0:00:18 > 0:00:22Welcome to the Old Head of Kinsale, here on the south coast of Ireland,
0:00:22 > 0:00:27and a relaxing start to a great journey, and some remarkable stories.
0:00:31 > 0:00:37Heading eastward, this coast is famous for its great ports, harbours and estuaries.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44On our Irish Odyssey, Alice discovers the secrets of glass-making.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47It's starting to bubble now. Yeah, I've got them. OK.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Miranda seeks out a rare and special visitor to this coast.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55And you can even hear the hum of the wing. This is just magical.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Dick Strawbridge reveals how Brunel
0:00:58 > 0:01:01wrestled with one of Ireland's toughest challenges to build a railway.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04It is a cracking ride.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Hermione starts her own earthquake.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Fantastic!
0:01:13 > 0:01:14It's a snug fit!
0:01:14 > 0:01:17And I get to join the Irish Navy on manoeuvres.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Action stations.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30This from the south-east corner of Ireland, is Coast.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00From the coast of South Wales, we've travelled to southern Ireland.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05Our journey takes us to the great maritime city of Cork, to Waterford,
0:02:05 > 0:02:10Rosslare, Wexford and all the way up to Dublin.
0:02:10 > 0:02:16But we're teeing off here at the Old Head of Kinsale, an exposed headland and a golf course
0:02:16 > 0:02:19with an infamous 12th hole that eats golf balls for breakfast.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26They come from all over to play here.
0:02:27 > 0:02:33Tiger Woods, me, of course, and someone else who's had a unique and spectacular view of this course.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38Have you ever imagined what it would be like to see the world as something small
0:02:38 > 0:02:42like a golf ball, so you could almost reach out and touch it?
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Well, American NASA astronaut Dan Tani has done,
0:02:45 > 0:02:50and he comes here to play golf.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55I could do with Dan's help playing the 12th hole
0:02:55 > 0:03:02because not only did he marry one of the staff, he's photographed the entire course from space.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06And he's on the line now from NASA HQ in Houston, Texas.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10The Old Head is so easy to see, because the Old Head is
0:03:10 > 0:03:15such a distinctive shape on the coast of Ireland. You're moving at 17,000 miles an hour.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17I have a piece of video to show you it,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20and then once you find the Old Head,
0:03:20 > 0:03:25you put the big telephoto lens on the camera and snap as many pictures as possible.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28I can only imagine what it's like standing there on the 12th tee,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31and I really envy that you get a chance to be there.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33'Well, I mean, I envy you.'
0:03:33 > 0:03:36To change the subject, what advice would you give
0:03:36 > 0:03:42to a complete novice confronted by the apocalyptic horror that is the 12th tee?
0:03:42 > 0:03:47The advice on the tee is to stay right, more right than you think, there's an aiming stone there,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51and you're so tempted to bite off a little bit of the dogleg, go left,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53but there's 200-300 feet of cliffs.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56I'm sure there are a couple million golf balls down there,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00people who thought they could bite off more than they can chew. I love that hole -
0:04:00 > 0:04:03if I can play a hole over and over, that would certainly be one of them.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Dan, thanks very much for talking to me, it's been a real treat.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10- Enjoy your stay there, bye now. - Thank you, bye-bye.
0:04:10 > 0:04:17With the guidance of astronaut Dan Tani, Neil Oliver steadies himself as he faces the dreaded 12th hole.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Nerves of steel, this man.
0:04:30 > 0:04:37From the Old Head of Kinsale, we travel past Kinsale itself and on to the great port of Cork.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52As Cork Harbour comes into view, one thing strikes you immediately.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54It's huge.
0:04:54 > 0:05:00It's also one of the finest natural harbours in the world.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03For centuries, it's been a haven for shipping.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Even today, with its deepwater channels and proximity to
0:05:07 > 0:05:11the main shipping lanes, ships come here from all over the world.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14At the harbour's heart lies Cobh.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22Over the years, Cobh has played host to many fine ships.
0:05:22 > 0:05:29Just recently, the QE2 was moored here on her last voyage before being converted into a hotel in Dubai.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Hardly surprising, the public were out in force with their cameras
0:05:34 > 0:05:37to capture this historic moment for themselves.
0:05:40 > 0:05:46There's barely a news programme these days, without so-called amateur footage of something or other,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49but it's not an invention of the modern media age.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54There's nothing new about amateur coverage of historical events.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Many years ago on the quayside at Cobh,
0:05:59 > 0:06:05a set of unique photographs was taken. The date, 11th April 1912.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Outside the White Star Line's ticket office, an excited crowd gathered,
0:06:09 > 0:06:16waiting to board the White Star's latest and greatest liner on her maiden voyage.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21That liner was about to become the most famous ship in history, bar none... The Titanic.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29She'd already set sail from Southampton, crossed the Channel to Cherbourg.
0:06:29 > 0:06:36And now, her very last port of call before crossing the Atlantic to New York was Cork.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41On board the Titanic, waiting to disembark as she moored out in Cork harbour,
0:06:41 > 0:06:46was a young local man, a keen photographer and theology student, Frank Browne.
0:06:46 > 0:06:53His uncle and guardian had forked out for Frank to travel on the Titanic 1st class from Southampton to Cork.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54But no further.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58123 people joined the Titanic at Cobh.
0:06:58 > 0:07:04From that now neglected and decaying wooden jetty right over there, they got aboard two tenders
0:07:04 > 0:07:08that ferried them out to the liner herself further out in the harbour.
0:07:08 > 0:07:14Only seven people disembarked, and a bitterly disappointed Frank Browne was one of them.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17On the way to Cork, he'd befriended by a wealthy American couple
0:07:17 > 0:07:21who'd offered to pay the remainder of his passage to New York.
0:07:21 > 0:07:27He'd sent a telegraph to his Jesuit superior at the college asking for permission.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32The reply he got was terse and unequivocal: "Get off that ship.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33"Signed, Principal."
0:07:37 > 0:07:42Of course, with hindsight, Frank Browne was one of the luckiest people alive.
0:07:42 > 0:07:48Ordered off a ship that was about to sail from Cork to an icy Atlantic grave.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54The images Frank Browne recorded on his camera as he watched the Titanic leave
0:07:54 > 0:07:58instantly made the front page of newspapers worldwide.
0:07:58 > 0:08:04Today they remain a priceless record, not just of the most famous ship in history,
0:08:04 > 0:08:09but also an evocation of the joy, the sadness, and excitement
0:08:09 > 0:08:14of Titanic's passengers as they embarked on their tragic journey.
0:08:38 > 0:08:45Cork Harbour may have seen tragedy, but it's also witnessed a lot of Irish fun.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49For starters, it's home to the Royal Cork Yacht Club, founded in 1720.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53That makes it the oldest yacht club on the planet.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56It's moved HQ several times over the centuries,
0:08:56 > 0:09:01before anchoring in Cross Haven, on the western side of the harbour.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Now, old, it might be, stuffy, it isn't,
0:09:03 > 0:09:09and people flock here to be part of the biennial regatta known the world over as Cork Week.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24My name is Eddie English. I run a sailing school in Cobh, on the other side of the harbour.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27I've been involved with Cork Week since its inception.
0:09:27 > 0:09:33I'm fortunate enough to have done regattas all over the world, and to me, this is the best one.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39My family are from Cobh and my grandfather and father grew up
0:09:39 > 0:09:45with the water literally lapping onto the front door, and since I was very small I went sailing.
0:09:47 > 0:09:53Since the early '90s I've sailed with Oyster Catcher, and it's very much a social thing
0:09:53 > 0:09:56as much as a sailing thing with our crew.
0:09:56 > 0:10:02There's four brothers in the family, and there are three of us full-time involved in sailing as a career,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06and our children have continued on that tradition.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11My own kids are very small, but they're involved in sailing so they'll be watching today.
0:10:11 > 0:10:17You can go to a football match, and there could be 20,000 people watching that game,
0:10:17 > 0:10:21but there's less than 30 people out on the pitch. With Cork Week,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25you can have 20,000 people involved, there's going to be 8,000 people
0:10:25 > 0:10:30participating and racing, and everyone stays involved right the way through the week.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35As the great yachts cross the finishing line, they also pass
0:10:35 > 0:10:40the very first home of the Royal Cork Yacht Club on Haulbowline Island.
0:10:40 > 0:10:46For centuries, Haulbowline was a strategically vital base for the British Royal Navy,
0:10:46 > 0:10:51then in 1938, it became - and remains to this day -
0:10:51 > 0:10:54the command centre for the Irish Naval Service.
0:10:54 > 0:11:02And I've been invited to join them on an exercise on the flagship patrol vessel, the LE Eithne.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04WHISTLING
0:11:06 > 0:11:12First off, I have a bit of a confession to make to Captain Hugh Tully.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16I must admit I didn't realise that Ireland had a Navy.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Well, you wouldn't be the first person to say that.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24We're a relatively young navy, and I suppose we're sort of out of sight, out of mind.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28A lot of our time is spent way offshore, so it's difficult to have a profile.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31What is the remit of the Irish Naval Service?
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Our main job is maritime surveillance, so that can be
0:11:34 > 0:11:37fishing protection, search and rescue, drug interdiction.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42With eight patrol vessels and one of the largest maritime zones in Europe to patrol,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45the Irish Navy is a serious proposition.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50Sir, if I can interrupt you there one moment, we've just received an intelligence report.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53A Maritime Surveillance aircraft has come across a commercial tug,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56with the description of an Irish vessel in the Oyster Bank.
0:11:56 > 0:12:03'And as 2nd in command, Lieutenant Olan O'Keefe outlines the position of a suspect vessel, something clicks.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07'When the Naval Service invited me on an exercise, they didn't mean
0:12:07 > 0:12:11'twice round the harbour and back to the Officers' Mess for a swift half.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14'Their training looks deadly serious.'
0:12:14 > 0:12:18- If you'd like to join me there. - Excellent. 'As we go down to the Operations Room,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21'Olan explains we're about to conduct what they call
0:12:21 > 0:12:25'a compliant boarding of the suspect tug, and I'm to be part of that boarding team.'
0:12:25 > 0:12:28I've a target bearing 040 degrees.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Target bearing is 040 degrees.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34From here we have to positively track the Oyster Bank.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39Once he's tracked on our radar, we'll have our weapons sensors directed on the vessel also.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44From there, the gunnery officer will recommend to the Captain that the vessel is in our sensors.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47So what capability have you got sat here?
0:12:47 > 0:12:51Well, I'm Gunnery Officer on board, so I'm in charge of all the weapons.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55This screen is giving me what the digital camera is actually seeing.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I've daylight TV and infrared systems.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01And at this point you're capable of doing anything you want
0:13:01 > 0:13:04to that vessel, should the situation arise?
0:13:04 > 0:13:09Yes, should it arise and once we have everything confirmed, the Captain can give the order,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12and then we can control the main weapons from here.
0:13:12 > 0:13:20Command WD, target confirmed, target, merchant vessel, Oyster Bank.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Neil, we'll join the Captain and bridge team, as we close this vessel.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28- We can make our way straight to the bridge now.- Right.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31- Starboard 20.- Starboard 20.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36Request close for visual confirmation over.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39'Roger, we're closing down their position now.'
0:13:42 > 0:13:46Action stations. Action stations, action stations.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48HE BLOWS WHISTLE
0:13:48 > 0:13:53Neil, we've just gone to our highest state of readiness here now,
0:13:53 > 0:13:58so the naval boarding team are going to muster in the hangar, put on their kit and their weapons.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02The Boarding Officer is going to contact the Oyster Bank and ask a series of questions.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05- If you'd like to join me now, we'll go down to the hangar.- OK.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Neil, we have your kit here.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13What is the IMO number of your vessel?
0:14:13 > 0:14:18'Roger, my IMO is 172.'
0:14:18 > 0:14:20OK. It's a snug fit.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23What is your next port of call?
0:14:23 > 0:14:25My next port of call is Cork.
0:14:27 > 0:14:33Sir, I intend to board your vessel with a Naval boarding team, and my team will be armed.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36We will board from the port side,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38just far of this clear here.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Weapons, the H&K, 9mm pistol.
0:14:40 > 0:14:46Code words for today, situation turning hostile is Catfish, and team withdrawing is Rebound.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- And what should I do? - Just stick with me.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13When you see men with balaclavas coming, they must know it's not going to be a good day though.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Did you tell the crew to be visible for the approach?
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Yeah, yeah, I tell them on the radio.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33- Right. You want them to see you when you arrive.- Exactly, yeah.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Come forward.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47I would like you to get down on both knees.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49I'm with you.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53Put your hands in the air, put your hands in the air.
0:15:53 > 0:15:54Bridge clear! Roger.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59It's amazing to me that this kind of work is going on day and night,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03year round, to try and make sure that the coast is as safe as possible.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08Now this was just an exercise, there's no bullets in their guns,
0:16:08 > 0:16:13but there's something about seeing armed men, something about seeing guns being pointed at people.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17It's intimidating, and it's frightening, but I suppose it should be.
0:16:19 > 0:16:25Just days after I joined the boarding crew, a news report confirms the importance of the exercise.
0:16:25 > 0:16:32The haul of cocaine discovered on board a yacht off the Cork coast was put on display today.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36Much of it was almost certainly destined for the UK and mainland Europe.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39In a hazardous night time operation,
0:16:39 > 0:16:44the Irish Naval Service seized over £600 million worth of cocaine
0:16:44 > 0:16:48in a raid on a yacht, the biggest drugs haul in Irish history.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16Heading east from Cork, we're brought to a sudden halt
0:17:16 > 0:17:21by a massive 100ft exclamation mark on the coast at Ardmore.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26One of Ireland's famous and mysterious round towers.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30That is just incredible.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40And it's just as much an icon of Ireland as any shamrock or harp.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45There's about 60 of these round towers scattered through the Irish landscape, and over the years
0:17:45 > 0:17:53they've bred all manner of weird and wonderful theories as to exactly what they're for.
0:17:55 > 0:18:02The most popular explanation is that the round towers were bolt-holes for priests in times of invasion.
0:18:02 > 0:18:08But there have been other less plausible theories, everything from druidic observatories,
0:18:08 > 0:18:16to more recently the idea that they concentrate paramagnetic energy from the stars to help the crops.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21The truth is probably a little more prosaic than that,
0:18:21 > 0:18:27and there's a big clue in that the little church just down the hill doesn't have a tower of its own.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32That's its bell tower, just like an Italian campanile, and they were
0:18:32 > 0:18:37built from the 9th-12th centuries to call the faithful to prayer.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40But there's supposed to be something even more mysterious
0:18:40 > 0:18:45than the round tower here at Ardmore that's really sparked my curiosity,
0:18:45 > 0:18:50something that dates back centuries before either the tower or the church were built.
0:18:50 > 0:18:56What I want to see is a stone, and on it an ancient Irish way of writing, called Ogham.
0:18:56 > 0:19:01Orla Murphy from Cork University is an expert in this ancient script.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03This is the Ogham stone then.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08- So that's writing. - This is the earliest Irish writing.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12- Is it runes?- No, it's like the Runic, in that it's incised in lines,
0:19:12 > 0:19:18but it's completely different, and the different shapes
0:19:18 > 0:19:20obviously mean different things.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23So here, on this section,
0:19:23 > 0:19:29you have the name, L, and the three scores,
0:19:29 > 0:19:36U-G-U-D-E-C-C-A-S,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39so it's Lugudeccas all the way up,
0:19:39 > 0:19:44then unfortunately it got chopped at some point when it was being used for building.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47What's the date of this? When did people actually start writing Ogham?
0:19:47 > 0:19:50It dates from about the 5th century,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54maybe the 4th, but probably the 5th century, so it's very early.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Why do you think people started writing on stone at this time?
0:19:57 > 0:19:59Probably because they met with Christianity,
0:19:59 > 0:20:05and with Christianity came writing, and perhaps they'd used stones as memoria before,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08but now they were able to translate that,
0:20:08 > 0:20:15using this technology of writing, of matching sounds to visual symbols.
0:20:15 > 0:20:22And they've come up with something unique, and something that's Irish, and this is it. It's Ogham.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Orla, it's remarkable that you can read this. Can you write it as well?
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Yes, we can. We can write it as well.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31- Shall we go and try?- Yes.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Shall we just have a go in the sand then?
0:20:34 > 0:20:38Yes. So, what's happening is we're going to write it either side of a stave,
0:20:38 > 0:20:42just like as if we were going to write on the edge of a stone.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45- On an upright stone. - An upright stone.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50Or it's sometimes on the flat, but just having an edge is important.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52OK, so,
0:20:52 > 0:20:53here we go.
0:20:53 > 0:20:59So reading from the bottom up we're going to have a notch for your A...
0:21:01 > 0:21:03..two lines for your L...
0:21:06 > 0:21:10..one, two, three, four for your I.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Five actually, for your I.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21One, two, three, four for your C...
0:21:22 > 0:21:28..and one, two, three, four for your E.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32E. I wouldn't want to write a particularly long word in this, I have to say.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35No, you could be there for a long time, you could.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37I'm going to have a go myself.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42So, first of all the line which is the edge of the stone then.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44A...
0:21:44 > 0:21:48'So vowels are notches on the edge of the stone or stave.'
0:21:48 > 0:21:52..I. 'And consonants are lines on the sides. I get it!'
0:21:52 > 0:21:57..C...E.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- Perfect.- My name in Ogham.
0:22:01 > 0:22:07Monumental masonry, graffiti, the idea of logging on to the landscape
0:22:07 > 0:22:10and leaving your name for posterity seems ageless.
0:22:10 > 0:22:17But it all started here in Ireland, more than 1,600 years ago with Ogham.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38The sea cliffs here aren't massive, but they can be lethal.
0:22:38 > 0:22:44On the headland at Tramore, The Metal Man was raised as a warning to shipping
0:22:44 > 0:22:51after The Seahorse ran aground here in 1816, with the loss of almost 400 lives.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58Tramore. Most of the places we've visited so far have had Irish names.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Tramore is simply Irish for big beach. Good name.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04But as we approach Waterford,
0:23:04 > 0:23:08the second of the great ports on our journey, things change drastically.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Because Waterford isn't an Irish name.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Nor is it English. It's Viking.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17It comes from the Old Norse, Vedrarfjord
0:23:17 > 0:23:20meaning, "the haven from the windy sea",
0:23:20 > 0:23:23signalling the first in a chain of major trading ports
0:23:23 > 0:23:28established by the Vikings in virtually every estuary from here to Dublin.
0:23:28 > 0:23:36Today, Waterford is virtually synonymous the world over with lead crystal, glass.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38And that's given Alice an idea.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45I'm just walking along the beach here picking up
0:23:45 > 0:23:50these really beautiful little water-worn pebbles of glass.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52But what is this stuff?
0:23:52 > 0:23:56I think most of us know it's got something to do with silica,
0:23:56 > 0:24:01and that it could possibly be made by heating up sand.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04But is that all there is to it?
0:24:04 > 0:24:11In the interests of science, and for the sheer fun of it, I've decided to see if we can make glass from sand.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Oh, and try to do it on a beach.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19If anybody's going to succeed, it's going to be Waterford Crystal's chief scientist Richard Lloyd.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22- This bit?- Perfect.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25So, Richard, would any old sand do?
0:24:25 > 0:24:28It's got to have a component of quartz in it, a form of silica.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Silica doesn't need any other ingredient to make glass other than heat energy.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34But you think this looks all right?
0:24:34 > 0:24:38- This looks fine. - Let's go and make some glass.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40This is Tony.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44- He's the man that's going to provide the heat for us today.- Hello, Tony.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46So exactly how much heat are we going to need?
0:24:46 > 0:24:50In its present form we'll need 1,800 Celsius to melt this,
0:24:50 > 0:24:55but we're going to mix it with some potash, which helps the sand to melt.
0:24:55 > 0:25:00So how much does the potash bring down the melting point of the quartz?
0:25:00 > 0:25:01By about 600 Celsius.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05So we can then achieve melting temperatures with Tony's burner.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07so we're going to pop it on there...
0:25:12 > 0:25:15The crucible is already glowing bright red.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Red heat is only 600 Celsius.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21- Red heat is 600?- Approximately.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27- And it's starting to bubble now. - Yes,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31that's the potash releasing its carbon dioxide,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34and then it starts to react with the sand grains to form the glass.
0:25:34 > 0:25:41So, Richard, how does this on the beach relate to actually what goes on in the factories?
0:25:41 > 0:25:48Essentially, the technology underlying the things we've done on the beach is the same as the factory.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54And often this glass is talked about as being lead crystal. Do you actually add lead to it?
0:25:54 > 0:25:58We do, yeah, in the form of lead oxide. This makes it sparkle.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04It also allows the glass to be worked over a longer temperature range,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07which lets the blowers do their magic.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15It takes years to achieve this level of skill.
0:26:15 > 0:26:16Believe me, it isn't easy.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20I've just had a go myself.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26One way or another, glass has been made here for hundreds of years.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28These skills are ancient.
0:26:29 > 0:26:35This is Waterford Museum's famous kite brooch of Irish Viking design.
0:26:35 > 0:26:41Exquisite gold filigree, and the tiniest beads of glass.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43It functioned as a cloak fastener
0:26:43 > 0:26:49and was very much like the Irish ring pins that became an essential part of Viking haute couture.
0:26:49 > 0:26:55When this brooch was made 1,000 years ago, the glass beads were treated like diamonds.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59Glass was a precious, hard-won material.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Glass is a very special substance.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04It's not like other solids, it's got no definite melting point.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08It just gets softer and softer as it gets hotter and hotter.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11It has no crystals, that's why you can see through it.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Once the quartz has formed the glass, the molecules
0:27:13 > 0:27:17can't rotate and orientate themselves into regular patterns,
0:27:17 > 0:27:22which a crystal is, so they're trapped in irregular shapes. That's what keeps the glass clear.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25I'll get it. You clear off that way, yeah?
0:27:27 > 0:27:29Oh. Oh, wow.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31There we have glass from the beach.
0:27:31 > 0:27:37There is something really wonderful about being able to make glass from sand.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39And it's really green.
0:27:39 > 0:27:45That's because the sand we've used has got a lot of iron in it, which makes it brown.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49When it forms a glass, the iron changes chemically to form the green compound.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53Most of the sand in the beaches around the world will have iron in it.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56So our beaches are rusty.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00'What a great day. Not only have we succeeded
0:28:00 > 0:28:05'in making glass from sand, but the craftsmen of Waterford Crystal
0:28:05 > 0:28:09'have made something that harkens back to the very foundation of Waterford itself,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12'a Viking ring pin.'
0:28:12 > 0:28:14That is beautiful.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17Oh, Richard, that really is lovely.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22That's got designs all the way along it,
0:28:22 > 0:28:26and it's like a symbol of Waterford, isn't it?
0:28:26 > 0:28:29The Vikings and the glass.
0:28:33 > 0:28:39Leaving County Waterford, our journey continues to County Wexford, via the Passage East ferry.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42On the far shore lies Ballyhack,
0:28:42 > 0:28:47base camp for the 140-mile Sli Charman, or Wexford Coastal Path.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58Travelling up the peninsula towards Hook Head, there's a little inlet known as Herrylock,
0:28:58 > 0:29:03where beach and cliff face are made up of layers of old red sandstone.
0:29:04 > 0:29:10And all over the beach, there are these strange regular bowls in the rock.
0:29:11 > 0:29:16You could walk past this and think it was natural, you could just overlook it.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19It was maybe cut by the sea or the wind,
0:29:19 > 0:29:24and if you look really closely you start to pick out strange marks, cut marks.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29These are the marks left by tools that have been used to cut something out.
0:29:34 > 0:29:39Once you get your eye in, you realise they're all over the place around here.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Now, I'm not going to pretend I don't know why these holes are here.
0:29:46 > 0:29:52These are the remains left behind by quarrying for millstones which are used to grind flour,
0:29:52 > 0:29:59and right up until the end of the 19th century, Herrylock was famous for the quality for its millstones.
0:29:59 > 0:30:06The incredibly hard, gritty Herrylock sandstone was ideal for millstones. They were sold all over Ireland.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09But how did they manage to extract the stones intact from the rock?
0:30:09 > 0:30:13To find out, I'm meeting up with local stonemason Paul O'Hara.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15- Hello, Paul.- Hello, Neil.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19Paul has a fascination with the old stonemasons' techniques.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23I'm just working on a bit of the stone here.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25What is the process then?
0:30:25 > 0:30:28How do you start with a piece of bedrock and end up with a millstone that's free?
0:30:30 > 0:30:32Well, initially you'd mark it out.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34Roughly a 4ft diameter is
0:30:34 > 0:30:39the stone that's been quarried here, then you score around your shape,
0:30:39 > 0:30:43skirting down along it, and follow the channel all the way around the circle.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46They would have gone down maybe 16 inches.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48How long will that take with a hammer and chisel?
0:30:48 > 0:30:51I'd say roughly three weeks, they would have taken.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53- Three weeks.- To take out.
0:30:53 > 0:30:54And once you've cut this gutter
0:30:54 > 0:30:58around the millstone, how do you get it off the bedrock?
0:30:58 > 0:31:00How do you get it free?
0:31:00 > 0:31:03You would bore a hole, again using your hammer and chisel,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07then fit a timber wedge, and maybe a willow timber, cos willow has a great absorption.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11The sea would have come on in, flooded the channel...
0:31:13 > 0:31:17..the timber would then expand, and the stone would have lifted.
0:31:17 > 0:31:23So as the wood expands with the moisture, that is enough force to crack this?
0:31:23 > 0:31:26That would have been enough force, yes.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31I dunno, I've got a lovely picture of the actual, the scene here.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34Up beyond there was ten houses or so,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36there must have been great comradeship between them.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39And then when the conversation went dead,
0:31:39 > 0:31:41the only thing you would actually hear
0:31:41 > 0:31:45would be maybe the clanging of the hammer and the stone.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54By the late 1800s, the Herrylock chisels sang no more.
0:31:54 > 0:32:00Cast iron replaced old red sandstone as the perfect material for making millstones.
0:32:00 > 0:32:06Is it just me, but I feel a little sad this ancient industry came to an end?
0:32:07 > 0:32:13Cutting a millstone like this one involved some of the hardest physical labour imaginable.
0:32:13 > 0:32:18But what makes it such a satisfying story is that the secret ingredient was human genius,
0:32:18 > 0:32:25using the power of wood swollen by water to break these free from the bedrock,
0:32:25 > 0:32:29so the final tool that they had in their armoury was the power of the sea.
0:32:39 > 0:32:44Placid as it might appear, this peninsula has a terrifying reputation for mangling ships.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49No surprise to find a lighthouse then.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54But it's perhaps the oldest intact operational lighthouse in the world.
0:32:56 > 0:33:03In fact, historian and author Billy Colfer believes it dates back 800 years.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06Now this, I've got to see.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Well, Billy, it does look like it's taken a pounding over the years,
0:33:09 > 0:33:12but how do you know it's as old as you say it is?
0:33:12 > 0:33:16- Let's go inside, Neil, and I'll show you.- OK.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27Now, Neil, if you look up, you'll get your first impression of a medieval building.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31Right, oh, yeah, it's like a castle keep or a cathedral.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35- It's so massive.- Exactly, they used castle technology to build the place,
0:33:35 > 0:33:37that's the reason for the roof vaulting.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39- Castle technology.- Exactly.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41And why is it black?
0:33:41 > 0:33:47It's black with Welsh coal, because for 500 years the light was
0:33:47 > 0:33:51kept burning mostly with coal, and this was the coal store. OK?
0:33:55 > 0:33:57The three chambers are similar,
0:33:57 > 0:34:01each vaulted. The stone vault can be seen as a fireproofing feature.
0:34:01 > 0:34:07If you have a big fire burning on top of your building, you don't want wooden floors.
0:34:09 > 0:34:15Over 500 years, that big fire to create the light meant importing thousands of tons of Welsh coal.
0:34:15 > 0:34:20Whoever built this place had a lot of clout.
0:34:20 > 0:34:26The first historic record of the building come from the Pembroke Estate papers in the 1240s,
0:34:26 > 0:34:33when the monks of the monastery of Rinn Dubhain are given money for the maintenance of the building.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37So, was the tower built by a monastic order, is that whose idea it was?
0:34:37 > 0:34:42No. They were financed by one of the most powerful knights in England, William Marshall,
0:34:42 > 0:34:45who controlled this area.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48- Hook weather.- Some view.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53William Marshall, the builder of this lighthouse, was one of the new breed
0:34:53 > 0:34:57of adventurers, really, who came to Ireland, one of the Anglo-Normans.
0:34:57 > 0:35:04He had this lighthouse constructed at this extremity of the Hook Peninsula to guide his shipping
0:35:04 > 0:35:11up Waterford Harbour to his new port of Ross, which he was determined to make into a financial success.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15So, this was a practical addition to the landscape by a businessman on the make?
0:35:15 > 0:35:19Yes, it was highly practical and functional, but it was also a highly visible symbol
0:35:19 > 0:35:26of Marshall's power and status, which became an iconic feature in the Irish landscape.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36The lighthouse's builder, William Marshall, had powerful connections.
0:35:36 > 0:35:41It was his father-in-law, Strongbow, who first landed a Norman army on Irish soil,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44just beyond the lighthouse at Baginbun and Bannow Bay.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49The irony is the Normans first came here as mercenaries, not invaders.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52They were invited. But they liked what they saw.
0:35:52 > 0:35:57They settled. And they dominated Irish history for centuries.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05This is Carnsore Point.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07From now on we're heading north.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Next stop, Rosslare.
0:36:11 > 0:36:18Rosslare has thrived since the need arose for a harbour with a deep enough passage for steam ships.
0:36:18 > 0:36:24Yet it's so well positioned facing the UK, you'd expect to find a far more ancient port here.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28And there is one, a couple of miles up the coast.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Wexford.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36To the Vikings, Waiesfjord.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38A wide shallow harbour.
0:36:38 > 0:36:43To another invader, Oliver Cromwell, the town of Wexford was a Catholic thorn in his side.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50In 1649, his New Model Army wiped out all Catholic resistance
0:36:50 > 0:36:56and replaced them with a new wave of settlers, the so-called New English.
0:36:59 > 0:37:04The town is one thing, but he who would be master of Wexford's harbour
0:37:04 > 0:37:07must do battle with a constant natural foe.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09Sand.
0:37:11 > 0:37:18As the tide ebbs, the entire estuary is filled with continuously shifting ridges of sand.
0:37:23 > 0:37:29Deep-draughted ocean-going vessels can't cope with the perils of the sandbanks.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32But there is a very ancient type of boat that can.
0:37:32 > 0:37:38Flat-bottomed, and traditionally with a pointed bow and stern, it's the Wexford Cot.
0:37:38 > 0:37:44Larry Duggan is my name, and I have been making Wexford Cots for 60 years, of all types.
0:37:44 > 0:37:50Our whole family have been in it for hundreds of years, father and my grandfather,
0:37:50 > 0:37:54and my great-grandfather, great- great-grandfather were making these
0:37:54 > 0:37:56in the early part of the 18th century.
0:37:56 > 0:38:02I suppose it's nice to be able to say that you're able to do something that comes natural to you.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04That's quite good now, Richard.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07Wexford's the only place that we get cots.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10It's the estuary that makes the cots suitable for what it is,
0:38:10 > 0:38:14or the cot is suitable for the estuary, however you want to put it.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17That boat would push out in six inches of water.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21You wouldn't get near the beach with a keel boat -
0:38:21 > 0:38:24the keel would be in the mud before you get near the shore.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27That's clinker. Clinker is one board lapped over another.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31I think the Vikings brought that to this part of the country,
0:38:31 > 0:38:37because all the Viking boats are all clinker-built. Apart from the cots, I've made shooting punts.
0:38:37 > 0:38:43I became an expert on building punts - no matter who wanted a punt, they came to Larry's yard.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49Traditional punt is only ten inches high and she's 15, 16 or 17 feet long.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52You push it along with a pole.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57A good punter turns on his side this way, and he's able to just glide along.
0:38:57 > 0:39:05It's loaded from the muzzle, usually six ounces of shot to every ounce of powder.
0:39:05 > 0:39:10And my big one takes four ounces of powder, 24 ounce of shot.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12GUNFIRE
0:39:12 > 0:39:14When it comes to the good shots,
0:39:14 > 0:39:16there have been hellish good shots.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20I got 166 golden plover in one shot...
0:39:20 > 0:39:23way back in 1952.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29There was a great market for them, I mean, all during the war years you couldn't get enough of them.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33England, that's where they were all going, to feed them all in the war.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41Shooting wildfowl using a punt can be lethally effective.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45But it's also licensed and very strictly controlled.
0:39:45 > 0:39:51Out of range of ancient gunshot, on the north side of Wexford Harbour lie the Wexford Slobs.
0:39:51 > 0:39:57Now slob is simply the Irish word for muddy land, which this entire area was until the 1840s,
0:39:57 > 0:39:59when it was drained and reclaimed.
0:39:59 > 0:40:05For the past 30 years or more, around 500 acres of slobland have become a wildlife reserve
0:40:05 > 0:40:10and over-wintering site for a huge variety of wild birds,
0:40:10 > 0:40:16and as Wexford sleeps, Miranda's going in search of one very special species.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40It's about an hour before first light, and Paddy and I
0:40:40 > 0:40:43are setting off to a place called Raven Point
0:40:43 > 0:40:44at the north end of Wexford harbour.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47If we're very lucky, we might just catch a glimpse of
0:40:47 > 0:40:51a rare and very beautiful visitor to this part of the Irish coast.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53Lights out?
0:40:56 > 0:41:00My guide out to Raven Point is wildlife warden Paddy O'Sullivan.
0:41:00 > 0:41:06Apparently, our success is going to rely on keeping chat and movement to a minimum.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10I wish I'd bought a flask of tea.
0:41:10 > 0:41:17Suddenly, out of the darkness, an unforgettable call - "nedleck, nedleck",
0:41:17 > 0:41:23and against the early morning sky, long strings of silhouetted birds start to appear.
0:41:26 > 0:41:27Magical. It's brilliant.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36Fantastic, just the sheer numbers of them,
0:41:36 > 0:41:38the beauty of the call.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50You can even hear the hum of the wings. This is just magical.
0:41:50 > 0:41:55This is probably the best spot to be, because right here you get over a third of the world's population
0:41:55 > 0:41:57of Greenland white-fronted geese.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04BIRDS CHATTER NOISILY
0:42:15 > 0:42:20It's now 7:30am and it's a real November morning.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24These birds have spent the night out on freezing cold exposed sandbanks.
0:42:27 > 0:42:32Now, in the safety of daylight, it's time for a hearty breakfast in the nearby stubble fields.
0:42:37 > 0:42:42For me, a day in the life of the Greenland white-fronted geese has just begun.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48Getting closer to them, one of the more obvious questions is answered -
0:42:48 > 0:42:52why they're called white-fronted geese.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55Their need to feed is paramount now.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59Each and every one of these birds has flown here all the way
0:42:59 > 0:43:03from their breeding grounds on the west coast of Greenland,
0:43:03 > 0:43:08an incredible calorie-busting journey of over 1,800 miles.
0:43:12 > 0:43:18'For some years, the Wildlife Trust's scientific officer Alyn Walsh has observed a marked decline
0:43:18 > 0:43:23'in Greenland white-fronted geese overwintering on the Wexford Slobs.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25'And there's only one way of recording the numbers.'
0:43:25 > 0:43:30Two, four, six, eight, ten, two, four, six, eight, 20, two, four, six, eight, 30...
0:43:30 > 0:43:37'Alyn and the team are extremely anxious to monitor the decline, and they repeat this wild goose count
0:43:37 > 0:43:42'time and time again during the winter months to collect accurate data.
0:43:43 > 0:43:50'It's a vast area, so we need to drive and the cars also act as a mobile hide.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54'The geese don't seem fazed by our vehicle.
0:43:54 > 0:44:02'But if we got out, the entire flock would be airborne in seconds and we'd have to start counting again.'
0:44:02 > 0:44:04Several of the geese have got neck collars.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08There was a "K9Z", and a "K5U". Do we know anything about those birds?
0:44:08 > 0:44:11Yes, K9Z and K5U have been together for a number of years now.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13I don't think they've any goslings this year,
0:44:13 > 0:44:17- but they probably will in very soon. - So, they're a breeding pair?
0:44:17 > 0:44:21They're a breeding pair, and that's sort of typical because we know that
0:44:21 > 0:44:24pairs are not producing young until at least their sixth year now.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28When you get to know the geese you can see that they're actually
0:44:28 > 0:44:31broken up into very discreet little family groups.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34If we look at this group here in the field, you can see there's a group -
0:44:34 > 0:44:37they're almost certainly related.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41- So both on the ground and in the air they stay within a family group? - Yeah. Normally,
0:44:41 > 0:44:44if they fly from one area to another, it's for water.
0:44:44 > 0:44:49If they're grazing, they would definitely have to have water every two to three hours.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53They eat a lot of vegetative matter, and because their digestive system is poor,
0:44:53 > 0:44:55they poop every three minutes.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59Now, I only came here to see the geese,
0:44:59 > 0:45:01but it's clear you've got a huge number of bird species
0:45:01 > 0:45:04that are travelling here from all over the place.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08The white-fronted geese don't have it all to themselves.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10Wexford is a very special place.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14It's like an international airport, a hub for a huge range of species.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18We've got in excess of 200 species that come to Wexford.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Probably the most notable ones would be Brent.
0:45:21 > 0:45:26We have 3,500 Brent that come from the High Arctic of Canada.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28We have Hooper Swans from Iceland,
0:45:28 > 0:45:33we've got Snipe which again come from Iceland and from Europe.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37We've got Wigeon which can come in from Siberia,
0:45:37 > 0:45:41Golden Plover from Iceland, and Curlews that come Europe as well.
0:45:43 > 0:45:49By late afternoon there's a change of mood on the Wexford Slobs, a new sense of anticipation.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02There's a stirring amongst the geese.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05A quick shake of the head mirrored by other family or group members
0:46:05 > 0:46:09is a clear indication of an intention to fly.
0:46:15 > 0:46:20Soon family after family, squadron after squadron of geese
0:46:20 > 0:46:24from across the entire 2,000 acres of Wexford Slobs
0:46:24 > 0:46:28is airborne and heading back out to sea for the relative safety
0:46:28 > 0:46:30of the Wexford sandbanks.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45What an incredible end to the day.
0:46:45 > 0:46:50The sun's just setting, and behind me the sky is absolutely black
0:46:50 > 0:46:54with geese coming in from every direction to roost for the evening.
0:46:54 > 0:46:58It's a truly unforgettable experience.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07From Wexford we head north along a huge long beach.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09This is Curracloe.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12Because of its resemblance to the Normandy beaches,
0:47:12 > 0:47:16Curracloe was chosen by Steven Spielberg as the location
0:47:16 > 0:47:20for the bloody opening sequence of his film, Saving Private Ryan,
0:47:20 > 0:47:23which recreated the American assault on Omaha Beach.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30The actors have long since gone, but a battle still rages.
0:47:33 > 0:47:38From here almost all the way to Dublin the coast is vulnerable,
0:47:38 > 0:47:43crumbling, glacial sediment that has been constantly gnawed by the sea and weather.
0:47:43 > 0:47:51No wonder that there's little trace of settlement, ancient or modern, until we get to Arklow, then Wicklow.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55Even here for safe measure there have been three lighthouses,
0:47:55 > 0:47:59just to be sure, to be sure, to be sure.
0:48:07 > 0:48:11From Wicklow we travel north to Greystones, where the Wicklow hills
0:48:11 > 0:48:15dip a mountainous granite toe into the Irish Sea.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19Here engineer, Dick Strawbridge, is exploring one of the most remarkable,
0:48:19 > 0:48:22but little-known achievements of one of his heroes.
0:48:24 > 0:48:28Engineers don't get much greater than Isambard Kingdom Brunel,
0:48:28 > 0:48:31and one of his greatest challenges was here on the Irish coast.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34Imagine trying to build a railway through that!
0:48:35 > 0:48:38TRAIN HORN
0:48:38 > 0:48:40Bray Head.
0:48:40 > 0:48:45Precipitous granite cliffs to tunnel through, deep gorges to cross.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52Railway engineer, Michael Barry, has no doubts as to the formidable
0:48:52 > 0:48:56obstacles Brunel faced, or to the brilliance of his solutions.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59I would call it heroic engineering.
0:48:59 > 0:49:05We have ramparts out over the sea, which have to stand up to the heavy waves.
0:49:05 > 0:49:09The rock is extremely hard, it was extremely difficult to tunnel,
0:49:09 > 0:49:16but it also is unstable and you get rock falls from time to time.
0:49:16 > 0:49:23Digging through that kind of rock, it would be a really very difficult engineering job to do it today.
0:49:24 > 0:49:31Since it opened in 1855, generations of engineers have re-routed, re-built and altered sections
0:49:31 > 0:49:37of the railway line through and around Bray Head, but you can still find evidence of the master's work.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40Down there you can just see some old stone piers.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44That's all that's left of Brunel's once-elegant bridge work.
0:49:45 > 0:49:51This was just one of the aerial bridges he built to cross a void, giving passengers an all too real
0:49:51 > 0:49:55sensation that there was little between them and the sea below.
0:49:55 > 0:50:01This wasn't a railway, it was a rollercoaster, and inevitably the thrills led to spills.
0:50:01 > 0:50:07On the 23rd April 1865 the first class carriage of the Dublin train simply left the rails
0:50:07 > 0:50:11and teetered on the edge of the viaduct 100ft above sea level.
0:50:12 > 0:50:18The driver kept his nerve and pushed on, pulling the carriages from the brink.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21But two years later, two passengers did die
0:50:21 > 0:50:27and 20 more were injured when three carriages left the rails and fell 30ft from one of Brunel's bridges.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31But the bridges weren't the only part of his line to take a battering.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35Bray Head's unstable rock fell so often,
0:50:35 > 0:50:40the company began selling it to contractors laying Dublin's roads.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42And the sea took its toll too.
0:50:42 > 0:50:46Storm damage was all too frequent.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56Brunel's railway through and around Bray Head proved
0:50:56 > 0:51:02so horrendously expensive to build, rebuild and maintain, it's even been called Brunel's Folly.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06But, in defence of my engineering hero, I have this one thing to say.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09It is a cracking ride.
0:51:19 > 0:51:27As we emerge from the tunnels we get our first glimpse of what's been nicknamed Ireland's Bay of Naples.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30Framing the scene is Killiney Beach,
0:51:30 > 0:51:36where Hermione is uncovering the story of a remarkable man and a revolutionary experiment.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43In the autumn of 1849, a group of workmen came down to this beach
0:51:43 > 0:51:46on an extraordinary mission.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49They'd been set the task of creating an earthquake.
0:51:49 > 0:51:53Now this earth-shattering plan was the brainchild
0:51:53 > 0:51:58of Victorian businessman and scientist, Robert Mallet.
0:51:58 > 0:52:03Robert Mallet was a Dublin-born scientist whose experiments on this
0:52:03 > 0:52:07tranquil beach began to explain the inner workings of the Earth.
0:52:07 > 0:52:14Mallet founded a science and christened it seismology, the study of earthquakes.
0:52:14 > 0:52:20Nearly 160 years after Mallet created an earthquake on this beach,
0:52:20 > 0:52:22we're going to try the same thing.
0:52:24 > 0:52:29At a time when no-one really knew what caused tremors in the ground,
0:52:29 > 0:52:33Mallet wanted to test his revolutionary new theory that potentially
0:52:33 > 0:52:37devastating amounts of energy travel as waves through the Earth.
0:52:37 > 0:52:45In the experiment, he blew up 25lb of gunpowder at one end of the beach. His earthquake.
0:52:45 > 0:52:50Precisely half a mile away, he positioned himself with specially made equipment
0:52:50 > 0:52:56to see if shockwaves would register and how long they took to reach him from the explosion.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00Mallet's ambition was to pinpoint and map the epicentre
0:53:00 > 0:53:05of all the world's earthquakes and, if possible, save lives.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10Given there are several hundred small earthquakes every day,
0:53:10 > 0:53:13and a major earthquake every 18 months or so,
0:53:13 > 0:53:18Mallet's ambition is shared around the world to this day.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22But in paying homage to Mallet's original experiment,
0:53:22 > 0:53:24I've hit a few snags.
0:53:24 > 0:53:29Everyone's been lovely, the local authority, the Gardai, the Irish Police.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33But, well, they don't want their beach blown to bits, so I've had to scale things down
0:53:33 > 0:53:39to two kilograms of plastic explosive, and retire to a safe distance of 100 metres.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41And there's another but, and it's a big one.
0:53:41 > 0:53:48As if explosives weren't enough for us to cope with today, we've also got to deal with this.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51Mercury.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56Now, mercury is wonderful stuff, but extremely poisonous,
0:53:56 > 0:53:59so that's why we've got it sealed inside this dish.
0:53:59 > 0:54:04Robert Mallet's apparatus involved projecting cross-hairs onto
0:54:04 > 0:54:07a pool of mercury which he viewed through a microscope.
0:54:07 > 0:54:12If his theory was right, he could time and record how long it took for
0:54:12 > 0:54:16energy waves from his earthquake to register as ripples in the mercury.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20Rather like that.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23Now, today we're going to be standing a safe distance away
0:54:23 > 0:54:26from the blast, and away from the mercury, so we've set up this
0:54:26 > 0:54:31video camera here in the hope that it will record any reaction
0:54:31 > 0:54:33that we get from our explosion.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37Whether or not it will work, well, that remains to be seen.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42That's the other thing. I'm really worried our explosion
0:54:42 > 0:54:49won't be big enough to register the shockwaves in the mercury 100 metres away, so I've called in some help.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53Scientists from the Dublin Institute who will measure the explosion using
0:54:53 > 0:54:56a sensitive 21st century seismometer.
0:54:56 > 0:55:04Cheating? I don't think so, because this experiment by Robert Mallet 160 years ago was the mother of the idea
0:55:04 > 0:55:06that led to the invention of seismometers.
0:55:06 > 0:55:11But does seismologist, Tom Blake, think our experiment using mercury will work?
0:55:11 > 0:55:15Yes, I'm very confident that it will.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18We have the ghost of Robert Mallet behind us I'm sure.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25Yes, we're ready to go, yes.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30OK, well, Dave when you're ready, do the honours.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35BOOMING
0:55:35 > 0:55:39- Oh, yes. Look it's very good.- You could really see it. Oh, fantastic!
0:55:39 > 0:55:40Excellent. very, very good.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43You missed the blast though, that was fantastic.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50- So, this is the modern technology working.- Exactly.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52- What do you think about the mercury? - Let's go and check it.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55Let's see what the camera shows us.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57Just go back a bit.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03- Oh, yes. Wow.- That's the one.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05That's really impressive, yes.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07I want to see it again.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13- That's very good.- The concentric rings coming in and out.
0:56:13 > 0:56:14Exactly, yes. Very, very good.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19And from that, Mallet basically kick-started seismology.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21Yes, he did his first measurements purely and simply
0:56:21 > 0:56:24with a simple mercury dish like this and a chronometer.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30After his first experiment here on Killiney Beach, Robert Mallet attempted to
0:56:30 > 0:56:35map the distribution and intensity of the world's known earthquakes.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38He was within a whisker of a discovery which would take
0:56:38 > 0:56:43over a century to fully realise, that the Earth's crust is made up
0:56:43 > 0:56:48of constantly shifting plates, and that it's their movement that causes earthquakes.
0:56:48 > 0:56:53The germ of that understanding was formed in Ireland, on Killiney Beach.
0:56:55 > 0:57:01It's around 160 years since Robert Mallet conducted his ground-breaking experiment.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04# Hallelujah! Hallelujah... #
0:57:04 > 0:57:07It's over 260 years since the Hallelujah Chorus
0:57:07 > 0:57:12was first heard here in Dublin at the world premiere of Handel's Messiah.
0:57:14 > 0:57:19From first footings by the Vikings, almost 1,200 years ago,
0:57:19 > 0:57:22Dublin has grown into a vibrant capital city
0:57:22 > 0:57:25and a cultural and commercial nerve centre.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28But like all the major ports we've visited on this coast, from Cork
0:57:28 > 0:57:34to Waterford, and from Wexford to Wicklow, Dublin was founded and has
0:57:34 > 0:57:39flourished by being connected to its neighbours and the rest of the world,
0:57:39 > 0:57:41by the sea.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47But for now, Go n-Oirigh an bothar leat, may your journey be swift and easy.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51Until we met again on the next stretch of Coast, slan!
0:57:51 > 0:57:53Farewell.