0:00:32 > 0:00:34A coastline rugged and rich,
0:00:34 > 0:00:39wrapped around the country in a ribbon 11,000 miles long.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45Inside, an ornate tapestry of forests and fields
0:00:45 > 0:00:48tying together steep climbs and vast plains.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52And covering it all, weather as dramatic
0:00:52 > 0:00:55as the scenery it falls upon.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59This is the landscape of Britain.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02A vibrant backdrop to all our lives.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05And one that's inspired generations of artists
0:01:05 > 0:01:08to produce literature, music and art
0:01:08 > 0:01:10that's celebrated around the world.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14So as the year draws to a close,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17we're looking back to past programmes.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Celebrating the creativity our countryside has inspired.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Julia's in the Lake District, discovering the hidden talents
0:01:28 > 0:01:31of one of our favourite children's authors.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35While here, she got to indulge one of her greatest passions.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39No, not rabbits, not Puddle-Ducks. Mushrooms.
0:01:39 > 0:01:40Helen meets a woman who is being
0:01:40 > 0:01:43carved out of the landscape in Northumberland.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47- If that's the nose...- We're just here, just next to the wrist.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50- So, is this the hand behind us? - That's the hand, yeah.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54And Matt visits the rural town that created movie-making history.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Shall we put it on?
0:01:58 > 0:02:01I don't know how...I'll clap me hands and see what happens.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03Oh! Oh, it's started!
0:02:03 > 0:02:07As for me, I'll be exploring the land here around Haworth,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10discovering how it shaped the literary brilliance of the Brontes
0:02:10 > 0:02:14and how it still provides a source of inspiration to artists today.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Moorland, barren yet beautiful,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30with windswept wonders waiting around every corner.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34These vistas are framed by the brickwork of timeless towns.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Their cobbled streets transporting visitors back to another age.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Haworth in West Yorkshire and the moors that surround it
0:02:43 > 0:02:45are a place of real character.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51But perhaps the most outstanding character,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53or characters of the area,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55walked these very streets over 150 years ago
0:02:55 > 0:02:58because this was the home of the Brontes,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02three clergyman's daughters who changed the literary world for ever.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05And it all started right here.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10The Bronte parsonage is now a museum.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14A chance to peer into the lives of these three industrious sisters.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Anne, was this where most of the writing happened?
0:03:18 > 0:03:20Yes, that's right.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Every evening at nine o'clock, their father would knock on the door
0:03:23 > 0:03:25and tell the girls not to stay up too late.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Then he would go to bed and that's when the sisters
0:03:28 > 0:03:30would discuss their writing projects.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34And they would walk around the table, reading aloud from their work.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38And then, when Emily died, it was just Charlotte and Anne
0:03:38 > 0:03:40walking around the table every evening.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44After Anne died, it was Charlotte alone who'd walk around the table.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46It was like a nightly ritual.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48That's a very sad image of her by herself,
0:03:48 > 0:03:50- after being with her sisters. - It is.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53And so, were they quite critical of each other's work,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55or helpful with each other's work?
0:03:55 > 0:03:58They all kind of sparked off each other.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01They were quite critical of each other's work,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05but when they were younger, they used to pinch characters from each other.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09They had kind of like a shared pool of ideas
0:04:09 > 0:04:11and themes for their stories.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14How much did the outdoors influence their work?
0:04:14 > 0:04:15A great deal.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Living right on the edge of the moors, they would walk.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22They spent a lot of their time out walking on the moors.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Particularly Wuthering Heights.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29The moors, the landscape, it's almost like another character in the book.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Inspired by the lives and landscapes that they saw around them,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36the Bronte's books have sold millions of copies
0:04:36 > 0:04:40and been translated into more than 25 different languages.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43But when they were first published, they were provocative,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45as well as popular.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Wuthering Heights was considered
0:04:47 > 0:04:50to be extremely shocking and controversial.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Readers were advised to burn Wuthering Heights.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Young women were advised not to read the Brontes.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01How did they react to the general public's reaction to their work?
0:05:01 > 0:05:03I think amazement, really.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06I don't really think they understood a lot of the criticisms
0:05:06 > 0:05:09which were levelled at their novels.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12The sisters' work pushed at the boundaries,
0:05:12 > 0:05:18both of what was acceptable of women and of writing of the time.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21More than 150 years after their deaths,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25the Bronte legacy is still very much a living, breathing one.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30And it's not just the lives of the ladies themselves
0:05:30 > 0:05:31that have inspired others.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37I'm heading out into the hills
0:05:37 > 0:05:40where the landscape that influenced much of their work
0:05:40 > 0:05:43is still inspiring creativity in others today.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45And earlier in the year, Julia discovered
0:05:45 > 0:05:49that exploring the countryside can throw up some surprises,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52even about one of our greatest-loved children's authors.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03It's been 110 years since the first edition of Beatrix Potter's
0:06:03 > 0:06:05Tale of Peter Rabbit hit our bookshelves.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08To mark this anniversary, I'm in the Lake District,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10which set the scene for her stories.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Immortalising this landscape
0:06:12 > 0:06:15for generations of children around the world.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19This is where Beatrix Potter got her first taste of the area.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23A Victorian folly on the shores of Lake Windermere.
0:06:23 > 0:06:24Wray Castle.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Her wealthy parents rented this castle
0:06:28 > 0:06:30as a holiday home when she was 16.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32It's not exactly your average B&B.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36No wonder she fell in love with the place.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42While she was here, she indulged one of her greatest passions.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45No, not rabbits, not Puddle-Ducks. Mushrooms.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Beatrix Potter was, in fact, an amateur mycologist.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53That's an expert in fungi to you and me.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Before painting Peter Rabbit,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59she painted mushrooms here at Wray Castle.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02So I'm going to strike out in her footsteps
0:07:02 > 0:07:05with amateur mycologist John Malley.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Fungi thrive on unimproved pasture like this.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14Look at the size of the trees. They're really big and old. Look at the grass.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17It's a real sort of mixture with different sward heights.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21So that's the sort of stuff I'd be expecting to sort of see,
0:07:21 > 0:07:22certainly wax cap.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- Oh, look!- Here we go. - Here we go. That's a wax cap.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27I know you're an enthusiast,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30but there are hundreds and thousands of species of mushrooms.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33How do you know that's what you think it is?
0:07:33 > 0:07:35The thing I use are things like these.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37So, even the experts revert to the books?
0:07:37 > 0:07:39That's right. This is a fairly old-ish one.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42- There's a name I'm interested in. - That's right.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45- Her drawings are in identification books like this?- They are.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48And we can see here, which is Hygrophorus,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50that's what we've got here.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54- That's her drawing?- Yes. - How fantastic!
0:07:54 > 0:07:57I wouldn't be 100% happy that those two are the same.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Shall we have a closer look? Let's have a closer look.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02So the first things I'm looking for
0:08:02 > 0:08:05are how are these gills attached to the stem.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10You can actually see how wet or slimy it actually is.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13I don't tend to nibble or eat any of these.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Which you shouldn't do because there are a lot of poisonous mushrooms.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20- There certainly are. - You are a man in love with fungi.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23What is it about mushrooms? What is it with you and Beatrix?
0:08:23 > 0:08:26These are hidden gems. They come up once a year.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28They're a bit like orchids, in a way.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30I like these far better than flowers.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33I thought you were going to say more than humans for a moment!
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Beatrix Potter was no novice.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Her illustrations weren't the idle doodles of a young girl.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Hidden in the basement of this nearby museum
0:08:44 > 0:08:47are more than 400 scientific watercolours
0:08:47 > 0:08:49of fungi painted by Beatrix.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51I'm getting a sneak peek.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Wray Castle. On a rubbish heap.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58That's just where I've been. Not a rubbish heap, but Wray Castle.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01So obviously, that's where Beatrix saw this.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04She did indeed. She was staying there during the summer of 1895.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08They look...I mean, I'm not an expert, so to the naked eye,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10these look like very beautiful drawings.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13- But they're beyond that, aren't they?- They are.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Um...her guiding principle was scientific accuracy.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21So they're both scientifically very, very accurate.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24But they're also aesthetically very beautiful.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28Ultimately, she wanted to be taken seriously as a scientist.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31And she produced a paper
0:09:31 > 0:09:36on the germination of the spores of a particular type of fungi.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40It was presented to the Linnean Society.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43She couldn't read it as she was a woman.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48And it was met with, I think you could say, sort of polite respect,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51but she was really told to take it away
0:09:51 > 0:09:53and go and do a little more work, basically.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Because she was a woman, not because there was anything wrong with the paper.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59Absolutely. Absolutely.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03If she'd been born 50 years later, she would have been an academic.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Slighted by the scientific community,
0:10:06 > 0:10:11Beatrix Potter had no choice but to turn her hand to something else.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13We all know what happens next.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Beatrix became a world-famous author
0:10:16 > 0:10:20and captured our hearts with stories of Peter Rabbit and his mates.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24She earned vast sums of cash and cash equals power.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28Miss Potter was a lady keen to put that power to good use.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33In the early 1900s, times in the Lakes were a-changing.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Tourism and developers were moving in.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40And farmers were moving out.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44But if farming died, the landscape would die with it.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47So she used her hard-earned cash to buy up local farms
0:10:47 > 0:10:50and rent them to tenant farmers.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54She married a local man and even had a go herself.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Meet the now married Mrs Heelis.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00An award-winning sheep farmer.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Highly unusual for a lady of standing.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06She's the good-looking one in the bonnet.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10When Beatrix died, she donated her 15 farms to the National Trust
0:11:10 > 0:11:13to ensure the way of life and landscape she so loved
0:11:13 > 0:11:15would be protected.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17And it worked.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Three months ago, the Mallett family took over as tenants
0:11:20 > 0:11:22of one of her former farms.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25So a proper family business, David. Kids involved, as well.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27She's a good wrangler, Charlotte, isn't she?
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Yeah, they love working on the farm.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33This time last year, things were not looking good for you in this area.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37No. We set off farming 20 years ago and we had short-term lets.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Unfortunately, we lost part of that
0:11:39 > 0:11:41and we didn't know where we were going to be, really.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44We didn't know whether we'd be still in the area farming,
0:11:44 > 0:11:48giving up farming or moving out of the area and farming somewhere else.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51- So it could have been a complete life change for you.- Yeah.
0:11:51 > 0:11:52What happened with this place?
0:11:52 > 0:11:55We applied for it and on the viewing day,
0:11:55 > 0:11:5760-odd lots looked around the farm.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59And we were fortunate enough to get it in the end.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03It was important to us because our children go to school in the village.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05It was where I was brought up and, you know,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07for me to teach them how I was taught
0:12:07 > 0:12:10on the ways of farming in this area, really.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13I bet you didn't think you'd have to thank Beatrix Potter.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15No. It'll be the National Trust.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17The farms they let is a lifeline for people like myself
0:12:17 > 0:12:20that need to farm in the area, really.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22- All thanks to Peter Rabbit. - Yeah. Yeah.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Just as Beatrix Potter found her voice
0:12:30 > 0:12:34in the mountainous beauty of the Lake District,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36here in the hills above Haworth,
0:12:36 > 0:12:40the mysterious moors fired the imagination of the Bronte sisters.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45With every step you take, you feel like you're walking through
0:12:45 > 0:12:47the pages of one of the Bronte novels
0:12:47 > 0:12:50with the words of the sisters ringing through your ears.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55"It struck me directly she must have started for Penistone Crags.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59"I walked as if for a wager, mile after mile,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02"till a turn brought me in view of the Heights.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06"But no Catherine could I detect, far or near."
0:13:06 > 0:13:10But these moors haven't just brought us great literature.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13I'm off to meet a man in the middle of the moor.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Not the roguish Heathcliff,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18but a rather more gentile Arthur Butterworth,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21a man for whom the look of this place is only half the story.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Arthur's a composer
0:13:26 > 0:13:29who has written more than 100 pieces of classical music
0:13:29 > 0:13:32in a career lasting more than 70 years.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36He's been inspired by many places,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39but believes there's something unique about these moors
0:13:39 > 0:13:40and the sound they create.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43So I've persuaded him to bring along his trusty trumpet
0:13:43 > 0:13:45to show me what he means.
0:13:46 > 0:13:52So, Arthur, what is it in particular about this landscape that you love?
0:13:52 > 0:13:57There's something... How shall I say? Inscrutable about this.
0:13:57 > 0:14:04It's as if there were some strange spirit
0:14:04 > 0:14:06contained in these moors
0:14:06 > 0:14:09that one is conscious of the history of it,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13- and particularly here, about Emily Bronte.- Yes.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Because her fascination with the wind
0:14:16 > 0:14:18and the loneliness of it all
0:14:18 > 0:14:21and there's something about the spirit of the moors,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24as there is about any landscape.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30The moors above Haworth proved such an inspiration to Arthur
0:14:30 > 0:14:33that in the mid-1960s, he created A Dales Suite,
0:14:33 > 0:14:37his first major work for a brass band.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Arthur, it's clearly beautiful and very inspirational up here,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44but how do you interpret what you see and translate it into music?
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Well, very roughly speaking,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50it's a matter of the shape of the landscape,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54the tranquillity of it or the violence of it, whatever.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59It somehow suggests through some strange alchemy of the mind
0:14:59 > 0:15:01that what you see with your eye
0:15:01 > 0:15:05is somehow translated into sounds.
0:15:05 > 0:15:11It then turns into melodies and not only melodies but into other sounds -
0:15:11 > 0:15:14harmonies, so that they're either beautiful harmonies
0:15:14 > 0:15:20or they are dark or they are light, according to what the landscape is.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23So as the landscape changes, as the day changes,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26so the sound in one's mind changes.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29When you see this beautiful landscape today, the lovely blue
0:15:29 > 0:15:32sky, but the cold, what sort of thing can you hear?
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Oh, this is a bracing kind of atmosphere, obviously,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39as we feel now, so it comes out as a bracing, exhilarating tune.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Are you able to play anything here now?
0:15:42 > 0:15:44I'll show you briefly what I mean.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48You understand that I'm no longer a trumpeter at my age, but this
0:15:48 > 0:15:53is the kind of thing, A Dale Suite began with a trumpet doing this.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57PLAYS TRUMPET
0:15:57 > 0:16:02It didn't quite reach the top of the hill, which would have been...
0:16:02 > 0:16:05PLAYS HIGHER TOP NOTE
0:16:05 > 0:16:09- It's sort of the minor note, rather than the major note.- That's right.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12It's struggling up to the top of the hill,
0:16:12 > 0:16:14as we were to see the sun rising.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18PLAYS TRUMPET
0:16:18 > 0:16:21It would have reached a kind of top.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Now don't take my trumpet playing as Gospel now. God knows!
0:16:25 > 0:16:27It's years since I played the trumpet.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29- But that is your music, isn't it?- Oh, yes.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32This is the beginning of A Dale Suite where the trumpet
0:16:32 > 0:16:34begins the tune.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37And then the whole thing expands into...as we are now,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40a bright sunny day.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43'Just as the Brontes captured the bleak beauty of
0:16:43 > 0:16:47'the moors in their novels, Arthur has taken this lonely landscape
0:16:47 > 0:16:51'and transformed it into a musical experience, creating a sound
0:16:51 > 0:16:55'that Heathcliff himself would have recognised as home.'
0:17:07 > 0:17:11The British landscape isn't just a source of inspiration for
0:17:11 > 0:17:15authors, artists or musicians like Arthur.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Back in April, Helen Skelton discovered how the countryside
0:17:18 > 0:17:21itself is being turned into a work of art.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30The rugged north east. It's no stranger to dramatic landmarks.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37This region is defined by vast manmade projects.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Hadrian's Wall, the Angel of the North,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43and there's soon to be another.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47I'm on a construction site just north of Newcastle.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49I'm here for a preview of a new landmark
0:17:49 > 0:17:53and it's just on the other side of these trees.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01You move through a wood, which is very dark and very calm,
0:18:01 > 0:18:05very silent, and as you walk forward,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09slowly you begin to see that there's a face at the end of the walk.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21It's the brainchild of internationally renowned
0:18:21 > 0:18:24landscape artist Charles Jencks.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27If you ask me what the art of landforming is, I have to say,
0:18:27 > 0:18:33it's to do with the sun hitting the side of these pathways, creating
0:18:33 > 0:18:37wonderful shadows and then all of a sudden, the landform comes to life.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39You really feel it in your stomach.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Northumberlandia, as she's been called,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52is the world's largest human landform.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54It's a piece of art and a playground.
0:18:56 > 0:19:01You probably can't tell from here, but she is definitely she.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Because I'm currently standing on her right boob.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18And then finally, you head for the forehead itself.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23From there, you get a full view of her face, the goal of the walk,
0:19:23 > 0:19:27and the rest of her body, all the way to her feet.
0:19:29 > 0:19:35And at this point, you get a 360 degree panorama of the whole
0:19:35 > 0:19:38landscape, north, south, east, west, the cardinal points,
0:19:38 > 0:19:43looking straight up, the cosmos, and the connection to the Earth.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50But when you're up here, there's another quite different view.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01'Coal. It's been mined in this area for 800 years.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05'And it's all because of this surface mine that Northumberlandia is here.'
0:20:05 > 0:20:09This place is unbelievable! What is it even made of?
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Well, Northumberlandia's been made from the material
0:20:12 > 0:20:14from the Shotton Surface Mine.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17It's a core of rock, then covered by a layer of clay,
0:20:17 > 0:20:19and then a layer of soil over the top.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21- So everything's come out of the mine. - Yes.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24All of the core materials come out of the mine.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26And what made you think, we're going to turn all of that
0:20:26 > 0:20:30material into an undeniably voluptuous woman?
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Well, the Banks Group and the Blagdon Estate,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35who are the landowners that Northumberlandia sits on,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38wanted to do something that was really going to be
0:20:38 > 0:20:40iconic for the north east and attract tourists.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42So we worked with Charles Jencks
0:20:42 > 0:20:46and he's come up with what we see today.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49But how to turn an artist's vision into a practical reality?
0:20:49 > 0:20:53Well, that job fell to landscape architect Mark Simmons.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Mark, I'm guessing you're not laying out your dinner.
0:20:56 > 0:21:02- What have we got here?- Well, I've got the computer model.- My word!
0:21:02 > 0:21:04- She's amazing!- Fantastic.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Looking at it like this, you can really appreciate that it is art.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10You can see the whole thing.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14- So where are we? That's the nose. We must be.- We're just here.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18- Just next to the wrist.- So is this the hand behind us?- That's the hand.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22- The paths almost make veins and make her more alive.- That's it.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26They're developed as an intrinsic part of the landform itself,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29so they step up, they create the steps,
0:21:29 > 0:21:34and bring the body actually out of the surrounding landscape.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I really like the idea of a figurative model
0:21:37 > 0:21:40because the scale of it, it wouldn't be figurative the whole of the time.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43It becomes abstract when you're actually walking on it.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47- You don't know what you're walking on when you're up there.- Absolutely.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50It's just a series of different interlocking curves and shapes
0:21:50 > 0:21:53that change as you move round it and the light moves over it,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55which is just fantastic.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57And then when you move back, it just all clicks into place.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59When you build a sandcastle,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02it almost feels impossible to keep the turrets upright.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06How do you know that you're going to be able to build a nose
0:22:06 > 0:22:09- and make it stay that pointy? - Well, on the actual face itself,
0:22:09 > 0:22:14we've used a reinforcing material called a geogrid, which is
0:22:14 > 0:22:19a plastic mesh and then the material is pushed in behind that and that's
0:22:19 > 0:22:22pulled over through the structure and that holds it all in place.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25So we've been able to get the much steeper
0:22:25 > 0:22:27slopes on the side of the face.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33'Wet winters aren't the time for delicate finishing work,
0:22:33 > 0:22:36'so for the last few months, the site has been silent.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40'But Mark's letting me leave my mark on the palm of her left hand.'
0:22:40 > 0:22:45Mark, I'm hoping you've had something bigger than these to do the hips
0:22:45 > 0:22:47- and the head. - Yes. Just slightly!
0:22:50 > 0:22:51'Her right hand points.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55'And like everything in Jencks's work, it's laden with meaning.'
0:22:55 > 0:23:00When you point at something, it says, "Look there! Go there!
0:23:00 > 0:23:03"What is that?" It has a command meaning.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08And I wanted the pointed finger to be used in that way,
0:23:08 > 0:23:13to suggest there's a point to the whole walk.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17The other hand is opened and that's a great sign of peace
0:23:17 > 0:23:20and welcome and giving and receiving.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Like many of our most infamous artworks,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Northumberlandia has caused plenty of discussion.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Some people have affectionately nicknamed her Slag Alice,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36others have been asking - when are they going to build Northumbermandia?
0:23:36 > 0:23:39But what about the people living on her doorstep?
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Well, there's no-one more local than the Philipson family,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45whose farmhouse sits in the middle of the mining area.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49How will they feel when Northumberlandia opens this year?
0:23:49 > 0:23:52- Fabulous.- Really excited. Yeah.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Hopefully great for the local community.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Great views and it's just an amazing sculpture.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01We can't wait to actually have a walk on it.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04- That's right, I had a sneaky preview! - Yeah! I know!
0:24:04 > 0:24:07'And I'm about to get another.'
0:24:07 > 0:24:10I'm embarrassed to admit this is my lift.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12This is so showbiz!
0:24:24 > 0:24:26She's unbelievable!
0:24:26 > 0:24:31I don't know how they've got it that defined and that immaculate.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34'All landforms gain by movement.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36'Seeing things in relationship to each other,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39'you will get that dynamic quality.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43'It's so exciting because the drama unfolds. Movement is key.'
0:24:43 > 0:24:47One thing it definitely is is impressive.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53'The sun comes out, it sings, it's just beautiful. It's surprising.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55'It surprises me.'
0:25:00 > 0:25:04Northumberlandia was finished just a few months after Helen's visit.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Since then, tens of thousands of visitors have come to explore
0:25:08 > 0:25:11the north of England's newest icon.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Like so much of our countryside, the more you take time to
0:25:15 > 0:25:20absorb your surroundings, the more they reveal themselves to you.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23That's the lesson I learned some months ago when I got to
0:25:23 > 0:25:27spend the day with our greatest living artist, David Hockney.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39Winter has stripped the east Yorkshire landscape bare.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43The trees are stark, the hedgerows without colour.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47The fields lie dormant under a thin sun.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54The Wolds in winter has a paired down beauty, muted,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57quiet and understated, but how many of us
0:25:57 > 0:26:01really notice as we whizz by on our way to somewhere else?
0:26:03 > 0:26:09If we just slowed down a bit, took time to look around,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12would we see the land we live in differently?
0:26:13 > 0:26:16One man really thinks so.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21And he's David Hockney, our greatest living artist.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25He's based in LA but has a home in east Yorkshire.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28It's here he's found renewed inspiration, in its fields
0:26:28 > 0:26:30and trees.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34It's very, very lovely, subtle landscape here.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38Not too many people, very quiet roads that you can work on.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43It's turned out to be a perfect place actually for me,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45the last few years.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48I come from west Yorkshire, west Yorkshire, Wharfedale,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52everybody knows it's rather beautiful and so on.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56But, you know, people who just drive from west Yorkshire
0:26:56 > 0:26:59into Bridlington just think, "Well, there's one big hill,
0:26:59 > 0:27:03"Garrowby Hill, and then it's just little hills, just looks like
0:27:03 > 0:27:08"a load of fields," and nobody really looks at it, I don't think.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13But if you know how to look, the landscape is alive with colour.
0:27:13 > 0:27:18In David's eyes, trees can be purple, fields sometimes blue,
0:27:18 > 0:27:20stone is often red.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23The same subject never looks the same way twice.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27He's painted the tree he calls the Totem many, many times.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32Right now, you're seeing it in really reds and greens, in a way.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36- Yes.- On a different day, you might see it differently,
0:27:36 > 0:27:41but right now the dominant colours are red and green, essentially.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45OK, the red's brown, orange, isn't brown.
0:27:45 > 0:27:51If it had been raining very heavily, you'd get like you see there.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56- That side of the tree goes dark. The rain will make it dark.- Yes.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59And I usually then wait and come out immediately then
0:27:59 > 0:28:01because then you get...
0:28:01 > 0:28:07It's the only time the trees' trunks are very dark, when it's rained.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11'David's able to respond quickly to changing conditions by using
0:28:11 > 0:28:14'the very latest in high-tech gadgets.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18'Out goes the sketch book, in comes the iPad.'
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Some people might be quite surprised to see technology
0:28:21 > 0:28:24rather than paintbrushes.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27- Paintbrushes are technology. - I suppose so, yeah.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30A pencil is technology, isn't it?
0:28:30 > 0:28:35For me, on this road, the great advantage was you can quickly
0:28:35 > 0:28:40establish a range of colour faster than any medium I've come across.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43There's no mixing, it's just all there in front of you.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48- Yeah, because you're doing it all here.- Yes.- With one instrument.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51- I don't have to change it.- Yeah.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54So it's an absolutely new medium really.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58'And the results are terrific.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08'All these pictures of east Yorkshire were made using the iPad.'
0:29:12 > 0:29:15You've painted this structure quite a few times. Why so many times?
0:29:15 > 0:29:18Is it all about getting it in these different lights?
0:29:18 > 0:29:23Well, because once you've done it once in January, I then realised,
0:29:23 > 0:29:29well, I'll keep doing it every few days, for a while.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31Right now, it's very winter.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36- It sure is.- We're getting the reflections in the puddles as well.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40It's very nice in the rain because of course the road gets shiny,
0:29:40 > 0:29:42it's lighter than the sky.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44At the moment, the light is right at the end, isn't it?
0:29:44 > 0:29:48I don't think I'd have seen that, had you not pointed it out to me.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51It just looks drab. You're right, there's lots of light to be had.
0:29:51 > 0:29:52It's like...
0:29:52 > 0:29:56People don't look hard enough often, but I used to ask friends
0:29:56 > 0:30:02if I drove along here, I'd say to them, "What colour is the road?"
0:30:03 > 0:30:07One friend just didn't say anything for a while
0:30:07 > 0:30:12and then I asked him again and he said, "I see what you mean, David,
0:30:12 > 0:30:15'if you don't ask the question, you don't even bother.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19'But if you ask a question and you look rather hard,
0:30:19 > 0:30:21'well, it's violet, it's blue,
0:30:21 > 0:30:25'it's all kind of things but you need to ask the question first.'
0:30:25 > 0:30:30That's what Monet would have done, that's what anybody would have done and that's what I do.
0:30:30 > 0:30:35Seeing all the colours that you can see in the landscape has made me seem very garish.
0:30:35 > 0:30:40- I must be very offensive to your eyes in this top. - You are fluorescent.
0:30:40 > 0:30:47David Hockney has been blazing a trail through the arts world since the 1960s.
0:30:47 > 0:30:53He's internationally famous and was recently voted our most influential artist ever.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58A new show at London's Royal Academy looks set to cement that reputation.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Back at David's studio, I'm getting a sneak preview.
0:31:01 > 0:31:07- So this is a miniature version of the Royal Academy, is it? - Yes, we make the models
0:31:07 > 0:31:12so we know how to calculate where everything will fit and go.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Featuring prominently will be the computer drawings of Yorkshire,
0:31:16 > 0:31:19printed up large size.
0:31:21 > 0:31:28The effect of seeing them all together in one place is stunning.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33- This is where we were this morning. - Oh, yeah. Big puddles.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37That's where we were as well with the totem.
0:31:37 > 0:31:43- There's the totem again, again. Again.- Vivid colour. It's amazing.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46How important are the seasons and the weather to you
0:31:46 > 0:31:49when you are going out deciding whether to paint or not?
0:31:49 > 0:31:55It is about every time we went on that road, it was different.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57This is England,
0:31:57 > 0:32:04the light will be different, weather, the foliage.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08It is just showing you the enormous amount of variety there is of it
0:32:08 > 0:32:10and as it changes throughout the year.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16Since I went to meet David at the end of last year, the tree trunk,
0:32:16 > 0:32:21or totem, which features in so many of these works, has been cut down.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24The stump that remains continues to inspire him.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29But for some people, an important piece of natural art history has been lost forever.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36Just spending a couple of hours in David Hockney's company was a masterclass
0:32:36 > 0:32:39in how, with the right eye and a touch of genius,
0:32:39 > 0:32:43everyday sights can be transformed into something extraordinary.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46But if a Hockney is a bit out of your price range,
0:32:46 > 0:32:51how about a Countryfile calendar to hang on your wall instead?
0:32:53 > 0:32:56The calendar features the 12 winning pictures
0:32:56 > 0:32:59from this year's Countryfile photographic competition
0:32:59 > 0:33:02picked from around 50,000 entries.
0:33:02 > 0:33:07With the New Year almost upon us, there's still time to get yours.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09Each calendar costs £9
0:33:09 > 0:33:14and a minimum of £4 from each sale goes to Children In Need.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17You can get yours by calling:
0:33:26 > 0:33:28Or you can go to our website:
0:33:36 > 0:33:39When Matt headed up to west Yorkshire,
0:33:39 > 0:33:44it was a more modern form of art that he was interested in.
0:33:44 > 0:33:49It may look like any other former mill town.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55But once upon a time, things were very different here.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59At the turn of the 20th century, this town was pioneering a new industry.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02It was in at the birth of the movie business.
0:34:02 > 0:34:0610 years before the Hollywood movie industry even started,
0:34:06 > 0:34:10black and white films were made here in Holmfirth.
0:34:10 > 0:34:15The Lumiere brothers had recently invented the movie camera in 1895.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19Victorian film pioneers across Britain began experimenting with it.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23But one man mastered the art better than most,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Holmfirth's James Bamforth.
0:34:26 > 0:34:31By 1902, Bamforth was one of the most famous film producers in the world
0:34:31 > 0:34:37with his work been enjoyed by audiences from Moscow to New York.
0:34:37 > 0:34:43So, what was it in his background that set him on the road to success?
0:34:43 > 0:34:47- These are beautiful, aren't they? - Absolutely fabulous, yes.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52- What exactly are they? - These are magic lantern slides.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54Right, which means?
0:34:54 > 0:34:59Magic lantern slides are just like slides that you have today with the projector.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01But these are from the late 19th century.
0:35:01 > 0:35:06They were made by Bamforth here in Holmfirth.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09These were the popular entertainment of their day.
0:35:09 > 0:35:15How did it all start and how did he end up in the movie industry from here?
0:35:15 > 0:35:21He began as a portrait photographer but he always had an eye for other ways to make money,
0:35:21 > 0:35:25other ways to use the equipment and the setup he already had.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29For the lantern slides, there would be sets, models.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32There would be a script going on,
0:35:32 > 0:35:37so when the film camera was invented, it was a very natural progression.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41Bamforth had a real genius for slapstick,
0:35:41 > 0:35:45he was at the cutting edge of whatever we make of it now.
0:35:45 > 0:35:51You could say he invented British comedy on screen.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54I'm told that Bamforth's movies worked best off-the-cuff,
0:35:54 > 0:36:00he got an idea, then he got neighbours as actors and got cracking in parks around town.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04If that is all there is to it, let's give it a go.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11Chris Squire is going to help me make a Bamforth-inspired film.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15- Now then, Chris. How you doing? - Hi. Good, thanks.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18You've taught the art of creating the classic Bamforth movie.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21We have, we went and looked at the archive footage
0:36:21 > 0:36:26and worked out there are a few components.
0:36:26 > 0:36:31- Which were?- Character-led comedies, simple situations,
0:36:31 > 0:36:35often men dressed as women and a fight.
0:36:35 > 0:36:40- What, a proper brawl at the finish? - Quite often. It was all novel and brand new.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44They were inventing the language of cinematography.
0:36:44 > 0:36:49OK, we've got our characters, got a story to tell and the scene is set.
0:36:49 > 0:36:50Let's make a movie.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54MUSIC
0:37:39 > 0:37:43- That was great fun, Chris. honestly. Brilliant.- A bit of slapstick fun really.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47That kind of thing is the inspiration for a lot of British comedy,
0:37:47 > 0:37:52- the Carry On films, Benny Hill, Monty Python. Still going on. - You can see why. Thanks again.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56Why settle for our second best when you can have the master?
0:37:56 > 0:38:00Julia is on her way over because I have set up a screening for a Bamforth one-minute wonder
0:38:00 > 0:38:03to appreciate Holmfirth's very own Mr Hollywood.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08- Can I have one of these sweets now? - Go on then.- You are not going to wrestle me for them?
0:38:08 > 0:38:11So, what became of Bamforth and his successful film business?
0:38:11 > 0:38:16In 1902, after just four years in the game, he turned his back on the movies
0:38:16 > 0:38:21to concentrate on postcards with a cheeky twist.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23They were hugely popular at the time
0:38:23 > 0:38:30and Holmfirth had to wait another 70 years for its comedy connection to be revived again
0:38:30 > 0:38:33with Last Of The Summer Wine.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35Who knows, if he had kept making films,
0:38:35 > 0:38:39maybe these hills would be as famous as those in LA.
0:38:39 > 0:38:44100 years ago, audiences would have flocked to the cinema to see Bamforth's masterpieces.
0:38:44 > 0:38:51I've invited some local people along to celebrate the moviemaking tradition of their hometown.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53But there's space for one more.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57- Late again! Where have you been? - I have been making you these very special treats.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01- Rhubarb and custard muffins, rhubarb scones.- Rhubarb?
0:39:01 > 0:39:05- We're at the cinema. Where's the popcorn, the ice cream? - You are so ungrateful.
0:39:05 > 0:39:10- What are we seeing? An action movie? - It is a classic, it's pretty funny as well and to be honest,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13it's not exactly the Titanic, it doesn't last for ever.
0:39:13 > 0:39:19Just over a minute to be precise but that's no excuse not to tuck into some treats.
0:39:19 > 0:39:24Showing for one night only, the Countryfile premier of Boys Playing In The Snow.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29Hand-picked rhubarb, picked by me a few hours ago. A couple more scones.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33Try that. Sugar dip, go for it.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36Wow, that is a burst of flavours, isn't it?
0:39:36 > 0:39:41You won't believe how good rhubarb is for you. Lots of sugar.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43Shall we put it on?
0:39:43 > 0:39:47I'll clap my hands to see what happens.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49- It's started.- Power!
0:39:49 > 0:39:53Oh, he's down. I remember that at school.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57It's a silent movie but that is more that can be said for us.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Come on, relent. You'd feel sorry for him now.
0:40:00 > 0:40:07There's more children coming in now and the schoolmaster is going to have a go.
0:40:07 > 0:40:12- He has just knocked him on the floor. - Look at the state of him!
0:40:12 > 0:40:14Very good!
0:40:14 > 0:40:16APPLAUSE
0:40:18 > 0:40:25From Holmfirth to Howarth where we are exploring the natural beauty of the Yorkshire Moors.
0:40:25 > 0:40:30A landscape which brought the very best in the Bronte sisters.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33As much as the characters and the absorbing plotlines,
0:40:33 > 0:40:39one of the things that all the Bronte's novels have in common is a strong sense of place.
0:40:39 > 0:40:44They found inspiration in these bleak and breathtaking moors.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48Nowhere more so than this ruin which is known as Top Withens,
0:40:48 > 0:40:54but you and I know this spot as Wuthering Heights.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58"'Is Wuthering Heights as pleasant a place as Thrushcross Grange?'
0:40:58 > 0:41:01'he inquired, turning to take a last glance into the valley,
0:41:01 > 0:41:06'whence a light mist mounted and formed a fleecy cloud on the skirts of the blue.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09'"It's not so buried in trees," I replied,
0:41:09 > 0:41:15'and it's not quite so large, but you can see the country beautifully all round,
0:41:15 > 0:41:18'and the air is healthier for you, fresher and drier.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22'You will, perhaps, think the building old and dark at first,
0:41:22 > 0:41:27'though it is a respectable house, the next best in the neighbourhood.'
0:41:28 > 0:41:33The land that fired the Brontes' imagination continues to inspire today.
0:41:33 > 0:41:38Artist Ashley Jackson has spent much of his own life in a love affair with the Moors
0:41:38 > 0:41:40which he calls his mistress.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45I am interrupting one of their intimate moments together to find out more about the hold they have.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49- Hello, Ashley.- Hi.- How are you doing?- Very well indeed.
0:41:49 > 0:41:54This mistress of yours, is she a good one or a cruel one?
0:41:54 > 0:41:56She can make you cry at times.
0:41:56 > 0:42:03The beautiful thing about it is that I've always had this feeling of mother nature in myself.
0:42:03 > 0:42:09I've always said I would love to paint what mother nature has given me in her love letters.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14All my life I've tried to capture and read mother nature's love letters.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17- It is a life long love affair with this landscape.- It is, yes.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19If I drop dead today, I am 72. I have lived it.
0:42:19 > 0:42:25I am very fortunate because there's not many people who can earn a living,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29bring two children up and wife for 50 years.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32And it is something you love doing as well.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34When you look at a scene like this
0:42:34 > 0:42:39of Yorkshire, any high north Yorkshire or the Dales
0:42:39 > 0:42:42when you get a scene like this,
0:42:42 > 0:42:46it's very hard to paint nothing.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50How can you do those contours without any verticals
0:42:50 > 0:42:53- you have to make it lie down flat. - Right.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55You have got to make it flat.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59If it's not flat, it looks like a stone wall.
0:42:59 > 0:43:04OK, I haven't got much of an eye. I am certainly not an artist but I would love to have a go.
0:43:04 > 0:43:09- I'll give you a hand. - I've brought a couple of pencils.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14You've been painting this place for 50 years. How do you stop it getting boring?
0:43:14 > 0:43:21I have been married to my wife 50 years this year and it's never been boring.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25- Really?- It has been up and down. - But not boring.- But not boring.
0:43:25 > 0:43:31When you look at a scenery like this, the light changes every second.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34When you come up here,
0:43:34 > 0:43:39you do feel as though there is a controlling force.
0:43:39 > 0:43:40It is either God or mother nature
0:43:40 > 0:43:45and you can see yourself talk and think in your head.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49You hear the grouse and the curlews
0:43:49 > 0:43:52- and in the summer you've got the skylarks.- Lovely.
0:43:52 > 0:43:59- It's so free and not many people come up, only the lover of the Moors.- Absolutely.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02More than half a century after he first came up here,
0:44:02 > 0:44:06Ashley's passion for this landscape remains undimmed.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09He shared that love with some big names, Bill Clinton
0:44:09 > 0:44:12and Tony Blair are among the famous figures
0:44:12 > 0:44:16who own a slice of Ashley's Yorkshire.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20And it's all thanks to some familiar figures.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24Is there any inspiration that keeps you coming back to the moor?
0:44:24 > 0:44:28Yes, the moor itself but the Brontes because when I was 16,
0:44:28 > 0:44:30this is a sketchbook going back.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32When I was 16, I wrote,
0:44:32 > 0:44:36"I want to do with the brush what the Brontes did with a pen."
0:44:36 > 0:44:37Wow! And you were 16!
0:44:37 > 0:44:42So, that is a real sense of passion and inspiration.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46From 72 years old to 16 and I've still got that passion and love.
0:44:46 > 0:44:50- And there are those two trees just there.- Top Withers.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54- It is only a doodle, I have got a long way to go.- What do you think?
0:44:54 > 0:44:56I think that's lovely and it is a part of you.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00- You have got a moment of your life down on paper.- That's true.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04It is a snapshot of being here with you which is a great romantic for me.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08- With the Yorkshire Moors. - She is a good mistress.- She is.
0:45:08 > 0:45:14Later, I'll be attending an epic unveiling of Ashley's work,
0:45:14 > 0:45:19one that will bring him closer to the Brontes than he's ever been before.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22And I will be trying to find a way to bring together the art, music
0:45:22 > 0:45:26and literature that has been inspired by the Moors.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39From the hills above Howarth, I've been looking back at how the British countryside
0:45:39 > 0:45:43has inspired generations of artists, writers and musicians.
0:45:43 > 0:45:46I'm heading back to the Bronte Parsonage
0:45:46 > 0:45:50for what I am promised will be a spectacular finale to my day on the moors.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54But first, there's just time to find out what happened when John
0:45:54 > 0:45:59followed in the footsteps of another of our favourite authors, Thomas Hardy.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04Dorset is a patchwork of green fields,
0:46:04 > 0:46:08small farms and winding lanes much as it was in Hardy's day.
0:46:08 > 0:46:15There are no motorways and though far fewer people work the land than did in Hardy's time,
0:46:15 > 0:46:21if you're very lucky, you might just catch a glimpse of the world that he would have known.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23This would have been part of it.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27This is a shepherd's hut, a mobile hut which a shepherd would stay in for much of the year
0:46:27 > 0:46:33as he moved from field to field tending his flock.
0:46:33 > 0:46:38A hut like this features in a famous scene in Far From The Madding Crowd,
0:46:38 > 0:46:41the book that made Hardy's name.
0:46:41 > 0:46:46'How long he remained unconscious, Gabriel never knew.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49'His dog was howling, his head was aching fearfully.
0:46:49 > 0:46:54'Somebody was pulling him about, hands were loosening his neckerchief.'
0:46:54 > 0:46:59That passage describes the rescue of Gabriel Oak from a blazing shepherd's hut.
0:46:59 > 0:47:04But his would have looked quite a bit different from the one I'm in.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08It would have had a rough bed to sleep on, a stove for warmth.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12This one has been restored. Gabriel's would have been much more basic
0:47:12 > 0:47:17This doesn't have a cage for lambs to sleep in.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21Shepherds continued to use these huts long after Hardy's time.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23- Eileen, your dad had one of these, didn't he?- Yes.
0:47:23 > 0:47:29- What era are we talking about? - In the '20s, when he left school.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33- That's him there is it?- Yes.- Was he always a shepherd then?- Yes, always.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37This is a wonderful photo of your father on the steps.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39That would be in the '50s.
0:47:39 > 0:47:43- That is exactly the same design as this one, isn't it?- Yes.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47- At lambing time? - Yes. The stove would be lit
0:47:47 > 0:47:52and he would sometimes stay there, depending on the situation.
0:47:52 > 0:47:58Lambs were nearly dead and he would bring them in and revive them around the fire.
0:47:58 > 0:48:03As soon as they started running about, he would have a little pen outside
0:48:03 > 0:48:06for them to come out and then bring them back in the evenings.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09We had lambs at home running about the kitchen.
0:48:09 > 0:48:14It is just one of those things that sepherd did in those days if the lambs were poorly.
0:48:14 > 0:48:21The old ways of shepherding gradually went into decline and with them, went the shepherd's hut.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23But all is not lost.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26Here in this workshop in south Dorset,
0:48:26 > 0:48:32these icons of Hardy's era are getting a new lease of life.
0:48:32 > 0:48:37Richard Lee and Jane Denison are in the business of bringing them back to use.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41It must be quite hard to find old huts these days.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44Yes, it is becoming harder and harder because 10 years ago,
0:48:44 > 0:48:49people didn't really see their worth but now they do. They're harder to get hold of.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53Richard copied the designs of these old huts in his workshop
0:48:53 > 0:48:57but then came the chance discovery of a blueprint from a century ago.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01- What was your reaction when you came across this?- We couldn't believe it.
0:49:01 > 0:49:06It is great to see particular when they called it a portable house which is a shepherd's hut.
0:49:06 > 0:49:12As well as restoring them, you actually build them, as well. This must be useful.
0:49:12 > 0:49:17We do. It is great to see the way we do our ironwork,
0:49:17 > 0:49:20the proportions of it, the length, the width,
0:49:20 > 0:49:24the height of the top of the roof is all how we do our new build huts.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27These new huts are the ultimate in chic sheds.
0:49:27 > 0:49:32Built for leisure and pleasure, this one is even getting a sauna.
0:49:32 > 0:49:38All a far cry from the harsh realities facing those shepherds long ago.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42We know something of their lives thanks to a remarkable find
0:49:42 > 0:49:45in one of the huts brought in for restoration.
0:49:45 > 0:49:49Just look over here, the shepherds were writing on the walls
0:49:49 > 0:49:53and this dates back to the end of the 19th century.
0:49:53 > 0:49:59We've got dated graffiti that the shepherds would have written.
0:49:59 > 0:50:04"February 19th, 1903. New boots."
0:50:04 > 0:50:08As well, here we have got, "Cold enough to kill the devil."
0:50:08 > 0:50:13Here's a drawing. He's drawn a shepherd and his dog.
0:50:13 > 0:50:17There is a lovely one of a cart horse here
0:50:17 > 0:50:22with all accurate hay and collar and the harness pad.
0:50:22 > 0:50:23The traces were all there.
0:50:23 > 0:50:27Most of the writing is around here so you can imagine them
0:50:27 > 0:50:32being in their beds, a bit bored and scribbling on the walls.
0:50:35 > 0:50:41"March 2nd, 1903, rough and wet."
0:50:43 > 0:50:47"Snow, the first of the snow and hail storms."
0:50:50 > 0:50:55"March 1903. 1st March stormy, 2nd wet, 3rd fine, 4th stormy..."
0:50:55 > 0:51:03Simple words capturing the everyday life of shepherds in the time of Thomas Hardy.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13Back on the moors above Howarth, darkness is now upon us.
0:51:13 > 0:51:21Before I go, I'm heading back into the village for our very own musical finale.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24How do you bring together the creativity of generations
0:51:24 > 0:51:26that have been inspired by the land around Howarth?
0:51:26 > 0:51:29You can start with these guys, Howarth Brass Band.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33In particular, their musical director, David. How are you doing?
0:51:33 > 0:51:35Tell me a bit of the history of the band.
0:51:35 > 0:51:40The band's been in existence since 1854.
0:51:40 > 0:51:45Handel Parker, who was a conductor of the band, also born in 1854
0:51:45 > 0:51:47was around at the time of the Brontes.
0:51:47 > 0:51:53The piece of music we're going to play was written by him, it is called Deep Harmony.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57It's been played by many Yorkshire brass bands.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59I look forward to hearing this piece.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02Are you going to take it away? Thanks very much.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07BRASS BAND PLAYS
0:52:26 > 0:52:29But there's one thing missing, that eternal presence
0:52:29 > 0:52:33that lies at the heart of these generations of artistic inspiration,
0:52:33 > 0:52:39the land itself this time by Ashley Jackson in a way that even you have never seen it before.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43- Are you ready?- Yes.- Let's see it.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49- Wow!- You are at the front of their house.
0:52:49 > 0:52:54- That brings tears to your eyes. To my eyes it does.- It sure does. - Wonderful.
0:52:54 > 0:53:00We have put one of Ashley's paintings, Top Withens, onto the Bronte parsonage.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05The scene that inspired Wuthering Heights, has returned to the place
0:53:05 > 0:53:07where Heathcliff was really born.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Isn't it beautiful?
0:53:09 > 0:53:14Yeah, to be associated with the Brontes, Yorkshire, my mistress.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16- She's come well, hasn't she? - Hasn't she ever!
0:53:16 > 0:53:20Howarth and the moors that surround it
0:53:20 > 0:53:23may well be best known for their connection with the Brontes
0:53:23 > 0:53:27but more than 150 years on, they continue to inspire
0:53:27 > 0:53:32not just writers, but artists and musicians too.
0:53:32 > 0:53:38Together they make a fitting tribute to the power of rural life to inspire.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41Next week, Adam will be in the Cotswolds on his farm
0:53:41 > 0:53:44to bring in the New Year and looking at how horses and dogs
0:53:44 > 0:53:46contribute to country life.
0:53:46 > 0:53:47See you then.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd