0:00:26 > 0:00:28The glorious Lake District.
0:00:28 > 0:00:33It's a landscape that has a little bit of everything. Sandy beaches...
0:00:34 > 0:00:37..deep valleys...
0:00:37 > 0:00:39majestic fells...
0:00:39 > 0:00:41and crystal-clear tarns.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Which is why we chose it as the perfect place
0:00:47 > 0:00:48to film our opening titles.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Now, lots of you have been getting in contact to ask us
0:00:51 > 0:00:55exactly where we shot them. So today, I'll be revealing all.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01The Lake District is an endless source of inspiration, not only
0:01:01 > 0:01:05for us programme-makers, but for poets, artists and writers, too.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11We've all heard of Wordsworth and Turner but the big surprise is that
0:01:11 > 0:01:15the grandfather of pop art spent the end of his creative life here.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17His influence has been huge
0:01:17 > 0:01:20but the chances are, you won't even know his name.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Tom's over on the east coast.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29The British Isles has taken a battering from the sea
0:01:29 > 0:01:33in the last couple of months, chewing up cliffs,
0:01:33 > 0:01:38spitting out hard concrete defences, and pulverising some caravans
0:01:38 > 0:01:43up here, so should we be doing more to defend our islands from the sea?
0:01:43 > 0:01:45I'll be investigating.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50And Adam's going to have to dig deep to afford this mighty beast.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53This is certainly the biggest bull I've ever held on a halter
0:01:53 > 0:01:56and he's rather special. He holds the title as
0:01:56 > 0:01:59the most expensive Charolais bull in the world.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03And you'll never guess what he sold for.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25One of the most common questions that we get asked on Countryfile is
0:02:25 > 0:02:30where are those places that feature in our new opening title sequence?
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Well, we needed somewhere that bottles
0:02:32 > 0:02:35the best of the British countryside.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Somewhere with outstanding natural beauty
0:02:38 > 0:02:40that you'll never get bored of watching.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46So, it's little wonder that we chose the Lake District.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49It's just a good job we filmed them in the summer.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57Impressive peaks, pristine tarns,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00glacial valleys carved out over millions of years.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06When it comes to natural assets, our most popular National Park by far
0:03:06 > 0:03:09is endowed with an embarrassment of riches.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14But where are the Lake District's stunning secret spots that we
0:03:14 > 0:03:17just couldn't leave out of our opening titles?
0:03:17 > 0:03:21And who are the people lucky enough to call them home?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24It's time to spill the beans
0:03:24 > 0:03:27and I'm starting in the Park's extreme south-west
0:03:27 > 0:03:30where fell meets sea.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Now, a beach isn't the first thing that springs to mind
0:03:32 > 0:03:34when you think about the Lake District
0:03:34 > 0:03:38but there's actually 26km of coastline within the National Park.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Now, this stretch may not be that recognisable to you, that is,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43unless you're here when this happens.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Recognise it now?
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Back in the summer, we flew overhead to capture the spectacle
0:03:54 > 0:03:58of the Murthwaite Green horse-riders on Silecroft Beach.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02The horses and their riders that were filmed for our titles all come
0:04:02 > 0:04:06from a family-run trekking centre just up the road from the sea.
0:04:06 > 0:04:07And at low tide,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Silecroft Beach becomes the stomping ground
0:04:09 > 0:04:11for Cath Wrigley and her team,
0:04:11 > 0:04:16whether for teaching beginners or for the staff to let off some steam.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Well, let's meet the horsepower, shall we, behind the opening titles,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23and as you can see, they're all horse ladies.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26- Very good morning to you all. So what's your name?- My name's Lynette.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- You're Lynette and this is...? - Sparkle.- Sparkle, hello.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32- Emma and Joe.- Emma and Joe. Very good.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35- You're obviously Cath, you've got Tom there as well.- Tom, yes.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38- Vicky and Basil. - Vicky and Basil, good.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40And, hello, my dear, what's your name?
0:04:40 > 0:04:43- Hello. I'm Sal and this is Stanley. - And this is Stanley? Good, well...
0:04:43 > 0:04:46I mean, the tragedy is that you all actually didn't make
0:04:46 > 0:04:48the opening titles, did you?
0:04:48 > 0:04:51I'll play this through now. Look in, horses.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54There we are. So here's the helicopter, look, swooping down.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57There's two horses there. Now, who's this at the back?
0:04:57 > 0:05:02- We can see here...Basil.- Basil. - Basil wasn't quite fast enough.- No.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04He hadn't had his Weetabix that morning.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06THEY LAUGH
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Falling behind meant that Basil missed
0:05:08 > 0:05:11the cut for the finished sequence.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14He tries, doesn't he? He tries.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16He puts his all into everything, does Basil.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18I think he was secretly a bit disappointed.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Yeah, he looks a bit down in the mouth.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Well, listen, while I'm here I would love a ride.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26To make sure that Basil does get on, how about I ride you, mate, eh?
0:05:26 > 0:05:27We're sure he'd love that.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Then you can tell all your friends that you've done it. Yeah?
0:05:30 > 0:05:31Shall we do it?
0:05:33 > 0:05:37There's a good reason why Basil here was lagging behind the rest
0:05:37 > 0:05:40of the pack. He is a Cumbrian fell pony and back in the day,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44huge trains of these horses would have carried heavy loads
0:05:44 > 0:05:47of wool, iron ore all across these hills, mountains
0:05:47 > 0:05:49and the fells of the Lake District
0:05:49 > 0:05:53to the cities beyond, so, to be honest, I mean, galloping through
0:05:53 > 0:05:56the waves, it's all a bit too telly for Basil, isn't it, my friend?
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Right. Coming up, son.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02Good boy.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Come on, then, bonny lad.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Right, Basil. It's your second chance for glory.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Just keep up with the others this time.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Right, come on, we're in the lead, son.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20We're in the lead.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Whoops!
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Steady, go on.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29Good lad. We hit a stone! Come on, we've still got them, Basil.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33We've still got them, Baz. We've got them, Basil, go on.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Come on, Basil. Good boy.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40Good effort, Basil. I think you've redeemed yourself.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Later on, we're going to be lifting the lid on some of the other
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Lakeland locations that we filmed for our titles.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50But first...
0:06:50 > 0:06:53It's pretty calm out here today but at the height of the winter storms,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56you'd have been pretty reckless to take a ride out there.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00With huge waves causing flooding and damage all along the British
0:07:00 > 0:07:04coastline, should our shores have been better defended?
0:07:04 > 0:07:05Here's Tom.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Last December, the east coast saw damage
0:07:17 > 0:07:19and flooding from Scotland to Kent.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Then, in January, it was the turn of the west which saw high winds,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26massive waves and a deluge of rain.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Winter storm Hercules.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37An appropriate name for a tempest that shredded parts of our coastline,
0:07:37 > 0:07:43had no problem tearing up tarmac or ripping holes in sea defences.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46In places, it's redrawn the map.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50All in all, it reminds us of the awesome power of the sea.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Some of the most dramatic damage was at Spurn Point, a delicate
0:07:54 > 0:07:57spit of land at the mouth of the Humber.
0:07:57 > 0:08:013.5 miles long and only 60 yards wide in places,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04famous for its wildlife reserve, this narrow peninsula
0:08:04 > 0:08:07has stayed pretty much the same for generations.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13But on the night of December 5, all that changed.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17They had the highest tidal surge for 60 years
0:08:17 > 0:08:23and right here, it punched a small hole in the dune system
0:08:23 > 0:08:28and then, a little bit further on, it wasn't just a small hole.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32This is the most easterly part of Yorkshire,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35completely exposed to the North Sea.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38When the tidal surge came, it broke through where this spit of land
0:08:38 > 0:08:42was thinnest, separating Spurn Point from the mainland.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Well, Andrew, this is quite literally the end of the road here, isn't it?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49- It is, it is. Good morning, Tom. - Nice to see you.- Yeah.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53- So, how have things changed here? - Well, the dune has gone.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58There was almost a continuous dune bank, shall we call it,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01along the upper beach, and that has disappeared.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04So, where I can see the grass and stuff coming to an end, there,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06that used to run pretty much all the way along here to
0:09:06 > 0:09:09- hundreds of metres up there.- Yes, and all the shingle,
0:09:09 > 0:09:14debris, bits of remnant, military concrete and everything has gone.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17The road that was on the estuary side has gone,
0:09:17 > 0:09:19that's totally disappeared.
0:09:19 > 0:09:25In a matter of hours, the sea swept away the defensive dunes and man-made
0:09:25 > 0:09:29infrastructure, casually dropping them on the other side of the spit
0:09:29 > 0:09:32and leaving behind little more than a wasteland.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38And now, at some tides, will this be flooded? Will the sea be over here?
0:09:38 > 0:09:42- Yes.- So, what was a sort of full-time peninsula has now,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45occasionally at least, become an island up the end there.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47You can say that, yes.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50It's now a totally different place from what it was
0:09:50 > 0:09:52for the last 60 years.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57This part of Spurn Point was protected by banks of sand dunes.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Until the 1950s, the defences here also consisted of stone
0:10:01 > 0:10:03and timber walls.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06This winter, that kind of hard protection,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10as well as metal barriers like those on the Thames or Humber,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13prevented thousands of homes from flooding.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16But in other places, sea walls struggled.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20In towns as far apart as Aberystwyth and Scarborough, the water got
0:10:20 > 0:10:23through when defences were breached or damaged.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28And in Bridlington, the harbour walls were swamped
0:10:28 > 0:10:31and businesses were flooded.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33So, what was it like here, Chris?
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Yeah, well these were the harbour offices
0:10:35 > 0:10:38and it was just at this point where the water came to.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Chris Wright, chairman of the Bridlington Harbour Commissioners
0:10:41 > 0:10:43had a night he'll never forget.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45So, what was it like at the height of the storm?
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Walking along here, this jetty is called the chicken run.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51There was about two-and-a-half, three feet of water on here.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- Yeah.- Right up here, we would have been up to our middles?- We would.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58The boats were coming over and so, people were on here up to their
0:10:58 > 0:11:02waists in water, pushing the boats off, waiting for the tide to ebb.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04And what about the properties and shops on the side there?
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Yes, those shops at the north side of the harbour, there was
0:11:07 > 0:11:09approximately four feet of water in there.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12And of course the warehouses at the end of the pier here,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16they were all flooded. It was quite an experience.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Bridlington's sea defences are now being upgraded at a cost
0:11:20 > 0:11:22of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26Fighting off the waves in this way, with traditional hard walls
0:11:26 > 0:11:31and barriers, has been the defence of choice for hundreds of years,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34whether they're made from timber, rock, concrete
0:11:34 > 0:11:36or, more recently, metal.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41But is pouring millions of pounds into hard defences
0:11:41 > 0:11:44around the British coast really the way forward?
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Tim Collins is from Natural England, which has been
0:11:49 > 0:11:53looking at the best ways to protect our coastline in the years to come.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58For him, hard defences are not the automatic choice they once were.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02I'm meeting him at a beach where the evidence of the sea's power
0:12:02 > 0:12:04is everywhere.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07If hard defences work when they're well maintained,
0:12:07 > 0:12:08why don't we build more of them?
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Well, we can build them
0:12:10 > 0:12:13but they're actually extremely expensive, so if you build more
0:12:13 > 0:12:16you're going to have to spend more money on maintaining them.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18Predictions for climate change suggest that
0:12:18 > 0:12:22larger, bigger storms are actually going to become more frequent
0:12:22 > 0:12:24in the future, so going forward to, say, 2050, 2060,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27the sort of storm events
0:12:27 > 0:12:31that we had in December could be re-occurring every 10 or 20 years.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33And that means that slightly smaller ones will be occurring
0:12:33 > 0:12:35even more rapidly than that.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39So that potentially poses some really big challenges for us
0:12:39 > 0:12:42as we make decisions about how to manage the coast.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45But if we don't surround vulnerable coastline with rocks
0:12:45 > 0:12:49and concrete, how do we defend our islands from the sea?
0:12:49 > 0:12:53For bodies like Natural England, the Environment Agency
0:12:53 > 0:12:55and the National Trust, there is another away
0:12:55 > 0:12:59and I'll be finding out more about that later in the programme.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09The raw, rugged beauty of the Lake District has been
0:13:09 > 0:13:13an inspiration to artists and poets for centuries.
0:13:15 > 0:13:21Wordsworth, Ruskin, Turner. They've all found it here.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Even Kurt Schwitters.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28The name Kurt Schwitters may not be that familiar, but to many,
0:13:28 > 0:13:33he's one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36He's often described as the godfather of pop art.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38His influence is still felt today.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45And he worked right here in Ambleside. He's famous the world
0:13:45 > 0:13:51over, but here in Britain, where he ended his days, he's almost unknown.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Schwitters made art from the things he found.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59The Lake District landscape was not just his inspiration,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02but the source of his materials, too.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06To see his work for myself, I've come to Ambleside's Armitt Museum,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09where works like this one called Wood On Wood are on display.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14It's an incredible picture, isn't it, Deborah?
0:14:14 > 0:14:17- Is that Wood On Wood typical of Schwitters' work?- It is indeed.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21It's very typical. Nature was very important to him.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24He believed that no artist could create
0:14:24 > 0:14:26from pure fantasy alone.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30- You know, he had to immerse himself in nature...- Right.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34..to sort of refresh his spirit and his vision.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38And I think with Wood On Wood, you can see that it's a very
0:14:38 > 0:14:41strong response to this landscape.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45Was he one of the first to do this? Was it quite innovative?
0:14:45 > 0:14:46It was innovative.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49You know, Picasso had worked in collage before
0:14:49 > 0:14:55but he started experimenting with the idea of the wood collage
0:14:55 > 0:15:00in the 1920s and then from that, onto the use of found objects.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03You know, the detritus of daily life.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Schwitters was born in Germany in 1887.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17To escape persecution from the Nazis, he fled first to Norway
0:15:17 > 0:15:23and then to England. He arrived in 1940, penniless and unknown.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29Remarkably, there are people who remember Schwitters in Ambleside.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33One of the last still alive is 95-year-old Jo Clarke.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39First time I met Kurt Schwitters was more road less on this spot here.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Oh, right, just where we are standing now?
