Devon and Cornwall Coast


Devon and Cornwall

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LineFromTo

England's stunning South West coast.

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-# In Brixham I was born

-Bring 'em down!

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# But Exmouth is me home from home... #

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Boatmen know this shore better than most, and we're here to join them.

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# We're never a day behind the tide

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# Around Cape Horn we'll go... #

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Bring 'em down!

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We're embarking on a voyage of discovery in boats -

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both big and small!

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I'm not the only one of the Coast crew who's taken to the water.

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Alice makes a splash as she encounters the power of the waves.

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There we go!

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Full steam ahead for Dick, with an engineering revolution

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that rolled out of Cornwall around the world.

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And I hit the high seas - head on!

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Bring 'em down!

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-# This is now your home, my boy

-Bring 'em down! #

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This is Coast.

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Our journey takes us along Devon's coast and into Cornwall,

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out to the Isles of Scilly,

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then back to the mainland to drop anchor near Bideford.

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But we begin at Brixham.

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This small harbour has a big story to tell.

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It's the birthplace of this beautiful class of sailing craft,

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the famous Brixham Trawler.

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I'm on board one of the last that's left afloat.

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But this quayside - and many others around Britain -

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used to bustle with Brixham Trawlers.

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How did this port come to pioneer a trawling revolution that spread around our shores?

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The old fish market is quiet today,

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but 100 years ago, this place was swimming in fish.

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I'm meeting up with veteran Brixham fisherman, Bill Wakeham.

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What would the atmosphere have been like where we're standing?

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It would be like a main street of London,

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people would be going back and forth all day,

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coming down picking up fish, there'd be boats taking stores on board to go away,

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there'd be filleters, packers, people with horse and carts,

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small lorries coming in and out all the time.

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-What are these fish on the ground?

-That'd be skate.

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So these were trawled and brought into the market to be sold?

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Yeah. But then in the 1860s,

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they brought the railway into Brixham, and all of a sudden...

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Manchester, Birmingham, London was open then overnight.

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-The railway changed everything?

-Everything.

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The boats doubled in number in a matter of ten years.

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Harbour towns like Brixham began to boom when the railways arrived.

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Before then, there was little point catching more fish than the locals could eat.

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But rapid transport by train meant fish could now be sold fresh in the big cities.

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Brixham seized the initiative, taking the ancient art of trawling to a new level.

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Large, fast sailing craft capable of dragging big, heavy nets were commissioned.

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Their purpose?

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To catch more fish than ever before.

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Only when you get close you realise how big these sailing trawlers are.

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Yeah, some size, aren't they? Everything's solidly built with it.

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The Keewaydin is one of the few Brixham Trawlers still sailing.

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100 years ago, they went out in waters teeming with fish.

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Trawlers like this one landing up to a ton a day.

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But could they manage that now?

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We're on a mission to see what impact these boats have had on the seas they once sailed.

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'Beam trawlers like this used a massive net,

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'held open by a wooden beam, cast over the side of the boat.'

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-All right?

-Yeah.

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100 years on, the concept's still the same.

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This 1988 footage shows how trawl nets scour the seabed

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for bottom-feeding fish, like cod and plaice.

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It's a simple - and brutally effective - form of fishing.

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The technique was pioneered by boats like this,

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with big sails to drag the heavy nets.

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Brixham Trawlers were adopted all along our coast,

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'opening up the seas of Britain to trawling like never before.'

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A century on, we are counting the cost.

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Ruth Thurstan, from the University of York,

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has analysed records of UK catches going back to 1889.

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So we can see the effect of the trawling revolution started by these boats.

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Throughout the late 19th century, fish landings were increasing -

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this was because vessels were getting bigger and more seaworthy

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and could go further out to sea to fish.

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And then, once you get to really the 1970s, you get this big drop.

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It just goes over the edge of a cliff, doesn't it?

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Yes. You can see from that point, it keeps dropping.

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However, fishing vessels have been getting more sophisticated,

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and their ability to catch fish has been increasing and increasing over this entire period of time.

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-So you'd think landings would continue to go up and up.

-Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

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And of course, they haven't, because the stocks couldn't take that pressure.

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The impact of beam trawling on fish like cod and plaice has been immense.

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The research indicates that nine out of ten

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of these bottom-feeding fish have been scooped from our seas.

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So if stocks are down to just a tenth of what they were,

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our chance of a bumper catch looks slim.

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They're pinned down, are they? Pinned down.

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'And there's another setback to contend with.'

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We put the beam over the side with a net, but it's snagged on a rock.

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So the ship is stuck fast.

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So they're now using a diesel winch to try and drag the net up.

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One of the hazards of trying to trawl using a sailing boat.

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After striking a rock, our wooden beam has snapped in two.

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Well, we tried...

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but failed.

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So the beam trawl is busted.

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And there won't even be a minnow stuck in that net.

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Fishing has always been tough,

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but with dwindling fish stocks, today's fishermen have to work even harder.

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Research into the history of catches reached a staggering conclusion.

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Fishing vessels today are having to work 17 times as hard

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in order to catch the same amount of fish that they were catching in 1889.

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-17 times harder to get the same number of fish?

-Yes.

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We're chasing some of the last fish in the sea.

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Decent catches are only possible because of the technology in today's trawlers.

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Fishermen work more effectively than their grandfathers,

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but some fish stocks are much lower.

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Nine out of ten cod, plaice and haddock have been taken in just over a century.

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The Brixham Trawlers began a boom that fed the appetite of Britain.

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Now these boats have gone...

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and so has their catch.

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We're leaving Devon behind as we cross the Tamar Estuary, the gateway to Cornwall.

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It's not hard to see why more than five million tourists flock here every year.

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Some are lucky enough to own a stretch of this coastline,

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but a fortunate few get an entire island to themselves.

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What's it like living the dream on tiny St George's Island?

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The only full-time residents are Gus and Sheila Ravine.

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The first time I saw the island,

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my tummy just did a flip, and that was it.

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There we are.

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We've actually lived here permanently now for 13 years.

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Through the winter time, we get our shopping and our post every two or three weeks,

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depending on the weather.

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Through the summertime, we still have groceries every two or three weeks,

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but we perhaps get the post every week.

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Main difficulty is, of course, getting ashore when you need to get ashore.

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The weather is invariably bad.

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We've had some really nasty storms, but they're quite interesting to watch.

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But at the back of minds, we know we've to leave, don't we?

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One day...

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When we can't climb on and off boat, we'll have to go.

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It's just so special, just so special.

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Like many historic ports along the Cornish coastline,

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the harbour at Charlestown was once packed with cargo ships.

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150 years ago, the town was a hub for the booming china clay industry.

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Now Charlestown has re-invented itself for the heritage industry.

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It's the home port for a fleet of square riggers that often star on our TV screens.

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'The ships and harbour have had cameos in many films and TV series.'

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One of the best-known being a starring role in the classic series, The Onedin Line.

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The biggest star of all along this coastline, though,

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is the coast itself.

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The mouth of the River Fal offers a deep, natural harbour -

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a safe haven for shipping and a prime target for invasion.

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Guarding the eastern side of the Fal estuary is the Tudor castle of St Mawes.

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Its original role as a military fort is long over.

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Now, as well as a tourist attraction,

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it's also a popular venue for weddings.

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But ironically, St Mawes Castle was built because of a famous divorce.

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Back in 1533, Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

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This act enraged the Pope and all countries faithful to Rome.

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Fearing an invasion, Henry thought the coast needed new fortifications,

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but where was best to build them?

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In 1538, maps were few and far between,

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so Henry VIII commissioned his own,

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creating the first detailed map of England's south coast.

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Henry's divorce had become a contributor to the birth of modern cartography.

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This is a full-size replica.

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So here's Exeter...

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and here's the coastline all the way down here to Land's End here.

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Now, this is not a geographically accurate map.

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In fact, it's not really a map at all.

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It's a view - an oblique view - of the coastline,

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intent to draw the viewer's eye to two geographical features...

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cliffs, which were natural defences and impregnable,

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and beaches, which were exposed to invasion.

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Using these views of the coast, Henry and his military advisors

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picked prime locations to build a new chain of defences.

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They built not only St Mawes,

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but also Pendennis on the opposing headland,

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as well as constructing 26 other forts from Cornwall to Kent.

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Over four centuries, many of these fortifications

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were carefully maintained as the first line of defence against invasion.

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A testament to the strategic vision of Henry VIII,

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brought about by his infamous divorce.

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We're continuing our journey south.

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When it comes to the British mainland, as far south as you can go, Lizard Point.

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This peninsula is often pounded by big Atlantic seas,

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but what drives those waves to our shore?

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Arriving on the golden sands of Porthcurno,

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on a mission to discover how waves are born, is Alice.

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'As an island nation, we're surrounded by the restless shifting of the sea.

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'Stroll along a beach, and it looks like the entire ocean is advancing towards you.

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'But it's not the water that's moving -

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'it's something moving through the water.'

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So these waves certainly look as if they're moving towards the shore,

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but the water isn't - it's moving in a very particular way.

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If you imagine yourself swimming in the sea,

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facing the shore, and a wave coming up behind you,

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you get dragged backwards towards it, lifted up in the air

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and then come back down forwards again.

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So you're travelling in a circular motion.

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And that's what all of the water is doing as the waves pass through it.

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So the water itself isn't travelling towards the shore -

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what's moving towards us is energy.

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So where does that wave energy come from?

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I'm meeting up with Gavin Pretor-Pinney,

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a wave-watcher extraordinaire, who's made a study of the sea.

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Gavin, where do waves come from, where does this energy come from?

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Well, waves like this, the energy comes from winds out at sea,

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maybe storms out at sea, which have long since dissipated.

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They gave this energy to the water's surface,

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and then the wind dies down, and the waves roll on

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and eventually they crash ashore like here.

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'It's remarkable to think that all these waves are made by winds way out at sea.'

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So how far can waves travel?

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They have been measured travelling 7,000 miles

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from storms off Antarctica, right up through the Pacific to Alaska.

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So it doesn't need the wind... once the waves have been formed,

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-they don't need the wind to keep them going?

-No.

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The energy's been given to the water and it just keeps rolling.

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So it's the wind that whips up the seas.

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That energy then travels in waves huge distances to our shores.

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We're going to try to make waves by creating our own perfect storm

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on a much, much smaller scale.

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This swimming pool is our Atlantic Ocean,

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and we've bought in some big fans to make a miniature storm.

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Here to help me whip up the calm waters of our small-scale sea

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is Dr Simon Boxhall of the National Oceanography Centre.

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-So these fans are going to give us 100mph winds at this end of the pool.

-Right.

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They'll create a confused sea, with waves going in different directions.

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And what we should see is, as we move down the pool,

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the longer waves move faster than the shorter waves, so the waves spread out.

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We're taking a scale model of the Atlantic and putting into this pool in the middle of Cornwall.

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Time to power up our perfect storm.

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There's a bit of a delay, but it's started to...

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ripple across the surface now.

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The wind area is just in front of us,

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probably the first two or three metres, but as you move away,

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you can start to see a more sort of directional, more ordered wave train

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going down the pool, which is extending further and further.

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Even on this tiny scale, you can see how seemingly chaotic waves,

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created in a storm far out at sea,

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sort themselves out into the rhythmic, regular waves that hit our coastline.

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As we get to sort of the beach that's square onto the waves,

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you can see how the waves are crashing straight into the beach.

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This is a sort of a perfect surf beach.

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Yeah, if I was a miniature little surfer, I would be very happy with those waves.

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OK, our waves may look a little puny, but this pool is supposed to represent the size of the Atlantic,

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and on that scale, our piddly little waves would actually be as big as houses.

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So we've seen how the rhythmic waves that cascade onto our coast

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are created from that chaos whipped up by winds far out at sea.

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But what happens when a wave that's travelled 1,000 miles finally hits the shore?

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So, Gavin, this is it, the end of the wave as it hits the beach.

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What's going on is that the wave is slowed down as it enters shallower water,

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and the bottom of the wave becomes slower than the top of the wave,

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and the top therefore tumbles over.

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And that's what produces this white water.

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When the wave tumbles over and its energy is released into the environment,

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some of it goes into the sand that we can hear.

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So water waves into sound waves?

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Into sound waves but other waves as well.

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When you have strong surf, you feel the vibrations through the ground,

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so the energy arrives here, the wave breaks,

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it's released and then it carries on in other forms.

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So the wave never really dies.

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Never dies.

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I've discovered how waves get their energy.

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Later on, I'll try to capture that raw power with a snapshot.

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On our journey around the South West,

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I'm heading out to the edge of the Atlantic -

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the Isles of Scilly.

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It takes around two and a half hours to reach the islands aboard the Scillonian ferry.

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The Atlantic swell and rolling waves make this one of Britain's great voyages.

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Believe it or not...

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this is a fairly mild day!

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This passage of water is notorious for its heaving seas,

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a reputation which has given this little ship the nickname...

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The Great White Stomach Pump.

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And I'm beginning to know why.

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The ferry fights with fierce tidal currents off Land's End.

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'And we passengers have to roll with the Atlantic's punches.

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'At the ship's helm is Captain Dave Redgrave.'

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Oh, my goodness, look at that!

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This is...

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This is a calm day, isn't it? It feels like the perfect storm already.

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No, this is a normal day.

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On a scale of one to ten, this would be a five.

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How bad can it get out here, when it's really blowing?

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As we go down on a wave, the next wave would be the same height as us.

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-As the wheelhouse?

-Yeah.

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-Does that not bother you?

-A little bit, yes.

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-And do you suffer from sea sickness, Dave?

-I have been, yes.

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When I first went to sea, I had bouts that lasted...

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-sometimes five days.

-You're kidding!

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-Any tips?

-Focus on something else, anything!

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This vital link between the Isles of Scilly

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keeps going through all weather and it's an unforgettable journey.

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The Scillies are an archipelago with over 100 islands of all shapes and sizes.

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Getting around means hopping off one boat and straight onto another.

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'Only five of the isles in the Scillies are inhabited.'

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The most northerly is St Martin's.

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It may be a small community with a slow pace of life,

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but you can still get fast food.

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Here on St Martin's is one of the most remote fish and chip shops in the UK,

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but that's not the only reason it's unusual.

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Unlike other chippies, this one doesn't rely on a delivery van for its ingredients.

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Islanders have to be resourceful.

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To get the catch of the day,

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I'm meeting up with the restaurant's fisherman, cook and owner, Adam Morton.

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What made you open a fish and chip shop on a tiny island in the Atlantic?

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I needed an outlet to sell my fish.

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There was nothing of that nature on the island,

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so I gave it a try and haven't looked back since.

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When Adam goes out, he only takes enough fish for a night's serving.

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He uses a line to catch pollock.

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-There's definitely one on there.

-You got one?

-Yeah.

-Got a fish!

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-These...

-That's a good-size fish.

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-..will go in the restaurant.

-That is beautiful.

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I think we might just have another one - can you feel that?

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Yeah.

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OK, that will do us for today. That's all I need for tonight in the restaurant.

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'A fish supper wouldn't be complete without chips.

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'Adam's brother James looks after the spuds.'

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Quite a family team - one brother catching the fresh fish and the other one...

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growing the organic potatoes.

0:23:590:24:03

Yeah, well, over here, you know,

0:24:030:24:04

there's only a 100 people on the island in total,

0:24:040:24:07

so you do tend to end up working with family most of the time.

0:24:070:24:12

Within half an hour, the spuds are sizzling,

0:24:140:24:17

along with the pollock plucked this afternoon from the sea.

0:24:170:24:21

A small-scale, sustainable operation.

0:24:210:24:25

Fiona, thank you very much indeed. That looks fantastic, thank you.

0:24:250:24:29

This is the freshest plate of fish and chips I've ever been served - it's barely two hours old.

0:24:290:24:35

The pollock...

0:24:370:24:38

A bit sad, given it was such a beautiful fish, but look at that.

0:24:380:24:42

Just around the corner from Land's End

0:24:490:24:52

is one of Cornwall's most popular spots - Sennen Cove.

0:24:520:24:56

During the summer, thousands of visitors pack onto the beach

0:24:580:25:01

and spill out into the water.

0:25:010:25:05

The lifeguards are never far away.

0:25:050:25:08

The RNLI watch over those who venture out to sea -

0:25:130:25:17

whoever they may be.

0:25:170:25:19

When it comes to swimming,

0:25:230:25:24

Newfoundlands like Bilbo are in a class of their own.

0:25:240:25:28

Elsewhere in the world, with the right training, they've been known to save lives at sea.

0:25:280:25:34

But Bilbo's in it just for the fun.

0:25:340:25:36

What makes these shaggy dogs such strong swimmers?

0:25:390:25:44

Bilbo's owner is Steve Jamieson.

0:25:440:25:47

Coming from Newfoundland, the water around...

0:25:470:25:50

Newfoundland is really cold,

0:25:500:25:51

with the Labrador current and what have you.

0:25:510:25:54

So these dogs are adapted for that. They have a double coat.

0:25:540:25:57

The top coat is a really efficient waterproof coat - the small hairs underneath never get wet.

0:25:570:26:02

-He's got his own wetsuit on, in effect.

-How much does Bilbo weigh?

0:26:020:26:05

He's almost 12 stone. He's pure muscle, a very strong boy in the water.

0:26:050:26:10

If you can see here, he's got very ticklish feet,

0:26:100:26:12

-but if you spread his feet out, he's got webs that goes right down to his toes.

-He's a natural-born swimmer.

0:26:120:26:17

When he spreads his feet, he's got massive paddles to push him through the sea.

0:26:170:26:21

-You're a duck.

-He's got extra-large lungs for long-distance swimming as well,

0:26:210:26:25

so he's really adapted for water work.

0:26:250:26:27

And, of course, he uses his big tail as a rudder to steer him through the water.

0:26:270:26:31

You intelligent dog.

0:26:320:26:34

It's fantastic to see him going into the sea,

0:26:340:26:36

because he just loves it so much.

0:26:360:26:38

Bilbo doesn't work as a lifeguard at Sennen Cove,

0:26:400:26:43

but he does have a roll promoting beach safety to local children.

0:26:430:26:49

The northern coastline of Cornwall sits on the edge of a mighty sea.

0:26:560:27:01

The Atlantic Ocean battering Fistral Beach

0:27:020:27:05

produces some of the best surf in Europe.

0:27:050:27:09

It's the perfect place to marvel at the power of the waves,

0:27:140:27:19

a mystery that's become a mission for Alice.

0:27:190:27:22

Earlier, I discovered how the waves that perpetually pound our coast

0:27:240:27:27

are formed miles out to sea by storms.

0:27:270:27:31

Ocean winds drive the rolling surf.

0:27:320:27:35

The artist in me yearns to capture the power of those seas in a split-second image.

0:27:350:27:43

'Capturing that perfect wave isn't easy,

0:27:430:27:46

'but professional photographer Lucia Griggi

0:27:460:27:49

'travels the world to do just that.'

0:27:490:27:52

It's obviously a very specialist type of photography.

0:27:550:27:58

What really excites you about it?

0:27:580:28:00

I love turning up to a destination where

0:28:000:28:02

I don't know about the culture, I don't know what waves to expect,

0:28:020:28:06

I don't know what the surf conditions will be like,

0:28:060:28:08

and you just have to go out there and deal with it,

0:28:080:28:10

and the excitement and anticipation of having to put all that together...

0:28:100:28:14

just excites me.

0:28:140:28:15

Being out there in the water with the best surfers in the world

0:28:150:28:19

is never the same, and that's what I love about it.

0:28:190:28:22

Every time is different, no wave is the same. Ever.

0:28:220:28:25

Is there a chance of a decent photograph in this sea?

0:28:250:28:28

Yeah, the conditions are medium today. The wind's onshore,

0:28:280:28:31

so it's a little bit choppy and messy,

0:28:310:28:33

but we can still do a lot in this, and it makes it even more fun, really.

0:28:330:28:37

The surf's up, and soon I'll be out there trying to take a picture.

0:28:410:28:45

'Lucia uses a digital SLR camera, cocooned in a waterproof case.

0:28:470:28:53

'Now it's time for my crash course in underwater photography.'

0:28:530:28:58

In order to get a good picture of the wave, will I have to be level with it?

0:28:580:29:01

Yeah, you need to be level with the surf or the wave, whatever you're shooting.

0:29:010:29:05

Right now, there's a wave coming, and you're going to get down,

0:29:050:29:08

hold onto the right-hand trigger point

0:29:080:29:10

and shoot as it starts curling towards you.

0:29:100:29:12

-OK.

-And keep them down low,

0:29:120:29:14

and there you go, perfect. Like now!

0:29:140:29:16

'Are we having fun yet?

0:29:180:29:20

'Believe me, it's harder than it looks.

0:29:200:29:23

'The waves hit you with incredible force.

0:29:250:29:27

'In fact, a metre-high monster is roughly equivalent

0:29:280:29:33

'to a ton of weight walloping you.

0:29:330:29:36

'It's a real challenge to hold onto the camera as the waves hit me

0:29:370:29:41

'and try to take some decent snaps at the same time.'

0:29:410:29:45

Wow! That's brilliant.

0:29:510:29:53

And I love the super-wide angle of the fish-eye.

0:29:530:29:56

It's a great lens to shoot with when you want to get the landscape in.

0:29:560:29:59

Just water over the lens.

0:30:010:30:03

-These are the ones I like, cos you can see underwater.

-Yeah.

0:30:030:30:06

And you can see above as well, so half and half, I love that kind of effect.

0:30:060:30:11

It's quite amazing to capture something as dynamic,

0:30:110:30:13

as moving, as a wave and just capture an image of it.

0:30:130:30:16

My pictures put me back in that moment, at one with the wave.

0:30:190:30:23

Worth getting wet for.

0:30:230:30:26

Along the north coast of Cornwall,

0:30:380:30:40

the pounding waves meet their match where the cliffs stand proud.

0:30:400:30:45

The debris of the war between land and sea litters the shore,

0:30:470:30:52

with some spectacular results, like the Bedruthan Steps.

0:30:520:30:57

Legend has it that a giant used these rock stacks as enormous stepping stones to cross the bay.

0:30:580:31:05

But people have been making giant strides to and from this coast for centuries.

0:31:110:31:17

Quaint harbours now were once thronging with a rich trade in travellers,

0:31:170:31:22

like here, at Padstow.

0:31:220:31:24

Engineer Dick Strawbridge is exploring some curious comings and going.

0:31:250:31:31

Today, Padstow harbour is full of tourists from all over the world,

0:31:310:31:35

but 150 years ago,

0:31:350:31:37

this quayside would have been full of people

0:31:370:31:39

who were leaving Cornwall for a new life abroad.

0:31:390:31:42

They were miners, emigrating from these shores in the early 19th century.

0:31:440:31:49

They chose to go, because their skills were wanted overseas.

0:31:490:31:54

Competitors around the globe envied Cornish mining technology,

0:31:540:31:58

so Cornish men were head-hunted to mine new seams in new worlds.

0:31:580:32:03

Look at this picture from Australia.

0:32:080:32:10

Mine workings from Down Under!

0:32:100:32:12

If you note, it's a stone building with an arch door and windows,

0:32:140:32:17

and beside it, there's a big chimney, obviously for the boiler.

0:32:170:32:20

This is the Cornish original, built 50 years earlier.

0:32:200:32:23

From Australia...to North America,

0:32:230:32:28

you'll see copies of the Cornish engine houses throughout the world.

0:32:280:32:32

The buildings all look alike,

0:32:340:32:36

because they were made to accommodate similar steam engines,

0:32:360:32:39

used to pump water from the mines.

0:32:390:32:42

'Anthony Power, from the Botallack mine,

0:32:450:32:48

'is going to show me how a steam engine fitted snugly inside its engine house.'

0:32:480:32:53

Look at this - they're solid old buildings, aren't they?

0:32:530:32:56

Fantastic, aren't they? You can see why they've lasted such a long time!

0:32:560:33:00

It's amazing. What's the layout in here?

0:33:000:33:02

Well, we've got cylinder here - you can see these four bolts -

0:33:020:33:05

you've got a massive great cylinder here.

0:33:050:33:07

Steam pumped into that, activating piston inside,

0:33:070:33:10

piston rod going up and down.

0:33:100:33:12

And then attached to this end of it, is the beam.

0:33:120:33:14

The beam pivots on the wall in front of us, massive wall in front of us.

0:33:140:33:18

Half the beam is on the outside of the wall, so the thing is rocking on that wall.

0:33:180:33:22

-That's why the walls are so chunky!

-Absolutely.

-They're solid.

-Yeah.

0:33:220:33:25

These dramatic Cornish landmarks

0:33:260:33:28

are the tombstones of giant pumping engines

0:33:280:33:31

that proudly epitomised the age of steam.

0:33:310:33:33

But the engines had to be big,

0:33:350:33:37

because, surprisingly, early steam power wasn't very powerful at all.

0:33:370:33:42

Most of the work was done using the pressure of the atmosphere.

0:33:420:33:46

To see how, I've cooked up an experiment.

0:33:460:33:50

This is a tin can with some boiling water, which means it's full of steam.

0:33:500:33:54

When I put the lid on it and quench it,

0:33:540:33:56

what'll happen is the air in the atmosphere is going to squish it,

0:33:560:33:59

as the steam will have condensed inside.

0:33:590:34:01

There you can see the power of the atmosphere,

0:34:150:34:17

but the problem they had was harnessing it.

0:34:170:34:20

When I cooled the can, the steam trapped inside started to shrink.

0:34:220:34:27

It condensed into water, creating a vacuum.

0:34:270:34:30

Air pressure then crushed the can.

0:34:300:34:33

The trick was to make that destructive power do constructive work.

0:34:340:34:37

The early engines used a cylinder, a super-sized version of my can.

0:34:390:34:44

But inside, they put a piston that was connected to the beam.

0:34:460:34:50

Steam came in at the bottom, pushing the piston up.

0:34:500:34:54

Then a jet of water cooled the steam down,

0:34:560:35:00

so the steam condensed, creating a vacuum.

0:35:000:35:03

The air pressure pushed on the top of the piston, forcing it back down.

0:35:060:35:10

As the steam comes in again, the cycle repeats,

0:35:110:35:14

rocking the beam back and forward to pump water from the mine.

0:35:140:35:18

The designs did improve,

0:35:210:35:23

but the engines were so low-power, because they used low-pressure steam.

0:35:230:35:27

But at the start of the 19th century,

0:35:270:35:29

a Cornishman unleashed the full power of high-pressure steam.

0:35:290:35:34

Maverick engineer Richard Trevithick had a passion to harness "strong steam".

0:35:340:35:40

Trevithick invented this, a high-pressure steam engine.

0:35:450:35:49

To show off its power, he built his boiler into a remarkable locomotive,

0:35:540:35:59

just like this replica.

0:35:590:36:01

How fast does this thing go?

0:36:020:36:04

It will do 15mph if we open her up.

0:36:040:36:08

Here we go!

0:36:080:36:09

That's it! Hang on, Dick, we are going to hit the sound barrier soon!

0:36:090:36:15

Richard Trevithick's high-pressure steam

0:36:160:36:18

created the first passenger-pulling, self-propelled vehicle -

0:36:180:36:22

The Puffing Devil.

0:36:220:36:24

'Kingsley Rickard helped bring The Devil back to life.'

0:36:260:36:30

This is phenomenal!

0:36:300:36:33

We're talking 210 years ago,

0:36:330:36:35

the old Puffing Devil must have been a sight!

0:36:350:36:37

It was absolutely fantastic and a huge step forward. So exciting!

0:36:370:36:41

Nobody had seen anything like this, had they?

0:36:410:36:44

-This is high-powered steam in action.

-Much more power, cheaper to run, smaller than the old engine.

0:36:440:36:49

It was a marvellous thing at the time, it really was.

0:36:490:36:54

Sadly, The Puffing Devil wasn't reliable enough to beat horse power,

0:36:550:36:59

but it proved that high-pressure steam was the way forward.

0:36:590:37:03

The mines of Cornwall kept their big, old-style engines pumping for a while,

0:37:040:37:09

but by the mid 1800s, these dinosaurs had begun to shut down.

0:37:090:37:13

The power of high-pressure steam,

0:37:150:37:17

pioneered in The Puffing Devil,

0:37:170:37:20

helped open up deep mines all over the world.

0:37:200:37:24

The boom that began in Cornwall eventually caused her mines to close,

0:37:240:37:29

as competition took its toll.

0:37:290:37:31

Cornwall became a victim of its own success,

0:37:320:37:35

exporting its expertise and making mining a global industry.

0:37:350:37:40

In the century leading up to the First World War,

0:37:400:37:42

it's reckoned that up to 500,000 people left the county of Cornwall.

0:37:420:37:46

That was more than half the population at that time.

0:37:460:37:49

The emigration of miners from Padstow that began with the promise of rich rewards abroad

0:37:500:37:55

ended with families fleeing poverty at home.

0:37:550:37:58

People desperate to leave this coast, while pining for its beauty.

0:37:580:38:03

In a quiet back alley of Bideford,

0:38:110:38:14

the age-old tradition of carving figureheads is being kept alive...

0:38:140:38:18

by woodworker John Butler.

0:38:180:38:23

'This is a little ship's figurehead that I'm working on.

0:38:280:38:31

'I'm very fond of figureheads.

0:38:310:38:34

'I just love the power of them

0:38:340:38:35

'and I like the idea also of female figureheads being on the front of a ship -

0:38:350:38:40

'the idea of the sailors having an image of their favourite barmaid

0:38:400:38:44

'attached to the front of their vessel seems rather pleasing to me.'

0:38:440:38:48

So using a few separate pieces...

0:38:510:38:54

These are the trail boards that are going sit either side to suggest...

0:38:570:39:01

motion through the water, really, I suppose.

0:39:010:39:05

And then her arms...

0:39:050:39:07

One hand on her heart and the other...

0:39:080:39:11

..down there like that.

0:39:130:39:14

I live right by the river in Riverbank Cottages

0:39:220:39:25

and I've walked up and down the River Torridge every day for the last 30 or so years.

0:39:250:39:31

When I started carving, I tended to use driftwood.

0:39:310:39:35

We get a surprising range of timber washed down the River Torridge.

0:39:350:39:40

Alder wood, sycamore, oak.

0:39:400:39:42

I love living in Bideford

0:39:450:39:47

and I love looking at the characters that are wandering around.

0:39:470:39:51

One of my carvings was of a couple that I saw at the bus stop,

0:39:510:39:55

and he was very tall, and she was very short.

0:39:550:39:58

They were a little bit gormless but very much in love.

0:39:580:40:01

I also saw a couple of older ladies gossiping in the Pannier Market,

0:40:010:40:08

and they were just a gift to the woodcarver's art.

0:40:080:40:12

Trying to capture the whole range of human emotion, really,

0:40:120:40:17

as best one can with a chisel.

0:40:170:40:19

Bideford's link to the sea is the River Torridge,

0:40:260:40:30

which opens into a peaceful estuary...

0:40:300:40:33

..with skeletal remains concealed in the mud.

0:40:360:40:40

This is like an elephant's graveyard for ships.

0:40:400:40:43

It's where old boats come to die.

0:40:430:40:46

It might look like the maritime heritage here is dying,

0:40:460:40:51

but these wrecks litter the lair of a much bigger beast.

0:40:510:40:55

That'll be the shipyard, then.

0:40:550:40:57

This sleepy corner of Devon

0:41:000:41:03

is the unlikely home of a ship-building industry dating back over 500 years.

0:41:030:41:10

The Appledore Shipyard has built more than 350 vessels -

0:41:100:41:15

among them, the Scillonian ferry

0:41:150:41:17

that took me to the Isles of Scilly earlier.

0:41:170:41:20

They've also worked on some of the Navy's biggest ships.

0:41:230:41:27

Gerald Lee was here when this building was opened 40 years ago.

0:41:270:41:33

We've built tankers, gas carriers, platform support vessels,

0:41:330:41:37

ferries, tugs. You name it, we've had a go at it.

0:41:370:41:41

What are you particularly proud of?

0:41:410:41:43

HMS Scott has got to be up amongst it, for the Royal Navy.

0:41:430:41:49

When you think that she was 128 metres long, and the dock is only...

0:41:490:41:53

124, it takes some working out.

0:41:530:41:57

Did you build her without a front? How did she fit?

0:41:570:41:59

We fitted her in diagonally, and the bowsprit came right out over the dock head,

0:41:590:42:03

so it was an achievement, yes.

0:42:030:42:05

My journey around the south west coast has taken me onto the water in boats of all shapes and sizes.

0:42:300:42:37

Oh, my goodness, look at that!

0:42:400:42:42

Here, the call of the open sea is very much alive.

0:42:440:42:49

In the ebb and flow of history, industries come and go,

0:42:580:43:01

empires come and go.

0:43:010:43:03

But there are some traditions, some ways of life -

0:43:030:43:06

boat-building, fishing, sailing -

0:43:060:43:08

that are so much a part of what it means to be an islander that they'll never disappear.

0:43:080:43:14

And here in the West Country, they seem to be thriving.

0:43:140:43:17

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0:43:370:43:40

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