:00:13. > :00:17.First tonight, the region is bracing itself
:00:18. > :00:22.In just 18 hours, the third leg of the Tour de France
:00:23. > :00:28.will pass through the East, en route from Cambridge to London.
:00:29. > :00:32.BELL RINGS 24 hours before the real thing hits town, more than
:00:33. > :00:36.a thousand cyclists were trxing out the roads of Essex today.
:00:37. > :00:41.Today is a cycling event that follows some of the stage that will
:00:42. > :00:43.be ridden tomorrow morning by the professionals.
:00:44. > :00:46.We've over 1,100 cyclists here taking part and we should bd raising
:00:47. > :00:54.And this is where the real thing will kick`off tomorrow.
:00:55. > :00:57.The grandstand is in place on the starting line of stage thred of the
:00:58. > :01:05.Meanwhile, on Parkers Piece, the big tour themed weekend will be
:01:06. > :01:11.The roads around here will begin closing tonight
:01:12. > :01:15.and extra trains are being laid on to get into the city tomorrow.
:01:16. > :01:20.There is extra parking at Cambridge Rugby Club,
:01:21. > :01:23.but if you want to try Saffron Walden, there is Park and Rhde
:01:24. > :01:28.There will be a giant screen on Saffron Walden common
:01:29. > :01:32.and big crowds are expected to line the town's streets.
:01:33. > :01:36.The position that most people seem to want to go to is to go to is
:01:37. > :01:38.the bottom of the High Street, which is where the route turns
:01:39. > :01:43.That's a very sharp left`hand turn, so we are all quite interested
:01:44. > :01:45.to see how the cyclists are going to negotiate that.
:01:46. > :01:48.Further along the route, the picture postcard village of Finchingfield is
:01:49. > :01:54.We've got two public car parking areas,
:01:55. > :01:57.one very close to the southdrn part of the village, that's near
:01:58. > :02:01.the village centre, and one about half a mile outside the village
:02:02. > :02:05.They will take thousands of cars.
:02:06. > :02:08.The bells at many churches `long the route will toll to welcome the Tour.
:02:09. > :02:10.Among them, the Church of the Holy Cross at Felsted.
:02:11. > :02:16.It's a chance of a lifetime for many.
:02:17. > :02:18.People are saying, we are going to come because we will
:02:19. > :02:24.Just up the road, the final touches are being made a big party.
:02:25. > :02:27.There is even a special Tour de France real ale on tap.
:02:28. > :02:33.We've got nearly 3,000 car parking spaces, we got a 40 metre spuare
:02:34. > :02:36.screen, which is going on the back there, real ales, 2
:02:37. > :02:43.In the village of Rayne on the edge of Braintree, a music festival is
:02:44. > :02:48.And as the race skirts the edge of Chelmsford,
:02:49. > :02:51.Melbourne Park is being turned into a car park, while the centrd of the
:02:52. > :02:58.Road users can't say they'vd not been warned, the tour is coming.
:02:59. > :03:02.Neither can customers at the Waitrose supermarket in Cambridge.
:03:03. > :03:05.It put up a sign pointing out that a "local sporting event" max disrupt
:03:06. > :03:11.A case, perhaps, of the Tour de France being,
:03:12. > :03:21.Police are investigating a burglary near Milton Keynes,
:03:22. > :03:26.It happened early today, at a house near the town of O'ney.
:03:27. > :03:29.One raped the woman, who's in her fifties, while the
:03:30. > :03:35.Tributes have been paid to the naturalist, Philip Wayrd,
:03:36. > :03:41.With his wife, he founded the Otter Trust, near Bungay in Suffolk.
:03:42. > :03:43.They're credited with saving the otter from extinction
:03:44. > :03:50.Philip Wayre at the Earsham Otter Trust,
:03:51. > :03:54.which became the test`bed for an international wildlife experiment.
:03:55. > :03:56.Pesticide pollution had all but wiped out lowland otters by the 70s.
:03:57. > :04:00.so the trust bred them in captivity.
:04:01. > :04:03.In 1983, it began releasing them again.
:04:04. > :04:06.People said, if in ten years time, if you've made no further
:04:07. > :04:10.reintroductions on these rivers and the otters are still thdre
:04:11. > :04:12.and still breeding, OK, we will believe it works.
:04:13. > :04:19.As Cambridge countryside calpaigner, Robin Page, observed for himself.
:04:20. > :04:24.1993, wild otters arrived in this little brook and otters are
:04:25. > :04:31.He was a fantastic man and he set the agenda
:04:32. > :04:38.Philip Wayre had already established the Norfolk wildlife park before
:04:39. > :04:41.founding the Otter Trust with Jean Franklin, whom he later married.
:04:42. > :04:51.Unusual house guests were all there as part of our family life.
:04:52. > :04:54.Our days out, you know, you didn't go to your theme park,
:04:55. > :04:58.even if they existed in those days, we'd be off to the gravel phts,
:04:59. > :05:01.wildlife searching, and really interesting things as children.
:05:02. > :05:04.Now his family are organising a celebration of his life,
:05:05. > :05:18.So, what does the weather hold for the tour?
:05:19. > :05:31.It is not looking too bad for the cyclists tomorrow. Tonight we have a
:05:32. > :05:34.much fresher nights to come. Clear skies and isolated showers. For many
:05:35. > :05:39.of us it will be dry, feeling more comfortable with temperatures around
:05:40. > :05:46.11 or 12 Celsius. A truly starts tomorrow, it could be a pleasant day
:05:47. > :05:53.`` cooler start. Temperaturds were they should be fit this time of
:05:54. > :06:00.year, high teens, low 20s. Hf you sharp showers and those will not
:06:01. > :06:07.make ideal road conditions. `` HQ. Some
:06:08. > :06:16.Hello again. Today's big event was certainly blessed by fine weather,
:06:17. > :06:25.but there has been some rain around here and there. Those showers will
:06:26. > :06:28.continue to drift further east over the next few hours, but by and
:06:29. > :06:37.large, they should become more confined to western areas. These are
:06:38. > :06:46.the sorts of temperatures we will see in towns and cities. We have to
:06:47. > :06:52.talk about a mix of sunny spells and showers once again for much of the
:06:53. > :07:01.day tomorrow. Very few places will miss out on the sunshine. A brisk
:07:02. > :07:14.Riz making it feel on the cool side. -- a brisk Riz.
:07:15. > :07:15.As we come further south, a line of showers developing from