0:00:14 > 0:00:18The Channel Islands, cheek by jowl with France but British at heart.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Over there is Jersey, the starting point
0:00:21 > 0:00:25for my journey around the islands and along the Channel to Dover.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33The English Channel defines Britain,
0:00:33 > 0:00:37both separating us from mainland Europe and connecting us to it,
0:00:37 > 0:00:43but it's more difficult to define the islands caught in that cultural cross-current.
0:00:43 > 0:00:48I don't really know very much about the Channel Islands. To me, they're quite mysterious.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53I suppose they also seem olde worlde, maybe even quaint, so let's find out.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57To help me uncover their story, I'm joined by the usual suspects.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02Alice Roberts discovers how Jersey became Honeymoon Island.
0:01:02 > 0:01:08Mark Horton explores how these islands became strongholds.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11'And I take the plunge for a Channel swim.'
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Oh, sweet mercy!
0:01:13 > 0:01:16'A quick one!'
0:01:16 > 0:01:20This is the story of Coast.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46In English, they're the Channel Islands.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51In French, they're the Iles Anglo-Normandes, literally the Anglo-Normand islands.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53There's always been a tug-of-love over them
0:01:53 > 0:01:54between the English and the French,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58so probably just as well to send a Scotsman to make sense of it all.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05My first port of call is St Helier, Jersey's capital city.
0:02:11 > 0:02:17With France just 14 miles away, it's not hard to find the Gallic connection, from road signs
0:02:17 > 0:02:20to restaurants to toilets.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25Jersey's British flavour is drizzled with French dressing.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29It's a recipe that suits both the islanders and their economy.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Maybe it's just me,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48but I wasn't expecting Jersey to be like this.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53I thought it'd be tranquil and staid with the occasional retired millionaire going about,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57but there's great big cranes everywhere throwing up tall, glass-fronted buildings.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01There is an English and French mix, but the mix is dynamic.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04This is a place that's changing and growing fast.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Like the rest of the Channel Islands, Jersey sets its own
0:03:10 > 0:03:14laws and taxes, making it a magnet for foreign investment.
0:03:16 > 0:03:22Quite a turnaround of fortunes, considering its recent, painful history of occupation.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28Alice Roberts is exploring a remarkable rebirth.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Evidence of the bleakest period in Jersey's history is everywhere,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41German gun emplacements scarring the landscape.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46With liberation in 1945, the islanders had to reinvent themselves.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Within ten years, they'd achieved the unthinkable.
0:03:49 > 0:03:55Jersey was associated not with concrete but with confetti.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59What I want to discover is how Jersey overcame years of Nazi occupation
0:03:59 > 0:04:05but, in particular, how it came to be known as Honeymoon Island.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10To help me find out, I'm going to meet Alan and Shirley Tucker.
0:04:10 > 0:04:16They honeymooned here 50 years ago and now they're back for the first time.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21- Hello.- Alan and Shirley?
0:04:21 > 0:04:23Yes, it is.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26- Hello! - How do you do? Pleased to meet you.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27- Welcome back.- Thank you.
0:04:34 > 0:04:40When they last came to Jersey, Alan and Shirley had been married just two days.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44And the Mount View Hotel was their home for one week.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49- That's our room.- Really?- That one.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Number 14.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54- 14!- This is it.
0:04:54 > 0:04:55Do not disturb.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57LAUGHTER
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Hopefully there's not a honeymooning couple in there!
0:05:00 > 0:05:02It gives me a funny feeling, this, I tell you.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Hang on!
0:05:05 > 0:05:07- Oh!- Crikey!
0:05:07 > 0:05:10It's so different.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12- Yeah.- So different.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14- The window is the same shape.- Is it?
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Yeah, and there was a hand basin and a mirror there.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20- Was that the first time you'd been away together?- Yes.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22As a couple.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27We'd gone away with Alan's mum and dad but never on our own.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29First time away alone together.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32And I was nervous!
0:05:32 > 0:05:35What an adventure! What an adventure.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38- It was very special, that was.- Yeah.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42- Of course, flying here.- She hadn't flown before.- Everything was so exciting.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- So it was your first time flying. - Yeah.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Never flown before.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Oh, my goodness!
0:05:49 > 0:05:51So, in this...
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Now, Shirley, that's where you stood, on that spot.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Yes, there we go, leaning up against that wall.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01All those years ago. Yes.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03It's still Shirley, isn't it?
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Your hairstyle was slightly different.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08A lot was different!
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Alan and Shirley were newlyweds in 1957,
0:06:23 > 0:06:28just as Britain was emerging, blinking from its post-war austerity.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30The national mood was upbeat.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Britain had never had it so good.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Jersey was ahead of the tide, determined to wipe out
0:06:36 > 0:06:41its wartime memories with a new invasion...of newlyweds.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46But how did they get the honeymooners to choose Jersey?
0:06:46 > 0:06:49The man responsible was John Layzell.
0:06:49 > 0:06:5350 years ago, he earned himself the nickname of Mr Tourism.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56- Hello. Lovely to meet you.- You too.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01How did you come up with this concept of the honeymoon island?
0:07:01 > 0:07:07Well, that originated through a tax law in Britain,
0:07:07 > 0:07:14when, if you were married before April 5th, then you'd get a tax rebate, which was quite substantial.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18So that encouraged people to take that tax break
0:07:19 > 0:07:26- and also go on honeymoon at the same time, so marriages were quite rife in Britain at that time.- Yeah.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- So suddenly people had some money to spend as well.- That's right, yeah.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34And we had what we think was almost a perfect place for them to come.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39To beat the April tax deadline, people were getting married early
0:07:39 > 0:07:45in the year and, if they weren't to freeze to death on honeymoon, they had to head south to find some sun.
0:07:45 > 0:07:51Only the very rich could afford abroad. For the not-so-rich, Jersey was waiting.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58They began to sell the island in mainland Britain -
0:07:58 > 0:08:02billboards, posters and cinema adverts.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06NEWSREEL: Ever since the annual holiday became a national institution,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08holidaymakers have come to Jersey.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Jersey, the Queen of the Channel, the garden of the sea.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16The honeymooners started to arrive in their droves.
0:08:16 > 0:08:17- How are you?- Fine, thanks.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22- Having a nice morning walking on the beach?- We wanted to go abroad.- Right.
0:08:22 > 0:08:28But still sort of go where people spoke English, so it wasn't too much of an adventure.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30So it was exotic but not difficult.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33- Yes.- It was probably like people going to the Caribbean now.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35It was that exciting to us.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Absolutely.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40And we could afford it.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Money wasn't too plentiful in those days.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47What else did you get up to on the island, if that's not too rude a question to ask?
0:08:47 > 0:08:48LAUGHTER
0:08:48 > 0:08:56Well, we didn't have a car, so we used public transport, buses and so on.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59We came here by bus, and so on, and one or two of the other places
0:08:59 > 0:09:03as well, and did exactly what we're doing now, walking along the beach.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08Our hotel had 15 couples and they were all on honeymoon.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12- Were you all quite nervous? - Nervous was not quite the word.
0:09:12 > 0:09:18Breakfast-time was fairly electric, a lot of whispering going on, for the first day or so.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23Of course you had that of an evening, when you were having a drink - who's gonna go up first?
0:09:36 > 0:09:41These days, Jersey is still promoting itself heavily as a tourist destination
0:09:41 > 0:09:46but the number of hotel rooms has halved since the 1950s.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52Cheap flights and package deals abroad have eaten into the tourist market that Jersey made its own
0:09:52 > 0:10:00and, while the island still gets its honeymooners, it's hard to compete with a wedding on a Caribbean beach.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03But, for those now celebrating their Golden Weddings,
0:10:03 > 0:10:08like Alan and Shirley, it's Jersey that will always be Honeymoon Island.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16For such a tranquil place, the Channel Islands have an awful lot of fortifications.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21This is Neighbourhood Watch for big boys.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23But why so many castles?
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Mark Horton is in Guernsey searching for answers.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Guernsey's history of building defensive strongholds
0:10:39 > 0:10:43goes back a long, long way.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47The island's archaeologist, Heather Sebire,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49is the perfect guide to show me the landmarks
0:10:49 > 0:10:54that reveal why the Channel Islands became so heavily fortified.
0:10:57 > 0:11:03Jerbourg, on the south east peninsula, has the largest Bronze Age and later Iron Age earthworks.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Hidden now by 3,000 years of history.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11So if we walk down and have a look from here, if you look across at the bank,
0:11:11 > 0:11:16you get a much better view of the banks and ditches running right down to the little bay at the bottom.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21You can see that the lines are showing where the ditches have been cut out, running right down.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25The soil would have been cast up from the ditch to make part of the bank.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29So in the Iron Age it would have looked just like a sort of impregnable wall?
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Classic sort of Iron Age defence, yes. Indeed.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36These banks and ditches would have needed
0:11:36 > 0:11:42an awful lot of people to build them. What were they defending?
0:11:42 > 0:11:44They were literally growing all their own food
0:11:44 > 0:11:46and they had to be self-sufficient, so the pressure on
0:11:46 > 0:11:49the size of the land would have been quite significant.
0:11:49 > 0:11:55This little natural inlet was giving access by sea, bringing in supplies or bringing in
0:11:55 > 0:12:01people to attack, and it was giving them a very large, defended area in this part of the island.
0:12:01 > 0:12:08So even 3,000 years ago, the settlers felt under threat.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10But it would get much worse.
0:12:12 > 0:12:20Fast forward in time, and this fort marks the birth of the Channel Islands we know today,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23as powerful nation-states were emerging in Europe.
0:12:25 > 0:12:32The Islands' connection to England began in 1066, with the Duke of Normandy
0:12:32 > 0:12:36better known to us as William the Conqueror.
0:12:36 > 0:12:42The Norman Conquest meant the Channel Islands and their neighbours,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46England and Normandy, were united under joint rule.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49But this fort, Castle Cornet,
0:12:49 > 0:12:56proudly guarding the harbour of St Peter Port, suggests that peace was short-lived.
0:12:56 > 0:13:03King John managed, rather carelessly, to lose Normandy back to the French.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07The map was rewritten. From 1204, the Channel Islands
0:13:07 > 0:13:10now had hostile French neighbours.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18The castles in the Channel Islands were built as a response to the events of 1204.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23But why should England bother with the Channel Islands? I mean, surely they're just a backwater?
0:13:23 > 0:13:28It all goes back to the strategic position in the Channel, and St Peter Port having this
0:13:28 > 0:13:32wonderful natural harbour that had been used right through prehistory.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36So even into the medieval period, we know that it was very important as well.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41And the Channel Islands' sort of anomalous status must have meant it was a bit of a free port?
0:13:41 > 0:13:46They retain their independence, but yet still have this loyalty to the English crown.
0:13:49 > 0:13:56This fort helped maintain the link between our monarch and the islands that endures to this day.
0:13:56 > 0:14:02The Channel Islands still owe allegiance to the Queen, even though they aren't part of the UK.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06It gives them a freedom worth fighting for.
0:14:08 > 0:14:16But just 200 years ago, it seemed that no defence could withstand their greatest threat yet.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21It all came from a little man in a big hat.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24The Emperor Napoleon rampaged through Europe.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29With Britain in his sights, only the English Channel barred his way.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34How could these islands possibly hold out?
0:14:34 > 0:14:38An invasion was expected here at Pembroke Bay.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43Guernsey's north-east coast had to be turned into a defensive line.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47This was the British Government's response, to build these fortifications.
0:14:47 > 0:14:53And presumably, when Napoleon took charge of the French armies, this was number one ambition?
0:14:53 > 0:14:55That's right. Due to the position of the Channel Islands,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58so close to the French mainland, the threat was always there.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01If you're French, you wouldn't want to land here.
0:15:01 > 0:15:07No, absolutely. There's the forts on either side and then a series of towers that acted as watchtowers
0:15:07 > 0:15:11and then, also, if anybody got closer in they would be fired upon.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13But Napoleon never managed to land?
0:15:13 > 0:15:16No, he didn't. Too busy elsewhere, I think.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18And too many towers!
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Another century, another dictator,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27and a tragically different twist in the Channel Islands story.
0:15:29 > 0:15:35In May 1940, Hitler's forces had overrun France.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39Against modern weaponry there would be no defence.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46Invasion of the Channel Islands followed within weeks.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Hitler's first act was to build his own defences
0:15:57 > 0:16:01on this occupied part of British soil.
0:16:11 > 0:16:18We actually have Hitler's original orders for the fortification of these islands.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22He wanted to turn it into an impregnable fortress.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27Impressive though these remains are, he only managed to achieve
0:16:27 > 0:16:2940% of his original plan.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57On my way to Alderney, I'm passing Herm.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01At one and a half miles long, it's the smallest of the main Channel Islands.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06Unlike neighbouring Sark, Herm is a privately-run island resort.
0:17:08 > 0:17:14For the 50 people that live here all year round, the ferry is their vital link with the wider world.
0:17:14 > 0:17:20I'm heading past Herm towards the gateway of the Channel and my last stop before Dover.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33With a population of just over 2,000 people,
0:17:33 > 0:17:39its economy is almost entirely based on tourism and the finance industry.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Thank you.
0:17:51 > 0:17:52I'm here to discover more
0:17:52 > 0:17:54about Alderney's strategic position
0:17:54 > 0:17:56on the edge of the English Channel.
0:17:59 > 0:18:07That means getting to the northern tip of the island but, fortunately, I can let the train take the strain.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Alderney has the only railway line in the Channel Islands.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16It's run by volunteers and takes just 12 minutes to cross the island.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27This is a most unusual railway.
0:18:27 > 0:18:34It uses two London Underground carriages introduced in the late '80s.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39I'll tell you what, it's a long way to Kings Cross from here!
0:18:44 > 0:18:50Originally horse-drawn, the line - which dates back to the 1840s -
0:18:50 > 0:18:54was first used to transport stone to build the breakwater.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59It wasn't until the 1970s that it was agreed to open the railway to the public.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06Apparently Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
0:19:06 > 0:19:10were the first official passengers on this line back in 1854.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13But it's not Victoria who's drawn me here, it's Queen Elizabeth.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16And not our Queen Elizabeth, but Elizabeth I.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26During Elizabeth I's reign, England was under continual threat from France and Spain.
0:19:26 > 0:19:33Reaching Elizabeth's expeditionary force in Brittany meant navigating around the Channel Islands.
0:19:33 > 0:19:39Alderney, notorious for its fierce currents and hazardous rocks, claimed many a fine vessel.
0:19:39 > 0:19:46Archaeologist Jason Monaghan has explored one of the island's finest wrecks.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49OK. This is the closest part of the shore to the wreck.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52It is about half-a-mile straight out to sea from here.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57We think it was about 100 feet long, probably intermediate in size,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01between a sort of fat merchant ship and a sleek warship.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Possibly three-masted.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07We think it had somewhere between eight and 12 guns on board.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11The wreck was first discovered by a local fisherman in 1977.
0:20:11 > 0:20:17Archaeological exploration and analysis established the ship as over 400 years old.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21Many of the objects found onboard the ship are appropriate
0:20:21 > 0:20:24- for the early 1590s. - Oh, that's great!
0:20:24 > 0:20:28In particular, this pound weight. It weighs a pound.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33- So, it's lead?- Yep.- It's got a little sword or a knife
0:20:33 > 0:20:36- and then "EL" and the crown. So that's Elizabeth.- Yes.
0:20:36 > 0:20:41And this was issued after 1587.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45So obviously the ship couldn't have sunk before 1587.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48We don't think this would have remained in use
0:20:48 > 0:20:49into the reign of James I.
0:20:49 > 0:20:57So that gives us a date range of 1587 through to about 1603.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02We think it may have been a military supply ship or it may have been carrying troops.
0:21:02 > 0:21:08For example, we got quite a few of these on board which are very special.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11It's a copper charge container known as an apostle.
0:21:11 > 0:21:17A soldier would traditionally where a bandolier around the shoulders carrying a dozen of these,
0:21:17 > 0:21:18hence, apostles.
0:21:18 > 0:21:24Each one holds the charge for one musket shot and we found two dozen muskets on board the ship.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29How much do we know about how it came to grief?
0:21:29 > 0:21:34Well, we know it didn't sink in battle because their guns were lashed down and although
0:21:34 > 0:21:37they were loaded, they had the tampions or stoppers in the end of the barrels.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40So, it wasn't firing.
0:21:40 > 0:21:46There's no evidence of fire aboard the ship so all we can assume is it has hit one of the reefs around here.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50Is there any way of knowing what happened to the people aboard?
0:21:50 > 0:21:52We haven't had any human remains at all.
0:21:52 > 0:22:00It's fairly close to shore, but half a mile is a long way to swim especially in eight knot currents.
0:22:00 > 0:22:06It's possible they could have rowed ashore or another shipping convoy could have rescued the crew
0:22:06 > 0:22:09but until we find some bodies, we don't know.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15The Elizabethan sailors lost here were from countless generations of mariners
0:22:15 > 0:22:20who had to navigate round the coast of Alderney to head out to the open water of the Channel.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39The Coastguard say negotiating the England Channel is like walking across the M25.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42That's how busy it is.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46For the 60 people each year who attempt the challenge of the Channel swim,
0:22:46 > 0:22:50dodging the odd ship or three is all part of the adventure.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00The first successful Channel swim was just over 130 years ago.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04In 1875, merchant seaman Captain Matthew Webb
0:23:04 > 0:23:09toiled for 21 hours and 45 minutes to reach the coast of France.
0:23:09 > 0:23:15Completing this seemingly impossible feat turned him into a superstar.
0:23:17 > 0:23:23I want to know just what Webb had to go through to become a Victorian celebrity.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Greg Whyte is no stranger to training celebrity swimmers.
0:23:28 > 0:23:34He coached David Walliams when he swam the Channel in 2006.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39Captain Webb started by swimming in public baths and then in the Thames.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43How does his preparations compare with what you did with David?
0:23:43 > 0:23:47The crucial element is swimming in open water.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51There's a huge difference between swimming open water in the sea, even in comparison to a lake,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55and a lake to the pool is very different as well.
0:23:55 > 0:24:03I know that Captain Webb kept himself going with things like cod liver oil and beef tea.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06What did David have access to from the boat?
0:24:06 > 0:24:07Nutrition is everything.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10You're burning so many calories when you're going across.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15I guess the difference between what Captain Webb did and what we did with David is we now know
0:24:15 > 0:24:17that carbohydrates are the key source of energy.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22So we fed very high concentrations of carbohydrates to David which is
0:24:22 > 0:24:25different to what Captain Webb would have done back in the late 1800s.
0:24:25 > 0:24:31One thing that hasn't changed since Captain Webb first swam the Channel is greasing up.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36Bodies plastered in fatty grease in preparation for the challenge ahead.
0:24:36 > 0:24:42Contrary to popular belief it's not for insulation but it might stop chafing and jellyfish stings.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Oh, great!
0:24:46 > 0:24:50If ferries, extreme cold and exhaustion weren't bad enough...
0:24:50 > 0:24:55Even on a day like today it's not saying, "Join me."
0:24:55 > 0:24:59To be honest with you we can talk about this for some time and I can tell you the problems with it.
0:24:59 > 0:25:05There's really only one way to get a real feel for how cold, how salty and how difficult it's gonna be.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08That's for me and you to get in.
0:25:08 > 0:25:14- Fantastic!- Let's go. - The rules on swim wear are simple, trunks, hat and goggles.
0:25:14 > 0:25:19That's your lot. There's not a lot of dignity involved in being a Channel swimmer, is there?
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Not a great deal, but it's the regulations.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25The list of reasons not to do this goes on and on.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Tell my wife and kids I love them.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Oh! Sweet mercy!
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Let's get moving.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51Do you know, when you splash your face in the water
0:25:51 > 0:25:54it feels quite cold. But when you actually get in...
0:25:54 > 0:25:56it's a nightmare!
0:25:56 > 0:25:59- THEY LAUGH - Let's get moving.- To where?
0:25:59 > 0:26:02- Keep close to me.- I'm so cold I've forgotten how to swim.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04Straight into shore, let's go.
0:26:18 > 0:26:24I've been going 15 minutes and already I appreciate why the success rate is less than 10%.
0:26:24 > 0:26:30It's so cold. It drains every ounce of your energy.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33I'm a pretty strong swimmer.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38I used to be a lifeguard, but this is hard.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41I'm on my back just to try and breathe
0:26:41 > 0:26:46and I'm only heading for Dover beach from inside the harbour walls.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50That's enough for me.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57The bottom two rungs are loose.
0:26:57 > 0:26:58Come up, you're OK.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Get him wrapped as soon as he gets out there.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03OK...
0:27:06 > 0:27:08OK. Grab hold of the top. You all right?
0:27:08 > 0:27:09Yeah.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13- You've done well.- I tell you what,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16anyone who's ever done that...
0:27:16 > 0:27:17Captain Webb
0:27:17 > 0:27:20to David Walliams and everyone in-between,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23I have the utmost respect for them.
0:27:23 > 0:27:24That is hard.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37And what of Captain Webb? That original Channel swim
0:27:37 > 0:27:41was the highlight of his life and the beginning of his ruin.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Despite becoming a national hero, gambling and debts meant having
0:27:45 > 0:27:48to perform more swimming feats for money to keep him going.
0:27:53 > 0:27:59Webb cashed in on his fame becoming a brand name well over a century before the Beckhams.
0:27:59 > 0:28:05His name appeared on all manner of merchandise, everything from postcards to boxes of matches.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10But he couldn't keep up with the public's appetite for ever more ambitious stunts.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14He drowned trying to swim across the Niagara Falls rapids
0:28:14 > 0:28:17in a vain attempt to regain fame and fortune.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20He was just 35 years old.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30As I approach the end of my journey, it's back to what's become
0:28:30 > 0:28:34a familiar sight for us coasters, the white cliffs of Dover.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37Solid, dependable...
0:28:39 > 0:28:44They're just part of our extraordinary and ever-changing coastal story,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47a tale played out where the land meets the sea
0:28:47 > 0:28:51and where both meet the people around our shores...
0:28:52 > 0:28:55..the folk at the edge of our Isles.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Subtitling by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk