1 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,720 We live in a country with some of the most diverse 2 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,400 and beautiful landscapes in the world. 3 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:21,880 So diverse, very few of us know every nook and cranny. 4 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:28,640 And so beautiful, it'd be a crime to miss any of them. 5 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:33,920 The British Isles are full of secrets 6 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:37,280 and surprises, just waiting to be discovered. 7 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:41,040 - Good Chris, good. Well done! - Thank you! 8 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,840 Wow! Oh, my God! 9 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,400 Out of nowhere they came! 10 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,280 It's easy to think Britain is a crowded place, 11 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,560 but with more than 60 million acres out there, 12 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:57,680 there's still plenty of the UK for us to discover and enjoy. 13 00:00:57,680 --> 00:00:58,760 SHE LAUGHS 14 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,280 The power of the elements really belittles you! 15 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,040 In this series, we're going to escape the crowds 16 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:07,000 and get off the beaten track. 17 00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:10,800 We're on the hunt for the unexpected... 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,720 Did you see it? Did you see it? There we go. Whoo-ooh! 19 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:15,040 ..the breathtaking... 20 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:17,440 Oh, it's freezing! 21 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:18,480 ..the hidden. 22 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:21,040 I think we found it! 23 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:24,400 Look at the size of this place! 24 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,240 This is the place we call home. 25 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:31,160 This is our Secret Britain. 26 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,360 For the last 8,000 years, 27 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,520 these towering white cliffs have been the first 28 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:01,040 impression of Britain for everyone arriving here from the Continent. 29 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:13,080 These cliffs have welcomed and seen off invaders for thousands of years. 30 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,440 They're both our first line of defence 31 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:21,400 but also a world-famous symbol of hope and freedom. 32 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:25,840 This is Kent. Whoo-hoo-hoo! 33 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:32,880 You might think of Kent as the Garden of England, 34 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,640 full of lush orchards bursting with fruit, 35 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:40,840 or the gateway to Europe for millions of continental travellers. 36 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:44,400 But scratch beneath the surface 37 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,920 and there's much more to this county than meets the eye. 38 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:52,880 Heading off-road and off-limits, we want to discover an altogether 39 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:54,840 wilder side to Kent... 40 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,040 ..uncover long-forgotten secrets... 41 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:01,680 Is this it? Are we here? 42 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:03,800 ..and reveal its hidden history 43 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:06,440 as the front line in Britain's defences. 44 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:08,080 Look at the size of this place! 45 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,080 This is my county. 46 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,080 I grew up here, and if someone said, 47 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,720 "Let's go to North Kent for a day out," I'd have said you were mad! 48 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:44,880 The North Kent Marshes are made up of 50,000 acres of pristine wetland. 49 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,760 Sandwiched between the River Thames and the Medway, 50 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:52,840 they're surrounded by heavy industry yet feel complete isolated. 51 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:59,280 I'm still not sure whether this is bleak or rugged beauty. 52 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:06,400 I can't help but feel a menace in this landscape, and I'm not alone. 53 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:10,680 Charles Dickens described this marshland in sinister tones. 54 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,480 "The dark flat wilderness, 55 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,120 "intersected with dykes and mounds and gates, 56 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:26,320 "was the marshes, the low leaden line beyond was the river, 57 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,280 "and the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing 58 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:31,640 "was the sea." 59 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:41,320 Dickens was inspired by his actual experience 60 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:43,320 of this very bleak landscape - 61 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:47,360 so much so that the very first chapter of Great Expectations 62 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:52,080 is set here, in this graveyard at St James' Church in Cooling. 63 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,040 Steve Martin is a Dickens fanatic. 64 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,600 He's tracked down the hidden locations that 65 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:11,720 inspired his literary hero. 66 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,800 I feel as if I've suddenly entered the Dickens world. 67 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:21,520 Well, there's the inspiration for the opening sequence 68 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,920 of Great Expectations, where Pip would be standing here. 69 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:27,640 Looking at these graves in the book would have been the graves of 70 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,160 his brothers and sisters and his parents, 71 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,760 and out from the side of the church porch there would have come 72 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:34,360 Abel Magwitch, the escaped convict, 73 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,120 grabbed him, "Hold your tongue, boy, or I'll cut your throat!" 74 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:40,200 - Steady, Steve, steady! - THEY LAUGH 75 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:43,600 Frightening! I can feel it. I mean, do we know that as a fact? 76 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:45,080 Yes. In fact, he used to bring, 77 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,680 when he became famous, he used to bring all his friends here. 78 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:50,120 And it's known he used to come here 79 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:54,560 and use the tabletop grave there as a picnic table. 80 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,320 I knew that Dickens had a house in Kent 81 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:02,880 but I had no idea that he regularly roamed these marshes. 82 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,120 Luckily for us, he wrote thousands of letters 83 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:07,480 and he describes his daily routine. 84 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,600 And he often walked from Gad's Hill, about seven miles from here, 85 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,520 but he didn't go in a straight line, he would walk across the marshes. 86 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,080 And, of course, when he was walking, he was deep in thought. 87 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,480 What about this area as a whole? What was it like back then? 88 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:26,120 It's probably easier if I show you from up the top of there. 89 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:39,880 I say, Steve, it's not the prettiest of landscapes. 90 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:41,320 No, I'd agree with you there. 91 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,960 I mean, Dickens used to call it a very strange weird place, 92 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,520 but it's also got its own beauty. 93 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:49,120 This, over as far as we can see, 94 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:53,120 this flat land here, would have all been marshy, wet. 95 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,040 Not ideal for walking, is it? 96 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:57,200 In Dickens's time, it would have been much worse 97 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,600 cos the sea wall wasn't built at the time, and you can imagine 98 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:04,680 the marsh would have come right up to the very grounds of this church. 99 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,520 OK. I'm trying to picture that this is the place to live at that time. 100 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:10,720 - It's not? - No. I mean, the average life expectancy, 101 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,520 if you lived on these lowlands here, was 30 years. 102 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:14,920 Why only 30 years? 103 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,320 Well, not only did you have malnutrition, 104 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,080 and it wasn't a very nice place to live, of course you had malaria. 105 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:21,600 - Malaria here? - Yes. 106 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:25,040 A lot of people think malaria is related to overseas 107 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,880 but this particular peninsula was well known for malaria, 108 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:33,120 and in fact, the very last malaria outbreak in this country, 109 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,800 it was in 1918, was in this area. 110 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:38,280 Some of the men from the villages around here used to 111 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:39,760 marry seven or eight times. 112 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:42,280 I often wonder whether they actually told the ladies where 113 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,400 - they were moving to. - THEY LAUGH 114 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,440 I mean, it sounds horrendous! 115 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:47,480 Yes. 116 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:55,000 The North Kent Marshes aren't easy to love but there are 117 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,840 thousands of overseas visitors who come back here year after year. 118 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:10,360 Well, I can't decide whether I love it or hate it here. 119 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:12,160 You see that? 120 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:13,880 I just don't know. What do you make of it? 121 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:15,920 - I think it's absolutely stunning. - Yeah? 122 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:18,480 Looking out now, you can see the industry in the background, 123 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:21,920 - but you can see that flock of lapwing just going up, in front of the docks. - Oh, yeah. 124 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,480 It's those kind of views that I just find absolutely stunning. 125 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:32,000 'RSPB warden Will Tofts runs a tenacious team of volunteers 126 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:38,440 'who maintain this bleak bit of Kent as an ornithological Heathrow.' 127 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:41,680 Now, Will, I'm a Kentish man and I was brought up, what, 128 00:08:41,680 --> 00:08:43,520 just 20 miles that way, 129 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:46,840 and I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I'd never heard of this place. 130 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,760 Well, not many people have. I hadn't before I started working here. 131 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,600 It does seem incredible that, in the 21st century, 132 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,440 - that this hasn't been developed at all. - Yes. 133 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,360 And, with a little bit of your help, of course, 134 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:00,920 - this is now bird paradise, isn't it? - It is. 135 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,360 It's an internationally important area for wintering birds, 136 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:05,880 the whole Thames Estuary. 137 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:08,440 And so they flock here to feed on the mudflats, 138 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:11,600 and then they come up onto the grazing marsh to roost. 139 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,360 - How many birds are we talking about? - Oh, hundreds of thousands. 140 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:15,840 - Really? - Yes, yeah. 141 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,240 During the spring, we have breeding birds, like lapwing 142 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:20,640 and redshank, and they need this grazing marsh to breed. 143 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:22,680 So you can see, out at the moment, we've got sheep 144 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:25,280 and cattle grazing the ground, and they're getting the grass 145 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:27,880 into just the right condition for them to breed in the spring. 146 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:30,120 And then during the winter, we flood the whole marsh, 147 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:33,320 so it'll be mostly wet, and that's great for all the wildfowl 148 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,160 that come in from Siberia and Arctic during the winter. 149 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:40,800 For a twitcher like you, paradise? 150 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:42,360 Oh, absolutely. 151 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,320 - A bit like a secret corner of North Kent. - 'I think I get it.' 152 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:52,400 I can now see there really is beauty in the desolation here. 153 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:56,200 These marshes were the inspiration 154 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,000 for some of the world's best-loved literature 155 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:03,400 and are the destination of choice for the hundreds of thousands 156 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,880 of wild birds that flock here every year. 157 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:15,720 North Kent isn't the only bit of the county with wetlands. 158 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:20,520 50 miles south are the ancient and fertile Romney Marshes. 159 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:24,840 For 25 miles along the coast and ten miles inland, 160 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:29,160 this vast marshland barely rises above sea level. 161 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:31,360 Cut off from the rest of the county... 162 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:38,760 ..this is another wonderfully secluded landscape. 163 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:44,960 Across the flatlands, it's wild and windswept 164 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,640 and there are really hardly any trees. 165 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,840 John Betjeman wrote about here that "the sky is always 166 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,560 "three quarters of the landscape." 167 00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:54,960 He was right about that. 168 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:01,800 The Romney Marshes are criss-crossed by a network of waterways 169 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:03,040 and boggy ditches. 170 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:08,400 It's the perfect habitat for a diverse community of animals 171 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:12,400 including, I'm told, a loud but rather shy visitor 172 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:14,280 from across the Channel. 173 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:15,800 What are you up to here, Owen? 174 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:17,640 I'm looking for marsh frogs. 175 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:20,040 'Owen Leyshon is the local wetland officer.' 176 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,040 - So marsh frogs, then... - Yeah. - They're not native. What are they? 177 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,160 No, we know the story about these creatures. 178 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:31,400 They were introduced in 1935 by the wife of the local MP, 179 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:35,840 Mr Edward Percy Smith, and she brought 12 frogs, put them in 180 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:40,680 the garden ponds and they promptly all escaped onto the Romney Marsh. 181 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:43,720 How would I spot one of these compared to the standard frogs that we have? 182 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,680 The marsh frogs, they're the largest frogs in Europe, so the big ones. 183 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:50,040 - Oh, right. - But the small ones, yeah, they're very bright green... 184 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:52,560 - OK. - ..and they like basking in the sun. 185 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:54,360 So these will be on the side of the ditches, 186 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:57,880 - so we should have a good chance of seeing them today. - So we need to go creeping along? 187 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:01,480 We need to be very careful. They're very wary, so we've just got to be very careful. 188 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:04,880 - Shall we start heading that way? - Yeah, let's go that way. - Let's go quietly, then. 189 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:12,920 The frogs are skittish. 190 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,360 Getting close to one is going to take intuition and stealth. 191 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:21,080 - Yeah! Oh! - There we go. - Just disturbed every frog in the land! 192 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,680 There's a smaller one and then we'll cross back over there. 193 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:34,720 Marsh frogs are distinctive-looking and sounding. 194 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:37,440 They can grow up to 17 centimetres long 195 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:41,520 with powerful hind legs, which make them excellent jumpers. 196 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,040 The male frogs have prominent air sacs beside their mouths, 197 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:49,320 and in breeding season, they create an unholy racket in the marshes. 198 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:55,160 Visitors to the Romney Marsh are not quite sure what it is 199 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:56,640 when they first hear it. 200 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:58,880 They think it might be like a duck or something, 201 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,680 and they look in the ditch and they can't see any bird, 202 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:04,520 but actually, it's this frog which has got this, you know, 203 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:08,160 giggling, croaking, quacking kind of mating call. 204 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:10,160 And another name for them, the laughing frog, 205 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:11,800 I think is quite apt, really. 206 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,120 Going to creep round here. Ooh! Whee! 207 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,680 - That was one. - It actually it gave me a bit of a fright! 208 00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:20,720 Just a plop. We didn't get a good view of that one. 209 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:23,000 I didn't see anything. I just saw the plop! 210 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,200 - Ooh, right under me! - Another one. 211 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:27,240 I can't believe I walked right past it! 212 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,200 - They're definitely laughing at us, aren't they? - They are laughing! 213 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:35,440 With each female marsh frog able to lay up to 1,000 eggs, 214 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:38,960 you'd think it'd be easy to find a few on their breeding ground, 215 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,040 but I can assure you it's not. 216 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:44,840 They've just got their eyes poking out of the top. 217 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:46,920 They're looking at us and they'll just dip down 218 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:49,480 and there'll be those little ripples on the water. 219 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:51,120 There's one here! There's one here! 220 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,520 WHISPERS: That's pretty, um... Yes! 221 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,720 Look, he's big, he's big! Whee! 222 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:00,120 SHE LAUGHS 223 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:01,720 I've seen my first marsh frog. 224 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:03,600 Brilliant. On the Romney Marsh! 225 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:06,280 Yeah, the right place. Oh, there's another one! 226 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,720 It's one thing trying to find Kent's secrets 227 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,400 hopping around at ground level, but what if 228 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:18,520 what you're looking for is literally over the edge of a cliff? 229 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:31,360 These are the best known cliffs in the UK, probably the world. 230 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:33,840 It's a bit scary walking along them, 231 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,680 especially if there's a breeze, but the views are spectacular. 232 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:42,960 The clifftop footpath out of Dover 233 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,680 was recently voted one of the best walks in Britain. 234 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:49,840 What these ramblers don't know is that children used to 235 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:51,520 dangle off these cliffs, 236 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:55,120 risking their lives to harvest a very valuable plant. 237 00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:00,400 And now I'm going to risk mine to find out why. 238 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,320 The cliffs here are 300 feet high with nothing 239 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:11,320 but the rocks below to break your fall. 240 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:19,320 You go first, Will. I'll follow you. 241 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:21,080 SHE LAUGHS 242 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:23,800 'Will Owen is a professional forager. 243 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:27,960 'He makes his living scouring the Kent countryside for unusual 244 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:29,720 'and forgotten flavours.' 245 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:31,440 Do we need to be any lower? 246 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:33,560 - How about a couple more feet? - OK. 247 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:39,840 Very crumbly, isn't it? 248 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,680 Oh, my goodness! I haven't done this since I was at school... 249 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:49,760 ..and I was not as heavy as I am right now! 250 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:55,160 'We're looking for a plant that was so popular with the nobility 251 00:15:55,160 --> 00:16:00,520 400 years ago, it was harvested to near extinction.' 252 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:04,680 Whoa! Is this it? Are we here? 253 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:05,920 This is it. We found it. 254 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,880 - It's this one, right? - This little one here is our rock samphire, yeah. 255 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:14,280 Rock samphire was so expensive up in London 256 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,680 that the Kentish peasants were prepared to risk their lives 257 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:21,600 and those of their children to pick this stuff. 258 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:22,640 It is amazing, isn't it? 259 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:25,080 I think it shows how desperate people would have been 260 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,000 and just how strong that demand was. 261 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,520 I just still can't imagine 262 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,400 someone climbing down here - 263 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:34,960 children climbing down here. 264 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:38,560 I mean, I feel relatively safe but, you know, 265 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:40,840 with just a single rope or something? 266 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,840 Yeah, a single rope, possibly in worse winds. 267 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:47,520 Oh! And I'm not going to look down, I promise you that. 268 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:49,720 How do you cook this or use it? 269 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:54,760 Traditionally, it was harvested from the cliff and from the beach 270 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:59,040 and the shingle, and then put in huge barrels of saltwater, 271 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:02,040 or brine, and taken up to London, where it was pickled. 272 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,680 These days, we still pickle it, but it is just as delicious. 273 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:07,560 You can pare it down, put it in salads or 274 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,600 wilt it down with fish and garlic and butter. 275 00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:13,440 And here's something you probably don't know. 276 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,000 Rock samphire is a member of the carrot family 277 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,960 and it has 30 times more vitamin C than oranges. 278 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:21,200 Who knew? 279 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:26,080 I guess the secret, really, is that this is a forgotten delicacy. 280 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:28,560 Well, it's not entirely forgotten. 281 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:33,880 Foragers are still using it and, as long as it's foraged respectfully, 282 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:35,320 then that's a good thing. 283 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:42,360 Dover's white cliffs are better known as the backdrop 284 00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:45,680 to Kent's 24/7 cross-channel ferry traffic. 285 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,240 13 million passengers pass through the port each year 286 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,480 and getting away from it all here can be a challenge. 287 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:01,400 Local bus driver Brian Vanderveen knows exactly where to go 288 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:03,400 when he wants some peace and quiet. 289 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:08,400 The Warren is a secluded pocket of pristine woodland 290 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,640 at the base of the cliffs just two miles outside of Dover. 291 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:17,640 We started coming down here probably 292 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,560 when we was probably ten with our parents, and obviously, when we got 293 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:24,800 to teenage stage, then we would sort of sneak down here on our bikes. 294 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:28,200 We'd climb trees, throw a rope over a branch and make a swing, 295 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,120 you could sit on it, and we would swing out probably over, 296 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,520 you know, maybe a 30-foot drop or something. 297 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:37,360 We used to get told off cos we'd get home too late. 298 00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:39,000 We'd have to be in by, say, six o'clock 299 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,240 and we might roll in at ten o'clock. 300 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:43,720 We did get grounded then as well, in them days. 301 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:45,320 Wasn't long before we were back out 302 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,680 and then probably sneak down here again on our bikes. 303 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:02,920 The actual place is located right at the base of the white cliffs. 304 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,640 To actually get to this location takes a fair bit of effort. 305 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,760 It's a windy, steep path. 306 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,880 I think that's what helps to make it the place it is. 307 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,960 I've seen quite a sort of diverse wildlife down here. 308 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:21,480 It's got its own sort of, like, microclimate. 309 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,880 There is various types of plant. I know there's, like... 310 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:27,080 A certain species of butterfly are found only 311 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:28,920 in this part of the South East. 312 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:32,400 There's various sort of wild orchids that grow down here 313 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:34,000 and are more or less unique. 314 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:41,680 I've come down here in the past. 315 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,080 I've been down here the best part of a whole afternoon 316 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:46,240 and I haven't seen a single soul. 317 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:50,480 You get the fog sweeping in off the sea. 318 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,160 Sometimes, I imagine sort of, like, a T-Rex coming through 319 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:56,800 the woods or something! 320 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,480 It's sort of, like, prehistoric. 321 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:03,200 To me, it is the place I treasure most. 322 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:07,320 It is a special place. 323 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:21,880 You don't always have to leave town to lose yourself. 324 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:26,080 Sometimes, there are secret places waiting to be discovered 325 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:27,480 right under your feet. 326 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,800 The exact location I cannot reveal. 327 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:40,720 All I can tell you is that we are still in Kent, 328 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,720 and up there is the city of Rochester. 329 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,560 I'm in a labyrinth of tunnels that have been closed to 330 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:55,000 the public since the Second World War. 331 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:07,680 And I can only access this forgotten world 332 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:11,320 thanks to the ongoing explorations of local historian 333 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:16,480 Stephen Quinton, who's still uncovering their surprising stories. 334 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,000 Steve. 335 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,040 I'm glad you've got that map down here, it goes on for miles! 336 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:24,880 - It certainly does Chris, yes. - What is this place? 337 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:30,960 This was the underground tunnel system underneath the Shorts plane factory. 338 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:35,440 This was the factory that was built to protect the factory workers 339 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:38,200 once the bombing started during the Blitz. 340 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:45,600 It's common knowledge that the Shorts Aircraft Company 341 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,240 built flying boats in Rochester, 342 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,840 using the River Medway as the perfect natural runway. 343 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:56,040 What's not in the history books, 344 00:21:56,040 --> 00:22:01,000 is that faced with the relentless aerial attacks in 1940, the company 345 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:05,880 extended their factory underground to escape the German bombs. 346 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,160 They haven't done it on a small scale either, have they? 347 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:21,800 No. It's certainly quite large down here. 348 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:23,360 How big is this place? 349 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:26,360 It's probably the best part of three or four miles, 350 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:28,880 if you add up all the different sections of tunnels. 351 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,000 Three to four miles underground? 352 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:32,120 Mm, yes. 353 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,720 I just can't get my head round that. 354 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,120 In addition to emergency office space, 355 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:44,200 workshops and a medical block, Shorts built oversized 356 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:47,640 factory tunnels down here to protect vital production. 357 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:49,760 And out this way, Chris. Yeah, through there. 358 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:53,400 Yeah, keep going. 359 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:57,160 'The miles and miles of brick-lined tunnels doubled up as a public 360 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:01,360 'air-raid shelter, big enough for 11,000 people.' 361 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:05,400 - Mind your head as you go through there, Chris. - I will. 362 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:09,440 I can see some wood. 363 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,720 That's the remnants of the bench seating that was down here, 364 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:14,760 which was both sides of the tunnel, 365 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,400 and that's where they used to sit during air raids. 366 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,800 Oh, look, there's some writing on the wall here... 367 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,760 - Yes, that's some of the original wartime graffiti. - Oh, Spitfire... 368 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:27,920 - LAUGHING: - Yeah! A Hurricane. We've got a cartoon Popeye... 369 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:29,440 Ah, look! 370 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:30,920 A Sunderland. 371 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:32,240 Is that the plane they made... 372 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:34,920 That's the plane that was made above the tunnels, 373 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:38,320 and the parts were made down in the tunnels. 374 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,520 And just up here's another plane, but I love this. 375 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:47,280 There's obviously a game going on between "G-N-T" and "J". 376 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,080 - What do you reckon, game of cards? - Could well be, people scoring. 377 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:52,000 - Scoring! - HE LAUGHS 378 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:56,080 Bit of cribbage as well. But that, I just think is absolutely fascinating. 379 00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:58,800 What's going on in people's minds... 380 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:02,240 Bombing going on above, and how they were occupying themselves. 381 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:03,280 Exactly. 382 00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:06,720 - Oh, look, a men's toilet! - Yes. 383 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,000 Or "lavatory", obviously, in the, 1940s. 384 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,200 - LAUGHING: - Lavatory back in those days, Chris, yes. 385 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:14,600 - So there were ladies' toilets too, right? - There were ladies' toilets too... 386 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,160 What sort of facilities are we talking about? 387 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,520 Um, well, they had a Nelson toilet. Erm, basically a large bucket. 388 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,280 A bucket toilet? 389 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,720 For 11,000 people? So what about privacy? 390 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:30,480 I'm afraid it was just a cloth curtain, and, er, sing loudly. 391 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,360 - LAUGHING: - Yeah! I bet you had to sing loudly. Goodness. 392 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,240 We've been walking for ages now, Steve. 393 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:49,920 I wondering where this factory is? 394 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,400 Well, you're just about reaching it now. 395 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:59,440 After all those tunnels, I didn't know what to expect, but this... 396 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,360 Look at the size of this place! 397 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,600 This is a real factory, isn't it? 398 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,280 Look. Every single section or bay... 399 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:14,360 - Yeah. - ..numbered. 400 00:25:14,360 --> 00:25:16,240 Original light fittings. 401 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:18,520 Fuse box over there. 402 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:19,600 Old boxes. 403 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,240 So what did they make in this factory? 404 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:28,160 Anything from compasses, gyros, to engine parts. 405 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:33,680 Anything that was really sensitive that the company didn't want bombed. 406 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:37,840 So you can imagine that this place was packed, and it was busy? 407 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,480 - Absolutely. - Yeah. - Absolutely. 408 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:46,880 'It's staggering to think that Shorts moved an entire factory underground. 409 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:50,240 'But while they secretly built planes down here, 410 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:53,840 'the Nazis were developing their own secret weapons.' 411 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:03,040 In 1944, they unleashed a fearsome new threat against Britain. 412 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:07,440 Pilotless rocket bombs, known as V-1s. 413 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,000 And they were launched across the Channel at London. 414 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:15,680 And nowhere was safe. 415 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,720 This is the tiny village of Little Chart, near Ashford, 416 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:30,040 just 60 miles from the capital city. 417 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:37,120 I bet this historic village, tucked away in the countryside, 418 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:39,840 must have felt as safe as houses during the war. 419 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,720 But looks can be deceptive. 420 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,560 The ruins of St Mary the Virgin, 421 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:54,600 a 700-year-old church on the edge of the village, 422 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:56,240 tell a different story. 423 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,400 In the summer of 1944, 424 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,160 a V-1 rocket slammed into the church. 425 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:16,160 Martin Pym worked on his family farm in the shadow of the church 426 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:17,760 during the war. 427 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:23,800 Martin, you actually remember the old church being hit. 428 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:25,600 Whereabouts were you at the time? 429 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,080 Well, we were on the farm. 430 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:31,960 It was late summer, I suppose, in the harvest, 431 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:34,200 and I was 16, I think. 432 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:38,320 And I was on top of the combine, and suddenly the combine stopped. 433 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:42,840 So, I looked up and saw this Doodle Bug, flying bomb, 434 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:44,840 just coming down. 435 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:48,320 And it looked, at that moment, that it was going to come down on us. 436 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:51,360 So, I jumped off and, as I hit the ground, 437 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:53,040 there was an enormous explosion. 438 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:57,480 So, you actually recall where the rocket actually hit the church, 439 00:27:57,480 --> 00:27:59,320 at what point? 440 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:02,440 It hit the tower and exploded. 441 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:06,480 It knocked the rest of the church down. 442 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:08,240 We were sorry about the church, 443 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:12,280 because it was a very old 13th century church. 444 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:14,760 So, no, it was a great loss. A great pity. 445 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,160 Sheila, you used to come to this church when you were a little girl. 446 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,720 - That's right. - Yeah. - When I was about five or six. 447 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:30,760 Sheila Hancock grew up at a time 448 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:34,240 when the old church was the spiritual hub of the village. 449 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:38,280 Yes, I came until the actual church got bombed. 450 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:40,920 I was about nine then, you see. 451 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:43,440 - This is a picture of what it used to look like? - That's right. 452 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:45,000 - Wow! - Yeah. 453 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:46,480 So, talk me through this then. 454 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:47,760 This is the pews. 455 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:49,200 And where would they have been? 456 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:50,840 Here. 457 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:52,120 Yeah. 458 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:53,240 Here. 459 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:58,520 And then there's the, the altar rail, you see, which was...here. 460 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:01,720 So, you had happy memories here? 461 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:03,040 Yes, I did. Yes. 462 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:11,920 At the peak of Hitler's rocket attacks in the summer of 1944, 463 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:15,680 over 100 V-1s, or Doodle Bugs, 464 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:18,440 were being launched against London every day. 465 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:24,000 So, how come Little Chart was on the receiving end of a direct hit? 466 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:27,600 And was this an isolated incident? 467 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:34,920 I've got a map here which was actually in 468 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:36,800 one of the local papers at the time. 469 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:40,160 This is where the Doodle Bugs crashed in Kent. 470 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:41,720 The numbers are just staggering. 471 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:47,120 2,400 bombs that actually descended on Kent alone. 472 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:50,160 They say 200 more than London, which is extraordinary. 473 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:53,280 So, the history books tend to talk about London 474 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,000 and the big cities that were affected, 475 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:01,800 - but Kent, as a county, was covered, it was in the line of fire. - Yeah. 476 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:06,800 Because it was the route from the launching sites to London, 477 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:08,760 and that was the target. 478 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:14,440 So, these ones were shot down probably by anti-aircraft guns. 479 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,280 Then there were fighters here before they had barrage balloons. 480 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:24,720 Government policy was to defend London at all costs. 481 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:29,280 But every V-1 that dropped short had to come down somewhere. 482 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:31,760 That put rural Kent on the front line, 483 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,480 and earned the county the nickname Bomb Alley. 484 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:38,200 I just can't imagine what it must have been like just hearing 485 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:41,560 these Doodle Bugs flying overhead. 486 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:44,280 I mean, it was just random, I guess, when they were going to land 487 00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:46,160 because the real target was London. 488 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:49,760 Yes. You would just think, "Oh, gosh", you know. 489 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:52,520 And you could just feel them sailing through the air 490 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:56,160 until they either hit the ground or hit something. 491 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:58,960 They were... I think they were horrible. 492 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:08,040 I'd heard of Kent being called The Garden of England, 493 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:11,880 but I'd never heard it referred to as Bomb Alley. 494 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:13,480 There are just secrets everywhere, 495 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:15,640 even in the places that you think you know. 496 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:27,880 On the ancient Romney Marshes, the ditches surrounding 497 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:32,200 Thomas a Becket Church in Fairfield, hold a surprise all of their own. 498 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:34,960 I've got a question for you. 499 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:38,200 What has this got to do with this? 500 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:45,160 The clue is in the name. 501 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:46,960 I'd always assumed that the fluffy, 502 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:50,480 puffy marshmallow was dreamt up by a confectionary mastermind 503 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:54,160 who knew how to whip together sugar and artificial flavourings. 504 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:57,720 What I didn't know was that, hidden in these reed beds, 505 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:01,480 is the plant responsible for one of my favourite treats. 506 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:03,600 This is marshmallow, then? 507 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:06,000 Indeed, yes. This has come from my garden. 508 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:07,560 Tell me a bit about this plant then? 509 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:09,880 Well, it's a scarce plant nationally, 510 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:13,040 found mainly on coastal marshlands and grazing marshlands, 511 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:17,120 and it's very, very popular with the sheep and the cattle, they love this. 512 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:20,360 How do we associate this one with the sweet that we know today? 513 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:22,280 Well, the sweet was made from the roots. 514 00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:26,920 All the sweetness, and all the kind of gooeyness, down in the roots. 515 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:30,640 The marshmallow was long considered a medicinal plant, 516 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:33,680 boiled down and used as a treatment for sore throats. 517 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:35,840 But the very same natural extract 518 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:39,600 is also the perfect base for making pillow-like sweets. 519 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,720 I've got you the ingredients. Do you reckon you can use these? 520 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:48,120 Fantastic. Yeah, sure. It's a strange old ingredient. 521 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:50,880 While ancient recipes survive on paper, 522 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:54,680 making marshmallows from the root is a long lost art. 523 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,400 But that's not going to stop award-winning Kent chef, 524 00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:58,920 Stephen Harris. 525 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:03,880 Basically, what I've got to do is to extract what is, in effect, 526 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:07,120 a mucus. It doesn't sound very nice, from the plant. 527 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:10,240 - Do you want to get working on some of these roots? - Yes. 528 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,320 And we need to peel them, 529 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:15,240 chop them up, and then get them in this pan of boiling water. 530 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:16,800 Is that enough, you've got in there? 531 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:18,600 No. I think we'll certainly need that one. 532 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:20,720 That one's a bit slimy, that's probably not good. 533 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:22,880 I'll take that one. And it does take a while, 534 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:24,360 it takes about 20 minutes. 535 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:25,480 So, as a chef, then, 536 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:28,480 - do you mind trying something that might be completely disastrous? - No. 537 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:31,440 - You like this experimenting? - Yeah. Yeah, that's what I do, really. 538 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:32,920 It's always quite good fun. 539 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:35,920 Once you've made a souffle, and a hollandaise, and all that, 540 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:37,480 you've run out of things to do. 541 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:40,400 You're kind of always, always looking for something new. 542 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:44,200 The marshmallow plant is rare and protected in the UK. 543 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:49,120 You can buy marshmallow extract, but maybe that's too easy. 544 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:50,800 Right. So, we now... 545 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,280 - Do some big whisking? - Yes. 546 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:57,880 This is going to take ages! 547 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:03,360 What does this egg white do? 548 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:07,960 Basically, we want this flavour of this root to be in something 549 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:09,840 that's airy and nice to eat. 550 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:13,040 So, that's what we're doing, is whisking the egg whites. 551 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:15,760 - Do you want me to take over? - Yeah, my arm's hurting already! 552 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:17,640 And if you grab the sugar... 553 00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:19,760 We add the sugar a little bit at a time. 554 00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:21,280 Lovely. 555 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:26,120 - Who needs a food processor, you're fast! - Right. 556 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:29,920 So, we now need to sieve this extract, then we're going to 557 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:34,160 put it into the egg white, and that is, in theory, marshmallow. 558 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:36,680 Oh, right. We're getting closer and closer. 559 00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:39,440 I will whisk it all together. 560 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:48,200 Right, if I do the bag, you could put the mix in, in there. 561 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:50,000 Now what I suggest we do, 562 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:54,480 is I'll pipe some of this directly on and, and almost cook it. 563 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:55,720 One big experiment, this. 564 00:34:55,720 --> 00:34:57,200 It is. Right. So... 565 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:05,240 So, here we are. We're piping onto there. 566 00:35:05,240 --> 00:35:09,040 Oh! Got you. Oh, they look neat. 567 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:16,040 - Right. Now, I will turn off the heat source. - Turn off the heat? 568 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:18,960 - Yes. - How's it looking? - Yeah, we have a toasted marshmallow. 569 00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:22,240 I'm amazed that we've got this far. Let's just go for it. 570 00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:25,560 Right. I'll get one that's not too caramelised. 571 00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:28,120 - There we go. - How's that for presentation there, look. 572 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:29,880 - There you go. - Let's have some of that. 573 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:36,360 It's actually marshmallow! You've done it. 574 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:47,160 While the home of the marshmallow is characteristic of the county's 575 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:51,000 coastal fringes, the interior is dominated by the rolling 576 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,200 hills of the North Downs. 577 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:01,160 A high, short ridge 578 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:04,640 stretching from the White Cliffs of Dover and Folkestone... 579 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:11,200 ..all the way across the county, to south-east London and beyond. 580 00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:26,040 The North Downs reach almost 250m above sea level, 581 00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:29,840 which means you have to dig deep into the chalk 582 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:31,520 to uncover its secrets. 583 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:35,680 THEY CHEER 584 00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:42,160 It's about 20 years since I last played cricket in Kent. 585 00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:45,120 And there's nothing like it, a bit of sunshine, a village green 586 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:47,440 and the sound of leather on willow. 587 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:51,600 But you're thinking, "Enjoyable cricket in the sunshine? 588 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:54,000 "That's not a secret." 589 00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:58,840 I've heard that somewhere nearby is an extraordinary 590 00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:03,440 subterranean chamber. And I want in. 591 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:07,440 - Oh, I haven't done that for a while. - Well done, you! 592 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:10,840 My best bet is local estate owner, the American born 593 00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:17,000 Countess Sondes, who's lived at Lees Court for 30 years. 594 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,200 Now, I know you're president of this club, 595 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:21,960 but we haven't come here to talk about cricket, have we? 596 00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:25,000 There's a cave around here, right? 597 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:26,920 - WHISPERS: - Where is it? 598 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:31,280 Right down there. Way down. 599 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:33,920 So, where we've been playing cricket, in this area, 600 00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:36,120 - there is a cave? - Sort of. 601 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:38,960 And you go down about 30 feet and wow! 602 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:40,960 You're in another world. 603 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:44,400 Will you go and show me where this is? 604 00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:47,080 - Well, come on then, see what you think. - All right, come on then. 605 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:50,040 The Countess may have taken me into her confidence, 606 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:52,840 but I can't tell you where we're going. 607 00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:56,400 The location of this cave is a secret. 608 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,440 And the entrance is utterly unremarkable 609 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:02,640 - Chris? - Yeah? 610 00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:07,120 - Under here? - Right where we're standing. 611 00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:13,080 Hidden in plain sight, just beyond the boundary rope 612 00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:15,960 and I don't know what to expect. 613 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:17,960 THEY LAUGH 614 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:22,680 - It's not a small cave, this is huge. - It's huge! 615 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:26,240 30 steps lead down a narrow shaft into the void, where the 616 00:38:26,240 --> 00:38:29,520 atmosphere is damp and chilling. 617 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:37,800 But what a sight! 618 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:43,640 It's not a cave, it's a different world. 619 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:48,360 Four vast chambers carved high above me into the chalk. 620 00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:51,320 I'm really confused, 621 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:55,000 because, I mean, it's so organised. It's so structured. 622 00:38:55,000 --> 00:39:01,360 Let's have a look down here. Oh, my goodness, it's enormous! 623 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:08,440 Chalk. It must be a mine of some sort. 624 00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:12,040 Well, what do you think? 625 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:17,080 I must admit, I didn't expect it to be like this. You said a cave. 626 00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:20,760 You were fibbing to me. It's like a different world down here, isn't it? 627 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:26,720 To me it's cathedral like. It's like, not anything I've ever seen. 628 00:39:26,720 --> 00:39:29,280 I know it's not a cathedral. It looks like it, with that spire 629 00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:34,080 there. And I can't imagine any person living in here. 630 00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:36,360 So, come on, tell me, what is it? 631 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:38,040 It's 17th century. 632 00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:42,680 It's called a dene hole, it's to mine chalk and that chalk 633 00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:46,520 would have been used for agricultural purposes. Or it would 634 00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:51,320 have gone into a kiln and that would have been limewater for building. 635 00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:54,640 So, some for cement. And you say for agriculture. 636 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:56,320 What, like a fertiliser? 637 00:39:56,320 --> 00:40:00,040 Exactly. It would go on top of the soil. 638 00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:03,440 So, this is one, two, three chambers and there's one more. 639 00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:05,720 I mean, do you know how it was mined? 640 00:40:05,720 --> 00:40:08,320 Well, you can even see just looking at the walls. 641 00:40:08,320 --> 00:40:10,960 - It was all done by hand, of course. - Yeah. 642 00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:12,960 How many people would be down here? 643 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:16,040 One down here, but then there'd be two men, 644 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:20,600 that would have to go in a basket, in order to get it up to the top. 645 00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:23,920 So, one man has done all of this? 646 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:27,920 Thousands of dene holes riddle the Kent landscape, 647 00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:29,800 though few on this scale. 648 00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:32,720 Some claim the name comes from Dane 649 00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:36,640 and think they were used as hiding places from Norse invaders. 650 00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:40,880 But many predate the Vikings by 1,000 years. 651 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:44,640 And who knows how many remain undiscovered? 652 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,240 I have to say you're a very, very lucky person to have this. 653 00:40:51,240 --> 00:40:53,680 And think of what's right on top of us. 654 00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:57,600 - Oh, it's another world! - They're playing cricket right now above us. 655 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:04,040 Some things aren't what they seem. 656 00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:17,720 Apparently, this peaceful waterway on the Romney Marshes 657 00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:20,440 harbours a big secret. 658 00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:22,480 Down with the ducks and the swans, 659 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:27,080 this overgrown waterway looks tranquil. 660 00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:29,560 The scenery's just beautiful. 661 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:32,840 You can walk your dog along it, you can even have a paddle, 662 00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:35,800 but just check out the view from up there. 663 00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:40,320 This is no ordinary canal. 664 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:43,720 It's 28 miles long, goes nowhere 665 00:41:43,720 --> 00:41:47,440 and is definitely not built in a straight line. 666 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:52,560 This is the Royal Military Canal. 667 00:41:57,040 --> 00:42:00,520 It's the third largest defensive structure in the UK, 668 00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:03,480 behind Hadrian's Wall and Offa's Dyke. 669 00:42:03,480 --> 00:42:07,400 And, virtually, no-one outside of Kent even knows it's here. 670 00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:13,040 In fact, I'm not sure many people within Kent know it's here either. 671 00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:17,320 So, what's it doing here? 672 00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:19,920 Mike Umbers is a retired army officer, 673 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:23,040 who's spent years unearthing its history. 674 00:42:23,040 --> 00:42:24,920 Oh, well, you made it. 675 00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:26,080 I did make it. 676 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:28,160 THEY LAUGH 677 00:42:28,160 --> 00:42:31,320 Mike, what can you tell me about this military canal? 678 00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:35,080 You're seeing it a long time after it was built. 679 00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:38,440 When it was new, pristine banks, all that earth that was 680 00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:41,480 shovelled out of there, was piled up here on this bank 681 00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:44,960 that we are now standing on. It was much higher than it is now. 682 00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:49,000 So, all the soil, the earth came up to here, 683 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:52,840 flattened on this bit here and then fell away at the back. 684 00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:55,960 That's right. It's 60 foot wide, it's nine foot deep. 685 00:42:55,960 --> 00:42:59,960 For people who can't swim, to come up against this obstacle and to have 686 00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:05,160 their horses, their guns, it really was a very formidable obstacle. 687 00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:14,200 Stretching from the coast all the way round the Romney Marshes, 688 00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:17,760 the Royal Military Canal was built as a defence 689 00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:20,200 against Napoleonic invasion. 690 00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:25,720 And the jinks, or the zigzags, were the latest in military thinking. 691 00:43:25,720 --> 00:43:30,360 At every corner, you've got what we would call a pill box. 692 00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:35,160 It would have in it guns firing enfilade, we call it, 693 00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:38,600 right along the jinks of the canal. 694 00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:41,760 Everything that the enemy is doing is under fire. 695 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:44,800 The canal was actually a secondary line of defence, 696 00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:48,600 sitting a couple of miles behind a string of gun emplacements, 697 00:43:48,600 --> 00:43:52,600 called Martello Towers, built along Kent's coast. 698 00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:55,760 When the two lines are in position, we're going to get him 699 00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:58,960 on the beach and he is going to come across those fields there. 700 00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:01,840 And when he comes up against this second obstacle, 701 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:05,240 it is a real problem for him. 702 00:44:05,240 --> 00:44:08,400 So, the perceived threat from Napoleon, it was real. 703 00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:11,760 People used to frighten their babies by saying, "Boney's coming!" 704 00:44:11,760 --> 00:44:15,000 He posed the biggest threat since the Spanish Armada. 705 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:20,640 He was massing his troops in Boulogne to advance on London. 706 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:24,000 If he hadn't had this and he had broken through, 707 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:27,360 it was Canterbury, it was London, it was Britain finished. 708 00:44:27,360 --> 00:44:29,280 But that threat never materialised. 709 00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:31,800 So, would you say this became a white elephant? 710 00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:34,200 Oh, no way! Hitler knew of it. 711 00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:36,800 Hitler had this great invasion plan, Sea Lion. 712 00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:41,520 They had paratroopers dropping on high to seize the bridges, 713 00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:43,760 but it was the same old canal. 714 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:52,080 Neither Hitler nor Napoleon ever put the canal to the test. 715 00:44:52,080 --> 00:44:55,880 One of Kent's best kept secrets, it remains out of action. 716 00:44:55,880 --> 00:45:00,240 Save for one day every other year when Kevin Howell 717 00:45:00,240 --> 00:45:04,560 and the people of Hythe, turn their town into Little Venice. 718 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:07,840 OK. Finishing touches. 719 00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:12,720 We just need to get the table laid. So, tea pot, cup, saucers, tarts. 720 00:45:12,720 --> 00:45:15,320 I've lived in Hythe for just over 30 years. 721 00:45:17,240 --> 00:45:18,560 We're ready to go. 722 00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:21,000 Once you get costumes on, you sort of go, 723 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:22,960 "Right, OK, we can do this now." 724 00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:25,120 Every two years, 725 00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:28,040 the town puts on what they call the Hythe Venetian Fete. 726 00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:31,560 I think people if they've heard of the fete, will assume it comes 727 00:45:31,560 --> 00:45:34,920 through the high street on the road, but it's use of the canal 728 00:45:34,920 --> 00:45:37,480 that actually makes it that bit different. 729 00:45:41,880 --> 00:45:46,200 The Venetian Fete has been going for over 140 years. 730 00:45:46,200 --> 00:45:49,160 The float this year takes the theme of Alice in Wonderland. 731 00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:51,320 It's always good fun to do. 732 00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:57,240 Floats are pulled up the canal by a row boat. 733 00:45:57,240 --> 00:46:00,920 That, in itself, is quite a skilful job, 734 00:46:00,920 --> 00:46:05,840 because you've got to control quite a big piece of kit behind you. 735 00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:12,680 That's easy on the road, but on water that's a bit more tricky. 736 00:46:12,680 --> 00:46:15,720 The floats run up and down the canal once in daylight. 737 00:46:16,800 --> 00:46:19,640 The second run comes later in the evening and that's 738 00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:22,320 when the floats are lit up. 739 00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:29,400 There is a big firework display later in the evening. 740 00:46:32,040 --> 00:46:35,800 It's really spectacular. Lights shine out. 741 00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:39,240 You've got the reflections across the water on the canal as well, 742 00:46:39,240 --> 00:46:42,480 which just adds an extra layer of lights and ripples. 743 00:46:42,480 --> 00:46:45,880 It does feel good to be part of the community at an event like this. 744 00:46:45,880 --> 00:46:49,640 It's a really nice, fun evening to come down and see. 745 00:47:01,480 --> 00:47:05,840 Tradition and heritage are a big part of Kent. 746 00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:09,680 The landscape remains rich with historic oasthouses, 747 00:47:09,680 --> 00:47:12,920 nestled amongst the hop fields. 748 00:47:12,920 --> 00:47:16,440 But the stories that went with them are being forgotten. 749 00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:26,640 I used to go to school just around the corner from this very spot 750 00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:30,800 and you never, ever forget that sweet smell of drying hops. 751 00:47:32,920 --> 00:47:35,200 Hops are actually flowers. 752 00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:37,040 They've been used to add aroma 753 00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:40,200 and bitterness to beer for more than 1,000 years. 754 00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:45,760 Today, they're picked by machines and a handful of workers. 755 00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:48,440 But fourth generation hop farmer Peter Hall 756 00:47:48,440 --> 00:47:53,360 remembers hop picking from his childhood being very different. 757 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:56,640 This is a beautiful part of the world, I have to say, 758 00:47:56,640 --> 00:47:59,920 but I did expect to be surrounded by hop fields. 759 00:47:59,920 --> 00:48:02,960 - Well, you're about 50 years too late. - Oh, right. OK. 760 00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:05,120 - We've still got a little bit of hops. - Right. 761 00:48:05,120 --> 00:48:07,520 Two acres that we grow organically. 762 00:48:07,520 --> 00:48:09,560 But, go back to my grandfather's day, 763 00:48:09,560 --> 00:48:12,840 we had 50 acres of hops here, 50 acres at Paddock Wood. 764 00:48:12,840 --> 00:48:16,120 But times change, there's not the demand for the hops. 765 00:48:16,120 --> 00:48:18,440 Beer isn't drunk in this country like it was. 766 00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:21,520 And, so, we've now planted these very fertile bits 767 00:48:21,520 --> 00:48:26,080 of the farm up with apple orchards that we're growing organically. 768 00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:30,800 Until the 1950s, everything on the hop farm was done by hand. 769 00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:34,320 For most of the year that meant Peter's grandfather 770 00:48:34,320 --> 00:48:36,160 and a few farm hands. 771 00:48:36,160 --> 00:48:39,520 But when summer came, everything changed. 772 00:48:39,520 --> 00:48:41,960 Come harvest time that must have been completely... 773 00:48:41,960 --> 00:48:43,760 Come harvest time, it was insanity. 774 00:48:43,760 --> 00:48:46,920 You'd probably have had 400 pickers on 50 acres of hops. 775 00:48:46,920 --> 00:48:50,200 And they would have been here with all their families and 776 00:48:50,200 --> 00:48:53,560 hangers on and, you know, visitors and Uncle Tom Cobley and all. 777 00:48:53,560 --> 00:48:57,320 So, I'm imagining now it's about 600 people, isn't it? 778 00:48:57,320 --> 00:48:59,400 It probably could be running up to that, yeah. 779 00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:02,000 It's certainly, you know, it's an awful lot. 780 00:49:03,720 --> 00:49:07,920 Around 80,000 East Enders would pile down to Kent, 781 00:49:07,920 --> 00:49:10,520 from London, every August. 782 00:49:10,520 --> 00:49:14,400 Entire families. Men, women and children 783 00:49:14,400 --> 00:49:16,800 toiling away in the hop fields. 784 00:49:16,800 --> 00:49:19,600 This was hard manual labour. 785 00:49:19,600 --> 00:49:24,280 And accommodating such an army of workers was no mean feat. 786 00:49:24,280 --> 00:49:26,040 Where did they stay? 787 00:49:26,040 --> 00:49:29,520 They stayed in a whole encampment around the farm. 788 00:49:29,520 --> 00:49:34,240 The last remaining or one of the last remaining bits 789 00:49:34,240 --> 00:49:37,680 is this ramshackle structure in here. 790 00:49:42,440 --> 00:49:45,760 Hop pickers' huts were temporary structures, 791 00:49:45,760 --> 00:49:48,720 so it's extremely rare for one to survive. 792 00:49:52,760 --> 00:49:56,800 It's not much, I have to say. My first impressions, 793 00:49:56,800 --> 00:50:00,320 it's like a little old tin hut, isn't it? 794 00:50:00,320 --> 00:50:02,200 How old are these huts, about? 795 00:50:02,200 --> 00:50:05,040 Well, I don't know this particular one, but there will have been 796 00:50:05,040 --> 00:50:07,840 huts standing here on the common since 1850 I should think. 797 00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:11,400 Wow. So what, would one family live in all of this? 798 00:50:11,400 --> 00:50:13,480 No. God, no. No, no, no way. 799 00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:16,240 I mean you'd... There are...we've got four bays. 800 00:50:16,240 --> 00:50:19,880 You'd be looking at, probably, you know, four, five, 801 00:50:19,880 --> 00:50:22,400 six people sleeping in each bay of this. 802 00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:25,200 Hold on a second. Four, five, six people. 803 00:50:26,200 --> 00:50:28,800 Hold on. One, two, three... 804 00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:32,880 What, five steps you'd have a family in there? 805 00:50:32,880 --> 00:50:35,520 Yeah. Yeah, it depends on the size of the family. 806 00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:38,120 - And another family in here? - Yeah. Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. 807 00:50:38,120 --> 00:50:41,120 - 24 people from here to here? - It could be. 808 00:50:46,200 --> 00:50:50,240 In spite of the crude accommodation and the back-breaking work, 809 00:50:50,240 --> 00:50:53,920 Peter remembers the East Enders seeing their time here 810 00:50:53,920 --> 00:50:56,840 as a sort of holiday. 811 00:50:56,840 --> 00:50:58,640 Tell me, am I a bit soft? 812 00:50:58,640 --> 00:51:01,000 Have I spent too much time in nice comfortable beds, 813 00:51:01,000 --> 00:51:05,400 that I just couldn't imagine living in here? 814 00:51:05,400 --> 00:51:07,560 To be perfectly honest with you, a lot of... 815 00:51:07,560 --> 00:51:10,160 If you think about the East End, some of those 816 00:51:10,160 --> 00:51:13,360 rows of houses in the East End were some pretty squalid conditions. 817 00:51:13,360 --> 00:51:16,160 And, I mean, they were out in the fresh air here. 818 00:51:16,160 --> 00:51:19,280 The children ran wild and they did run wild, I can tell you. 819 00:51:19,280 --> 00:51:22,160 Whole communities would come and work on a particular farm. 820 00:51:22,160 --> 00:51:24,160 Whole streets or groups of people. 821 00:51:24,160 --> 00:51:25,800 They had the same hut every year. 822 00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:28,520 And, I mean, I can remember we had families, 823 00:51:28,520 --> 00:51:31,000 when we've been picking, with the machinery, 824 00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:33,400 we had grandchildren, 825 00:51:33,400 --> 00:51:36,760 great-grandchildren of people who'd worked for my great-grandfather, 826 00:51:36,760 --> 00:51:40,200 who were still coming to work the hop garden and work the machinery. 827 00:51:40,200 --> 00:51:43,120 And they would come down the fortnight before hop picking 828 00:51:43,120 --> 00:51:46,360 for the weekend in their modern motors and all that stuff, 829 00:51:46,360 --> 00:51:49,280 repaper all their hut out, all those kind of things. 830 00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:54,360 Yeah, I'm beginning to turn, 831 00:51:54,360 --> 00:51:57,840 because you actually feel that this is a very special place. 832 00:51:57,840 --> 00:52:00,400 A moment in your life where you're actually experiencing 833 00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:02,360 something different. 834 00:52:13,080 --> 00:52:15,800 Though the armies of hop pickers are long gone 835 00:52:15,800 --> 00:52:19,160 and the old ways are now dim and distant memories, 836 00:52:19,160 --> 00:52:22,960 it's still possible to catch glimpses of Kent's agricultural 837 00:52:22,960 --> 00:52:26,600 past in the architectural relics of its landscape. 838 00:52:32,760 --> 00:52:36,280 But Kent is also a county that looks forward 839 00:52:36,280 --> 00:52:39,720 and it appears to be edging ever closer towards France. 840 00:52:45,600 --> 00:52:50,720 Seven miles out to sea from Ramsgate is Kent's furthest outpost. 841 00:52:52,800 --> 00:52:55,720 It's a little bit lumpy today. Ooh! 842 00:52:55,720 --> 00:52:57,840 I'm sure it's going to be worth it. 843 00:52:57,840 --> 00:53:00,000 I hope it's going to be worth it. 844 00:53:06,520 --> 00:53:11,040 The English Channel isn't just the busiest shipping lane in the world, 845 00:53:11,040 --> 00:53:15,400 it's also surprisingly shallow, only 20 metres deep in places. 846 00:53:17,680 --> 00:53:19,480 This makes it the perfect spot 847 00:53:19,480 --> 00:53:22,280 for a considerable extension onto the county. 848 00:53:25,480 --> 00:53:30,280 Time for some routine maintenance at a far from routine place, 849 00:53:30,280 --> 00:53:32,800 Thanet Offshore Wind Farm. 850 00:53:52,400 --> 00:53:55,120 This was the biggest wind farm in the world 851 00:53:55,120 --> 00:53:58,600 when the blades first turned, back in 2010. 852 00:54:04,400 --> 00:54:06,480 Stewart, what's happening now? 853 00:54:06,480 --> 00:54:08,240 Well, we're going to try and push on. 854 00:54:08,240 --> 00:54:10,640 The weather condition's not that great at the moment. 855 00:54:10,640 --> 00:54:12,640 So, the waves are a bit high. 856 00:54:12,640 --> 00:54:15,040 Team leader Stewart Box is worried that it could be 857 00:54:15,040 --> 00:54:17,160 too choppy for us to climb the turbine today. 858 00:54:17,160 --> 00:54:18,680 So, when you say push on, 859 00:54:18,680 --> 00:54:20,760 we're pushing the boat up against the turbines? 860 00:54:20,760 --> 00:54:23,680 Basically, the front of the boat is pushed, as it's just going now, 861 00:54:23,680 --> 00:54:26,400 pushing it onto the boat. And the revs will go up and he's going 862 00:54:26,400 --> 00:54:29,160 to try and stick on the front, so we can climb up the turbine. 863 00:54:29,160 --> 00:54:33,760 Oh, right. And, what's the biggest challenge here then? 864 00:54:33,760 --> 00:54:37,120 Waves. Waves are a massive challenge here. 865 00:54:37,120 --> 00:54:39,160 When the waves are over 1.5 metres, 866 00:54:39,160 --> 00:54:42,840 it's just too much to go up and down the ladder. 867 00:54:42,840 --> 00:54:46,520 I've made it all the way out here and kept my lunch down, 868 00:54:46,520 --> 00:54:49,200 only to discover that the swell might stop me 869 00:54:49,200 --> 00:54:51,400 getting up the turbine. 870 00:54:52,960 --> 00:54:56,360 - Well, look how steady he's made it! - Yeah, he's done a really... 871 00:54:56,360 --> 00:54:59,400 - Is that steady or what? - Yeah, he's made a pretty good job at that. 872 00:54:59,400 --> 00:55:01,560 So, we'll just find out what he's thinking. 873 00:55:01,560 --> 00:55:03,560 What's the skipper... Oh, he's like that! 874 00:55:03,560 --> 00:55:06,280 - Are you going to go? - He's giving us a middle... 875 00:55:06,280 --> 00:55:09,320 - Do you want to go? - What was that, a thumbs up? 876 00:55:09,320 --> 00:55:12,720 - It's a thumbs up, yeah. - Was it? We're going on! Whoohoo! 877 00:55:17,320 --> 00:55:19,720 Oh, there's some ominous squeaks here. 878 00:55:20,800 --> 00:55:22,520 And it's a bit choppy. 879 00:55:27,720 --> 00:55:29,880 - All right to go? - Yeah, got it. 880 00:55:33,240 --> 00:55:37,840 Whoa! Suddenly everything feels like it's moving. 881 00:55:43,080 --> 00:55:46,240 There are 100 of these 70 metre turbines out 882 00:55:46,240 --> 00:55:47,880 here on the wind farm. 883 00:55:47,880 --> 00:55:50,440 But just because they're fastened to the sea floor, 884 00:55:50,440 --> 00:55:52,960 doesn't mean they're rock solid. 885 00:55:58,040 --> 00:56:01,080 I've learnt to twist these up pretty spectacularly. 886 00:56:10,040 --> 00:56:12,160 - Cool. - Are you level? - Yeah, I'm good. 887 00:56:12,160 --> 00:56:15,800 - I've forgotten what to do here now. - I'll undo you. 888 00:56:17,680 --> 00:56:21,560 - Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho! - You've made it to the top. - I've made it to the top! 889 00:56:21,560 --> 00:56:23,720 But I didn't think this was going to be moving. 890 00:56:23,720 --> 00:56:26,240 I thought it was solid here. Do you know what's nuts, 891 00:56:26,240 --> 00:56:28,840 it does actually feel quite calm, compared to down there. 892 00:56:28,840 --> 00:56:32,360 The waves are going crazy. The back of the boat is just wild. 893 00:56:37,440 --> 00:56:39,800 This is really very privileged access. 894 00:56:39,800 --> 00:56:42,680 People aren't allowed to come close to these wind turbines. 895 00:56:42,680 --> 00:56:46,040 VIP access, this. Not many people get to come here. 896 00:56:46,040 --> 00:56:48,200 It is, isn't it? Is it access all areas in here? 897 00:56:48,200 --> 00:56:49,800 Wow! 898 00:56:49,800 --> 00:56:53,400 Oh, my God! The wind turbines go on and on into the distance! 899 00:56:55,440 --> 00:56:59,400 And they really take your breath away when you're standing here. 900 00:56:59,400 --> 00:57:02,360 It's quite mesmerising. 901 00:57:14,000 --> 00:57:16,120 These massive turbines 902 00:57:16,120 --> 00:57:20,120 and the spectacular views back towards the coast, remind me that 903 00:57:20,120 --> 00:57:23,880 there's so much more to this county than the White Cliffs of Dover. 904 00:57:26,000 --> 00:57:30,760 - Born and bred in Kent, right? - Yeah. I was born and bred in Ramsgate. 905 00:57:30,760 --> 00:57:33,960 So, literally from yay high I've been looking out to sea. 906 00:57:33,960 --> 00:57:37,440 And now I actually work out at sea, so it's brilliant. 907 00:57:42,840 --> 00:57:47,280 For the 23 million people who arrive in Britain via Kent 908 00:57:47,280 --> 00:57:51,440 every year, the first impression of the county can be hectic. 909 00:57:51,440 --> 00:57:54,000 You have to make an effort to escape the crowds 910 00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:56,560 and get off the beaten track. 911 00:57:56,560 --> 00:57:59,240 Even in a county as busy as Kent, 912 00:57:59,240 --> 00:58:03,360 there are still places where you can really connect with the landscape. 913 00:58:03,360 --> 00:58:09,000 And going the extra mile can change your perspective on everything. 914 00:58:09,000 --> 00:58:14,240 Next time on Secret Britain, we're delving into Devon. 915 00:58:16,480 --> 00:58:19,200 Welcome to the underworld. 916 00:58:19,200 --> 00:58:22,440 Discovering the secrets of its military past... 917 00:58:22,440 --> 00:58:24,840 - There she is! - There we go. 918 00:58:24,840 --> 00:58:28,680 ..meeting some of Dartmoor's best-loved inhabitants. 919 00:58:28,680 --> 00:58:31,160 Just out of nowhere they came. 920 00:58:31,160 --> 00:58:35,760 ..and dipping our toes into Devon's ancient myths and legends. 921 00:58:35,760 --> 00:58:37,800 Oh, it's freezing!