0:00:10 > 0:00:15The Northern Isles, where the Atlantic meets the North Sea.
0:00:15 > 0:00:22Giant rock stacks, treacherous seas, secret bays and over 170 islands
0:00:23 > 0:00:27This is the northernmost extreme of the British Isles.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Over there, it's the Arctic Circle.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34In that direction, it's Norway.
0:00:34 > 0:00:35This is the very edge.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39Our new adventures start at the tip of Shetland
0:00:39 > 0:00:40down to the tail of Orkney.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45Along the way, I'm joined by some familiar faces.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Alice Roberts examines an ancient Shetlander.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52That's someone who lived 1,800 years ago.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57Nick Crane hunts for evidence of a giant killer wave!
0:00:57 > 0:00:59A wall of water 20 metres high.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Miranda Krestovnikoff
0:01:01 > 0:01:06is on the trail of Orkney's elusive underwater thief - the octopus.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11And Mark Horton searches for hidden dangers that wreck unwary ships.
0:01:11 > 0:01:1612, 11... We should be keeping our fingers crossed. ..10.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19This is terrifying.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Me? My destination is one of the most amazing sights
0:01:22 > 0:01:25in the British Isles and a great adventure.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34Welcome to the story of Coast in the Northern Isles.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04You could be forgiven for thinking Shetland and Orkney
0:02:04 > 0:02:07are located in boxes off Scotland -
0:02:07 > 0:02:10it's usually how they appear on maps.
0:02:10 > 0:02:15In fact, we're headed 250 miles north of Aberdeen.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19From Shetland, we're hopping over to Fair Isle, before we reach Orkney
0:02:19 > 0:02:23and our final destination - the Old Man of Hoy.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Our journey begins at the very top - Muckle Flugga.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33This lighthouse is the first sighting
0:02:33 > 0:02:35of British soil for northern seafarers.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46What a fantastic place to start our journey on Unst,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50the most northerly inhabited island in the British Isles.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58I already know a few things about Shetland - it hasn't got any trees,
0:02:58 > 0:02:59it's had an oil boom
0:02:59 > 0:03:03and its history is more Scandinavian than Scottish.
0:03:05 > 0:03:11But when you get here you find this - an early warning station.
0:03:14 > 0:03:20Saxa Vord used to track German U-boats and Soviet aircraft.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25But it's not on red alert any more. Now the island's going green.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39This tiny car runs on hydrogen gas!
0:03:40 > 0:03:45'It's the brainchild of Unst man Ross Gazey.' Ross.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48- Hi, Neil.- How you doing?- Not too bad.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51What is a hydrogen-powered car doing on Unst?
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Well, I had this idea for hydrogen power
0:03:54 > 0:03:56and all the things it could be used for
0:03:56 > 0:03:59and this car has become part of that.
0:03:59 > 0:04:00Where do you get hydrogen from?
0:04:00 > 0:04:04You don't see a lot of that in the cold counter at the supermarket!
0:04:04 > 0:04:08We actually make our own hydrogen from wind power and tap water.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11- You're pulling my leg.- Not at all.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15We take electrical power from the wind turbines that we have
0:04:15 > 0:04:18and we use it to generate hydrogen from tap water
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and you do that just by passing your electrical current through water
0:04:21 > 0:04:25and it breaks water down into hydrogen and oxygen.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29- Couldn't give us a lift, could you? - No problem. Jump in.- Excellent.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33'This car's got no harmful emissions.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36'The only thing that comes out of the exhaust is water.'
0:04:39 > 0:04:41What is the top speed of the vehicle?
0:04:41 > 0:04:4345 miles an hour.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Hi-tech hydrogen cars might be the island's future,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55but right now this one's taking me on a journey back in time.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03I'm travelling down the east coast of Shetland to Baltasound.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09This is exactly the sort of scene I was expecting -
0:05:09 > 0:05:12just a few houses and buildings dotted about.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14There's not a soul to be seen.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16It's very peaceful and quiet.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20But I know for a fact that here at Baltasound,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22it wasn't always this way.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30This was once a boom town.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33In its heyday the prize was silver, the "silver darlings of the sea"
0:05:33 > 0:05:35- herring.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44'Ian Napier knows the story.'
0:05:45 > 0:05:48What would this bay have looked like at the height of the herring boom?
0:05:48 > 0:05:51It would have been a real hive of industry.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53There's a record of as many as 16,000 people here
0:05:53 > 0:05:56for the herring season.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58So this place would just have been, well, crowded.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Yeah. I mean, you hear stories
0:06:00 > 0:06:03about being able to cross the bay without getting your feet wet.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06There were more than 2,000 fishing boats
0:06:06 > 0:06:08based in Shetland for the season.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10There would have been a series of piers
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and each one would have had a little huddle of buildings with it.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16When the fleet was in, it must have been very crowded.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25At its peak in 1905, almost a quarter of a million barrels
0:06:25 > 0:06:27of cured herring were packed here
0:06:27 > 0:06:29and dispatched to Eastern Europe.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33It created opportunities.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36The gutting and the packing of the herring into the barrels
0:06:36 > 0:06:37was all done by women.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40There would have been thousands of women working here.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43It was perhaps the first time
0:06:43 > 0:06:47that they had had the opportunity to earn cash.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51The boom was inevitably followed by bust.
0:06:51 > 0:06:57By the 1930s, bigger, faster ships started to bypass Baltasound
0:06:57 > 0:06:59and this small harbour fell silent.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Shetlanders have to live with the ebb and flow of opportunities.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15The history of their struggle
0:07:15 > 0:07:18is written around the ribbon of this coast.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Remarkable secrets of an ancient civilization
0:07:23 > 0:07:26are beginning to emerge at Sandwick Bay.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32When coastal erosion revealed curious stones,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35the foundations of a 2,000-year-old settlement,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37the islanders got together
0:07:37 > 0:07:41with a team of archaeologists to unearth their Iron Age past.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48It's the discovery of a virtually intact skeleton
0:07:48 > 0:07:50that makes this dig so exciting.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51Who is this?
0:07:51 > 0:07:55And what can their burial tell us about this ancient society?
0:08:00 > 0:08:05It's a mystery that bone expert Dr Alice Roberts hopes to solve.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Now this dig is quite special to me
0:08:09 > 0:08:12because it's a chance to find out more about prehistoric Shetland
0:08:12 > 0:08:14and to find out specifically
0:08:14 > 0:08:17about the lives of people in the Iron age here on Unst,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19but also to meet one of those people.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28The islanders are working with Dr Olivia Lelong and her team
0:08:28 > 0:08:33to investigate this community and their unusual buildings.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35It is literally right on the shore, isn't it?
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Yeah, you can see the wall standing up here,
0:08:38 > 0:08:39and it would have carried on up,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42probably curving around like that with the slabs
0:08:42 > 0:08:44forming walls and the roof.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48And all of this construction is going on in stone,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51which is very weird compared with the rest of Britain
0:08:51 > 0:08:53where you've got a lot of timber round houses
0:08:53 > 0:08:55being built in the Iron Age.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Here you've got buildings with stone floors, stone walls, stone roofs.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Yes, just using what they had in clever ways.
0:09:02 > 0:09:03They didn't have trees
0:09:03 > 0:09:05so they used the materials they had to hand.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12The discovery of hearths, fish and animal bones and pottery
0:09:12 > 0:09:14suggests that these are homes.
0:09:14 > 0:09:15But who was living here?
0:09:18 > 0:09:22I've been asked to put my skills as a bone expert to the test
0:09:22 > 0:09:25and examine the remains of this ancient islander.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33The bones have been carbon dated at 1,800 years old,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35but that's all that's known.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39It is quite unusual to have bones this well preserved,
0:09:39 > 0:09:41so this means the better preserved they are,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43the more they can tell us.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46We'll be able to tell whether this person's male or female,
0:09:46 > 0:09:48how tall they were,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51how healthy they were in childhood,
0:09:51 > 0:09:57and that's somebody who lived 1,800 years ago on Unst.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03The volunteers have christened the skeleton their "Pictish Princess".
0:10:03 > 0:10:07The Picts lived in northern Scotland around 1,800 years ago,
0:10:07 > 0:10:09a date that matches these bones.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12So Pictish maybe, but a princess?
0:10:12 > 0:10:14What does the skeleton tell us?
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Is it a she or a he?
0:10:18 > 0:10:21If you just take one of these pelvic bones and just look at it.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25And the narrowness of that would very much lead me to the conclusion
0:10:25 > 0:10:27that this is likely to be male.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31In terms of what you can look for on the skull,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34there is a ridge above the ear hole just here.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38So that's masculine. And quite a nose!
0:10:38 > 0:10:41I'm going to say on balance I think it's a male
0:10:41 > 0:10:44and it's a male with quite a nose on him.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45Now I know the sex,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48I can calculate his height from his bone measurements.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Five foot seven, so he's the same height as me.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57There's no evidence of disease or malnutrition here.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59This coastline provided a rich,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02varied diet for these Iron Age people.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06The teeth are in pretty good condition, actually.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07There's no tooth decay.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09So this is a young adult,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12who if they were alive today, wouldn't need to have any fillings.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15'We're gradually piecing together what life was like
0:11:15 > 0:11:18'for this ancient community but there's more.'
0:11:18 > 0:11:21- Are these some of the artefacts that were buried with it?- Yes.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24That's amazing that it was actually found
0:11:24 > 0:11:26in the excavation. It's so tiny.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30It's a spiral of copper alloy bronze
0:11:30 > 0:11:34with two little rings of what might be glass.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37- That's amazing.- This was placed just beside the mouth.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41There's various theories about what they were.
0:11:41 > 0:11:42I think the most popular
0:11:42 > 0:11:45is that they were mirrors or a picture of the moon.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48It almost looks like it's got craters on it, doesn't it?
0:11:48 > 0:11:51- It's one of these things we'll never know.- Probably not.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56'But there is one thing I can say for certain.'
0:11:56 > 0:11:59It's not a Pictish princess, it's a male skeleton.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Really? A boy. A Pictish prince.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03- A Pictish prince, yeah.- There you go.
0:12:03 > 0:12:09This coast once nurtured a people who didn't just survive here,
0:12:09 > 0:12:10they had an appreciation of beauty,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12they made exquisite things
0:12:12 > 0:12:16and they shared a culture where respect for the dead was important.
0:12:16 > 0:12:181,800 years ago,
0:12:18 > 0:12:23a young man was buried on this beach looking out to sea,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26and this burial and in fact the whole excavation
0:12:26 > 0:12:28has brought together the community
0:12:28 > 0:12:31to uncover its own heritage
0:12:31 > 0:12:37and to find out what it really means to be an islander on Unst.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Over 100 islands make up Shetland,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05creating a coastline that's a staggering 900 miles long.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12On mainland Britain, you're never more than 72 miles from the sea.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Here on Shetland, that maximum distance is three miles.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20Life here is about as coastal as it gets.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Living so close to the sea certainly isn't stress free.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29These islands are in the firing line
0:13:29 > 0:13:32for some of the most severe storms in the British Isles.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Force ten gales and 30-foot waves are common.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40The north-west mainland is the worst hit -
0:13:40 > 0:13:43it bears the brunt of the North Atlantic storm track.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49That's where Nick Crane is headed.
0:13:51 > 0:13:52I'm on the coast of Esha Ness,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55one of the most remote spots in the British Isles.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00On one side, hundreds of acres of bog and moor, on the other side,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02the North Atlantic.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06Between the sea and the land, a narrow coastal battleground.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09On the defence, the ancient rocks of Shetland.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13On the attack, the power of waves.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20This is the Grind O' Da Navir.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24The rock was created millennia ago by volcanic lava flow.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29Now all that remains of the cliff top is a spectacular amphitheatre
0:14:29 > 0:14:33hewn out of the rock by gigantic storm waves.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37I want to know how the titanic battle
0:14:37 > 0:14:40between sea and rock reshapes this coast.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Someone who's as captivated by the sea's power as I am
0:14:44 > 0:14:47is local geologist Allen Fraser.
0:14:48 > 0:14:54I was out here on 12th January last year when we had a really big storm,
0:14:54 > 0:14:56one that quarried out these boulders.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03In 2005, Allen recorded this video.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06It captures the aftermath of a 70mph gale
0:15:06 > 0:15:11that tore into the rock, leaving its mark on the cliff top.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14This is a massive boulder field, isn't it?
0:15:14 > 0:15:16There's a very large boulder beach here.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18I first thought this was a quarry
0:15:18 > 0:15:23and I wondered why on Earth would anyone want to build a quarry here.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28In a way, I was right because it is a quarry but not a manmade quarry.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32I've never seen anything like it anywhere.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34I'll show you some fresh quarrying marks.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36A large block has been prised off the cliff.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39- You can see how fresh it is. - That's impressive.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43So these rocks getting pulled out of the bedrock
0:15:43 > 0:15:46and then just flung back and back and back
0:15:46 > 0:15:49- until they hit the big ridge at the back.- That's right, yep.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55So this is where it's coming through here - the gateway?
0:15:55 > 0:15:58- Yes.- The sea bursts through this narrow opening.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01It's like someone turning a power hose onto these rocks.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03When you've got a really big storm,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05a wave would actually fill it right up,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08just tearing through this gap.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Just a great wall of water coming through there,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15plucking off boulders and hurling them backwards.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17It's making me uncomfortable standing here
0:16:17 > 0:16:19in the firing line of that gateway.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Yes, perhaps we should move on!
0:16:21 > 0:16:25These boulders have been tossed like pebbles.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29It's just one of the ways waves have transformed this landscape.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32This coast is strewn with clues,
0:16:32 > 0:16:36clues which reveal the terrifying power of the sea.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38You just have to know where to look.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46Across the loch from one of the UK's biggest oil terminals,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50I'm on the hunt for signs of a cataclysmic event which hit
0:16:50 > 0:16:52these islands thousands of years ago.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00'Apparently the evidence is hidden in the peat banks of Sullom Voe.'
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Lovely beach you've brought me to here, Adrian.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07'Geomorphologist Adrian Hall is going to show me what to look for.'
0:17:09 > 0:17:11- This is peat.- Well, I know that.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15It's got a wonderful environmental history locked in there.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18- We've got the modern vegetation here.- That's where we are today.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21And then here we've got the dried-out peat
0:17:21 > 0:17:23and then clear layers in the peat.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25And then when we get down to about here,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27we've got a very, very clear change.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31It's mainly sand, but as you can see there are lumps of gravel.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Yeah, a sudden change of colour, isn't there? And texture.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37But even more striking are these lumps of peat
0:17:37 > 0:17:41which clearly have been torn up from some pre-existing peat bank.
0:17:41 > 0:17:48Let's just have a look at that. The sand layer is really quite thick
0:17:48 > 0:17:50with marine organisms in it,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53so you've got to have a process that brings this material
0:17:53 > 0:17:54from the sea bed and up onto land.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58- So what it is?- There's only one thing that can produce deposits of sand
0:17:58 > 0:18:02- 20 metres above sea level and that's a tsunami.- A tidal wave?!
0:18:02 > 0:18:03A tidal wave.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08The sand layer buried in this peat is evidence of a tsunami
0:18:08 > 0:18:11that hit this coastline 7,000 years ago.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15It was caused by a gigantic underwater avalanche
0:18:15 > 0:18:17on the continental slope off Norway.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21When a mass of sediment collapsed onto the sea bed,
0:18:21 > 0:18:26it generated killer waves destined for Shetland 250 miles away.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Well, the first hunter-gatherers
0:18:29 > 0:18:32were already on Shetland 7,500 years ago,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35so we've got to imagine this as a broad open valley,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38the sea far, far out there, and then suddenly on the horizon,
0:18:38 > 0:18:43there would be a wall of water and it would be moving very rapidly.
0:18:43 > 0:18:44So it funnelled down Sullom Voe
0:18:44 > 0:18:47and got constrained between the two shores.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50it would build and grow until eventually
0:18:50 > 0:18:53you were looking at a wall of water 20m high.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59And then it would break and surge forward into this area,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02carrying the debris and hurling it against the land.
0:19:05 > 0:19:10The low lying parts of Shetland would have been completely overwhelmed.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15This ancient tsunami reached as far south as the English border.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20The tsunami which struck these islands was a freak event,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24but the waves being generated by North Atlantic weather patterns
0:19:24 > 0:19:26are not and they can be just as ferocious.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Big waves are going to reach further inland.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Life on the edge could get a lot more precarious.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03This coast might be inhospitable
0:20:03 > 0:20:06but that hasn't deterred generations of invaders.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11The Vikings landed here and sited their capital
0:20:11 > 0:20:13at the harbour village of Scalloway.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19These islands do feel very different from the rest of Scotland.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23They were under Norwegian rule right up until the 15th century.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27The ties to Norway are very, very strong.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32They were never stronger, though, than during the Second World War.
0:20:34 > 0:20:40In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Norway.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Shetland's neighbour needed help
0:20:42 > 0:20:46and the North Sea offered a lifeline to Norwegian resistance fighters.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51The islands became the base for a daring, secret operation -
0:20:51 > 0:20:52the Shetland Bus.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57The "bus" was a fleet of fishing boats
0:20:57 > 0:21:02which smuggled people out and agents in to occupied Norway.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Many lives were saved and many lost.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12The islanders have never forgotten the sacrifice of these men.
0:21:13 > 0:21:19The names, the age, when they died and the boats that they were on.
0:21:19 > 0:21:2323, 28, 21, 21. Just wee boys.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Just boys.
0:21:26 > 0:21:32'Karen Anderson's father was one of the Norwegian sailors who survived.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35'At 23 years old, Kare Iversen risked everything for his homeland.'
0:21:35 > 0:21:39So how did your dad get involved in that story?
0:21:39 > 0:21:45Dad escaped from Norway in 1941
0:21:45 > 0:21:48in his father's boat
0:21:48 > 0:21:51and they came across to Shetland and he was approached
0:21:51 > 0:21:55to see if he was suitable for the Shetland Bus and he was.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Most of their missions were carried out in winter,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03when the dark nights provided some cover for the 500-mile round trip
0:22:03 > 0:22:05across the North Sea to Norway.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Ammunition was stored at Scalloway Castle
0:22:10 > 0:22:12while resistance fighters and refugees
0:22:12 > 0:22:14found shelter with the locals.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22The men became heroes.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24After the war, their bravery was celebrated
0:22:24 > 0:22:27in the Norwegian feature film The Shetland Gang.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37It was very dangerous because they didn't know
0:22:37 > 0:22:39what they were going across to Norway to face.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41The weather was against them
0:22:41 > 0:22:45and the Norwegian fishing boats they were using weren't big.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47He said if he was captured,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50that they all had a cyanide pill to take,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53rather than be interrogated by the Germans.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59Losses were heavy - over 100 died in storms or German attacks.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06But many lives were saved.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10By the end of the war, more than 350 refugees had been carried to safety.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21How much does the story of the story of Shetland Bus
0:23:21 > 0:23:24- still mean to people in Shetland?- Oh, a great deal.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27I'm very proud of my dad. Really.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31I mean, I cannae say in words how I feel about what...not only him,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33but what other Norwegian boys did.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38It's part of Scalloway's history, always will be.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02These islands have provided safe refuge to many.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Its rich, unspoilt coastline is a haven for wildlife.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Seals are at home in these well-stocked waters
0:24:10 > 0:24:13and there's a large population of otters.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20'I'm catching a ride with skipper Tom Jamieson
0:24:20 > 0:24:22'who knows the seas off this coast.'
0:24:22 > 0:24:24- All right, Tom.- Hello, Neil.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27What kind of wildlife is supposed to be out here?
0:24:27 > 0:24:29We've had minke whales in.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31And also killer whales.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35We never used to see killer whales - there are more of them around now.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43These waters aren't just teeming with wildlife.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45North Sea shipping passes the southern tip of Shetland
0:24:45 > 0:24:47on its way to the Atlantic.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54At Garths Ness, one vessel's journey would end in disaster.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59At 5.10am on the 5th January 1993,
0:24:59 > 0:25:03the coastguard received a distress call from the crew of an oil tanker
0:25:03 > 0:25:08whose engines had broken ten miles off the coast of Sumburgh Head.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16Gusts of up to 97 miles an hour were driving the oil tanker Braer ashore.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19After a six-hour struggle, she ran aground.
0:25:21 > 0:25:2584,000 tonnes of toxic crude oil spewed out into the sea,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28creating the worst environmental disaster
0:25:28 > 0:25:30ever to hit the British coast.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Coastguards managed to winch the crew to safety,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39but Shetland's wildlife was not so lucky.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44Seabird colonies, seals, shellfish, fish hatcheries,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46grazing bays were all badly polluted.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Shetland braced itself for the worst.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53The storm raged for almost a month,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56seriously hampering the clean-up campaign.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58But the brutal power of the waves
0:25:58 > 0:26:01started to work in the islanders' favour.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Ultimately the sea's power broke up the oil
0:26:06 > 0:26:08and helped clean up the shores.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14The sheer force of the pounding water
0:26:14 > 0:26:16acted like a giant washing machine,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19churning up the oil and dispersing it out to sea.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25These islands are constantly at the mercy of the elements,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28but on this occasion, nature came to the rescue.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46Shetland may feel like a different world to the mainland,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49but to some people, it IS the mainland.
0:26:49 > 0:26:5324 miles out to sea is Fair Isle.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Three miles long and a mile and a half wide,
0:26:57 > 0:27:01you're only ever three-quarters of a mile from the sea here.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03This is home to fewer than 80 people,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06many drawn here by a way of life
0:27:06 > 0:27:10that is hard to find anywhere else in the UK.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15SHIPPING FORECAST: Thundery rain or showers. Moderate or good.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Fair Isle, south four or five,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21occasionally six becoming variable three or four.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26Rain or showers - moderate with fog patches, occasionally good later.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30'I think lots of people will know of Fair Isle
0:27:30 > 0:27:33'from the shipping forecast.
0:27:33 > 0:27:34'I'm Dave Wheeler.'
0:27:34 > 0:27:37'I'm a weather observer on Fair Isle'
0:27:37 > 0:27:41doing regular weather observations every hour of the day
0:27:41 > 0:27:43from six in the morning till six at night
0:27:43 > 0:27:46for 35 years now.
0:27:49 > 0:27:5112.4.
0:27:53 > 0:27:560.1mm of rain.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01People do ask me quite frequently what the weather is going to do.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05- Tomorrow will not be too bad a day. - Boat tomorrow?
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Yeah, it looks like a boat day.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13'I hope I can give them a good service.' OK, bye!
0:28:13 > 0:28:16'If I'm wrong, they don't hold it against me.'
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Hello, puss!
0:28:20 > 0:28:22This is the sunshine recorder.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Hmm, no sun. Surprise, surprise!
0:28:32 > 0:28:37And we said, what, visibility? Hmm, 50 metres visibility.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39Dense fog.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42We hope for a better day tomorrow.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46SHIPPING FORECAST: Fair Isle, south four or five,
0:28:46 > 0:28:51occasionally six, moderate with fog patches, occasionally good later.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59Over 67 different islands make up Orkney,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02or, as they were known to their Viking rulers, Orkneyjar -
0:29:02 > 0:29:04seal islands.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Nowadays the island-hopping lifestyle of the locals
0:29:11 > 0:29:13has led to a unique claim to fame.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17People come from all over the world
0:29:17 > 0:29:21to fly less than two miles between Papa Westray and Westray.
0:29:28 > 0:29:33Here we are then, wheels up on the world's shortest scheduled flight.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36I have to say, it's all going very well so far.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41This journey usually takes a couple of minutes,
0:29:41 > 0:29:43but it's been done in just 69 seconds
0:29:43 > 0:29:45when it made the Guinness Book of Records.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49Somebody once told me that the most dangerous part of flying
0:29:49 > 0:29:51is taking off and landing,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54but that's all this flight is - a take-off and a landing.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57This flight might seem a little extravagant,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00but the £14 fare is subsidised
0:30:00 > 0:30:03because it's an important link for these remote communities.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05And we're down!
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Tourism certainly adds to the traffic around Orkney
0:30:15 > 0:30:20but 260 years ago, it was trade that dominated these waters
0:30:20 > 0:30:23and navigation was a nightmare.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31These islands, like the rest of the British Isles,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34were surrounded by largely uncharted waters.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38But in the 18th century, that was all about to change.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Over in Kirkwall,
0:30:42 > 0:30:47Mark Horton is discovering how one Orcadian made our seas safer.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53In 1743, a curious advertisement turned up in newspapers
0:30:53 > 0:30:56and coffee houses throughout Britain.
0:30:56 > 0:31:02A local schoolmaster from here in Orkney, Murdoch McKenzie
0:31:02 > 0:31:04planned to make a really detailed chart
0:31:04 > 0:31:08of these treacherous waters and was desperately needing sponsors
0:31:08 > 0:31:10to help pay for his ambitious project.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19Orkney was the hub for north Atlantic trade routes,
0:31:19 > 0:31:25but hazardous tides and uncharted seas meant shipwrecks were common.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29With finance from traders and merchants,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32Murdoch McKenzie set about charting Orkney's coast
0:31:32 > 0:31:37in ways that would revolutionise mapmaking around the world.
0:31:41 > 0:31:47'Local sailor Sandy Firth has studied McKenzie's pioneering work.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51'He even owns a rare copy of his original survey.'
0:31:51 > 0:31:55Is this the actual folio of charts?
0:31:55 > 0:31:58Yeah, it's one of them, the bound edition of McKenzie's survey.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02- 1750.- 1750.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07McKenzie was the first man to start putting in these symbols.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10Now they indicate the nature of the bottom of the sea.
0:32:10 > 0:32:16He gives you the state of the tide at different times
0:32:16 > 0:32:18and the direction of it.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20And no-one had bothered to do that up until now.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24No and McKenzie's little symbols that you'll see here
0:32:24 > 0:32:26are still used to this day in admiralty charts.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32I've got a good idea. I want to survey this bay
0:32:32 > 0:32:35and lets see if we can actually make a map
0:32:35 > 0:32:38using the same methods as McKenzie used himself.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44'McKenzie devised a method of charting any position at sea
0:32:44 > 0:32:47'by using fixed reference points on land.'
0:32:47 > 0:32:54- There we go. Spot on. Around 69 degrees roughly.- 69.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00'McKenzie realised it wasn't only essential
0:33:00 > 0:33:03'for sailors to know where they were at sea
0:33:03 > 0:33:08'but also what hidden dangers were lurking under the water.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12'He gathered samples from the ocean floor using a rope and lead weight
0:33:12 > 0:33:15'covered in tallow - animal fat.'
0:33:15 > 0:33:19The tallow should pick up what's on the bottom, shouldn't it?
0:33:23 > 0:33:26- There's two bits of leather there. - Two fathoms.- Two fathoms.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28And...
0:33:30 > 0:33:34- Looks like mud on the bottom, doesn't it?- Genuine mud.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36Just like McKenzie did it.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43Murdoch McKenzie's methods changed the way we view the underwater world.
0:33:43 > 0:33:49Over 260 years after he first charted the coast of Orkney,
0:33:49 > 0:33:54the science of surveying he did so much to inspire has advanced to this.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04This coastguard vessel is equipped as a state-of-the-art survey ship.
0:34:10 > 0:34:15'Rob Spillard is the officer whose mission is to boldly go'
0:34:15 > 0:34:19where the charts may not necessarily be reliable.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24You can see just to the south of this island here,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26there's a 26 metre contour.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29We had an incident just a few days ago.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33A vessel grounded just off that island we can see out there.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36It's done about a million pounds worth of damage to the vessel.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38They put in a note that 26m was wrong
0:34:38 > 0:34:39and it's shallower.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42They claim to have grounded at 11m
0:34:42 > 0:34:44and so we're here today to try and prove
0:34:44 > 0:34:46whether the chart is right or wrong
0:34:46 > 0:34:49and make it safer for others making the same passage.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54This is real detective work.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58There's an obstruction hidden out there that's already wrecked one vessel.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02Next time, it may be fatal.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06So how do you actually measure depth in the 21st century?
0:35:06 > 0:35:09As opposed to doing it with a lead line and a linesman
0:35:09 > 0:35:12and measuring one depth every minute,
0:35:12 > 0:35:15we can measure several thousand depths every second.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17We do that by sending out pings of sound into the water
0:35:17 > 0:35:20underneath the ship and then listening for the return.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24The quicker the echo, the shallower the water.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26By measuring return data,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30the team can produce a remarkably clear picture
0:35:30 > 0:35:32of what lies below the surface.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35This German U-boat from the First World War
0:35:35 > 0:35:38was discovered on the sea bed just off Orkney.
0:35:40 > 0:35:45But today we're looking for something much nearer the surface -
0:35:45 > 0:35:48an obstruction that's caused serious damage.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51The ship's sailing back and forth over the suspicious area,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54gathering thousands of depth readings.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58So we're coming past where the vessel ran aground.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00If you look at this screen here,
0:36:00 > 0:36:02you can see all the rockiness on the starboard side
0:36:02 > 0:36:06as we get close to the rock so you should be able to see the rock as we get close to it.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08As we go over top of the rock.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16So the depth under the keel is that figure up there.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19It is, yeah. As we get closer to where the vessel grounded,
0:36:19 > 0:36:22that figure will decrease as the sea bed comes up to meet us.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25When the altitude figure here goes to about five metres,
0:36:25 > 0:36:27that's when we need to put on our life jackets.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32So the obstruction could still be out there?
0:36:32 > 0:36:34Yes, it is quite touch and go actually.
0:36:34 > 0:36:35'The soundings are showing
0:36:35 > 0:36:39'that the charted depth of 26 metres is wrong.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41'But what we don't yet know is
0:36:41 > 0:36:44'just how close below us these rocks are lying.'
0:36:44 > 0:36:4812...11...
0:36:50 > 0:36:52We should be keeping our fingers crossed.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Ten... This is terrifying!
0:36:55 > 0:36:58We've gone down to nine.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03RAPID BEEPING
0:37:03 > 0:37:05'And then we find it!
0:37:05 > 0:37:07'Just 7.5 metres below us,
0:37:07 > 0:37:11'a massive rock much closer to the surface than charted
0:37:11 > 0:37:13'and a major risk to shipping.'
0:37:13 > 0:37:15If we'd gone over that at very low tide,
0:37:15 > 0:37:18we'd have been very, very close to touching it.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20So that's the actual structure of the rock.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22You can see the crinkles and crevices.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24This area's made of rock.
0:37:24 > 0:37:25It's amazing.
0:37:27 > 0:37:32'We're about to make a new mark on the chart of our coastal waters.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36'I'm sure Murdoch McKenzie would have approved!'
0:37:38 > 0:37:44Really what's so amazing is that we could do it in an afternoon.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47If you'd had to do this with a lead line,
0:37:47 > 0:37:50it would have taken a long, long time to do.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52So this new technology not only save money
0:37:52 > 0:37:54- but saves lives as well. - Absolutely.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57- A good day's work. - You did very well, actually.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13Shipwrecks might seem like the end of the line,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17but folk up here learn to make the most of whatever the coast provides.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Wrecks have always fascinated me -
0:38:23 > 0:38:26huge sculptures of rusted steel forms,
0:38:26 > 0:38:31which have kind of been torn apart and thrown up on the coast.
0:38:31 > 0:38:36I'm Sam McDonald. I'm a marine wildlife sculptor really.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40The sea has always been a constant inspiration to me.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42I love it because you go into another world.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46The rust is an amazing colour -
0:38:46 > 0:38:52you get so many different hues and tones that are very beautiful,
0:38:52 > 0:38:55especially when contrasted with the ultramarines and blues
0:38:55 > 0:38:56underneath the water.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00Then every now and again you'll get flashes of life
0:39:00 > 0:39:02with the fish shoals.
0:39:02 > 0:39:07Really my work is about me sharing a moment with nature
0:39:07 > 0:39:09and then trying to recapture it in metal.
0:39:13 > 0:39:19'I did once count how many hammer blows there were in a fish,'
0:39:19 > 0:39:22and there were 987 in one of these fish.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25The weight and ugliness of a wreck
0:39:25 > 0:39:30is kind of contrasting with the fish themselves,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33so I like the fact that something so powerful has ended up
0:39:33 > 0:39:35rotting away on the bottom of the sea,
0:39:35 > 0:39:37with these fish darting in and out of it.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51Living and working with this glorious, fertile landscape
0:39:51 > 0:39:53runs through the DNA of Orkney folk.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01People have been living here since Neolithic times.
0:40:01 > 0:40:06Wherever you go, there are signs of ancient cultures.
0:40:07 > 0:40:12Over on the Bay of Skaill lies the village of Skara Brae.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20Welcome to island life...3000 BC.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36This place was occupied continuously for 600 years
0:40:36 > 0:40:39and then for reasons that we don't know and don't understand,
0:40:39 > 0:40:41it was abandoned forever.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46The village is set down into a hollow.
0:40:46 > 0:40:47It's dug in to get out of the wind.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59Now this is rare privileged access.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Nobody really gets in here any more.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07When you get in, there is a sense in which it's cosy.
0:41:07 > 0:41:08The builders really understood
0:41:08 > 0:41:11how to make the most out of this building material.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13Cos the walls are curving up
0:41:13 > 0:41:17so that they're coming over like an igloo shape.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20This is a big central hearth here.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23In the winter months, there'd be a big fire here.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26These areas are for sleeping in.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30There's a recess back there for personal belongings,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34and all of the houses have a dresser like this one.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37So perhaps there'd be other personal belongings
0:41:37 > 0:41:40or special objects would be on display here.
0:41:41 > 0:41:46Before Stonehenge, this village was here. That's how old it is.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51Of course, the most intriguing mystery of this place
0:41:51 > 0:41:53are the people who lived here.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56We know so little about them. We don't know what language they spoke.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00We don't know if they followed a religion and, most of all,
0:42:00 > 0:42:02we don't know why they left.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07That's the big mystery of Skara Brae to me.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37There are many things that might attract you to live on Orkney.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41One is the crime rate - it's the lowest in Scotland.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44But local fishermen are still the victims
0:42:44 > 0:42:48of regular raids on their lobster pots.
0:42:51 > 0:42:56The prime suspect has a reputation as a very flexible thief.
0:42:56 > 0:43:02Miranda Krestovnikoff is on the trail of the elusive octopus.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05Spotting an octopus in the sea
0:43:05 > 0:43:08is harder than finding that famous needle in a haystack.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12They're shy and clever animals and remarkably good at hiding,
0:43:12 > 0:43:16but here in Orkney is one of the best places in the UK to find them.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22That's because these seas are full of their favourite food -
0:43:22 > 0:43:23lobster.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27I'm on the hunt for an octopus with Daniel Wise,
0:43:27 > 0:43:32a marine biologist who's been studying the island's waters.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36He reckons the best place to see this slippery customer
0:43:36 > 0:43:39is a little-known dive site called Inga Ness,
0:43:39 > 0:43:42but it's not going to be easy.
0:43:42 > 0:43:47Octopus are really clever animals. They're an active mobile hunter,
0:43:47 > 0:43:50they can change the colour and texture of their skin
0:43:50 > 0:43:53to suit the environment that they're in.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56They can also squeeze into the smallest of crevices and holes.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00So if they don't want to be found, they won't be found.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02Let's go.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06Inga Ness is a rock stack in the water,
0:44:06 > 0:44:08a peak that time has weathered flat
0:44:08 > 0:44:11so now it barely stands proud of the tide mark.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13Below the waves though,
0:44:13 > 0:44:16this pinnacle shows its true dramatic nature,
0:44:16 > 0:44:19with a sheer drop to the ocean bed.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25'Our first sighting is a lion's mane jellyfish.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28'This animal has a sting in its tail
0:44:28 > 0:44:31'and tentacles that can grow as long as 30 feet.'
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Miranda, watch for its tentacles
0:44:34 > 0:44:36cos they will sting and it is painful.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38It's so beautiful.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47'Smooth rock paves the sea floor, giving the landscape a barren feel.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49'But the lack of vegetation
0:44:49 > 0:44:53'makes it easy to find our first lobster pot.'
0:44:53 > 0:44:56I don't think there's anything in this one unfortunately.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59Just carry on a bit. There might be one later.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01Yeah, I'm sure we'll find some more.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04'Not far from the empty pot though is an unexpected surprise -
0:45:04 > 0:45:06'a wolf fish.'
0:45:06 > 0:45:09You normally see them in a crevice or a hole.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11They are quite hard to spot.
0:45:11 > 0:45:14And this one doesn't look that big. Is this a juvenile?
0:45:14 > 0:45:16That's right. They do grow a lot bigger.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19Look at those fearsome teeth!
0:45:23 > 0:45:27'Trying to hide amongst the seaweed, a lobster is on the prowl,
0:45:27 > 0:45:30'an unusual sight before sundown.'
0:45:30 > 0:45:34See how the one claw is larger than the other claw?
0:45:34 > 0:45:38That claw is called the crushing claw and it is used to crush prey.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43I guess we might have disturbed him from his lair,
0:45:43 > 0:45:44maybe given him a fright.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46'It's soon clear though
0:45:46 > 0:45:50'that it was something else keeping this lobster on its toes.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54'Nearby, almost perfectly camouflaged against the rocks,
0:45:54 > 0:45:56'an octopus sits quietly.'
0:45:56 > 0:45:59It's so beautiful. If you get up close, you can see as it's moving,
0:45:59 > 0:46:02it's just gently changing colour every time it moves.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05It is blending in absolutely beautifully with the background.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08'Special cells in the skin called chromatophores
0:46:08 > 0:46:11'make the octopus a master of disguise.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15'These change colour and texture in a matter of seconds,
0:46:15 > 0:46:19'allowing this elusive creature to blend in with his surroundings
0:46:19 > 0:46:20'and escape detection.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27'They can also squeeze through the smallest of holes.
0:46:27 > 0:46:32'Only metres away, we catch an octopus red-handed.'
0:46:32 > 0:46:35That's beautiful!
0:46:35 > 0:46:38It's like liquid, it's so fluid.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45'It's sneaked into a pot and is eyeing up a lobster,
0:46:45 > 0:46:48'planning to turn it into a gourmet dinner.
0:46:50 > 0:46:55'The beak of the octopus is its only bone-like structure.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58'It bites through the hard shell of the lobster
0:46:58 > 0:47:00'and injects venom to paralyse its victim.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07'But as troublesome as these master robbers may be for fishermen,
0:47:07 > 0:47:12'it's hard not to have a sneaking admiration for their ingenuity.'
0:47:21 > 0:47:25The sea has been a source of rich pickings since the dawn of time,
0:47:25 > 0:47:30and at Billia Croo, they're exploiting it 21st century style.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40It's amazing the things you find in unexpected places.
0:47:40 > 0:47:41In that wee concrete shed,
0:47:41 > 0:47:44they're wiring up for an electrical revolution
0:47:44 > 0:47:46that might help save the planet.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50Ever felt like you're being watched?
0:47:50 > 0:47:54Up here, they're setting their sights on energy from the sea.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57'A new generation of islanders, like Barry Johnston,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00- 'see their future in marine energy.'- Hello there, Neil.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02- Hello, Barry.- Nice to meet you.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06- You too. Could you have got a more remote location?- Not really!
0:48:06 > 0:48:09What is the camera watching?
0:48:09 > 0:48:12At the moment the camera's watching a test area out here in the ocean,
0:48:12 > 0:48:14and the purpose of this test area
0:48:14 > 0:48:17is to try out new tidal and wave energy systems.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21What is it about the seas around Orkney
0:48:21 > 0:48:24that makes them the best for wave energy?
0:48:24 > 0:48:26They're really just so exposed.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29There's no land masses between us and America
0:48:29 > 0:48:31so it's so open and the waves are so powerful.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38In the seas off Orkney lies the potential
0:48:38 > 0:48:42for a substantial supply of green energy.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46This machine is designed to convert wave motion into electricity.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50It's called Pelamis and it's one design of what wave power
0:48:50 > 0:48:52could look like in the very near future.
0:48:52 > 0:48:57It's being tested here in some of the roughest waters imaginable.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04How does Pelamis actually generate power?
0:49:04 > 0:49:07Pelamis is a long cylindrical structure
0:49:07 > 0:49:09with hinged joints down its length.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11Those hinged joints move in the wave action
0:49:11 > 0:49:14and are resisted by high pressure hydraulic cylinders.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18So it's actually the way that the Pelamis resists the waves
0:49:18 > 0:49:21- that creates the electricity? - That's right, yes.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28The key to this design is the seesaw motion at the joints.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32As each wave passes, oil is forced through hydraulic motors
0:49:32 > 0:49:34linked to generators to produce electricity.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42What about on a calm day like today?
0:49:42 > 0:49:44Would Pelamis still switch on light bulbs
0:49:44 > 0:49:46with just that amount of action?
0:49:46 > 0:49:51Absolutely. Pelamis is designed to be efficient in seas like these,
0:49:51 > 0:49:54so there's lots of energy even on a day like this.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02It's not just the waves that make Orkney good for marine energy.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06Here they can measure the amount the power systems produce
0:50:06 > 0:50:10as they connect them to the national grid at this substation.
0:50:15 > 0:50:16The testing centre here in Orkney
0:50:16 > 0:50:19plans to be busy evaluating new devices.
0:50:19 > 0:50:25Soon, this single machine could generate electricity for 500 homes,
0:50:25 > 0:50:28maybe the first drops in a new ocean of green energy.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38So far, we've travelled over 150 miles
0:50:38 > 0:50:41on our journey south from Shetland.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44The final stretch takes us over the water again to Hoy.
0:50:47 > 0:50:52Hoy means "high island" and that's exactly what this is.
0:50:52 > 0:50:57These sea cliffs are some of the most impressive in Britain.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09Earlier today,
0:51:09 > 0:51:13two climbers set out to tackle Orkney's most famous landmark.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24The Old Man of Hoy stands 450 feet tall
0:51:24 > 0:51:27on the shores of the Pentland Firth.
0:51:28 > 0:51:33This magnificent sea stack used to be attached to the headland,
0:51:33 > 0:51:36but the elements have slowly eroded the soft red sandstone
0:51:36 > 0:51:38to create this solitary pinnacle.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44No-one knows how much longer the Old Man will stand
0:51:44 > 0:51:47before he falls into the sea.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56This morning, driving rain and strong winds greeted Andy Cave
0:51:56 > 0:52:00and fellow climber Simon Nadin at the start of their ascent.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02- Are you excited, Simon? - 'In this weather,
0:52:02 > 0:52:06'the slippery unstable rock is even more dangerous.'
0:52:06 > 0:52:10- Not looking in its best conditions, I must admit.- Yeah.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12Better than being in the office though.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14- Maybe.- Definitely.
0:52:14 > 0:52:18But despite the conditions, they've decided to give it a go.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21I'm off to catch up with the guys to find out what makes this stack
0:52:21 > 0:52:24the one every climber wants to bag.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34Simon and Andy have been climbing for three hours.
0:52:34 > 0:52:35The weather has improved
0:52:35 > 0:52:38and their chances of reaching the top are looking better.
0:52:51 > 0:52:52- Are you all right there?- Yeah.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55- How was that pitch? - I've got a bit of a lather on.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58You've got a bit of a lather on there, kid!
0:52:58 > 0:53:01I reckon we're gonna have midges all the way up.
0:53:01 > 0:53:06We can't handle the midges but we're coping with the sea stack.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27'Hello, Andy. It's Neil, can you hear me?'
0:53:27 > 0:53:29All right, Neil, how's it going, mate?
0:53:29 > 0:53:31I'm fine but then I'm on the mainland.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33How's it been going so far?
0:53:33 > 0:53:36We were a bit worried really because it's been raining
0:53:36 > 0:53:39and in the mist it was very easy to slip off.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41Our hands were covered in green slime
0:53:41 > 0:53:43and our feet were covered in bird poo
0:53:43 > 0:53:45so it was just horrible, very insecure.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47But I think now we are less worried
0:53:47 > 0:53:50and just concentrating on the job really.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52Right, I'll let you crack on.
0:53:55 > 0:54:00The Old Man was first conquered in 1966.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02It was a three man team -
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Chris Bonington, Tom Patey and Rusty Baillie.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Even Everest had been climbed many years
0:54:08 > 0:54:10before anyone knocked off this monster
0:54:10 > 0:54:11and it was such a success
0:54:11 > 0:54:15that the climb was recreated the following year.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18That time, the TV cameras were in attendance.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22Covering the ascent for television
0:54:22 > 0:54:25was as challenging as climbing the Old Man himself.
0:54:25 > 0:54:30# Ain't no mountain high Ain't no valley low
0:54:30 > 0:54:33# Ain't no river wide enough, baby... #
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Everything had to be brought from the mainland.
0:54:36 > 0:54:3930 tonnes of equipment were hauled over the moors
0:54:39 > 0:54:41to create an outdoor studio.
0:54:45 > 0:54:51But as the transmission date approached, so did a westerly gale.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54The temporary studios were wrecked.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56But the team rallied round.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00# No wind, no rain
0:55:00 > 0:55:05# Or winters cold can stop me, baby... #
0:55:06 > 0:55:09It was the first live programme of its kind.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12Over 20 million viewers tuned in over three nights
0:55:12 > 0:55:15to watch Chris Bonington and his team
0:55:15 > 0:55:18make nail-biting television history.
0:55:18 > 0:55:24Somewhere there are four climbers, four radio cameramen.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30There you can see the radio camera men on the gallery.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34This is the hardest move on this, I think.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37I have somehow got to turn round here
0:55:37 > 0:55:41and I've got rather a bad hand-jam right inside the crack.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43I've got to swing right round.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57Climbing the Old Man of Hoy today
0:55:57 > 0:56:00is just as demanding and no less dangerous.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14- That's nice.- Nice finish. - Yes, very good. That's stunning.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17That's moving.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21- Is it?- Yeah. Stay up there, I'll come up in a bit.
0:56:21 > 0:56:25It took the original team two days to find a route to the summit.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29Climbing in their footsteps, it's taken our guys around five hours.
0:56:29 > 0:56:34Nice one, excellent.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39I'm absolutely stunned. I can't believe you did it,
0:56:39 > 0:56:42given how miserable it was when you started out this morning.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45I know. We're pretty surprised too
0:56:45 > 0:56:48but it's a privilege to be up here, it really is.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50We have to show respect for Chris Bonington and co
0:56:50 > 0:56:52who made the first ascent,
0:56:52 > 0:56:55which has enabled us to reach this point.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57We've climbed all over the world
0:56:57 > 0:56:59but there's not many places as cool as this.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17Up here in the Northern Isles, you can't help but notice that life
0:57:17 > 0:57:20is defined as much by the sea as it is by the land.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25People here have to learn to be resilient.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29Life on the edge is precarious but often exhilarating.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:10 > 0:58:12Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk