0:00:31 > 0:00:36The countryside of the British Isles - beautiful!
0:00:36 > 0:00:40And although most of us now live in towns or cities,
0:00:40 > 0:00:45we still think of our land as one filled with rolling hills,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48and velvety fields where sheep may safely graze.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50SHEEP BAA
0:00:53 > 0:00:58Today, farming's still intricately woven into the British landscape.
0:00:58 > 0:01:05But 300 years ago, it dominated our way of life, almost everyone worked on the land.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08HE WHISTLES
0:01:08 > 0:01:12But something that had lain hidden for over 300 million years
0:01:12 > 0:01:14was about to change all that.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17A source of energy that would transform the world,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20and it's right here underneath me feet.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30What is it?
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Coal!
0:01:34 > 0:01:39It started on a small scale, but by the end of the 19th century,
0:01:39 > 0:01:45Britain was mining more than 38 million tonnes of this stuff a year.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53More than it extracted with all our modern machinery...today!
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Coal transformed Britain.
0:02:02 > 0:02:09It fuelled the Industrial Revolution making Britain the most powerful nation in the world.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14But more than that, this rock that was so hard to win from the Earth,
0:02:14 > 0:02:19caused the greatest change to our landscape since the ice age.
0:02:20 > 0:02:26Under our cultivated fields lay a whole treasure trove of rocks and minerals,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29just waiting to be dug out.
0:02:29 > 0:02:36Our supplies of lead, iron, tin, and copper would all change the face of Britain.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41We'd come to dominate the land
0:02:41 > 0:02:45joining the distant corners of our isles by rail...
0:02:45 > 0:02:47road and canal.
0:02:52 > 0:02:58Britain would lead the world with its industrial innovation and urban growth,
0:02:58 > 0:03:05and London would reflect this new-found power, becoming the biggest city in the world.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21The great swathes of Britain's forests that had provided fuel and timber
0:03:21 > 0:03:25for much of our history were now at a low ebb.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Early industries though looked after this source of fuel carefully.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33They harvested the trees in a sustainable way,
0:03:33 > 0:03:39and we can thank their early management system for the survival of much ancient woodland today.
0:03:40 > 0:03:46Epping Forest, 6,000 acres that are a sort of living record
0:03:46 > 0:03:52of the changes we've made to our landscape during the industrial 18th and 19th centuries.
0:03:52 > 0:03:59And they're especially evident in the convoluted trunks of this old beech tree, a dozen or more of them.
0:03:59 > 0:04:05Looking like something that Arthur Rackham might have illustrated in a fairy tale.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12These ancient, scarred trees, with their roughened bark
0:04:12 > 0:04:17and bulbous growths reflect years of harvesting at the hand of man.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25In olden days the wood was cut from the forest in even-sized branches.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29It was then burnt slowly to remove water vapour
0:04:29 > 0:04:34and any impurities, producing a clean-burning form of carbon...
0:04:34 > 0:04:36charcoal.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Charcoal was in great demand from gunpowder,
0:04:46 > 0:04:51glass, and ironworks because of its purity.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56To get even-sized branches, trees were cut off at ground level,
0:04:56 > 0:05:01coppiced or pollarded - cut off at the top of the trunk.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Both forms of harvesting were done every ten years or so.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12In woodland pasture the trees were always pollarded like this,
0:05:12 > 0:05:17keeping the emerging new shoots well away from hungry mouths.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23If you take a walk in the Forest of Dean, the High Weald
0:05:23 > 0:05:27or Epping Forest today you can still see charcoal's legacy.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Regular pruning allowed sunlight to reach new areas of the forest floor,
0:05:45 > 0:05:49creating enchanted glades.
0:06:08 > 0:06:14There's one special creature which was common in Epping Forest right up to the 19th century.
0:06:14 > 0:06:19But which is now extremely rare right the way across Britain and this is it.
0:06:19 > 0:06:26It's a caterpillar and it feeds on foxgloves in woodland clearings where the sun warms up the air
0:06:26 > 0:06:33much more quickly than underneath the tree canopy and as a result it has a special relationship with man.
0:06:33 > 0:06:39For thousands of years the clearings formed by the charcoal burners provided the perfect hot spot
0:06:39 > 0:06:43for these insects, which are susceptible to the cold.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Once they turned into adults they'd only need to fly
0:06:46 > 0:06:50the short distance into another coppice clearing to breed.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55Because of this, these heath fritillary butterflies
0:06:55 > 0:06:58were said by the Victorians to be the woodsman's follower.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03Today the heath fritillary is extremely rare in woodland
0:07:03 > 0:07:07because coppicing and pollarding have declined.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12Why? Well, another fuel was starting to take over from charcoal.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19It was here, in Stoke-on-Trent, that this new alternative, coal,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21was most appreciated.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Large quantities of coal and clay
0:07:24 > 0:07:30were concentrated in the Trent Valley, providing perfect conditions for the manufacture of pots.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34The potteries grew up in a haphazard way like this pot!
0:07:34 > 0:07:40One or two small china works like this one at Gladstone,
0:07:40 > 0:07:46expanded until the entire area was covered in bottle ovens, factories and houses.
0:07:46 > 0:07:53Each potter would be expected to produce 2,000 of these in a day, that's one every 30 seconds...
0:07:53 > 0:07:56I think I'm a bit slow!
0:07:59 > 0:08:01I think that's a bit of a success.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06But then so were the potteries.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09The bottle ovens were never idle.
0:08:09 > 0:08:15While one was being filled, another was fired and stoked for three days.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19The unending supply of local coal produced all the heat need to ensure
0:08:19 > 0:08:23the continued expansion of the potteries.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28But there was one big problem,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31burning coal was a dirty business.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Thanks to a complete lack of government legislation,
0:08:40 > 0:08:45there came to be 2,000 of these bottle ovens, belching their black smoke into the sky,
0:08:45 > 0:08:51turning this into one of the darkest, dirtiest and unhealthiest places in Britain.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00This choking pollution was a sign of coal's greatest drawback.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05While it kick-started the potteries, coal's impurities stood in the way
0:09:05 > 0:09:07of industrial progress.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Solving this problem would remove a major obstacle,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and it happened here.
0:09:15 > 0:09:22This may seem like just another English town, but a closer look reveals its unique past.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25All these are made...
0:09:25 > 0:09:27of iron.
0:09:27 > 0:09:33This is Ironbridge Gorge, where Abraham Darby brought the Industrial Revolution to life.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38It was here that he introduced a magic ingredient into iron smelting.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41And this is it!
0:09:41 > 0:09:46Darby managed to turn the local impure coal into coke.
0:09:46 > 0:09:54In 1709, he developed a process to heat it up slowly and remove its impurities, producing pure carbon.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58It was a turning point.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Blast furnaces, fuelled by clean burning coke,
0:10:01 > 0:10:05were now freed from their dependence on charcoal.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08The expansion of industry had begun.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Iron could now be mass-produced and cast into every conceivable shape.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Its uses seemed limitless.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30And after all the patent making, the moulding and the casting,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33comes a large pair of tongs and the moment of truth.
0:10:37 > 0:10:43A special piece of 225-year-old design that made history.
0:10:43 > 0:10:49Just knock the centres out with my sprigs, there we go...
0:10:49 > 0:10:52And we've got...
0:10:52 > 0:10:56the most beautiful piece of ornamental work.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58It's a radial.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03One of the 1,700 pieces that were used to create this. -
0:11:03 > 0:11:06the world's first iron bridge.
0:11:07 > 0:11:17Built in 1779 by Abraham Darby's grandson, it marked 70 years of industrial and engineering progress.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Spanning the River Severn, it allowed both the local people
0:11:20 > 0:11:24and their coal to cross the water safely.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28It also inspired a new generation of engineers,
0:11:28 > 0:11:33spurring them on to greater heights and grand designs that are now as
0:11:33 > 0:11:38much a part of our landscape as our castles and cathedrals.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47These huge bridges still impress today.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51You can only imagine their impact when they were first built.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03Industry was now manufacturing goods and chattels on a vast scale.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07The problem was getting them to market.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11It wasn't like today with our many transport networks.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13It was the age of the horse and cart.
0:12:13 > 0:12:21What was needed was a form of transport that would enable goods to be moved smoothly and efficiently,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23the canal!
0:12:24 > 0:12:29One of the supreme achievements of canal engineering is this,
0:12:29 > 0:12:31the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34a waterway through the sky.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39Here, you're boating with the angels 38m above the River Dee!
0:12:39 > 0:12:45On completion, it linked the coalfields and iron foundries of north Wales,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48with the industrial Midlands.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Telford's aqueduct is the largest in Britain.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57It's held together by nuts and bolts and waterproofed...
0:12:57 > 0:13:01with Welsh flannel and boiled sugar!
0:13:01 > 0:13:03The things you put your trust in!
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Although the British Isles were well supplied with rivers,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19many were of uneven depth
0:13:19 > 0:13:23or too fast and treacherous for heavily laden boats.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Canals provided a safe alternative.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31They were the motorways of their day.
0:13:31 > 0:13:37Horses could now pull three times as much cargo as on the road.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44Thousands of navvies dug through hills and along valleys,
0:13:44 > 0:13:49on a scale not seen since the Romans built their roads.
0:13:49 > 0:13:55Even today, there are still over 2,000 miles of canals crisscrossing the country.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14The Caen Hill Rise at Devizes was heralded as one of the wonders
0:14:14 > 0:14:21of the industrial world. Its 16 lock gates seeming to defy gravity.
0:14:37 > 0:14:43Ten million people use these canals every year, mainly for pleasure now, and the water still pours through
0:14:43 > 0:14:50John Rennie's tier of locks whose gates work as smoothly as the day they were hung.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54But it's still a painstaking business to reach the top.
0:14:59 > 0:15:05These new waterways that crisscrossed the country were soon claimed by wildlife.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08BIRDSONG
0:15:31 > 0:15:33The kingfisher is a favourite.
0:15:33 > 0:15:41It's a shy bird, not much larger than a house sparrow, and it takes a bit of spotting.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Kingfishers love slow-moving streams and canals.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49They're brilliant fishermen and they catch their own body weight
0:15:49 > 0:15:52in minnows, bullheads and sticklebacks every day.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Such spectacular sights
0:16:28 > 0:16:33from the deck of a narrow boat are thanks to our industrial past.
0:16:33 > 0:16:39But there was another small guest who wasn't so welcome back then.
0:16:39 > 0:16:45It challenged the talent and might of the canal engineers and navvies, with its own digging prowess.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52The water vole.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54This is Ratty from the Wind In The Willows,
0:16:54 > 0:17:02seen as a pest for burrowing through the waterproofed, clay-lined canal walls causing the odd leak or two.
0:17:04 > 0:17:10But today, canals have become a sanctuary for what's now one of our rarest mammals,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13and with sharp eyes,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16you might spot Ratty.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30Not everywhere was lucky enough to have the canal system on their doorstep.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34In places like Cornwall,
0:17:34 > 0:17:39the rugged landscape had been left remote from the heart of industry.
0:17:39 > 0:17:45But it was on these spectacular cliffs that the next great development took place.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50I'm not far from Lands' End,
0:17:50 > 0:17:57in one of my very favourite parts of the country not least because of all the wild flowers that grow here.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59These cliff tops are simply awash with them,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01bluebells, bird's-foot trefoil,
0:18:01 > 0:18:05sea campion and just up there is a plant that reminds everyone
0:18:05 > 0:18:07of my generation of the threepenny bit
0:18:07 > 0:18:11because it was stamped on the back of it, sea pink, or thrift.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13And the reason they thrive here
0:18:13 > 0:18:16is that they're very good at growing on thin soils.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Why the soil is so thin is that not far below this is solid rock.
0:18:20 > 0:18:28These rocks were formed about 280 million years ago, when France was pushed into Britain.
0:18:28 > 0:18:34The pressure caused the Earth's crust to buckle and melt rising as a great granite block.
0:18:36 > 0:18:42Where molten granite touched the rest of the rocks, though, extraordinary things happened...
0:18:42 > 0:18:46and to find out what, I need to go down there.
0:18:46 > 0:18:52As these rocks cooled, cracks formed which were then filled with a curious substance.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58It's not just the sea that's turquoise blue here.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01The rocks are too.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Now what does that remind you of? The dome on the town hall clock?
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Ah, you see, that's the clue.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26This colour comes from copper.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31And there's tin, iron, silver and arsenic in these rocks too.
0:19:31 > 0:19:37It's these minerals that transformed a quiet Cornwall into one of the world's
0:19:37 > 0:19:42busiest mining centres, with some of the deepest mines in the world.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49There was a problem. The shafts were deep and the tunnels stretched out
0:19:49 > 0:19:52for a mile under the sea,
0:19:52 > 0:19:57and that meant they were always filled with the drip of water.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06It needed to be removed, and this necessity gave rise
0:20:06 > 0:20:09to the world's first steam engine.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14These romantic ruins housed the giant Cornish beam engines
0:20:14 > 0:20:17used to drain the mines.
0:20:17 > 0:20:23They're the remains of an industry that once gave half the world its tin.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33But these pumps were fuelled by coal shipped at great cost from Swansea.
0:20:33 > 0:20:40This that pushed engineers across the country to create a more efficient and economical beast.
0:20:45 > 0:20:51It was a Cornishman, Richard Trevithick, who made the great leap forward
0:20:51 > 0:20:55by using pressurised steam to power the engines.
0:20:55 > 0:21:03In 1803 he created his first railway locomotive, well before Stephenson's rocket and this little beauty,
0:21:03 > 0:21:08rather fittingly built by Coalbrookdale at the centre of industrial Britain.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10OK!
0:21:12 > 0:21:17Using steam under pressure allowed the engines to become smaller in size.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22Put them on wheels and you've got the first locomotive.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42MUSIC: "Coronation Scot" by Vivian Ellis
0:21:47 > 0:21:52The railways that followed snaked their way right across the British Isles.
0:21:53 > 0:21:59For the first time villages, towns, cities and industrial centres
0:21:59 > 0:22:06were all linked together, and the British Isles was suddenly "access all areas".
0:22:11 > 0:22:17The navvies who once dug the canals now laid tracks across the countryside.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26They blasted tunnels through hills and towns,
0:22:26 > 0:22:31and built bridges over rivers, roads and canals.
0:22:38 > 0:22:45Now that engineers had conquered the landscape, they celebrated their triumph with great structures
0:22:45 > 0:22:47like the Glenfinnan viaduct.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56Soon, 30 million passengers were being carried every year.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59There were a few hitchhikers too!
0:23:04 > 0:23:09Introduced to gardens for its brilliant, magenta flowers,
0:23:09 > 0:23:14a single rosebay willow herb plant can produce 80,000 seeds a year,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18every one with a bespoke silk parachute.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27And with the help of the train's movement along the line,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30these featherweight seeds wafted far and wide.
0:23:30 > 0:23:35The embankments burnt regularly when sparks from the fireboxes landed
0:23:35 > 0:23:41in the tinder-dry undergrowth, and this provided a perfect place for the seedlings to grow.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48Thriving on newly burnt ground and earning for itself the common name of fireweed,
0:23:48 > 0:23:55rosebay soon spread across the country reaching the railways' furthest destinations.
0:24:03 > 0:24:09It followed in the wake of a whole new breed of traveller - the tourist.
0:24:12 > 0:24:19Scotland's countryside had been largely untouched by the effects of the Industrial Revolution,
0:24:19 > 0:24:23but with easy access by train, that would soon change.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47During the highland clearances, landowners had banished tenants from their property.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55The resulting wild landscape attracted wealthy tourists looking
0:24:55 > 0:25:01for a bit of sport and a contrast to their overcrowded city lives.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16But the most prized animal was not a deer, or an eagle or a sheep.
0:25:16 > 0:25:23It was something quite unexpected and was to become the most valuable in the British Isles.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31The red grouse!
0:25:31 > 0:25:34They're certainly entertaining to watch,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37with their red eye shadow and comical call,
0:25:37 > 0:25:43but to the Victorians, they provided another form of amusement.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50The bird became so important
0:25:50 > 0:25:54that even the Houses of Parliament were closed in time
0:25:54 > 0:25:57for the start of the summer season, the glorious 12th.
0:25:57 > 0:26:03At the height of its popularity, one man shot more than 1,000 birds in a day!
0:26:12 > 0:26:18But how did the rich man's sport have such an impact on our land?
0:26:18 > 0:26:23Well, to rear grouse wild, you've got to have heather moors.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25They depend on the young shoots for food
0:26:25 > 0:26:29and use the elder plants for shelter.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32So, you need lots of heather moorland.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34This need for both old and new heather
0:26:34 > 0:26:38prompted gamekeepers to burn strips of heather every winter
0:26:38 > 0:26:41to create the perfect, mixed habitat for the grouse.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53So, much of the moorland which now covers over a third of Scotland
0:26:53 > 0:26:57is preserved because of a sport that started almost 200 years ago.
0:27:04 > 0:27:10But the English countryside had its own problems.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13And strangely enough, the cause was the steam engine.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Its use in agriculture had increased production -
0:27:17 > 0:27:20great for landowners, but not so good for farm workers.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31As people left the countryside for the cities,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35our urban population rose and our cities grew to such an extent
0:27:35 > 0:27:39that even England's rich farmland couldn't support them.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43We turned in desperation to a neighbour,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46one that had remained devoted to agriculture -
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Ireland.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53Ireland's mild climate, limestone foundations and heavy rain
0:27:53 > 0:27:56made it a perfect place for grazing cattle.
0:27:56 > 0:28:02Huge quantities of beef and grain was sent over to England
0:28:04 > 0:28:09But farmers in the south-west of Ireland faced a different situation.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14Here the land was SO wet and boggy that only one crop would thrive -
0:28:14 > 0:28:16the potato.
0:28:16 > 0:28:22But even the humble potato needs some drainage if it's to grow well.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25Unlike the straightforward digging that I do for my potatoes at home,
0:28:25 > 0:28:30the Irish families who worked here made wide mounds
0:28:30 > 0:28:34which they fertilised with seaweed and lime.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39They used a spade,
0:28:39 > 0:28:41but not a spade as we know it.
0:28:41 > 0:28:42Their spade had a narrow blade.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47It was a "spad", which became the common name for potato -
0:28:47 > 0:28:49spud.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Visitors called these ridges "lazy beds"
0:28:54 > 0:28:57because they only involved digging trenches
0:28:57 > 0:29:00rather than the whole field.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03Spuds grew well in these ridges, though,
0:29:03 > 0:29:08and a modest one-acre plot could provide nine tonnes of potatoes -
0:29:08 > 0:29:12enough to feed a large family for a year.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16It was a farming system that worked well for many years,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19but a freak introduction from abroad
0:29:19 > 0:29:21was to change the fate of millions.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35In September, 1845, disaster struck.
0:29:35 > 0:29:41Potato blight transformed healthy green plants into a blackened mush
0:29:41 > 0:29:44in a matter of weeks,
0:29:44 > 0:29:48and the harvested potatoes succumbed to the same fate.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Its attack was devastating.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58People had favoured one particular variety called the lumper,
0:29:58 > 0:30:02and when this was hit, millions starved to death.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12This area here was once a village called Lisaroo.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15200 people worked and played here.
0:30:15 > 0:30:1915 of them would have lived in this room.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22Now it's just a pile of mossy stones.
0:30:27 > 0:30:35Unable to pay rent, many thousands of these cottiers were evicted and their homes destroyed.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46There was little support for the famine victims other than work houses
0:30:46 > 0:30:48and the building of relief roads like these.
0:30:53 > 0:30:59Soon even this support ran out, and this particular road came to a dead end.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01So did the people.
0:31:01 > 0:31:06The only alternative to starvation was emigration.
0:31:09 > 0:31:14Nearly two million Irishmen and women abandoned their homeland
0:31:14 > 0:31:17to start a new life across the water.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21Such a loss had great repercussions on the landscape.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24Just like the clearances in Scotland,
0:31:24 > 0:31:26it left the land to nature.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32Many crossed the Irish Sea in search of work in English cities,
0:31:32 > 0:31:34swelling their numbers even more.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37This vast urban population was to have a shattering effect
0:31:37 > 0:31:40on even the wildest parts of our mainland.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48This is the Ogwen Valley in Snowdonia -
0:31:48 > 0:31:51ruggedly beautiful and isolated.
0:31:57 > 0:32:03But this isolation was soon to be overwhelmed by industry.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07And the reason was because of this!
0:32:07 > 0:32:12Slate. It was formed around 600 million years ago in the deep sea.
0:32:12 > 0:32:18Layer upon layer of mud was buried, squashed and baked hard
0:32:18 > 0:32:23to create this finely textured, layered rock.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26Why was this rock so vital to city growth?
0:32:29 > 0:32:34It can be split easily into layers that are thin, light,
0:32:34 > 0:32:38waterproof and perfect for keeping rain out of your house.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41So popular did slate become as a roofing material
0:32:41 > 0:32:44that the demand created this!
0:32:52 > 0:32:57The Welsh slate industry took off dramatically.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00In the early 1800s, 12 shiploads a month
0:33:00 > 0:33:04were delivering slates for roofing, for tombstones and for paving.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Penrhyn once employed 4,000 men
0:33:11 > 0:33:13and boasted that with the help of their labour force,
0:33:13 > 0:33:15they roofed the world!
0:33:29 > 0:33:32Working here was a perilous business,
0:33:32 > 0:33:37but despite the difficulties, Penrhyn at one time produced
0:33:37 > 0:33:40110,000 tonnes of finished slate a year.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Several of Snowdonia's slate quarries
0:33:45 > 0:33:47are still being worked today,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50but that hasn't stopped wildlife from making a home here.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59The sides of the quarry are now an inland cliff -
0:33:59 > 0:34:03a perfect new habitat for coastal birds to colonise,
0:34:03 > 0:34:05like the pigeons and seagulls
0:34:05 > 0:34:08that nest in its fissures and on its ledges.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12But for me the most exciting story
0:34:12 > 0:34:16is that another bird has taken up residence here.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20The champion of the air, one of our most elegant birds of prey
0:34:20 > 0:34:23and the fastest creature on earth -
0:34:23 > 0:34:25the peregrine falcon.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02Slate quarries provide good hunting and nesting grounds,
0:35:02 > 0:35:04so from the peregrine's point of view
0:35:04 > 0:35:09it's worth protecting them from other raptors, like this buzzard.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13At twice the peregrine's size,
0:35:13 > 0:35:17a sparring partner like this would daunt a less feisty bird.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24Once the skies are clear, it's time to hunt.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31With vision that's eight times more effective than ours,
0:35:31 > 0:35:35it can spot its target from a great height.
0:35:35 > 0:35:40It drops into a stoop and reaches speeds of over 100mph.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53It flushes the panicked pigeons
0:35:53 > 0:35:57up the quarry wall and into its fatal embrace.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12Peregrines have the growth of our towns and cities
0:36:12 > 0:36:14to thank for this habitat
0:36:14 > 0:36:19and the holes left by the tonnes of slate moved out across the country
0:36:19 > 0:36:20to roof our homes.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23If you've ever wondered why you see so many pigeons around town,
0:36:23 > 0:36:26it's because all the slate-top buildings
0:36:26 > 0:36:28are perfect man-made cliffs.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Home from home!
0:36:39 > 0:36:42By the early 1800s, cities were booming.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46Industry in the north created our six largest including Glasgow,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49Newcastle, Manchester and Leeds,
0:36:49 > 0:36:53but to the south was the biggest of them all.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59London had become one of the world's busiest building sites.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01Its success was celebrated
0:37:01 > 0:37:05in the grand architecture of the new Houses of Parliament.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08Britain now governed not just a country but an empire,
0:37:08 > 0:37:14leading the world when it came to technology and ingenuity.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30Even today, 19th century architecture and design
0:37:30 > 0:37:34has influenced some of our most modern structures.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38But there was a downside to all this success.
0:37:38 > 0:37:43I'm 60 metres above the streets of London on a clear spring day
0:37:43 > 0:37:46and the view is absolutely wonderful.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50In the early 1800s, this was the largest city in the world,
0:37:50 > 0:37:52with one and a half million people
0:37:52 > 0:37:55crammed into a few square kilometres.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58It caused congestion and pollution problems
0:37:58 > 0:38:00on a scale never seen before.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02If I'd been standing up here all those years ago,
0:38:02 > 0:38:06the view would have been very different.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Almost every home now had coal fires,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26and the millions of chimneys
0:38:26 > 0:38:30belched out enough smoke to block out the sun.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36This extreme air pollution caused other problems.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40It was blamed not only for killing off trees in the city,
0:38:40 > 0:38:44but also for causing a new disease - cholera.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46To keep a vestige of green in their city,
0:38:46 > 0:38:48the Victorians turned to a tree
0:38:48 > 0:38:51that could cope with the polluted conditions
0:38:51 > 0:38:53and perhaps even improve them.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57What they used would become the lungs of London.
0:38:57 > 0:39:02Despite its name, the London Plane tree isn't a true Cockney.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05In fact, it's a hybrid between a European and an American,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08and like lots of Americans and Europeans,
0:39:08 > 0:39:10they are found all over London.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Plane trees became popular in Victorian times
0:39:13 > 0:39:14thanks to their hardy nature,
0:39:14 > 0:39:19and they changed the tree-scape of British cities for ever.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23It's thought that they might survive for 500 years,
0:39:23 > 0:39:28so one day they'll also be some of the largest trees in England.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31But what's so special about this tree?
0:39:31 > 0:39:33Well, if you look around on the ground
0:39:33 > 0:39:37you can find lots of pieces of bark that have flaked off.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41And if you look closely at this bark, it's covered in tiny pores.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46Now, just like our skin, those pores can get clogged by dirt.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49So by shedding some bits of bark regularly,
0:39:49 > 0:39:50the tree gets rid of the dirt
0:39:50 > 0:39:54and always has some clean pores to breathe through.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56A bit like a facepack, really!
0:39:59 > 0:40:01More recently, it's been discovered
0:40:01 > 0:40:03that when the leaf buds grow in April
0:40:03 > 0:40:08the leaves are covered with minute hairs to protect them from the sun.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14But these hairs also trap tiny particles of soot.
0:40:14 > 0:40:19The hairs then drop to the ground in the summer to expose clean leaves,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22cleansing the air in the process.
0:40:22 > 0:40:28And the glossy, mature leaves are easily washed clean of dirt by rain.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30If you put all this together,
0:40:30 > 0:40:33London plane trees in city parks
0:40:33 > 0:40:37can help remove 85% of the grime from the surrounding air.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43But although these trees could thrive in such terrible pollution,
0:40:43 > 0:40:45people weren't so lucky.
0:40:45 > 0:40:50The smog in the air was so thick and cut out so much sunlight
0:40:50 > 0:40:53that 15% of London's children got rickets
0:40:53 > 0:40:55due to a lack of vitamin D.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58And that was just one of the problems.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03It was cholera that was the major killer in London.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07In one year, 14,000 Londoners died of the disease.
0:41:09 > 0:41:14The average life expectancy of a man was reduced to just 29 years.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29In the early 1800s,
0:41:29 > 0:41:3457% of children died before their fifth birthday.
0:41:34 > 0:41:40Family gravestones like this one reveal the shocking reality.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44Elizabeth and Hannah were three years old,
0:41:44 > 0:41:51Phoebe was 19 months and Thomas and David were just two months old.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55Out of seven children, only two made it into adulthood.
0:42:02 > 0:42:08In this tiny plot alone, 123,000 bodies were buried.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11London's graveyards
0:42:11 > 0:42:16were quite literally overflowing with putrefaction.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18Something had to be done.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31Eventually, Parliament passed a bill in 1832
0:42:31 > 0:42:35encouraging the establishment of seven private cemeteries
0:42:35 > 0:42:36around outer London.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00In an era before the existence of large urban parks,
0:43:00 > 0:43:03garden cemeteries became popular places
0:43:03 > 0:43:06for a carriage ride or a stroll.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08Left undisturbed for years,
0:43:08 > 0:43:12they have now become some of our best urban oases for wildlife.
0:43:17 > 0:43:24These cemeteries included Kensal Green, Highgate and Brompton.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29Here at Brompton, the 40-acre site now holds 200,000 graves.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34These burial grounds solved the problem of body disposal,
0:43:34 > 0:43:37but what about the cause of death, cholera?
0:43:37 > 0:43:39Was it due to the bad air?
0:43:45 > 0:43:48There were many people that escaped an early death
0:43:48 > 0:43:50because of one thing - they drank beer.
0:43:50 > 0:43:57Back in the 1850s, this stuff could quite literally save your life.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00This is the John Snow pub in Soho,
0:44:00 > 0:44:05named after a Victorian gent who became suspicious
0:44:05 > 0:44:08when 500 people died of cholera
0:44:08 > 0:44:11in this immediate vicinity in just ten days,
0:44:11 > 0:44:14and he suspected the local water pump.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19What he did was diabolically simple.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23He took the handle off the water pump and observed what happened.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26The outbreak of cholera died away
0:44:26 > 0:44:28and he proved once and for all
0:44:28 > 0:44:32that the disease was carried in polluted water.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36The consequences of Dr Snow's discovery were huge.
0:44:39 > 0:44:44Huge enough to change the face of London's natural landscape.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51This is the York Water Gate,
0:44:51 > 0:44:54built in 1626 for the Duke of Buckingham
0:44:54 > 0:44:56so that he could alight from his barge
0:44:56 > 0:45:00and access his riverside mansion in style.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05Well, it was all right for him
0:45:05 > 0:45:09but it's a bit more difficult for me today in my canoe,
0:45:09 > 0:45:11and the reason for that
0:45:11 > 0:45:13is that the river's not here any more!
0:45:15 > 0:45:19All that's left is this shallow pond
0:45:19 > 0:45:23to remind us where Old Father Thames used to be.
0:45:23 > 0:45:28So where's the water gone? Well, it's 100 yards over there.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30Because the path of the Thames was altered.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33Its banks were walled up to contain the waters
0:45:33 > 0:45:38and to relieve London of its foul stench and its cholera epidemics.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40The ground has now been reclaimed
0:45:40 > 0:45:43and in this case it's the Victoria Embankment Gardens.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49The course of the Thames was altered for ever
0:45:49 > 0:45:51by these elegant embankments
0:45:51 > 0:45:56which walled up its sides and hid a vast new sewage system -
0:45:56 > 0:46:00a system that finally released cholera's grip on London.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07We'd reached a point where we could control the problems
0:46:07 > 0:46:09that arose from industrial success,
0:46:09 > 0:46:14and could alter the landscape to suit our needs and even our whims.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23But this increasing power
0:46:23 > 0:46:27eventually made us take a step back and look at what might be lost.
0:46:27 > 0:46:32Trees that had been nurtured and harvested for thousands of years
0:46:32 > 0:46:35were now threatened with destruction.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39But some survivors hung on, like here in Epping Forest.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44And what's more, they were safe.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46The Corporation of London preserved them
0:46:46 > 0:46:49in what was probably the first conservation programme
0:46:49 > 0:46:54designed to set aside land for all of us to enjoy.
0:46:55 > 0:47:01In 1878, all this was protected for future generations.
0:47:03 > 0:47:08After an era of ferocious industrial expansion
0:47:08 > 0:47:10and economic growth,
0:47:10 > 0:47:13when we thought little about poisoning ourselves
0:47:13 > 0:47:15and the environment,
0:47:15 > 0:47:20it gradually began to dawn that we had a responsibility to the land
0:47:20 > 0:47:22and the things that lived on it.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27The history of our landscape
0:47:27 > 0:47:31was about to enter a new and more enlightened phase
0:47:31 > 0:47:35and it's the events that have occurred in our lifetime,
0:47:35 > 0:47:37both man-made and natural,
0:47:37 > 0:47:40that have shaped the Britain we live in today.