0:00:03 > 0:00:08This is a story of Britain, but a Britain that we very rarely see.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Britain as an undiscovered country. We're travelling
0:00:13 > 0:00:17from the southern tip of England to the far north of Scotland,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19exploring the best the British countryside has to offer.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23But we are going to be taking the long way round, because this journey
0:00:23 > 0:00:26is all about getting off the beaten track.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29'We're going in search of the secret...
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Oh, yes! Gorgeous.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34'..the forgotten,
0:00:34 > 0:00:39'the unexpected, the lost treasures our landscapes.'
0:00:40 > 0:00:45This is absolutely incredible. What a spot!
0:00:46 > 0:00:49'We asked you to share your secret places -
0:00:49 > 0:00:52'the little known, the hard to get to,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54'the deserted.'
0:00:54 > 0:00:59Who could fail to get lost in a place like this?
0:00:59 > 0:01:02'And we'll be sharing our own hidden gems.'
0:01:02 > 0:01:07Oh, look at this for a view! It's absolutely extraordinary.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10'Over the next four weeks, we're going to be journeying through
0:01:10 > 0:01:14'the last great wildernesses of our country,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17'this astonishing place we call home.'
0:01:17 > 0:01:20It's absolutely amazing.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24'We're looking to reclaim the hidden and the overlooked.
0:01:24 > 0:01:30'To find the pieces of our history that might have slipped between the cracks.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34'Secrets kept in shadow, waiting for their moment in the sun.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37'Every road taken is an opportunity to explore.'
0:01:37 > 0:01:44Oh, man. Honestly, I cannot stop smiling.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48This is secret Britain.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02This epic adventure begins in the far South West.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07And the first leg will take us from Cornwall right across to Dover.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12We're each taking different routes across the busiest parts of our small island,
0:02:12 > 0:02:18sidestepping the urban sprawl in search of true wilderness in the increasingly crowded South.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22And we're starting here, in Cornwall.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28The setting for many a seaside holiday.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42Nearly five million of us head here every year.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46And why not? It's stunning.
0:02:50 > 0:02:57It's easy to forget that what's now a pleasure playground used to be a working landscape.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02The shells of tin mines echo a reminder of a not-so-distant past.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Cornwall seems like an open book.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15It's beauty on display for all to see.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19But like the rest of the well-trodden South,
0:03:19 > 0:03:24there are still hidden corners waiting to be explored.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33You just have to make the effort to find them.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36And for that, I'm going to need a little help.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Right, we're all kitted up. Am I at the front or the back?
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Yeah, if you sit in the front, I'll control from the back of the kayak.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Just carry it into the water, to sort of knee-depth. And then we'll...
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Looks a bit choppy, Simon.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53I think we'll be OK. Just keep it straight as we're kayaking out.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56We'll try and time it between the waves.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Simon Carley-Smith loves to paddle these waters.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05He wants to show me that you can still get away from the crowds
0:04:05 > 0:04:08on one of the busiest coastlines in Britain.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Keep it steady. Right.
0:04:12 > 0:04:13We're through.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20'This is the Pentire headland,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24'on the north Cornish coast.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28'To the west lies Padstow and the packed surfing beaches of Newquay.'
0:04:30 > 0:04:33'But down here, we're on our own.'
0:04:34 > 0:04:39This is delightful. I can't believe how crystal clear the water is.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42I know. It doesn't get better than this. It really doesn't.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45You'd never suspect that we were so close to Polzeath.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Obviously, you could walk the coastal path along here.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50The coast path does run along the edge.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Yeah, but to get down in a canoe, in a kayak like this,
0:04:53 > 0:04:55and see it from this perspective...
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Yeah, it's a different world.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59A different world.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03'It's a world that's not always easy to get to,
0:05:03 > 0:05:05'as I'm starting to find out.'
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Look at this swell now. We're being battered by the Atlantic wind.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12And we're going through.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17We're going through this gulley, next to Seven Souls Rock.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Has to be said, Simon, there's a lot more space on this side.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Yeah, I know, but there's a lot more excitement on the left.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Oh, hey!
0:05:30 > 0:05:33- This is lovely stuff. - Keep surfing the wave.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37We are literally paddling up and down hill here.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39We've got a bit of big something coming in behind us.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42- Here comes the wave! - On the left-hand side.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Really chunking it down on the left.
0:05:46 > 0:05:47And we're through.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49There's little low,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53and here comes another little one, to carry us clear.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57- Ah, yes! Simon, that was brilliant. - You did really well there. Very well.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00I have to say, I thought we were a bit mad, going for that, but...
0:06:00 > 0:06:04It was nearly eight or nine souls then, I've got to say.
0:06:04 > 0:06:10'This is a unique stretch of the Cornish coastline, where the sea laps the shore.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15'The closest most people get is the cliff path high above.'
0:06:16 > 0:06:22'Looming over us are the jagged rocky outcrops of Pentire Point and the Rumps.'
0:06:25 > 0:06:29'These brooding cliffs tell a story all their own,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33'a story of ancient underwater volcanoes and shallow seas.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37'The curious folds in the rock are known as pillow lava,
0:06:37 > 0:06:43'formed hundreds of millions of years ago, when magma oozed up and cooled rapidly in the sea.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47'Tiny petrified gas bubbles are still trapped inside.'
0:06:49 > 0:06:54'From the water, you feel like you can reach out and touch a truly ancient world.'
0:06:59 > 0:07:04'These dark volcanic cliffs have plenty of secrets to share.'
0:07:04 > 0:07:08We'll pop in and visit the Lundy Hole, which is a huge sea cave
0:07:08 > 0:07:11that the roof has collapsed and it's made a really exciting feature.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20- Oh, wow!- Just take the kayak right deep into the cave.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23It gets shallow there so we can moor it up.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26- Ah!- It's beautiful, isn't it?
0:07:28 > 0:07:29This is something else.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31You can only access this from the water?
0:07:31 > 0:07:34From the water, yeah. We'll just leave it.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38- This will just float around.- Yeah. - It's not going to go anywhere.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43All these boulders are the remains of the roof that collapsed goodness knows how long ago.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45It does make you wonder how long that roof's got.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48- I think we'll be OK.- You reckon?
0:07:50 > 0:07:56'Myth and legend abound in Cornwall, and Lundy Hole is no exception.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01'It's said to have been formed by the Devil while he was fleeing from a Cornish saint.'
0:08:03 > 0:08:08'You do have to be pretty determined to get here.'
0:08:08 > 0:08:11The access here really is really difficult.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15There's only a couple of beaches between Polzeath and Port Isaac
0:08:15 > 0:08:20where you can actually enter the water without having an abseil rope.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22- So that's why we've got it to ourselves.- Special.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24- Yeah, very special.- Very special.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27- Right, let's keep exploring. - Shall we head back out?- Yeah.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29We'll head round to a nice sandy beach now.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36'While people jostle for space on Cornwall's popular beaches,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40'arriving by kayak means we get one all to ourselves.'
0:08:43 > 0:08:48- Fantastic.- Yeah. And look at it.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Seriously, not a soul in sight.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57This place is so inaccessible,
0:08:57 > 0:09:02not even our camera crew can come down here and film us.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- Just us. But shh, it's a secret! You can't tell anyone.- Absolutely.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15There you go. That's where it is, if you want to know.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17X marks the spot.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Secluded coves and caves aren't Cornwall's only secrets.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38Time to leave the Atlantic behind
0:09:38 > 0:09:43and head across to the altogether more gentle southern Cornish coast.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53Mevagissey's sleepy suntrap of a harbour is picture-postcard Cornwall.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58But on the outskirts of nearby St Austell,
0:09:58 > 0:10:03the landscape unexpectedly transforms into something almost alien...
0:10:05 > 0:10:08..something with a strange beauty, all of its own.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32This area has become a stunning wildlife haven.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39And just look at this splash of lilac spotted across the crevices.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41It's gorgeous.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52These are known as the Cornish Alps.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57In the '60s there would have been about 50 of these cone-shaped mountains scattered across
0:10:57 > 0:11:01the entire landscape, the remains of a once-thriving mining industry.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10Buried under this slice of Cornwall is an especially fine layer of china clay.
0:11:10 > 0:11:16For over 250 years, this clay has been mined for the manufacture of porcelain and paper.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21At its height, nearly one million ton of clay a year were being produced.
0:11:24 > 0:11:31It was a lucrative industry that radically remodelled the St Austell skyline.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34For every ton of clay there were five tons of spoil,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37spoil that piled into man-made mountains.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Cycling through this lunar landscape,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45you get a sense of the sheer scale of the industry...
0:11:47 > 0:11:50..an industry that still continues today.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58But once the miners move on, nature is allowed to take over
0:11:58 > 0:12:01and the Alps take on a life of their own.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Made by man, reclaimed by Mother Nature.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10An unexpected sort of Wilderness.
0:12:10 > 0:12:16The Cornish Alps are a great escape and a monument to a proud industrial past.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25But I'm leaving St Austell and its secrets behind.
0:12:25 > 0:12:31I'm moving on, tracking the River Fowey inland until we reach the forbidding majesty of Bodmin Moor.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43The moor is famed for the Bodmin beast, and the smugglers of Jamaica Inn.
0:12:44 > 0:12:51But there's a forgotten corner which harbours a secret far older and more mysterious,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55the final chapter in the legendary story of King Arthur.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00It's a secret that's well worth a short detour on my trip across the South.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05According to legend, hidden in the depths of this bottomless pool
0:13:05 > 0:13:10lies King Arthur's famous sword, Excalibur, guarded by the Lady of the Lake.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16As Arthur lay mortally wounded after the bottle of Camlann,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19he ordered Sir Bedivere to chuck his sword into the water.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24What's a knight to do? Reluctantly, he agreed to his king's last wish.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33But before Excalibur hit the water, a lady's hand rose up and grabbed it
0:13:33 > 0:13:36before disappearing again beneath the surface.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43The sword remains hidden, protected by its guardian
0:13:43 > 0:13:46until such time as the country needs its help once more.
0:13:48 > 0:13:54The so-called bottomless pool of Dozmary has in fact dried out many times.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58But just because nobody has yet found Excalibur lying in the mud
0:13:58 > 0:14:00doesn't mean it isn't there.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Many people come to Cornwall drawn by the legend of King Arthur,
0:14:07 > 0:14:09yet few ever make it to Dozmary.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12It's a precious piece of secret Britain.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Back on the Atlantic coast
0:14:20 > 0:14:24is a far more celebrated landmark in Arthur's story.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29Summer visitors flock to the dramatic ruins of Tintagel,
0:14:29 > 0:14:34believing it to be the great king's birthplace.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38But to find real secrets on this stunning stretch of coast,
0:14:38 > 0:14:43you have to look beyond the tourists, beyond the castle, and beyond the cliff path.
0:14:46 > 0:14:47Everyone has a special place,
0:14:47 > 0:14:52and one couple found theirs tucked off Tintagel's beaten track.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Louise and David Osborne loved Rocky Valley so much
0:14:58 > 0:15:00that this is where they celebrated their wedding.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05We came here about a year before the wedding
0:15:05 > 0:15:09and we were just walking the Boscastle to Tintagel coast path.
0:15:11 > 0:15:17We decided to turn left and go through the forest, really.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20We just sort of went up there and discovered
0:15:20 > 0:15:23the ruins and the maze and the whole of the valley.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31It wasn't in any of the guidebooks. It was something you just stumble across.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35We got married not far down the road, then we came here,
0:15:35 > 0:15:40had a nice picnic, with pasties and cheap fizz.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Then we took all our guests for a little walk through the valley
0:15:44 > 0:15:47to show them our favourite place.
0:15:49 > 0:15:55Rocky Valley, to me, is number one spot in the whole wide world.
0:15:55 > 0:15:56Nothing ever would beat this.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59This is just the most perfect place.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03- We'll definitely keep returning. - Yes.- Definitely. As often as we can.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Back on our journey to uncover the secrets of the South,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15I'm heading ever eastwards.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18I've crossed the border into Devon
0:16:18 > 0:16:20and the landscape opens out before me.
0:16:21 > 0:16:27In 1964, the novelist EM Forster complained, "There's no forest
0:16:27 > 0:16:33"or fell to escape to today, no cave to curl up, no deserted valley."
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Well, he'd clearly forgotten about the nearly 400 square miles
0:16:37 > 0:16:41of bleak wilderness that make up Dartmoor National Park.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51The rugged, desolate beauty of the moor.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Granite tors standing proud above rock-strewn grasslands.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00It's both majestic and mysterious.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Natural perfection, you might think.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06But Dartmoor has a hidden history.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11Around 6,000 years ago, most of this was in fact forest,
0:17:11 > 0:17:16part of the vast wild wood that stretched across Britain
0:17:16 > 0:17:17from coast to coast.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21Like most of the South, Dartmoor's open landscape
0:17:21 > 0:17:24has been almost entirely shaped by man.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30Apart, that is, from a few remote and secret spots high on the moor.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Simon Lee from Natural England
0:17:32 > 0:17:36has agreed to take me into Dartmoor's past.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41- We have well and truly left civilisation behind.- We have, yeah.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Got a few sheep there.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Apart from the occasional hiker, there's not a soul in sight.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Not a soul in sight, no.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53'We're heading for one of Dartmoor's last remaining pockets of wild wood,
0:17:53 > 0:17:54'Black-a-Tor Copse.
0:17:54 > 0:18:00'It's a steep climb up the Okement Valley to where the moor almost touches the sky.'
0:18:00 > 0:18:02- There isn't a lot of woodland here now, is there?- No!
0:18:02 > 0:18:04A lot of that was cleared by Bronze Age people.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12- And if you scramble up the slope, you might get a glimpse of it.- OK.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Black-a-Tor Copse?
0:18:17 > 0:18:20- Looking splendid in the mist. - Doesn't it just?
0:18:22 > 0:18:25'Forests like this once covered Britain.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29'As people settled and began to farm,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32'they cleared the trees and enclosed the land.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38'Black-a-Tor Copse is a moment frozen in time.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43'A world of oak trees long-since forgotten.'
0:18:43 > 0:18:47This is absolutely incredible.
0:18:47 > 0:18:48What a spot!
0:18:48 > 0:18:52It's so different to what is just a couple of steps behind, and you walk into all of this.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55It looks so cosy and comfy.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57There's rock-hard granite down here
0:18:57 > 0:18:59but because it's covered in all these mosses and lichen,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03it's like a big quilt. You just kind of want to dive into it all.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10How old are these kind of twisted oaks, then?
0:19:10 > 0:19:14There's documented evidence that there have been trees here for several centuries.
0:19:14 > 0:19:19But the individual trees themselves, probably no more than about 200 years old.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24Are they stunted simply because they can't get the root system down into this granite?
0:19:24 > 0:19:28No, I think the main reason they're stunted is because of
0:19:28 > 0:19:30the weather conditions up here.
0:19:30 > 0:19:36It's so high - we're up about 1,300ft here, so it's cold and it's wet.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41- Yeah.- And it's simply that they can't grow any faster or any bigger.
0:19:41 > 0:19:48'This is one of only three high-altitude woodlands left on Dartmoor. All are protected.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52'The unique conditions make it feel almost tropical.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56'Not rainforest, but cloudforest.'
0:19:56 > 0:20:02It's just loaded with mosses and lichen and ferns.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06It is. In terms of what you're seeing at the moment, it's a woodland
0:20:06 > 0:20:09that's as near natural as you can get in the UK.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13'Walking through these gnarled oaks
0:20:13 > 0:20:18'feels like walking into a primeval indigenous landscape,
0:20:18 > 0:20:20'a secret of Britain's past.'
0:20:23 > 0:20:27Ever since I was a little lad, I have always, always loved oak trees.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30I don't know what it's about them. I think they're just...
0:20:30 > 0:20:32They're so homely and so protective
0:20:32 > 0:20:35and ever since I've had the chance to come in here,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38I've seen yet another side to their character.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41The way that they've... Well, look at this.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44They've twisted and bent themselves around
0:20:44 > 0:20:48this boulderous and boggy landscape of Dartmoor.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52And trudging across that misty, bleak moor to get here,
0:20:52 > 0:20:58on arrival it just feels so warm and so welcoming.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02And to think really that this landscape hasn't changed at all
0:21:02 > 0:21:07since the last ice age, it is really, really rare.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12This is a very special spot.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31'Two and a half million people visit Dartmoor every year.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34'But few venture as far as Black-a-Tor Copse
0:21:34 > 0:21:39'and even fewer realise that there's a greater secret locked in the heart of the moor -
0:21:39 > 0:21:45'one that played a part in building some of Britain's proudest monuments.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48'The local name for granite is moonstone,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52'and it's been used here for thousands of years.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56'But just 200 years ago, Dartmoor granite became the stone of choice
0:21:56 > 0:22:01'for the architects of many of London's finest buildings.'
0:22:07 > 0:22:12'I'm going to explore Dartmoor's forgotten link with our national heritage.'
0:22:18 > 0:22:22'My search begins close to one of its most famous landmarks -
0:22:22 > 0:22:26'Haytor, an imposing slab of granite.'
0:22:32 > 0:22:37'I'm following something I never imagined you'd find on Dartmoor.'
0:22:37 > 0:22:40A junction here.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42'A railway.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44'Made of stone.'
0:22:44 > 0:22:49So... that must be Hound Tor up there.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52'It's the start of an extraordinary transportation network
0:22:52 > 0:22:56'that carried granite from moorland quarries down to the sea
0:22:56 > 0:22:59'and on to the heart of London.'
0:23:01 > 0:23:08'As the weather takes a turn for the worst, the tramway leads me to local archaeologist Jane Marchand.'
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- Jane, how you doing? All right? - I'm fine, Matt, thanks.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13What have you done to the weather?
0:23:13 > 0:23:16- I apologise, but this is real Dartmoor weather.- Isn't it just.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19It's lovely. I've had a lovely walk down this tramway.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- Have you?- Yeah, following these little granite rails.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- Is this the quarry down here on the left? - This is Holwell Quarry, down here.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29The working here was really a very short period of time,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32probably about 30, 40 years. But you can see
0:23:32 > 0:23:34the amount of granite that's been extracted.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37And the effort that must have gone into it.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40We've lost the whole of that granite face.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43We know that the granite from Holwell Quarry
0:23:43 > 0:23:45went to the British Museum. Formed the British Library.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48And there's some in Buckingham Palace, apparently.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52It was seen to be the best granite in the country, if not in the world.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58- And did they blast it, then, with gunpowder?- They did, they did, yeah.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00And you've got evidence, where the...
0:24:00 > 0:24:04That's actually where they'd have put the stick of gunpowder in.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Yeah, yeah.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Oh, this is rather nice, Matt.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10It's a nice little secret building, really,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12that most people don't know is here.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15It's what we call a beehive shelter.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18And this is where, once they put the gunpowder in,
0:24:18 > 0:24:22- they'd have all run for cover to. - Right.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26- To get away from the effects of the blast. If you want to go in...- Can I go in, yes?- Yeah.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30I have got a little torch with me. Always prepared. Here we go.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33It's cosy, that's for sure.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35And beautifully built, actually.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39- If you look at the great blocks of granite that they've used.- Yeah.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43It actually gives them some protection from the weather as well.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45It's probably quite a welcome place to have.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47It does feel very protected.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51- It does, doesn't it? - Especially with these... - Massive great slabs, yeah.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02Once the granite was quarried, one-ton blocks were loaded on to wagons,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05which were pulled along the tramway by teams of horses.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12I'm following the granite's route off the moor all the way to the Stover Canal,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15and the second leg of its long journey to London
0:25:15 > 0:25:17via the port at Teignmouth.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26The canal was a vital link for both the quarry and the nearby china clay mines,
0:25:26 > 0:25:32but as demand dwindled, it saw its last barge past through in 1939.
0:25:32 > 0:25:38Over the years, evidence of this once-thriving industry has gradually disappeared.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46Right, well, I'm now in the village of Teigngrace
0:25:46 > 0:25:49and I'm trying to find the start of the Stover Canal,
0:25:49 > 0:25:53which I think is down here in this housing estate.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56It feels so wrong. I'm going to walk into somebody's garden in a minute.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58But, er...
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Oh, no, hang on a minute. This is it. Good, good.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04I've got a railway line which is running through here.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10And I think I need to cross this railway line.
0:26:10 > 0:26:11Let's have a look.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17How does this work? One of them slidey ones.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Check there's no trains coming.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22No.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27No, judging by the look of that, I don't think this railway line has been used for a while.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Through this little gate and it should just be up ahead.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35This must be the bridge. This is it.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37I found it! Yes.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Yeah, this is it. This is it.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46I think just up by that greenhouse
0:26:46 > 0:26:48is where the trackway would have ended.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52All the granite would have been taken off down to Teignmouth.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58Incredible to think there'd be 50ft barges here,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02full of 35 tons of granite.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Yeah.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10So Teignmouth must be that way.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18Incredible.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23'Wandering along the overgrown banks of this tranquil stretch of water,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26'history hangs in the air all around.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28'This is Haytor's secret.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31'A past that should be remembered.'
0:27:34 > 0:27:37'The men who worked and transported Dartmoor granite
0:27:37 > 0:27:40'were true industrial pioneers,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44'who helped create some of the nation's most magnificent buildings.'
0:27:51 > 0:27:54'Scratch the surface of this great country
0:27:54 > 0:27:57'and you'll find stories like Haytor everywhere.'
0:27:58 > 0:28:00'As we travel across the South
0:28:00 > 0:28:03'on this leg of our search for secret Britain,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06'we're looking for to reclaim the hidden and the forgotten,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09'the cracks in our crowded modern world.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14'Incredible stories of things we might otherwise overlook.'
0:28:16 > 0:28:19'Travelling east along Dorset's Jurassic Coast,
0:28:19 > 0:28:23'I've reached the cliffs above Bridport.'
0:28:23 > 0:28:28I'm now at 626 feet above sea level.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32This is the highest point on the south coast, Golden Cap.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36And stretched out all below, delicious Dorset,
0:28:36 > 0:28:38as far as the eye can see.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48'But I'm bypassing its pretty villages with their quaint cottages,
0:28:48 > 0:28:51'as I head into a hidden network of ancient tracks
0:28:51 > 0:28:55'that run unnoticed between our modern roads.'
0:28:56 > 0:29:01'These are the hollow-ways, from the Anglo-Saxon for "sunken road".'
0:29:02 > 0:29:05'At first glance, they might seem like simple footpaths,
0:29:05 > 0:29:09'but look closer and they tell a story of our long-forgotten past.'
0:29:12 > 0:29:16'To guide me on my journey into this dappled green world
0:29:16 > 0:29:20'is landscape historian Valerie Belsey.'
0:29:20 > 0:29:22The canopy here is so dense
0:29:22 > 0:29:26and it makes the lane very atmospheric, doesn't it?
0:29:26 > 0:29:29It does, because remember it started off at the top of the field,
0:29:29 > 0:29:31and then it's been eroded.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34And it was used by cattle in the beginning.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38And the dung from the cattle has been thrown back up and that acts
0:29:38 > 0:29:42as fertiliser so the trees on the top have grown even taller.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45- That's why it's so lush. - That's right, yeah.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49This has been a busy pathway throughout the centuries.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56The tree-shrouded holloways are unique to the soft stone counties
0:29:56 > 0:29:57of southern England.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02Drovers would have used them as a route to market - generations
0:30:02 > 0:30:06of travellers carving out a well-worn path hidden in a hedgerow.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13This holloway is trodden so deep into the yellow Dorset sandstone
0:30:13 > 0:30:16that it's become known as Hell Lane.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23Is the depth of this particular lane an indicator of how old it is?
0:30:23 > 0:30:25Because the sides are very steep.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29It's not a given clue. There are other clues.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33'To date a holloway, you have to piece together nature's clues.
0:30:35 > 0:30:40'Part of that means counting the number of species that grow along its banks.'
0:30:40 > 0:30:43This is part of Hooper and Pollard's hedge-dating theory.
0:30:43 > 0:30:48Each hardwood species for a 30-yard stretch of any lane on one side
0:30:48 > 0:30:51is representative of 100 years.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55So we've got holly, which is the first of the species.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59- The next one up is hazel, so that's two.- Which is just here.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03That's that one there with the lovely light going through the leaves.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06- So we're up to 200 years.- 200 years.
0:31:08 > 0:31:09Ash here.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12And we've got an ash, which is three.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17And then going up the ash is a briar, now that counts, so that's four.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20And then if you look a little bit further along we've got the maple
0:31:20 > 0:31:25leaf tree which is a sycamore, which gives us 500 years.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28So in this short stretch, we've bagged 500 years?
0:31:28 > 0:31:30500 years, yes.
0:31:31 > 0:31:37Five centuries of history locked into a handful of English trees.
0:31:38 > 0:31:44Leaving Valerie behind, I follow Hell Lane even deeper into Dorset.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49Given its name, this particular holloway has a surprising destination.
0:31:49 > 0:31:54Hell Lane turns into a pilgrims' path leading to an ancient church.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05It's certainly well-weathered stone.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23Nestling in a corner of the church is the unique shrine to a saint
0:32:23 > 0:32:27from Saxon times said to have the power of healing.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31There are two interesting things about this shrine.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35First of all, this is the only parish church in England
0:32:35 > 0:32:39to hold the bones of a saint, and secondly,
0:32:39 > 0:32:41St Wite was a woman.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50'Even today, people bring their petitions to the good St Wite.'
0:33:02 > 0:33:07My journey through the holloways of Dorset has been a revelation.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11From above, they snake like green rivers through the countryside.
0:33:11 > 0:33:17From below, they're a dappled doorway into another world,
0:33:17 > 0:33:21extraordinary, everyday places...
0:33:21 > 0:33:23just waiting to be discovered.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Beyond Dorset, I'm heading deeper into the heart of the south,
0:33:33 > 0:33:37into the open, rolling countryside of Salisbury Plain.
0:33:41 > 0:33:46Here stands Stonehenge, Britain's world-famous ancient monument...
0:33:48 > 0:33:52..mysterious, rather than secret.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Not so the vast expanse of the plain,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02which is under the control of the MoD.
0:34:03 > 0:34:09Out there are thousands of other monuments, an ancient landscape rarely seen.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17Not many civvies get to experience what I'm off to see,
0:34:17 > 0:34:21because we've been given special access to some of the 94,000 acres
0:34:21 > 0:34:23controlled by the British Army,
0:34:23 > 0:34:28and I am assured that if I do as I'm told, everything should be perfectly safe.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36Salisbury Plain is the largest military training ground in Britain.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Roughly the size of the Isle of Wight, it's big enough for a full-scale battle.
0:34:42 > 0:34:47Not the kind of place for a Sunday stroll, you might think.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50But even though much of the area remains out of bounds,
0:34:50 > 0:34:56the surprising thing about Salisbury Plain is that not all of it is off-limits.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59You have to take the signs seriously, but if you can get here
0:34:59 > 0:35:03it offers a unique window onto Britain's history.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06That's because, despite the ongoing warfare,
0:35:06 > 0:35:10its many archaeological sites are largely undisturbed.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16MoD archaeologist Richard Osgood has uncovered some of the secrets
0:35:16 > 0:35:21of this plain, including its ancient military past.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23You're standing on an Iron Age hill fort.
0:35:23 > 0:35:24This is about 300 BC,
0:35:24 > 0:35:27it's the biggest we have here, about 10 hectares.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29- This hill we're on?- This is a rampart of a hill fort.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31It's a big impressive monument,
0:35:31 > 0:35:34expressing the powers of those that constructed it.
0:35:34 > 0:35:39But it's not on its own, because as you look out here there are other features all connected with this.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42The word we use is "palimpsest", layer upon layer of archaeology,
0:35:42 > 0:35:45and the military being here has protected it.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50The MoD first bought this land over 100 years ago,
0:35:50 > 0:35:54and their ownership has saved its rolling chalk grasslands
0:35:54 > 0:35:57from being developed or intensively farmed.
0:35:57 > 0:36:02It's what makes Salisbury Plain probably the greatest open-air museum in Britain.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07- Can you see those lines, those sort of terraces?- The steps on the left?
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Yeah, those are field terraces from the Medieval period.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12There's a corresponding set on the other side.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16But if you follow those up, there's a clump of trees right
0:36:16 > 0:36:19- at the top, and they're sitting on a Bronze Age burial mound.- Are they?
0:36:19 > 0:36:23It's a round barrow, about 2,000 BC.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27We're going to go and look at some Iron Age stuff, let's go and see what we've got.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29Super, sounds good.
0:36:38 > 0:36:43Chisenbury Midden is one of the richest sites on all Salisbury Plain.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47To protect the remains here, digging is strictly forbidden,
0:36:47 > 0:36:51but the local badgers don't seem to understand the rules.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54So they must be turning up all sorts of stuff then, these badgers.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57They do, they're incredibly powerful
0:36:57 > 0:36:59bits of machinery in many ways.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01They're great at digging stuff.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05You can see that this big mound of spoil is coming out from the set.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08- There's something in here. - Have you got something there?
0:37:08 > 0:37:10Is that something?
0:37:10 > 0:37:15Yeah, congratulations. I've been on excavations that have found less pottery than that.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18Is that honestly something? It was literally just lying there!
0:37:18 > 0:37:21- That is a large shard of an early Iron Age pot.- You're kidding me!
0:37:21 > 0:37:23No, and look at the size of it.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27- Is that early Iron Age? - Yeah. Actually, can you see there?
0:37:27 > 0:37:31It's actually got some decorations from fingernails running along the edge.
0:37:31 > 0:37:32- Never in this world...- Yeah.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36It's an early Iron Age shard which has been decorated.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40It was honestly just lying there, you would think I was meant to pick it up...
0:37:40 > 0:37:44- No, that's right, not placed at all! - That is extraordinary.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46That is a big piece as well, isn't it?
0:37:46 > 0:37:48So what do you think that would have been?
0:37:48 > 0:37:52It's a big cooking vessel. You can see the circumference
0:37:52 > 0:37:54pretty much from the rim that that you've got.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57- It's going round like that. - Yeah, absolutely.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01Those sharp-clawed archaeologists certainly know what they're doing.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08I'm just thinking, you know, the amount of history that is buried
0:38:08 > 0:38:12in that mound is absolutely mind-blowing.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16And this view here, this chalky grassland,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19it has hardly changed since neolithic times.
0:38:19 > 0:38:24This place really is like a landscape time-capsule.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26And thanks to those badgers,
0:38:26 > 0:38:31they've just prised it open and given us a little glimpse.
0:38:37 > 0:38:43The chalk that shapes this landscape underpins much of southern England -
0:38:43 > 0:38:47a great white way leading to the coast.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52It's time for me to leave the untamed beauty
0:38:52 > 0:38:53of Salisbury Plain behind.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00Moving east, the chalk rises up into the rolling South Downs.
0:39:06 > 0:39:13Latter-day travelling players Ed and Will believe every landscape has a story to tell,
0:39:13 > 0:39:18a story that needs to be kept alive, both in word and song.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22We've been walking these ancient pathways for years.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26The South Downs are really our local mountain range.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28You're on top of the world.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31It may be a small, English world, but you're on top of it.
0:39:31 > 0:39:37It's a way of life that's really let us learn a lot about the old traditions and the history.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40I wonder if we could sing you a quick song, would that be possible?
0:39:40 > 0:39:42It won't take a minute of your time.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45# My son John was tall and slim
0:39:45 > 0:39:47BOTH: # And he had a leg for every limb... #
0:39:47 > 0:39:49'The songs are a powerful passport.'
0:39:49 > 0:39:54They don't weigh anything, they don't cost anything, they introduce you to people...
0:39:57 > 0:40:02What we try and do is to take these songs and give them out where they're unexpected.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05'Just on the side of the street, whenever you meet anyone.'
0:40:05 > 0:40:09# Oh, it's the farmer's daughter, dear
0:40:09 > 0:40:11# She brews aplenty of strong beer
0:40:11 > 0:40:14# And she's enough to cheer up any soul... #
0:40:14 > 0:40:16'And the reactions are amazing.'
0:40:16 > 0:40:20People don't know that this whole realm of song and folklore exists.
0:40:20 > 0:40:21APPLAUSE
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Thank you.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25# Time passes over... #
0:40:25 > 0:40:30One of the songs we learnt on the South Downs was called Sorrows Away.
0:40:30 > 0:40:36BOTH: # Since we've learned a new act to drive sorrows away
0:40:36 > 0:40:40# Sorrows away
0:40:40 > 0:40:43# Sorrows away
0:40:43 > 0:40:47# Sorrows away, oh... #
0:40:47 > 0:40:50We're just doing the same things everyone has always done, just
0:40:50 > 0:40:54being part of the landscape here, just like our great ancestors were.
0:40:54 > 0:40:59And it's really important that people realise that there are these things,
0:40:59 > 0:41:01these songs, stories, ways of life
0:41:01 > 0:41:05that we have and that we have inherited from our ancestors,
0:41:05 > 0:41:07and we must not forget that.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12# Well, I may not be rich And I may not be poor
0:41:12 > 0:41:20# But I'm as happy as those that have thousands or more. #
0:41:25 > 0:41:27I'm also exploring the South Downs
0:41:27 > 0:41:30in search, not of history or tradition, but for something
0:41:30 > 0:41:33that feels strangely exotic in this corner
0:41:33 > 0:41:37of quintessentially English countryside.
0:41:37 > 0:41:42I have joined a hunt for one of the most elusive and sought after plants in nature, the orchid.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46But if we find what we're hoping to find, there's no way I can tell you where we are.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50Because these precious flowers attract thieves,
0:41:50 > 0:41:55obsessive collectors who dig up and steal their specimens as soon as they surface.
0:41:57 > 0:42:02And with a worldwide black-market in orchids estimated at £6 billion,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05it's no wonder my guides, Graham from the National Trust and
0:42:05 > 0:42:10orchid expert David Lang, want me to keep our precise location to myself.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16So, David, what exactly are we looking for?
0:42:16 > 0:42:18We're looking for fragrant orchids here.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21You're looking for an orchid about that tall,
0:42:21 > 0:42:24sort of pinky-purple, with a slender spike.
0:42:24 > 0:42:25So watch where we put our feet?
0:42:25 > 0:42:27Watch where you put your feet, please.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37What about this?
0:42:37 > 0:42:40- That's a common spotted orchid. - So that's one?
0:42:40 > 0:42:43As the name implies, it's actually very common,
0:42:43 > 0:42:46and if you look closely, it's got spotted leaves.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48They look like little tiger stripes on there.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51Not to be confused with the early purple orchid,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54which has similar leaves, but much deeper purple flowers.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56What have you got for me, David?
0:42:56 > 0:42:59I've found you a nice patch of fragrant orchids.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01Oh, lovely!
0:43:01 > 0:43:04If you look at this lot, and you get down low and look up there.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06Oh, isn't that gorgeous?
0:43:06 > 0:43:07It's absolutely superb.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10You can come up here safely. Have a sniff of that one.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14Oh, yes, very delicate.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18- A very delicate smell.- Beautiful to look at from down here as well.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21You've got a lovely vista of them here. It's a gorgeous sight.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23This is the best area for them.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27The flowers have got a little three-lobed lip and a very long spur
0:43:27 > 0:43:31which is full of nectar, and that attracts mainly
0:43:31 > 0:43:34skipper butterflies and small flies.
0:43:37 > 0:43:42David leads us down to a secluded hollow where he sets us hunting
0:43:42 > 0:43:44for an even rarer orchid.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50What are we looking for, apart from nettles and thistles?
0:43:50 > 0:43:52We're looking for fly orchids here.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54And I can see some just up here.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56Can you see them? Here we are.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01- You see?- Right.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07Now, the wasp that pollinates these thinks this is another wasp.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10The male wasps come to copulate or mate with the flower,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13and in so doing they get pollen dusted on their heads.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17It's no coincidence, then, that the flower actually resembles a wasp.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20It does look exactly like a little wasp which is perched
0:44:20 > 0:44:24with its wings folded, and of course it secretes these pheromones
0:44:24 > 0:44:27which attract the male wasp who thinks it's a female.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30The males come on the wing about a fortnight before the females,
0:44:30 > 0:44:35so they're coming and pollinating the orchids, and then a fortnight later the ladies appear
0:44:35 > 0:44:37and they realise the error of their ways
0:44:37 > 0:44:40and chase the ladies and leave the flowers alone.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42- Very sneaky! - Very sneaky, very clever.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46- So in essence, the orchid is seducing the male wasp?- Absolutely.
0:44:46 > 0:44:50- Completely falsely, leading it on? - Yes, yes, absolutely. Brilliant.
0:44:50 > 0:44:51It works extremely well.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57Orchids are as shy as anyone else when it comes to reproduction, and few people have actually
0:44:57 > 0:45:01witnessed the way in which they woo their wasps.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05But suddenly, right in front of us...
0:45:05 > 0:45:07We've got it happening. We've got it happening.
0:45:07 > 0:45:13- What we have actually got here is the wasp in action. It's happening.- Yes, yes.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16How often have you seen this, David?
0:45:16 > 0:45:18- Never.- Never?
0:45:22 > 0:45:25- You've never seen this before?- Nope.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29- So this is a first for you? - The first time I've seen it actually happening in front of me.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32- In how many years?- Since 1947.
0:45:32 > 0:45:33That's incredible!
0:45:33 > 0:45:36How lucky are we to be here right now?
0:45:36 > 0:45:39People do see it but I've never been lucky enough to see it before.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41And get a photograph of it.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43- And get it on film. - Yes, it can't be bad, can it?
0:45:43 > 0:45:46Dear, oh dear. What a bit of luck.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48You look quite overcome!
0:45:48 > 0:45:51I'm very pleased. Very pleased indeed.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56Hidden away from the thieves and hunters,
0:45:56 > 0:46:00I hope these fascinating flowers will be left to procreate in peace.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07My journey is now taking me east to join Matt in Dover.
0:46:07 > 0:46:12But I can't leave the Downs behind without a quick detour in search of another secret,
0:46:12 > 0:46:16one once hidden in shadow, now glorying in the sun.
0:46:21 > 0:46:28Novelist Virginia Woolf is perhaps as well known for her life as for her work.
0:46:28 > 0:46:33A member of the Bloomsbury Group, a collection of writers, thinkers and artists, she and her friends
0:46:33 > 0:46:40sought refuge here in the Downs from the conventions of London society and the ravages of the Great War.
0:46:43 > 0:46:48These days, the haunts of Virginia and her friends are meccas for literary fans, but at the beginning
0:46:48 > 0:46:53of the 20th century, a place like Charleston House was her safe haven.
0:47:00 > 0:47:06Charleston now opens its doors to the public, a testament to the artists who made their lives here.
0:47:13 > 0:47:18What was once a sanctuary, a private secret, is now shared.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21But the sense of true escape remains.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27Your imagination just runs wild.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31Who could fail to get lost in a place like this?
0:47:31 > 0:47:33Absolute bliss.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43I'm heading east towards Dover,
0:47:43 > 0:47:48the last stop on this leg of our journey across Secret Britain.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51But there's just time for one final detour.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56This is Dungeness,
0:47:58 > 0:48:04a bleak, remote wilderness clinging to the very edge of our island.
0:48:06 > 0:48:11Few other places can boast both a steam railway and a nuclear power plant.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19Arriving here feels like stepping through the looking glass.
0:48:22 > 0:48:27This is the largest pebble beach in Europe. And it's on the move,
0:48:27 > 0:48:33expanding out into the Channel at a rate of up to eight and a half feet a year.
0:48:33 > 0:48:39Dilapidated sheds and decaying boats dot the landscape,
0:48:39 > 0:48:45abandoned in a world of constantly shifting shingle.
0:48:45 > 0:48:50This arid place is the closest thing we have in Britain to a desert.
0:48:50 > 0:48:54It rains as little here as it does on the Rock of Gibraltar.
0:48:55 > 0:49:00Ecologist Owen Leyshon is my guide to its harsh beauty.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04So, Owen, it's an extraordinary landscape.
0:49:04 > 0:49:10It's very tough for any plants and humans to survive on Dungeness.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14Cold in the winter, really hot and dry in the summer.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18It's, then, as close an environment as you can get to a desert.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20- Yes.- So there's no soil or anything. How deep is this single?
0:49:20 > 0:49:24It's about 17 to 20 metres deep, the shingle.
0:49:27 > 0:49:31If it's that deep then the plants are certainly determined,
0:49:31 > 0:49:35their roots searching the shingle for every nutrient,
0:49:35 > 0:49:38every drop of salt-free moisture.
0:49:38 > 0:49:43There seem to be a lot of these white-flowered plants here, Owen.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46- What have we got here? What are these?- This is sea kale.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49Nice, good old tough seaside plant, nice juicy leaves to it with
0:49:49 > 0:49:54a lovely big white pom-pom display of flowers on it.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58Characteristic seaside plant, but on Dungeness you could probably say
0:49:58 > 0:50:02the biggest collection of sea kale in this country.
0:50:03 > 0:50:08Look closer and more than one third of all the plant species in the UK
0:50:08 > 0:50:11managed to grow amongst these pebbles.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13But there aren't the only form of life here.
0:50:13 > 0:50:18Further inland, fresh water collects in craters left by gravel extraction,
0:50:18 > 0:50:24and in the freshwater lives something that was once declared extinct in Britain.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28Oh, my word! They're leeches.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30These are medicinal leeches.
0:50:30 > 0:50:35In Europe, Dungeness is one of the best places for the species.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39This is come from a gravel pit, so the water quality is excellent.
0:50:39 > 0:50:44Lots of food for them, frogs and birds for them to feed on, because they need blood.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46And you need a special licence...
0:50:46 > 0:50:50You need a licence to handle these because they're quite rare in this country.
0:50:50 > 0:50:51What do you have to do - just keep them moving?
0:50:51 > 0:50:55I've got to keep holding these a bit like a hot potato.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01There we go, let's get this one out.
0:51:01 > 0:51:06I've just got to keep moving him around because he's going to be looking for a place to bite me.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08And which end is the teeth?
0:51:08 > 0:51:10300 teeth on it,
0:51:10 > 0:51:14and they expand about two or three times their size when they've had their meal.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17That will be it for the rest of the season.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20This is the largest leech in this country.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22You're not going to mistake this for anything else.
0:51:22 > 0:51:30Leeches have long been used in medicine, and in the 19th century their popularity reached its peak.
0:51:30 > 0:51:38Over-harvesting lead to dramatic shortages, but here in this corner of Kent, the leech somehow hung on.
0:51:41 > 0:51:43It all adds to the atmosphere -
0:51:43 > 0:51:47an alien, storybook world,
0:51:47 > 0:51:49lost somewhere in time.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57Coming as I have from the heart of England's green and pleasant land,
0:51:57 > 0:52:01Dungeness is a startling sight.
0:52:01 > 0:52:07It's strangely alluring, it's dreamlike, it's almost in slow motion, this place.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10Totally unexpected
0:52:10 > 0:52:12but unforgettable.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30Beyond Dungeness, the flatlands of shingle give way to
0:52:30 > 0:52:33the towering chalk skyscrapers of the Kent coast.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38It's one of our island's most iconic landscapes,
0:52:38 > 0:52:44and it's our last stop on this journey across the crowded south.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49The white cliffs of Dover, an awe-inspiring sight, and for
0:52:49 > 0:52:52generations a symbol of hope and freedom.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56But let's leave Vera Lynn behind for one moment and explore their hidden secrets.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02The cliffs stand guard at the narrowest point
0:53:02 > 0:53:07of the English Channel and have long been a key stronghold in the defence of Britain's coastline.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14Dover wears most of its military history on its sleeve.
0:53:14 > 0:53:20Its proud castle and wartime tunnels now welcome visitors with open arms.
0:53:23 > 0:53:29But what I'm looking for lies down a steep zig-zag path cut directly into the chalk.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35This rather precipitous route leads to Langdon Bay,
0:53:35 > 0:53:39and a well-hidden ghost of Dover's military past.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42From above you'd never know it was here.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51There were searchlights set back in these tunnels,
0:53:51 > 0:53:55and they would check out every ship that was coming into the harbour or close to the harbour, and if they
0:53:55 > 0:53:59didn't like the look of them they would send a signal, and then...
0:53:59 > 0:54:00Boom.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09Imagine being posted here on a harsh winter's night
0:54:09 > 0:54:16during a German bombing raid - the sea outside battering against the cliffs, the cold, the noise.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19This really was frontline Britain.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23But Dover's harbour wasn't only vulnerable in wartime.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29Langdon Bay has another secret,
0:54:29 > 0:54:34one only revealed at low tide and by a steep scramble down a ladder.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46On this beach below Kent's great white walls of chalk
0:54:46 > 0:54:51lies the twisted and torn skeleton of the steamship Falcon.
0:54:51 > 0:54:58It looks like the ribcage of some massive prehistoric beast that's been left behind on the beach.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04Look how it's been corroded and shaped by the sea.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07Limpets attach themselves to it.
0:55:07 > 0:55:08It's quite beautiful.
0:55:11 > 0:55:13It's not a casualty of war.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17The SS Falcon posed a different kind of danger to Dover.
0:55:20 > 0:55:27An elderly steamship, which had seen better days, the Falcon set sail in October 1926,
0:55:27 > 0:55:32heavily laden with the cargo of jute and matches.
0:55:32 > 0:55:39She lies almost forgotten now, but in her day, the Falcon was one of the biggest news stories in Britain.
0:55:41 > 0:55:45Just off Dover, her unfortunate combination of cargo caught fire
0:55:45 > 0:55:49and the crew were forced to abandon ship.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56This rare footage shows the fire consuming her from within.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04The captain tried desperately to save his ship but eyewitnesses
0:56:04 > 0:56:08watched in horror as the Falcon began to drift towards the harbour,
0:56:08 > 0:56:11putting Dover at risk of a major blaze.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15With moments to spare, the wind changed and good fortune blew
0:56:15 > 0:56:22her clear, only to come to grief on the rocky shore of Langdon Bay.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25Now the Falcon's iron hull is all that remains.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30A secret echo of a forgotten past.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37It seems a fitting place to end the first leg of our adventure.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59Dover's white cliffs stand in complete contrast to
0:56:59 > 0:57:04the volcanic majesty of the north Cornish coast where we started.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11It's a reminder of just how different Secret Britain can be.
0:57:18 > 0:57:23Between the cracks of our crowded modern country we have found a far more ancient land.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27Yes, there are wild and undiscovered corners, from the untamed vastness
0:57:27 > 0:57:34of Salisbury Plain to the hollow ways and green lanes that weave their way through our countryside.
0:57:34 > 0:57:39And from the alien landscapes of Dungeness to the Cornish Alps.
0:57:39 > 0:57:43Every road taken can lead to a discovery,
0:57:43 > 0:57:48a forgotten piece of the story of Britain.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54But this is just the start of our exciting journey.
0:57:54 > 0:57:58There's a lot more Secret Britain just waiting to be explored.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07Next time we're moving north to travel through the hidden heart of Britain.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09Where have you brought me?
0:58:09 > 0:58:12It's an epic journey that will take us all the way from the flatlands of
0:58:12 > 0:58:17the east to the staggering sea cliffs of Pembrokeshire.
0:58:17 > 0:58:18Oh, my word!
0:58:18 > 0:58:23I'm heading into a flooded water world in search of a very secret island...
0:58:24 > 0:58:26You just cannot see it at all.
0:58:26 > 0:58:30While I'm discovering Snowdon's ancient botanical secrets.
0:58:30 > 0:58:32So this is it.
0:58:32 > 0:58:33SHE LAUGHS
0:58:34 > 0:58:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:37 > 0:58:41E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk