0:00:07 > 0:00:09The northwest coast of France
0:00:09 > 0:00:13and the fortified city that repelled the British for centuries.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20But the city walls represent a mere bad-tempered blip
0:00:20 > 0:00:23in a cosy, cross-Channel relationship that spanned millennia.
0:00:23 > 0:00:28After all, settlers from the British Isles gave this land its name...
0:00:29 > 0:00:34In French, Great Britain is Grande-Bretagne,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37but they call this place just Bretagne.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41You could say that, to the French, this is Little Britain.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43We've crossed the Channel to Brittany,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46like so many Britons before us...
0:00:49 > 0:00:54..a continual migration that shaped both landscape and language.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00This is a coast of wild winds,
0:01:00 > 0:01:03a home to free-spirited, seafaring folk.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33Look closely at this shoreline
0:01:33 > 0:01:36and the name Brittany really begins to make sense.
0:01:39 > 0:01:44The Celts of Cornwall and Wales felt at home on these rugged rocks.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48It's even got its own version of Land's End.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54We followed age-old connections across the Channel.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59We're heading for southern Brittany
0:01:59 > 0:02:02and the salt marshes of Guerande.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07But we begin our Breton adventure 400 miles up the coast, at St Malo.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Even this grand fortress, once a thorn in Britain's side,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16has Celtic origins.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21This city's named after
0:02:21 > 0:02:25a Welsh saint, Malo, or Maclou, who washed up here
0:02:25 > 0:02:28some time in the sixth century in search of a fresh start.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34He was escaping the chaos in Britain after the Romans left.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40But Malo wasn't alone in seeking safe haven in Brittany.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Migrants had been making the short hop across the Channel for centuries.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51And the stories of those Britons are written along this coast.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Just offshore, the island of Aval.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02Local legend says it's the site of Avalon,
0:03:02 > 0:03:07where Excalibur was forged, the last resting place of King Arthur.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12On this coast of Celtic myth,
0:03:12 > 0:03:18ancient tales submerged by the sea are revealed at low tide.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25A memorial to another saint, this time from Ireland -
0:03:25 > 0:03:27St Efflam.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31It's said he was guided to this spot by the hand of God.
0:03:40 > 0:03:46As Cornwall is to England, so Brittany is to France.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50The people have their own coastal culture -
0:03:50 > 0:03:53a fiercely independent lot.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58And this stretch of shore does suddenly become awfully fearsome.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05The very tip of Brittany - like a defiant finger, pointing out at the Atlantic -
0:04:05 > 0:04:08this is the district of Finistere.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17With a smattering of schoolboy French, you understand the meaning of the name.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21"Finis" is the French word for "the end"
0:04:21 > 0:04:22and "terre" is earth.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24So, Finistere -
0:04:24 > 0:04:26the end of the earth.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36The full fury of the Bay of Biscay unleashes itself here,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38whipped up by the Atlantic airstream.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43These aren't freak storms.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Often, in the winter months, these waters boil.
0:04:46 > 0:04:52Here, the mouth of the English Channel has swallowed many ships.
0:04:54 > 0:04:591967, the Torrey Canyon, wrecked off the coast of Cornwall,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01the world's first oil tanker disaster.
0:05:03 > 0:05:0911 years later, the Amoco Cadiz lost control during a violent storm,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11ran aground and was ripped in two,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14all within sight of the Brittany coast.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20And the whole world watched the aftermath on television.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25'Guillaume Le Roux lived 12 miles away.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29'But it wasn't the TV that alerted him to the disaster.'
0:05:45 > 0:05:49At the time, it was the worst oil spill in history.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54220,000 tonnes of crude, spread over 200 miles of coast,
0:05:54 > 0:05:58covering beaches in a thick emulsion.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Its impact on the local environment lasted years.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28There's nothing much but ocean between here and North America.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32But, beneath the waves, the Atlantic yields an abundant crop
0:06:32 > 0:06:36and it's a harvest that helped heal the world.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Alice Roberts is with the seaweed farmers of Lanildut,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49in search of a medical wonder, plucked from the ocean floor.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57'They've been pulling kelp out of the sea here
0:06:57 > 0:07:00'since the 17th century,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04'first by hand and now by hook.'
0:07:04 > 0:07:06The farmers only harvest one type of seaweed,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09and it's this - laminaria.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11And they do it with this bizarre crane,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14called a Scooby-Doo, which plucks up seaweed from the sea bed,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17then twirls it round, getting rid of excess water,
0:07:17 > 0:07:22but also flicking off unwanted varieties.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32'Lanildut is Europe's largest seaweed port.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35'But there's a tradition of harvesting it in Britain too.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39'Like the French, we've used it for fertiliser, fuel,
0:07:39 > 0:07:43'and it's even played a part in glass-making.
0:07:45 > 0:07:52'The current crop finds its way into goods as diverse as cosmetics and toothpaste.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56'But, as a doctor, I'm drawn here by one particular seaweed product.'
0:07:56 > 0:08:00It has saved countless lives around the world
0:08:00 > 0:08:05and was first discovered in seaweed on this coast.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08This...is iodine.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12In a world before antibiotics,
0:08:12 > 0:08:18iodine played a vital part in fighting infection in cuts and wounds.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Among the mud and dirt of the First World War trenches,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25it was standard issue to the troops.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30And it's still used in modern surgery.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35But this life-saving stuff was discovered by accident.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39What scientists were actually looking for was a better way to kill.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42EXPLOSIONS
0:08:42 > 0:08:46At the start of the 19th century, France was desperate for gunpowder
0:08:46 > 0:08:50for Napoleon's campaigns in Europe.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53In particular, they needed a compound called saltpetre.
0:08:53 > 0:08:59In 1811, chemist and saltpetre manufacturer, Bernard Courtois,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02was given a job by Napoleon of finding a new source
0:09:02 > 0:09:07for this vital component used in the manufacture of gunpowder.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13'Courtois knew that seaweed contained many of the chemicals he needed.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17'It was while he was experimenting on kelp from the Brittany coast
0:09:17 > 0:09:20'that he accidentally produced iodine.
0:09:21 > 0:09:27'Biochemist Philippe Potin is going to show me how he did it
0:09:27 > 0:09:32'by extracting iodine from this lump of dried, burned seaweed.'
0:09:32 > 0:09:35I was expecting it to be soft ashes,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38but it's actually grinding up bits of rock.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Now I will mix that with some very hot water.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45It was exactly the process which was used,
0:09:45 > 0:09:47by Courtois.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50'Back in 1811, it seemed Courtois
0:09:50 > 0:09:53'got a bit carried away with his chemicals.'
0:09:53 > 0:09:57He was probably too generous during his experiments.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00- He had too much acid.- It's changing colour!- Change the colour.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05'His happy accident produced a curious purple vapour.'
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Oh, you can see it!
0:10:11 > 0:10:16This is definitely purple iodine vapour coming off that solution.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19'He didn't know it at the time,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22'but Courtois had discovered a new element,
0:10:22 > 0:10:27'a basic building block of chemistry and something vital to our wellbeing.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30'Around the turn of the 20th century,
0:10:30 > 0:10:35'doctors realised that we all need trace amounts of iodine in our diets.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39'Too little and it can lead to serious problems
0:10:39 > 0:10:43'with the production of hormones by the thyroid gland in the neck.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47'It swells up, producing what's known as a goitre.'
0:10:47 > 0:10:51And this is where living by the coast can come in really handy,
0:10:51 > 0:10:57because this stuff is naturally rich in iodine.
0:10:57 > 0:10:58It's sea salt.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02In fact, this particular sea salt has seaweed mixed with it.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04So, even more iodine.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11'Seaweed is full of surprises,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13'each piece like a tiny chemical factory,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17'containing an element we all need to stay healthy.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21'But the surprises don't stop there.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26'It influences our body's metabolism, but could it also influence...
0:11:26 > 0:11:29'the weather?'
0:11:31 > 0:11:35'Chemist Gordon McFiggans has been working with scientists in Brittany
0:11:35 > 0:11:39'and they've come up with a remarkable idea.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43'They think that iodine released by seaweed forms particles
0:11:43 > 0:11:46'that could make the coast more cloudy.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52'To understand this, Gordon's first going to show me how a cloud forms
0:11:52 > 0:11:56'by getting the water vapour in this jar to condense
0:11:56 > 0:11:59'on some floating smoke particles.'
0:11:59 > 0:12:03So, what we'll do now, we'll open this valve...
0:12:03 > 0:12:06which will create an expansion in there, a drop in temperature,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10- and, hopefully, will form a cloud on those smoke particles.- OK.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Oh, yes!
0:12:15 > 0:12:18'Yes, it's a cloud.'
0:12:18 > 0:12:23So, that's the sort of thing that will hopefully happen,
0:12:23 > 0:12:27but at a much lower degree, from the particles coming off the seaweed.
0:12:31 > 0:12:37So, now we've got air in the jar which has come from the seaweed and should contain
0:12:37 > 0:12:41- those all-important particles with the iodine.- That's right. OK.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45AIR HISSES Yes! Yep. It misted.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49'But if you missed it, here it is again.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51AIR HISSES Yes!
0:12:51 > 0:12:55'So, maybe, making the coast cloudy
0:12:55 > 0:13:00'is another of seaweed's many surprising by-products.'
0:13:00 > 0:13:02I've got some seaweed delicacies here.
0:13:02 > 0:13:08- There's these rather odd-looking haricots verts marines.- Oh, lovely.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16- I don't like that.- I don't think I'd order it.- No.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19And I've also got some seaweed beer.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Doesn't look too bad. At least it's not green!
0:13:27 > 0:13:28That's not so bad.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30That's pretty good beer!
0:13:30 > 0:13:31- Cheers!- Cheers!
0:13:42 > 0:13:46For some, the wild winds that blow in from the Bay of Biscay
0:13:46 > 0:13:49are a reason to hunker down, to wait out the storm.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52For others, winds bring freedom.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57The world's most difficult single-handed yacht race,
0:13:57 > 0:14:01the Vendee Globe, launches from these waters.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07And one Brit loves the challenge so much, she's made her home here.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11'My name's Sam Davies.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14'My job is my passion.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16'And the fitness training's really important.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20'To be here is the perfect place.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26'I race offshore all the time, mostly single-handed.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30'I came fourth in the last Vendee Globe round-the-world race.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34'Here in Port-la-Foret, it's a base of all the top racers'
0:14:34 > 0:14:37in the world, basically, most of them being French.
0:14:37 > 0:14:43I realised the only way to beat them was to come here and learn their secrets.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Sidney's our co-skipper.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49We're actually out just looking at some sail trim.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Attends! Je choque le bastaque.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57I think I have become quite well known in France because of the Vendee Globe.
0:14:57 > 0:15:03Even people who've never been on a boat in their lives follow this race, all over France.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07Deux, deux couches de salade.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10She's very famous.
0:15:10 > 0:15:16No, she is. I could see, through videos, that she was really enjoying what she was doing.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20I think that's what came off, big time, to the public.
0:15:21 > 0:15:26These boats are designed to race offshore, in all conditions, and cross oceans.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29We're kind of on the doorstep of the famous Bay of Biscay.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32For the sailors, it's one of the most feared places,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36almost as much as Cape Horn. Not necessarily the biggest waves in the world,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38but the most boat-breaking.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41There's some quite big waves!
0:15:43 > 0:15:46I love the life in Brittany.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50The French say, "You're nearly French now!" and I say, "No, I'm British!"
0:15:50 > 0:15:53I'm really proud, cos Artemis has a British flag on the back.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57Sidney doesn't like that, cos there's no French flag!
0:15:57 > 0:16:00The local guys say I'm an adopted Breton now.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05That's a real honour, when the Bretons tell you they'll adopt you.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16The wild west coast of Brittany has captured the imagination
0:16:16 > 0:16:18of more than just sailors.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Writer and visionary, Jules Verne, grew up here.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31In 1869, Verne wrote 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36He described a submarine, long before they were in practical use.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40The author also realised its destructive potential.
0:16:42 > 0:16:4870 years ago, in Lorient, his vision took on a terrifying reality.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53Verne wrote that whatever one man is capable of conceiving,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56other men were able to achieve.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59I wonder if he ever had anything like this in mind?
0:17:09 > 0:17:14'This giant is the Keroman U-boat base.'
0:17:19 > 0:17:23During the Second World War, it was at the centre of operations
0:17:23 > 0:17:28for Hitler's deadly attacks on supply convoys crossing the Atlantic.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40The monolithic U-boat pens were an obvious target for Allied bombers
0:17:40 > 0:17:43and the Germans knew it,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46so they were built to withstand just about anything.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51This was done by creating a huge air pocket,
0:17:51 > 0:17:55a gap, between the outer and the inner skin, to absorb the blast.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59This buckling in the ceiling above my head
0:17:59 > 0:18:02is all the damage that was inflicted by a direct hit.
0:18:04 > 0:18:12'Unable to destroy the pens, the Allies decided to isolate them, by bombing the surrounding city.'
0:18:12 > 0:18:15In the days before the attacks, leaflets were dropped,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18warning the people of Lorient to leave.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25Then, 60,000 incendiary bombs flattened the city.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30'But the U-boats were here until the bitter end,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33'finally surrendering in May 1945.'
0:18:36 > 0:18:39They remain as a symbol of Hitler's tyranny
0:18:39 > 0:18:43and how close he came to cutting Britain's lifeline across the Atlantic.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56We use concrete for our monumental building projects
0:18:56 > 0:18:59and the early people who colonised this coast
0:18:59 > 0:19:02used the most resilient resource they could find.
0:19:04 > 0:19:05Granite.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10These enigmatic lines of stones
0:19:10 > 0:19:15were positioned around 2,000 years before Stonehenge was assembled.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21They point to a link between Brittany and Britain.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31At Carnac, Mark Horton is following an ancient thread.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40They have an almost magnetic pull.
0:19:40 > 0:19:46Standing stones that mark the presence of a mysterious people.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51We may not understand why the monuments are here,
0:19:51 > 0:19:55but they keep drawing us back for another look.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01It's amazing to think that these stones
0:20:01 > 0:20:08were being erected some 2,500 years before the great pyramids of Egypt.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13That makes this site around 7,000 years old.
0:20:14 > 0:20:20Curious, regimented lines that attract visitors from around the world.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23HE LAUGHS
0:20:24 > 0:20:28Today, it's like a megalithic theme park.
0:20:30 > 0:20:37And at its heart, the big attraction, a man-made hill - the tumulus.
0:20:38 > 0:20:44'Howard Crowhurst has spent 20 years building up a picture of Carnac.
0:20:44 > 0:20:51'He believes the landscape here was once completely covered with stone monuments.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55'And this used to be the vantage point on the site.'
0:20:57 > 0:20:58So, here we are.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00What a view!
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Was it like this, 7,000 years ago?
0:21:03 > 0:21:07No, it was very different. The sea was much lower, seven metres lower.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10The trees were much further inland.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15So, in fact, you had a perfect view here of the landscape
0:21:15 > 0:21:17and all the stones going right along it.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19How many stones are there, in total?
0:21:19 > 0:21:24In the Carnac alignments, there are over 3,000. 3,100 stones.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Megalith means very big stone.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31And what we can see today
0:21:31 > 0:21:34represent around a tenth of what was originally erected.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39But why here, pointing out at the coast?
0:21:43 > 0:21:47I don't think it's a coincidence that these monuments are right by the sea.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50To build these monuments would've needed a lot of people,
0:21:50 > 0:21:54and travelling was much easier along the coastline
0:21:54 > 0:21:56than through the land.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59And, of course, the sea is a sort of massive larder,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02where people could eat. It's full of food.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07So it's a perfect spot for grouping large amounts of people, really.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11'In fact, the coast seems to have been
0:22:11 > 0:22:15'crucial to the location of these monuments.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18'Similar sites of Stone Age structures
0:22:18 > 0:22:22are dotted all the way up Europe's Atlantic shores...
0:22:25 > 0:22:27..from Portugal to France...
0:22:28 > 0:22:32..Ireland to Wales, up to northern Scotland.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39But hundreds of years and as many miles
0:22:39 > 0:22:42separate the monuments of Carnac from the sites of the British Isles,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45such as this one, on Orkney.
0:22:47 > 0:22:53'So were the builders communicating ideas along the Atlantic coast?
0:22:54 > 0:22:58I'm hoping French archaeologist, Guillaume Robin,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01can show me clues carved into stone.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09'On the island of Gavrinis, there's an ancient tomb
0:23:09 > 0:23:12'with artistic connections to north Wales.'
0:23:12 > 0:23:13And in we go.
0:23:13 > 0:23:14Wow!
0:23:16 > 0:23:19There's circles, spirals
0:23:19 > 0:23:22and then these semicircular arcs coming up.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- Yes. That's mostly nested arcs. - Right.- It's a technique
0:23:25 > 0:23:30- to make the carving. It's called the pecking.- Right.
0:23:30 > 0:23:31It was probably done with
0:23:31 > 0:23:36a quartz chisel, with a hammer. Tak-tak-tak, like this.
0:23:36 > 0:23:37- All the way down?- Yes.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41What I've brought are some illustrations
0:23:41 > 0:23:43of megalithic art from Wales.
0:23:43 > 0:23:44They're both on Anglesey.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- Look, we've got the chevrons.- Yes. - We've seen chevrons.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52And here we've got the sort of serpent-y things.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Yes, that's amazing, because here in Gavrinis,
0:23:56 > 0:24:01you have a lot of symbols that also exist in Wales or in Ireland.
0:24:02 > 0:24:08'What's even more amazing is that Gavrinis was built hundreds of years
0:24:08 > 0:24:10'before the Welsh monuments,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12'and yet the art they contain
0:24:12 > 0:24:15'could've been chipped away by the very same hand.'
0:24:20 > 0:24:26Unfortunately, we don't have a clear picture of what the stones were for.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31'As to how they were moved here,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35'well, French archaeologists have turned it into a fun puzzle
0:24:35 > 0:24:38'for all the family to work out.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45'Using the tools of the time and a bit of public grunt...'
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Un, deux, trois!
0:24:48 > 0:24:51'They've taken a very Breton approach to history
0:24:51 > 0:24:53'and getting their hands dirty.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01'After all, there must've been a great gathering here,
0:25:01 > 0:25:06'some 7,000 years ago, to create these remarkable monuments.'
0:25:06 > 0:25:10It is a stupid way of moving a stone, you know!
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Since the stones of Carnac were aligned,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28empires have come and gone
0:25:28 > 0:25:32and the fabric of the coast has been refashioned.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40Here, they channel sea water into shallow pools,
0:25:40 > 0:25:45so that evaporation by sun and wind leaves the smallest of commodities,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48once so precious it was used as currency.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57As we near the end of our Breton adventure, at Guerande,
0:25:57 > 0:26:02they marshal the forces of nature to farm salt.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Sophie and fellow salt farmer Emmanuel
0:26:08 > 0:26:13represent a new generation, but the techniques they use are age-old.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20This is quite a bizarre landscape to my eye.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Is this natural in any way?
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Or is this all...tampered with?
0:26:24 > 0:26:29It's not natural landscape. All those pans were made by hand,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31centuries ago.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34So, the water comes in from the sea and human beings trap it?
0:26:34 > 0:26:35Yeah, that's right.
0:26:37 > 0:26:42'But don't be deceived. The elements are definitely in charge here.'
0:26:45 > 0:26:48- There's the harvest! - You see, at last, the salt.
0:26:51 > 0:26:56- So, this is the stuff?- Yeah. This one is produced in those pans.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59- The ones out in the middle? - On the bottom. It touches clay.
0:26:59 > 0:27:04- Right.- That's why it is a bit grey. - Will we be able to collect some now?
0:27:04 > 0:27:08No, not today. Unfortunately, it has rained, three days ago,
0:27:08 > 0:27:13and we have to wait, that the water evaporates again,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16that the salt concentrates again, to crystallise.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20It's quite frustrating we have to wait, but it's part of the job.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26'Just as it was for the monks who first created these salt pans in the tenth century,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28'it's a waiting game.'
0:27:36 > 0:27:38I'm all muddy. Nobody else is muddy!
0:27:39 > 0:27:43'But patience brings its rewards. Before the day is out,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45'the sun breaks through, evaporating enough water
0:27:45 > 0:27:49'to produce the cream of the crop.'
0:27:52 > 0:27:55So, it's that simple? You just scoop it off the top?
0:27:55 > 0:27:57Yeah, exactly.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02- It's like snow.- Yeah.- Yeah.- It's so white, compared to the grey salt.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05That one is fleur de sel.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09- It is an incredibly strong flavour. - Yeah.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16'1,000 years of change,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20'and yet a way of working that has remained the same.'
0:28:22 > 0:28:27This coast, on the edge of Europe, feels timeless.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32It's steeped in the spirits of the ancestors that we in Britain share with the Bretons.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Myth and reality merge,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37until it's difficult to tell Brittany from Britain.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd