0:00:27 > 0:00:29These days, it seems like everyone
0:00:29 > 0:00:32wants a part of the British countryside.
0:00:32 > 0:00:33Last year alone,
0:00:33 > 0:00:38there were nearly 1.5 billion visits to our natural landscape.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43For more and more of us, our countryside is a playground.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47A beautiful space, where we can satisfy our need for peace
0:00:47 > 0:00:48and relaxation.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Or our hunger for adventure.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53But as it gets more popular,
0:00:53 > 0:00:57are we in danger of ruining the natural world we love so much?
0:01:01 > 0:01:04With one in ten holidays in the UK now involving adventure sports,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08gone are the days when people only went to the countryside
0:01:08 > 0:01:10for a leisurely stroll.
0:01:10 > 0:01:16Now we cave, climb, or for the more adventurous amongst you,
0:01:16 > 0:01:18there are things like power kiting.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22And then something I'm trying for the first time today -
0:01:22 > 0:01:23gorge walking.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26So, you realise we're standing in snow-melt water at this point?
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Snow melt?
0:01:28 > 0:01:32- It's not a hot tub, then?- It's not the warmest water in the world.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36In the search for new ways to explore the countryside,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38thrill-seekers are now wading up rivers
0:01:38 > 0:01:43and challenging mountain streams to satisfy their thirst for adventure.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46OK, Tom. Whoo-hoo! There you go.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50But the sport has come under attack for its impact on delicate
0:01:50 > 0:01:52parts of the landscape.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56- I love it coming straight down the sleeve.- And out the bottom.
0:01:56 > 0:01:57Yeah.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02I'm joining Nottinghamshire County Council worker Phil Baker
0:02:02 > 0:02:05at Hagg Farm Outdoor Education Centre
0:02:05 > 0:02:07to find out what the issues are.
0:02:07 > 0:02:08- Oh!- Very good.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Clearly, in an area like this, there's things like bank-side erosion,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14there's where you get in, where you get out, footpath erosion.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19There's very vulnerable ferns and bushes around that you can see.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21But this here is one of the side cloughs
0:02:21 > 0:02:25that we deliberately instruct groups not to go up.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Because it's a small, narrow kind of cascade,
0:02:28 > 0:02:32- there's lots of sensitive things around you could easily tear off? - Yeah, yeah.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35And you can see where the moss is very close to the stream.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38If you climbed up there, you'd just wear that away straightaway.
0:02:38 > 0:02:39And there's kind of no need.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43- Then there's noise, of course, and disturbing nesting birds.- Right.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Does that mean there are certain times of year
0:02:45 > 0:02:47- when you avoid it, or...? - Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Basically, we work very hard with the National Trust
0:02:49 > 0:02:51to set up some operation procedures.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54That means we only do it on a seasonal basis,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57um...that we have restricted numbers, restricted use.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00There's a bunch of control measures in place the Trust are happy with.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Let's give it a go!
0:03:04 > 0:03:06You only live once!
0:03:08 > 0:03:12- Whoo-hoo! Well done! - That is bracing! Hoo!
0:03:12 > 0:03:17Well, it's not just gorge walking that makes a few people uneasy,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20there are loads of new adventure sports, fads, if you like.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24And many people have concerns about those, too. Whoo!
0:03:24 > 0:03:28There have been complaints about the new craze of coasteering -
0:03:28 > 0:03:29a combination of swimming,
0:03:29 > 0:03:34climbing and diving around our coastline, causing rock falls.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Some fell runners have upset farmers by leaving gates open
0:03:37 > 0:03:39and disrupting livestock.
0:03:39 > 0:03:45Even something apparently as benign as flying a kite can be damaging.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48The shadow can disturb ground-nesting birds
0:03:48 > 0:03:50and there's a risk of me trampling on them.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Most of these activities are fairly niche, though.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59But there's another extreme sport that attracts thousands of us
0:03:59 > 0:04:01into the countryside each week.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05It feels a bit perilous, so nice and tight, please.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Climbing is on the up.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10In the last 20 years, the British Mountaineering Council
0:04:10 > 0:04:14has seen its membership triple, from 25,000 to 75,000.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Ooh, it's slippery.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21The sport, pioneered in the 19th century,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24was once only the pastime of the upper classes.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26Now it has mass appeal
0:04:26 > 0:04:29and people are flocking to the crags in their thousands,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33as local climbing instructor Ed Chard knows only too well.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38- Well done.- So, you've been climbing around here for a few years.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41What changes have you seen in that time?
0:04:41 > 0:04:43Well, the increase of climbers.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47You know, the sport is radically changing over the last few years.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49More and more people are coming to areas like this
0:04:49 > 0:04:51and it's just very, very accessible.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54And I think people are recognising the value of climbing,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56that they can come and they can have excitement
0:04:56 > 0:04:58on the sort of short edges, like this,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01but be in this fantastic environment, as well.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03What about birds nesting in the cliffs?
0:05:03 > 0:05:05- Do you have to be careful about them?- Absolutely.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07I think climbers are very, very aware
0:05:07 > 0:05:10to out environmental surroundings.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Ringed ouzels are the sort of mountain blackbird, if you like,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17and will nest on edges very much like this.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20So, you know, we'll get together and we'll say,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23"Let's stay away from that area, let's do that ourselves.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25"There's lots of other rock to climb,
0:05:25 > 0:05:26"let's let those birds fledge."
0:05:26 > 0:05:30And we'll share that information with RSPB
0:05:30 > 0:05:32and all those other folks, you know.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Of course, not everyone sticks to the rules, but
0:05:36 > 0:05:41if we act responsibly, the impact of these sports should be minimal.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Yet, as I'll be finding out later,
0:05:43 > 0:05:47there are more mainstream activities that can be cause for concern.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00I'm in north Cambridgeshire, in the village of Helpston.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04It's here that a man described as one of the poorest and most troubled
0:06:04 > 0:06:07of the great English romantic poets found inspiration.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12John Clare was born in 1793
0:06:12 > 0:06:15and spent most of his life in this cottage.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18He was a son of a humble labouring family.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20And though he had little education,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22he had no trouble in finding the words
0:06:22 > 0:06:25to write about the countryside that he loved.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Up this green woodland ride let's softly rove
0:06:30 > 0:06:35And list the nightingale, she dwells just here.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Hush! Let the wood-gate softly clap
0:06:38 > 0:06:41For fear the noise might drive her from her home of love.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48At one point, John Clare, who was known as the Peasant Poet,
0:06:48 > 0:06:49even outsold Keats.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57His family home is now dedicated to his life and his rich imagination.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01And I'm meeting the curator, David Dykes, to learn more.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05David, can you set the scene for me?
0:07:05 > 0:07:06Apart from John Clare,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09who else would have been living in this quite small cottage?
0:07:09 > 0:07:13We had six children, his wife, his sister, his mother and father.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17So you've got three generations of Clare family in this small cottage.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20And he was writing his poetry while all the mayhem was going on.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23That's why he'd walk out into the fields and write his poetry,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25where he got his inspiration.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27All nature has a feeling.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Woods, fields, brooks are life eternal.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36And in silence they speak happiness beyond the reach of books.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39And this humble boy from this little cottage
0:07:39 > 0:07:44- found himself in London as a literary star.- Absolutely.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47That's where he got the name, the Peasant Poet.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Because he didn't fit in there, nor did he fit in here.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52And when he came back here, fame came at a cost.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55People didn't believe he'd written the poems.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57They thought somebody else had written them for him.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01And this is a diary that he kept in 1825.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05And in it he records some of the people who came and looked at him
0:08:05 > 0:08:08and said, "Are you actually the person who wrote the poem?"
0:08:08 > 0:08:10And so he became almost like a sideshow.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13- So, he didn't cope well with celebrity?- Absolutely not, no.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15And nor did he make money out of it.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18He was always just a labourer who wrote poetry.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21It's as if there were two John Clares.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25One placed by the literary elite alongside Wordsworth and Byron,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27and the other scraping a living
0:08:27 > 0:08:30alongside his illiterate fellow farm workers.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34One of his modern local admirers is Penny Stevens.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Penny, with what is it that makes Clare's poetry
0:08:36 > 0:08:38so special to you today?
0:08:38 > 0:08:41It's because he looked at the world around him
0:08:41 > 0:08:43all the time, every bit of nature, every hour of the day,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47every animal, every species, all the insects and birds,
0:08:47 > 0:08:49and he described them so beautifully.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52In a way, then, he was one of the very first environmentalists.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56He was, and he wrote very personally and very, very beautifully.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00And in his poetry, he used an awful lot of local dialect, didn't he?
0:09:00 > 0:09:01Yes, he did. My favourite
0:09:01 > 0:09:04is the word he uses for the long-tailed tit, the little birds.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06And he calls them bumbarrels.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08THEY LAUGH
0:09:08 > 0:09:12And for the haw round fields and closen rove
0:09:12 > 0:09:15And coy bumbarrels twenty in a drove
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Flit down the hedgerows in the frozen plain
0:09:18 > 0:09:21And hang on little twigs and start again.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Clare loved the woods and the flatlands.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28They represented freedom.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31But that joy was to be short-lived because the common land,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35the open fields where his family had toiled for centuries,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37was taken away from them.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40During the 19th century, right across the country,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Enclosure Acts, approved by Parliament,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46put much of that land into private hands.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50This denied Clare the right to explore the countryside
0:09:50 > 0:09:53that defined his writing.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56He had long struggled with his mental health
0:09:56 > 0:10:01and, in his early 40s, was sectioned and sent to an asylum in Essex.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05He continued to write poetry, but after a few years, absconded,
0:10:05 > 0:10:10walking for four days back to his beloved village of Helpston.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14A few steps from his cottage, perhaps a little too close,
0:10:14 > 0:10:15there's the Bluebell Inn.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17And, what with his love of ale
0:10:17 > 0:10:20and his increasingly-fragile mental state,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24things started to go downhill for John Clare.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26To cope with his black moods,
0:10:26 > 0:10:30he spent a bit too much time in the pub, drinking and playing
0:10:30 > 0:10:33folk songs that he'd picked up from gypsies who lived in the woods.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35JAUNTY TUNE
0:10:37 > 0:10:40He was admitted again to an asylum and, eventually,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42the words stopped flowing.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Someone wrote to him at the asylum, saying, "Why no more poems?"
0:10:47 > 0:10:53He writes, "Dear sir, I am in a madhouse. I quite forget your name.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56"You must excuse me for I have nothing to communicate,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58"I have nothing to say."
0:10:58 > 0:11:03A tragic end for a man who'd found so many wonderful words to say.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10Our appetite for adventure sports seems insatiable.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Adrenaline junkies flock from far and wide
0:11:13 > 0:11:17to bag the perfect crag and shred the toughest trail.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21But as the countryside gets more popular
0:11:21 > 0:11:23and we get more adventurous,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26questions are being asked about the impact on our natural world.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Nearly one in four of British households now own a mountain bike.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34And the sport has never been so popular.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38But not everyone I've met in the Peak District is happy about it.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41If it got much busier with the bikes, it would be tricky.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45Especially in the very popular weekend tourist areas.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50It's great that mountain bikers use the countryside
0:11:50 > 0:11:54and use paths like this, but I do think that they have to be
0:11:54 > 0:11:59more aware of people walking, and with their animals, especially.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01It's clear there's some concern about the increasing
0:12:01 > 0:12:04number of mountain bikers in our countryside,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08but are they as bad for the paths and landscape as some people think?
0:12:08 > 0:12:10So, why is it you like it so much?
0:12:10 > 0:12:13It's the places it takes you to, Tom!
0:12:15 > 0:12:18John Horscroft is a local mountain biker
0:12:18 > 0:12:20here in the Peak District.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23He's all too aware of the bad press.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28What do you think most people out here think about mountain bikers?
0:12:28 > 0:12:30The culture, perhaps it's built up over the years,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33that mountain bikers are just adrenaline junkies
0:12:33 > 0:12:35with their brains switched off when they're riding through
0:12:35 > 0:12:39a majestic landscape like this, is just wrong.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43I'd like to think we were beginning to be viewed as much
0:12:43 > 0:12:46a part of the country scene as everyone is, but, yeah,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50inevitably, there is some friction between different user groups.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Certainly here at Wimbleholm Hill, mountain bikers have joined forces
0:12:54 > 0:12:57with other users to fix paths and maintain the landscape.
0:13:01 > 0:13:02According to John,
0:13:02 > 0:13:06mountain biking is far less destructive than many people think.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10It's now widely suggested that something rather pedestrian
0:13:10 > 0:13:12is actually causing more damage.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17The Peak District National Park
0:13:17 > 0:13:20is smack-bang in the centre of England,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23and it's home to the start of the Pennine Way.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25It's visited by 10 million people each year.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27The majority come to walk.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29One of the people who deals with this
0:13:29 > 0:13:32is the National Trust Countryside manager, Simon Wright.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38So, which activity causes more damage - mountain biking or walking?
0:13:38 > 0:13:40In terms of overall numbers, walking.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42But it's a different sort of damage you get from a bike
0:13:42 > 0:13:46and we're increasingly seeing more damage on bridleways
0:13:46 > 0:13:48and off bridleways, as well, from bikes.
0:13:48 > 0:13:49But the bulk of our work so far
0:13:49 > 0:13:52has gone into alleviating the pressure from walking.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Just because that many footfalls are, you know,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57you can even see it here, cause erosion.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01It's just pressure on very, very vulnerable soils in some cases.
0:14:01 > 0:14:02Because a lot of our ground is peat.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07And it's just sheer numbers in quite often a tightly-controlled area.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09They walk the same routes all the time.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Nobody wants to walk on long heather if they can walk on short grass.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Overall, what is your attitude to people
0:14:15 > 0:14:17having an appetite to get out here?
0:14:17 > 0:14:19It's something we would actively encourage.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21We want people to come out, enjoy our countryside.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24That's one reason why the Trust have been given land,
0:14:24 > 0:14:25to look after it for the nation.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28So maybe it's not what we're doing in the countryside
0:14:28 > 0:14:32that threatens its future, but the sheer volume of us who are using it.
0:14:32 > 0:14:38Some come to our natural world for nerve-jangling thrills,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42others for calm and communion with nature.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46Both are legitimate and, if done sensitively and responsibly,
0:14:46 > 0:14:50this landscape will be preserved for us all to enjoy.