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 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:21,200 So diverse, very few of us know every nook and cranny. 4 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,800 And so beautiful it'd be a crime to miss any of them. 5 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:34,880 The British Isles are full of secrets and surprises 6 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,280 just waiting to be discovered. 7 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:41,880 - CHRIS GROANS - Good, Chris, good. - Thank you! 8 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:44,040 Wow! Oh, my God! 9 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,200 Out of nowhere they came! 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,160 It's easy to think Britain is a crowded place, 11 00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:52,520 but with more than 60 million acres out there, 12 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,960 there's still plenty of the UK for us to discover and enjoy. 13 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:58,560 SHE LAUGHS 14 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:02,160 The power of the elements really belittles you! 15 00:01:02,160 --> 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 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:10,880 We're on the hunt for the unexpected... 18 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:12,040 Did you see it? 19 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:13,880 - There we go! - Woohoo! 20 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:15,120 ..the breathtaking.. 21 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:17,640 Oh! It's freezing! 22 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:18,720 ..the hidden... 23 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:21,240 I think I've found it! 24 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:24,440 Look at the size of this place. 25 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,280 This is the place we call home. 26 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,760 This is our secret Britain. 27 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,080 The clear blue waters of the English Riviera. 28 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:50,120 A mysterious moor, 29 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,240 once inhabited by people known as "deep-valley dwellers". 30 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,600 And wild, dramatic granite cliffs. 31 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:06,600 This is the only county in England with two separate coastlines. 32 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:14,040 I'm in one of the most important naval bases anywhere in the UK 33 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:16,920 and the biggest in Western Europe. 34 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:19,200 This is Devon. 35 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,840 From holding off Viking raiders 36 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:31,760 to seeing off the Spanish Armada, 37 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,480 Devon has a long naval history. 38 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:37,920 It's from here in Plymouth that our warships sailed 39 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:40,040 when Britannia ruled the waves. 40 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:48,480 In our quest to uncover Devon's secrets, 41 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:52,040 we'll be travelling from the south coast, all the way across 42 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:54,920 the wild expanse of Dartmoor, 43 00:02:54,920 --> 00:02:57,680 to the craggy and treacherous north coast. 44 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,120 And so our journey begins here in Plymouth. 45 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:14,120 It was from here in 1577 that Devon's greatest hero, 46 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:18,720 the explorer Sir Francis Drake, set off to circumnavigate the globe. 47 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,920 When he returned, he was made governor of a small island 48 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:26,640 that's just a stone's throw from the mainland. 49 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:32,760 It may have been little, but it was of huge strategic importance. 50 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,760 Still known as Drake's Island, it's right in the middle 51 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:42,240 of Plymouth Sound, 52 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:46,200 and is the site of five centuries of military history. 53 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,520 It's not easy getting onto Drake's Island, and it's been in private 54 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,680 ownership for two decades, so I'm really lucky to get to explore it. 55 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,480 Drake's Island covers just six-and-a-half acres. 56 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,000 Yet in the days when the greatest threat of invasion 57 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,040 was from the sea, it was critical for the defence of the realm. 58 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,920 Without it, Plymouth harbour would have been dangerously exposed. 59 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:23,720 Welcome. 60 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,880 Chris Bourne quite literally holds the keys to the island. 61 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,200 Wow! This place has got a lot to tell us, hasn't it? 62 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:31,720 Oh, it has indeed! 63 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:33,280 He's the estate manager, 64 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:36,160 and knows this place like the back of his hand. 65 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,680 - You know, I think these are sort of, like, 1880. - Pretty old. 66 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,640 But God knows how on earth they got them up here. I'll never know. 67 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:45,160 And it's shabby-chic, really. 68 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,320 LAUGHING: Is that the look you're going for? 69 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:49,600 - We're working for, yeah, very nice. - Amazing. 70 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:50,720 Yeah. 71 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,520 'The ambition is to develop the island and build a luxury hotel. 72 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,240 'So this could be a last chance to see 73 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,720 'what remains of the island's rich history. 74 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:08,920 'It's an overgrown mishmash of abandoned 75 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,520 'military buildings, old cannons and underground tunnels. 76 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,600 'But one feature that really stands out 77 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,400 'is the late-19th-century horseshoe-shaped building 78 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,360 'which wraps itself round the head of the island.' 79 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:26,440 Wow! What's all this? 80 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,120 Well, welcome to the casemates. 81 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,240 These are located on the south-east of the island. 82 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,640 We have 20 gun placements here, 83 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:38,000 and behind, we have the ammunition stores. 84 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,400 The island has a myriad of underground tunnels, 85 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:44,760 and the ammunition was brought through here, through those tunnels, 86 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,840 and stored in here for the guns directly in front of you. 87 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:51,960 You could play hide-and-seek for days in here, couldn't you? 88 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:54,680 - Yeah, you can get lost quite easily, that's for sure. - Yeah! 89 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:56,760 - Shall we have a look further on? - OK. 90 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:02,800 'I'm glad Chris is here to show me around. 91 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:04,760 'There's no logic to this place. 92 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:10,600 'He's promised me a trip back in time and underground, 93 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,960 'to a part of the island built during the Napoleonic Wars.' 94 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:22,520 - Whoo! Down the rabbit hole. - Yes. Mysterious. 95 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:24,640 - A secret world down here. - It really is. 96 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,720 - Ooh, crumbs! It goes down a long way! - I know. All the way. 97 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:32,960 Welcome to the underworld. 98 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,240 - What an entrance! - I know. It's somewhat menacing. 99 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,040 It is, a bit. 100 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,360 I'm sure I know where I'm going. 101 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:42,520 Yeah, I trust you. HE LAUGHS 102 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:47,200 - I bet there's no phone signal. - It's all right, I've got the torch. We're OK. 103 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,880 There's about a kilometre of this. 104 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,280 - Is there? - Yeah. It goes... It goes... 105 00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:55,760 Some go that way, some go this way, and there's huge underground stores 106 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:58,920 where they obviously put all of the ammunition. 107 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,640 'These tunnels were built in the early 1800s. 108 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:07,120 'They're part of a subterranean network that runs between 109 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:08,960 'all the buildings on the island, 110 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,920 'making it possible to move ammunition and men 111 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:14,240 'safely between the gun placements.' 112 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:18,960 And this is an ammunition store, 113 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,320 the main ammunition store for the island. 114 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,160 This could be an art installation, couldn't it, this stretcher? 115 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,440 - It could indeed. - Really spooky. 116 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:30,000 D'you know what's quite strange? 117 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:31,800 Cos they're not caves, they're not mines, 118 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,480 they're clearly human places, it asks so many questions - 119 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:36,760 what were they doing, what was it like? All of that. 120 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:40,600 Yeah. This... How much time and effort it must have taken to... 121 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:42,720 to create these tunnels in the first place. 122 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:43,760 Yeah. 123 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,840 - The secrets of these walls, eh? - Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. 124 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,560 - That is quite long enough in here. - Oh, OK. Let's get out of here. 125 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:54,640 - Yeah, I'd rather like to get out. - I think I know the way. 126 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,760 No matter how long I spend on Drake's Island, 127 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,680 I'm not sure I'd ever uncover all its secrets. 128 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:10,120 What is clear, though, is how critical it was 129 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:13,440 to the protection of our shores in perilous times. 130 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,080 Drake's Island is the land that time forgot, 131 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:22,040 and I must say, I feel so lucky to have had a chance to look round it, 132 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:24,400 and this is just the beginning. 133 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:33,400 We don't have to go far to discover more of Devon's secrets. 134 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:35,960 Just across the bay is Plymouth Hoe, 135 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:39,320 one of Devon's top tourist attractions. 136 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:41,720 SEAGULLS CRY 137 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:47,600 It's an area rich in history, seaside fun and cream teas. 138 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:49,440 Cream on first, of course. 139 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:52,120 But in the past, 140 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,720 it was the first port of call for some very different visitors. 141 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:00,160 It looks pretty now, but at the beginning of the 19th century 142 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:01,600 the waters around here 143 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,760 were full of prison hulks, packed with French prisoners of war. 144 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,120 Cream teas were definitely not on the menu for those guys. 145 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:14,920 Back then, Britain was at war with Napoleon's France. 146 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,200 As the war rumbled on, more and more French POWs 147 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:26,440 were sent to floating prison ships just off Plymouth. 148 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,040 Eventually, conditions on the ships got so bad 149 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,640 that plans had to be drawn up for a prison, 150 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:36,080 not on the coast, but high up on the moors. 151 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:42,160 The prison was finished in 1809, and to get to their new home 152 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:44,640 the French POWs had to walk. 153 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:53,280 Dartmoor is the largest open space in southern England. 154 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:01,120 Its highest point is over 2,000ft above sea level. 155 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:06,080 For the prisoners, 156 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:10,840 most of the 17-mile walk to the new prison in Princetown was uphill. 157 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:21,320 Even on a beautiful day like this, this is pretty tough going, 158 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:23,600 and I've got walking boots on. 159 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,840 Most of the prisoners would have been barefoot. 160 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:34,640 The original POW prison on Dartmoor 161 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:37,560 was built by Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt. 162 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:40,640 He was a close friend of the Prince Regent - 163 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,680 so close, he named Princetown after him. 164 00:10:43,680 --> 00:10:46,240 The land Tyrwhitt owned on Dartmoor 165 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:48,600 wasn't much good for farming, 166 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:52,760 but what he DID have was space and granite. 167 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,720 The prison was the perfect opportunity to capitalise on both. 168 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,160 This is the old prison quarry. 169 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:06,160 I've been told the granite from here was used to build the prison. 170 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:15,360 Once the prisoners were here, those who could worked in the quarry. 171 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:20,560 It's eerie down here and it's cold. 172 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:23,800 Can you imagine what it must have been like to be a prisoner, 173 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:29,080 hundreds of miles away from home, to end up here, working in a quarry? 174 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:30,200 Not nice. 175 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,120 Alain Sibiril is following in the footsteps 176 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:41,000 of his 19th-century countrymen. 177 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:46,640 But unlike them, this Frenchman has chosen to live in the area. 178 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:50,520 He is the French Consul in Plymouth. 179 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,920 We're meeting in a place which has a special resonance for Alain. 180 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:57,640 Well, this is the beautiful church 181 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:01,760 of St Michael and All Angels Church in Princetown, 182 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:07,520 which was built partially by the French prisoners of war in 1812. 183 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:11,000 It is probably the only church in England which has been built 184 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:12,480 by prisoners of war. 185 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:14,520 The French, in 1812... 186 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:19,480 'Most people walk by St Michael's and All Angels Church in Princetown 187 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,000 'and have no idea of its unique history.' 188 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:27,880 I can't imagine what it must have been like for these prisoners 189 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,680 to find themselves in such a remote place. 190 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:34,040 This is a letter. 191 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:39,360 It was written by a young... we would call a novice in French, 192 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:44,880 but we would probably say that it's a midshipman in English. 193 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:48,440 It's dated 1 January 1814 194 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,720 and this young man is called Jean Antoine Grande. 195 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:55,640 His family lived in Grasse in the south of France 196 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:57,560 on the Mediterranean. 197 00:12:57,560 --> 00:12:59,640 And as you can see, he writes here... 198 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,640 "Your son, Jean Antoine Grande, 199 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:07,520 "novice on board the vessel Rivoli, 200 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:11,040 "prisoner of war at Dartmoor Prison, England." 201 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:12,240 England. 202 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:20,000 Does the young novice say anything about the conditions 203 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:23,120 that they were under and facing whilst they were here? 204 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:24,640 Yes, h-h-he does. 205 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:29,360 You know, for instance, he says that... 206 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:33,960 as far as his health is concerned, he said it's rather good. 207 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:40,040 But being far away from his family causes him a lot of chagrin, 208 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,880 you know, a lot of grief, a lot of unhappiness. 209 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:45,920 And... 210 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:48,320 he...he hopes that his family is well 211 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:53,680 and he's hoping that very soon his chains will be broken. 212 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:56,200 - That he'll be released. - He'll be... He'll be released. 213 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:58,400 Yeah, of course, at that time - 1 January - 214 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,760 he didn't know that he would be released just a few months after. 215 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,320 I have read it a number of occasions and every time I read it, 216 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:12,640 I'm moved, each time I read it. 217 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:18,760 French prisoners of war were held on Dartmoor for six years 218 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:22,040 until the war with France came to an end. 219 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:28,720 At its peak, 6,000 prisoners of war were held here. 220 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:32,880 1,200 of them died before the Napoleonic Wars were over. 221 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:39,480 I like to think that this granite church on these windswept moors 222 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,960 is a lasting tribute to them. 223 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:53,840 - SOLDIER YELLS: - Rapid fire! - GUNFIRE 224 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:57,400 The French POWs are long gone, 225 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,160 but you can still find soldiers on the moor, 226 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:03,680 like these members of the British Armed Forces. 227 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:06,320 SOLDIERS SHOUT 228 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:08,800 What you might not know about Dartmoor 229 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,440 is how crucial it is for the defence of the realm. 230 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:16,840 So why is this beautiful landscape 231 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:19,680 so important to the British military? 232 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:21,680 Well, there's only one way of finding out 233 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,760 and that is to join in and get stuck in. 234 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:27,120 These boys are the best of the best. 235 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,360 They've got all the equipment, they've got helmets 236 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:30,880 and they have guns. 237 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:34,720 I've got a woolly hat and some waterproofs. 238 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:42,400 These soldiers are on a 72-hour training exercise 239 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:45,360 and they spent last night sleeping out on the moor. 240 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:52,080 Dartmoor is beautiful, but it's also an austere landscape 241 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:56,400 and this is why it's the perfect place for military training. 242 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,280 There are huge areas that are almost featureless, so navigation - 243 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,880 so vital in many hostile environments - is tough. 244 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:07,920 - SOLDIER: - Down the right now! 245 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:10,240 And as in any combat zone, 246 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,800 to survive, you need to be completely self-sufficient. 247 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:17,880 Right lads, OK. 248 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,600 What we're doing is removing these two ammo tins from here 249 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:22,120 to White Tor, which we're... 250 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:25,000 'Lieutenant Oli Sharland is the Troop Commander.' 251 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:26,840 When your arm's tired, swap arms. 252 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:29,960 When both arms get tired, then rotate in from Delta to Charlie. 253 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:31,320 Happy? OK. 254 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:33,800 Can I just say, thank you for letting me be part of this. 255 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:35,480 Was it a tough night last night? 256 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,160 Aye, been in worse, like, but, yeah, it's quite cheeky. 257 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:43,200 My room in the hotel last night was a little bit hot 258 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:46,000 and I didn't sleep that well, and the breakfast, well... 259 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,640 You know, the latte that I had just wasn't strong enough. 260 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:50,000 So, bear with me. 261 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,520 You can burn that off when you carry this... 262 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,200 - LAUGHTER - When you say helping, along with us. 263 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:56,400 Yeah. 264 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:57,880 - SOLDIER: - Cheers, mate. 265 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,000 Oh, my word! How heavy is this? 266 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:04,080 Between about... It's about 45 kilos. 267 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:05,880 You... You just tell me when you get... 268 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,680 Just tell me when you get tired and I'll...I'll help out, yeah? 269 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:12,080 'With a 7st load on their backs, 270 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,120 'by the time the soldiers finish their exercise 271 00:17:15,120 --> 00:17:18,480 'they'll have covered 20 miles.' 272 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:20,760 Who's got the short straw first? 273 00:17:22,120 --> 00:17:23,160 OK. 274 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:49,560 You've been out here for 36 hours? 275 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:51,720 Normally we do it between 36 and 46 hours 276 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,560 - because the cannon patrol is 40-46 hours. - Yeah. 277 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:58,320 I've just been having a chat with them 278 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,720 and they say that THIS is the toughest test. 279 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:01,880 All the wind, 280 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:04,720 the wet overnight, and now they go walking, 281 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,760 and I do feel very guilty, 282 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:11,000 cos I'm having really good fun. This is beautiful! 283 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,080 Absolutely beautiful. 284 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:17,400 Dartmoor might have fabulous scenery, 285 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,200 but it also has a reputation for... 286 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:21,560 changeable weather. 287 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:23,960 - THUNDER RUMBLES - Presumably another reason 288 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:25,920 why it's good for military training. 289 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:32,760 I mean, who else would come out for a walk in this kind of weather? 290 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:36,680 And you can walk for absolutely miles and see nothing - 291 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,640 and I mean nothing - and no-one. 292 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:43,160 But every now and again you see something really unusual. 293 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,160 SHEEP BLEAT 294 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,960 'Someone who holds the key to another military secret up here 295 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,040 'is Lieutenant Colonel Tony Clarke. 296 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,640 'Now, he was in charge of military training in the South West 297 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:56,360 'before he retired. 298 00:18:56,360 --> 00:18:59,120 'But he still loves to spend time wandering the moor...' 299 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:01,800 Oh, it's gorgeous...for Dartmoor. 300 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:03,560 - Dartmoor, lovely weather. - Yeah. 301 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:07,840 '..and keeping up-to-date with what's going on on his old patch.' 302 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:11,240 If they can survive on Dartmoor, they can survive anywhere. 303 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,920 'I'm hoping that whatever the Colonel has in store, 304 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:17,600 'it's worth coming out in this weather for.' 305 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:18,680 Ah... Oh! 306 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:21,920 There you are, look, a railway. 307 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:24,480 Did you expect to find a railway on Dartmoor? 308 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:28,240 No, what is it, a fun railway? Or a mine? Am I close? 309 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,400 - That's what it looks like. - Yeah, but you're wrong. 310 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:33,520 It's one of five railways on Dartmoor - 311 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:35,360 run by the military in years gone by - 312 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:38,760 to move targets representing tanks. 313 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:41,840 Absolutely necessary for the infantry anti-tank gunners 314 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,560 to knock out those tanks that were trying to kill them. 315 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:47,760 And we'll have a look at one, cos it lives down there in that shed. 316 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:49,760 - There's a tank in there? - No, not a tank, 317 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,880 just a trolley on which the cut-out of the tank will be. 318 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:54,720 - CHRIS WHEEZES - Oh, right, OK. 319 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:56,920 And it goes, what, around in a circle? And then... 320 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:58,440 - A circle at this end... - Yeah. 321 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:00,560 A long straight, where they fired at it... 322 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:02,600 - Yeah. - ..and then another circle at the far end. 323 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:05,240 And it continued like that until all the rounds were expended. 324 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:07,200 I've got to say, Tony, I'm a bit disappointed. 325 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:11,240 - I thought it was going to be a fun ride, for me. I thought it was going to go up and down... - It can be. 326 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:12,720 ..on a little trip, you and me. 327 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,160 What we can do is I'll put you on top of it and give you a push. 328 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:16,240 - Yeah? - Yeah. 329 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:18,640 Oh, at least I'm going to have some fun on a day like today. 330 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:20,840 - I won't be shot at, though, will I? - No, no, no, no. 331 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:22,880 - Those boys have gone? - As long as you behave. 332 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:24,120 Yeah! 333 00:20:26,360 --> 00:20:28,600 'If I'd stumbled across this shed on my own, 334 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,480 'I'd never have guessed what's locked inside it. 335 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:36,000 'But thanks to Tony, I'm getting a peek at a curious relic 336 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:37,240 'from our military past.' 337 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:40,520 Right, here we go. Here we go. 338 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:42,960 Right, let's get it outside where we can see. 339 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:44,400 All right. It's not pretty, is it? 340 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,120 - BOTH GROAN - Hey-aah! 341 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:48,200 It is. It depends on what you... what you like. 342 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:49,480 - STRAINING: - Mind the door! 343 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:51,040 - Here we are. - That's it, we've got it. 344 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:52,280 - CHRIS CHUCKLES - Go on! 345 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:53,920 I'm coming! Come on, let's get him out. 346 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:55,360 - BOTH GROAN - Hey-aah! - Aah! 347 00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:56,920 - Come on. Come on, then. - CHRIS GROANS 348 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:57,960 Ah! Come on. 349 00:20:57,960 --> 00:20:59,880 - There she is. - There we go. 350 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:01,320 - So... - Look at that. There you are. 351 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:02,360 Right. 352 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:06,440 - So there's an engine in there, is there? - 1942... 353 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,400 and it's provided invaluable training to soldier after soldier 354 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,000 using the 120mm anti-tank weapon. 355 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:17,080 So you say 1942, so this would have been used for training soldiers 356 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:18,880 - during the Second World War? - Absolutely. 357 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:20,800 And it's just a vehicle engine inside here, 358 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:22,200 inside this armour plate - look. 359 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,160 So, come on, let's see the workings of this. 360 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,960 - Here you are. If you lift that bit up. - Is this the engine in the back? 361 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:28,680 That's it. You can see the engine. 362 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:30,160 - Just turn that one over. - OK. 363 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,400 - Out the way, mind the... That's it, good. - So, petrol? 364 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:34,560 It's petrol, yeah. See the spark plugs? 365 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,280 And just turn that up there. Look, there's the engine there. 366 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:38,600 - Beautiful. - Two-cylinder. 367 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,520 But look at the machinery in there, it's incredible. 368 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,680 I assume that people just didn't sit on it and drive it? 369 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:46,720 - No, not unless they were totally stupid. - Yeah. 370 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:49,320 High explosive and human beings - not a good mixture. 371 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:50,880 But it was all automatic. 372 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:52,400 The accelerator was triggered 373 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,720 when it went over a bit of metal that raised it up. 374 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:57,560 The points were changed automatically, 375 00:21:57,560 --> 00:21:59,360 and even stopping was the same. 376 00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:01,440 Or you waited until it ran out of fuel. 377 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:03,480 And it would just go round and round and round... 378 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:04,520 Round and round 379 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,120 and fired at when it was going through from both directions. 380 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:10,480 This is a lovely little secret, it really is. 381 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:13,400 I mean, as I said, I quite literally tripped over this little secret. 382 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:15,320 Shall we put this engine back? 383 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,200 - Yeah. Careful of your fingers. - I will. 384 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,680 - I notice you left me to do it. - I'm using the handle! 385 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:21,840 You see, that's mil... 386 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:24,560 That's military training, that's military training for you! 387 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:25,920 - Right. - There we are. 388 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,200 - Right. And here... - This back in there. 389 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:29,440 - Right, on you go. - Really? 390 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:32,360 - Yes! Come on, come on. - Come on, then, sunshine. Away you go. 391 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:35,200 Right. Have we got anybody else to help us, or is it just you and me? 392 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,480 - What's your rank? What's your rank? - A colonel. 393 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,000 Colonel. I'm going to be pulled around by the Colonel. 394 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:43,120 - What is another name for a colonel? - I don't know. 395 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:44,200 A nut. 396 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:47,760 - LAUGHS: - Very good! - Here we go! Ahh, heave! 397 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:49,720 - Hey, I'm moving it! - And very good. 398 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,160 - Can you just get the whip out a bit? - Yeah, exactly. 399 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:53,600 - GROANS: - Hey-ahh! Come on! 400 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,720 'Who would have guessed that this old piece of railway track 401 00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:59,000 'has trained the best of British?' 402 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:09,440 For some Dartmoor enthusiasts, 403 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,200 hitching a lift is the last thing they want. 404 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,320 This National Park is the only place in England 405 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:17,960 where you're legally allowed 406 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,000 to go wild camping. 407 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:21,840 This means you can pitch your tent 408 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:23,920 almost anywhere on the moor, 409 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,040 taking everything you need to survive on your back. 410 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:29,640 Mike Nendick has camped 411 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,680 in some of the most spectacular places in the world, 412 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:36,000 but he always comes back to the 400 square miles 413 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,480 of outstanding natural beauty that is Dartmoor. 414 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:44,320 I never cease to be inspired by it, amazed by it. 415 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:49,040 The landscape changes every day, the colours change through the seasons. 416 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:51,400 Dartmoor gets in your blood, I think. 417 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:58,440 One of the great things about Dartmoor, for me, 418 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:00,800 is being able to navigate through it. 419 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,240 It's not just about looking at a map and seeing, 420 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:04,880 "There's point A, there's point B," 421 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,720 it's about reading the landscape as well. 422 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:11,560 Following streams, tracks... 423 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:14,160 looking at the contours of the hillside. 424 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,440 It's a way of actually moving through the landscape, 425 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:18,080 which human beings have been doing 426 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,360 for thousands and thousands of years. 427 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,400 You can see this area around here is really wet. 428 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:29,800 Pick a piece... 429 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,600 You can see underneath it's... it's very brown 430 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:36,680 and the top bit's vivid green. 431 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,440 This is sphagnum moss. Sphagnum moss is a bog plant. 432 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:43,440 When it dies back, the dead material sinks down 433 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:48,000 and over many, many years, builds up, and that's what creates a bog. 434 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:49,960 During the First World War, 435 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:53,240 the people of Dartmoor gathered this material and dried it out. 436 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:57,160 Because it's so absorbent and it has slightly antiseptic qualities, 437 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:01,040 it was used as battlefield dressings and sent to the Western Front. 438 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:03,160 So, it's a really fascinating plant 439 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,960 and something to look out for when you're walking across the moor. 440 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:15,720 There are so many things that you can see 441 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:17,920 when you come out onto Dartmoor. 442 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,400 It's... It's known as a palimpsest, which means you can... 443 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,120 you can see one layer of human history 444 00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:24,920 superimposed on top of another. 445 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:29,760 There are many stone crosses on Dartmoor, 446 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:31,560 but this is believed to be the oldest. 447 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:33,240 It's called Siward's Cross. 448 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:34,960 If you look on this side, 449 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:38,200 you can see engraved in the stone "Bocland". 450 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:41,920 That's possibly an old version of the word "Buckland". 451 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:43,880 There is possibly another meaning, however. 452 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:46,960 It could mean "Book-land", a reference to the Bible. 453 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:53,600 Not quite so clear, but engraved on this side is the word "Siward". 454 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:57,200 Now, Siward was mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles 455 00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:59,920 and he was known to have owned land in the Tavistock area - 456 00:25:59,920 --> 00:26:04,160 which lies on this side of the cross - before the Norman Conquest. 457 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,560 Well, the sun's beginning to set and I'm just on me way up the hill. 458 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:13,760 It's, um... 459 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:16,720 It's one of my favourite places to camp on the moor. 460 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:20,400 It's a bit of a climb to get there, but well worth it when you do 461 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:24,320 because when you pitch your tent just on the other side of the hill, 462 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:27,320 you've got the whole of the north of Dartmoor set out before you. 463 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:28,760 Fantastic views... 464 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:30,560 No sign of human habitation 465 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,560 and a great place to stay on a night like this. 466 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,520 For me, the attraction of wild camping is actually 467 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,920 coming out onto Dartmoor and experiencing the landscape I love, 468 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,360 listening to the sounds of the night. 469 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:47,680 No trappings of the modern world other than your tent 470 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:49,440 and your equipment with you. 471 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:51,520 And just having a peaceful night's sleep, 472 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:54,120 especially on a marvellous moonlit night, 473 00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:57,640 away from it all, just listening to the wind blowing through the grass. 474 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:11,560 WIND HOWLS 475 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,120 BIRDS TWITTER 476 00:27:23,120 --> 00:27:25,240 It is early. 477 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,680 But thankfully, I'm a morning person, and I've been promised that 478 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,560 first light on the moor is not to be missed, 479 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:36,280 especially if I want to experience Dartmoor at its mystical best. 480 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,800 Dartmoor is rich with prehistoric monuments. 481 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:45,880 There are mysterious standing stones, 482 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,960 stone rows and 13 stone circles. 483 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,720 It would be easy to assume that every inch of Dartmoor 484 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:58,920 had been meticulously examined by archaeologists, 485 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:03,040 but astonishingly, the moor is still revealing more secrets. 486 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,680 I've seen a few stone circles in my time 487 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,600 and I just love all the mystery that surrounds them. 488 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,360 They're usually found in places like this with stunning views, 489 00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:18,160 which I think, for me, makes it even more special. 490 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:23,400 It was at Sittaford Tor 491 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,960 on north-western Dartmoor nine years ago 492 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:28,480 that an amazing discovery was made. 493 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:35,240 The first new stone circle to be found in more than 100 years 494 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:37,000 was unearthed by Alan Endacott. 495 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:43,040 Alan searches for stones like others hunt down hidden treasure. 496 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,320 He's often joined on his explorations 497 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:48,560 by Dartmoor National Park archaeologist Lee Bray. 498 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:53,440 - It's pretty squelchy up here. - Yeah! 499 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:54,920 You need good boots. 500 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,080 - Going to have to jump this one. - Yeah. 501 00:28:58,400 --> 00:28:59,520 There we go. 502 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:04,840 'In 2007, a fire swept across this part of the moor. 503 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:11,000 'And with the earth laid bare, Alan made his exciting discovery.' 504 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:15,800 I was sort of working systematically along the ridge, 505 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:17,320 - I came back up the hill and... - Yeah. 506 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,320 - ..saw that stone there sticking up. - Oh, right, that was your first one. 507 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:21,640 - So that was the first clue. - Mm! 508 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:23,520 And then, er, I noticed a couple of others 509 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:25,440 where the peat had been burnt back by the fire 510 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:27,800 and then I went round and sort of started poking around 511 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:30,240 beneath the surface to see if I could find further ones... 512 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,840 And I think I found about 20 stones in total on that day. 513 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:35,920 After a while, I realised, yeah, they were all evenly spaced 514 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:37,840 and on the same arc - it had to be a circle. 515 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,360 Lee, what's the thinking behind this stone circle here? 516 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:47,400 Erm, well, at the moment it's got a number of unusual features, 517 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,160 er, we're not too sure about. 518 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:53,120 - One of them, obviously, is all the stones are lying flat... - Mm. 519 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:55,720 ..which we don't see on Dartmoor 520 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,360 and that leads into why this stone circle is so special. 521 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:02,280 Er, it's untouched, it's pristine since prehistory. 522 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:10,040 Lee has done radiocarbon testing on samples taken from under the stones. 523 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,600 The results show that this stone circle is at least 524 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:15,760 4,000 years old. 525 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:21,720 But for Alan the stone circle's existence is proof of a theory 526 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,080 he's been working on since he was a boy. 527 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:27,400 This has been years in the making for you, then. 528 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,440 It had been, really, because I'd... well, way back into my childhood 529 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:32,760 I'd been trying to make sense of all these monuments 530 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:36,080 and I'd been predicting there'd be a circle in this vicinity. 531 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:38,600 But with the fire, it was a golden opportunity to go round 532 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:40,960 and see if I could, you know, prove the point, so... 533 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,680 How did you realise that it wasn't just a few stones, 534 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:45,360 but it was a whole circle? 535 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:46,960 You know, looking across at a flat, 536 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:49,400 - you don't really get any idea of the spectacle, but... - No. 537 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,520 ..I've tried a number of ways over the years to get aerial photographs. 538 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,280 I think the first attempt was carrying a stepladder out here, 539 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,080 - which was not...not... - ELLIE LAUGHS 540 00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:58,840 Probably got some strange looks as well! 541 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:00,800 Then I tried a kite, but believe it or not, 542 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:02,800 the day I tried flying my kite there was no wind, 543 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:04,440 which is highly unusual for Dartmoor. 544 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:06,600 So, um... I then tried a helium balloon, 545 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:08,480 - a giant helium balloon, and... - Wow. 546 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:10,840 ..it was fine, it carried the camera no problem at all, 547 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:13,800 it just kept spinning around and around, so that was...that was... 548 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:15,680 - LAUGHTER - And then burst, embarrassingly! 549 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:19,440 Oh, no! You're like the zany professor, trying all these different techniques! 550 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:24,680 Finally, Alan got hold of a drone 551 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:27,160 and could see his discovery from the air. 552 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:33,240 Today, the moor is reclaiming the stones. 553 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:35,720 But from Alan's footage after the fire, 554 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,480 you can clearly see the circle. 555 00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,280 Well, there's no doubting the beauty of those stone circles 556 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:00,880 and I suppose it's a way of man 557 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:03,960 responding to the incredible landscape around him, 558 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:08,040 but I've got to tell you something, nature does a pretty good job, too. 559 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:12,000 There are some wonderful formations in this area 560 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,880 and that, too, fuels our imagination. 561 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,200 Dartmoor, and the surrounding area, 562 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:23,160 is home to the largest single body of granite in Britain. 563 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:27,800 Look, I don't want to tempt fate, but it looks as if it's drying up. 564 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:29,920 - I know, it does. Thank goodness. - CHRIS CHUCKLES 565 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:31,120 It's only torrential... 566 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:34,120 'Pat Read has spent her life wandering the moors, 567 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:36,160 'researching the myths and legends 568 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:40,120 'connected to the strange granite formations.' 569 00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:42,280 What is it about this place, Dartmoor? 570 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:45,440 Oh, it's just a very healing sort of place, 571 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:48,360 - I find it very therapeutic. - Yeah. 572 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:51,440 Um... Come here when your spirits are low - 573 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:53,960 I think it must be the wide open spaces or something - 574 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:55,960 and you just feel better. 575 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,600 And the fresh air, and just the sheer beauty of the whole place. 576 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:02,720 'Pat's taking me to one of her favourite places on Dartmoor 577 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:08,040 'to see a beautiful rock formation known as the Tolemen Stone.' 578 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:10,840 - And it's perfectly natural... - Perfectly natural. 579 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,520 - Not man-made? - No, it has been worn away with a hole in the middle, 580 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:18,960 which has been caused by river erosion over many, many years. 581 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:22,560 The Tolemen means "holed stone". 582 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:24,760 - BOTH: - Holed stone. 583 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:27,640 - I mean, it does look extraordinary, doesn't it? - It is. 584 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:29,320 Which, obviously, then begs legend. 585 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:32,000 - I bet this one's got a good one, hasn't it? - It certainly has. 586 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,200 They said that if a woman had been unfaithful, 587 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,480 she was told to go and wash in a nearby pool, 588 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:41,840 then come down here, go through the Tolemen Stone. 589 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:45,680 Then go back to the stone circle, run round it three times 590 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:49,120 and then kneel before the stones and ask for forgiveness. 591 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:54,000 And another legend says, if you go through it and stand in the river, 592 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,440 you will never, ever have rheumatism or arthritis again. 593 00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:59,440 I'm not a woman, I haven't been unfaithful... 594 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:02,840 - PAT LAUGHS - So, the only thing I can hope for is lack of rheumatism. 595 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,320 - Other people say it's a form of purification. - Is it? 596 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:07,640 Yes. Perhaps you need to be purified. 597 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:11,360 'Clearly, Pat thinks I do. And who am I to argue?' 598 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:13,640 So, I've got to go through the... that hole... 599 00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:15,480 Through the hole. Stand in the river. 600 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,160 I've got to have my feet in the river?! 601 00:34:17,160 --> 00:34:18,720 Oh, you've got to get your feet wet. 602 00:34:18,720 --> 00:34:20,840 I-I hadn't planned on that, but I'll give it a go. 603 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,320 - Go on. Good luck. - PAT LAUGHS 604 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:25,720 CHRIS GROANS 605 00:34:25,720 --> 00:34:28,560 Be careful! It's slippery. 606 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:31,320 - GROANS: - Ahh! 607 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:33,680 Oh, dear! 608 00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:40,960 - Just the one foot, I think, Pat. - Absolutely. 609 00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:52,160 Ooh! That's cold! 610 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:00,280 HE EXHALES 611 00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:01,960 Oh, it's freezing! 612 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:04,280 Did Pat say how long I should put it under? 613 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:07,320 Five seconds should be enough. 614 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:11,160 SHE LAUGHS 615 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:18,120 While granite underpins most of Devon, 616 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:21,760 there is one small area which is quite different. 617 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:28,080 A tiny pocket of limestone caves. 618 00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:31,480 They're home to something so rare in England 619 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:35,120 that they've been made a Site of Special Scientific Interest. 620 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:40,920 And we've been sworn to keep the exact location a secret. 621 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:46,920 Gerald Marangone stumbled across the caves when he was a child. 622 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:49,360 My name is Gerald. 623 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:51,160 I was born in this beautiful part of Devon. 624 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:53,480 I grew up here and I've lived here ever since. 625 00:35:57,240 --> 00:35:59,760 As a child, we explored this area quite a lot. 626 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,680 We came across the cave, really, by accident. 627 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:06,960 We sort of dared each other who would go in, who wouldn't go in. 628 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:08,480 We maybe went in a metre or so, 629 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:13,440 but when it got dark and a little scary, we were straight back out. 630 00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:16,200 Yeah. 631 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:19,560 I was introduced to caving by a colleague of mine, 632 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:22,680 basically reliving what I did as a child, 633 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:25,360 but going a lot further in and exploring the whole cave. 634 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:31,600 It's reasonably difficult to get in. 635 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:34,080 Some places you can crawl along on your hands and knees, 636 00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:36,640 but most places it's crawl along on your belly. 637 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:43,520 The big buzz for me 638 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:46,560 is going somewhere that's very claustrophobic. 639 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:48,640 You'll not necessarily want to get stuck, 640 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:50,520 but it's a challenge to get through it 641 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:52,320 and know that you can get through it 642 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:54,080 and come out the other side thinking, 643 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:56,520 "Yeah, I did that, I managed it." 644 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:02,440 There's some absolutely cracking formations up in this corner. 645 00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:04,240 Yeah, yeah. 646 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:07,640 This cave is very secret. 647 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:10,400 Not a lot of people know it even exists. 648 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:14,680 There are some very, very pretty formations. 649 00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:17,360 They're quite big aragonite formations that you don't see 650 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:19,120 in any other caves in Britain. 651 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:22,680 They're the only formations that... that grow like that. 652 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:24,800 Very stony. 653 00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:29,440 Yeah, there's loads more up here. 654 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,080 - They are all over, fantastic. - Yeah. 655 00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:38,240 Aragonite tends to grow... almost grow like a flower head, 656 00:37:38,240 --> 00:37:40,640 but nobody's really sure how they actually form, 657 00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:42,440 whether it's wind in the cave... 658 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:44,680 It's-It's formed the same as a stalactite, 659 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:47,080 with calcite dripping out the water. 660 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:50,560 But nobody's really sure how they... how they tend to twist and turn. 661 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:54,720 Yeah, there's some behind you in that...bit behind you there. 662 00:37:56,120 --> 00:37:57,320 Up in there. 663 00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:05,200 So unique to have something like this in Devon, eh? 664 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:08,600 - A strange world, innit? - Yeah, yeah, it is. 665 00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:23,880 The secret world of caving isn't everyone's idea of fun. 666 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:26,680 Locals above ground 667 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:29,880 have some of Dartmoor's better-known residents to deal with. 668 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:35,080 Hill ponies have been living 669 00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:37,600 on Dartmoor for thousands of years. 670 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:42,640 Charlotte Faulkner's mission is to keep them here for thousands more. 671 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:46,520 She thinks the Dartmoor ponies are the secret to keeping the moor 672 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:48,400 the remarkable place it is. 673 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:54,600 Dartmoor has been managed for 3,000 years, 674 00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:56,800 with the cattle, the sheep and the ponies together, 675 00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:59,720 and they've created the habitats for all sorts of amazing birds, 676 00:38:59,720 --> 00:39:01,160 animals, butterflies... 677 00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:04,160 I mean, the marsh fritillary butterfly wouldn't be there 678 00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:07,000 without the habitat created by the way the ponies graze. 679 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:13,280 The marsh fritillary is one of England's fastest-declining 680 00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:14,680 species of butterfly. 681 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:21,160 Its population has dropped by nearly half since the 1970s. 682 00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:26,480 So you've got to recognise, 683 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:28,120 anything we do now 684 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:30,720 will change it for generations to come 685 00:39:30,720 --> 00:39:34,320 and we have got to try and ensure that that's kept. 686 00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:37,080 QUAD BIKE HUMS 687 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:42,560 Every autumn, all the ponies on Dartmoor are rounded up, or drifted, 688 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:46,880 to be counted, health-checked and in some cases sold. 689 00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:53,520 Records of the pony drift date back to the 11th century. 690 00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:55,160 Thanks to Charlotte's efforts, 691 00:39:55,160 --> 00:39:59,800 the next generation of drifters are set to keep the tradition alive. 692 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:05,320 You'll see a lot of children out today 693 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:07,320 and the reason I invite all the children 694 00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:09,480 is because I need them to learn. 695 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:12,120 And if they learn this bit, then they will be addicted 696 00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:15,640 and they will help me to continue to conserve the ponies on the moor later on. 697 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:17,120 It's like a drip-drip effect. 698 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,920 There's a pony right on the brow of the hill over there. 699 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:29,360 Charlotte's job is to make sure everyone is in the right place 700 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:30,640 at the right time. 701 00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:36,240 Not an easy task when the whole moor is under a blanket of fog. 702 00:40:37,240 --> 00:40:39,080 (That's probably his cattle.) 703 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:45,960 I can't see. 704 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:47,400 It's too foggy. 705 00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:52,240 We'll just have to wait. 706 00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:09,560 QUAD BIKE HUMS 707 00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:18,200 - There they are, look. - Oh, there's... Oh, yes, I can see them now! 708 00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:22,360 Wow! 709 00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:25,480 Just out of nowhere they came. 710 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:36,120 - There's another rider. - Yeah. 711 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:40,880 Up there, coming in. That'll be my son. That's Thomas. 712 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:42,800 - Flying across the... - Yeah. 713 00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:50,960 'Charlotte's 14-year-old son Tom 714 00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:54,640 'has been riding with the drift since he was ten. 715 00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:58,560 'This year, he's joined by his friend Heli.' 716 00:41:58,560 --> 00:41:59,920 So, Tom, how was that? 717 00:41:59,920 --> 00:42:02,800 I just saw the horses come through. Is it fun? It looks... 718 00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:05,120 It's brilliant fun, yeah. 719 00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:07,480 - We got lost in the fog on the moor. - HELI AND DENISE LAUGH 720 00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:09,720 I was thinking that could be quite challenging, 721 00:42:09,720 --> 00:42:11,920 on a day like this when it was very, very foggy. 722 00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:13,200 We couldn't see anything. 723 00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:16,480 All the horses know where they are more than we do, to be honest. 724 00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:18,080 You've just got to let go of the reins 725 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:21,320 and they're going to walk in some direction, they'll eventually find a road. 726 00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:24,400 And it's just something that, I guess, is part of the family. 727 00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:26,600 I mean, I was obviously spending time with your mum 728 00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:29,960 and she's been telling me so much, but, you know, the fact that 729 00:42:29,960 --> 00:42:31,760 you guys are out here... 730 00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:33,840 Been doing it from quite a young age 731 00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:35,600 and just all really enjoy it. 732 00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:42,120 But getting the ponies OFF the moor is only half the job. 733 00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:44,160 MAN YELLS AT PONY 734 00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:46,280 PONY WHINNIES 735 00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:49,480 So, Charlotte, what's happening now? What's the next stage of the process? 736 00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:51,600 What we're doing now, as you'll see, the group... 737 00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:54,200 All the ponies that we've brought in are just down here, OK? 738 00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:56,960 And the gentlemen now are all splitting them out 739 00:42:56,960 --> 00:42:58,680 as to who owns what. 740 00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:01,880 Once the ponies are identified, 741 00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:04,080 they're coaxed back to each owner's farm... 742 00:43:04,080 --> 00:43:06,800 PONY NEIGHS LOUDLY 743 00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:08,720 ..where they'll be health-checked 744 00:43:08,720 --> 00:43:11,480 before returning to the moor or sold. 745 00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:13,480 - So, I've got my stick in hand. - Yeah. 746 00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:15,240 What am I going to do with that? 747 00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:17,640 - Well, you sort of knock it on the ground... - Yeah. 748 00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:18,800 And that should... 749 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:21,600 That should persuade them to go in the general direction you want. 750 00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:22,800 It'll make you feel braver. 751 00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:25,040 OK, I feel like I've got the power in my hands, anyway. 752 00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:27,040 - You've got the power in your hand. - BOTH LAUGH 753 00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:29,000 'That's the plan!' 754 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:31,800 - Oh, so, there's some coming. - Yeah. 755 00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:33,080 - WOMAN YELLS: - Right! 756 00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:36,240 - And they're going right. - So, they're going right. - Going right! 757 00:43:36,240 --> 00:43:38,480 'But has anyone told the ponies?' 758 00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:40,640 - OK. - Right! - So, do we need to... 759 00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:43,040 - And then we follow them on up. - We follow them up. 760 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:46,360 - So that they don't want to go back and join the others. - Yeah. 761 00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:48,480 So, they know that they need to go right? 762 00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:50,520 WOMAN YELLS AT PONIES 763 00:43:50,520 --> 00:43:52,840 MAN AND BOY SHOUT AT PONIES 764 00:43:52,840 --> 00:43:54,600 - Move! MAN: - Yah! 765 00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:56,880 - Well done, Olly! - CHARLOTTE CHUCKLES 766 00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:01,320 - Which way? - Which way, Anne? 767 00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:05,360 - HORSE NEIGHS - That's it, little fella. - OK. 768 00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:24,280 It's about 50 miles from the middle of Dartmoor to my next secret, 769 00:44:24,280 --> 00:44:27,040 but it feels a lot further. 770 00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:39,320 Small country roads wind through farmland 771 00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:41,400 and picture-postcard villages... 772 00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:48,840 ..until finally we hit the sea again. 773 00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:55,320 This is Devon's spectacular north coast. 774 00:45:06,480 --> 00:45:09,160 Just look at those granite outcrops, 775 00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:12,000 they stretch out from the cliffs into the Atlantic 776 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:15,120 like giant prehistoric fingers. 777 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:18,160 The coastline is completely different to the south, 778 00:45:18,160 --> 00:45:22,120 but from here you can really see what Devon is made of. 779 00:45:22,120 --> 00:45:25,000 SEAGULLS CRY 780 00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:26,800 What you might not know, though, 781 00:45:26,800 --> 00:45:30,760 is that buried in the middle of all that granite is a precious metal. 782 00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:34,480 While today, north Devon's coastal towns and villages 783 00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:38,840 are associated with summer tourists, ice cream and fudge, 784 00:45:38,840 --> 00:45:40,440 this wasn't always the case. 785 00:45:42,720 --> 00:45:48,360 This is the stunning, sleepy seaside town of Combe Martin. 786 00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:51,600 It's hard to believe that THIS was once at the centre 787 00:45:51,600 --> 00:45:53,880 of a thriving silver-mining industry. 788 00:45:53,880 --> 00:45:56,720 Over there is a whole series 789 00:45:56,720 --> 00:45:59,760 of hidden tunnels and caves. 790 00:46:01,120 --> 00:46:05,280 The last working mine in Combe Martin closed in 1890, 791 00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:08,400 but for the previous 600 years 792 00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:11,880 it was at the centre of England's silver industry. 793 00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:16,720 The silver extracted from these mines 794 00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:20,400 was crucial to the wealth of England during the Middle Ages. 795 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:24,440 It paid for those soldiers used in the long war against France. 796 00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:29,120 It was said that the battles of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt 797 00:46:29,120 --> 00:46:31,800 were won in the shafts of Combe Martin. 798 00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:41,640 This secret history of the village might have been lost forever... 799 00:46:42,640 --> 00:46:46,600 ..were it not for a group of local enthusiasts who decided 800 00:46:46,600 --> 00:46:48,760 to dig up the village's past... 801 00:46:48,760 --> 00:46:50,680 quite literally. 802 00:46:50,680 --> 00:46:52,520 And what is it about this place, then? 803 00:46:52,520 --> 00:46:55,240 - Well, I just... - It's different. - I'm more of an outdoors person. 804 00:46:55,240 --> 00:46:57,080 I can't sit at home, like, and play the Xbox, 805 00:46:57,080 --> 00:46:59,920 I've got to come out and, well... do things like this. 806 00:46:59,920 --> 00:47:02,640 'While the average age of the group is over 50, 807 00:47:02,640 --> 00:47:07,120 'teenagers Sam Boyce and James Found are by far its youngest 808 00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:09,960 'AND most enthusiastic members.' 809 00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:15,000 So, I must admit... I like to get out in the fresh air, 810 00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:17,400 I'm not necessarily that keen on going underground. 811 00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:21,160 - Yeah, it's worth it. - Is it? - SAM AND JAMES: - Yeah. 812 00:47:21,160 --> 00:47:23,520 - CHRIS SIGHS - What, squeezing through gaps? 813 00:47:23,520 --> 00:47:25,520 There's one squeeze, really, then... 814 00:47:25,520 --> 00:47:28,400 Yeah, but I'm a lot... fatter than you two. 815 00:47:28,400 --> 00:47:31,000 Oh, you'll be fine. There's bigger people have gone down. 816 00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:32,680 CHRIS LAUGHS 817 00:47:32,680 --> 00:47:36,080 'For them, a journey down the mine is exciting. 818 00:47:36,080 --> 00:47:38,520 'For me...not so much!' 819 00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:39,920 Have I got my light on? 820 00:47:39,920 --> 00:47:42,720 Oh, no, if you just look at mine, there's a black button on the side. 821 00:47:42,720 --> 00:47:44,760 - Right. - So just there. If you just press that one. 822 00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:46,640 - One. - That's it, yeah. Press it again. Again. 823 00:47:46,640 --> 00:47:49,080 - That's it. Three settings. - That's the brightest? - Yeah. 824 00:47:49,080 --> 00:47:51,040 - Yours on? You've got yours on. - So, you get that. 825 00:47:51,040 --> 00:47:53,240 - That's really bright. - That should be the brightest. 826 00:47:53,240 --> 00:47:54,680 - I can't see now. - Sorry about that. 827 00:47:54,680 --> 00:47:56,040 - That's all... - CHRIS LAUGHS 828 00:47:56,040 --> 00:47:58,280 - In we go? - Yeah, let's crack on in. - Come on. 829 00:47:58,280 --> 00:48:01,640 - So, if you just go down there after Sam... - Yeah. 830 00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:03,320 ..and I'll open it up for you. 831 00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:07,000 - Where d'you want me? - If you just stand just there. 832 00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:08,280 - Just go round there. - Here? 833 00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:10,840 - Yeah, if you stand just there you can... - OK. - ..see. 834 00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:13,040 So, I'll just open it up for you... 835 00:48:19,200 --> 00:48:21,360 Oh, my goodness! 836 00:48:22,360 --> 00:48:24,040 So, that's the shaft. 837 00:48:25,040 --> 00:48:27,800 CHRIS LAUGHS 838 00:48:27,800 --> 00:48:30,600 - I can't even see the bottom. - It's a long way down. 839 00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:38,200 Well, the bottom, at the minute, is 160-ish feet down. 840 00:48:38,200 --> 00:48:40,880 So, that's about the height of the church over there, 841 00:48:40,880 --> 00:48:43,000 as you see, on the other side of the hill. 842 00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:45,400 - Yeah. - That's 90ft, it's about how far down we're going. 843 00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:46,720 Oh... 844 00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:50,800 - CHRIS INHALES DEEPLY - Is it worth it? - It is. - It is, yeah. 845 00:48:50,800 --> 00:48:53,520 - Definitely. - It'd better be... 846 00:48:55,600 --> 00:48:58,360 When the mine was closed, it was filled in. 847 00:48:58,360 --> 00:49:00,280 You know, like, when you're rock climbing, 848 00:49:00,280 --> 00:49:02,080 - you don't want to look down? - Yeah. 849 00:49:02,080 --> 00:49:05,320 - I don't want to look up, it's... - CHRIS LAUGHS 850 00:49:05,320 --> 00:49:07,760 I don't want to know how deep I'm going. 851 00:49:10,360 --> 00:49:14,600 'The volunteers have dug out over 1,000 tonnes of rubble 852 00:49:14,600 --> 00:49:19,680 'to reveal a network of man-made tunnels, hidden for over a century.' 853 00:49:21,240 --> 00:49:23,920 - I'm going on the next ladder, mate. - Good. 854 00:49:23,920 --> 00:49:28,640 'To get there, I have to clamber down seven vertical ladders.' 855 00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:30,880 I was rather hoping that was the last ladder. 856 00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:35,200 It's a bit of an awkward one, that one. 857 00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:38,480 OK, you can come on that next one. 858 00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:42,040 It seems to be getting more and more damp. 859 00:49:42,040 --> 00:49:44,200 'Finally, we're at the bottom. 860 00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:47,520 'Time to see just how much the dig has unearthed.' 861 00:49:48,520 --> 00:49:51,680 What we're going to do is crawl through this little hole 862 00:49:51,680 --> 00:49:54,000 and then it'll open up into a larger area. 863 00:49:55,440 --> 00:49:57,480 - I'll do it. - Just mind your head a bit. 864 00:49:57,480 --> 00:49:59,520 It's quite a tight squeeze, to be honest. 865 00:50:01,800 --> 00:50:04,040 Is it nice and open and comfortable in there? 866 00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:06,040 - Oh, yes. - It'd better be. 867 00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:09,360 - Come on, big boy. - I'm coming, Sam. 868 00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:10,800 Come on, then. 869 00:50:11,880 --> 00:50:13,960 - I'm here, I'm up. - Well done. 870 00:50:13,960 --> 00:50:15,320 - Cheers. - Right. 871 00:50:16,320 --> 00:50:18,360 We're going to have to squat on these. 872 00:50:18,360 --> 00:50:20,240 I think I'll squat next to my new friend. 873 00:50:21,480 --> 00:50:23,560 - It's a bit tight in here, isn't it? - CHRIS WHEEZES 874 00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:24,600 It's all right. 875 00:50:24,600 --> 00:50:26,840 Can I just say, what's wrong with a game of golf? 876 00:50:26,840 --> 00:50:28,080 Or a game of tennis? 877 00:50:28,080 --> 00:50:30,360 It's not nearly as exciting, is it? 878 00:50:30,360 --> 00:50:33,880 You come down here every weekend and pretty much something different's happened. 879 00:50:33,880 --> 00:50:37,000 Like, they've got further with the dig, or they've found something else. 880 00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:40,600 What do you know about the history of this mine? 881 00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:44,080 We know... We've got records dating back to the 1200s, like, 882 00:50:44,080 --> 00:50:46,560 so we know that's when it was mining. 883 00:50:46,560 --> 00:50:50,080 Um... Obviously, a lot of the silver that came out... 884 00:50:50,080 --> 00:50:53,400 all the silver in the Crown Jewels comes from Combe Martin. 885 00:50:53,400 --> 00:50:55,840 The Lord Mayor of London has got a cup 886 00:50:55,840 --> 00:50:58,120 that is pure Combe Martin silver as well. 887 00:50:58,120 --> 00:50:59,280 - Is that right? - Yeah. 888 00:50:59,280 --> 00:51:01,640 What do your mum and dad think about you coming down here? 889 00:51:01,640 --> 00:51:03,280 When I first came down, my mum was like, 890 00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:05,080 "I need to speak to them to see if it's OK... 891 00:51:05,080 --> 00:51:07,400 "Is it safe for them?" First time I did it, she was like, 892 00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:09,280 - "Oh, yeah, it's fine, you can just..." - Yeah. 893 00:51:09,280 --> 00:51:11,120 She's happy that I do it and not sit at home. 894 00:51:11,120 --> 00:51:14,440 - I just come out, actually do something and achieve something. - Yeah. 895 00:51:14,440 --> 00:51:16,680 - So, d'you want to follow me up? - Yeah. 896 00:51:16,680 --> 00:51:19,400 - So, now, if you think this is claustrophobic in here... - Yeah. 897 00:51:19,400 --> 00:51:22,560 - ..imagine it... - Yeah. - ..if they were smoking. 898 00:51:22,560 --> 00:51:24,400 - Oh, my... - This way. 899 00:51:24,400 --> 00:51:27,160 - Yeah. - So, imagine that, if there's smoke and all the smoke fumes. 900 00:51:27,160 --> 00:51:29,240 - Yeah, thanks(!) - CHRIS LAUGHS 901 00:51:29,240 --> 00:51:32,480 - And it'd be a... It'd be a lot worse, wouldn't it? - They used to smoke down here? 902 00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:35,200 They used to smoke here, yeah. So they used to have their pipes. 903 00:51:35,200 --> 00:51:38,360 They'd start about this long. They'd snap and get shorter and shorter. 904 00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:40,800 Oh, my goodness. Are you all right there? Oh, what's this? 905 00:51:40,800 --> 00:51:43,360 That's the old cable ladder, how they used to get up and down. 906 00:51:43,360 --> 00:51:45,320 See where we are now, this is the old workings, 907 00:51:45,320 --> 00:51:47,040 - where they used to come in and out. - Yeah. 908 00:51:47,040 --> 00:51:49,560 So, if you carry on up here, we'll miss out a few ladders. 909 00:51:49,560 --> 00:51:51,520 That goes right up to the surface, does it? 910 00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:53,960 Not right to the surface, up to the ladders sort of stages. 911 00:51:53,960 --> 00:51:55,640 - Goes up to the sixth fathom level. - Yeah. 912 00:51:55,640 --> 00:51:59,360 - CHRIS CHUCKLES - But you can see the way that they have just worked this, haven't they? 913 00:51:59,360 --> 00:52:00,560 - Yeah. - Yeah. 914 00:52:00,560 --> 00:52:03,080 I mean, I must admit, I'm coming round to your side, 915 00:52:03,080 --> 00:52:04,920 - it is fascinating. - Yeah... 916 00:52:04,920 --> 00:52:07,480 'It's a labyrinth down here.' 917 00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:11,280 'The boys have taken me as far as they can, 918 00:52:11,280 --> 00:52:14,360 'but who knows how much further the tunnels go?' 919 00:52:15,560 --> 00:52:20,000 'There are rumours that some of them might stretch halfway to the coast!' 920 00:52:21,120 --> 00:52:23,800 'And with Sam and James's enthusiasm, 921 00:52:23,800 --> 00:52:26,680 'I'm sure they'll get there... 922 00:52:26,680 --> 00:52:29,640 'even if it takes until they're 50.' 923 00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:32,720 SEAGULLS CRY 924 00:52:32,720 --> 00:52:38,680 Devon's two coastlines have made it a place where adventures begin. 925 00:52:38,680 --> 00:52:41,920 Drake left from the south coast to help defend the nation 926 00:52:41,920 --> 00:52:44,520 against the invading Spanish Armada, 927 00:52:44,520 --> 00:52:48,720 and he returned here to Hartland on the north coast. 928 00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:53,440 Drake built the quay here at Hartland to land the treasure 929 00:52:53,440 --> 00:52:55,200 from his travels. 930 00:52:55,200 --> 00:52:57,800 It's been a place of legend ever since. 931 00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:05,040 Hartland was famously a place of shipwrecks and shipwreckers. 932 00:53:05,040 --> 00:53:09,400 Local people would lure ships onto these dangerous rocky waters 933 00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:12,800 and wreck the vessels, then take the loot. 934 00:53:12,800 --> 00:53:17,080 But today's thrill-seekers are less likely to be wreckers than surfers. 935 00:53:18,560 --> 00:53:21,880 Andrew Cotton is a legend amongst surfers. 936 00:53:21,880 --> 00:53:24,160 He grew up on the north coast of Devon, 937 00:53:24,160 --> 00:53:27,960 but like Drake, he's travelled the world in pursuit of adventure, 938 00:53:27,960 --> 00:53:31,440 including waves like this 60-footer in Portugal. 939 00:53:35,680 --> 00:53:37,280 Andrew, Devon born and bred. 940 00:53:37,280 --> 00:53:40,240 What was it that got you into surfing? 941 00:53:40,240 --> 00:53:42,440 Well, if you live in north Devon, I think, you know, 942 00:53:42,440 --> 00:53:45,880 it's such an amazing coastline and loads of nice beaches, and... 943 00:53:45,880 --> 00:53:48,240 it's just a great way to spend the weekend, I suppose. 944 00:53:48,240 --> 00:53:51,360 What are the chances of me getting your secret surf spots out of you? 945 00:53:52,360 --> 00:53:55,120 - HE CHUCKLES - Ah... Pretty slim. 946 00:53:55,120 --> 00:53:57,840 - You hold them close to your chest, do you? - Definitely, yeah. 947 00:53:57,840 --> 00:53:59,880 That's why they're secret. But, no, like... 948 00:53:59,880 --> 00:54:03,600 No, surfers are really always protective about, you know, their spots, you know? 949 00:54:03,600 --> 00:54:06,920 I think every surfer in the UK will have their special place, but... 950 00:54:08,520 --> 00:54:11,360 You know, even my best mates don't always tell me 951 00:54:11,360 --> 00:54:13,160 where they're going to surf. 952 00:54:13,160 --> 00:54:15,120 Wow! A secretive world. 953 00:54:15,120 --> 00:54:19,080 'If I'm going to get any information out of Andrew, 954 00:54:19,080 --> 00:54:21,320 'it's going to take some persuasion.' 955 00:54:22,400 --> 00:54:26,920 For me, I spend a lot of time on jet skis and, for me, 956 00:54:26,920 --> 00:54:29,840 that's a good way that I check a lot of spots. 957 00:54:29,840 --> 00:54:32,000 So, we can... We can get the ski out 958 00:54:32,000 --> 00:54:34,840 and we can check a few beaches out and see what you think. 959 00:54:34,840 --> 00:54:36,520 Awesome. Sounds good. 960 00:54:37,720 --> 00:54:40,600 - Shall I get on there now? - Yes, get on! Let's go! 961 00:54:40,600 --> 00:54:42,680 I've never done this before, you know. 962 00:54:42,680 --> 00:54:44,120 ELLIE GROANS 963 00:54:44,120 --> 00:54:45,640 - Hey! - We're on. 964 00:54:45,640 --> 00:54:48,760 'Agreeing to take me out on the jet ski is, I think, 965 00:54:48,760 --> 00:54:51,240 'the closest I'm going to get to Andrew's secrets.' 966 00:54:51,240 --> 00:54:52,840 Like that? 967 00:54:52,840 --> 00:54:56,560 - I was just going to say, might get a little bit wet. - OK. 968 00:54:56,560 --> 00:55:00,320 - But...don't be scared to hold on tight, cos it... - OK, thanks. 969 00:55:00,320 --> 00:55:02,000 D'you know what I mean, like? 970 00:55:08,240 --> 00:55:10,560 It's like a motorbike, wow! ELLIE LAUGHS 971 00:55:13,000 --> 00:55:14,560 Wow. 972 00:55:19,120 --> 00:55:20,680 ELLIE YELLS 973 00:55:22,520 --> 00:55:23,680 Whoa! 974 00:55:28,840 --> 00:55:32,520 ELLIE LAUGHS I've never known anything like it! 975 00:55:35,160 --> 00:55:36,680 Oh, come on! 976 00:55:38,680 --> 00:55:42,040 'Andrew uses his jet ski to reach the most inaccessible 977 00:55:42,040 --> 00:55:45,720 'and, by their very nature, secret surf spots.' 978 00:55:46,720 --> 00:55:47,960 That is nuts! 979 00:55:50,240 --> 00:55:53,120 So, like, as we were coming round, obviously, this is all Saunton 980 00:55:53,120 --> 00:55:56,160 and then you come around, this is, like...Downend Point. 981 00:55:56,160 --> 00:56:00,240 - Right! - And this actually gets, like, quite good waves along here. 982 00:56:00,240 --> 00:56:04,560 It has to be low tide, and, like, a certain swell... 983 00:56:04,560 --> 00:56:07,280 - Yeah, it gets quite good. - Again, it's a bit rocky, though. 984 00:56:07,280 --> 00:56:11,160 - Yeah, but sometimes that makes the best waves. - Oh, OK. 985 00:56:11,160 --> 00:56:15,120 So, like, points like this are really fun places to surf. 986 00:56:15,120 --> 00:56:18,680 - But it's just... - Not for the amateurs, I shouldn't think. 987 00:56:18,680 --> 00:56:21,680 No, no. I would say, like, intermediates to advanced, I reckon. 988 00:56:21,680 --> 00:56:24,240 HE LAUGHS 989 00:56:24,240 --> 00:56:28,080 - Is this one of your favourite spots around here? - Yeah. Definitely, yeah. 990 00:56:29,880 --> 00:56:33,960 'If only I could, it would be amazing to surf one of the spots 991 00:56:33,960 --> 00:56:35,640 'that Andrew has shown me. 992 00:56:35,640 --> 00:56:38,120 'But I have my own secret.' 993 00:56:38,120 --> 00:56:41,200 How many surfers would kill me right now to get a lesson with you? 994 00:56:41,200 --> 00:56:45,680 'I don't even know the front from the back end of a surf board.' 995 00:56:58,480 --> 00:57:02,400 Paddle, paddle, paddle! Good. 996 00:57:02,400 --> 00:57:06,000 'Andrew promises he can get me standing up in one lesson, 997 00:57:06,000 --> 00:57:09,560 'but he does admit it might take a bit more practice 998 00:57:09,560 --> 00:57:12,400 'before I'm ready for one of his secret surf spots.' 999 00:57:24,080 --> 00:57:25,320 Paddle! 1000 00:57:25,320 --> 00:57:26,480 Ooh! 1001 00:57:32,920 --> 00:57:36,600 - Whoo! - Whoohoo! Yeah! 1002 00:57:39,760 --> 00:57:43,120 Well, what an exhilarating way to end our travels, 1003 00:57:43,120 --> 00:57:46,440 which began on a secret island off the south coast, 1004 00:57:46,440 --> 00:57:48,880 came all the way across Dartmoor and has ended here, 1005 00:57:48,880 --> 00:57:53,120 searching out the best secret surfing spot on the north. 1006 00:57:53,120 --> 00:57:55,440 Devon may be a county of two coastlines, 1007 00:57:55,440 --> 00:57:59,280 but it's certainly a place of many different faces. 1008 00:57:59,280 --> 00:58:02,120 There's more to Devon than cream teas, you know. 1009 00:58:04,400 --> 00:58:06,720 Next time we're in Northern Ireland. 1010 00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:12,760 That is such a view! Oh! How wonderful! 1011 00:58:12,760 --> 00:58:15,160 - You were at Sydney in - 2000. Yes. 1012 00:58:15,160 --> 00:58:19,920 This is as big an occasion and you're not treating it as. You need to get focused, woman! 1013 00:58:19,920 --> 00:58:23,680 - Oh! - Oh! Too much! Aah! 1014 00:58:24,680 --> 00:58:26,760 And we've got the moon shining above as well. 1015 00:58:26,760 --> 00:58:30,560 - And the sun's coming up! - Yeah, it's getting close.