Original subtitles

'Stretching over 8O miles, running through hills, dales, rivers and mountains,

'Hadrian's Wall is a wonder of the ancient world.'

You get an idea of the sheer size and scale

of this gargantuan achievement.

'It signalled the edge of one of the greatest empires the world has ever known.'

Here we've got the second in command of a Roman centuria of 80 men.

'Armed with my trusty walking boots,

'I'm going to travel along the entire length of this iconic monument.'

This section here is known as the heart of Hadrian's Wall.

'Through rain...' Absolutely chucking it down!

'..And shine...' If someone painted that view and showed you it, you wouldn't believethem.

'..L'll learn the secrets of the Roman Empire.'

If you needed a number two, this is where you came.

'To the best-kept secrets of the great British countryside.'

WQW!

Woo-hoo-hoo!

'Meeting many folk along the way.' Keep up, Robson. Sorry, mate.

That's amazing!

Hello!

'It'll be an epic journey to take your breath away.'

Oh, wow. I'm not a religious person, but there is something spiritual about this part of the world.

'So pack your corn plasters, fill your thermos and join me

'for the walk of a lifetime.'

The Romans, they gave us it all.

'I can't believe I've come this far.

'I've walked over 40 miles across some incredible landscape,

'from the mouth of the mighty River Tyne in the east

'through Heddon-on-the-Wall, to Steel Rigg,

'all the while learning some amazing stuff about the Romans,

'and I don't want this one to end.

'The places I've been to...' This is just what you need

after a long, hot day.

'The things I've learned...' There's places of ill repute here, you're right. Therewas?

'The people I've seen...' I'll have a sherry. Hey-hey!

'But for the next 46 miles, I need a pick-me-up

'that you can only get at the crack of dawn.'

It's early.

It's what we call in my profession stupid o'clock.

A lot of people say, "You know, Robson, it's not about the journey, but about the destination."

I hope the place I'm going this morning is worth it

because I am up with the larks.

Or, in this case,

the bees.

'The Romans loved honey,

'but they didn't just put it on toast.

'To them, it was a drug, a cure for acne, for constipation,

'a pick-me-up.

'They even made it into booze.

'Just the tonic I need.

'Luke and Suzie Hutchison are as mad for honey as the Romans were.'

Morning, guys. Morning.

Hey, you two must really like honey. Oh, we love it.

'Today, some of their bees are being allowed to roam over this stunning hillside

'to fill their boots with heather nectar before the winter sets in.'

It's very, very early. Aren't the bees asleep?

And won't they get really angry when we wake them up?

The bees work 24/7, so... Do they? Yeah.

Bees don't sleep? No. Do they sense fear?

Em...possibly.

Don't sweat. Whatever you do, don't sweat. Yeah, no sweating.

Oh, like I've got control over that. You saying that has just started to makeme sweat.

Right.

Have any of you been stung before? Well, it varies.

Some days you don't get stung at all, other days you might get stung four or five times.

And when you got stung four or five times, did it hurt? Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Not what you'd call thick gloves, are they?

Oh, they can sting through the gloves, and the suit. Why tell me that?!

Just don't sweat. Don't sweat.

All right. So...right.

I feel like a bit of a Ghostbuster, Suzie.

Yeah, you will. Don't cross the streams.

Or, in this case, don't cross the bees.

Right. Into the bees' den. Let's go!

'Oh! They're looking lively already.'

They're going in all sorts of directions. I've just been nutted by one!

They don't seem happy. No, they're absolutely fine. They're not stinging.

They're just curious. We're just giving them a little bit of smoke.

It's kind of a knock on the door, let them know we're coming in.

There you are. Oh, my goodness. If you get your nose in here...

I can smell it from here. Yeah. I can actually smell it from here. Yeah, yeah.

That's insanely beautiful. Wow!

Yeah, it's amazing.

So we're just really gentle. Uh-huh.

It's a bit like somebody coming to your house, taking the roof off, and lifting a wallout.

It's a burglary. That's what it is. Let's not beat about the bush.

So we've just got to be really gentle with them, make sure that they're happy.

So there you go. That's the honey on the comb. That is jam-packed.

Bring your hand and just pop it between the frames there, just really gently.

Right. You can feel the heat from the hive and the actual heat coming out of there.

Oh, my goodness, yeah!

What is it about this honey that makes it so special?

Well, it's heather honey. It's also Northumberland heather honey,

So obviously that's very special.

'These amazing worker bees make this honey by chewing the nectar

'and passing it between themselves until it reaches the right consistency.'

HE YAWNS Do you know what, guys? I've been to some picnic spots

in my time, but nothing compares to this.

This is incredible.

I can't wait. Do you mind if I have a taste? Go for it.

Here we go. This is a first.

That just makes your taste buds sing, that. Oh!

'I feel a bit guilty.

'Each teaspoon represents the entire life's work of about 12 bees.

'Luke and Suzie also use their honey to produce mead,

'the oldest known alcoholic drink and a favourite tipple of the Roman Empire,

'but they've given it a modern twist.'

We actually mix some of this really lovely honey that we gather with spring water

and we do a fermentation in the bottle.

This creates bubbles, so it's made in the same way as you would make champagne.

'I mean, it's 7.07 am.

'It's a bit early to be getting on it.'

That's lovely.

Do you think this is what the legionaries

or, say, the higher-titled people in Roman times would be drinking?

Well, yes. The Romans valued honey and the beeswax

and they used it in medicine and all manner of things.

It wouldn't have been the footsoldiers that would have drunk the mead,

but it would have been the ones higher up in the ranks that would have had this sort of thing.

Amazing.

'Now I don't like to pull rank, but we better keep moving

'before the crew get hold of the mead.'

'I'm continuing my journey east to west

'along Hadrian's Wall.'

So this is the beautiful, quaint and idyllic town of Gilsland.

And it's a place that straddles two counties.

And bear with.

If I stand like this...

...part of me is in Northumberland and the other half is in Cumbria.

So I guess you could call me a Northumbrian Cumbrian.

I thank you! I'm here all week. See what I did there?

That hurt.

I think I pulled something there.

Just taking a bit of a detour from Hadrian's Wall,

alongside the River lrthing. I'm looking for a stone.

Ah! There it is. Not any old stone.

The famous...Popping Stone.

'So called because, after a whirlwind romance,

'it's where Sir Walter Scott popped the question to his sweetheart.'

Hence the name, the Popping Stone.

This is such an impressive sight.

This wall was built to last.

Back then, the Roman Empire to everybody was forever.

You just start to get imagery of those thousands of soldiers

just building this gargantuan structure.

I mean, what an achievement.

And I know a lot of it has disappeared, but that's only because it was nicked.

'The wall might not have been dismantled in Cumbria,

'but a different type of vandal was at work here.'

Oh, bit of a tour going on.

Morning, ladies. Oh! Do you mind if I join in?

You doing a bit of a tour? We are. we're having a tour here of Hadrian's Wall.

Oh, lovely. I'm Robson. Hi. What's your name? I'm Sue.

Sue, are you a tour guide? I am a tour guide, yes. And who are you touring? What's your name?

Christine. Anita. And Jeanette.

Jeanette, Robson. So, Sue, what have you been talking about?

What we're here for really is to look at some of the more unusual inscriptions

that can be found along the wall. Inscriptions?

Like carvings? Carvings of worship and religion?

There are. Like, "Augustus was here!" Exactly. Gotcha, OK.

'Obviously, graffitiing the wall is a strict no-no these days.'

We're looking for a specific type of inscription.

And what specific type of symbol or inscription is that, Sue?

It's a willy. It's a what?! It's a phallic symbol.

Are you kidding me? You're saying there's willies on Hadrian's Wall?

Willies on Hadrian's Wall! I do not believe you.

This is what you lot are doing for your kicks? Sod the history!

Hold me back! "Let's have a look at some willies, shall we?"

So what we're going to look for is a stone

on the bottom course, which has got an X on it.

And then if you look up and... one, two, three, four, five, six courses up,

see what you can find.

One X. There's an X.

And six... Oh!

Jeanette! Well spotted!

Was that force of habit?

Are you telling me that's a 2,000-year-old...carving?

Yes.

Well, believe it or not,

these were used as good luck symbols. Really? Oh, yes!

Willies are symbols of good luck? Symbols of good luck. Four-leaf clovers are symbols of good luck.

Ah! But in Roman times,

this protected you from the evil eye.

The phallic symbol was very, very popular

and people used to wear them round their necks.

So they were used above doorways as well.

So they would have been all round the Roman Empire, all over the world. Yes, yes.

And it tells us so much about the troops that were here.

They had a sense of humour. They had a sense of humour!

But who was that based on?

Cos I think we're bordering on the realms of fantasy there. Do you know what I'm saying?

I think somebody with a very vivid imagination carved that. Yes.

Sue, I'll be honest with you, the one thing I never thought I'd see on this journey

is a 2,000-year-old willy carving.

That has been enlightening and fascinating.

Been lovely to meet you. Take care. And you. Nice to see you. Enjoy your walk.

Enjoy looking for your willies.

'Well, that's a phrase I didn't think I'd be saying on this journey.

'And if looking for stone willies is your thing,

'apparently there's another 56 of them along the wall.

'I'm stopping off at Birdoswald, one of the 16 forts along Hadrian's Wall.

'It lies between Haltwhistle and Brampton,

'north of the River lrthing.

'Tony Wilmott has been working here for over 30 years,

'so knows a thing or two about the mystery of why, westwards from here,

'the wall suddenly changes its structure from stone to grass and mud.'

So am I right in thinking suddenly it transitions into a turf wall? That's right, yeah.

From Milecastle 49 to Bowness-on-Solway,

it's built of turf. Em... Now why was that then?

A couple of ideas. One of them is the fact that you've got red sandstone over there.

You've not got the limestone, so logistics is one explanation.

Another explanation that's come up is that they wanted it up fast

because there was more of a threat from the western side. So they wanted to build the barrier fast.

'Today, the turf wall is largely invisible,

'but its construction reveals important information about Roman Britain

'to archaeologists today.'

When you're building a turf earthwork,

you are taking the turf off, and then you're putting it on top of the existing ground surface.

And you're sealing seeds and pollen,

and we can get an idea of what the pre-Roman landscape looked like

from analysing the pollen underneath those earthworks.

And I can tell you that in the year 122,

this was a boggy woodland. Two-and-a-half miles that way, you've got grazed moorland.

And then, over to the east, you've got arable.

'Incredible that we know all that from some ancient pollen and seeds.'

What is it about archaeology that floats your boat, Tony?

It's...it's the discovery.

You get the occasional little bit that flicks you back

and one of those was when we were scraping the bottom turf of the turf wall.

I saw this little flash of red, which was about the size of my thumbnail.

A little oval stone thing.

And it was a jasper intaglio from a ring,

from a finger ring. Wow. Turned it over,

it was an imperial eagle, with its wings folded,

laurel wreath in its beak, flanked by two imperial standards. Oh, my Lord.

That had dropped out of the ring of a legionary soldier

building the turf wall of Hadrian's Wall.

And you just got that... back to that individual.

Love it. Tony, love your knowledge,

I love the way you just bring everything to life.

That's what it's all about. Mate, pleasure meeting you. And you. Wish me luck. To the west!

Happy walking. Thank you.

WHISTLES CHEERILY

'Better keep on keeping on.

'I've still got 40 miles to go.'

Drinks and snacks? Well, I never.

What have we got here?

Is this some kind of cute little self-service cafe?

