The North Atlantic Walk, Surfing, Secret Caves, and Wildlife | Up Close

I'm right in the midst of the Camel Estuary and I'm heading out towards the sea. Proper windy Atlantic walk. Here we come. The best way to see the true landscape of Cornwall and Devon is on foot. Britain is a walker's paradise and these two counties are packed with beautiful walks. Just another epic cove in Cornwall. With over 5,000 miles of footpaths, you've got to follow the wonderful curves of the river. And some of the best weather and terrain anywhere in Britain. Just makes my heart sing. I'm with you. From the rugged rocks of Dartmoor to the subtropics of the Isles of Scilly. This archipelago is so special. And on route, I'll be seeking out the county's most unforgettable views. This is thought to be the oldest surviving beacon in the British Isles. Sampling some of the region's most famous food and drink. Cheers everyone. The jam first or is it the cream first? Extreme painting. And meeting the people. Got it. Good work. That make Cornwall and Devon so unique. So walk with me. It's going to be an adventure you'll never forget. Padstow is at the center of the Cornish fishing industry. Generations of Padstonians have fished these waters. And even though this is a tourist honey trap, the fishing community here dates back centuries. This historic fishing port is the starting point for my North Atlantic Coast walk. An area that I love for its ever-changing landscape and its connection to the sea. The five mile walk sets off from the harbor, tracing the camel estuary north to the wild Atlantic coast at Stepper Point. Where it sweeps along the coast path all the way round to the surfers beach of Trevone. Hey, Jack, how are you? Welcome to Padstow. Thank you very much. I like your office. It's nice, isn't it? Yeah, it's a good spot to be. Chef Rick Stein opened the seafood restaurant here more than 40 years ago. His son, Jack, also has a passion for food and was born and raised here. How conscious were you when you were a little lad that your dad's business and all of the restaurants were such a central part of Padstow, really? I mean, we understood how important the business was to our family, but actually, as you grow up and as Padstow's kind of increased in popularity, lots of other chefs have come here. We've got Michelin star restaurants here now. The fishing industry, the tourism industry, everything's uplifted by this lovely, pretty little fishing port. And, you know, we're very lucky. And of course, this is a gateway to the rest of the world, really, from a fishing point of view. Yeah, exactly. I mean, there used to be a train to London from here. And that's how important it was back in the day. But yeah, the fish landed here. It goes everywhere. I mean, somebody sent me a picture from Shanghai of a Cornish crab in a vending machine. That's just wrong on so many levels. No. Have you spent a lot of time at sea? No, I'm a surfer. I just love it. I love, love the sea. I've got a massive passion for it. There's a natural connection between the sea, fishing and surfing, which this area's really good for. And I think a lot of fishermen surf and a lot of surfers like to catch fish, but I like to catch fish from the land. And I don't ever catch any, so I'll be honest, I wouldn't want to be on a trawler. What we do is fairly simple compared to what they do. And to be honest, when you have ingredients like this, you don't need to mess around with it too much. Just a bit of fish, a bit of lemon wedge, job's a good'un. Jack and I are walking around Padstow Harbour to meet fisherman Flea, who's been up since the crack of dawn catching a fish for my supper, which chef Jack has kindly offered to cook for me at the end of the walk. So you guys have known each other forever, then? Yeah, Flea's dad, he was catching salmon into the restaurant like, yeah, 40 years ago. So Flea's been... He used to be a commercial fisherman on the trawlers, but now he's doing this line caught sea bass. It's real sustainable and it literally comes straight in here and the restaurant's just there. And did you used to go out on the boat with him and stuff? He's never taken me out. He won't show me his tricks. He's like, you know... He's keeping them to himself. Yeah, he is, yeah, you know. They do like to hide, you know, keep certain things hidden. It's good that there's a bit of mystery, though. I mean, you know, this is their livelihood and there's a real skill to what they do. So I guess, you know, that's an important part of it. Hello, Flea! How are you? You all right? Did you get anything? Yeah, a couple, Jack, a couple nice ones. Show us your fish then, Flea, come on. Are you going to give us any secrets what you caught it on? I caught these on a lure, Jack, but that's as far as it goes. I love it! Oh, wow, look at that. Oh, gorgeousness. We'll take your full catch. That's very ideal. Thanks, mate. Think it's worth getting up for? Yeah. He's a happy man, look. So, come on, when he's not listening, tell me the secrets. It's all about the lure, Julie, you know. Lure. It's a bit like life, really, isn't it? It's all about the lure. That's right, yeah. Right, my passionate luring people, I'm going to leave you, carry on with my walk and I will see you later for dinner. Thank you, Flea, for catching my dinner. Have a nice day. Enjoy your walk. I will. I will, I will. Thank you. I'm leaving Padstow's picturesque harbour and heading through its crooked, colourful streets. Lovely little cottages. Very nice door. I'm walking up to the Priddow Estate, home to one of the jewels of Cornwall, a grade one listed Elizabethan mansion called Priddow Place. I feel like I need a bonnet and some heaving bosoms. Since its completion in 1592, 14 generations of the same family, the Priddow Bruins, have lived here. What a pad. Today, it's the home of Elizabeth and Peter. Nice touch, the Bentley. The Priddow Bruins are the custodians of every step of land that I'll roam across for the rest of this walk. So I'd better be nice to them. Apparently, this is the original door that dates back to 1592. It's still here. Elizabeth. Hello. Nice to see you. Lovely to see you as well. Welcome to Priddow Place. I am very excited to be here. Thank you so much. Before we get through to the dining room, I must show you the... Oops, the key's got stuck. This is the original. No. Yeah. It's wonderful, isn't it? That is really wonderful. And the lock does still work. Maggie Thatcher came, wanted to have that. Did he lock her out? He did. You're absolutely right. And there were her security men outside in their Bermuda shorts, trying to look natural. So Peter said, I've got the Prime Minister inside and a security man. That's funny. Anyway, come on in. Thank you very much. What a beautiful room. It's not bad, is it? And who is this? That's Sir Nicholas Priddow, and we call him our founder member. Handsome man. He is, isn't he? Yeah, he is. They're all quite good looking. There are some in the middle that aren't so good looking. You can't say that about your family. Sorry, sorry. No, they're a very good looking family. My husband's very good looking. You are the 14th generation of the same family. You privately own this land, but you love it and nourish it and protect it. Absolutely not a jot of development on the land. The coast is sacrosanct to the estate. You'll see when you go on your walk just how unspoilt the landscape is and how stunning the views are across the camel estuary, over the deer park. I don't think I've ever been on a walk before where the land is privately owned. The whole stretch of land, which makes it very, very special because I'm looking forward to seeing how you have and what you have protected. One of the most precious things the Priddow Bruins protect are their much loved fallow deer. Come on. Here in the deer park, the walk takes you right past them. Legend has it, if the deer die out, then so does the Priddow family. Come on. So it's quite a responsibility for Jim, the deer keeper, here on the estate. No pressure. They're probably one of the most nervous animals you could ever wish to come across. But look how close we are. This is incredible. That's right. Yeah, yeah. You talk to them, they get used to your voice. And as you go past, you slow go. Everything you do, you do very, very slowly. Fallow deer are native to Asia and were introduced into the UK by the Normans around the 11th century. This herd is thought to be one of the oldest park herds in the country. How long have you been doing this now, Jim? Ten, eleven years. Yeah, ten, eleven years. And it is the best job in the world, I promise you. I get some people say sometimes, when you retire, I'd like your job. I said, I've got to come in with a zoomer frame. I'm still coming in. You're not going to get rid of me yet? No, no. I get far too much pleasure. It's the history more than anything, isn't it? Having them on these land because they've always been here. That's right. That's right. It is. It really is. Yes. And and I just feel proud. Look at this little fella, look. Yes, you are. Yeah, you keep very still. They're very inquisitive. Very. They are absolutely beautiful. So you can just imagine what they look like when they've just been born. And they play like children. They really do. With their alert senses of sight, hearing and smell, the fallow deer are quick to detect danger. It's unheard of to have deer come this close to you. They just don't do this. They don't. Jim, I can stay here with you all day and the lovely deer. I'll give you a bite of your bucket. Thank you for coming here. Oh, it's a pleasure. Absolute pleasure. What a treat. You can come back any time. Tearing myself away from Jim and his deer, I continue my walk north. The next leg is a two mile gentle stroll towards Stepper Point and the Atlantic Ocean. A track takes me across farmland to get back onto the coast path. Beautiful Padstow is behind me in that direction. I'm right in the midst of the estuary here, the camel estuary, and I'm heading out towards the sea, which you can see. This is just one of those walks. Whichever way you turn, you can't help smiling. There's a number of sheltered bays along the way, like this one, Hawker's Cove. These lovely little cottages are called pilot cottages. They were built in the middle of the 19th century to house the crews of the pilot gig boats that guided ships through the treacherous waters into Padstow Harbour. It's lovely walking on a beach, but it's nice to get a bit of height. This sandbar that you can just see emerging through the water here is the infamous Doom Bar. Legend has it that this is the result of a mermaid's curse. The mermaid of Padstow tried to lure a local lad, Tom Yeo, into the water. He resisted and then he shot her. It's a bit grim, isn't it? Her dying breath was to curse Padstow and the bar of doom. And over the years, many a good ship has floundered here. To this day, it's a place of peril. Don't cross a mermaid or don't cross Tom Yeo. There are still reported mermaid sightings today. I'll keep my eyes peeled as I climb up towards the headland at Stepper Point, where the wild North Atlantic coast awaits. I'm walking along the North Atlantic coast in Cornwall, which is dominated by the ocean. This stretch of the southwest coast path links the fishing port of Padstow with the surfer's beach of Trevone Bay. And the next leg will take me from Stepper Point to Roundhole Point. The shelter of the Camel Estuary is behind me now, and up here on the headland, it's way more wild. Oh, as soon as you're here in the Kissing Gate, instantly the wind hits you. That's the Atlantic. And this is Stepper Point. And it feels just so different. Whoo! Love it. The old tower here at Stepper Point marks the entrance to the Camel Estuary and was built at the turn of the 19th century to warn sailors about the doom bar ahead. Or maybe it was to warn the mermaids. I love this little walk. You've got the peaceful, serene beaches, which are basically like quiet dog walks. And then you turn the corner and you get this wild, windy, rugged bit of coastline, which is quite a bit more challenging. Do this a couple of times a week and you'll be fitter than Joe Wicks. Whoo! That's just life-affirmingly good. Just when you thought it couldn't get any more gorgeous. Beneath me is Butterhole, thought to be named after its rich yellow coloured sand. It's one of a number of spectacular coves along this walk, carved out by the full fury of the Atlantic. This stretch of coastline is unspoiled and you can feel the power of the ocean beneath you. This is pole dart country, so you're probably more used to seeing this landscape with a half naked man on a horse galloping through it. I did try and get him, but it wasn't available. Finally, I've arrived at Trevone Bay. This beach is a popular surfing spot and surfing is synonymous with Cornwall. It's as much a part of Cornwall's DNA as pasties and pole dart. Today, an estimated half a million people in Britain go surfing every year. To surfers like Tom Kay, it's a way of life. That's what you want, a loyal servant waiting for you. Who's this? It's Lotus. He's about 13. Oh! Always makes getting out of the water a joy. I mean, later, waiting for Dad to come back. Loyal. Loyal surf dog, yeah. Loyal surf dog. Now, some people are going to be watching this and they're going, anybody who surfs in this must be a little bit crazy. I mean, I think people get Bali and hot, sunny climates in Australia. I think there are some people who just think that, you know, British surfers, UK surfers are a bit crazy. But it's just magical, isn't it? It is magical. I mean, there's a lot more to it. There's all the history, the romance, the weather. There's a lot more. I've always found a lot more commitment to the sort of surfing we're doing over here. And I've personally found it much more rewarding. Surfing arrived in the UK back in 1962 when four Aussie teenage lifeguards sailed into Tilbury Docks and they headed down to Cornwall with their surfboards in tow. A culture was born. Ever since then, Cornwall and surfing have been inextricably linked. Yeah, it's a real community of ocean goers, a sort of shared passion, shared love. And for me, this, you know, this coastline is home. What is it about Cornwall that makes people want to come from all over the country and settle here and make it their home? For me, I suppose, the energy of the sea. You know, every day is different. And there's so much history and romanticism and you can just feel it. Good stories. Yeah, good stories. And, you know, round the fire, the pines, whatever. It's very much that kind of place. Are you hungry? Yes, definitely. Come on, let's feed you. You deserve it. Tom, Otis and I are heading up the beach where our very own chef, Jack Stein, and his mate, Ross, are firing up the barbecue to cook up the fresh fish that we caught this morning in Padstow. And what a tasty-looking menu. Right, hello. Hello, how are you? I'm good. I think Tom has gone to put clothes on. I kept chatting for quite a while there. How was your walk? It was fantastic. I mean, what a coastline. It's just beyond crazy, to be honest. Good spot. And I'm very, very, very much looking forward to this. So, this is the bass we had earlier on that Fleabourg in. Yeah. It's absolutely stiff, rigamortous. That's how fresh it is. OK. So, what I'm going to do is I'm just going to quickly ceviche the tail. Yes. And the top end, we're going to stuff with some dill and a bit of this, it's a Cornish pastis. It's like an aniseed-flavoured liqueur. Made just up the road by Tarquin's. I'm just going to crack on and start the ceviche quickly. Lovely. There we go. You can't get any fresher than this. This is really, really simple. So, just loads of salt, and then just dill goes... And anything aniseed goes really well with seafood. I love that. That's great. Yes. Shove it in. Shove it in. Just hairy dill fish, everyone. There we go. Just hairy dill fish. Lovely. Just a drizzle of oil. And then I'm just going to pass that one across. What I love about this dish is it's so incredibly simple. I mean, even I could do that. Yeah, I know. It's like... But with fish like this, that's what you want. You don't want to overcomplicate things. So, now I'm just going to make my ceviche. I'm going to skin it and then slice it really, really thin. So, I'm going to just put all of that into this bowl and then season it with some Cornish sea salt, lime juice and then just a bit of this... It's like a smoked chilli paste, like chipotle. And if you see, it's already starting to cure the fish. See, it's changing colour. And then just give that a mix. Ah, Ross, that's not bad. I'd say it's looking quite nice. It looks good, yeah. The flesh is looking good. Now the flambe. Stand back, ladies and gentlemen. Do mind your hairs. Whoa! Tom, come on in. Right, what I'm going to do, sort of plate you up a little one here. A nice cold ceviche for you. Sorry about that. Knock the tail up in the ceviche here quickly. That is great. Yeah. Amazing. Isn't that good? And I can tell you, picked it up this morning from the harbour. This is just amazing. You want to take this one off? Look at that bass. Looking good. There we go. Amazing, thank you. On your lovely surf, lucky man. So, I think this is going to be the freshest bass that I've ever had. The dill. Too easy. The dill flavour through that is just magnificent. Jack, what a treat. No worries. Having us dine, cooking me dinner on a beach at the end of a wonderful walk was absolutely lovely. I think Thi was right. The lure is strong in these parts. The lure is strong. Wherever you are in Cornwall, you're never more than 20 miles from the sea. Here on the North Atlantic coast, more than most places, you can really feel that connection. I'm walking the rugged rocks of Dartmoor in Devon. 368 square miles of wild gorgeousness. Experiencing myths and legends from hay tour to saddle tour. It just makes you feel good. Fresh flowers appear every morning. One of the most magical stories that we have on Dartmoor. This is it. I've completed the circle.