0:00:07 > 0:00:10Coast is home.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15We're back to explore the most endlessly fascinating shoreline
0:00:15 > 0:00:17in the world.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19Our own.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26The quest to discover surprising secret stories
0:00:26 > 0:00:29from around the British Isles continues.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36This is Coast.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04We're about to embark on a voyage of discovery.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12Our destinations are the glorious islands of the British Isles.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Jewels set in spectacular seas
0:01:17 > 0:01:20with a treasure trove of secrets in store.
0:01:23 > 0:01:30This is an epic adventure to explore the mysteries of the Isles.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39We'll journey far into the North
0:01:39 > 0:01:40where Neil is intrigued
0:01:40 > 0:01:45by the curious case of the death of Lord Kitchener.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48His face was instantly recognisable.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51He was the poster boy of Army recruitment
0:01:51 > 0:01:52during the First World War.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56He arrived here in Scapa Flow on 5th June 1916.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58A few hours later, he was dead.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03In the South, England's biggest island beckons.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07It's a mystery how these needles of chalk
0:02:07 > 0:02:11on the Isle of Wight have hung on so long.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Coast newcomer Andy Torbet is scaling new heights
0:02:15 > 0:02:18to solve a geological puzzle.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21This rock face represents about one million years,
0:02:21 > 0:02:25so, for every metre I go up, that's about 30,000 years.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29As we head way out west in Scotland,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33our voyage of exploration takes Tessa on a mission
0:02:33 > 0:02:36to see a magical light in the sky.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41Will sunset reveal the mysterious green ray?
0:02:44 > 0:02:50My own magical mystery tour starts here on Orkney.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55Orkney is actually a collection of 70 islands.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00The harbour at Stromness has been a settlement
0:03:00 > 0:03:02since the time of the Vikings.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08The sea was the highway the islanders needed to survive.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13Stromness was once a jumping off point for global adventure.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16The town was connected to the wider world
0:03:16 > 0:03:20by mighty sailing ships stopping over in the port.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24If only we could've been here in the great days of sail.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Well, how about that?
0:03:26 > 0:03:30I'm hoping to hitch a lift on an island-hopping ride.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Every year, a fleet of tall ships
0:03:33 > 0:03:36races around the harbours of the globe
0:03:36 > 0:03:38recreating historic trade routes.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42This year, they're passing through the Northern Isles of Scotland.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45The community here was transformed by the tall ships.
0:03:45 > 0:03:51They brought wealth, but they also took men away.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54It's a classic dilemma for all small isles.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56When the wider world comes knocking,
0:03:56 > 0:03:58is the attraction of island life strong enough
0:03:58 > 0:04:01to keep communities together?
0:04:01 > 0:04:04- Permission to board, captain. - Welcome aboard.- Thank you.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08To explore the effect these vessels had on the islanders,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10I'm signing on as a crew hand
0:04:10 > 0:04:13aboard the Norwegian tall ship, Sorlandet.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16My destination is Shetland
0:04:16 > 0:04:20but I'm planning to stop off at tiny Fair Isle.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24It barely registers on the map, but the community there thrives,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28even though many other Scottish isles have been abandoned.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33It's a mystery how those on Fair Isle manage to hang on.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36I wanted to discover the secrets of their success.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42With a favourable wind, we'll get to Fair Isle within two days.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48We're under motor power now,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52but soon it'll be all hands on deck to unfurl the 27 sails.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04The islands of Orkney are disappearing below the horizon.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07I'm just putting myself in the shoes of the islanders
0:05:07 > 0:05:14who boarded ships just like this to sail to new lives in faraway lands.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17It must have been hugely exciting.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20But their excitement was tempered
0:05:20 > 0:05:24by the prospect of hard graft and so is mine.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29They've just taught me how to coil a rope,
0:05:29 > 0:05:30which is actually quite simple.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34It would be if you were standing on your kitchen floor at home.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37This floor is moving around all over the place.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43Then, before we've really got going, apparently, it's time for bed.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47The ship runs on shift work and I'm on an early.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53But sleep doesn't come easily when the boat is lurching
0:05:53 > 0:05:56and there's only a few hours of darkness.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03It's four o'clock in the morning and I've just got out of my bunk.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05I'm on the four to eight watch. I've got to get up on deck.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Boat is going all over the place.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11I think they put all the sails up in the night.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16Like sailors of old, I'm keeping a log, a video diary of my voyage.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19We're far out to sea.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24We've been blown along under a rig full of sails. Look at this.
0:06:27 > 0:06:28What a sight.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34This is what square rigging looks like,
0:06:34 > 0:06:39under a lot of sail out in the North Atlantic.
0:06:39 > 0:06:40Pretty impressive.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44There's precious little time to take in the view.
0:06:44 > 0:06:51Bad weather is blowing in and we've got to crack on towards Fair Isle.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Mind your footing, mind your footing, people sleeping below.
0:06:56 > 0:07:02While the ship swings into action, the captain calmly plots our route,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04heading for a small speck of land.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09Fair Isle looks like a tiny rock in the middle of the ocean
0:07:09 > 0:07:10completely on its own.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Why do you want to take the ship to Fair Isle?
0:07:13 > 0:07:16There is barter with the inhabitants of Fair Isle.
0:07:16 > 0:07:17Barter?
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Yes, where you trade things that you have for things that they have.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24They used to do this with the ships in the old days.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28They trade their woollen mittens for fish hooks,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30oars and things like that.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32What have you brought from Norway
0:07:32 > 0:07:34to trade with the inhabitants of Fair Isle?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37We've bought some goat cheese, some brown, Norwegian goat cheese.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42OK. Do you think they'll like that? Do you know they like goats cheese?
0:07:42 > 0:07:44I think it remains to be found out.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49The only issue we have now, is if the seas pick up too much,
0:07:49 > 0:07:53we'll have an issue with anchoring at Fair Isle.
0:07:55 > 0:08:01This tall ship is too big to get into the tiny harbour on Fair Isle.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06Instead, we're planning to drop anchor offshore.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10the bad weather could scupper that plan.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19I've just come off watch
0:08:19 > 0:08:23and Fair Isle is just off the ship's rail.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27It's the most remote inhabited island in the British Archipelago
0:08:27 > 0:08:31and I've been wanting to set foot on it for most of my life.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Just seeing it is exciting,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36but we don't know yet whether we're going to be able to go ashore
0:08:36 > 0:08:39because there's a strong wind and a big swell.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42We're just going to have to wait and see.
0:08:44 > 0:08:45Weather permitting,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49I'm hoping to meet the small community here on Fair Isle
0:08:49 > 0:08:53to discover how they've kept going when other isles were abandoned.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57It's just one of the marvellous mysteries to explore
0:08:57 > 0:08:59in the Scottish islands.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Shrouded in cloaks of sea mist,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14the Western Isles can seem like a shadowy, secret world.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18Fertile territory for the making of myths.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24Spectacular sights and tall tales
0:09:24 > 0:09:30captivated a new breed of tourists around 150 years ago.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35They departed from new gateways to adventure, like here at Largs.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Following in the footsteps of Victorian travellers,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44Tessa's searching out the truth of an island tale
0:09:44 > 0:09:47that seems much stranger than fiction.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50In the late 1800s,
0:09:50 > 0:09:55the sleepy town of Largs was a thriving tourist destination.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59The golden ticket for travel hungry adventurers of the Victorian age,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02was a grand tour of the Western Isles.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04The new craze for paddle-steamer voyages
0:10:04 > 0:10:07drew people here from far and wide,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11especially those obsessed with a scientific sense of discovery.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14One such traveller was French author Jules Verne,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17a founding father of science fiction.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20In 1879, Verne, in search of new wonders,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22travelled to the Western Isles.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26The man who wrote Around The World In 80 Days
0:10:26 > 0:10:28and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
0:10:28 > 0:10:33was inspired here to write a book about a natural phenomenon.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Part fact, part fiction.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39The mysterious and elusive green ray.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44In the book, Jules Verne describes a fleeting green flash of light
0:10:44 > 0:10:48that reveals itself just as the sun sets.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50He called it Le Rayon Vert,
0:10:50 > 0:10:54meaning the green ray, more commonly known as the green flash.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02The novel tells the story of a young woman, Helena,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05who, having read of the green ray,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08sets off on a voyage to the Western Isles
0:11:08 > 0:11:10to try and see it herself.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Legend tells that the green ray destroys illusions
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and will allow her to find true love.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Joining me as I begin my voyage into the islands, is Ian Thompson,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25who has studied Verne's book.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30Does the green ray really exist? Will we be able to see it?
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Yes, the phenomenon certainly exists.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34We don't know that Verne himself witnessed it.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37There's nothing in the correspondence or diaries
0:11:37 > 0:11:42to prove that, but it certainly does exist and has been witnessed,
0:11:42 > 0:11:47photographed and I have here an example where we see,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51just for a few seconds, this green flash or green ray.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53That was what Verne's heroine was after.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56And it's what I'm after too.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Like both Jules Verne and his heroine, Helena,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05I'm boarding a steamer to travel to the Western Isles.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19The green ray is very interesting in Verne's huge output,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22because it's the one novel that follows exactly
0:12:22 > 0:12:26his own travel and his travels in Scotland.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30He adored all the myths and legends and history of Scotland
0:12:30 > 0:12:34and he regarded it as more or less his ancestral home.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Why, in particular, are the Western Isles a good place
0:12:38 > 0:12:40for seeing this green flash phenomenon?
0:12:40 > 0:12:42The western coast of the Western Isles
0:12:42 > 0:12:48offered a completely unblocked view of the horizon and sunset.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54So, in other words, here, where we are right now, is no good.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56You can't see over the horizon.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59It's clearly not an easy phenomenon to capture.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02It does require very specific atmospheric conditions.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04What do you think our chances are?
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Pretty slim.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12To have any hope, I need to push on to the open sea.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17Like Helena, I'm determined to witness the green flash.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Has anybody else here seen it though?
0:13:19 > 0:13:24- I wonder, Sir, if you've ever heard of the green ray.- I haven't, no.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27- I don't suppose you know anything about the green flash, do you?- No.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29I haven't, I'm sorry, I don't.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34- Have you ever heard of the green flash?- Oh, yes, I have.- Have you?
0:13:34 > 0:13:36In fact, I've seen the green flash.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Just as the sun goes down, just as it disappears over the horizon,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42there's a green flash.
0:13:42 > 0:13:43It's quite amazing to see it.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48Reassured, I continue heading west. It's a race against the sun.
0:13:54 > 0:13:55Back in Verne's day,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58the fashionable sets in London, Paris and Berlin
0:13:58 > 0:14:02saw the Western Isles as the last wilderness of Europe.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08It's clear that Verne too was captivated by this place.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14As he made his way to the lochs and out to the islands,
0:14:14 > 0:14:19natural wonders like the Corryvreckan Whirlpool fuelled his imagination,
0:14:19 > 0:14:25as did the imposing island of Staffa and the wondrous Fingal's Cave.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33With sunset approaching, the paddle steamer leaves me behind.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38I've arrived at the island where Verne's heroine got her chance
0:14:38 > 0:14:40to see the green flash.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44But she had better luck than me.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48I've got a view of the horizon, but the clouds have closed in.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53The sun's nowhere to be seen, the elements are against me.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57But I was brought up in Scotland, so I am not daft enough
0:14:57 > 0:15:01to have left the green flash to chance. I've got a Plan B.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03'I am meeting Johannes Courtial,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06'who is giving me my very own green flash demonstration.'
0:15:06 > 0:15:10How does a green flash actually work?
0:15:10 > 0:15:12There's the sun,
0:15:12 > 0:15:18and when it's setting, the light from the sun reaches the observer
0:15:18 > 0:15:22by entering the atmosphere, where it gets bent.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24when the sun sets on the horizon,
0:15:24 > 0:15:29the light goes through a bit of atmosphere a bit like a prism.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32- I happen to have one here.- So if the atmosphere is like a prism,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35what effect does that have on the light?
0:15:35 > 0:15:37What this does is it splits the sun's light
0:15:37 > 0:15:40into, effectively, a rainbow.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44The red bit is at the bottom, the blue bit is at the top,
0:15:44 > 0:15:47and as the sun sets below the horizon,
0:15:47 > 0:15:48this rainbow disappears.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52The blue is at the end, so that would set last,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55but the green flashes green and not blue,
0:15:55 > 0:15:57and that's because blue light is scattered by the atmosphere.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59This is why the sky is blue,
0:15:59 > 0:16:00and that's why, in this rainbow,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04blue is missing and then the top colour is green.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07The last colour that is disappearing below the horizon is a bit of green.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10- When that sets, that's the green flash.- Eureka!
0:16:10 > 0:16:15- Can you re-create the green flash here?- Well, we'll do our best.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19We have all we need, I think. We have a fish tank with angled sides.
0:16:19 > 0:16:20This will act like a prism.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23'To make the tank mimic the bending power
0:16:23 > 0:16:26'of the Earth's atmosphere, we fill it with water.'
0:16:28 > 0:16:32'Add powder to scatter the light, and finally a torch, our sun.'
0:16:34 > 0:16:37I can see some form of rainbow here.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41I do see it actually, a kind of blue-y green rim.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44But I thought that that green flash was meant to be at the top,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47the last bit of the sun to disappear, not on the right-hand side.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50That's because our atmosphere is standing on its side.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51This way is up.
0:16:53 > 0:16:54'With a little magic touch,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58'it starts to look a lot more like the setting sun,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01'complete with mysterious green flash.'
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Given what we've been up against, I think you've worked wonders.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08This is amazing. I actually understand it.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11'And though I may have cheated a little,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15'with the help of a German scientist and a plastic fish tank,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18'I've joined the lucky few to have seen
0:17:18 > 0:17:21'the rare and mysterious green flash.'
0:17:31 > 0:17:35I'm sailing aboard the Norwegian tall ship Sorlandet
0:17:35 > 0:17:40on a voyage between the northern isles of Scotland.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44We've arrived at Fair Isle, a wonderfully remote community.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48I've wanted to come here for years,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52since I first heard about it as a boy.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58But tall ships are too big for Fair Isle's tiny harbour,
0:17:58 > 0:18:02so we need to find calmer water to launch a boat.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07We seem to be sailing to and fro among the shore of Fair Isle.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10- Is there a problem?- In the north end there where the other ships are,
0:18:10 > 0:18:14there's a bit of swell, so now we're at the south end of the island,
0:18:14 > 0:18:19we're going to pass it, turn the ship around, come back,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21and see if we can anchor just about where we are now
0:18:21 > 0:18:22and a little bit closer to shore.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25And it ought to be safe.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30We are hoping to drop anchor off this remarkable island,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33still home to about 70 people.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38A tiny stepping stone between Orkney and Shetland,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Fair Isle is surrounded by an ocean of sea.
0:18:42 > 0:18:453,000 miles over there is Canada,
0:18:45 > 0:18:50and hundreds of miles that direction is Norway and mainland Europe.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Fair Isle is sat in one of the biggest shipping lanes in the world.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Arriving by trading ship helped solve the mystery
0:18:58 > 0:19:05of how small island communities used to support themselves out here.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Whenever the people on the island saw a sailing ship coming past,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11they would try and sail out or row out to meet it.
0:19:11 > 0:19:17'Today, we'll try and meet them, and barter with the islanders.'
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Step in quickly.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25'But getting off a big ship isn't easy.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28'These are tense moments.'
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Give us a line.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53That was one of the most exciting embarkation moments
0:19:53 > 0:19:55I've ever had in my life.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59We are now going to head for the shore through a pretty impressive swell.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Fair Isle looks pretty remote on a map,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06but it feels more remote once you've arrived at it.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Finally, after years of anticipation,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13I get to set foot on Fair Isle.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16This is a big moment for me. I feel quite emotional about it.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20ISLANDERS CHEER
0:20:23 > 0:20:24Thank you! Thank you!
0:20:24 > 0:20:28Thank you very much. That's a very nice welcome indeed.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33'In the past, islanders would exchange fresh goods
0:20:33 > 0:20:35'and their famous knitwear for brandy, tea,
0:20:35 > 0:20:40'flour and other essentials from the trading ships.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44'They've been frantically knitting fishermen's hats,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46'which they hope to barter.'
0:20:46 > 0:20:51This is the famous Norwegian brown cheese.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55This is Linie Aquavit.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57< Over there, over there.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02I think we'll have to open that tonight for all the knitters first.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04'It's easy to see this as a bit of fun,
0:21:04 > 0:21:08'but exchanges like this happened for hundreds of years,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11'keeping island communities alive.'
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Fantastic! CROWD CHEERS
0:21:15 > 0:21:17'Barter complete.'
0:21:17 > 0:21:22I've just an hour or so left to explore this fascinating island.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28There's a mystery at the heart of this community that intrigues me.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32What made them stay when life became difficult?
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Not so long ago it was touch and go here on Fair Isle.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40I've got an article here from the Shetland Times of 1956.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43The really dramatic passage in this article says,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46"The report indicates that by this summer,
0:21:46 > 0:21:50"it is possible that the island will reach the point of no return
0:21:50 > 0:21:53"as far as manning essential services is concerned,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57"so that evacuation will become inevitable."
0:21:57 > 0:22:04In 1956 a film crew came to capture the dying days of Fair Isle.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08The tall ships had gone. The island was increasingly isolated.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12Young men were forced to leave to find wives.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15The population was just 47.
0:22:15 > 0:22:21But the proposed evacuation never materialised.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24So how did Fair Isle come back from the brink?
0:22:24 > 0:22:29I'm meeting Anne Sinclair to share memories of life back then.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Look at that.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35- So that's the lighthouse just down there.- Yeah.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Here's some Fair Isle knitting patterns.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42- They haven't changed at all, have they?- No. It's called traditional.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45And that, I think, is my Auntie Molly's hands.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47You can recognise your aunt's hands?
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Yep. They're the same as mine.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54Anne's parents were from Fair Isle, but like many others, they'd left.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59When the call came to help save the island the family returned.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02- Which year did you come back?- '57.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06- You came back at the most difficult time in the island's history?- Yes.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Dad especially was really quite keen to come back here.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12They did say if young farmers didn't come they'd evacuate Fair Isle,
0:23:12 > 0:23:17so that was the final thing, and Dad said, "Right. Let's go."
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Why did Fair Isle survive as a community
0:23:21 > 0:23:25when so many islands off the north coast of Scotland
0:23:25 > 0:23:29became depopulated and abandoned?
0:23:29 > 0:23:31I think it sheer determination to a certain extent.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35But I think a lot of people saw this was a good way to live,
0:23:35 > 0:23:40and there were a lot of young families that came back
0:23:40 > 0:23:43and it stayed fairly young, and I think that's important.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45A lot of people have the idea,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47"Oh, Fair Isle, get away from it all.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49"It'll be like a magic place."
0:23:49 > 0:23:52And in fact, we're all human beings same as everywhere else.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56It's a magical place but it won't solve anybody's problems.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58They won't get away from anything.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Right now, I've got to get back to the tall ship waiting for me
0:24:01 > 0:24:06offshore to continue my magical mystery tour towards Shetland.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10I'm leaving Anne with a DVD of memories
0:24:10 > 0:24:12in exchange for a Fair Isle cap.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15Right. Now you put it to the side.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Ah, that's warm!
0:24:17 > 0:24:19A typical Fair Isle fisherman.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22I'm not tough enough to be a Fair Isle fisherman.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27Few are fortunate enough to live in the Northern Isles,
0:24:27 > 0:24:31so they seem remote to many of us.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34But if you're looking for uncharted territory, surprisingly,
0:24:34 > 0:24:40you can find it a stone's throw from the busy south coast of England.
0:24:40 > 0:24:41On the Isle of Wight.
0:24:43 > 0:24:49A short hop from the mainland, this is a popular holiday destination.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52It's England's biggest island,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55but you'd think tourists would have explored every inch.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58Well, not quite every inch.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Zoologist and ex-soldier Andy Torbet
0:25:05 > 0:25:08is about to have an adventure on rocks
0:25:08 > 0:25:10where most would fear to tread.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16The Isle of Wight
0:25:16 > 0:25:19is a great location to explore geology and action.
0:25:19 > 0:25:25The strut of different rock types are exposed for all to see, untouched.
0:25:25 > 0:25:31But, there's one part of this island where the geology remains a mystery.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36Geologists have been pouring over the Isle of Wight for hundreds of years,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39but there's one bit they've never been able to reach.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44This is the geological map of the UK,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47where the different colours represent different rocks.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52If we zoom into the Isle of Wight, you'll see this thin, light green band represents the chalk,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56but if we zoom in even closer,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59you'll see The Needles aren't coloured in,
0:25:59 > 0:26:03and that's because geologists haven't been able to get out there and take a sample.
0:26:03 > 0:26:04So they've asked me to help.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16There's no doubt it's chalk, but what sort of chalk?
0:26:16 > 0:26:19And why has it resisted the sea
0:26:19 > 0:26:21when the surrounding chalk crumbled away long ago?
0:26:24 > 0:26:29To find out, the geologists need a sample from the point of The Needle,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32chalk that's not contaminated with the sea gunge around the base.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38There are very few records of this needle ever being climbed.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41And up close, I can see why.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46I'm an experienced climber but I've never tried to scale
0:26:46 > 0:26:49a chalk stack in the middle of the sea.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52I need to enlist a buddy with some local knowledge
0:26:52 > 0:26:53for a bit of training.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56It's getting that first six feet.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Dave Talbot has climbed on chalk before.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02It poses a unique challenge.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Crumbly chalk is made up of the bodies of tiny sea creatures,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10built up on the seabed over millions of years.
0:27:11 > 0:27:17It's very old and not very stable. Bits break off all the time.
0:27:19 > 0:27:20This is a typical section of chalk.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24You can see things like this that look really loose.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26I don't know quite how... Yeah, I mean, that's...
0:27:26 > 0:27:28That's incredibly loose.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Even sections like this that appear more solid,
0:27:30 > 0:27:32you can get kind of...
0:27:32 > 0:27:34If you get your hand on as if you were climbing, you can kind of...
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Just crumbles away. It's really unpredictable.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41Some of the sections can be quite solid but other bits really loose.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44We don't know what we are going to encounter when climbing it.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Even these spikes driven into the rock can't be relied on
0:27:46 > 0:27:48in the event of a slip.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53It's not solid. Chalk's not solid.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55That's what were doing, just trying not to fall off.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00And if this glorious weather holds out,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03we'll be attempting the climb tomorrow.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05We're going to have to keep our wits about us.
0:28:05 > 0:28:06You've seen what that chalk's like.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09It's going to be crumbly, flaky, unpredictable
0:28:09 > 0:28:11and slippery at the bottom.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13It's going to be like climbing cheese.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17Hanging out on that stuff over sea is going to be quite interesting.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28The next morning, we're all kitted up and ready to go.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30- Nice bit of weather this morning. - A little bit of breeze.
0:28:33 > 0:28:34Morning, guys.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37And we've been joined by Pete Hopson and Andy Farnt,
0:28:37 > 0:28:41two scientists from the British Geological Survey.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Although the water looks calm, the swell is a worry.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57The wind's picked up so the swell's picked up.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02Getting on the rock is going to be much harder than we thought.
0:29:14 > 0:29:19Safely off and kitted up, Dave nominated me to lead the climb.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26We need a pure sample of chalk from the summit to work out
0:29:26 > 0:29:28why this pinnacle has defied the sea for so long.
0:29:37 > 0:29:38Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44Where is my next handhold?
0:29:44 > 0:29:46Hello?
0:29:48 > 0:29:50You just can't trust anything you're doing.
0:29:50 > 0:29:51That's what I'm talking about.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55It's fragile, it's crumbly, it's unpredictable,
0:29:55 > 0:29:59and every time you pull on a hold or step up your heart's in your mouth.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02But it's an amazing place to be, especially on a day like today,
0:30:02 > 0:30:04and it might not be the safest place,
0:30:04 > 0:30:07but it's pretty spectacular.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21The geologists tell me that from the sea line, the top,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24this rock face represents about a million years,
0:30:24 > 0:30:29so for every metre I go up, that's about 30,000 years.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38Whoa. Hello?!
0:30:39 > 0:30:42CHALK SPLASHES IN SEA
0:30:56 > 0:30:57That's a bit easier.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03Done it. Champion. Still in one piece.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08As we're climbing for the British Geological Survey,
0:31:08 > 0:31:12we're able to take a sample of chalk away.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14It's not something we'd be doing otherwise.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20- Nice one, well done.- Beautiful, mate.- Good effort. Cheers, buddy.
0:31:20 > 0:31:25That was awesome. It's a bizarre way to climb. It's quite intimidating.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27- We've got to figure out how to get down now.- Yeah.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30We'll get the rock samples the guys need,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33get ourselves down and that will be mission accomplished.
0:31:39 > 0:31:40Cool.
0:31:49 > 0:31:55Our chalk sample will need detailed analysis at the lab.
0:31:55 > 0:31:56Nice bit of chalk.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01But sample in hand, hopefully we can clear up one mystery right now.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05Why The Needles lasted so long.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Is the chalk harder than the surrounding coast?
0:32:08 > 0:32:14- We've got a way to find out. - This is a very simple field test.
0:32:14 > 0:32:15It's called a Schmidt hammer.
0:32:15 > 0:32:20This device will get a number to the hardness of our sample.
0:32:20 > 0:32:25There's the bang. Now we have a reading. This one's 22.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28That's quite hard for chalk.
0:32:28 > 0:32:34Now we need to compare it with the chalk the geologists have brought along from the mainland.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38It's barely reading ten on here,
0:32:38 > 0:32:42which is significantly lower than the one from The Needle.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45This is much, much harder.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48Why is the needles chalk much harder than normal chalk?
0:32:48 > 0:32:55This chalk was moved by Earth forces and it was bent over
0:32:55 > 0:32:59until it was nearly vertical. The compression on that chalk
0:32:59 > 0:33:02has created quite a lot of internal pressure.
0:33:02 > 0:33:08The little pore spaces between the individual grains have been
0:33:08 > 0:33:13filled with calcite minerals because of that pressure on the rock
0:33:13 > 0:33:17and that is what's made it significantly harder than
0:33:17 > 0:33:20other samples of chalk that we see around the South of England.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23So all the information we brought back today
0:33:23 > 0:33:24will finish the map?
0:33:24 > 0:33:29Now we can move forward and finally print the new geological map.
0:33:33 > 0:33:39With The Needles on the map, there's one mystery less on our isles.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42But still plenty more to explore.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49I'm on an island-hopping adventure
0:33:49 > 0:33:53aboard a tall ship in the waters of northern Scotland.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57Now it's all hands on deck.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59when the weather's against you,
0:33:59 > 0:34:05it takes every able body to wrestle with the wild Atlantic.
0:34:10 > 0:34:15I'm en route for Shetland, following in the wake of islanders
0:34:15 > 0:34:20who left a familiar life on land for the mysteries of the sea.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24To find out what lay in store, like them,
0:34:24 > 0:34:27I'm travelling 19th-century style.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31Back then, ships like this carried island men to adventure
0:34:31 > 0:34:34across the sea, but it wasn't a free ride.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37They often had to work their passage.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39I think I better do the same.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43At sea, a boat becomes an island in itself.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47Everyone needs to pull together and tow the line.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53While some jobs are mundane, others are exhilarating.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57I'm about to have the biggest adventure you can have
0:34:57 > 0:34:59on a tall ship, which is going up in the rigging.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01I've got a camera mounted on my nut,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04and the man whose taking me up is David,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07who has a lifetime's experience on sailing ships.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10- David, take me up.- If you go first.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18Here we go.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20This is...
0:35:20 > 0:35:23Already the deck is receding below me.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28Whoa, gosh, the wind is strong.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31The wind is one third stronger up here.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37The ship's moving all over the place. This is really difficult.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42- Is this where I clip on?- Yes, please. On the wire itself.
0:35:42 > 0:35:48- That's it.- Clip done. This is the moment. Up and over the edge.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Looming out over the deck.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55Arms out straight. Push with your feet.
0:35:57 > 0:36:02One foot on the platform, two feet on the platform. I'm up.
0:36:02 > 0:36:09Expletive deleted. Oh, man. What a sight. What a sight.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21To be up in the top of the rigging of a tall ship looking out across
0:36:22 > 0:36:28the ocean, the sails billowing with wind, totally timeless moment.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34This is exactly what seafarers for hundreds of years have seen.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43The crew of these mighty vessels witnessed extraordinary sights,
0:36:43 > 0:36:47and no doubt spun some tall tales too.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53Plying their trade around the Scottish islands,
0:36:53 > 0:36:57the seafarers didn't just transport goods, they carried stories,
0:36:57 > 0:37:03passed from isle to isle, generation to generation.
0:37:03 > 0:37:10One of the most enduring tells of a mysterious creature, the selkie.
0:37:10 > 0:37:19The Song Of The Selkie captivates one of our most legendary folk artists, June Tabor.
0:37:19 > 0:37:25I'm a singer of songs that tell good stories.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27And one of the great,
0:37:27 > 0:37:31truly great narrative ballads of these islands,
0:37:31 > 0:37:33concerns a seal.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39The great selkie of Sule Skerry.
0:37:39 > 0:37:44# It happened on a certain day
0:37:44 > 0:37:48# As this fair maid lay fast asleep
0:37:50 > 0:37:55# In and came a grey selkie
0:37:55 > 0:38:01# Sat him down at her bare feet. #
0:38:04 > 0:38:08A selkie... Well, it's a seal in many parts of the Western Isles.
0:38:08 > 0:38:13But it's also... a magical, mystical being,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17that uses the form of the seal to travel between
0:38:17 > 0:38:20a land below the waves, to the land of men.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26The seal is a person. Look at those eyes.
0:38:26 > 0:38:31Listen to the cries of the seals. They almost sing.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35You can understand why people thought that there was more to them
0:38:35 > 0:38:38than just an animal presence.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45# And woe alas, this weary fate
0:38:47 > 0:38:52# This weary fate that's laid on me
0:38:52 > 0:38:56# That a man should come from the West of Hoy
0:38:57 > 0:39:03# To father here a child on me. #
0:39:03 > 0:39:09She's been seduced by an otherworldly creature,
0:39:09 > 0:39:13who in the sea is a seal and on the land is man.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17"I'm your child's father." She's horrified.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22What's she going to do? He offers to marry her.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25But she doesn't take him seriously.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29"You can marry who you like. I won't marry you."
0:39:29 > 0:39:35# And she has raised his little wee son
0:39:36 > 0:39:42# For seven years all at her knee
0:39:42 > 0:39:48# And when seven years were past and gone
0:39:48 > 0:39:52# He's come with gold and white money. #
0:39:53 > 0:39:56And then he comes back.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00"Please marry me. I've brought gold, I've brought money."
0:40:00 > 0:40:04She still won't have him. And he prophesies.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09"I'm going to put a gold chain around this child's neck."
0:40:09 > 0:40:12So if he comes back, he'll know it's him.
0:40:12 > 0:40:17"But I'm going to take him away. You, well, you'll marry somebody else."
0:40:17 > 0:40:21"You'll forget me. But he's going to be a gunner."
0:40:24 > 0:40:28And in time as the selkie prophesied, she did marry a gunner.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33And he went out on a May morning,
0:40:33 > 0:40:37and shot two seals.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40A big bull male.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44And a young male, with a gold chain around his neck.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52# Oh, woe alas
0:40:52 > 0:40:55# This weary fate
0:40:55 > 0:40:59# This weary fate
0:40:59 > 0:41:02# That's laid on me
0:41:02 > 0:41:10# And so she sighs and so she cries
0:41:10 > 0:41:16# And her tender heart, it broke in three. #
0:41:19 > 0:41:22And so it was finished.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44This is the most amazing place to be on a tour ship,
0:41:44 > 0:41:51taking the helm with a good wind on the open ocean. An incredible feeling.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53This is a voyage of real highs
0:41:53 > 0:41:56and lows.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58I'm trying to steer a steady course to Shetland.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02It's a responsible job when you're at your wits' end,
0:42:02 > 0:42:07after three days aboard, snatching sleep when you can.
0:42:10 > 0:42:16There's one very odd thing that happens, which is your body clock goes completely peculiar.
0:42:16 > 0:42:23Eh...right now, I have no idea what time of day it is.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27It must be evening, cos I slept for two hours.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30I got out of this bunk. I was sleeping fully clothed, like now.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34Then I ate the meal, which turned out to be supper.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37Getting a bit tired. In fact, I'm now permanently tired.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43But the ship doesn't sleep.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46There's an important tack at midnight.
0:42:46 > 0:42:51Everyone's needed to move the massive sails.
0:42:51 > 0:42:56- Are you ready to do this?- Yeah! - Yeah! Very good.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03It's all gone badly wrong. We've got some of the sails on one side of the ship,
0:43:03 > 0:43:05some on the other. We got caught by the wind.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08Now there's a rush on to try to get the ship straightened out.
0:43:16 > 0:43:21Suddenly, everyone stops. The crew must rethink.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25A palpable air of tension on the deck now.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28Pull it towards me. Pull it towards me.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30Here we go.
0:43:39 > 0:43:45Despite our efforts, the ship did more of a three-point turn than an elegant tack.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49But at least we're back on course for Shetland.
0:43:49 > 0:43:55Tall ships connected the Northern Isles of Scotland to the globe.
0:43:55 > 0:44:00But as well as trade, big boats have also brought tragedy.
0:44:02 > 0:44:07Around a hundred years ago, Scottish waters became a battleground.
0:44:08 > 0:44:15During the First World War, enemy ships stalked these shores.
0:44:17 > 0:44:22To meet the German threat, the Royal Navy headed north to base on Orkney,
0:44:23 > 0:44:28at the sheltered bay of Scapa Flow.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31The Navy's mighty warships went long ago.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34But intrigue lingers in their wake.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40Neil's exploring how the most famous face of the First World War
0:44:40 > 0:44:46came to lose his life here in the most mysterious fashion.
0:44:46 > 0:44:51This is the curious case of the death of Lord Kitchener.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54Our tale begins in the summer of 1916.
0:44:54 > 0:44:59Scapa Flow is awash with ships of the British Grand Fleet,
0:44:59 > 0:45:03the most fearsome instrument of war the world has ever seen.
0:45:03 > 0:45:10On the 5th June, HMS Hampshire is about to slip out for a covert mission to Russia.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13On board is one of Britain's most celebrated men.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17His face was instantly recognisable and nearly 100 years later,
0:45:17 > 0:45:19it still is.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener -
0:45:23 > 0:45:27the poster boy of army recruitment during the First World War.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30When he arrived here in Scapa Flow on 5th June 1916,
0:45:30 > 0:45:35he was suffering from no more than a mild bout of seasickness.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39A few hours later, he was dead, and exactly how he died
0:45:39 > 0:45:42and why puzzles some people even to this day.
0:45:43 > 0:45:49Conspiracy theories surrounding Kitchener's fate swirl around these murky waters.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53Ripples of intrigue remain after the shock of terrible events
0:45:53 > 0:45:55that made grim headlines.
0:45:55 > 0:45:56Look at this.
0:45:56 > 0:46:01Not many people's death would warrant a full front page picture
0:46:01 > 0:46:03of a newspaper in 1916.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07But the nation was amazed and bemused by the loss of Kitchener.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10Somehow, the warship he'd been travelling on
0:46:10 > 0:46:12had sunk in home waters,
0:46:12 > 0:46:15killing over 600 men, including Kitchener.
0:46:15 > 0:46:21To the people, he was a hero, a patriot and a friend.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23They'd heeded his call to war.
0:46:23 > 0:46:28# We don't want to lose you
0:46:28 > 0:46:31# But we think you ought to go...#
0:46:31 > 0:46:34"Your country needs you" was his rallying cry,
0:46:34 > 0:46:37and his country did not disappoint him.
0:46:37 > 0:46:42From 1914 onwards, 2.5 million men answered the call.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45Whole communities, mates from the same factories and towns
0:46:45 > 0:46:49formed the famous Pals battalions.
0:46:49 > 0:46:54By summer 1916, this band of brothers had become Kitchener's new army.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00We were two years in the making and ten minutes in the destroying,
0:47:00 > 0:47:02said one of Kitchener's new army.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06Pals battalions were brutally butchered on the first day
0:47:06 > 0:47:09of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12but Kitchener didn't live to see his men mown down.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15He was dead before the battle could get under way.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18While his soldiers and his country still loved him.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22The nation demanded to know why HMS Hampshire sank,
0:47:22 > 0:47:27as it set out from Orkney with their national hero on board.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31An investigation was conducted to formulate the official answer.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34- How are you doing?- Good to see you.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36I'm meeting historian Nick Hewitt, who's going to give me
0:47:36 > 0:47:40the authorised version of HMS Hampshire's loss
0:47:40 > 0:47:42and Kitchener's death.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45So on 5th June, Kitchener is right here in Scapa Flow.
0:47:45 > 0:47:46He is.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48Is this photographic proof?
0:47:48 > 0:47:51This is the last picture we know of Kitchener leaving the Iron Duke,
0:47:51 > 0:47:54walking along the decks to board the Hampshire.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57Why is Kitchener en route to Russia anyway?
0:47:57 > 0:47:59Russia is on the verge of collapse
0:47:59 > 0:48:02and Kitchener is the face of British military might.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06He's a logical man to send around and put some pep in the Russians.
0:48:06 > 0:48:07So what happens?
0:48:07 > 0:48:09What they're looking to do is very simple,
0:48:09 > 0:48:14to take Kitchener from Scapa Flow to Russia, which is in that direction.
0:48:14 > 0:48:19The problem is, there is what's described as the worst gale of the century.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21The Hampshire sets off from alongside the Iron Duke.
0:48:21 > 0:48:22Into the teeth of the gale.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26The captain sensibly starts to move her closer to the shore
0:48:26 > 0:48:28to try and get some degree of shelter.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32It doesn't help, but it's the right thing to do.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35What they don't know is that off Marwick Head
0:48:35 > 0:48:37there is a small German minefield
0:48:37 > 0:48:41that's been laid secretly by a U-boat the week before,
0:48:41 > 0:48:44and the Hampshire runs straight into one of these mines.
0:48:44 > 0:48:49That's the official account the Government hoped would lay the story to rest
0:48:49 > 0:48:53but some on the islands of Orkney remained uneasy.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57They had witnessed mysterious events on the night of the tragedy.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02We've reached the spot where Kitchener died,
0:49:02 > 0:49:05about a mile and a half offshore.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08The Hampshire lies upside-down on the seabed,
0:49:08 > 0:49:11about 70 metres below my feet.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13The ship sank in minutes.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16Over 600 men perished.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18Despite the terrible storm,
0:49:18 > 0:49:22islanders tried to help survivors struggling to get up cliffs.
0:49:22 > 0:49:28The rescuers felt more men should have been saved, so why weren't they?
0:49:28 > 0:49:31- Well, James.- Hello.- How are you?
0:49:31 > 0:49:33James Sabiston heard strange tales,
0:49:33 > 0:49:36passed down from his grandparents.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39My grandparents and my mother lived here.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42Two survivors managed to get to his grandparents' house
0:49:42 > 0:49:45the night the ship went down.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47I presume everyone was in their beds.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49Yes. They were all in bed.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53I think they came and knocked at the door at two o'clock in the morning.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55And my grandmother went to the door,
0:49:55 > 0:50:00and I think she was a bit worried, wasn't sure if it was a spy
0:50:00 > 0:50:04or something may be coming, but she took 'em in anyway.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07These are the photographs here, and that's one of Dick Simpson.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10He's just a boy.
0:50:10 > 0:50:11Yes, 20.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13And that's Jack Bowman.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14What did he say?
0:50:14 > 0:50:18He said our ship's going down and we want some help.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21There were some more maybe to be saved.
0:50:21 > 0:50:27And so what did your grandparents do once they realised that there was a tragedy?
0:50:27 > 0:50:31My grandfather went to the neighbour and got the men from there.
0:50:31 > 0:50:35They got ropes and they took up three survivors that way.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Before they were stopped by the authorities.
0:50:38 > 0:50:43Your grandfather and the rest were stopped from doing any more of the rescue?
0:50:43 > 0:50:44Oh, yes.
0:50:44 > 0:50:49What is the word on why anyone would stop a rescue?
0:50:49 > 0:50:52That's what makes it so suspicious, I would say.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57You'd think it was something going on somewhere.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00Who do you think the authorities actually were?
0:51:00 > 0:51:02I don't know.
0:51:02 > 0:51:07Whether they were neighbouring authorities or police or who,
0:51:07 > 0:51:09I don't know really who it was.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12James's grandfather never did find out for sure
0:51:12 > 0:51:15who'd stopped the rescue efforts, or why.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23This is the bay where the sailors were struggling to get ashore.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27I'm hoping Tom Muir from the local museum can shed more light
0:51:27 > 0:51:31on the mysterious authorities who prevented the locals from helping.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37There were troops down here, there was an order from the Admiralty
0:51:37 > 0:51:41not to allow civilians down to the shore
0:51:41 > 0:51:44because there might be sensitive papers washed up,
0:51:44 > 0:51:48which they didn't want falling into enemy hands.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50Right. So it's that paranoia stage.
0:51:50 > 0:51:51Very.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54Do you think it's possible that the conditions that night
0:51:54 > 0:51:57were just so appalling that the authorities were right
0:51:57 > 0:52:01in thinking that no-one could help in the water anyway?
0:52:01 > 0:52:03They certainly could have helped.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06The people around here were farmers but they were also fishermen,
0:52:06 > 0:52:09so they knew the tides, they knew where the rafts would come in,
0:52:09 > 0:52:14they knew that life rafts would come in here,
0:52:14 > 0:52:19so when the life rafts did come in, there was nobody there to help.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21There were just smashed against the rocks
0:52:21 > 0:52:27and there was that feeling that if the authorities had allowed them
0:52:27 > 0:52:31to go out and help, the human emotion, the desire
0:52:31 > 0:52:36to go and help them was denied, and that cost lives.
0:52:39 > 0:52:47Sailors Dick Simpson and Jack Bowman were 2 of only 12 survivors.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50Lord Kitchener and the rest of the crew perished.
0:52:54 > 0:52:58The islanders raised money for a memorial to the tragedy,
0:52:58 > 0:53:01but the story would not die.
0:53:01 > 0:53:03The secrecy that scuppered local rescue efforts
0:53:03 > 0:53:06suggested sinister motives to some.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09Was the Government hiding something?
0:53:11 > 0:53:14The people may have loved Lord Kitchener in 1916,
0:53:14 > 0:53:17but many of those in power did not.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21As Secretary of State for War, he was accused of having overseen
0:53:21 > 0:53:24the bungled and disastrous operation at Gallipoli,
0:53:24 > 0:53:28with a cost of 100,000 Allied casualties.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32And the army on the Western front had almost run out of shells at one point
0:53:32 > 0:53:34while Kitchener was in charge of munitions,
0:53:34 > 0:53:37so he had lost some influential friends,
0:53:37 > 0:53:41but had he made some murderous enemies?
0:53:41 > 0:53:44The fame he'd won in South Africa during the Boer War,
0:53:44 > 0:53:48the violence of his death and the fact his body wasn't recovered
0:53:48 > 0:53:50gave rise to conspiracy theories.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56I'm going to run three of them past Nick.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59Firstly, had Kitchener's misconduct in the war,
0:53:59 > 0:54:02so infuriated ministers like Lloyd George
0:54:02 > 0:54:06that his ship was deliberately sent into waters they knew were mined?
0:54:06 > 0:54:08The key thing is they've already fired him.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12In December 1915, he loses the operational control of the army.
0:54:12 > 0:54:14He's got no control over the battlefield.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17There's absolutely no need for the government to have him murdered.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19OK. We can put that one in the bin.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21Absolutely. In it goes.
0:54:21 > 0:54:25This is a particular favourite of mine, without a doubt.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28That Lord Kitchener goes to Russia
0:54:28 > 0:54:31and there, turns himself into a chap called Joseph Stalin.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33There's a moustache thing going on.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36I don't think we should even dignify it with a response.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38It's clearly ridiculous.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41What a shame. What a movie it would make!
0:54:41 > 0:54:44I suppose in some ways this would possibly be the most credible,
0:54:44 > 0:54:48the legendary "spy", Fritz,
0:54:48 > 0:54:51a South African, embittered towards Kitchener particularly,
0:54:51 > 0:54:57and the British in general because his mother and sister died during the Boer War.
0:54:57 > 0:55:01That this man had sworn vengeance and managed to get aboard the Hampshire,
0:55:01 > 0:55:03caused the explosion and lived to tell the tale.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06It's the hardest one to disprove, I'll give you that.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09He wrote a memoir, obviously saying that he did it.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13His claim that he gets on the ship and sabotages the ship
0:55:13 > 0:55:16and swims away and joins a submarine and gets away with it,
0:55:16 > 0:55:19when so many men were drowning in such appalling weather
0:55:19 > 0:55:20is really, really hard to believe.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22I think we have to put Fritz in.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24Done.
0:55:28 > 0:55:33The people of Orkney still live with the loss of HMS Hampshire.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36They tend the cemetery of sailors claimed by the sea.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40Men the locals couldn't save.
0:55:44 > 0:55:49100 years on, what are we to make of the curious case
0:55:49 > 0:55:52of the death of Lord Kitchener?
0:55:52 > 0:55:56I can't help feeling that this sad episode has been hijacked
0:55:56 > 0:55:59by the conspiracy theorists.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03This isn't about the death of a national hero, mysterious or otherwise.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05It's about a tragedy.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07It's the loss of over 600 lives,
0:56:07 > 0:56:12and the scars that remain on an island community that was unable to help.
0:56:23 > 0:56:27Orkney was where I started my island adventure.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31Four long days and short nights later,
0:56:31 > 0:56:35the edge of Shetland sits on the horizon.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38Journey's end.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45We've arrived off the Shetland Islands,
0:56:45 > 0:56:48we're waiting for the pilot, the big seas have abated,
0:56:48 > 0:56:51it's as calm and almost as flat as the Mediterranean,
0:56:51 > 0:56:54and the Shetlands look as welcoming to me
0:56:54 > 0:56:59as they always have done to voyagers coming in from across the ocean.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01A wonderful sight.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05I've made it.
0:57:05 > 0:57:09And I'm absolutely exhausted.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15But what a way to arrive in Shetland!
0:57:15 > 0:57:19For a rare gathering of square riggers from around the globe.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21Permission to come ashore.
0:57:25 > 0:57:30Lerwick is absolutely packed, it's as if the whole island
0:57:30 > 0:57:34has poured down to the quaysides to see the ships come in.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37The tall ships are on their annual race.
0:57:38 > 0:57:43This is just a brief stop-over for them but for me,
0:57:43 > 0:57:49the experience of life under sail will linger long in the memory.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51Friendships forged at sea,
0:57:51 > 0:57:56formed from the shared experience of pulling together.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59Making landfall on new shores,
0:57:59 > 0:58:03with a warm welcome for a stranger from down south.
0:58:03 > 0:58:05CHEERING
0:58:05 > 0:58:08I've travelled far, but always felt at home.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11Our islands hold a mysterious attraction.
0:58:11 > 0:58:17Their magic spoke to our ancestors, and it still calls us.
0:58:17 > 0:58:19One thing that unites us across these isles
0:58:19 > 0:58:21is that we're all islanders,
0:58:21 > 0:58:26whether we live on rocks in the sea that are very large or very small.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29Maybe the joy of coming to the coast is that here,
0:58:29 > 0:58:34we can still experience the very essence of our island story.
0:58:52 > 0:58:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd