hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... at least eight people have died and dozens are hurt, after a crowd surge on the opening night of a music festival

in houston, texas. the former uk prime minister sir john major has accused borisjohnson�*s government of acting in a "shameful" manner, over the owen paterson row. the organisation which enforces human rights laws warns it could take legal action against yorkshire county cricket club, as a second cricketer comes forward to say he was the subject of racist abuse while playing for the county. president biden has welcomed congressional approval of his trillion—dollar infrastructure plan as a monumental step forward for america. people living in england will be able to book their covid booster jabs a month in advance, under new plans to speed up their rollout. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show with christa larwood. coming up this week... the world's coldest cowboys. that was incredible.

she sighs. absolutely dashing across the water on horseback. ancient stained glass and very careful hands. i have been working here for 30 years and every time i see this, my heart sings. they are so beautiful. and how to get your old banger across a frozen lake. oh, it is worse than i thought. it sounds very bad. it's fixed russian—style. as the seasons begin to change, icelandic farmers drive their horses

down dales and mountains, to events known as roundups, so they can shelter them on farms during harsh winters. we have travelled to the north—west of iceland to attend one of the biggest roundups in the country, known as laufskalarett. we are here to find out why this spectacular icelandic tradition is more than an annual event, it is a way of life. icelandic horses. this breed perfectly embodies their homeland. they are rugged... ..tough... ..and absolutely stunning.

and these guys are not just any old horses, these are viking horses. their ancestors were ridden by viking warriors when they first came to iceland over 1,000 years ago. they can actually carry, they can pull, and they are excellent to sit on. so i think the vikings were clever, not only cruel, they were also clever. this is the only breed of horse in iceland, and it is an important part of icelandic heritage and culture. these are all purebred icelandic horses, and if they ever leave the country, they can't come back. haukur is a horse farmer, and every spring, when the lambing season is done, he and many other farmers let their horses spend their summers roaming free in the highlands and valleys of iceland. it is a very good

for their upbringing. they live there with big herds, and they learn the most in the herds, the behaviour and how to survive, to walk in the landscape, all this stuff. haukur is part of a collective of farmers who run a tour company called islandshestar, which gives tourist like me the chance to be a cold cowboy, and find out what makes these horses so special. 0n the back of an icelandic horse, looking out at this landscape, it is not terrible, is it? icelandic horses have been bred over the years to be friendly and trusting of humans, which means you can travel across the countryside in a unique fashion. the way we travel, when we are travelling with our horses is that we have this

heard of loose horses with us. they are there that we can stop and swap, you know, so we are always having a fresh horse so we can keep up the tempo, we ride a bit faster. we ride, stop, swap, go. we could go on forever, actually. the way to get the wild horses to come with you is, "up, up, up, up, like this." whoa! she laughs. most horses can trot, canter and gallop. but not every horse can tolt, a special gait that icelandic horses, have which does notjust get you across the harsh terrain, but it gets you across it quickly and comfortably. the tolt, it feels like you are sitting on a soft sofa. they are very, very smooth. only one foot at the time is on the ground so they are kind

of moving like a fast walk, actually. we reach the final leg of our ride and to complete it, we have to cross an ancient trail, which goes straight across this lake. but as we swap our horses in preparation for the task ahead, we receive a norse omen in the shape of a sea eagle. we have a lot of old beliefs here, superstitious, a little. the ravens know a lot, the eagle is very important, he is watching over us a little and bringing us luck. that is what i believe in, at least. and with that piece of good news, it is time to hit the water. that was incredible. she sighs.

absolutely dashing across the water on horseback, surrounded by these beautiful mountains. i think it's one of the most exhilarating things i have ever done in my life. whoo! as autumn moves out, signs of winter begin to move in, and even if the rugged icelandic horses need help to shelter from the coldest season of them all. every year, the atlantic farmers head to the highlands and into the valley to round up their horses and bring them home for winter. the horses are driven to lower ground, to places like this. this is laufskalarett, one of the biggest roundups in iceland. every farmer has a small piece of the paddock. you help each other out to put the correct horses in the correct part. this takes a while, but it works.

i think we can definitely fit this one in my hand luggage. due to covid, this amazing spectacle has seen fewer people able to attend this year's event. usually it is packed with people, tonnes of people, everybody drinking, laughing, singing. it is much more quiet right now. so it is a little bit different but it is cosy, it is nice. you've got all the nearest family and friends, so... in normal times, a huge ball would be held after the event, that thousands of people would attend. but in farm houses across the countryside, icelanders are still celebrating in their own ways, that their faithful equine friends have made it home safely for the winter.

