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00:00I'm Fred Syriex and I'm French.
00:04What courage is your long day.
00:06I used to work front of house in the hospitality industry.
00:10Roger. Cheers.
00:11But now I'm front of camera bringing people together.
00:15I really love cycling.
00:18It's a great way to travel and meet people.
00:22I haven't run this much for so long.
00:25Get the taste of new cultures and fresh flavours.
00:30I know it's naughty but they're so good.
00:33Last year I toured Northern Ireland on my bike.
00:37This time I'm heading back across the Irish Sea
00:40to explore the south of this extraordinary island.
00:44It really is epic.
00:46The cycle challenges start in Wexford
00:49and finish further south in County Cork.
00:52Some tough.
00:53Are you going to cheer me on or what?
00:55Come on!
00:57Some more gentle.
00:59Time for tea.
01:01But all spectacular.
01:03It's not just about cycling.
01:05And kiss.
01:06Perfect.
01:07There will be different challenges and adventures along the way.
01:12You've all heard of the Tour de France.
01:14This is truly an incredible place.
01:16This is Tour de Fred.
01:19This time I say bonjour to County Wexford in Ireland's ancient East.
01:37Look at this.
01:38Look at this.
01:39Look at this.
01:40Look at this.
01:41What a view.
01:42Where I will be cycling high in the hills.
01:46It's got to be done.
01:47And along the coast.
01:52Where my stamina is put to the test.
01:59This is workout and a half.
02:01Never mind cycling around the island.
02:04To earn my supper.
02:06Look at that colour.
02:07No need for lemon.
02:08No need for lemon.
02:10Mmm.
02:11Wow.
02:12This is a feast.
02:14And discover Wexford's Viking heritage.
02:18Wow.
02:19Boussays.
02:20Boussays.
02:21Boussays.
02:22Allez.
02:23Vite.
02:24I'm on a ferry from Holyhead in Wales to Dublin, Ireland, to embark on my next adventure on my bicycle.
02:43Joining me on this crossing is cycling expert, Cillian, who has some advice for me ahead of my next cycle challenge in Ireland.
02:51So, you know, Cillian, the way I've set up this cycling trip is I want to set myself some cycling challenges to see as much of Ireland as possible.
02:59You know, I'm going to start in Wexford and the plan is then to go down to Waterford and then to finish in Cork.
03:05But I don't know the area at all.
03:07Can you recommend any places to stop?
03:09So, starting off in Wexford, this is Ireland's sunny south-east.
03:13So, is he going to clear up in a couple of hours?
03:15That's it.
03:16You don't like the weather?
03:17There seems to be a lot of sunshine right now.
03:18Yeah.
03:19It'll happen.
03:20And it'll happen in Wexford.
03:21So, starting from there, do you want to see as much of Ireland as possible?
03:24I've got the perfect challenge for you.
03:26There's a climb called Sleave Quilche.
03:29It's a tough climb.
03:30I think it's got pitches of 10%, 11%, so it's hard.
03:33But when you get to the top, you should be able to see six counties in Ireland, which is very unusual.
03:38You should be able to see Wexford, Waterford, Carlo Kilkenny, Tipperary and Wicklow.
03:43There's a challenge cycling up that climb, but the real challenge will be finding a day bright enough to actually see those six counties.
03:49You'll be doing very well if the visibility is that good.
03:51And we like to name things in Ireland after people who've visited here once.
03:55Right.
03:56There's an arboretum there, which I'm sure you will love, is absolutely fantastic.
03:59Named after JFK when he visited here in the 1960s.
04:02Do you know what Barack Obama got?
04:03What did he get?
04:04A petrol station in County Offaly.
04:06Did he? Where is this?
04:07It's up here somewhere.
04:08JFK did much better.
04:09What I would say, if I was to give you a piece of advice, the Irish word for road is bohar.
04:15Cow path.
04:17And quite literally, the road network in Ireland, long ago, was designed by cows.
04:23Right.
04:24So there's roads everywhere.
04:26Is it a bit random then?
04:27Yeah.
04:28But that's good.
04:29It takes you to some...
04:30So there's 20, 30 ways of getting wherever you want.
04:32Right.
04:33So Fred, if you see a road that looks nice and it wasn't the route that you planned on taking, and it just looks enticing or enchanting, allow yourself to be enchanted and take the road.
04:41Chances are it's not going to be a dead end because of this dense network.
04:44You'll get to where you're going eventually.
04:46You can come back.
04:47But take it, discover and enjoy yourself.
04:49You know we have a French word for this.
04:51It's l'imprevu.
04:52The unexpected.
04:53You never know what's going to happen, but invariably something will happen.
04:56Perfect.
04:57That's my kind of stuff.
04:58And just like that, we've made it to Dublin Port.
05:02I wonder if they will name a landmark in my honour after this visit to Ireland.
05:07I shouldn't get ahead of myself.
05:08I have a long cycle in front of me.
05:11Right.
05:12This is it, Kilian.
05:14Sona's starting to come out.
05:16Yes.
05:17I can't wait to get this cycling challenge you started.
05:20I'm very jealous.
05:26First cycling challenge, here we come.
05:29I'm heading south from Dublin to Wexford, a coastal county located in the cornerstone of Ireland's ancient East, where long stretches of coastline meet ancient history.
05:54Once a stronghold of the Vikings and a first foothold of the Normans in Ireland, I'm prepared for battle, or rather, for a bike ride.
06:03I'm cycling on Wexford's Hook Peninsula to the first destination on my adventure.
06:16Wexford is a fertile county with traditions in beef and dairy farming, and also known for its new potatoes and strawberries.
06:30Right now, though, I'm off to a different kind of farm, underwater.
06:41Tommy, Jodie and their family have been farming oysters in this bay for the last 35 years.
06:46How's it going?
06:47Good.
06:48Very good, yeah.
06:49I've got to tell you, I'm really looking forward to this.
06:51I am so hungry.
06:52How are you?
06:53Nice to meet you.
06:54Good, thank you.
06:55How are you guys?
06:56This is Darcy and Adam.
06:57How's it going?
06:58I'm going to do a bit of work.
06:59Oh, brilliant.
07:00I bet they're helping every day, though.
07:01Oh, yeah.
07:02You have to make them work.
07:03That's good.
07:04Let me get my stuff on.
07:05This is Oyster Farm Couture.
07:10I'm really going to look the part.
07:14So, shall we go and do some work?
07:16I think so, yeah.
07:17All right.
07:18So, there's a ladder here.
07:19Just want to get up.
07:23It doesn't need it.
07:24Oh, that was for me?
07:25Yeah.
07:26I'm not an old man.
07:27Come on, I know I've got some grain on my beer, but I'm not an old man.
07:29We'll leave this behind, then.
07:30The tides rule the working day here, and I've arrived at the perfect time for some manual
07:38labour.
07:39I love the smell of tractor in the morning.
07:41It reminds me of the countryside in France when I was a kid.
07:44Yeah, I used to be on the back of trailers like this all the time.
07:47Or driving.
07:48Trying.
07:49With a bay full of oysters in front of us, I'm wondering how they know exactly where
07:56to start.
07:57So, how do you know what to do?
07:58Do you keep a record of everything you have done so that tomorrow or the next day, you
08:02go back and you start where you've finished?
08:05Everything is in Tommy's head.
08:06When we make movements or transfers and growth rates, it is all there.
08:10So, he would say it's very intuitive, but it's 35 years of experience.
08:14So, what did you learn?
08:15So, he went up to Donegal with his brother in a car.
08:19They broke down a good lot of times.
08:21They stopped at every oyster farm and just said, to learn the trade, I'll work for free.
08:25How long did he do that for?
08:26He was there for three years.
08:27Three years?
08:28Yeah, three years.
08:29And he had to sell his car to stay there.
08:31You know, it's so inspiring because there are so many people who were wondering what to
08:35do.
08:36And then you got Tommy who goes and works for three years for free to learn a trade.
08:39And here he is now, owning his own farm.
08:41It's amazing.
08:42Guys, this is an inspiring story.
08:45Your dad is a superhero.
08:48All right, shall we go and do some work?
08:59Yeah.
09:00The cultivation of oysters in Ireland dates back to the 13th century.
09:08And nowadays there are around 130 farms nationwide, which produce about 10,000 tons of oysters
09:15every year.
09:16I have eaten oysters all my life and I love them.
09:19And so I'm really interested to see what Tommy does to produce them.
09:26Take the band off.
09:27Right.
09:28Stand it up like this.
09:29Yeah.
09:30Get three shakes then.
09:32Like that.
09:33And you throw it back and then take the shake out and then put the band back on again.
09:38Right.
09:39Why do you do that?
09:40So you can see that there in those oysters.
09:43There's new growth.
09:44Right.
09:45So it's fragile shell.
09:46And if you left them in the one position in the bag, they start growing into the corners.
09:50They'll grow out of shape, you know, so you need to shake them up, move them around in
09:54the bag.
09:55You'll knock that off when it's brittle like that.
09:57Right.
09:58Kind of round.
09:59Yeah, the old shaven, I can see.
10:00Yeah.
10:01You know, it doesn't take much just to keep them ripe, but you have to do it.
10:03Right.
10:04If you let them go for three, four weeks, especially in the summer, you'd lose the shape on them.
10:09It's very hard to get them back again.
10:11And these oysters, where do they go once they're harvested?
10:13Where do you send them?
10:14To France.
10:15All of them?
10:16Everything goes to France, yeah.
10:17Really?
10:18Yeah, yeah, yeah.
10:19So what about the people of Ireland?
10:20What do they eat?
10:21Not that much is eaten in Ireland.
10:24Really?
10:25Yeah, yeah.
10:26Such a shame.
10:27Yeah, yeah.
10:28Okay, well, you know how to turn oysters now, would you?
10:29Would you like to give a hand?
10:30Yeah, of course.
10:31Yeah, we have a lot of oysters to turn before the tide comes back in on us.
10:33No problem.
10:34You can start here and I'll get the next one.
10:36I'll get on with it.
10:39Each bag contains exactly 110 oysters and last season this farm produced almost eight and
10:50a half southern bags.
10:52I can't believe all of these oysters go to France.
10:56This is work out and a half.
10:59Never mind cycling around Ireland.
11:02We should try oyster farming.
11:07I love oysters.
11:08I've been eating oysters since I'm a little boy.
11:11With my dad.
11:12We are just so in love with this.
11:15So beautiful.
11:17Hey Fred, you hungry?
11:19I am.
11:20I think we should try a few oysters.
11:21I'd love to.
11:22Okay.
11:23Yes.
11:24Okay.
11:25Let's go.
11:29Ah-ha!
11:30Finally a chance to taste and the sun's trying to come out for our lunch.
11:34I mean the quality of your oysters to me, I can tell this is really, really good quality.
11:44Look at that.
11:45There is so much flesh here.
11:47And that's why these ones are so good.
11:49Because there is so much to eat.
11:50This is a meal in itself, isn't it?
11:52It is.
11:53It is, yeah.
11:54A few of those and you'll be done for the lay.
11:56How did you get to this level?
11:58It's the work we've just been doing.
12:01It's the shaking, turning, you know, down to the algae in the bay as well.
12:06It's very good algae for getting meats in the shell of oysters.
12:09And you supply only one person in France, which is the king of oysters, is Gilardo.
12:13We do.
12:14That's down to the quality, right?
12:16We couldn't supply them unless we had that.
12:18You know, what I find very interesting with oysters is that a lot of people tend to swallow them.
12:23And I never understood that, right?
12:25Because if you don't chew them, you don't get the taste out of them.
12:28And then a lot of people also, I mean, I am one of them.
12:31I like to put lemon.
12:32Yeah.
12:33But you can really taste the quality of an oyster when you just eat it as it is.
12:37Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:38So I'm just going to try that.
12:41There is so much meat in there.
12:44It's so fleshy.
12:46Look at that colour.
12:48No need for lemon.
12:52Mmm.
12:54Wow.
12:56This is a feast.
12:58It really is really subtle, very balanced, full of flavour.
13:03They are brilliant.
13:05This is so good.
13:08This is so good.
13:09I think we're going to have to open more.
13:10I mean, how many do we have here, you know?
13:13It's a good thing this family enjoys oysters as much as me.
13:17This is luxury.
13:18That's all you need in life.
13:19You know, if you've got good food, good ingredients like this, good produce, that's all you need.
13:23You don't need anything else, do you?
13:24The tide is coming in, so it's time to head off again.
13:30The sea is Tommy's office.
13:31I mean, what a lovely place to work every single day.
13:32This is where he spent his time.
13:33Actually, he's not lucky because he's made his own luck and he worked for it for free, for three years to create this farm.
13:49I mean, what an inspiration.
13:50What a lovely man.
13:51What a great family.
13:52I had such a great time here.
13:54All right, off to my next destination.
13:56The sun is out.
14:15I'm Fred Syriax and I've traveled to Ireland to explore the South East Coast.
14:22I'm on my bike again and there will be one or two cycle challenges along the way.
14:29I'm in County Wexford and as I pedal, I'm already getting a feel for the landscape.
14:37What scenery.
14:38All these shades of green.
14:40And here is me with a pink jacket.
14:43What was I thinking?
14:46That's why the locals are laughing when they see me.
14:49They say, oh, look at that.
14:50Look at the pink Frenchman.
14:55My next stop was suggested by Killian on the ferry and it comes with a built-in cycle challenge.
15:02A spectacular view is promised which suggests I'll eventually be cycling uphill.
15:09The John F. Kennedy Arboretum is home to over 4,500 species of trees and shrubs, the largest of its kind in Ireland.
15:21Covering over 600 acres and dedicated to the memory of former US President JFK, whose great-grandfather Patrick was born in a nearby village.
15:30This is the start of my first challenge as recommended by Killian on the ferry.
15:37It's called Sleave Kilcher.
15:39Basically, at the top of the hill, I will be able to see six counties of Ireland.
15:43Wish me luck.
15:44I have an almost three-kilometre climb ahead of me at an elevation of 268 metres.
15:54This is certainly going to be a challenge.
15:57I'm cycling en danseuse, as my mum likes to say. Look at that. I'm getting ready for Strictly.
16:09Never mind the Tour de France. This is the real deal.
16:15Well, what can I say? The best views always make you work for it.
16:22Killian was right. Look at this. Look at this. What a view.
16:30My heart rate is through the roof. I'm sweating. But it's so worth it.
16:35Better stop talking, though. Woo!
16:44I'm almost at the summit, but this last stretch of the challenge is going to take me off-road. I love it.
16:57And now, just a short walk to the official summit of Sleave Culture viewing point. Look at this.
17:06It's going to be done.
17:14I've made it. I'm the king of the six counties.
17:19Wow.
17:21What a spot.
17:22What a spot.
17:27As Killian promised, the view of Wexford, Wicklow, Waterford, Carlo, Kilkenny and Tipperary below is an epic reward for my first challenge.
17:36I'm so lucky with the weather today because you can see the six counties. Look at this view. Incredible.
17:45So this is a site of a very famous battle when the Irish rebelled in 1798. And it was the spirit of the French Revolution that guided them. Look. Liberty, equality, fraternity. Liberté, égalité, fraternity.
18:03I mean, I didn't expect to see that here. Look at that beauty. So peaceful, so relaxing. Am I in heaven?
18:16I'll tell you what, it's going to be easier to go there than it was to come up.
18:23My next destination is the town of New Ross on the river Barrow, eight miles down the hill, where I'm going to find out more about one of the most challenging times in Ireland's history, the potato famine.
18:40A time of mass starvation, disease and immigration, which had a profound impact on every society.
18:52I'm going to visit the Dun Brodie famine ship, a full sized replica of one of the ships people boarded between 1845 and 1852 to escape the great famine.
19:05Jason, how are you? Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, good friend. How are we? Welcome to the Dun Brodie. Thank you.
19:12It's hard to believe that ships of this size carried passengers across the Atlantic Ocean.
19:22It was originally a cargo ship that was built in Quebec alongside the other ships that belonged to William Graves here in town.
19:29With the onset of potato blight and suing famine in 1845 onwards, almost every cargo ship around the coast and us inland gets quickly converted to accommodate the would-be thousands who now need to flee on them.
19:44There was over 313 down there on one of its main journeys to Quebec, which took up to eight weeks to reach.
19:50So they must have been quite the organisation because, you know, I think that not everybody would have been allowed to come up on deck at any given time.
19:57You know, how did they set up these rules? I mean, so a small selection of passengers per day were allowed out for about 30 minutes of instalments in which they are presented with flour, water and oats and over a course of very dangerous, careful time, they will bake flattened bread over an open fire like that.
20:15How many crews were there on a sheet like that?
20:17Between the captain and first officer, 14 to 15 overall.
20:21Oh, a lot.
20:22Yeah, and the crew themselves would have resided below deck at the bow at the front, and the captain and first officer gets their own cabins at the stern underneath here.
20:32Can we go and see the wheel over there?
20:33Sure, absolutely.
20:36The Dunbrodies permanently moored on the river Barrow here, so we won't be going too far. Don't worry.
20:45Were there somebody 24 hours on that wheel?
20:48Usually, yes, you'd have captained themselves for the first officer who were the most experienced in the chain of command themselves.
20:54I suppose the rest of the crew then would work in various interviews again at the summit of the ship in which it's over 100 feet high.
21:03And how much were the tickets on the ship?
21:05Average adult, it's £3.10, which would be something like several hundred euros today.
21:10Really?
21:11So actually, we have one aspect of the original Dunbrody, luckily still with us, and it's at the opposite end of the ship.
21:17Shall we go and see it?
21:18Absolutely, follow me.
21:24Wow.
21:25Yeah.
21:26I've got to ring you.
21:27Yeah, got it.
21:29Very loud.
21:30And it's also the original ship's bell from 1845, the only part of the original ship still left with us.
21:36Wow.
21:37Let me show you the galley.
21:38OK.
21:41This galley kitchen is a reminder of the two tiers of passengers who would have been on board the Dunbrody.
21:48It actually was only reserved for the crew initially, and then when ships like this got converted to carry people, first-class families would have the food that was prepared in here.
21:56So fresh fish caught that day at sea, and some salted pork then, perhaps later on in the afternoon.
22:02And the other passengers, so they could smell of this beautiful smell coming from the galley, the fish, the pork, and all they could eat is this bread that they were eating on the brazier there.
22:11Yes, and if you're leaving from where the famine is happening too, you would have passengers on board ships like this that would probably not have even eaten food like this per se before.
22:21What torture.
22:22Yeah.
22:24What I really want to see is what life would have been like below deck for the people trying to escape the famine.
22:30Oh, my God. There is no space here.
22:37So there would have been 313 passengers here on this deck.
22:42For the most part, yeah, that's the record that it held when I went to Quebec. On average, it was about 200, comprising of five or six per bunk.
22:50There'd be a mattress of straw waiting for you upon arrival.
22:53Right.
22:54And then you're just shown to your bunk by the crew that way. And then off the ship goes.
22:57It must have made people feel so inhuman.
23:00Absolutely. Absolutely.
23:01You know, when you think about the Irish Americans, you know, the Americans who are of Irish origin are very proud of where they come from.
23:08But I think that seeing this here, you know, and imagining the condition in which they were taken to America and arrived in America, you know, I'm not surprised of how close they are with their roots, you know, and how proud they are of sharing their heritage and where they come from.
23:22Because, I mean, this is quite the generational trauma, really.
23:25They come here, see this, and they can literally just trace the origin of themselves to a farmer, an evicted tenant farmer sitting there for 23 and a half hours of the day with no comprehension of what he's doing.
23:36Can we go and lay there, the two of us?
23:38Yeah, go on, yeah.
23:39Just the two of us with you. Imagine, um, some mom and dad, some children, come and let's see how much room there is, just to see.
23:44Well, I think people are a bit smaller back then, but we get the idea.
23:48OK.
23:49All right.
23:50Well, I can imagine if you had five kids here, I mean, if they are teenagers, like the size of my son, he's bigger than you.
23:57Yeah, and the bunk we're sitting in now would have originally contained close to seven people, five children, and then the parents themselves.
24:04And they would never have seen anything like this before because they initially would have lived in a small cabin and then walking down a flight of stairs like that for the first time in their lives and then greeted by a sea of people swarming them.
24:17You don't know, just total strangers.
24:18Yeah.
24:19That would have been so scary.
24:20Absolutely.
24:21I mean, the smell, what you hear, I mean, how would you sleep here? The noise would have been...
24:25I know, I know.
24:26...steffening.
24:27I think after the halfway mark too, things like TB and cholera would have set in with some of the passengers, so the long days got even longer where they were just lying here for the most part.
24:37Wow.
24:38Well, listen, I really enjoyed the visit, man.
24:39Me too.
24:40Thank you for your time, my friend.
24:42Thank you, good sir.
24:43Thanks a lot.
24:44Oh, I'm glad to get out of here.
24:45Yeah.
24:46Really tight.
24:47And then up you go.
24:49Oh, the light.
24:51I think the beauty of this place, or places like this, is that it reminds us of the past.
25:05It takes us to a place long gone, but to go back below deck and to see the condition in which people were living, suddenly brings it back to life.
25:14I'm on my bike again in County Wexford, hoping to get a rest from the hilly climb as I follow my cycle route to my next destination.
25:33This region is called Island's Ancient East, and where I'm heading, I'll be combining two other passions of mine, gardening and history, and an imposing sight awaits.
25:44This is Johnstown Castle.
25:45This is Johnstown Castle.
25:47The castle stands on an estate granted to the Esmond family following the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169.
25:57The castle was then rebuilt in the 1800s with a romantic and neo-Gothic vision.
26:03Look at that.
26:05Who better to show me around than Kieran, head gardener here at Johnstown Castle, and lucky for me, he also loves cycling.
26:13We are peddling to his pride and joy now.
26:20So that's your walled garden, right?
26:21Yeah, it is indeed, yeah.
26:27Under the care of Kieran and his team, this walled garden has been restored and reimagined.
26:32So you did everything from scratch?
26:34Everything.
26:35Everything.
26:36So design, the construction, the planting, the propagation, everything was the garden theme.
26:41Yeah, it was great.
26:42Wow.
26:43You've got to give me some tips, because I'm getting a greenhouse at home.
26:45I want to learn from you.
26:46Oh, yeah, no, definitely.
26:47I'll show you around, show what you did, and yeah, I can give this a hand later.
26:50It'll be absolutely fantastic.
26:51It's never-ending here, so we're always willing to take an extra helping hand.
26:57My garden is much smaller than this, of course, and only in its infancy.
27:01But I'm already getting ideas.
27:05So were you given Carte Blanche to create and design any way you like it?
27:09Pretty much, yeah.
27:10We left kind of a few open spaces for hosting events and that in the walled garden.
27:13But for the most part, it was quite nice that the Heritage Trust gave me that kind of energy to kind of just go for it.
27:18I can imagine you didn't let your creativity go, but how did you choose the plants that we've got here?
27:23So at the moment, we're three years in, so we have about 12,000 plants in here.
27:26Wow.
27:27It's done in prairie style, so it's a much more naturalistic planting.
27:30But what we did, we wanted to take it one step further.
27:32Right.
27:33So we have quite a lot of native plants in here, both planted directly or else stuff that was self-seeded in.
27:38And then there's a small few that aren't, but they were brought in specifically to kind of prolong the season and to cater for pollinators that we couldn't with the other stuff.
27:46But then we also have stuff such as the verbascum and that here.
27:50So that seed heads for birds in the autumn.
27:52Then we have the stippa grasses, which is nesting material in the spring.
27:56And then we have other plants in kind of the larger grasses.
27:59So like stuff can actually hibernate in underneath it.
28:01Right.
28:02So there's great winter interest throughout it.
28:03And it caters for basically every living thing.
28:06But that's the key for gardening, you know, to be able to let your garden live like that throughout the season, throughout the year.
28:11Oh, completely.
28:12I always say you have to kind of find the beauty in decay.
28:14Yeah.
28:15So it's kind of like to see like those seed heads through the winter.
28:17Beauty in decay.
28:18Yeah.
28:19I like that.
28:20Brown's also a color.
28:21So like people often think with gardening, it's only interesting when it's full of color.
28:24But if you've got loads of textures, you've the soft grasses, the structure, the seed heads throughout the winter, like seeing spiderwebs and that through.
28:30Yes.
28:31It's just, it's stunning.
28:32Like, so having texture in your garden prolongs the season, but it also gives loads of habitat.
28:41Yeah.
28:42I'm in the process of redesigning my garden.
28:45So that's why I'm really interested with this conversation is what you are doing, because I am actually deciding what I'm going to do.
28:51Yeah.
28:52And this, this is the thinking process.
28:54Just have fun.
28:55Like I always like a little touch of surrealism in gardens and just a bit of fun.
28:58Because at the end of the day, it's just like, you can take it as seriously as you want.
29:00But like, if you're not enjoying it, it's not a bit of crack.
29:02What's the point?
29:03No, you've got to enjoy it.
29:04Yeah, exactly.
29:05And if you love garden, you love gardens.
29:06You love to be in the middle of them and just immerse yourself in the beauty.
29:08Oh, gotcha.
29:09The beauty of decay.
29:10Exactly.
29:11That's what I've got to learn.
29:12For a wannabe gardener like me, this is such an inspiring place.
29:20I get my plants from garden centers, but Kieran's offered to show me how it grows from scratch.
29:29So, with the compost, literally, just by hand, handball it in.
29:33You're basically just roughly putting it in.
29:35You don't have to tamp it down or anything.
29:37Because what we're planting today is grass seed.
29:39You don't want to make it too dense then?
29:41No, not too dense.
29:42Yeah, just kind of a loose, sort of a spread over like that.
29:44Right.
29:45Just a little tamp.
29:46And because it's grass seed, it's a very easy seed to propagate.
29:50Basically, you're just mimicking what would have been done naturally.
29:52So, some seeds, let's say heavier ones, you'd poke a little hole like that.
29:56But if it's a light seed like that, grass is kind of just a general root of your tongue.
30:00You don't have to.
30:01It's just a sprinkle on top, like that.
30:03Like usually the rest.
30:04But then afterwards, then you're just going to get a little bit of compost and you're basically just a light cover like that.
30:09That's it.
30:10So you don't go deep at all?
30:11No, not with kind of those small seeds like that.
30:13You don't have to necessarily.
30:14It's just, you're just trying to get a bit of a cover and then we'll do a water then afterwards and that'll settle it in.
30:19And it doesn't matter whether, because I'm putting quarter...
30:21Ah, it doesn't matter at all.
30:22It's kind of...
30:23Am I wasting?
30:24No, not at all.
30:25Even if there's multiple plants in there, you can still divide them out later.
30:28So you don't have to worry about it too much.
30:30The native grass that will grow from these tiny seeds will one day become part of the whole garden.
30:36We make gardening sound a lot harder than it is just so people are impressed.
30:40You know, gardening is so therapeutic.
30:42You know, you do it and you just forget about everything.
30:45Oh, yeah.
30:46It's almost like meditation to us.
30:47You just get in the zone and...
30:48I know.
30:49It's exactly what I want to do when I'm in my garden.
30:51Yeah.
30:52But you get to do that for a living.
30:53Yeah, I know.
30:54It's great, isn't it?
30:55The canvas that you have here, you've got carte blanche to do whatever you want.
30:58It's a historical site, walled garden.
31:00Yeah.
31:01You know, we hear about these people, you know, we read about them in history books.
31:04Yeah.
31:05And here you are.
31:06I know.
31:07And in 100 years, 200 years, we'll be reading about you, you know, and what you've done here.
31:10Yeah, I know.
31:11Again, like, it's one of those things I probably won't fully appreciate it until I'm probably
31:15retired.
31:16I'm going, I probably should have looked at that a bit nicer at the time, but I should
31:18look at it.
31:19It's like everything.
31:20Well done, man.
31:21Well done.
31:22I'm done.
31:23Thank you very much.
31:24Come spring, my garden will look just as good.
31:29You just wait and see, Kieran.
31:36I love visit like this.
31:37I get to combine my love of history and my love of gardening.
31:41What's more, I got a crash course in horticulture back here, and happy days.
31:45I'm leaving Johnstown Castle so inspired and the warm welcome to the southeast of
31:56Ireland continues as a cycle through the town of Enniscorthy
32:00the edge look at this the best thing about cycling is a slow pace I really get to take in the views
32:17I'm so glad to be on the road again for another Irish adventure I'm feeling so relaxed I don't
32:26even mind the rain it might be hard to believe today but Wexford sunny climate means it's well
32:34known for strawberry cultivation and I can feel a pit stop coming on I definitely want to taste
32:40some sunshine the Willock family has been growing fruit in a Wexford countryside since
32:49the 1950s this four-side stand is a perfect stop on my cycle so I've been told that Wexford is the
32:59home of strawberries and I can't believe it because I've just been drenched how do they grow here where
33:05is the Sun we're in the sunny southeast we definitely get more sunshine than any other
33:09county in Ireland really yes apart from today yeah but like we're famous for 40 shades of green
33:14and that's why we have 40 shades of green yeah I tell you I don't care that it's raining you know
33:18I'm on an Irish adventure I'm happy I'm here for the challenges with my bicycle and to stop and meet
33:23people like you and have strawberries and all sorts of other delicacies well there's no
33:26point in us growing strawberries if there's nobody to eat them yeah no for sure can I have one
33:31absolutely absolutely oh they're good I'm surprised by how sweet they are so when were these picked oh I
33:42personally picked all was at about 1 o'clock today well it's all school farming isn't it yes absolutely
33:47can I have another strawberry oh absolutely thank you very much because they are very very good
33:52actually perfect fuel for my cycling very sweet thank you delicious thank you well lovely to meet you
34:04listen thank you very much in thanks for stopping to meet you thank you very much bye take care bye bye bye bye
34:10it's great to see the connection people have here with their produce just like with the oysters earlier
34:17it's life-affirming and makes me want to experience so much more
34:21my next destination on my bike is going to take me further back into islands
34:40ancient past to the age of the Vikings and Normans in Wexford in the Irish National Heritage Park
34:47Wexford town itself began as a Viking port connecting Ireland to Britain and Scandinavia
34:56so this is a representation of a Viking longhouse and this particular building is a direct reconstruction of a longhouse we've discovered on the
35:18bright streets of Wexford town so how many people would be living here I mean it's quite big it's for a single family but that really anywhere from four to sixteen people during the Viking age in Ireland
35:25so here you've got some weapons and different shields so what are they a couple of different time periods really so all these represent what would be
35:32about 9th to 10th century Viking weaponry so the Vikings would commonly use axes an awful lot in combat so they like to camp as much as
35:39possible and to save space they brought a camping axe with them and that same axe would be used in raids and combats afterwards
35:46but we were surprised when they invaded our shores yeah very surprised I mean people couldn't cope with them
35:54a big a big factor of their success came from that surprise because Viking longships were some of the first ships to be able to work with
36:11the keel and had a shallow draft they could literally beach their ships and launch hit and run attacks and that came without warning so by the time help arrived it was too late they were already gone and that was pretty much
36:21time help arrived it was too late they were already gone and that was really
36:24one of the main reasons for their success particularly within Ireland I
36:28could ask you a question you've got such piercing blue eyes are you a direct
36:31descendant of the Vikings of the Vikings on my mother's side so I am are you yeah
36:35yeah so I'm here in Ireland the Vikings were divided into two categories right
36:40so we have what we call the Fingal and the Dovegall so the Fingal came in and
36:44they traded with you and they basically made you wealthy and then the Dovegall
36:47came in and burned your house and stole your dog and all that and which one were
36:50you so I'm coming from the Dovegall so that is now represented in Ireland as
36:55Doyle so anybody with a surname Doyle which is my mother's maiden name that is
37:00they directly descended from the Dovegall so I mean I could be fooled looking at
37:03you like that it's like you are straight from the past you know thanks the hat
37:06helps yes
37:12I'm feeling so immersed in Wexford Viking history I feel I could easily become one
37:18of them
37:36okay okay I'll come down but these Vikings and Normans have left such a mark on this
37:42part of Ireland it's odd not to get caught up in it all don't you think
37:46the Vikings were the first people to build towns in Ireland and really introduce the idea of urban
37:53society so the first hands they built would have been Waterford Wexford Dublin Cork and Limerick and
37:58they're still some of the biggest urban centers in Ireland today so the influence is really far
38:02reaching it's really part of Irish history isn't it absolutely even the maps of Wexford are the same
38:07layouts of the streets the Vikings had set down when they first built their town here they really have
38:12put their DNA into Ireland figuratively and literally I can see it look at your eyes thank
38:18you axes well a symbol of a Viking warrior strength so it's time to put my abilities to the test do you
38:28throw axes often sometimes sometimes yeah yeah would you like me to show you no I'm okay I've done it
38:33before let's have a competition you're on all right who starts you go first okay then nice
38:40I probably shouldn't celebrate too early I'm up against a real-life Viking
38:55I'm not competitive at all
39:03you've won well done congratulations thank you gold medal
39:16the Vikings have had a lasting impact on County Wexford and my last destination here is the hook
39:30Peninsula which served as a gateway for the Viking invasions these rocky coast have been guarded by this
39:41lighthouse for centuries and I for one I'm enjoying the dramatic coastline and feeling the elements as
39:50I approached the lighthouse on my bike oh wow the landscape is so different here it's so windy and
40:02cycling against the wind is really really tough it's like I'm going uphill it's so fresh it's so wild
40:11and the sea is really rough I can taste the salt on my lips it really is epic
40:24oh I can see the lighthouse from here what a historic building
40:31the sea swells down below feel like the perfect conditions to get a sense of the importance of this
40:36lighthouse over centuries of navigation I am Tracy is my guide here at hook lighthouse hi Tracy hi Fred
40:57how are you I'm very good thank you good good welcome to the whole playhouse I'm looking forward to the
41:02visit in the fifth century the original beacon of burning coal warned ships entering the harbour but
41:11hook lighthouse has been fully automated since 1996 and is operated remotely from the commissioners of Irish
41:19lights in Dublin until 1984 the lighthouse was staffed and is quite a climb up to the keeper's quarters
41:27well what an incredible building look at these walls how old is this we are actually over 800 years
41:36old piece of history you are standing in right now you've probably heard of the lighthouse in La Coruña it
41:44was built in Roman times and has the amazing name been called the Tower of Hercules now if you read some
41:49places they say it's the oldest operational lighthouse in the world but it has been hit by so many storms that's
41:54how to be rebuilt because we have not been touched structurally since today it was finished being
41:58built we have the title the oldest intact operational lighthouse oh wow so that's why the intact is very
42:04very important very good very good and I have to be honest with you our walls downstairs in our coal store
42:15are four meters thick this is going nowhere is it no it's going no it's definitely not so of course it's
42:21upstairs then on the top level just under the lantern room is where the fire would have been
42:26lit so that's how they did it at the time they were lighting fires that's what it was very top just a
42:31fire just a fire and there has been a light burning here since the fifth century with the raised brazier out
42:37on the cliff to give warnings to the seafarers so who built it William Marshall he commissioned the build of
42:49the tower in 1212 around that time so it took about took about 15 years just over 15 years to build the
42:56tower and who was he William Marshall he actually was known as the greatest knight of all time he had
43:02good ego as you can imagine it with the title like that and he served under five kings in England and he
43:07was Richard the Lionheart's bodyguard and he had a huge amount to do with the signing of the magma carta
43:12which of course had a massive ripple worldwide effect and how do you feel working here I mean
43:17you're like the custodian of this lighthouse which is just centuries old I love I absolutely love it I
43:22had to have a passion for lighthouse even before I started working here so you're a lighthouse geek
43:26absolutely can we go higher Tracy I'd love to see the view you're more than nothing thanks up here on top and
43:41seeing the power of the sea below I can really understand the need for the hook lighthouse over
43:47the past eight centuries stunning isn't it just beautiful blow the cobwebs away it does it really
43:55does I have no idea where I am I mean with all this fog air I know I've just lost my bearings I know you
44:03would and also the fact we have an anti-clockwise staircase in the tower yeah that does not help oh
44:07it does not help I didn't think about that it is an island over there that's actually Watford County and
44:16actually further on from that opinion it's not as clear as it sometimes is but you would see a
44:20mountain range called the Kumaras and they actually divide us from pork if you go straight this
44:24direction it's you're going to go straight to the US really and of course you've heard the expression
44:33by hook or by crook yes it is believed to have originated here really Oliver Cromwell say he's going to
44:38take water for it by hook or by crook you are standing in hook and crook is actually a small village of
44:43water for it oh interesting there you go a little bit of history for you a little bit of history for
44:49you we had a storm here a couple of years back we actually had waves measured up 19 and a half meters
44:57he's hidden tower good job they built it sturdy exactly exactly and please got here for another good
45:02while as well I've had a great time finding out so much about the history of this ancient county in
45:19the south-east of Ireland it's a really rich past rooted in conquest battles but also really strong
45:28work ethics and family values and for me this was exemplified by Tony the oyster farmer who worked for
45:34three years to learn his trade and start his business for me this is the Irish spirit this is
45:39the story of great and resilience and about going no matter what the cycle challenge the top-of-sleeve
45:47culture was epic what a great challenge to kick off my journey around South East Ireland and what a view
45:54this is only the beginning of my tour the fed
46:09you
46:24you
46:26you
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