0:00:06 > 0:00:10The north-west coast of France,
0:00:10 > 0:00:14and a 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 > 0:00:24in a cosy cross-Channel relationship that spanned millennia.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29After all, settlers from the British Isles gave this land its name.
0:00:30 > 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
0:00:43 > 0:00:46to Brittany, like so many Britons before us.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54A continual migration that shaped the landscape and language.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00This is a coast of wild winds,
0:01:00 > 0:01:03a home to free-spirited seafaring folk.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12Nick is peeling back the layers of the French onion men.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14- You wear the berets. - Of course.- And have the bike.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18But all the English people ask me where is my striped T-shirt?
0:01:20 > 0:01:24While Miranda gets to grips with a rare local seafood.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28- It's an abalone back flip. - At the standing stones of Carnac,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Mark discovers their irresistible pull.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36This is a stupid way of moving a stone, you know!
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Alice uncovers the elemental nature of seaweed.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44This stuff is amazing, it's like a tiny chemical factory.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47And I'm off to the end of the Earth.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51In Europe's darkest hour it gave us a shining light,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54an island of unassuming heroes.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00There's no heroes, we don't want that title.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03We only did our duties.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09This is Coast and beyond.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Look closely at this shoreline
0:02:39 > 0:02:42and the name Brittany really begins to make sense.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47The Celts of Cornwall and Wales
0:02:47 > 0:02:50felt at home on these rugged rocks.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54It's even got its own version of Lands End.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00We followed age-old connections across the Channel.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07We're heading for Southern Brittany and the salt marshes of Guerande.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13But we begin our Breton adventure 400 miles up the coast at St Malo.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Even this grand fortress, once a thorn in Britain's side,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22has Celtic origins.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30This city is named after a Welsh saint, Malo, or Maclou,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33who washed up here sometime in the sixth century
0:03:33 > 0:03:34in search of a fresh start.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40He was escaping the chaos in Britain after the Romans left.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46But Malo wasn't alone in seeking safe haven in Brittany.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Migrants had been making the short hop across the Channel
0:03:51 > 0:03:53for centuries,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57and the stories of those Britons are written along this coast.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Just offshore, the island of d'Aval.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Local legend say it's the site of Avalon,
0:04:07 > 0:04:13where Excalibur was forged, the last resting place of King Arthur.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20On this coast of Celtic myth, ancient tales submerged by the sea
0:04:20 > 0:04:23are revealed at low tide.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32A memorial to another saint, this time from Ireland,
0:04:32 > 0:04:33Saint Efflam.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37It's said he was guided to this spot by the hand of God.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43It's a leap of faith many cross-Channel mariners have made.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Celtic cousins bonded by the sea.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Brittany may be mainland France but the Bretons have,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02at times, felt more at home with us.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13On the road to Roscoff, Nick is following a cultural cross-over
0:05:13 > 0:05:16which left a lasting impression.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24It's an enduring image of the French -
0:05:24 > 0:05:27bicycle riding, stripy topped.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30All I need now is a string of onions!
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Like a lot of people, I assumed this image was a myth.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41But there may be something in it, just look at this photograph.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44It was taken in the 1950's and it shows onion sellers
0:05:44 > 0:05:47from this part of Brittany. They look every inch,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49or rather the centimetre, the Frenchman,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52I'm in search of what are known as the "Onion Johnnies".
0:05:52 > 0:05:57I'm told there's a new generation of "Johnnies" and I'm going to meet one.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01If I'm looking for the classic image of a Frenchman,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Emmanuel Le Noac'h doesn't disappoint. Hello, Emmanuel.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06- Hello.- A great pleasure to meet you.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11- Good afternoon. - You're already stringing onions. - Yeah, yeah, I'm starting my season.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Can you tell me what an Onion Johnnie is?
0:06:14 > 0:06:19It's only a onion seller who goes to England,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23and me particularly I'm going to London, but we really started
0:06:23 > 0:06:28in Wales because of the language, because the Breton language
0:06:28 > 0:06:31is nearly the same as the Welsh one.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35- Celtic language.- As Celtic. - You're putting these onto the string
0:06:35 > 0:06:37because this is how you have to show your...
0:06:37 > 0:06:41It's not only to show, it's to keep it all the winter.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43So you take your raffia,
0:06:43 > 0:06:47you tie there with the neck, the air can't go through.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50You can keep it 10-12 months.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51So this is organic preservation?
0:06:51 > 0:06:55It's organic preservation, exactly, yeah.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Now do tell me because some of these onion sellers
0:06:57 > 0:07:00in the 1950s photograph are wearing berets.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04How important is it to have an onion seller's costume to look French?
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Yeah, it's like a costume, it's a bit like a business thing,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11so with the beret against the rain is very good.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15During the winter, I know they used to put newspaper in it.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18- Keep your head warm. - Yes, but normally
0:07:18 > 0:07:21you wear it like that, on one side.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Have you ever worn a stripy...?
0:07:23 > 0:07:27I haven't got, but all the English people ask me where is my striped T-shirt!
0:07:29 > 0:07:34Onion Johnnies have been coming to Britain for nearly 200 years,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37sort of informal ambassadors,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40toting a taste of France door to door.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47It began in the 1820s as a bit of market research.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Local farmers crossed the Channel to see if the British
0:07:50 > 0:07:52had an appetite for Roscoff onions.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57We liked them so much, they've been coming back ever since.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06In their heyday, around 1500 Onion Johnnies left their loved ones
0:08:06 > 0:08:10behind at the end of each summer to spend up to six months in Britain.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Straight from Brittany, madam, feel the weight.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Roscoff is proud of its cross-Channel connections
0:08:19 > 0:08:21and its onion growing tradition.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26At the local museum, the Maison des Johnnies,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29they organise regular tastings,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32with lashings of local cider of course.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38I'm surprised to find that the guests here are all French,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41as curious as I am about the Onion Johnnies.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45If you go to Rennes, it's not far, it's only 200km from here,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49people don't know the onion men, none at all.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53We're more well-known in Birmingham than in Rennes!
0:08:54 > 0:08:58The guest of honour tonight is former onion seller Pierre.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01- So this is you here.- That's me.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Was it necessary to wear an onion seller's uniform?
0:09:05 > 0:09:08You should wear a beret, you always have a beret to do
0:09:08 > 0:09:11door to door Frenchie.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28It seems that from one small place in Brittany, we created our stereotype
0:09:28 > 0:09:29of the French nation.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33From Exeter to Glasgow, from Swansea to Newcastle,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36they zigzag across Great Britain
0:09:36 > 0:09:39with a little piece of France on a string.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43It's certainly a romantic image, but what about the realities of life
0:09:43 > 0:09:47on the road, away from your family for a large part of the year?
0:09:47 > 0:09:49Sans glace, ni rien...
0:09:49 > 0:09:53Olivier Seite and his wife Anne must have seen more tears than most.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Hello, very nice to meet you.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00They were in the onion business for more than 40 years.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04Olivier started selling at 14 with his dad,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06and here he is in the 1960s.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10- Want some onions?- Yes, we'll buy some please, how much are they?
0:10:10 > 0:10:13- Same price, four and six a bunch. - How do you manage the English language?
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Well, I know enough to sell my onions.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19You don't find the Geordie accent baffling?
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Oh, a little, but I'm used to it.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26We travelled by boat, but after we were in England
0:10:26 > 0:10:31we stayed six months and we find a place to storage the onions.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33I mean, Olivier had a very hard life before,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36they used to sleep on the onions with a sale cloth on over them.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Now Anne, you're not speaking with a very French accent,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43- you sound as if you come from the north of England.- Ah yes, well...
0:10:43 > 0:10:45Raised in Newcastle upon Tyne.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Two bunches, please.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51For most Onion Johnnies, their job took them away
0:10:51 > 0:10:54from their nearest and dearest, but for Olivier it led him to his.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58He met and fell in love with Anne while on a night out in Newcastle.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02You fell for a blond-haired blue-eyed boy to dance.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06- Oh, I did, I did!- Did you know that your dancer was an onion seller?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09I did not. I thought it was a myth - French onion men.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13All my friends in the office, I said "I've just met this French onion man
0:11:13 > 0:11:17"and I think this is the one", and they said, "A French onion man!
0:11:17 > 0:11:21"Oh, trust you!" Cos I've always been different.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25What's the most important quality an onion seller needs?
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Persistence.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35Just what is it about those onions that made it worth the Johnnies
0:11:35 > 0:11:40travelling such eye-watering distances, some as far as Shetland?
0:11:40 > 0:11:43And why would Brits prefer them to home-grown varieties?
0:11:44 > 0:11:47On his farm overlooking Roscoff harbour,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50I'm hoping veteran Onion Johnnie, Andre Quemener, can tell me.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Or better still show me.
0:11:56 > 0:11:57See.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Are they good raw?
0:11:59 > 0:12:00Yes, see.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05- Very sweet.- Yes, it's sweet.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09They are, delicious. They're not bitter or sharp.
0:12:09 > 0:12:10No, no.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13- You can eat them like an apple.- Yes.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17What is special about the soil? I mean, it's very fine and rich.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Oh, yes, a lot of seaweed on it.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22- You put seaweed on it? - Yes, every year.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25- And does the seaweed fertilise the soil?- Yes, yes.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28That's why they're so nice, you see.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Is there a future for Onion Johnnies selling onions in Britain?
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Oh, yes, oh, yes, it'll be a few years yet to go.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39- What about you, though?- Ah, well, it depends on my health now.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43- You look pretty fit. - Oh, yes, but I'm 73 now!- Yeah?
0:12:43 > 0:12:45- Do you still enjoy it?- Yes, oh, yes.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49- What do you call it? Like a drug. - You're addicted to onions?!
0:12:49 > 0:12:50Yes, yes!
0:12:52 > 0:12:54All right, so we go for our cup of tea now?
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Good, suits me just fine, Andre!
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Andre's farmed and sold his own crops since 1951,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02but when he hangs up his onion knife,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05there'll only be 20 or so Onion Johnnies left.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10While it seems the beret-wearing image is mostly
0:13:10 > 0:13:13for the benefit of customers across the Channel,
0:13:13 > 0:13:15it's that relationship with the British
0:13:15 > 0:13:18that keeps the tradition alive.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Last string of onions on the handlebars.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24I'm told by the Johnnies that, with all this weight
0:13:24 > 0:13:28on the handlebars, you can't take the bike around corners.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32And it's so heavy, it's like trying to peddle a Sherman tank!
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Merci. Would you like some onions?
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Some things haven't exported quite as well as the Onion Johnnies.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59As coastal nations, we may share many pastimes,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03but every summer Brittany rings out with a clatter of one we don't.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11A sport created by the French that's part social occasion,
0:14:11 > 0:14:16and the prestigious national championships are held on this coast.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20It's called Petanque.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24The name means "feet anchored to the ground".
0:14:24 > 0:14:29It's a finely balanced game that requires a measured approach.
0:14:31 > 0:14:32I'm Jonathan.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37I'm playing Petanque since I have, er, six years old,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39so 20 years now.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44The team who has the nearest from the jack have a point.
0:14:44 > 0:14:49If you have two balls near the jack you have two points.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53You win the game when you have 13 points.
0:14:53 > 0:14:54Sometimes you...
0:14:54 > 0:14:59you have to throw your ball very high,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01near the sky, yes, like that.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12You can find different kinds of balls.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15The smallest balls with marks,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17and the heaviest one,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20it allows to stay on the pitch...
0:15:20 > 0:15:24a little one to avoid a smash from the opponent.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28When you are a smasher, you use this one, no marks
0:15:28 > 0:15:31on the ball, a big diameter.
0:15:33 > 0:15:39You can play from seven or 77 years old.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44There is a lot of young people who are playing football,
0:15:44 > 0:15:49who are playing tennis, and here they are playing Petanque
0:15:49 > 0:15:54because it's a very good game to teach you how to...
0:15:54 > 0:15:57to behave yourself, OK.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13The French gave us the idea that you are what you eat,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15or at least what you grow.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21They created "Appellation Controlle", a certificate of authenticity
0:16:21 > 0:16:24to protect regional foods from cut-price imitators.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30So whether it's Brittany onions or even Jersey potatoes,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34we know our food is rooted in a sense of place.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42In Plouguerneau, Miranda's looking for a local delicacy.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51Brittany is famed for its produce
0:16:51 > 0:16:55and a weekly market at Plouguerneau is packed with fresh fruit,
0:16:55 > 0:17:00vegetables, and my particular favourite, cheese.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09But I'm looking for one rather rare local foodstuff which
0:17:09 > 0:17:14Sylvain Huchette has promised to show me, only we won't find it here.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20We're looking for Abalone, a shellfish that would set you back
0:17:20 > 0:17:24about £70 a plate in some of the world's top restaurants.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Brittany is one of the few places in the world
0:17:31 > 0:17:33where you'll find Abalone in the wild.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Sylvain tells me it's the cool water that make the conditions ideal.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47The seaweed provides an abundant source of food for the Abalone,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50but it also makes it rather hard to spot them.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54It's like swimming through a rain forest, lovely.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00Abalone are in fact a form of mollusc
0:18:00 > 0:18:03and I've been told to look for something that's a cross
0:18:03 > 0:18:07between a large snail and a limpet, clinging to the underside of a rock.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Wow, look at that!
0:18:19 > 0:18:20Oh, beautiful!
0:18:20 > 0:18:21Well done.
0:18:23 > 0:18:29There you have a juvenile Abalone there, and a big, big Abalone adult.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33This is a really speedy little one, isn't it?
0:18:33 > 0:18:36It's just not what I really expected.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39I think I suppose something that didn't move around very much.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43This is about three years old.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49Look at that one go! I can't believe it, it's moving really fast.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53This is a much bigger one.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57It's an Abalone zoo down here.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Yeah, look at that muscular foot
0:19:00 > 0:19:05curling it's way around, getting a purchase on my hand. Look at that!
0:19:05 > 0:19:09Superb, that's an abalone back flip.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12I'd say now it's time to put them back where we found them.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Abalone are also found in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23but they're rare in European waters.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27so the French government has placed strict limits
0:19:27 > 0:19:30on fishing them out of the wild.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33That's why Sylvain has set up
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Europe's first advanced Abalone hatchery and farm.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40It all starts, you know,
0:19:40 > 0:19:45with the larger animals like the one we saw in our diving.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50We get them to spawn in the hatchery and produce small
0:19:50 > 0:19:54spats and it takes about a year to bring a spat to your small juvenile.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Once they're big enough they come in this cage and these ones are
0:19:58 > 0:20:02already three years old, and we basically try to replicate their
0:20:02 > 0:20:06natural habitat. We keep the density quite low because abalone
0:20:06 > 0:20:08are not happy at high density.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12And they have to be happy for up to five years
0:20:12 > 0:20:15to grow to sufficient size to be served in a restaurant.
0:20:19 > 0:20:20I'm told they taste somewhere
0:20:20 > 0:20:24between fine steak and wild mushrooms.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30So let's see if it's been worth that wait.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34- Bon appetit.- Merci beaucoup.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37It's precious, what you're eating.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43It's very, very mild, it's almost not seafoody.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47How would you describe the taste?
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Maybe a bit mushroomy, but only a hint of mushroom.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53- That's difficult to describe.- Yeah.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Absolutely gorgeous, though.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09As Cornwall is to England so Brittany is to France.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15The people have their own coastal culture,
0:21:15 > 0:21:17a fiercely independent lot,
0:21:17 > 0:21:21and this stretch of shore does suddenly become awfully fearsome.
0:21:24 > 0:21:25At the very tip of Brittany,
0:21:25 > 0:21:29like a defiant finger pointing out at the Atlantic,
0:21:29 > 0:21:31this is the district of Finistere.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39With a smattering of schoolboy French,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41you understand the meaning of the name.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44"Finis" is the French word for the end,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48and "tere" is earth, so Finistere -
0:21:48 > 0:21:50the end of the earth.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59The full fury of the Bay of Biscay unleashes itself here,
0:21:59 > 0:22:01whipped up by the Atlantic airstream.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06These aren't freak storms.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Often in the winter months, these waters boil.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16Here, the mouth of the English Channel has swallowed many ships.
0:22:17 > 0:22:231967, the Torrey Canyon wrecked off the coast of Cornwall,
0:22:23 > 0:22:25the world's first oil tanker disaster.
0:22:28 > 0:22:3311 years later, the Amoco Cadiz lost control during a violent storm,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37ran aground and was ripped in two all within sight of the Brittany coast.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44And the whole world watched the aftermath on television.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Guillaume Le Ru lived 12 miles away,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53but it wasn't the TV that alerted him to the disaster.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13At the time, it was the worst oil spill in history.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16220,000 tonnes of crude
0:23:16 > 0:23:21spread over 200 miles of coast, covering beaches in a thick emulsion.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25It's impact on the local environment lasted years.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42This devilish sea has spawned an awful lot of lighthouses.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57There was a time when I wanted to be a lighthouse keeper and people
0:23:57 > 0:24:00used to say, "What a boring job," but I beg to differ.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Look at that lighthouse keeper, what can possibly be boring
0:24:04 > 0:24:06about a life like that?
0:24:06 > 0:24:11This photograph of La Jument lighthouse was taken in 1989.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14It became one of the world's most reproduced images
0:24:14 > 0:24:18and made a reluctant star out of the man at the eye of the storm.
0:24:21 > 0:24:26A lot of people thought that he must have died just a few seconds after the photograph,
0:24:26 > 0:24:30swamped by that wave, but he survived and I'm going to find out how.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Apparently, that lighthouse man has always wanted a signed copy
0:24:34 > 0:24:37of the photo, so we're taking him one.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40I'm hitching a lift with the man who made him famous,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43- photographer Jean Guichard.
0:24:43 > 0:24:44- How are you?- Very well.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54In 1989, Jean set out to capture the end of an era.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57La Jument was about to be automated,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01as were all the lighthouses on both sides of the Channel.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08This was a tough posting, so it was particularly poignant
0:25:08 > 0:25:11to capture an image of its keeper for posterity.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23On duty that day was Theadore Malgorn.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27He now lives on a nearby island, having never really cashed in
0:25:27 > 0:25:28on his fame.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34I don't think you sign up to be a lighthouse keeper
0:25:34 > 0:25:36so you can be famous.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39But we've got a photo to deliver -
0:25:39 > 0:25:42it's only taken 20 years!
0:25:44 > 0:25:48I'm told Bretons are not known for great displays of emotion.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57But I think he likes it. Time to try out that schoolboy French.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Signed and delivered.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Tres bien. Ca va suffire, tres bien.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42But I'm curious to know what it feels like
0:26:42 > 0:26:45to be possibly the most famous lighthouse keeper in the world.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56How does it feel for you, Jean, to have created that image?
0:26:56 > 0:26:59You know I feel to have the lucky photographer
0:26:59 > 0:27:02who did a great picture and after that,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05this is something which is not really my picture,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09it's a picture of the lighthouse keeper and the lighthouse story in the world.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12Now that way of life is gone.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15And now all the keepers have gone from the lighthouse
0:27:15 > 0:27:20and that's the end of a... of a story, you know.
0:27:33 > 0:27:38There's nothing much but ocean between here and North America,
0:27:38 > 0:27:43but beneath the waves, the Atlantic yields an abundant crop,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46and it's a harvest that helped heal the world.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55Alice Roberts is with the seaweed farmers of Lanildut
0:27:55 > 0:27:59in search of a medical wonder plucked from the ocean floor.
0:28:04 > 0:28:09They've been pulling kelp out of the sea here since the 17th century,
0:28:09 > 0:28:14first by hand and now by hook.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18The farmers only harvest one type of seaweed and it's this, Laminaria.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22They do it with this bizarre crane called a Scooby Doo, which
0:28:22 > 0:28:25plucks up the seaweed from the sea bed and then twirls it round
0:28:25 > 0:28:30getting rid of excess water, but also flicking off unwanted varieties.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41Lanildut is Europe's largest seaweed port,
0:28:41 > 0:28:45but there's a tradition of harvesting it in Britain, too.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Like the French, we've used it for fertilizer, fuel,
0:28:49 > 0:28:53and it's even played a part in glass making.
0:28:55 > 0:29:00The current crop finds its way into goods as diverse as cosmetics and
0:29:00 > 0:29:06toothpaste, but as a doctor I'm drawn here by a particular seaweed product.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10It has saved countless lives around the world,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14and was first discovered in seaweed on this coast.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17This is iodine.
0:29:19 > 0:29:24In a world before antibiotics, iodine played a vital part
0:29:24 > 0:29:27in fighting infection in cuts and wounds.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Among the mud and dirt of the First World War trenches,
0:29:32 > 0:29:36it was standard issue to the troops,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40and it's still used in modern surgery.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43But this lifesaving stuff was discovered by accident.
0:29:44 > 0:29:49What scientists were actually looking for was a better way to kill.
0:29:51 > 0:29:56At the start of the 19th century, France was desperate for gunpowder
0:29:56 > 0:29:59for Napoleon's campaigns in Europe.
0:29:59 > 0:30:03In particular, they needed a compound called Saltpetre.
0:30:03 > 0:30:09In 1811, chemist and Saltpeter manufacturer Bernard Courtois
0:30:09 > 0:30:12was given a job by Napoleon of finding a new source
0:30:12 > 0:30:17for this vital component used in the manufacture of gunpowder.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23Courtois knew that seaweed contained many of the chemicals he needed.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26It was while he was experimenting on kelp from the Brittany coast
0:30:26 > 0:30:30that he accidentally produced iodine.
0:30:31 > 0:30:37Biochemist Philippe Potin is going to show me how he did it
0:30:37 > 0:30:42by extracting iodine from this lump of dried burned seaweed.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46I was expecting it to be soft ashes, but it's actually
0:30:46 > 0:30:48grinding up bits of rock.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50Now I will mix that...
0:30:51 > 0:30:53..with very hot water,
0:30:53 > 0:30:56it was exactly the process which was used by Courtois.
0:30:57 > 0:31:03Back in 1811, it seems Courtois got a bit carried away with his chemicals.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05He was probably too generous
0:31:05 > 0:31:07with his experiments, he had too much acids.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10- Oh, it's changing colour. - Changed the colour.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14His happy accident produced a curious purple vapour.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23Oh, you can see it, this is definitely purple iodine
0:31:23 > 0:31:26vapour coming off that solution.
0:31:26 > 0:31:32He didn't know it at the time, but Cortois had discovered a new element,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36a basic building block of chemistry, and something vital to our wellbeing.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40Around the turn of the 20th century,
0:31:40 > 0:31:45doctors realised that we all need trace amounts of iodine in our diets.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Too little and it can lead to serious problems
0:31:48 > 0:31:52with the production of hormones by the thyroid gland in the neck.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56It swells up producing what's known as a goiter.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01And this is where living by the coast can come in really handy,
0:32:01 > 0:32:06because this stuff is naturally rich in iodine.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10It's sea salt and, in fact, this particular sea salt
0:32:10 > 0:32:14has got seaweed mixed in with it as well, so even more iodine.
0:32:17 > 0:32:23Seaweed is full of surprises, each piece like a tiny chemical factory
0:32:23 > 0:32:27containing an element we all need to stay healthy.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32But the surprises don't stop there.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34It influences our body's metabolism,
0:32:36 > 0:32:38but could it also influence the weather?
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Chemist Gordon McFiggans has been working with scientists in Brittany
0:32:45 > 0:32:49and they've come up with a remarkable idea.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53They think that iodine released by seaweed forms particles
0:32:53 > 0:32:56that could make the coast more cloudy.
0:32:58 > 0:33:03To understand this, Gordon is first going to show me how a cloud forms,
0:33:03 > 0:33:05by getting the water vapour in this jar to condense
0:33:05 > 0:33:09on some floating smoke particles.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12So what we'll do now, we'll open this valve,
0:33:12 > 0:33:16which will create an expansion in there, a drop in temperature,
0:33:16 > 0:33:18and, hopefully, will form a cloud
0:33:18 > 0:33:20- on those smoke particles.- OK.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25Clouding... Oh, yes.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27'Yes, it's a cloud.'
0:33:27 > 0:33:34So, that's the sort of thing that will hopefully happen, but at a much
0:33:34 > 0:33:36lower degree from the particles coming off the seaweed.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44So now we've got air in the jar, which has come from the seaweed
0:33:44 > 0:33:48and should contain those all important particles with the iodine.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51That's right, yeah. OK.
0:33:53 > 0:33:54Yes. Yep, it misted.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58'But if you "mist it", here it is again.'
0:34:03 > 0:34:05'So, maybe, making the coast cloudy
0:34:05 > 0:34:09'is another of seaweed's many surprising by-products.'
0:34:09 > 0:34:12I've got some seaweed delicacies here.
0:34:12 > 0:34:18- There's these rather odd-looking haricot vert Marie.- Oh, lovely.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24I don't like that.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26- I wouldn't order it in a restaurant. - No.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30And I've also got some seaweed beer.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Doesn't look too bad, at least it's not green.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40- That's not so bad. - That's pretty good beer.
0:34:40 > 0:34:41- Cheers!- Cheers!
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Like the south west of England, this is a coast out on a limb.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00The name for this area of Brittany,
0:35:00 > 0:35:02Cornouaille, translates as Cornwall.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07Out here, it would be easy to turn a blind eye
0:35:07 > 0:35:09to the problems of the mainland,
0:35:10 > 0:35:14but the Bretons pride themselves in helping those in distress,
0:35:14 > 0:35:16answering a rescue call,
0:35:16 > 0:35:19even if it comes from the other side of the Channel.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23It's a heroic streak that runs deep
0:35:23 > 0:35:26on the smallest of Brittany's outposts.
0:35:26 > 0:35:31Five miles off the Pointe du Raz is the tiny Ile de Sein.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36I'm on my way to a reunion
0:35:36 > 0:35:39with two islanders who share a remarkable bond.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44Both in their 80s, Louis Fuquet lives on mainland France,
0:35:44 > 0:35:48while Francois Tanguy has travelled here from his home in Cardiff.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53As teenagers, they took part
0:35:53 > 0:35:58in an incredible act of self-sacrifice, one made by the entire island.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01There it is, just clinging on
0:36:01 > 0:36:04to the edge of the world, thin line on the horizon.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06Apparently, there's not one part of the island
0:36:06 > 0:36:09that's more than six metres above sea level.
0:36:11 > 0:36:16In June 1940, this sliver of an island stood alone.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20Hitler had launched his lightning war against Western Europe.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26In little over six weeks, his troops overwhelmed the Lowlands and France.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28The French government surrendered,
0:36:28 > 0:36:31German forces lined the coast of Brittany.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37The inhabitants of the tiny Ile de Sein could only look on,
0:36:37 > 0:36:40wondering when the Nazis would come.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45- So can we go up this one here?- Yes, I think it's the best way to go.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47'Francois was just 17,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50'he'd just returned to the island after exams on the mainland.'
0:36:52 > 0:36:58'Everybody was looking forward for a good summer.
0:36:58 > 0:37:03'The news from the Front was very, very good.'
0:37:03 > 0:37:08And then, suddenly, there was Dunkirk,
0:37:08 > 0:37:13who came along absolutely like a bombshell.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17Charles de Gaulle had been a minister in the French government.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21Just before the surrender, he'd flown to London.
0:37:21 > 0:37:27He went on the BBC to rally his countrymen to join him in England
0:37:27 > 0:37:33to fight in a free French force, but almost no-one heard de Gaulle.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36There had been no trail of his broadcast.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39A few days later, he tried again,
0:37:39 > 0:37:43but this time the people of Isle de Sein had got wind of it.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45The entire population gathered here,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48on the quayside, to listen to the radio.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54'On the very spot that de Gaulle's call to action was heard,
0:37:54 > 0:37:58'Francois and Louis meet another veteran, Noel Meneux,
0:37:58 > 0:37:59'who still lives on the island.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04'It's been almost 70 years since de Gaulle's rallying call
0:38:04 > 0:38:06'first rang out on this quayside.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51It became known as L'Appel -
0:38:51 > 0:38:55The Call. It was a defining moment for everyone.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01Their message was heard,
0:39:01 > 0:39:04what to do.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07And the first person to speak...
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Yes, he said, was the curate,
0:39:18 > 0:39:22And he said that we must follow, but he said...
0:39:27 > 0:39:31..and it was necessary to take measure locally immediately,
0:39:31 > 0:39:35because the Germans were crossing the Channel.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38Over three nights, almost every man
0:39:38 > 0:39:41on the island between 16 and 55 boarded fishing boats
0:39:42 > 0:39:45and small ferries to join de Gaulle's Free French in England.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52Leaving here about 9 o'clock at night,
0:39:52 > 0:39:58and we all arrived in UK, near Penzance, I think.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02At just 14 years old, Louis was too young to go,
0:40:02 > 0:40:06but he persuaded his dad to smuggle him off the island.
0:40:24 > 0:40:29Our first place was the Olympia Hall in London. Yes, there.
0:40:29 > 0:40:35And started our training practically within the week.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39I joined the Navy, so I was sent to...
0:40:39 > 0:40:44on board a French ship that had come from Cherbourg
0:40:44 > 0:40:47in France to Portsmouth.
0:40:49 > 0:40:56This tiny island sent 128 men, a quarter of all those who made
0:40:56 > 0:40:59it to England in response to de Gaulle's initial call to action.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07Francois was photographed with shipmates from the Free French Navy
0:41:07 > 0:41:11out on the town in London, but serving on a warship
0:41:11 > 0:41:14in the Atlantic was far removed from this breezy image.
0:41:15 > 0:41:20Life in the Navy was inhuman,
0:41:20 > 0:41:23the ship was looked after by the crew
0:41:23 > 0:41:27and you had to be on there practically 24 hours a day awake.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32And after two or three years, most of the people
0:41:32 > 0:41:34couldn't do it any more.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39'He was invalided out in 1942,'
0:41:39 > 0:41:42and finally returned to Ile de Sein in 1945.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45So, you three are heroes.
0:41:46 > 0:41:52Er, only... It's not heroes, we don't want that title.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54We only did our duties.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03Of the 128 islanders, 18 where never to return, killed in action.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06After the war, President de Gaulle
0:42:06 > 0:42:10awarded the entire island The Cross of the Liberation, one of
0:42:10 > 0:42:15just five districts in France to receive this high military honour.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Francois' career in the French diplomatic service
0:42:19 > 0:42:21took him around the world.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26But he returns to remember fallen friends
0:42:26 > 0:42:28and reflect on their struggle.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34It is difficult to analyse into words what it all means.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37One feels satisfied to be on the right side.
0:42:38 > 0:42:44There's no... Because one cannot contemplate the other side.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59For some, the wild winds that blow in from the Bay of Biscay
0:42:59 > 0:43:02are a reason to hunker down to wait out the storm.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05For others, winds bring freedom.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11The world's most difficult single-handed yacht race,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14the Vendee Globe, launches from these waters.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20And one Brit loves the challenge so much, she's made her home here.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25My name is Sam Davies.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29My job is my passion, and fitness training is really, really important.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32To be here is the perfect place.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39I race offshore all the time, mostly single-handed,
0:43:39 > 0:43:43and I came fourth in the last Vendee Globe round-the-world race.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46Here in Port la Foret, it's a base of all the
0:43:46 > 0:43:50top racers in the world, basically, most of them being French,
0:43:50 > 0:43:53and I realised that the only way to get as good as them and to beat them
0:43:53 > 0:43:55was to come here and learn their secrets.
0:43:57 > 0:44:02Sidney's a crew skipper. I'm actually out just looking at some sail trim.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08I think I have become quite well-known in France,
0:44:08 > 0:44:10because of the Vendee Globe.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13Even people who've never ever been on a boat in their lives before
0:44:13 > 0:44:16follow this race from all over France.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20SHE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:44:22 > 0:44:25She's very famous. She is.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28I could see through videos that she was really enjoying what
0:44:28 > 0:44:33she was doing, and that's what came off big time to the public.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37These boats are designed to race offshore
0:44:37 > 0:44:39in all conditions and cross oceans.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43We're kind of on the doorstep of the famous Bay of Biscay.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45For sailors, it's one of the most feared places,
0:44:45 > 0:44:49almost just as much as Cape Horn. Not necessarily the biggest waves
0:44:49 > 0:44:51in the world, but just the most boat-breaking.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54There's some quite big waves.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00I love the life in Brittany. All the French say,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03"You're nearly French now". I say "No, I'm British".
0:45:03 > 0:45:06And I'm really proud, cos Artemis has got a British flag
0:45:06 > 0:45:07on the back of the boat.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10Sidney doesn't like that there's no French flag.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13The local guys here say, "Well, you're an adopted Breton now".
0:45:13 > 0:45:18That's a real honour when the Bretons tell you that they will adopt you.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28The wild west coast of Brittany
0:45:28 > 0:45:31has captured the imagination of more than just sailors.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37Writer and visionary Jules Verne grew up here.
0:45:39 > 0:45:44In 1869, Verne wrote 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
0:45:44 > 0:45:49He described a submarine, long before they were in practical use.
0:45:49 > 0:45:54The author also realised its destructive potential.
0:45:56 > 0:46:0070 years ago in Lorient, his vision took on a terrifying reality.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06Verne wrote that whatever one man is capable of conceiving,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09other men are able to achieve.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12I wonder if he had anything like this in mind.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27This giant is the Keroman U-boat base.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36During the Second World War, it was at the centre of operations
0:46:36 > 0:46:38for Hitler's deadly attacks
0:46:38 > 0:46:41on supply convoys crossing the Atlantic.
0:46:49 > 0:46:54The monolithic U-boat pens were an obvious target for Allied bombers,
0:46:54 > 0:46:56and the Germans knew it,
0:46:56 > 0:46:59so they were built to withstand just about anything.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04This was done by creating a huge air pocket,
0:47:04 > 0:47:09a gap between the outer and the inner skin to absorb the blast.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13This buckling in the ceiling above my head is all the damage
0:47:13 > 0:47:15that was inflicted by a direct hit.
0:47:17 > 0:47:22Unable to destroy the pens, the Allies decided to isolate them
0:47:22 > 0:47:23by bombing the surrounding city.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29In the days before the attacks, leaflets were dropped
0:47:29 > 0:47:31warning the people of Lorient to leave.
0:47:33 > 0:47:38Then, 60,000 incendiary bombs flattened the city,
0:47:40 > 0:47:42but the U-boats where here until the bitter end,
0:47:42 > 0:47:46finally surrendering in May 1945.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53They remain as a symbol of Hitler's tyranny, and how close
0:47:53 > 0:47:57he came to cutting Britain's lifeline across the Atlantic.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09We use concrete for our monumental building projects,
0:48:09 > 0:48:12and the early people who colonised this coast
0:48:12 > 0:48:15used the most resilient resource they could find...
0:48:18 > 0:48:21Granite.
0:48:21 > 0:48:26These enigmatic lines of stones were positioned around 2,000 years
0:48:26 > 0:48:28before Stonehenge was even assembled.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34They point to a link between Brittany and Britain.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44At Carnac, Mark Horton is following an ancient thread.
0:48:50 > 0:48:55They have an almost magnetic pull - standing stones
0:48:55 > 0:48:59that mark a presence of a mysterious people.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04We may not understand why the monuments are here
0:49:04 > 0:49:08but they keep drawing us back for another look.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15It's amazing to think that these stones
0:49:15 > 0:49:19were being erected some 2,500 years
0:49:19 > 0:49:21before the great pyramids of Egypt.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26That makes this site around 7,000 years old.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31Curious regimented lines
0:49:31 > 0:49:34that attract visitors from around the world.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41Today, it's like a megalithic theme park,
0:49:43 > 0:49:47but at its heart, the big attraction -
0:49:47 > 0:49:49a man-made hill, the Tumulus.
0:49:51 > 0:49:58Howard Crowhurst has spent 20 years building up a picture of Carnac.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02He believes the landscape here was once completely covered
0:50:02 > 0:50:05with stone monuments.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08And this used to be the vantage point on the site.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13- So, here we are.- Ah, what a view!
0:50:13 > 0:50:16Was it, was it like this 7,000 years ago?
0:50:16 > 0:50:20No, it was very different. The sea was much lower, seven metres lower,
0:50:20 > 0:50:23the trees were much further inland.
0:50:23 > 0:50:28So, in fact, you had a perfect view here of the landscape and all
0:50:28 > 0:50:32- the stones going right along it.- And how many stones are there in total?
0:50:32 > 0:50:37In the Carnac alignments, there are 3,000, over 3,000, 3,100 stones.
0:50:39 > 0:50:45Megalith means very big stone, and what we can see today
0:50:45 > 0:50:49represents around a tenth of what was originally erected.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52But why here, pointing out at the coast?
0:50:56 > 0:51:00I don't think it's a coincidence that these monuments are right by the sea.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03I mean, to build these monuments would have needed a lot of people
0:51:03 > 0:51:09and travelling was much easier along the coastline than through the land.
0:51:09 > 0:51:15And the sea is a massive larder where people could eat, you know.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18It's full of food, so it's a perfect spot
0:51:18 > 0:51:20for grouping large amounts of people, really.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26In fact, the coast seems to have been crucial
0:51:26 > 0:51:27to the location of these monuments.
0:51:28 > 0:51:34Similar sites of Stone Age structures are dotted all the way up
0:51:34 > 0:51:35Europe's Atlantic shores,
0:51:37 > 0:51:40from Portugal to France,
0:51:41 > 0:51:43Ireland to Wales,
0:51:43 > 0:51:45up to northern Scotland.
0:51:47 > 0:51:53But hundreds of years, and as many miles, separate the Carnac monuments
0:51:53 > 0:51:58from the sites on the British Isles, such as this one on Orkney.
0:52:00 > 0:52:06So were the builders communicating ideas along the Atlantic coast?
0:52:08 > 0:52:11I'm hoping French archaeologist Guillaume Robin
0:52:11 > 0:52:14can show me clues carved into stone.
0:52:18 > 0:52:23On the island of Gavrinis, there is an ancient tomb
0:52:23 > 0:52:26with artistic connections to North Wales.
0:52:26 > 0:52:32Here we go. Wow! There's circles, spirals
0:52:32 > 0:52:34and then these semi-circular arcs coming up.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38- Yes, that's mostly nested arcs. - Right.
0:52:38 > 0:52:44- It's a technique to make the carving is called the pecking...- Right.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47..and it was probably done with a quartz chisel, with a hammer,
0:52:47 > 0:52:50- tac-tac-tac, like this. - All the way down?- Yes.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52And look, I've brought you some
0:52:52 > 0:52:57illustrations of megalithic art from Wales, they're both from Anglesey.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00Look, you see, we've got the chevrons.
0:53:00 > 0:53:01- Yes.- We've seen chevrons.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05And here, look, we've got the sort of serpenty things.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09Yes, that's amazing, because here in Gavrinis, you have a lot of symbols
0:53:09 > 0:53:14- that also exist in Wales or in Ireland.- Right.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17What's even more amazing is that
0:53:17 > 0:53:24Gavrinis was built hundreds of years before the Welsh monuments and yet
0:53:24 > 0:53:29the art they contain could have been chipped away by the very same hand.
0:53:33 > 0:53:39Unfortunately, we don't have a clear picture of what the stones were for.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44As to how they were moved here,
0:53:44 > 0:53:46well, French archaeologists
0:53:46 > 0:53:51have turned it into a fun puzzle for all the family to work out.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57Using the tools of the time and a bit of public grunt...
0:53:57 > 0:54:02Un, deux, trois!
0:54:02 > 0:54:03..they've taken a very
0:54:03 > 0:54:06Breton approach to history - getting their hands dirty.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14After all, there must have been a great gathering here
0:54:14 > 0:54:19some 7,000 years ago, to create these remarkable monuments.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23It is a stupid way of moving a stone, you know!
0:54:37 > 0:54:41Since the stones of Carnac were aligned, empires have come and gone,
0:54:41 > 0:54:45and the fabric of the coast has been re-fashioned.
0:54:50 > 0:54:55Here, they channel seawater into shallow pools so that evaporation
0:54:55 > 0:55:00by sun and wind leaves the smallest of commodities, once so precious
0:55:00 > 0:55:02it was used as currency.
0:55:06 > 0:55:11As we near the end of our Breton adventure at Guerande,
0:55:11 > 0:55:14they marshal the forces of nature to farm salt.
0:55:18 > 0:55:24Sophie and fellow salt farmer Emmanuel represent a new generation,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27but the techniques they use are age-old.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33This is quite a bizarre landscape to my eye.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37Is this natural in any way, or is this all tampered with?
0:55:37 > 0:55:41It's not a natural landscape, all those pans were made by,
0:55:41 > 0:55:44by hand centuries ago.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47So, the water comes in from the sea and human beings trap it.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49Yes, that's right, we can say that.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55But don't be deceived, the elements are definitely in charge here.
0:55:58 > 0:56:03- There's the harvest. - There you see at last the salt.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07- So this is the stuff.- Yeah. This one is produced in those pans.
0:56:07 > 0:56:11- So the ones out in the middle. - On the bottom, so it
0:56:11 > 0:56:14touches clay, so that's why it's a little bit grey.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19- And will we be able to collect some of this now?- No, not today.
0:56:19 > 0:56:23Unfortunately, it has rained three days ago, and we have to wait
0:56:23 > 0:56:27that the water evaporates again, that the salt concentrates again,
0:56:27 > 0:56:31to crystallise, so it's quite frustrating that we have to wait,
0:56:31 > 0:56:33but it's part of the job.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37Just as it was for the monks who first created these salt pans
0:56:37 > 0:56:41in the 10th century, it's a waiting game.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52I'm all muddy, nobody else is muddy.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55But patience brings its rewards.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57Before the day is out, the sun breaks through,
0:56:57 > 0:57:03evaporating away enough water to produce the cream of the crop.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08So it's that simple? You just scoop it off the top?
0:57:08 > 0:57:10Yeah, exactly.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13- It's like snow.- Yeah.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15So white compared to the grey salt.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19So that one is a Fleur de Sel.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22It is an incredibly strong flavour.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30A thousand years of change,
0:57:30 > 0:57:33and yet a way of working that has remained the same.
0:57:36 > 0:57:41This coast, on the edge of Europe, feels timeless. It's steeped
0:57:41 > 0:57:45in the spirits of the ancestors that we in Britain share with the Bretons.
0:57:45 > 0:57:48Myth and reality merge, until it's difficult
0:57:48 > 0:57:50to tell Brittany from Britain.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:08 > 0:58:12E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk