0:00:02 > 0:00:05'Childhood holidays? Ho-ho, the anticipation seemed endless.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08'The holiday itself? Well, it was over too quickly.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12'So in this series I'm going to be reliving those wonderful times
0:00:12 > 0:00:14'with some much-loved famous faces.'
0:00:14 > 0:00:16THEY SCREAM
0:00:18 > 0:00:20'Every day, I'll be arranging a few surprises
0:00:20 > 0:00:22'to transport them back in time.'
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Oh, look!
0:00:24 > 0:00:26- SHE LAUGHS - It's just as I remember!
0:00:28 > 0:00:29'We'll relive the fun...'
0:00:29 > 0:00:31HE SQUEALS WITH LAUGHTER
0:00:31 > 0:00:32'..the games...'
0:00:32 > 0:00:34- BOTH: Yes!- We got 'em!
0:00:34 > 0:00:37'..and the food of years gone by...'
0:00:37 > 0:00:38Yummy!
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Welcome to 1959!
0:00:41 > 0:00:44- Total happiness.- Yes, perfect.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48'..to find out how those holidays around the UK helped shape
0:00:48 > 0:00:50'the people we know so well today.'
0:00:50 > 0:00:51Bruce Forsyth.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54BRUCE FORSYTH IMPRESSION Marvellous, Len, you're still my favourite.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57'So buckle up for Holiday Of My Lifetime!'
0:00:57 > 0:01:01You know, Len, I'm quite enjoying being on me holidays with you.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07'On today's journey through time, I'm in luscious Kent,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10'picking up our mystery holiday-maker
0:01:10 > 0:01:12'in a 1920s steam train.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15'And, no, I'm not turning into a giant,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18'this is a world famous little locomotive!'
0:01:20 > 0:01:22HORN HONKS
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Today I'm on my way to pick up a celebrity that's not only
0:01:26 > 0:01:31a comedian but a lover of the great outdoors.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33This is him as a young 'un.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38He was born in 1941 in Rochdale, Lancashire.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Now, this likeable lad became famous in the '70s
0:01:42 > 0:01:46in one of the best comedy groups.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Now, does that ring a bell?
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Another clue, and this is a "Goodie" -
0:01:52 > 0:01:53he's a twitcher.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Yes, a birdwatcher.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59You got him? You must have it by now!
0:02:00 > 0:02:04We're on our way to meet the loveable Lancashire lad,
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Bill Oddie.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08Bill! I'm heading your way!
0:02:11 > 0:02:16'73 years ago, Bill was born to parents Lilian and Harry.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20'And though he was born in Rochdale, he grew up in Quinton, Birmingham.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24'When his mum became ill and was hospitalised indefinitely,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27'Bill was raised by his dad, an accountant,
0:02:27 > 0:02:28'and his grandmother.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31'He went on to study at Cambridge University
0:02:31 > 0:02:34'and it was starring in drama club performances with the likes of
0:02:34 > 0:02:39'John Cleese that whetted his appetite to later appear on screen.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43'In the '70s Bill created and acted in hit TV comedy The Goodies,
0:02:43 > 0:02:45'and soared to stardom.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50'A father and grandfather, Bill's now best known for turning
0:02:50 > 0:02:55'his lifelong passion for birds into a successful broadcasting career,
0:02:55 > 0:03:00'and has presented long running series like Bill Oddie Goes Wild.'
0:03:00 > 0:03:05I have now attracted an audience of about 20 cows.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09'But today I'm choo-chooing into the station to find out how
0:03:09 > 0:03:12'he used to spend his free time on holiday as a child.'
0:03:12 > 0:03:13My god!
0:03:13 > 0:03:19Well, it's always as well to have a second string to your bow, isn't it?
0:03:19 > 0:03:21- Exactly!- Yeah.
0:03:21 > 0:03:22# When you grow too old to dance
0:03:22 > 0:03:24# You can drive a train, boom-boom! #
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Well, I tell you, was you expecting this?
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Erm, no, I wasn't really, although I knew it was here.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34'The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway
0:03:34 > 0:03:37'is the Smallest Public Railway in the World,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40'and has been transporting tourists on trips
0:03:40 > 0:03:44'along its 13 miles of Kent track for 87 years!'
0:03:46 > 0:03:48So, Bill, where are we going?
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Well, I think you may have heard of it.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54- We're going to Dungeness. - Ah, right.- Yeah?- Yeah.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56- The actual Dungeness.- You've got the power station down there.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Ah, that's the thing, you have now,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02but not when I first came here.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Right, well, we'll try and get rid of that for you
0:04:04 > 0:04:06so it looks authentic.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10- And what year is it?- It was 1957.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13- I was 13. - Ah, I was an older boy!
0:04:13 > 0:04:14I was 16.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16- Right.- Yeah, I was 16,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19and it was the first holiday,
0:04:19 > 0:04:24my first trip away with just a couple of other friends from school.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26Well, let's go and get on one of the carriages
0:04:26 > 0:04:28and we'll have a little natter.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30- Yeah, and who's driving, then? - Not me.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34- First class?- Always first class for you, Bill.- Always first class, yeah.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36'First class for a class act,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40'and this dinky little number will get us to Dungeness in no time!'
0:04:42 > 0:04:44'On the south-east coast of England,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47'Dungeness is the most southerly part of Kent,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49'and lies between Dover and Hastings,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53'on the tip of the Romney Marsh peninsular.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58'A 12 square mile spot, its 6,000-year-old stretch of shore
0:04:58 > 0:05:00'is the largest in the whole of Europe.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05'It's always been populated by fishing families who still
0:05:05 > 0:05:07'form the backbone of local life.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12'But the landscape was changed forever with the controversial
0:05:12 > 0:05:15'power station built in 1965.
0:05:15 > 0:05:20'And though it may appear to be super industrial here, it's home to
0:05:20 > 0:05:25'some of the most diverse wildlife in the whole of the UK.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29'No wonder it's popular with conservationist Bill!
0:05:29 > 0:05:32'Today I'm taking him back to re-live those exciting days
0:05:32 > 0:05:35'when he travelled here as a teen with his mates...'
0:05:35 > 0:05:39It was an adventure. We had no idea what it was really going to be like.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42'..enjoying the sights, smells and noises
0:05:42 > 0:05:45'in a wildlife lover's paradise!'
0:05:45 > 0:05:47If we went over there now
0:05:47 > 0:05:50we'd be drowned out by...
0:05:50 > 0:05:52HE CROAKS
0:05:52 > 0:05:53Really?
0:05:53 > 0:05:57'And we'll see just how those days in Dungeness shaped Britain's
0:05:57 > 0:06:00'best-known birdwatcher.'
0:06:00 > 0:06:03This isn't just a matter of saying, "Oh, isn't this cute?"
0:06:03 > 0:06:06It's a little bit of life in your hands.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16'Before any holiday truly begins, first you must set out on a journey.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21'We all remember that eager anticipation of the golden moments
0:06:21 > 0:06:25'that lie in wait at our magical destination.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30'Today, we're squeezing into carriages 66% smaller
0:06:30 > 0:06:33'than the average sized train! Whoo-hoo!'
0:06:34 > 0:06:37- 11...- Oh, gor blimey! I'm stuck!
0:06:37 > 0:06:40BILL LAUGHS
0:06:40 > 0:06:41- Right, there you go.- You in?- Yeah.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43'And we're off!'
0:06:43 > 0:06:47- So, Bill, tell me, why Dungeness? - Why Dungeness?
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Cos I've never, ever been on a normal holiday.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55My mum was in hospital right the way through the period I was growing up.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58My dad really didn't get about very much.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Like so many schoolboys of my age, my era, 1940s, you know,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05I used to collect birds' eggs.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Three of us set out, 1957, at the age of 15 or 16,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12to go to the nearest bird observatory,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16and that was at Dungeness, and you'll get, sort of,
0:07:16 > 0:07:21training in bird watching and bird ringing and all that kind of thing.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23There were one or two specialities.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27I remember stone curlew is one of them that we hoped we would see.
0:07:27 > 0:07:28And did you see one or...?
0:07:28 > 0:07:32We did eventually, it took a bit of finding cos, well, you can hear 'em.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35BILL WHISTLES
0:07:35 > 0:07:39It's as though there's a bird in this carriage.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41- BILL LAUGHS - That was so realistic!
0:07:41 > 0:07:46'In 1957, Bill and his birding buddies caught two standard sized
0:07:46 > 0:07:49'trains to get from Birmingham to Dungeness.'
0:07:49 > 0:07:54You must have been so excited, the three of you, off on an adventure!
0:07:54 > 0:07:57It was an adventure, we had no idea what it was really going to be like
0:07:57 > 0:07:59to be away from families and all that.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02But mainly we didn't know what it would look like,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06and I remember we'd been told where to get off, er, to coin a phrase.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10There's nobody there, there's no station, it's just a platform.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12You get off, walk towards the sea,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15you'll see a lighthouse in the distance, you know.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18- Well, it's kind of like a treasure hunt, isn't it, that?- Yeah.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22- It really is.- Are you excited to come back here, or...?- Yeah.- Yeah!
0:08:23 > 0:08:27'In 1957, the world was a very different place.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32'Britain was experiencing a post-war boom, and Prime Minister
0:08:32 > 0:08:35'Harold "Supermac" Macmillan's slogan was,
0:08:35 > 0:08:37"You've never had it so good."
0:08:37 > 0:08:41'One of the top selling tunes of the year was That'll Be The Day
0:08:41 > 0:08:43'by Buddy Holly & The Crickets.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Whoa-r-r, That'll Be The Day!
0:08:47 > 0:08:52'The BBC's Panorama broadcast an April Fools Day report
0:08:52 > 0:08:56'claiming to show spaghetti being harvested in Switzerland!
0:08:56 > 0:09:00'A fresh-faced Patrick Moore was the first person to pilot
0:09:00 > 0:09:03'a non-fiction astronomy series.'
0:09:03 > 0:09:05It's coming out, yes - there is the Moon.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08And not long after The Sky at Night's television debut,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Russia launched the Sputnik satellite -
0:09:11 > 0:09:15the first man-made object ever to leave the Earth's atmosphere,
0:09:15 > 0:09:19followed by the first space pioneer - a dog.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21A Russian husky called Laika...
0:09:21 > 0:09:25To begin Bill's adventure back on Dungeness soil,
0:09:25 > 0:09:29I've brought him to where his holiday of a lifetime began.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Well, Bill, is this how you sort of remember it to be?
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Absolutely and completely, yeah.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38This is flashback time, serious flashback time.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Let's face it, there's plenty of parts of Britain,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42let alone parts of the world,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44where you have a big flat area like this.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46It would have a park on it, a theme park,
0:09:46 > 0:09:48or it would have been a new town.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50And obviously, this is well protected.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Other than the two power stations,
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Dungeness has barely changed in 57 years.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59And to preserve the abundance of wildlife,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03it's been declared a National Nature Reserve,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Special Protection Area,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Special Area of Conservation
0:10:08 > 0:10:12AND a site of scientific interest!
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Phew...that's a mouthful.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18That power station arriving and being constructed,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21would that have affected the birdlife here?
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Well, it wasn't as bad as we expected, cos to them,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28those great big concrete...monstrosities
0:10:28 > 0:10:30are actually cliffs.
0:10:30 > 0:10:31But the big one...
0:10:31 > 0:10:35This...this was some kind of water outflow
0:10:35 > 0:10:40and about 100 yards offshore, it sort of bobbles up
0:10:40 > 0:10:44and it became known as The Patch,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47because it was obviously attracting fish
0:10:47 > 0:10:50and the fish were attracting sea birds.
0:10:50 > 0:10:51People sit there with their telescopes,
0:10:51 > 0:10:53watch birds coming in to The Patch
0:10:53 > 0:10:58and many, many really good, interesting, rare sea birds
0:10:58 > 0:10:59have been seen.
0:10:59 > 0:11:00Talking of telescopes,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03do you go anywhere without your binoculars with you?
0:11:03 > 0:11:06No. You can tell a non-birdwatcher -
0:11:06 > 0:11:08and I hope this doesn't apply to you, mate.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12First thing you do when you buy a pair of decent binoculars,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15throw the case away - you don't need it, all right?
0:11:15 > 0:11:19- Yeah. You just...ever ready. - Have 'em ready, exactly.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24I left my binoculars at home. And...I wish I hadn't, Bill.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Mainly because my first surprise
0:11:27 > 0:11:29is a visit to the top of this lighthouse,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32which has the most spectacular vista...
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Lovely! I've always wanted to do that.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38I want to find out how Bill's childhood passion for nature
0:11:38 > 0:11:41would influence him throughout his life.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Lighthouses have been keeping the ships
0:11:43 > 0:11:48navigating the dangerously narrow Dover Strait safe since the 1600s.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51This beauty was built in 1904,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54but as soon as the power station came along,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57it didn't take a bright spark to realise
0:11:57 > 0:12:00ships couldn't see it anymore, so a new one was built.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04Because this old one was in use during Bill's trip in the '50s,
0:12:04 > 0:12:05he couldn't go up it.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09But now he can, so manager Jill has agreed
0:12:09 > 0:12:13to give us the keys - ho-ho! - which came into the family's hands
0:12:13 > 0:12:15as a bit of a surprise!
0:12:15 > 0:12:18My father came by this lighthouse in 1984.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21We were going to an auction to buy a car
0:12:21 > 0:12:23and we ended up with a lighthouse.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- He bought it in an auction?- Yes. - How much did he pay for it?
0:12:26 > 0:12:27He never told me.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29He said, "Good daughters don't ask those questions."
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Well, thank you so much for allowing us to visit.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34We're going to start our way up.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Bill and I had better brace ourselves -
0:12:36 > 0:12:41made with 3 million bricks, it's 150 feet high
0:12:41 > 0:12:42and there's no lift!
0:12:42 > 0:12:46"Dungeness Lighthouse - any person entering these premises
0:12:46 > 0:12:48"does so at their own risk."
0:12:48 > 0:12:49- Yeah.- Lead on.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55The 169 steps to the top are NOT for the faint-hearted -
0:12:55 > 0:12:58or this couple o' creaky fellows.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01How's the knee then, Len?
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Well, the knee is holding up, thank you.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09- We've got two good knees between us, I think.- I think so.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10BILL LAUGHS
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Well, this is my first - I'm a lighthouse virgin.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15I've been up a few in my time.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19You never forget the first time.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22I can't wait for Bill to see the extent
0:13:22 > 0:13:24of his holiday turf from 1957 -
0:13:24 > 0:13:27if we can actually get out to the viewing platform.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29- Are we going to go out in this...? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31- What, through here?- Yes.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34- There I am - come on, Bill. - I don't know what to do, either.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36LEN LAUGHS
0:13:36 > 0:13:38- Look at you!- Now what do we do? - Take my arm.
0:13:38 > 0:13:44- We'll do it that way.- Leg first. - Argh! That's it, that's it...
0:13:44 > 0:13:46- Hey!- Excellent.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51- Cor, this is...- Fantastic, isn't it? - Look at it.- That's fantastic.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55- That is a view.- See the wind farm right on the horizon there?
0:13:55 > 0:13:58That's sort of where Dungeness starts or ends,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00whichever way you look at it
0:14:00 > 0:14:03and it's been built up over the years to come further and further out.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Way up here, you can see where the sands meet the water -
0:14:07 > 0:14:09and what a wonderful but harsh landscape
0:14:09 > 0:14:12for a teenage boy's holiday!
0:14:12 > 0:14:15You must have been a determined young lad to have
0:14:15 > 0:14:16got off at that station
0:14:16 > 0:14:20and marched your way across that...you know?
0:14:20 > 0:14:25- I mean...we didn't quite know what we were coming to!- Yeah.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28As far as we knew, it might be a lovely beach resort
0:14:28 > 0:14:30with lots of palm trees and lots of birds.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35But...hey, if you're going to be determined and reckless,
0:14:35 > 0:14:37- I think 16's probably the age to do it.- I agree.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Well, I think it's time we went back in before my wig blows off.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45But bird obsessed Bill's got other ideas...
0:14:45 > 0:14:48I bet there's a few birds been seen from up here.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52You can imagine a bird of prey circling around, couldn't you?
0:14:52 > 0:14:54And it's a bit breezy today...
0:14:59 > 0:15:01TAPPING
0:15:01 > 0:15:02What? Who?
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Ah!
0:15:04 > 0:15:08# The phantom of the lighthouse is calling me... #
0:15:08 > 0:15:10BILL CHUCKLES
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Characterised by its unusually mixed terrain,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17inland is a mass of marshland.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19You look at all those bushes, you know -
0:15:19 > 0:15:21at ground level, you can't see that.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24No - I don't think they were there when I first came.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28This time of year, if we went over there now,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31we'd be drowned out by...
0:15:31 > 0:15:34HE IMITATES CROAKING
0:15:37 > 0:15:38- Really?- Yeah.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41I don't know my mother-in-law was going to be over there.
0:15:41 > 0:15:42BILL WHEEZES WITH LAUGHTER
0:15:42 > 0:15:46The marsh frogs, which have come over from France, somehow -
0:15:46 > 0:15:49I don't think they swam The Channel - they're all over the place here.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52And the noise - it's a bit later in the spring, when they spawn.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56So I'm pretty sure they'll be going at it so loud.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58I think it's time to make the descent.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01THEY IMITATE CROAKING
0:16:01 > 0:16:03OK...
0:16:03 > 0:16:05'Bill's passion for all things animal
0:16:05 > 0:16:07'is rubbing off on me already!'
0:16:07 > 0:16:10- That was good.- It was, wasn't it? - That was interesting.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12- The knee's feeling it, though. - A little bit, yeah.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14THEY LAUGH
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Nothing an ice pack won't sort out, though.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Dungeness may be largely unspoilt,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22but it has subtly changed over the years.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24And what historian Owen Leyshon
0:16:24 > 0:16:27doesn't know about the lay of this land isn't worth knowing!
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Dungeness used to be called Nanny Goat Island
0:16:30 > 0:16:33and this was before the power station was built.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37It was an isolated community and so, to get their milk,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40each dwelling, each house, had a goat
0:16:40 > 0:16:44which wandered around or got tethered for milking purposes.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48Today, we've lost the goats and the sheep as well,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51and so the bushes have taken off in the 1950s and '60s
0:16:51 > 0:16:56and we have quite lush, wooded areas on Dungeness
0:16:56 > 0:17:01which wasn't the case back in the '30s, '40s and early '50s.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07600,000 people visit Dungeness each year.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14Before its decommissioning in 2006, the first-built Dungeness A
0:17:14 > 0:17:18was the oldest operating nuclear power station in the world.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23The second, Dungeness B, is capable of supplying energy
0:17:23 > 0:17:25to more than 1.5 million homes.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28The public can take a free tour of the station
0:17:28 > 0:17:32to learn all about electricity production.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35With hundreds of miles of trails to choose from,
0:17:35 > 0:17:39the Romney Marsh Countryside Project, set up in 1996,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42encourages people to enjoy the countryside
0:17:42 > 0:17:45with guided walks and cycle rides.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50Camber Sands is a five-mile stretch of glorious golden beach
0:17:50 > 0:17:54and is crying out for a holiday-maker's bucket and spade!
0:17:54 > 0:17:59Just a stone's throw from here is Rye's Old Pier Amusement Arcade.
0:17:59 > 0:18:04Old pennies, that stopped being circulated in 1971,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06can be bought from the Heritage Centre
0:18:06 > 0:18:09so you can play fully working machines
0:18:09 > 0:18:13dating back to the 1900s - what fun!
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Part of the magic of any childhood holiday
0:18:19 > 0:18:22is the excitement of staying somewhere new -
0:18:22 > 0:18:25the sights, sounds and smells
0:18:25 > 0:18:28of those hotels, motels and campsites.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33When Bill went to Dungeness in 1957 to learn about all things birdie,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37he stayed in these cottages that were built in the 1800s.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Once the royal naval signal station,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43they became the Bird Observatory Headquarters in 1952.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46There's the name - "Dungeness Bird Observatory."
0:18:46 > 0:18:50That still excites me, just to see those words.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Bryan Murray's been a trustee of the Observatory for years.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57- Bryan, is it?- Bryan Murray, yeah.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59- Hi, Bryan.- How do you do? - I'm OK, thanks.- Bryan - Len Goodman.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03Bryan's going to show Bill where him and his pals
0:19:03 > 0:19:07bunked for their week's trip back in '57.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Back then, Bill paid four shillings to stay here,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13but there would have been no hot water or electricity.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17Eh...luxury! Look at that.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20We didn't have white or magnolia...
0:19:20 > 0:19:22And forget en-suite bedrooms -
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Bill and his pals slept in a pretty primitive dormitory.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30Well, it wasn't like this. I mean, it so wasn't.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34As I remember, I don't think there were bunk beds.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36I don't think there were beds at all, literally.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39It was just, sort of, a sleeping bag on the floor.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43I bet you three young lads, away from home,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45all kipping down together - you had some laughs, did you?
0:19:45 > 0:19:47There is a fun element.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50It's like a sleepover, in a way, something like this
0:19:50 > 0:19:53and it's a little bit rough and ready - it was then.
0:19:53 > 0:19:54Let's push on.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56THEY LAUGH
0:19:56 > 0:20:01Despite its name, the observatory wasn't just about bird watching,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04but a place of monitoring and conservation,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07all under the watchful eye of one man.
0:20:07 > 0:20:13The warden, who is long gone now, was a very famous man called Bert.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17What he did do was wake us up - this was early September -
0:20:17 > 0:20:21at something like 3.30 or 4.00 every morning.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25He would wake us up, say, "Come on, everybody out, everybody out",
0:20:25 > 0:20:30and it was our job to go round a number of these traps
0:20:30 > 0:20:35and drive the birds into the trap.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37It sounds rough, but it isn't - the bird would be unharmed.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39But then, if we caught something at the end,
0:20:39 > 0:20:42he would be measuring the bird, weighing the bird,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44ringing the bird, releasing the bird.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49And it was a great way of actually learning stuff, you know?
0:20:49 > 0:20:51At 15 or 16, you didn't know
0:20:51 > 0:20:54about how to even identify a lot of the birds.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Do people, if they happen to see a nest or whatever,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01do they jealously guard it and don't tell others?
0:21:01 > 0:21:07Or are they quite open about it and say, "You've got to come down here,
0:21:07 > 0:21:12"there's a nesting pair of...lesser spotted whatnots"?
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Less spotted whatnots? You see, there speaks a dude.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Everything's lesser spotted.
0:21:18 > 0:21:24A dude being a well-spoken, posh, well-meaning birdwatcher
0:21:24 > 0:21:27who's probably got the gear, but doesn't really know that much
0:21:27 > 0:21:31and would never, ever talk about a lesser spotted whatnot, would they?
0:21:31 > 0:21:34I apologise.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Well, that's me told!
0:21:37 > 0:21:39I may not know my birds,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41but while Bill was studying his chaffinches,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44I was studying me cha-cha-chas!
0:21:44 > 0:21:48So, we know where Bill used to stay in 1957, but decades ago,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52accommodation for holiday-makers was like hens' teeth
0:21:52 > 0:21:53here in Dungeness.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59In the 1920s, railway workers bought old rolling stock for ten quid
0:21:59 > 0:22:02and converted them into holiday homes.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Today, they can sell for a fortune
0:22:05 > 0:22:10but in the '30s, families rented them for £3 a week.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18We came here and stayed at this bungalow,
0:22:18 > 0:22:19which is a converted railway carriage
0:22:19 > 0:22:20and it's still here.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24I can remember coming on the train, I'd have been about three.
0:22:24 > 0:22:25We said, "Can we go to the beach, Mum?"
0:22:25 > 0:22:28The beaches were absolutely divine, and it still is.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32We stayed there until, when it was time for a meal,
0:22:32 > 0:22:36my father would open the bedroom window and whistle.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40And we'd say, "That's Dad", and we'd come flying home for our dinner
0:22:40 > 0:22:42and it was all very exciting.
0:22:42 > 0:22:48When I look back, it was bleak, but we never thought it as bleak.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51We just thought it was beautiful, because actually, then,
0:22:51 > 0:22:55the sun shone all day long, we never had bad weather,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57that I can remember.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59But that's us - when you're children,
0:22:59 > 0:23:00you never remember the bad.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02You only remember the good.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Bill may be best known for his encyclopaedic knowledge
0:23:07 > 0:23:08of all things feathery,
0:23:08 > 0:23:12but he made animals appealing to the masses
0:23:12 > 0:23:14thanks to his comedy background.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Literally a once-in-a-lifetime moment for me
0:23:16 > 0:23:18and for this dragonfly.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21# There will be bluebirds over
0:23:21 > 0:23:25# The white cliffs of Dover... #
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Oh, incidentally, by the way, in case you've ever wondered,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30there won't.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32I want to know how he got into entertainment,
0:23:32 > 0:23:36and as he's completely at home in the comfort of a twitcher's hide,
0:23:36 > 0:23:40'it's the perfect place to find out how he flourished.'
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Let me ask you, Bill - you've come back here,
0:23:43 > 0:23:45as you know, from when you were 15, 16.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Did you have any idea how your life was going to go?
0:23:51 > 0:23:55Not in any way. At that stage, I certainly hadn't a clue.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57I was quite lucky in having a dad
0:23:57 > 0:24:01that...had ambitions for me, actually.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05He lived vicariously through me, to a point, and as regards a job,
0:24:05 > 0:24:06when I went to university
0:24:06 > 0:24:11and just before I was about to leave university, I still had no idea.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16Talking of university, you met John Cleese there.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18- What was he like? - Not just John -
0:24:18 > 0:24:23Eric Idle was there, Graeme Garden, Graham Chapman,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Tim Brooke-Taylor was in the same college.
0:24:25 > 0:24:26So, yeah, a whole bunch of people
0:24:26 > 0:24:28who happened to get together at that stage.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32How did you then get into showbusiness?
0:24:32 > 0:24:35I think the word has to be "accident".
0:24:35 > 0:24:37The show from Cambridge, 1963,
0:24:37 > 0:24:41we went to London, we went to America,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45and when I got back to London in 1965,
0:24:45 > 0:24:47it was like...some moment.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51I remember thinking, "I think this is what I do, now."
0:24:51 > 0:24:53How did The Goodies come about?
0:24:53 > 0:24:56We wanted to do something very visual,
0:24:56 > 0:25:00based on cartoon values and silent movies,
0:25:00 > 0:25:01that sort of thing.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03You just came along, really, and just...
0:25:03 > 0:25:06But we were not unknown, you see.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08That's what people perhaps don't realise.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10We had worked on other shows.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Bill has many strings to his bow - in the '60s and '70s,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16he released numerous singles,
0:25:16 > 0:25:20naturally tinged with his fabulous humour.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22- # We're gonna knit - Baby, gonna knit all day
0:25:22 > 0:25:26- # We're gonna knit - Gonna knit my blues away
0:25:26 > 0:25:29# Ah, knitting's better, better, better... #
0:25:29 > 0:25:33I heard a rumour - that's all, a little rumour -
0:25:33 > 0:25:39that...two of your LPs were produced by George Martin.
0:25:39 > 0:25:40Yeah, that's true.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44None other than The Beatles' music producer!
0:25:44 > 0:25:46This is memory lane.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49It was like going round full circle -
0:25:49 > 0:25:51you started off in '57,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53coming down here and looking at birds
0:25:53 > 0:25:55and then you sort of drifted back into that.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Well, it never stopped, you see.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01The secret to this piece of fortuitous timing,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05em...was that I had never stopped being a birdwatcher.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10The Goodies ended about 1980 - I think it was TV-am,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14they were in the habit of ringing me up and saying,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18"We'd like to do a little wildlife piece", you know.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19And it really went from there.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22I suppose what I felt was, "Oh, wait a minute,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25"they're accepting me as being a wildlife person
0:26:25 > 0:26:29"as well as just a gimmicky comic who happens to know something about it."
0:26:29 > 0:26:33One of Bill's fondest memories from 1957
0:26:33 > 0:26:36was being sent out by the observatory warden,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39to help pop small rings round birds' legs
0:26:39 > 0:26:41to monitor the population.
0:26:42 > 0:26:43- So, Bill... - Yeah.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45What exactly is this?
0:26:45 > 0:26:47LAUGHING: That's a good question!
0:26:47 > 0:26:51Um...it's called a Heligoland trap.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Heligoland is a little island which I think is owned by Germany,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58had a bird observatory on it, years and years ago,
0:26:58 > 0:27:03and somebody invented this in order to catch the birds to ring them, OK?
0:27:03 > 0:27:07In my day, schoolboys would move forward into those bushes
0:27:07 > 0:27:11and just chivvy the bird up this funnel,
0:27:11 > 0:27:13which is getting smaller and smaller and smaller,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17till it gets to the end bit, and chivvy it into the box,
0:27:17 > 0:27:18take the box out.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23- Let's imagine - '57...- Yeah. - You and I got down there...- Yeah.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Shall we go and do a bit of chivvying?
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Yeah, we'll do a bit of chivvying. We'll go and drive the trap round.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31That's the noise - psh-psh-psh-psh!
0:27:31 > 0:27:33Psh! Psh-psh-psh-psh...
0:27:33 > 0:27:37- Psh-psh-psh-psh. Psh-psh-psh-psh.- Psh!
0:27:37 > 0:27:39- Psh-psh-psh-psh. - Ooh...oh, oh...
0:27:39 > 0:27:41- Psh-psh-psh-psh.- Psh!
0:27:41 > 0:27:42You sure I'm doing this right?
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Psh-psh-psh!
0:27:44 > 0:27:46'Well, no birds are showing up today,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49'so I think you'd better use your imagination.'
0:27:49 > 0:27:53- Bird flies in there, and then... - Through the door.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Yeah, that's good. You're getting the idea.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58- I've got the knack of this, now. - I think so.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02- I put my hand in there. - There you go. That's good.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06- Like that? Ooh... - To the manor born.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09- Ring it?- Yeah. Then, eventually...
0:28:10 > 0:28:13It was as if it was here.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18That moment...you can imagine it, especially if you're just up,
0:28:18 > 0:28:19you haven't been before.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21It's really exciting and just now...
0:28:21 > 0:28:23You never know what's going to come out.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25Sometimes you don't know what's going to come out, exactly.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Bill and I may not have had a close encounter
0:28:29 > 0:28:33with any tweeters today, but every year in Dungeness,
0:28:33 > 0:28:38200 different species fly in and around these glorious shores.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
0:28:43 > 0:28:47have been on the go here since 1906.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50The man-made lakes created back in the '50s
0:28:50 > 0:28:54attract many winged wonders, like the great crested grebe.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58Down the coast at Rye Bay,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01they enjoy Scallop Week every February -
0:29:01 > 0:29:05a festival celebrating seafood dishes.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Foodies come to indulge in the cookery schools
0:29:08 > 0:29:10and tasting events on offer.
0:29:10 > 0:29:11Delicious.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Dating back to 1623,
0:29:14 > 0:29:18The Pilot Inn has always been popular with the locals.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22Centuries on, it's a modernised family-run pub,
0:29:22 > 0:29:26renowned for serving some of the finest fish and chips in England.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31Back in '57, the birds Bill and his buddies saw
0:29:31 > 0:29:34with would be noted each day back at HQ,
0:29:34 > 0:29:36and there's a special treat for Bill -
0:29:36 > 0:29:39Bryan still has his logbook!
0:29:39 > 0:29:42Oh, WEO - that's me, yes.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44"Red-necked phalarope, one."
0:29:44 > 0:29:49- Oh...- What we found here, Bill, is your actual entry
0:29:49 > 0:29:51from September '57.
0:29:51 > 0:29:52BILL CHUCKLES
0:29:52 > 0:29:56And despite my tender years, I could write reasonably legibly
0:29:56 > 0:30:01and use some extraordinarily presumptuous, big words.
0:30:01 > 0:30:02Look at me...
0:30:02 > 0:30:04BILL LAUGHS
0:30:04 > 0:30:08"During the afternoon one party visited the Midrips whilst another
0:30:08 > 0:30:12"proved their skill at hitting tin cans with stones on the beach.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15"And seeing remarkably few birds at the same time.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19"The day was tinged with melancholy and regret.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21"Some exceptionally appetising meals
0:30:21 > 0:30:23"were cooked in the evening..." That's nice.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26"..and the company retired fervently praying for a premature rush
0:30:26 > 0:30:30"in the next morning, before their time expired."
0:30:31 > 0:30:35That is so flippin' pretentious! Tells a story, doesn't it?
0:30:35 > 0:30:37You look back through these things.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41Having read that, it was obvious you were going to be a comedy writer.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46I think I already was, having read that! Either that or a complete prat.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56No holiday experience is complete without sampling the local food.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01Those new tastes and textures, so different to home,
0:31:01 > 0:31:03transform our palate for ever.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06Unless, that is, you're Bill Oddie!
0:31:06 > 0:31:09When he came here in his teens, he couldn't splash out
0:31:09 > 0:31:13on a freshly caught fillet of fish costing a whopping 20 pence!
0:31:13 > 0:31:17Baked beans back then were 5p for a large tin
0:31:17 > 0:31:19and not surprisingly,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22they were Bill's - and the housewives' - favourite!
0:31:22 > 0:31:26# Heinz 57, Heinz 57
0:31:26 > 0:31:31# You'll have meals to plan each day, you and Heinz can make them gay
0:31:31 > 0:31:33# Get together right away
0:31:33 > 0:31:35# With Heinz 57. #
0:31:35 > 0:31:38For Bill and his pals, beans on toast was the diet of kings
0:31:38 > 0:31:41after a long day of learning at the observatory.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44Don't worry about the Hairy Bikers, this is
0:31:44 > 0:31:47you and I doing beans on toast.
0:31:47 > 0:31:48I put you in charge of the beans...
0:31:48 > 0:31:53- Yes.- ..and I'll put myself in charge of the toast.- Yes, OK.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56It's not going to make a series, you know that.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00- BOTH:- # Every little bean should be heard as well as seen
0:32:00 > 0:32:03# And every piece of toast should...
0:32:03 > 0:32:06# Please you the most
0:32:06 > 0:32:09- # So let's... #- Who did the cooking, Bill? Was it yourself?
0:32:09 > 0:32:12I don't remember anybody cooking, and I should imagine we had gas,
0:32:12 > 0:32:17although even that might have been a bit too modern.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20We probably just found a couple bits of driftwood and rubbed them
0:32:20 > 0:32:24together till we had a spark.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28- Or we ate them cold. - Here we are. Ooh, lovely.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31Yum-yum! 'Simple but hearty grub.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33'I mean, the bird fanciers staying here
0:32:33 > 0:32:36'weren't likely to rustle up duck a l'orange.'
0:32:36 > 0:32:42Well, I know that your staple diet back in '57 was beans,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45- but now, what's your favourite? - I'm not a foodie, at all.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49The ambience of a place and the friendliness,
0:32:49 > 0:32:54- that is what matters to me.- My taste is very basic. I'm egg and chips.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56And you must be a ham, egg and chips man?
0:32:56 > 0:33:01No, I was brought up that way, which is probably why I'm not now.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03My dad did all the cooking.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07Sadly Bill's mother was in a psychiatric hospital for many years,
0:33:07 > 0:33:10so Bill was brought up by his dad and then his granny.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14Single parenting was tough in the forties and fifties,
0:33:14 > 0:33:16funds would have been tight,
0:33:16 > 0:33:19but Bill's doting dad did his best for his only son.
0:33:19 > 0:33:24When I had to admit to myself I was interested in the birds,
0:33:24 > 0:33:27I asked my dad for a pair of binoculars
0:33:27 > 0:33:31for my 10th, 11 birthday, something like that, got a little bird book
0:33:31 > 0:33:33and that was it.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35Once a bird-watcher, always a bird-watcher.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42It's not just rare birds that can be glimpsed here,
0:33:42 > 0:33:45it's also a fine place for fishing.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48To become a member of a sports angling club
0:33:48 > 0:33:50costs about ten quid a year -
0:33:50 > 0:33:53or you can sea fish for free.
0:33:53 > 0:33:58With its deep fast water, it's world famous as a hot spot for cod!
0:33:58 > 0:34:00Ooh, I love cod!
0:34:00 > 0:34:03The late English film director Derek Jarman
0:34:03 > 0:34:05made a famous postmodern garden
0:34:05 > 0:34:09on the shingle shore here, which can be admired from the road.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14And during the war, large concrete structures called sound mirrors
0:34:14 > 0:34:19were designed as an early warning system detecting enemy aircraft.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23Three different designs of this cunning invention can be seen
0:34:23 > 0:34:25at Greatstone, just outside Dungeness.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29Despite its wild appearance,
0:34:29 > 0:34:33Dungeness really gets under the skin of many who come here.
0:34:33 > 0:34:34But there have been times
0:34:34 > 0:34:38when only a chosen few would be allowed onto its hallowed turf,
0:34:38 > 0:34:41as long-term resident Dilys remembers.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45When my father brought me the first time he said,
0:34:45 > 0:34:49"I'll take you to the end of the world and you'll never go back."
0:34:49 > 0:34:51"Well, what are we doing living here?"
0:34:51 > 0:34:52But I love it.
0:34:52 > 0:34:58Outside people originally were not allowed to come here to live.
0:34:58 > 0:35:05My mother-in-law lived here, and she came in 1914.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09I came here to live in 1946,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12but during the war no-one was allowed to come here to stay.
0:35:12 > 0:35:17Because the soldiers were here, it was all mined.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21Being a stone's throw from France, during the Second World War,
0:35:21 > 0:35:26PLUTO - that's "pipeline under the ocean" for you and me -
0:35:26 > 0:35:27was in Dungeness.
0:35:27 > 0:35:32It pumped much needed fuel for the D-Day landings in Normandy.
0:35:32 > 0:35:37The destruction caused by the post-war clear up is
0:35:37 > 0:35:39almost impossible to imagine more than 60 years later.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43Here on the RSPB reserve, the artificial lakes,
0:35:43 > 0:35:44the landscape just feels a bit lusher.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46We're a little further away from the sea,
0:35:46 > 0:35:50feels a bit more of a jungle, but in the comfort of the hides
0:35:50 > 0:35:54and the visitor centre you can get to see a wide range of birds.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00Back in '57, Bill wasn't as hands-on with the birds on Dungeness
0:36:00 > 0:36:04as he would have liked, so I've organised a real "tweet"
0:36:04 > 0:36:07and am taking him deep into the woods
0:36:07 > 0:36:10to meet Martin Randall from the RSPB.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14Having you here must be like royalty turning up.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16Must be like the Queen coming in.
0:36:16 > 0:36:22- Absolutely.- Me? - Yes, you!- Like the Queen?
0:36:22 > 0:36:29You are the queen of bird-watchers. You are.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34You are beloved by these men, they all aspire to become you.
0:36:36 > 0:36:41'Many species are on the decline, so the RSPB have 60 nest boxes
0:36:41 > 0:36:46'to encourage breeding, and in this one are two baby tree sparrows.'
0:36:47 > 0:36:51When I was a kid, just near where I lived in Birmingham,
0:36:51 > 0:36:54there was a flock of a couple hundred tree sparrows,
0:36:54 > 0:36:57all around the country, just in the fields.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59'To help track the population,
0:36:59 > 0:37:03'Richard will be ringing the babies with their own unique number.'
0:37:05 > 0:37:11- Ooh, little baby.- There we are, little baby tree sparrow.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14They've got a lovely chestnut cap, and this baby,
0:37:14 > 0:37:17it's not quite got its chestnut hue yet.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21And also they've got a little black spot on the cheek.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24But on the adult they've got a beautiful pure white cheek
0:37:24 > 0:37:26with a little black spot on it.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29I've been entranced by Bill's enthusiasm for birds,
0:37:29 > 0:37:32so I'm loving learning more about all this.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34I am, I'm becoming a fan!
0:37:34 > 0:37:36How old is that little birdie?
0:37:36 > 0:37:41- This bird is now...about ten days old, I think.- That old?
0:37:42 > 0:37:44'Don't be shocked by the pliers,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48'popping this metal ring on is completely painless.'
0:37:48 > 0:37:50And where's Mum now, she's shot off?
0:37:50 > 0:37:53She'll be out looking for food, along with Dad.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58So what happens if they come back and they've all gone?
0:37:58 > 0:38:01There's a stuffer in the hole so they can't get in.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04So they come back and be a little surprised and fly off again,
0:38:04 > 0:38:06probably eat the bit of food they've brought back,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09but then they'll come back again and the stuff will be gone.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14Once the birds are hatched and doing pretty well in the nest,
0:38:14 > 0:38:19it's amazing what can happen and they DON'T get spooked about it.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21- It's very nice, though.- I know.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25All snuggled.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28One thing we're doing with the adults here
0:38:28 > 0:38:31at RSPB Dungeness is colouring them.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34So that we can see them in the field and identify them with binoculars.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37So we can try and get a handle on how many we've got.
0:38:37 > 0:38:38Would you like to hold one?
0:38:41 > 0:38:47You little beauty. Very sweet, aren't they? Bit petite.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49- I love a petite bird. - You do, don't you?
0:38:49 > 0:38:52I think I'm getting more and more spiritual as the years go by,
0:38:52 > 0:38:56cos this isn't just a matter of saying, "Isn't this cute?"
0:38:56 > 0:39:02or, "Wow, it's a tree sparrow", it's a little bit of life in your hands.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04- Oh, thank you very much. - Thank you.
0:39:04 > 0:39:09- That's always a privilege, thank you so much.- Yeah.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Lovely, lovely thing to behold.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17Yeah, well, I remember when I first held a bird, was...
0:39:17 > 0:39:18Might have been here.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22I remember that being a really important moment,
0:39:22 > 0:39:27a really important moment, and it's just mind-blowing, it's beautiful.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29Beautiful, beautiful.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33If it wasn't for places like this and people like this,
0:39:33 > 0:39:38I dread to think what would happen to the bird population.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40So, well done, the pair of you.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44Seeing Bill up close and personal with his feathered friends
0:39:44 > 0:39:48shows exactly why he's Britain's best-loved bird expert.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52- There he is.- Since his early days in the comedy nest,
0:39:52 > 0:39:54his talent knows no bounds,
0:39:54 > 0:39:57and he's still a popular broadcaster and writer.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Oh, long may it continue! Go on, Bill!
0:40:02 > 0:40:05But sadly, today's Oddie odyssey is over.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08I'm going to treasure the adventure
0:40:08 > 0:40:11I've had with this larger than life national treasure...
0:40:11 > 0:40:14I'm stuck. HE LAUGHS
0:40:14 > 0:40:18..as we hurtled at speed to a bird lover's paradise.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20HE WHISTLES
0:40:20 > 0:40:24Re-living the memories of Bill's first holiday with his pals.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27Well, it wasn't like this. It so wasn't.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29We've had song...
0:40:29 > 0:40:34# Every little bean should he heard as well as seen... #
0:40:34 > 0:40:35..a lot of laughter...
0:40:35 > 0:40:36LEN CHUCKLES
0:40:36 > 0:40:38Look at you. Come on.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40HE MAKES BIRD NOISES
0:40:41 > 0:40:43Really? I didn't know my mother-in-law
0:40:43 > 0:40:45was going to be over there.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47..and as you'd expect, there's one thing that
0:40:47 > 0:40:50really gets Bill's heart aflutter.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54It's mind-blowing, it's beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58It's been wonderful to see just how Dungeness made him
0:40:58 > 0:41:02the witty and warm wildlife enthusiast we all know and love.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06But I can't let Bill leave without a little memento.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10Well, Bill, I've got a couple of things here for you. Oh, yes.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14Firstly, a field guide to the birds of Britain and Europe
0:41:14 > 0:41:19from the fifties, when you would have been coming down here.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22Yes, absolutely, this was the book which revolutionised
0:41:22 > 0:41:26bird-watching for everybody, this is Roger Tory Peterson,
0:41:26 > 0:41:28actually an American, and he developed
0:41:28 > 0:41:30this new type of field guide.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34You can imagine it was, "Whoo!", the Bible, it really was.
0:41:34 > 0:41:40Hold on to your knickers, because also, here is a scrapbook,
0:41:40 > 0:41:42"Holiday of my Lifetime."
0:41:42 > 0:41:46This little book is filled with memories from Bill's time
0:41:46 > 0:41:49back in distinctive Dungeness.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52His holiday here undoubtedly made him
0:41:52 > 0:41:56more interested in nature than he already was.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59So I've got him one last surprise.
0:41:59 > 0:42:04I revel in nostalgia, and every time I look at this, I shall think of you.
0:42:04 > 0:42:05Oh, thank you very much.
0:42:05 > 0:42:10But I've got to tell you one thing - I am never, ever doing Strictly.
0:42:13 > 0:42:18- Bill, it's been an absolute pleasure and a joy.- It certainly has.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22But it's not just Bill who's been whisked down holiday memory lane.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24- Shall we take the beach? - I think so.
0:42:24 > 0:42:26- Here we go. - We're a couple of swells.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30Over the last few weeks there have been some ups...
0:42:30 > 0:42:32some downs...
0:42:32 > 0:42:37- This is quite worrying.- I'm here to protect you.- You are here.
0:42:37 > 0:42:38..and even more downs.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40- No!- BOTH: Aghhhhh!
0:42:41 > 0:42:43We've had good clean fun...
0:42:43 > 0:42:48No, don't do that! Don't do it! Sit down, you're rocking the boat.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53..and even a bit of dirty dancing.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56# Dee dee dee da da, baba ba ba ba... #
0:42:56 > 0:42:59You are a natural.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02But the memories will last another lifetime.
0:43:06 > 0:43:11- Wahey!- Dave, you're getting a ten from Len - fantastic.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13That's the first one I've ever had.