Original subtitles

(wind rushing)

(inspirational music)

(upbeat music)

- Our journey begins

along the Humber Estuary,

at the beaches of Spurn Head.

Passing one of the longest suspension bridges in the world,

we head towards Drax Power Station,

the biggest coal-fired plant

in the United Kingdom.

At York, we tour the ancient city

home to one of Europe's greatest cathedrals.

It's then on to Castle Howard,

made famous in the classic TV series Brideshead Revisited.

Next is the coastal town

whose fair was made famous by a song, Scarborough.

Working our way across the dramatic North York Moors,

our next stop is Pickering Castle,

that dates back to the 11th century.

We end our journey at Wheeldale Moor,

whose ancient road continues to puzzle archeologists.

(serene strings music)

This is the Humber Estuary.

Formed by the confluence of the River Ouse

and the River Trent.

It stretches 64 kilometers to the North Sea

and marks the historic boundary

between the counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

This sea inlet has long been

a strategic landing spot for invaders.

It saw the arrival of the Germanic people

known as the Angles as early as the fifth century.

Coastal defenses were vital

to protecting these shores

right up until the 20th century.

(serene music)

Bull Sand Fort was originally constructed

to guard the inlet from German submarines

during the First World War.

It was built two and a half kilometers

from the nearest coast

atop two concentric steel rings

and pile-driven into the ocean.

The structure has stood on this submerged sand bank

since its construction in 1914.

And just as happens with sea-going vessels,

the steel-plating inside and out

had to be continually painted

to safeguard against rust.

(serene music)

Nearby Spurn Head, with its five and a half kilometers

of sandy, shingled banks is a favorite

among bird watchers and fossil hunters.

The spit is only 50 meters wide in some spots.

A haven for wildlife, it is touted

as the best place in the UK

for migratory bird watching.

Just up the coast is a firm reminder

of the power of the sea,

as well as England's turbulent history.

Experts estimate that the cliff recedes

one or two meters per year,

and erosion is slowly destroying

these World War I coastal defenses.

And if, as predicted, the sea levels continue to rise,

these remnants will ultimately be claimed by the sea.

(serene music)

Spurn Head was formed by the accumulation of sediments

transported and deposited by the swift currents

of the North Sea.

(serene guitar music)

Spurn Head's lighthouse, built in 1895,

is known as High Light.

Its predecessor, Low Light, is adjacent to the sea.

(serene music)

Spurn Point also boasts England's first recorded reference

to a lighthouse, in 1427.

A later addition to the shores of the estuary

is Immingham oil terminal and refineries.

International oil transportation

began in earnest after World War II.

The market for the commodity

then exploded in the 1960s.

Increased demand led to the construction

of larger transport vessels.

Today, super tankers could hold an average

of 380 million liters.

The two oil refineries located near the terminal

have a combined production capacity

of over 400,000 barrels per day.

The terminal handles nearly 20 million tons of oil a year.

That's one quarter of England's oil refining capacity.

The rising demand also meant a need

for more efficient means of travel

to accommodate England's growing number of vehicles.

For over a century, local interest campaigned

for an easier means of crossing the last major

unbridged estuary in Britain.

The Humber Bridge opened to traffic in 1981,

after nearly a decade of planning and construction.

Today, an average of around 6.5 million vehicles

cross the bridge each year.

(upbeat music)

It's an impressive engineering feat.

The main span at over 1,400 meters,

is one of the longest of its type in the world.

(upbeat music)

The towers rise more than 150 meters above the water,

to support the bridge's total length

of over two kilometers.

More than 71,000 kilometers of cable wire

are woven through the concrete and steel structure

to support four lanes of traffic

and pedestrian walkways.

Our journey continues over the mud flats

and sand bars of the Humber River

to our next destination.

Nestled in the Yorkshire countryside

is Carlton Towers.

The exterior is comprised of 19th century

Victorian gothic architecture,

but the foundations may be much older.

It is the ancestral home of the Stapletons.

A marriage in the 15th century

entitled the family to the barony of Beaumont,

a title that was to go unclaimed for 300 years.

Construction of the original three-story

Jacobian house Carlton Hall began in 1614.

The estate passed to a nephew, Thomas,

who lay claim to the dormant barony in 1795.

The ennoblement was granted in 1840.

And so came the first major period of renovation.

But the home's greatest transformation

occurred in the 1870s,

under Henry, the ninth Lord Beaumont.

(serene strings music)

Today, the current owners,

Lord and Lady Gerald Fitzalan-Howard,

offer their house and grounds

as an exclusive venue for hire.

(serene strings music)

A newer, but no less impressive sight,

is Drax Power Station,

the largest coal-fired plant in the UK.

Its cooling towers and 260-meter chimney

dominate the Yorkshire skyline.

Burning 36,000 tons of coal each day,

it generates around 7% of the UK's electricity.

It's considered to be one of the most

efficiently-run power stations of its type in the world.

Even so, it is England's largest emitter

of carbon dioxide.

But times are changing.

In order to meet European guidelines

for reducing greenhouse gas emissions,

the plant's switch from coal to wood chips

continues to be a rather controversial one.

It's estimated that the station will burn

seven million tons of biological material each year,

90% coming from the United States.

In sharp contrast, our journey now leads on

to the ancient city of York.

The area has been inhabited since the Neolithic period,

as early as 4,000 BC.

But its history truly began

with the arrival of the Romans.

And the original street patterns they laid out

can still be seen today.

From a much later period is the 13th century York Castle.

Fearing a Scottish invasion from the north,

the 50-meter tower was constructed under Henry III.

(serene strings music)

York Castle Museum is one of Britain's best

for living history.

Established in 1705, part of the complex

is still the seat of justice

for the city's crown court,

complete with holding cells for criminal trials.

Another key historic site is York Minster,

one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe.

It stands at the original city center.

Masonry from the Roman basilica

and the remains of the Norman cathedral

form the foundation of the gothic structure we see today.

(inspirational music)

The construction was a tedious and lengthy process,

which began in 1220 and lasted for two and a half centuries.

The old Norman cathedral

was systematically dismantled

to allow for grand new additions.

(inspirational music)

Today the structure boasts the highest proportion

of medieval stained glass of any other cathedral in Europe.

(inspirational music)

But York Minster isn't the only structure

built on ancient Roman foundations.

The city walls are the most complete example

of medieval walls in England today.

They were built in the 13th and 14th centuries

from the original Roman ruins.

They included four main gates,

six secondary gates, and 44 intermediate towers.

(serene string music)

The perimeter stretched more than three kilometers

around the castle and the surrounding city.

By the turn of the 19th century,

the walls were a long-obsolete line of defense

and had become a hindrance to York's expansion.

(serene strings music)

Despite fierce opposition,

demolition plans went ahead.

By the mid-19th century,

only one of the four main gateways remained

and 300 yards of the wall had been pulled down.

They have since been restored

and are now one of York's most prized features.

As we continue our tour of the city,

we're further reminded of Britain's rich history

at the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey.

The original monastery dates back to 1055.

For nearly five centuries,

this was the wealthiest and most powerful abbey

in the north of England.

It was converted to a palace

under Henry VIII around 1540,

before falling into disrepair.

Another great landmark that has kept its original splendor

is York Station.

Built in 1877, it is England's largest railway station.

In the 1850s, 13 trains per day passed through York.

But by 1910, the number had jumped to 350.

The 240-meter-long train shed roof

and its curved design has been called

a monument to extravagance.

The addition of a luxury hotel

adds an even greater air to the station's grandeur,

making it one of the greatest

19th-century railway stations in Europe.

(uplifting strings music)

Leaving York behind, our next stop

is the baroque masterpiece Castle Howard.

Construction began in 1699,

but dragged on for over a century.

The gilded dome, one of the castle's

most recognizable features,

wasn't part of the original design

and was added late in the construction process.

The house is essentially two separate wings

built years apart with two different visions of design.

Castle Howard is probably best known

as the filming location for both the 1982 TV series

and the later movie of "Brideshead Revisited."

And it's easy to see just how it caught

the eye of the producers.

The formal gardens feature roaming peacocks,

and a statue of Atlas as the fountain's centerpiece.

Castle Howard's manicured Augustine gardens,

Elysian Fields, were designed to capture

the essence of classical Roman antiquity.

(austere trumpet music)

This rotunda is the family mausoleum,

built in 1729.

Horace Walpole, the fourth Earl of Orford,

and art historian, was a great admirer of the building

and said that it would "tempt one to be buried alive."

(austere trumpet music)

Our tour of the gardens continues past the New River Bridge,

as we approach the Temple of the Four Winds.

It was designed in 1724 by John Vanbrugh,

but he never got to see its completion,

some 14 years later.

The building was originally known

as the Temple of Diana

and built at the height of palladianism.

Its architecture was inspired by the 16th century

Villa Rotonda in Vicenza.

It served as a place for relaxation

after a long stroll through the gardens

with refreshments prepared by servants

in a cellar hidden below.

Like Castle Howard, it's a reminder

of the splendor and grandeur of a by-gone era.

(austere trumpet music)

England's history is one of many ages.

And at this site, the church ruins,

are the only substantial remains still standing.

Of Britain's 3,000 or so deserted medieval villages,

none has been studied so intensively

and held so much intrigue as Wharram Percy.

The outlines of medieval homes and paths

are still visible on the grassy plateau.

The village flourished between the 12th and 14th centuries,

but then declined and was permanently abandoned

around the year 1500.

For years, people believed the village was deserted

because of the Black Death.

However, research indicates

that the decline of sheep farming

was the likely cause of Wharram Percy's abandonment.

We now cross the patchwork patterns

of the Yorkshire countryside

to one of the region's most popular tourist destinations.

The seaside resort town of Bridlington.

(serene piano music)

For generations, the industry here was mainly fishing.

As the 19th century drew to a close,

on an average Sunday in August

at least 100 vessels could be expected in the harbor.

(serene piano music) (sea gulls cawing)

Fishing remains an important part

of the local economy, but it's tourism

that's now the primary industry.

(serene piano music)

The sharp rise in visitors

stem from the workers in nearby industrial towns

who travel by rail to the seaside

for holidays with their families.

(serene piano music)

Bridlington's first tourists would hardly recognize it now.

Today, visitors are drawn not only

to the north and south beaches,

which straddle the harbor,

but also to the shops, restaurants, pubs,

and amusement arcades.

(serene piano music)

(waves crashing)

Bridlington began as two separate towns.

The original village,

located about one and a half kilometers inland,

is known as the Old Town.

The harbor is called the Quay.

(serene piano music)

They remained separated until the arrival

of the railroad in the 19th century,

which pulled the areas together,

creating the Bridlington of today.

(serene piano music)

As we continue northward along the coast,

we encounter the spectacular chalky cliffs

of Flamborough Head.

The 130-meter bluffs were formed

between 70 and 90 million years ago

when the last of the dinosaurs still roamed the earth.

This lighthouse was built in 1806

and is visible for some 33 kilometers.

Its neighbor is an even older lighthouse,

believed to have been built around 1670,

which would make it the only such

surviving example in England.

The most striking features found along this stretch

are the caves, arches, and pillars

carved by the waves beating against the chalky cliffs.

In the three and a half decades

prior to the construction of the current lighthouse,

174 ships were known to have sunk

off this treacherous shore.

Two notable sea battles took place along this coast.

The most well-known was in 1779

during America's War of Independence,

when a British naval fleet engaged ships

commanded by American captain John Paul Jones

for over two hours, inflicting heavy losses.

On a gentler note, Flamborough Head

is known as one of the country's largest sites

for nesting sea birds.

In the summer months, tens of thousands can be found

on the rocky cliffs, including some rare breeds.

Over 200 different species

have been sighted here over the years,

and the Flamborough Cliffs

have been designated a special protection area since 1993.

(sea gulls cawing)

(serene music)

A little further on is the small coastal town of Filey.

The beach here is lined with a promenade

and fashionable chalets for rent.

Tourists began arriving as early as the 18th century

for the peace and quiet not found

in the larger bustling neighbor, Scarborough.

But like Filey, Scarborough's history

is inextricably linked to the sea.

In the 1780s, as many as 1,500 seamen

could be found in the harbor.

By the 19th century, the town had become

one of the principal ship-building centers

on the eastern coast.

(serene piano music)

But its most well-known legacy

is the original Scarborough Fair,

which hosted merchants from every part of Europe

and the Byzantine Empire.

(serene piano music)

The ancient stone castle

was built sometime around 1157, under Henry II,

and in World War II the site served

as a secret listening post.

(lightly suspenseful music)

From the rugged eastern shore,

we turn inland towards the North York Moors.

This landscape of rolling hills and woodlands

is home to some of England's most ancient trees,

around 1,000 years old.

The national park stretches over 1,400 square kilometers.

A third of the area is made up of heather,

the largest expanse of such moor land in the UK.

At the moor's edge lies a medieval castle

in the quiet market town of Pickering.

An original timber fort was sited here

some time near the end of the 11th century

under William the Conqueror.

Some 100 years later, the castle was rebuilt from stone

by order of King Henry II.

Pickering also features one of the world's

most popular heritage steam railways.

The railway line began in the 1830s

and runs 38 kilometers through the park.

Its popularity was given a further boost

when it featured in the first "Harry Potter" film.

A few kilometers away,

tucked within the farmland of the North York Moors

is the medieval village of Appleton-le-Moors.

(serene strings music)

The layout here hasn't changed

since at least the 12th century.

Many other such villages from this time

have long since disappeared,

making this place a time capsule.

(serene strings music)

Modern homes have since replaced the original houses,

but many of the village traditions

have been closely guarded.

Some households still retain grazing rights

and visitors here shouldn't be surprised

to see sheep roaming freely.

The rows of hedges enclosing the old farm boundaries

of each property most likely date back

to the medieval feudal system.

And finally, we reach the last stop on our journey.

Carved into the heather-covered landscape

of Wheeldale Moor is the ancient road of Wade's Causeway.

Long thought to be of Roman origin,

today this belief is controversial.

Some scholars claim it is of early medieval construction.

But others believe it may have been built

by the neanderthals.

Local legend holds that the road was created

by a giant named Wade.

Whatever its origin, it remains a symbol

of the march of time.

Like many of the places and events

from England's long and winding past,

it may forever remain shrouded in mystery.

But for us, it's a fascinating place

to end this journey.

(uplifting strings music)