become his most enduring legacy.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55A.W. retired as Kendal Borough Treasurer in 1967.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58He'd just finished his pictorial guides to the lakes,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02so he had a bit of time on his hands and this was his retirement project.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05The creation of a long-distance walk.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Now, one thing was clear - it HAD to be in Northern England.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12That was his favourite terrain, his most familiar terrain
0:02:12 > 0:02:15and he thought it to be the best in the world.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Ah! Now, you haven't started the walk until you're on the beach itself.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26I'm going to follow another coast-to-coasters' tradition as well
0:02:26 > 0:02:31and that is choosing a pebble to take with me to the Yorkshire Coast.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34There's something else that Wainwright said,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36he didn't believe that the walk had officially begun
0:02:36 > 0:02:39until you dipped your toes in the Irish Sea.
0:02:42 > 0:02:43Woo-hoo-hoo-hooo!
0:02:52 > 0:02:53SHE EXHALES
0:02:57 > 0:03:03That's it - my coast-to-coast walk has officially begun!
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Now, as well as walking and writing,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Wainwright's other great contribution to his books was his drawing.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Sketches abound, but just as valuable are his maps.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25As Wainwright quickly realised,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28a straight line across Northern England could include
0:03:28 > 0:03:31the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Three national parks in one walk.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38From St Bees in the west to Robin Hood's Bay in the east.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43Wainwright made 192 miles look incredibly simple.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47And so, 36 years after its creation,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49I'm far from alone in setting out from the beach
0:03:49 > 0:03:52on the opening miles of this great journey.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58So let's take a look at the Coast to Coast's first 29 miles.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07A full four miles of coastal footpath
0:04:07 > 0:04:11is followed by the flatlands and old mining villages of West Cumbria.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17The small foothill of Dent is a flavour of bigger things to come
0:04:17 > 0:04:22and leads me into the most remote of all the Lake District valleys - Ennerdale.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28The Coast to Coast hugs the edge of Ennerdale Water,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30taking a direct route up the valley
0:04:30 > 0:04:32amongst some of the biggest peaks in the area.
0:04:37 > 0:04:38There's a steep climb
0:04:38 > 0:04:41passing around Wainwright's much-loved peak of Haystacks,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45across to Honister Pass and its very obvious slate mining.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50That industry has done much to shape the villages of my destination
0:04:50 > 0:04:53for this first section - the lovely valley of Borrowdale.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01"It is along the top of the cliffs
0:05:01 > 0:05:04"that this long journey to Robin Hood's Bay begins."
0:05:06 > 0:05:09"There is no possibility of getting lost,
0:05:09 > 0:05:13"but there is a risk of accident on the seaward side of the fence.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18"Assurance of ultimately arriving at Robin Hood's Bay
0:05:18 > 0:05:22"is much greater if the landward side is preferred."
0:05:24 > 0:05:28'Safety has been a concern here since at least 1717
0:05:28 > 0:05:32'when a lighthouse was first installed on the tip of St Bees Head.
0:05:34 > 0:05:35'For the past 35 years,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39'this building has marked the most westerly point on the Coast to Coast,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42'an ideal spot to meet an old Lakeland acquaintance
0:05:42 > 0:05:44'and the man, who, 20 years ago,
0:05:44 > 0:05:48'accompanied Alfred Wainwright on one of his last television appearances.'
0:05:51 > 0:05:53- Hello, Eric.- Not blown away, then?
0:05:53 > 0:05:54What a lovely sight!
0:05:54 > 0:05:58- Good to see you and what an appropriate place for us to meet. - Wonderful, isn't it?
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Does it seem like yesterday for you that you began this walk with A.W?
0:06:01 > 0:06:07Yeah, it does, really, the...'87, I think it was, I think it was 1987.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10- I was such a young slip of a thing then, you see, Eric.- So was I!
0:06:12 > 0:06:15He was really looking forward to it.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19It was an adventure, it was an expedition.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22And so he was just enjoying himself,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26he was particularly fond of and proud of the Coast to Coast walk.
0:06:26 > 0:06:32- WAINWRIGHT:- Well, you've done your first 2 miles, you've 188 to do.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36And thus far you've been walking north,
0:06:36 > 0:06:41this is where we turn east and head for the North Sea.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Are we closer to Robin Hood's Bay than when we started?
0:06:44 > 0:06:48No, not a bit. No. No, you got to do it all again now.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Now, he suggested that you could
0:06:53 > 0:06:55possibly do it in 12 days.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58That really would be motoring along, wouldn't it?
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Uh, he said he didn't do it in 12 days, there's no question of that.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06It is a flaw, though, it actually runs counter to everything he suggests, cos what he says...
0:07:06 > 0:07:10- Yeah, take your time! Take in the scenery! - Absolutely. Enjoy it! Dawdle.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15At the heart of his project was that it was "A" coast-to-coast walk...
0:07:15 > 0:07:16Not "THE" Coast to Coast.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20It was an adventure, it was an expedition.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24He wanted everybody to, yes, basically stick to his route,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26but go and explore from it.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Why did you decide to go west to east?
0:07:29 > 0:07:34To have the prevailing weather behind me.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38And it seemed to be the natural way,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42I mean, if you're reading a book, or if you're writing a letter,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44you're working from west to east.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47I think it's great fun to tick off on the map
0:07:47 > 0:07:49what you've done every day
0:07:49 > 0:07:53and gradually find yourself getting nearer the objective.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57And very satisfying when, at last, you see the North Sea.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02How many people do you think do the Coast to Coast every year?
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Because you don't have a check-in anywhere, nobody really does know,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08but certainly tens of thousands.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12There's business after business that relies on the Coast to Coast,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14bed and breakfast businesses,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18or the people who are moving baggage on ahead,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20those sort of courier companies.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22A huge amount of economic regeneration
0:08:22 > 0:08:27has come from this very simple little A.W. idea.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30What can I look forward to at the very end of the walk?
0:08:30 > 0:08:34- Sitting down!- Sitting down, tiredness, fatigue.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- A sense of accomplishment? - Yes, you will.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42You'll have had a lot of varied experiences on the way across,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46it just demonstrates how varied the landscapes are in the north of England.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Upper Swaledale is glorious.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Then, of course, the North York Moors -
0:08:51 > 0:08:53lonely, lonely places.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56You can feel a real sense of solitude there,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59that, in a way, you don't get in the Lake District.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Well, Eric, wish me luck!
0:09:01 > 0:09:02- You don't need luck.- Not now!
0:09:02 > 0:09:05No, you're a seasoned, hardened walker, now.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09- That's it! I'll have a beard and a stick by noon tomorrow. - That way! That way!
0:09:15 > 0:09:19'Leaving the lighthouse, there's just the northern tip of St Bees Head to deal with,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22'before Wainwright allows you to say goodbye to the west coast.'
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Finally, you're heading to your ultimate destination.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30The thin ribbon of land
0:09:30 > 0:09:33stretched between the coast and my first national park
0:09:33 > 0:09:37is rarely mentioned by those recounting their coast-to-coast highlights.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Instead, it's been an industrial heartland for 800 years.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Where walkers are now welcome,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50it was once Cornish tin miners who flocked to seek a new fortune
0:09:50 > 0:09:52and establish new communities.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Moor Row is comprised of fairly typical West Cumbrian cottages
0:10:00 > 0:10:03and enjoyed a brief spell of prosperity due to iron and coal,
0:10:03 > 0:10:08and if you look down there you can see the railway line that used to service that industry.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13On the greyest of Cumbrian afternoons,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16and with mining, chemicals and the railway all gone,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19it's easy to see the opening stretch of the Coast to Coast
0:10:19 > 0:10:21as quite a sad environment.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27But the final village of Cleator marks the start of a new chapter.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32"It's a springboard to Lakeland" as Wainwright calls it
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and, appropriately enough, the start of the first real climb.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46"Dent is an excellent viewpoint,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48"with a panorama far more extensive
0:10:48 > 0:10:51"than its modest elevation would suggest."
0:10:53 > 0:10:58"The whole of the coastal plain of Cumbria is seen as on a map."
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Industries have come and gone in these parts,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14but there's one that still makes quite a big noise around here
0:11:14 > 0:11:15and there it is -
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Sellafield - the world's first nuclear power station.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Still employs around 10,000 people and it's quite a sight,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26though not necessarily for all the right reasons.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46"The Isle of Man is fully in view,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48"but attention will most be riveted
0:11:48 > 0:11:52"on the great sweep of the Lakeland fells."
0:11:52 > 0:11:54And there it is!
0:11:54 > 0:11:57All that awaits me.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03"How good it feels to be in Lakeland again."
0:12:05 > 0:12:08It's actually difficult to plot a route from up here,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11but I definitely feel as if I've done some hard work.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15The Irish Sea is in the distance behind me, I've got mud on my boots,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17and this is my first peak!
0:12:24 > 0:12:26The joys of walking come flooding back
0:12:26 > 0:12:28once you're away from the towns and the roads.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31With the prospect of the Lake District ahead,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34I think you're allowed to revel in a small feeling of excitement.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38And whether it was luck or skill, Wainwright found a path into Lakeland
0:12:38 > 0:12:40that followed the quietest of all routes.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45The seemingly secret valley of Nannycatch.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53This is the niftily named Nannycatch Gate
0:12:53 > 0:12:57and it marks a boundary line, the first of the Coast to Coast walk,
0:12:57 > 0:12:59for a national park.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02I'm now officially in the Lake District.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09After a day of heavy downpours,
0:13:09 > 0:13:15I appear to have the valley, and the last few rays of sunshine, all to myself.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20A-ha! Now that must be Ennerdale Bridge.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22My first Lakeland village.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28For most walkers, this is the end of a gruelling first day,
0:13:28 > 0:13:33the sort of day that makes you worry about the schedule you've planned for the rest of the walk.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36But whatever state you reach the Lake District in,
0:13:36 > 0:13:3914.5 miles are now complete.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46For any walker, the next morning should be a real treat.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Some of the biggest peaks in the country await.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Ennerdale Bridge looks very much the classic Lakes village,
0:13:56 > 0:13:59complete with some classic Lakes weather.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03And it stands just a mile from my first lake.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- WAINWRIGHT: - This is Ennerdale Water.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13This is the section where you're most likely to meet with rain.
0:14:13 > 0:14:19Gradually, the rainfall diminishes as you get towards the east coast.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22Two attempts by the water authorities
0:14:22 > 0:14:25to raise the level of this lake in the last few years -
0:14:25 > 0:14:30both have been defeated by opposition, strong opposition.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33- Which you support, of course. - Oh, absolutely, yes.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36There used to be an anglers' hotel on that side
0:14:36 > 0:14:41and they demolished that in anticipation of raising the water level
0:14:41 > 0:14:42and they never did that.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48The Anglers Hotel was beautifully situated
0:14:48 > 0:14:50right on the edge of the water
0:14:50 > 0:14:53and you could fish out of the windows from the bar,
0:14:53 > 0:14:55right through the windows into the lake.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Acceptance is the key when it comes to bad weather -
0:15:05 > 0:15:08you might as well just relax and enjoy whatever comes your way.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14On balance, though, you'd have to be mad not to be envious
0:15:14 > 0:15:15of a day more like this one.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17One where you can see
0:15:17 > 0:15:20how Ennerdale Water serves as a broad gateway to the Lakes,
0:15:20 > 0:15:25the point where coastal lowlands turn into 2,000ft peaks.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35On a clear day,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39this would be a commanding view right through the valley of Ennerdale,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41but today it's more like mountains in the mist.
0:15:43 > 0:15:44Still dramatic, though.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48WATER LAPS AT SHORE
0:15:50 > 0:15:53"The mountains ahead along both flanks of the valley
0:15:53 > 0:15:56"are now very impressive.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01"Forming a great amphitheatre, Pillar being the dominant height."
0:16:04 > 0:16:09Wainwright says old maps show this as Robin Hood's Chair.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12And although the name has gone out of use,
0:16:12 > 0:16:17it seems appropriate to revive it because of its affinity with our ultimate objective - his bay.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19"His" being Robin Hood, of course.
0:16:36 > 0:16:37Apart from the sheep,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41walkers enjoy a complete monopoly around Ennerdale Water -
0:16:41 > 0:16:44it's the only major lake in the area to be without a road.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49But with iron ore, charcoal burning, farming and forestry
0:16:49 > 0:16:53this quietest of valleys has actually been carefully managed by mankind
0:16:53 > 0:16:54since the Iron Age.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Today, though, there's a new initiative - Wild Ennerdale -
0:16:59 > 0:17:02a deliberate attempt to let nature take control.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04If a tree falls, it's left to rot.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07And two dozen Galloway cattle
0:17:07 > 0:17:10are free to graze, roam and fertilise the valley as they wish.
0:17:20 > 0:17:21After 70 years,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25the cultivated evergreens that Wainwright complained of so bitterly
0:17:25 > 0:17:27are thinning out once again,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30allowing a very welcome ray of sun to reach the Coast to Coast path.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36RUSH OF WATER
0:17:50 > 0:17:52At the upper end of the valley,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55the Coast to Coast leads me to one of my favourite spots -
0:17:55 > 0:17:59a sudden outpost of humanity - Black Sail Youth Hostel.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07- WAINWRIGHT:- You've arrived at the Black Sail hut,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11in the middle of a grand surround of mountains.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16Including Great Gable, Kirk Fell,
0:18:16 > 0:18:22Pillar, Haystacks, the High Style Range behind you.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27One of the loneliest places in the district,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29one of the most beautiful.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39- <- Have a good day! - Thank you, you too.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42The last time I was at this lovely youth hostel, I was heading up that way -
0:18:42 > 0:18:44up Pillar - and THAT'S a challenge.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Today, I'm heading up that-a-way
0:18:46 > 0:18:49and that looks like quite a challenge, too.
0:18:52 > 0:18:53See ya.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00The very last of my nine miles up the length of Ennerdale
0:19:00 > 0:19:03takes me across a field of drumlins.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07The distinctive egg-shaped mounds left behind by a melting glacier.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12It was that same glacier that left behind my next challenge -
0:19:12 > 0:19:14the steep side wall of the valley.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21Loft Beck provides one of the few accessible routes out of Ennerdale.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51SHE PANTS
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Nice spot for a little breather...
0:19:54 > 0:19:58And you'll probably need a little breather just about now.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03'This is quite possibly the steepest quarter mile
0:20:03 > 0:20:05'on the entire Coast to Coast.'
0:20:06 > 0:20:09'Quite nice to be getting it out of the way so early.'
0:20:09 > 0:20:10SHE EXHALES
0:20:13 > 0:20:15That's definitely the worst of it.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18SHE PANTS
0:20:18 > 0:20:23So, it's goodbye Ennerdale and hello Borrowdale.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31The reward for reaching the top of the stream
0:20:31 > 0:20:34is a majestic high-level walk.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36A good spot to admire your handiwork
0:20:36 > 0:20:38and look back at what you've achieved.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42To the west lies the whole of today's walk,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44right back to Ennerdale Bridge.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50To the north is the view over Buttermere to Crummock Water.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57This well-marked path is where ponies would have carried slate over the fells to the coast.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Today, I'm heading in the opposite direction.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03The ponies may have gone, but as you approach the Honister Pass
0:21:03 > 0:21:07modern signs of the Lakeland slate industry are obvious.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25A.W. has this marked as Drum House.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Horses would have pulled wagons full of slate
0:21:31 > 0:21:34along this straight path to about here
0:21:34 > 0:21:37and then a gravity system would have lowered the slate
0:21:37 > 0:21:39onto the path below.
0:21:46 > 0:21:52There it is - Borrowdale - the final goal for this section of the walk.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55But, before I finish, one more stop to make.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02At this point, each and every Coast to Coast walker
0:22:02 > 0:22:06is funnelled through the hub of the age-old local industry.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10Unlike the hateful conifers of Ennerdale,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Wainwright was enamoured with the sheer history
0:22:13 > 0:22:15of the Honister slate story.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18And equally saddened on his last visit,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20by what appeared to be its demise.
0:22:21 > 0:22:27- WAINWRIGHT:- 'Honister Quarry, so quiet, deserted.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31'After centuries of work that's been spent on there.'
0:22:32 > 0:22:34I think many regular visitors to the Lake District
0:22:34 > 0:22:37will be surprised to find it closed.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42I think Honister Quarry is a sad place now.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45After all the activity that's been spent here,
0:22:45 > 0:22:50men laboured for all their lives on this crag
0:22:50 > 0:22:54and now it's just like a graveyard.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59'But 20 years after A.W's last visit,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02'Honister is up and running once again.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06'In the late '90s, the dilapidated site was bought by a local man,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08'a Borrowdale lad,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11'who set about exploiting whatever local expertise he could muster.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15'He started by recruiting a true old hand -
0:23:15 > 0:23:16'his uncle - John Taylor.'
0:23:18 > 0:23:21So, John, if I slice you in half will I find slate in the middle?
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Slice me in half? Hahaha! After 60 years, you could.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27I think I probably would, yeah.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31So, I've interviewed a couple of miners over the years,
0:23:31 > 0:23:36and they're very proud as a people and actually love the job as well,
0:23:36 > 0:23:38and to me, I couldn't think of anything worse!
0:23:38 > 0:23:42- Is it something you love? - Oh! It's beautiful!
0:23:42 > 0:23:46You know, when you go underground you're in a different world.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48You know, you can forget everything,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51especially if you're working among good rock -
0:23:51 > 0:23:54you brush it and say "Oh, that's beautiful!"
0:23:54 > 0:23:56You get that involved.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59It's got a reputation, and rightly so,
0:23:59 > 0:24:01best grey-slated country, of course.
0:24:01 > 0:24:07When Wainwright was here, why had the quarry quietened down so much?
0:24:07 > 0:24:14Well, we were taken over by a new company, McAlpine's,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18and they come in with bosses from Wales
0:24:18 > 0:24:23who didn't understand our kind of rock, you know.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27They didn't really want to listen to us...
0:24:27 > 0:24:30To the locals? To the experts in this area!
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Because they reckoned we didn't know anything anyway,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36you know, we're just thick quarrymen.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38So you knew you had an instinct, you had a feeling,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41that there was still good slate in there.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Oh, yes. Aye. You see, you listen to t'old rock hands
0:24:44 > 0:24:48and they tell you where it's running and what direction it's going
0:24:48 > 0:24:51- and this is learned over 60 years. - Yeah.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53It just went from bad to worse.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56I mean, we'd all our splitters sitting in t'shed with no rock!
0:24:56 > 0:24:59You know, there was no rock to split!
0:24:59 > 0:25:01I mean, it just couldn't go on!
0:25:01 > 0:25:04So, it finally shut down, that was it.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06And how much slate do you produce now?
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Oh, not that much.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13Maybe, well about... three tonne a day.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16So you probably need, what, half of the men, quarter of the men?
0:25:16 > 0:25:19Oh, yes, we've nowt like the workforce we used to have.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23We all lived in t'quarry houses and...
0:25:23 > 0:25:27you'd go out t'pub together...
0:25:27 > 0:25:30BOTH: You lived together, you worked together.
0:25:30 > 0:25:36- So, the whole community was basically reliant on the quarry.- Yes.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39It fed the economy, it gave the men jobs.
0:25:39 > 0:25:40Well, that's right.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45More slate we produced, obviously, more wages we got.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48And we got t'point where,
0:25:48 > 0:25:53in them days, if we made £3 a day, we were really top earners!
0:25:53 > 0:25:56You were the millionaires!
0:25:56 > 0:25:59And we used to go out and get drunk on champagne!
0:25:59 > 0:26:00Did you?!
0:26:00 > 0:26:04But no, it was a good community, you know,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07a spirit right through t'valley to Keswick.
0:26:07 > 0:26:13You know, and...I'm just sorry it's all disappeared, basically.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16How long did it take to find the slate again,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18to start the mining process again?
0:26:18 > 0:26:23- About 6 month, we'd be up and running again.- Blimey. - Producing slate, yeah.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Is this, I mean, am I right in remembering
0:26:25 > 0:26:29that this is the only working quarry in the country at the moment?
0:26:29 > 0:26:31It is now, yes, aye, I believe that's right, yes.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33- That's something, isn't it?- Aye.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38And we try and... Nephew, Mark, who owns it -
0:26:38 > 0:26:41we're trying to keep tradition going, you know,
0:26:41 > 0:26:46- because a lot of our traditions in t'country have gone out of sight, haven't they?- Yeah.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49And we're trying our best to keep this going,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52you know, tradition wise, and we're succeeding, like.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57I've got to get off to Borrowdale and I don't like to keep a man from his work.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Thank you, it's been a pleasure.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Back to your slate, which I think is what you love more than anything else in the world!
0:27:03 > 0:27:05- Take care.- Bye bye!- Bye.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Having passed so many lost industries already,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13it's nice to find one that's enjoying renewed success.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Today, Honister is both a traditional industry and a visitor attraction
0:27:20 > 0:27:22for walkers and coach parties alike.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27And for those on the Coast to Coast,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30this is the place to start congratulating yourself.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34The gentle slope into Borrowdale
0:27:34 > 0:27:37marks your arrival into the heart of the lakes.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42As A.W. said,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46"The Lake District is the loveliest part of England,
0:27:46 > 0:27:48"and this, its fairest valley."
0:27:53 > 0:27:57So here is the end of my first section of the walk.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00And there's my first sign of civilisation -
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Seatoller - in the Borrowdale Valley.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09'Far above the highest mountaintops,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12'there's a view looking back over Honister,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15'along the length of Ennerdale, across West Cumbria,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18'all the way to the start of my walk.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21'To be fair, there's a long, long way to go,
0:28:21 > 0:28:25but at least now you can call yourself a proper coast-to-coaster.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31I've certainly encountered all weathers during the first run of my coast-to-coast.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34I think the highlight for me, apart from getting back into the lakes,
0:28:34 > 0:28:36was meeting John at the slate quarry.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38To meet someone still so passionate
0:28:38 > 0:28:42and full of energy for his work after 60 years was truly lovely.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46I hope I've got as much energy for the next 162 miles.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51Subtitles by Adrian Andreacchio Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:51 > 0:28:56Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk