0:00:15 > 0:00:18Beaches, boats and bicycles.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20I must be in Denmark.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27For most of us, this is uncharted territory,
0:00:27 > 0:00:31but we're about to discover the stories we share
0:00:31 > 0:00:33with this spectacular coast.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38There are over 400 islands and the odd wind farm to explore.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42In the dunes of Denmark life really is a beach.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48This stunning wind-swept coast is apparently home
0:00:48 > 0:00:50to the happiest people on earth,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54and now we're here to meet them, our North Sea neighbours.
0:00:54 > 0:01:00Alice explores what gave the Vikings the edge over us, and everyone else.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05I am at the helm of a Viking longship, this is just amazing.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Nick discovers what the great British breakfast owes to the pigs of Jutland.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12There are two porkers for every person in Denmark.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15That's over 12 million pigs.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19Miranda's on a deer stalk with a difference.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26And me? I want to know what the Danes have got to smile about.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35This is Coast and beyond.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05From Scotland we've crossed the North Sea to embark on a great Danish journey.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08I'm travelling down the coast of Jutland
0:02:08 > 0:02:10heading for the Isle of Fano in the south,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13starting as far north as you can go, Skagen.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25This is the tip of the top of Denmark,
0:02:25 > 0:02:29where two great bodies of water meet.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36Look at this, Denmark is a country that actually comes to a point.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40A few steps this way I'll be in the North Sea headed towards home.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44A few steps this way and I'll be in the Baltic, headed towards Russia.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Now this is my kind of coast to coast walk!
0:02:50 > 0:02:52And I'm not the only one,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56crowds of Danes come here to witness the eternal battle
0:02:56 > 0:02:57between the twin seas.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05It's captivating to watch opposing currents collide
0:03:05 > 0:03:07as two waters wrestle for control.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Many Danes make something of a pilgrimage
0:03:17 > 0:03:19to this picturesque province of Skagen.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Why does the heart and soul of a nation seem to lie
0:03:24 > 0:03:26at it's most northerly tip?
0:03:33 > 0:03:39I'm hoping Skagen Museum Director, Lisette Vind Ebbensen can shed some light.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Oh, yeah. It's so flat, and the sea on either side,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44it just feels like the sea could take it.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Yes, take it all, yeah.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51British people are fond of saying that they are a sea-going island race.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Do Danes have this connection to the sea?
0:03:55 > 0:03:58I think it is yes, and it probably goes back to the Vikings.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02We're still proud of the Vikings, I suppose,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05and the coast, and the sea does mean a lot.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08And, I mean, in Denmark you're always close to the sea,
0:04:08 > 0:04:13and especially here in Skagen where you have two different seas.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18I've heard, that the Danish are the happiest people in the world.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Can that be true?
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Well, I've heard that as well, and I guess the Danes are very happy.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28- Why?- There's only like 5.5 million people here
0:04:28 > 0:04:32and Danish people are happy people, they're warm,
0:04:32 > 0:04:34they have a lot of hygge.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39- Hygge? - Hygge is really hard to translate to any language in the world.
0:04:39 > 0:04:45It's a very Danish word, and I suppose it means friendly or cosy.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48We can have a hyggeley time.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51A hyggeley time? You're making this up.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56- No.- Is this just something that Danish people say to foreigners to make them go away?
0:04:56 > 0:05:01# Oh, the good life
0:05:01 > 0:05:04# Full of fun
0:05:04 > 0:05:07# Seems to be the ideal... #
0:05:09 > 0:05:13'For my first lesson in this uniquely Danish concept of hygge,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16'I've got to get on my bike like everyone else here.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19'Am I having hygge?
0:05:19 > 0:05:23'Maybe. Something tells me I need to investigate further.'
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Every summer in Skagen they celebrate the longest day
0:05:30 > 0:05:35with a giant bonfire and whole lot of hygge down on the beach.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Sankt Hans is all about hygge.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Sankt Hans is all about hygge.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Sankt Hans, St John's eve,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51is a festival of light from the earliest times.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55The celebration of Sankt Hans is a very old tradition
0:05:55 > 0:05:58started by the Vikings or years before Vikings.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04You put the witch on the fire,
0:06:04 > 0:06:09then you light the fire sending the bad spirits away.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11You come dressed as you are,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14you don't have to dress up to come and hyggesheim.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16You'll go and sit on the beach,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19and you have some wine and it will all be hygge.
0:06:19 > 0:06:25And people will have a beer and just walk around, and have some small talk with each other.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26It's very romantic.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41When the students come down here to the bonfire
0:06:41 > 0:06:45and they want to throw their notes just before the fire is getting started.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48as a sign of "We don't need them any longer".
0:06:48 > 0:06:51So it has become a tradition
0:06:51 > 0:06:55that they all do that for Sankt Hans evening now.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02It's a big bonfire, you can feel it,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04we're standing 50 metres away,
0:07:04 > 0:07:10suddenly the heat is there and it's an incredible heat.
0:07:24 > 0:07:25It was a lovely evening,
0:07:25 > 0:07:30we had some good food and a very hyggely evening.
0:07:32 > 0:07:38It may be 11 at night, but the sun's yet to set
0:07:38 > 0:07:40and there's a lot more hygge to be had before dawn.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Winds whip over northern Jutland.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Its famous walking dunes
0:07:49 > 0:07:51have engulfed whole villages,
0:07:51 > 0:07:57so conifers and grasses were planted to anchor the landscape.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00But not everywhere has been pinned down.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04A small desert has been left to roam free,
0:08:04 > 0:08:08the Rabjerg Mile, a magic carpet of sand.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17This entire dune system is ceaselessly on the move.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20The whole thing began its journey over there on the west coast
0:08:20 > 0:08:23and it's moving across country towards the east.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26In 200 years or so this huge ocean of sand
0:08:26 > 0:08:31will have travelled cross-country from coast to coast.
0:08:33 > 0:08:39The surreal shifting sands of this fairytale world stretch down to the sea.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43Don't stand around too long or you'll get gobbled up.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Now, this towering sand dune
0:08:48 > 0:08:52is surely impressive enough, but I'm told there's a sight
0:08:52 > 0:08:56at the top of it that's nothing less than spectacular.
0:09:07 > 0:09:08Look at that!
0:09:08 > 0:09:12That's like a special effect from a film about the end of the world.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Lighthouses, as we all know,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21are built for protection from the power of the sea.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24How ironic, then, that this tower
0:09:24 > 0:09:29should have bee overwhelmed by a much slower moving wave...of sand.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36The light was lit for the first time in 1900
0:09:36 > 0:09:38and finally extinguished in 1968
0:09:38 > 0:09:42when the crew of this place had to admit defeat.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Some 1,600 years ago, people from hereabouts in Jutland
0:09:56 > 0:09:59began getting in boats and heading for Britain.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02They left behind their own sandy shores
0:10:02 > 0:10:05and headed instead for the fertile lands of Kent
0:10:05 > 0:10:06and the Isle of Wight.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11The Jutes of Jutland were followed some 500 years later
0:10:11 > 0:10:15by more famous and fearsome Danes, the Vikings.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21Over on the east coast is Roskilde.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25It's an ancient capital of Viking power.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Here, over 1,000 years ago,
0:10:27 > 0:10:32they planned raids on Britain, as Alice is about to explore.
0:10:35 > 0:10:41The cathedral at Roskilde is built on the site of a 10th century Viking church.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Generations of Danish monarchs are buried here.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59But there's one Danish king who's missing from Roskilde,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03someone whose remains are buried in Winchester Cathedral.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07That's because in the early 11th century
0:11:07 > 0:11:12King Canute was the ruler not just of Denmark but of England.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Canute was a colossus of the Viking world.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23He didn't only reign in Britain and Denmark,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26but also Norway and part of Sweden.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31In the 9th and 10th centuries the Vikings were THE European superpower.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Each year, Roskilde throws a party to honour their warrior ancestors.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44The secret of Viking power wasn't the sword or the axe,
0:11:44 > 0:11:48but a weapon that guaranteed them speed and stealth.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59This is a reconstruction of the ultimate 10th century war machine,
0:11:59 > 0:12:00the longship.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02This one is called a Sea Stallion,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05and she's based on an actual Viking longship
0:12:05 > 0:12:09that was excavated from the fjord here at Roskilde.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12She looks absolutely beautiful sitting here in the calm waters
0:12:12 > 0:12:18of the harbour, but I do wonder just how sea-worthy she really is.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32I've been offered the unique opportunity of signing up
0:12:32 > 0:12:37for her 60-strong crew, but this is no free ride.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43It's hard physical work
0:12:43 > 0:12:47but it's quite relaxing in a weird way as well.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52The rhythmic nature of it,
0:12:52 > 0:12:58and there's a little pause at the end of each stroke where you just get to catch your breath.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04This isn't a pleasure cruiser, the Sea Stallion's a living laboratory.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Building and sailing a replica of the ship found in this Fjord
0:13:08 > 0:13:13has given the archaeologists a valuable insight into Viking technology.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Luckily for us when it was found
0:13:15 > 0:13:18most of the keel and some of the floor timbers were found,
0:13:18 > 0:13:23so by looking at that, the reconstructors were actually able to estimate
0:13:23 > 0:13:29the design, the length, the width and also the depth of the ship
0:13:29 > 0:13:32from, actually, just looking at those 25%.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36'This classic boat design was so successful
0:13:36 > 0:13:39'it was still being used by descendants of the Vikings,
0:13:39 > 0:13:43'the Normans, for their invasion of England in 1066.'
0:13:43 > 0:13:46And what about things like the colour of it?
0:13:46 > 0:13:49The colour of the Sea Stallion, the blue the yellow and the red,
0:13:49 > 0:13:51is actually from the Bayeux Tapestry.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53- Oh, lovely.- Most of the boats on the Bayeux Tapestry
0:13:53 > 0:13:55have this blue, red and yellow colour...
0:13:55 > 0:13:59- Yes, very similar.- The blue is the most powerful colour,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02it's the Royal blue, the expensive colour bought in the Arabic areas,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05and then the yellow and the red is ochre colours
0:14:05 > 0:14:09which we had in Scandinavia, that was most common colours to use here.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15So do you think that King Canute would have had similar ships
0:14:15 > 0:14:19when he brought his fleet over to Britain?
0:14:19 > 0:14:24I would expect so, yeah. At least a few of them would be this size.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28And this size of ship, this was exclusively a warship?
0:14:28 > 0:14:33Yeah, a warship is always long and narrow and has a shallow keel.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45In 2007, to discover how Viking warriors like Canute
0:14:45 > 0:14:49crossed from Denmark to attack the British isles,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52the Sea Stallion followed in their wake,
0:14:52 > 0:14:56attempting a hazardous voyage across the North Sea.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02When I first saw the ship lying there in the harbour
0:15:02 > 0:15:05she looked beautiful but it was hard to imagine
0:15:05 > 0:15:09how she was going to perform on the open sea, so how does she perform?
0:15:09 > 0:15:14That was a big question for me too in heavy sea and heavy weather.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17It's a wonderful ship, it's a wonderful ship.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21I'm amazed how it's coping with these big waves,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25five metres of waves and very steep, short waves.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27- Five metres?- Five metres...
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Because I mean this rides very low in the water.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35Yes, it's not one metre, so looking up at these waves coming, "Argh!".
0:15:35 > 0:15:41Then you feel out there that it's a seagoing warship.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44So can you imagine King Canute taking his army across to Britain in ships
0:15:44 > 0:15:48like this, can you imagine what it would have been like for them?
0:15:48 > 0:15:51We were over there in one ship.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54They would have been sailing, maybe, 200 ships.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56It must have been an incredible sight.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03In 1015, Canute invaded England with a fleet of these ships.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08It probably took him just three days sailing from Denmark,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11his vessels both fast and seaworthy.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14When the longships reached the British coast,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17their shallow draft meant they could navigate up the rivers
0:16:17 > 0:16:20to take the English by surprise.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Canute claimed the crown of England
0:16:23 > 0:16:28and cemented a relationship with our monarchy that has spanned the centuries.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Which explains why Canute, King of Denmark and England
0:16:32 > 0:16:34doesn't rest here in Roskilde,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37but back in Britain at Winchester Cathedral.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49Vikings no longer race down this coast, but the Danes are still drawn to their shore.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52In the summer, whatever the weather,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56they'll head to the west of Jutland for its feel-good factor.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07I'm off to the beach, to continue my quest for hygge,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11the uniquely Danish sense of wellbeing or happiness.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15I'm going to need some tips from a Dane.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21Whenever you wash up on foreign shores a little local knowledge goes a long way.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24So I'm joining Mette Lisby,
0:17:24 > 0:17:29who's going to show me how to enjoy the seaside Danish style.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34I've been on a sort of pilgrimage in search of hygge,
0:17:34 > 0:17:36or to experience hygge.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38Is there hygge to be had on the beach?
0:17:38 > 0:17:42There is, but it's actually not the best place for hygge.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Is it a bit too exposed and a bit too open on the beach?
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Exactly, yeah, and most people when you say "hygge"
0:17:47 > 0:17:51will think about the long winter evenings where it's dark
0:17:51 > 0:17:56outside and you have candles inside, you might even have a fireplace.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00'So it's hard to find hygge on the beach, but you don't have to go far.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04'Apparently, you head for your summer house.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06'One in four Danes has one.'
0:18:06 > 0:18:11- I'm more used to a hut with a door and a padlock.- Oh, no, no.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15We have big beach houses, or summer huse, as we call them.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Could I have one of those?
0:18:17 > 0:18:22- No.- No?- No, we're very protective of our beach houses.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27The rules are that you can only buy them if you're Danish.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30- Really!? No foreigners?- No.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32That's not really in the spirit of the European Union.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37It's not at all, no. In Denmark, foreigners can't buy the beach houses.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40You're very possessive about your coast.
0:18:40 > 0:18:46Yes, I think so. Yeah, it's mentioned in all the national songs and anthems of Denmark.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48I think it's something we're proud of, really.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51You can come, you can look at it, but you can't stay.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54- And then you have to leave! - When are you people going home?
0:18:58 > 0:19:01I'm not ready to throw in my beach towel just yet.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04There's hygge to be had out there somewhere.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08My search for coastal cosiness continues.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Heading away from the open sea is the Limfjord,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25which twists and turns as it carries the coastline
0:19:25 > 0:19:27deep into the heart of Jutland.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Carved out in the last ice age,
0:19:31 > 0:19:36the landscape around Limfjord's had a surprisingly big impact
0:19:36 > 0:19:38on the British breakfast.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44On the banks of the fjord, Nick's making himself at home.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52For generations, Britons have been connected to this country
0:19:52 > 0:19:57by what's written on the back of their bacon, Danish.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02Mass-marketing has always been a vital ingredient
0:20:02 > 0:20:04in the Danish recipe for success,
0:20:04 > 0:20:09but what got them started them on the business of selling us bacon,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11and why did we gobble it up?
0:20:13 > 0:20:18'One name is enjoyed by more homes in this country
0:20:18 > 0:20:22'for its consistent high quality than any other.'
0:20:34 > 0:20:38It's British consumers who have helped to make the Danes
0:20:38 > 0:20:41one of the biggest exporters of pig meat in the world.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44There are two porkers for every person in Denmark,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47that's over 12 million pigs.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Surprisingly, this rich bacon business
0:20:54 > 0:20:57was built on very poor coastal terrain,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02a landscape familiar to rural expert Flemming Just.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Is this a beach or a field?
0:21:04 > 0:21:10It's a field and in fact it is very typical for Jutland, sandy.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15It is just sand, isn't it? There's not a lot of nutrients in sand.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Until the middle of the 19th century
0:21:17 > 0:21:22it was totally covered by heather and almost no forest.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29Once, this was a windswept wilderness without a pig in sight.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32It's transformation to bacon central
0:21:32 > 0:21:37began with a disastrous defeat for the Danes some 200 years ago.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42In the Napoleonic wars,
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Britain attacked Denmark to capture its fleet.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49In the aftermath, the Danes lost control of Norway
0:21:49 > 0:21:52as the map of Europe was re-drawn.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Later, the Germans grabbed a chunk of Danish territory,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59their rich agricultural land in the south.
0:21:59 > 0:22:06To survive, the Danes had to make the most of their infertile coastal plains in North Jutland.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Denmark's bacon boom was about to begin.
0:22:10 > 0:22:16So from that time on, they started to cultivate the heather land here in Jutland,
0:22:16 > 0:22:24so a kind of agricultural revolution at the same time as Britain had its industrial revolution.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Those two revolutions, they combined,
0:22:27 > 0:22:32so Britain deliberately decided only to focus
0:22:32 > 0:22:37on their industrialisation and not care about farming.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Britain couldn't feed itself,
0:22:39 > 0:22:43whereas Denmark became the larder for the British industrialisation.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50These sandy fields weren't good for growing crops,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52but pigs aren't that fussy,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56so this coastal region became farmland to feed us bacon.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00As intensive rearing replaced this rural idyll,
0:23:00 > 0:23:02pigs grew into big business,
0:23:02 > 0:23:08and 100 years later, Danish was one of the first foods advertised on British TV.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Hello, there, I'm the Danish bacon Viking.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22The majority of Jutland's pigs end up here in Esbjerg.