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Yes, because this was a bus station in those days.
0:15:45 > 0:15:52And this particular day, I was late for the bus, so I was running.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54And a plane was going overhead.
0:15:54 > 0:16:00I looked up, and Kurt Schwitters was doing his usual thing
0:16:00 > 0:16:05by looking in all the gutters and on the floor for bits of paper
0:16:05 > 0:16:07and bottle tops,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11and we collided rather heavily. And as our faces crossed,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15he laughed at me, and I couldn't help but laugh back.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19- You couldn't not be friends after that, could you?- How funny.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23What an incredible way to meet. And so you did stay in contact?
0:16:23 > 0:16:25It wasn't just that one collision?
0:16:25 > 0:16:30Well, his next words were to me, "Have you got anything to eat?"
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Next Saturday morning, as I got off the bus, he was there.
0:16:33 > 0:16:34"Have you anything to eat?"
0:16:34 > 0:16:36To make ends meet,
0:16:36 > 0:16:41the starving artist painted local scenes like this one,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45the Bridge House, where he sold those paintings too.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51He would put them on the steps on Saturdays and Sundays
0:16:51 > 0:16:55and he soon realised that his best trade was a local trade,
0:16:55 > 0:17:00and that if he sketched a cottage, somebody would go
0:17:00 > 0:17:02and knock at the door and say,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05"Kurt Schwitters has got your cottage for sale."
0:17:05 > 0:17:08They would start off at about two-and-sixpence
0:17:08 > 0:17:10- in the morning, on Saturday.- Yeah.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15- By Sunday night, you could usually get it for sixpence.- Oh, my word.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18- Did you ever buy any? - No, I didn't,
0:17:18 > 0:17:23because I didn't think he was any good at being a landscape painter.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27- I liked his collages.- Right. - And of course, he wouldn't sell them.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30- They were very personal to him. - Right.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Schwitters' work kick-started the whole pop art movement of the '60s
0:17:39 > 0:17:43and continues to inspire modern artists.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47Renowned painter and designer Russell Mills is one of them.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50He has designed album covers for rock acts
0:17:50 > 0:17:54ranging from Brian Eno to Nine Inch Nails.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56But it's in his artwork that you see
0:17:56 > 0:17:59the clearest influence of Kurt Schwitters.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02He's always there in the background, so to speak.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06He opened up the idea of being able to use anything
0:18:06 > 0:18:12and everything in art. He didn't see any separation between life and art.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17So the everyday became as important as anything else in work.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20And that opened up, I think, the whole...
0:18:20 > 0:18:22what we now know as modernism.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27So why did Schwitters come to a landscape like this?
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Partly because it reminded him so much of Norway,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34where he had spent many years working and escaping the Nazis.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39Why is it do you think that he is so little known in this country?
0:18:39 > 0:18:41He worked in so many different areas.
0:18:41 > 0:18:46So you can't really pin him down, as we like to do in this country.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- We seem to like to put people into pigeonholes.- Yes.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Schwitters didn't see any difference between doing a landscape painting
0:18:52 > 0:18:55and doing an abstract piece of work.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57He saw them both as important.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00And I think that's one of the reasons we find it difficult.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04And I don't think anyone has really looked at the fact that his work,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08the kind of DNA of his work, is just everywhere, all the time.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12We wouldn't have the art world that we have today. I don't think
0:19:12 > 0:19:14we would have the film world we have today,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16without the work that Schwitters had done.
0:19:22 > 0:19:27Schwitters was convinced that one day, his work could be understood
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and valued for what it was.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33He said, "I know for sure that a great day will come for myself
0:19:33 > 0:19:35"and for other important individuals
0:19:35 > 0:19:37"of the abstract movement,
0:19:37 > 0:19:42"when we shall influence a whole generation."
0:19:42 > 0:19:44But he went on, "Only I fear
0:19:44 > 0:19:49"that I personally will not live to see that day."
0:19:49 > 0:19:50He was right.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57Kurt Schwitters was the odd man out of 20th-century art.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00But he drew solace and inspiration from these fells.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03They shaped his work and ensured his legacy.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12The stunning scenery of the Lake District has not only beguiled
0:20:12 > 0:20:15some of the world's greatest artists.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17It also proved an irresistible choice
0:20:17 > 0:20:20for Countryfile's opening titles.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Since we're in the business of letting the cat out of the bag,
0:20:23 > 0:20:25most of the opening title sequence
0:20:25 > 0:20:28was shot right here in this very valley.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34The Langdale Valley in the South Lakes is a joy to behold.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36But for many who come here,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39it's not just the views that take their breath away.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41If you are up for a challenge,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44the Langdale Valley has some of the best climbing in the UK.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50With classic routes ranging from dead easy to downright insane,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53there's a summit to be bagged for everyone.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58But to climb here is to follow in one man's footsteps.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I'm meeting Bill Birkett at the Old Dungeon Ghyll,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05a famous climbers' haunt at the foot of the Langdale Pikes.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10'Round these parts, his family are legends.'
0:21:10 > 0:21:13Now, if there's one name worth dropping round here,
0:21:13 > 0:21:14it's definitely Birkett, isn't it?
0:21:14 > 0:21:17I mean, it's fair to say climbing in this area owes a lot
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- to your family, doesn't it? - Yes, I guess so.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Up to Dad starting, it was kind of a sport for the elite, you know.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Obviously, people who could afford the leisure time
0:21:27 > 0:21:29and money to stay up here, and he was kind of the first
0:21:29 > 0:21:31from a working-class background, a local climber,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35you know, a guy who worked in the quarries and loved the fells so much
0:21:35 > 0:21:39that he started climbing, and it just went on from there.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44Born in 1914, Bill's Dad, Robert James Birkett, known as Jim,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48blazed a trail through these fells in the '30s and '40s, forging
0:21:48 > 0:21:50new routes up fell and over crag
0:21:50 > 0:21:54that others had never imagined possible.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56His fitness and immense finger strength
0:21:56 > 0:21:58were honed splitting slate in the quarries
0:21:58 > 0:22:01but it was his courage that was all the more impressive.
0:22:01 > 0:22:07When he was climbing, what sort of kit was he using?
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Well, very limited. This is the kind of rope that he used.
0:22:10 > 0:22:11This is just a hemp rope,
0:22:11 > 0:22:16and actually, very heavy and very inflexible and very weak.
0:22:16 > 0:22:17And the actual protection, you know,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20the things that now we place in the rock, like these,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23there was nothing like that at all.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26No harnesses, no carabiners, nothing like that.
0:22:26 > 0:22:27He would just be throwing these ropes...
0:22:27 > 0:22:30You would just tie this rope around your waist and that's it.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33He just set of and he never, ever fell off because if you did fall,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35that was the end of the story.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39How much did your dad talk to you about his climbing?
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Well, I started climbing with a friend from school, Ronnie Black,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46when I was 14, and my mum said, "Oh, your dad has done a bit of climbing.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49"Look at those guidebooks over on the shelf."
0:22:49 > 0:22:53So I picked the Scafell Guide up and looked through the routes.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56And at the back, there is a list of first ascents.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58I just couldn't believe it.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02There was page after page of RJ Birkett, my dad.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04I thought "Blimey." I was quite annoyed.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08All this time and I didn't even know he was a climber.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- So you had no idea until you saw it in print?- No.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12He had never mentioned it.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14A chip off the old block.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Bill was one of the greatest
0:23:16 > 0:23:18but most understated climbers of the '80s,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22while his nephew, Jim's grandson Dave Birkett, is considered
0:23:22 > 0:23:25among the best in the world.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28So many of the Lake District's most famous climbing routes
0:23:28 > 0:23:33were put down by the Birkett family and with today's safety equipment,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35it means mere mortals can repeat them.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37This is Scout Crag.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40It's a relatively easy climb by the standards of the area
0:23:40 > 0:23:42but it's not just any old crag.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45This is the one that is being climbed in the opening titles
0:23:45 > 0:23:47and, well, seeing as I'm here, it would be
0:23:47 > 0:23:51remiss of me not to give it a go. When in Rome, and all that.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57'Joe Harrop is a mountain guide, based in the Langdale Valley.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02'He also helped us choose some of the key locations for our titles.'
0:24:02 > 0:24:04- OK.- OK. So I am just going to get myself set.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08So just keep yourself against the rock while I get you on belay.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10When you did this for the titles,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12- the weather was quite different, wasn't it?- It was, yes.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15It was actually one of the hottest days of the summer last year.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17So yes, it is a wee bit different today.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Not that I'm competitive at all!
0:24:20 > 0:24:21THEY LAUGH
0:24:21 > 0:24:23OK, so you are going to start climbing.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27There are quite big handholds on this. That's right. Nice and easy.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Look for your holds as you're moving.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31'Scout Crag is rated V. Diff,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34'which actually isn't meant to be too challenging.'
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Now where am I going?
0:24:36 > 0:24:39You are going to try and stand up onto that left foot onto the ledge.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43There you go. Try and keep your weight in against the rock.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46I'm a bit stuck.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51- I might be about to fall.- That's OK. You are on a tight line.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Use your balance... There we go.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57'Thank goodness for safety harnesses!
0:24:57 > 0:25:00'With Bill having made his way up to see me,
0:25:00 > 0:25:04'I was determined not to let Scout Crag get the better of me.'
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Once you have passed this bulge, everything will be fine.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12If you are going to step over onto there,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15make sure you have got a good hand hold.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18There you go.
0:25:18 > 0:25:19Perfect.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25Good. Well done. That is the crux of the climb.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29It's probably not what I'm meant to be thinking about right now
0:25:29 > 0:25:32but it is stunning from up here, isn't it?
0:25:32 > 0:25:35'There really is no better way to see this landscape.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37'Having made the climb,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40'we repositioned ourselves to get the shot in the titles.'
0:25:40 > 0:25:44That bit is quite steep, isn't it?
0:25:44 > 0:25:47- Well done.- Thank you very much.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50I don't feel quite as glamorous as the woman in the titles, but...
0:25:50 > 0:25:52SHE PANTS
0:25:55 > 0:25:58- ..what do you reckon, Bill? - Well done. Very nice.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01- Will you make a Birkett of me yet? - Yes, your first climb in Langdale.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04It is all to go at now.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06I'd say the Birkett family's spirit of adventure
0:26:06 > 0:26:09is alive and well in these beautiful fells.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18Earlier, Tom discovered how the recent storms have tested
0:26:18 > 0:26:20even the hardiest of our coastal defences.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23But with the Environment Agency warning there is no
0:26:23 > 0:26:26bottomless purse, how can we protect our islands from the sea?
0:26:32 > 0:26:35This winter's storms were so ferocious that in places,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37our coastline was under siege
0:26:37 > 0:26:41and man-made defences struggled to fend off the sea.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48While budgets shrink, storms appear to be growing in both
0:26:48 > 0:26:50severity and frequency.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53On top of that you've got tidal surges, so what is the best
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and most realistic way of defending our coastline?
0:26:58 > 0:27:03Over recent years, the Environment Agency has overseen a move
0:27:03 > 0:27:07away from hard, man-made defences to what are known as soft defences,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11which seek to yield to nature rather than defy it,
0:27:11 > 0:27:15like this one on the north bank of the Humber Estuary.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Innes Thomson is the Agency's flood and coastal risk manager.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22This is the hill that protected Humberside.
0:27:22 > 0:27:23This is basically us coming up
0:27:23 > 0:27:26and we now have the Humber stretching both east and west.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28It looks pretty calm here today,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31but give me a feeling of what this is actually doing.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Well, one of the real marks that you can actually see down here is
0:27:34 > 0:27:37actually where the water came to on December 5th,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40and behind us you can see just how low the land is and where that water
0:27:40 > 0:27:43would've gone had that embankment not been here.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45How have the defences actually changed recently?
0:27:45 > 0:27:49What we've done, back in 2003, that was the original line of the
0:27:49 > 0:27:53defence, running along there, and you can see there is a break in it.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55That break was actually created
0:27:55 > 0:27:58to allow the water in the Humber Estuary
0:27:58 > 0:28:02to flow into this area. Before that, this was farmland,
0:28:02 > 0:28:07and that then allows more space for the water in the Humber Estuary
0:28:07 > 0:28:10to actually come onto this area of land.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Do you feel the fields and villages here are better protected
0:28:12 > 0:28:15because you've got this sort of buffer zone?
0:28:15 > 0:28:20The economic argument is very simple in that we are saying to people,
0:28:20 > 0:28:25"Feel comfortable that you now have a very robust flood defence here
0:28:25 > 0:28:28"instead of a much weaker flood defence that was out there."
0:28:28 > 0:28:31So, yes, there's a little bit of land that's had to be
0:28:31 > 0:28:35compromised, if I can put it that way, for a far greater amount
0:28:35 > 0:28:38of land that actually will be good for the next 50 to 100 years.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42This week, the Environment Agency's chairman Lord Smith said
0:28:42 > 0:28:45flooding would force us to make difficult choices.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Losing farmland to protect homes is an example.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51But soft defences which sacrifice land
0:28:51 > 0:28:55so that controlled flooding can zap the sea's power
0:28:55 > 0:28:59are now the Agency's solution of choice on rural coastlines.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Realigning your wall inland
0:29:02 > 0:29:06and letting the soft defences take more of the strain may be cheap
0:29:06 > 0:29:09and effective, but what about if your house
0:29:09 > 0:29:12and your land are right next to the sea?
