Original subtitles

(air whooshes) (gentle dramatic music)

(air whooshes)

(upbeat dramatic music)

(upbeat music)

- Our journey begins at Raleigh,

the capital city of North Carolina

and the second largest in the state.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are part

of the Appalachian Mountain range which runs

for over 1,500 kilometers up the eastern side of America.

In the 1880s, George Vanderbilt II constructed

the enormous Biltmore mansion which he called

his little mountain escape.

To the east is the Charlotte Motor Speedway,

considered by many to be the home of NASCAR racing.

On the river at Wilmington is one

of the greatest World War II war ships ever built

in the United States, the USS North Carolina.

Our final location is Cape Fear,

so named by sixteenth century explorers

for its dangerous waters and today,

a very popular holiday destination.

(air whooshes)

Raleigh is the capital city of North Carolina

and the second largest in the state after Charlotte

which we will also see on this journey.

The city, founded in 1788 following the War of Independence,

was named after Sir Walter Raleigh, the English explorer

who founded the settlement of Roanoke

on the North Carolina coast in 1585.

Raleigh is an early example of a planned city

in the United States and was originally laid out

in a grid pattern with the North Carolina state capitol

in Union Square at the center.

(upbeat classical music)

The state capitol, completed in 1840,

is one of the finest and best preserved examples

of a major civic building in the Greek Revival style

and is now a national historic landmark.

The first State House was destroyed in a fire in 1831.

It was replaced by this new building at a cost of $532,000

which is roughly $16 million in today's money.

As the state government grew, it was decided to relocate

most departments to new offices

and leave the original building untouched.

Today, this historic State House,

now dwarfed by modern skyscrapers,

houses the offices of the governor and his officials.

(upbeat music) A few kilometers out

of the city is the Carter-Finley Stadium,

home to the North Carolina State Football Team,

known as the Wolfpack.

This university team competes in a number

of college and university-league competitions.

Today, they are playing against the Miami Hurricanes.

As the cheerleaders practice their routines

on the touch-line, the carpark begins to fill

with families coming early for a barbecue with friends

or to eat from the hamburger and hotdog selections

at the various concessions.

American football evolved from association football

or soccer and rugby football where the ball can be carried.

After the first game in 1869,

when each team fielded 25 players,

it took several years for proper rules to be agreed.

At the start, it was a violent game

and in 1905 there were 19 fatalities in the sport

which resulted in President Theodore Roosevelt

threatening to abolish the game all together.

Over the years, new rules have been added

and old rules changed to make the game safer

and more competitive, though to many non-Americans,

it's often confusing to understand what is happening.

As the North Carolina Wolfpack prepare

to meet the Miami Hurricanes,

the razzmataz of the pre-game show starts and the stadium,

which seats nearly 58,000 people, begins to fill up.

(upbeat music)

As the start of the game approaches,

a temporary flight restriction comes into force

both for reasons of safety, but also noise abatement.

(crowd cheers)

This means we have to climb to about 5,000 feet

or 1,500 meters.

At this height, we get a great final view

of this All-American sport.

(upbeat music)

A hundred and fifty kilometers northwest

is one of only a few hyphenated towns in the country,

Winston-Salem.

In 1849, the town of Salem sold off some neighboring land

for a new county town which was named Winston.

In the 1880s, the U.S. Post Office started referring

to the two towns as Winston-Salem; and in 1913,

after a referendum, the name was officially adopted.

Close to the center of the modern city

is the Old Salem, now a historic district

and a national historic landmark.

The town was founded by the Moravian Church

which was a Protestant denomination established

in central Europe during the fifteenth century

before arriving in the American state of Pennsylvania

in 1735.

Thirty years later, a church bought 40,000 hectares of land

in North Carolina and started to build Salem.

In 1950, a not-for-profit corporation was formed

to protect threatened buildings, restore the town,

and operate portions of it as a museum.

Old Salem is staffed by living history interpreters

who present visitors with a view of Moravian life

in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

(light classical music)

The features included skilled interpreters

such as tinsmiths, blacksmiths, cobblers, gunsmiths,

bakers, and carpenters practicing their trades

while interacting with visitors.

(light classical music)

Approximately 70% of the buildings in the historic district

are original making this a truly unique

living history museum.

(light classical music)

From Winston-Salem, it's possible to see one

of the most distinctive, natural features in North Carolina,

Pilot Mountain.

The region's earliest known inhabitants

were the Saura Indians who called the mountain Jomeokee,

meaning "Great Guide."

For early travelers, it acted as a landmark

when much of the area was a wilderness.

Pilot Mountain refers to the whole mass rising out

of the surrounding landscape.

At the north end is Big Pinnacle,

it's pure quartzite capstone resists the eroding forces

of wind and water to loom 430 meters above the valley floor.

It's distinctive, rocky knob rises 150 meters

from a forested base.

This rock formation is known as a monadnock or inselberg

which is an isolated hill or mountain of bedrock

standing conspicuously above the general level

of the surrounding area.

This makes it ideal for rock climbing and abseiling

which is allowed on portions of the park's steep cliffs.

And from the summit, we can see great views

of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west,

which is where we're headed next.

(birds chirp) (bluegrass music)

The Blue Ridge Mountains are part

of the Appalachian Mountain Range

which runs for over 1,500 kilometers

along the U.S. Eastern seaboard.

(bluegrass music)

The Blue Ridge Mountains are so called

for having a blueish color when seen from a distance.

And it's actually the trees that put the blue

into Blue Ridge as they emit a range

of small, organic molecules, the most common

being a substance called isoprene.

This contributes to the characteristic haze on the mountains

and their distinctive color.

As we climb into the mountains,

we rise above the frost level and the temperature drops

to below freezing.

The Blue Ridge contains the highest mountains

in Eastern North America and about 125 peaks

exceed 1,500 meters in height.

The highest in the range is Mount Mitchell

at just over 2,000 meters.

Running along the mountain ridges is one

of the most scenic roads in America and part of

the National Park Service, the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It offers spectacular mountain scenery

at any time of the year.

Motoring along this 755 kilometer long road

is an experience unlike any other as along its route,

visitors will experience long-range vistas,

close-up views of the rugged mountains,

and beautiful panoramas from the large number

of stopping places.

The Parkway is one of the most popular attractions

of the National Park system which owns

and maintains the road.

On June 30, 1936, the United States Congress formally

authorized the project as the Blue Ridge Parkway

and placed it under the jurisdiction

of the National Park Service.

Some of the work was carried out

by various New Deal Public Works agencies

in a scheme set up by President Franklin D. Roosevelt

to provide much needed work following The Great Depression.

Personnel from four Civilian Conservation Corps camps

worked on the roadside cleanup, roadside planting,

grating slopes, and improving adjacent fields

and forest lands.

During World War II, these crews were replaced

by conscientious objectors

in the Civilian Public Service program.

The entire project took 52 years to complete.

The Blue Ridge Parkway ends

in the great Smoky Mountains National Park

which is one of the largest, protected areas

in the Eastern United States.

It's also UNESCO World Heritage site.

On the southern edge of the Park is Fontana Lake,

one of the largest lakes in western North Carolina.

Fontana was built during World War II

to provide electric power for the war effort.

A new town sprang up in the forest,

housing some 5,000 people who worked around the clock

in three shifts and the project broke construction records.

A few small towns were completely submerged as Fontana Lake

slowly filled.

Fontana Lake provides the only access

into the most remote areas of the National Park.

When the lake is at the normal, summer level,

visitors can hire boats to explore the many creeks

which lead to trails into the Great Smoky Mountains.

(guitar strums)

(birds chirp)

To the east of the mountains is the Pisgah National Forest

and ahead of us, Cold Mountain.

It stands 1,840 meters high and the summit is accessible

only by an extremely strenuous 17 kilometer trail.

Much of the forest was originally owned

by the industrialist George Washington Vanderbilt, II.

After his death in 1914, his widow sold 35,000 hectares

of land, including this mountain

to the United States Forest Service at just $5 an acre

to create the Pisgah National Forest.

This land had been part of the Biltmore Estate

where George Vanderbilt constructed the largest,

privately-owned house in the United States.

(light classical music)

In the 1880s, at the height of what is known

as the Gilded Age, George Vanderbilt, II,

youngest son of the enormously wealthy

William Henry Vanderbilt, began to make regular visits

to this area of North Carolina.

He loved the scenery and climate so much

that he decided to create his own summer estate in the area

which he called his little mountain escape.

He named his estate Biltmore which was derived

from "Bilt," his ancestors place of origin in Holland,

and "more," Anglo-Saxon for open-rolling land.

The style of the house is châteauesque

and used several French Renaissance houses

from the early sixteenth century as inspiration.

Construction of the house began in 1889

and took six years to complete.

In order to undertake such a large project,

a woodworking factory and brick kiln,

which produced 32,000 bricks a day, were built onsite

and a three-mile railroad spur was constructed

to bring materials up to the new house.

All this required a massive labor force

of well over a thousand workers

as well as 60-odd stonemasons.

Vanderbilt went on extensive buying trips overseas

as construction on the house was in progress.

He returned to North Carolina with thousands of furnishings

for his newly built home including tapestries,

hundreds of carpets, prints, linens,

and decorative objects all dating

between the fifteenth and the late nineteenth centuries.

The running costs of such an enormous house

were understandably high and following Vanderbilt's death

in 1914, his wife began to shrink the estate

to contain costs.

(light classical music)

During the Depression of the 1930s, the house was open

to the public for the first time to help tourism

in the area.

Since then, the estate, under the Vanderbilt descendants,

has become a major attraction,

close to one and a half million visitors a year.

(light classical music)

To the east is the city of Charlotte,

the most populous in the state at around 900,000 people.

It's also one of the largest cities

in the Southeastern United States

and home to the headquarters of Bank of America,

as well the East Coast operations of the Wells Fargo Bank.

The city is named after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg,

the wife of the British King George, III,

who was to lose the American colonies

in the War of Independence in 1776.

A conflict of a very different sort takes place here

at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

(upbeat rock music) It's considered the home-track

for NASCAR, the National Association

for Stock Car Auto Racing.

Many race teams are located in the Charlotte area.

Stock car racing in the United States has its origins

in bootlegging during the Prohibition of the 1930s.

When drivers ran elicit, homemade whiskey

across state borders, they typically used

small, fast vehicles to better evade the police.

Many of the drivers would modify their cars

for speed and handling, as well as increased cargo capacity

and some of them came to love the fast pace driving

down twisty, mountain roads.

Following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933,

the drivers began to race for fun and profit,

and out of those early days, NASCAR was born.

Another great American sport is golf

and some of the finest courses can be found in the U.S.

This is Pinehurst which has a history stretching back

to 1895 when a Boston drinks magnet bought

just over 2,000 hectares of land for about $3 a hectare.

The Holly Inn was opened the same year and shortly followed

by the first golf course in 1898.

Today, there are nine courses, three hotels,

and extensive leisure facilities.

For many years, it was the largest golf resort

in the world until it was surpassed by one built in China.

Over the years, it's hosted the PGA Championship,

the Ryder Cup, and the U.S. Open four times.

Many of the world's greatest golfers have played here

from the legendary figures such as Arnold Palmer

and Jack Nicklaus to today's Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

Pinehurst is due to host the U.S. Open again in 2024.

(light dramatic music)

On the coast is the city and port of Wilmington

and opposite the city on the Cape Fear River

is one of the greatest war ships ever built

in the United States, the USS North Carolina.

Her keel was laid in 1937 at the New York Navy Yard

and was the first battleship to be constructed for 16 years.

At the time of her commissioning in 1941,

she was considered the world's greatest sea weapon.

(upbeat dramatic music)

Armed with nine, 16 inch caliber guns and three turrets,

and 20, five inch caliber guns and 10 twin mounts,

the North Carolina proved a formidable weapons platform.

During World War II, the ship participated

in every major Naval offensive in the Pacific area

of operations and cruised over 500,000 kilometers,

earning 15 battle stars.

She was only hit once when a Japanese torpedo smashed

into the ship's hull.

(upbeat dramatic music)

Despite this, by the end of the war,

the ship had only lost 10 men with 67 wounded.

The North Carolina was eventually decommissioned in 1947

and placed in the inactive reserve fleet

for the next 14 years.

In 1958, the announcement of her impending scrapping

led to a public campaign to save the ship

and bring her back to her home state.

The battleship arrived here in 1961 and was dedicated

as the state's memorial to its World War II veterans

and those who died during the conflict.

(dramatic music)

The first permanent, European settlement in the area

started in the 1720s with English colonists.

The deep river and sheltered position made Wilmington

an excellent place for a town and a general cargo port,

as well as a growing ship building industry.

During World War II, over 200 low cost Liberty ships

were built for the American and British Atlantic trade

as they were needed to quickly replace those sunk

by German submarines.

Today, the shipyards have been replaced

by a modern container port as the deep water channel

makes Wilmington one of the few such ports

along the Southeast Coast.

A few kilometers downstream from Wilmington

is a good example of a mid-eighteenth century

plantation house.

This is Orton Plantation and built in the Classical Revival

and Greek Revival architectural style.

Dominating the front are the tall, fluted doric columns

which give the house a real sense of grandeur.

The two wings were added in 1904.

(light classical music)

The first house on the site was built in 1725,

but destroyed by local Native Americans.

The second house was constructed in 1735

and the estate developed into a leading rice plantation.

Of course, it must be remembered that none of this

could have been achieved without the unpaid labor

of hundreds of slaves.

Today the house is privately owned and closed to the public,

but the plantation gardens and family chapel are open

and have become a popular tourist destination.

In 1973, the Orton Plantation was added

to the National Register of Historic Places.

During the Civil War of the mid-nineteenth century,

the Confederate Fort Fisher, on the opposite bank

of the river, was taken by Union forces who then confiscated

Orton Plantation and used the house as a military hospital,

thus sparing it from destruction.

(light classical music)

Right at the beginning of the Civil War in 1861,

artillery batteries were placed here

which would later become Fort Fisher.

During the war, Wilmington was one of the most important

points of entry for supplies for the Confederacy.

Its port traded cotton and tobacco in exchange

for foreign goods like munitions, clothing, and food stuffs.

Trade was based on the coming and going of British smugglers

who were known as blockade runners because they had

to avoid the Union's imposed maritime blockade.

Often, they were forced to fly the Confederate flag

as the Union Army hanged any British pirates

captured trying to enter the port.

In 1865, after a failed first attempt,

the Union forces finally took Fort Fisher.

With its fall, the trading route to Wilmington was cut,

as was the supply line for the Confederate Army

of Northern Virginia.

This action helped end the war two months later.

(dramatic music)

At the end of this long beach is our final location,

Cape Fear, which juts out into the Atlantic Ocean.

The name originates from the 1585 expedition

of Sir Richard Grenville when his ship was forced

into the bay by bad weather behind the cape.

It's said that some of the crew were afraid the ship

would be wrecked and this gave rise to the name Cape Fear.

It's the fifth, oldest surviving English place name

in the U.S.

In the seventeenth century, it became known as Cape Fair,

but by the American War of Independence,

the name had reverted to Cape Fear,

as had the name of the nearby river.

Just off the end of Cape Fear is a sandbar

and an excellent place to see a flock of brown pelicans.

With its bird life, good fishing, sailing,

and miles of unspoiled, golden beaches,

Cape Fear has changed from being a place of threat

to one of enjoyment.

It is now a popular holiday destination.

a perfect place to end this journey.

(dramatic music)

(air whooshes) (gentle dramatic music)