Dover to Selsey Bill Coast

When we've such a spectacular coastline,

it seems a shame to leave it behind.

For some, the Channel isn't a way out, it's a way round.

These are outdoor swimmers, a hardy breed, experienced in the water.

I'm Kate Rew, and I'm an outdoor swimmer.

There is nowhere more exhilarating than the sea.

Whatever mood I'm in, whatever kind of day I've had,

however many spreadsheets, worries, or just tedious traffic jams,

if you go for a swim, your day is made.

I always make a point of talking to locals before I get in,

and if I'm doing a sea swim

I generally tell the coastguard where I'm going,

because they're unused to the idea that anybody might swim

along a length of coast. They'll try and rescue you

unless you forewarn them.

You just go along a length of coastline

and you get to see everything from a very different perspective.

Swimming at the bottom of the cliffs

is just a wonderful experience because they look so majestic

when you're bobbing along beneath them, 300ft of pure chalk above.

Most outdoor swimmers around here

would be heading off across the Channel, which I find remarkable,

because like most people I share this universal fear of deep water.

I get a feeling as I get further and further from the shore

that something awful might be under the water.

So, for me, I'm going to do two miles along the coastline

and stay quite close to shore.

I love the fact that it makes you fit, that it gets you outdoors,

but I mostly like its psychological effects,

that whatever mood you're in, by the time you get out,

you feel you've had a really good day.

25 miles on from Dover,

and the chalk cliffs have temporarily run their course,

although their presence is still felt at Romney.

Ten centuries ago, this was a sandy bay,

but flint pebbles washed out of the nearby chalk formed a huge barrier,

drying out the land behind and creating the Romney Marshes.

Across the sparse terrain, a strange chorus rings out.

CHIRRUPING AND CROAKING

Like so many of us on these islands,

these noisy little frogs can trace their ancestors to foreign shores.

The local story says they were brought to Romney in the 1930s

by a Mrs Percy Smith.

She'd acquired them in France, intending to eat them.

Unfortunately for Mrs Smith,

they weren't the edible variety of frog.

In fact, they weren't even French.

They're actually Hungarian marsh frogs, not very tasty,

but right at home in the wetlands of Romney.

When Mrs Smith thoughtfully released them into her garden pond,

they wasted no time escaping,

and they've been making themselves heard ever since.

Despite being Europe's busiest seaway,

the Channel is rich in wildlife,

and people take every opportunity to land a catch...

..although sometimes it can be a frustrating business.

The cliffs make it impossible to launch fishing boats.

Even when there is a gap, nature doesn't make things easy.

In Hastings, the efforts to build a harbour have either been washed away

or run out of money,

so the fishermen were forced to think again.

Miranda Krestovnikoff wants to discover their ingenious solutions.

When you don't have a harbour to launch your boat from,

there's only one place you can go, the beach.

Hastings is home to Europe's largest beach-launched fishing fleet.

They've had to modify their boats,

but for centuries they've also adapted their fishing techniques

to suit the seasons and the different catches they bring.

In winter, it's cuttlefish,

a creature I've had a few encounters with myself off Selsey Bill.

It's very big, couple of feet long.

They're a popular dish in Italy and Spain,

and for Paul Joy, who reckons his family have been in Hastings

since William the Conqueror, it's a relatively new catch.

These are cuttlefish pots, and we've worked with these generally

-for the last 15-16 years.

-How does it work, then?

Well, you put a female cuttlefish in,

then the males and females go through and they congregate.

Next morning you pick it up, pour the cuttlefish out

and put a fresh female back in, and so on the next day.

What I find ironic about cuttlefish nets

is that cuttlefish really like to lay their eggs here,

and it seems a shame that those eggs are wasted.

No, they're not wasted, we get them back in the sea as soon as possible

-for our next generation.

-Great stuff.

Equal care and stealth is required for the summer catch, Dover sole.

These flatfish live on the seabed, burying themselves for protection,

and so require a very specific kind of net.

-This is one of your trammel nets then.

-Yes, this is a trammel net.

-How does it work?

-Effectively, visualise a tennis net

sitting on the bottom of the sea and the lines are tied.

It only stands about four foot high at most in the slack water,

and when the tide is running, it's very low.

The fish comes swimming along near the bottom. It hits,

goes through the larger outer mesh, hits the inner mesh,

then forms a pocket behind the fish, like a system of traps.

Where does this net originate from?

We believe it originated from France,

but it could have come from the Mediterranean

where they've used this type of net, but much smaller mesh,

-for many generations.

-So it's a very ancient tradition.

Trammel nets are an ancient fishery.

Flatfish are most active when it's dark,

so the trammel nets have to be left out overnight.

It's the crack of dawn, and it's a real struggle

just getting the boats down the beach into the water

so they can go and catch fish.

We're off to check the nets for Dover Sole, and it takes a while.

Each boat is painstakingly launched using ropes, winches and bulldozers.

Most of the craft are less than 10 metres long.

Any larger and they couldn't get off the beach.

And we're off, it's an absolutely beautiful morning.

We've got about 2.5 miles to sail out to sea to check the nets

and see if all that hard work's really going to pay off.

For Graham and his crew, the first haul is always an anxious moment.

There are no guarantees with this method of fishing,

even with their years of experience.

It looks as if they've hardly caught anything.

In fact, with their trammel nets,

they've managed to target exactly what they were after, flatfish.

This is average for this time of the year, not bad, just average.

I'm amazed at how selective the nets are here,

very little's coming up that's not a flatfish.

No, these are a selective way of fishing.

What's the smallest size you're allowed to take?

Cos there's a measurement, isn't there?

-9.5 inches.

-9.5 inches.

-Just under three years old.

-So you're not catching fish so young they haven't bred yet?

-Yes.

Understanding the behaviour of the fish and their lifecycle,

-how important is that when you're fishing?

-Very important.

We've had scientists onboard doing surveys with us, and they said

it is the most eco-friendly way of fishing that can be devised.

Working with the rhythms of nature in small boats with specialist nets

doesn't bring in a huge catch, but it has brought other benefits.

Fish stocks here have remained healthy, in some cases increasing,

which means the ancient beach fleet of Hastings

could be here for the long haul.

A stone's throw from the shingle beach

is a miniature Battle of Hastings.

There are golf courses all along this coast.

Even the smallest ones attract players from foreign shores.

It may seem crazy to us, but it's a serious business for them.

My name is Jouni Valkjarvi,

I come from Finland.

I came over here to Britain to play miniature golf.

I'm here in Hastings to prepare for the British Open.

Now that I've warmed up at the crazy golf course,

I'm going to try out this adventure golf course.

Adventure golf is more about the surroundings than the course itself,

with waterfalls and stuff like this.

When I approach a new hole I haven't played before,

I take many practice shots, I make a note of where I placed the ball,

where I tried to aim to find the best line.

Oh, dear!

We do have a lot of different balls we are allowed to use.

Those balls have different properties

in jump, weight and hardness.

If I think I need to play a rebound shot, or go straight to the hole,

I choose the right ball for that particular hole.

I've been coming to England for this tournament...this is my fourth time.

I hope to win. It won't be easy,

but I just hope I'm happy with my own game.

NEIL OLIVER: And if you're wondering, Jouni finished the British Open

in a creditable third place, beaten by two Swedish players.

Selsey Bill.

Its shallows and riptides have made it treacherous for shipping for centuries.

As a result, much of the history of this headland lies at the bottom of the sea.

But these divers from Southsea Sub-Aqua Club aren't hunting for shipwrecks,

they're in search of shells,

World War II shells.

And the tanks that never got to fire them.

There are two tanks and two bulldozers from D-Day,

they didn't actually make it across to the Normandy Beaches, and

we're trying to find out the types of tanks they are,

and also how they ended up lying on the seabed.

There are around 20 officially protected wreck sites along this stretch of coast.

Much of the initial measuring and recording is done by amateur divers.

Most recreational divers, they go down to dive

to just have a pleasant time,

to enjoy themselves, and hopefully come back safe and sound.

These divers have actually challenged themselves

to do a job of work, and they're doing it really well.

And finally they find those shells.

Intended for D-Day, they've been at the bottom of the sea for more than 60 years.

Just coming up should be the metal round plates which says that they're Centaurs.

There it is, there you go, definitely.

So there's your identification.

These Centaur tanks are pinpointed, recorded, and put on the map of the British coastline,

to become part of our maritime history.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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