0:00:14 > 0:00:16City life. It's too much.
0:00:17 > 0:00:18Get me to the coast!
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Getting away from the daily grind
0:00:24 > 0:00:27and going on a seaside holiday
0:00:27 > 0:00:30is a ritual that we know and love.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Escape, adventure, rest or play...
0:00:39 > 0:00:43..they all offer a quick pick-me-up on our Holiday Coast.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Being by the sea is one of the greatest joys of my life.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59This is me aged nine on one of our annual family holidays.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Happy memories.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05But why do our salty margins make us feel good?
0:01:05 > 0:01:08As I head coastward from London for the answer,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12the team are on their own holiday quests.
0:01:12 > 0:01:18In North Wales, Miranda's camping. Her aim? To be at one with nature.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23Everybody's bedding down for the night, but not me. I'm going out.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29Ruth's investigating a crime that set the seaside alight.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31They were about to unleash a terror
0:01:31 > 0:01:33that would reverberate around the globe.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Oh!
0:01:36 > 0:01:41And aeronautical engineer Brendan Walker is flying high
0:01:41 > 0:01:44in pursuit of a holiday attraction with a difference.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Oh! Yes!
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Suitcase packed, knotted hanky optional,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54this is the Holiday Coast.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31As an island nation, our beaches are our playground.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35We revel in the pleasure of sun, sand and salty air.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41But are our seaside holidays doing more than making us feel good?
0:02:44 > 0:02:46I'm on a mission to find out.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Is our beeline for the beach biological?
0:02:50 > 0:02:55I'll be taking on as much city stress as I can
0:02:55 > 0:02:58before escaping to the coast to test the theory.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04The tidal Thames sweeps to the sea and back twice a day,
0:03:04 > 0:03:09but with eight million people ebbing and flowing through this city,
0:03:09 > 0:03:13London couldn't feel further from the coast.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16The rush hour, a heaving mass of commuters.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23It's bedlam! Even I, as a hardened Londoner, find this stressful.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30It's easy to see why we crave the peace and quiet of the beach.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35But is our hankering for a holiday all in the mind?
0:03:35 > 0:03:39I'm meeting human geographer Jon Anderson to find out.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44'He's got a nifty bit of kit to take care of the science.'
0:03:44 > 0:03:46By using a small piece of technology we can measure how your body
0:03:46 > 0:03:49responds to the different environments that you're in.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51It measures the electro-dermal activity of your skin
0:03:51 > 0:03:55- and it attaches to your wrist...- OK. - ..like a straightforward wristwatch.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57- So it's like a stress meter. - That's exactly what it is.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00OK, Nick. We've set you up now, so your mission, if you chose to
0:04:00 > 0:04:03accept it, is to go off into the city and see how your body responds
0:04:03 > 0:04:07to the different stresses that are around in an urban environment,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09and then we'll meet you later at the coast to look at the results.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11- See you later. - See you later, bye.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17HEARTBEAT
0:04:21 > 0:04:24'Above and below ground, London's packed.'
0:04:26 > 0:04:28It's going to be very interesting to see whether
0:04:28 > 0:04:32John's machine is detecting any stress levels yet.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37'But swapping two feet for two wheels is a true test of nerve.'
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Riding a bike around Trafalgar Square,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44my heart rate has gone through the roof.
0:04:44 > 0:04:45HEART BEATS FASTER
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Well, I wonder if that was stressful enough to show up on John's meter.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55'Right now I certainly feel the need to escape the city.'
0:04:57 > 0:04:58Next stop, the coast.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03I'm following a route London holiday-makers have been taking
0:05:03 > 0:05:05for centuries,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08heading out of the capital for Margate
0:05:08 > 0:05:10on the Thanet coast.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Southend-on-Sea will be my first stop.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18'But our love affair with the seaside started much further north
0:05:18 > 0:05:21'at Scarborough, 400 years ago.'
0:05:23 > 0:05:28This is a fascinating view, there's a hugely long sandy beach.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31You've got what looks like a spa, a bathing machine
0:05:31 > 0:05:33and some people floundering in the sea
0:05:33 > 0:05:36and the whole scene's been painted by this artist here.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40He's looking at what would then have been a very unusual scene.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44But it was royalty who made the seaside fashionable to the masses.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48This is George IV, who visited Brighton in 1783.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Where the King went, others followed.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58The holiday resort was born and quickly bred,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01fuelled by the growth of the railways.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07At Southend, I'm winding down with a shoreline stroll
0:06:07 > 0:06:09before meeting Jon for the test results.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15- HE SNIFFS THE AIR - The coast!
0:06:19 > 0:06:23'I'm eager to know if the difference between city and sea
0:06:23 > 0:06:25'is reflected in the science.'
0:06:25 > 0:06:28- Hi, Nick.- Good to see you again. - How was your walk?
0:06:28 > 0:06:29It was great, I feel very relaxed.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Shall I give you the stress-o-meter?
0:06:31 > 0:06:34- Fantastic. So we'll just take it off you there.- There you go.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36And we'll plug it into the computer and upload the data.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39When we see this depicted on this graph,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41we can see actually when you're just ambling through
0:06:41 > 0:06:43the streets of London it's pretty low,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45- we're talking less than one here. - Right.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48But as soon as you cross a heavy road,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50congestion, engaging with traffic,
0:06:50 > 0:06:51- you get an immediate spike.- Yeah!
0:06:51 > 0:06:54So we have two immediate spikes there, which are doubling
0:06:54 > 0:06:56and sometimes tripling the nervous energy that your body is
0:06:56 > 0:06:59giving off at that period of time.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01This point here coincides directly with you beginning to get
0:07:01 > 0:07:03on the London Underground.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07We're up to about three or four there, greater than what it was
0:07:07 > 0:07:09when you were crossing the busy streets.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11Something serious happens here.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14- Well, you're getting ready to go cycling at that point.- Right.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17And then we see an immediate peak when you actually engage with
0:07:17 > 0:07:22that traffic, and we are talking a serious rise. 10, 11, 12, 14.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24- How interesting.- And not simply
0:07:24 > 0:07:26is it going up in terms of its magnitude,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28it's peaking and troughing at a rapid rate.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Yeah.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35'But what about walking along a beach?
0:07:35 > 0:07:38'Are the sands at Southend really so soothing?'
0:07:39 > 0:07:42OK, so the data is saying here that there is something
0:07:42 > 0:07:45about the physical environment of the coast that is really
0:07:45 > 0:07:47calming for you, we're talking less than one here.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Your body was actually far less stressed than it was
0:07:49 > 0:07:50in an urban environment.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Does that echo in your own experiences of it?
0:07:52 > 0:07:57Absolutely, yeah, I mean I think it's the sound of the waves,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01hypnotic and soothing, it's the feel of the sand under my feet,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04it's the breeze. So I guess it's a combination of all of those
0:08:04 > 0:08:07natural elements kind of washing through the soul.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10What's interesting is that we have a cultural idea
0:08:10 > 0:08:11that going to the coast is good for you,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13but actually we can measure that here, we can put
0:08:13 > 0:08:16a quantifiable figure to the feelings that you've experienced.
0:08:18 > 0:08:19So, there we are.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24The desire to escape the daily grind and head off on holiday
0:08:24 > 0:08:30is a powerful part of our psyche, and, so it seems, our biology.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42# Down by the seaside
0:08:44 > 0:08:48# See the boats go sailing... #
0:08:48 > 0:08:51For most holiday-makers, getting away from it all
0:08:51 > 0:08:53is all that matters.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04But when we do, we're not alone.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Down by the sea, we're at one with nature.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13We share our holiday coast with a cast of thousands
0:09:13 > 0:09:16day and night.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21And there's nowhere better to see them than our campsites.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Miranda's taking to the great outdoors
0:09:24 > 0:09:27at Shell Island in North West Wales.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Her mission, to unearth a natural world that operates
0:09:31 > 0:09:33under cover of darkness.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39At the height of the summer,
0:09:39 > 0:09:44up to 3,000 visitors pitch their tents in these sand dunes.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47This is Europe's largest wild campsite.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53You know I've been camping for as long as I can remember. I've got
0:09:53 > 0:09:56a picture here of me and my mum and my brother. There was something
0:09:56 > 0:10:00really magical about just a thin sheet between you and the stars.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05But today I'm on a holiday with a difference, a dusk-till-dawn safari.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08So when my neighbours are wriggling into their sleeping bags, I want to
0:10:08 > 0:10:11find out what's coming out to play on the other side of the canvas.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18'We aren't the only ones making the most of the holiday coast.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22'With just a few hours before the sun goes down, I'm heading out
0:10:22 > 0:10:23'to get the lie of the land.'
0:10:26 > 0:10:30This place is a microcosm of every coastal habitat.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Half a square mile of wildlife heaven.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Shell is a tidal island,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48a stunning mix of sand dunes,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51salt marshes and mudflats,
0:10:51 > 0:10:53with a breathtaking rocky beach too.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57And the name?
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Well, in the spring up to 200 different types of shell
0:11:00 > 0:11:02can be found washed up on the shore here,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04and some of them are so tiny.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Just look how many you can fit on a 5p piece.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Nature's all around us here, but I'm on the hunt for the creatures
0:11:14 > 0:11:17that normally stay hidden on our holiday coast.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23'Richard Workman's family run the campsite.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26'They have proof that the rich pickings provided
0:11:26 > 0:11:30'by campers are a magnet for wildlife, like this weasel.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35'It has little body fat so has to feed frequently.'
0:11:35 > 0:11:37How brilliant is that?
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- And he just runs out. - MIRANDA LAUGHS
0:11:40 > 0:11:41It's a great place to hide.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- There he is, sticking his head up. - Bold as brass!
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Very cheeky little fellow.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Every day there's something different.
0:11:48 > 0:11:49You've got the badger setts.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52It's really unusual to have a badger sett right by the sea.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Yeah, you get people coming in about food
0:11:54 > 0:11:56getting robbed out of their tents.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58When you ask them was there any beer or anything stolen,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01they say no, and you know then straight away it's the badgers, cos
0:12:01 > 0:12:05people won't go into the tents and take food and not the beer as well.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08MIRANDA LAUGHS Haven't worked out how to get the tops off yet.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13'So, why have the badgers come here to the coast?
0:12:14 > 0:12:18'Wildlife expert Brian McDonald is taking me to their sett.'
0:12:19 > 0:12:23- What a lovely spot. - The badgers' summer home.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25It's amazing to be in this location, really.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Why on earth are they digging a sett here, right on the coast?
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Well, several reasons. It's easy to dig in this light soil, but more
0:12:32 > 0:12:35importantly cos the campsite is behind, so lots of grassland,
0:12:35 > 0:12:37lots of worms, lots of cockchafers
0:12:37 > 0:12:39and lots of campers' food.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43They're omnivores like us, and they do eat a big range of food.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45The Welsh name for them translates as earth pig,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48and you've only got to hear them snuffling and grunting. And the grip
0:12:48 > 0:12:53they've got in their jaws is just very reminiscent of pigs. Yeah.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Seaside badgers. That's one for the family album.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00But I'll have to go hi-tech.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Like any holiday-maker I want to make sure
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I go home with some holiday snaps to remember.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Infrared cameras will record their behaviour, as badgers come out
0:13:11 > 0:13:13between dusk and dawn.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16'I'll put another camera in the tent,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20'and in the morning we'll see what's been going on.'
0:13:26 > 0:13:29It's really quiet here on the campsite.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34Everybody's bedding down for the night. But not me, I'm going out.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39After dark this holiday coast comes alive.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42But what is the wildlife getting up to?
0:13:42 > 0:13:44First stop, the rock pools.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49I love going rock pooling, but I have never ever done it at night.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58I've got a UV light cos a lot of the things in the rock pools
0:13:58 > 0:14:01actually fluoresce under UV.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Loads of the seaweed just lights up.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08It's just the maddest thing, there's all sorts of things glowing.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Just look at these snakelocks anemones down here, look.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Woo-hoo! It's disco!
0:14:16 > 0:14:19This light show is caused by proteins.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22For the natural world it's just like the illuminations.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27And those little brown shrimp, they've just gone green!
0:14:27 > 0:14:29And his gut, orange.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35'The glow is created by chlorophyll in the algae shrimps eat.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42'Just a little way down the shore, another natural spectacle.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45'The performers? Sandhoppers.'
0:14:51 > 0:14:56Thousands come out at night to perform this aerial ballet.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Marine biologist David Wilcockson knows all about these tiny
0:15:01 > 0:15:05crustaceans. Amphipods living between shore and sea.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07They are everywhere, aren't they?
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Yep, in the weed line. OK.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13- Oh!- There you go. - SHE LAUGHS
0:15:13 > 0:15:15There's...There's too many!
0:15:15 > 0:15:17And why is it important they come out at night?
0:15:17 > 0:15:19At night-time of course there's no sun,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21so they don't dry out. They don't desiccate.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23And this jumping behaviour,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26I mean, if they were a human, how high would they be jumping?
0:15:26 > 0:15:32I did some rough calculations and I reckon about 25-50 metres,
0:15:32 > 0:15:33so they're pretty athletic.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Jumping keeps them one step ahead of predators.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44Flexing their curved tail propels them forward to cover huge ground.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49Around about dusk they move down and feed on all the washed-up seaweed.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53They're very important in clearing the beach of all this detritus,
0:15:53 > 0:15:54they're called detritivores.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12Sandhoppers aren't the only creatures that clean up at night.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16Badgers are opportunistic hunters, seeking out high-energy foods.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19But have they been caught on camera?
0:16:23 > 0:16:25SHE LAUGHS Oh, no.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Something's been at my biscuits.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Look at this, I've been robbed.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33I've got a good idea who that might be.
0:16:33 > 0:16:34Those are definitely all gone.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38SHE LAUGHS Brilliant.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Right, the moment of truth. I'm going to play
0:16:40 > 0:16:43some of the clips from the stealth cameras and see what we've got.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45SHE LAUGHS
0:16:45 > 0:16:48And we've definitely got badgers. Oh, yeah.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52Sniffing around, walking right in front of the camera.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56It's absolutely brilliant.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00We've got one or two larger ones who look very well fed.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Of course badgers are social mammals
0:17:05 > 0:17:08so they have quite a sophisticated range of vocalisation
0:17:08 > 0:17:11so they can communicate effectively with each other.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15There's a whole list of different sounds that they can make.
0:17:15 > 0:17:16There's a cluck...
0:17:16 > 0:17:18CLUCK
0:17:18 > 0:17:20..and that's made during play
0:17:20 > 0:17:23and when they're grooming each other.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27And then they've got this sound called kecker which is a long single
0:17:27 > 0:17:28harmonic sound...
0:17:28 > 0:17:30KECKER
0:17:30 > 0:17:33..and that's like a threat sound.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35It's great. Such an insight into what they're doing
0:17:35 > 0:17:38when we're all tucked up in bed.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Oh, he's going in the tent! He's going in the tent.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43SHE CHUCKLES
0:17:46 > 0:17:49There's one seeing the other one off. Like, "This is my territory,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51"this is my food source."
0:17:51 > 0:17:53SHE LAUGHS He's in the tent,
0:17:53 > 0:17:57he's grabbed the whole thing of biscuits and exited.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59Didn't even stop to eat them.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Perfect. Oh, that's so brilliant.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22Nature thrives on and sustains our holiday coast.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Witnessing magical moments, from a beach of shells
0:18:26 > 0:18:29to biscuit-eating badgers, makes us feel pretty good too.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Our coast is awash with spectacular campsites,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37but for me it's outside the tent where you see the real
0:18:37 > 0:18:42holiday attractions. Nature just quietly getting on with it.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09Nature's adorned our coast with a wealth of wonders.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Beauty is an obvious lure.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24Basalt columns in the Hebrides and the Giant's Causeway in Ireland.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32But some resorts create their own attractions.
0:19:34 > 0:19:40In the 19th century, every seaside town worth its salt wanted a pier,
0:19:40 > 0:19:45an elegant architectural extension stretching out into the sea.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49It took an impressive feat of engineering to connect
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Southend-on-Sea to the London holiday crowds.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01At almost a mile-and-a-half,
0:20:01 > 0:20:06this is the longest pleasure pier in the world.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17Why did they build this whopper HERE?
0:20:18 > 0:20:21The answer lies in Southend's geology.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29'The tidal estuary is made up of silt, sand and London Clay.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35'At low tide, more than a mile of this slippery stuff
0:20:35 > 0:20:39'lies between the water's edge and dry land.'
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Even at high tide the shallow bay is never more than six metres -
0:20:43 > 0:20:45or 20 feet deep.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Until the pier was built, large passenger boats carrying Londoners
0:20:51 > 0:20:56out of the city simply sailed straight past.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58The solution?
0:20:58 > 0:21:02An engineering triumph that trumped the troublesome geography
0:21:02 > 0:21:07and put this unapproachable place squarely on the holiday-makers' map.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15'But Southend didn't need a pier to take people out to sea -
0:21:15 > 0:21:18'they needed it to bring people in.'
0:21:20 > 0:21:24The boats might have sailed away, but the pier is no relic of history.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30'The locals keep it alive. Peggy Dowie's passionate about it.'
0:21:31 > 0:21:36It's a love affair really I've had with the pier, coming up here.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40Perhaps riding the train back, the noise of the train, the smell
0:21:40 > 0:21:43of the pier, and to walk right to the end and watch the boats go by
0:21:43 > 0:21:47it was like being in another world. You know, it was really lovely.
0:21:49 > 0:21:54Like any love affair, Peggy and the pier have had turbulent times.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58In 1980, the council actually decided
0:21:58 > 0:22:01the pier was to close indefinitely
0:22:01 > 0:22:04and so, you know, all of us that were there we said, "No we've got
0:22:04 > 0:22:09"to do something," and so my husband and I formed a committee.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12We put on a festival and once the word went out
0:22:12 > 0:22:14people were coming in from all over
0:22:14 > 0:22:18offering their help, and we stopped the pier from closing.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20You're looking as if you're loving being out here.
0:22:20 > 0:22:25Yes, we were both very happy to be doing what we could for the pier.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Do you think one of the reasons people love piers so much
0:22:28 > 0:22:31is that they're really quite romantic, aren't they?
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Well, they are, because people meet on the end of the pier
0:22:34 > 0:22:37and someone said that they were conceived on the end
0:22:37 > 0:22:40of the pier by their parents.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Did you spend time courting out here with your husband?
0:22:43 > 0:22:46We used to come up here quite often, have a little kiss and a cuddle...
0:22:46 > 0:22:50- NICK LAUGHS - ..in the corner, a few corners, you know?
0:22:50 > 0:22:54And it was lovely because in the evening sometimes
0:22:54 > 0:22:55when it was off-season
0:22:55 > 0:22:59you'd be quite cold and it was a good excuse to have a cuddle.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04The love of piers is powerful.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06You get to the edge of land
0:23:06 > 0:23:08and have the option to carry on.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12'Walking on water is otherworldly.'
0:23:15 > 0:23:19And what I love about this pier is not only its audacious length
0:23:19 > 0:23:23but what it means to the people of Southend-on-Sea.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26John Betjeman describes it perfectly.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30"The pier is Southend, and Southend is the pier."
0:23:31 > 0:23:35This extension into the sea made Southend
0:23:35 > 0:23:37a quick and easy destination for Londoners.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42'At the end of the pier I'm hitching a lift,
0:23:42 > 0:23:46'just as city visitors of old, for the next leg of my journey.'
0:23:47 > 0:23:50I'm heading for the main attraction, Margate.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57'All around our coast it was by sea that early holiday-makers
0:23:57 > 0:23:59'reached our first resorts.'
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Later, railways connected city and seaside.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Scots headed for Stonehaven.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Cromer pulled in Norfolk's crowds.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19On Cornwall's Atlantic coast there was Newquay.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24And in Wales, Llandudno took its share of the tourist trade.
0:24:27 > 0:24:34But for Midlanders wanting some sea air, Weston-super-Mare beckoned.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41A destination of dreams...
0:24:46 > 0:24:50..where generations first saw the sea and smiled.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57In 1963, the NSPCC filmed a trip from Birmingham.
0:24:59 > 0:25:0150 years on, the McArdles,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04sisters Ronnie,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Carole
0:25:06 > 0:25:09and the eldest, June, are recreating the experience.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15We were all excited and happy and clapping and singing.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19# My bonnie lies over the ocean... #
0:25:19 > 0:25:23We was a family that hadn't got anything, but we had each other,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25and you made your fun with your family.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29- We were playing in the street all the time.- Yeah, yeah.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33# Oh bring back my bonnie to me...
0:25:33 > 0:25:37# Bring back, bring back
0:25:37 > 0:25:40# Oh bring back my bonnie to me. #
0:25:41 > 0:25:44- Do you remember?- Yes!
0:25:44 > 0:25:48The day before we came I don't think any of us slept that night properly.
0:25:48 > 0:25:49- No, no.- No.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Because all we could think of is coming to the sea.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54We were just so excited, weren't we?
0:25:54 > 0:25:56- Yeah.- We'd never seen the sea.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04When you got to Weston it was like a different world. There was
0:26:04 > 0:26:07all this sea and all these children just running about,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09just really having fun.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16To feel the sea under our feet, it was absolutely lovely. So excited.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18You didn't think about how cold it felt or nothing.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20It was absolutely marvellous.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22You know, it was just huge.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24You didn't know where it was going to end.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28It was an adventure, weren't it, the donkeys?
0:26:28 > 0:26:31- I mean we'd never been near a donkey, had we?- No, no.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50We had our little buckets and spades,
0:26:50 > 0:26:51that's something else we had.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54We were just so happy with these buckets and spades
0:26:54 > 0:26:56cos a sandcastle to us was just like, you know,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58a wonderful thing to do.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03When we came here it wasn't just a day trip to us.
0:27:03 > 0:27:04It was a big adventure
0:27:04 > 0:27:05and a big holiday.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Weston's always special, isn't it, now?
0:27:09 > 0:27:11Oh, it is special, yeah.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Because of that day.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16That day affected me, the excitement of it,
0:27:16 > 0:27:20and I wanted to share that with my family
0:27:20 > 0:27:24'and I still talk about the sea and that with the grandchildren.'
0:27:24 > 0:27:27- It was a lovely time, wasn't it? - It was, yeah, yeah. You know.
0:27:27 > 0:27:28Beautiful, nice memories.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34# Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside
0:27:34 > 0:27:38# Oh, I do like to be beside the sea... #
0:27:55 > 0:27:57This is the Holiday Coast.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04'Year-round, our great British resorts call us to the edges
0:28:04 > 0:28:05'of our island.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10'On this seaside sojourn we're exploring why
0:28:10 > 0:28:14'being beside the seaside really does make us feel better.'
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Something many resorts have claimed over time.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Long before its illuminations, Blackpool advertised
0:28:22 > 0:28:24the health-giving properties of its shores.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31And on offer in Pembrokeshire, the benefits of getting close to nature.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37I'm on my way to Margate, on Kent's Thanet coast.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43This place was a curative cut above the rest.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51'I'm here to investigate why people came to Margate as a last resort
0:28:51 > 0:28:55'to literally save their lives.'
0:28:57 > 0:29:01Back in the 18th century it was the ultimate life-saving holiday.
0:29:01 > 0:29:06Making the voyage down from London weren't tourists but patients,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09and they were heading here for a very special treatment.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12The exodus was thanks to this man,
0:29:12 > 0:29:16Dr John Coakley Lettsom.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23Margate's fresh air and clean water were the perfect ingredients
0:29:23 > 0:29:25for a new treatment.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28Sea bathing.
0:29:28 > 0:29:33And in 1791, he founded the Royal Sea Bathing Hospital
0:29:33 > 0:29:36here in Margate.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38The hospital's aim?
0:29:38 > 0:29:41To treat the scrofulous poor of London.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47'But what is scrofula, and why was it so rife among London's poor?'
0:29:47 > 0:29:49- Hello, Shirley.- Hello.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53'I'm meeting nurse Shirley Bowskill to find out more.'
0:29:53 > 0:29:57Scrofula is tuberculosis of the lymph glands,
0:29:57 > 0:30:01so you had boils in your neck, under your arms, in your groins
0:30:01 > 0:30:04and anywhere that you would actually find a lymph gland.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Most of the patients that came down to the Sea Bathing
0:30:07 > 0:30:10were actually quite young, from the East End of London.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12I have a book, which is the medical register
0:30:12 > 0:30:15of the Sea Bathing Hospital, dated 1828,
0:30:15 > 0:30:20and if we have a look we have five patients coming in from a workhouse.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22This child, who's 12,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25has enlargement on the right side of his face,
0:30:25 > 0:30:29and most of these you see have gone home with great benefit.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33They were bathed once a day for a quarter of an hour,
0:30:33 > 0:30:37they had three square meals and they weren't all crammed together
0:30:37 > 0:30:39in the slums of the East End of London.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53With the disease running riot, this sea bathing treatment
0:30:53 > 0:30:56was a lifeline for desperate patients.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03This is one of the open-air wards. Its roof of cast iron and glass
0:31:03 > 0:31:08is still intact, and this is all the patients had to protect themselves
0:31:08 > 0:31:11from the elements as they lay out here for months at a time.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Doctors were trying to harness the power of vitamin D
0:31:16 > 0:31:19from the sun to help tubercular joints,
0:31:19 > 0:31:24and cleanse dirt-ridden London lungs with the fresh sea air.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30This is rather beautiful. It's very peaceful,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33and the building itself is still standing strong.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Over here is the all-important walkway to the sea
0:31:37 > 0:31:42where patients were wheeled in their beds down to the water.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49'I want to experience what it was like for those first patients
0:31:49 > 0:31:53'taking the plunge in Margate's bracing seas.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56'I'm meeting retired orthopaedic surgeon Ian Stephen.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59'He knows all about the Sea Bathing Hospital
0:31:59 > 0:32:02'and has studied the use of this treatment.'
0:32:02 > 0:32:03Right, this had better work, Ian.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07Well, I'll come with you as far as the water's edge, but no further.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11'I've a feeling this isn't going to be a routine consultation.'
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Now, how far did they used to go? Up to neck, head under?
0:32:14 > 0:32:15Full immersion.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Is this deep enough, Ian?
0:32:21 > 0:32:22Yes, but get right under.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28HE CRIES OUT
0:32:28 > 0:32:29Oh!
0:32:30 > 0:32:32Ian, it's very cold!
0:32:32 > 0:32:35That's to be expected. It's the North Sea.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39What exactly is the water doing to my body
0:32:39 > 0:32:41apart from giving me hypothermia?
0:32:41 > 0:32:47The salt water is washing out your open sores and helping them to heal.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50I can't feel my body, does that mean its working?
0:32:50 > 0:32:53I think it's probably time you came in.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57'With the London grime washed away I might well have felt some benefit,
0:32:57 > 0:33:00'once I'd warmed up.
0:33:00 > 0:33:01'But it wasn't a cure.'
0:33:05 > 0:33:08TB continued to be a scourge
0:33:08 > 0:33:11until the development of antibiotics in 1944.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17Meanwhile, Margate pioneered new treatments for a different form
0:33:17 > 0:33:18of the disease,
0:33:18 > 0:33:20tuberculosis of the joints.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25So these dolls were used to teach...
0:33:25 > 0:33:27To show the patients what was involved,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30and also to teach nurses what was going to happen.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33This looks excruciatingly uncomfortable,
0:33:33 > 0:33:35- what this model is being subjected to.- Well,
0:33:35 > 0:33:37it WAS pretty uncomfortable, that's quite right.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40What exactly is this strange cover?
0:33:40 > 0:33:44- This is splintage of the spine. - The whole-body splintage?
0:33:44 > 0:33:47A whole-body splintage, it's called a plaster bed,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50and in order to prevent sores on the body, the patient
0:33:50 > 0:33:54had to be turned regularly from the front to the back.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56- In the whole splint? - In the whole splint.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58Forgive me for asking an obvious question,
0:33:58 > 0:34:00but were you ever allowed out of the splint to go to the loo, or...
0:34:00 > 0:34:05No. No, it was a full-time splintage.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09The principle was that in order to allow the bone to heal
0:34:09 > 0:34:13or the joint to heal, you had to splint it 24 hours a day.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16- For how long? - Probably about two years.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19- Two years locked in that? - Two years, that's right.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22It was what was referred to
0:34:22 > 0:34:25as long-stay, low-technology treatment.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29What contribution do you think the coast made to the treatment?
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Would it have made any difference, do you think?
0:34:31 > 0:34:35They'd have got the view, the fresh air. The sea air and the winds
0:34:35 > 0:34:40very much helped the psychological treatment, as well.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Do you really believe that, as a medic, that actually the location
0:34:43 > 0:34:46of your ward, the ambience of the ward, that does make a difference?
0:34:46 > 0:34:49Absolutely. I'm absolutely convinced of it.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54Full-body splints were used into the 1940s
0:34:54 > 0:34:57until antibiotics took over.
0:34:58 > 0:34:59And the hospital?
0:34:59 > 0:35:02It continued to thrive up to the 1990s.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09'Medicinal Margate, recreating body, mind
0:35:09 > 0:35:11'and care-worn spirit.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15'Here, the seaside really was good for you.'
0:35:33 > 0:35:35We're exploring our holiday coast,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38finding out how the seaside can improve our health
0:35:38 > 0:35:40and raise our spirits.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54But while most come to the seaside to put troubles behind them,
0:35:54 > 0:35:56some seek out trouble.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01In 1913, the seaside became the front line
0:36:01 > 0:36:03in an extraordinary episode
0:36:03 > 0:36:05of explosive politics.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09World events shattered the peace of Edwardian St Leonards,
0:36:09 > 0:36:11part of Hastings in Sussex.
0:36:12 > 0:36:17Ruth's investigating a visitor who hid among the holiday crowds.
0:36:24 > 0:36:29100 years ago, St Leonards, with its fun and frivolity,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32was where all manner of visitors rubbed shoulders.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37The strict social boundaries of the time forgotten.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45And among the holiday-makers, someone was using this bustling anonymity
0:36:45 > 0:36:47as perfect cover.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54A mysterious stranger with dark intentions had arrived
0:36:54 > 0:36:58in this unsuspecting seaside town.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00They were about to unleash a terror that would reverberate
0:37:00 > 0:37:02around the globe.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06There's little left to show now.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10'The scene of the crime has a new life as a smart block
0:37:10 > 0:37:15'of upmarket flats. But on the 15th of April 1913,
0:37:15 > 0:37:17'dark deeds were afoot.
0:37:18 > 0:37:19'The target?
0:37:19 > 0:37:23'Levetleigh, one of the town's most prestigious mansions
0:37:23 > 0:37:26'and home to the local MP, Arthur Du Cros.'
0:37:28 > 0:37:32In the still small hours someone crept up to the windows and smeared
0:37:32 > 0:37:38them with jam and brown paper to stifle the sound of smashing glass.
0:37:38 > 0:37:43Once they were inside they set fire after fire in room after room.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47Soon the flames broke through the roof, illuminating the night.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53The hungry fire devoured everything in its path.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57In the cold light of dawn crowds gathered
0:37:57 > 0:37:59clamouring for the answer to one question.
0:38:01 > 0:38:02Who did it?
0:38:02 > 0:38:04It seems they left their calling card.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08Suffragettes.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13News that a holiday resort, of all places, had been targeted
0:38:13 > 0:38:15sent shock waves across the world.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21Reports spread that the long-running campaign for women's votes
0:38:21 > 0:38:24had brought violence to the holiday coast.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30So why did this new style of suffragette attack happen here
0:38:30 > 0:38:32in sleepy St Leonards?
0:38:32 > 0:38:35And who was the woman or women who carried it out?
0:38:39 > 0:38:44'St Leonards has a little-known past as a hotbed
0:38:44 > 0:38:46'of formidable female campaigners.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56'There were even suffragette meetings on the beach.'
0:39:02 > 0:39:06'But by 1912 they were losing patience.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09'They had lobbied their MP, Arthur du Cros, to back votes for women
0:39:09 > 0:39:14'in Parliament. When he failed, they accused him of breaking promises.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18'There was a bitter war of words,
0:39:18 > 0:39:23'and yet local campaigners were never questioned about the attack.'
0:39:26 > 0:39:29It seems that the local ladies of St Leonards and Hastings
0:39:29 > 0:39:32didn't have the resolve for an arson attack.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38So who did? Who hid in the holiday crowds?
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Perhaps someone who'd been here before?
0:39:41 > 0:39:45I'm meeting historian Fern Ridell. She's studied the attack
0:39:45 > 0:39:48and has a prime suspect.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50- Hi, Fern.- Hi, Ruth.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54Hiya. So who do you think carried out these arson attacks?
0:39:54 > 0:39:56Well, for me, the evidence points to really just one person
0:39:56 > 0:39:58and that's Kitty Marion.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01- Gosh, she's rather glamorous, isn't she?- Isn't she?
0:40:01 > 0:40:04She was a militant suffragette and a music hall star from London.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06And did she have any links to St Leonards?
0:40:06 > 0:40:09Yes, well, she actually performed on the pier behind us
0:40:09 > 0:40:12for a benefit in 1910,
0:40:12 > 0:40:15but part of her life as a music hall star would have been travelling
0:40:15 > 0:40:19around the country, so she obviously had time to make links to Hastings.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25Kitty had been appalled by her experience of the casting couch
0:40:25 > 0:40:28when she toured with end-of-the-pier shows and reviews.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32'She became a committed activist and increasingly militant.'
0:40:34 > 0:40:36And this is not her first act of militancy?
0:40:36 > 0:40:39No, before this point Kitty is doing something that all
0:40:39 > 0:40:42the militant suffragettes are doing and that's breaking windows,
0:40:42 > 0:40:44she is cutting telegraph and telephone wires,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47she's really doing everything that she can to be socially disruptive.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50And has she been in trouble for this? Has she been prosecuted?
0:40:50 > 0:40:53She has. She's had a number of prosecutions relating to
0:40:53 > 0:40:57those sort of offences, and so she's been through the horrific,
0:40:57 > 0:41:01the absolutely awful experience of force-feeding.
0:41:02 > 0:41:07Suffragettes went on hunger strike as a protest against arrest.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10Force-feeding was the brutal response.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16But could that drive someone like Kitty to violence?
0:41:16 > 0:41:19I'm meeting Professor June Purvis to find out.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23I have here some of the original apparatus
0:41:23 > 0:41:25so you can see what it was like.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28Your mouth would be held open with clamps,
0:41:28 > 0:41:32and then these tubes were stuck into you.
0:41:32 > 0:41:37They were either put up your nose or down your throat,
0:41:37 > 0:41:40which was the most horrible process,
0:41:40 > 0:41:45and the women often experienced it as a form of rape,
0:41:45 > 0:41:49because of the overpowering physical force that accompanied the very act.
0:41:49 > 0:41:55- Kitty Marion, for example, she was forcibly fed 232 times.- Gee.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01Kitty wrote about this experience in her autobiography.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05"At times I felt I should go stark staring mad.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07"The agony was so intense.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11"It made me wrench my head. Now I'm a physical wreck."
0:42:12 > 0:42:16So Kitty had a motive, and the ferocity of the attack in this
0:42:16 > 0:42:20sleepy resort certainly put votes for women centre stage.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23But there's another question.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28How on earth did these women know how to cause such destruction?
0:42:29 > 0:42:32Dr Sidney Alford is an explosives expert.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Using police reports he's reconstructed devices
0:42:35 > 0:42:37from suffragette attacks.
0:42:37 > 0:42:42This is a bomb. It's a container of gunpowder capable of causing
0:42:42 > 0:42:44very serious damage to a building.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47So these sorts of things were really quite widely available then?
0:42:47 > 0:42:49Widely available,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52but not everyone of course was conversant with their use.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55I noticed in the reports here that we've also got mention
0:42:55 > 0:42:56of things other than gunpowder.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00We've got this rather strange "mixture of lycopodium and pepper".
0:43:00 > 0:43:04- Ah, yes.- What on earth is that?
0:43:04 > 0:43:08Lycopodium, it is a very, very fine powder, which I'll show you,
0:43:08 > 0:43:12and it burns quite spectacularly. Indeed that is actually what
0:43:12 > 0:43:16used to be used to herald the arrival or departure of a devil
0:43:16 > 0:43:20from a stage. Remember on a stage in Victorian times it would be dark.
0:43:20 > 0:43:21Like flash powder?
0:43:21 > 0:43:23In a dark room,
0:43:23 > 0:43:27if you puffed that across a flame, it gives a spectacular flash.
0:43:28 > 0:43:29Oh!
0:43:32 > 0:43:36Now, this is an ingredient Kitty, as an actress, would have known about.
0:43:36 > 0:43:41Their devices were so concocted that they could cause serious
0:43:41 > 0:43:44damage to the right sort of target structure.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47So it's not an explosive as such?
0:43:47 > 0:43:48Not really.
0:43:48 > 0:43:53Killing people was almost certainly not the primary intention
0:43:53 > 0:43:56of these weapons, but it was a political campaign
0:43:56 > 0:43:58and they wanted to scare people, no doubt.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04'Striking at a seaside town shook society,
0:44:04 > 0:44:07'and in St Leonards it sparked other acts of violence.'
0:44:09 > 0:44:14No-one was ever charged with the MP's house bombing, but Kitty is the
0:44:14 > 0:44:19prime suspect and Fern's uncovered one final piece of evidence.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23When she's arrested for a later attack, she's found to have pictures
0:44:23 > 0:44:25of Arthur Du Cros' house in her possession.
0:44:25 > 0:44:29She also keeps a scrapbook in which she puts newspaper cuttings
0:44:29 > 0:44:33and references and other pictures of all of her attacks in,
0:44:33 > 0:44:38and she keeps Arthur Du Cros' house in amongst that.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42Kitty's actions created stark headlines.
0:44:43 > 0:44:48Ironic then, that just months later a greater conflict overtook
0:44:48 > 0:44:49the campaign of terror.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54World War I. In the run-up to the Great War the suffragettes'
0:44:54 > 0:44:57campaign of violence had been escalating,
0:44:57 > 0:45:01but now the political landscape was to change completely.
0:45:01 > 0:45:06Their fight, and backing for the war effort, paid off.
0:45:06 > 0:45:11In 1918, some women over 30 won their suffrage.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13By then, Kitty had fled to America.
0:45:15 > 0:45:19'But the bombing on this holiday coast had played its part
0:45:19 > 0:45:22'in re-shaping society.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24'Women now had a voice
0:45:24 > 0:45:26'and a vote.'
0:45:36 > 0:45:40Across Britain's holiday coast even resorts that helped
0:45:40 > 0:45:44make our history have seen their fortunes wax and wane.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Over time tastes change.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54Resorts must change too or lose their appeal.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59Margate's first visitors came to improve their health.
0:46:02 > 0:46:07But more recently it's the town itself that's needed a little TLC
0:46:07 > 0:46:09to restore flagging fortunes.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14It was cheap foreign travel that stole the glamour
0:46:14 > 0:46:15from towns like Margate.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21The British holiday may have been down,
0:46:21 > 0:46:23but it wasn't out for the count.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27The seaside resort had to reinvent itself for a new generation.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36'So how do you teach an old resort new tricks?'
0:46:36 > 0:46:39Here they blend the old with the new.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44And to help me navigate the old town,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47there's nothing like a bit of local knowledge.
0:46:47 > 0:46:48Shall we go?
0:46:52 > 0:46:57Stan the local rickshaw man knows what's bringing tourists here today.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00In the summer, Margate gets absolutely flooded.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02It's the beach mainly,
0:47:02 > 0:47:04the beach brings people from all over the place.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08It has a ripple effect out into the town.
0:47:08 > 0:47:09It's very pretty, isn't it?
0:47:09 > 0:47:12It's lovely. It's the heart really of Margate, the old town.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14You get a lot of tourism from London.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18- Londoners coming down for the day out?- Yeah, it's all happened because of the Turner, I think.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21It just shows that Margate's on the map, really.
0:47:23 > 0:47:27The Turner Contemporary is the seafront art gallery
0:47:27 > 0:47:32dedicated to the artist who loved this town most, JMW Turner,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35one of our foremost painters of seascapes.
0:47:38 > 0:47:43He came here when the coast called, and in return the town's
0:47:43 > 0:47:47taken him as inspiration for their newest holiday attraction.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54Born in the heart of London, Turner was inspired
0:47:54 > 0:47:56by Margate's ever-changing light.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03He said, "The skies over Thanet
0:48:03 > 0:48:06"are the loveliest in all Europe."
0:48:09 > 0:48:11Three centuries on,
0:48:11 > 0:48:15Turner and those skies are still drawing visitors
0:48:15 > 0:48:17to this holiday coast.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32# Go down to the sea
0:48:34 > 0:48:37# And tell me what it is that you want to be... #
0:48:40 > 0:48:42Beyond sea and sand,
0:48:42 > 0:48:47resorts carve their niche to capture the holiday crowds.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52From the picture-postcard perfection of the Isle of Mull
0:48:52 > 0:48:55to the ride of your life in Blackpool.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04It's all about escaping the drudgery of daily life
0:49:04 > 0:49:06and getting your coastal kicks.
0:49:08 > 0:49:13When post-war holiday-makers flocked to Worthing on the south coast
0:49:13 > 0:49:18they weren't after peace and quiet. They wanted thrills,
0:49:18 > 0:49:20and they found them, in the sky.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26Aeronautical engineer Brendan Walker is investigating an aerial
0:49:26 > 0:49:31extravaganza that would open up new horizons for holiday-makers.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37If you were walking on this beach in the 1950s you would have
0:49:37 > 0:49:40witnessed a glimpse of the future.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42High above the heads of holiday-makers,
0:49:42 > 0:49:46daredevil pilots pushed sleek new jets to their limits.
0:49:48 > 0:49:53Their aim? To set a new world airspeed record.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57Propeller planes were old hat. This was the dawn of the jet age.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02Now I'm on my own mission to uncover who set the records,
0:50:02 > 0:50:04how they did it, and why it all happened here.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09It was an irresistible draw.
0:50:09 > 0:50:14'People came here on holiday to watch the drama unfold.'
0:50:14 > 0:50:18An extraordinary experience for Barry Sprules and Mary Taylor.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21We were always seeing jets whizzing up and down the beach,
0:50:21 > 0:50:24and as a boy of course this was amazing, you know?
0:50:24 > 0:50:27On holiday, and you could see an air show at the same time.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29Have you seen this? It's wonderful.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31That's a group of the people who were watching.
0:50:31 > 0:50:32There it goes, look.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35- Wow, what a fantastic photograph. - Isn't that a wonderful photograph?
0:50:35 > 0:50:37The fact was it was almost the entire length...
0:50:37 > 0:50:39Yes, of course, where you
0:50:39 > 0:50:41happened to live, you came to the nearest part of the beach to stand
0:50:41 > 0:50:44and watch it, and then when it came we all waved to it.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48- THEY LAUGH - It was just excitement, you know?
0:50:48 > 0:50:50"Is he going to do it?" "I'm sure he is," you know.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53It was that sort of expectation.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00But who was the man in the plane hoping to steal
0:51:00 > 0:51:02the record back from America?
0:51:04 > 0:51:09Neville Duke. In the summer of 1953, Duke and his record attempts
0:51:09 > 0:51:12were the star attraction holiday-makers flocked to see.
0:51:13 > 0:51:18A decorated war veteran before his 22nd birthday, Duke was a cool,
0:51:18 > 0:51:21calculating risk-taker.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24But every time test pilots pushed these prototype jets
0:51:24 > 0:51:27to their limits, they put their lives on the line.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33Idolised as a Boy's Own hero, Duke had the drive and desire
0:51:33 > 0:51:35to be the fastest man in the air.
0:51:47 > 0:51:51I've come to RAF Tangmere, just a stone's throw from the coast.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57Now a museum, its home to Duke's custom-designed red
0:51:57 > 0:52:00Mk III Hawker Hunter.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11Tangmere had played a vital role in the Battle of Britain.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15Post-war, it was the home of the RAF high-speed flight,
0:52:15 > 0:52:17a team of ace pilots and engineers.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26To find out why they chose this stretch of coastline, I'm meeting
0:52:26 > 0:52:29aviation expert Andy Saunders.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32The optimum conditions that are required were often to be found
0:52:32 > 0:52:36on this particular bit of coast. You know, nice sunny skies,
0:52:36 > 0:52:38calm seas. Conditions were perfect.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40The best conditions in the UK
0:52:40 > 0:52:43for flying a world airspeed record.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45So what was the exact course that they flew?
0:52:45 > 0:52:49Well, it was basically between here and the other side of Littlehampton,
0:52:49 > 0:52:50and I've actually got a map here.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52It was a 3km course
0:52:52 > 0:52:56so the aircraft would have flown around here, right past Worthing pier
0:52:56 > 0:53:00and then the actual measured course is this bit here. And it had
0:53:00 > 0:53:02to be a perfectly level flight,
0:53:02 > 0:53:04because obviously if they went into a dive
0:53:04 > 0:53:08then they could build up extra speed and that would be cheating.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12But what was behind the air speed record? Was it just a bit of fun?
0:53:13 > 0:53:17It was deadly serious. This was, you know, the dawn of the Cold War,
0:53:17 > 0:53:19so we wanted to show the Russians that we'd got the fastest
0:53:19 > 0:53:22and the best fighters, but there were also commercial reasons,
0:53:22 > 0:53:26because if they had the aeroplane that was going
0:53:26 > 0:53:29the fastest in the world, then that was a very good sales point.
0:53:31 > 0:53:36So there's a clear reason why this coast is ideal for setting records.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38It's the same reason why holiday-makers are attracted here,
0:53:38 > 0:53:41the wonderful summer weather.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44Cloudless skies mean great visibility,
0:53:44 > 0:53:46and the warm temperature means drier air,
0:53:46 > 0:53:50so fewer sound waves building up to slow the aeroplane down.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54- ARCHIVE:- From Tangmere airfield in Sussex, Duke takes off to make four runs
0:53:54 > 0:53:58across a 3km course between Rustington and Kingston Gore.
0:53:58 > 0:54:03But with each electrifying record-breaking attempt came danger.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07It's the 1st September 1953.
0:54:07 > 0:54:11Duke accelerates to 550 knots over the coast.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17But as he turns on his afterburners he hears a sickening bang.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20BANGING
0:54:20 > 0:54:23The plane goes into a spin.
0:54:23 > 0:54:28A force of 6.5G crashed down on my ribs and nearly blacked me out.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31Beach and sea were coming closer every second.
0:54:31 > 0:54:36The plane's undercarriage had ripped through the wing. It took all Duke's
0:54:36 > 0:54:41skills to pull the plane up and limp back to base, landing on one wheel.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48Undeterred, just six days later he was ready to try again.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56Summer was ending and the Cold War was hotting up.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59National pride got Neville Duke back in the cockpit.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03What was it like for those early pilots?
0:55:03 > 0:55:06'I want to understand how it felt to race ever faster
0:55:06 > 0:55:08'in those prototype jets.'
0:55:10 > 0:55:13That's why I'm heading up in a Hawker Hunter myself.
0:55:18 > 0:55:23Even 60 years on, this is a truly impressive piece of engineering.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33- RADIO:- The speed we're picking up is just incredible.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36I wish the camera could see just how much I was smiling right now.
0:55:36 > 0:55:37THEY LAUGH
0:55:42 > 0:55:44And away we go.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46BRENDAN LAUGHS
0:55:46 > 0:55:48Ah, this is fantastic.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51Immediately you can feel the G-force just pushing you
0:55:51 > 0:55:54into the chair, and we're so close to the ground.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56HE LAUGHS
0:55:57 > 0:56:02'Pilots like Duke coped with immense pressures, making split-second
0:56:02 > 0:56:06'decisions that not only set records but could cost them their lives.'
0:56:08 > 0:56:10Picking up some speed now, putting the full power on.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13- You can hear that. It's fantastic. - Yep.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15Ah...
0:56:15 > 0:56:17That's 4G now.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20- I'm trying to put my hand out there. - HE LAUGHS
0:56:21 > 0:56:24'At 4G I'm losing my ability to react,
0:56:24 > 0:56:27'and we're way off the pace of Neville Duke.'
0:56:32 > 0:56:36'There are no crowds on the coast today for us, but when Duke set out
0:56:36 > 0:56:40'on that last record-breaking run, holiday-makers lined the route.'
0:56:42 > 0:56:43Here comes the Hunter.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52'So what did Duke feel flying above those holiday crowds?'
0:56:53 > 0:56:56O-o-o-o-oh, yes...!
0:56:56 > 0:56:59HE LAUGHS GLEEFULLY
0:56:59 > 0:57:00'Sheer pleasure.'
0:57:04 > 0:57:07Now it has been revealed that the shy, modest young pilot has
0:57:07 > 0:57:10recaptured the World Speed Record for Britain with an average
0:57:10 > 0:57:12of 727.6 miles an hour.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16Beating the Americans by just 12mph.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20The record was Britain's once more.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23Above these very beaches a battle had been won.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27The quest for speed and air supremacy had become
0:57:27 > 0:57:30a holiday attraction for the whole of Britain.
0:57:31 > 0:57:36Now we take the jet age for granted, flying off on holiday on a whim...
0:57:38 > 0:57:41..all thanks to the pioneers who pushed the limits here
0:57:41 > 0:57:43on our holiday coast.
0:57:59 > 0:58:06We're drawn to our holiday coast for restoration and recreation,
0:58:06 > 0:58:08to refresh body and mind.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12The coast really is good for us.
0:58:17 > 0:58:21'No wonder, then, that we do like to be beside the seaside.'
0:58:24 > 0:58:27But the essence of the coast isn't to be found in the crowds
0:58:27 > 0:58:28and the attractions and the gimmicks.
0:58:28 > 0:58:33For me, it's in the simple pleasure of walking along a beach feeling
0:58:33 > 0:58:37the warmth of the sun and listening to the rustle of the ocean.
0:58:38 > 0:58:39Wish you were here.