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Private Notes
Griff Rhys Jones goes on a Tudor adventure as he retraces the route that Queen Elizabeth I took through the Cotswolds and into the West Country on what was one of her regular 'progresses' through her realm. Winding through the heart of some of England's most stunning countryside he tracks her journey from Windsor to Bristol. Griff reconstructs the enormous baggage train the queen took with her; he tries out some Elizabethan forms of transport, and visits some of the stunning castles and stately homes she visited. He discovers what the queen ate, how she slept and what amused her in a trip that was as much about politics as it was about leisure. Unearthing gems of Tudor architecture that she would have seen, recreating a sense of the landscape she would have enjoyed, and digging up actual accounts of her visits to the towns, Griff gets a sense of the nation's love and adulation for the great queen, and the excitement, expense and logistics that lay behind this early royal walkabout.
Griff Rhys Jones joins the crew of a Thames sailing barge to recreate the precarious journey that thousands of similar vessels once made as they brought produce including hay, beer, fish and even bricks from the east coast into London. He loads a barge with bales of hay and discovers the challenges of navigating a so called 'stackie' that would once have supplied a horse-powered London with its precious bedding and fodder. Negotiating tides and braving dangerous shallows, Griff sails right into the heart of London. Living the life of a deck hand, he finds out the meaning of hard work as he grapples with the boat's unique sails and leeboards; faces the bargeman's favourite meal, plum duff, and has a go at singing traditional sea shanties. En route he explores the wonders of the Essex coastland and its naval traditions, and uncovers some of its secrets such as the mysterious Foulness Island, a testing ground for weapons once dependent on barges for its gunpowder supplies.
Griff throws himself back into the early 19th century, joining a herd of highland cows and two sturdy farmers as they retrace an ancient droving route once taken by thousands as they trudged 250 miles through the Scottish highlands from the Isle of Skye to Falkirk market. Braving the ravages of the Scottish weather, Griff and his companions relive the arduous and dangerous trek through steep mountain passes and fast flowing rivers that drovers and their herds made so that the great British public could get beef on its dinner plate. As they go they discover how drovers once risked life and limb to swim their cattle from the Scottish islands to the mainland, braving the inclement conditions in their wet plaid and fending off rustlers with sharp shooting. Griff explores how these hardy men went on to become the first cowboys of the wild west as well as becoming the stuff of literary legend
In a spectacular journey through the Welsh countryside Griff picks up the staff of the medieval pilgrim to retrace the steps that thousands of worshippers made in medieval times from Holywell to St Davids. Walking with five other hardy companions, the band rediscovers a once well-trodden route that, passing through remote mountain ranges risked attacks from bandits and many other dangers. Foraging for food and facing fast-flowing rivers Griff and his fellow travellers come face-to-face with the perils of medieval travel. Following the arduous tradition of pilgrimage, walking sometimes in sack cloth and sometimes barefoot, they try to understand the lengths that men and women of the middle ages went to in the name of penitence. Passing through beautiful villages, discovering gems of the medieval world from grand manor houses to ancient churches, encountering miracles and relics, bathing in holy wells and washing feet, Griff and his band explore how the British holiday has its roots in the observance of holy days
