0:00:06 > 0:00:10We're in the Netherlands.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12A fortified shore.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16This is the front line of a conflict with the sea.
0:00:16 > 0:00:22For centuries the Dutch have battled to build a coastline like no other.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24A wind-powered landscape,
0:00:24 > 0:00:29lined with a carpet of colourful blooms
0:00:29 > 0:00:32and extraordinary constructions.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35This is Coast...and beyond.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10The Netherlands may be brand-new territory for Coast,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12but it seems rather familiar to me.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19There's something strangely unreal about these flat landscapes,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21borrowed from the sea
0:01:21 > 0:01:23and compressed by this enormous sky.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28It reminds me of where I grew up in Norfolk.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32We share the North Sea with the Netherlands.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35So we're being nosey neighbours -
0:01:35 > 0:01:38going Dutch to see what we might copy
0:01:38 > 0:01:40to make the most of our own coast.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46They don't just live beside the sea here, they live under it.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51A third of Dutch homes are below sea level.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Huge banks hold the water back.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58They rearrange their coast to suit themselves.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Channel the sea, harness the winds,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04build mega-ports.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09The Dutch are old masters at making new land from the waves.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14We've such sights to see, on a shore full or surprises!
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Our journey will take us to the border with Germany
0:02:20 > 0:02:22and the island of Rottumerplaat,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26the coast cutting into the heart of the Netherlands.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30But we start at the small coastal town of Ouwerkerk.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38This is the province of Zeeland, "Sea-land".
0:02:40 > 0:02:44We share this sea with the Dutch, for better or worse.
0:02:47 > 0:02:53In 1953, the east coast of Britain was battered by a terrifying storm.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56307 Britons died,
0:02:56 > 0:03:01and over 30,000 were forced to flee as the North Sea rushed in.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Here, on the Dutch lowlands, the devastation was even worse.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11The '53 flood was a national catastrophe.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19NEWSREEL: Never in living memory have the Dutch suffered such a disaster.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22The seas, lashed by a mighty wind, broke through the dykes
0:03:22 > 0:03:25and poured in to swamp the countryside.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30The flood left 1,800 dead and many more homeless.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38The tragedy renewed an age-old conflict with the sea
0:03:38 > 0:03:41that the Dutch are still fighting, 60 years on.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51School trips teach the next generation to take up the struggle.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53SHE SPEAKS DUTCH
0:03:56 > 0:03:59At this memorial to the flood victims,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02they hear from those who fought for their lives.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08SHE SPEAKS DUTCH
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Mina Verton was the same age as these children
0:04:12 > 0:04:14the night the waters came.
0:04:14 > 0:04:20In 1953, her family were caught up in a desperate race against time,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23as water sped towards their home.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32With little warning of the deluge, they were trapped.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00What happened to you on the night of the flood?
0:05:19 > 0:05:22NEWSREEL: Aircraft fly in supplies for the people still to be moved.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25British, American and Belgian pilots keep up a shuttle service
0:05:25 > 0:05:29in helicopters, to relieve the many isolated villages
0:05:29 > 0:05:31cut off from contact with the areas of safety.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39I've got a map here which shows the parts of the Netherlands
0:05:39 > 0:05:42hit by the 1953 disaster.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44All parts in green were under water,
0:05:44 > 0:05:49and it's shocking to see how much of the delta was affected.
0:05:49 > 0:05:55Through the green you can see entire road networks, villages.
0:05:56 > 0:06:02In just six hours, 700 square miles were completely submerged.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Because much of the Netherlands is below sea level,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13when the protective walls failed in 1953,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16the impact was worse here than in Britain.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23So for 40 years, the Dutch beavered away,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26spending billions on hi tech schemes,
0:06:26 > 0:06:30ringing their coast in concrete and rock defences.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39At its heart, with 62 floodgates, the mighty Oosterscheldedam,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42one of the engineering wonders of the world.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47But it could be just ten years before the low-lying Netherlands
0:06:47 > 0:06:50need a new plan, as sea levels rise.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55We share the same threat.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Will our shore one day share fortifications
0:06:58 > 0:07:00on the same massive scale?
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Although we often say "Holland",
0:07:22 > 0:07:26the Netherlands has 12 different provinces.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Only two are actually called Holland.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32In the south is the resort of Scheveningen.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43Given Holland's watery history, something odd is happening here.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56People are on the beach, enjoying themselves.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00There's a watchful eye kept on the approaching waves.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07But the Dutch don't hide behind their sea walls.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Miranda's come to find out
0:08:11 > 0:08:15what Netherlanders like to do beside the sea.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Sea bathing started here around 200 years ago,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28about the time it was really taking off in Brighton,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31and this is a photograph of this resort some years later.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33In fact, it could be Brighton,
0:08:33 > 0:08:37apart from these extraordinary wicker chairs on the beach.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Like our early resorts,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Scheveningen started as an exclusive retreat for the rich.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49But, in the late 19th century, the tourist trade developed.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56In 1885, this grand hotel, The Kurhaus, was opened,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59nearly ten years before the Blackpool Tower was built.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05So, what are we looking at?
0:09:05 > 0:09:09The Dutch version of Blackpool?
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Or perhaps it's Brighton below the sea.
0:09:14 > 0:09:20Or maybe something else altogether. I need a local guide to the locals.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Philip. Hi, Miranda. Nice to meet you.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Philip Walkate is a keen observer of the Dutch at their leisure.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29We work hard, we enjoy partying.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31On a nice summer day,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35when this is packed, everybody will have their own square metre of sand.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Very organised, very structured.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Yes, because there's not a lot of space,
0:09:39 > 0:09:44and half the country will go to the beach on a nice day.
0:09:44 > 0:09:45So this is mine, that's yours,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49we'll be fine together as long as we don't get involved with each other.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53- Quite like a class system, would you say? - We have class system as well.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57- And we're in the right part of the beach for your class now. - Oh, good, thank you!
0:09:57 > 0:10:00The posh people go over there and this is where partying goes on.
0:10:03 > 0:10:04I'm curious.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Do the Dutch share any of our seaside traditions,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10like building sand castles?
0:10:10 > 0:10:13This a sand castle extraordinaire, isn't it?
0:10:13 > 0:10:16- I made this this morning for you. - I don't think so!
0:10:16 > 0:10:20This is incredible! We'd never see something like this in England.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22It represents things you can do in the water.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26This big guy here sunbathing. Was that modelled on you?
0:10:26 > 0:10:30The Mayor of Amsterdam. This is all he does, just lying in the sun.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39No day out at the seaside's complete without a snack.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Phillip's promised me a real Dutch delight.
0:10:43 > 0:10:44This is raw herring.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Wow, is he just gutting it?
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Cutting and gutting it, taking off the head,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51you leave the tail, cos you use that to eat it.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Not all at once!
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Mmm, amazing!
0:11:02 > 0:11:05It's like the best sushi ever.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Is this a good time of year to eat it this? Is it a seasonal product?
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Yes, this is actually the new Dutch herring,
0:11:11 > 0:11:16- the fatter it is, everybody gets more excited.- It's very good.
0:11:16 > 0:11:22The fat Dutch herring is much more than a delicacy. It's a celebrity.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26Every July, the first catch is celebrated with a festival.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Washed down with lashings of the potent local tipple.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39I'll pour you some Dutch Gin. Jenever, it's like a schnapps.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44I've got to drink this as well as this. It's only ten in the morning.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Yeah, you can just take a sip. You can, like, knock it up
0:11:47 > 0:11:51or you can just take a sip. You want to knock it up?
0:11:51 > 0:11:52Why not?
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Wow.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59'I'm beginning to see what draws the Dutch back to the beach.'
0:11:59 > 0:12:02I could do this all day.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08In a land where the people guard their coastline closely,
0:12:08 > 0:12:13here, at least, the Dutch take time out from hostilities with the sea.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37The locals have ingenious solutions for living in their "Waterworld".
0:12:38 > 0:12:39Tunnelling under it.
0:12:41 > 0:12:42Floating on it.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46And draining it dry.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51And sometimes, just rising above it all.
0:12:51 > 0:12:58MUSIC: "Jump Around" by House Of Pain
0:12:58 > 0:13:01It took off 500 years ago.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05The Dutch wanted to get about without getting their feet wet.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08Now it's an international sport.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12It's called Fierljeppen - far leaping.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Who leaps farthest, wins.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18I'm Jaco de Groot.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20I'm Dymphie van Rooijen.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24She's running as fast as possible. Come on - run faster, faster!
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Run and climb up, hup, go, go, go, yeah, good!
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Climb on! Wow!
0:13:32 > 0:13:34I can't climb faster!
0:13:34 > 0:13:37The water, it's two metres deep.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Nae! Help!
0:13:41 > 0:13:43And, yes, it's very cold.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Oh!
0:13:47 > 0:13:51The pole is standing in the water, so we run about 30 km an hour.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58And then you run to a pole standing still, and then you have to grab it.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04DYMPHIE SHOUTS ENCOURAGEMENT
0:14:04 > 0:14:07And you have to climb it in five seconds.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11- It's just like you fly.- Yeah.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24We're working our way up the Dutch coast.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39This land's famous for being flat, with walls holding back the water.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45Sea dykes are as Dutch as windmills, and a tale of doom
0:14:45 > 0:14:50with one of those dykes turned a local lad into a legend.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52I'm on his trail.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56The Hero of Haarlem.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00The town's honoured him with a statue.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04And this is it - a boy with his finger in the dyke.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09The schoolboy whose self-sacrifice saved his village.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12It's as Dutch a story as you'll discover.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Or so you'd think!
0:15:15 > 0:15:19This little boy was really made famous by an American author,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Mary Mapes Dodge, who included the story of the boy and the dyke
0:15:23 > 0:15:28in her 19th-century book, "Hans Brinker Or The Silver Skates".
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Mapes Dodge never even visited the Netherlands
0:15:32 > 0:15:35but as her fictional tale caught on,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39the locals erected a statue to satisfy curious fans.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43The young Hero of Haarlem has been adopted by the Dutch
0:15:43 > 0:15:45as an emblem of their struggle with the sea.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50It's ironic that the story was imported here from the USA,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54because the city's name, Haarlem, went the other way.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03The neighbourhood of Harlem in Manhattan is a reminder that,
0:16:03 > 0:16:08around 400 years ago, New York was called New Amsterdam.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Part of the Dutch trading empire that reached New Zealand,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15named after their province of Zeeland.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Today they celebrate their sea-faring heritage.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24It brought enormous wealth on the wind.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30The golden age of sail saw the birth of global trade
0:16:30 > 0:16:34and the city of Haarlem prospered.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40Here coastal commerce fuelled a flower power revolution,
0:16:40 > 0:16:4217th-century style.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48It's a story of boom and bust that's brought historian Tessa Dunlop
0:16:48 > 0:16:51to the most Dutch of Dutch industries.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57Within sniffing distance of the sea, there's another ocean on this coast.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02MUSIC: "Tulips From Amsterdam"
0:17:02 > 0:17:04An ocean of tulips.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08# When it's spring again I'll bring again
0:17:08 > 0:17:11# Tulips from Amsterdam... #
0:17:11 > 0:17:15You can't get much more Dutch than this. There's even a windmill.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Well, sort of!
0:17:20 > 0:17:24Most of Britain's tulips start life in Dutch soil.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28In April and May, the northern coast of the Netherlands blossoms.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30A carpet of colour.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Carlos van Der Veek's family's
0:17:36 > 0:17:40been growing bulbs on this shore for years.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45Why is it that tulips grow so well here in Holland especially?
0:17:45 > 0:17:48It's mainly because of the climate.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50The sea brings in his influence,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52the springs are cool, the winters are mild,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54and that's ideal for tulips.
0:17:56 > 0:18:02Sadly, these beautiful blooms will never brighten someone's birthday.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Their heads are lopped off.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12These tulips are grown for the bulb, not the bloom.
0:18:12 > 0:18:18The flowers become mulch to feed a billion-pound bulb industry.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20So tulip bulbs today have a value
0:18:20 > 0:18:25but four centuries ago, it seems they were almost priceless.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30It's said that trading in these nearly bankrupted the nation.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34Turn back the pages of history to the early 17th century
0:18:34 > 0:18:38and the tulip, a wild flower from Asia,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40had recently arrived in Europe.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43MUSIC: "Tiptoe Through The Tulips"
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Rich merchants wanted them at any price.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Dutch dealers went so bananas for bulbs,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52they were portrayed as greedy monkeys.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57It became known as Tulip Mania.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01The story goes that, when the price of the bulbs crashed,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03so did the economy.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Markets that outgrow common sense are familiar now,
0:19:07 > 0:19:12but does this tale of bloom and bust stand up?
0:19:12 > 0:19:16I want to find out the real truth behind Tulip Mania.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Historian Anne Goldgar has spent years studying Tulip Mania,
0:19:23 > 0:19:28using original 17th-century sources.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32Why, Anne, did Holland of all places become tulip country?
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Because they had access, first of all, to them
0:19:35 > 0:19:39because of the fact the Netherlands was a very important trading nation,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43and there were a lot of people interested in collecting exotica.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46People in the 17th century wanted to have tulips
0:19:46 > 0:19:48which were striped or speckled,
0:19:48 > 0:19:54and you can see that in this tulip catalogue, which was made in 1637.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59So this is rather like having, I don't know, the right diamond today?
0:19:59 > 0:20:00Yes, absolutely.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07This 17th-century floral bling was prized for its rarity.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13Tulips are tricky to grow. It takes seven years from a seed.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16In the time of Tulip Mania, bulb farming was a bit of a lottery,
0:20:16 > 0:20:21a gamble that Dutch traders hoped would win them a jackpot.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26MUSIC: "Money (That's What I Want)" by The Flying Lizzards
0:20:26 > 0:20:28So how did that work?
0:20:28 > 0:20:32Let's see what we might learn from the modern flower market.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37I've come with Anne to Aalsmeer, the world's biggest flower auction.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44Fascinating, it almost reminds me of The Price Is Right. You've got the men here bidding.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46At the bottom, the women are showing off,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48stroking their bunches of flowers.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52This is a proper Dutch auction.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54The clock counts down the price.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56The first trader to press their button stops it
0:20:56 > 0:20:58and pays what's on the dial.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Turn back the clock some 400 years,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and it's said the market went haywire.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09How do these modern traders feel about Tulip Mania?
0:21:09 > 0:21:14The moment you still see that when a new tulip variety is produced,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18then we feel still a bit of the Tulip Mania is still going on.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24Four centuries after Tulip Mania, traders are still tense.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30In the 17th century, bulbs were bought in a frenzy,
0:21:30 > 0:21:35betting they'd go up in value before they were out of the ground.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38The market did boom out of control.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Single bulbs went for the price of a grand house.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46But did the bust nearly bankrupt the nation?
0:21:46 > 0:21:50They come to a head on 7th of February 1637.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54At that point, someone says, "I have a bulb to sell,"
0:21:54 > 0:21:59and nobody bought it in Haarlem. At that point people started to worry
0:21:59 > 0:22:02and prices did fall dramatically, that is true.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04As for bankruptcies,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07I have found no-one who went bankrupt because of Tulip Mania.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16Anne's research shows society didn't crash when the tulip bubble burst.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18So where's that story come from?
0:22:20 > 0:22:25This book, "Extraordinary Popular Delusions And The Madness of Crowds"
0:22:25 > 0:22:26did much to make the myth.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29200 years after Tulip Mania,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31the author, Scotsman Charles Mackay, wrote:
0:22:31 > 0:22:35'Substantial merchants were reduced almost to beggary,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38'and many a representative of a noble line
0:22:38 > 0:22:41'saw the fortunes of his house ruined.'
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Mackay was printing the legend
0:22:45 > 0:22:47perpetuated by the original paintings
0:22:47 > 0:22:51that made mischievous fun of tulip traders.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Four centuries on, the bulb market is blooming,
0:22:54 > 0:22:58but reminders of darker days haunt the fields.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01This is a picture of the Semper Augustus,
0:23:01 > 0:23:05one of the most sought-after bulbs of the Tulip Mania period.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09But weirdly, you'd struggle to find a tulip like this growing today
0:23:09 > 0:23:13because in fact the flaming striped effect is a sign
0:23:13 > 0:23:15that the plant had a virus that could spread
0:23:15 > 0:23:17and infect the rest of the crop.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19So what was once so fashionable,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22now would immediately be dug out and thrown away.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26The odd offending bloom still pops up,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29once highly prized, now despised!
0:23:29 > 0:23:34It seems the Netherlands will never close the book on Tulip Mania.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59I've reached the mid-point of my journey at Lelystadt.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06A young city born out of the waves,
0:24:06 > 0:24:10it harbours a reminder of an older age...
0:24:14 > 0:24:20..when the Dutch began building boats to build an empire.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24This is an exact copy of a 17th-century original.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27The Batavia was launched in 1628,
0:24:27 > 0:24:31not to do battle, but to do business.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36This ship was part of the Dutch East India Company -
0:24:36 > 0:24:38an organisation so vast,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42it's been called the first multi-national corporation.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50Craft like this carried spices from Asia.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54They made the Dutch East India Company very wealthy indeed.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Success set the Netherlands on a collision course
0:24:59 > 0:25:02with neighbours across the North Sea - the English.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04I've got a copy of a painting here.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09It shows a daring raid in 1667 by the Dutch on the English Navy.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11The English ships are on fire.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16All this happened just outside London. Pretty cheeky.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22That naval humiliation was one of many in the Anglo-Dutch wars
0:25:22 > 0:25:26that rumbled on throughout the 17th century.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Wars that the Dutch won.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35So how did they beat the Royal Navy?
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Did the secret lie in their ships?
0:25:38 > 0:25:41They're building one here to find out.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44It's the baby of Aryan Klein.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47This is a 17th-century Admiralty ship
0:25:47 > 0:25:51and she was specifically designed to wage war at sea against the English.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56What was the difference between the Dutch maritime power and English maritime power?
0:25:56 > 0:25:58We were geared up for ship-building in a huge way,
0:25:58 > 0:26:00so we could produce ships at quite a fast rate.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04So you could mass-produce ships like this.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Almost mass-produce - a ship like this would be ready within a year.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10How could the Dutch build a ship in just a year
0:26:10 > 0:26:12when the English couldn't?
0:26:12 > 0:26:15What was the key to this mass-production?
0:26:15 > 0:26:19MUSIC: Theme to "Camberwick Green"
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Windmills - lots of them!
0:26:23 > 0:26:26Before steam power, there was wind power.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35If you can use a mill to pump water and to grind wheat,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37why not use it to saw wood as well?
0:26:40 > 0:26:42During the Netherlands' golden age of sail,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46hundreds of windmills fed the shipbuilding industry
0:26:46 > 0:26:48with a production line of cut wood,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52enabling mass-production of ships
0:26:52 > 0:26:56almost a century before the Industrial Revolution.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12The trade in Asian spices fuelled the Dutch Empire.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19Links to Asia left a legacy in the nation's appetites.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23In Britain we might go for an Indian meal.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26In the Netherlands, they go for an Indonesian.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40My name is Wai Man Lo. I run an Indonesian restaurant.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42My family is from New Guinea.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Indonesia used to be a Dutch colony.
0:27:45 > 0:27:50After the independence, a lot of people from Indonesia,
0:27:50 > 0:27:51they came to Holland.
0:27:51 > 0:27:57My dad came in the '60s. He started a restaurant in 1975.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00My dad is a really hard-working man.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Looking at this picture, I feel kind of proud of him.
0:28:07 > 0:28:13This kind of market really reflects how the people live here in Holland.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15It's like a big melting pot.
0:28:17 > 0:28:23Most of the market stand holders are Moroccan or Turkish.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26We buy some fish at these markets.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29We like to keep our fish, like, pretty fresh.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36Most of the people in our restaurant order the rice tables.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39The rice table is really a Dutch invention.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43The Dutch colonists who went to Indonesia,
0:28:43 > 0:28:46they liked to taste a bit of everything.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50We have, like, beef dishes all the way to chicken and vegetables.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55When tourists ask what is typical, like, Dutch food,
0:28:55 > 0:28:59they usually tell the tourists, well, try Indonesian food.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13The sandy isles of the Northern Netherlands.
0:29:13 > 0:29:18They subtly alter their shape with each new tide.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20It's one battle between land and sea
0:29:20 > 0:29:23the Dutch have decided to stay out of.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31Here, they've encouraged nature to do its own thing.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41Very few people are allowed to set foot on remote Rottumerplaat.
0:29:41 > 0:29:47But Miranda's been given permission to look for signs of life.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58This is the sort of spot that seems to sum up
0:29:58 > 0:30:01"getting away from it all".
0:30:01 > 0:30:03But as you walk across the dunes,
0:30:03 > 0:30:06there's more than sand beneath your feet.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09Concrete!
0:30:09 > 0:30:12Loads of it.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Yes, you've guessed it, like much of the Dutch coast,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18this island was built by the Dutch,
0:30:18 > 0:30:20or at least started by them.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23You can still see the line of a sea wall
0:30:23 > 0:30:27built in the 1950s to trap shifting sands.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29The island was encouraged to grow
0:30:29 > 0:30:33as part of another land reclamation scheme.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37But there's no-one here.
0:30:41 > 0:30:47By the 1990s, wilderness proved more desirable than new living space.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Rottumerplaat was abandoned to nature.
0:30:57 > 0:31:02Oyster catchers, spoonbills and common terns are amongst the birds
0:31:02 > 0:31:06feeding on the mudflats, rich in shellfish.
0:31:11 > 0:31:16One of the few humans allowed to come here on a regular basis
0:31:16 > 0:31:19is naturalist Hans Roersma.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22Everywhere you look, there are birds.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26And a big group of oyster catchers down here, some have just taken off,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29and the sun on their tummies,
0:31:29 > 0:31:31it's just like glitter.
0:31:31 > 0:31:32It's fabulous!
0:31:32 > 0:31:36And if they start flying, it's one new, big animal.
0:31:36 > 0:31:37They feed individually
0:31:37 > 0:31:39but now they assemble.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41You can see birds which have just arrived,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44eat like hell, they go on probing
0:31:44 > 0:31:47and they eat and they eat.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54I can see why you love it here. It's an incredibly beautiful place.
0:31:54 > 0:31:55But why is it so special to you?
0:31:55 > 0:32:00We live in the most densely populated area of western Europe.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04And we have a few islands reserved for nature
0:32:04 > 0:32:06and I'm allowed to live and work there.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09- You're a very lucky man. - Yeah, yeah!
0:32:15 > 0:32:19The Dutch have been at war with the sea for centuries.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23But here, where they've learned to live together,
0:32:23 > 0:32:25they put on quite a spectacle.
0:32:40 > 0:32:45The sweeping sand flats make for lovely, relaxed walking,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48but getting between the islands isn't so easy.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54All this sand makes it impossible to get a boat in here.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58But the Dutch have come up with a typically ingenious idea.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01Take the bus to your boat.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06This truck is known as the Vliehors Express,
0:33:06 > 0:33:09and it's one of the ways to get from island to island.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13MUSIC: "Van Der Valk" Theme
0:33:33 > 0:33:37PASSENGERS SING
0:33:49 > 0:33:53This bus ride gets more and more otherworldly.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56We've just stopped at a driftwood stockade
0:33:56 > 0:33:59in the middle of this sand desert.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01Looks like an art installation.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04Even in this natural paradise,
0:34:04 > 0:34:08the Dutch can't stop reclaiming stuff from the sea.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14Wonderful! It's a museum of found objects -
0:34:14 > 0:34:16fish crates, computer monitors,
0:34:16 > 0:34:20buoys, life belts, signs.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30This unusual bus journey has a suitably unlikely bus stop.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34This peculiar walkway is actually a jetty.
0:34:34 > 0:34:39At the far end, the water is deep enough for a ferry.
0:34:41 > 0:34:47Sand and sea together, combining to conjure up something truly special.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52It's a delightfully Dutch conundrum that sums up our journey.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Life on the margins between sea and shore
0:34:56 > 0:35:01can create a flair and resourcefulness that will rise above any challenge.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05The Dutch have learned to live with the sea,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09to recognise its opportunities and to meet its threats.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11As sea levels rise
0:35:11 > 0:35:15and the search for novel solutions becomes more urgent,
0:35:15 > 0:35:17I reckon we can all learn a thing or two from the Netherlands.