0:00:31 > 0:00:36Romney Marsh, a distinctive patchwork of low-lying land.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45Cut through with streams and canals, rich in wildlife and history.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Romney Marsh covers 100 square miles along the coast,
0:00:53 > 0:00:57stretching from Hastings in East Sussex to Hythe in Kent.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Looking at this marsh,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06you would think you could cross it no problem, but you'd be wrong.
0:01:06 > 0:01:07It's an obstacle course.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11There's a maze of ditches, watercourses and bridges.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14They do say, if there's a footpath, then stick to it.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15And I've found one.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21This landscape hasn't always been this idyllic.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Right up until the mid 19th century, the unwary traveller would
0:01:25 > 0:01:28have been risking life and limb crossing these marshes.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34Because this was smuggling country, plain and simple.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37The featureless expanses and hidden creeks
0:01:37 > 0:01:41and waterways made it a smuggler's paradise.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46On top of that, France is just under 30 miles away.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50These smugglers weren't just trading in alcohol, tobacco and guns.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54What they were also after were sheep.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57And the Romney Marsh was a gold mine.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Smugglers would kill for the wool on their backs.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05I'm catching up with local Steve Humphries to find out more.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09So, Steve, what was it then about wool that was so attractive?
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Well, there was a big woollen industry in the country.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Wool was the first commodity to have an export tax put on it
0:02:16 > 0:02:18- back in the 13th century.- Right.
0:02:18 > 0:02:24So once you've got an export tax on something, then smuggling begins.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29And over the next few centuries, then smuggling went on and on.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33The smuggling gangs that arose during the 17th
0:02:33 > 0:02:37and 18th centuries were often from villages quite some way away.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40But of course, they would employ local labourers,
0:02:40 > 0:02:46local agricultural workers to carry the contraband from the coast
0:02:46 > 0:02:50- and they would pay them good money. - And were they living like kings?
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- What kind of money were they earning?- They made a lot of money.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58Big fortunes were made out of smuggling certainly by the
0:02:58 > 0:03:03leaders of these gangs and everybody involved made some money out of it.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07- So it was popular. - How risky was this, Steve?
0:03:07 > 0:03:10What kind of a world were they working in?
0:03:10 > 0:03:16In 1662, the death penalty was imposed for smuggling wool.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20So the smugglers probably thought, "Well, if I'm going to be hanged
0:03:20 > 0:03:25"for smuggling, if I murder someone on the way, I'll still be hanged."
0:03:25 > 0:03:27And of course, there's the phrase -
0:03:27 > 0:03:30rather be hung for a sheep than a lamb.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40These were clearly not guys to mess with.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43But there was one hardy breed who protected the flocks.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45He was called a looker
0:03:45 > 0:03:48and was employed to look out for the sheep and trouble.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52A rough and tumble job, but it came with its own accommodation.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55These self-employed lookers
0:03:55 > 0:03:58would spend about six weeks of the year in here.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01They came into their own at lambing time.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05There's a fireplace, enough room for a hay-bale bed and plenty of room to
0:04:05 > 0:04:08store all of your tools, so to be honest, what more could you want?
0:04:08 > 0:04:10But during the 19th century,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14with 350 of these huts scattered right across the marsh, the chances
0:04:14 > 0:04:18are that contraband would have found its way into here as well.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24It seems everybody was in on the act, even the local churches.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Smuggling expert Richard Platt is going to tell me
0:04:27 > 0:04:29more of this sorry tale.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33So this church was one of the many churches then that were
0:04:33 > 0:04:35involved in storing this contraband.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Why were churches such an attractive prospect for the smugglers?
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Churches were great for smugglers because they were cavernous.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44They had cavernous interiors and lots of nooks
0:04:44 > 0:04:47and crannies where you could hide stuff.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49But also because they were one of the few places
0:04:49 > 0:04:53in a village where the door could be locked without arousing suspicion.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57I think the vicars really played a passive role in the whole thing.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59They weren't actively involved in smuggling,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03but they were aware it was going on and they didn't see any moral
0:05:03 > 0:05:06contradiction in allowing this to happen.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09But there must have been a lot of coming and going.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11If they were storing stuff here,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14the smugglers would come in and take it to their market.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Yeah, there would have been a constant
0:05:17 > 0:05:21parade of people into the church to drop stuff off and pick it up.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25And how would the priests be thanked for their services?
0:05:25 > 0:05:29The priests would be paid off, not in money, but they would find a little
0:05:29 > 0:05:32keg of brandy or something outside their back door
0:05:32 > 0:05:36in the dead of night, or a small bale of tobacco.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39But there's one sign that suggests just how welcome the smugglers
0:05:39 > 0:05:41were here.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43This is a picture of a ship
0:05:43 > 0:05:47and it was supposedly a sign of a place of safety,
0:05:47 > 0:05:52probably from the time when smugglers were exporting wool as contraband,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56rather than importing brandy and luxuries like that.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58So this was a kind of secret sign.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02This huge image, the biggest in the whole church, is a secret sign!
0:06:02 > 0:06:06It's a secret sign, yeah. That was the whole thing about smuggling.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08It was an open secret.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Everybody really knew about it and everybody connived in it.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Unless you bought your tobacco, tea and brandy from a smuggler,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16you were a fool.
0:06:16 > 0:06:17Yeah, fair enough.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23The smugglers didn't have it all their own way.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25Getting caught meant the death penalty.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28And many a lost soul spent their last nights here,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31New Hall Prison in Dymchurch.
0:06:31 > 0:06:37This was one of four cells exactly the same size underneath the court.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41There would have been up to four men in here and when you look around,
0:06:41 > 0:06:45you can see evidence of how they've tried to just keep their minds busy.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48All these etchings that are scratched into the wood.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51There's some beautiful writing here.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56And also these images here, the birds and the horses.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01But it just feels... It's grim in here.
0:07:01 > 0:07:07It's cold, it's dark, it's lonely. You can sense a lot of unhappiness.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15Now, whilst we're exploring Kent, Tom is up in the north east
0:07:15 > 0:07:16of England,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20finding out about plans to bring rural Britain into the 21st century.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26The British countryside might be the perfect place to get
0:07:26 > 0:07:28away from it all, but these days,
0:07:28 > 0:07:33wherever we are, we still want decent access to the internet.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Yet, in rural areas, the service varies massively.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41Some locations are crawling on with the most basic connections,
0:07:41 > 0:07:47a mere 0.5 megabits per second, not even enough for BBC iPlayer.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52Others, even, are still on dial-up. Remember that sound?
0:07:52 > 0:07:55DIALLING
0:08:00 > 0:08:05But some are flying along at 30 megabits per second.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Plenty for your online business
0:08:07 > 0:08:12and all the possible family fun on the internet beside.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17But does that matter?
0:08:17 > 0:08:21In parts of the country that seem to offer a slower pace of life,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25is there really a need for high-speed broadband?
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Ian Close, his mum Pat
0:08:30 > 0:08:34and their family run a large dairy farm in rural Lancashire.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36They're struggling to run
0:08:36 > 0:08:39their business with a basic dial-up connection.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43So, Ian, as a farmer, what's the big issue for you in working with
0:08:43 > 0:08:45a rubbish internet connection?
0:08:45 > 0:08:49The expectation is everything has to be done online now.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52The other day, the vet was talking to us about something,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56"You can go and look it up on YouTube. There's a presentation.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59"It'll show you everything I'm talking about.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02"No, but you haven't got a decent internet connection,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04- "so you won't be able to do it." - There's that
0:09:04 > 0:09:09expectation now that you'll have that big data pipe to your house.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14Everything is geared up for having a fast internet connection.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18And when you haven't got it, it makes life very difficult.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Ian's problems aren't just shared by a few isolated farmers.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Businesses in rural areas generate
0:09:24 > 0:09:27around a fifth of the British economy.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30That's hundreds of billions of pounds every year.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Yet, many are struggling with connections that would be
0:09:33 > 0:09:36unacceptable to most urban companies
0:09:36 > 0:09:39and it's not just businesses that are suffering.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43When communities lack decent internet, what's the effect?
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Well, they're cut off. That's the first thing, I suppose.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50They're cut off from the outside world, in a lot of cases.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55Especially rural farms, rural houses, the ones that are isolated, but
0:09:55 > 0:09:59you tend to have a lack of inclusion when you don't have the internet.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03People simply don't know what's going on in the outside world.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Does it actually make it difficult for them
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- to be part of 21st-century society? - I think so. I really do.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12They haven't got the instant research,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15they can't access the shops, the internet banking.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19In farming, you've got all the forms that are online.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21It's all that sort of thing that really affects us
0:10:21 > 0:10:23and it makes us feel remote.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Commercial companies have managed to supply two-thirds of the UK
0:10:29 > 0:10:35with superfast internet access and that's an achievement in itself.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38But they stop short of rolling out their fibre optic cables
0:10:38 > 0:10:41into the remotest parts of our countryside,
0:10:41 > 0:10:45saying the low population density made it not commercially viable.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Yet, all is not lost.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51Fibre optic cables may soon be coming to a village near you.
0:10:51 > 0:10:57One fibre in your hand will do a lot better job than this 300 pair cable.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00- Quite significantly?- Yes.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03The Government has now stepped in with a half a billion pound
0:11:03 > 0:11:06investment designed to bring the rest of the country up to
0:11:06 > 0:11:09speed by 2015.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12The broadband delivery UK project aims to connect
0:11:12 > 0:11:15the parts that the commercial market won't reach.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18And BT has been chosen to do the work.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21What kind of scale is this on?
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Well, take north Yorkshire, for instance.
0:11:23 > 0:11:2610,000km of fibre's got to go in the ground in order to
0:11:26 > 0:11:30deliver...connect up 90% of the premises across north Yorkshire.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32It's one of the biggest challenges in the UK.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35- 10,000km, that's in a single county. - Yes, exactly.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39We're talking about hundreds of thousands across Britain.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Absolutely, hundreds of thousands of kilometres, tens of thousands
0:11:42 > 0:11:46of green cabinets and technology we have to deploy out to the field.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49- So it's a big undertaking. - And how many millions of pounds?
0:11:49 > 0:11:51It's a very expensive game,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54very capital intensive communications business.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Some people think it's just for Christmas, it's not. It's for ever.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Whatever we put in, it's got to work today, tomorrow and be upgradeable.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05We'll put about £1 billion in, the Government will put £1 billion.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09500 coming from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14500 million from local authorities like North Yorkshire County Council.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Other parts of Yorkshire have already reaped the rewards
0:12:18 > 0:12:22of improved internet connectivity, thanks to a similar scheme.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26In the small village of South Otterington, a high-speed connection
0:12:26 > 0:12:30has brought significant benefits to the school and local business.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34It's been a really big bonus for the parents, the children,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37who can now do their homework at home.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39We have the school blog they can contribute to,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42we have a learning platform, they can access resources at home
0:12:42 > 0:12:45and help complete their homework.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47It's been a bonus for the business community
0:12:47 > 0:12:49and benefited our parents that way.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54But will the rewards of the latest roll-out be worth the cost?
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Yes, there's commercial investment from BT
0:12:56 > 0:12:59and a lump sum from central government, but the rest
0:12:59 > 0:13:04of the money will in many cases have to come from hard-up local councils.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Kent, the Garden of England.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25This is Scotney Castle, apparently the most romantic garden in England.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29I feel as if I have stepped into a fairytale.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!
0:13:36 > 0:13:37She's not in.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Even if romance and fairytales are not your bag, a floral display
0:13:42 > 0:13:46like this does make your heart beat that little bit faster.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51The gardens were created by the Hussey family,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53who lived here for more than 200 years.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58A well-to-do bunch, they wanted the views from their stately pile
0:13:58 > 0:14:01to resemble a wild paradise.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05They planted rainbows of rhododendrons,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08explosions of sweet-smelling azaleas.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Vines creep over walls
0:14:10 > 0:14:14and tree roots emerge from paths and walkways.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18No wonder 130,000 people visit here every year.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22But little would they suspect what wild treasures are lurking nearby
0:14:22 > 0:14:25beneath these murky waters.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34The great crested newt, dragons of the amphibian world.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36They are the largest and most threatened
0:14:36 > 0:14:38of our three native newt species.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Lee Brady is an ecologist, county recorder for newts
0:14:45 > 0:14:49and also president of the Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51- Hello, Lee.- Hello.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54With those credentials he has got the licence and more importantly,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57the experience, to handle these protected species.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Is it unusual to find great crested newts in, essentially,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- a swimming pool? - It's not particularly unusual.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10We do find great crested newts in a wide range of different water bodies
0:15:10 > 0:15:13including swimming pools like this.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17Now, what's interesting about this pool is that potentially,
0:15:17 > 0:15:19the newts are doing quite well here.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21So we're trying to investigate why that might be.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23And how many do you reckon are in there?
0:15:23 > 0:15:28We have got what we would call a medium relative population.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32That is a maximum count of about 15 individuals.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35The great crested newt.
0:15:35 > 0:15:36Why the crest?
0:15:36 > 0:15:41Well, the males have a crest only during the breeding season
0:15:41 > 0:15:45and it's part of their secondary sexual characteristics
0:15:45 > 0:15:48in order to attract a female.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51- It's always about the showing off, isn't it?- It is.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- And some males have bigger crests than others.- Of course.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59We believe the crest helps the animal to breathe underwater.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Newts can absorb oxygen across their skin
0:16:02 > 0:16:06so great crested newts with larger crests potentially can absorb
0:16:06 > 0:16:09more oxygen and therefore stay underwater for longer.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Males with smaller crests that have to come to the surface
0:16:12 > 0:16:14for a gulp of air will lose the interest of the females.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16So larger crests are better. Potentially.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19- But interestingly, they don't keep the crest all year round?- No.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23Outside of the breeding season, the animals typically are found on land
0:16:23 > 0:16:26and the crest would be an impediment to their movement on land
0:16:26 > 0:16:29so they reabsorb the crest back into their bodies.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32It's so clever, isn't it?
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- Shall we have a look at some now? - Let's have a look.- Thank you.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37How many different species of newt in here?
0:16:37 > 0:16:40We've got female great crested newts
0:16:40 > 0:16:44and we've got smooth and palmate newts.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48So this particular swimming pool actually supports
0:16:48 > 0:16:52- all three of the native newt species.- Brilliant.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54So what I'd like to do is to show you a great crested newt belly.
0:16:54 > 0:16:55Yes, please.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01- What have you got here? - This is a squash box.- Squash box!
0:17:01 > 0:17:03But it doesn't literally squash them?
0:17:03 > 0:17:08It holds them gently against a clear surface.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Oh, look at that! She is having a little wriggle in there.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13She is having a little wriggle.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- I've been careful I don't squash her too much.- Yeah, she's fine.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20- For anybody watching at home, she's absolutely fine.- So, very bright.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24- Yeah.- Black blotches with a unique pattern.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26These markings are completely individual.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28- This is its bar code, in essence. - It is.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33We can identify each animal in this pool from its belly pattern.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35It's a very, very bright colour.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Is that a warning signal as well?
0:17:38 > 0:17:42It does, it tells predators that they are distasteful.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46In terms of this pool, is it quite a dreamy situation for newts?
0:17:46 > 0:17:51The swimming pool is very good for newts because it is full of food.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54The newts are very well fed.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57I suspect that they are also still egg-laying and in fact today,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00we have found a number of eggs in the pond, which perhaps...
0:18:00 > 0:18:03- So they're breeding?- Yeah, yeah. They're laying eggs.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05One of the things we want to discover is
0:18:05 > 0:18:08whether those eggs are hatching successfully and
0:18:08 > 0:18:11whether the tadpoles are successfully metamorphosing
0:18:11 > 0:18:13into juveniles.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19There we are, little ones.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Back in your nice, watery home.