0:00:05 > 0:00:08SEAGULLS CALL
0:00:12 > 0:00:15This is Coast.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Our stunning sea cliffs.
0:00:46 > 0:00:52An imperious borderline stitched with a rainbow tapestry of stone.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Deceptive and dramatic.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Yielding and treacherous.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06Over millennia, we've learnt to negotiate this tricky terrain.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12And carve surprising uses from its rocky skeleton.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17My quest has brought me to the Isle of Wight.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23I'm on a mission to delve into the hidden world of our
0:01:23 > 0:01:27sea cliffs and I'm going to start with this key.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE THEME PLAYS
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Over a century ago, the locals unlocked a secret.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46This solid sea cliff had a helpfully soft core.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55Behind this grill is a disused lift shaft, a man-made hole,
0:01:55 > 0:01:56bored straight into the cliff.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06I'm going to extreme lengths,
0:02:06 > 0:02:11investigating mysteries at the heart of our sea cliffs.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Our island's edge, as you've never seen it before.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18This is The Secret Life Of Sea Cliffs.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31My journey will take me across the vast and varied cliffs of Yorkshire.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37But first, I need to free myself from the depths of the Isle of Wight.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Here, the sea has bitten chunks out of the headland.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52If nature could carve through the chalk, why not man?
0:02:58 > 0:03:00I've walked across cliffs, I've climbed up cliffs,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03but I've never abseiled through a cliff.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06It's completely otherworldly.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13In the late 19th century, the government had the cliff's centre
0:03:13 > 0:03:17scooped out, part of a secret defence plan.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22This looks like a... a spur tunnel, this.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25It's got a very high roof and it's full of debris.
0:03:25 > 0:03:26This one looks like the main one.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32These tunnels have lain untouched for decades.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35But clues to their use of still remain.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Old electrical cables, carried in this rusting steel pipe.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48There's a gigantic, rusting engine.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50This must have been used to power the lift.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56A window ahead sheds some light.
0:04:02 > 0:04:03LAUGHING: Look at this!
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Unbelievable.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12What could be more secure than a fortress built into a cliff face?
0:04:25 > 0:04:27We're scratching at the surface of our
0:04:27 > 0:04:30sea cliffs to expose their secrets.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35I've made my way to North Yorkshire,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39but my precise location must remain under wraps.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45Here on the Yorkshire coast, there's a small group of locals
0:04:45 > 0:04:48who keep their clifftop activities rather secret.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53This precipitous spot is famous for its clifftop walks.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00The steep slopes keep many from the beach below. But not everyone.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Nothing comes between a Yorkshireman and his fish.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Only a select few know how to reach the real fishing hot spots.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18At the bottom of these cliffs lies the area's best fishing ground.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22And with some resourceful DIY, Glenn and Mike have
0:05:22 > 0:05:26constructed an interesting route to the pleasure pools below.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29So, how long have you been coming down here?
0:05:29 > 0:05:33I would think I've been coming roughly 20 years now.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35We know it really well.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38So, is that white thing what you slide down on? What's that made of?
0:05:38 > 0:05:41This is a fireman's hose. LAUGHTER
0:05:52 > 0:05:55This is unbelievable.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57It's an incredibly long way down.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00I had no idea fishermen did this kind of thing.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06It's quite scary, the first few times.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09You do seem to get used to it, the more you come.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26At the bottom, you find the perfect boys' getaway.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30But this beach doesn't give up its fishing secrets easily.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Hidden from view, under the sea,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37a deep channel lies unseen below these waves.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40A gully, carved into the seabed,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43which funnels fish right up to the shore.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49What you've got here is a lot deeper water in here and the fish
0:06:49 > 0:06:51roam up and down, looking for food.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55So, really, this is about gully fishing, rather than open sea?
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Gullies are the natural place for bait to rest, come to rest.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59The fish know that, you see.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04But why is this fish-friendly gully under these cliffs
0:07:04 > 0:07:06in the first place?
0:07:08 > 0:07:11I think one of the main reasons why the gully fishes so well is
0:07:11 > 0:07:16the fact that it was actually deepened by man through industry.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18You see the tunnels here? Oh, right, yeah.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Workers tunnelling into the cliffs also carved the underwater
0:07:23 > 0:07:25channel where the fish gather.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30In the 18th century, they quarried valuable minerals from the
0:07:30 > 0:07:34cliff edge, but without a natural harbour, they needed to gouge
0:07:34 > 0:07:38deep clefts into the sea floor to berth their trading boats.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43The boats may be gone,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47but their berths are a happy fishing ground for those in the know.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50And local industry brings other benefits.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56We've sort of had a helping hand with another mining industry.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59They're actually underneath us now, mining away for potash
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and they have an outlet pipe, which is about a mile out to sea.
0:08:02 > 0:08:03Yeah.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06And all the slurry and stuff that comes out of there is mixed
0:08:06 > 0:08:09in with the water and it colours the water,
0:08:09 > 0:08:10which is really good for fishing.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Oh! Why do the fish like cloudy water?
0:08:13 > 0:08:15I think they've got more confidence to come inshore, you know,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18looking for bait and what have you. Especially during the daylight.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21So without the hand of man, there wouldn't be good fishing here?
0:08:21 > 0:08:24It's a combination... I think there will always be fish there,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26but it's been better, a lot better since that happened.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Yeah. Yeah, without a doubt.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36And how long might you just stand here like this,
0:08:36 > 0:08:37waiting for something to happen?
0:08:37 > 0:08:41If there's fish in the gully, they're at it straightaway. Oh, really?
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Yeah, yeah. Fast. Yeah. Oh, he's got a fish, yeah. Whoa!
0:08:44 > 0:08:45He's got a fish, yeah. Pouting.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Pouting? I haven't seen a pouting before.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Scaling the sea cliffs is all part of the sport.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Now, I want to meet the man behind the madness.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16A man known as "Big Cliff" pioneered the route down to this secret world.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21He's a local legend. And he's agreed to meet me, just up here.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Now nearly 70, Big Cliff cannily conserves his climbing energy.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26Hi, good to meet you.
0:09:28 > 0:09:34So, is it true you put the fire hose there?
0:09:34 > 0:09:37What I did, I got a couple of anchorages and a 14-pound hammer,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40burned them in and this lad from Scarborough,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43who's a fireman, he put the hosepipe on the anchorages
0:09:43 > 0:09:46and then people have added to the thing over the years.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49And we got what we've got today, you know? Is your name really Big Cliff?
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Oh, no. I like my cliff fishing though.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54I used to end up on a big cliff, fishing off the top.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58So when I thought of a name for myself, I thought,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01"Oh, Big Cliff", you know? But my real name's Alan.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Why do you find this coast so special?
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Well, I think, you're so, like, off the beaten track.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10You've got to put yourself out a little bit to be able to come here.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14It's the sort of place that an awful lot of people never ever see.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18They just go zooming past in their cars on the way to different places.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Do you find it hard to come down here now?
0:10:21 > 0:10:24It's not the getting down, Nick, it's the getting back up!
0:10:32 > 0:10:37Scaling our coastal cliffs can test brains as well as brawn.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40There's more than one way to rise to the top.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54One final uplifting experience awaits me
0:10:54 > 0:10:56here at Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07This Victorian seaside resort is sitting pretty on the cliff edge.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14And it's the spectacular cliff lift that's the secret of the town's success.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19This glorious invention allows holiday-makers to reach the beach.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27The two carriages might look independent,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31but they're ingeniously linked on a pulley system.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34As one falls, its twin rises.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40I'm meeting Paul Wakeford to get the full lowdown.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Hello, there. Hello! Mind if I have a snoop?
0:11:43 > 0:11:48What an incredible engine room. It is. How does it work?
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Well, these trams weigh the same as each other,
0:11:51 > 0:11:53and I just fill one with water and it gets heavy,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55and down it goes, pulls the other one up.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Close the doors...
0:11:58 > 0:12:01..turn the tap on, start filling it.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06How do you know when it's going to be heavy enough? There you go.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Oh, I see! It's now heavy enough with water.
0:12:08 > 0:12:09It goes off on its own! Yes.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Down she goes. The sheer weight of it.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Gravity's making it work.
0:12:16 > 0:12:17It can be people.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20If you had 12 people going down and no-one coming up,
0:12:20 > 0:12:21you wouldn't need water.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29The tram, when it gets to the bottom,
0:12:29 > 0:12:31will empty all the water out automatically.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34But now the water's down the bottom? Yes.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36It collects in a tank at the bottom.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39And then we set a pump going, that's the only power needed,
0:12:39 > 0:12:43is to pump the water from the bottom tank back up to our top tank.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45What do you call it? They're not carriages, are they?
0:12:45 > 0:12:48What do you call them? It's a funicular tramway.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51And it's "funicular". Not "funny-colour". Funicular!
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Thank you very much!
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Originally, the Victorians would career down the cliff
0:13:01 > 0:13:04in 33 seconds, a white-knuckle ride.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Today, for health safety reasons,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09it's a much more leisurely 55-second journey.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13While the lift did the hard work,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16the visitors could relax and take in the view,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19until they were deposited safely beside the seaside.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Hello there. Thank you.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34As I reach the end of my journey,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38perhaps I've arrived at the best secret of all.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42How we've managed to surmount the challenges presented
0:13:42 > 0:13:44by our sea cliffs.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Coming up with solutions to coastal conundrums
0:13:48 > 0:13:52has created some of our most exciting environments.
0:13:52 > 0:13:57Cliffs might look like dead ends, but then when we think outside the box,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00where the edge of land is steepest,
0:14:00 > 0:14:01we're really tested.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06On our sea cliffs, a secret and surprising world awaits.