0:00:02 > 0:00:05'Childhood holidays? Oh, the anticipation seemed endless.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08'The holiday itself... Well, it was over too quickly.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10'So, in this series, I'm going
0:00:10 > 0:00:12'to be reliving those wonderful times
0:00:12 > 0:00:14'with some much-loved famous faces.'
0:00:14 > 0:00:17BOTH: Argh!
0:00:17 > 0:00:21'Every day, I'll be arranging a few surprises to transport them
0:00:21 > 0:00:23'back in time.'
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Oh, look! It's just as I remember! Ha-ha!
0:00:27 > 0:00:29'We'll relive the fun...
0:00:29 > 0:00:32- LAUGHTER - '..the games...'
0:00:32 > 0:00:33Yes!
0:00:33 > 0:00:35We got 'em!
0:00:35 > 0:00:37'..and the food of years gone by...'
0:00:37 > 0:00:38Yummy!
0:00:38 > 0:00:43- Welcome to 1959!- Ha-ha! Total happiness!- Yes, perfect!
0:00:43 > 0:00:47'..to find out how those holidays around the UK helped shape
0:00:47 > 0:00:50'the people we know so well today.'
0:00:50 > 0:00:51Bruce Forsyth.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54AS BRUCE: Yes, marvellous, Len. You're still my favourite.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58'So, buckle up for Holiday Of My Lifetime.'
0:00:58 > 0:01:01You know, Len, I'm quite enjoying being on my holidays with you!
0:01:07 > 0:01:10'On today's reminiscing mission, I'm heading north to pick
0:01:10 > 0:01:15'up our mystery holiday-maker in a classic Austin A35 Saloon.'
0:01:15 > 0:01:19You could say the guest I'm on my way to meet today is a true blue.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23And I'm not talking about football!
0:01:23 > 0:01:26She was born in Bath in 1947 and if there was a cutest baby
0:01:26 > 0:01:29competition, she'd get my vote!
0:01:29 > 0:01:32She went from the toy box to the ballot box.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35And in 1987, she was elected to the House of Commons.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38But there's nothing common about this lady.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Order! Order!
0:01:41 > 0:01:46In 2002, she was on Celebrity Fit Club, losing weight.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48But some say she really lost it
0:01:48 > 0:01:53when she got flung around the floor on Strictly like a vacuum cleaner!
0:01:53 > 0:01:56And dangled on wires! Aw!
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Our Anton really put her through her paces. I didn't know where to look.
0:02:00 > 0:02:06And those floral dresses still haunt me. Have you got it? You must have!
0:02:06 > 0:02:12The ayes have it. It's outspoken former MP Ann Widdecombe. Ho-ho!
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Ann!
0:02:14 > 0:02:19We'll be hitting the road in this beautiful Austin A35,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23the very car that Ann and her mother used to take on their holidays.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Oh-ho-ho! Ann!
0:02:25 > 0:02:26Here I come!
0:02:32 > 0:02:38'Ann was born in Somerset in 1947 to mum Rita and dad James,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40'who worked for the Ministry of Defence.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44'The family lived in Singapore for three years when Ann was young.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47'On their return to England, she boarded at a convent school,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50'before ending up at Oxford University.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54'She's one of the country's most recognisable politicians,
0:02:54 > 0:02:58'having been a Conservative MP for more than ten years.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02'And she's known for her strong views on a range of subjects.'
0:03:06 > 0:03:10It's a Baby Austin! It's a Baby Austin!
0:03:10 > 0:03:13- Ha-ha! Ooh! Hello!- Hello.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Isn't this gorgeous? Oh! I just can't believe this.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20This is just like ours and it's got the red interior as well.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22- Yes.- It's fantastic.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25I used to sit on that back seat when we went on holiday.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30- My parents were in the front. Hello, Len.- Lovely to see you.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33- So, you recognise the car? - I recognise that Baby Austin.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37- Fantastic!- Brilliant! - Now, where were we off to?
0:03:37 > 0:03:40Well, I hope we're going to see some of the holiday
0:03:40 > 0:03:44- I once had in the Lake District. - So, what year is it?- It's 1963.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48That was the year of the Profumo Affair, the assassination
0:03:48 > 0:03:51of President Kennedy, and it was the year I went to the Lakes.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56And it was also the year that the Beatles had three number ones,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59- including I Want To Hold Your Hand. - I'll take your word for it, Len.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02- Let me escort you to your chariot. - Thank you.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Oh-ho! Yes.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Oh! Baby Austin!
0:04:07 > 0:04:11- Ha-ha! Baby Austin!- Yeah-up!
0:04:15 > 0:04:18'In the North West of England, in the county of Cumbria,
0:04:18 > 0:04:23'the Lake District is the largest national park in England
0:04:23 > 0:04:27'and Wales, spanning nearly 900 square miles and incorporating
0:04:27 > 0:04:31'the historic towns of Keswick, Windermere and Ambleside.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34'Its spectacular collection of lakes, forests
0:04:34 > 0:04:39'and fells have inspired writers and artists for centuries.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43'And it's why millions of tourists come to visit year after year.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46'Today, I'm taking Ann back to retrace her steps
0:04:46 > 0:04:51'when she first visited this famous setting as a wide-eyed 15-year-old.'
0:04:51 > 0:04:55My mother used to stand on hills and say, "Now, breathe in and out
0:04:55 > 0:04:58"to get the fresh air in your lungs." We used to stand there going...
0:04:58 > 0:04:59Ah!
0:04:59 > 0:05:03'We'll find out just how much the Lake District inspired
0:05:03 > 0:05:06'Ann to become the woman we know today.'
0:05:06 > 0:05:09My parents took the view that it was my choice
0:05:09 > 0:05:13and at various times I wanted to be a missionary and an astronaut...
0:05:13 > 0:05:16'And we'll embrace the magnificent landscape that's barely
0:05:16 > 0:05:18'changed in all these years.'
0:05:18 > 0:05:22- It's absolutely wonderful. - It is.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28'Before any holiday truly begins, first, you must set out on a
0:05:28 > 0:05:31'journey, whether by plane, train or by automobile,
0:05:31 > 0:05:36'we've all experienced those hours of anticipation, just waiting to
0:05:36 > 0:05:40'get to the promised destination we've been dreaming of all year.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44'As head of naval supplies and transport for the MoD,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47'Ann's father had business across the country
0:05:47 > 0:05:51'and in the summer of '63, Ann and her mother set off from their
0:05:51 > 0:05:55'home in Guildford to accompany him and have a holiday of their own.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58'They left behind brother Malcolm, who, at 26,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01'was preparing to become a Church of England minister.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05'It was a long drive and Ann remembers it well.' So, here we are.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10We're heading for the Lake District. May I ask how old you were?
0:06:10 > 0:06:16Yes, I would have been...coming up for 16. I wouldn't have been 16.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20- Right.- I would have been 15 and a big bit.- Oh, right.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24We'd been in Scotland because my father had some business there.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27He was in the armaments department of the Admiralty.
0:06:27 > 0:06:33And then we came over the border down here and my mother and I were in the
0:06:33 > 0:06:38Lakes, my father was on the holiday, but he was doing business all day.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- Right.- He wasn't actually taking part during the day.
0:06:41 > 0:06:46So we would see him at night for supper.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49As a 15-year-old, were you an impatient sort of child?
0:06:49 > 0:06:51By then, I was past the "are we nearly there" stage.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54But I was terribly excited. I can remember that.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56I'd never been to the Lakes.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59I hadn't been anywhere that much north of Bath.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02So, this was a big deal, this holiday.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05'At 15 years old, Ann was in the midst of a seven-year
0:07:05 > 0:07:09'spell at La Sainte Union Convent School in Bath,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12'so the trip to the Lakes proved to be a bit of an adventure.'
0:07:12 > 0:07:18So, on this journey, did you play any games like I Spy or anything?
0:07:18 > 0:07:21When I was younger, we always did that.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25And sometimes, my mother and I would do it when I was much older,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27just for fun.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- Yeah.- But we also played a game called Mrs Johnson's Cat.- Oh.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36- Mrs Johnson's Cat, you went through all the alphabet.- Let's give it a go.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40- You begin.- Mrs Johnson's cat's an ambivalent cat.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Mrs Johnson's cat is a bothersome cat.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Mrs Johnson's cat's a cantankerous cat.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Mrs Johnson's cat is a disastrous cat.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56Mrs Johnson's cat is an elegant cat, unlike my performance on Strictly!
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Ha-ha!
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Well, talking of Strictly, as you've brought it up,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04and I'm sure you would have beaten me at Mrs Johnson's Cat,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07how did you find the experience of being on Strictly?
0:08:07 > 0:08:09I absolutely loved Strictly.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15I'd built my life around the fact that
0:08:15 > 0:08:17I would last three weeks on Strictly, while,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21as you know, we were ten weeks into the 12 when I finally went.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24I thought you gave us such wonderful entertainment.
0:08:24 > 0:08:30It's the same when John Sergeant was on. I remember Russell Grant.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33It's those ones, the really entertaining
0:08:33 > 0:08:36and fun ones that stick in your mind.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44'In 1963, the world was a very different place.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48'In one of the most iconic moments of the 20th century, the then
0:08:48 > 0:08:53'President of the US, John F Kennedy, was shot and killed in
0:08:53 > 0:08:56'Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald was found to have fired the shot,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00'but conspiracy theories abound to this day about the real
0:09:00 > 0:09:03'reason behind the assassination.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06'It was the year of the Great Train Robbery,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10'arguably the most famous British crime of the 20th century.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14'A 15-strong gang, including the notorious Ronnie Biggs,
0:09:14 > 0:09:19'held up a Royal Mail train and made off with over £2.5 million -
0:09:19 > 0:09:24'that's nearly £50 million in today's money.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27'And the '60s were alive and kicking.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30'We were swinging to the sounds of rock 'n' roll.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34'Brian Poole and the Tremeloes got me dancing with Do You Love Me.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37'It was number one for three fabulous weeks.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43'To commence Ann's holiday of her lifetime,
0:09:43 > 0:09:48'I've brought her to a magical place, filled with memories.'
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Well, Ann, here we are. Lake Windermere. Is it how you remember?
0:09:51 > 0:09:56Oh, yes. When I first saw this lake, I thought I'd never seen anything
0:09:56 > 0:09:59so wonderful because it was just a huge lake.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Yeah. I must say, it looks fabulous.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07And I guess it's not changed that much from when you came here in '63.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11It's a bit busier. It's certainly a bit busier.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13I remember a much wilder Windermere.
0:10:13 > 0:10:18Over there, you've got the hills, trees. That's Lakeland.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23- That is Lakeland.- Yeah. Well, I know you live down in Devon,
0:10:23 > 0:10:28so you get this lovely fresh air, but for me, this is so lovely.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31It's bracing and you feel ready for a holiday.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34My mother used to stand on hills and say, "Breathe in and out to
0:10:34 > 0:10:38"get the fresh air in your lungs." We used to stand there going...
0:10:38 > 0:10:42- Ah! - Course you would! Fantastic!
0:10:42 > 0:10:46- Was your mum just as big a fan of it as yourself?- Oh, yes.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48And we used to like the more dramatic times of day.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51We loved the sunset over scenes like this.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54There wouldn't be any boats, we'd be on a wilder bit of the lake,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58you'd have your mountains and trees, and the sunset over them,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00and it was fantastic.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04'It's wonderful to see that Ann's memories of her time
0:11:04 > 0:11:06'here are already flooding back.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14'The land favoured by poets Wordsworth
0:11:14 > 0:11:18'and Coleridge is a firm favourite among British holiday-makers.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22'But it hasn't always been so popular,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25'as Lake District intellectual Vicky Slowe explains.'
0:11:25 > 0:11:28In the early days, in the 17th century and earlier,
0:11:28 > 0:11:33the Lake District was regarded as a barren wilderness.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35The Normans ignored it, the Romans ignored it.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38The first tourists were very adventurous.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42The earliest to arrive, like Daniel Defoe, found it terrifying.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46Their favourite adjective for it all was "horrid"
0:11:46 > 0:11:50and that meant like a horror film, a shiver in the spine.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Defoe says he had to pull the blinds down on his carriage windows
0:11:53 > 0:11:57because the precipices were too terrifying.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00'Part of the magic of any childhood holiday is
0:12:00 > 0:12:03'the excitement of staying somewhere new.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08'The sights, sounds and smells of those hotels, motels and campsites.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11'In 1963, Ann Widdecombe and her mum
0:12:11 > 0:12:16'and dad spent four nights at a three-star hotel in Grasmere.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19'Not exactly the Ritz, but a step up from a B&B.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23'And I'm taking Ann to the type of hotel she might have stayed in.'
0:12:23 > 0:12:26This would have been the type of place you would have stayed in.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29The sort of place it used to be, yeah.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34In 1912, the AA started grading hotels
0:12:34 > 0:12:37and they used a system that was used for grading brandies.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40So you'd get three-star brandy and so on.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45So, the three-star hotel was thought of as being very decent,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47average, middle class type of hotel.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50This was certainly the sort of hotel that we used to stay at.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53We wouldn't have stayed in anything very grand.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55We wouldn't have stayed at a bed & breakfast.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57This was the sort of thing that
0:12:57 > 0:12:59if we were coming to hotels we would come to.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Were you excited as a young lady, coming to a place like this?
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Ooh, yes. I mean, it was very nice.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09In those days, of course, you didn't have teasmades in the bedroom
0:13:09 > 0:13:12and kettle facilities. You were brought your tea in the morning.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16- And it was all served to you.- Yeah. - There was no washing-up.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19There was no cooking. So it was great.
0:13:19 > 0:13:20We would come down in the morning,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23- we'd go out, we'd be in the Baby Austin, we'd be off.- Perfect.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26What's lovely about this hotel,
0:13:26 > 0:13:31it's sort of somehow kept that same feeling
0:13:31 > 0:13:33that you would have had back then.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Yeah. It would have been just like this. And people were sociable.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40We were all in the Lakes because we were walking and we were on holiday.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42We were going on the boats and things.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45So when we came down in the evening, people would talk to each other.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48- They weren't sort of sitting preoccupied in a corner.- Perfect.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50'Happy memories indeed.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53'In 1963, Ann's father - who was busy with work -
0:13:53 > 0:13:57'was only able to join Ann and her mother from time to time,
0:13:57 > 0:14:01'leaving them to enjoy the luxury of their hotel together.'
0:14:01 > 0:14:05- Well, here we are, Ann. Ho-ho! - Oh.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08- Oh, yes.- Eh?- Yes.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10What do you think?
0:14:10 > 0:14:14- Well, it's much posher than it would have been in my time.- Really?
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Oh, yes. Undeniably. I mean, it's more modern.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20- We wouldn't have had a television. - Of course not.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23- Would you have had an en-suite? - Absolutely not.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25In those days, whenever you went away to stay,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28you always took a dressing gown. And this was for two reasons.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31First of all, there wasn't central heating.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33But secondly, it was for modesty
0:14:33 > 0:14:36because you had to leave your room to go to the bathroom.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39And you'd sometimes walk down an entire corridor
0:14:39 > 0:14:41to get to the bathroom.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Did you share the room with your mum?
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Oh, no. No, I was 15 by then. I had my own room.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52- Really?- Yeah. - Well, I wish I'd have had that.
0:14:52 > 0:14:53Whenever we went away,
0:14:53 > 0:14:57- I was always tucked up somewhere in the corner or something.- No, no.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Did you ever get tempted once your mum was asleep
0:15:00 > 0:15:03to sneak out or shimmy down a drainpipe?
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- No, wasn't my style. That really wasn't my style.- No?
0:15:06 > 0:15:10No. I'd have gone to bed. At 15, my reading would have
0:15:10 > 0:15:13advanced a bit beyond Biggles and Enid Blyton,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17so I'd probably be reading a bit of Jane Austen.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19'Ann stayed at boarding school in Bath,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21'100 miles from her family home.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24'She shared a room with eight other girls,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28'but here she had the freedom of having a room to herself.'
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Being at a boarding school, did you feel lonely at all?
0:15:32 > 0:15:35No, I loved boarding school.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39But, of course, one of the joys of having a room to oneself
0:15:39 > 0:15:41is that - yes, you had that at home -
0:15:41 > 0:15:43but at school you were in a dormitory.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47And people often say to me, when I left Oxford,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50why didn't I do a flat-share like so many people did?
0:15:50 > 0:15:53And the answer is I shared a dormitory.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Then I shared a room in a hall of residence. Then in an Oxford college.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Oh, did I want my own space.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03You went to Oxford. What did you study there?
0:16:03 > 0:16:06There I did Politics and Economics. I did Latin at Birmingham.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09I did the love of my life, Latin, at Birmingham.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Then, because I decided on a political career,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15I decided I was going to go and do a second degree. So I did.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18And, of course, that was perfect education
0:16:18 > 0:16:20to go into politics, I would imagine.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Do you know, I reckon the Latin was far more useful
0:16:23 > 0:16:25than the politics and economics! THEY LAUGH
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Incorporating its biggest lake and highest mountain,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35the Lake District is England's largest national park,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39and it's the spectacular scenery that it was set up to protect
0:16:39 > 0:16:42that keeps visitors flocking back.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44So here are my Ten From Len.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Built in the 17th century, this former inn
0:16:47 > 0:16:51that was to become William Wordsworth's first family home
0:16:51 > 0:16:53was discovered by the poet by accident
0:16:53 > 0:16:57when out walking with his friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Dove Cottage is where he wrote many famous works
0:17:00 > 0:17:03and is also where he and wife, Mary, had three children.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07And his sister, Dorothy, wrote her famous Grasmere Journals.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10It might be difficult to imagine Wordsworth
0:17:10 > 0:17:12as anything other than a writer.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15But 30 years before he was named Poet Laureate,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19he was employed in a building known as The Old Stamp House.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20It's now a restaurant,
0:17:20 > 0:17:24but in 1813 it was where Wordsworth was employed as
0:17:24 > 0:17:27the distributor of stamps for Westmorland.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31A grand title for which he was paid £400 a year.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35An exhilarating attraction can be found in the woods
0:17:35 > 0:17:37surrounding England's largest natural lake.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40With 35 tree top challenges,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43you can swing your way through the ancient woodland canopy,
0:17:43 > 0:17:45culminating in a 250-metre zip-wire
0:17:45 > 0:17:49with a thrilling view of the water around Windermere.
0:17:57 > 0:18:02'No holiday experience is complete without sampling the local food.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05'Those new tastes and textures, so different to home,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07'transform our palate for ever.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09'When Ann holidayed in the Lake District,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12'the meal of choice was enjoyed al fresco.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15'So we're going to relive those memories today.'
0:18:15 > 0:18:19I know you used to have a lovely picnic with your mother.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22- Oh, I certainly did.- Here we go. - I certainly did.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Now, get yourself comfortable.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- Picnics were a big thing in those days.- Well, of course they were.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30- We were always having picnics. - Absolutely.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34- Well, I tell you what we used to have.- Yes.- I think these may be...
0:18:34 > 0:18:36We used to have pastes.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40We used to have anchovy paste which we used to put on.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43We also used to have, and I don't know if you remember it,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46- something called sandwich spread. - Of course.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48And that was a filling in its own right.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50I mean, these days they tend to put it on other things.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52What do you fancy to drink?
0:18:52 > 0:18:55We've got some cola, we've got some ginger beer...
0:18:55 > 0:18:59- I'm going to go for the ginger beer. - Ginger beer it is.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02- And I hope it comes out of a bottle, yes, it does.- Yes, it does.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Whereabouts would you have had your picnic? Down by one of the lakes?
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Might have been anywhere. We would've been going along in the Baby Austin
0:19:09 > 0:19:13and my mother would have said, "That looks a place for a picnic."
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Might have been high up on a hill, might have been by a lake,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19might have just been in a field. Might have been anywhere.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21Well, we're getting cracking. We've got our picnic basket.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25We've got some ginger beer, we've got our coffee.
0:19:25 > 0:19:26You've got your sandwich.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Now, we're going to get down to the nitty-gritty now.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- Right.- Cake. - SHE GASPS
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Now, there were two sorts of cakes I adored.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39One was just Madeira, but one used to eat it with cream.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44- You put the cream on top. Oh, it was lovely.- Ann, Ann.- Yeah?
0:19:44 > 0:19:49You were posh. No, you were, Ann. No, I can't have this.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51- Madeira cake and then you... No!- We did!
0:19:51 > 0:19:53We put cream on our Madeira cake.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57And there was me going down the baker's and having a Sticky Willy,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00and there's you with the Madeira... No.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02So what other cake would you have had?
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Well, apart from the Madeira, which would have always had the cream,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08we went for a cake that was called Mother's Cake.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Now, when Mother first put this on the table
0:20:10 > 0:20:14and said, "This is Mother's Cake," we all said, "Oh, have you made a cake?"
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Because she hated baking, she never did that sort of thing.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19And she said, "No, it's just called Mother's Cake."
0:20:19 > 0:20:25And it was a rather heavy, crumbly cake with a few bits
0:20:25 > 0:20:28and pieces in it and I haven't had it since.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30'Like Ann, I've got a bit of a sweet tooth,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34'so I've brought along a selection of traditional local cakes.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37'I wonder if any of them are like the Mother's Cake
0:20:37 > 0:20:38'she remembers so well.'
0:20:38 > 0:20:45- So here's the first one.- OK.- And this is Grasmere gingerbread.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48- Have a sample of that and give me your...- Thank you.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Have a go at it. Can't beat cake.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53No. No. No, that doesn't pass.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58- To be honest...- No. That doesn't pass.- OK. Not to worry.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Borrowdale teabread.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Now, this is more cake-ified.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08- Does it look anything like it?- No, it doesn't look like Mother's Cake.
0:21:08 > 0:21:09Look, it's the taste.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11I'm giving you a very generous portion here.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13No, the inside is slightly more...
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- There would have been far less fruit in Mother's Cake.- Right.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Just little bits of fruit but that is much more... That is very similar.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Mmm. Too fruity but very similar.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29- I like a bit of fruity. OK.- Mm.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35- Well, Ann, we've only got one more left.- Oh, dear. Oh, dear.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39- Well, let's see.- Lakeland plum bread.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Well, the shape is right.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44What we are getting there, we've got the shape...
0:21:45 > 0:21:50- It was more cake shaped like that. - Here it comes.- Oh, thank you.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57- Mmm. Well, say something. - It's closer.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02I think you've devised this testing programme just so
0:22:02 > 0:22:06- that you can eat an awful lot of cake.- Do you know what, Ann?
0:22:06 > 0:22:11- You are perfectly correct.- Ten out of ten.- Ten out of ten! I love it.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13Cake is my favourite.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17'In order to work off all that lovely cake we've just sampled,
0:22:17 > 0:22:21'I think we best take a little hike before we go for the main event -
0:22:21 > 0:22:23'the picnic itself!
0:22:23 > 0:22:26'The Lake District is where Ann discovered her passion
0:22:26 > 0:22:29'for hill walking, and she's not alone.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33'Alfred Wainwright's famous picture guides were compiled in the '50s
0:22:33 > 0:22:38'and '60s, inspiring walkers with his musings and sketches.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41'Let's hope the scenery inspires me today.
0:22:41 > 0:22:42'Walking? No!'
0:22:42 > 0:22:47- Ann, surely you don't go on these walks all the time.- I certainly do.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50- On Dartmoor I walk sometimes all day, I don't see a soul.- Really?
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Not once I get right out onto the moor, I don't see a soul.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55How far do you walk?
0:22:55 > 0:22:59Well, I don't do great treks but I can do ten miles in a day.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03And did your love for walking maybe stem from coming to the
0:23:03 > 0:23:04Lake District with your mum?
0:23:04 > 0:23:07This was the first time I ever did a proper hill.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11I walked on Dartmoor with my father from about the age of ten or so,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15but this was the first time, this particular holiday in 1963,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18was the first time I walked up any sort of extensive hill.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22And I did it with my mother and I've got an admittedly very
0:23:22 > 0:23:25bad photograph of us both sitting on top of that hill,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29but that, I think that was the beginning of my love of hill walking.
0:23:29 > 0:23:30What sort of walker are you,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33are you just one of those who rambles along or are you
0:23:33 > 0:23:38one of those that just goes out with a blanket and a compass
0:23:38 > 0:23:39and camps out all night?
0:23:39 > 0:23:43I don't even think I'm a rambler, I think I'm an ambler.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46And I amble, and I will walk miles and miles in a day
0:23:46 > 0:23:48but it will be at a very gentle pace.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53And no, I don't carry anything except what I can fit into a belt around me,
0:23:53 > 0:23:57so I will have a compass and I will have a mobile for safety.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01- And enough money for an ice cream if I end up in civilisation.- Right.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05And have you ever, you know, got caught in a mist or a fog
0:24:05 > 0:24:08- and got yourself lost?- Yes.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Not very long ago I was in a bit of a moor that
0:24:11 > 0:24:13I know like the back of my hand.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17And the mist came down very, very thick and I did get disorientated.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19- Right.- And I stood there and I thought, well,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22I know I'm near the road so what I've got to do is listen
0:24:22 > 0:24:25and if I can hear cars, that's the direction of the road.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29And actually, in a mist, even the sound is deadened and but, yes,
0:24:29 > 0:24:30I did hear a car.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Right. Well, look, Ann...
0:24:33 > 0:24:39I've walked quite a way now, it must be a good 150 yards.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42I wouldn't mind having a sit down on this lovely old bench.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Why don't we sit and look at that?
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Because that is fantastic.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Oh! Oh, yes, Thank you!
0:24:49 > 0:24:57- You look at a view like this, it is absolutely wonderful.- It is.
0:24:57 > 0:24:58Isn't it?
0:24:58 > 0:25:00'And with such a spectacular view,
0:25:00 > 0:25:07'what better place to settle down on a blanket and tuck into our picnic?'
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Let's have a look what we've got here. Hold on.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Oh, do you think that is going to be the paste sandwiches?
0:25:13 > 0:25:18Have a go and see. Well, you tuck into that nicely.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20And I'll just put that there.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24I think I'll steam into a little bit of cake.
0:25:24 > 0:25:25It seems a shame to waste it.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29- What I want to know is, have we got a ginger beer?- We have a ginger beer.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Mm-hm.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35- I have one for you. - Marvellous.- I've got to...- Mm!
0:25:35 > 0:25:40Not quite a wine glass, but it will taste just as nice, I'm sure.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45- Thank you. Proper pop, as we used to say.- Yeah, pop.- Mm!
0:25:45 > 0:25:48- I used to love cream soda. - I loved cream soda.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51- Do you remember cream soda?- Yes.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55- Is this how you remember picnics with your mum?- Yes.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57- Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore, that's all we need.- Mm.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59And then we can find a little stream and play Pooh sticks.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02We could play Pooh sticks. There is a stream there.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Certain foods really do take you back to your childhood.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08That's why I talk about Winnie the Pooh, this takes me right back.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10And Rupert Bear.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13- I still follow Rupert Bear in The Express.- Do you?- Yes.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17Because I write for The Express. I always just see what he is doing.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Coming back here, you know, to the Lake District, does it
0:26:20 > 0:26:24- sort of put you into a reflective mood about growing up?- Yes.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27This takes me back to the holidays that I spent
0:26:27 > 0:26:31in the Lakes and, as I say, the most memorable was when I was about 15.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36So yes, and I recall my mother very, very well on that holiday
0:26:36 > 0:26:39and indeed of course we were only on it because of my father's business.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44- So, yes.- If you had some advantages, I guess, your father
0:26:44 > 0:26:47having his occupation, I'm guessing it took you all over the place.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51- Yes, it did. We went to Singapore. - Oh, really?- Oh, yes.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54We moved around every two to three years and I think that is why,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57when I was leaving Parliament and I said, "I'm going to do Strictly"
0:26:57 > 0:27:00and everybody said, "You're absolutely mad,"
0:27:00 > 0:27:04it was because I knew from childhood that one day I'd be
0:27:04 > 0:27:07living in a particular house, going to a certain school, having friends
0:27:07 > 0:27:10I'd known for two or three years, belonging to the Brownie Pack.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13But the very next day, no transition, no preparation,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16none of this sort of stuff, and the very next day
0:27:16 > 0:27:18I'd be in a different part of the country or a different
0:27:18 > 0:27:22- part of the globe, different school, making friends from scratch.- Yeah.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26And so I knew how to contain the past to the past,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28and so when I decided to retire,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32I knew that the moment Parliament was dissolved, I had retired.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34And I could do something different
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and I'm sure it goes back to that roving childhood.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42From rowing and fishing,
0:27:42 > 0:27:47to biking and hiking, the Lake District is an outdoor paradise.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Forget the Lake poets. To fell walkers,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56Alfred Wainwright is the area's most significant author.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00His seven walking guides have sold in excess of
0:28:00 > 0:28:02two-and-a-half million copies.
0:28:02 > 0:28:08Each of the 217 peaks listed in his guides are known as a Wainwright
0:28:08 > 0:28:11and bagging them all has become a challenge for hill walkers.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17Kendal Mint Cake may have been good enough to help Edmund Hillary
0:28:17 > 0:28:20to the summit of Everest, but for a different kind
0:28:20 > 0:28:24of sweet treat, Grasmere gingerbread might hit the spot.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29It's been sold from a single shop for the last 160 years.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33Made to a secret recipe that has been passed down through
0:28:33 > 0:28:37the generations of the same family, it is baked in the former
0:28:37 > 0:28:41schoolhouse where William Wordsworth occasionally taught.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45And if you tire of walking, you can still enjoy the scenery
0:28:45 > 0:28:48from a rather Georgian point of view.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52Ponies were a common sight around the Lakes and by the 18th century
0:28:52 > 0:28:55they transported metal ores from mines in the fells
0:28:55 > 0:28:56to coastal smelters.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Weaving its way through the countryside,
0:29:01 > 0:29:05the Ravenglass to Eskdale railway was used to transport materials
0:29:05 > 0:29:08to and from local quarries.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12But it's also been carrying passengers for nearly a century.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16Ann's stand-out memory from her holiday was a trip on this
0:29:16 > 0:29:19'very railway, and do you know what? I'm gonna take her back on it.'
0:29:19 > 0:29:22- Morning.- Thank you.- Ha-ha.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26What do you remember about this journey and being on this train?
0:29:26 > 0:29:31I remember the train very, very vividly indeed.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34And I remember the prettiness of the journey.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37And being terribly excited and just wanting it to go on and on.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41- There's something special about a steam train.- Ah!
0:29:41 > 0:29:46Now, as I understand it, in the '50s it was losing money
0:29:46 > 0:29:49and there was a chance that the whole thing could have closed down.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Well, not only in the '50s.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54After I became a Member of Parliament,
0:29:54 > 0:29:57when I got elected late 1980s, 1987,
0:29:57 > 0:30:02suddenly the future of this very, very railway line was in doubt.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07- Really?- Yes. And, er, I was one of those who campaigned to keep it open.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11I had no grounds for doing so, just other than happy memories.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15- And what a day we've got for this as well.- Isn't it great?- What a day.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19- Look at that mountain over there. - Look at that.- Look. Really.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23- Oh, look.- I have a yen to get out and walk up that.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26Yeah, I've got a yen to walk up there, but I know I couldn't.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30What was it that inspired you to want to become a politician?
0:30:31 > 0:30:36Em, well, one of the reasons was to fight socialism.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40When I was growing up, it was the height of the Cold War.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Socialism was real socialism.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45It wasn't like it is today, everybody on the centre ground.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48Wasn't at all like that. It was a real division.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52The other motivation for going in was that I wanted to try and solve
0:30:52 > 0:30:55seemingly insoluble problems.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58When I say that, you'll immediately think the Health Service,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Northern Ireland, these days, the Ukraine.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03Of course, I do mean those,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07but I also mean insoluble problems at a very individual level,
0:31:07 > 0:31:11constituent level, where sometimes you'd get something sorted
0:31:11 > 0:31:14that you didn't think you'd have a chance of getting sorted.
0:31:14 > 0:31:15It's a wonderful feeling.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21- What was your constituency, where were you?- Maidstone in Kent.
0:31:21 > 0:31:22Oh, near me.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25Near where I live now. Oh, you were nearly my local MP, Ann.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27Yeah, that would have been something.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29I would have been...
0:31:29 > 0:31:31I'd have represented you, though, very well.
0:31:31 > 0:31:32Yes, I'm sure you would.
0:31:32 > 0:31:33LEN LAUGHS
0:31:33 > 0:31:36So during your time as an MP,
0:31:36 > 0:31:39were there any particular policies that you really helped to
0:31:39 > 0:31:43change and shape that you were passionate about?
0:31:43 > 0:31:46Well, certainly I made changes to the state pension age
0:31:46 > 0:31:48and to disability benefits.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52Those are very proud memories.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55- TRAIN WHISTLES - Oh, I love that.- Oh, yes.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57I love a hooter.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59Oh, isn't that marvellous?!
0:31:59 > 0:32:04'The Lake District now attracts over 15 million visitors a year,'
0:32:04 > 0:32:07but the tourist industry has seen a lot of changes,
0:32:07 > 0:32:09as ice cream entrepreneur Mark explains.
0:32:10 > 0:32:151963 is a lot different to what it is now.
0:32:15 > 0:32:21That was the start of when people were coming in in their masses.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25People were getting their own cars.
0:32:26 > 0:32:31It was a time, 1963, when things were picking up after the war.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34There was plenty of work.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38Well, my grandfather started the business in 1902.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41He started off with a horse and cart.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46Then graduated to a motorbike and side car, then on to the van.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49Then it graduated to my father and his brother.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54After the war, the rationing went on till 1953,
0:32:54 > 0:32:58and it was hard getting the sugar and the stuff to make the ice cream.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04But they survived. I took over from my father.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07So how it'll all end, I don't know.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10But we'll have to wait and see.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16The rugged landscape of the Lake District has inspired writers
0:33:16 > 0:33:18from John Ruskin to Beatrix Potter.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22It's in the shadow of such wordsmiths that Ann walked
0:33:22 > 0:33:25when she became a novelist in her own right.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28Well, I think one of the places you would have come in '63
0:33:28 > 0:33:32would have been here to St Oswald's Church here in Grasmere -
0:33:32 > 0:33:34the burial place of William Wordsworth.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36William Wordsworth, yes indeed.
0:33:36 > 0:33:41- Were you aware of William Wordsworth when you came here?- Oh, yes, I was.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45I hadn't yet started to study him as I was to do only a few months later
0:33:45 > 0:33:47when we began the A-Level syllabus,
0:33:47 > 0:33:52and we did Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats. We were doing that era.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54But nevertheless, every schoolchild learns
0:33:54 > 0:33:56the Daffodils at the age of about ten or so.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58- I was no exception to that.- Yeah.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00I can still do a lot of it to this day.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03So, yes, I was interested in Wordsworth, yes.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07What was your favourite of all the Wordsworth poems, did you have one?
0:34:07 > 0:34:10I think I have to go with the Daffodils,
0:34:10 > 0:34:13simply because it's the one I remember.
0:34:13 > 0:34:14I mean, yes, you know,
0:34:14 > 0:34:17for that course we were doing things like the Prelude,
0:34:17 > 0:34:18we were doing much more complicated work,
0:34:18 > 0:34:21but I love the Daffodils because I think it speaks to you.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24That wonderful bit at the end where he says,
0:34:24 > 0:34:25often when on his couch he lies,
0:34:25 > 0:34:27"In vacant or in pensive mood
0:34:27 > 0:34:29"They flash upon that inward eye
0:34:29 > 0:34:31"Which is the bliss of solitude
0:34:31 > 0:34:32"And then my heart with pleasure fills
0:34:32 > 0:34:34"And dances with the daffodils."
0:34:34 > 0:34:37I think that's the function of memory, that's wonderful.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41- Speaking of daffodils, look, we have...- Oh!- ..a little posy here,
0:34:41 > 0:34:43which I think would be fitting to leave...
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Shall we leave it on the grave?
0:34:46 > 0:34:47Maybe we should leave them for Dorothy,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50because it was her diary that was the inspiration.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52Let's put it on Dorothy's grave.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54- Beautiful.- Look at that. - Beautiful, yeah.
0:34:54 > 0:34:55Dorothy. Marvellous.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58'Dorothy's grave lies next to her brother William's,
0:34:58 > 0:35:03'which has been a major attraction for visitors for almost 200 years.'
0:35:03 > 0:35:06At the archive of the Wordsworth Trust,
0:35:06 > 0:35:11curator Jeff Cowton has some records that suggest not all visitors
0:35:11 > 0:35:14in 1963 were welcome with open arms.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16Well, I want you to meet Jeff,
0:35:16 > 0:35:19who's going to show you something that's really interesting.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22- Hello.- Hello.- Hi.- Very pleased to meet you.- Very good to meet you.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24- Pleased to meet you.- And you.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27So we've got an album here of press cuttings
0:35:27 > 0:35:28from the time when you visited.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30- ANN GASPS - It's quite remarkable.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33It's a wonder what we have in this library, but this is one of them.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37If we just open it to one of these many interesting pages,
0:35:37 > 0:35:38you can see...
0:35:40 > 0:35:42I mean, these are wonderful press cuttings, as you can see.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45- Yes.- There's one here, you wouldn't believe it about the Lake District,
0:35:45 > 0:35:48but there were anxieties round about the time that you came
0:35:48 > 0:35:50about hooliganism in the Lake District.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53- I didn't see any. - I'm sure you didn't.- No.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56But it's interesting that they were putting on extra police
0:35:56 > 0:36:00patrols even at that time. I guess this is perhaps the time of...
0:36:00 > 0:36:02Maybe a little earlier than mods and rockers,
0:36:02 > 0:36:03but that kind of thing.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07Easter weekend didn't always bring well-behaved tourists.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09But what's also interesting about this one
0:36:09 > 0:36:11is that the youth hostels were full.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14They were expecting 5,000 people at youth hostels that Easter weekend.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18Nowadays they're closing down. They can hardly survive.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20I hope you weren't one of those hooligans that came
0:36:20 > 0:36:23here on the Bank Holiday Weekend, Ann.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25I was a nice, quiet convent girl.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29Tourists descend upon the Lakes in huge numbers,
0:36:29 > 0:36:33and it was William Wordsworth who sparked the start of mass tourism
0:36:33 > 0:36:38when his guide through the district of the lakes was published in 1820.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42It's just lovely to feel you're in the steps of Wordsworth.
0:36:42 > 0:36:43When you're wandering about you think,
0:36:43 > 0:36:45"I wonder if he wandered here,"
0:36:45 > 0:36:48cos he used to walk round talking to himself as he was composing.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52- He did.- The natives used to comment on that, he was always
0:36:52 > 0:36:54walking around muttering.
0:36:54 > 0:36:55Talking out loud, absolutely.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58- Then he would come home... - Presumably testing out the sounds.
0:36:58 > 0:36:59He was.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02He used to talk about mechanical walking,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05so that the rhythms of the poems would be in keeping with his step.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07That must have looked odd, mustn't it?
0:37:07 > 0:37:10- It would look odd nowadays, never mind...- Very, very odd indeed.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13- It's fascinating, I must say. - Absolutely, yeah.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18Long providing inspiration for poets, writers and painters,
0:37:18 > 0:37:21it's the spectacular lakeside views
0:37:21 > 0:37:23that stay in the memory of its visitors.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27Some of the most easily accessible walks
0:37:27 > 0:37:30take in one of the smaller lakes, Grasmere.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34It covers less than a quarter of a square mile
0:37:34 > 0:37:36and is just 75 feet deep.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39Only one body of water in the district
0:37:39 > 0:37:41is actually officially called a lake.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46The rest are given the title of water or include the term "mere."
0:37:46 > 0:37:48Now, that's something I didn't know.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53Founded by the Archbishop of York in 1585
0:37:53 > 0:37:57in the medieval market town of Hawkshead is the Grammar School,
0:37:57 > 0:38:02which was attended by, yes, you've guessed it - William Wordsworth,
0:38:02 > 0:38:05who just like any other school boy,
0:38:05 > 0:38:07made mischief by carving his name into the desk.
0:38:07 > 0:38:13His etching can still be seen in the museum. Oh! Naughty boy, Willy.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18Devoted to preserving the cultural heritage of the Lake District,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21the Armitt Museum was founded over 100 years ago,
0:38:21 > 0:38:25and one of its earliest supporters was Beatrix Potter.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28Alongside its collection of artefacts, books and paintings,
0:38:28 > 0:38:32the museum devotes an exhibition to the Peter Rabbit creator
0:38:32 > 0:38:34and includes the desk she used to paint from.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38Top of the pile - the lakes themselves.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42No trip here would be complete without a jaunt on a boat.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46As Coniston Water and its islands provided the inspiration
0:38:46 > 0:38:48for Arthur Ransome's Swallows And Amazons,
0:38:48 > 0:38:52this seems a perfect place to go exploring.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54It's the straightest of all the lakes,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58making it the perfect location for Sir Malcolm Campbell to set
0:38:58 > 0:39:02a new water speed record in 1939,
0:39:02 > 0:39:04when he reached 141 miles an hour.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09Ann Widdecombe is one of the most formidable faces
0:39:09 > 0:39:12of British politics. From her years in Westminster
0:39:12 > 0:39:15to her new life as an author and TV personality,
0:39:15 > 0:39:18she's never been far from the public eye.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21So after spending the day hearing about her holiday,
0:39:21 > 0:39:24'I want to know how Ann's family felt about her career.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27'But first, there is one thing I need to ask.'
0:39:27 > 0:39:30- We've done a lot of things, but we haven't had a dance.- Oh, come on.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34- One, two, three.- Two, two, three. Three, two, three.- Little turn?
0:39:34 > 0:39:38I think so, I think so. Oh, on we get.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41So did you come on the Lake in a boat like this
0:39:41 > 0:39:43with your mum back then?
0:39:43 > 0:39:45Oh, yes, I certainly did.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47This is how I remember it.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50I know that my mother was always telling me to look at the light,
0:39:50 > 0:39:54look at the sunset, look at the moon, look at the light on the scenery.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56Well, Ann, we've had a bit of a heat wave today,
0:39:56 > 0:40:00but just before you came here in '63,
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Lake Windermere froze completely over.
0:40:04 > 0:40:05It's amazing.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09Well, I can believe it, because '63 was the long winter.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13The winter of '62, '63, that is.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17My father went off to Singapore in that winter.
0:40:18 > 0:40:19He teased us.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21He said, "Well, I'm missing the English winter,
0:40:21 > 0:40:23"when I come back, it'll all be over."
0:40:23 > 0:40:25So we built a snowman to welcome him home.
0:40:25 > 0:40:26Oh, did you? Oh, lovely.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Did your mum and dad always have a hankering for you
0:40:29 > 0:40:30to go into politics?
0:40:30 > 0:40:32No.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36No, my mother absolutely hated the idea. She loved my brother's choice.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39He became a vicar. She loved that.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41She absolutely hated the idea of politics.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43My father cheered me on.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45My parents took the view that it was my choice.
0:40:45 > 0:40:50At various time I wanted to be a missionary, an astronaut,
0:40:50 > 0:40:53all these things that one goes through.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56Then I began to settle down into, well, I'd quite like to teach Latin.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59So when I said I'd like to go into politics, my mother said,
0:40:59 > 0:41:01"Oh, dear, must you really?"
0:41:01 > 0:41:04But their attitude was it was my life and my choice.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07Yeah. So in what way do you think your holidays
0:41:07 > 0:41:10coming down to the Lake District shaped you as a person?
0:41:12 > 0:41:16Oh, I think the appreciation of beauty, of creation.
0:41:16 > 0:41:23I think my favourite hymn is O, Lord, My God, When I In Awesome Wonder.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Then it goes on. Looking at all the worlds His hands have made.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28You get the mighty thunder,
0:41:28 > 0:41:32but you also get the sunshine dancing in the glade.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36I think this taught me to appreciate creation.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38It's been wonderful to bring Ann back
0:41:38 > 0:41:41to the scene of her memorable 1963 holiday...
0:41:41 > 0:41:44It's a Baby Austin! It's a Baby Austin!
0:41:45 > 0:41:49..to see just how much this landscape means to her.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53- Look at that mountain over there. - Look at that!
0:41:53 > 0:41:55'How much cake means to me.'
0:41:55 > 0:41:57I love it. Cake is my favourite.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01'And to witness just how important it was to Ann to spend time
0:42:01 > 0:42:02'with her mother in the Lakes.'
0:42:03 > 0:42:07We have here a scrapbook and a little memory,
0:42:07 > 0:42:09Holiday Of My Lifetime.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12Beautiful. Thank you so much.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14- Oh, it's lovely.- There you are.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18Oh, oh, that will bring back so many memories. Thank you so much.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21You're welcome. My pleasure.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25A photograph album from a wonderful day here in the Lake District -
0:42:25 > 0:42:27a place so special for Ann.
0:42:27 > 0:42:32Her time here in 1963 formed passions that would never
0:42:32 > 0:42:35leave her, so I've got one more surprise.
0:42:35 > 0:42:36Be honest with me.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38Of all the things we've done today,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41what would you say was the highlight?
0:42:41 > 0:42:45'That wonderful, marvellous train trip from Ravenglass.'
0:42:48 > 0:42:52- This is an original poster from the '60s...- Oh, look at that!
0:42:52 > 0:42:56..from the Cumbrian coast, Ravenglass railway.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58Oh, isn't that fantastic?!
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Is that mine?
0:43:00 > 0:43:04- That is yours to keep.- Fantastic.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08So farewell to the waters, meres and fells of the Lake.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10Your poets, boats and trains will always hold
0:43:10 > 0:43:13such fantastic memories for Ann Widdecombe.