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 > 0:00:34The British Isles are full of secrets and surprises
0:00:34 > 0:00:37just waiting to be discovered.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41- Good, Chris, good. Well done. - Thank you!
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Wow! Oh, my God!
0:00:44 > 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 > 0:00:56there's still plenty of the UK for us to discover and enjoy.
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 > 0:01:11We're on the hunt for the unexpected.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Did you see it? There we go. Ooh!
0:01:13 > 0:01:16The breathtaking.
0:01:16 > 0:01:17Oh, it's freezing.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19The hidden.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21I think we've 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.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13We're on the western edge of the British Isles.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17This is one of the least touristy, but most spectacular
0:02:17 > 0:02:19and surprising places in the country.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25The mountains behind me were formed nearly 60 million years ago
0:02:25 > 0:02:30from volcanic rock and away over to the north lies the largest lake
0:02:30 > 0:02:35in the UK and a mountain range that was once as big as the Himalayas.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39This is Northern Ireland.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46This ancient landscape is the keeper of secrets
0:02:46 > 0:02:48that go back into the mists of time.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Striking out on the paths less travelled,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55we're tracking down rare wildlife...
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Did you see it. See it. There we go. Ooh!
0:02:58 > 0:03:00..trying out little known pastimes...
0:03:00 > 0:03:02You need to get focused, woman!
0:03:04 > 0:03:08..and exploring the magic and majesty of Northern Ireland.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11I don't think I've ever seen anything like that.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Heavily restricted and regularly patrolled,
0:03:26 > 0:03:30these sand dunes hide some of the best guarded secrets
0:03:30 > 0:03:31in Northern Ireland.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40The British Army has a long history of training cavalry and infantry
0:03:40 > 0:03:44on the stunning beach here at Ballykinler on the east coast,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47in the shadow of the Mourne Mountains.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51The army stopped using horses in battle after the First World War
0:03:51 > 0:03:55and they're rarely seen down on these sands nowadays.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Thanks, Elaine. Lovely.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01In fact, this whole site has been cut off completely
0:04:01 > 0:04:05for more than a century, so it's packed full of wildlife secrets.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14Off limits and dangerous, the red flag keeps most people away.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18But in the heart of Ballykinler's training ground, is a rare
0:04:18 > 0:04:22and covert conservation project led by Northern Ireland's
0:04:22 > 0:04:24top squirrel man, Declan Looney.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28- Right next to the shooting range. You can hear them.- Indeed, yeah.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31- So, is this a good site for releasing reds?- It is, yeah.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Anybody involved in red squirrel conservation will know that there's a number of things
0:04:35 > 0:04:38that need to be considered before we do a release and the most important of those
0:04:38 > 0:04:42is that we have an area we've confirmed there's no grey squirrels.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Northern Ireland's native red squirrel is outnumbered six to one
0:04:46 > 0:04:50by invasive greys and the reds are under serious threat.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Amazingly, their best chance for survival
0:04:52 > 0:04:55is in the middle of this firing range.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Tagged and monitored, Declan's animals are ready for release
0:05:02 > 0:05:05into a red squirrel-only zone.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Yeah, this is our soft release enclosure.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10The principle of a soft release enclosure is that
0:05:10 > 0:05:13the squirrels inside are given a period of time to gradually become
0:05:13 > 0:05:15accustomed to the external environment.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17So, we'll keep a close eye on things and how it develops
0:05:17 > 0:05:21and then once we're content that the squirrels are settled in, we'll open this hatch here at the top
0:05:21 > 0:05:25and we'll let the squirrels come out into these trees in their own time.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28- They've got the chance to go straight across there. - They have, yeah.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31So, if we look about we can see, for the most part,
0:05:31 > 0:05:36these are a species of conifer that's particularly favoured by red squirrels called Maritime Pine.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41- Ah-ha.- So, there's an abundant natural food resource within this stand of trees.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Do you think we could actually get in close and see them?
0:05:43 > 0:05:47- We could. We can go in, if we keep it down a bit. We can have a look, yeah.- Keep it low down. Right.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00How ironic that I have to keep my voice down,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03when I'm in the middle of a firing range!
0:06:07 > 0:06:08(There's one here.)
0:06:14 > 0:06:18That's amazing. That lovely fluffy tail and the ear tufts.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Oh, it's looking pretty bright and well, isn't it?
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Yeah, absolutely. This is one of the young males.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29The long term plan for this young male and the others
0:06:29 > 0:06:32is that they become established within Ballykinler Camp
0:06:32 > 0:06:36and then following years, we'll introduce some females
0:06:36 > 0:06:39and basically they supplement the captive breeding population
0:06:39 > 0:06:41in Northern Ireland.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43- So, the future's looking pretty good here?- It is.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46It's looking, it's looking well for the future.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51The squirrels certainly look happy enough,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54but I do wonder why they'd want to stick around with all these soldiers,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56once they're released into the wild.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07What the red squirrels don't know yet,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11is just how rare and special their new 1,300 acre home is.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19Tony Canniford runs the base and appreciates better than most
0:07:19 > 0:07:22what an important site this is for wildlife.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33That is such a view!
0:07:33 > 0:07:35Oh, how wonderful!
0:07:39 > 0:07:42- So, we've got a few seals hauled out here.- Yeah.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44There's normally a lot more. There's normally about 200
0:07:44 > 0:07:47- and a mix of common and grey seals. - Mm.- It's the premier site
0:07:47 > 0:07:50for the island of Ireland, or one of the premier sites.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53But when you've got all the 200 plus hauled out there -
0:07:53 > 0:07:55common and grey - it's an amazing sight.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59What is it about the geography of this place that makes it
0:07:59 > 0:08:01ideal for wildlife?
0:08:01 > 0:08:06The army has been here really since the mid 1850s, that sort of time,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09and that has enabled us to control the access of who's come in here.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13So, it's a nice, safe area for the wildlife we have here.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20You are lucky.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22- A good office, isn't it? - You are very lucky.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33From wildlife to a different sort of wild.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Whoa!
0:08:35 > 0:08:40'I've seen a lot of sport in my time, but never anything like this.'
0:08:40 > 0:08:43And it's completely bonkers!
0:08:44 > 0:08:4850 miles west of Ballykinler is Armagh,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52where I'm being initiated into one of Ireland's best kept secrets.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59The game looks straightforward -
0:08:59 > 0:09:03chuck a heavy ball as far as possible down the road...
0:09:03 > 0:09:05CHEERING
0:09:05 > 0:09:08..whoever gets the furthest in 20 throws, wins.
0:09:08 > 0:09:09How hard can it be?
0:09:11 > 0:09:13That was amazing.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15- That was a big shot. - That was big.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17This is Road Bowls.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Chris Mallon is the chairman of the Armagh Road Bowling Association.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25- So, the car's just going through. - Yeah, yeah. We can't stop them.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29- And that's just quite normal - Oh, that's normal, yeah. We can't get the roads closed,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31so what you have to do is try and accommodate them.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Be as good as you can with letting traffic run
0:09:35 > 0:09:36and not to hold it up, you know.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39No-one seems to know where road bowls came from,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43but it's been around in Ireland for several hundred years.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Mostly played in just two counties - Cork in the south
0:09:46 > 0:09:51and here in Armagh - each has a unique throwing style.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53We've got a girl here to show you her Cork technique which...
0:09:53 > 0:09:55they throw like a windmill style,
0:09:55 > 0:09:59the full 360 degrees of the arm.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Now, that was the Cork style.
0:10:01 > 0:10:02- So that was the Cork style.- Yeah.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Right. And she's actually from Cork?
0:10:04 > 0:10:06She's from Cork, yeah.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08So this is Armagh style.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10And you deliver the ball under arm.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14- I'm amazed at how quickly he's actually running in.- Aye.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17- Yeah, he... - And how far he's gone back.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18He can get great speed, the bowler.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21I mean, that's almost what, 80 metres, maybe more?
0:10:21 > 0:10:24That'd be more. That'd be probably 100 yards up the road, maybe more.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26Phwoar!
0:10:26 > 0:10:27It looks easy enough for me
0:10:27 > 0:10:30to challenge Chris's daughter to a short match.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34What Chris failed to mention is
0:10:34 > 0:10:38that Kelly is the All Ireland Senior Road Bowling Champion.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40Do you want to go first or second?
0:10:40 > 0:10:42- I'm going to go first.- All right.
0:10:42 > 0:10:43- Happy now?- Right.- OK.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45- Right.- Right.- Here we go.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48We've got six throws each past the viaduct
0:10:48 > 0:10:52and we'll see who gets the furthest down the road.
0:10:56 > 0:10:57It's only money!
0:11:00 > 0:11:01There's pressure.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05A reputation to maintain now.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Right. I'm coming back.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Ooh-ah!
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Not bad for a first go!
0:11:20 > 0:11:23My ball's marked by a tuft of grass where it stopped,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25ready for my next throw.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34- I'm not sure.- Better.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Yeah. That's not too bad. It's OK.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41OK, so she's good.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Already 20 yards behind,
0:11:43 > 0:11:47I'm going to have to raise my game to give Kelly a run for her money.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03From the sands of Ballykinler in the east,
0:12:03 > 0:12:07to the remote back roads of County Armagh.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11And south to the mountainous border with the Irish Republic,
0:12:11 > 0:12:13steeped in myth and legend.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24This is Slieve Gullion,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27one of the most mystical mountains in all Ireland.
0:12:28 > 0:12:34Slieve Gullion means mountain of the steep slope.
0:12:34 > 0:12:35No kidding!
0:12:35 > 0:12:40But, apparently, at the top there's supposedly a witch's house
0:12:40 > 0:12:42and a mythical lake.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45But it strikes me as I'm climbing up here,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47there's a reason why it's secret -
0:12:47 > 0:12:49it's so difficult to get to.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05Now, I don't believe in fairies, but I love fairy tales
0:13:05 > 0:13:06and their mystical secrets,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and the legend here is so tightly bound to
0:13:09 > 0:13:13the landscape that I'm irresistibly drawn to get to the bottom of it.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18And I can only do that by getting to the top of it.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22That was a bit of a walk, that, Claire.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24- Yeah. Good to arrive - Right. Good to arrive.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26I tell you, it was worth it, though, spectacular views.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Claire Foley is an archaeologist.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31She's spent a lot of time up here
0:13:31 > 0:13:34trying to untangle the riddle of this mountain.
0:13:34 > 0:13:39Now, look, we've come all this way to talk giants and witches.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41- Mm-hm. - Now, I've done a bit of research.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44What I've heard is that Fionn the giant came up here to do
0:13:44 > 0:13:46- a bit of hunting.- Mm-hm.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48- And he lost one of his dogs.- Yeah.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51- OK. And all of a sudden, he came to this lake.- Yes.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54And he sees a beautiful woman,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56and he asks this beautiful woman, "Have you seen my dog?"
0:13:56 > 0:13:59And she says, "Excuse me, I'm a bit busy myself
0:13:59 > 0:14:01"because I've lost something."
0:14:01 > 0:14:02- Yes.- What had she lost?
0:14:02 > 0:14:03She'd lost her ring.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08She said it had dropped into the water and asked him to retrieve it.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11And so he dived in and rummaged round in the boggy water
0:14:11 > 0:14:15and found the ring, miraculously, but in retrieving the ring,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18he turned into an old man with long, grey hair.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20- So forever more he had grey hair. - Mm-hm. Mm-hm.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Yes, beautiful women can do that to a man, you know.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25SHE CHUCKLES
0:14:25 > 0:14:29The woman who cursed Fionn the giant was Cailleach Beara,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33a bitter old witch who's said to have lived on this mountain.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Surely the stuff of make-believe!
0:14:49 > 0:14:53But 200 years ago, locals looking for the witch
0:14:53 > 0:14:57found human bones inside a mysterious lair.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05So, this is the witch's cairn, is it?
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Well, this is where people believe she lived, yes.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10I can imagine that.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12With that view out there.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15And I can imagine she could have pounced on anybody.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22Today, a sinister-looking entrance entices the curious to
0:15:22 > 0:15:24explore the lair's secrets.
0:15:28 > 0:15:29You'll be able to stand up inside.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31- Hopefully, yeah.- Ah-ha.
0:15:33 > 0:15:34Whoa!
0:15:37 > 0:15:43'This hidden chamber is made from huge slabs of overlapping granite
0:15:43 > 0:15:46'and does, indeed, look like the work of giants.'
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Oh, this is incredible. What is it?
0:15:49 > 0:15:53This is a Neolithic passage tomb dating to 5,000 years ago.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57This is 5,000 years old?
0:15:57 > 0:16:01This is a 5,000 year old highly-engineered structure
0:16:01 > 0:16:05built for burial and lots of other rituals probably, yes.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08I actually think they may have locked young men
0:16:08 > 0:16:10in here as in initiation ceremony.
0:16:10 > 0:16:11That's my theory.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Now, obviously, it's very difficult to know
0:16:13 > 0:16:15because we don't know much about the Stone Age, do we?
0:16:15 > 0:16:17It's pre-history, really.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19You know when you said 5,000 years ago,
0:16:19 > 0:16:20for me, I'm trying to think.
0:16:20 > 0:16:235,000 years, I always think about Egyptians
0:16:23 > 0:16:25and the great big pyramids.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Are we talking about roughly the same...
0:16:27 > 0:16:30- Well, this is earlier than the Great Pyramids.- Wow.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Probably contemporary with some of the minor ones.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38This is the highest-surviving passage tomb in all Ireland.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41It's an impressive achievement given the Stone Age people
0:16:41 > 0:16:45who built it must have lived way down in the valley.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50As we sit here having come out of there, I'm just trying to think
0:16:50 > 0:16:56and picture what sort of community would create something like this.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Well, these people were farmers
0:16:58 > 0:17:01and they were following on a long tradition of at least
0:17:01 > 0:17:051,000 years of farming before they developed this tomb type.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08And they farmed that beautiful land that we can see down below.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11And all those field enclosures almost remind me of what
0:17:11 > 0:17:13a Neolithic field system would look like,
0:17:13 > 0:17:15although these are more recent.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Archaeologists are only starting to piece together
0:17:20 > 0:17:24the truth about this remote and weather-beaten monument.
0:17:24 > 0:17:29To my untrained eye, this really is the stuff of fairy tales.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33It's no wonder that myths
0:17:33 > 0:17:37and legends ended up trying to explain this, is it?
0:17:37 > 0:17:39Well, actually, we like myths and legends, as well,
0:17:39 > 0:17:41because myths and legends in Ireland
0:17:41 > 0:17:43have helped to preserve places like this
0:17:43 > 0:17:45because people are afraid of the fairies
0:17:45 > 0:17:46and they're afraid of the witch.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48You can still... There might be people still living here
0:17:48 > 0:17:50who believe that she was a real person.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52- Yeah, and so they didn't dare touch it.- Yeah.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55So people have that association with these sacred places
0:17:55 > 0:17:58and they like to try to keep them preserved.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08These ancient landscapes will forever be steeped
0:18:08 > 0:18:10in the tall tales of yesteryear.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Telling stories remains a big part of Irish culture.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Professional storyteller Colum Sands
0:18:21 > 0:18:26has dedicated his life to keeping this long tradition alive.
0:18:28 > 0:18:34'Come away, oh, human child, to the waters and the wild
0:18:34 > 0:18:36'With a fairy hand in hand,
0:18:36 > 0:18:41'for the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.'
0:18:45 > 0:18:47There were songs that told stories
0:18:47 > 0:18:51and then there were tunes that told stories in their own way.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53This is one my father used to play,
0:18:53 > 0:18:58and I always just imagined my own pictures when I heard this tune.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01It's called The King Of The Fairies.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20People often think of storytelling as something for children.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23I believe stories are being told to us all the time.
0:19:30 > 0:19:36I grew up in a part of County Down called Mayobridge in the early '50s.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39We didn't have electricity or running water in the house,
0:19:39 > 0:19:44so it was very much a part of life, both the storytelling and the music.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50There'd be stories of the locality -
0:19:50 > 0:19:53news, what was happening, who was going to get married.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57There would also be ghost stories, fairy stories.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Some of them had been told for hundreds of years.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Some of the tunes were very old, as well.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08They were all part of a tapestry of life
0:20:08 > 0:20:11and they still are to this day in this country.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24If you're walking through the landscape on this island,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28you may often come upon a field that is clear, but somewhere,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31maybe in the very centre of the field or to one side,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34there's a lone bush.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36'They're known as fairy thorns,
0:20:36 > 0:20:41'often regarded as being connected to the underworld.'
0:20:43 > 0:20:46'You don't touch them, you don't go too close to them.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51People come here to make offerings,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54to tie all kinds of things to the bushes.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57It could be something like the Calliagh,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59the last cutting of the harvest.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03The very last piece when you're cutting the corn or the wheat.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07The same kind of offerings that would have been made
0:21:07 > 0:21:10thousands of years ago in another culture.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16'This is like a connection between two worlds.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20'Here, it's in the stone circle.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24'It's right beside these stones, which hold in
0:21:24 > 0:21:26'who knows what story.'
0:21:32 > 0:21:36You don't dabble with the fairies, but the fairy thorn -
0:21:36 > 0:21:38I've already come slightly close to it, but I won't
0:21:38 > 0:21:41get any closer than that -
0:21:41 > 0:21:43is a very special part of life
0:21:43 > 0:21:45in this country.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56In Armagh, I'm in big trouble.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59- CHEERING - Very good. Oh, listen to the cheers.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01They're clearly happy with that one.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03I've got to work on that technique.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07'I really thought I'd be better than this.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10'But then, I am up against a champion.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13'But that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!'
0:22:13 > 0:22:17- So, you're on your third shot. - Is this me or is this you?
0:22:17 > 0:22:22You might be down there, I might be just here.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Oh, right, she's getting competitive now, eh?
0:22:25 > 0:22:27'I must be getting it wrong.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30'I seem to have attracted my own motivational coach.'
0:22:30 > 0:22:31Too much fun going on here.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34You're looking round you, like, you're not concentrating.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36- So, I need to focus? - Do you know what I mean, like?
0:22:36 > 0:22:38- No, I hear you. - Like we're in Sydney here.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40- You were in Sydney in- 2000? Yes.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42This is as big an occasion and you're not treating it as.
0:22:42 > 0:22:43You need to get focused, woman.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49- How's that? - That's good, that's good.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51- Right now, see where he is there? - Yeah.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54- You don't keep looking at the man. - OK.- You know what I mean?- Yeah.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55Go on, now.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57- All right. - Straight through his legs.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03That's very good, that was a great shot.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06That was a great shot. Look, it's bending round now.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08I tell you once you miss the point,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11once you miss the corner it... That's a good shot.
0:23:15 > 0:23:16Very nice shot.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19Got to admire that.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24- Oh.- Oh, too much!
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Too left, aah!
0:23:28 > 0:23:31'At first sight, I thought road bowling
0:23:31 > 0:23:33'was a quaint local tradition -
0:23:33 > 0:23:36'a bit of fun heaving an oversized ball bearing
0:23:36 > 0:23:38'down the road.'
0:23:38 > 0:23:39Right, I've got one more, one more throw.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42- One more, one more. - And I'm going to give it everything.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44Finish it off.
0:23:44 > 0:23:45This is for pride.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49'But how wrong was I? Pride? What pride?'
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Go on, now. Keep it down a wee bit there.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53Keep it down a small bit. Right?
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Come on, now, give this a lash.
0:24:01 > 0:24:02Good. Yes!
0:24:02 > 0:24:04APPLAUSE
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Yes! Well done.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12What I love about road bowls is it's inclusive.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Men, women, children can take part.
0:24:16 > 0:24:17You're out in the open space
0:24:17 > 0:24:20and it's got a real sense of tradition here
0:24:20 > 0:24:22amongst the community.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26'And, yes, Kelly won!'
0:24:38 > 0:24:41Some secrets are hidden in plain sight,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44they could be staring you in the face, but if you don't know
0:24:44 > 0:24:47what you're looking for, you can walk straight past them.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53'Nature has a habit of reclaiming what we abandon.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58'There was a fluke discovery in 2014 at Ballykinler
0:24:58 > 0:25:01'that revealed this curious hidden feature
0:25:01 > 0:25:03'on the restricted army base.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10'Someone who's been puzzling over the unusual shape
0:25:10 > 0:25:14'of these earthworks, is historian Philip Orr.'
0:25:14 > 0:25:18You're actually having a look here at a piece of pure history
0:25:18 > 0:25:22because this is the line of a trench dug at the start
0:25:22 > 0:25:25of the First World War and it's been dug here
0:25:25 > 0:25:28so that young men, who were based at Ballykinler training
0:25:28 > 0:25:31in the army, can get a feel of what the Western Front's
0:25:31 > 0:25:33going to be like.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38'The war in France was mired in deadly
0:25:38 > 0:25:41'and claustrophobic trench warfare.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43'To make sure the new recruits experienced
0:25:43 > 0:25:47'authentic fighting conditions, a large area of Ballykinler
0:25:47 > 0:25:52'was turned over to create a realistic front-line trench system.'
0:25:52 > 0:25:56Here, for example, you might have practised hurling a grenade
0:25:56 > 0:26:01ie a tin full of stones out of the trench and over into no-man's-land
0:26:01 > 0:26:05towards the German trenches, as you were pretending they were there.
0:26:05 > 0:26:06Who were the men who trained here?
0:26:06 > 0:26:09The young men who trained here were straight on the train
0:26:09 > 0:26:11down from Belfast.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14They'd probably never been out of the city in their lives,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16they were young, working-class fellows.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Some of them attempted to get back home at the weekend as
0:26:19 > 0:26:23if it was a Boys' Brigade camp or a Scout camp.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27You almost get the feeling, at times, that they were
0:26:27 > 0:26:30unaware of the intensity of what lay ahead of them.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44'These medals were awarded to one of the soldiers who trained here
0:26:44 > 0:26:49'and fought in France, Paul Miskelly's grandfather, Henry.'
0:26:49 > 0:26:51You've got some photos in there?
0:26:51 > 0:26:54I do indeed, photographs both of my grandfather, Henry...
0:26:54 > 0:26:57- Yeah.- ..of the First World War. - Handsome man.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00He was just 17 when he joined up.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03- Oh, my goodness.- Just a boy. - Indeed.- Yeah.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05And that's Samuel, that's his brother.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08- Oh! His younger brother?- Older brother Samuel.- Older brother.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Samuel was 20... 20 years of age when he joined up.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14So, what then happened to your grandfather and great-uncle?
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Well, my grandfather seen the war out, hence that's why I'm here.
0:27:17 > 0:27:18Of course.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23But unfortunately my great-uncle left the trenches in Tiefel Wood
0:27:23 > 0:27:25and went over no-man's-land.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27His body was never found again.
0:27:30 > 0:27:31Good gracious.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34He was 22 years of age when he was reported killed.
0:27:34 > 0:27:3522.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43And then how do your family remember them?
0:27:43 > 0:27:45I always remember my grandmother wearing a brooch.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47- A brooch?- A brooch.- Yeah.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49With a photograph of Samuel, which she never took off.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51- Have you got the brooch? - I have the brooch with me.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Let's have a look.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55My grandma wore that all her life.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- Every single day?- Every single day.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05'Henry and Samuel Miskelly weren't the only family members
0:28:05 > 0:28:06'to train here.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10'By a twist of fate, Paul was stationed at Ballykinler in
0:28:10 > 0:28:13'the '70s, three decades before these trenches
0:28:13 > 0:28:14'were unearthed again.'
0:28:16 > 0:28:18I served with the Ulster Defence Regiment.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19But you haven't seen...
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Aye, it's the first time I've actually been in these trenches.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24What do you make of it?
0:28:24 > 0:28:28This is where my grandfather and my great-uncle actually walked
0:28:28 > 0:28:31and trained prior to going away and, you know, actually walking
0:28:31 > 0:28:33in their footsteps made me feel proud, you know.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36And very emotional at times, you know.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45'Whether missing in action,
0:28:45 > 0:28:49'tucked away in secluded country lanes, or hidden on top
0:28:49 > 0:28:54'of a mountain, there are secrets waiting to be discovered everywhere.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58'To find them, you just need to know where to look
0:28:58 > 0:29:00'and a little bit of luck.'
0:29:13 > 0:29:16'Some secrets require personal sacrifice,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19'like getting up in the middle of the night.'
0:29:25 > 0:29:26It's a bit fresh.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29Yeah. Just watch your step there, Chris.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31Whoa! OK.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33Right. So, we've got...
0:29:33 > 0:29:35'Schoolteacher Mamraz Nagi,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38'is passionate about the Fermanagh landscape and, this morning,
0:29:38 > 0:29:42'he's promised to show me something really dazzling.'
0:29:42 > 0:29:43Any thermals in here?
0:29:43 > 0:29:45THEY LAUGH
0:29:45 > 0:29:47I'm afraid not.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49- Good to go?- Yeah, I'm ready.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53It's a bit foggy, isn't it, this morning?
0:30:00 > 0:30:04'20 minutes outside Enniskillen, in the far west of Northern Ireland,
0:30:04 > 0:30:06'we're off up the Knockmore escarpment.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12'And, at this time of the day, we've got the place to ourselves.'
0:30:23 > 0:30:25Oh, it's beautiful, isn't it, now?
0:30:25 > 0:30:27Absolutely stunning.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29- I keep looking that way, but have you seen down here?- Yeah.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33You're getting all the magentas over here and look at that ridge.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38It's going to be beautiful this morning.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Oh, look at that.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44I don't think I've ever seen anything like that.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47Absolutely beautiful, and you're only ten miles out of town.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52I am admiring this view. What time does the sun rise?
0:30:52 > 0:30:54The sun rises just around 7.30.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58- Remember, you got me up at four. - Yeah.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02I better not miss this, otherwise you're going to be very upset.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04'Mamraz is an amateur photographer,
0:31:04 > 0:31:08'who will go to any length to get the perfect shot.'
0:31:08 > 0:31:10- Oh, this is it.- Look at this. - Oh, wow!
0:31:10 > 0:31:14And we've got the moon shining above as well. Everything!
0:31:14 > 0:31:17- And the sun's coming up! - Yeah, getting close.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20Wow, this little cave.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23I was going to say, I'll get the comfortable spot in here.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27- Not many seats.- Yeah. I think if you go to the inside...
0:31:27 > 0:31:30- OK.- ..against that wall.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33- And I'm going to perch here right beside you.- OK.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36Now, the sun comes up right to left?
0:31:36 > 0:31:40Yeah. Just follow the ridge down and the sun will come up to the right
0:31:40 > 0:31:44and the light should illuminate these walls and pour into the cave.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46Because that's the thing we're doing differently, right?
0:31:46 > 0:31:49Because most people take a photo of the sunrise.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51But we're going to get the reflections off the walls.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53- Yeah.- OK lens cap off. That's important, isn't it?
0:31:53 > 0:31:55That's the most important thing.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00'The wait sets in.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05'But so does the mist...
0:32:07 > 0:32:10'..shrouding Mamraz's secret in mystery.'
0:32:12 > 0:32:15You promised me a nice sunrise down there.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17LAUGHTER
0:32:17 > 0:32:19It isn't happening, is it?
0:32:19 > 0:32:22I'm going to have a look round.
0:32:22 > 0:32:23Yeah, that is thick.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25Oh, what a shame.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30It is a total shame, but look, this is what we could have got.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32This one.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37- This is what I could have won? - This is what you could have won.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39Oh, well done that is a spectacular shot.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42- And we were right in that position to wait for it to happen.- I know.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44We're just not going to get it this morning, I'm afraid.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46- I'll just have a look.- Yeah.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49- Nothing.- That's going to hurt even more, isn't it?
0:32:49 > 0:32:53- It looks like a different country over there, doesn't it?- Yeah.
0:32:53 > 0:32:59'I'm disappointed and tired - an early start for nothing.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04'But Mamraz insists these clouds have a silver lining.'
0:33:04 > 0:33:08The one cave that we're right at now has intrigued me for years.
0:33:08 > 0:33:09When I first spotted it on the map,
0:33:09 > 0:33:13it just didn't say cave it said "letter cave."
0:33:13 > 0:33:16- Oh, right, yeah.- Which meant that there were inscriptions in it.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18- In there?- Yeah, right in there.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21Just right next to where we were standing.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23I'm really, totally unobservant because I've been
0:33:23 > 0:33:26- in there for, what? An hour. Let's have a look.- Yeah.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30Is it... Whereabouts?
0:33:30 > 0:33:34All along this wall, there's some lovely detail to be found.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37I was staring at that wall for hours waiting for the sun.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40- Yeah, yeah.- Oh, look. There's like a little man there, isn't there?
0:33:40 > 0:33:42What's that? Looks like a fish or a leaf or something.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44A fish or a leaf, yeah.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47Then if you move up here, you'll seen some,
0:33:47 > 0:33:49like, a Celtic symbol.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52And there's one here of particular interest and it looks like
0:33:52 > 0:33:54some sort of butterfly, which is just on the wall here.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58- Oh, yeah, here. Beautifully done, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:33:58 > 0:33:59'Covering the entire wall,
0:33:59 > 0:34:03'the carvings tell the stories of long-forgotten hill dwellers.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06'I just couldn't see for looking.'
0:34:06 > 0:34:10- Some of these inscriptions are just prior to 400 AD.- Really?
0:34:10 > 0:34:13Yeah. So, these would be pagan, so pre-Christian.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17This one as well, down there.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21And then a bit further up, we're into symbols that we recognise.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24- Yeah.- There's Christianity up here. - Yeah.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28- Some 21st century ones as well. - Yeah, unfortunately so.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31- It's all part of history. - Yeah, it's all part of history.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Fascinating. I mean, you don't really need a sunrise, do you?
0:34:34 > 0:34:37You just could have spent the entire morning in here.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56'Fermanagh is a county riddled with hidden caves, sinkholes
0:34:56 > 0:34:58'and underground rivers -
0:34:58 > 0:35:00'not everyone's idea of a good day out,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03'but an adventure playground for the fearless.'
0:35:04 > 0:35:06Do you need any help, Bethany?
0:35:06 > 0:35:08Yes.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11'Caving to me, it's just a way to relax.'
0:35:11 > 0:35:12Good girl.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16'Tim Millen is a caver who shares his love of the sport with
0:35:16 > 0:35:20'three of his children - Annabel, Noah and Bethany.'
0:35:20 > 0:35:23'Once they reached six, we thought it would be OK to take them down.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25'They're a bit more steady on their feet
0:35:25 > 0:35:27'and they can overcome sort of the obstacles.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31'So Bethany, this year has been her first year actually, you know.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33'She turned six in December.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36'She took to it like a duck to water, she loves it.'
0:35:37 > 0:35:44I really like caving because I think it's like a special world to me.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51I feel like I'm on a special mission to do loads
0:35:51 > 0:35:53of fun stuff inside the caves.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Watch that.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00'It's better than sitting in front of the TV playing video games all day long.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03'It gets them out, it gets them to see everything around them
0:36:03 > 0:36:06'and, you know, I think it's a wholesome activity, it really is.'
0:36:08 > 0:36:10- Are you OK, Noah? - Yeah, I'm fine!
0:36:14 > 0:36:17OK, Noah. Watch that slippy rock there.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20'The cave today is, it's called Pollasumera.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23'A bit of water just swishing round your feet at the start.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26'A nice open passage and then it narrows down as you go round
0:36:26 > 0:36:30'the bend a wee bit and gets narrower and narrower.'
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Noah, leave that stick alone, in case it falls down.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37That's a good boy.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39'One of the dangers is the flood risk.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41'The caves are underground rivers
0:36:41 > 0:36:44'and so we're always watching on the weather forecast to make sure
0:36:44 > 0:36:47'that you're going to be OK to get in and out before the water rises.
0:36:47 > 0:36:48'Another thing is fall hazards.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50'You know, you could fall on the rocks
0:36:50 > 0:36:52'or fall down a hole.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58'It's worth the risk. Ten times over.'
0:36:58 > 0:36:59OK.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02Almost at the squeeze, folks.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05'Our objective today is to try to get beyond the squeeze
0:37:05 > 0:37:06'that we didn't get to the last time.'
0:37:06 > 0:37:08Bethany. Yeah?
0:37:10 > 0:37:13'The squeeze in a cave is where you have to really push your body
0:37:13 > 0:37:15'through a very tight space.'
0:37:15 > 0:37:18OK. Right we've got as far as the squeeze.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21So if we get through this, we've achieved what we came to do today.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24- OK? So who's going to have a go at the squeeze?- Me.- Me.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26- Not me.- Not you?- Me.
0:37:26 > 0:37:27- I'll go first. - You go first Noah?
0:37:27 > 0:37:29- No, I want to go first.- Right.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32Well, Bethany'll go first, then Noah, and then Annabel.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35'You have to breathe out to empty all the air out of your lungs
0:37:35 > 0:37:38'so that you're as thin as possible to get through.'
0:37:43 > 0:37:44Are you OK, Bethany?
0:37:44 > 0:37:46My helmet's stuck.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49You need to be a wee, a wee bit lower Bethany. Follow Noah.
0:37:51 > 0:37:52It's no problem for the kids
0:37:52 > 0:37:54but last time I had my mobile phone in my pocket
0:37:54 > 0:37:57and that was probably an issue getting through.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05So, I'll breathe out, push on through
0:38:05 > 0:38:07and that'll be me through.
0:38:09 > 0:38:10Oh!
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Argh!
0:38:12 > 0:38:14- Almost there.- Well done.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20'At the end of the cave, I got through a really tight squeeze.'
0:38:22 > 0:38:27It wasn't that tight for me, but it was very tight for Daddy.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29Are you OK, kids?
0:38:29 > 0:38:31'I just love exploring and the challenges that
0:38:31 > 0:38:35'are involved in going to places that very few people get to see.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38'But the kids, whenever it comes to show and tell at school,
0:38:38 > 0:38:40'they have a really interesting story to tell that no-one else
0:38:40 > 0:38:43'really can relate to, and just something exciting.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45'A bit like Indiana Jones.'
0:38:57 > 0:39:01'It's just 130 miles from Northern Ireland's wonderful
0:39:01 > 0:39:04'western border back to its eastern shoreline.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09'And Britain's largest sea inlet...
0:39:11 > 0:39:13'..the beautiful Strangford Lough.'
0:39:18 > 0:39:22You might ask how this lough can contain secrets when it's
0:39:22 > 0:39:25one of the most popular places to live and visit in Northern Ireland.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28But the key is to get off the tourist trail.
0:39:29 > 0:39:34'Just ten miles south of Belfast, most day-trippers who visit
0:39:34 > 0:39:37'Strangford Lough, stick to the scenic drives along the coast,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40'or pleasure boating in its deeper waters.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43'To discover the lough's less well known nooks and crannies,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46'I'm going to need some local knowledge.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48'Father and son Cadogan and Cadog Enright,
0:39:48 > 0:39:54'are on a mission to seek out all the hidden corners of the lough.'
0:39:54 > 0:39:58- OK.- Ellie in first. Up to the front.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01I'm in.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03- And now Cadog.- Me!
0:40:03 > 0:40:06You sit on there, Ellie.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08Woo! Steady on there, Cadog.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10All right?
0:40:10 > 0:40:12- Are we good?- Are we ready? - I'm good.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15- Off we go! - Ooh! I'm sliding backwards.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19- It's the beginning of the adventure. - We're away.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21This is going to be great.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Are you going to shout some instructions at me?
0:40:23 > 0:40:25- Straight out beyond that ferry. - All right.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28- And then we'll turn left and head north.- OK.
0:40:28 > 0:40:29Wow!
0:40:29 > 0:40:33This is just blissful on its own, without even finding the secrets.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Right. There might be a current coming out behind that pier.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39- OK.- So, just be aware of the fact it might want to push us out
0:40:39 > 0:40:41and we'll stay in to the shore.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43OK.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49'The boys have promised me a unique perspective on this
0:40:49 > 0:40:53'enchanting sea lough and its secluded islands.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56'And navigating the shallows in a stealthy canoe,
0:40:56 > 0:40:59'certainly rewards us with an exclusive experience.'
0:40:59 > 0:41:01See that bird?
0:41:01 > 0:41:04- It's a heron.- Yeah. A grey heron.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07They look, they look like dinosaurs, don't they?
0:41:07 > 0:41:09I know.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11It's been great. I've seen oyster catchers, eiders, shanks.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13It's been really good for wildlife already.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15How many islands are there?
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Oh, there are 370-odd.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21So have you landed on them all, do you think?
0:41:21 > 0:41:24We've landed probably on 108.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28'The lads are taking me to their favourite uninhabited island.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31'But first we have some tricky waters to navigate.'
0:41:31 > 0:41:34It's certainly getting a bit lumpy now, the wind's picked up
0:41:34 > 0:41:36and the tide's on the turn. You can really feel it.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38- You see the left-hand side?- Yeah.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42That's the strongest tide I think outside the Menai Straits.
0:41:42 > 0:41:43Oh, no!
0:41:43 > 0:41:45The strongest current.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Cadog and I have ridden that tide and shot up 12 miles
0:41:48 > 0:41:51to the top of the lough in less than three hours.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Wow! The strength of that tide, that's incredible.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57We've certainly got to get across all this now.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03'The tidal waters are connected to the Irish Sea via a tight channel.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08'Four times a day, 77 million gallons of saltwater
0:42:08 > 0:42:10'rush through these narrows.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14'The dramatic tidal surges, put off your average paddler.'
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Here we go, this is getting quite bubbly now.
0:42:19 > 0:42:23- Woo!- Hold on!- Yeah!
0:42:25 > 0:42:28- We're picking up speed now. - I can feel it, I can feel it!
0:42:28 > 0:42:31Ellie, we'll head out through the middle.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34- Hee-hee!- If you see a big rock, steer away from it.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36All right.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40Oh! Here's the rocks.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44There we go.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48'Safely through the rapids,
0:42:48 > 0:42:53'we hope to reach the boys' secret island retreat before dark.'
0:43:04 > 0:43:07'20 miles from the lough are the Mourne Mountains,
0:43:07 > 0:43:10'the highest in Northern Ireland.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16'Bleak, steep and remote,
0:43:16 > 0:43:20'they're the guardians of the mysteriously named Silent Valley.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25This granite wall took 18 years to build
0:43:25 > 0:43:28and spans 15 mountains, top to bottom.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31It's an amazing feat of dry-stone wall engineering.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37'Yet, this extraordinary 22-mile wall
0:43:37 > 0:43:41'was just the beginning of a monumental construction project
0:43:41 > 0:43:44'through the heart of Northern Ireland's toughest terrain.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49'This is Silent Valley Reservoir.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53'It's hard to imagine how the dam was ever built, when the only way
0:43:53 > 0:43:57'in and out of these mountains seems to be a farm track.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00'It's deathly quiet here
0:44:00 > 0:44:05'and the silence speaks volumes to hill walker Alan Kilgore.'
0:44:05 > 0:44:08So, talk to me about this road and where we are at the moment.
0:44:08 > 0:44:10Well, you're really in the heart of the Mournes
0:44:10 > 0:44:14and not far from where we are is the Silent Valley Reservoir.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16But this is a very important road,
0:44:16 > 0:44:19in that when the Silent Valley Reservoir was being built,
0:44:19 > 0:44:23the workforce all lived on site. In and around where we are now,
0:44:23 > 0:44:26there would have been a very busy town called Watertown.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28So, you say a town.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31I mean, I can't imagine any sort of town here.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35I mean, it's just beautiful, lush. But what was it like?
0:44:35 > 0:44:37Well, you've got to think back.
0:44:37 > 0:44:39In this time there was a railway into the valley
0:44:39 > 0:44:42bringing all the material up here.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44The neighbouring villages couldn't accommodate a workforce.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48The workforce had to be given some accommodation where they could live.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52So this whole valley was a massive public work scheme with
0:44:52 > 0:44:55people living on it, people looking after them.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58So you had a whole community living here at one time.
0:45:05 > 0:45:10'Watertown sprang up overnight, with shops, an infirmary,
0:45:10 > 0:45:12'a police station and even a cinema,
0:45:12 > 0:45:15'catering for the 600 workers who lived here.'
0:45:17 > 0:45:21It's a bit of a clamber down.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25- A big step.- You have maybe a half century of growth in here.
0:45:25 > 0:45:26Well, it's a good job I'm fit.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28Ooh!
0:45:28 > 0:45:33'Alan insists remains are there to be found, if we make the effort.'
0:45:34 > 0:45:36- Well, there's a ditch here.- Yes.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39And it's a deep ditch. It's OK.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41'I'm not sure that's what he had in mind.'
0:45:41 > 0:45:43- Up!- There you go. Yeah.
0:45:43 > 0:45:46- And there you are. - There's our base.- Yes.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55This was where a family perhaps would have lived or,
0:45:55 > 0:45:58a group of men would have shared accommodation.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02And apart from this concrete base, just no evidence.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05There's very little evidence of people living here.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11Work started on the dam in 1923,
0:46:11 > 0:46:17to create a three billion gallon reservoir to service Belfast.
0:46:17 > 0:46:22'A great din filled this now silent valley for a decade.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25'It was dangerous work for the men who laboured here.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29'Terry King will never forget the sacrifice some of them
0:46:29 > 0:46:31'made to get the dam built.'
0:46:31 > 0:46:34Terry, your uncle actually helped construct the dam.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36Tell me a little bit about him.
0:46:36 > 0:46:37Yes, Mick was a digger driver.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40He was the driver, or the controller of the machine,
0:46:40 > 0:46:46digging this place out and digging all the soil and stuff out of here.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49And then, when they had it all dug out and down to the depth,
0:46:49 > 0:46:51he was making the banks here.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Do you have a picture of Mick that I could see?
0:46:54 > 0:46:58Yes, I do indeed, of Mick and my Aunt Bridget, his wife.
0:46:58 > 0:47:03And that was taken shortly after they were married.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06'The driver of a steam-powered excavator,
0:47:06 > 0:47:09'Mick dug down over 200 feet to bedrock.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15'But in difficult conditions, danger was never far away.'
0:47:17 > 0:47:19The machine rolled from the top, my mother said,
0:47:19 > 0:47:22right down to the bottom with him in it.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25So it was a complete wreck when they got to...
0:47:25 > 0:47:27Got down to him, you know.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31I mean his daughter was only six months old when he was killed.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33They had one daughter.
0:47:39 > 0:47:43'Mick was one of eight men who lost their lives building the dam.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50'The massive project was completed in just over a decade.
0:47:50 > 0:47:55'And today, the reservoir still channels 130 million litres
0:47:55 > 0:47:57'of water a day, to Belfast.'
0:47:59 > 0:48:03- Wow! Just look at this! - It's wonderful.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07So not only is it functional in what it does,
0:48:07 > 0:48:10just impressive masonry...
0:48:10 > 0:48:11Massive.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14And aesthetically something to really look at.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17Just to carry water, to think it's built like this.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19- Yeah. Very impressive.- Isn't it?
0:48:19 > 0:48:24'We're so lucky to have been given special permission to
0:48:24 > 0:48:26'go into the dam and embankment,
0:48:26 > 0:48:29'that Terry's great uncle helped build.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32'Every stone is beautifully dressed,
0:48:32 > 0:48:35'even those of the enormous reservoir overspill.'
0:48:35 > 0:48:37Ow!
0:48:37 > 0:48:41- VOICE ECHOES: That's breathtaking. - It's like a railway tunnel.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43- Wow, listen to the echo on that. - Yeah.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45Woo-hoo!
0:48:50 > 0:48:53- It's quite steep, Denise. - Yeah, the banks are really steep.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55Yeah, the side walls are.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59'Each brick down here was laid by hand,
0:48:59 > 0:49:01'a testament to the skill of the workforce.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04'And though it was built for functionality,
0:49:04 > 0:49:07'there's a beauty in its form and symmetry.'
0:49:10 > 0:49:12This is the end of the line, Denise.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16This is the end of the line and what an impressive stop it is.
0:49:16 > 0:49:17Wow!
0:49:21 > 0:49:23- It's just incredible, isn't it? - Isn't it?
0:49:23 > 0:49:26And all hand built by Mick and the other,
0:49:26 > 0:49:29all the other workers and their teams, built in ten years.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45'This impressive dam in such a remote and harsh location
0:49:45 > 0:49:48'is perhaps a fitting monument to the memory of Mick
0:49:48 > 0:49:51'and the men of Watertown.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56'So too the silence and the valley they left behind.'
0:50:01 > 0:50:04'On Strangford Lough, we've finally arrived
0:50:04 > 0:50:07'at Cadog and Cadogan's secret uninhabited island.'
0:50:08 > 0:50:10- All right.- Watch out!- Yes.
0:50:10 > 0:50:12About here?
0:50:12 > 0:50:14Okey doke.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16Well, this is pretty remote.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20'The boys love to camp in this isolated spot.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23'They're hoping they'll be able to show me
0:50:23 > 0:50:28'something really rare, the elusive swimming hare.'
0:50:28 > 0:50:30You're like a mountain goat, Cadog.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32- THEY CHUCKLE - Look at you on your nimble legs.
0:50:32 > 0:50:33Oh!
0:50:33 > 0:50:36I'll give you a pound if you spot a hare, Cadog.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38So, this is where they'll be.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41We'll probably see them race across,
0:50:41 > 0:50:44and find cover as far away as they can from you, you know.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48'Apparently, these Irish hares eat seaweed.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51'I'm told it's almost impossible to catch them swimming,
0:50:51 > 0:50:53'but we might just spy one on land.'
0:50:55 > 0:50:57How many hares do you think there are here?
0:50:57 > 0:50:59Well, we've always seen two or three.
0:50:59 > 0:51:01Erm, and it's pretty much on every island.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04It's just for some reason, every time we come here,
0:51:04 > 0:51:06a hare races across.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15I thought I saw a flicker of movement down there.
0:51:15 > 0:51:16Oh, look!
0:51:17 > 0:51:19Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just behind...
0:51:22 > 0:51:24Yeah, there it is.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28Past all these thistles here and all this vegetation.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30Oh, you just get tiny glimpses, but it's definitely there.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33- Yeah, I saw it.- Did you see it? - Yeah. See, it's on that...
0:51:33 > 0:51:35- There it is, it's going... That's it!- Oh, yeah I've got it.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38There we go. Ooh! That's good speeds.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42It's probably going to go swimming.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46- Yeah. I'm not sure about these swimming hares.- Oh, no.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48I think this is something you two see after...
0:51:48 > 0:51:50- I think they're hiding at the moment.- After the camp fire.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54If they're going swimming they'd go in that direction, wouldn't they?
0:51:57 > 0:52:00'Catching a glimpse of a wild animal in its natural setting
0:52:00 > 0:52:02'always feels very special.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06'And, to be honest, just getting off the beaten track and away
0:52:06 > 0:52:10'from the crowds in a setting like this, is reward in itself.'
0:52:13 > 0:52:17Well, thank you for letting me see your secrets of the lough.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19I mean, there's so much more. We've got 60-odd
0:52:19 > 0:52:23islands on that side, and we haven't even been near them.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26- I'll have to come back another day. - Yeah.- Cheers.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38'Strangford isn't the only lough in Northern Ireland with
0:52:38 > 0:52:42'a stunning collection of secluded islands.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46'In the far west of Fermanagh lies the lake district.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50'This is Lough Erne,
0:52:50 > 0:52:53'the UK's longest freshwater lake.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55'Heavily forested and remote,
0:52:55 > 0:52:58'it's also very close to the Atlantic Ocean.
0:53:00 > 0:53:04'Which meant this very spot was suddenly of huge strategic
0:53:04 > 0:53:09'importance during the Second World War.'
0:53:09 > 0:53:11It was the perfect place for a secret base,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14hidden between the mountains and that forest.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17I mean, it's still pretty difficult to find today,
0:53:17 > 0:53:21but at least I have this photograph to help me find my bearings.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29'With all these caravans dotted around on the tarmac,
0:53:29 > 0:53:32'it's hard to imagine this holiday park
0:53:32 > 0:53:35'was once an operational RAF base.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41'But in World War II, this was RAF Castle Archdale.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49'Sunderland and Catalina flying boats would've refuelled
0:53:49 > 0:53:50'and re-armed here,
0:53:50 > 0:53:54'before taking off on anti-submarine patrols over the Atlantic.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04'Breege McCusker met many of the veterans who flew from here,
0:54:04 > 0:54:08'and knows her way around the remains of this hidden air base.'
0:54:08 > 0:54:12This is the first time I can actually almost
0:54:12 > 0:54:16use my imagination and say, "Yeah, this does look like a base."
0:54:16 > 0:54:19What is this exactly, here?
0:54:19 > 0:54:22Well, what we're looking at is the Shetland Dock and that was
0:54:22 > 0:54:27built in 1945 just towards the end of the Second World War.
0:54:27 > 0:54:31And the idea was that the planes were going to be brought in here and serviced.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35And for those who don't know anything about flying boats, and so on, they are big.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37- Yeah.- I mean, they are big.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40There's Catalinas and the Sunderlands which were here.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42So the idea was that they came into this area here
0:54:42 > 0:54:45and the wings would be overlapping these two areas here,
0:54:45 > 0:54:48and the maintenance work would have been done on them.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52You can hear a pin drop here, can't you, now.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55But then it must have been very noisy.
0:54:55 > 0:54:56This was like a city, a town.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00To think they had over 2,500 personnel here.
0:55:00 > 0:55:01This was vibrant.
0:55:08 > 0:55:12'Flying up to 1,000 miles out over the Atlantic,
0:55:12 > 0:55:17'these flying boats shadowed convoys and attacked enemy submarines.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24'Missions could last 12 or 13 hours, so there were
0:55:24 > 0:55:26'galley kitchens on board
0:55:26 > 0:55:28'and even space to grab 40 winks.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35'Then, it was back to Lough Erne, to refuel and re-arm,
0:55:35 > 0:55:37'ready to go again.
0:55:39 > 0:55:44'New Zealander Neil Ennis was a Sunderland pilot at RAF Archdale.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47'His daughter, Pat, now lives just 30 miles away.'
0:55:47 > 0:55:501944, it says there.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54So, in the '40s we know your dad was based here.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57- Right?- Yes. Yes.- Yeah. What do you know about him?
0:55:57 > 0:56:02Well, I just knew that he and my mum got married and the day after,
0:56:02 > 0:56:06- he was sent to train as a pilot and ended up here.- Right.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08Did he... Did he ever talk about it?
0:56:08 > 0:56:11He talked about the conditions of the weather,
0:56:11 > 0:56:13which he thought was appalling.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15But in the planes,
0:56:15 > 0:56:19they're incredibly noisy and cold and rattly,
0:56:19 > 0:56:21- they were like big tin sheds.- Yeah.
0:56:21 > 0:56:25And they always reminded me of those metal World War II trunks
0:56:25 > 0:56:27- that you see in war movies.- Oh, yes.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30You know, the whole plane was sort of like that.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32But they were hunting for U-boats.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35My father could never find anything when he was home.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37He couldn't find socks in the airing cupboard
0:56:37 > 0:56:40So God knows how they spotted U-boats.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42This is what it was like in the 1940s.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45- I don't know whether you've seen this photograph before.- No.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48I mean, it's so busy. It's so quiet now. Really busy back then.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50And did you know that this was the operations room
0:56:50 > 0:56:52where we've just had a coffee?
0:56:52 > 0:56:53- No. Not at all.- Yeah.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56It's interesting listening to your voice because there's
0:56:56 > 0:56:59obviously a lot of New Zealand, and there's a bit of Irish in there.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03You obviously have an affiliation to this place, too.
0:57:03 > 0:57:04I love it here.
0:57:04 > 0:57:08I came here 30 years ago and was so happy.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10From the second I got off the plane,
0:57:10 > 0:57:13I just felt like home, so...
0:57:13 > 0:57:15And I actually came here and settled here before I knew
0:57:15 > 0:57:18that my father had been based in Castle Archdale.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30'Northern Ireland has been a revelation.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38'It's given up some spectacular secrets,
0:57:38 > 0:57:42'and shown off its great natural wonders -
0:57:42 > 0:57:44'its man-made marvels,
0:57:44 > 0:57:46'stunning wildlife,
0:57:46 > 0:57:50'unique geology and ancient stories.
0:57:50 > 0:57:55'All of them wrapped up in majestic landscapes.'
0:57:55 > 0:57:58And there's no better way of soaking up the magic
0:57:58 > 0:58:01and majesty of Northern Ireland, than in the air.