High Street

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0:00:03 > 0:00:08Nestled in the far northwest of England, this is the Lake District.

0:00:10 > 0:00:13A land defined by its natural beauty.

0:00:21 > 0:00:26Known to millions who love the Lakes was the late Alfred Wainwright -

0:00:26 > 0:00:29author, guide writer and talented artist,

0:00:29 > 0:00:33but above all, he was the greatest fell walker.

0:00:35 > 0:00:39Wainwright's guides have inspired generations of walkers

0:00:39 > 0:00:42to roam these glorious fells

0:00:42 > 0:00:44and now, a century after his birth,

0:00:44 > 0:00:49it's my turn to go in search of the real Wainwright experience.

0:01:12 > 0:01:16Today, I am in a remote spot in the far eastern area of the Lakes,

0:01:16 > 0:01:20in the Haweswater Valley, to climb to the summit of High Street.

0:01:20 > 0:01:24Now, as the name suggests, it is quite literally a "high street" -

0:01:24 > 0:01:29an ancient route, well-trodden for at least 2,000 years.

0:01:29 > 0:01:33Today, I'm setting out to discover why legions of Roman soldiers

0:01:33 > 0:01:35who trudged across this glorious fell

0:01:35 > 0:01:38fired the imagination of the young Alfred Wainwright.

0:01:46 > 0:01:50The name High Street intrigued Wainwright so much so, he climbed it

0:01:50 > 0:01:55during his first visit to the Lakes in 1930, when he was just 23.

0:01:57 > 0:02:02'This range forms a spirit along the eastern fringe of Lakeland,

0:02:02 > 0:02:05'providing a splendid full day's march

0:02:05 > 0:02:07'at a consistently high altitude,

0:02:07 > 0:02:11'but is distant from the areas most favoured by fell walkers

0:02:11 > 0:02:14'and is comparatively unfrequented,

0:02:14 > 0:02:18'appealing mainly to lovers of mountain solitude.'

0:02:20 > 0:02:24High Street gets its name from the Roman road which once ran across

0:02:24 > 0:02:26the fell tops and through the valleys

0:02:26 > 0:02:30between two forts at Ambleside and near Penrith.

0:02:32 > 0:02:35It is so very quiet here

0:02:35 > 0:02:38and dramatic. It's easy to see how Wainwright

0:02:38 > 0:02:41would be captivated by the isolated beauty and tranquillity

0:02:41 > 0:02:45of the valley and then that imposing ridge.

0:02:57 > 0:03:01But behind all this scenery hides a very intriguing story.

0:03:04 > 0:03:09Haweswater itself may look like an unspoilt stretch of Lakeland Valley,

0:03:09 > 0:03:13but the view here is almost entirely man-made.

0:03:13 > 0:03:17Back along the Mardale Road sits an enormous dam.

0:03:17 > 0:03:21It was built in 1935 and turned the valley's natural lake

0:03:21 > 0:03:26into a huge reservoir that could supply drinking water to Manchester.

0:03:26 > 0:03:31But beneath the surface today lie the flooded remains of two villages.

0:03:33 > 0:03:36Hundreds of thousands of gallons are now pumped south every day.

0:03:36 > 0:03:38At its maximum capacity,

0:03:38 > 0:03:42this reservoir holds 18.5 billion gallons of water.

0:03:42 > 0:03:45That's enough for everyone on the planet to have three baths!

0:03:54 > 0:03:57Before I set off on my walk today,

0:03:57 > 0:04:00I am meeting local journalist Karen Barden

0:04:00 > 0:04:03to find out more about the history of the valley floor.

0:04:03 > 0:04:06Karen, there must be some real ghosts in this valley?

0:04:06 > 0:04:07Yeah, there really are.

0:04:07 > 0:04:10It's hard to think that this lake isn't a natural lake

0:04:10 > 0:04:13and it is, in fact, a huge reservoir.

0:04:13 > 0:04:17Underneath it are the dismembered remains of Mardale,

0:04:17 > 0:04:20which was described as one of the most beautiful

0:04:20 > 0:04:23and tranquil villages in the Lake District.

0:04:23 > 0:04:27When Wainwright first came here, he described it as a ghost town.

0:04:27 > 0:04:29It was before the reservoir had been completed.

0:04:29 > 0:04:33There must have been some resistance from the locals in the village.

0:04:33 > 0:04:36Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be that much resistance.

0:04:36 > 0:04:38You've got to go back a bit -

0:04:38 > 0:04:42the Haweswater Act was passed by Manchester Corporation in 1919.

0:04:42 > 0:04:46It gave them the right to buy every bit of land you could see.

0:04:46 > 0:04:50The idea was they would put a huge dam at the top,

0:04:50 > 0:04:55which was described as monstrous plug at the time, and then they would flood the whole valley.

0:04:55 > 0:04:58People didn't protest as much as they should have.

0:04:58 > 0:05:02Remember, this was just post Great War.

0:05:02 > 0:05:04There was very little for the men to come back to.

0:05:04 > 0:05:06This was going to provide 200 jobs.

0:05:06 > 0:05:10I suppose, for a lot of people, that was a positive step -

0:05:10 > 0:05:12there was going to be all this work.

0:05:12 > 0:05:14Why was Mardale chosen?

0:05:14 > 0:05:19Because the original Haweswater was, I think, the highest lake in England.

0:05:19 > 0:05:21It was about 1,700 feet above sea level.

0:05:21 > 0:05:27That was really important in the logistics of getting water the 80-odd miles down to Manchester.

0:05:27 > 0:05:30Try and describe what was here all those years ago.

0:05:30 > 0:05:33Basically, it was a farming community.

0:05:33 > 0:05:35As you see the headlands sticking out,

0:05:35 > 0:05:39if you imagine that about halfway between the headland on the other side,

0:05:39 > 0:05:41that's where the Dun Bull pub was.

0:05:41 > 0:05:44When you say headland, you mean this protuberance here?

0:05:44 > 0:05:48It's called The Rig and it would have looked very different in the time of Mardale village.

0:05:48 > 0:05:52The Corporation planted it with conifers, as was the fashion in those days.

0:05:52 > 0:05:57In the '30s, by the time that Wainwright would have seen it,

0:05:57 > 0:06:01it was down to about 40 inhabitants and there was a vicarage and a beautiful church,

0:06:01 > 0:06:03one of the smallest in the Lake District.

0:06:03 > 0:06:06In August 1935, it was going to be the last service.

0:06:06 > 0:06:11Only 75 people could get in and tickets were issued, but in fact, 81 squeezed in the door.

0:06:11 > 0:06:13All the others were just outside.

0:06:13 > 0:06:17It is said that as they sang the hymn Lift Up Thine Eyes To The Hills,

0:06:17 > 0:06:20the tears were the first tears of the reservoir.

0:06:20 > 0:06:24What did they do to the buildings? Did they demolish them or just flood them?

0:06:24 > 0:06:27By and large, they demolished them.

0:06:27 > 0:06:32They allowed the Territorial Army in to practise blow-up procedures on them. Nice(!)

0:06:32 > 0:06:37Only the church was spared and that was taken down stone by stone.

0:06:37 > 0:06:40Quite a lot of the materials were used to build the draw-off tower

0:06:40 > 0:06:44for the reservoir, which is the tower-like structure you see halfway down.

0:06:44 > 0:06:51Presumably, there would have been bodies to deal with, buried bodies. What happened to them?

0:06:51 > 0:06:55There were about 100 bodies in the churchyard and they were all exhumed

0:06:55 > 0:07:02and taken to Shap. A special little area in the cemetery was made over

0:07:02 > 0:07:04to the former residents of Mardale.

0:07:04 > 0:07:09Do you think visitors to this valley now understand the sadness?

0:07:09 > 0:07:13Oh, some of them do and particularly in times of drought.

0:07:13 > 0:07:15What can you see during those times?

0:07:15 > 0:07:21You can see the stone walls, you can see roads

0:07:21 > 0:07:23and you can see little piles of stones

0:07:23 > 0:07:27and outside the Dun Bull, you can see the definite square of a tennis court.

0:07:27 > 0:07:29But it's a very, very sad time.

0:07:29 > 0:07:36In '95, it was quite remarkable because the whole lake just receded and receded and receded,

0:07:36 > 0:07:38so again, it became a huge, huge tourist attraction.

0:07:38 > 0:07:41The valley was flooded again, but with people this time.

0:07:41 > 0:07:47There were hot dog sellers and ice cream vendors and it became a complete circus.

0:07:47 > 0:07:51Thanks. I shall think about things very differently as I take my walk today.

0:07:51 > 0:07:54- What should I be looking out for? - The golden eagle, definitely.

0:07:54 > 0:07:57- It's the only one in England. - I will do. Thank you very much.

0:07:57 > 0:07:59I hope the rain stays away.

0:08:00 > 0:08:05'The hamlet of Mardale Green would be drowned.

0:08:05 > 0:08:12'The church, the inn, the cottages, and the flowers would all disappear,

0:08:12 > 0:08:15'sunk without trace

0:08:15 > 0:08:19'and its history and traditions be forgotten.'

0:08:25 > 0:08:29That's where I'm heading, so let's take a look at the route.

0:08:42 > 0:08:46From the car park, the walk begins from amidst the reservoir's headwaters.

0:08:48 > 0:08:53My route now follows the lakeshore, before reaching the conifer plantation on The Rig.

0:08:58 > 0:09:02The path now strikes up a well-defined ridge.

0:09:02 > 0:09:06I'll pass along the summits of Heron Crag, Swine Crag,

0:09:06 > 0:09:09Eagle Crag and Rough Crag.

0:09:11 > 0:09:16From the ridge, the view looks into Bleawater Crag and down upon

0:09:16 > 0:09:20Bleawater tarn, with the lesser tarn of Small Water beyond it.

0:09:28 > 0:09:34Here, the ridge narrows into the steep and rocky staircase called Long Stile.

0:09:34 > 0:09:36That brings me to a small cairn

0:09:36 > 0:09:38where the ridge is met by the plateau.

0:09:44 > 0:09:49A grassy path leads across the vast plateau that gives High Street its name,

0:09:49 > 0:09:52heading towards an old triangulation column

0:09:52 > 0:09:56and a huge open vista that is the summit's true top.

0:10:02 > 0:10:04The indistinct route of the Roman road

0:10:04 > 0:10:08lies here, between the two visible paths.

0:10:11 > 0:10:15I'm meeting Jamie Lund at the summit. He's an archaeologist for the National Trust.

0:10:15 > 0:10:17He's going to explain more about the Roman road

0:10:17 > 0:10:21and the history of High Street that so enraptured Wainwright.

0:10:21 > 0:10:25Thing is, I'm meeting him there in two hours, so I'd better get a move on.

0:10:28 > 0:10:34'Most of the high places in Lakeland have no mention in history books,

0:10:34 > 0:10:37'and until comparatively recent times,

0:10:37 > 0:10:42'when enlightened men were inspired to climb upon them for pleasure and exercise,

0:10:42 > 0:10:46'it was fashionable to regard them as objects of awe and terror,

0:10:46 > 0:10:49'and their summits were rarely visited.

0:10:49 > 0:10:53'Not so High Street, which has been known and trodden

0:10:53 > 0:10:57'down through the ages by a miscellany of travellers

0:10:57 > 0:10:59'on an odd variety of missions.'

0:11:13 > 0:11:18This promontory at the edge of Haweswater is the ridge that Karen mentioned.

0:11:18 > 0:11:23It is hard to believe that not so long ago, this looked out onto fields and cottages.

0:11:38 > 0:11:44Wainwright always liked to give the reader a choice of different ways to make the ascent.

0:11:44 > 0:11:47But in this case, he was particularly clear

0:11:47 > 0:11:49about his preferred route from Mardale,

0:11:49 > 0:11:53describing it is as the "the connoisseur's route up High Street".

0:12:02 > 0:12:06'The ascent is a classic, leading directly along

0:12:06 > 0:12:08'the crest of a long, straight ridge

0:12:08 > 0:12:13'that permits no variation from the valley to the summit.

0:12:13 > 0:12:16'The views are excellent throughout.'

0:12:20 > 0:12:23It doesn't look man-made.

0:12:23 > 0:12:26Whilst Wainwright was no supporter of the Manchester dam,

0:12:26 > 0:12:31he acknowledged the efforts to integrate it into the landscape.

0:12:31 > 0:12:38'It must be conceded that Manchester has done the job as unobtrusively as possible.'

0:12:51 > 0:12:54Now, if you take a peek at the guide,

0:12:54 > 0:12:57it looks like a pretty straightforward walk -

0:12:57 > 0:12:59just all along the ridge right to the summit.

0:12:59 > 0:13:04But you also know that the summit is just shy of 3,000ft.

0:13:04 > 0:13:07So it's not going to be as easy as it appears on the page.

0:13:30 > 0:13:34'Mountain climbing is an epitome of life.

0:13:34 > 0:13:36'You start at the bottom.

0:13:36 > 0:13:40'The weaklings and irresolute drop out on the way up.

0:13:40 > 0:13:44'The determined reach the top.

0:13:44 > 0:13:47'Life is like that.'

0:14:05 > 0:14:07The route may be straight,

0:14:07 > 0:14:10but the path is not.

0:14:10 > 0:14:14It's all twists and turns and there's loads of rocks,

0:14:14 > 0:14:16which make it really hard going

0:14:16 > 0:14:18and slow you down quite a lot.

0:14:41 > 0:14:47We're at about 1,600ft here and the view has really opened out on both sides.

0:14:47 > 0:14:50The dam is that way and if you look down there,

0:14:50 > 0:14:53you can just see Tower Pier.

0:14:57 > 0:15:02Just along from the pier is the small man-made islet of Wood Howe.

0:15:05 > 0:15:11It was built to mimic similar scenery at the natural lakes of Windermere and Derwentwater

0:15:11 > 0:15:16to ensure that this reservoir blended with the overall Lakeland landscape.

0:15:33 > 0:15:36So far, the weather is holding, but there is an ominous amount

0:15:36 > 0:15:39of cloud over the next valley heading towards the summit.

0:15:41 > 0:15:44Something that will come as no surprise to those familiar

0:15:44 > 0:15:48with the ever-changing weather conditions on the Lakeland mountains.

0:15:59 > 0:16:03My path is steeper as I reach the top of the crag,

0:16:03 > 0:16:07giving me clear views into the valleys on both sides of the ridge.

0:16:24 > 0:16:27And there is my first view of the summit.

0:16:27 > 0:16:31It still looks tiny, still a long way to go.

0:16:31 > 0:16:33And also from this ridge...

0:16:34 > 0:16:38..I can see the other valley, Riggindale, down there.

0:16:45 > 0:16:48Along the ridge, each high point has its own name.

0:16:48 > 0:16:52There's Swine, Heron and Eagle Crag.

0:16:56 > 0:17:01'I was standing here a few years ago, looking down into Riggindale,

0:17:01 > 0:17:05'when a huge bird took off from the crags below

0:17:05 > 0:17:08'and with two lazy flaps of its wings

0:17:08 > 0:17:11'soared effortlessly across the valley

0:17:11 > 0:17:16'and alighted on the topmost rocks of Kidsty Pike opposite.

0:17:16 > 0:17:19'There was no doubting its identity.

0:17:19 > 0:17:22'It was a golden eagle.'

0:17:25 > 0:17:29The sight of eagles was once commonplace across Lakeland.

0:17:29 > 0:17:34Today, Haweswater is the last place in England where the golden eagle nests.

0:17:34 > 0:17:41And sadly, the valley's ageing solo male has been without a mate since 2004.

0:17:44 > 0:17:47Karen told me to watch out for the male eagle.

0:17:47 > 0:17:49This is Eagle Crag. No sign.

0:17:49 > 0:17:51Must be camera shy today.

0:17:57 > 0:17:59Although I haven't been lucky with the eagle,

0:17:59 > 0:18:03there's one unusual Lakeland view here that I'm guaranteed.

0:18:06 > 0:18:11Here from the ridge, there are two tarns in one view.

0:18:11 > 0:18:16Small Water, nestled below Harter Fell, and the larger Bleawater.

0:18:19 > 0:18:23Not only is this one of the most impressive tarns

0:18:23 > 0:18:28in the Lake District, it is also the deepest, plunging to 207 feet.

0:18:36 > 0:18:38You always expect rain in the Lakes,

0:18:38 > 0:18:42but it's always so beautiful when the sun shines.

0:19:05 > 0:19:08The top of High Street is in sight,

0:19:08 > 0:19:14but my path is still interrupted by the seemingly endless rocky spine of Rough Crag.

0:19:36 > 0:19:40Every time you get over one of these mini summits, there's another one!

0:19:48 > 0:19:51This is the summit of Rough Crag,

0:19:51 > 0:19:55which is really just a knobble on this huge undulating ridge

0:19:55 > 0:19:59and this pitiful pile of rocks is the cairn.

0:20:04 > 0:20:09As I pass over each of the crags, there's a brief moment of descent,

0:20:09 > 0:20:11providing a little respite.

0:20:11 > 0:20:16But I can see the summit of High Street looming ominously over me.

0:20:34 > 0:20:39That last climb is so cruel cos you think you're nearly there and then,

0:20:39 > 0:20:41there's one more shift upwards.

0:20:43 > 0:20:45This is Long Stile, which means the next spot

0:20:45 > 0:20:49is definitely, definitely the summit.

0:20:55 > 0:20:59Long Stile buttresses the enormous grassy plateau of High Street

0:20:59 > 0:21:03and forms the final chapter of my walk up the ridge.

0:21:03 > 0:21:07The long flat top of the fell is where the Roman road reaches

0:21:07 > 0:21:11its highest point as it passes from north to south.

0:21:13 > 0:21:17On a clear day, the edge of the summit plateau gives amazing views

0:21:17 > 0:21:20back along the ridge to Haweswater.

0:21:26 > 0:21:28But unfortunately today,

0:21:28 > 0:21:31it looks like my luck with the weather is running out.

0:21:37 > 0:21:40I've made it to the top of the ridge and on to the plateau,

0:21:40 > 0:21:44but I've been swamped by cloud, which has blanked out my view.

0:21:49 > 0:21:51Well, I've made it to the top of the ridge.

0:21:51 > 0:21:54The weather has just closed in,

0:21:54 > 0:21:55but I'm on time to meet Jamie.

0:21:57 > 0:22:02So, Jamie, where have you brought me and why is the mountain covered in cloud on this side?

0:22:02 > 0:22:06Quite typically, we've got all four seasons in one day today.

0:22:06 > 0:22:08We have come into the clag now we're up high.

0:22:08 > 0:22:10I brought you here,

0:22:10 > 0:22:14just a short distance to the north of the summit cairn,

0:22:14 > 0:22:16to show you the best evidence

0:22:16 > 0:22:18of the Roman road along the top of High Street.

0:22:18 > 0:22:23We're actually just parallel to the path we've just walked down, the path that people use today.

0:22:23 > 0:22:27It appears that at some point in the path, there's been a landslip

0:22:27 > 0:22:31along the Roman road, which has meant that its use has been discontinued.

0:22:31 > 0:22:34Now, what has happened is that a new path has developed alongside,

0:22:34 > 0:22:36leaving this one in pristine condition.

0:22:36 > 0:22:41So, this is it. It's certainly not immediately obvious to the untrained eye.

0:22:41 > 0:22:44- Talk me through it.- Well, it's quite subtle as much archaeology is,

0:22:44 > 0:22:49but I think the evidence here can really be seen. There's this bank that we just walked down.

0:22:49 > 0:22:56Now, this tells us that the Romans appear to have excavated material from this side of the road

0:22:56 > 0:23:03and then brought it about four metres to the opposite side and dumped it to actually build it up...

0:23:03 > 0:23:05Those two ridges are the evidence?

0:23:05 > 0:23:07Those are the edges of the Roman road, that's right.

0:23:07 > 0:23:11Why here for a high street?

0:23:11 > 0:23:15Well, it is a tremendous operation, a tremendous achievement by the Romans.

0:23:15 > 0:23:18We're actually about 750 metres above sea level now,

0:23:18 > 0:23:22which means this is the highest piece of Roman road in Britain.

0:23:22 > 0:23:27Now, the reason why it's here is because it was constructed to link

0:23:27 > 0:23:30the Roman fort at Brougham in the north near Penrith

0:23:30 > 0:23:33with the Roman forts of Ambleside and Keswick in the south.

0:23:33 > 0:23:35We believe that it was built

0:23:35 > 0:23:38probably around the end of the first century AD,

0:23:38 > 0:23:42at the start of the second century AD, which is the date for those two latter forts.

0:23:42 > 0:23:47The Romans were incredibly efficient, then, with their positioning of this road.

0:23:47 > 0:23:49They were. They were a model of economy, really.

0:23:49 > 0:23:54Now, what they have appeared to have done is use the materials that are local,

0:23:54 > 0:23:58that are easily at hand, which makes sense when you are working at this height.

0:23:58 > 0:24:02We're used to seeing Roman roads, the old cobbled roads.

0:24:02 > 0:24:04That is what most people have in their minds.

0:24:04 > 0:24:09That's what it would have been like in the towns and cities, but here, it's a bit different.

0:24:09 > 0:24:12What they appear to have done is actually taken the peat,

0:24:12 > 0:24:15the surface layer, and made this level platform.

0:24:15 > 0:24:21They then dumped on individual layers of gravel, peat, brushwood in places

0:24:21 > 0:24:25where it's wet, and then an overall covering of larger stones.

0:24:25 > 0:24:27Even though it's not particularly compact,

0:24:27 > 0:24:30it doesn't sound like it's particularly hard-wearing, it is

0:24:30 > 0:24:33and it's very similar to the technique of pitching

0:24:33 > 0:24:38that the National Park and the National Trust use today when they are repairing upland footpaths.

0:24:38 > 0:24:43It's so evocative when you are up here on the summit of High Street.

0:24:43 > 0:24:46Talk us through some of the scenes that would have existed over the years.

0:24:46 > 0:24:49Again, that's something else that Wainwright picks up on -

0:24:49 > 0:24:53the use of High Street for occasional fairs,

0:24:53 > 0:24:55annual fairs and shepherds' meets.

0:24:55 > 0:24:57There appears to have been two dimensions.

0:24:57 > 0:25:00Firstly, there's a very functional dimension,

0:25:00 > 0:25:04in that shepherds need to get together at certain times of the year,

0:25:04 > 0:25:08largely to return sheep that have strayed over from one valley to the next.

0:25:08 > 0:25:12So they all got together on the same day and returned stock that had strayed.

0:25:12 > 0:25:16But, of course, the most important aspect of this is the social dimension.

0:25:16 > 0:25:21It appears there was a great deal of merriment, lots of eating, lots of drinking and feasting,

0:25:21 > 0:25:25but the most memorable aspect of this was the athletics and the games.

0:25:25 > 0:25:30The thing that made the games on High Street quite unique is that it featured a horse race.

0:25:30 > 0:25:31Yes, this amazing image!

0:25:31 > 0:25:37It's amazing, people galloping down the strait between High Street

0:25:37 > 0:25:41and Riggindale, which is quite a steep slope, so it would have been a real test of nerve.

0:25:41 > 0:25:44The name Racecourse Hill is preserved today.

0:25:44 > 0:25:46Jamie, thank you so much.

0:25:46 > 0:25:49I'm heading back to the summit. Now I know I'm walking on THE Roman road,

0:25:49 > 0:25:51I'm feeling quite chuffed!

0:25:51 > 0:25:54- Try and enjoy the rest of the day. - I will. Bye-bye.

0:26:03 > 0:26:07As I cross back to reach the trig point at the summit,

0:26:07 > 0:26:09the solitude of my surroundings

0:26:09 > 0:26:13gives me the chance to truly appreciate the rich history of this fell.

0:26:16 > 0:26:21'Any person so favoured may recline on the turf

0:26:21 > 0:26:26'and witness in their mind's eye a varied pageant of history.

0:26:26 > 0:26:32'For he has been preceded here by ancient Britons, the Roman cohorts,

0:26:32 > 0:26:38'by the Scots invaders, by the shepherds, dalesmen and farmers,

0:26:38 > 0:26:43'who, centuries ago, made the summit their playground and feasting place.'

0:26:57 > 0:26:59Being right on the eastern edge of the Lakes,

0:26:59 > 0:27:03this is a fantastic place to see all the giants of Lakeland

0:27:03 > 0:27:06along the horizon in a long, ordered line.

0:27:11 > 0:27:13That's Skiddaw.

0:27:15 > 0:27:19Then Helvellyn.

0:27:19 > 0:27:23The upside down basin - that's Great Gable.

0:27:23 > 0:27:27And then, under cloud, that's Scafell Pike.

0:27:41 > 0:27:44As Wainwright frequently remarks, there's something unspoilt

0:27:44 > 0:27:50and special about this now remote frontier area of the National Park.

0:27:50 > 0:27:54Despite its long and crowded history, the High Street range

0:27:54 > 0:27:58can still be walked from dawn to dusk without meeting another soul.

0:28:05 > 0:28:08Of all the large plateau summits I've visited,

0:28:08 > 0:28:11High Street is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable.

0:28:11 > 0:28:14Not only is it simply enormous -

0:28:14 > 0:28:17a whaleback as Wainwright described it -

0:28:17 > 0:28:20but it's also a place of a thousand stories,

0:28:20 > 0:28:23lost secrets, history.

0:28:23 > 0:28:27No wonder when Wainwright first visited here 77 years ago,

0:28:27 > 0:28:29he became so fired up by it.

0:28:29 > 0:28:33It really is an evocative fell.

0:28:45 > 0:28:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:28:48 > 0:28:50Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk