Northern Ireland Secret Britain


Northern Ireland

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We live in a country with some of the most diverse

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and beautiful landscapes in the world.

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So diverse, very few of us know every nook and cranny.

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And so beautiful, it'd be a crime to miss any of them.

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The British Isles are full of secrets and surprises

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just waiting to be discovered.

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-Good, Chris, good. Well done.

-Thank you!

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Wow! Oh, my God!

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Out of nowhere, they came.

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It's easy to think Britain is a crowded place,

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but with more than 60 million acres out there,

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there's still plenty of the UK for us to discover and enjoy.

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The power of the elements really belittles you.

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In this series, we're going to escape the crowds

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and get off the beaten track.

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We're on the hunt for the unexpected.

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Did you see it? There we go. Ooh!

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The breathtaking.

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Oh, it's freezing.

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The hidden.

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I think we've found it!

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Look at the size of this place.

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This is the place we call home.

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This is our Secret Britain.

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We're on the western edge of the British Isles.

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This is one of the least touristy, but most spectacular

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and surprising places in the country.

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The mountains behind me were formed nearly 60 million years ago

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from volcanic rock and away over to the north lies the largest lake

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in the UK and a mountain range that was once as big as the Himalayas.

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This is Northern Ireland.

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This ancient landscape is the keeper of secrets

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that go back into the mists of time.

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Striking out on the paths less travelled,

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we're tracking down rare wildlife...

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Did you see it. See it. There we go. Ooh!

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..trying out little known pastimes...

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You need to get focused, woman!

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..and exploring the magic and majesty of Northern Ireland.

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I don't think I've ever seen anything like that.

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Heavily restricted and regularly patrolled,

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these sand dunes hide some of the best guarded secrets

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in Northern Ireland.

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The British Army has a long history of training cavalry and infantry

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on the stunning beach here at Ballykinler on the east coast,

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in the shadow of the Mourne Mountains.

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The army stopped using horses in battle after the First World War

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and they're rarely seen down on these sands nowadays.

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Thanks, Elaine. Lovely.

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In fact, this whole site has been cut off completely

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for more than a century, so it's packed full of wildlife secrets.

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Off limits and dangerous, the red flag keeps most people away.

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But in the heart of Ballykinler's training ground, is a rare

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and covert conservation project led by Northern Ireland's

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top squirrel man, Declan Looney.

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-Right next to the shooting range. You can hear them.

-Indeed, yeah.

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-So, is this a good site for releasing reds?

-It is, yeah.

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Anybody involved in red squirrel conservation will know that there's a number of things

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that need to be considered before we do a release and the most important of those

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is that we have an area we've confirmed there's no grey squirrels.

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Northern Ireland's native red squirrel is outnumbered six to one

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by invasive greys and the reds are under serious threat.

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Amazingly, their best chance for survival

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is in the middle of this firing range.

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Tagged and monitored, Declan's animals are ready for release

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into a red squirrel-only zone.

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Yeah, this is our soft release enclosure.

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The principle of a soft release enclosure is that

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the squirrels inside are given a period of time to gradually become

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accustomed to the external environment.

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So, we'll keep a close eye on things and how it develops

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and then once we're content that the squirrels are settled in, we'll open this hatch here at the top

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and we'll let the squirrels come out into these trees in their own time.

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-They've got the chance to go straight across there.

-They have, yeah.

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So, if we look about we can see, for the most part,

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these are a species of conifer that's particularly favoured by red squirrels called Maritime Pine.

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-Ah-ha.

-So, there's an abundant natural food resource within this stand of trees.

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Do you think we could actually get in close and see them?

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-We could. We can go in, if we keep it down a bit. We can have a look, yeah.

-Keep it low down. Right.

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How ironic that I have to keep my voice down,

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when I'm in the middle of a firing range!

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(There's one here.)

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That's amazing. That lovely fluffy tail and the ear tufts.

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Oh, it's looking pretty bright and well, isn't it?

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Yeah, absolutely. This is one of the young males.

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The long term plan for this young male and the others

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is that they become established within Ballykinler Camp

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and then following years, we'll introduce some females

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and basically they supplement the captive breeding population

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in Northern Ireland.

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-So, the future's looking pretty good here?

-It is.

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It's looking, it's looking well for the future.

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The squirrels certainly look happy enough,

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but I do wonder why they'd want to stick around with all these soldiers,

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once they're released into the wild.

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What the red squirrels don't know yet,

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is just how rare and special their new 1,300 acre home is.

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Tony Canniford runs the base and appreciates better than most

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what an important site this is for wildlife.

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That is such a view!

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Oh, how wonderful!

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-So, we've got a few seals hauled out here.

-Yeah.

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There's normally a lot more. There's normally about 200

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-and a mix of common and grey seals.

-Mm.

-It's the premier site

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for the island of Ireland, or one of the premier sites.

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But when you've got all the 200 plus hauled out there -

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common and grey - it's an amazing sight.

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What is it about the geography of this place that makes it

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ideal for wildlife?

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The army has been here really since the mid 1850s, that sort of time,

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and that has enabled us to control the access of who's come in here.

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So, it's a nice, safe area for the wildlife we have here.

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You are lucky.

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-A good office, isn't it?

-You are very lucky.

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From wildlife to a different sort of wild.

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Whoa!

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'I've seen a lot of sport in my time, but never anything like this.'

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And it's completely bonkers!

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50 miles west of Ballykinler is Armagh,

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where I'm being initiated into one of Ireland's best kept secrets.

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The game looks straightforward -

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chuck a heavy ball as far as possible down the road...

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CHEERING

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..whoever gets the furthest in 20 throws, wins.

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How hard can it be?

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That was amazing.

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-That was a big shot.

-That was big.

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This is Road Bowls.

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Chris Mallon is the chairman of the Armagh Road Bowling Association.

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-So, the car's just going through.

-Yeah, yeah. We can't stop them.

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-And that's just quite normal

-Oh, that's normal, yeah. We can't get the roads closed,

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so what you have to do is try and accommodate them.

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Be as good as you can with letting traffic run

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and not to hold it up, you know.

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No-one seems to know where road bowls came from,

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but it's been around in Ireland for several hundred years.

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Mostly played in just two counties - Cork in the south

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and here in Armagh - each has a unique throwing style.

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We've got a girl here to show you her Cork technique which...

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they throw like a windmill style,

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the full 360 degrees of the arm.

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Now, that was the Cork style.

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-So that was the Cork style.

-Yeah.

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Right. And she's actually from Cork?

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She's from Cork, yeah.

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So this is Armagh style.

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And you deliver the ball under arm.

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-I'm amazed at how quickly he's actually running in.

-Aye.

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-Yeah, he...

-And how far he's gone back.

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He can get great speed, the bowler.

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I mean, that's almost what, 80 metres, maybe more?

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That'd be more. That'd be probably 100 yards up the road, maybe more.

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Phwoar!

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It looks easy enough for me

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to challenge Chris's daughter to a short match.

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What Chris failed to mention is

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that Kelly is the All Ireland Senior Road Bowling Champion.

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Do you want to go first or second?

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-I'm going to go first.

-All right.

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-Happy now?

-Right.

-OK.

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-Right.

-Right.

-Here we go.

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We've got six throws each past the viaduct

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and we'll see who gets the furthest down the road.

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It's only money!

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There's pressure.

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A reputation to maintain now.

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Right. I'm coming back.

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Ooh-ah!

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Not bad for a first go!

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My ball's marked by a tuft of grass where it stopped,

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ready for my next throw.

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-I'm not sure.

-Better.

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Yeah. That's not too bad. It's OK.

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OK, so she's good.

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Already 20 yards behind,

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I'm going to have to raise my game to give Kelly a run for her money.

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From the sands of Ballykinler in the east,

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to the remote back roads of County Armagh.

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And south to the mountainous border with the Irish Republic,

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steeped in myth and legend.

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This is Slieve Gullion,

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one of the most mystical mountains in all Ireland.

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Slieve Gullion means mountain of the steep slope.

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No kidding!

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But, apparently, at the top there's supposedly a witch's house

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and a mythical lake.

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But it strikes me as I'm climbing up here,

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there's a reason why it's secret -

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it's so difficult to get to.

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Now, I don't believe in fairies, but I love fairy tales

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and their mystical secrets,

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and the legend here is so tightly bound to

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the landscape that I'm irresistibly drawn to get to the bottom of it.

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And I can only do that by getting to the top of it.

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That was a bit of a walk, that, Claire.

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-Yeah. Good to arrive

-Right. Good to arrive.

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I tell you, it was worth it, though, spectacular views.

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Claire Foley is an archaeologist.

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She's spent a lot of time up here

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trying to untangle the riddle of this mountain.

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Now, look, we've come all this way to talk giants and witches.

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-Mm-hm.

-Now, I've done a bit of research.

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What I've heard is that Fionn the giant came up here to do

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-a bit of hunting.

-Mm-hm.

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-And he lost one of his dogs.

-Yeah.

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-OK. And all of a sudden, he came to this lake.

-Yes.

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And he sees a beautiful woman,

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and he asks this beautiful woman, "Have you seen my dog?"

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And she says, "Excuse me, I'm a bit busy myself

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"because I've lost something."

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-Yes.

-What had she lost?

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She'd lost her ring.

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She said it had dropped into the water and asked him to retrieve it.

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And so he dived in and rummaged round in the boggy water

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and found the ring, miraculously, but in retrieving the ring,

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he turned into an old man with long, grey hair.

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-So forever more he had grey hair.

-Mm-hm. Mm-hm.

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Yes, beautiful women can do that to a man, you know.

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SHE CHUCKLES

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The woman who cursed Fionn the giant was Cailleach Beara,

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a bitter old witch who's said to have lived on this mountain.

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Surely the stuff of make-believe!

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But 200 years ago, locals looking for the witch

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found human bones inside a mysterious lair.

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So, this is the witch's cairn, is it?

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Well, this is where people believe she lived, yes.

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I can imagine that.

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With that view out there.

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And I can imagine she could have pounced on anybody.

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Today, a sinister-looking entrance entices the curious to

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explore the lair's secrets.

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You'll be able to stand up inside.

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-Hopefully, yeah.

-Ah-ha.

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Whoa!

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'This hidden chamber is made from huge slabs of overlapping granite

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'and does, indeed, look like the work of giants.'

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Oh, this is incredible. What is it?

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This is a Neolithic passage tomb dating to 5,000 years ago.

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This is 5,000 years old?

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This is a 5,000 year old highly-engineered structure

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built for burial and lots of other rituals probably, yes.

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I actually think they may have locked young men

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in here as in initiation ceremony.

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That's my theory.

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Now, obviously, it's very difficult to know

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because we don't know much about the Stone Age, do we?

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It's pre-history, really.

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You know when you said 5,000 years ago,

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for me, I'm trying to think.

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5,000 years, I always think about Egyptians

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and the great big pyramids.

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Are we talking about roughly the same...

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-Well, this is earlier than the Great Pyramids.

-Wow.

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Probably contemporary with some of the minor ones.

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This is the highest-surviving passage tomb in all Ireland.

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It's an impressive achievement given the Stone Age people

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who built it must have lived way down in the valley.

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As we sit here having come out of there, I'm just trying to think

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and picture what sort of community would create something like this.

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Well, these people were farmers

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and they were following on a long tradition of at least

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1,000 years of farming before they developed this tomb type.

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And they farmed that beautiful land that we can see down below.

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And all those field enclosures almost remind me of what

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a Neolithic field system would look like,

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although these are more recent.

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Archaeologists are only starting to piece together

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the truth about this remote and weather-beaten monument.

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To my untrained eye, this really is the stuff of fairy tales.

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It's no wonder that myths

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and legends ended up trying to explain this, is it?

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Well, actually, we like myths and legends, as well,

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because myths and legends in Ireland

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have helped to preserve places like this

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because people are afraid of the fairies

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and they're afraid of the witch.

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You can still... There might be people still living here

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who believe that she was a real person.

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-Yeah, and so they didn't dare touch it.

-Yeah.

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So people have that association with these sacred places

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and they like to try to keep them preserved.

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These ancient landscapes will forever be steeped

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in the tall tales of yesteryear.

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Telling stories remains a big part of Irish culture.

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Professional storyteller Colum Sands

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has dedicated his life to keeping this long tradition alive.

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'Come away, oh, human child, to the waters and the wild

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'With a fairy hand in hand,

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'for the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.'

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There were songs that told stories

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and then there were tunes that told stories in their own way.

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This is one my father used to play,

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and I always just imagined my own pictures when I heard this tune.

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It's called The King Of The Fairies.

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People often think of storytelling as something for children.

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I believe stories are being told to us all the time.

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I grew up in a part of County Down called Mayobridge in the early '50s.

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We didn't have electricity or running water in the house,

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so it was very much a part of life, both the storytelling and the music.

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There'd be stories of the locality -

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news, what was happening, who was going to get married.

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There would also be ghost stories, fairy stories.

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Some of them had been told for hundreds of years.

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Some of the tunes were very old, as well.

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They were all part of a tapestry of life

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and they still are to this day in this country.

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If you're walking through the landscape on this island,

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you may often come upon a field that is clear, but somewhere,

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maybe in the very centre of the field or to one side,

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there's a lone bush.

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'They're known as fairy thorns,

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'often regarded as being connected to the underworld.'

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'You don't touch them, you don't go too close to them.

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People come here to make offerings,

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to tie all kinds of things to the bushes.

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It could be something like the Calliagh,

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the last cutting of the harvest.

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The very last piece when you're cutting the corn or the wheat.

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The same kind of offerings that would have been made

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thousands of years ago in another culture.

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'This is like a connection between two worlds.

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'Here, it's in the stone circle.

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'It's right beside these stones, which hold in

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'who knows what story.'

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You don't dabble with the fairies, but the fairy thorn -

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I've already come slightly close to it, but I won't

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get any closer than that -

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is a very special part of life

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in this country.

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In Armagh, I'm in big trouble.

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-CHEERING

-Very good. Oh, listen to the cheers.

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They're clearly happy with that one.

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I've got to work on that technique.

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'I really thought I'd be better than this.

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'But then, I am up against a champion.

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'But that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!'

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-So, you're on your third shot.

-Is this me or is this you?

0:22:130:22:17

You might be down there, I might be just here.

0:22:170:22:22

Oh, right, she's getting competitive now, eh?

0:22:220:22:25

'I must be getting it wrong.

0:22:250:22:27

'I seem to have attracted my own motivational coach.'

0:22:270:22:30

Too much fun going on here.

0:22:300:22:31

You're looking round you, like, you're not concentrating.

0:22:310:22:34

-So, I need to focus?

-Do you know what I mean, like?

0:22:340:22:36

-No, I hear you.

-Like we're in Sydney here.

0:22:360:22:38

-You were in Sydney in

-2000? Yes.

0:22:380:22:40

This is as big an occasion and you're not treating it as.

0:22:400:22:42

You need to get focused, woman.

0:22:420:22:43

-How's that?

-That's good, that's good.

0:22:460:22:49

-Right now, see where he is there?

-Yeah.

0:22:490:22:51

-You don't keep looking at the man.

-OK.

-You know what I mean?

-Yeah.

0:22:510:22:54

Go on, now.

0:22:540:22:55

-All right.

-Straight through his legs.

0:22:550:22:57

That's very good, that was a great shot.

0:23:010:23:03

That was a great shot. Look, it's bending round now.

0:23:030:23:06

I tell you once you miss the point,

0:23:060:23:08

once you miss the corner it... That's a good shot.

0:23:080:23:11

Very nice shot.

0:23:150:23:16

Got to admire that.

0:23:170:23:19

-Oh.

-Oh, too much!

0:23:220:23:24

Too left, aah!

0:23:250:23:27

'At first sight, I thought road bowling

0:23:280:23:31

'was a quaint local tradition -

0:23:310:23:33

'a bit of fun heaving an oversized ball bearing

0:23:330:23:36

'down the road.'

0:23:360:23:38

Right, I've got one more, one more throw.

0:23:380:23:39

-One more, one more.

-And I'm going to give it everything.

0:23:390:23:42

Finish it off.

0:23:420:23:44

This is for pride.

0:23:440:23:45

'But how wrong was I? Pride? What pride?'

0:23:450:23:49

Go on, now. Keep it down a wee bit there.

0:23:490:23:51

Keep it down a small bit. Right?

0:23:510:23:53

Come on, now, give this a lash.

0:23:550:23:57

Good. Yes!

0:24:010:24:02

APPLAUSE

0:24:020:24:04

Yes! Well done.

0:24:040:24:06

What I love about road bowls is it's inclusive.

0:24:090:24:12

Men, women, children can take part.

0:24:120:24:16

You're out in the open space

0:24:160:24:17

and it's got a real sense of tradition here

0:24:170:24:20

amongst the community.

0:24:200:24:22

'And, yes, Kelly won!'

0:24:240:24:26

Some secrets are hidden in plain sight,

0:24:380:24:41

they could be staring you in the face, but if you don't know

0:24:410:24:44

what you're looking for, you can walk straight past them.

0:24:440:24:47

'Nature has a habit of reclaiming what we abandon.

0:24:500:24:53

'There was a fluke discovery in 2014 at Ballykinler

0:24:550:24:58

'that revealed this curious hidden feature

0:24:580:25:01

'on the restricted army base.

0:25:010:25:03

'Someone who's been puzzling over the unusual shape

0:25:070:25:10

'of these earthworks, is historian Philip Orr.'

0:25:100:25:14

You're actually having a look here at a piece of pure history

0:25:140:25:18

because this is the line of a trench dug at the start

0:25:180:25:22

of the First World War and it's been dug here

0:25:220:25:25

so that young men, who were based at Ballykinler training

0:25:250:25:28

in the army, can get a feel of what the Western Front's

0:25:280:25:31

going to be like.

0:25:310:25:33

'The war in France was mired in deadly

0:25:360:25:38

'and claustrophobic trench warfare.

0:25:380:25:41

'To make sure the new recruits experienced

0:25:410:25:43

'authentic fighting conditions, a large area of Ballykinler

0:25:430:25:47

'was turned over to create a realistic front-line trench system.'

0:25:470:25:52

Here, for example, you might have practised hurling a grenade

0:25:520:25:56

ie a tin full of stones out of the trench and over into no-man's-land

0:25:560:26:01

towards the German trenches, as you were pretending they were there.

0:26:010:26:05

Who were the men who trained here?

0:26:050:26:06

The young men who trained here were straight on the train

0:26:060:26:09

down from Belfast.

0:26:090:26:11

They'd probably never been out of the city in their lives,

0:26:110:26:14

they were young, working-class fellows.

0:26:140:26:16

Some of them attempted to get back home at the weekend as

0:26:160:26:19

if it was a Boys' Brigade camp or a Scout camp.

0:26:190:26:23

You almost get the feeling, at times, that they were

0:26:230:26:27

unaware of the intensity of what lay ahead of them.

0:26:270:26:30

'These medals were awarded to one of the soldiers who trained here

0:26:410:26:44

'and fought in France, Paul Miskelly's grandfather, Henry.'

0:26:440:26:49

You've got some photos in there?

0:26:490:26:51

I do indeed, photographs both of my grandfather, Henry...

0:26:510:26:54

-Yeah.

-..of the First World War.

-Handsome man.

0:26:540:26:57

He was just 17 when he joined up.

0:26:570:27:00

-Oh, my goodness.

-Just a boy.

-Indeed.

-Yeah.

0:27:000:27:03

And that's Samuel, that's his brother.

0:27:030:27:05

-Oh! His younger brother?

-Older brother Samuel.

-Older brother.

0:27:050:27:08

Samuel was 20... 20 years of age when he joined up.

0:27:080:27:11

So, what then happened to your grandfather and great-uncle?

0:27:110:27:14

Well, my grandfather seen the war out, hence that's why I'm here.

0:27:140:27:17

Of course.

0:27:170:27:18

But unfortunately my great-uncle left the trenches in Tiefel Wood

0:27:180:27:23

and went over no-man's-land.

0:27:230:27:25

His body was never found again.

0:27:250:27:27

Good gracious.

0:27:300:27:31

He was 22 years of age when he was reported killed.

0:27:310:27:34

22.

0:27:340:27:35

And then how do your family remember them?

0:27:390:27:43

I always remember my grandmother wearing a brooch.

0:27:430:27:45

-A brooch?

-A brooch.

-Yeah.

0:27:450:27:47

With a photograph of Samuel, which she never took off.

0:27:470:27:49

-Have you got the brooch?

-I have the brooch with me.

0:27:490:27:51

Let's have a look.

0:27:510:27:53

My grandma wore that all her life.

0:27:530:27:55

-Every single day?

-Every single day.

0:27:550:27:57

'Henry and Samuel Miskelly weren't the only family members

0:28:020:28:05

'to train here.

0:28:050:28:06

'By a twist of fate, Paul was stationed at Ballykinler in

0:28:060:28:10

'the '70s, three decades before these trenches

0:28:100:28:13

'were unearthed again.'

0:28:130:28:14

I served with the Ulster Defence Regiment.

0:28:160:28:18

But you haven't seen...

0:28:180:28:19

Aye, it's the first time I've actually been in these trenches.

0:28:190:28:22

What do you make of it?

0:28:220:28:24

This is where my grandfather and my great-uncle actually walked

0:28:240:28:28

and trained prior to going away and, you know, actually walking

0:28:280:28:31

in their footsteps made me feel proud, you know.

0:28:310:28:33

And very emotional at times, you know.

0:28:330:28:36

'Whether missing in action,

0:28:430:28:45

'tucked away in secluded country lanes, or hidden on top

0:28:450:28:49

'of a mountain, there are secrets waiting to be discovered everywhere.

0:28:490:28:54

'To find them, you just need to know where to look

0:28:540:28:58

'and a little bit of luck.'

0:28:580:29:00

'Some secrets require personal sacrifice,

0:29:130:29:16

'like getting up in the middle of the night.'

0:29:160:29:19

It's a bit fresh.

0:29:250:29:26

Yeah. Just watch your step there, Chris.

0:29:260:29:29

Whoa! OK.

0:29:290:29:31

Right. So, we've got...

0:29:310:29:33

'Schoolteacher Mamraz Nagi,

0:29:330:29:35

'is passionate about the Fermanagh landscape and, this morning,

0:29:350:29:38

'he's promised to show me something really dazzling.'

0:29:380:29:42

Any thermals in here?

0:29:420:29:43

THEY LAUGH

0:29:430:29:45

I'm afraid not.

0:29:450:29:47

-Good to go?

-Yeah, I'm ready.

0:29:470:29:49

It's a bit foggy, isn't it, this morning?

0:29:500:29:53

'20 minutes outside Enniskillen, in the far west of Northern Ireland,

0:30:000:30:04

'we're off up the Knockmore escarpment.

0:30:040:30:06

'And, at this time of the day, we've got the place to ourselves.'

0:30:080:30:12

Oh, it's beautiful, isn't it, now?

0:30:230:30:25

Absolutely stunning.

0:30:250:30:27

-I keep looking that way, but have you seen down here?

-Yeah.

0:30:270:30:29

You're getting all the magentas over here and look at that ridge.

0:30:290:30:33

It's going to be beautiful this morning.

0:30:360:30:38

Oh, look at that.

0:30:390:30:41

I don't think I've ever seen anything like that.

0:30:410:30:44

Absolutely beautiful, and you're only ten miles out of town.

0:30:440:30:47

I am admiring this view. What time does the sun rise?

0:30:500:30:52

The sun rises just around 7.30.

0:30:520:30:54

-Remember, you got me up at four.

-Yeah.

0:30:560:30:58

I better not miss this, otherwise you're going to be very upset.

0:30:580:31:02

'Mamraz is an amateur photographer,

0:31:020:31:04

'who will go to any length to get the perfect shot.'

0:31:040:31:08

-Oh, this is it.

-Look at this.

-Oh, wow!

0:31:080:31:10

And we've got the moon shining above as well. Everything!

0:31:100:31:14

-And the sun's coming up!

-Yeah, getting close.

0:31:140:31:17

Wow, this little cave.

0:31:170:31:20

I was going to say, I'll get the comfortable spot in here.

0:31:200:31:23

-Not many seats.

-Yeah. I think if you go to the inside...

0:31:230:31:27

-OK.

-..against that wall.

0:31:270:31:30

-And I'm going to perch here right beside you.

-OK.

0:31:300:31:33

Now, the sun comes up right to left?

0:31:330:31:36

Yeah. Just follow the ridge down and the sun will come up to the right

0:31:360:31:40

and the light should illuminate these walls and pour into the cave.

0:31:400:31:44

Because that's the thing we're doing differently, right?

0:31:440:31:46

Because most people take a photo of the sunrise.

0:31:460:31:49

But we're going to get the reflections off the walls.

0:31:490:31:51

-Yeah.

-OK lens cap off. That's important, isn't it?

0:31:510:31:53

That's the most important thing.

0:31:530:31:55

'The wait sets in.

0:31:580:32:00

'But so does the mist...

0:32:030:32:05

'..shrouding Mamraz's secret in mystery.'

0:32:070:32:10

You promised me a nice sunrise down there.

0:32:120:32:15

LAUGHTER

0:32:150:32:17

It isn't happening, is it?

0:32:170:32:19

I'm going to have a look round.

0:32:190:32:22

Yeah, that is thick.

0:32:220:32:23

Oh, what a shame.

0:32:230:32:25

It is a total shame, but look, this is what we could have got.

0:32:250:32:30

This one.

0:32:300:32:32

-This is what I could have won?

-This is what you could have won.

0:32:340:32:37

Oh, well done that is a spectacular shot.

0:32:370:32:39

-And we were right in that position to wait for it to happen.

-I know.

0:32:390:32:42

We're just not going to get it this morning, I'm afraid.

0:32:420:32:44

-I'll just have a look.

-Yeah.

0:32:440:32:46

-Nothing.

-That's going to hurt even more, isn't it?

0:32:460:32:49

-It looks like a different country over there, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

0:32:490:32:53

'I'm disappointed and tired - an early start for nothing.

0:32:530:32:59

'But Mamraz insists these clouds have a silver lining.'

0:32:590:33:04

The one cave that we're right at now has intrigued me for years.

0:33:040:33:08

When I first spotted it on the map,

0:33:080:33:09

it just didn't say cave it said "letter cave."

0:33:090:33:13

-Oh, right, yeah.

-Which meant that there were inscriptions in it.

0:33:130:33:16

-In there?

-Yeah, right in there.

0:33:160:33:18

Just right next to where we were standing.

0:33:180:33:21

I'm really, totally unobservant because I've been

0:33:210:33:23

-in there for, what? An hour. Let's have a look.

-Yeah.

0:33:230:33:26

Is it... Whereabouts?

0:33:280:33:30

All along this wall, there's some lovely detail to be found.

0:33:300:33:34

I was staring at that wall for hours waiting for the sun.

0:33:340:33:37

-Yeah, yeah.

-Oh, look. There's like a little man there, isn't there?

0:33:370:33:40

What's that? Looks like a fish or a leaf or something.

0:33:400:33:42

A fish or a leaf, yeah.

0:33:420:33:44

Then if you move up here, you'll seen some,

0:33:450:33:47

like, a Celtic symbol.

0:33:470:33:49

And there's one here of particular interest and it looks like

0:33:490:33:52

some sort of butterfly, which is just on the wall here.

0:33:520:33:54

-Oh, yeah, here. Beautifully done, isn't it?

-Yeah.

0:33:540:33:58

'Covering the entire wall,

0:33:580:33:59

'the carvings tell the stories of long-forgotten hill dwellers.

0:33:590:34:03

'I just couldn't see for looking.'

0:34:030:34:06

-Some of these inscriptions are just prior to 400 AD.

-Really?

0:34:060:34:10

Yeah. So, these would be pagan, so pre-Christian.

0:34:100:34:13

This one as well, down there.

0:34:150:34:17

And then a bit further up, we're into symbols that we recognise.

0:34:170:34:21

-Yeah.

-There's Christianity up here.

-Yeah.

0:34:210:34:24

-Some 21st century ones as well.

-Yeah, unfortunately so.

0:34:240:34:28

-It's all part of history.

-Yeah, it's all part of history.

0:34:280:34:31

Fascinating. I mean, you don't really need a sunrise, do you?

0:34:310:34:34

You just could have spent the entire morning in here.

0:34:340:34:37

'Fermanagh is a county riddled with hidden caves, sinkholes

0:34:520:34:56

'and underground rivers -

0:34:560:34:58

'not everyone's idea of a good day out,

0:34:580:35:00

'but an adventure playground for the fearless.'

0:35:000:35:03

Do you need any help, Bethany?

0:35:040:35:06

Yes.

0:35:060:35:08

'Caving to me, it's just a way to relax.'

0:35:080:35:11

Good girl.

0:35:110:35:12

'Tim Millen is a caver who shares his love of the sport with

0:35:120:35:16

'three of his children - Annabel, Noah and Bethany.'

0:35:160:35:20

'Once they reached six, we thought it would be OK to take them down.

0:35:200:35:23

'They're a bit more steady on their feet

0:35:230:35:25

'and they can overcome sort of the obstacles.

0:35:250:35:27

'So Bethany, this year has been her first year actually, you know.

0:35:270:35:31

'She turned six in December.

0:35:310:35:33

'She took to it like a duck to water, she loves it.'

0:35:330:35:36

I really like caving because I think it's like a special world to me.

0:35:370:35:44

I feel like I'm on a special mission to do loads

0:35:470:35:51

of fun stuff inside the caves.

0:35:510:35:53

Watch that.

0:35:550:35:57

'It's better than sitting in front of the TV playing video games all day long.

0:35:570:36:00

'It gets them out, it gets them to see everything around them

0:36:000:36:03

'and, you know, I think it's a wholesome activity, it really is.'

0:36:030:36:06

-Are you OK, Noah?

-Yeah, I'm fine!

0:36:080:36:10

OK, Noah. Watch that slippy rock there.

0:36:140:36:17

'The cave today is, it's called Pollasumera.

0:36:170:36:20

'A bit of water just swishing round your feet at the start.

0:36:200:36:23

'A nice open passage and then it narrows down as you go round

0:36:230:36:26

'the bend a wee bit and gets narrower and narrower.'

0:36:260:36:30

Noah, leave that stick alone, in case it falls down.

0:36:300:36:34

That's a good boy.

0:36:350:36:37

'One of the dangers is the flood risk.

0:36:370:36:39

'The caves are underground rivers

0:36:390:36:41

'and so we're always watching on the weather forecast to make sure

0:36:410:36:44

'that you're going to be OK to get in and out before the water rises.

0:36:440:36:47

'Another thing is fall hazards.

0:36:470:36:48

'You know, you could fall on the rocks

0:36:480:36:50

'or fall down a hole.

0:36:500:36:52

'It's worth the risk. Ten times over.'

0:36:550:36:58

OK.

0:36:580:36:59

Almost at the squeeze, folks.

0:36:590:37:02

'Our objective today is to try to get beyond the squeeze

0:37:020:37:05

'that we didn't get to the last time.'

0:37:050:37:06

Bethany. Yeah?

0:37:060:37:08

'The squeeze in a cave is where you have to really push your body

0:37:100:37:13

'through a very tight space.'

0:37:130:37:15

OK. Right we've got as far as the squeeze.

0:37:150:37:18

So if we get through this, we've achieved what we came to do today.

0:37:180:37:21

-OK? So who's going to have a go at the squeeze?

-Me.

-Me.

0:37:210:37:24

-Not me.

-Not you?

-Me.

0:37:240:37:26

-I'll go first.

-You go first Noah?

0:37:260:37:27

-No, I want to go first.

-Right.

0:37:270:37:29

Well, Bethany'll go first, then Noah, and then Annabel.

0:37:290:37:32

'You have to breathe out to empty all the air out of your lungs

0:37:320:37:35

'so that you're as thin as possible to get through.'

0:37:350:37:38

Are you OK, Bethany?

0:37:430:37:44

My helmet's stuck.

0:37:440:37:46

You need to be a wee, a wee bit lower Bethany. Follow Noah.

0:37:460:37:49

It's no problem for the kids

0:37:510:37:52

but last time I had my mobile phone in my pocket

0:37:520:37:54

and that was probably an issue getting through.

0:37:540:37:57

So, I'll breathe out, push on through

0:38:020:38:05

and that'll be me through.

0:38:050:38:07

Oh!

0:38:090:38:10

Argh!

0:38:100:38:12

-Almost there.

-Well done.

0:38:120:38:14

'At the end of the cave, I got through a really tight squeeze.'

0:38:160:38:20

It wasn't that tight for me, but it was very tight for Daddy.

0:38:220:38:27

Are you OK, kids?

0:38:270:38:29

'I just love exploring and the challenges that

0:38:290:38:31

'are involved in going to places that very few people get to see.

0:38:310:38:35

'But the kids, whenever it comes to show and tell at school,

0:38:350:38:38

'they have a really interesting story to tell that no-one else

0:38:380:38:40

'really can relate to, and just something exciting.

0:38:400:38:43

'A bit like Indiana Jones.'

0:38:430:38:45

'It's just 130 miles from Northern Ireland's wonderful

0:38:570:39:01

'western border back to its eastern shoreline.

0:39:010:39:04

'And Britain's largest sea inlet...

0:39:060:39:09

'..the beautiful Strangford Lough.'

0:39:110:39:13

You might ask how this lough can contain secrets when it's

0:39:180:39:22

one of the most popular places to live and visit in Northern Ireland.

0:39:220:39:25

But the key is to get off the tourist trail.

0:39:250:39:28

'Just ten miles south of Belfast, most day-trippers who visit

0:39:290:39:34

'Strangford Lough, stick to the scenic drives along the coast,

0:39:340:39:37

'or pleasure boating in its deeper waters.

0:39:370:39:40

'To discover the lough's less well known nooks and crannies,

0:39:400:39:43

'I'm going to need some local knowledge.

0:39:430:39:46

'Father and son Cadogan and Cadog Enright,

0:39:460:39:48

'are on a mission to seek out all the hidden corners of the lough.'

0:39:480:39:54

-OK.

-Ellie in first. Up to the front.

0:39:540:39:58

I'm in.

0:39:590:40:01

-And now Cadog.

-Me!

0:40:010:40:03

You sit on there, Ellie.

0:40:030:40:06

Woo! Steady on there, Cadog.

0:40:060:40:08

All right?

0:40:080:40:10

-Are we good?

-Are we ready?

-I'm good.

0:40:100:40:12

-Off we go!

-Ooh! I'm sliding backwards.

0:40:120:40:15

-It's the beginning of the adventure.

-We're away.

0:40:150:40:19

This is going to be great.

0:40:190:40:21

Are you going to shout some instructions at me?

0:40:210:40:23

-Straight out beyond that ferry.

-All right.

0:40:230:40:25

-And then we'll turn left and head north.

-OK.

0:40:250:40:28

Wow!

0:40:280:40:29

This is just blissful on its own, without even finding the secrets.

0:40:290:40:33

Right. There might be a current coming out behind that pier.

0:40:330:40:36

-OK.

-So, just be aware of the fact it might want to push us out

0:40:360:40:39

and we'll stay in to the shore.

0:40:390:40:41

OK.

0:40:410:40:43

'The boys have promised me a unique perspective on this

0:40:460:40:49

'enchanting sea lough and its secluded islands.

0:40:490:40:53

'And navigating the shallows in a stealthy canoe,

0:40:530:40:56

'certainly rewards us with an exclusive experience.'

0:40:560:40:59

See that bird?

0:40:590:41:01

-It's a heron.

-Yeah. A grey heron.

0:41:010:41:04

They look, they look like dinosaurs, don't they?

0:41:040:41:07

I know.

0:41:070:41:09

It's been great. I've seen oyster catchers, eiders, shanks.

0:41:090:41:11

It's been really good for wildlife already.

0:41:110:41:13

How many islands are there?

0:41:130:41:15

Oh, there are 370-odd.

0:41:150:41:18

So have you landed on them all, do you think?

0:41:180:41:21

We've landed probably on 108.

0:41:210:41:24

'The lads are taking me to their favourite uninhabited island.

0:41:240:41:28

'But first we have some tricky waters to navigate.'

0:41:280:41:31

It's certainly getting a bit lumpy now, the wind's picked up

0:41:310:41:34

and the tide's on the turn. You can really feel it.

0:41:340:41:36

-You see the left-hand side?

-Yeah.

0:41:360:41:38

That's the strongest tide I think outside the Menai Straits.

0:41:380:41:42

Oh, no!

0:41:420:41:43

The strongest current.

0:41:430:41:45

Cadog and I have ridden that tide and shot up 12 miles

0:41:450:41:48

to the top of the lough in less than three hours.

0:41:480:41:51

Wow! The strength of that tide, that's incredible.

0:41:510:41:54

We've certainly got to get across all this now.

0:41:540:41:57

'The tidal waters are connected to the Irish Sea via a tight channel.

0:41:580:42:03

'Four times a day, 77 million gallons of saltwater

0:42:030:42:08

'rush through these narrows.

0:42:080:42:10

'The dramatic tidal surges, put off your average paddler.'

0:42:100:42:14

Here we go, this is getting quite bubbly now.

0:42:160:42:19

-Woo!

-Hold on!

-Yeah!

0:42:190:42:23

-We're picking up speed now.

-I can feel it, I can feel it!

0:42:250:42:28

Ellie, we'll head out through the middle.

0:42:280:42:31

-Hee-hee!

-If you see a big rock, steer away from it.

0:42:320:42:34

All right.

0:42:340:42:36

Oh! Here's the rocks.

0:42:380:42:40

There we go.

0:42:420:42:44

'Safely through the rapids,

0:42:460:42:48

'we hope to reach the boys' secret island retreat before dark.'

0:42:480:42:53

'20 miles from the lough are the Mourne Mountains,

0:43:040:43:07

'the highest in Northern Ireland.

0:43:070:43:10

'Bleak, steep and remote,

0:43:120:43:16

'they're the guardians of the mysteriously named Silent Valley.

0:43:160:43:20

This granite wall took 18 years to build

0:43:220:43:25

and spans 15 mountains, top to bottom.

0:43:250:43:28

It's an amazing feat of dry-stone wall engineering.

0:43:280:43:31

'Yet, this extraordinary 22-mile wall

0:43:330:43:37

'was just the beginning of a monumental construction project

0:43:370:43:41

'through the heart of Northern Ireland's toughest terrain.

0:43:410:43:44

'This is Silent Valley Reservoir.

0:43:460:43:49

'It's hard to imagine how the dam was ever built, when the only way

0:43:490:43:53

'in and out of these mountains seems to be a farm track.

0:43:530:43:57

'It's deathly quiet here

0:43:580:44:00

'and the silence speaks volumes to hill walker Alan Kilgore.'

0:44:000:44:05

So, talk to me about this road and where we are at the moment.

0:44:050:44:08

Well, you're really in the heart of the Mournes

0:44:080:44:10

and not far from where we are is the Silent Valley Reservoir.

0:44:100:44:14

But this is a very important road,

0:44:140:44:16

in that when the Silent Valley Reservoir was being built,

0:44:160:44:19

the workforce all lived on site. In and around where we are now,

0:44:190:44:23

there would have been a very busy town called Watertown.

0:44:230:44:26

So, you say a town.

0:44:260:44:28

I mean, I can't imagine any sort of town here.

0:44:280:44:31

I mean, it's just beautiful, lush. But what was it like?

0:44:310:44:35

Well, you've got to think back.

0:44:350:44:37

In this time there was a railway into the valley

0:44:370:44:39

bringing all the material up here.

0:44:390:44:42

The neighbouring villages couldn't accommodate a workforce.

0:44:420:44:44

The workforce had to be given some accommodation where they could live.

0:44:440:44:48

So this whole valley was a massive public work scheme with

0:44:480:44:52

people living on it, people looking after them.

0:44:520:44:55

So you had a whole community living here at one time.

0:44:550:44:58

'Watertown sprang up overnight, with shops, an infirmary,

0:45:050:45:10

'a police station and even a cinema,

0:45:100:45:12

'catering for the 600 workers who lived here.'

0:45:120:45:15

It's a bit of a clamber down.

0:45:170:45:21

-A big step.

-You have maybe a half century of growth in here.

0:45:210:45:25

Well, it's a good job I'm fit.

0:45:250:45:26

Ooh!

0:45:260:45:28

'Alan insists remains are there to be found, if we make the effort.'

0:45:280:45:33

-Well, there's a ditch here.

-Yes.

0:45:340:45:36

And it's a deep ditch. It's OK.

0:45:360:45:39

'I'm not sure that's what he had in mind.'

0:45:390:45:41

-Up!

-There you go. Yeah.

0:45:410:45:43

-And there you are.

-There's our base.

-Yes.

0:45:430:45:46

This was where a family perhaps would have lived or,

0:45:510:45:55

a group of men would have shared accommodation.

0:45:550:45:58

And apart from this concrete base, just no evidence.

0:45:580:46:02

There's very little evidence of people living here.

0:46:020:46:05

Work started on the dam in 1923,

0:46:080:46:11

to create a three billion gallon reservoir to service Belfast.

0:46:110:46:17

'A great din filled this now silent valley for a decade.

0:46:170:46:22

'It was dangerous work for the men who laboured here.

0:46:220:46:25

'Terry King will never forget the sacrifice some of them

0:46:250:46:29

'made to get the dam built.'

0:46:290:46:31

Terry, your uncle actually helped construct the dam.

0:46:310:46:34

Tell me a little bit about him.

0:46:340:46:36

Yes, Mick was a digger driver.

0:46:360:46:37

He was the driver, or the controller of the machine,

0:46:370:46:40

digging this place out and digging all the soil and stuff out of here.

0:46:400:46:46

And then, when they had it all dug out and down to the depth,

0:46:460:46:49

he was making the banks here.

0:46:490:46:51

Do you have a picture of Mick that I could see?

0:46:510:46:54

Yes, I do indeed, of Mick and my Aunt Bridget, his wife.

0:46:540:46:58

And that was taken shortly after they were married.

0:46:580:47:03

'The driver of a steam-powered excavator,

0:47:030:47:06

'Mick dug down over 200 feet to bedrock.

0:47:060:47:09

'But in difficult conditions, danger was never far away.'

0:47:110:47:15

The machine rolled from the top, my mother said,

0:47:170:47:19

right down to the bottom with him in it.

0:47:190:47:22

So it was a complete wreck when they got to...

0:47:220:47:25

Got down to him, you know.

0:47:250:47:27

I mean his daughter was only six months old when he was killed.

0:47:270:47:31

They had one daughter.

0:47:310:47:33

'Mick was one of eight men who lost their lives building the dam.

0:47:390:47:43

'The massive project was completed in just over a decade.

0:47:460:47:50

'And today, the reservoir still channels 130 million litres

0:47:500:47:55

'of water a day, to Belfast.'

0:47:550:47:57

-Wow! Just look at this!

-It's wonderful.

0:47:590:48:03

So not only is it functional in what it does,

0:48:030:48:07

just impressive masonry...

0:48:070:48:10

Massive.

0:48:100:48:11

And aesthetically something to really look at.

0:48:110:48:14

Just to carry water, to think it's built like this.

0:48:140:48:17

-Yeah. Very impressive.

-Isn't it?

0:48:170:48:19

'We're so lucky to have been given special permission to

0:48:190:48:24

'go into the dam and embankment,

0:48:240:48:26

'that Terry's great uncle helped build.

0:48:260:48:29

'Every stone is beautifully dressed,

0:48:290:48:32

'even those of the enormous reservoir overspill.'

0:48:320:48:35

Ow!

0:48:350:48:37

-VOICE ECHOES: That's breathtaking.

-It's like a railway tunnel.

0:48:370:48:41

-Wow, listen to the echo on that.

-Yeah.

0:48:410:48:43

Woo-hoo!

0:48:430:48:45

-It's quite steep, Denise.

-Yeah, the banks are really steep.

0:48:500:48:53

Yeah, the side walls are.

0:48:530:48:55

'Each brick down here was laid by hand,

0:48:550:48:59

'a testament to the skill of the workforce.

0:48:590:49:01

'And though it was built for functionality,

0:49:010:49:04

'there's a beauty in its form and symmetry.'

0:49:040:49:07

This is the end of the line, Denise.

0:49:100:49:12

This is the end of the line and what an impressive stop it is.

0:49:120:49:16

Wow!

0:49:160:49:17

-It's just incredible, isn't it?

-Isn't it?

0:49:210:49:23

And all hand built by Mick and the other,

0:49:230:49:26

all the other workers and their teams, built in ten years.

0:49:260:49:29

'This impressive dam in such a remote and harsh location

0:49:410:49:45

'is perhaps a fitting monument to the memory of Mick

0:49:450:49:48

'and the men of Watertown.

0:49:480:49:51

'So too the silence and the valley they left behind.'

0:49:520:49:56

'On Strangford Lough, we've finally arrived

0:50:010:50:04

'at Cadog and Cadogan's secret uninhabited island.'

0:50:040:50:07

-All right.

-Watch out!

-Yes.

0:50:080:50:10

About here?

0:50:100:50:12

Okey doke.

0:50:120:50:14

Well, this is pretty remote.

0:50:140:50:16

'The boys love to camp in this isolated spot.

0:50:170:50:20

'They're hoping they'll be able to show me

0:50:200:50:23

'something really rare, the elusive swimming hare.'

0:50:230:50:28

You're like a mountain goat, Cadog.

0:50:280:50:30

-THEY CHUCKLE

-Look at you on your nimble legs.

0:50:300:50:32

Oh!

0:50:320:50:33

I'll give you a pound if you spot a hare, Cadog.

0:50:330:50:36

So, this is where they'll be.

0:50:360:50:38

We'll probably see them race across,

0:50:380:50:41

and find cover as far away as they can from you, you know.

0:50:410:50:44

'Apparently, these Irish hares eat seaweed.

0:50:440:50:48

'I'm told it's almost impossible to catch them swimming,

0:50:480:50:51

'but we might just spy one on land.'

0:50:510:50:53

How many hares do you think there are here?

0:50:550:50:57

Well, we've always seen two or three.

0:50:570:50:59

Erm, and it's pretty much on every island.

0:50:590:51:01

It's just for some reason, every time we come here,

0:51:010:51:04

a hare races across.

0:51:040:51:06

I thought I saw a flicker of movement down there.

0:51:130:51:15

Oh, look!

0:51:150:51:16

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just behind...

0:51:170:51:19

Yeah, there it is.

0:51:220:51:24

Past all these thistles here and all this vegetation.

0:51:240:51:28

Oh, you just get tiny glimpses, but it's definitely there.

0:51:280:51:30

-Yeah, I saw it.

-Did you see it?

-Yeah. See, it's on that...

0:51:300:51:33

-There it is, it's going... That's it!

-Oh, yeah I've got it.

0:51:330:51:35

There we go. Ooh! That's good speeds.

0:51:350:51:38

It's probably going to go swimming.

0:51:400:51:42

-Yeah. I'm not sure about these swimming hares.

-Oh, no.

0:51:440:51:46

I think this is something you two see after...

0:51:460:51:48

-I think they're hiding at the moment.

-After the camp fire.

0:51:480:51:50

If they're going swimming they'd go in that direction, wouldn't they?

0:51:500:51:54

'Catching a glimpse of a wild animal in its natural setting

0:51:570:52:00

'always feels very special.

0:52:000:52:02

'And, to be honest, just getting off the beaten track and away

0:52:020:52:06

'from the crowds in a setting like this, is reward in itself.'

0:52:060:52:10

Well, thank you for letting me see your secrets of the lough.

0:52:130:52:17

I mean, there's so much more. We've got 60-odd

0:52:170:52:19

islands on that side, and we haven't even been near them.

0:52:190:52:23

-I'll have to come back another day.

-Yeah.

-Cheers.

0:52:230:52:26

'Strangford isn't the only lough in Northern Ireland with

0:52:350:52:38

'a stunning collection of secluded islands.

0:52:380:52:42

'In the far west of Fermanagh lies the lake district.

0:52:420:52:46

'This is Lough Erne,

0:52:470:52:50

'the UK's longest freshwater lake.

0:52:500:52:53

'Heavily forested and remote,

0:52:530:52:55

'it's also very close to the Atlantic Ocean.

0:52:550:52:58

'Which meant this very spot was suddenly of huge strategic

0:53:000:53:04

'importance during the Second World War.'

0:53:040:53:09

It was the perfect place for a secret base,

0:53:090:53:11

hidden between the mountains and that forest.

0:53:110:53:14

I mean, it's still pretty difficult to find today,

0:53:140:53:17

but at least I have this photograph to help me find my bearings.

0:53:170:53:21

'With all these caravans dotted around on the tarmac,

0:53:260:53:29

'it's hard to imagine this holiday park

0:53:290:53:32

'was once an operational RAF base.

0:53:320:53:35

'But in World War II, this was RAF Castle Archdale.

0:53:370:53:41

'Sunderland and Catalina flying boats would've refuelled

0:53:450:53:49

'and re-armed here,

0:53:490:53:50

'before taking off on anti-submarine patrols over the Atlantic.

0:53:500:53:54

'Breege McCusker met many of the veterans who flew from here,

0:54:010:54:04

'and knows her way around the remains of this hidden air base.'

0:54:040:54:08

This is the first time I can actually almost

0:54:080:54:12

use my imagination and say, "Yeah, this does look like a base."

0:54:120:54:16

What is this exactly, here?

0:54:160:54:19

Well, what we're looking at is the Shetland Dock and that was

0:54:190:54:22

built in 1945 just towards the end of the Second World War.

0:54:220:54:27

And the idea was that the planes were going to be brought in here and serviced.

0:54:270:54:31

And for those who don't know anything about flying boats, and so on, they are big.

0:54:310:54:35

-Yeah.

-I mean, they are big.

0:54:350:54:37

There's Catalinas and the Sunderlands which were here.

0:54:370:54:40

So the idea was that they came into this area here

0:54:400:54:42

and the wings would be overlapping these two areas here,

0:54:420:54:45

and the maintenance work would have been done on them.

0:54:450:54:48

You can hear a pin drop here, can't you, now.

0:54:500:54:52

But then it must have been very noisy.

0:54:520:54:55

This was like a city, a town.

0:54:550:54:56

To think they had over 2,500 personnel here.

0:54:560:55:00

This was vibrant.

0:55:000:55:01

'Flying up to 1,000 miles out over the Atlantic,

0:55:080:55:12

'these flying boats shadowed convoys and attacked enemy submarines.

0:55:120:55:17

'Missions could last 12 or 13 hours, so there were

0:55:200:55:24

'galley kitchens on board

0:55:240:55:26

'and even space to grab 40 winks.

0:55:260:55:28

'Then, it was back to Lough Erne, to refuel and re-arm,

0:55:310:55:35

'ready to go again.

0:55:350:55:37

'New Zealander Neil Ennis was a Sunderland pilot at RAF Archdale.

0:55:390:55:44

'His daughter, Pat, now lives just 30 miles away.'

0:55:440:55:47

1944, it says there.

0:55:470:55:50

So, in the '40s we know your dad was based here.

0:55:500:55:54

-Right?

-Yes. Yes.

-Yeah. What do you know about him?

0:55:540:55:57

Well, I just knew that he and my mum got married and the day after,

0:55:570:56:02

-he was sent to train as a pilot and ended up here.

-Right.

0:56:020:56:06

Did he... Did he ever talk about it?

0:56:060:56:08

He talked about the conditions of the weather,

0:56:080:56:11

which he thought was appalling.

0:56:110:56:13

But in the planes,

0:56:130:56:15

they're incredibly noisy and cold and rattly,

0:56:150:56:19

-they were like big tin sheds.

-Yeah.

0:56:190:56:21

And they always reminded me of those metal World War II trunks

0:56:210:56:25

-that you see in war movies.

-Oh, yes.

0:56:250:56:27

You know, the whole plane was sort of like that.

0:56:270:56:30

But they were hunting for U-boats.

0:56:300:56:32

My father could never find anything when he was home.

0:56:320:56:35

He couldn't find socks in the airing cupboard

0:56:350:56:37

So God knows how they spotted U-boats.

0:56:370:56:40

This is what it was like in the 1940s.

0:56:400:56:42

-I don't know whether you've seen this photograph before.

-No.

0:56:420:56:45

I mean, it's so busy. It's so quiet now. Really busy back then.

0:56:450:56:48

And did you know that this was the operations room

0:56:480:56:50

where we've just had a coffee?

0:56:500:56:52

-No. Not at all.

-Yeah.

0:56:520:56:53

It's interesting listening to your voice because there's

0:56:530:56:56

obviously a lot of New Zealand, and there's a bit of Irish in there.

0:56:560:56:59

You obviously have an affiliation to this place, too.

0:56:590:57:03

I love it here.

0:57:030:57:04

I came here 30 years ago and was so happy.

0:57:040:57:08

From the second I got off the plane,

0:57:080:57:10

I just felt like home, so...

0:57:100:57:13

And I actually came here and settled here before I knew

0:57:130:57:15

that my father had been based in Castle Archdale.

0:57:150:57:18

'Northern Ireland has been a revelation.

0:57:270:57:30

'It's given up some spectacular secrets,

0:57:360:57:38

'and shown off its great natural wonders -

0:57:380:57:42

'its man-made marvels,

0:57:420:57:44

'stunning wildlife,

0:57:440:57:46

'unique geology and ancient stories.

0:57:460:57:50

'All of them wrapped up in majestic landscapes.'

0:57:500:57:55

And there's no better way of soaking up the magic

0:57:550:57:58

and majesty of Northern Ireland, than in the air.

0:57:580:58:01

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