We live in a country with some of the most diverse
and beautiful landscapes in the world.
So diverse,
very few of us know every nook and cranny.
And so beautiful, it would be a crime to miss any of them.
The British Isles are full
of secrets and surprises
just waiting to be discovered.
- HE GRUNTS - Good. - Thank you!
Wow!
Oh, my God!
Out of nowhere, they came.
'It's easy to think Britain is a crowded place,
'but, with more than 60 million acres out there,
'there's still plenty of the UK for us to discover and enjoy.'
SHE LAUGHS
The power of the elements really belittles you.
'In this series, we are going to escape the crowds
'and get off the beaten track.'
We are on the hunt for the unexpected...
Can you see it? Can you see it?
There we go. Whoohoo!
..the breathtaking...
Oh, it's freezing!
..the hidden.
I think we've found it.
CREAKING
Look at the size of this place!
This is the place we call home.
This is our secret Britain.
WHIRRING
- Here we go. - All right.
SHE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY
HE LAUGHS
PLANE WHIRS
ENGINE WHIRS
The Lake District is one of the last great wild places in Britain.
It's home to England's highest mountain,
its deepest lake.
And it's why so many visitors come each year.
Most of them get here via the M6, but let me tell you...
..this is a fantastic way to get your first glimpse.
'16.5 million visitors come to the Lakes every year.
'But only a handful are lucky enough to see
'its staggering beauty from 14,500 feet.'
These views are incredible, they really are.
Sparkling lakes...
Windermere just down there.
You really take it all in when you get this high.
I'm so nervous.
My tongue is like a big...
furry cotton-wool ball.
'The Lake District is one of the most mapped parts of the country.
'And, guided by their maps, a steady stream of visitors are drawn to
'some of the most breathtaking views in the Lakes.'
'It would be easy to assume this place had given up all its secret.
'But that's where you'd be wrong.'
And, to find the secrets of the Lakes,
I need to get off the beaten path and that means...
getting back down to earth.
- OK, Mike. I'm ready. I'm ready. - OK.
Right, Ellie. Smile at the camera.
OK. Was that a smile?
I think it's a smile as in a grimace.
- Head back. - OK.
Feet and knees back. Stay like that.
WIND DROWNS SPEECH
The Lake District is an ancient landscape.
500 million years of geological changes have created
its dramatic scenery of glacial valleys,
towering mountains
and deep lakes and rivers,
which flow into the Irish Sea.
To explore all its secrets,
you've got to get your feet on the ground.
Landing now, Ellie.
Three, two, one and big slide.
Woo! Yeah!
SHE LAUGHS
That was amazing!
- There you go. - That was amazing!
- Woo! - Let's get that hat off.
- Oh! Mike, we're alive! - I know.
SHE LAUGHS
What an entrance to the Lake District. How about that?
HE SIGHS My goodness.
I think this is probably a safer way of getting here than the M6, but...
I don't know, I might take my chances on the motorway next time.
With its rugged, mountainous landscape,
the Lake District has long been a playground for the adventurous.
And jumping from a plane isn't the only adrenaline-fuelled way
to get a unique view of the Lakes.
This is Borrowdale Valley.
And, for most people like me,
well, it's the perfect place for a little stroll,
take in views and, if you're feeling really energetic,
I don't know, stopping off for a picnic.
But for others this is where the adventures begin,
because this...is climbing central.
The mountains and crags in the Lakes are the birthplace
of modern British rock climbing.
And I have it, on good authority,
that to discover the secrets of this valley
I've got to climb.
The only trouble is, I'm terrified of heights.
Now, when I look at a slab of rock like that,
I think, "How on earth am I going to be able to climb that?"
It looks just like a wall to me.
Woo!
But, thanks to a photographer called to Bentley Beetham,
who climbed Everest with Mallory in 1924,
I might just make it.
After Beetham returned from the Himalayas,
he spent the rest of his life mapping climbing routes
in the Lakes.
And his favourite spot was here in Borrowdale.
What a view.
But I'm told that just 100 metres up there,
it's even better.
Mouthwatering, spectacular, I've been told.
But that 100 metres...
..is like that.
'I'm not stupid, though.'
Leo Houlding, with his dad, Mark,
has been climbing in this valley since he was a boy.
Leo is now Britain's most famous climber
and one of the best in the world.
And he and his dad have been roped in to help me out.
Leo, Mark, do I look a bit scared?
- Apprehensive. - Apprehensive? As if all the blood has gone from my face?
- A little bit. - Yeah, cos I do feel a bit scared.
To be honest, Chris, this isn't a super easy climb.
But it's memorable.
I guarantee that you will remember this day, Chris.
Yeah, I bet I will. Hopefully for the right reasons.
Is it getting up,
or is it what's up there that excites you?
It's not really about the destination.
It's more about the journey. And the process you go to get that.
However, up there, it's a really spectacular view
and it's a really unique little place
that you got to be a climber to get there.
There's no way of walking there.
'So, channelling the spirit of Bentley Beetham,
'our task is to reach Troutdale Pinnacle,
'a terrifying rocky outcrop.'
Try to think about your feet all the time.
Think, where am I going to put my feet?
'It's been a 30-minute uphill hike to base here
'and that's the easy bit!'
- You've checked that, have you? - Yeah. - CHRIS LAUGHS
'And now, to get to the Pinnacle,
'it's about a 300-foot climb.'
And which one...? Which one do I never undo?
Neither of them.
CLINKING
I know absolutely nothing about rock climbing.
We've gone through the safety drills.
They seem a nice bunch.
- HE WHISPERS: - But I'm absolutely petrified.
So, up here, Chris...
- Yeah? - ..go all the way along the ledge to the tree
and then go up behind the tree.
OK?
So the tree is on my left?
- You'll see. There's only one. - OK.
- HE WHISPERS: - Quite bossy, isn't he? - Uh-huh.
- OK. - OK, Chris. Climb when you're ready.
- It's not a race, yeah? - OK.
- I saw him put his feet in there. - Yeah.
- And get a wedge in there. - Yeah.
Right.
Talking of wedged in, is that wedged in?
A tricky move and then it gets easy again.
- Oh! - Right, so, Chris, you want to be thinking about
- doing that swap of the gear. - Yeah. - You know, get your knot above.
So I have got to get that...
..underneath that? Correct?
Yeah.
It's a good job it's not a race...
- LAUGHTER - ..cos I would be taking forever.
You have to smile like you did on Strictly all the time.
CHRIS LAUGHS
A big grin.
This is quite steep.
Can you get your foot quite high?
Oh, my God!
- CHRIS SIGHS - You're doing really well, Chris.
Loving it.
It hadn't come to my mind, Mark, loving it.
LAUGHTER
- More of... - Well, let it.
Oh, my God.
- Dealing with it. - Dealing with it.
One down. Five to go.
Oh!
God!
If hanging off a rock face by your fingertips isn't your cup of tea,
then seeking out the secret nooks and crannies
that were the inspiration for Arthur Ransome's classic children's story,
Swallows and Amazons, may well be.
Swallows and Amazons is one of those books
that many of us think we've read,
but we actually haven't.
It's the story of childhood fantasy,
full of imagination and play,
with a great sense of freedom.
All set against this wonderful backdrop.
Ransome wrote the book when he was here on holiday
on the shores of the breathtaking Coniston Water.
It tells the story of the five Walker children
on their summer holiday in the Lake District.
They set off on an adventure in their boat, the Swallow,
and discover a secret island.
It's here they come across a pair of sisters, the Amazons,
who believe the island is their secret place
and an almighty battle ensues.
Swallows and Amazons is one of the best-known
children's books of modern times.
So where, you might be asking, is the secret?
The inspiration for the story were a real family -
Roger Altounyan and his older siblings.
Roger passed on his passion for the area to his son, Peter,
who has had a lifetime of adventures on the lake.
Talk me through this map here.
So, as you know, my father was Roger, from the book.
And he brought us here when we were children.
And we used to stay at various places around the lake.
And our destination was always Wild Cat Island or Peel Island,
- as it's really called. - Right, OK.
'Following the map from the book, we are sailing over to Peel Island.
'The only trouble is,
'I don't know how to sail!'
- So ready about. - Yep.
- Push it away from you. - Yeah. - That's it.
And was it...? Not tally-ho.
- Lee-ho. - Lee-ho! - Lee-ho.
- Yep. - That's it. Keep going right the way round.
And the sail should cross over, so just mind your head.
- Yep. - It's just got caught round there.
That's it. That's better.
- Aim for further round. - I'm going to aim for...?
- Aim for sort of... That's it. - Is that all right? - Yep, perfect.
Ooh, that was a bit nerve-racking.
LAUGHTER
- You did it. - I thought it was going to tip us over.
- We've gone a bit further up wind. - Shall I push it away?
Yep. So aim for, say...
- The trees? Those trees? - Those two trees, yeah. - Yeah.
- Ooh, we are gaining some speed now. - We're going nicely, aren't we?
It's actually a perfect day for sailing.
So you say you bring your grandchildren out here as well?
Yes, yes.
So it's nice that you're keeping the tradition going.
Well, I followed in my father's tradition
and our children followed in our tradition
and, now, their children are following in the same tradition.
We've always done the same things and...
I hope we continue to do the same things.
- It looks like... - You're going to go about again. - Yeah. - Ready to go?
- So, ready about? - Ready about, yes.
- Lee-ho. - Lee-ho. - Lee-ho.
- CLANGING - Oh, Hang on. Wrong way. - Wrong way?
- Yeah. - Oh, dear.
- It's all right. That's it. - CREAKING
'It might not have been the smoothest crossing...'
That's it, Denise. Very good.
'..but with Peter's help, we've made it to this special island.'
- So this is the secret harbour. - Yeah.
That's fine.
- Welcome to Peel Island. - Thank you.
Do you want me to...?
There we go.
Put this down there.
- Oh, sorry. Was that your fingers? - It was. - Sorry! - OK. - All right?
- Here we go. - OK.
Hope we've gone the right way.
- SHE LAUGHS - But never mind. We'll get there.
Are you taking me the adventurous way?
Oh, yeah. Just mind this branch.
It's...
- I can already imagine my children here. - Yeah.
That great sense of wonder,
- just charging through here. - They would love it, yeah.
And also knowing that they can't really get lost.
Aye, aye.
It's got a bit of everything, this island.
- You know, they'd be just charging off. - Yeah.
- Climbing the tree. - Just look at the view. Straight up the lake.
- Wow. - Yep. And, course, this is the area
- where they had the lookout in the book. - OK.
Where Titty kept a lookout for the Amazons coming.
But now you can see right up to Coniston.
It's about four miles.
It's a great place for swimming and fishing
- and harbouring your boat. - Yeah.
Mind your head. Going round here.
This is actually where we learnt to swim.
- Oh, OK. - So, once we could swim this bit,
swim from the island to the shore, we were allowed to do stuff.
So your father actually made you swim this?
- Yeah. - This was the test for you?
It's actually written in the book.
- "Better drowned than duffers". - SHE LAUGHS
If not, duffers won't drown.
This was before life jackets and all that kind of thing.
So what happened if you didn't make it?
If not, duffers won't drown, so...
- Tough love. - Sink or swim. - Yeah, tough love.
Being here, you really get an essence of the place,
the magic and the mystery,
of what it must really feel like to be a child here.
I mean, it's just the perfect size
and the imagination can just run wild.
I want to bring my children here. I think they'd love it.
'Today, Peel Island has become a bit of a pilgrimage site
'for Swallows and Amazons devotees.'
You want to hide?
- Want to go and get it? - Yes!
'But, when the island gets too busy,
'Peter and his family know the way
'to a nearby secret beach.'
Obviously, swimming is a big thing in the family.
- And I've heard some stories from your dad... - I'm not...
..about, you know, the test.
The case of sink or swim along that middle stretch over there.
You're not going to be doing that with Otis, are you?
SHE LAUGHS Erm...er...
- Stop it! - "Stop it"!
Well...
what do you think, Otis?
- Stop it! - "Stop it." - "Stop it."
No, Mummy wouldn't do that.
What I love about the island is just the...
the scale. It's so compact.
And, I guess, you know,
for a child, that's just perfect.
It is. Yeah, it is perfect.
It's funny, actually, I think, when I was smaller,
it did seem a hell of a lot bigger.
But now, yeah, you go on it and it really is quite small,
but it's got so many things.
It's got the rocks you can climb on,
rocks that we used to play hide and seek for hours on it.
- You can never be bored. - Yeah. Yeah.
And I think it's just right for imagination, I think.
You can see why Ransome fell in love with it.
And you can see why he based a lot on going to an island
- and making it a special place. - Mm.
- CHRIS: - 'Swallows And Amazons is a story set at a time
'when children had the freedom to run wild
'with barely a nod to health and safety.'
CHRIS GRUNTS
'Right now, I'm feeling that a little health and safety
'might not be a bad idea.'
CHRIS SIGHS
OK, then down onto this nice little ledge.
CHRIS HUMS
- Nice little ledge? - LEO LAUGHS
Nice little ledge?! Are you kidding me?
- This is the worst bit. This is... - You have to concentrate.
I honestly have to say this is terri... This bit is terrifying.
- I don't even want to look there. - LEO LAUGHS
- It's cos you're thinking about it. - No! No! I...
No, it's just terrifying.
- CLINKING - Look.
It's a staircase.
Just the steps are a little bit hidden.
CLINKING
OK, so we're going to go down a little bit here.
CLINKING
CHRIS SNIFFS
Ooh!
It's actually not as steep as it looks.
OK.
- CHRIS SIGHS HEAVILY - Dear, oh, Lo...
- Come on! - MARK CLAPS
Take your time, Chris.
When you're ready, Chris.
CHRIS SIGHS HEAVILY
Right, concentrate now.
- HE WHISPERS: - Concentrate. Concentrate. Concentrate.
CHRIS SIGHS HEAVILY
There you go. Gets face-on to the rock. That's it.
CHRIS SIGHS HEAVILY
- Right. - You can take that one off, please,
and put it on your harness.
LEO LAUGHS
That...that other one, hanging on the green rope...
Yeah, I know. I know which one.
- OK. - LEO LAUGHS
- I need that like a hole in the head right now. - Well done, Chris.
Right...
HE GRUNTS
- Good technique. Very good technique. - Oh!
Do go down for a couple of moves
and then you should see some chalk on the holds.
Oh, my God.
CHRIS SIGHS HEAVILY
Keep breathing.
We've got you, Chris. You're safe. Don't worry.
CHRIS SIGHS
Can you see where you want to go?
Up.
- Ooh, no. Ooh, no. Ooh, no. - HE GRUNTS
I've got you, Chris. Don't worry.
Oh, God. Don't look down.
Oh! Ooh, no!
- Oh, my! - Have a little rest.
I'm going to.
Oh!
I can't even rest here. I've got myself into a pickle.
Right, steady now.
HE SIGHS
It's just this first bit.
- Yes, yes, yes, yes! - CHRIS GRUNTS
I've got you, don't worry.
CHRIS GRUNTS
- Good. - Well done. - Thank you! - Keep going.
Oh, that was tough, that bit.
Cor, Mummy!
CHRIS GRUNTS
He's got it.
- LEO GRUNTS: - Go on!
Powering through like a commando.
Well done.
CHRIS GRUNTS
I imagined a nice little platform here.
This is a nice little platform.
This is it?!
This is it. This is Troutdale Pinnacle!
LAUGHTER
Tell you what, why don't you sit there?
- That side? - That's comfortable, yeah.
Do I look really happy
- and delighted to be here? - LAUGHTER
No, you don't, actually.
You look, er...
you look decidedly nervous, so...
Right, shall we have a look at the view then?
A secret little bit of Britain, this.
That is amazing, mate, actually.
Gives you a different perspective, eh?
CHRIS GRUNTS
- Yay! - Yeah! - CHRIS LAUGHS
Mark...
- It's a pleasure. - ..Leo.
- Group hug. - ALL: - Group hug.
You survived.
That's probably one of the most mentally testing things
I've ever done in my entire life.
Looking down, but not really looking down.
Looking up,
holding on for dear life.
And pretending to enjoy the views.
I can now...
enjoy this view.
HE SIGHS HEAVILY
The Lakes may be the go-to destination
for British climbers and thrill-seekers,
but it's poetry that made the area world-famous.
Wordsworth was inspired by this magnificent landscape
and in the 19th century, he wandered lonely as a cloud here
and composed one of the most famous poems ever written.
But you might be surprised to learn
that Wordsworth didn't just write poetry.
He also wrote one of the first-ever guidebooks to the Lakes,
sharing the secrets of the place he called home.
200 years later, there are now
more than 6,000 guidebooks and maps available
to direct visitors to the best walks, climbs
and viewpoints in the Lake District.
But you know what?
The local maps and guides don't really know everything,
because, all across the Lake District,
there is a network of ancient pathways,
known only to a handful of local passionate walkers.
Three years ago, Alan Cleaver,
inspired by his passion for the Lakes' history and myths...
..stumbled across the secret of the lonnings.
It all started, because I was researching a local legend
of the lady of the manor being killed by a wolf
and that happened in a lonning at Beckermet.
And somebody said, "Oh, Rakes Lonning still exists".
So I did what anybody does these days
and got onto Google and Google said
"no matches found". You know? No such thing.
And I thought, well, that's odd.
They don't know lonnings in Silicon Valley, do they?
So this is a lonning we are on now?
This is a lonning we are on now.
And a lonning was a...
well, is, a very beautiful country lane.
Just short, never more than half a mile, usually.
And I think the name comes from "loan",
which was the quiet place by the farm.
There is a dialect word in Cumbria,
which is "slare" - S-L-A-R-E -
which is to amble, to walk very slowly.
- Like this? - A bit like this, yeah. - A gentle pace.
And, you know, to appreciate lonnings and the nature
and the wildlife, you need to do it at a very slow pace.
And we started this Slare Bears Club, where a group of us
go walking down the lonning.
So we said, right, if somebody starts going too fast,
we will just get out...
- SHE LAUGHS - ..a yellow card.
And warn them to slow down.
How dare you get your heart rate up! Come back.
And then we said, well,
whoever gets back to the car first has obviously gone too fast.
So we've got a red card
to sort of disqualify them for a week.
- Fell runners not allowed then? - No, no.
- Only the slow may apply. - Good grief, no.
- That's a view down here. - Yes. Gorgeous, isn't it? - Wow! Yeah!
Of all the hobbies you could have had,
you're mapping all of these lonnings.
I mean, what a mission.
Yes. There's probably about 250 so far.
Crumbs!
I suspect there will be a lot more by the time we finish this project.
These are the ones you've discovered so far?
Yes. And...
the names are just fantastic.
You've got Gallows Lonning,
- Fat and Thin Lonning, - SHE LAUGHS
Dirty Lonning.
Erm, Tatie Pot Lonning is...
- Tatie Pot is a Cumbrian delicacy of meat and potato pie. - Ah!
And at the end of that lonning was a bakery that made those.
Here's Wine Lonning,
where they used to smuggle wine down to the Solway Estuary.
I imagine there'll be... How many more do you think you'll find?
Well... I don't know. I keep thinking I must have run out by now.
But I'm still getting people, very locally, coming up to me
and saying, "Oh, you've missed out Dog Lonning or Badger Lonning",
or whatever else, so I think it will just keep going on and on for ever.
'At a slare's pace,
'this project really is a lifetime's work for Alan.'
I see what you mean. You do get to absorb a lot more.
- See a lot more of what is going on. - Yeah.
But, blimey, it's such a slow pace that it's sedate for me.
I've got a reputation to maintain as an adrenaline junkie!
I'm stepping up the pace.
Ooh, I don't know. That's definitely a yellow card.
Aw! Alan!
'The lonnings are from a time almost before maps,
'when locals knew the secret paths and routes across the lakes
'like the back of their hands.
'In a hidden valley in the north-west Lakes,
'there is a family who have turned their backs
'on the lifestyle most of us take for granted.
'They've moved off the beaten track and back to the good life.
'And, what's more, if you wait till nightfall,
'their valley might reveal its greatest secret.'
CHICKENS CLUCK
ROOSTER CALLS
I'm off to meet a family
who live in one of the remotest valleys in the Lake District.
The nearest main road is 2½ miles away.
Now, for a city boy like me,
who is used to having everything on his doorstep,
like supermarkets or coffee shops...
I just can't imagine living in the middle of nowhere.
But Ellen and Walter Cloete have chosen to raise their family
in the back of beyond, here in the Ennerdale Valley.'
THEY LAUGH
'Seriously, there's nothing here.
'No street lights, no traffic, no mobile phone signal.'
You want to climb on the other tree?
'Ellen grew up here and had to persuade her husband, Walter,
'to move away from the bright city lights.'
THEY LAUGH
- Cos you're from South Africa, right? - Yes.
So you're quite used to that out-and=about lifestyle?
That's correct, yes. Then what happened was actually
when she said... When I said I grew up quite in the wild, she was like,
- "Well, top this". - LAUGHTER
And I didn't...I didn't believe that anything like that,
like this, exists, you know, in Britain.
'Over an hour's walk from the nearest main road,
'the Cloetes live off-grid,
'with their own hydroelectric power system.'
Come on, Charlie!
I mean, the idea. I've got a 17-month-old.
If I woke up without any central heating,
or any water, oh, my goodness!
I think they treat it as an adventure as much as we do
when they know that they're not always going to have electric,
they know that they're not always going to be wrapped up warm and cosy
and that they might have to work for it a bit.
They seem to take it on the chin, I think.
Being so remote makes the Ennerdale Valley
a tough place to live sometimes.
But it's this isolation
that also keeps the valley's most special secret.
So, tell me, cos I live in London and it never gets that dark,
how dark does it get here?
If you don't have a light on it goes completely pitch-black.
You can't see a thing?
You can't see the field, but you can just see the stars.
And the moon, it's like you have a lamp on.
- Really? - Yeah.
Because it's miles away from the night lights of towns and cities,
Ennerdale is one of the very few places in the UK
with designated Dark Sky status.
What have you seen? What's the best thing you've ever seen?
My best thing is meteorites,
shooting stars or planets.
Do you stand here at night looking at all the stars?
- Contains. - Sometimes, when Joe's supposed to go to sleep,
he just puts the blind down and looks at the stars.
Sometimes we just move all the sofas around the skylight
over on that side and then we just watch out the skylight all night.
Who needs television?
Now all we have to do is to wait for it to get really dark
and hope it's a clear night.
It's not only in Ennerdale that nightfall reveals a
secret side to the Lakes.
Once a week on the shores of Lake Windermere,
a group of friends gather to enjoy the splendour of the lakes
from a completely different point of view.
The experience is led by outdoor adventure guide, Pete Kelly.
The idea of night swimming, for me, conjures up the idea
of sangria, after dinner on holiday,
but not in the Lake District.
- We can arrange that for you if you like. - I wouldn't mind!
Where did you get the idea of going out and doing it at night?
Well, you know, if you're going for a walk in the woods, or
something like that during the day, then you go back and do it at night,
it's a different experience altogether.
It's exactly the same with swimming.
Swimming itself is quite a sensuous experience
but to do it at night, it highlights everything you're feeling.
So, there'll be a group I can hang back with
and do my lady's breaststroke with?
Absolutely, yes, we've got a couple who specialise in breaststroke.
And there's some front-crawlers, I can see. Keen as mustard.
We don't need to worry about them. You will have company, don't worry.
Excellent.
So, is everybody really up for this? Is it a good night for it?
Have you been bribed by Pete to come down here?
- Yup. - Fish and chips were promised.
He promised us chips for afterwards.
Fish and chips? Good! First round's on Pete's, then.
I'm going to delay the inevitable
and going to get this on now like I really mean it.
Yeah, it's action time.
There is only one word to describe this, if you're a Wurzel like me,
and that is lush.
It's absolutely amazing.
The trouble is,
rather than doing sensible swimming like the rest of the group,
I just feel massively inclined to muck about and swivel round.
That's amazing.
I've swam in so many places ever since I was really little,
but never anything like this.
It's absolutely flat-calm, really quite warm
and when you knock off all your senses,
when you knock off the light, everything else really zings.
You know, you can feel the water through your fingers,
you can feel... Well, you can hear every last splash of the water
and any sounds coming from the shore.
You feel completely alone.
And actually, it's a really awesome feeling.
I feel very present in the moment, very alive.
It's amazing.
Well, the boys were right.
It's absolutely pitch-black out here, you can't see a thing...
until you look up into the sky...
and you see the most incredible show.
I've never seen the stars...
burn so brightly.
The rugged landscape of the Lakes can sometimes be
seen in the very people who live here.
Toughness, it seems, is part of Cumbrian DNA.
And for some locals, it's this characteristic that makes
the Lake District even more special.
Great job.
Millions of people come each year to sample the beauties of the area,
but they miss one of the hidden secrets,
which is Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling.
My name is Roger Robson.
I took up wrestling when I was ten years of age
and finished wrestling when I was 45.
My grandsons wrestle now and I'm very proud of them.
And also my granddaughter, Gemma, has made a very successful start
to a wrestling career.
'My name's Gemma and I'm 12 years old
'and last year, with my wrestling winnings
'I bought my cow Lily for £300.
'She was an orphan and she grew up on my grandad's farm
'and I took over loving and caring for her.
'I go to about 50 shows in a whole year.
'I get to the shows by my grandparents
'because my granny and grandad, they always go to the shows
'and they're very involved with it.
'They've probably drove me about 1,000 miles in one summer.'
APPLAUSE
Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling is the simplest sport that I know.
You shake hands to show you're sort of friends,
then you put your right arm under the opponent's left armpit
and take a grip round the back.
The chin goes on his right shoulder, you move your legs as far away
from them as possible, so that you can't be tripped.
The referee then says, "On your guard,"
and he sees that everything is fair and even and
then he says, "Wrestle."
After that, the first person to touch the ground with anything
but the soles of their feet is the loser.
The other way you can lose a bout is if you break hold too early.
The traditional wrestling strip is really very simple,
with a white vest, white long johns and a coloured centrepiece.
But recently the youngsters seem to have been personalising them
much more, so they express their interests and their hobbies
and the areas that they live in
what they put on their vests and the centrepiece.
My name's Abi,
I'm 15 years old and I think my biggest competition will be Gemma.
APPLAUSE
Well done, lass, that was really good.
You stuck at it.
Just the final now, I think, yeah.
It was good.
She's ended up bleeding, so it must have been tough.
I'm feeling a bit gutted,
but I suppose that's just how it went today.
I'm going to be in the final and...
I might win, I might not.
APPLAUSE
Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling has gone from strength to strength
over the last 200 years.
But there's another tradition that, as far as we know,
has all but died out.
Today, the Lakes is all about clean-living, outdoor pursuits,
literary inspiration and mint cake.
But one of the best kept secrets about this stunning
National Park is that it has an illicit, dark, illegal past.
Back in the day, the spectacular fells and valleys of the Lakes
were home to secret smuggling routes
for locally and illegally made whisky.
Have you heard of Lanty Slee?
Lanty, short for Lancelot, well, he was a smuggler
that lived here in Little Langdale in the 19th century.
To avoid getting caught, Lanty worked at night
to make his moonshine whisky in caves dotted around
the Western Lakes' Langdale valley.
The mystery of where these caves are
has captured walkers' imaginations for years.
I've got my hands on one of their maps
and who better to help me try and track one down than
Lanty's great-great-granddaughter Helen Slee.
So, one of the walkers said...
that this path here...
and Lanty's cave is in that direction.
That's right.
- So, we'll go that way. - Yeah.
I mean, this is pretty...
challenging terrain, isn't it?
Yes, I suppose even worse if you're carrying illicit moonshine.
DENISE LAUGHS
I just can't imagine how he did it.
I would maybe think that with the help of a horse or a small cart.
He must have been pretty fit.
Yeah, cos it wouldn't have been just once a month,
it would have been constantly to come and check
- and probably to make sure nobody was stealing it. - Yeah.
That's why they were so hidden, so the locals couldn't find his stills.
Wow, look at this view.
- It's fantastic, isn't it? - Ooh.
- Town down there. - Yeah.
Just spectacular.
Oh.
Could this be it?
It looks cave-like.
- Oh. - Definitely.
I think we've found it.
Wow.
Although, he did blow them all up,
so nobody would really know, would they?
Can you feel the temperature change?
It's dark and dingy.
- Definitely! And wet. - And wet.
I wouldn't fancy being in here too long.
No, me neither.
I won't follow in his footsteps.
Definitely not.
This whole mountainside is riddled with old quarries and caves
that would have made brilliant hiding places
for Lanty's illegal whisky stills.
But to make money from his moonshine,
he had to get it to the coast.
Lanty's cave was here and he had to get the moonshine
across to the coast, which is here, which is about 11 miles or so.
Which doesn't seem too bad
if he didn't have to navigate these hideous hills.
Most people come to Hardknott Pass in search of the perfect view.
And even in a car, that's a struggle.
With a gradient of one in three, it shares the title
of the steepest road in England,
with just one other in Yorkshire.
Sue Paterson's idea of a good time is cycling up the same pass
Lanty climbed when he was smuggling his contraband whisky to the coast.
I suppose it's closer to Lanty's experience
than whizzing up in a convertible.
Sue, when I told a friend of mine that I was actually cycling up
Hardknott Pass, they just laughed
and I'm talking proper bellyache laugh.
They said it's difficult.
So, how difficult is it?
It is one of the toughest passes in Cumbria, so...
But I'm sure you'll be fine, the athlete that you are,
you'll have no problem.
No pressure, no pressure(!)
Let's do this.
Aaaaiiiiyaa! Not a good start, Sue!
It's hard to get clicked in once you're pedalling along, I'm afraid.
'Extreme passes like Hardknott take your breath away.
'In this case, quite literally.'
COW MOOS
SUE LAUGHS
That's it, run along.
We're coming up to the first kick, Denise.
- You've got to go for it up here. - So go for it up here?
DENISE PANTS
SHE SCREAMS
Flipping heck!
SUE LAUGHS
THIS IS MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE!
'For me, the worst-case scenario
'if I don't get up the hill is a dent to my ego.
'For Lanty, it would have been a crippling fine or even jail.'
You got on well!
No problem about strength.
I just can't imagine... someone coming up here...
Probably the roads were much more uneven than this...
Yeah, they wouldn't have had the tarmac
and, for sure, on foot it must be even harder climbing up there.
Really steep. I'd much rather be on the bike.
I'd much rather take a taxi.... at this point.
Right...
- Onwards and upwards. - Excellent.
We need to get going on this bit.
Well done.
Good going.
Come on! Come on, you basket!
Yeah!
That's it, I'm in.
Ohhh!
- Ohhh! - Well done!
- Oh, my goodness, Sue! - Fantastic! Great effort.
Come and look at the view.
DENISE PANTS
SUE LAUGHS
- The view's worth it! - Good!
SUE LAUGHS
- Well done. - Definitely going to need a bath tonight. - Excellent.
Well done, partner. Thank you for that.
ELLIE: The dramatic landscape of the Lake District created challenges
and opportunities for men like Lanty, but it's the magnetic
beauty of this place that's the draw for most visitors.
I'm no different from most of the people that visit
the Lake District every year, in one hand armed with a map,
and in the other a camera or, at the very least, a phone.
This spectacular corner of England has long inspired
artists like Turner and Constable.
And this little grotto tucked away in the corner of the grounds
of Rydal Hall was built with an artistic purpose in mind.
Oh, my word! That's so beautiful! Wow!
I wasn't expecting that.
How glorious is that?!
I haven't got an artistic bone in my body,
but it makes me want to daub on paper.
Or go for a dip.
A room with a view.
It was built in the 17th century precisely for this purpose,
a handy hidy-hole for visiting artists so they could paint
while sheltered from the elements.
There you go. That's not bad.
But this is Secret Britain, after all, and I haven't worked really
hard enough got nearly wet enough to earn this view.
Some artists will go to any lengths to find the perfect vantage
point for the picture.
A 21st-century Turner is as likely
to be a photographer as an oil painter.
Nick Landells has spent years wandering the lakes seeking out
the path less travelled to capture this landscape's secret corners.
I cannot believe that in the Lake District,
with all the people who come here, there are any secret places left.
I think there's still one or two
if you're prepared to put the legwork in.
You're the man to show me, though,
because you must have spent a while out in these hills, haven't you?
I've been walking the hills since I was a boy.
Some 30 years or so, probably.
And judging by this request for a helmet and that rope
in your bag, we're not going to be strolling along a flat path, are we?
'Nick's taking me to the highest waterfall in the Lake District.'
Just round this track.
'Before I can even get a glimpse of the falls, it's a
'hard two-hour uphill hike.'
Definitely off the beaten track, isn't it, this?
Nearly there.
It's just around the corner there.
'Viewing them from afar is one thing,
'but with Nick's dogged pursuit of the perfect shot,
'he's promised to show me something
'most people don't get to experience.'
It's super slippy! Crikey!
- It's probably easier coming round this way, Ellie. - Is it?
If you put your left foot on that boulder there and then...
Strewth!
Oh!
Wow, this feels really wild.
Not many tourists up here.
WATER ROARS
- Are you all right? - Yeah! - Come on up! - Awesome.
This place really lives up to its name - Scale Force.
It's absolutely massive. And even from here I can feel the spray.
The energy from this thing is absolutely immense.
I am quite keen, though, to see if I can get just that little bit closer.
Going to push our luck a little bit.
Right. Now, just... Just be careful of the green.
It's better to get your feet wet than keep them dry on this.
It's really slippery.
- The green is the bit to watch out for, right? - Yeah.
- Don't trust the green. - Or black.
- Keep your feet on the sharp bits. - Yeah. - It's a bit of a ledge.
No slime on there, so your boots will get a good grip on them.
Whoo! It's yet more powerful!
I can feel that already! Oh, it's blooming cold, isn't it?
- Yeah! - Can I get over there? Thank you. And even up here?
Yeah, just as far as you like.
Woohoo! That's chilly!
That is chilly.
Oh, my goodness! The force of that!
Whoa!
Oh-ha-ha!
Yeah! Have some of that!
Woohoo!
Now I'm wet.
There we go! Soaking wet!
It feels like you're in a thunderstorm, actually.
Ha-ha! The power of the elements really belittles you
and it's a great feeling.
Yeah!
Right, I'm coming out, I'm cold.
SHE CHUCKLES
Brrrrr!
BIRDSONG
It's a challenge finding a secret spot in the Lake District.
So much of it has already been explored and mapped.
If there is one name above all others that associated with
the mapping of the Lakeland fells, it's Alfred Wainwright.
Back in 1955, Alfred Wainwright began to map walking
routes along all the 214 Lakeland fells, and this is the very first
route he ever mapped, and it's going to lead me all the way to Dove Crag.
Dove Crag is one of the Lake District's
most impressive landscapes.
It rises up over 2,500ft
and is topped by sandstone crags
which Wainwright described as its "scarred and rugged face".
Now, I have been told, off this well-trodden path,
there's a secret cave, a priest hole, and every hardcore
hiker or climber has to stay the night as a rite of passage.
Sounds pretty scary to me, but there is a reward, apparently.
The view at breakfast is spectacular.
I have to confess, when I was a child,
my family holidays were more a beach in the Med than camping
in the north of England, so this really is a rite of passage for me.
The route may be well trodden but it's not easy.
A two-hour uphill climb.
Just as well I've got this beautiful scenery to distract me.
It's supposed to be around this corner.
- HE PANTS - It better be!
Wainwright does mention Priest's Hole,
but he says it's hard to locate and hard to reach.
And he wasn't kidding.
Ah! Thank goodness!
Phew!
Wow!
Not much, but it's home.
This little cave is called Priest's Hole
because it was used as exactly that -
a hiding place for a 16th-century priest.
Now, in Elizabethan times, practising the wrong religion
could be fatal, and legend has it, a local Catholic
family hid a priest up here and he used to say Mass in this cave.
That was until he was caught, tried for treason
and then later hanged, drawn and quartered.
Now, personally, I don't believe in ghosts.
I'm just hoping I don't get a visit from a priest this evening.
RUSTLING AND GRUNTING
HE GRUNTS
I won't lie to you, that wasn't a comfortable night's sleep.
Phew. Freezing cold as well.
But when you wake up to this...
..it was all worthwhile,
and I'd do it again tonight without even thinking.
I've been up since, what, about five o'clock,
waiting for that sun to rise.
And now it is. Just look at it!
You can see, like, seas of mist
and they're slowly but surely burning away now.
You don't see that in London.
We've cycled, hiked...
..swum...
and even jumped, in search of the Lake District's hidden treasures.
We've discovered, while there are thousands of maps
and guidebooks to help us
get around, if you put in a bit of effort
and maybe put up with a bit of discomfort,
there are still secrets to be found in the Lake District.
Wow!
My God! The wind turbines go on and on into the distance!
Whoo! I haven't done this since I was at school.
After all those tunnels, I didn't know what to expect, but this...
Look at the size of this place!