0:23:22 > 0:23:27Denmark's largest North Sea port was founded in 1868
0:23:27 > 0:23:30especially for exports to us.
0:23:34 > 0:23:41But before they can be loaded onto ships, Danish pigs have to become Danish bacon.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43140 countries now buy Danish,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47but they claim the best cuts head our way.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52These are backs of bacon.
0:23:52 > 0:23:567,000 of them are going through here today,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59and they're all bound for Britain.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03It's staggering to think how, from humble beginnings,
0:24:03 > 0:24:08shipping pig meat from this port really did save Denmark's bacon.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14Now they send us over 250 lorry-loads each week.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18That's 300,000 tonnes of the stuff every year.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23And it's not just bacon the Danes have fed us from here.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Over the years we've spread butter that's past through this port,
0:24:26 > 0:24:31gulped lager, and even done a bit of building with the odd plastic brick.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35They've all passed through Esbjerg bound for Britain.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50Denmark's flat western coast
0:24:50 > 0:24:54takes a constant battering from the North Sea.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58The winter storms throw up 20 ft waves,
0:24:58 > 0:25:04so it's no wonder exposed towns like Thyboren are under threat.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07That's why the Danes are busy sucking up sand,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10only to pump it back onto the beach.
0:25:18 > 0:25:24A wee stroll along the shore suits me fine, but some people feel the need for speed.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28The North Sea beach marathon is one of the few anywhere in the world
0:25:28 > 0:25:33run entirely on sand, which makes this marathon especially tough.
0:25:33 > 0:25:39Taking up the challenge is 68 year old retired Methodist minister Malcolm Brooks from Hereford.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41I hear it's pretty tough,
0:25:41 > 0:25:44but the tougher a marathon is the more attractive I find it.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48I'll be really in touch with human beings' basic instincts,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51muscle, body, the air, the sea, the sand,
0:25:51 > 0:25:55the landscape, basic kind of primitive fundamental things.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Bring it on, bring it on.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59I'm just up for it, it's great.
0:26:00 > 0:26:05Got my shades to stop the glare from the sea and the sun,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07got my energy gels.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10See you later.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17With 26 and a bit miles of soft sand to negotiate
0:26:17 > 0:26:20in temperatures touching 30 degrees Celsius,
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Malcolm's got his work cut out.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25It's tough. It's hot.
0:26:25 > 0:26:31It's much softer, much sandier, quite slippy and slidy.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43I've done 19.7 miles.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52The race has been on for almost seven hours,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56but you are still having runners struggling
0:26:56 > 0:27:00to get to the finish line, and the last runner is Malcolm Brooks.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Yeah, I mean I'm running on my own,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05I'm right at the end, but I don't mind that.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11Malcolm's twice the age of most of the competitors,
0:27:11 > 0:27:16so there's no shame in coming 236th out of 236.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21With Malcolm in they can all go home.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30Very nice. The last bit was really, really tough.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33I came home pretty breathless.
0:27:41 > 0:27:47As I make my way down the Danish coast, concrete pill boxes are my constant companions.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52They're the ruins of the fortifications for Hitler's so-called Atlantic Wall.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56Although it never seemed very likely that the Allies would invade through Denmark.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59But the Germans built bunkers here anyway.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03The Atlantic Wall master-plan demanded concrete fortifications
0:28:03 > 0:28:08all along the coast from Norway to Spain, so systematically,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12rigorously, the war machine of the Third Reich rolled on regardless.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21With each new tide, the North Sea erodes the foundations of the German occupation,
0:28:21 > 0:28:25but there's one memory of that tyranny that will never be washed away,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28what happened when the Holocaust came to Denmark.
0:28:28 > 0:28:35To uncover a rarely told tale of how ordinary Danes outwitted the Nazis,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Alice is in Copenhagen.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Back in 1940, Copenhagen was like it is today,
0:28:49 > 0:28:54a vibrant, cosmopolitan city, buzzing with life.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57One April morning all that changed,
0:28:57 > 0:29:00as the streets echoed to the sound of jackboots
0:29:00 > 0:29:05when the Danish Government was forced to accept the protection of the Third Reich.
0:29:05 > 0:29:12But by 1943, Germany was losing the war and Danish resistance was growing stronger.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16Germany then took complete control in Denmark, and Hitler
0:29:16 > 0:29:23ordered the arrest of all the country's Jews for transportation to the concentration camps.
0:29:23 > 0:29:28The round-up was set to begin on the night of the 1st October, 1943,
0:29:28 > 0:29:32Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Jewish New Year,
0:29:32 > 0:29:37when the Nazis expected that Jewish families would be at home,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40but most of them were already on the run.
0:29:41 > 0:29:47Plans for the round-up had been leaked by a sympathetic German administrator.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Rabbi Bent Melchior was 14 at the time
0:29:50 > 0:29:54when his father broke the fateful news to the Jewish community.
0:29:54 > 0:29:59We went to synagogue very early on that morning,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02and my father stopped the service,
0:30:02 > 0:30:06went up and said "Listen".
0:30:06 > 0:30:11There were 100, 120 people in the synagogue,
0:30:11 > 0:30:15"I tell you this is life or death,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18"don't be at home on Friday night".
0:30:26 > 0:30:30That Friday night, the Germans raided the homes of Danish Jews
0:30:30 > 0:30:33expecting to detain about 8,000 people,
0:30:33 > 0:30:36but they found only 250.
0:30:36 > 0:30:41Denmark's Jews were already in hiding.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44And I remember early next morning, you know,
0:30:44 > 0:30:50that was at a period when you still could have milk brought to your door every morning,
0:30:50 > 0:30:53we heard one of these boys whistling,
0:30:53 > 0:30:58and my father commented, "Can you understand
0:30:58 > 0:31:02"that anybody can whistle on a day like that".
0:31:08 > 0:31:13In 1943, much of Europe was under Nazi control.
0:31:13 > 0:31:18Denmark's Jews had one desperate chance for freedom,
0:31:18 > 0:31:22find a harbour and sail to neutral Sweden.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26But getting there meant crossing a heavily guarded stretch of water.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31Over the next three weeks, in secret,
0:31:31 > 0:31:37thousands of families made for the coast to fishing villages like here at Gilleleje.
0:31:42 > 0:31:48Praying that they wouldn't be betrayed by informers, scores of people hid out in the buildings
0:31:48 > 0:31:51around here waiting for good weather,
0:31:51 > 0:31:56and hoping that a fisherman might be able to ferry them to safety.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01The fisherman that was given the responsibility to take us over
0:32:01 > 0:32:05was a man who never had navigated away from the coast.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08He had bought a compass,
0:32:08 > 0:32:10but he didn't know how to use it.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Thank you!
0:32:26 > 0:32:31About 20 men, women and children could be crowded onto a fishing boat of this size,
0:32:31 > 0:32:36trusting in the fisherman to get them across this fairly narrow stretch of water
0:32:36 > 0:32:41across to Sweden, which you can see, tantalisingly close on the horizon.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45But they would have been all too aware that there were German patrol boats in the area.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48It was terrifying,
0:32:48 > 0:32:50I could not...
0:32:51 > 0:32:54Excitement, I couldn't feel.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58After several hours at sea, just before dawn
0:32:58 > 0:33:01they arrived off the coast of what they thought was Sweden.
0:33:01 > 0:33:07We saw land, we saw the lighthouse, the light going over the waters.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11But in the darkness their skipper had sailed around in a circle.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14We were at the southern point of Denmark,
0:33:14 > 0:33:21and the people sitting at the lighthouse were not Swedes but were Germans.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25The fisherman didn't know, we first thought he was a traitor,
0:33:25 > 0:33:28but we realised he was as afraid as we were.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32They tried again, but now in broad daylight,
0:33:32 > 0:33:36exposed to patrolling German aircraft.
0:33:36 > 0:33:43To get over in daylight, we were lying down on the wooden covers,
0:33:43 > 0:33:46and who knew where we were going?
0:33:46 > 0:33:50I mean, it was just a coincidence
0:33:50 > 0:33:54that we actually got to a Swedish place,
0:33:54 > 0:33:56and it was close to 1 o'clock, noon,
0:33:56 > 0:34:00when by a miracle, a son of a Swedish fisherman
0:34:00 > 0:34:05went to his father and they took us onboard on their boats,
0:34:05 > 0:34:09and we came into land and I remember when he said,
0:34:09 > 0:34:14"Valkommen till Sverige". Welcome to Sweden.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16And I can tell you that
0:34:16 > 0:34:19I'm still in touch with this little boy,
0:34:19 > 0:34:25who's no longer six but something like 72.
0:34:25 > 0:34:31On a day like this with a benign sea and Sweden clearly visible on the horizon,
0:34:31 > 0:34:36it seems remarkable but not every boat was as sea-worthy as this one
0:34:36 > 0:34:38and some of them just didn't make it.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41There were tragedies, but 95% of Denmark's Jews,
0:34:41 > 0:34:48almost 8,000 men, women and children were helped to safety in Sweden.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53Together, ordinary Danes had defied Nazi tyranny,
0:34:53 > 0:34:57in the darkest of times, a shining beacon of hope.
0:34:57 > 0:35:02And to quote my late father, Jewish history has many examples
0:35:02 > 0:35:06where Jews were helped to leave the country,
0:35:06 > 0:35:10but where Jews were welcomed back that is a unique story,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13and we were certainly welcomed back.
0:35:29 > 0:35:34My journey continues south along the shore of Jutland.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36This is a protected stretch of beach,
0:35:36 > 0:35:38and you won't find many houses,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42but strangely, you can park right on the sand.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44No pay and display here,
0:35:44 > 0:35:48but take local advice, tourists regularly get stuck,
0:35:48 > 0:35:52and getting caught out by the tide costs more than a parking ticket.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02Just behind the dunes, Miranda's seeking some residents
0:36:02 > 0:36:06who've happily parked themselves in a very protected spot.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13It's just after dawn, and I've come here to find some animals you don't
0:36:13 > 0:36:18normally expect to be living by the sea, and that's red deer.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36WHISPERING: This is great. I'm just at the edge of the forest, using the forest as cover.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38The deer are feeding out on this open grassland.
0:36:38 > 0:36:43You can just see the dunes, and obviously there's the sea just behind me.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48He's just put his head down, but I think that the deer
0:36:48 > 0:36:54feeding behind us is probably a young male, just had tiny antlers.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59It's hard to get close to them. These shy creatures are easily spooked.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02But the serenity of the scene isn't quite as it appears.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06These red deer have rather noisy neighbours.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11They share their home with the Danish army.
0:37:14 > 0:37:20This is a restricted zone, off limits to everyone not driving a tank.
0:37:21 > 0:37:27Oddly, this unusual relationship between wildlife and warfare seems to work.
0:37:30 > 0:37:35I want to see it from the military perspective.
0:37:35 > 0:37:40So, Fritz, tell me how long the Danish army has lived side by side with the red deer here?
0:37:40 > 0:37:45We have actually being living together since 1928-29
0:37:45 > 0:37:50approximately, so we know each other quite well, I have to say.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53We have a little bit of a strange neighbourship because
0:37:53 > 0:37:56when we are outside of our vehicles they are gone,
0:37:56 > 0:38:00but when we're inside our vehicles we have no problems,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03they can stay just beside the vehicle,
0:38:03 > 0:38:07and it means they feel if we are starting shooting and so on.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09They just slowly disappear from the area.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13All around the shooting area there is a big forest
0:38:13 > 0:38:15so the deer can go into the forest
0:38:15 > 0:38:19and stay there for a long period and come out again if we are finished.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23- And do you like having them around, is it nice?- Very nice, yeah.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27Despite the disruptions, the deer love being beside the sea.
0:38:27 > 0:38:32There's tasty heather and shelter in the dunes from the constant wind.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39It's early Autumn and the rutting season has begun.
0:38:39 > 0:38:44Ole Daugaard-Petersen is head of the deer reserve.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48There's some interesting activity going on in the group down there.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51There's a large number of hinds and there's that big stag
0:38:51 > 0:38:55that's constantly patrolling, looking after that group of females.
0:38:55 > 0:39:00Just now the mature stags are rounding up the hinds and
0:39:00 > 0:39:02the point is he wants to mate with all of them.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05He wants to keep his competitors away,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08and you will see the young stags
0:39:08 > 0:39:10circling around the herd,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13hoping to get the chance to get a go with the hinds,
0:39:13 > 0:39:17and the mature stag, he will keep them away.
0:39:17 > 0:39:24So he can keep going for two, three weeks rutting, no eat no nothing, and then you will see the stag,
0:39:24 > 0:39:28suddenly he will be lying sleeping for a few minutes,
0:39:28 > 0:39:31up again and so he carries on for three weeks,
0:39:31 > 0:39:34and then it's done and he leaves his hinds.
0:39:34 > 0:39:39He might have lost 30-40 kilos during those three weeks,
0:39:39 > 0:39:41so he's really busy, you know?
0:39:44 > 0:39:48Three weeks of rutting with barely a break,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52these majestic stags have got some serious stamina.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07We've reached Denmark's most westerly point, Blavandshuk.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13A top spot for a great view.
0:40:16 > 0:40:21Just three miles or so off the coast here is the most notorious reef
0:40:21 > 0:40:23in the whole of the North Sea.
0:40:23 > 0:40:30In the days of sail it was known to the skippers as Duyvels Horn. The Devil's Horn.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Once the graveyard of countless ships,
0:40:33 > 0:40:37today, Horns Reef is helping to save the planet.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41It's home to one of the world's largest off-shore wind farms.
0:40:41 > 0:40:46This is a site that's set to be increasingly familiar off our shores,
0:40:46 > 0:40:50but what you don't often see is how these big beasts get built.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58At the port of Esbjerg, engineering and green enthusiast, Dick Strawbridge,
0:40:58 > 0:41:01is about to discover how the pieces fit together.
0:41:04 > 0:41:09They assemble what bits they can on the quayside before shipping them out to sea.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13Bolting the blades on is job number one.
0:41:13 > 0:41:18The bloke in charge is Siemens's technical wizard, Jesper Moeller.
0:41:18 > 0:41:23- It's huge!- This is a 45-metre blade made out fibreglass.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25It's just literally fibreglass?
0:41:25 > 0:41:30Yes, it's fibreglass, fibreglass and balsa wood, and it's cast in one piece.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33Hold on, say, "It's cast in one piece again."
0:41:33 > 0:41:35There's an echo, it's long enough to give you an echo.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38The shape is developed over many years
0:41:38 > 0:41:43and it's actually consisting of different aircraft blade shapes.
0:41:43 > 0:41:50This is the tip, but you look at that, that's sharp.
0:41:50 > 0:41:51It's not quite straight.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56It has a slight curve, because when it's pointing up towards the wind
0:41:56 > 0:41:59- it has a slight bend towards the wind...- It flexes.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03It flexes, then when the wind pushes on it, it straightens out.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08Everything looks shiny and new right now, but out in the North Sea
0:42:08 > 0:42:12these turbines are going to face a right battering.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16So why go to all the trouble of sticking them nearly ten miles offshore?
0:42:16 > 0:42:18Well, offshore has a lot of advantages.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21It has a very stable flow of wind.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23Lots of constant wind?
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Yes, and also higher wind compared to onshore locations.
0:42:28 > 0:42:33It's time for this land-lover to brave the North Sea and take a look.
0:42:33 > 0:42:38The installation vessel is already on its way, and I'm hot on its heels.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45Another good reason to build out here, no complaints from the neighbours.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49But some people do have to live near the turbines,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52and the maintenance team need a house.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57We're about 14 kilometres off the Danish coast.
0:42:57 > 0:43:02This is the accommodation platform, and we're in the middle of nowhere.
0:43:02 > 0:43:07The engineers share the platform with an electrical sub-station.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09There's lots of technology here,
0:43:09 > 0:43:12and that's not surprising because all the electricity from the wind turbines
0:43:12 > 0:43:15is sucked in here before being sent ashore,
0:43:15 > 0:43:20and when the wind blows, there's enough electricity to power 20 million light bulbs.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30This is a paradise for engineers.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34It may look like the turbines are in nice neat rows, but it's more complicated than that.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38The turbines aren't in a block, they're in a fan shape,
0:43:38 > 0:43:40which means when the wind blows from the west
0:43:40 > 0:43:44any turbulence doesn't reduce the efficiency of the other turbines,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48so all the energy from the wind can be captured by the wind turbines and turned into electricity,
0:43:48 > 0:43:51and there's absolutely masses of it.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59The installation vessel is now in position,
0:43:59 > 0:44:02and they've started to erect turbine number 70.
0:44:02 > 0:44:03I'm on my way.
0:44:05 > 0:44:10Denmark is the land of Lego, this is the ultimate big piece of kit to put together, isn't it?
0:44:10 > 0:44:15Seapower with its crane is going to assemble it all, good job.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17So, how do they do it?
0:44:17 > 0:44:19Actually, it's a really simple system.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23They drive a mono-pile into the sea bed about 20 metres, then they put the yellow section on.
0:44:23 > 0:44:28It is actually the transition piece, and they make sure that's perfectly vertical.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30Then they've already added on one piece of tower,
0:44:30 > 0:44:32we're about to see a second piece of tower go on,
0:44:32 > 0:44:36then they'll shove the turbine on the top and then the blades and it's done.
0:44:39 > 0:44:44The engineers are battling to complete the job before the autumn storms hit.
0:44:44 > 0:44:51In calm weather, they can put up three turbines in 24 hours of non-stop effort.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54This thing is massive!
0:44:54 > 0:44:56Thank you.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06I've got to get myself one of these,
0:45:06 > 0:45:08it's awesome.
0:45:15 > 0:45:20This beauty is over 1.5 times taller then Nelson's Column,
0:45:20 > 0:45:23but the technology doesn't stand still.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27The ones planned for our seas are going to be even bigger than these guys.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Look out for them coming to a coast near you.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40The Wadden Sea, a vast tidal mudflat,
0:45:40 > 0:45:45an essential resting place for migrating birds.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48Over 50 species can be found on it's marshlands
0:45:48 > 0:45:52and over 10 million birds pass through every year.
0:45:57 > 0:46:03I'm still on my quest to discover why Denmark is rated the happiest nation on earth.
0:46:03 > 0:46:09I'm told it's linked to their unique concept of cosiness, or hygge.
0:46:13 > 0:46:18So far on my journey, I've learned that Danish hygge is about community.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22It's about coming together with family and friends for good times.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Maybe the mega flocks of birds are inspired by hygge too.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34As evening approaches, thousands of starlings swoop and swerve
0:46:34 > 0:46:37in search of a safe haven for the night.
0:46:49 > 0:46:54Denmark has 406 happy isles, but there used to be one more,
0:46:54 > 0:46:58a tiny outpost in the North Sea. Heligoland.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00Then, around 200 years ago,
0:47:00 > 0:47:04the British acquired this small community.
0:47:06 > 0:47:12At first, we built Heligoland up, but ultimately we blew it up.
0:47:14 > 0:47:19Mark's exploring Britain's remarkable bond to an ill-fated isle.
0:47:21 > 0:47:28This newsreel from April, 1947, shows a Royal Naval officer
0:47:28 > 0:47:31nine miles off the shore of Heligoland,
0:47:31 > 0:47:37his thumb poised on a button that will trigger a massive explosion.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41This British naval officer was about to set off
0:47:41 > 0:47:47the largest non-nuclear explosion the world had ever seen.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50But why, two years after the end of the war,
0:47:50 > 0:47:56do the British want to devastate this tiny German island?
0:47:56 > 0:48:02Heligoland had been wired with 7,000 tonnes of high explosive,
0:48:02 > 0:48:09to be triggered at precisely 1 o'clock on the last of the BBC pips.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11BEEPS
0:48:13 > 0:48:17Why did we have such a grudge against this beautiful island,
0:48:17 > 0:48:20an island that once used to be British?
0:48:20 > 0:48:26For centuries, the proud fishing community of Heligoland had lived in relative peace.
0:48:26 > 0:48:31Then, in 1807, Britain acquired the island from the Danes
0:48:31 > 0:48:36after they backed the wrong side in the Napoleonic wars.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41For 83 years, the Union flag flew over the Heligolanders,
0:48:41 > 0:48:45but our flirtation with them had an explosive end.
0:48:45 > 0:48:51Former Essex man Raymond Beves knows the story.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54It's such a lovely place, sunny, sandy beaches...
0:48:54 > 0:48:58And free and really clean, really clean.
0:49:00 > 0:49:0270 years before we blew it up,
0:49:02 > 0:49:06Britain was helping Heligoland develop as a tourist attraction.
0:49:08 > 0:49:13Well, our tourism yeah, it was started up under British rule,
0:49:13 > 0:49:15James Symmonds started it up in the 1860's-1870's,
0:49:15 > 0:49:19and it was encouraged by the British, that's what started it up.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22- It was a fashionable spa town? - It was, it was.- A spa island.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26It was, it was. They knew at that time we needed something like that.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29- Healthy air.- Healthy everything, we had everything.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31Oh, it was marvellous, a paradise in the North Sea, isn't it?
0:49:31 > 0:49:34And it still is.
0:49:34 > 0:49:39Heligolanders were happy to be part of the British empire,
0:49:39 > 0:49:45but in 1890 the island became a pawn in the game of political chess
0:49:45 > 0:49:48played between two imperial powers.
0:49:48 > 0:49:53Against the islanders' wishes the British government agreed a swap,
0:49:53 > 0:49:55giving Heligoland to Germany
0:49:55 > 0:50:00in exchange for control of Zanzibar and chunks of East Africa.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02It seemed a good swap
0:50:02 > 0:50:08until you consider Heligoland's strategic location in the North Sea.
0:50:08 > 0:50:15Germany transferred the island into a massively fortified naval base
0:50:15 > 0:50:18to use against Britain in two World Wars.
0:50:22 > 0:50:27During the Second World War this was a fortress island.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29Down there were these U-boat pens.
0:50:29 > 0:50:36It's hardly surprising that Heligoland became one of the key targets for the RAF.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41Despite many air attacks, fortress Heligoland remained a threat.
0:50:41 > 0:50:46By 1945, as the Allies advanced deep into Germany,
0:50:46 > 0:50:49the island still refused to surrender.
0:50:49 > 0:50:53Then came a knock-out blow, a 1,000 bomber raid.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59'Heligoland, German naval base and fortress island,
0:50:59 > 0:51:03'gets a shattering attack from heavies of RAF bomber command.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06'After this operation, it was considered unlikely
0:51:06 > 0:51:09'that any living thing could have survived on the island.'
0:51:12 > 0:51:14Watch the step.
0:51:14 > 0:51:19One islander who did survive is Erich Kruss.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22As a boy he sheltered with his family
0:51:22 > 0:51:25in the network of bunkers beneath the island.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28So how many metres have we gone down?
0:51:28 > 0:51:31About 18 metres, about 60 feet.
0:51:31 > 0:51:35- A just enormous corridor.- Yes.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37This was where you sheltered?
0:51:37 > 0:51:40Yes, it was very fearful.
0:51:40 > 0:51:411,000 aeroplanes
0:51:41 > 0:51:46put 7,000 bombs on us
0:51:46 > 0:51:50in three waves for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56Could you hear the bombs exploding?
0:51:56 > 0:51:57Not only hear,
0:51:57 > 0:52:04- everything was...- Shaking. - Shaking, yes.
0:52:13 > 0:52:19- So it must have been terrifying, you must have thought a bomb must have come down.- The light went off,
0:52:19 > 0:52:23the children screamed, the women screamed.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25What was it like when you emerged from the bunker?
0:52:25 > 0:52:31There was nothing left on the top of the island.
0:52:31 > 0:52:36The devastation, this is just like matchsticks.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38And where was your house?
0:52:38 > 0:52:40I don't know, I don't know.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44Were the RAF right to bomb the island like they did?
0:52:44 > 0:52:50It was war, but three weeks before the war ended it was not necessary.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52So when you came out
0:52:52 > 0:52:54your house was gone?
0:52:54 > 0:52:57I just went from the bunker
0:52:57 > 0:53:01with my mother to the ship and we left the island.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06Homes were reduced to rubble,
0:53:06 > 0:53:10but much of the Nazi war machine remained intact.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13The victorious Allies decreed
0:53:13 > 0:53:18that all German fortifications must be destroyed,
0:53:18 > 0:53:22so the Heligolanders were exiled from the island while the Royal Navy
0:53:22 > 0:53:28planned the total annihilation of the Nazi installations on Heligoland.
0:53:31 > 0:53:36In 1946, a certain Captain Skipwith of the Royal Navy
0:53:36 > 0:53:40inspected the battered and bombed island,
0:53:40 > 0:53:43looking at what was left of the German defences.
0:53:43 > 0:53:48Just before he left, he gave the order,
0:53:48 > 0:53:50"Blow the bloody place up".
0:53:50 > 0:53:53The Royal Navy demolition team
0:53:53 > 0:53:58were tasked with creating what became known as the big bang.
0:53:58 > 0:54:03Nearly 7,000 tonnes of high explosives and German munitions
0:54:03 > 0:54:06were packed into the bunkers beneath Heligoland.
0:54:06 > 0:54:10'Zero hour was to be the normal BBC time signal, at 1 o'clock, the last pip.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14'The naval officer in charge waits aboard the cable ship Lesso to set off the tremendous charge.'
0:54:14 > 0:54:18BEEPS
0:54:18 > 0:54:20'Fire!'
0:54:24 > 0:54:29'With a flash low rumble, the whole top of Heligoland seemed to lift and shatter.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31'The job was done.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37'Heligoland is completely destroyed.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40'The island will remain deserted except for birds,
0:54:40 > 0:54:45'just a shattered rock in the North Sea, a fitting memorial to the man who led Germany to destruction.'
0:54:45 > 0:54:51This massive explosion shook the island to its very core,
0:54:51 > 0:54:58creating huge craters and changing the shape of Heligoland for ever.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08The islanders wouldn't give up their battered home.
0:55:08 > 0:55:14After much protest, it was given back in 1952,
0:55:14 > 0:55:19and former residents like Erich returned to rebuild their lives.
0:55:19 > 0:55:20And after over 60 years,
0:55:20 > 0:55:25have you really forgiven the British for what they did to your island?
0:55:25 > 0:55:27I think so, everybody has forgiven.
0:55:27 > 0:55:34Nobody who lives today is responsible for that 60 years before.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37See? All those people dead.
0:55:37 > 0:55:42Of course it's ironic that we were destroying something that was once part of Britain.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46Yes. And my father, my grandfather,
0:55:46 > 0:55:50my grandmother, my uncle was born British.
0:55:52 > 0:55:57Britain's had a complex relationship with the tiny island of Heligoland.
0:55:57 > 0:56:03Bonds of blood link our two islands, broken by the tragedy of war.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17I'm on the final leg of my journey.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22In my quest for happiness Danish style,
0:56:22 > 0:56:27I'm off to visit a very contented community on the island of Fano.
0:56:41 > 0:56:47My destination, the Isle of Fano, Denmark's oldest holiday resort.
0:56:47 > 0:56:52Life here's laid-back, the legacy of a privileged past.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58In 1741, this canny community clubbed together
0:56:58 > 0:57:02and bought their island from the king,
0:57:02 > 0:57:08and soon the good times started to roll with a whole lot of happiness ever since.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15Originally, the island's wealth was built on ship building.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18The money was put into bricks, mortar and thatch.
0:57:18 > 0:57:24My quest to experience hygge in Denmark has come to a cosy conclusion.
0:57:36 > 0:57:43For me, this place embodies what I understand of the Danish concept of hygge.
0:57:43 > 0:57:47If it's about finding contentment in comforting, cosy places,
0:57:47 > 0:57:49then there's definitely hygge here.
0:57:54 > 0:57:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:00 > 0:58:04E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk