0:00:20 > 0:00:21Hidden crevices.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Secret spots.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Where the power of the sea
0:00:26 > 0:00:28meets the resistance of the land.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34Caves and coves are the fabric of our craggy coastline...
0:00:35 > 0:00:37..one of the curviest in the world.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42Dark caverns, portals to our past,
0:00:42 > 0:00:44places of mystery.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Secluded bays offer shelter and refuge.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54This is Coast!
0:00:56 > 0:01:01Our caves and coves reinforce the bond between sea and shore
0:01:01 > 0:01:04and shape our island story.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10I'm at my happiest at the edge of our isles,
0:01:10 > 0:01:15forging a path around the nooks and crannies of our coastline.
0:01:15 > 0:01:22There's one place that's a Mecca for sea caves and spectacular coves.
0:01:22 > 0:01:23Jersey.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Let's go!
0:01:28 > 0:01:31I'm not travelling solo.
0:01:31 > 0:01:32Whilst I'm in Jersey,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36the rest of the team are embarking on their own island endeavours.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41To discover a wartime story of survival against the odds,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Mark travels to a Cornish cove.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Entering the cove
0:01:46 > 0:01:50meant running the gauntlet of treacherous currents and rocks.
0:01:50 > 0:01:56For men already half dead, this was an unequal struggle.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02Andy Torbot risks life and limb in an attempt to make caving history.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06It's just a mass of white water, isn't it?
0:02:07 > 0:02:11And Coast's resident storyteller, Ian McMillan,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13delves deep into one particular cave
0:02:13 > 0:02:16to unearth the legend of a Scottish cannibal.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Sawney Bean. My dad was Scottish and if ever I was naughty, he'd say,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22"Sawney Bean's going to get you."
0:02:22 > 0:02:25And I thought he was making him up.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Testing, spectacular, secret.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33These are the caves and the coves of our coast.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Caves and coves are the natural wonders
0:03:03 > 0:03:06of our curved and twisting coastline.
0:03:06 > 0:03:07But how were they formed?
0:03:07 > 0:03:11And why have they lured visitors for so long?
0:03:11 > 0:03:17I'm on a journey to explore why caves and coves are so captivating.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22And I've come to Jersey - one of the Channel Islands -
0:03:22 > 0:03:26and a cave and cove hot spot, in search of answers.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31I'm starting on the north-east coast near Bouley Bay.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35From here, I'll wend my way towards an isolated cove
0:03:35 > 0:03:37on the south-west coast,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41before finally heading north to a cave with an ancient secret.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Jersey is a place where geology and nature have conspired
0:03:49 > 0:03:52to create an extraordinary coastline.
0:03:55 > 0:04:01Atlantic waves have carved out 48 miles of sea-scooped bays of sand
0:04:01 > 0:04:05and more than 60 sea caves on the north coast alone.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10These ominous black holes at the base of cliffs
0:04:10 > 0:04:14are gateways to tunnel networks hundreds of metres long.
0:04:17 > 0:04:23The reason Jersey's coast is so craggy, so spectacular, is these...
0:04:23 > 0:04:25These towering cliffs of granite.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27They're majestic!
0:04:29 > 0:04:32This rock, made of crystallised volcanic magma,
0:04:32 > 0:04:37is so hard it stands like a fortress against the power of waves.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40It's these vertical joints in the rock,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44formed deep beneath the earth's crust as the magma cooled,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48that are the origins of Jersey's sea caves.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53Waves pounded these lines of weakness like hydraulic drills,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56removing the rock, boulder by boulder.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59But the surrounding granite is so sturdy
0:04:59 > 0:05:02that the walls and ceilings were left supported,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06and that's what forms these long, thin sea caves.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13These caves made Jersey otherworldly.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17One Victorian traveller described its natural wonders as
0:05:17 > 0:05:21"More inexhaustible than man's curiosity."
0:05:22 > 0:05:25In the 19th century, the island became a Mecca
0:05:25 > 0:05:28for a new breed of explorer tourist.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Arriving on newfangled steamships,
0:05:34 > 0:05:39for the Victorians, Jersey offered a taste of the exotic.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40French place names,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42a warm climate,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46but all just 100 miles from mainland Britain.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49I'm following in Victorian footsteps
0:05:49 > 0:05:52to search out some of the sites that fascinated them.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Historian Doug Ford is taking me to a sea cave
0:06:03 > 0:06:06at the base of Jersey's tallest sea cliff.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13This was a top tip in the Victorian guidebooks.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15But it takes an expert eye to spot it.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Where's the cave?
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Well, the cave is just behind that rock
0:06:19 > 0:06:21on the right-hand side of the cove there.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Some guy in the late-19th century,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26he zigzags a path all the way down
0:06:26 > 0:06:28and any tricky bits, he puts a ladder there.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Now, it's quite difficult to see,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33but if you look at these photographs from the time...
0:06:33 > 0:06:34Oh, my, yes!
0:06:34 > 0:06:38And you can see the zigzag nature of the path all the way down.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Fascinated by the emerging science of geology
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and Darwin's theories of evolution,
0:06:45 > 0:06:50Victorians let nothing stop them from exploring Jersey's sea caves.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54But the clothing! They're all dressed in long dresses and blouses,
0:06:54 > 0:06:55cloaks, hats...
0:06:55 > 0:06:57It's not exactly kind of cliff climbing gear, is it?
0:06:57 > 0:06:59This is their best holiday gear,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02so they're wearing their dresses down to their ankles.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04They would have been heavily corseted
0:07:04 > 0:07:07- and they've got leather-soled shoes. - You're kidding me!
0:07:07 > 0:07:09You'd never know, looking at it now,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12that there's a Victorian highway zigzagging down that cliff.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18Just around the headland lurks the wonderfully named Devil's Hole.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Victorians risked life and limb to explore it.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24And I want to know why.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27The original entrance has now collapsed.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30We have to enter from the sea.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32This is pretty, pretty amazing, isn't it?
0:07:32 > 0:07:35We're just, like, threading the eye of a needle to get in here.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46We're deep inside the cave
0:07:46 > 0:07:48and, although we're still floating on the sea,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50it's very still and quite quiet.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53There's daylight visible at the far end of the tunnel,
0:07:53 > 0:07:54and daylight out there,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57and in here, a strange greenish tinge -
0:07:57 > 0:07:58multi-coloured rocks.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03This, for the Victorians, was THE journey to the centre of the earth.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11By the late 1800s, Jersey's caves had created their own tour business.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Guides were employed to lead the way
0:08:14 > 0:08:18and ladies could even hire a local to help keep their skirts dry.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28After a hearty trek back up the hill,
0:08:28 > 0:08:34returning explorers would be greeted by a very welcome sight.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40Now, Devil's Hole had its very own pavilion -
0:08:40 > 0:08:44quite a grand name for a pit stop with a tin roof.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Sadly, these days, the pavilion is no more,
0:08:49 > 0:08:54and so modern explorers have to rely on on-board refreshment...
0:08:55 > 0:08:56Water!
0:09:02 > 0:09:04For straight-laced Victorians,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08cave exploration took them into a totally different world -
0:09:08 > 0:09:11one of adventure and mystery.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24Our sea caves have lost none of their irresistible allure.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35They continue to pull in punters.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Their power bound up in myths.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44The perfect setting for stories.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50Merlin's Cave in Cornwall, where an infant King Arthur washed ashore.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Fingal's Cave on Staffa,
0:09:53 > 0:09:57inspiration for poets and musicians.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07The rocky hollows of our coast generate enduring legends.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16And at Bennane Head on the south-west coast of Scotland,
0:10:16 > 0:10:21a gruesome 17th-century tale with a whiff of truth haunts the shores.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Storyteller Ian McMillan is investigating.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31I'm taking a voyage back in time, to a dark Scottish legend.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35I'm heading for the wild, rugged coast of Ayrshire,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39to a vast untamed shore with a secret that I want to explore.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46This remote coastline is home to an infamous cave
0:10:46 > 0:10:47and a ghoulish legend
0:10:47 > 0:10:51on which generations of Scots have been raised.
0:10:51 > 0:10:52Sawney Bean.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Me Dad was Scottish and if ever I was naughty, he'd say,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57"Sawney Bean's going to get you."
0:10:57 > 0:10:59And I thought he was making him up!
0:11:01 > 0:11:05If you're not Scottish, then chances are you won't have heard of him.
0:11:05 > 0:11:11But Sawney was an infamous thief, murderer and cannibal.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Him and his bloodthirsty brood lived in a dark Scottish sea cave
0:11:17 > 0:11:18at the turn of the 17th century.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21And according to this book, it's a true story.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24There's even a real cave to prove it.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27"The habitation of horrid cruelty,"
0:11:27 > 0:11:29where Sawney made his lair.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37The Sawney story has spawned songs and poetry
0:11:37 > 0:11:40and, in doing so, has stood the test of time.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44'There's naebody kens that he bides there,
0:11:44 > 0:11:48'for his face is seldom seen.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51'But to meet his eye is to meet your fate
0:11:51 > 0:11:54'at the hands of Sawney Bean.'
0:11:55 > 0:11:58As a storyteller, I'm fascinated by these folk tales.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Is this book really a true account,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04or is it just the product of a wild, unfettered imagination?
0:12:04 > 0:12:07I'm going to turn storytelling sleuth to find out.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11'For Sawney he has taen a wife
0:12:11 > 0:12:14'and he's hungry bairns tae wean.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17'And he's raised them up on the flesh o' men
0:12:17 > 0:12:20'in the cave of Sawney Bean.'
0:12:22 > 0:12:26According to locals, this is Sawney Bean's actual cave.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Let's go and have a look.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Gosh, what a place!
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Suddenly it's dark, it feels damp,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39it's quiet and you can just hear the sea outside
0:12:39 > 0:12:41and there's a real sense of menace in here.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Within this dark crevice, the story continues.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52"Sawney and his wife took shelter in this cave
0:12:52 > 0:12:54"to prevent the possibility of detection.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57"They murdered every person that they robbed.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01"Destitute also are the means of obtaining any other food,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04"they resolve to live upon human flesh.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06"In this manner they lived
0:13:06 > 0:13:09"until they had eight sons, six daughters,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12"18 grandsons and 14 granddaughters.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14"All the offspring of incest."
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Well, this is certainly atmospheric
0:13:20 > 0:13:22and it's a great place to set a story.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25But there's certain things about it that don't seem right.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27In the book, it says that, once you get past the entrance,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30there are many twistings and turnings. But there aren't.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33It also says that the cave's a mile long, and it isn't -
0:13:33 > 0:13:35because that's the end.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38And also it says that you can get 50 members of the Bean family in here.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41They'd never fit. It just doesn't add up.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47With the cave a literal dead-end,
0:13:47 > 0:13:49I want to hunt out more evidence for Sawney.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54So I'm turning to the history of these shores.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56In the book, it tells how the Beans lay in wait
0:13:56 > 0:13:59to ambush passers-by travelling along the coastal road.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03But then, one would-be victim escaped, and word reached the king.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07That king was King James VI of Scotland -
0:14:07 > 0:14:08King James I of England -
0:14:08 > 0:14:12who ruled between 1567 and 1625.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17This is the only clue we have to when Sawney Bean lived.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20I want to know what was happening
0:14:20 > 0:14:22at the time our cannibal was roaming this coast
0:14:22 > 0:14:24and to find out if any written records
0:14:24 > 0:14:27prove the existence of Sawney Bean.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31I'm meeting Professor Ted Cowan, an expert on Scottish history.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35We've come a few miles north of the cave to Dunure Castle -
0:14:35 > 0:14:38a stronghold perched on the coastal cliffs.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42What was Ayrshire like at the time we're talking about, Ted?
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Well, this is the period of James VI, King of Scots,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49and he ruled over a fairly rumbustious country, if you like.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51England was the same at the time.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Lots of feuds, lots of fights and all the rest of it.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56But this was regarded as a particularly wild area
0:14:56 > 0:14:58here on the Ayrshire coast.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Presiding over this lawless land,
0:15:00 > 0:15:05far away from the powerhouse of Edinburgh, were the Kennedy clan.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Here they were, the most powerful family in Ayrshire.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10They were known as the Kings of Carrick.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15This whole area, they controlled it pretty, pretty tightly
0:15:15 > 0:15:17and made sure that they were top dog.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21The Kennedys claimed this region as their own,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25using intimidation and violence to stamp their authority over it.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27So how would they have reacted
0:15:27 > 0:15:29to having a cave-dwelling cannibal clan
0:15:29 > 0:15:32robbing and murdering on their turf?
0:15:33 > 0:15:36If Sawney Bean had been up to his antics
0:15:36 > 0:15:39anywhere up and down this coastline,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42the Kennedys would have known about it
0:15:42 > 0:15:43and they would have put a stop to it.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47Is there any evidence, then, that this story of Sawney Bean is true?
0:15:47 > 0:15:49There's no evidence at all, Ian.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52And if it had happened, it would have been recorded,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56because it would have been a pretty spectacular incident then, as now.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59I'd heard, though, that King James VI of Scotland came here
0:15:59 > 0:16:01and took Sawney Bean away.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03Yep, I've heard that story, too.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06But there's actually... Once again, if we go to the records,
0:16:06 > 0:16:08there's no evidence for that whatsoever.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11So neither the cave nor the history books
0:16:11 > 0:16:14throw up any clues to a real Sawney Bean.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18But in both, I've started to uncover why this tale is so compelling.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21This is classic storytelling.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Rooting a tale in a real place and time,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26then claiming it's true, makes it more believable.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Why did a simple cave have the power to create an enduring legend
0:16:31 > 0:16:35and who came up with the story in the first place?
0:16:35 > 0:16:36To answer that,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39I've enlisted some detective help to piece together the clues.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Fiona Black has studied Sawney's place in Scottish literature,
0:16:44 > 0:16:48and she can reveal the origins of his unusual name.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Well, it first appears in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1704
0:16:53 > 0:16:56and it's a derogatory term for a Scotsman.
0:16:57 > 0:16:58Blimey! It is, look!
0:16:58 > 0:17:01"Sawney, a local variant of Sandy, short for Alexander.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05"Colloquial, a derisive nickname for a Scotchman".
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Apart from that - apart from the dictionary -
0:17:07 > 0:17:09when does the character of Sawney first appear?
0:17:09 > 0:17:12OK, so the story is set in the late-16th and early-17th century,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15but it's over a 100 years after that, in 1734,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17that Sawney first appears in print
0:17:17 > 0:17:19and that's the book you've got with you there.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21That's right, The History Of Highwaymen
0:17:21 > 0:17:23by Captain Charles Johnson.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25So, what do we know about Captain Charles Johnson?
0:17:25 > 0:17:26Was he a real captain?
0:17:26 > 0:17:28I imagine him going up and down the coastline here,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30collecting tales in taverns.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Johnson's a bit of a mystery man.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34We don't know too much about him at all.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Some people think that he could be a pseudonym
0:17:36 > 0:17:39for the English novelist Daniel Defoe.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43And it's alleged that Defoe was working in Scotland as a spy
0:17:43 > 0:17:45around the time of the union, and writing then.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48So there's this possibility that this story of Sawney
0:17:48 > 0:17:50was created by this English novelist
0:17:50 > 0:17:52as a political propaganda against the Scottish people.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54So, is the Sawney Bean that we know today
0:17:54 > 0:17:56due to Captain Johnson, do you think?
0:17:56 > 0:17:59No, it's actually a Scottish novelist.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01It's Samuel Rutherford Crockett,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04who was writing this novel, The Gray Man, in 1896.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Crockett was really popular
0:18:06 > 0:18:09and it was him that literally put Sawney Bean and his cave
0:18:09 > 0:18:12here at Bennane Head in Ayrshire.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15So an Englishman created the Sawney Bean legend,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18a Scotsman popularised it
0:18:18 > 0:18:22and, eventually, an American turned it into a horror movie,
0:18:22 > 0:18:24The Hills Have Eyes.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28Come on, then! Kill me!
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Hollywood swapped the wild west coast of Scotland
0:18:33 > 0:18:35for the wild west deserts of America,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39but their cave-dwelling cannibal family matched Sawney's
0:18:39 > 0:18:40for bloodshed and brutality.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Sawney Bean really is the perfect story.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50A gruesome, gripping plot with a whiff of truth -
0:18:50 > 0:18:54a dark tale born of a dark place on a wild coast.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57In the shadowy crevices of desolate caves,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59your imagination can run riot.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Mine certainly did.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Without a suitably sombre cave,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06there'd be no Sawney Bean.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08'Beware o' Sawney Bean...'
0:19:22 > 0:19:25We're exploring the hidden recesses of our coast.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30Mysteries concealed within rocky shorelines.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35But it's not just our caves that offer seclusion and isolation.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43So do our coves.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Sheltered from prying eyes,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47secret hideaways,
0:19:47 > 0:19:49natural shelters.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Jersey is home to some simply stunning inlets and coves.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07Portelet Bay is one of the island's true beauties.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15What a view!
0:20:19 > 0:20:24Two perfect arcs of sand facing a small island.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27It's almost two coves within a cove.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32But they hide an intriguing story.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37The tiny Ile au Guerdain is joined to the beach only at low tide.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41Picture postcards call this isolated place Janvrin's Tomb,
0:20:41 > 0:20:46after a local sailor who was trapped at sea within sight of home.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49I want to discover why he was buried in this cove.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Philippe Janvrin was captain of the Esther,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56a cod trading ship sailing regularly between
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Canada, South America, France and Jersey.
0:20:59 > 0:21:05But in September 1721, sailing home to Jersey, he wasn't allowed to land.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12I'm meeting local historian Sue Hardy to find out what happened.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15- This is a picture, isn't it?- And it's being made even more perfect.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17- We have passing shipping.- Oh, yes!
0:21:18 > 0:21:20So what happened to Janvrin?
0:21:20 > 0:21:23He'd been taken ill on the homeward part of the journey.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26He was thought to be on a plague-ridden vessel
0:21:26 > 0:21:30and until the ship had been declared free of any contagion,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32they had to stay out at anchor.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38Bubonic plague swept through Europe in the 18th century,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40killing 100,000 people.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Jersey didn't want it coming ashore.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49So, in sight of home, this cove became Janvrin's quarantine.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52Poor Janvrin, after two days, died.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56How incredibly tragic to be dying on a ship out in the bay,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59while your family in sight on shore and you are unable to communicate.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07The authorities, believing Janvrin had plague,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10decreed that he should be buried in isolation.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16They had a proper funeral service for him on the top of the cliff.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19So the burial service occurred on land...
0:22:19 > 0:22:21- Up on the cliffs. - ..up on Jersey...- Yes.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24..while the body is being lowered into a grave on the island.
0:22:24 > 0:22:25On this little island.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28The two being kept apart, so the mourners would not be infected.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30That's right. But, of course, in fact,
0:22:30 > 0:22:32it turned out he didn't have the plague.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Janvrin died of a common fever.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Medical treatment might have saved him.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50His wife erected a tombstone on the island in memory of her husband,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53now built over by this Napoleonic tower.
0:22:58 > 0:23:04Janvrin is gone. No tomb, no grave, no conventional memorial.
0:23:04 > 0:23:05Gone, but not forgotten.
0:23:05 > 0:23:11This is his memorial, an islet set in a beautiful cove.
0:23:14 > 0:23:19For many, coves offer the refuge and solitude they crave.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23For Janvrin, it offered enforced isolation,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26a curious no-man's land.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27Almost home.
0:23:35 > 0:23:40Across our entire isles, this coastal frontline is ever changing,
0:23:40 > 0:23:44thanks to the awesome power of nature.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53Pounding seas turn caves into blow holes and arches...
0:23:55 > 0:23:56..sea stacks...
0:23:59 > 0:24:01..and, finally, coves.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09But it's our sea caves that present the ultimate challenge.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13The more nature conspires to keep people out,
0:24:13 > 0:24:15the more we are drawn to explore.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22At Britain's sea cave capital, Papa Stour in the Shetland Islands,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Andy Torbet's on a mission to push the boundaries of science,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29using the latest technology to make caving history.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35I've come to the most formidable environment in Britain,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39to attempt something never done before.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43To do a full survey of a sea cave, using completely new technology.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48And not just any cave.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Hol o Bordie - Britain's longest sea cave.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56The Hol o Bordie runs all the way through here
0:24:56 > 0:25:00and it's only 130 feet, or 40 meters, beneath me now.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02And I'm itching to get in there.
0:25:05 > 0:25:10Believe it or not, in our high-tech world of maps and satellites and GPS,
0:25:10 > 0:25:12this cave has never officially been measured.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16It's like most of the caves on Papa Stour -
0:25:16 > 0:25:18treacherous and dangerous.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21There are only small weather windows when you can try and get in.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Mapping caves began as far back as the 16th century.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Then, it was done with a compass and measuring tape.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31It's part of a science known as speleology.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35To understand what I'm letting myself in for,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38I'm going to swim through one of the island's less turbulent caves.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Natural obstacles are clear to see -
0:25:56 > 0:26:01sheer walls, precarious ledges, a collapsed roof.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03This geology is breathtaking.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Believe it or not, this waterfall is all that remains of a lake.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20It used to be up there, but when the roof of the cave collapsed,
0:26:20 > 0:26:23the lake that sat on that roof drained completely into the sea.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27This cave represents what Hol o Bordie will one day become.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Caves like this are an ideal home for a myriad of sea life,
0:26:33 > 0:26:35including dahlia anemones,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37dead man's fingers
0:26:37 > 0:26:39and star fish.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44But whilst this cave is relatively calm,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Papa Stour's main attraction is notoriously difficult to access.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51So I've signed up a team of crack specialists.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59Surveyor and laser expert extraordinaire Kevin Dixon.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04To get us in and out in one piece, ace boatman Ryan Leith.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07And the final member of our team...
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Zebedee!
0:27:12 > 0:27:16There's a new piece of technology, that's out there now which is this -
0:27:16 > 0:27:17a 3D laser scanner.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Obviously, I'm not laughing at your shiny piece of new kit.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Well, I am actually laughing at your shiny new kit.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26I mean, it does look a little bit comic, mate, I've got to say.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Yeah, yeah. I mean, the inventors, they call this Zebedee.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32- I can see why. - You can see why, yeah. Yeah.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36Zebedee is a new surveyor's assistant,
0:27:36 > 0:27:38designed to swing in all directions.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41In expert hands, he captures data
0:27:41 > 0:27:44from the walls, roof and floor
0:27:44 > 0:27:46to create a 3D model of his surroundings.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50But he's never been tested in this way before,
0:27:50 > 0:27:52so we're making history.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55It's never been done in a sea cave...
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- Never?- ..from a boat.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59- OK.- Yeah? So this is going to be a first.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04We have just a tiny window of opportunity
0:28:04 > 0:28:06when we can enter Hol o Bordie.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Zebedee may look like something from The Magic Roundabout,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12but he's actually a masterpiece of robotic technology.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15He normally surveys buildings or mines.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19He's not used to being tossed around on the Atlantic Ocean.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22- It's just a mass of white water, isn't it?- Yeah, it is.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25This cave is in a danger league of its own.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31- Whoa...!- It's a bit like being inside a washing machine!
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Zebedee might be able to handle the treacherous conditions...
0:28:43 > 0:28:45..but it's too risky for us.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48There's every chance of the swell upending our boat
0:28:48 > 0:28:50or smashing us against the ceiling.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55There's a narrower section around the dogleg
0:28:55 > 0:28:58and it would be really, really dangerous
0:28:58 > 0:28:59once you got back there.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02So I think this is about as far as we're going to get today, unfortunately.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06But you can understand why there isn't an accurate survey.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09You've got to have just the right condition
0:29:09 > 0:29:12to get in here with the equipment and measure this.
0:29:12 > 0:29:13Yeah.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16As you probably guess,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19we're not going to get all the way through today.
0:29:19 > 0:29:20The further in we go, the worst it gets.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23The conditions, even at the entrance, are pretty dangerous,
0:29:23 > 0:29:28so, unfortunately, we're not going to be able to do the survey today.
0:29:30 > 0:29:31I'm gutted.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36The very forces that created this cave are now forcing us out.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43But we're not giving up yet.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47We're determined to make cave mapping history.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49It's time to see what Zebedee can do.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Papa Stour holds another secret cave
0:29:54 > 0:29:57that lies on a less exposed shore - Brei Holm.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59But it's no picnic.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02It twists and turns down numerous passageways.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05Its roof is partially collapsed.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07This assignment will test Zebedee to his limits.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09- Got it!- OK.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18We've just 30 minutes to get in and out.
0:30:18 > 0:30:19- Got it?- Yep.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25Zebedee takes over 40,000 accurate laser-point readings per second.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39The detail he can record could be crucial to science.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44Oh! A massive hole in the roof!
0:30:45 > 0:30:48If it works, surveys like this
0:30:48 > 0:30:50could be used to predict cave and tunnel collapse...
0:30:56 > 0:30:59.saving lives and transforming coastal management.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05- Here you are.- Got it.
0:31:05 > 0:31:06Excellent.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09Right, congratulations. It's a world first, I think.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11But have we been successful?
0:31:12 > 0:31:14We have a six-hour wait
0:31:14 > 0:31:16to automatically process Zebedee's data.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21When the results come through, they're fantastic.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24That is what we went through.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27OK, so this was where we came in originally?
0:31:27 > 0:31:29Yep, that's the main entrance.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32So is that the... That's the hole in the middle?
0:31:32 > 0:31:35- That's the hole in the middle, yeah. - Where the roof collapsed?- Yeah.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38- This is actually a lot more detailed than I expected it to be.- Yeah.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41You can even work out, almost, the height of the walls, can't you?
0:31:41 > 0:31:44Yeah, and you can start to see the geology in there, as well.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46You know, the different layers of rocks.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56Our experiment is a breakthrough in cave exploration.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00In accomplishing our mission, we've achieved a world first.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04Cometh the hour, cometh the Zebedee.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08A superhero on the boundaries of science.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Nature will always find a way to test us,
0:32:26 > 0:32:28put us back in our place.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31It's this challenge we find appealing.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35Our inquisitive nature means we always want to know
0:32:35 > 0:32:37what is round the next headland.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44We want to investigate every nook and cranny,
0:32:44 > 0:32:46every cave and cove.
0:32:47 > 0:32:52But as well as challenge us, nature can sometimes offer shelter.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59I'm on Jersey.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03It's a coast famed for its caves and coves.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08I'm exploring why these natural wonders hold such allure.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12As the sea tears away the rock, clues are revealed,
0:33:12 > 0:33:16showing how, thousands of years ago,
0:33:16 > 0:33:21these rugged walls became man's first basic home.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24At St Helier, some of the earliest cave dwellings in Europe
0:33:24 > 0:33:27have been found.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30They were revealed by chance in 1917,
0:33:30 > 0:33:33when a geologist's hat blew off his head
0:33:33 > 0:33:35and landed in a fissure at the base of a cliff.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40When he went to retrieve it, he discovered a cave
0:33:40 > 0:33:44that became one of the most important archaeological sites in Europe.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Nearly 100 years on,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Jersey's caves are still turning up ancient secrets.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Including thousands of prehistoric artefacts.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59Finds which are transforming our understanding
0:33:59 > 0:34:02of our oldest ancestors.
0:34:02 > 0:34:08I'm headed for Goat Cave or, as it's known here, La Cotte a la Chevre.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13It's a cave that connects us to another world -
0:34:13 > 0:34:18one of ice ages, mammoths and Neanderthals.
0:34:18 > 0:34:23This is one of the earliest inhabited sites in Europe.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Taking me on a journey back into the mists of time
0:34:28 > 0:34:33is an archaeologist on Jersey's Ice Age Project - Beccy Scott.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39Even though this cave is well above the high-water mark
0:34:39 > 0:34:41and doesn't require a boat,
0:34:41 > 0:34:43it's still a tricky place to reach.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46- Have we arrived?- Yes!
0:34:46 > 0:34:48- Wow!- There you go.
0:34:48 > 0:34:49How amazing!
0:34:51 > 0:34:53- Isn't it?- Gosh...
0:34:53 > 0:34:55It's much bigger than I thought.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Unlike caves made of porous limestone
0:34:58 > 0:35:01that have streams and running water seeping through them,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04this cave, made of granite, is bone dry.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09This must have been really cosy
0:35:09 > 0:35:13when it's chucking down with rain and blowing a blizzard outside
0:35:13 > 0:35:14and you're in here with a fire.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16And the thing that strikes me is that it's actually
0:35:16 > 0:35:18the scale of a house, isn't it?
0:35:18 > 0:35:22What 18, 20 feet high, but it's the width of a room.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24It's got a couple of pebbles on the floor.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28I think it's more than cosy. There's a kind of strange aura in here
0:35:28 > 0:35:30It's kind of rather a magical spot, isn't it?
0:35:36 > 0:35:39So who was it, Beccy, who lived in this luxury abode?
0:35:39 > 0:35:42We think it was occupied by Neanderthals
0:35:42 > 0:35:46from about 240,000 years ago.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50Neanderthals were our closest extinct human relatives
0:35:50 > 0:35:53and the genetic makeup of most Europeans today
0:35:53 > 0:35:57still contains 2% of their DNA.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00What did they look like, these Neanderthals? Is this one here?
0:36:00 > 0:36:02Yeah, I've got a reconstruction here,
0:36:02 > 0:36:03which might give you some idea.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06In particular are these big brow ridges here.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09- So not so very different. - Not so different, no.
0:36:10 > 0:36:15It's these broad brows and weak chin that mark out the Neanderthal skull
0:36:15 > 0:36:18as being distinct from that of Homo sapiens.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26Neanderthals lived in Europe for over 200,000 years.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28Hunter gatherers,
0:36:28 > 0:36:31they moved from place to place in small family groups.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Archaeologists believe they may have used language,
0:36:35 > 0:36:40buried their dead and cared for their sick and elderly.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Behaviours we would easily recognise.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45This is a special place
0:36:45 > 0:36:48because of where it's situated in the landscape,
0:36:48 > 0:36:50because, not only does it offer you shelter,
0:36:50 > 0:36:56but also these amazing views out over what is now the sea,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59but would then have been an open landscape.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08You'd expect to see large herd animals -
0:37:08 > 0:37:10horse, maybe, herds of mammoth.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17And sat up here, you'd have the perfect strategic position
0:37:17 > 0:37:20to actually monitor what's going on
0:37:20 > 0:37:23and maybe move out and intercept them.
0:37:23 > 0:37:24This is a perfect hunting camp.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30Archaeologists have found the bones of hyena, wolf, horse,
0:37:30 > 0:37:33woolly mammoth and rhino in this area.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37If you think of Neanderthals
0:37:37 > 0:37:40as hunters acquiring carcasses down there,
0:37:40 > 0:37:43that's something hyenas are immediately going to track in on
0:37:43 > 0:37:47and you're going to have trouble defending a kill down there.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49If you can start bringing portions up here,
0:37:49 > 0:37:53where you're safe with a cave at your back and a fire at the front,
0:37:53 > 0:37:55then that whole relationship
0:37:55 > 0:37:57with the other carnivores totally changes.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01This cave served several purposes -
0:38:01 > 0:38:05shelter, vantage point and haven.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07But what else can it tell us
0:38:07 > 0:38:10about the lives of the Neanderthals who used it?
0:38:10 > 0:38:13Flint have been collected and excavated from the cave.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16And you know the big rounded boulders in the cave?
0:38:16 > 0:38:18There's flint flakes scattered,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21particularly around the base of some of those,
0:38:21 > 0:38:25which might even suggest that these were being used as furniture.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28People are sitting on these and working flints,
0:38:28 > 0:38:32as you and I might plonk ourselves down on them today.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36Flint was essential to the survival of the people who lived in the cave.
0:38:36 > 0:38:41I want to find out whether I can cut it as a prehistoric flintknapper,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45so I'm taking a lesson from Beccy's team-mate James Dilly.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48What we'll need to start off with is something like this...
0:38:50 > 0:38:52It's just a flake of flint.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54You'd generally start with a much larger nodule,
0:38:54 > 0:38:56but something like this would be highly useful and valuable,
0:38:56 > 0:38:58especially somewhere here like Jersey.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Flint was the power tool of prehistory.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Weapons to catch food,
0:39:07 > 0:39:09blades to cut wood,
0:39:09 > 0:39:12knives to carve meat.
0:39:12 > 0:39:13And archaeologists suggest
0:39:13 > 0:39:18Neanderthals found this essential rock over 12 miles away
0:39:18 > 0:39:20and brought it back to their caves.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Yeah, good.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24Let's look underneath. Look at that.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29So you've already... You're on the way to making this symmetrical.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33You can see where this flaking appearance is starting to appear
0:39:33 > 0:39:37from that really blank, almost clean surface that we started with.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39It really won't take too much work.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42- We've got that serrated edge appearing.- Yeah, I can see. Yeah.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44- OK, can I have a go?- Mm-hm.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52We've lost a skill that would have been second nature to Neanderthals.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56God, you're just making it look stupidly simple.
0:39:56 > 0:39:57And all of these flakes
0:39:57 > 0:40:00are really, really useful cutting tools straightaway.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Yeah. I mean, gosh, that's like a razor blade - really sharp.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08This is the sound that would have been so common
0:40:08 > 0:40:09200,000 years ago, isn't it?
0:40:09 > 0:40:12The sound of a flintknapper working.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15The tap, tap. The tap and the tinkle, tap and the tinkle.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18Right, we've got the hind quarters of a deer here.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23So let's see how James's axe head works.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26- I'll tell you what, it's quite instinctive, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29A skilled butcher with one of these could dismantle these hind quarters
0:40:29 > 0:40:31- in ten minutes, probably. - Easily, yeah.- Yeah, yeah.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36Well, I've got my homemade axe, my flint-sliced venison
0:40:36 > 0:40:38and, in the spirit of Coast,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41I'm going to bed down for the night in La Cotte de la Chevre,
0:40:41 > 0:40:45reconnect with our Neanderthal ancestors by sleeping out in a cave.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54Tonight, I'll be laying my head on ground
0:40:54 > 0:41:00used by some of our earliest ancestors over 200,000 years ago.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06For me, as for them, this cave is home -
0:41:06 > 0:41:08for one night, at least.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13Well, this is pretty comfortable.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16And no hyenas to worry about, either.
0:41:17 > 0:41:18Good night, mate!
0:41:31 > 0:41:37Along our rugged coast, concealed in our caves and coves,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39we find glimpses of the past...
0:41:44 > 0:41:45..and the future.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48Man-made bays,
0:41:48 > 0:41:51caverns drilled through cliffs.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54But some caves go the extra mile.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58Near Saltburn-by-the-Sea,
0:41:58 > 0:42:03a man-made cave stretches deep into the earth's crust.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06An imposing potash mine,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09that holds more than valuable minerals.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14Physicist Helen Arney is finding out if it could hold the secret
0:42:14 > 0:42:16to solving a cosmic mystery.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20She's going in search of the holy grail of physics -
0:42:20 > 0:42:21dark matter.
0:42:21 > 0:42:26The question of how invisible forces shape our universe,
0:42:26 > 0:42:30the world around us, has always fascinated me.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33But a coastal cave in Yorkshire is the last place
0:42:33 > 0:42:36I expected to come in search of answers.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44But this is no ordinary cave.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48Over half a mile deep and extending more than six miles out to sea,
0:42:48 > 0:42:51this is Britain's deepest mine.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55It's also the home of one of the world's leading laboratories.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57Down there, dozens of scientists
0:42:57 > 0:43:01are trying to solve one of the biggest problems of the universe -
0:43:01 > 0:43:03what holds everything together?
0:43:05 > 0:43:06Gravity!
0:43:06 > 0:43:08Created by matter.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10And there are two types.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13Normal matter, things you can see and touch.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17But that makes up just 15% of the universe.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21So what makes up the remaining 85%?
0:43:21 > 0:43:22Dark matter.
0:43:23 > 0:43:28It's what binds galaxies together, like some sort of cosmic glue.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30Assuming the laws of physics are correct,
0:43:30 > 0:43:34there has to be an invisible force at work
0:43:34 > 0:43:38because, without it, galaxies would fly apart.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41There are just two catches -
0:43:41 > 0:43:42you can't see it,
0:43:42 > 0:43:44and, as yet, nobody's found it.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47But they are looking.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49Scientists have gone beyond our coast,
0:43:49 > 0:43:51building laboratories below the sea.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55That's where Dr Sean Paling spends most of his time.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58But today, he's come up for air.
0:43:58 > 0:44:03Why is a mine, a man-made cave, the place to look for dark matter?
0:44:03 > 0:44:06So we think dark matter is particles,
0:44:06 > 0:44:08subatomic particles all around us in space,
0:44:08 > 0:44:10up there, here, everywhere.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12But these particles, we think, are very, very hard to detect,
0:44:12 > 0:44:15so we need to go deep underground
0:44:15 > 0:44:17to get away from interference you get on the surface.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23Sean is taking me through the mine
0:44:23 > 0:44:25to the Boulby underground laboratory,
0:44:25 > 0:44:30which is at the forefront of the global race to find dark matter.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32I want to discover if the scientists there
0:44:32 > 0:44:36are any closer to finding the mysterious cosmic glue.
0:44:38 > 0:44:43The half-mile of rock above the laboratory acts as a filter,
0:44:43 > 0:44:46reducing the amount of interference from other particles
0:44:46 > 0:44:51and allowing the scientists to see the presence of dark matter more easily.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58The journey down is quite unnerving.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02Ten metres per second in a giant metal box.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06I do feel like I'm in the centre of the Earth!
0:45:08 > 0:45:10Finally, we reach the bottom.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16Eight minutes later, we're over a kilometre under the coast
0:45:16 > 0:45:19in this incredible cave.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26Nearly 1,000 people work in this city under the sea.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28But, despite all this activity,
0:45:28 > 0:45:30the dark matter lab is considered
0:45:30 > 0:45:33one the quietest places in the universe.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35Subatomically, that is!
0:45:37 > 0:45:39But it's not quite Star Trek.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43So this is one of the things you're using to find dark matter.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45So it's a dark matter detector.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48It's a machine that goes "Ping!" when a particle hits it.
0:45:48 > 0:45:50But what's different about it is,
0:45:50 > 0:45:53unlike other detectors around the world,
0:45:53 > 0:45:55this detector doesn't just go "Ping!",
0:45:55 > 0:45:58it can tell you the direction of the particle that hits it.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01Dark matter is tricky stuff to find,
0:46:01 > 0:46:03even in the depths of this man-made cave.
0:46:04 > 0:46:0620 years into the project,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09they are still waiting for the first dark-matter ping.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13The question still remains, have you found dark matter yet?
0:46:13 > 0:46:17So... Well, definitively, no, we haven't found any yet.
0:46:17 > 0:46:18But it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21It's like if you've lost your keys in your house somewhere
0:46:21 > 0:46:22and you're trying to find them.
0:46:22 > 0:46:23If you look in the kitchen,
0:46:23 > 0:46:26the lounge, and you haven't found it, it doesn't mean it's not there.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28You've still got the rest of the house to look.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30And the same is true with the search for dark matter.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32We haven't found it yet.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34It could be this year, it could be five years' time.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40It could be a long wait.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48But the scientists refuse to give up their search.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56The scientists working out there in that man-made cave
0:46:56 > 0:46:59are working at the cutting edge of physics.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03It's ironic that, to discover the secrets of the world up here
0:47:03 > 0:47:05and the universe up there,
0:47:05 > 0:47:09you have to delve into the darkest recesses of our coast.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34We're on a cave and cove adventure.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37Our playground is our coast.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40Home to thousands of sea caves
0:47:40 > 0:47:42and countless coves.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47Shelter for both man and beast.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53Where the sea has eaten away the coast's soft rock,
0:47:53 > 0:47:55horseshoe havens are formed.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58Coves - a refuge from the open sea.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04Mark Horton is on Cornwall's Lizard Peninsula -
0:48:04 > 0:48:07a coast famed for its breathtaking coves.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10A welcome sight for those in need.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13Never more so during times of war.
0:48:14 > 0:48:19It's Saturday March 1st, 1941.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21The Second World War is underway,
0:48:21 > 0:48:24and out on the deep ocean,
0:48:24 > 0:48:27the U-boat menace is taking its toll on ships
0:48:27 > 0:48:30carrying vital cargo to war-torn Britain.
0:48:31 > 0:48:32Many lives are lost,
0:48:32 > 0:48:37and those who survive face a desperate struggle to shore.
0:48:37 > 0:48:42A solitary lifeboat edges its way towards Caerthillian Cove,
0:48:42 > 0:48:43just over there.
0:48:45 > 0:48:4813 days adrift on the open seas,
0:48:48 > 0:48:51just seven men are left.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54Entering the cove meant running the gauntlet
0:48:54 > 0:48:57of treacherous currents and rocks
0:48:57 > 0:49:00for the men already half dead.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03Within reach of safety...
0:49:03 > 0:49:04disaster.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10A colossal wave plunges them into the raging seas...
0:49:11 > 0:49:15..condemning six of them to a watery grave.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Just one man remains alive.
0:49:19 > 0:49:24His struggle for survival is being watched by a group of onlookers
0:49:24 > 0:49:26on the cliffs above.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33Amongst those watching this struggle for life
0:49:33 > 0:49:37were child evacuees Betty and Denis Driver,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40sent to Cornwall to escape the Blitz.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43I just remember looking down here and seeing this lifeboat
0:49:43 > 0:49:46being crushed up against the rocks,
0:49:46 > 0:49:48and then back again and then back and forth
0:49:48 > 0:49:50and the waves were horrific.
0:49:52 > 0:49:54The alarm was raised.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58Local villagers hauled the sole survivor to the shore.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02- He was absolutely freezing, wasn't he?- Yes, he was.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04And were you able to help?
0:50:04 > 0:50:08I took my pixie hood off and put it around his feet.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Whether that did any good, I don't know.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13Who was this man?
0:50:13 > 0:50:17Why was he washed up in a Cornish cove?
0:50:17 > 0:50:21He was a sailor on the SS Gairsoppa.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26Here she is, one of thousands of merchant vessels
0:50:26 > 0:50:29pressed into service during the Second World War.
0:50:31 > 0:50:36Carrying essential war supplies and targeted by German U-boats,
0:50:36 > 0:50:41the Gairsoppa had been part of a convoy bound for Liverpool.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43Setting sail from Calcutta,
0:50:43 > 0:50:48she was largely manned by an Indian crew and British officers.
0:50:49 > 0:50:54Falling behind the convoy, the Gairsoppa became separated.
0:50:54 > 0:51:00Stalked by German U-boat, one deadly torpedo struck her bow.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06In the chaos, the crew scrambled into lifeboats.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10But only one sailor - the ship's second officer,
0:51:10 > 0:51:13Richard Ayres - survived.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17I'm meeting his granddaughter, Carolyn,
0:51:17 > 0:51:19in the cove where the rescue occurred.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21Hello, Mark. Nice to meet you.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23Did your grandfather say much about his experiences?
0:51:23 > 0:51:27He didn't, no. He didn't talk about it very much at all.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30We have got some written accounts, though, that he left.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33"The vessel was torpedoed in number two hold on the starboard side.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36"The captain gave the order to abandon the ship,
0:51:36 > 0:51:39"but they were under fire from the submarine, which had surfaced."
0:51:41 > 0:51:46Within minutes, the Gairsoppa slipped beneath the icy waters.
0:51:46 > 0:51:5133 men made it into a lifeboat, with Richard in charge.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55So, does he say anything about the conditions on board the lifeboat?
0:51:55 > 0:51:58He says here that, after the fourth day, deaths occurred from frostbite
0:51:58 > 0:52:01and also the effects of drinking saltwater.
0:52:03 > 0:52:08They rowed 380 miles in search of shore.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12The fate of those who didn't make it
0:52:12 > 0:52:15can be found in a nearby churchyard.
0:52:23 > 0:52:24Robert Hampshire.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27He was just 18 when he died.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36"A sailor of the Second World War, SS Gairsoppa."
0:52:36 > 0:52:39I wonder whether that's one of the lascars,
0:52:39 > 0:52:42one of the Indian sailors who drowned.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47Nameless, and buried so far from home.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54The Gairsoppa wasn't carrying munitions.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57So what was her precious cargo?
0:52:58 > 0:53:01Silver bullion. 110 tonnes of it.
0:53:01 > 0:53:06Worth, in today's money, £60 million.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10But why was silver so vital to the British war effort?
0:53:10 > 0:53:15I'm hoping that Dr Kevin Clancy from the Royal Mint can tell me.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19So, Kevin, this is an actual ingot from the Gairsoppa?
0:53:19 > 0:53:20That's right.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24Why were they bringing silver all the way to Britain from India?
0:53:24 > 0:53:25The silver coinage of Britain
0:53:25 > 0:53:27had had silver in it for a thousand years.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30And so needing to maintain supplies of bullion -
0:53:30 > 0:53:33however that was done from across the world - that was very important.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35There are symbols of the nation that you trust,
0:53:35 > 0:53:37like the flag and the national anthem.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39And the coinage is one of those building blocks
0:53:39 > 0:53:41of national identity and trust.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45Britain's wartime economy was in desperate straits
0:53:45 > 0:53:48and people needed some sense of security.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52The silver coins in their pocket represented hard cash.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56But they also offered reassurance and continuity.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00For 70 years, the Gairsoppa's precious cargo
0:54:00 > 0:54:03lay in a watery grave.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06Three miles beneath the ocean -
0:54:06 > 0:54:09that's a mile deeper than the Titanic -
0:54:09 > 0:54:12the wreck of the Gairsoppa was found.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17Having found the Gairsoppa,
0:54:17 > 0:54:22Odyssey Marine Exploration launched the deepest precious metal recovery
0:54:22 > 0:54:25in maritime history to salvage the silver.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29Marine archaeologist Neil Dobson
0:54:29 > 0:54:32was part of the team that tracked the Gairsoppa
0:54:32 > 0:54:35to her final resting place in the Irish Sea.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40Good shipwrecks always start with good historical research,
0:54:40 > 0:54:41and we were able to find it.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43Gosh, you can see the ship so clearly, can't you?
0:54:43 > 0:54:45It looks like a photograph.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47The next part is to go down there and have a look.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49Well, what we do, we bring in another vessel
0:54:49 > 0:54:51and have a specialist ROV system -
0:54:51 > 0:54:52remotely operated vehicle -
0:54:52 > 0:54:55and it has specialist cameras on it.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04And we're starting on the bow here and we're moving aft down the side.
0:55:04 > 0:55:06You can see the railings.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14It's just, like, frozen in time and you can see this ship appear.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16It's just spooky.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21This ship was home to 84 men,
0:55:21 > 0:55:22who gave their lives
0:55:22 > 0:55:26attempting to bring the much-needed silver to Britain.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30And, of course, from all the features, all put together -
0:55:30 > 0:55:33and like a good detective story - it was the Gairsoppa.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38A specialist ship was brought in to recover the silver.
0:55:42 > 0:55:472,792 ingots were brought to the surface.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53Over 70 years after that fateful voyage,
0:55:53 > 0:55:57the Royal Mint have issued a series of silver coins
0:55:57 > 0:56:00to commemorate the Gairsoppa's loss.
0:56:00 > 0:56:05Now, I'm on a journey back to Caerthillian Cove
0:56:05 > 0:56:10to tell the final chapter in this tale of wartime sacrifice.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15In the very cove where Carolyn's grandfather nearly perished
0:56:15 > 0:56:17all those years ago,
0:56:17 > 0:56:21I've brought her to meet Betty and Denis for the first time.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24I've brought along some photographs of his, as well, of the time,
0:56:24 > 0:56:25just shortly afterwards,
0:56:25 > 0:56:29when he was better and he had a tea party with you all.
0:56:29 > 0:56:30Yes.
0:56:30 > 0:56:31Look at that one!
0:56:32 > 0:56:34- So, which is you?- This one.
0:56:34 > 0:56:36There you are.
0:56:36 > 0:56:37You haven't changed.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40I've got another surprise for you,
0:56:40 > 0:56:43because Kevin is here from the Royal Mint
0:56:43 > 0:56:45to give you something really special.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48The purpose of the journey the Gairsoppa took all those years ago
0:56:48 > 0:56:52was to transport silver from India to make British coins.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54And, finally, we've been able to complete that journey.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56I couldn't be more honoured than to...
0:56:56 > 0:56:59- Oh, lovely. Thank you very much. - ..give you each...
0:56:59 > 0:57:01- Oh, that's lovely, yes. Very nice. - ..a specimen of the coin.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03And was this made from the silver
0:57:03 > 0:57:05that was actually from the Gairsoppa?
0:57:05 > 0:57:07It's the very silver from the ship
0:57:07 > 0:57:09and it's eventually been turned into coinage,
0:57:09 > 0:57:10as it was originally intended.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12BOTH: Thank you very much.
0:57:18 > 0:57:19Yes, lovely.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30The grave of the SS Gairsoppa may lie out there somewhere
0:57:30 > 0:57:32three miles beneath the ocean.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35But it's in this cove
0:57:35 > 0:57:40that the human story of wartime struggle and endeavour can be told.
0:57:41 > 0:57:46For Richard Ayres, the sole survivor of the Gairsoppa disaster,
0:57:46 > 0:57:51this cove offered refuge from the ravages of war.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00Caves and coves,
0:58:00 > 0:58:02sculpted by the sea,
0:58:02 > 0:58:06hold hidden secrets of the past.
0:58:11 > 0:58:16These natural wonders intrigue and entice us,
0:58:16 > 0:58:18offering seclusion...
0:58:20 > 0:58:21..shelter...
0:58:23 > 0:58:26..and stories that tell us who we are.
0:58:33 > 0:58:35The sea's calm, the sun's shining
0:58:35 > 0:58:37mine are the only footprints.
0:58:37 > 0:58:41One of those moments when the coast becomes your very own haven.