0:29:13 > 0:29:15East Yorkshire's Holderness Coast
0:29:15 > 0:29:19has one of Europe's fastest eroding coastlines.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23It is disappearing at the rate of more than 2 metres a year,
0:29:23 > 0:29:27a frightening statistic for the residents of Skipsea who live
0:29:27 > 0:29:29right next to the sea.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33Here, there is no room for soft defences, and hard defences
0:29:33 > 0:29:37are just too expensive for any official body to pay for.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41One of those threatened residents is Janet Ellis.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46- So, this is your somewhat shrunken garden.- It certainly is.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50- What did it used to be like? - It used to be beautiful.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53- Absolutely beautiful.- And how big?
0:29:53 > 0:29:56Twice the size as what I've got now.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59And then beyond that, there was a road,
0:29:59 > 0:30:03which I used to drive my car in to the driveway
0:30:03 > 0:30:07and then beyond the road, there was enough greenery,
0:30:07 > 0:30:11as big as my garden, which I have lost to the sea.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15What do you think when people say in places like this,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18we can't hold back the sea, we've got to give it its freedom?
0:30:18 > 0:30:22I know it is nature but they have known about the erosion,
0:30:22 > 0:30:24they've known it for years and years and years,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27and surely they shouldn't build houses.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29They shouldn't build houses
0:30:29 > 0:30:32if they know they are going to go in the sea!
0:30:32 > 0:30:35So what do the council or others say when you ask,
0:30:35 > 0:30:38- "Can you protect my house, please?" - No. They say no.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42There is no funding, there is no compensation and yet
0:30:42 > 0:30:45they have passed all the planning, everything, for these bungalows
0:30:45 > 0:30:50to go up and they should be held responsible for all this, not me.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53If and when your house goes and you have to move,
0:30:53 > 0:30:56- what will you do? Where will you go? - Would you like me to say?- Yes.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59Right. I'll move to 10 Downing Street
0:30:59 > 0:31:02and I'll sit outside there and see whether there's a room vacant
0:31:02 > 0:31:06for me and my son, see if he likes it.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08That's what I'll do.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12With no plans to defend this stretch of coastline,
0:31:12 > 0:31:18it's now just a matter of time before Janet's home is swallowed by the sea.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21So, do we have to accept that some parts of our coasts simply
0:31:21 > 0:31:22can't be saved?
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Natural England is one of many bodies predicting some difficult
0:31:26 > 0:31:28decisions in the future,
0:31:28 > 0:31:30not just over coastal communities,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33but also when it comes to wildlife and farmland.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37We need to recognise that what has happened here is completely
0:31:37 > 0:31:39indicative of climate change
0:31:39 > 0:31:43and we're going to face very similar problems again in the future.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45So, should we just let the sea run free
0:31:45 > 0:31:47and take as much land as it wants?
0:31:47 > 0:31:49Not everywhere. There's places that it's important to protect,
0:31:49 > 0:31:52but in some places, we need to recognise
0:31:52 > 0:31:54that the cost of repairing the defences
0:31:54 > 0:31:57is actually going to be unsustainable.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Will that strategic approach mean we just protect our towns and cities,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03and they end up like islands and the sea washes around us?
0:32:03 > 0:32:06No, no. There's important bits of farmland that we do need to protect
0:32:06 > 0:32:08because they are the bread basket of the country.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12It won't be appropriate, but in places,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15adaptation is going to be necessary.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Defences will become more expensive to maintain. We're faced with
0:32:18 > 0:32:22rising sea levels - there is some really big challenges to face up to.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25And that won't be easy.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30But changing circumstances may force us to adapt our behaviour,
0:32:30 > 0:32:34our thinking and our expectations.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38The debris of our attempts to hold back the sea is all around me.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42In fact, in Roman times, this coastline used to be about 3.5 miles
0:32:42 > 0:32:47off there, about where the stubs of those wind turbines are.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51So, in the long term, the march of the sea is pretty much unstoppable
0:32:51 > 0:32:54and climate change may be hastening its step.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58The question for us today is, what do we want to protect
0:32:58 > 0:33:03and how much money are we prepared to spend to delay the inevitable?
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Those words were by William Wordsworth,
0:33:24 > 0:33:28one of our very greatest poets, and the scene he was describing
0:33:28 > 0:33:33was right here, the Langdale Valley in the heart of the Lake District.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37The poem is called The Excursion.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41It was first published exactly 200 years ago and tells the tale of
0:33:41 > 0:33:46four characters and the conversations they had walking in this landscape.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51Jeff Cowton, one of the country's leading Wordsworth experts,
0:33:51 > 0:33:52is going to tell me more.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55- Jeff, it is good to see you. - Hello, Ellie.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59- Now, that is such a glorious view, isn't it?- Isn't that a great view?
0:33:59 > 0:34:02The Langdale Pikes across there and then to our right here,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Lingmoor Fell, where in the poem, The Excursion,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08this is where the Poet and the Wanderer come down
0:34:08 > 0:34:10off the top of the fell, they come to the cottage there.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14- That one just there?- That little white cottage there.- Wow.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16After that, they come across, across the tarn,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19and then to this area across here where the trees are,
0:34:19 > 0:34:21and that's where they have big deliberations.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24So, the landscape is very real in the story?
0:34:24 > 0:34:27The landscape is absolutely central.
0:34:27 > 0:34:28This is the heart of the Lakes.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31It is a little area which is self-sufficient, it's peaceful,
0:34:31 > 0:34:33it's miles from other settlements,
0:34:33 > 0:34:36so the place itself is absolutely spot on.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Would he have come up here for inspiration in this weather?
0:34:42 > 0:34:45- I don't know about weather like this.- Surely you wouldn't.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Maybe not, but he did walk. Walking was a part of their everyday life,
0:34:48 > 0:34:52William and his sister Dorothy. It was a way of being with nature
0:34:52 > 0:34:55and on their walks they would stop and they would look
0:34:55 > 0:34:58and they would lie down and if you think about it, lying on your back
0:34:58 > 0:35:01in the landscape is about as close to the earth as you can get.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05Absolutely. I guess he's associated a lot with Grasmere and Rydal,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08and not necessarily so much with these valleys, but yet here he was.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10But he knew them. He grew up here.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14He spent his childhood here, he returned at the age of 29
0:35:14 > 0:35:17and this was what he always called his native mountains.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20This was him, this was where Wordsworth was rooted,
0:35:20 > 0:35:22this was where he was at one with nature.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29Wordsworth was a master of his craft,
0:35:29 > 0:35:33but the words to The Excursion did not come easily.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36It took him 17 years to write.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38'Here at the Wordsworth Trust's library,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42'I am about to get a rare glimpse of the great man's working methods.'
0:35:42 > 0:35:47So, you have Wordsworth's actual handwriting for The Excursion here?
0:35:47 > 0:35:49Absolutely do.
0:35:49 > 0:35:54If we look at this example here, which is a stunning piece, isn't it?
0:35:54 > 0:35:57- Wow! Very fine handwriting.- It is.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01And this is the lines that becomes book one of The Excursion.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03The sort of splodges and crossings out
0:36:03 > 0:36:07and every single part of the page is filled.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11For Wordsworth it was a process of honing it to the perfect form.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13He was very rarely satisfied.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16His sister-in-law said that the only time a poem was finished,
0:36:16 > 0:36:19if you like, was when it was bound between the boards of a book.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21It was too late for him to change it.
0:36:21 > 0:36:22It was too late, he could not do any more.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26'The Excursion was finally bound between the boards of a book
0:36:26 > 0:36:28'in 1814, and what a book.'
0:36:30 > 0:36:32This is leather on the outside.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35This is a lovely diced leather on the outside.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39And inside, it's beautiful paper. It's just a beautiful thing to read.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42It is. There's gold leaf, there's all sorts of beautiful detail.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45So, this would have been expensive for someone to buy then?
0:36:45 > 0:36:47This would cost two guineas.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51That, at the time, you could buy 100 pigs for the price of this book.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54So, if you like, the people who Wordsworth was writing about
0:36:54 > 0:36:56wouldn't be in a position...
0:36:56 > 0:36:58- They'd rather have the 100 pigs, I'm sure.- Absolutely.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03'Rarer by far is this edition,
0:37:03 > 0:37:06'a cheaper version published for everyday reading.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09'It is one of only a handful still in existence.'
0:37:11 > 0:37:14- Now, you can see straight away... - Tatty edges to the paper.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17Nobody has really cared about it. It's like a paperback.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20- You might put your cup of tea on it. - Rough and ready.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23This is how it would have been more commonly available.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25So what does this represent on the front?
0:37:25 > 0:37:27Well, this was a way of making a book affordable,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30so this would belong to the Harrow Literary Club
0:37:30 > 0:37:33- and it would then be circulated amongst its members.- I see.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36I don't know about you, I know which one I would prefer.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38I prefer the one with the correct words inside.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41Well, then, you can choose either because their
0:37:41 > 0:37:44words are identical, it's just how you judge the book by the cover.
0:37:44 > 0:37:45Absolutely.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55At the time of his death, Wordsworth was a literary superstar
0:37:55 > 0:37:59and people came from all over to make pilgrimages to his grave
0:37:59 > 0:38:01here in Grasmere.
0:38:04 > 0:38:09And for some people, that presented an opportunity too good to miss.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14One of them was a lady called Sarah Nelson, who saw the pilgrims
0:38:14 > 0:38:19and took it upon herself to sell them her very own gingerbread.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22Sarah Nelson originally sold her wares from a tree stump
0:38:22 > 0:38:24near the church.
0:38:24 > 0:38:29In 1854, she took over the old school where Wordsworth had taught.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33Joanne, how are you doing?
0:38:33 > 0:38:36'Little has changed inside the shop.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39'Joanne Hunter is the woman now in charge.'
0:38:39 > 0:38:41- So, Sarah, she was very enterprising. - She was.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44She was a real Victorian entrepreneur of her time,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47especially as she was a working-class lady.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50And she was very clever because the recipe is a secret
0:38:50 > 0:38:53and she put the recipe in the bank where it still is today,
0:38:53 > 0:38:58in the bank vault, and she also trademarked the logo, and that is
0:38:58 > 0:39:01her original logo, so nothing has changed in respect of that.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04But how do you make it today, then, if the recipe is in a bank vault?
0:39:04 > 0:39:08My husband does all the mixing of the secret ingredients
0:39:08 > 0:39:11and we have staff that bakes the gingerbread
0:39:11 > 0:39:13and they are all signed on secrecy clauses,
0:39:13 > 0:39:18- but the actual ingredients is only known by him, not even me.- Wow!
0:39:18 > 0:39:19That's a secret that you keep...
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Even in your marriage, he keeps it from you?
0:39:22 > 0:39:24- Yeah. I hope that's the only thing! - Yes, exactly.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31Since I'm here, I am going to put in a shift in the packing area.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35But keeping up with Joanne is going to take some doing.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38- Christmas presents are no problems for you, are they?- No, they're not.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40That's some serious wrapping.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45Originally, it was sold by weight, so we called this half a pound
0:39:45 > 0:39:48and what they used to do is they used to weigh all
0:39:48 > 0:39:52the gingerbread and then all the bits that were cut off the side to
0:39:52 > 0:39:55make it weigh correctly, they used to sell it to the local children
0:39:55 > 0:39:58as penny bags, and all those pennies used to go to Dr Barnardo's.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01Oh, lovely.
0:40:01 > 0:40:08So what does it taste like? It would be a bit rude not to. Here we go.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Mmm! Mmm! Delish!
0:40:12 > 0:40:16The gingerbread that made Sarah Nelson famous is for many as much
0:40:16 > 0:40:19a part of the Lake District as Wordsworth's poems
0:40:19 > 0:40:23and whether it is words or sweet delicacies you are after,
0:40:23 > 0:40:25there is nourishment to be had in these hills.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41For any livestock farmer, having the best animals that produce
0:40:41 > 0:40:43quality offspring is key.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46So, when Adam heard of a record-breaking bull in
0:40:46 > 0:40:50Chiddingstone, Kent, he couldn't resist going to see him.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00This is a herd of pedigree Charolais cattle.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03They are one of the biggest beef breeds there is.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06They are very fast-growing and produce great meat.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09And because of their qualities, they are very popular
0:41:09 > 0:41:11and farmed all over the world.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15In the late 1950s, the French Charolais
0:41:15 > 0:41:20was the first Continental breed of cattle to be introduced to Britain.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23They grew faster and bigger than our native breeds
0:41:23 > 0:41:25and produced high-quality meat,
0:41:25 > 0:41:29and because of that, they revolutionised our beef industry.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33Owning good-quality breeding stock
0:41:33 > 0:41:36of a popular breed like this is big business.
0:41:36 > 0:41:37To put it into context,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41a few years ago, I paid £2,500 for my Highland bull, Eric.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44But this is a totally different league.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48The farm here bred a Charolais bull called Vexour Garth,
0:41:48 > 0:41:51and he holds the title as the most expensive Charolais bull
0:41:51 > 0:41:52on the planet.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56When I heard what he sold for, I was absolutely gobsmacked.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59- AUCTIONEER: - Ladies and gentlemen...
0:41:59 > 0:42:03In autumn 2012, 18-month-old Vexour Garth
0:42:03 > 0:42:09strode into the ring at the Stirling bull sale in Scotland.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13He was one of the favourites of the day, a fine-looking specimen.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19The starting bid was 5,000 guineas, or £5,250.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23And he soon exceeded 20,000.
0:42:25 > 0:42:2822,000, 25,000, 28,000...
0:42:28 > 0:42:32The price started to soar and soar fast.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36It was clear that a bidding war had started.
0:42:36 > 0:42:3860,000 bid. 65,000 bid...
0:42:38 > 0:42:42He topped 60,000... 70,000... 80,000...
0:42:42 > 0:42:45and was still going strong.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48As he approached 100,000,
0:42:48 > 0:42:53even the auctioneer could not contain his excitement.
0:42:53 > 0:42:5895,000... 100,000! I have 100,000 guineas!
