0:00:09 > 0:00:12We live in a country with some of the most diverse
0:00:12 > 0:00:15and beautiful landscapes in the world.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21So diverse, very few of us know every nook and cranny.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28And so beautiful, it'd be a crime to miss any of them.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33The British Isles are full of secrets
0:00:33 > 0:00:37and surprises, just waiting to be discovered.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41- Good, Chris, good. Well done! - Thank you!
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Wow! Oh, my God!
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Out of nowhere they came!
0:00:46 > 0:00:49It's easy to think Britain is a crowded place,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52but with more than 60 million acres out there,
0:00:52 > 0:00:57there's still plenty of the UK for us to discover and enjoy.
0:00:57 > 0:00:58SHE LAUGHS
0:00:58 > 0:01:02The power of the elements really belittles you!
0:01:02 > 0:01:05In this series, we're going to escape the crowds
0:01:05 > 0:01:07and get off the beaten track.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10We're on the hunt for the unexpected...
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Did you see it? Did you see it? There we go. Whoo-ooh!
0:01:13 > 0:01:15..the breathtaking...
0:01:16 > 0:01:17Oh, it's freezing!
0:01:17 > 0:01:18..the hidden.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21I think we found it!
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Look at the size of this place!
0:01:26 > 0:01:29This is the place we call home.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31This is our Secret Britain.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53For the last 8,000 years,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56these towering white cliffs have been the first
0:01:56 > 0:02:01impression of Britain for everyone arriving here from the Continent.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13These cliffs have welcomed and seen off invaders for thousands of years.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17They're both our first line of defence
0:02:17 > 0:02:21but also a world-famous symbol of hope and freedom.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25This is Kent. Whoo-hoo-hoo!
0:02:29 > 0:02:32You might think of Kent as the Garden of England,
0:02:32 > 0:02:36full of lush orchards bursting with fruit,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40or the gateway to Europe for millions of continental travellers.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44But scratch beneath the surface
0:02:44 > 0:02:47and there's much more to this county than meets the eye.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52Heading off-road and off-limits, we want to discover an altogether
0:02:52 > 0:02:54wilder side to Kent...
0:02:57 > 0:03:00..uncover long-forgotten secrets...
0:03:00 > 0:03:01Is this it? Are we here?
0:03:01 > 0:03:03..and reveal its hidden history
0:03:03 > 0:03:06as the front line in Britain's defences.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Look at the size of this place!
0:03:21 > 0:03:23This is my county.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26I grew up here, and if someone said,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29"Let's go to North Kent for a day out," I'd have said you were mad!
0:03:38 > 0:03:44The North Kent Marshes are made up of 50,000 acres of pristine wetland.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Sandwiched between the River Thames and the Medway,
0:03:47 > 0:03:52they're surrounded by heavy industry yet feel complete isolated.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59I'm still not sure whether this is bleak or rugged beauty.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06I can't help but feel a menace in this landscape, and I'm not alone.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Charles Dickens described this marshland in sinister tones.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17"The dark flat wilderness,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21"intersected with dykes and mounds and gates,
0:04:21 > 0:04:26"was the marshes, the low leaden line beyond was the river,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30"and the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing
0:04:30 > 0:04:31"was the sea."
0:04:37 > 0:04:41Dickens was inspired by his actual experience
0:04:41 > 0:04:43of this very bleak landscape -
0:04:43 > 0:04:47so much so that the very first chapter of Great Expectations
0:04:47 > 0:04:52is set here, in this graveyard at St James' Church in Cooling.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Steve Martin is a Dickens fanatic.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09He's tracked down the hidden locations that
0:05:09 > 0:05:11inspired his literary hero.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16I feel as if I've suddenly entered the Dickens world.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Well, there's the inspiration for the opening sequence
0:05:21 > 0:05:24of Great Expectations, where Pip would be standing here.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Looking at these graves in the book would have been the graves of
0:05:27 > 0:05:30his brothers and sisters and his parents,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32and out from the side of the church porch there would have come
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Abel Magwitch, the escaped convict,
0:05:34 > 0:05:38grabbed him, "Hold your tongue, boy, or I'll cut your throat!"
0:05:38 > 0:05:40- Steady, Steve, steady! - THEY LAUGH
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Frightening! I can feel it. I mean, do we know that as a fact?
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Yes. In fact, he used to bring,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48when he became famous, he used to bring all his friends here.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50And it's known he used to come here
0:05:50 > 0:05:54and use the tabletop grave there as a picnic table.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57I knew that Dickens had a house in Kent
0:05:57 > 0:06:02but I had no idea that he regularly roamed these marshes.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Luckily for us, he wrote thousands of letters
0:06:05 > 0:06:07and he describes his daily routine.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10And he often walked from Gad's Hill, about seven miles from here,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13but he didn't go in a straight line, he would walk across the marshes.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16And, of course, when he was walking, he was deep in thought.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23What about this area as a whole? What was it like back then?
0:06:23 > 0:06:26It's probably easier if I show you from up the top of there.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39I say, Steve, it's not the prettiest of landscapes.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41No, I'd agree with you there.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44I mean, Dickens used to call it a very strange weird place,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47but it's also got its own beauty.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49This, over as far as we can see,
0:06:49 > 0:06:53this flat land here, would have all been marshy, wet.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Not ideal for walking, is it?
0:06:55 > 0:06:57In Dickens's time, it would have been much worse
0:06:57 > 0:07:00cos the sea wall wasn't built at the time, and you can imagine
0:07:00 > 0:07:04the marsh would have come right up to the very grounds of this church.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07OK. I'm trying to picture that this is the place to live at that time.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10- It's not?- No. I mean, the average life expectancy,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13if you lived on these lowlands here, was 30 years.
0:07:13 > 0:07:14Why only 30 years?
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Well, not only did you have malnutrition,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20and it wasn't a very nice place to live, of course you had malaria.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21- Malaria here?- Yes.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25A lot of people think malaria is related to overseas
0:07:25 > 0:07:28but this particular peninsula was well known for malaria,
0:07:28 > 0:07:33and in fact, the very last malaria outbreak in this country,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35it was in 1918, was in this area.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Some of the men from the villages around here used to
0:07:38 > 0:07:39marry seven or eight times.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42I often wonder whether they actually told the ladies where
0:07:42 > 0:07:44- they were moving to. - THEY LAUGH
0:07:44 > 0:07:46I mean, it sounds horrendous!
0:07:46 > 0:07:47Yes.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55The North Kent Marshes aren't easy to love but there are
0:07:55 > 0:07:59thousands of overseas visitors who come back here year after year.
0:08:04 > 0:08:10Well, I can't decide whether I love it or hate it here.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12You see that?
0:08:12 > 0:08:13I just don't know. What do you make of it?
0:08:13 > 0:08:15- I think it's absolutely stunning. - Yeah?
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Looking out now, you can see the industry in the background,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21- but you can see that flock of lapwing just going up, in front of the docks.- Oh, yeah.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25It's those kind of views that I just find absolutely stunning.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32'RSPB warden Will Tofts runs a tenacious team of volunteers
0:08:32 > 0:08:38'who maintain this bleak bit of Kent as an ornithological Heathrow.'
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Now, Will, I'm a Kentish man and I was brought up, what,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43just 20 miles that way,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46and I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I'd never heard of this place.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Well, not many people have. I hadn't before I started working here.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52It does seem incredible that, in the 21st century,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55- that this hasn't been developed at all.- Yes.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58And, with a little bit of your help, of course,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00- this is now bird paradise, isn't it? - It is.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04It's an internationally important area for wintering birds,
0:09:04 > 0:09:05the whole Thames Estuary.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08And so they flock here to feed on the mudflats,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11and then they come up onto the grazing marsh to roost.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14- How many birds are we talking about? - Oh, hundreds of thousands.
0:09:14 > 0:09:15- Really?- Yes, yeah.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18During the spring, we have breeding birds, like lapwing
0:09:18 > 0:09:20and redshank, and they need this grazing marsh to breed.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22So you can see, out at the moment, we've got sheep
0:09:22 > 0:09:25and cattle grazing the ground, and they're getting the grass
0:09:25 > 0:09:27into just the right condition for them to breed in the spring.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30And then during the winter, we flood the whole marsh,
0:09:30 > 0:09:33so it'll be mostly wet, and that's great for all the wildfowl
0:09:33 > 0:09:36that come in from Siberia and Arctic during the winter.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40For a twitcher like you, paradise?
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Oh, absolutely.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46- A bit like a secret corner of North Kent.- 'I think I get it.'
0:09:48 > 0:09:52I can now see there really is beauty in the desolation here.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56These marshes were the inspiration
0:09:56 > 0:09:59for some of the world's best-loved literature
0:09:59 > 0:10:03and are the destination of choice for the hundreds of thousands
0:10:03 > 0:10:06of wild birds that flock here every year.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15North Kent isn't the only bit of the county with wetlands.
0:10:15 > 0:10:2050 miles south are the ancient and fertile Romney Marshes.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24For 25 miles along the coast and ten miles inland,
0:10:24 > 0:10:29this vast marshland barely rises above sea level.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Cut off from the rest of the county...
0:10:35 > 0:10:38..this is another wonderfully secluded landscape.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Across the flatlands, it's wild and windswept
0:10:44 > 0:10:47and there are really hardly any trees.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50John Betjeman wrote about here that "the sky is always
0:10:50 > 0:10:53"three quarters of the landscape."
0:10:53 > 0:10:54He was right about that.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01The Romney Marshes are criss-crossed by a network of waterways
0:11:01 > 0:11:03and boggy ditches.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08It's the perfect habitat for a diverse community of animals
0:11:08 > 0:11:12including, I'm told, a loud but rather shy visitor
0:11:12 > 0:11:14from across the Channel.
0:11:14 > 0:11:15What are you up to here, Owen?
0:11:15 > 0:11:17I'm looking for marsh frogs.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20'Owen Leyshon is the local wetland officer.'
0:11:21 > 0:11:24- So marsh frogs, then...- Yeah. - They're not native. What are they?
0:11:24 > 0:11:26No, we know the story about these creatures.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31They were introduced in 1935 by the wife of the local MP,
0:11:31 > 0:11:35Mr Edward Percy Smith, and she brought 12 frogs, put them in
0:11:35 > 0:11:40the garden ponds and they promptly all escaped onto the Romney Marsh.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43How would I spot one of these compared to the standard frogs that we have?
0:11:43 > 0:11:46The marsh frogs, they're the largest frogs in Europe, so the big ones.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50- Oh, right.- But the small ones, yeah, they're very bright green...
0:11:50 > 0:11:52- OK. - ..and they like basking in the sun.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54So these will be on the side of the ditches,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57- so we should have a good chance of seeing them today. - So we need to go creeping along?
0:11:57 > 0:12:01We need to be very careful. They're very wary, so we've just got to be very careful.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04- Shall we start heading that way? - Yeah, let's go that way. - Let's go quietly, then.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12The frogs are skittish.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Getting close to one is going to take intuition and stealth.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21- Yeah! Oh!- There we go.- Just disturbed every frog in the land!
0:12:22 > 0:12:25There's a smaller one and then we'll cross back over there.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Marsh frogs are distinctive-looking and sounding.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37They can grow up to 17 centimetres long
0:12:37 > 0:12:41with powerful hind legs, which make them excellent jumpers.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45The male frogs have prominent air sacs beside their mouths,
0:12:45 > 0:12:49and in breeding season, they create an unholy racket in the marshes.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Visitors to the Romney Marsh are not quite sure what it is
0:12:55 > 0:12:56when they first hear it.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58They think it might be like a duck or something,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01and they look in the ditch and they can't see any bird,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04but actually, it's this frog which has got this, you know,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08giggling, croaking, quacking kind of mating call.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10And another name for them, the laughing frog,
0:13:10 > 0:13:11I think is quite apt, really.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Going to creep round here. Ooh! Whee!
0:13:16 > 0:13:18- That was one.- It actually it gave me a bit of a fright!
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Just a plop. We didn't get a good view of that one.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23I didn't see anything. I just saw the plop!
0:13:23 > 0:13:25- Ooh, right under me!- Another one.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27I can't believe I walked right past it!
0:13:27 > 0:13:31- They're definitely laughing at us, aren't they?- They are laughing!
0:13:31 > 0:13:35With each female marsh frog able to lay up to 1,000 eggs,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38you'd think it'd be easy to find a few on their breeding ground,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42but I can assure you it's not.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44They've just got their eyes poking out of the top.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46They're looking at us and they'll just dip down
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and there'll be those little ripples on the water.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51There's one here! There's one here!
0:13:51 > 0:13:53WHISPERS: That's pretty, um... Yes!
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Look, he's big, he's big! Whee!
0:13:58 > 0:14:00SHE LAUGHS
0:14:00 > 0:14:01I've seen my first marsh frog.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Brilliant. On the Romney Marsh!
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Yeah, the right place. Oh, there's another one!
0:14:09 > 0:14:11It's one thing trying to find Kent's secrets
0:14:11 > 0:14:14hopping around at ground level, but what if
0:14:14 > 0:14:18what you're looking for is literally over the edge of a cliff?
0:14:26 > 0:14:31These are the best known cliffs in the UK, probably the world.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33It's a bit scary walking along them,
0:14:33 > 0:14:37especially if there's a breeze, but the views are spectacular.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42The clifftop footpath out of Dover
0:14:42 > 0:14:46was recently voted one of the best walks in Britain.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49What these ramblers don't know is that children used to
0:14:49 > 0:14:51dangle off these cliffs,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55risking their lives to harvest a very valuable plant.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00And now I'm going to risk mine to find out why.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09The cliffs here are 300 feet high with nothing
0:15:09 > 0:15:11but the rocks below to break your fall.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19You go first, Will. I'll follow you.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21SHE LAUGHS
0:15:21 > 0:15:23'Will Owen is a professional forager.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27'He makes his living scouring the Kent countryside for unusual
0:15:27 > 0:15:29'and forgotten flavours.'
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Do we need to be any lower?
0:15:31 > 0:15:33- How about a couple more feet?- OK.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Very crumbly, isn't it?
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Oh, my goodness! I haven't done this since I was at school...
0:15:45 > 0:15:49..and I was not as heavy as I am right now!
0:15:51 > 0:15:55'We're looking for a plant that was so popular with the nobility
0:15:55 > 0:16:00'400 years ago, it was harvested to near extinction.'
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Whoa! Is this it? Are we here?
0:16:04 > 0:16:05This is it. We found it.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09- It's this one, right?- This little one here is our rock samphire, yeah.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Rock samphire was so expensive up in London
0:16:14 > 0:16:17that the Kentish peasants were prepared to risk their lives
0:16:17 > 0:16:21and those of their children to pick this stuff.
0:16:21 > 0:16:22It is amazing, isn't it?
0:16:22 > 0:16:25I think it shows how desperate people would have been
0:16:25 > 0:16:27and just how strong that demand was.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30I just still can't imagine
0:16:30 > 0:16:33someone climbing down here -
0:16:33 > 0:16:34children climbing down here.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38I mean, I feel relatively safe but, you know,
0:16:38 > 0:16:40with just a single rope or something?
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Yeah, a single rope, possibly in worse winds.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Oh! And I'm not going to look down, I promise you that.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49How do you cook this or use it?
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Traditionally, it was harvested from the cliff and from the beach
0:16:54 > 0:16:59and the shingle, and then put in huge barrels of saltwater,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02or brine, and taken up to London, where it was pickled.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05These days, we still pickle it, but it is just as delicious.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07You can pare it down, put it in salads or
0:17:07 > 0:17:10wilt it down with fish and garlic and butter.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13And here's something you probably don't know.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Rock samphire is a member of the carrot family
0:17:16 > 0:17:19and it has 30 times more vitamin C than oranges.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Who knew?
0:17:21 > 0:17:26I guess the secret, really, is that this is a forgotten delicacy.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Well, it's not entirely forgotten.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33Foragers are still using it and, as long as it's foraged respectfully,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35then that's a good thing.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Dover's white cliffs are better known as the backdrop
0:17:42 > 0:17:45to Kent's 24/7 cross-channel ferry traffic.
0:17:48 > 0:17:5213 million passengers pass through the port each year
0:17:52 > 0:17:55and getting away from it all here can be a challenge.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01Local bus driver Brian Vanderveen knows exactly where to go
0:18:01 > 0:18:03when he wants some peace and quiet.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08The Warren is a secluded pocket of pristine woodland
0:18:08 > 0:18:11at the base of the cliffs just two miles outside of Dover.
0:18:16 > 0:18:17We started coming down here probably
0:18:17 > 0:18:20when we was probably ten with our parents, and obviously, when we got
0:18:20 > 0:18:24to teenage stage, then we would sort of sneak down here on our bikes.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28We'd climb trees, throw a rope over a branch and make a swing,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31you could sit on it, and we would swing out probably over,
0:18:31 > 0:18:33you know, maybe a 30-foot drop or something.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37We used to get told off cos we'd get home too late.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39We'd have to be in by, say, six o'clock
0:18:39 > 0:18:41and we might roll in at ten o'clock.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43We did get grounded then as well, in them days.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Wasn't long before we were back out
0:18:45 > 0:18:47and then probably sneak down here again on our bikes.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02The actual place is located right at the base of the white cliffs.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06To actually get to this location takes a fair bit of effort.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10It's a windy, steep path.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13I think that's what helps to make it the place it is.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I've seen quite a sort of diverse wildlife down here.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21It's got its own sort of, like, microclimate.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24There is various types of plant. I know there's, like...
0:19:24 > 0:19:27A certain species of butterfly are found only
0:19:27 > 0:19:28in this part of the South East.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32There's various sort of wild orchids that grow down here
0:19:32 > 0:19:34and are more or less unique.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41I've come down here in the past.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44I've been down here the best part of a whole afternoon
0:19:44 > 0:19:46and I haven't seen a single soul.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50You get the fog sweeping in off the sea.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Sometimes, I imagine sort of, like, a T-Rex coming through
0:19:55 > 0:19:56the woods or something!
0:19:56 > 0:19:59It's sort of, like, prehistoric.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03To me, it is the place I treasure most.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07It is a special place.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21You don't always have to leave town to lose yourself.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26Sometimes, there are secret places waiting to be discovered
0:20:26 > 0:20:27right under your feet.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36The exact location I cannot reveal.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40All I can tell you is that we are still in Kent,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43and up there is the city of Rochester.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52I'm in a labyrinth of tunnels that have been closed to
0:20:52 > 0:20:55the public since the Second World War.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07And I can only access this forgotten world
0:21:07 > 0:21:11thanks to the ongoing explorations of local historian
0:21:11 > 0:21:16Stephen Quinton, who's still uncovering their surprising stories.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19Steve.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22I'm glad you've got that map down here, it goes on for miles!
0:21:22 > 0:21:24- It certainly does Chris, yes. - What is this place?
0:21:24 > 0:21:30This was the underground tunnel system underneath the Shorts plane factory.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35This was the factory that was built to protect the factory workers
0:21:35 > 0:21:38once the bombing started during the Blitz.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45It's common knowledge that the Shorts Aircraft Company
0:21:45 > 0:21:48built flying boats in Rochester,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51using the River Medway as the perfect natural runway.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56What's not in the history books,
0:21:56 > 0:22:01is that faced with the relentless aerial attacks in 1940, the company
0:22:01 > 0:22:05extended their factory underground to escape the German bombs.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19They haven't done it on a small scale either, have they?
0:22:19 > 0:22:21No. It's certainly quite large down here.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23How big is this place?
0:22:23 > 0:22:26It's probably the best part of three or four miles,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28if you add up all the different sections of tunnels.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31Three to four miles underground?
0:22:31 > 0:22:32Mm, yes.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37I just can't get my head round that.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40In addition to emergency office space,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44workshops and a medical block, Shorts built oversized
0:22:44 > 0:22:47factory tunnels down here to protect vital production.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49And out this way, Chris. Yeah, through there.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Yeah, keep going.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57'The miles and miles of brick-lined tunnels doubled up as a public
0:22:57 > 0:23:01'air-raid shelter, big enough for 11,000 people.'
0:23:03 > 0:23:05- Mind your head as you go through there, Chris.- I will.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09I can see some wood.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12That's the remnants of the bench seating that was down here,
0:23:12 > 0:23:14which was both sides of the tunnel,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18and that's where they used to sit during air raids.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Oh, look, there's some writing on the wall here...
0:23:20 > 0:23:24- Yes, that's some of the original wartime graffiti.- Oh, Spitfire...
0:23:24 > 0:23:27- LAUGHING:- Yeah! A Hurricane. We've got a cartoon Popeye...
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Ah, look!
0:23:29 > 0:23:30A Sunderland.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Is that the plane they made...
0:23:32 > 0:23:34That's the plane that was made above the tunnels,
0:23:34 > 0:23:38and the parts were made down in the tunnels.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41And just up here's another plane, but I love this.
0:23:41 > 0:23:47There's obviously a game going on between "G-N-T" and "J".
0:23:47 > 0:23:50- What do you reckon, game of cards? - Could well be, people scoring.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52- Scoring! - HE LAUGHS
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Bit of cribbage as well. But that, I just think is absolutely fascinating.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58What's going on in people's minds...
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Bombing going on above, and how they were occupying themselves.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03Exactly.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06- Oh, look, a men's toilet! - Yes.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Or "lavatory", obviously, in the, 1940s.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11- LAUGHING:- Lavatory back in those days, Chris, yes.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14- So there were ladies' toilets too, right?- There were ladies' toilets too...
0:24:14 > 0:24:17What sort of facilities are we talking about?
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Um, well, they had a Nelson toilet. Erm, basically a large bucket.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22A bucket toilet?
0:24:22 > 0:24:25For 11,000 people? So what about privacy?
0:24:25 > 0:24:30I'm afraid it was just a cloth curtain, and, er, sing loudly.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33- LAUGHING:- Yeah! I bet you had to sing loudly. Goodness.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48We've been walking for ages now, Steve.
0:24:48 > 0:24:49I wondering where this factory is?
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Well, you're just about reaching it now.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59After all those tunnels, I didn't know what to expect, but this...
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Look at the size of this place!
0:25:06 > 0:25:10This is a real factory, isn't it?
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Look. Every single section or bay...
0:25:13 > 0:25:14- Yeah.- ..numbered.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Original light fittings.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18Fuse box over there.
0:25:18 > 0:25:19Old boxes.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24So what did they make in this factory?
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Anything from compasses, gyros, to engine parts.
0:25:28 > 0:25:33Anything that was really sensitive that the company didn't want bombed.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37So you can imagine that this place was packed, and it was busy?
0:25:37 > 0:25:40- Absolutely.- Yeah. - Absolutely.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46'It's staggering to think that Shorts moved an entire factory underground.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50'But while they secretly built planes down here,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53'the Nazis were developing their own secret weapons.'
0:25:58 > 0:26:03In 1944, they unleashed a fearsome new threat against Britain.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07Pilotless rocket bombs, known as V-1s.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12And they were launched across the Channel at London.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15And nowhere was safe.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27This is the tiny village of Little Chart, near Ashford,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30just 60 miles from the capital city.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37I bet this historic village, tucked away in the countryside,
0:26:37 > 0:26:39must have felt as safe as houses during the war.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47But looks can be deceptive.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51The ruins of St Mary the Virgin,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54a 700-year-old church on the edge of the village,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56tell a different story.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07In the summer of 1944,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10a V-1 rocket slammed into the church.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16Martin Pym worked on his family farm in the shadow of the church
0:27:16 > 0:27:17during the war.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Martin, you actually remember the old church being hit.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Whereabouts were you at the time?
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Well, we were on the farm.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31It was late summer, I suppose, in the harvest,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34and I was 16, I think.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38And I was on top of the combine, and suddenly the combine stopped.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42So, I looked up and saw this Doodle Bug, flying bomb,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44just coming down.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48And it looked, at that moment, that it was going to come down on us.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51So, I jumped off and, as I hit the ground,
0:27:51 > 0:27:53there was an enormous explosion.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57So, you actually recall where the rocket actually hit the church,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59at what point?
0:27:59 > 0:28:02It hit the tower and exploded.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06It knocked the rest of the church down.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08We were sorry about the church,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12because it was a very old 13th century church.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14So, no, it was a great loss. A great pity.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Sheila, you used to come to this church when you were a little girl.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27- That's right.- Yeah. - When I was about five or six.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Sheila Hancock grew up at a time
0:28:30 > 0:28:34when the old church was the spiritual hub of the village.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Yes, I came until the actual church got bombed.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40I was about nine then, you see.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43- This is a picture of what it used to look like?- That's right.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45- Wow!- Yeah.
0:28:45 > 0:28:46So, talk me through this then.
0:28:46 > 0:28:47This is the pews.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49And where would they have been?
0:28:49 > 0:28:50Here.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52Yeah.
0:28:52 > 0:28:53Here.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58And then there's the, the altar rail, you see, which was...here.
0:29:00 > 0:29:01So, you had happy memories here?
0:29:01 > 0:29:03Yes, I did. Yes.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11At the peak of Hitler's rocket attacks in the summer of 1944,
0:29:11 > 0:29:15over 100 V-1s, or Doodle Bugs,
0:29:15 > 0:29:18were being launched against London every day.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24So, how come Little Chart was on the receiving end of a direct hit?
0:29:25 > 0:29:27And was this an isolated incident?
0:29:31 > 0:29:34I've got a map here which was actually in
0:29:34 > 0:29:36one of the local papers at the time.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40This is where the Doodle Bugs crashed in Kent.
0:29:40 > 0:29:41The numbers are just staggering.
0:29:41 > 0:29:472,400 bombs that actually descended on Kent alone.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50They say 200 more than London, which is extraordinary.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53So, the history books tend to talk about London
0:29:53 > 0:29:56and the big cities that were affected,
0:29:56 > 0:30:01- but Kent, as a county, was covered, it was in the line of fire.- Yeah.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06Because it was the route from the launching sites to London,
0:30:06 > 0:30:08and that was the target.
0:30:08 > 0:30:14So, these ones were shot down probably by anti-aircraft guns.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18Then there were fighters here before they had barrage balloons.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24Government policy was to defend London at all costs.
0:30:24 > 0:30:29But every V-1 that dropped short had to come down somewhere.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31That put rural Kent on the front line,
0:30:31 > 0:30:35and earned the county the nickname Bomb Alley.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38I just can't imagine what it must have been like just hearing
0:30:38 > 0:30:41these Doodle Bugs flying overhead.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44I mean, it was just random, I guess, when they were going to land
0:30:44 > 0:30:46because the real target was London.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49Yes. You would just think, "Oh, gosh", you know.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52And you could just feel them sailing through the air
0:30:52 > 0:30:56until they either hit the ground or hit something.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58They were... I think they were horrible.
0:31:03 > 0:31:08I'd heard of Kent being called The Garden of England,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11but I'd never heard it referred to as Bomb Alley.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13There are just secrets everywhere,
0:31:13 > 0:31:15even in the places that you think you know.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27On the ancient Romney Marshes, the ditches surrounding
0:31:27 > 0:31:32Thomas a Becket Church in Fairfield, hold a surprise all of their own.
0:31:33 > 0:31:34I've got a question for you.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38What has this got to do with this?
0:31:42 > 0:31:45The clue is in the name.
0:31:45 > 0:31:46I'd always assumed that the fluffy,
0:31:46 > 0:31:50puffy marshmallow was dreamt up by a confectionary mastermind
0:31:50 > 0:31:54who knew how to whip together sugar and artificial flavourings.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57What I didn't know was that, hidden in these reed beds,
0:31:57 > 0:32:01is the plant responsible for one of my favourite treats.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03This is marshmallow, then?
0:32:03 > 0:32:06Indeed, yes. This has come from my garden.
0:32:06 > 0:32:07Tell me a bit about this plant then?
0:32:07 > 0:32:09Well, it's a scarce plant nationally,
0:32:09 > 0:32:13found mainly on coastal marshlands and grazing marshlands,
0:32:13 > 0:32:17and it's very, very popular with the sheep and the cattle, they love this.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20How do we associate this one with the sweet that we know today?
0:32:20 > 0:32:22Well, the sweet was made from the roots.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26All the sweetness, and all the kind of gooeyness, down in the roots.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30The marshmallow was long considered a medicinal plant,
0:32:30 > 0:32:33boiled down and used as a treatment for sore throats.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35But the very same natural extract
0:32:35 > 0:32:39is also the perfect base for making pillow-like sweets.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44I've got you the ingredients. Do you reckon you can use these?
0:32:44 > 0:32:48Fantastic. Yeah, sure. It's a strange old ingredient.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50While ancient recipes survive on paper,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54making marshmallows from the root is a long lost art.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57But that's not going to stop award-winning Kent chef,
0:32:57 > 0:32:58Stephen Harris.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03Basically, what I've got to do is to extract what is, in effect,
0:33:03 > 0:33:07a mucus. It doesn't sound very nice, from the plant.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10- Do you want to get working on some of these roots?- Yes.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12And we need to peel them,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15chop them up, and then get them in this pan of boiling water.
0:33:15 > 0:33:16Is that enough, you've got in there?
0:33:16 > 0:33:18No. I think we'll certainly need that one.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20That one's a bit slimy, that's probably not good.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22I'll take that one. And it does take a while,
0:33:22 > 0:33:24it takes about 20 minutes.
0:33:24 > 0:33:25So, as a chef, then,
0:33:25 > 0:33:28- do you mind trying something that might be completely disastrous?- No.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31- You like this experimenting?- Yeah. Yeah, that's what I do, really.
0:33:31 > 0:33:32It's always quite good fun.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35Once you've made a souffle, and a hollandaise, and all that,
0:33:35 > 0:33:37you've run out of things to do.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40You're kind of always, always looking for something new.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44The marshmallow plant is rare and protected in the UK.
0:33:44 > 0:33:49You can buy marshmallow extract, but maybe that's too easy.
0:33:49 > 0:33:50Right. So, we now...
0:33:50 > 0:33:52- Do some big whisking?- Yes.
0:33:56 > 0:33:57This is going to take ages!
0:34:01 > 0:34:03What does this egg white do?
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Basically, we want this flavour of this root to be in something
0:34:07 > 0:34:09that's airy and nice to eat.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13So, that's what we're doing, is whisking the egg whites.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15- Do you want me to take over? - Yeah, my arm's hurting already!
0:34:15 > 0:34:17And if you grab the sugar...
0:34:17 > 0:34:19We add the sugar a little bit at a time.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21Lovely.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26- Who needs a food processor, you're fast!- Right.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29So, we now need to sieve this extract, then we're going to
0:34:29 > 0:34:34put it into the egg white, and that is, in theory, marshmallow.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36Oh, right. We're getting closer and closer.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39I will whisk it all together.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48Right, if I do the bag, you could put the mix in, in there.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50Now what I suggest we do,
0:34:50 > 0:34:54is I'll pipe some of this directly on and, and almost cook it.
0:34:54 > 0:34:55One big experiment, this.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57It is. Right. So...
0:35:01 > 0:35:05So, here we are. We're piping onto there.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09Oh! Got you. Oh, they look neat.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16- Right. Now, I will turn off the heat source.- Turn off the heat?
0:35:16 > 0:35:18- Yes.- How's it looking? - Yeah, we have a toasted marshmallow.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22I'm amazed that we've got this far. Let's just go for it.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25Right. I'll get one that's not too caramelised.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28- There we go.- How's that for presentation there, look.
0:35:28 > 0:35:29- There you go. - Let's have some of that.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36It's actually marshmallow! You've done it.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47While the home of the marshmallow is characteristic of the county's
0:35:47 > 0:35:51coastal fringes, the interior is dominated by the rolling
0:35:51 > 0:35:53hills of the North Downs.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01A high, short ridge
0:36:01 > 0:36:04stretching from the White Cliffs of Dover and Folkestone...
0:36:07 > 0:36:11..all the way across the county, to south-east London and beyond.
0:36:20 > 0:36:26The North Downs reach almost 250m above sea level,
0:36:26 > 0:36:29which means you have to dig deep into the chalk
0:36:29 > 0:36:31to uncover its secrets.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35THEY CHEER
0:36:38 > 0:36:42It's about 20 years since I last played cricket in Kent.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45And there's nothing like it, a bit of sunshine, a village green
0:36:45 > 0:36:47and the sound of leather on willow.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51But you're thinking, "Enjoyable cricket in the sunshine?
0:36:51 > 0:36:54"That's not a secret."
0:36:56 > 0:36:58I've heard that somewhere nearby is an extraordinary
0:36:58 > 0:37:03subterranean chamber. And I want in.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07- Oh, I haven't done that for a while. - Well done, you!
0:37:07 > 0:37:10My best bet is local estate owner, the American born
0:37:10 > 0:37:17Countess Sondes, who's lived at Lees Court for 30 years.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Now, I know you're president of this club,
0:37:19 > 0:37:21but we haven't come here to talk about cricket, have we?
0:37:21 > 0:37:25There's a cave around here, right?
0:37:25 > 0:37:26- WHISPERS:- Where is it?
0:37:26 > 0:37:31Right down there. Way down.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33So, where we've been playing cricket, in this area,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36- there is a cave?- Sort of.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38And you go down about 30 feet and wow!
0:37:38 > 0:37:40You're in another world.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Will you go and show me where this is?
0:37:44 > 0:37:47- Well, come on then, see what you think.- All right, come on then.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50The Countess may have taken me into her confidence,
0:37:50 > 0:37:52but I can't tell you where we're going.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56The location of this cave is a secret.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59And the entrance is utterly unremarkable
0:37:59 > 0:38:02- Chris?- Yeah?
0:38:02 > 0:38:07- Under here?- Right where we're standing.
0:38:08 > 0:38:13Hidden in plain sight, just beyond the boundary rope
0:38:13 > 0:38:15and I don't know what to expect.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17THEY LAUGH
0:38:17 > 0:38:22- It's not a small cave, this is huge.- It's huge!
0:38:22 > 0:38:2630 steps lead down a narrow shaft into the void, where the
0:38:26 > 0:38:29atmosphere is damp and chilling.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37But what a sight!
0:38:39 > 0:38:43It's not a cave, it's a different world.
0:38:43 > 0:38:48Four vast chambers carved high above me into the chalk.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51I'm really confused,
0:38:51 > 0:38:55because, I mean, it's so organised. It's so structured.
0:38:55 > 0:39:01Let's have a look down here. Oh, my goodness, it's enormous!
0:39:04 > 0:39:08Chalk. It must be a mine of some sort.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Well, what do you think?
0:39:12 > 0:39:17I must admit, I didn't expect it to be like this. You said a cave.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20You were fibbing to me. It's like a different world down here, isn't it?
0:39:20 > 0:39:26To me it's cathedral like. It's like, not anything I've ever seen.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29I know it's not a cathedral. It looks like it, with that spire
0:39:29 > 0:39:34there. And I can't imagine any person living in here.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36So, come on, tell me, what is it?
0:39:36 > 0:39:38It's 17th century.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42It's called a dene hole, it's to mine chalk and that chalk
0:39:42 > 0:39:46would have been used for agricultural purposes. Or it would
0:39:46 > 0:39:51have gone into a kiln and that would have been limewater for building.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54So, some for cement. And you say for agriculture.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56What, like a fertiliser?
0:39:56 > 0:40:00Exactly. It would go on top of the soil.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03So, this is one, two, three chambers and there's one more.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05I mean, do you know how it was mined?
0:40:05 > 0:40:08Well, you can even see just looking at the walls.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10- It was all done by hand, of course.- Yeah.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12How many people would be down here?
0:40:12 > 0:40:16One down here, but then there'd be two men,
0:40:16 > 0:40:20that would have to go in a basket, in order to get it up to the top.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23So, one man has done all of this?
0:40:23 > 0:40:27Thousands of dene holes riddle the Kent landscape,
0:40:27 > 0:40:29though few on this scale.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32Some claim the name comes from Dane
0:40:32 > 0:40:36and think they were used as hiding places from Norse invaders.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40But many predate the Vikings by 1,000 years.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44And who knows how many remain undiscovered?
0:40:48 > 0:40:51I have to say you're a very, very lucky person to have this.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53And think of what's right on top of us.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57- Oh, it's another world!- They're playing cricket right now above us.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04Some things aren't what they seem.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17Apparently, this peaceful waterway on the Romney Marshes
0:41:17 > 0:41:20harbours a big secret.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22Down with the ducks and the swans,
0:41:22 > 0:41:27this overgrown waterway looks tranquil.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29The scenery's just beautiful.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32You can walk your dog along it, you can even have a paddle,
0:41:32 > 0:41:35but just check out the view from up there.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40This is no ordinary canal.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43It's 28 miles long, goes nowhere
0:41:43 > 0:41:47and is definitely not built in a straight line.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52This is the Royal Military Canal.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00It's the third largest defensive structure in the UK,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03behind Hadrian's Wall and Offa's Dyke.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07And, virtually, no-one outside of Kent even knows it's here.
0:42:08 > 0:42:13In fact, I'm not sure many people within Kent know it's here either.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17So, what's it doing here?
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Mike Umbers is a retired army officer,
0:42:19 > 0:42:23who's spent years unearthing its history.
0:42:23 > 0:42:24Oh, well, you made it.
0:42:24 > 0:42:26I did make it.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28THEY LAUGH
0:42:28 > 0:42:31Mike, what can you tell me about this military canal?
0:42:31 > 0:42:35You're seeing it a long time after it was built.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38When it was new, pristine banks, all that earth that was
0:42:38 > 0:42:41shovelled out of there, was piled up here on this bank
0:42:41 > 0:42:44that we are now standing on. It was much higher than it is now.
0:42:44 > 0:42:49So, all the soil, the earth came up to here,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52flattened on this bit here and then fell away at the back.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55That's right. It's 60 foot wide, it's nine foot deep.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59For people who can't swim, to come up against this obstacle and to have
0:42:59 > 0:43:05their horses, their guns, it really was a very formidable obstacle.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14Stretching from the coast all the way round the Romney Marshes,
0:43:14 > 0:43:17the Royal Military Canal was built as a defence
0:43:17 > 0:43:20against Napoleonic invasion.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25And the jinks, or the zigzags, were the latest in military thinking.
0:43:25 > 0:43:30At every corner, you've got what we would call a pill box.
0:43:30 > 0:43:35It would have in it guns firing enfilade, we call it,
0:43:35 > 0:43:38right along the jinks of the canal.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Everything that the enemy is doing is under fire.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44The canal was actually a secondary line of defence,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48sitting a couple of miles behind a string of gun emplacements,
0:43:48 > 0:43:52called Martello Towers, built along Kent's coast.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55When the two lines are in position, we're going to get him
0:43:55 > 0:43:58on the beach and he is going to come across those fields there.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01And when he comes up against this second obstacle,
0:44:01 > 0:44:05it is a real problem for him.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08So, the perceived threat from Napoleon, it was real.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11People used to frighten their babies by saying, "Boney's coming!"
0:44:11 > 0:44:15He posed the biggest threat since the Spanish Armada.
0:44:15 > 0:44:20He was massing his troops in Boulogne to advance on London.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24If he hadn't had this and he had broken through,
0:44:24 > 0:44:27it was Canterbury, it was London, it was Britain finished.
0:44:27 > 0:44:29But that threat never materialised.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31So, would you say this became a white elephant?
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Oh, no way! Hitler knew of it.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36Hitler had this great invasion plan, Sea Lion.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41They had paratroopers dropping on high to seize the bridges,
0:44:41 > 0:44:43but it was the same old canal.
0:44:46 > 0:44:52Neither Hitler nor Napoleon ever put the canal to the test.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55One of Kent's best kept secrets, it remains out of action.
0:44:55 > 0:45:00Save for one day every other year when Kevin Howell
0:45:00 > 0:45:04and the people of Hythe, turn their town into Little Venice.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07OK. Finishing touches.
0:45:07 > 0:45:12We just need to get the table laid. So, tea pot, cup, saucers, tarts.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15I've lived in Hythe for just over 30 years.
0:45:17 > 0:45:18We're ready to go.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Once you get costumes on, you sort of go,
0:45:21 > 0:45:22"Right, OK, we can do this now."
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Every two years,
0:45:25 > 0:45:28the town puts on what they call the Hythe Venetian Fete.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31I think people if they've heard of the fete, will assume it comes
0:45:31 > 0:45:34through the high street on the road, but it's use of the canal
0:45:34 > 0:45:37that actually makes it that bit different.
0:45:41 > 0:45:46The Venetian Fete has been going for over 140 years.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49The float this year takes the theme of Alice in Wonderland.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51It's always good fun to do.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57Floats are pulled up the canal by a row boat.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00That, in itself, is quite a skilful job,
0:46:00 > 0:46:05because you've got to control quite a big piece of kit behind you.
0:46:05 > 0:46:12That's easy on the road, but on water that's a bit more tricky.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15The floats run up and down the canal once in daylight.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19The second run comes later in the evening and that's
0:46:19 > 0:46:22when the floats are lit up.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29There is a big firework display later in the evening.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35It's really spectacular. Lights shine out.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39You've got the reflections across the water on the canal as well,
0:46:39 > 0:46:42which just adds an extra layer of lights and ripples.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45It does feel good to be part of the community at an event like this.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49It's a really nice, fun evening to come down and see.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05Tradition and heritage are a big part of Kent.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09The landscape remains rich with historic oasthouses,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12nestled amongst the hop fields.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16But the stories that went with them are being forgotten.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26I used to go to school just around the corner from this very spot
0:47:26 > 0:47:30and you never, ever forget that sweet smell of drying hops.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Hops are actually flowers.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37They've been used to add aroma
0:47:37 > 0:47:40and bitterness to beer for more than 1,000 years.
0:47:40 > 0:47:45Today, they're picked by machines and a handful of workers.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48But fourth generation hop farmer Peter Hall
0:47:48 > 0:47:53remembers hop picking from his childhood being very different.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56This is a beautiful part of the world, I have to say,
0:47:56 > 0:47:59but I did expect to be surrounded by hop fields.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02- Well, you're about 50 years too late.- Oh, right. OK.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05- We've still got a little bit of hops.- Right.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07Two acres that we grow organically.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09But, go back to my grandfather's day,
0:48:09 > 0:48:12we had 50 acres of hops here, 50 acres at Paddock Wood.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16But times change, there's not the demand for the hops.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Beer isn't drunk in this country like it was.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21And, so, we've now planted these very fertile bits
0:48:21 > 0:48:26of the farm up with apple orchards that we're growing organically.
0:48:26 > 0:48:30Until the 1950s, everything on the hop farm was done by hand.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34For most of the year that meant Peter's grandfather
0:48:34 > 0:48:36and a few farm hands.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39But when summer came, everything changed.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41Come harvest time that must have been completely...
0:48:41 > 0:48:43Come harvest time, it was insanity.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46You'd probably have had 400 pickers on 50 acres of hops.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50And they would have been here with all their families and
0:48:50 > 0:48:53hangers on and, you know, visitors and Uncle Tom Cobley and all.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57So, I'm imagining now it's about 600 people, isn't it?
0:48:57 > 0:48:59It probably could be running up to that, yeah.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02It's certainly, you know, it's an awful lot.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07Around 80,000 East Enders would pile down to Kent,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10from London, every August.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14Entire families. Men, women and children
0:49:14 > 0:49:16toiling away in the hop fields.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19This was hard manual labour.
0:49:19 > 0:49:24And accommodating such an army of workers was no mean feat.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26Where did they stay?
0:49:26 > 0:49:29They stayed in a whole encampment around the farm.
0:49:29 > 0:49:34The last remaining or one of the last remaining bits
0:49:34 > 0:49:37is this ramshackle structure in here.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45Hop pickers' huts were temporary structures,
0:49:45 > 0:49:48so it's extremely rare for one to survive.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56It's not much, I have to say. My first impressions,
0:49:56 > 0:50:00it's like a little old tin hut, isn't it?
0:50:00 > 0:50:02How old are these huts, about?
0:50:02 > 0:50:05Well, I don't know this particular one, but there will have been
0:50:05 > 0:50:07huts standing here on the common since 1850 I should think.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11Wow. So what, would one family live in all of this?
0:50:11 > 0:50:13No. God, no. No, no, no way.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16I mean you'd... There are...we've got four bays.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19You'd be looking at, probably, you know, four, five,
0:50:19 > 0:50:22six people sleeping in each bay of this.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25Hold on a second. Four, five, six people.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28Hold on. One, two, three...
0:50:28 > 0:50:32What, five steps you'd have a family in there?
0:50:32 > 0:50:35Yeah. Yeah, it depends on the size of the family.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38- And another family in here? - Yeah. Yeah, pretty much. Yeah.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41- 24 people from here to here? - It could be.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50In spite of the crude accommodation and the back-breaking work,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53Peter remembers the East Enders seeing their time here
0:50:53 > 0:50:56as a sort of holiday.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58Tell me, am I a bit soft?
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Have I spent too much time in nice comfortable beds,
0:51:01 > 0:51:05that I just couldn't imagine living in here?
0:51:05 > 0:51:07To be perfectly honest with you, a lot of...
0:51:07 > 0:51:10If you think about the East End, some of those
0:51:10 > 0:51:13rows of houses in the East End were some pretty squalid conditions.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16And, I mean, they were out in the fresh air here.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19The children ran wild and they did run wild, I can tell you.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22Whole communities would come and work on a particular farm.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24Whole streets or groups of people.
0:51:24 > 0:51:25They had the same hut every year.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28And, I mean, I can remember we had families,
0:51:28 > 0:51:31when we've been picking, with the machinery,
0:51:31 > 0:51:33we had grandchildren,
0:51:33 > 0:51:36great-grandchildren of people who'd worked for my great-grandfather,
0:51:36 > 0:51:40who were still coming to work the hop garden and work the machinery.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43And they would come down the fortnight before hop picking
0:51:43 > 0:51:46for the weekend in their modern motors and all that stuff,
0:51:46 > 0:51:49repaper all their hut out, all those kind of things.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54Yeah, I'm beginning to turn,
0:51:54 > 0:51:57because you actually feel that this is a very special place.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00A moment in your life where you're actually experiencing
0:52:00 > 0:52:02something different.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15Though the armies of hop pickers are long gone
0:52:15 > 0:52:19and the old ways are now dim and distant memories,
0:52:19 > 0:52:22it's still possible to catch glimpses of Kent's agricultural
0:52:22 > 0:52:26past in the architectural relics of its landscape.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36But Kent is also a county that looks forward
0:52:36 > 0:52:39and it appears to be edging ever closer towards France.
0:52:45 > 0:52:50Seven miles out to sea from Ramsgate is Kent's furthest outpost.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55It's a little bit lumpy today. Ooh!
0:52:55 > 0:52:57I'm sure it's going to be worth it.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00I hope it's going to be worth it.
0:53:06 > 0:53:11The English Channel isn't just the busiest shipping lane in the world,
0:53:11 > 0:53:15it's also surprisingly shallow, only 20 metres deep in places.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19This makes it the perfect spot
0:53:19 > 0:53:22for a considerable extension onto the county.
0:53:25 > 0:53:30Time for some routine maintenance at a far from routine place,
0:53:30 > 0:53:32Thanet Offshore Wind Farm.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55This was the biggest wind farm in the world
0:53:55 > 0:53:58when the blades first turned, back in 2010.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06Stewart, what's happening now?
0:54:06 > 0:54:08Well, we're going to try and push on.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10The weather condition's not that great at the moment.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12So, the waves are a bit high.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15Team leader Stewart Box is worried that it could be
0:54:15 > 0:54:17too choppy for us to climb the turbine today.
0:54:17 > 0:54:18So, when you say push on,
0:54:18 > 0:54:20we're pushing the boat up against the turbines?
0:54:20 > 0:54:23Basically, the front of the boat is pushed, as it's just going now,
0:54:23 > 0:54:26pushing it onto the boat. And the revs will go up and he's going
0:54:26 > 0:54:29to try and stick on the front, so we can climb up the turbine.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33Oh, right. And, what's the biggest challenge here then?
0:54:33 > 0:54:37Waves. Waves are a massive challenge here.
0:54:37 > 0:54:39When the waves are over 1.5 metres,
0:54:39 > 0:54:42it's just too much to go up and down the ladder.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46I've made it all the way out here and kept my lunch down,
0:54:46 > 0:54:49only to discover that the swell might stop me
0:54:49 > 0:54:51getting up the turbine.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56- Well, look how steady he's made it! - Yeah, he's done a really...
0:54:56 > 0:54:59- Is that steady or what?- Yeah, he's made a pretty good job at that.
0:54:59 > 0:55:01So, we'll just find out what he's thinking.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03What's the skipper... Oh, he's like that!
0:55:03 > 0:55:06- Are you going to go? - He's giving us a middle...
0:55:06 > 0:55:09- Do you want to go? - What was that, a thumbs up?
0:55:09 > 0:55:12- It's a thumbs up, yeah. - Was it? We're going on! Whoohoo!
0:55:17 > 0:55:19Oh, there's some ominous squeaks here.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22And it's a bit choppy.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29- All right to go? - Yeah, got it.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37Whoa! Suddenly everything feels like it's moving.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46There are 100 of these 70 metre turbines out
0:55:46 > 0:55:47here on the wind farm.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50But just because they're fastened to the sea floor,
0:55:50 > 0:55:52doesn't mean they're rock solid.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01I've learnt to twist these up pretty spectacularly.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12- Cool.- Are you level? - Yeah, I'm good.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15- I've forgotten what to do here now. - I'll undo you.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21- Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!- You've made it to the top.- I've made it to the top!
0:56:21 > 0:56:23But I didn't think this was going to be moving.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26I thought it was solid here. Do you know what's nuts,
0:56:26 > 0:56:28it does actually feel quite calm, compared to down there.
0:56:28 > 0:56:32The waves are going crazy. The back of the boat is just wild.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39This is really very privileged access.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42People aren't allowed to come close to these wind turbines.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46VIP access, this. Not many people get to come here.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48It is, isn't it? Is it access all areas in here?
0:56:48 > 0:56:49Wow!
0:56:49 > 0:56:53Oh, my God! The wind turbines go on and on into the distance!
0:56:55 > 0:56:59And they really take your breath away when you're standing here.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02It's quite mesmerising.
0:57:14 > 0:57:16These massive turbines
0:57:16 > 0:57:20and the spectacular views back towards the coast, remind me that
0:57:20 > 0:57:23there's so much more to this county than the White Cliffs of Dover.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30- Born and bred in Kent, right?- Yeah. I was born and bred in Ramsgate.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33So, literally from yay high I've been looking out to sea.
0:57:33 > 0:57:37And now I actually work out at sea, so it's brilliant.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47For the 23 million people who arrive in Britain via Kent
0:57:47 > 0:57:51every year, the first impression of the county can be hectic.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54You have to make an effort to escape the crowds
0:57:54 > 0:57:56and get off the beaten track.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59Even in a county as busy as Kent,
0:57:59 > 0:58:03there are still places where you can really connect with the landscape.
0:58:03 > 0:58:09And going the extra mile can change your perspective on everything.
0:58:09 > 0:58:14Next time on Secret Britain, we're delving into Devon.
0:58:16 > 0:58:19Welcome to the underworld.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22Discovering the secrets of its military past...
0:58:22 > 0:58:24- There she is!- There we go.
0:58:24 > 0:58:28..meeting some of Dartmoor's best-loved inhabitants.
0:58:28 > 0:58:31Just out of nowhere they came.
0:58:31 > 0:58:35..and dipping our toes into Devon's ancient myths and legends.
0:58:35 > 0:58:37Oh, it's freezing!