A cup of tea - a quid. Cheap at half the price.

A-ha! Cheers.

'I don't think it gets much more British than this.

'Self-service tea on the side of a World Heritage Site.

'And in case you're wondering, I'd like to point out I did put money in the honesty box,

'they just forgot to film it. Honest.

'If, like me, you find yourself walking along Hadrian's Wall,

'it really helps if you absolutely love a gate.

'And I have to be honest, it's completely knackering.'

HE GIGGLES What the hell...?!

I'm feeling it. Man, I'm tired.

I'll tell you how tired I am. Even my tiredness is tired.

And I'm hungry.

I know you're going, "Oh, shut up! You're on a jolly! Get some perspective!"

No, I'm hungry. I could murder a chicken casserole.

Carbonara.

I have a certain penchant for a carbonara.

But when you're heading to Brampton in Cumbria,

there's only one thing to eat.

'Hold onto your hats because there's a meat fact coming.

'Cumbria used to be called Cumberland

'and it's where the famous sausage gets its name.'

This is incredible. Everything you could imagine and more.

'Dave has been wrangling sausages here since 1984.'

That's what I've come to see and hopefully taste.

The famous Cumberland sausage, right? That is the famous Cumberland sausage.

I have to ask, what makes it different to all the other sausages in the world?

It's got to be no less than 20mm thick. Seriously? Seriously.

It's got to be heavily spiced, and it's got to be one length, no less than five foot.

What?! And it's also got to be in a coil.

'Dave's not always been a fan of this Cumbrian delicacy.'

My gran used to make her own Cumberland sausage. I couldn't eat it.

It was far too peppery for me. My gran used to make jugged hare.

Jugged hare?jugged hare. She did. She'd chop a hare up,

put it in a jug, fill the jug with sherry, put a cork on it and put it underground!

And then expect us to eat it at Christmas!

Bloody awful. Anyway... I have to ask. ls it good for you?

Look how slim I am!

Why don't you come round the counter and I'll show you how it's made?

I never thought you'd ask!

Right, in order to make a Cumberland sausage, you've got to look thepart.

Just tie it behind my back.

You couldn't do me up, could you, David? Thanks very much.

Cos you know, in my normaljob I get people to do this.

I'm sure I can tie your apron if you're going to play with my sausage. Oi!

We're here all week. It's a family show. Steady on. Right.

Right, David, I have to ask before we start.

What do you actually call someone who produces and makes Cumberland sausage?

Sausage maker.

Stupid question! 'Let the sausage coiling masterclass begin.'

Right, you're going to take the end of your sausage and put it on the tray.

Uh-huh. And then you're going to... put it in a coil. Right.

Keep twisting and turning at the same time, the sausage.

It will snap if you don't. Right. So you just keep turning.

How am I doing?

You're doing all right. You've got a bit of a twist in it.

'I feel like I'm on The Generation Game.'

I've got a kink in my sausage, David. Hang on. Story of my life.

Well, I'll give you about... I'll give you nine out of ten,

but let's look over here. Look what I've done here.

If I took that to the Tate Modern Gallery, I'd probably get ten grand for that.

I reckon I'd give you your P45 for that. Really?

Why don't we cook some off? I love the way you're thinking, David.

'This is what I've been waiting for.'

Wow, Mark. It smells amazing.

Beautiful. Man!

That is off the scale.

What I love about this shop is there's an amazing array of meat

and just hidden away here...

there's a little vegan chickpea roll.

It's a nice touch, isn't it? Ah...

'I like a legume as much as the next person,

'but I think I'll stick with the sausage today.'

That is lovely. Really lovely.

David, thank you so much. You're welcome.

What a day, what an experience. What a taste!

'I'm walking along Hadrian's Wall.

'I've travelled over 60 miles so far

'and another 20 to go to the finish line.

'One thing I didn't expect to find was so much graffiti.

'Roman legionaries either really liked to leave their mark

'or they had too much time on their hands,

'because as well as carving willies along the wall,

'they left other examples of their handiwork

'in some quite hard-to-reach places.'

Now in my spare time, when I'm not in front of the camera,

I do like a bit of fishing and cycling.

And I've recently taken up climbing, which I think will come in handy today,

because I'm off to glimpse some Ancient Roman graffiti.

But a glimpse in this case

requires a harness, a helmet,

and a head for heights.

'And it's here that one of the most important inscriptions in Roman Britain can be found.'

Ah. This must be the fella.

Jon Allison, archaeologist?

Robson. Nice to meet you, buddy. You going to show me some ancient inscriptions?

Yes. You want to drop your bag off? Yeah.

Thanks, Jon. Right, let's go. 'The inscriptions are incredibly rare

'and I'm really lucky to be seeing them up close

'as they were carved into soft Cumbrian sandstone, which is slowly wearingaway.'

Are they still in good condition, Jon? Er, no.

From my observations, I've been walking down here for years

and each year I visit, they seem to be less and less visible.

So it looks like they're eroding away and I personally don't think

they'll be here for many more decades.

Seriously, that short? That short. Wow. They're disappearing fast, Robson.

So your job is to preserve these inscriptions to be enjoyed for generations to come?

Absolutely. Gotcha.

'The Roman markings were only rediscovered in the 18th century

'and I can see why. It's not exactly accessible.'

Up here? Up here. Ah, now it gets interesting.

It's clarty, man. It's gonna get slippy.

All right, lads? How we doing? Very well. Robson. Nice to meet you.

'I didn't realise how much of a climb it was.

'I might have oversold myself here.' Nice one.

Here we go then, Robson. Come on, son!

It's what it's all about. I'll put my catch on.

You know, in my game, this would be defined as a stunt. I used to have people who did this sortof thing.

I'll be with you in a sec, Jon. I'm just admiring the view.

OK.

'Of a steep rock face and the drop to the river below.'

We've got the Gelt River in flood below us. The Gelt River.

Ancient word for Crazy River.

Whoa...! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Oo-cha!

Come on.

All right, lad!

Be with you in a second, I promise. JON LAUGHS

Ohhh! I felt that!

Ohhh!

AVW/Fyi!

Of all the ways to view graffiti, there's got to be easier than this, Jon.

Quarrying for stone is a risky business, isn't it?

Right, this seems significant, but I have to say...

What is this? Some kind of Ancient Roman emoji?

It looks like an emoji, doesn't it? It does.

I've come to the conclusion that he's a deity.

Not just a deity, but he's a water deity.

So this is something that was worshipped?

More likely, it's a symbol of good luck.

They're working next to water... Right. ..these Roman soldiers.

Perhaps they're a superstitious lot and they're asking for good luck not to fall in the water.

Pure speculation, but I like it. That's the good thing about archaeology.

'Hashtag stop me falling in the water face.'

Do these inscriptions here tell you the type of men that were working on the face here?

We're telling the story of people, Robson, here.

What people at the bottom of the food chain were doing.

From all these inscriptions, we've got a list of names of people who've been here.

Here we've got the optio, the second-in-command,

of a Roman centuria of 80 men.

And the centurion, which begins with "Apr".

We know who one of the quarry managers were, Mercatius Ferni.

We've got Eppius, further across. We've gotjulius below us.

'It's great we have the names of the men who actually worked here,

'the lads on the tools, not the ones sitting in the Roman equivalent of head office.'

Could these inscriptions and this graffiti be their stamp on their work?

Like, "We were here. We did this. Remember us."

Absolutely. A lot of the inscriptions are them just doing that. "This is me, I washere."

I have to say, Jon, when it comes to history lessons, this is my type of classroom.

It's absolutely compelling.

Thanks very much, Robson. As an archaeologist, we don't just want to find stuff.

We want to tell people about it too and the story of the people. Thanks very much forcoming.

It's cracking, eh? Cracking, Robson. Cracking! Aye. Right, how do we get down?

'The wall, eh? It's a wild world of graffiti, penises, mead, rocks,

'and sausage rolls.

'The more I find out about Hadrian's Wall,

'the more I'm learning about the people who manned and maintained it.

'And, you know, they're not who I thought they were.

'On the north side of the River Eden, across from Carlisle city centre,

'is this lovely field.

'There's not much evidence of Romans here today,

'but it was once the largest fort on Hadrian's Wall

'and home to over a thousand soldiers.

'Author and journalist Robin Yassin-Kassab discovered an unexpected link

'to his own Middle Eastern heritage while writing an article about Hadrian's Wall.'

I found something which really surprised me,

which was that there is the tombstone at Corbridge on the wall

of a character called Barathes, who was a Syrian.

You know, two millennia ago.

So that in itself was interesting because, 2,000 years ago,

there were people here from Syria, as my father's a Syrian.

There were Iraqis, there were Spaniards and there's the grave

of a northwest African who is buried somewhere on the wall.

Was there one defining moment of your journey along Hadrian's Wall?

For me, the moment was when I discovered that this guy Barathes had married

a local Celtic woman, who had become a slave early in her life,

and at some point had been bought by Barathes, the Syrian,

and it seems to have been a love story because he spent a lot of money

on what was a very elaborate tombstone.

Doing that trip down the wall, finding out about these ancient Syrians and Iraqis

and their relationships with locals, showed that my own blood, if you like,

is connected to this history.

From your story, I'm getting that it kind of gave you a sense of place.

I suppose you could say that, yes.

It makes you feel that the whole world is your home

and I think that's true. All human beings should feel,

to some extent, at home anywhere in the world.

Not only do you learn about the past and your origins,

you see yourself in the present and how you fit within that world in a much more intelligent way.

Yes. Therefore I think you have an idea of where you're going.

If you don't know where you're coming from, you don't know where you're going to, as Bob Marley said.

You have to go out and see it and touch it

and feel it and hear people's stories, cos that's what it is.

Stories, we learn from them all. DISTANT SIREN

I'd get that siren seen to!

He'll never sell ice creams going at that speed.

I enjoyed talking to you, man. Absolute joy. Great talking to you too.

'It's really inspiring seeing Robin's passion

'and it makes me think that the story of Roman Britain

'isn't really in toilets, tunics and technology.

'It's in its people.

'And what a bunch they were.

'I've done most of it the hard way,

'walking for miles in what passes for a British summer,

'but today I want a bird's eye view.'

How you doing, Chris? Robson, good afternoon, sir.

Good afternoon. How are you? Very well. Very well indeed.

Is it a good afternoon to fly, sir? Excellent. And you'll be flying the aircraft, so...

Eh?! Oh, yes. Have you not got a licence, like?

I have indeed. You'll be in the front, I'll be in the back. I'll be in the front?! You will.

I suspect I need a costume change. You will, yeah.

Where's my Winnebago? It's just round the back.

Walk this way. My Winnebago is over here.

'I've always been fascinated by flying.'

I was in the Air Training Corps as a young lad.

Never wanted to be a presenter or an actor. Always wanted to be a pilot.

As an air cadet in the Air Training Corps, 861 Squadron,

I flew gliders, Chipmunks, Bulldogs, wanted to fly in Lightnings. Sure.

Ended up putting makeup on and poncing about in front of a camera,

but gyrocopters, what are they like to fly? They are excellent. Really, really good.

Okey-dokey, Chris. Three words very close to my heart. Yes?

Health and safety. Excellent.

What are the dos and don'ts from my point of view? Don't crash.

It's good advice, but it's not enough. OK.

All I need to say now is if I go into the ground like a dart,

only to be found like a Roman relic in 2,000 years' time, it's Chris's fault.

'I've done a fair bit of flying, but never in one of these.'

Stops you falling out when we go upside down.

That's not funny. It's just not funny.

I love you, Mum!

'Gyroplanes are a cross between a fixed-wing aeroplane and a helicopter

'and, according to my director, it's one of the safest aircraft to fly.'

Ah!

There's so many ways to travel alongside Hadrian's Wall.

You can walk, you can cycle, of course you can drive the car.

But for me, this... is the only way to travel!

Robson, you OK? Yeah, very good.

Wow.

Woo-hoo-hoo!

'I'm speechless and if you've watched the rest of the series,

'you'll know I'm never lost for words.'

So we're flying over the ancient Roman town of Carlisle.

And there's Carlisle Castle.

And if you were a Roman 2,000 years ago, looking for some R&R,

you know, if you wanted to let your hair down, Carlisle was the place to be 2,000 years ago.

This is great, Chris. This is great.

Look at the Solway! It looks stunning!

Oh, my goodness! What a beautiful sight.

And there's the area at the end of Hadrian's Wall.

That's where it ends. That's where I'm headed.

Wow.

'It's amazing what you can see from up here.

'Although the turf part of Hadrian's Wall isn't visible,

'it wasn't the only thing the Romans built in this part of the world.'

Directly below us is a very long and straight road.

And long and straight roads mean only one thing to me -

Roman. And these types of structures, infrastructures,

are dotted all the way along and around Hadrian's Wall.

Incredible.

Robson, shall we get you on the controls and flying the aircraft?

You want me to fly the aircraft? Yeah! OK.

You have control. Where's my...? OK. I have control, Chris.

Airspeed indicator is the middle dial.

OK, so I'm just going to bank to the left. Looking to the left. Hope there's nothing there.

There you go. Good. Bank to the left.

Straighten up. Straighten that up.

Great. A little bank to the right here, Chris? Just to prove you're flying the aircraft.

Nothing to do with me.

Let's just... Yes, let's make sure the houses don't get any bigger. That's right.

My goodness.

Ahh!

What a beautiful day. And sight.

Chris, am I still in control of this aircraft? Oh, my goodness!

I got distracted there, Chris, and I just thought, "The ground's getting a bit close."

l'lljust bring us up a bit. l'lljust bring the nose up.

'I bet you're thinking, "Oh, he picked up gyrocopter flying quickly."

'Actually, Chris is back in control while I do my best Kate Winslet from Titanic impression.'

Yes!

Oh...!

Chris, I cannot thank you enough.

That was the trip of a lifetime.

That was amazing.

And it's a great way to see the history of this area, it really is.

I always wanted to be a pilot and today I was.

With my mate, Chris. Cheers, buddy. No problem at all.

'That trip has really set me up

'and I'm now ready for the final part of my journey.'

'I can't quite believe it, but I'm on the final leg of my walk along Hadrian's Wall.

'I've just had a bird's eye view of my final few miles

'and now I'm going to have a view of some birds.'

Now in a world ruled by gods and goddesses,

birds of prey played a really important role in Romans' belief system.

Because of the power of flight, it gave them superiority and symbolism.

If you were to hear an owl hoot in Ancient Rome,

it foretold imminent death.

It's true. I read it somewhere.

'Hopefully, that's just an old Roman wives' tale

'because Gary Swainson is about to introduce me to some Cumbrian birds of prey.'

The sun's come out. Gary! Hi, Robson! How are you doing?

I'm very well. Nice to meet you.

OK, come on and I'll show you the birds.

How many have you got onsite, Gary? We have about 15 birds altogether.

Ah, who have we got here?

This is the star of the show at the moment.

This is Pedro, and Pedro is a spectacled owL

He's just a baby. He's only 15 weeks old. He's stunning.

Tch-tch-tch!

Here we go. Excellent. Wow. Hiya, pal.

How are you doing? How do you do?

Do you mind if I see you and Pedro in action? Absolutely not at all.

That would be great. Let's do it.

That's it. Let's get you up. Come on, you beautiful creature. Good lad.

There you go. Hello.

Right.

Here he is. This is Pedro. Hello, mate.

He's really gentle. If you want to touch him, he'll nibble your fingers, but he won't bite.

He's very, very gentle. He won't bite at all(!) He just went to biteme!

No, he won't hurt you. He went for my neck!

These are some of the most efficient killers in the world.

True, look at these. Look at him, yeah. But actually, he's honestly very gentle.

He'll nibble, but there's no biting. Ah, hello, mate. You're beautiful.

Shall we see him in action? Cool, yeah. Let's take him down the steps here.

'Training killer owls not only allowed the Romans to hunt,

'but intimidate their enemies.

'It take a lot of skill and patience.'

Right, Gary, page one of Training An Owl...

First, get your owl. Right, I'll travel to Paraguay. OK, I've done that and back.

But here's one I prepared earlier. And what we're gonna do

is pop Pedro down on this little perch here.

Mm-hm. There you go, pal.

I'm going to give you a piece of chicken so he's got a reward this time.

Oh, hello!

Here's Pedro! Pedro's off! That's OK.

I just thought he thought my nose or my eye was a piece of chicken!

Oh! Heart rate. I'm all right. Everything's fine.

Tch-tch-tch-tch.

Tch-tch-tch-tch. Tch-tch-tch-tch.

Wow. Excellent.

Pedro, you did it.

He's never actually flown free yet. He's never had a free flight.

So do you want to be the person to fly him free for the first time?

Oh, well, be it on your head cos he could bugger off.

'They say never work with animals and children.

'I wonder if that applies to adolescent owls too?'

OK, no pressure. This is Pedro's first free flight.

With an actor holding a piece of chicken.

What could possibly go wrong?

OK?

This is it, Pedro. It's the big one.

Excellent! Excellent. Take one! Mate!

So that's good. At 15 weeks old, he's doing so well. I'm delighted with him.

It's amazing. Well done. What a great thing to do.

You have a nibble at my finger. Ooh. He's got through to the bone there. Keep going.

'What a great day.

'I wanted to say a real hoot, but the producers wouldn't let me.

'I'm on the final furlong.

'What an adventure. What a journey.

'I've smashed my daily step count.

'I've eaten eight bacon butties. That's one in every ten miles.

'I've crossed dozens of gates, met 79 people, a dog and an owl.

'And the end is finally in sight.'

Oh, some fellow walkers.

Hi, guys. How are you doing?

Are you heading to Bowness-on-Solway?

Yeah. What have we got going on here, then?

This is a walking stick flute. A walking stick flute?

This is a first. Come on.

GENTLE FLUTE TONE

That has to be the most surreal moment of this whole journey!

That was brilliant! That was brilliant.

'It's been great meeting people along the way,

'but I think I'd like to do this last bit on my own.'

"Welcome to the end of the Hadrian's Wall Path."

This is lovely. Look at that.

Isn't that pretty?

'I'm glad I walked east to west. What a beautiful place to finish.

'I can't quite believe it, but it's time for my final passport stamp.

'That feels good.'

I've done what I set out to do.

I think I'll go for a walk along the beach.

'I've been lucky enough to travel all over the world.

'132 countries at the last count.

'I've seen some amazing things and been to some extreme places,

'but I've always liked coming home.

'And this journey has made me realise home isn't your living room.

'It's not even your street or your town.

'It's not what you can see or touch. It's what you feel.

'It's where your heart takes you.'

I have learnt so much on this journey.

From sanitation, education, medicine,

roads, wine, public health system, fresh water system.

The Romans...

They gave us it all.

But for me this has been a story of all people from all places

at all times.

And the story of Hadrian's Wall and everything it tells us of our past

is one of the most beautiful and unique time capsules in the world.

And I love the fact that people from all over the world

come to visit a place that I am still very proud

to call home.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media