0:00:02 > 0:00:06The waterways of Britain are a wonderful world of their own.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09From the earliest times, we've sailed, rowed,
0:00:09 > 0:00:11paddled and steamed along them.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Whether travelling, trading, hunting, racing,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19or just having a good time,
0:00:19 > 0:00:23we've made a boat that's perfect for the job.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25I'm Mary-Ann Ochota.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28I like nothing better than getting out on the water.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Boats fascinate me - their design, their engineering,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35and what they tell us about the people of Britain.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38Coracles are a type of fishing boat used...
0:00:38 > 0:00:43The coracle is one of the oldest and strangest-looking boats of all.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46They're easily portable and thoroughly watertight.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51It's so simple that it can even be made out of twigs and bedsheets,
0:00:51 > 0:00:54but it's a boat that's helped save lives in desperate times.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59The history of Britain's boats is our history.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01This is Britain Afloat.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Our story starts in beautiful West Wales,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24which many would say is the heartland of coracles.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30The rivers Teifi and Tywi both have centuries of coracle tradition,
0:01:30 > 0:01:32and to this day, this ancient craft
0:01:32 > 0:01:35is still being used for commercial fishing here.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39This is a coracle.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42It's pretty much as simple as a boat can get.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45It's basically a thin wooden frame with a bit of a rim,
0:01:45 > 0:01:47covered in something waterproof.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51It's got one oar. It's basically a floating tub.
0:01:51 > 0:01:52I'm going to give it a go.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55This is literally my first time in a coracle,
0:01:55 > 0:02:00so it could all go terribly wrong quite quickly.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01OK.
0:02:03 > 0:02:04Ooh.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08It's deceptively simple,
0:02:08 > 0:02:13but I've got a feeling that, when you are in a floating tub...
0:02:13 > 0:02:14Ooh!
0:02:14 > 0:02:20..you end up turning in circles. SHE CHUCKLES
0:02:20 > 0:02:25Some say coracles have been around for anything up to 40,000 years.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27They're usually single-seaters
0:02:27 > 0:02:31and designed to be light enough to be carried by one person.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35So, given that this is such a simple little boat,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39it's been used by communities across Britain
0:02:39 > 0:02:42for an astonishing array of things -
0:02:42 > 0:02:45fishing, poaching, looking after livestock,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48crossing rivers, getting people safe.
0:02:48 > 0:02:54One man even managed to paddle across the Channel in a coracle.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Took him 14 hours. Rather him than me.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59How do you go forward? SHE CHUCKLES
0:02:59 > 0:03:02I can't do it! I'm not going anywhere.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06SHE LAUGHS
0:03:09 > 0:03:12Given they're such simple boats,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15you might think there's not much more to say about coracles,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17but that is where you'd be wrong.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19The earliest reference in the Welsh language
0:03:19 > 0:03:24that we know about coracles dates from about 1,400 years ago.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25It's a poem.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Now, my Welsh is not up to doing it in the original,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32but the translation goes as follows.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34"When thy father went a-hunting
0:03:34 > 0:03:37"A spear on his shoulder, a club in his hand
0:03:37 > 0:03:38"He would call the nimble hounds,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41"'Giff, Gaff, catch, catch, fetch, fetch!'
0:03:41 > 0:03:47"He would kill fish in his coracle as a lion kills its prey."
0:03:47 > 0:03:50You get a real sense of the kind of people using coracles -
0:03:50 > 0:03:53proper hunters, masters of the river.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Gelwi gwn gogyhwg
0:03:58 > 0:04:01"Giff, Gaff, daly, daly, dwg!"
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I'm on my way to the National Coracle Centre
0:04:04 > 0:04:07in the village of Cenarth on the banks of the Teifi.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11The centre was set up by Martin Fowler.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15A Londoner by birth, he married a local woman and settled here.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21He soon developed a love of coracles,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25so, naturally, he set up a coracle museum, as you do.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29- Ooh, Martin!- Yeah. - It's an emporium of coracles.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31- Look at this. - Coracles all over the place.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34The coracle is a truly international boat,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37but does its story begin in Wales?
0:04:37 > 0:04:41Most people who come here usually associate the word coracle
0:04:41 > 0:04:45with Wales, or the Celts, or the Ancient Britons,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49but I think there have been coracles in Britain since the last ice age.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52And, originally, a coracle probably looked more like this -
0:04:52 > 0:04:56just a basket you covered with one animal hide.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59So, the size of the animal decided the shape and size.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03- Something to get you across a river. - So, that's a very simple...- Yeah.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08- ..sort of solution to a universal problem, then?- Yeah.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12People came up with more or less the same idea all independently.
0:05:12 > 0:05:19So, in Tibet, they use yak hide and juniper wood.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22So, if you went to India or to Vietnam,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25you would use bamboo to build a basket.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27And that particular one was last used
0:05:27 > 0:05:31to take a family of people nearly 500 miles
0:05:31 > 0:05:36across the South China Sea, with refugees, to Hong Kong.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38- Wow. That's extraordinary.- Yeah.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42What's really surprising is how many variations there are,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46and you can even tell which region a coracle comes from by its shape.
0:05:46 > 0:05:47- So, Martin, looking round here... - Yeah.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50..it's clear that not all coracles are created equal.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52Why are there such different shapes?
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Well, these are all Welsh coracles,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58but they're all different shapes for different reasons.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02First of all, it depends on the water conditions -
0:06:02 > 0:06:05the river flow - or the materials you've got,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07or what you want to use a coracle for.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12You see, if you look at the coracle for this river,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14we have a completely flat front to it
0:06:14 > 0:06:16because we're using it with a net.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20The flat front here has become that shape on purpose.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22When you've got the flat front, first of all,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25you need to be able to paddle from the front,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27and then, when you're netting,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30you need to draw the net over the front of the coracle.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34If you were using a coracle in Llangollen, for instance,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37they were mostly designed for rod-and-line fishing.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41And this square shape made them so stable
0:06:41 > 0:06:45you could actually stand up in it and cast a rod and line from it.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49So, every river had their own version of a coracle
0:06:49 > 0:06:50to suit their river.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53During the 19th century,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56coracles became a common sight in Cenarth.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00If you think, 150 years ago,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04there might have been up to 300 coracles fishing this river.
0:07:04 > 0:07:10Now, up until probably 50 years ago, this was almost commercial fishing.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13So, a pair would be fishing through the night,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16even through the day, and they would have fish
0:07:16 > 0:07:18to go down to the railway station,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21go off to Cardiff or London or wherever.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- Wow.- Yeah.- Humble little coracle... - Yeah.- ..getting fish to London!
0:07:29 > 0:07:32One man who knows as much as anyone about coracles in Wales
0:07:32 > 0:07:34is Malcolm Rees.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37His family has been fishing the River Tywi in Carmarthen,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40just a short distance from Cenarth, for more than 300 years.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43It's in my blood. It's been, you know,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46handed from generation to generation.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50I can remember sitting here as a little boy.
0:07:50 > 0:07:56I've got a photo of me with my great-grandfather.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Over the centuries, the designs of the local coracle have been updated.
0:08:02 > 0:08:03To save the nets snagging,
0:08:03 > 0:08:07the traditional wicker top was replaced with a smooth rim,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10but that didn't go down well with the elders.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14My great-grandfather was totally against any change.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17When he first saw this type of coracle
0:08:17 > 0:08:19with a band on the top, he kicked it.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24He didn't like it. It wasn't how it should be.
0:08:24 > 0:08:25- Not a proper one?- No.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28And then, of course, we've changed now, evolved again,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31to bringing in fibreglass coracles.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33And, well, if he saw those,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36- I don't know what he'd say. - SHE LAUGHS
0:08:36 > 0:08:39It feels like the coracle is part of Malcolm's family,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41and he's now custodian of all the boats,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44nets and memorabilia they've amassed over the years.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46But it wasn't until quite recently
0:08:46 > 0:08:50that he decided to follow in the family tradition himself.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54My father always said it would come to me at one stage.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57For 20 years, it didn't. I wasn't involved in the fishery.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02I was living away, and I was too busy with work to become involved.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06And then, when I hit 40, I just sort of had this pang.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08"Look, I really need to take this up
0:09:08 > 0:09:11"because my father's not going to be around for ever." You know?
0:09:11 > 0:09:12And I tried to get all the knowledge
0:09:12 > 0:09:14that I could from him then, you know.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26I've come back to the River Teifi in the village of Cilgerran.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30- That is Mark Dellar. All right, Mark?- Hi!
0:09:30 > 0:09:31He's actually Australian,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35but he is as passionate about coracles as anyone.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37- I'm coming down.- Yeah, come on down.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42Mark's agreed to teach me to coracle.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46After my abysmal efforts earlier, he's going to have his work cut out.
0:09:46 > 0:09:47Swing your other leg in.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52Paddling is key. It's basically a figure-of-eight sculling stroke,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55which looks simple, but it isn't.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58I feel like it's the kind of skill where,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01after about ten minutes, you go, "Oh, yeah, I can do this."
0:10:01 > 0:10:06And then it takes actually ten years to really, really master it.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09- Everyone's got a slightly different style.- Ooh, God.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13- All that happens is you get told and taught the basics...- Yeah.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17..and you get in and you just find your own natural pattern.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21And after a while, I'm finding mine.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24So, Mark, how on earth did an Australian
0:10:24 > 0:10:26end up in West Wales coracling?
0:10:26 > 0:10:31I married a Welsh girl, into a Welsh fishing family,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34into the coracle family.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38Catrin's uncle taught me how to coracle fish,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41and to coracle, when I first came over.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Fell in love with it and carried on ever since.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46I can certainly see the attraction,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48but I'm not just here to mess about on the river.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Later on, Mark and I are going fishing.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53So, while you're practising that,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I think we probably should open the net and do a practice
0:10:56 > 0:10:58before we go fishing tonight. What do you think?
0:10:58 > 0:11:00- I think that's an excellent idea. - Yeah? OK.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03I'm barely managing to not fall in or drop the paddle.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05The idea of then holding a fishing net
0:11:05 > 0:11:07and then doing it all in the dark...
0:11:07 > 0:11:09- Yes. - SHE LAUGHS
0:11:09 > 0:11:11Yes, it'll be dark.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Here on the Teifi, coracle fishing generally happens at night,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17and the darker the better.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21What fish are you fishing for on the Teifi?
0:11:21 > 0:11:26Two types of fish we're licensed to catch is salmon and sewin,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28which is the Welsh name for sea trout.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Can anyone fish on the river?
0:11:31 > 0:11:36As an activity for coracle fishing, you have to be licensed, yeah.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38We're commercial fishermen,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41and there's only 12 licences left on the river.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Salmon stocks are low, so the Teifi netsmen
0:11:43 > 0:11:46are voluntarily releasing any fish they catch,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49but they're determined to keep the skills alive.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51So, now we wait for nightfall.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Coracles are ideal for night fishing.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Small, shallow and silent, the fish don't know they're there.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18This is so exciting. It's kind of spooky. It's dark.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21- It's beautiful, isn't it? - It is so quiet.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25So, you can sort of see the allure of the fishing, can't you?
0:12:26 > 0:12:27It's nice and quiet.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30It's the anticipation of possibly catching a fish.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33With our net gliding silently through the water,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36we work with the river's natural rhythm.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37We're just starting to go with the flow.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41- You can see it starting to pick up a little bit of pace.- Yeah.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44I thought that was my paddling. THEY CHUCKLE
0:12:44 > 0:12:47And we're not the only ones hunting tonight.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51- OWLS HOOT - There we go. The owls are out.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57- SHE LAUGHS That was magical.- It's beautiful.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Yeah, it might seem like you're alone on the river,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03but you're never alone on the river.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06We fish downstream, complete the run,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and then go again, carrying our coracles back to the start,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12like coraclemen here have done for generations.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18That was so special -
0:13:18 > 0:13:23to be out at night on the river fishing for salmon from a coracle
0:13:23 > 0:13:26in the way that people have done for hundreds of years.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29We didn't catch a fish tonight, but it doesn't matter.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31That was a real privilege.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42Wales can certainly lay claim to being the last bastion
0:13:42 > 0:13:44of coracle fishing in the country,
0:13:44 > 0:13:46but there are other parts of our nation
0:13:46 > 0:13:49with an equally proud coracle tradition.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51The River Severn runs from Mid Wales
0:13:51 > 0:13:55before flowing into the sea at the Bristol Channel.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58In the early 20th century, it's said there were more coracles
0:13:58 > 0:14:01on the Severn than any other river in the country.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07This is Ironbridge, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09That's the famous bridge over there.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11First bridge in the whole world
0:14:11 > 0:14:13to be constructed entirely of cast iron.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15It was built in the late 1700s
0:14:15 > 0:14:19when this place was rich in the raw materials for industry -
0:14:19 > 0:14:21iron ore, coal, and, of course, water.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27At the same time as technology that would power
0:14:27 > 0:14:30an Industrial Revolution was being developed here,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33the primitive coracle was to prove a lifeline.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38For one thing, you could use it to cross the river
0:14:38 > 0:14:41without paying the expensive toll on the fancy new bridge.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Talk to anyone around here about coracles,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52and before long, they'll mention the Rogers family.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55They were at the heart of the Ironbridge coracle community
0:14:55 > 0:14:57for centuries.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04We've been making coracles here, my ancestors, for 300 years.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06As well as making them, they would use their coracles
0:15:06 > 0:15:08to help in times of crisis,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11rescuing people and animals from floods,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14or even retrieving dead bodies from the river.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19Tommy Rogers, his son Harry, and his son Eustace,
0:15:19 > 0:15:24must have built hundreds of coracles from the 1800s right up to 2003,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26when Eustace died.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29Their workshop, built by Harry in the 1920s,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32still bears his mark - Harry Rogers, coracle man.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34Come on in and have a look.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Jude Pilgrim from the Ironbridge Coracle Society
0:15:37 > 0:15:40is going to show me round.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42- Mind the floor.- Wow. - It's not too safe.- Ooh.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Look at this. Wow!
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Since Eustace's death in 2003,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49with no-one in the family to pass the business on to,
0:15:49 > 0:15:50the shed has stood empty.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56- How fantastic.- Much as it was when they were building coracles in here.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59There were more tools, but it's basically the same shed.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04They used to leave little messages on the walls.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07"Severn frozen..." What does that say? Over?
0:16:07 > 0:16:11- "January 20th, 1940." - Yeah.- Brilliant.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14So, presumably, no coracling that month,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16but Eustace knew how to keep himself busy.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Eustace used to make these model coracles.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23- Oh, look at that.- And he used to be so pleased with himself
0:16:23 > 0:16:26if he could sell one to a tourist for £5.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28- SHE LAUGHS - Made his day.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32But the family wasn't always on the right side of the law.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Here's Eustace in 1972.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38Oh, bit of poaching, it was.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41It was the main industry here at one time, yeah.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- Oh, aye.- Tell us about it. - Oh, there was...
0:16:44 > 0:16:49There was about 15 of these poachers living like large off the land.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52With names like Hellfire Jack and Gunner Boden,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55they sound like outlaws from the Wild West,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57not the West Midlands.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00But for many, during the 19th and early 20th century,
0:17:00 > 0:17:01times were hard.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05Unemployment, cholera, and tougher fishing regulations
0:17:05 > 0:17:09meant it was a simple choice - poach or starve.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12The penalties were severe, but it was the coraclemen,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15with Eustace's grandfather Tommy amongst their number,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17who were at the heart of the poaching scene.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20They've played down with the policeman on occasion,
0:17:20 > 0:17:22but it hasn't always been one-sided.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24- No?- No. No, it hasn't.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27The poachers have had some scars to show.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29- Yes?- Many a time.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Matter of fact, one got drowned one time.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36You can imagine them floating down the river,
0:17:36 > 0:17:38getting off at a piece of woodland down there,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41picking up a few rabbits from the snares,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43and maybe a few pheasants.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45So, they weren't just stealing fish?
0:17:45 > 0:17:48They were stealing the kind of fruit of the land, as well?
0:17:48 > 0:17:49They certainly were,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51and that was what made the coracle so useful for them -
0:17:51 > 0:17:54cos they could escape and nobody could follow them.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56And they weren't just doing it for themselves.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59They were doing it for all the families in the area.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02And their distribution point was the barber's.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04So, they would go in - the men would go in -
0:18:04 > 0:18:08for a short back and sides, and the barber would say,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11"Something for the weekend, sir?" or something along those lines,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and he would tuck a rabbit or a pheasant under their coat,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17and the men would walk out with food for the weekend.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21We can still meet people today who have said,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23"I wouldn't be alive
0:18:23 > 0:18:26"if the coraclemen hadn't put food on our table."
0:18:26 > 0:18:30CHURCH BELLS CHIME Although Eustace's death in 2003
0:18:30 > 0:18:33signalled the end of the Rogers dynasty,
0:18:33 > 0:18:35their skills haven't vanished entirely,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38and there's evidence of them some 30 miles away
0:18:38 > 0:18:39on the River Teme.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43This is the village of Leintwardine in Herefordshire.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Having grown up here, Peter Faulkner knows every inch of the place.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51But as an adult, he was inspired to explore the river,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54and he reckoned a coracle might be the best way to do it.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56HE HUMS
0:18:56 > 0:18:59I thought about making a canoe or building a raft
0:18:59 > 0:19:01and just have some fun.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04And then, somehow - I don't know how, I can't remember -
0:19:04 > 0:19:10but, obviously, the coracle idea bubbled up out of my subconscious,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13and I thought, "Yeah, perhaps that's the thing to do it in,"
0:19:13 > 0:19:16so made my own.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Having never made one before, though,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21he sought out the help of a local coracle maker.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Yep, you guessed it - one Eustace Rogers of Ironbridge.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28So, I went to Eustie.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31I got my notebook, took drawings, measurements, photographs,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33and then came back.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36I had to visit him a couple of times when I got into trouble
0:19:36 > 0:19:39and couldn't sort of work out what was going on.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Leintwardine and the River Teme play important roles in Peter's life,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and that's certainly reflected in his boats.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48He's even named them after the river.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53This is a Teme coracle, yeah.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56It's got the name - it's got Teme - on it.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59That's my logo, my trademark - the swallow.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02It's not just about giving it a special name, though.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04All the wood comes from this area, too.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07That's viminalis - Salix viminalis -
0:20:07 > 0:20:12which is a common osier, and that suits what I do very well.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14You need more then wood to make a coracle, though,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17and when Peter visited Eustace, something caught his eye.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21He made the traditional Ironbridge coracle -
0:20:21 > 0:20:23made from lath covered with cloth and tarred.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Very lightweight.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29But also, what I saw there, I saw one covered with cowhide.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33You know, and when I saw that, that was it.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35"I've got to make one of those."
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Vegetarians, look away now.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Come off the beast today.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46About there.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51So, that's 7ft long, and that will do for a round boat.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55It takes Peter more than 50 hours to make each coracle,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57but it's worth it.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00When I've finished a boat, I look at it and think,
0:21:00 > 0:21:02"Did I really make that?"
0:21:02 > 0:21:04All it is is a pile of sticks and a cowhide
0:21:04 > 0:21:07stuck together in a certain way,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10but, yeah, it never ceases to thrill me, really.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14And getting them on the water, of course, they come to life.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16We're part of it.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19Nature can live without man, but we can't live without nature.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Peter's boats are labours of love, but with a bit of help,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29anyone can make a coracle.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30Since Eustace died,
0:21:30 > 0:21:34Terry Kenny's been Ironbridge's premiere coracle maker,
0:21:34 > 0:21:35and he's going to help me make
0:21:35 > 0:21:38my very own traditional Ironbridge coracle.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44And that is particularly handy because I'm going to be needing one.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48It turns out that Ironbridge host an annual coracle regatta,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51and I am going to be taking part.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53To get me started, Terry's already made the gunwale -
0:21:53 > 0:21:56the circular rim - and put the seat post in,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58but there's still plenty for me to do.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02First job is to make the frame using ash laths.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06Reasonably gentle, but not quite so critical as the central...
0:22:06 > 0:22:09- Oh, OK. That much? - That's about right, yeah.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14The whole frame takes 25 laths, so I usually work on the basis of 30
0:22:14 > 0:22:16cos you're going to break a few anyway.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21You do a lot of this by eye, and to do that,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24you have to use a special coracle maker's stance...
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- SHE LAUGHS - ..which is thus.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31- You see?- Whilst I might have perfected the stance,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33I'm not sure about my handiwork.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37- It's a bit rubbish, isn't it? - It's...- Yeah.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40I'd been expecting to use traditional woodworking methods.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42A genuine medieval power drill, that.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44SHE LAUGHS
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Well, I think you can certainly see what it's meant to be.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51Time to fit the cover.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55This isn't going to be one made with an animal hide.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03We're using a modern fabric, but you can use anything, really.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09People down here at Ironbridge apparently used to use bedsheets.
0:23:09 > 0:23:10Old bedsheets.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13And as long as you put a platform for the tar,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15that's all you need, isn't it?
0:23:17 > 0:23:20So, actually using whatever material you've got to hand...
0:23:20 > 0:23:22- Whatever you've got to hand. - ..is the traditional way,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24even if it's quite a modern material?
0:23:24 > 0:23:26- Yes, that's right. - Excellent teacher.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28It's all about the teacher.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Well, I'd be prepared to go afloat in this.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32- SHE LAUGHS - Once it's tarred, of course.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34I'll have that. I'll take that.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37All that's left now is to paint the wood and tar the cover
0:23:37 > 0:23:39to make it waterproof,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42and that is how you make an Ironbridge coracle.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Much as the coracle is a working boat,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49it also has a spiritual significance.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Some even believe that Moses' basket was a coracle.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Throughout the centuries,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00these ancient boats have featured in poems, novels and ballads.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Folk singer Emily Portman finds them irresistible.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09How did you first get interested and inspired by coracles?
0:24:09 > 0:24:12I think that water and boats were definitely kind of
0:24:12 > 0:24:17in my thoughts when I was writing for the album, Coracle.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21And also I've been writing with a brilliant poet from the Wirral
0:24:21 > 0:24:25called Eleanor Rees, and she wrote a poem that references coracle,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27and I thought, "What a beautiful word."
0:24:27 > 0:24:31And also the song that I wrote called Coracle
0:24:31 > 0:24:35is about the birth of my first daughter,
0:24:35 > 0:24:40and so the imagery of the coracle - a little bit like a nest,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42a little bit like a cradle - really struck me.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47And it's a rich seam for a writer, for sure.
0:24:47 > 0:24:53# They took away my Bonny
0:24:54 > 0:25:00# And what did they leave me?
0:25:00 > 0:25:05# No cuckoo bird to sing me lies
0:25:05 > 0:25:12# No wicker doll with painted eyes
0:25:12 > 0:25:17# To dandle on my knee
0:25:19 > 0:25:25# Only empty-cradle arms
0:25:25 > 0:25:30# Only empty-cradle arms
0:25:30 > 0:25:36# Bent as the willow tree
0:25:36 > 0:25:42# A coracle of skin and hair
0:25:42 > 0:25:47# That's never known the sea. #
0:25:50 > 0:25:52There is something hauntingly beautiful
0:25:52 > 0:25:56about these little boats that really consumes the people who use them.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59But times have changed,
0:25:59 > 0:26:03and coracles will never again fill our rivers as they once did.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13But every so often, you can get an idea
0:26:13 > 0:26:16of what a busy coracle river might have looked like.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19This is the Ironbridge Coracle Regatta.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23People have come from far and wide for a day of paddling and racing,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27and I get to see my very own coracle for the first time.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30- I've finished her off for you.- Wow!
0:26:30 > 0:26:34- Terry, she's beautiful. - Isn't she lovely?- Oh, thank you!
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Really amazing.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40- Oh, you've even put my initials on there.- Of course. Of course.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Look at that.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47I hope she's watertight. Let's see how I get on.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49The girl's a natural. She's a natural.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51That's very good.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55This is all very nice, but now it's time to get serious.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57I feel nervous.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59I've been entered into some of the races,
0:26:59 > 0:27:01and because I've done a bit of coracling before,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04I've been classed as an intermediate.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07It's really hard work,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10and it doesn't help when you get stuck under a tree.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15SHE LAUGHS Oh, I'm going downstream!
0:27:15 > 0:27:17I may not have won any of my races...
0:27:18 > 0:27:20..but at least I stayed dry.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26It's time for the experts to show us how it's done,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28and I have the honour of starting them.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Ready, steady...
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Look at them go!
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Who'd have thought a coracle could go so quickly?
0:27:40 > 0:27:43But, then again, the coracle is full of surprises.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49These simple boats have proven themselves versatile, dependable,
0:27:49 > 0:27:54and an awful lot of fun for centuries, if not millennia.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57I reckon they'll keep going for another few centuries still.
0:28:01 > 0:28:02Good effort.