all sing along. well, we are not in a great hall and no—one is drinking mead back there, but i think it is fair to say that when it comes to celebration, the old viking spirit is alive and well. next, we are off to canterbury cathedral in south—east england, where research has been taking place on its world—famous stained glass. it has been thought that the earliest of this glorious glass dates back to 1176, but could this new fact—finding mission reveals some surprising results?

canterbury cathedral is one of the most important places of worship in england and it is where archbishop thomas becket was brutally murdered in 1170, by supporters of king henry ii. for hundreds of years, it has attracted visitors from all over the world and one of his biggest draws has been its stunning stained glass. there is a magic about it. it changes all the time, with the light. 0ur wonderful early mediaeval stained glass windows were made by the superstars of their time, and they are truly some of the best in the world. behind the creation of these mediaeval masterpieces was the sophisticated and international artistic trade. most of the glass in the early and high middle ages was made in what is now northern france and southern belgium, that sort of region.

they would make sheets of glass and then pack them into straw and onto barges and just send them across the rivers and across the channel to england. craftsmen, master masons, travelled all over europe. there were no real borders. i am preparing to paint the face of christ, no pressure. she laughs. as well as maintaining and restoring the glass, leone's team carry out research. a detective story, combined with archaeology. these are historical documents. they obviously tell us about how people in the middle ages experienced their world. this panel here shows us the scene of the execution of eilward of westoning. and it is all depicted in great, graphic detail. this is a guy who had had his eyes gouged out and his testicles removed. it is really, really evocative of the scene. you can nearly hear him scream.

but for over 30 years, there has been an unsolved mystery over the cathedral's most famous windows, the ancestors of christ. we thought that the earliest of those dated to about 1176, but in the 1980s, a wonderful art historian, called madeline caviness, suspected these figures were much older. she thought, at the time, that nobody would ever be able to prove it. she was just going from a stylistic analysis. a team from university college london have been analysing some of the ancestor series. we use a non—invasive technique that sends a beam onto the surface of the glass.

this beam of x—rays interacts with the material and re—emit another radiation that is detected and processed by the instruments. studying the chemical composition of the glass, we are able to understand the periods in which it was produced and also its origin. so what we found out is that the glass from the ancestor series, it is older than we originally thought. so we proved an hypothesis put forward by madeleine caviness in 1987. choral singing. this new research estimates that the windows could be half a century older than previously thought, making them among the oldest in situ stained glass in the world. to now find that she has been

proved right is just so thrilling, you know? decades later. that is so wonderful, because that art historian is still alive, and to call her up and after all these decades later, to say to her, "you were right, and we could prove it," that is fantastic. aha! hello, madeline! wonderful to see you, congratulations on getting your thesis verified after all this time! it was absolutely extraordinary. rejuvenating, and octogenarians love to have early memories, _ and so it brought back so much. but the main thing is to realise |that this little tiny pebble that| . i put in the water so long ago, i 35 years ago, could so much later be taken up and ingeniously proved that i was right. i so it does feel good. you know, it has been a tough couple of years for all of us, _ and i've grown older. so absolutely extraordinary - experience, it means a lot to me. it really does.

in proving that these windows are older than originally thought, we now know that they were present to bear witness to thomas becket�*s grisly murder, and the spectacle of king henry ii begging for forgiveness. and this discovery is just the beginning. the research on this ancient glass continues. who knows what other secrets could be uncovered? still to come on the travel show... we follow an amazing road trip across the frozen surface of lake baikal, almost 400 miles long

and full of cracks. and as if that's not hard enough, here is the car they are doing it in. the ice is really thin, last year it was super thin and now this year it is even more thin. so don't go away. our next trip is to a literal hot spot, located in a lava field in southern iceland that is over 800 years old. the blue lagoon. it's a geothermal wellness spa. containing waters with supposedly extraordinarily rejuvenative qualities, the site attracts visitors from across the globe. iceland runs 100% on renewable energy. the blue lagoon is man—made and its waters are the byproduct of a nearby geothermal power plant. what is fantastic

about the blue lagoon, one fun fact about the blue lagoon, it is not actually blue, it is white, but the silica's reflection of the sunlight makes it appear blue. the waters flow from 2,000 metres below the surface of the earth. it's there, deep underground, that they are imbued with silica, algae and a whole host of minerals that are said to be great for your skin. so you could kind of call it, like, a fountain of youth here. it is really great for small lines and wrinkles in the skin, and it keeps you fresh and young forever. fountain of youth? brilliant! can't wait tojump in. of course i can't take these claims at face value, i'd really better try them for myself. 0h! she giggles. oh, this is a very odd sensation of being absolutely freezing on top, and very calm and comfortable down below. oh, it is lovely, it's like a bath. i suppose all i have to do now is lay back and wait to look 10 years younger. it's a hard job for some.

and to wrap up this week, we head to siberia, for the first in a three—part series following three friends from lithuania on a teeth—chatteringly cold 1,000—kilometre journey across the surface of lake baikal, the world's largest freshwater lake. and if that weren't challenging enough, they are doing it all in a communist—era car. speaker: ladies and gentlemen, welcome to irkutsk internationall airport, temperature is 27 degrees below zero... - i am karolis, sometimes we call me an explorer. right now, i am here with two other mad guys, and we are going to cross the deepest lake in the world, on ice, called baikal. to cross that lake, either way,

on foot, by car or motorcycle, is a huge challenge. we will do this in a russian car, which we will buy today for 800 euros. keep looking. it's older than i am, 1.5 litres, 75 horsepower, good tyres. spiked tires, and what about colour? colour is good. yellow. ok, i think we need to call him. i am calling regarding your car. you are selling the car? lada? jurgis, we can solve this somehow?

yeah, i have an idea. it doesn't look good. air conditioning working? sorry? air condition, yes, yes. owner, what about heated seats? thank you. what do we have here? oh, it is worse than i thought. we have to change it also. it sounds very bad. it is fixed russian—style. they laugh.

you want a challenge? you'll get a challenge. for me, the safety. is on the first place. we need to come back. home alive and healthy. we are already on i the shore of baikal. i feel a bit shaking. i am just hope it all goes well.

if the car breaks through the ice, guys, i am there. no, forget that, i don't care. is it water? 30 centimetres is not bad. not bad is 1.5 metres? the ice is really thin. last year it was super thin and now this year is even more thin. fingers crossed, we need to pray well now. baikal is baikal, it is serious. you cannotjoke with that. they laugh.

and we will be catching up with karolis and co on part two of their epic drive next week. that is unfortunately all we have time for this week, but coming up next time... wish me luck! we find out how the fast electric cars of extreme e are raising awareness of climate change. don't forget, you can catch up with loads more of our adventures on bbc iplayer, we are on social media too. just search bbc travel show on all the main platforms and you will find us there. but for now from me and all my new viking friends i've met here in iceland, it's goodbye.

good morning. not as cold as it was on the travel show, but a chilly, beautiful start across many areas, particularly england and temperatures widely below freezing to start the day. fast forward to this morning, completely different story. temperatures 15 degrees higher for story. temperatures 15 degrees higherfor somejust 2a story. temperatures 15 degrees higher for some just 2a hours previously. that's because not only we some mild air pollution but a lot more cloud. that cloud has been evident and the view from space this morning, you can see over much of the uk, all wrapped around an area of low pressure, quite active between us and iceland and as that gets closer, the wind strengthened through the day. whether front pushes through the site. wettest across parts of north and west scotland, rain becoming more abundant in northern ireland. that process will continue through the

morning and it will work south and east, much of england and wales dry, splashes of rain and drizzle clearing from the south and east. this afternoon, much will be dry, even brightness, while scotland and northern ireland brighten up in the second half of the afternoon, northern england, north and west wales turn wet. rain could become heavy at times on the west side of the hills. temperatures today, higher than recent days, but that will be tempered by the breeze which picks up further tonight. bear that in mind tonight. patchy rain and drizzle, that will clear later in the evening. rain continuing on and off through the night in the far north of scotland. showers for wales and the south—west. temperatures hold up well above freezing but tonight, fresher night than last night, partly because it's coming from a slightly different direction, north—west wind on the back of the pressure but because of the strength, that pressure clears away, the ridge of high pressure clears, strengthening wind in the morning.

damaging, 60,70, strengthening wind in the morning. damaging, 60, 70, 80 in northern parts of scotland. here we could see travel disruption too. when is further south though nowhere near as strong, it will be blustery, for the vast majority, sunshine around, more cloud around in the south. one or two isolated showers. showers continuing on the far north of scotland. best of the sunshine sunday afternoon, southern scotland, parts of north and eastern england. temperatures tomorrow down today and it will feel cooler in that wind as well. into monday, rain in the west, frosty but bright start in the east. bye for now.

this is bbc news ? these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. at least eight people have died, and dozens are hurt, after a crowd surge on the opening night of a music festival in houston, texas. former uk prime minister sirjohn major accuses borisjohnson�*s government of acting in a "shameful" manner over the owen paterson row. the organisation which enforces human rights laws warns it could take legal action against yorkshire county cricket club, as another cricketer comes forward to say he was the subject of racist abuse while playing for the county. on this boat the eos r 228 and the nayze are 206. —— on this vote, the

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