Original subtitles

(wind whooshing)

(majestic music)

- Our journey begins at Highclere Castle,

the location for one of television's biggest drama series.

It's then on to Winchester, once the capital

of Anglo-Saxon England.

We travel south across the countryside

to the seaside town of Portsmouth,

home to the world's oldest warship.

From there, we tour the sights

of the South Downs National Park

where we explore England's ancient past.

We then head across Sussex to the coastal town

of Shoreham-by-Sea, the location

of England's oldest airport.

Making our way east, we find the enigmatic landmark

of the Long Man of Wilmington.

We conclude our journey at the resort town of Brighton,

the most popular seaside destination in the country.

(gentle music)

This is the County of Hampshire.

Situated within its lush green landscape

is the grand country estate of Highclere Castle.

Like much of England, the building itself

has been transformed over time.

But its original foundations have remained intact.

The estate has been occupied for some 1,300 years,

and it's been home to the Earls of Carnarvon since 1679.

The Medieval brick and stone palace that once stood here

was transformed into a gothic style mansion

in the 19th century.

(gentle music)

One of Highclere's most notable years was 1922

when the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon uncovered the tomb

of Tutankhamen while on an expedition with Howard Carter.

The discovery sparked a media frenzy

and a lasting public fascination.

But these days, Highclere is best known

as the filming location for the hugely popular

television series "Downton Abbey."

In the heart of Hampshire is a city

built on ancient foundations, Winchester.

(ethereal music)

The site was first inhabited about 150 B.C.

and grew to be one of the largest

Roman settlements in Britain.

It was later chosen by King Alfred the Great

as the capital of Anglo-Saxon England.

Winchester's centerpiece is its cathedral

whose foundations are rooted in the conversion

of the pagan monarchy to Christianity in 635 A.D.

(ethereal music)

The original church, called Old Minster,

was constructed 10 years later

and stood for 4 1/2 centuries before it was demolished

to make way for a new church.

But the stones from Old Minster are still here

in the walls of Winchester Cathedral, and its outline

is still visible on the north side of the cathedral.

(ethereal music)

The church as it appears today was finally completed

in the 16th century and is recognized

as Europe's longest Medieval cathedral.

We now make our way south to the coastal city of Portsmouth.

Located at the mouth of the Wallington River estuary,

Portsmouth is considered to be the home of the Royal Navy.

Soaring over the Keys is the unmistakable Spinnaker Tower

designed to resemble a sail caught in the wind.

A fitting symbol for Portsmouth's maritime tradition

that goes back to the ancient Romans.

Portsmouth's heritage is proudly on display

with HMS Victory, the world's oldest commissioned warship.

Construction of the hundred-gun vessel began in 1759.

The wood used to build it was seasoned for 14 years

before the first board was hewn.

Life aboard an 18th century naval ship wasn't an easy one.

But the lure of being given a share of the booty

from a captured enemy vessel compelled many sailors

to accept the difficult conditions.

(lively music)

Victory's greatest moment was on the 21st of October 1805

at the Battle of Trafalgar off the Spanish Coast.

It resulted in a crucial British triumph

which foiled Napoleon's attempt to invade this country.

It also sealed Britain's position

as the world's foremost naval force.

But success came at a price.

England's great war hero, Admiral Nelson,

died aboard the Victory in the heat of battle.

(grandiose music)

Another fine example of naval ingenuity is Britain's

first and largest ironclad warship, HMS Warrior.

The pride of the Royal Navy, she was the first ship

to be designed with watertight compartments

and equipped with washing machines for her crew.

She was launched in 1860,

during the coldest winter for 50 years.

Despite the weather, enormous crowds gathered

to witness the historic moment.

By 1978, the ship was the only surviving example

of the Royal Navy's 19th century iron-hull vessels,

and she was carefully restored to her former glory.

Across the harbor near the Eastern Shore, we find

another reminder of England's former tensions with France.

Fort Brockhurst has remained largely unaltered

since its completion in 1862.

It was innovative for its time

as the designers chose to forego the traditional star shape.

Instead, the fort was adapted to the shape of the terrain,

the first of its type in Britain.

Brockhurst was one of a series of fortifications

built along the coast.

Though it was unlikely to prove effective

against the new ironclad warships,

their real purpose was to deter the enemy

while the Navy modernized its fleet.

North of the harbor, Portchester Castle

stands as a testament to the importance

of the estuary throughout the ages.

These third century flint and limestone walls

were built on the site of a Roman fort

and are considered to be the most complete

of their kind in Northern Europe.

Its strategic coastal position

ensured its upkeep for centuries.

The Norman Castle keep has stood in the fort's

northwest corner since its construction began in 1086.

But the site eventually lost its strategic importance.

The fort served as a prison during the Napoleonic wars

and as a barracks until the early 19th century.

And having been here for so long,

Portchester Castle has been described

as a complete history of England in one place.

Another series of fortifications ordered

due to escalating fear of French invasion

includes Southsea Castle built in 1544.

King Henry VIII himself may have had a hand in the design.

Throughout its history, Southsea was only taken once

when a large parliamentarian force

surrounded the castle during the English Civil War.

The story goes that the Royalist commander,

too drunk to fight, asked them to return in the morning.

This proved insufficient to repel the enemy

and resulted in a handover with no loss of life.

Just off the coast is No Man Land's Fort,

one of four artificial island defenses

from the mid 19th century.

After decommissioning, it was converted

into a luxury hotel in the 1980s.

But the idea never took off,

and a new owner took charge in 2004.

An outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease

led to a bizarre turn of events, and by 2008,

the owner had barricaded himself within the hotel,

besieged for several months by creditors and administrators.

Its neighbor, Spitbank Fort, was the last of the four

to undergo construction, but the first to be completed.

They were built in response to a public outcry

for protection from an invasion by Napoleon's Army.

However, by the time Spitbank Fort was completed in 1878,

the threat had long passed.

(dramatic music)

The fort's guns were only pointed at a French vessel

once in its entire history.

Ironically, when they were on the same side.

After the fall of France in the Second World War,

the warship Corbay was spotted approaching the harbor.

It was in fact escaping the German invasion

and was eventually anchored off the coast of Portsmouth.

(grandiose music)

(gentle music)

Nestled on a lush rolling hillside

in the South Downs National Park, we find relics

of a different sort at Butser Ancient Farm.

This unique living history museum offers a place

for modern archaeologists to test theories

about life in an Iron Age settlement.

The project began in 1972 and features four round houses

based on excavated examples from Wilshire.

Authentic materials are used to recreate the buildings

and fencing for livestock.

The largest house measures 15 meters in diameter.

The walls were formed from a mud mixture called daub.

Experts had long believed that it was necessary

to have an opening in the roof to let out the smoke.

Instead, they found that smoke from the hearth

easily filters through the thatch.

The museum serves as an example

of ancient architectural skill and ingenuity

that so shaped the foundation of English culture

for countless generations to come.

Our next destination is a far cry

from the thatched-roof cottages of the Iron Age.

Simply known as Uppark, this stately 17th century home

had passed to Harry Fetherstonhaugh by the late 1700s.

So Harry was known among the Wessex gentry

as a bit of a playboy.

His associations included Lord Nelson's mistress.

After years of carousing, Sir Harry became rather reclusive.

Then at the age of 70, he caused quite a scandal

when he married his 21-year-old dairy maid,

Mary Ann Bullock.

Her family inherited Uppark, and it remained

one of England's least altered country estates

until a devastating fire in 1989.

It has since been painstakingly restored.

(bright orchestral music)

As we continue our journey across the Sussex countryside,

we encounter one of England's grandest

country estates, Petworth House.

It has served as a family home for over 800 years.

(bright orchestral music)

The estate's outstanding feature is the 283-hectare park

designed by the most renowned English landscape architect

of the 18th century, Capability Brown.

His real name was Lancelot Brown.

The nickname came from his remarks to clients

that there was great capability to improve that landscape.

The park keeps one of England's

largest herds of fallow deer.

And some of the trees have graced the estate

for more than a thousand years.

To create the lake and the centerpiece of his design,

Capability Brown dammed the stream

with an estimated 64,000 tons of transported soil.

Brown's vision of using carefully placed

bands of trees and shrubbery to create the illusion

of natural beauty had a profound influence

on landscape design throughout Europe.

We now leave the opulence of Petworth

for the rustic charm of the Weald and Downland Museum.

This 20-hectare site features an assorted collection

of 50 historic vernacular buildings from Southeast England.

These are not recreations.

Instead, these structures have been carefully dismantled

and then painstakingly reassembled.

The oldest building at the museum

dates back to the 13th century.

Unlike many of England's great country estates,

the homes of ordinary farmers and laborers

were not typically preserved or maintained over the years.

In addition to homes, the museum has also restored

several agricultural and public buildings.

These meticulous reconstructions are a living timeline,

encompassing six centuries of building technology

and architectural history in one place.

Our next destination is Chichester and its cathedral

that continues to grace the city center

despite several disasters over its 900-year history.

After fires in the 12th century caused extensive damage,

the church was repaired and improved.

But more destruction was to follow

during both the Reformation and the English Civil War.

The church then fell into a long period of disrepair

until finally restoration began in the 1840s.

The roof's original lead sheets were replaced

in the 1940s with copper, which gives the roof

its distinctive green tarnish.

In recent years, painstaking efforts

have removed centuries of grime,

revealing the ancient stonework's original luster.

Located on the site of an ancient river crossing

is the market town of Arundel.

It is also the name given to its picturesque castle

whose beginnings go back to the Norman invasions

of England almost a thousand years ago.

The oldest feature is the 30-meter motte,

or the artificial mound built in 1068.

It stands as a symbol of the fort's ancient origins.

Throughout its long history, Arundel Castle

has predominantly been the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk.

Many of them lived in politically dangerous times.

The Third Duke narrowly escaped execution in 1547

because King Henry VIII died shortly

before he was due to be dispatched.

His son, the Fourth Duke, wasn't so lucky.

He was beheaded for plotting to wed Mary Queen of Scots.

But it wasn't until 11 dukes later

that the castle was given a major makeover.

It was Henry the 15th Duke of Norfolk

who was responsible for much of what we see today.

He completed the restoration in 1900,

marking its place in the history of the 20th century

when it became one of the first English country houses

to be fitted with electric lights.

It also enjoyed service lifts, central heating,

and even firefighting equipment.

We now leave the Sussex countryside

for the popular seaside resort town of Shoreham-by-Sea.

The city's history predates the Romans

and is often thought of as the beach that tourists forgot.

Its fortunes grew after the arrival of the Normans

in the 11th century, and the port town

acquired a fine reputation for shipbuilding.

Coastal erosion and the Black Death

curbed the city's prosperity.

But its tradition for craftsmanship continued.

Shoreham embraced the 20th century by channeling

its talents into a new form of transportation, the airplane.

Its airport is the oldest licensed commercial airfield

in Britain, and one of the oldest in the world.

The distinctive art-deco facility was built in 1936

and is still in use today.

A little further inland are the verdant hills

of the South Downs, and a sight that has long delighted

travelers and day-trippers to the region.

(gentle music)

These two 19th century windmills

are officially known as the Clayton Windmills,

but locals have dubbed them Jack and Jill.

Jill is the older of the two, built in 1821.

Jack, the larger one, was built in 1866.

It featured in the 1973 movie "The Black Windmill,"

and its exterior was specially painted for the filming.

Meanwhile, Jill has been fully restored by volunteers

and is open for public tours.

One surprising sight in the Sussex countryside

is the Long Man of Wilmington.

This mysterious guardian of the South Downs

has baffled archaeologists and historians for centuries.

A drawing from 1710 indicates that the figure,

possibly a war god, once had facial features.

Dating it has so far eluded experts,

and its true origin may forever remain a mystery.

We now leave the peaceful countryside

for the bustling seaside community of Brighton.

For more than 2 1/2 centuries, it has enjoyed a reputation

as the most popular seaside resort in Britain.

The town's future was forever changed when, in 1750,

Dr. Richard Russell's seawater cure

drew aristocracy in their droves.

Over the past century, Brighton's appeal continued to grow.

More recently, an appreciation for the history has emerged,

and today the town has been reinvented

as a trendy, free-spirited community.

Brighton's most renowned resident

was the Prince Regent, the future George IV.

The prince was so fond of the place,

he built one of the most notable and recognizable landmarks,

the Brighton Royal Pavilion.

Construction of the palace began in 1787

and took nearly 35 years to complete.

With its exotic Asian-style designs, it has been compared

to everything, from the Kremlin to a Norfolk turnip.

(gentle music)

But most would agree that it's a perfect illustration

of the extravagance of a bygone era.

Just off the shore, we find a very different

remnant of the past.

This twisted iron skeleton is all that remains

of Brighton's West Pier.

Built in 1866, it was once the height of Victorian elegance.

But it gradually fell into disrepair

and closed to the public.

A large section collapsed during a heavy storm in 2002.

And only three months later,

a fire destroyed the remaining section.

Rumors about the cause of the blaze

circulated among the locals for months.

Plans for a new landmark are under development.

Our last stop on this journey is Brighton Pier,

the city's most popular attraction.

It's changed dramatically since the original

chain pier was built in 1823.

Then, it served primarily as a landing stage.

Merchants soon began charging an entry fee.

Kiosks selling souvenirs and confectioneries

sprang up along its length, as well as entertainment stores

with fortune tellers and silhouette shows.

It was sold in 1889, but was completely wiped out

by a storm later that same year.

It was rebuilt, and Brighton Palace Pier

opened in grand ceremony in May 1899,

lit with 3,000 light bulbs.

Today, 67,000 provide illumination at night.

The pier was renovated in 1984, and some of the changes

included free admission, free use of the deck chairs,

and new refreshment outlets.

Despite the changes, the remnants of earlier features,

like the concert hall, theater,

and bandstand, can still be seen.

Much of modern Britain is built upon

the foundations of its past, and told

through its landmarks and architecture.

Brighton is a perfect example of Britain's capacity

for valuing the past while embracing the future.

A fitting place to end this journey.

(bright orchestral music)

(pulsating music)

(whooshing)