The Lake District Countryfile

The Lake District is a unique corner of England.

Nearly 900 square miles of dramatic scenery.

Rough-hewn mountains.

Fells and valleys that stretch as far as the eye can see.

There are all sorts of ways to get round the Lake District

but the vast majority of visitors come by car.

And it's been that way

ever since the internal combustion engine was invented.

The gradients here were used for testing the first cars

and the Lakes themselves provided perfect conditions

for the water speed record-breaking attempts

of Sir Malcolm Campbell and his son Donald.

Both men are commemorated in the Lakeland Motor Museum.

Altogether, they captured 21 world land and water speed records.

Donald was tragically killed

attempting to break 300mph on nearby Coniston Water

one cold January day in 1967.

But they weren't the only ones to travel the Lakes in unusual craft.

This vehicle could also go on water

but it would never break any speed records.

It could, though, do seven knots out on the lake

and 70mph on the roads.

Engineer Chris Lowe is going to tell me all about it.

-Hi, Chris.

-Hello.

-It looks more car than boat.

How do you make it waterproof?

Well, there is a lever on each door here, which squeezes this

large rubber seal, and then once you're in the water,

just down here, is a little handle that engages the propeller.

-Oh, right. And it works, does it?

-It does.

Did anybody actually use it round here?

There was an identical one on Belle Island

in the middle of Windermere, the only inhabited island.

The owners there wanted to go north up to Ambleside.

In the lake, up to the north, out they come.

Or wherever they fancy going that morning.

-And do you just steer it with the normal car wheel?

-It does.

It just steers with the wheels in the water.

It has no separate rudder.

So, not very precise then?

Not particularly but OK on a quiet lake.

Not so good in the North Sea.

-Good for escaping the police if you want to.

-Absolutely.

You've got a lot of traditional family cars here,

haven't you, Chris?

Yes. Most of our customers, they don't want to see Ferraris and

the like, they want to see the car they grew up in the back seat of.

The car their uncle had,

those family holidays from the 1950s and '60s.

-Like this A35, eh?

-Complete with folding boat.

But if you couldn't afford a full-size car,

you could always go for the motorbike and sidecar.

Traditional 1950s family transport.

Dad and Mum on the motorbike, and then the youngsters in here.

-In the days before seat belts.

-Absolutely.

Well, as a young man, I couldn't afford a car

but I did love my motorbike.

It wasn't anywhere near as big or as powerful as this one

but last July I went to the Isle of Man,

famous for its TT races,

for a little ride down memory lane.

I was in my late teens when I first came here to watch the TT races.

I came on my bike and this was it. My BSA Bantam 125.

Not very fast but I was tremendously proud of it.

And that's my sister sitting on the back there. She didn't come with me.

I came with a pal who had a much bigger bike,

and he had to keep stopping so I could catch up.

And, for old times' sake, I want to get back on one.

Well, I never thought I'd see one of these again.

It's your lucky day, John.

As you might expect, there's no shortage of bikes on the island

and vintage bike collector Tony East has

brought along a couple of classic Bantams from 1949 and 1953.

I don't think today's generation realise just how important

Bantams were, Tony, to the likes of you and me.

No, they were absolutely vital.

-Everybody used to go to work on them.

-All you could afford.

-Yes.

-And they were all this green colour, weren't they?

-Mist green.

-And everybody wanted a Bantam.

-They did.

-There's me on mine.

-Well, that's absolutely fantastic.

-Did you have one?

-Yes, I had one.

Did you come to the Isle of Man to watch the races?

Yeah, I used to come in the '60s.

I'd go round the circuit - not on race days, of course -

like everybody does.

But the Bantam was a bit slow going up the mountain.

There were some dodgy bits, weren't there?

-Remember that bridge?

-Yeah, Ballaugh Bridge.

Over 30mph over Ballaugh,

particularly on these things, and you'd leave the ground.

Years ago, they used to station a police sergeant there with

his white helmet, with his stick, and you went over too fast - whack!

On your backside, just to teach you a lesson.

And there were some pretty flash bikes around, weren't there?

Not just the ones competing but the spectators bringing theirs as well.

-They looked down their noses a bit at us Bantam riders.

-Oh, yeah.

Us Bantam riders, yes.

They'd forgotten that they'd probably owned them in the past.

I think they stopped being made in the early '60s.

But the noise of the engine is something I'll always remember.

-Yes, you do.

-Any chance of going for a spin?

-Of course there is.

ENGINE REVS NOISILY

Well, it's 50 years since I last rode a BSA Bantam

but they do say you never forget how to ride a bike.

Let's hope they're right.

Woohoo!

HE LAUGHS

This is fantastic!

Oh, the years are rolling back.

This is instant transport to the days of my youth.

The freedom that the Bantam gave us all in those days.

We must be doing about 30mph now.

-This is life, isn't it?

-Yes.

This is really moving as far as a Bantam's concerned.

Riding like the wind!

Whoa, bending it over a little bit.

Not done that for a while.

I had forgotten just what fun it is. What great fun.

'And I'm not the only one who thinks so.

'For the last 105 years,'

these quiet island lanes have been overrun by leather-clad bikers

ready to take on the challenge of the TT course.

Not for nothing has it been called

one of the greatest motorcycle sporting events in the world.

What I would love to do is re-ride the 37-and-three-quarter-mile

course like I used to all those years ago.

But I have only ever been round it on a dear old Bantam,

so maybe this time something a little bit more powerful.

Something like this. A Supertrike.

Now I can let somebody who really knows the course

do the driving and I can sit back and enjoy.

As a passenger for once, I get to admire the views.

And what views they are, whatever the weather.

The course snakes through picturesque villages

and stunning countryside

and up towards the summit of the island's only mountain, Snaefell.

'It's bends like this, known as The Hairpin,

'that challenge the most experienced of riders.'

-Exhilarating, Andy. Thank you very much indeed.

-My pleasure.

-It's my pleasure.

-It really makes you realise, doesn't it,

just how demanding this course is?

Yes, it's 37 and three quarter miles long and it's very much

man and machine against the course.

And it seems to me to be much faster than it was in my day.

Certainly, there are certain things being done to the course

all the time that improve the speed and improve the safety

of the course as well, which is the most important thing.

So, what's the top speed these days?

They're doing well over 200mph in certain places.

Around here is roughly the fastest part of the course,

coming down off the mountain.

-Well, onwards, Andy.

-Onwards.

-Onwards.

There's no doubt that on race days the Isle of Man is a great

showcase for motorcycling skills.

But the Lake District can provide its fair share

of thrills on two wheels.

And you don't need an engine to experience them.

Long before the car was invented,

people were travelling round the Lake District by bicycle.

Well, bikes really opened up the Lakes, didn't they,

-to ordinary people?

-Absolutely.

There was a huge boom in cycling in the 1880s.

This is a Penny Farthing that the young gentlemen tended to ride.

They'd bring them up on the train and travel the route ways

of the Lake District, enjoying the scenery.

-And for the, shall we say, more sensible gentleman...

-Uh-huh.

..you have three wheels on your tricycle here.

A safety version of the Penny Farthing, really?

-Absolutely. It's a little difficult to get on.

-How DO you get on?

You turn backwards and then you put your right foot on the right pedal

and lift yourself up into position.

HE GROANS

It's not so easy, is it?

Certainly not. Not all that comfortable either.

-Have you worked out the steering?

-No, no idea.

-As you turn the handle, say, clockwise...

-This one?

-Yeah.

..the front wheel turns one way and the back wheel turns the other.

Ah, very simple.

And cycling in the Lakes is still as popular as ever.

Just beyond those fells, there is the Grizedale Forest,

the Lake District's biggest stretch of woodland

and, last August, Julia went there and jumped into the saddle to see

just how much fun you can have on two wheels.

Ouch!

'Grizedale is famed for its excellent cycling,

'with bespoke cycle tracks both on and off-road. '

There are about a dozen trails for riders of just about every ability.

Beginners, riders in good health, it says here,

proficient mountain bikers, experts.

And this is a sinuous, adrenalising section

of single-track descent with a leg-burning climb.

Oh, no thank you.

Sounds like really hard work.

'I'm off to explore the flatter parts of this enchanting forest

'and, best of all, I get to soak up the views along the way.

'And, no, not just those views.

'There are some rather more curious ones here too.'

Couldn't resist.

MUSIC BOX MUSIC TINKLES

Quite spooky, isn't it?

I know what Matt Baker would say now.

He'd say, "That's a bit of a wind-up."

In 1977, Grizedale became the UK's first forest for sculptures.

Very ahead of its time.

Many of the early sculptures have decayed

but the Forestry Commission is working

with the next generation of artists

to develop new works.

They are beautiful.

Fantastic piece, isn't it?

What does it represent then, Hayley?

Well, I think the real sort of inspiration behind the work is

the forest environment itself.

All the sculptors that came here have made pieces in response

to particular locations that they found.

And how many pieces have you got

scattered around and throughout the forest?

There are about 60 works in the forest at the moment.

If I wanted to do a tour of every single work of art within the forest

how long do you think it would take me?

Well, we reckon about three days to get around all of them

so it's maybe a holiday rather than a day visit

-if you want to see all of them.

-Favourite? Your favourite?

Oh, there's lots.

Lots for different reasons as well and at different times of year.

But I think the work behind this is fantastic

cos all the excitement and drama of the landscape

has been incorporated into the work.

-Can we just have five minutes just to look at it?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Just five minutes, though.

If I want to make it round to the rest of them

I'd better get pedalling.

Grizedale Forest has dozens of purpose-built biking trails

for all abilities.

Well, I've had a little whirl on the red trail

and I have to say, I think that's probably about my limit.

That is the much tougher black trail, the toughest of them all,

and I'm going to leave that to the professionals.

I don't want to scrape my knee.

It hurts when you get the grit under your skin.

This trail is a magnet for adrenaline junkies.

The pros can pick up speeds

of more than 40mph down these runs.

Local biker Paul Noble runs a bike shop in the heart of the forest.

I know I said that this was a tough track but, really,

how tricky is it, Paul?

It's not that unsafe once you've learnt how to look after yourself.

But it'd be dangerous if you were a novice

-and tried to have a go?

-Absolutely. Yes, absolutely.

If you just turned up here on any old bike and threw yourself at it,

you'll end up in a pile and it won't be nice.

It's a real community project, this, isn't it? Built with love.

It was indeed, yeah.

It was something that the locals wanted and they really badly wanted

and the Forestry gave them permission to build it

and helped with it and it turned out it was a real community project.

We had lads as young as 12

and people as old as 60s helping out with it.

It's a superb addition to the forest, no doubt.

Oh! Speedy Gonzales!

You know, no matter how you get to the Lake District

or however you travel once you're here,

it's views like this that make it all so worthwhile.