0:42:58 > 0:43:01GASPS AND APPLAUSE
0:43:01 > 0:43:03100,000 guineas I am bid.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07He sold for a staggering 100,000 guineas.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10That's £105,000, a new world record
0:43:10 > 0:43:14as the most expensive Charolais bull on the planet.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16APPLAUSE
0:43:16 > 0:43:18The bull has been bought by Mr Colin Mitchell,
0:43:18 > 0:43:21on behalf of the Livestock Capital Company...
0:43:21 > 0:43:26Farm manager Ray Farmiga reared this astonishing bull
0:43:26 > 0:43:28and now looks after him for his new owners.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32Here he is. Vexour Garth. Goodness me, he looks fantastic.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36Ray, did you ever imagine he would make the kind of money that he did?
0:43:36 > 0:43:38Not that much, no.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41I mean, his predicted value at the time was about 30,000 guineas.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43But when we got in the ring,
0:43:43 > 0:43:46it just kept going up and up and up on the bidding.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48It was just unbelievable.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51So, American investors bought him. But the animal is still here.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53So how does that work for them?
0:43:53 > 0:43:56They are only interested really in the semen from him, as such.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00So, it is cheaper, it is better for them to leave him with us,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03and we will extract the semen here, and sell it on their behalf.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06So, he could have calves being born all over the world,
0:44:06 > 0:44:08and he has never seen the cows?
0:44:08 > 0:44:09No, that's right.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13- And have the investors sold semen from him already?- They have.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15We extracted 2,000 straws from him.
0:44:15 > 0:44:19Those 2,000 straws were sold within 36 hours. About £100 a straw.
0:44:19 > 0:44:24- So that is £200,000 within the first 36 hours of owning him?- Exactly.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28That was a good investment. They got their money back AND some.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30- It was.- Doubled their money!
0:44:30 > 0:44:33And so what is the potential from this bull, then?
0:44:33 > 0:44:36They've done a projected value for him, for his entire life,
0:44:36 > 0:44:39- and it comes out at around £2.2 million.- Amazing.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41That is just extraordinary.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44So that is what you get for your original outlay.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48You want to look after him! Don't let anything happen to him!
0:44:48 > 0:44:51That has been the bane of my life!
0:44:51 > 0:44:54Cos when we first had him here, I used to come out in the morning,
0:44:54 > 0:44:57to come down and see the bulls, and he was the first stop!
0:44:57 > 0:45:00And my heart only slowed down after I got in the pen
0:45:00 > 0:45:02and saw that he was all right.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05The worst scenario is to come down and, you know...
0:45:05 > 0:45:07There is something wrong with him!
0:45:07 > 0:45:11- Shall we take him for a little walk? - Sure! Come on, boy.
0:45:11 > 0:45:16Come on, big fella. So, as Charolais go, what makes him so special, then?
0:45:16 > 0:45:20His size. He is very long. His confirmation.
0:45:20 > 0:45:21He has got a lovely straight back.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25And he has got what they call a second muscle on the rear,
0:45:25 > 0:45:29which gives him a lot of strength when he is actually mounting cows.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32So, you could actually put him with quite a large number of cows...
0:45:32 > 0:45:35- Do the job. - ..and he would serve more.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42Come on, boy. Go on. In you go.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45As the king of all Charolais bulls,
0:45:45 > 0:45:48Vexour Garth gets first-class treatment.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52Monitoring his weight is done on a regular basis.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55And I am dying to find out how heavy he is.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59So this is like bringing a bull onto the bathroom scales.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01- 1,220 kilos.- 1,220 kilos.
0:46:01 > 0:46:06Almost a tonne-and-a-quarter. Incredible weight!
0:46:06 > 0:46:09And when he is fully grown, at his absolute prime,
0:46:09 > 0:46:14- what kind of weight then?- 1,450. 1,500.- So nearly a tonne-and-a-half?
0:46:14 > 0:46:16- Nearly a tonne-and-a-half.- Amazing!
0:46:18 > 0:46:21And he is so quiet, isn't he? Just to bring him into a crush like this.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25Yes, being the sort of bull he is, he is quite famous now.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28And he is getting used to people pointing cameras at him!
0:46:28 > 0:46:31- You know, he is... - He likes the fame!
0:46:31 > 0:46:34- He's quite laid back about it, yeah! - You have the beauty parlour here.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36I see another bull being washed.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39You are constantly looking after them, keeping them clean and tidy.
0:46:39 > 0:46:40That's right. It is a full-time job.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42These guys are all worth a lot of money.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46So, when they are not working with the ladies, they are constantly...
0:46:46 > 0:46:47- Being pampered?- Yeah.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56And part of the pampering routine is a foot pedicure.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58But getting under the feet of this huge animal
0:46:58 > 0:47:01is proving to be a bit tricky.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04There is a tonne-and-a-quarter of rippling muscle here
0:47:04 > 0:47:07that they are trying to persuade to get into a contraption where
0:47:07 > 0:47:10he will have his toenails clipped.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14And he's not all that keen to go. And if he doesn't want to, he won't.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27Walk on, walk on.
0:47:30 > 0:47:35With a bit of patience, after 15 minutes, we eventually get there.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40There's a good fella. It wasn't that bad, was it?
0:47:42 > 0:47:46If he lost his temper, it would be a very different scene, wouldn't it?
0:47:46 > 0:47:49If he wanted to, he could pick this crush up and walk off with it.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52Yeah. Let's have a look at the business end.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56Foot trimmer, Peter Heath, is wasting no time to get the job done.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00Hi there, Peter. OK, what are his feet like?
0:48:00 > 0:48:03As you can see, we have a lot of overgrowth on his outside claw.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05And we've also got cracks in the back of the heel.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07This is a bit of a problem called slurry heel.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10Where the bulls are in the muck and the slurry,
0:48:10 > 0:48:12sometimes they get the bacterial infection
0:48:12 > 0:48:14that gets into the back of the heel.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16So, basically, he is having his routine trim now.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19What we're going to try to do is shift the weight
0:48:19 > 0:48:20evenly over the two claws,
0:48:20 > 0:48:23cut all these cracks out on the back of the heel to stop the infection...
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Oh! There we go!
0:48:25 > 0:48:28- That is one of the problems with the trade, I suppose!- It is!
0:48:28 > 0:48:29I am glad I was stood over here!
0:48:32 > 0:48:36With my rare-breed cattle at home, we tend to only foot-trim them
0:48:36 > 0:48:38if they need it. We don't do it as a routine.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40I think you find that with the rare breeds,
0:48:40 > 0:48:43they are not being fed as much as these Charolais.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46These guys, they are being fed up to 15 kilos of feed every day,
0:48:46 > 0:48:48a high-protein feed to make them grow.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51So that is why they often get more feet problems.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53Just the protein makes the hoof grow faster.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57- Yeah.- How often are you trimming bulls that are worth about £100,000?
0:48:57 > 0:49:00You don't get many of these guys!
0:49:00 > 0:49:03And it is not every day I get to work so closely
0:49:03 > 0:49:05to such a fine-looking beast.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07And it has been a privilege.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10He might be a gentle giant, but Vexour Garth is magnificent.
0:49:10 > 0:49:15And at the moment, he is the most famous Charolais bull in the world.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20This is Blea Tarn in the Lake District.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22You might recognise it from our opening titles.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Now, I am going to get into this water right now,
0:49:25 > 0:49:29which I know is cold, but, erm... Goodness me!
0:49:29 > 0:49:31I tell you what, it is absolutely Baltic!
0:49:31 > 0:49:33I have a thermometer here. Let's find out how cold it is.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36There we go, right. It is four degrees centigrade.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39Apparently this is the perfect temperature for some hardy souls
0:49:39 > 0:49:41to take an invigorating dip.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43Very shortly, I am going to be finding out
0:49:43 > 0:49:45what on earth possesses these people!
0:49:45 > 0:49:48First, it's time to find out what the temperatures are going to be
0:49:48 > 0:49:51where you are, with the Countryfile forecast for the week ahead.
0:49:51 > 0:49:53That is me, done!
0:52:07 > 0:52:11We've been exploring the photogenic Lake District locations
0:52:11 > 0:52:15and meeting the locals that make an appearance in the Countryfile
0:52:15 > 0:52:17opening titles every Sunday.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19Earlier, I was on the Cumbrian coast
0:52:19 > 0:52:22with the Silecroft Beach horse-riders...
0:52:22 > 0:52:25Go on! Go on! Come on, Basil!
0:52:25 > 0:52:27..while Helen was in the Langdale Valley
0:52:27 > 0:52:30recreating the ascent of Lower Scout Crag.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34- Oh!- Well done!- Thank you very much!
0:52:34 > 0:52:39So that just leaves one more piece to the jigsaw. The wild swimmer.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42Well, I can tell you, that he was filmed from this very spot,
0:52:42 > 0:52:44swimming out into Blea Tarn.
0:52:44 > 0:52:45But who is he?
0:52:45 > 0:52:48I mean, we all just know him from the back of his head.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52Well, here is some behind-the-scenes footage taken on the day.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54Our breaststroker is Matt Etheridge,
0:52:54 > 0:52:58a professional mountain guide from the Langdale Valley.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01Having a bit of trouble getting out there, Matt?
0:53:01 > 0:53:05Nice to put a name and a face to the back of a head.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07Like all the other shots in the titles,
0:53:07 > 0:53:11the footage at this Lakeland beauty spot was captured
0:53:11 > 0:53:15at the height of summer when Blea Tarn's water was a balmy 20 degrees.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20But no-one would be mad enough to go in on a day like today.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Well, almost no-one!
0:53:22 > 0:53:25Pete Kelly lives and breaths cold-water swimming,
0:53:25 > 0:53:29and he likes nothing more than to head down
0:53:29 > 0:53:33to his local tarn for a dip, albeit in the middle of winter
0:53:33 > 0:53:36when it's an icy four degrees in the water,
0:53:36 > 0:53:38wearing just a pair of trunks.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41Now, Pete, swimming in water that is this cold is something that is
0:53:41 > 0:53:44- not to be taken lightly.- Not at all.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48I mean, this is four degrees, so very cold.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51You'll get a strong shock response when you go in the water
0:53:51 > 0:53:53unless your body is used to it.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56And that is a big gasp of air, like that.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58As you get in the water, that is going to happen,
0:53:58 > 0:54:01your breathing rate is going to go up, your heart rate
0:54:01 > 0:54:05is going to increase, and your blood pressure is also going to increase.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Cold-water shock can come on very quickly and be fatal.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12So you do still get that shock factor even when you do it...
0:54:12 > 0:54:14Physiologically, I'm used to it,
0:54:14 > 0:54:17which is the main thing. That takes time.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19Psychologically, I am ready for it as well.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23To prepare for that mentally, I am just calming myself down now.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26Thinking warm thoughts, trying to summon the inner fire,
0:54:26 > 0:54:30and I just remind myself how much I enjoy it at this point,
0:54:30 > 0:54:34because this transition is the most difficult point, getting in.
0:54:34 > 0:54:38- You've got your dog here as well, haven't you?- I have, yes! Boot.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42He is my coach. He consistently out-swims me, unfortunately!
0:54:42 > 0:54:44Hopefully he won't show me up today!
0:54:44 > 0:54:46Even though Blea Tarn is a protected site,
0:54:46 > 0:54:49Pete has special permission to swim here
0:54:49 > 0:54:52and has taken all the right safety precautions.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54We've got a trained lifeguard,
0:54:54 > 0:54:57and a hot drink and warm clothes for when he gets out.
0:54:57 > 0:54:58Have a lovely dip!
0:55:04 > 0:55:08Right, Boots, are you ready, my friend? You go and join him.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10Boots is just itching to get in.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15Yeah? Thumbs up. There we are.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19The absolute longest he can stay in at this temperature is 15 minutes.
0:55:19 > 0:55:22Obviously, Pete is acclimatised to this.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25I certainly wouldn't advise going out and doing this on your own.
0:55:25 > 0:55:27We've got a safety team here.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32It is so lovely, they are having a race.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39Oh, well, listen, amazing!
0:55:39 > 0:55:42- Do you feel good? - Yeah, it always feels good.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45Let me get this sheet for you.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49Let's have a full-body assessment from head to toe.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52OK, I am freezing from head to toe!
0:55:52 > 0:55:54THEY LAUGH
0:55:54 > 0:55:58- I do feel awesome, I have to say.- Do you?- Yeah.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01But I know I'm going to start shivering quite violently soon.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04So, you go into mild hypothermia,
0:56:04 > 0:56:07and to warm your body up you get uncontrollable shaking.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09So, I have got a hot drink there.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12Loads of kit on, a good backup team...
0:56:12 > 0:56:15Do you know, you've got, like, a different aura!
0:56:15 > 0:56:21- You're kind of just...- You can't stop smiling. I am annoyingly happy!
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Good lad, good lad!
0:56:24 > 0:56:27Pete, I can imagine people at home, watching this,
0:56:27 > 0:56:30looking at your hands, thinking, "Why on earth is he doing it?"
0:56:30 > 0:56:33- But it is worth it, yes?- Yeah. Never had a bad swim. Feel great now.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36Listen, think you can convince Ellie to jump in? Here she is!
0:56:36 > 0:56:39- What do you reckon, my dear? - I reckon you are a crazy, crazy man!
0:56:39 > 0:56:43So crazy I brought you this to try and warm you up. Some gingerbread.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46- I live off gingerbread.- Oh, really? - That's the one!- Great!
0:56:46 > 0:56:48I was going to say, don't try and dunk it,
0:56:48 > 0:56:49you'll never get it in your cup!
0:56:49 > 0:56:52But anyway, that is all we have got time for this week.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54We really do hope that you have enjoyed learning more
0:56:54 > 0:56:57about those locations that you see at the start of the programme.
0:56:57 > 0:56:58Next week we will be in Wiltshire
0:56:58 > 0:57:00discovering why it is perfect for pigs,
0:57:00 > 0:57:03and finding out how an ancient woodland is helping injured troops
0:57:03 > 0:57:05on the road to recovery.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07We are going to leave you with one last shot.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10It is Langstrath Valley. Bye-bye.
0:57:13 > 0:57:18Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd