0:00:08 > 0:00:09This is Coast.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41We're hunting out the secret life of our beaches.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47It's no great shock that we love to share the sand
0:00:47 > 0:00:49with four-legged friends.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56But while we may crave the comfort of companions,
0:00:56 > 0:01:03some shy characters take flight at the first sight of strangers.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08There's a wild side to our shores where we aren't welcome,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11like here, at Dornoch Firth.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16On golden sands, the seals enjoy a top-secret life
0:01:16 > 0:01:20thanks to some powerful friends.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26Zoologist and ex-soldier Andy Torbet is returning home
0:01:26 > 0:01:31to have an explosive encounter on Scotland's most deadly beach.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39The shore around here was my playground as a boy.
0:01:39 > 0:01:45I loved to explore, but there's one site I never got to see.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47There's a bit of beach that's out of bounds,
0:01:47 > 0:01:49where even the locals are kept at bay.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56It looks more like a battle zone than a beach,
0:01:56 > 0:01:57and that's no accident.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14This is Tain, an RAF firing range, where bomber pilots train for war.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18We used to use vehicles just like this one
0:02:18 > 0:02:23when I was in the Forces, but this one hasn't been abandoned here,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25it's been left here deliberately.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28This is no longer a mode of transport, it's now a target,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31and if I was to wait any longer, I'd probably get a bomb
0:02:31 > 0:02:33dropped on my head.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37For obvious reasons, the public are kept well away,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39but during a pause in the pretend hostilities
0:02:39 > 0:02:44I've been given permission to explore this sandy battleground.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Very few people get to witness what goes on here,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50but there are eyes watching.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53On a beach over there is a big group of seals.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Just half a mile away, the seal pod seems relaxed enough.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08They've picked this beach to raise their pups.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11But what's the appeal of such a noisy spot?
0:03:11 > 0:03:14How can seals bear to bask under the bombers?
0:03:16 > 0:03:19To uncover the secret of this odd relationship,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22I'm meeting Sean Twiss, who studies seal psychology.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Ironically, we're taking cover.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Seals seem OK with planes, but people spook them.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35PLANE ROARS
0:03:35 > 0:03:41So, Sean, I would not expect to find grey seals happily basking
0:03:41 > 0:03:44in the sun right next to an RAF bombing range
0:03:44 > 0:03:45with all that such stuff going on.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Why is it they can cope with this sort of disturbance?
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Well, classic example they're...
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Not even a head up in response to that.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55It happens so often it doesn't propose a threat to them.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Why waste your energy
0:03:57 > 0:03:59responding to something that's not a threat to you?
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Do you think the bombing helps? Cos, I mean, it keeps people
0:04:02 > 0:04:03away from the beach.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Certainly, I mean, because people
0:04:06 > 0:04:08are effectively excluded from this beach, there's none of that
0:04:08 > 0:04:12real threat to the seals of people walking down here with their dogs,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15so that's one of the reasons why they like to haul out.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18We're more of a threat to them as individual human beings
0:04:18 > 0:04:21walking down this beach than any amount of aeroplanes.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23In fact, I think you can see a few heads coming up now
0:04:23 > 0:04:26because actually the wind is taking our scent down towards them,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29and they have a really good sense of smell
0:04:29 > 0:04:33so that's starting to spook them, even much more than a plane.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37So my manly odour is more offensive to a seal than a bomb blast.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42What can these sensitive souls be thinking of?
0:04:42 > 0:04:45I still want to know but that'll have to wait a while.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50Now they've taken flight, it's a chance for me to do the same.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Nearby RAF Lossiemouth is the base for the bombers.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03I'm here to meet Flight Commander Brian James.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04So, why target the beach?
0:05:07 > 0:05:10It allows us to train realistically for those operations
0:05:10 > 0:05:13we are on at the moment, so I'll be looking at the scenery
0:05:13 > 0:05:15and the terrain tactically with a view of hiding
0:05:15 > 0:05:16behind any of the hills
0:05:16 > 0:05:21to mask me from radar and it allows us to train in a safe environment.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26We drop small ammunitions which are practice bombs to minimise
0:05:26 > 0:05:29the effect on the environment, so although it has the same
0:05:29 > 0:05:32flight characteristics of our larger weapons it has a very small charge,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35and the charge really is only used to put up a puff of smoke
0:05:35 > 0:05:38so that the range can actually see where the weapon went.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41If we do drop the larger weapons cos we need to practise handling
0:05:41 > 0:05:44the aeroplane with the sort of weight the weapons are,
0:05:44 > 0:05:48then they are concrete with no explosive charge, minimising the effect on the environment.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51And do you think the seals are bothered by what you do?
0:05:51 > 0:05:54I don't think they are, to be honest, they seem to lie there
0:05:54 > 0:05:55yawning and scratching themselves,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57I think they're quite used to us now!
0:06:02 > 0:06:05I'm surprised these guys keep their cool
0:06:05 > 0:06:07as they're being buzzed by bombers.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Why aren't they frightened?
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Sean Twiss has a way to discover what a seal finds scary.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18One whiff of our scent made these slippery customers scarper,
0:06:18 > 0:06:22so Sean had to devise a cunning plan to get closer to them.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26He's showing me film of those close encounters.
0:06:28 > 0:06:33A remote control robot vehicle was fitted with a camera.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35It captured the response of different seals
0:06:35 > 0:06:38to the same scary sound.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40MACHINE EMITS HIGH-PITCHED WAIL
0:06:42 > 0:06:45We actually play a wolf call as a sort of natural sound,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48to illicit a kind of mild startled response.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52And we monitor the behaviour of the seal afterwards,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54in particular how many times it checks its pup,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58and what we find is that some mothers do a lot of that pup-checking behaviour,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02are really attentive of their pups, and other mothers do very little of it.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Males, we get some that are very nervous,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08others that are quite relaxed, we get differences in aggressiveness and boldness.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12And with the remote control vehicle, some will actually approach the vehicle...
0:07:12 > 0:07:13GROWLS
0:07:13 > 0:07:15..others will shy away from it.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Anyone who's got a pet won't find this too surprising,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21we have to quantify it and find ways of actually measuring it,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25particularly if we're talking about animals out in the wild. It's a very difficult thing to do.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33'These peaceful personalities let the nuisance go over their heads.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37'More aggressive characters would probably give this beach a wide berth.'
0:07:39 > 0:07:43'But even this placid bunch wouldn't let me get near on foot,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46'so the only way is up!'
0:07:50 > 0:07:56'The bird's-eye view confirms the colony prefers planes to people.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59'This is a popular spot.'
0:07:59 > 0:08:02There's a good few hundred seals on the beach below us now.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04You can see the patches where they've been basking
0:08:04 > 0:08:07and the trails they've left as they've crawled down to the sea.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12'Maybe these are the most laid-back seals in Britain,
0:08:12 > 0:08:17'or perhaps they'd rather have the noise than share their sands with anyone else.'
0:08:31 > 0:08:34'Our journey continues
0:08:34 > 0:08:38'And I can't resist a bit of detective work
0:08:38 > 0:08:41'around Newport in Pembrokeshire.'
0:08:48 > 0:08:54'Foreboding cliffs conceal isolated little coves.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58'The only way to sneak in and out is by sea.'
0:09:00 > 0:09:05'So, some 30 years ago, a fisherman was surprised to spy a stranger
0:09:05 > 0:09:08'on one of these remote beaches.'
0:09:10 > 0:09:15'The shifty character was standing guard over a stash of marine gear
0:09:15 > 0:09:19'and powerful outboard engines.'
0:09:20 > 0:09:22The stranger told the local fisherman
0:09:22 > 0:09:24that the equipment he was guarding
0:09:24 > 0:09:28was being tested for a top secret expedition to Greenland.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33The waters of Cardigan Bay may be cold, but not that cold!
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Time to call the cops.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39The investigation splashed these quiet beaches
0:09:39 > 0:09:43across the headlines in 1984 -
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Wales at the heart of an international drugs ring.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51I'm heading back to the scene of the crime
0:09:51 > 0:09:54with detectives Derek Davies,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57and Don Evans.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00What did you think of the story
0:10:00 > 0:10:02that these were supplies for an expedition to Greenland?
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Well, to be perfectly honest,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06we thought it might have been a wild herring really.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10It wasn't a story that we were likely to believe for very long.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11No.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Derek and Don knew something didn't smell right.
0:10:16 > 0:10:1930-odd years ago,
0:10:19 > 0:10:24the police beached their boat where the stranger had been spotted,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26and were surprised to find...
0:10:27 > 0:10:28..nothing.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32It was just a plain piece of beach
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and with lumps of equipment stored on it
0:10:35 > 0:10:38and covered with black tarpaulin.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41When we went to look further into this cleft here,
0:10:41 > 0:10:45one of the boys picked up one of these big pebbles for no good reason
0:10:45 > 0:10:48and dropped it and it made a hollow sound.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50So the boys scrabbled about
0:10:50 > 0:10:53and they found a ship's hatch cover.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Underneath the stones?
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Underneath the stones.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03Hidden below the pebbles was an entrance to a criminal underworld.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06And under that, there was a seven-foot-deep cavern,
0:11:06 > 0:11:10stretching 17 feet into the cleft of the rocks there.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17They couldn't believe their eyes -
0:11:17 > 0:11:21an Aladdin's cave of contraband,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24carved out beneath the beach.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27The detectives threw all their resources
0:11:27 > 0:11:30behind the investigation.
0:11:30 > 0:11:31Within months,
0:11:31 > 0:11:36Don and Derek had put several big-time drug barons behind bars,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39including Soeren Berg-Arnbak,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43a master of disguise, known as Mr Rubber Face.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46He got eight years.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51It's thought the plan was to smuggle "Lebanese Gold" - cannabis resin -
0:11:51 > 0:11:55into Britain using an inflatable boat,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58stored deflated in the beach hideaway.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00SEAGULLS CAW
0:12:00 > 0:12:02And what happened to all the equipment that was found?
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Oh, well, we sold that.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09There's a brochure of the sale of the equipment that we found.
0:12:09 > 0:12:10Now, what's in here?
0:12:10 > 0:12:13One, two, three, four... Six shovels, jump leads,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17bulbs, batteries, drill bits, signalling mirrors...
0:12:17 > 0:12:19Look at all this!
0:12:19 > 0:12:22One, two, three, four, five, six, seven outboard engines.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25So, this wasn't just an amateur attempt at smuggling?
0:12:25 > 0:12:27- No, no, no.- Very well planned.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Very well planned and very well executed,
0:12:30 > 0:12:31very well detected, too!
0:12:41 > 0:12:43A remote cove in Wales
0:12:43 > 0:12:47was the perfect spot to squirrel away contraband,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51but sprinkled all around our shore,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53remarkable objects lie forgotten.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Britain's beaches are the nation's attic,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02where our secret history lies in storage
0:13:02 > 0:13:05waiting to be re-discovered.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12Those in search of lost treasures from the Second World War,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14head out to Aberlady Bay.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Naval historian Nick Hewitt
0:13:28 > 0:13:33is about to relive a rarely-told tale of derring-do.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44I'm here to see one of the secret weapons of the Second World War.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46I've been looking forward to this for years.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Submerged by sea water at high tide,
0:13:51 > 0:13:57this skeleton is the carcass of a top-secret miniature submarine.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00They were dubbed the X-Craft.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04That's absolutely amazing. It's still recognisably an X-Craft.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07Can see that distinctive shape.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Looks like the bones of a dinosaur.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14Looking down the length, they're just absolutely tiny.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Who on earth would want to go to sea in one of these?
0:14:16 > 0:14:18It's extraordinary.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Five men at a time would squeeze into these sardine cans,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24sometimes for days on end.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27And inside here is the diesel engine,
0:14:27 > 0:14:29which you could only use on the surface
0:14:29 > 0:14:32because air needs to come and go and vent exhaust gases.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33There was an electric motor
0:14:33 > 0:14:37which could be used when the boat was travelling submerged.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38Look back in the boat,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41you just get that sense of how terrifyingly small they are.
0:14:41 > 0:14:47Midget subs like this were built to attack mighty battleships.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50The tiny X-Craft humbled the pride of Hitler's Navy -
0:14:50 > 0:14:53the Tirpitz.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55- (ARCHIVE)- 'Heavily coated in steel,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58'she carried eight 16-inch guns,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01'and 28 others of formidable strength.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04'The Nazis bragged she was unsinkable.'
0:15:04 > 0:15:07She was launched by Adolf Hitler himself.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11By 1943, she was positioned in a Norwegian Fjord,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14a potent threat to Allied shipping.
0:15:17 > 0:15:18To take on the Tirpitz,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22the Navy rushed the X-Craft into production.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26The crews took enormous risks in these experimental mini subs,
0:15:26 > 0:15:30but they managed to release explosive charges
0:15:30 > 0:15:31under the hull of the Tirpitz.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36And as a result, the ship is so badly damaged,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40it's effectively the end of her contribution to the Nazi war effort.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43The Tirpitz was crippled by the X-Craft
0:15:43 > 0:15:46and the fjord became her tomb.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Bombers finished her off.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52'The shadow of Nazi conquest shrinks from the north.'
0:15:55 > 0:15:57These wrecks at Aberlady Bay
0:15:57 > 0:16:00are X-Craft used to train more crews after the success
0:16:00 > 0:16:02against Tirpitz.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05I'm going to meet a veteran submariner
0:16:05 > 0:16:08who tested these next-generation machines.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15Bill Morrison was just 19-years-old
0:16:15 > 0:16:18when he first squeezed into a midget submarine.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21When you got down into it and couldn't stand upright,
0:16:21 > 0:16:25and had to bend-up double and almost crawl about,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28it was rather frightening, but exciting, nevertheless.
0:16:28 > 0:16:34You just felt you were working in a broom cupboard under the stairs,
0:16:34 > 0:16:36everything was very close at hand,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39and you didn't have too much time to think about anything,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42just got on with your job and did it to the best of your ability.
0:16:42 > 0:16:47Bill Morrison is modest about his remarkable heroics,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49but it's a miracle he's here.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53Bill made a terrifying escape from an X-Craft,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56that earned him a place in the record books.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59200 feet underwater, he fought for his life.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04We were doing diving trials,
0:17:04 > 0:17:06and all the time we were doing this,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10there was a boom defence vessel also operating in Loch Striven,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13and about 11 o'clock, we'd come up to a depth
0:17:13 > 0:17:16of about 40 or 30 feet,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19and at the same time, there was a terrible grating noise,
0:17:19 > 0:17:21and this grating noise was us,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24we had come up underneath the keel of the boom defence vessel,
0:17:24 > 0:17:28and then, at this million-to-one chance,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32she had finished her job, decided to start up her engines,
0:17:32 > 0:17:33and she started up her engines,
0:17:33 > 0:17:37and the propeller ripped a huge hole in our pressure hull,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40and a column of water about 12 inches broad
0:17:40 > 0:17:42came pouring into the control room.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44WATER GUSHES
0:17:44 > 0:17:47And ERA Swatten,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50he stuck his head and shoulders into the escape tube chamber with me,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53and was trying to force open the hatch, but couldn't,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55and I was breathing the last of the air
0:17:55 > 0:17:58in the corner of the escape chamber,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01which had, by this time, been compressed to the depth we were at,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03which was about 35 fathoms.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05I was breathing my last.
0:18:07 > 0:18:08Suddenly, the boat righted itself
0:18:08 > 0:18:12and the hatch flew open,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15and we both shot up, we were both jammed in the hatch,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17we were both stuck,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20so I extricated myself and pushed him out,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23and then, the last thing I remember was coming up,
0:18:23 > 0:18:24knowing I was rising,
0:18:24 > 0:18:26trying to hold my breath, but the water was...
0:18:26 > 0:18:28Bubbles were pouring out of my mouth,
0:18:28 > 0:18:30and that's the last I remember.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38Bill was picked up by the boat that hit his X-Craft.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44His unaided escape from a submarine over 200 feet underwater,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47is still the only one on record.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Three of Bill's crew died that day
0:18:50 > 0:18:52in March 1945.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57After the war, their job done,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59the X-Craft were decommissioned.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03Once so vital, now scrap metal.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06Their final battle was with the RAF,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09in target practice, here at Aberlady Bay...
0:19:11 > 0:19:13..their secrets sinking into the sand
0:19:13 > 0:19:15with every bomb blast.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25So, Bill, how does it make you feel,
0:19:25 > 0:19:29thinking about those two XT craft lying forgotten on that beach in Aberlady?
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Yes, it's a pity that people don't know enough about them
0:19:32 > 0:19:35and why they are there and what they are,
0:19:35 > 0:19:39because they did fulfil a very important part during the war.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44It's nice that there's still something of them to be seen and remembered.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56We all like to leave our mark on the beach.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01Some have left a lasting impression which you can't miss at Dungeness.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05MUSIC: "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + The Machine
0:20:05 > 0:20:07All sorts of odd structures have sprouted up
0:20:07 > 0:20:09from the pebbles over the years.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Within a stone's throw of the nuclear power plant
0:20:13 > 0:20:18lie relics from the early railways that found a new lease of life.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22When times were hard in the 1920s,
0:20:22 > 0:20:27old train carriages were converted into compact holiday homes.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31And they're still standing small on the shingle.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Looks like this one's had a few mod cons attached.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40- Hello, Paddy.- Hello there.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42This is very Robinson Crusoe.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44- Welcome aboard.- Thank you.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46Come through, please.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50So here we are in the railway carriage.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53All aboard, the train now leaving platform Dungeness!
0:20:53 > 0:20:55- It's fantastic. - That's correct. yeah.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58There may be a small delay of 120 years.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02How much do you know about this original railway carriage?
0:21:02 > 0:21:06Well, it's an 1880s non-smoking first-class Pullman from the New Cross line.
0:21:06 > 0:21:07So, once upon a time,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11- this was chuntering through suburban London.- Absolutely.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15What's it like living in a railway carriage on one of the biggest beaches in Britain?
0:21:15 > 0:21:20Well, it's very freeing because we look out in the widescreen style
0:21:20 > 0:21:25at an ever-evolving landscape of clouds and plants and flora,
0:21:25 > 0:21:29and we have a fantastic lilac time.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33They call it 'the hum' here where there's a pinkish light
0:21:33 > 0:21:37that interferes with the light that's bounced up from the stones.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40You never get used to that. That is beautiful.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42You are very exposed here, aren't you?
0:21:42 > 0:21:43I mean, the next bit of land is France.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47- It is.- And there's nothing to interrupt the wind, the gales,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49that come charging out of the English Channel?
0:21:49 > 0:21:53That's right. Well, you know, you want to feel that you exist within a landscape,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55not simply glimpsing it on the way by.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57This otherworldly view
0:21:57 > 0:22:01is tailor-made for an artist like Paddy.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07The secret life of the beach inspires his paintings.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Today, the paintbrushes have been put aside.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19He's about to discover if his latest lino print will make the grade.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23And now, the thing you never get bored of, because anticipation...
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Do you still get a thrill when you lift to see if it works out?
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Every time because you don't want to waste the paper.
0:22:31 > 0:22:32- You love the paper.- Yeah.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34So here we go.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36Paddy, that's fantastic.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Not totally perfect, but close.
0:22:39 > 0:22:46This seems to me to be a definitive Dungeness image of the shack,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49- the windblown shack about to collapse.- Absolutely.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58These sheds are a kind of witness to the passage of time,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02fishing families, the way that the beach takes things back.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07I like to see marks of human endeavour.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09And there are no boundaries,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11or there don't seem to be any boundaries here.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13There are very few fences.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16You can all wander at will across this vast open space.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18It is a beach and a beach is for people,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22so you have a kind of notional boundary of someone's right to privacy,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25but the rest of the beach is yours to wander upon.
0:23:31 > 0:23:37Work, rest and play are all part of Britain's beach life.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Whether you want to lounge on the sand
0:23:49 > 0:23:53or explore its secrets.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Beaches are where we come to feel the coast,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58feel the ocean between our toes,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01and listen to stories that go back billions of years -
0:24:01 > 0:24:03our island stories.
0:24:08 > 0:24:16Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd