All language subtitles for Aerial.Britain.Series.1.3of4.Wales.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.eng

Narrator: Wales,
a land of myth and majesty,

Of legendary kings
and warrior rebels.

With more fortresses
per square mile

Than anywhere else in the world.

From the hills that put
the stone in stonehenge,

To the secret hideaways

Where led zeppelin and queen
changed the history of rock...

A country that forged
its own destiny

From the great monuments
of its industrial past.

A legacy,
celebrated in architecture,

Capturing
the heart and the soul.

Soar high above
fairy tale castles,

Over rivers,

And as close to the edge
as you dare.

Meet a people defined
by poetry, song, and sport...

A nation that bears
the indelible marks

Of 2,000 years of invasion,

But never once
lost its identity.

This is wales, as you've
never seen it before.

♪

The size of new jersey,

With a population of just
3 million people,

Wales has always been
fiercely proud of its autonomy.

Simon evans is originally
from the southeast of England

But moved here with his family
when he retired.

This raised bank of earth
close to the welsh border

Runs near his home,

And he and his son tom
walk here regularly.

A few years ago,
simon trekked its entire length,

A distance of around 177 miles.

In fact,
this is an ancient boundary

Between England and wales,

Which follows long stretches

Of the current border
between the two countries.

It was constructed
more than 1,200 years ago

By the anglo-saxon king offa

To divide his territory
from wales.

According to ancient tradition,

The english would cut off
the ears of any welshman

Found to the east
of offa's dyke,

And the welsh would hang
every englishman

Found to the west of it.

Thankfully,
for these two englishmen,

The old traditions have lapsed.

But the cultural significance
of offa's dyke,

Like that of hadrian's wall
on the scottish border,

Is clear.

Wales and England were,
and always will be,

Separate places.

♪

The first ancestors of the welsh
arrived here 29,000 years ago,

Long before rising sea levels

Separated britain
from mainland europe.

Today,
two-thirds of the population

Live in the valleys and towns
of the south,

Including the country's
largest city

And its capital, cardiff.

[boat horn blows]

In the 19th century,
coal exported from south wales

Fueled the furnaces
and boilers of the world.

The booming port of cardiff

Attracted thousands
of migrant workers.

Back then,
the neighborhood of tiger bay

Was an infamous
dockland quarter,

Home to the city's
red-light district.

An unlikely location
for this lutheran church.

But not to the norwegian
seafarers who settled here.

In 1868, they built it

As a place to meet
and worship together.

♪

In recent years,

The waterfront has become home

To somewhat
more imposing buildings,

Including
this glass and steel edifice.

It's the national assembly,
or senedd in welsh,

Home of the country's
parliament.

Nearby, the millennium center,

With its facade
inscribed with the words

Of welsh poet gwyneth lewis,

Is a venue
for ballet, theatre,

And the headquarters
of the welsh national opera.

♪

Cardiff castle was built
by the normans in 1081,

15 years after their king,
william the conqueror,

Invaded britain
from northern France.

Constructed on the remains
of a third-century roman fort,

This legacy
of two major conquests

Was the seed from which
the modern city grew.

Though expanded
and redeveloped many times,

It remains an iconic feature
of the welsh capital.

In the 1860s,

This was the family home

Of the fabulously wealthy
john crichton-stuart.

He hated growing up
at the castle

And later commissioned
architect william burges

To transform it in lavish
gothic revival style.

Burges added new towers,
a roof garden,

A sumptuous banqueting hall,

And this magnificent
150-foot clock tower.

[air raid siren]

During world war ii,

Air raid shelters
tunneled into the medieval walls

Protected 1,800 people.

♪

In 1947, after the death
of crichton's son,

The family bequeathed the castle
to the city of cardiff.

♪

[gulls squawking]

♪

Close to the castle

Is the home ground
and high church of welsh rugby,

Cardiff's
principality stadium.

The arena,

Built from 56,000 tons
of concrete and steel,

Can seat more than
74,000 supporters.

Since 1999, it's hosted
three world cup tournaments.

Rugby is wales's national sport

And a cherished part
of its cultural identity.

To compete here is the dream
of every young welsh player.

♪

Many pursue that dream
at rugby clubs like this one,

A few miles north of cardiff
in the town of pontypridd.

Rugby actually originated
in northern England

In the 1820s,

But no one embraces it
quite like the welsh.

There's hardly a town,
factory, or community in wales

Without its own team.

Full back lloyd rowlands

Has been playing rugby
since he was nine.

Now semi-professional,

The training
is a little more intense.

But every try takes him one step
closer to the big league.

♪

Of course, rugby isn't the only
way to achieve legend status

Here in wales.

Pontypridd is also hometown

To one of the country's
most famous sons,

Singer sir tom jones.

Long before
he achieved global stardom,

The 100-million-record-selling
artist

Worked at a glove factory
in town.

At home here in his family's
end-of-terrace house

On laura street,

He honed his skills listening
to american blues singers

Like big bill broonzy

And mahalia jackson,
the queen of gospel.

♪

Like the voice
of its most famous singer,

Wales has always been
a force to reckon with.

In a.D. 43,

Just ten years
after the death of jesus,

The romans invaded britain.

Within five years,

They controlled
most of the southwest.

But here in wales,

The empire
would struggle to overcome

The fierce native tribes

For another three decades.

Relics of the roman occupation
survive to this day.

Near the village of caerleon
lie the ruins of a military base

Once manned by 5,000
elite roman troops.

Close by are the remains
of a great oval amphitheatre

Built around a.D. 90,

Where as many
as 6,000 spectators

Would have witnessed
brutal gladiatorial combat.

[crowd cheering]

The romans would occupy wales
for over three centuries,

From 78 a.D. To 383 a.D.

This is the first town
they founded--

Caerwent, near the southern city
of newport.

Sections of the original
first-century wall still remain,

Some rising up to 17 feet high.

It's one of the most perfectly
preserved roman fortifications

In northern europe.

In the early 5th century,

With the empire under attack

By barbarian armies
all over europe,

The emperor honorius withdrew
his garrisons from britain.

And so ended roman rule.

♪

Soon, wales would be conquered
all over again.

And this time, it would
surrender without a fight.

♪

Between the sixth
and eighth centuries,

The pagan tribes of wales

Were converted to christianity
by missionaries from ireland.

The age of the saints would see
monastic settlements

Established
all over the country.

First by the irish,
then by the converted welsh.

The sixth-century ruin
of st. Non's chapel

On the west coast
of pembrokeshire

Is said to be the birthplace
of st. David,

Wales's patron saint.

♪

In his time, st. David
would spread christianity

Throughout wales, England,

And brittany
in northern France.

Here, half a mile
from his birthplace,

Stands the city
named in his honor--

St. David's, population 2,000,

Britain's smallest metropolis.

The city's medieval cathedral
was founded on the site

Where st. David established
a monastic community.

A stone set into the altar is
said to have been brought back

From a pilgrimage
st. David took to jerusalem.

Near the cathedral lie the ruins
of a medieval palace

Built by 13th
and 14th-century bishops.

But in the 16th century,

Bishop william barlow
stripped the lead from the roof

To pay for the dowries
of his five daughters.

The building
fell into disrepair,

Never to recover.

♪

St. David's cathedral
has had a tumultuous history.

Extensively damaged
by an earthquake in 1247,

It was modified many times
over the next three centuries,

And contains the tomb
of edmund tudor,

Grandfather of
king henry viii of England.

♪

Just outside st. David's,

Entomologist and ecologist
dr. Sarah benyon

Runs a farm unlike any other.

In a bid to overcome
a childhood phobia of insects,

She immersed herself
in all things creepy-crawly.

The result was the bug farm,

Established in 2015

And now literally buzzing
with activity.

Here, guests
can explore habitats

Swarming with insect life,

Visit the bug museum and zoo,

And learn about the farm's
cutting-edge research

Into farmland biodiversity.

They can also dine
at the grub kitchen,

Britain's first
edible insect café.

Delicacies on offer
include bug burgers,

Mealworm hummus,

And their famous
cricket cookies.

♪

Local producer gayle twitchen

Tends beehives at six locations
on st. David's peninsula,

Including the bug farm.

♪

[bees buzzing]

Just as the honey gayle harvests

Is sweetened of this peninsula's
wildflower meadows,

The landscape of wales is imbued

With one of the greatest legends
of medieval britain.

♪

The great mountain range
of snowdonia national park

Includes some of
the highest peaks in wales,

Including
the highest of them all,

Mount snowdon.

♪

This 800-square-mile
natural reserve

Also preserves the legend

Of an extraordinary
mythical figure.

In welsh,
the name of mount snowdon

Means "the tomb of rhita gawr,"

A fearsome giant supposedly
slain by king arthur.

As legend has it,
the giant's body lies buried

Under massive stones
at the summit.

This ridge
is said to be the place

Where arthur himself died,

Killed in battle
by his own son, mordred.

Arthur's magical sword excalibur

Is said to lie
beneath glaslyn lake

On the mountain's east flank,

Cast into the icy waters
by sir bedivere

After the king's death.

♪

Snowdon's mystical beauty

Attracts half a million visitors
every year.

The outlying region is home
to over 28,000 people,

Nearly two-thirds of whom

Speak welsh
as their first language.

♪

There are many routes to the top
of wales's highest peak,

But the most comfortable
is the snowdon mountain railway.

In 1896, steam locomotives
began taking visitors

From the village of llanberis

On the 4.5-mile journey
to the summit.

The locomotives were built
specially for the line

In switzerland,

The only country at that time
with the required expertise

To transport people safely
up and down the mountain.

Three of the original
five locomotives

Are still in service today,

Over 120 years later.

♪

Every year,

130,000 passengers brave
the vertiginous 2.5-hour climb,

Rewarded with spectacular views
of the welsh landscape

All the way up,

Weather permitting.

♪

In 2009, this visitor center
opened at the summit.

On a clear day,

Passengers alighting

For a 30-minute stopover
at the highest point in wales

Can see all the way to ireland.

♪

The 19th-century
english travel writer

George borrow once wrote,

"I never saw water
falling so gracefully,

So much like thin,
beautiful threads as here."

The object of his affection

Was the great waterfall
of pistyll rhaeadr

In the northeast of snowdonia.

This place,

Where the river afon dysgynfa
tumbles down a 240-foot cliff,

Is known as one of
the seven wonders of wales.

Pistyll rhaeadr is not one,
but three separate falls,

Each adding its own complexity
to the elegance of the cascade.

♪

Where there are mountains,
there are lakes,

And snowdonia has 250 of them.

♪

This one, called llyn padarn,

Is popular with kayakers
and paddleboarders.

Lake bala to the east

Is the largest natural lake
in wales--

Rich pickings for anglers,

Who come here for perch,
pike, trout, and salmon.

♪

Barry evans and his son ilan

Have fished these waters
all their lives.

But one fish
they won't be landing today

Is the gwyniad.

It's an elusive species
native to lake bala,

Stranded here
over 10,000 years ago

At the end of the last ice age.

It lurks in the deepest
reaches of the lake,

Far beyond the reach
of rod and line.

♪

The picturesque village
of tremadog

On the outskirts of snowdonia

Is the home to the hostel
of snowdon lodge.

In 1888,
this was the birthplace

Of archaeologist,
soldier and writer

Thomas edward lawrence,

Known to the world
as lawrence of arabia.

In his classic book
"the seven pillars of wisdom,"

Lawrence recounted his exploits
in the middle east

During the first world war.

During that conflict,

He helped lead an arab revolt
against the ottoman empire--

A campaign immortalized
in the classic 1962 film

"lawrence of arabia."

♪

From wales's most colorful son

To one of its
most colorful towns.

Located on a private peninsula
off the snowdonia coast,

The brightly colored buildings

And enchanting parks
of portmeirion

Were built between
1925 and 1976.

This fanciful landscape,

Created in the style
of an italian village,

Was primarily designed
as a tourist attraction.

The entire village
operates as a hotel,

With guest rooms
in each of its buildings.

♪

Portmeirion
is perhaps best known

As the filming location for
the cult 1960s sci-fi series

"the prisoner,"

About a british
former secret agent

Who is abducted and imprisoned
in a mysterious coastal resort

From which he can never
seem to escape.

♪

Before his death,

Portmeirion's
unconventional architect,

Clough williams ellis,

Asked for his ashes
to be launched

Over the estuary in a rocket.

His last request
was eventually carried out

On new year's eve, 1998.

♪

This structure
in northeast wales

Might look like a bridge.

But it is more than that.

This is
the 200-year-old waterway

Of pontcysyllte aqueduct.

Crossing the river dee
and rising 126 feet above it,

The stone and cast-iron span

Is an incredible feat
of civil engineering

That took ten years
to design and build.

Completed in 1805,

Pontcysyllte is the longest
and highest navigable aqueduct

In britain.

It's 100 feet long
and five feet deep,

Supported by arched iron ribs
on 18 hollow masonry piers.

The aqueduct
was originally designed

To transport coal, iron,
slate, and limestone.

Today, it's mainly sightseers

Who are rewarded
with incredible views

Across the dee valley.

♪

Lake vyrnwy in north wales.

130 years ago,

This was a peaceful valley
where a village once stood.

Today, it's a watery playground
for sportspeople

Like professional adventurer
dave proctor,

Who runs
an activity center nearby.

He's been sailing these waters
for almost 50 years.

The great reservoir
was built in 1888,

And was once
the main water supply

For the city of liverpool,
80 miles to the north.

Although swimming in vyrnwy
is prohibited,

Local diane thomas

Makes the most of the lake
on her doorstep.

She recently completed
a triathlon here,

Part of which involved kayaking
the full length of the lake.

In the distance,

What looks like
a gothic-style tower

Is actually an elegant
water filtration system.

In its day, the dam
was britain's largest

And supplied power
to the local area

Right up to the 1960s.

But lake vyrnwy came at a cost.

Flooding the valley

Required the sacrifice
of the village of llanwddyn,

Whose dead were respectfully
exhumed from the local cemetery

And reburied
further down the valley.

♪

In the lower reaches
of snowdonia national park,

The market town of machynlleth

Is regarded as the ancient
capital of wales,

Once the stronghold
of a rebel leader

Just as legendary to the welsh
as the mythical king arthur.

His name, owain glyndwr,

The last welshman to hold
the title prince of wales.

Glyndwr's 15th-century revolt
against english rule

Was effectively a full-scale war

Against the english king
henry iv.

♪

This medieval building
in the town

Is the original site
of a parliament

Where glyndwr
declared his vision

Of an independent welsh state.

♪

Here, he was crowned
prince of wales

By his followers.

♪

When the rebellion
ultimately foundered,

Glyndwr went into hiding.

Despite enormous rewards
offered for his capture,

He was never betrayed.

He is said to have died in 1415,

But glyndwr is still revered

As one of wales's
most heroic figures.

♪

In 1970, two young
musicians came here

To the 18th-century cottage
of golden hill,

Or bron yr aur.

They weren't just visiting;

They'd come to work on one of
the most famous rock albums

Of all time.

At the time,

This was the holiday home
of the plant family.

Robert plant
and his bandmate jimmy page

Had just completed
a long north american tour.

Here they would write
and partly record

"led zeppelin iii."

The cottage,
now in the hands of a new owner,

And the landscape around it

Would inspire songs such as
"over the hills and far away"

And of course, "bron-yr-aur."

It remains a mecca
for dedicated zeppelin fans.

♪

[gulls squawking]

Every year, thousands of golfers
make the pilgrimage

To the first course

Specifically designed
to host the ryder cup.

The tournament
between the u.S. And europe

Is held every two years.

This course was built
for the 2010 event,

At a cost of over $20 million.

Near the city of newport
in south wales,

It forms part
of the celtic manor resort--

A golf, spa, and hotel complex

Set in 2,000 acres
of beautiful parkland.

This 395-foot-long
suspension bridge

Across the river usk

Was specially built
for the ryder cup.

Today, even amateur golfers
can pit their skills

Against the challenging
fairways and greens

Of the 2010 course.

♪

♪

The otherworldly skyline
of port talbot

Could hardly offer
a more striking contrast.

It would inspire

An american-born
british director

To create one of hollywood's
strangest movies.

The town on wales's south coast

Is home to one of the largest
steel foundries in the world,

Employing one in ten
of its population.

Visiting port talbot at sunset,

Director terry gilliam
was overwhelmed

By the sight of fumes and vapor
rising from the cooling towers,

Lit by plumes
of ignited waste gas.

It would profoundly influence
his own vision

For the dystopian
sci-fi classic "brazil."

♪

And the movie connections
don't end there.

Port talbot is also the hometown

Of two of wales's
most iconic actors--

Sir anthony hopkins
and sir richard burton.

Born richard jenkins
at this modest terraced house

In the nearby village
of pontrhydyfen in 1925,

Burton was the twelfth
of thirteen children.

He lived here for two years

Before the family
moved to port talbot

Following the death
of his mother.

Years later, when burton
visited the village

With his then-new wife
elizabeth taylor,

Locals remember the occasion as
something akin to a royal visit.

♪

The sport of lawn bowls,

Dating back to the 13th century,

Has a rich history in wales,

With hundreds of clubs
across the country.

Today the inco vale club,
10 miles from port talbot,

Is hosting
a mixed pairs competition.

Club chairman wyndham haines

Has played the sport
for more than 50 years.

The goal for teams is to
position their set of bowls

Closer than those
of their opponents

To a small white ball
called the jack.

One of the clubs
most accomplished players,

Gaynor thomas,

Has won numerous titles
over the years,

Including the national
mixed pairs champion.

♪

These manicured lawns
are the picture of civility--

A far cry from the landscapes

That greeted
wales's first settlers.

♪

This evocative terrain
of wild moors and grassland

In northern pembrokeshire

Is preseli hills,

A national park crossed
by an ancient 8-mile track

Known as the golden road.

Dotted throughout the area

Are burial sites
and ancient settlements

Dating back to the stone age.

For many years, it was said

That bluestones quarried here
4,500 years ago

Were used to build stonehenge.

In 2000, to prove the claim,

A local community group

Attempted to move
a three-ton rock to stonehenge

By neolithic means.

When the 140-mile
attempt failed,

The group blamed modern
health and safety obstacles

That would not have stopped
the original engineers.

As it turned out,
they were right.

In 2015, a team of geologists
and archaeologists

Confirmed that the great pillars

Were indeed
quarried here at preseli

And transported east
to stonehenge.

♪

In 1066,

Around 4,000 years after
that monumental achievement,

William the conqueror
invaded britain

From what is now
northern France.

Within six years,
he controlled all of England,

But the fierce welsh tribes
would resist

For a further 200 years.

At the end of the 13th century,

William's descendent,
edward I,

Launched a full-scale
war of conquest.

His goal--

To place wales firmly
under english control.

Harlech castle,

On a spur of rock near
the irish sea in north wales,

Is one of a ring
of fortresses he built

To stamp his authority
on the land.

In the centuries that followed,

Harlech gained a reputation as
a near impregnable stronghold.

In the 15th century,

When the houses
of york and lancaster

Battled for
the throne of England,

The castle resisted siege
for seven years.

In 1642, the fortress
was besieged again

During the english civil war

When the forces of the king and
the parliamentary government

Struggled for control
of britain.

After holding out
for five years,

Harlech was the last royalist
castle on the british mainland

To surrender to
the parliamentary forces.

♪

♪

Unlike the other castles
of edward I's iron ring,

This one, caernarfon,

Was less a defensive fortress

And more an expression
of english dominance.

Modeled on the walls
of constantinople,

The castle has a series
of polygonal towers.

The ten-sided eagle tower was
once decorated with stone eagles

That have since weathered away.

Its fearsome gatehouses are
peppered with murder-holes,

From where
the castle's defenders

Poured boiling oil and water

Down on anyone
foolhardy enough to attack.

It was here, in 1284,

That edward's queen eleanor
gave birth to their first son,

The very first welsh-born,
but english, prince of wales.

And it was here, in 1969,

That the present
prince of wales, prince charles,

Was invested
by his mother queen elizabeth.

♪

Northeast of caernarfon

On a coastal ridge
overlooking the river conwy

Stands what is arguably
the most magnificent

Of edward I's welsh fortresses.

Designed by the master architect
james of st. George,

Conwy is defended
by eight towers

And two fortified gateways...

All of which counted
for little in 1401

When, during the last war
of independence,

Two welsh rebel brothers
surprised the watchmen

And seized control of the castle
for three months.

They eventually surrendered

In exchange for a full pardon
by the king.

Near the castle,
attached to conwy's town walls,

Is britain's smallest house.

It was inhabited
from the 16th century

Right up to 1900.

Its last tenant
was a 6-foot 3-inch fisherman.

Visitors can view the property,
but only at ground level.

The upper floor is taken up

By a single bed
and a small cabinet.

Downstairs
there's just enough room

For a stove
and a seat...For one.

♪

On the north coast of wales,

A narrow 16-mile-long stretch
of tidal water

Known as the menai strait

Separates the mainland
from its largest island,

Anglesey.

Covering an area
of 276 square miles,

The island is home
to around 70,000 people,

Most of whom are welsh speakers.

This great span
linking to the mainland

Is the 1,400-foot-long
menai suspension bridge.

It was designed by
master engineer thomas telford

And completed in 1826,

Replacing
a hazardous ferry journey

Across the treacherous,
fast-flowing waters

Of the strait.

♪

This ghostly collection
of industrial buildings

On anglesey's north coast

Is the abandoned ruin
of porth wen brickworks.

Once a hive of activity,

Now a monument
to a long-dead industry.

This was where
the quartzite bricks

That lined the furnaces
of the victorian steel industry

Were made.

The quartzite
was crushed by workers

Wearing iron-covered gloves

Before being hand-molded
and fired in domed kilns.

Finished bricks were dispatched

To the forges
of a new industrial age

From this quay...

Now crumbling into ruins
like the rest of the site,

Weathered by sea and salt
for more than a century.

♪

Anglesey is just one of over
50 islands off the welsh coast.

Many, like the tiny island
of caldey in carmarthen bay,

Were the site of early
monastic settlements,

Remote havens
of contemplation and prayer,

Safe from attack.

Today, a small community
of cistercian trappist monks,

Based here since the 1920s,

Continues that tradition.

Although home to only around
40 permanent residents,

The island
issues its own stamps,

And has its own currency
known as the "dab."

During the spring
and summer months,

The monks welcome visitors
on spiritual retreat,

As well as those who come

To enjoy the island's
rich wildlife.

[birds calling]

Caldey may be
a place of the soul,

But the heart of wales
lies deep below the ground.

A great treasure is buried

Beneath the valleys
of south wales.

Hundreds of feet
below the ground

Lies one of britain's
most extensive coalfields.

During the industrial
revolution,

That same coal was a vital
and precious commodity.

By the early 20th century,

Over a quarter of a million men

Were working
in wales's coal mines.

This mine, called big pit
at blaenavon in monmouthshire,

Was one of the most productive.

Coal mined here
fueled the steel industry,

Powered steamships,

And fed the locomotive engines

Of america's
great western railway.

Since 1983, big pit has been
a world heritage site.

Today, brave souls
can descend 300 feet

In the original pit cage

To the dark coalface
where miners once toiled.

But there's a much darker side
to wales's mining history.

♪

This is the peaceful
former mining town of aberfan,

In the taff valley.

Here at 9:15 on the morning
of October 21, 1966,

As the children
of a local junior school

Gathered for lessons,

The ground
suddenly began to shake.

[rumbling]

Over many years,
huge piles of mining debris

Had been deposited
on the hillside

Above the village.

Loosened by heavy rain,

The great mass
of coal, shale, and water

Began to slide downhill,

Consuming everything
in its path,

Including the school.

Despite the desperate efforts

Of thousands of volunteers
and mine workers,

116 children and 28 adults
were killed.

Today the victims are remembered
at a memorial garden

At the cemetery where
many of them are buried.

♪

♪

With a population of
nearly quarter of a million,

Swansea is wales's second city.

A major industrial center
in the 19th century,

Its forges smelted
so much copper,

The town became known
as "copperopolis."

It's hard to believe
that less than 80 years ago,

Much of this city lay in ruins.

Over the course of three nights
in 1941,

German long-range bombers
wiped out entire streets,

Turning the city center
into a blazing inferno.

Rebuilt and expanded
in the years that followed,

Today the town's centerpiece

Is the residential tower
of meridian quay,

Wales's tallest building.

Down on the beach,

The uk's largest
beach yoga class is underway,

Led by annapurna helen wilson.

These weekly summer sessions
are open to all

And attract dozens of locals,

Calming bodies and minds

As they breathe the sea air
flowing in from swansea bay.

♪

Of course,
yoga is not for everyone.

♪

Mountain biker simon wilson
gets all the fresh air he needs

Speeding along sections
of the wales coast path.

Opened in 2012,

It was the first of its kind
in the world.

Following the entire welsh
coastline,

It extends over 880 miles
through breath-taking scenery,

Skirting a series
of hair-raising sheer drops.

♪

The fossil-rich limestone cliffs

Of nash point
in the vale of glamorgan

Mark a spectacular end
to simon's journey...

A chance to catch his breath

And take in the stunning view.

♪

About 60 miles inland,

Hidden in the quiet
welsh countryside,

A collection
of old farm buildings

Give little hint
of their pivotal role

In the history of rock music.

This is rockfield studios,

The world's first residential
recording facility.

For years,

Artists from motorhead
to the pixies and coldplay

Have come here to live,
write, and record.

The facility has two studios--

The coach house,

Where in 1996 oasis recorded
their iconic album

"what's the story,
morning glory?"

And the quadrangle studio,

Where, in 1975,

Queen recorded one of
the greatest rock anthems

Of all time,

"bohemian rhapsody."

If the legendary musicians
who came here

Ever tired of rockfield's
peaceful charms,

They had only to venture
10 miles west

To find inspiration.

The extraordinary landscape
of the brecon beacons

Has inspired many things
over the years,

Not least the misty mountains

Of j.R.R. Tolkien's
"the lord of the rings."

Extending east to west
over 500 square miles,

The region includes
several mountain ranges,

But is known by the chain
of six peaks at its center,

Dominated by the brooding
silhouette of pen-y-fan.

The beacons were named
after the ancient practice

Of lighting signal fires
on the mountaintops

To warn of invasion,

And their role
in defense of the realm

Continues to this day.

For more than a century,

These remote and exposed uplands

Have been a training ground
for british special forces.

♪

This is the fishing village
of laugharne in carmarthenshire,

West of the brecon beacons.

Once home to wales's
greatest poet, dylan thomas,

Author of "do not go gentle
into that good night."

Born in swansea,

Thomas first came to fame

With the publication in 1934
of the poem

"light breaks
where no sun shines."

He spent most of his life
in laugharne

And his last four years
at this boathouse

Overlooking the taf estuary,

Struggling with the alcoholism
that would destroy his health.

Here he wrote
his famous radio play

"under milk wood,"

Whose fictional town
of llareggub

Was based on laugharne.

After thomas died at new york's
historic chelsea hotel in 1953

At the age of 39,

His remains were brought home
to his beloved laugharne.

♪

Another of wales's
great literary heroes

Was the renowned
children's writer roald dahl.

The author of
"james and the giant peach,"

"matilda"

And "charlie
and the chocolate factory"

Was born at this house

In the north cardiff suburb
of llandaff in 1916.

His parents were among
the immigrants from norway

Who settled in cardiff
during the 19th century,

And dahl's first language
was norwegian.

Growing up in llandaff
greatly influenced dahl.

As a student
at the town's cathedral school,

He and four classmates
were punished

For placing a dead mouse
in a jar of gobstoppers

To torment
the local sweet shop owner,

Mrs. Pratchett.

With typical literary flair,

Dahl called it
"the great mouse plot of 1924."

♪

In 2017, cardiff held
a three-day festival

Called "city of the unexpected,"

Celebrating the centenary
of the author's birth.

♪

♪

A few miles north of cardiff,

A castle that would grace
any children's story

Towers above the village
of tongwynlais.

This is red castle,

Or as it's known in welsh,

Castell coch.

It was built for the owner
of cardiff castle,

William crichton-stuart,

As a rural retreat,

But he rarely used it.

Although he died before
its completion in 1891,

The eccentric architect
james burges

Recreated an authentic
medieval fortress

With three dramatic stone towers

And a formidable gatehouse
complete with drawbridge.

♪

English architectural historian
joseph mordaunt crook

Described it as

"the learned dream world
of a great patron

And his favorite architect...

A fairy-tale castle

Which seems almost
to have materialized

From the margins
of a medieval manuscript."

♪

Cardiff may be
wales's first city,

But the mainly welsh-speaking
town of aberystwyth

Is regarded
as its cultural capital.

This isolated town
on the country's west coast

Became a popular
victorian seaside resort

After it was connected to
the rest of the country by rail

In the 19th century.

The tourism boom

Saw the building
of fine hotels and guesthouses,

As well as the elegant
seafront homes

That remain one of aberystwyth's
most distinctive features.

The town's mile-long promenade
stretches from the harbor

To the headland
of constitution hill,

Where a cable-drawn railway
ascends to the summit.

A victorian theme park
was built here in 1896,

With arcades,

A restaurant
at the foot of the hill,

And a park at the top.

The railway was originally
powered by water weights,

Then electrified in 1921.

The tilted carriages

Are designed to keep passengers
in an upright position

As they make
the 45-degree climb.

Aberystwyth came to even
further prominence

When wales's first university
was established here.

This building welcomed
its first 26 students in 1872,

And soon became known
as "the people's university."

♪

On the far side of the country,

Near the southeastern
border with England,

Lie the ruins
of an earlier center

Of culture and learning.

Tintern abbey
was founded in 1131

On the banks of the river wye

By monks
of the cistercian order.

Over 400 years later,

When henry viii broke with
the roman catholic church

And ordered the dissolution
of the monasteries,

Tintern slowly fell
into a state of decay.

What remains is still
an awe-inspiring sight...

The decorated
gothic architecture

Of its great church

Elegantly expressed
in its elaborate arched windows.

This abbey was painted

By the great english masters
gainsborough and turner,

And would also fire
the imagination of poets

From wordsworth to tennyson.

As the 19th-century
scottish writer

Catherine sinclair once wrote,

"descriptions of tintern abbey
should be written on ivy leaves,

And with a poet's pen,

For no other do justice
to the air of solemn grandeur

And religious melancholy

Reigning within
its delicate cloisters."

♪

♪

In the far northeast of wales

Stands a very different
cathedral of stone,

Attracting climbers
keen to pit their skills

Against its angular rock faces.

♪

In 1995, mark reeves
came to this area to study,

And never left.

He has since established himself

As a climbing coach
and mountaineering instructor.

When he's not scaling

Dinorwic quarry's
dramatic slate cliffs,

He writes rock climbing guides
to north wales and beyond.

♪

Slate from these quarries

Once roofed
the houses of the world.

During the late 19th century,

A workforce of over 3,000
labored here--

Gangs of men blasting the rock,

Before splitting it
with hammer and chisel.

It was dangerous work--

Even more deadly than mining.

Those lucky enough
not to be killed

Often had their lungs
destroyed by slate dust.

The tram lines used
to transport the slate

Still run like veins
through the rock.

The mine closed in 1969,

Leaving a landscape
that bears the legacy

Of its industrial past
with pride.

The bedrock of a nation defined
by the character of its people.

Timeless, monumental,
indomitable.

Wales.

♪

♪

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