0:00:02 > 0:00:05BIRDSONG
0:00:08 > 0:00:10This is Coast.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42Bunching together on beaches.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Hitting the waves.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Climbing crags.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Flying or fishing.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Pier or promenade.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02We really do love to be beside the seaside.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09For me, it doesn't get any better than this.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Hauling canvas, salt spray in your face.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18But we all have our own passions for the pure joy of the coast.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23We're setting sail in pursuit of those pursuits
0:01:23 > 0:01:27that give us pleasure at our seaside leisure.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31I'm heading for the Highlands
0:01:31 > 0:01:34on a joyous journey to the Isle of Skye.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40I'll be climbing for my life
0:01:40 > 0:01:43in the steps of Victorian daredevils.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46If you fall off one side, I go off the other side.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49- I'll make sure that doesn't happen. - Just stay on the crest.- Yeah.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53While I rejoice in the Scottish peaks,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56the chocolate-box beauty of the South West
0:01:56 > 0:01:59feeds the rest of the team's passions.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06In St Ives, wordsmith Ian is drawn to the artist's life.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11He swaps his pen for a paintbrush and comes over all creative.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13Oh, and I might write a poem, as well,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15because it is me job, after all.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21At pretty Polperro, Ruth is casting off.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24But it's not sailing that floats her boat.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26I'm halfway to finishing my fisherman's jumper,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30so I'm here to do some first-hand research with a fisherman.
0:02:30 > 0:02:31You've got a double now.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Oh! I think I'm better at the old net-mending, somehow.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Oh, you'll get the hang of it.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39And in Plymouth, Tessa takes the plunge
0:02:39 > 0:02:45to soak up the delights of the coast 1930s-style.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Welcome to the lido.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54We're on a voyage to explore the pleasures of seaside leisure
0:02:54 > 0:02:58and experience the joy of the coast.
0:03:02 > 0:03:09My odyssey of joy begins on Scottish shores at Oban.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12The town's a gateway to the glorious Western Isles,
0:03:12 > 0:03:19but can it also lay claim to having launched the package tour business?
0:03:19 > 0:03:23It certainly hums with the holiday feel.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26People are out of their work clothes.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29For me, that means a chance to wear the suit.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31MAN PLAYS BAGPIPES
0:03:39 > 0:03:42This shoreline brings memories flooding back.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48I grew up in East Anglia, which is a little bit flatter than this.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Then when I was a bit older, my father used to bring me up here
0:03:51 > 0:03:54climbing mountains for a couple of weeks.
0:03:54 > 0:03:55When I had my own family,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58we started coming up here doing the same kind of thing.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Ferry ports like this are where it all begins.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04These are the waiting rooms to adventure.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10These days, they feel more like airports.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14But there's still a palpable thrill of anticipation.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17I love boarding ferries.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23It feels like the authentic Scottish experience
0:04:23 > 0:04:26that's captivated travellers throughout the ages.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30But this scene isn't as timeless as it seems.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33The tourist trade and this style of travel
0:04:33 > 0:04:35is a relatively recent development.
0:04:36 > 0:04:42Thanks in part to one far-sighted man, Thomas Cook.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47The package tours to Scotland many enjoy today
0:04:47 > 0:04:51were pioneered by canny Mr Cook in the mid 19th century.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Now I'm following in his wake.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59When Thomas Cook first arrived here,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02the tourist trade coming from England was tiny.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06Largely toffs and the privileged well-to-do.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Cook spied an opportunity.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14To sell this magical coast to the middle classes.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18Thomas used the steam engine to power his package holidays.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Sailing ships were unpredictable,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24but the new steamers ran like well-oiled machines
0:05:24 > 0:05:26to strict timetables.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Thomas Cook realised he could now schedule
0:05:33 > 0:05:36complex round trips with confidence.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41The concept of Mr Cooks' tours caught on.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Tourists flooded out to the Isles.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55So, how did remote communities like Tobermory cope with the crowds?
0:06:01 > 0:06:04To see how travel transformed the town,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08I've brought an artist's impression from the early 19th century.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Now I need to find the spot where it was painted.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Well, it's recognisably Tobermory.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20The bridge is the one I'm standing on now.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23But all Tobermory's famous painted houses we can see there,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25they don't exist.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29You just have this long wooded hill sloping down to the sea.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34So before the age of tourism, Tobermory was just a hamlet.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Tours like those organised by Thomas Cook
0:06:38 > 0:06:44created a new look to the quayside, as Brian Swinbanks knows.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Very good to see you in Tobermory. Wonderful day.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50I think it was 1847, you could actually get a day ticket
0:06:50 > 0:06:53from Glasgow to Tobermory and Oban. You could get up in a day.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56That's a huge transformation from old sailing ships
0:06:56 > 0:06:57that could take a week or two to get here.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00And eventually, you got new hotels built.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04And the Mishnish Hotel there, the Western Isles Hotel in 1883,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07they were all built on the back and to provide for this tourism
0:07:07 > 0:07:09to turn Tobermory into what they called at that time
0:07:09 > 0:07:11the Scarborough of the North.
0:07:11 > 0:07:17To share in the profits of travel, locals opened up their homes.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19One of the famous houses was a Mrs Cuthbertson
0:07:19 > 0:07:22who owned that house there, now the green house,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25offered fine marmalade and fine hospitality.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28And in fact, there's one traveller who actually said
0:07:28 > 0:07:30that she actually bathed her feet for her.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33And that is a great image, really.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36I don't get that kind of hospitality these days.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39The town bent over backwards to accommodate
0:07:39 > 0:07:43the middle-class sensibilities of their new guests.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Furnished with Thomas Cook's guides,
0:07:45 > 0:07:49tourists could take in the wild isles during the day
0:07:49 > 0:07:52and return to luxurious comfort at night.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01This is what a highland hotel is meant to look like.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09For Thomas Cook, all this pleasure sprang from piety.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11He was a follower of the temperance movement.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14He believed that drink was evil.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Travelling the country spreading the word of sobriety,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22he became a dab hand with the new railway timetables.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26Thomas Cook first played tour leader in 1841.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30He organised a trip from Leicester to Loughborough
0:08:30 > 0:08:33for fellow Christians. He charged them one shilling each
0:08:33 > 0:08:35to go to a temperance movement meeting.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Soon, Cook started tours purely for pleasure.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44And travellers haven't looked back since.
0:08:45 > 0:08:51My journey in search of coastal joy means it's time to check out.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Dressed for adventure.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55I hope I don't need the brolly.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07I'm heading over the sea to Skye.
0:09:07 > 0:09:08I've always wanted to say that.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13- Hello, Mark.- Hello, Nick. Hi.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17I'm bound for our most fearsome mountain range.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19The colossal Cuillins.
0:09:19 > 0:09:24A jagged cluster of black peaks bursting straight from the sea.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33And I'm not going for the view.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38My mission is to try and conquer the Cioch, this amazing pinnacle,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42location for the swordfight in the film Highlander,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44and my long-coveted challenge.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48I've wanted to climb the Cioch for years.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51And now it's just 31 nautical miles away,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53I'm full of the joys of coast!
0:10:06 > 0:10:10This theatre of stone is the perfect stage
0:10:10 > 0:10:14for me to act out long-held ambitions.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18But I'm not the only one seeking coastal highs.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23While I delight in Scottish shores,
0:10:23 > 0:10:28the joys of the south-west coast have enticed the rest of the team.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36The Atlantic surf brings thrill-seekers rolling in.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44Riding the crest.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Wind in their sails.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48It's full-on fun.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54But if you prefer a slower pace of life,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57seek out the shelter of Polperro.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03A quiet Cornish village ideal for unwinding.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10While some stroll by the sea, others sit and knit.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Ruth is relaxing by trying to maintain her tension.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21I've been working on this traditional fisherman's jumper for,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24well, on and off for months now.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28And I've had to get to grips with a whole range of new techniques
0:11:28 > 0:11:30and fiddly difficult bits.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32The Cornish coast to this day
0:11:32 > 0:11:35still echoes with the click-clack of knitting needles,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38so I've come along to pick up a few tips
0:11:38 > 0:11:40and to learn something more
0:11:40 > 0:11:44about how this fantastic fun pastime grew out of hard graft.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Fishermen throughout the UK
0:11:49 > 0:11:52were always recognisable by their hand-knitted jumpers.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56And in the 19th and early 20th centuries,
0:11:56 > 0:12:01making them was, for some, the only way to put bread upon the table.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07I'm casting off with Mary Wright,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09who wrote a book on Edwardian knitters.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14Mary knows the work that went into creating these coastal classics.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16They're amazing things, aren't they?
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I mean, they're not just any old jumper, these.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22- No.- They're special. - Don't call them a jumper.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24- What am I supposed to call them? - A jersey.- A jersey.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27- Or guernsey.- Or guernsey. - Or knitfrock.- Or knitfrock.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29I like that word, knitfrock.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Knitfrock is the term used in Polperro.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34- Don't say jumper.- Never say jumper. But I can say gansey.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37- You can.- And I can say jersey.- Yes.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40And if I'm in Polperro, I can say knitfrock.
0:12:40 > 0:12:41THEY LAUGH
0:12:43 > 0:12:45This little village has its own knitting vocabulary.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51These streets were once awash with women working on their knitfrocks.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Women enjoyed being outside.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58The light was better, the social life was better.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00They could see people.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02And people who live in the villages say
0:13:02 > 0:13:05that you could hear the clack of the needles before you turned the corner.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Ladies weren't just making gansies for the family.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14There was money to be made selling them to merchants.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Polperro became a knitfrock factory.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Polperro was the centre of contract knitting in the 19th century
0:13:21 > 0:13:24and in the 20th century.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27So, where did the gansies that were knitted in Polperro end up?
0:13:27 > 0:13:29They could be packed up
0:13:29 > 0:13:31and dispatched to anywhere in the country.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Polperro's knitting was strung-out all around the coast.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Worn for centuries by seafarers,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and some still swear by it today.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51I'm meeting Barry Mundy, a fifth-generation fisherman.
0:13:53 > 0:13:58- Super.- Oh, this is such a beautiful harbour, isn't it?
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Oh, yeah. It's a lovely day out there again.
0:14:01 > 0:14:02It's beautiful!
0:14:05 > 0:14:08I see you're wearing a gansey. Was that just put on for us today?
0:14:08 > 0:14:11- No. No. I wear that every day. - Really?- Yes.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13- It's well over 30 years' old. - Really?!
0:14:13 > 0:14:15- Yes, yes. It keeps you warm.- Yeah.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19It's got that oily texture to it, so it's showerproof.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22So the water just sort of stands on the surface rather than soaking in.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Yes, that's right.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26It's more than workwear.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Fishermen have a proud attachment to their gansies.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34When I was fishing first, you would have worn it to, er...
0:14:34 > 0:14:36funerals and sort of special occasions.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40It was really the...
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Well, something like the uniform of a fisherman, really, I suppose.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49Knitting and fishing have long been intertwined.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Sharing words such as casting off and fisherman's rib.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56And some believe the dexterous hands of fishermen,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59used to repairing fishing nets, were perfect for knitting.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Let's put Barry and that theory to the test.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10So as a man who's worn a gansey for 30 years, can you make one?
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Um...I think I'd struggle, I think.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16- This is my beginner's knitting pack. - Yep.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20So we're going to go through the back of that loop towards there...
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Yep.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25- Then around the needle.- Yes.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28And then...through.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30- OK.- And slip it off.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Let's have a go. Let's have a go.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34- SHE LAUGHS - Right.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- It's through there... - That's the one.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40And...around there.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42- And...- By George!
0:15:42 > 0:15:43Oh! You just took an extra stitch.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46You just made it bigger. You've got a double now.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Oh! I think I'm better at the old net-mending somehow.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51You'll get the hang of it. You're not bad.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53And it is men's work, this is.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Knitting used to be one of those things
0:15:55 > 0:15:57that everybody did, men and women both,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59in order to earn a living.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01The trouble is, if I get too good at this,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05my wife is going to want me to knit her a gansey.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07THEY LAUGH
0:16:07 > 0:16:11A hundred years ago, knitting and fishing
0:16:11 > 0:16:14were both part of the fabric of coastal life.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20As the men worked at sea...the women waited.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23But their hands were never idle.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27This photograph shows a lady knitting
0:16:27 > 0:16:31while watching for fishing boats to return.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34And this is Polperro. But she's doing her knitting.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38- Yeah. Some bloke lounging about behind her.- Of course(!)
0:16:38 > 0:16:40And she's not only knitting,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43but she's keeping an eye on what's happening out at sea.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45That's a good position to watch.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49- While waiting for your man to come home.- Right.- Hm.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53What was once a chore is now done for fun.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Polperro's women still like to sit and stitch.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03And there's a further twist in the knitting yarn.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Along the coast, a band of women have taken up their needles
0:17:06 > 0:17:08with a new mission in mind.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10To weave a little magic.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15These are the graffiti grannies.
0:17:15 > 0:17:16They work incognito.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Keeping their identity under wraps is part of the fun.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26We like to give whatever we knit away to the public.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Why are you all wearing masks?
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Because we like to give it away anonymously.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33We go out in the middle of the night
0:17:33 > 0:17:36and we put it all around different towns and villages
0:17:36 > 0:17:41so that people can take it and enjoy it.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44It's a huge amount of work, so why do you do it?
0:17:44 > 0:17:48We enjoy seeing the pleasure that other people get out of it
0:17:48 > 0:17:51and we like to put a smile on people's faces,
0:17:51 > 0:17:52and that's what we do.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54THEY LAUGH
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Following a century-old pattern,
0:17:57 > 0:18:02the women of Cornwall still have this shore nicely stitched up.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11SEABIRDS CALL
0:18:21 > 0:18:25We're on a voyage to experience the joy of the coast
0:18:25 > 0:18:30by exploring the seaside pursuits that give us pleasure.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37My passion for climbing has brought me to western Scotland.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Calm seas belie a towering test of nerve
0:18:42 > 0:18:44awaiting me on the Isle of Skye.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51This is a moment I've long savoured in my imagination.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55Now the reality of the task ahead is sinking in.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00I've got a date with destiny.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05Just across the water over there, there's a climb I've long coveted.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08A gigantic anvil of ancient stone hidden away
0:19:08 > 0:19:13in the depths of Scotland's most fearsome mountain range.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18I'm heading for a jagged outpost on Skye.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20The Cuillin Ridge.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24These torn teeth of ancient rock run from coast to coast
0:19:24 > 0:19:26and they conceal my challenge.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28The Cioch.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31A protruding spear of stone.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36It was only climbed for the first time in 1906.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Now it's my turn.
0:19:39 > 0:19:45These pinnacles witnessed some epic dramas of early mountaineering.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48I'm going back to those days
0:19:48 > 0:19:51to discover how the Cioch took centre stage.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57It wasn't until the Victorian era
0:19:57 > 0:20:02that gentlemen and lady explorers began climbing for pleasure.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05By the early 20th century,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09the Isle of Skye was becoming a Mecca for the new mountaineers.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16That was largely thanks to two men who are still inseparable.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21They forged a friendship on the rock etched for eternity in stone.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Here lies one John Mackenzie
0:20:26 > 0:20:29head to toe with one Norman Collie.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32These were the two pioneering mountaineers
0:20:32 > 0:20:36who first completed the climb I'm about to attempt.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42They rest in the shadow of the coastal peaks
0:20:42 > 0:20:45they explored together for half a century.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52This brooding landscape is shrouded in mystery.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54John Mackenzie and Norman Collie
0:20:54 > 0:20:56took many of its secrets to their graves.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00To discover the endless joys they found in these mountains,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03I need to see them through their eyes.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09For over 100 years, climbers have begun their adventures on Skye
0:21:09 > 0:21:11at the Sligachan Hotel.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18This is Normal Collie sitting in this inn.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Collie was a gentleman.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23A professor of chemistry at University College London.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25He lived and he worked in the capital,
0:21:25 > 0:21:29but his heart was here on the island of Skye.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33He was to become one of the greatest climbers of the age.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36And here is John Mackenzie on the summit of Sgurr nan Gillean.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40And here he is again on the ridge of the Black Cuillins.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Mackenzie was a highlander, a man of Skye.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46He worked as a gillie employed by gentlemen
0:21:46 > 0:21:48who wanted to go hunting and fishing.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50And that's how the Scot John Mackenzie
0:21:50 > 0:21:52met the Englishman Norman Collie.
0:21:52 > 0:22:00Aged 27, Collie came to Skye on holiday in 1886.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Dressed much like this.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Well, the boots weigh a tonne
0:22:05 > 0:22:08and the soles are covered in steel teeth
0:22:08 > 0:22:11to help them grip on wet grass and rock.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14I'm not quite sure how this stuff will perform in the wind and rain,
0:22:14 > 0:22:18but if this lot was good enough for the original mountain men...
0:22:18 > 0:22:20it's good enough for me.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Young Norman Collie had all the gear,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29but as yet, not a clue about climbing.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31And to make exploring harder,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34there were no detailed maps of the Cuillin mountains.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40To show him the way, Norman engaged John Mackenzie.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47Coincidently, my guide is also called John. John Lyall.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Oh! Perfect.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57This track we've been following is pretty well-worn, isn't it?
0:22:57 > 0:23:02But going back 150 years, why were the Cuillins so little known?
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Well, no-one had any reason to go up there.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07They're just rock. They're just massive rocky, spiky peaks.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10And no-one, none of the local people had a reason to go up there.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Their animals grazed low down.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15I first saw the Black Cuillins here as a teenager
0:23:15 > 0:23:17coming up here mountaineering in winter.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20And, er...I found them pretty intimidating,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22I don't mind admitting it.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25They're spikier, they're sexier mountains than any in Britain.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29They just rise straight out of the sea and so much rock.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32People say they're the nearest thing we have to alpine peaks.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34But I think they're better than that.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37And we've got this view out over the minster,
0:23:37 > 0:23:38the Inner Isles and outer Hebrides.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40There's nowhere quite like it.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46With me as English gentleman Professor Collie
0:23:46 > 0:23:48and John as his guide John Mackenzie,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51we're going to attempt the route they created.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55They were the first to find and climb the Cioch.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00So this big cliff in front of us here is Sron na Ciche.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02It's a thousand feet high.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04And up in the middle of that is the Cioch.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07I don't know if you can see, there's a big like X feature.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09A big wide crack comes up
0:24:09 > 0:24:12and then the Cioch is right in the middle of that X.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13So X marks the spot.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15You'd never think there's even a feature up there.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18It just looks like a very rugged wall of rock.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20It's not obvious how to get to it.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22And that was what was part of the problem for Collie
0:24:22 > 0:24:25was to try and find a way to it.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29They set off with just a hemp rope,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33hobnail boots and each other to put their trust in.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46So, this is where we have to put the rope on to go further up?
0:24:46 > 0:24:50Yeah. It just gets a bit more serious, the drops around us, so...
0:24:51 > 0:24:56- I'll just get you to stop on this ledge and I'll run the rope.- OK.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02- OK, Nick.- Coming.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08We know their route, but those bold pioneers made it up as they went.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Wearing vintage gear including their footwear,
0:25:13 > 0:25:17snaking upwards feels painfully authentic.
0:25:17 > 0:25:23The boots are probably the most excruciating weapons of torture
0:25:23 > 0:25:25I've ever fitted to my own feet.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Braving uncharted territory,
0:25:29 > 0:25:35finally, in 1906, Norman Collie and John Mackenzie made a breakthrough.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38- So there's the Cioch. - Wow! Look at that!
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Fantastic!
0:25:41 > 0:25:43You can suddenly see it.
0:25:44 > 0:25:51This great anvil of rock has haunted my imagination for ages.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53And today's the day I get to climb it.
0:25:56 > 0:26:03But even now, to stand atop the Cioch seems a faraway dream.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07How did Mackenzie and Collie get to the edge?
0:26:07 > 0:26:13I need to gather my thoughts and my courage for the climb of my life.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Seaside peaks are my idea of bliss.
0:26:22 > 0:26:28Others find joy flat out on the water's edge, soaking up the rays.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38It seems a timeless pastime,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43but surprisingly, our love affair with sunbathing
0:26:43 > 0:26:46is less than 100 years old.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50To explore the birth of this new bronze age,
0:26:50 > 0:26:52we're heading to Plymouth.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59As the sun cult blossomed, so did their temples of worship.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Tessa's plunging into the joys of the lido.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11In the 1930s, a new fashion
0:27:11 > 0:27:15was changing the complexion of the nation's leisure.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17After years of cowering in the shade,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Britons became fans of the tan.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27Lidos sprang up as shrines to sunlight.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29But in a time before sun cream,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33for pale-skinned people like me, tanning was a tricky business.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37So, who made the sun cool in the first place?
0:27:39 > 0:27:45A leading light of glamour became the sun worshiper's high priestess.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49For many, the poster girl of the new fashion was Coco Channel.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53She had made waves in the early '20s,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57returning from a holiday on the Riviera sporting a deep tan.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Once the sign of an outdoor labourer,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04a suntan now marked out the super rich.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08And the sun's benefits weren't just skin deep.
0:28:08 > 0:28:13Science was casting light on its supposed healing powers.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16In 1903, remarkable research into sunlight therapy
0:28:16 > 0:28:19by the Scandinavian physician Niels Finsen
0:28:19 > 0:28:21earned him a Nobel Prize.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Using huge lenses to focus the sun's rays,
0:28:25 > 0:28:27he set up sunlight surgeries
0:28:27 > 0:28:31to cure everything from ulcers to rickets.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37The sun made us feel wealthy and healthy.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39And we couldn't get enough of it.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47Lidos became a feature of Britain's seaside scenery.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51In the sun and in the swim. Perfect!
0:28:53 > 0:28:58In 1929, the Met Office published its first sunshine records.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Eastbourne was a chart topper
0:29:01 > 0:29:06with a singeing 2,081 hours of sunshine over the year.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11How could they be so precise?
0:29:11 > 0:29:16Meteorologist Sarah Cruddas is here to reveal the secret.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23It's actually what's known as a Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder
0:29:23 > 0:29:25and it's actually a very simple, but very effective way
0:29:25 > 0:29:27of measuring sunlight.
0:29:27 > 0:29:28Just imagine it like a magnifying glass
0:29:28 > 0:29:30with a beam of light coming from the sun.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32This globe then concentrates the beam of light
0:29:32 > 0:29:36onto this especially-treated card behind.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38As the sun tracks across the sky,
0:29:38 > 0:29:42its magnified rays burn a line across the card.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45By the end of the day, we would actually get a mark
0:29:45 > 0:29:48which would show us when it's been sunny. That's that line there. It's charred through.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Then a bit cloudy, so it hasn't charred it, and then sunshine.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54And then you can tell on that day, it was slightly cloudier in the afternoon.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58This is still the most common way of measuring the amount of sunlight.
0:29:59 > 0:30:03For the resorts topping the sunlight charts, times were good.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05# Hip-hooray, hip-hooray
0:30:05 > 0:30:07# The sun has got his hat on
0:30:07 > 0:30:09# Hip-hip-hip-hooray
0:30:09 > 0:30:12# The sun has got his hat on and he's coming out to play. #
0:30:12 > 0:30:15But what about sunburn?
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Many fell under the sunbathing spell.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22But with skin as pale as mine, it could be a painful pastime.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29In the 1930s, sun creams were rare.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33But the war was about to change that.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37I wouldn't much fancy smearing this all over my body.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42And yet it was a substance much like this that was used in the 1940s
0:30:42 > 0:30:45by the American army in the South Pacific.
0:30:45 > 0:30:46It was called Red Vet Pet.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53The key ingredient is red petroleum jelly.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55They didn't know exactly how,
0:30:55 > 0:31:00but that's what protected against the harmful ultraviolet rays.
0:31:01 > 0:31:06Post-war, scientists started to experiment with new sun lotions.
0:31:08 > 0:31:13Chemist Andrew Shaw knows how they progressed beyond simple sun block.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Not that we'll need it today.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20A simple block might be something like zinc oxide,
0:31:20 > 0:31:22which is this, er...white powder here,
0:31:22 > 0:31:26and simply mix it into an oil base
0:31:26 > 0:31:28and it will form a nice little emulsion.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31It will eventually go white to prevent the sun from coming in.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35- Imagine that's the surface of your skin. Light comes in from above. - Bouncing off the water.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38I'll float something on the surface of your skin that will block it.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40Light's not getting through that. It's a simple block.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44Since then, sun creams have become more sophisticated, haven't they?
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Yes. Chemists have discovered that molecules with small rings in them
0:31:47 > 0:31:50are very good at absorbing just the ultraviolet that's dangerous to you.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55To increase the Sun Protection Factor or SPF,
0:31:55 > 0:31:59you can add more ring molecules to a sun cream.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02A way to tune your tan.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Andrew has some magic beads to show the SPF in action.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09In here, I've got some beads that are photoactive.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11And when I open up, they're going to change colour
0:32:11 > 0:32:13because of the presence of the UV light.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17Even on the cloudiest of days, the UV still gets through.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21- Oh, they go straight away! - Look at that. It's quite clever.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24If I take some of those beads and coat them with different SPF factor sunscreens,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27they're going to change colour at different times.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30So under here, we've got 10, 20, 30 and 50.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33Here's the 10, it's beginning to change colour.
0:32:33 > 0:32:34The 20 and 30 more slowly.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37The one you might put on children, the factor 50,
0:32:37 > 0:32:39is changing colour really very slowly indeed and hardly at all.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42And probably for somebody as fair as me, I would go for that.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44- I would, yes. - You do, too, don't you?
0:32:44 > 0:32:46- I do, yes.- You're a bit peaky.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48THEY LAUGH
0:32:51 > 0:32:53I'll never be a convert to the sun worship cult.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57Probably a good thing, given the great British weather.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00But of course, the colder it is on the outside,
0:33:00 > 0:33:02the warmer the water feels.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20Holidays for the masses made a big splash on the south coast.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25But not everyone finds joy in crowds.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30For some, isolation is splendid.
0:33:35 > 0:33:40And where better than lonely peaks at the meeting point of sea and sky?
0:33:40 > 0:33:43The awesome Cuillin Ridge.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51To lose yourself in the splendour of those hills,
0:33:51 > 0:33:53head to the Isle of Skye.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Mountains and the sea, this is close to heaven for me.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04The pure joy of the coast.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10I ventured to a hidden gem concealed in the coastal peaks.
0:34:10 > 0:34:11The Cioch.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15Stage for a spectacular swordfight in the film Highlander.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22This great spear of rock
0:34:22 > 0:34:26has poked defiantly into the sky for countless millennia.
0:34:26 > 0:34:31But amazingly, it was only discovered just over 100 years ago.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37Highlander John Mackenzie, a mountain guide,
0:34:37 > 0:34:41and English gentleman Norman Collie first conquered the Cioch.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46Now we're taking on their trailblazing route.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52My guide is John Lyall.
0:34:52 > 0:34:57And our period footwear is an act of faith in the early climbers.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01I'm not yet trusting these Victorian nail boots.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05John keeps telling me I should do, but I'm learning.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Like the pioneers Mackenzie and Collie,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12our only protection on this precipitous route
0:35:12 > 0:35:14is a single hemp rope.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18John's rope should stop me from falling, but what if he falls?
0:35:18 > 0:35:22The leader never falls. That was the saying of the day.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25Nowadays, people fall off climbing a lot,
0:35:25 > 0:35:29but in these days, you just didn't fall off.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35So you've got two cracks now for your feet.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39One for your left and one for your right.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43These old boots are like gigantic chocks, aren't they?
0:35:43 > 0:35:45Yeah, yeah. You just wedge them in.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47And they're so stiff, it means they're really secure.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10So, John, is this the kind of protection
0:36:10 > 0:36:13Mackenzie and Collie would have used when they climbed up here?
0:36:13 > 0:36:14Yeah. Just using the rope.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17In this situation, just jamming it into the crack
0:36:17 > 0:36:20and then the friction of the rope running around that
0:36:20 > 0:36:22and me pulling down in this direction.
0:36:22 > 0:36:23If you fall off there,
0:36:23 > 0:36:27the rope just jams further into the crack and you're secure.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32And I'll go out across here.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Hold on.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47- Wow!- It's below us now. - It's spectacular!
0:36:47 > 0:36:51What do you think was going through Collie and Mackenzie's heads
0:36:51 > 0:36:53when they came around the corner we've just come around
0:36:53 > 0:36:55and they suddenly saw it in front of them?
0:36:55 > 0:36:57"We've cracked it!"
0:36:57 > 0:37:00They would have known this was it. They'd got it.
0:37:00 > 0:37:01The best picnic site in Britain.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03NICK LAUGHS
0:37:16 > 0:37:18It's almost in touching distance.
0:37:18 > 0:37:19It is.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22It's like unlocking a maze.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24We've been up and down, side to side
0:37:24 > 0:37:28up cracks, along ledges down chimneys...and there it is.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30It's got a bit of a sting in the tail.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32How are we going to get along there?
0:37:32 > 0:37:34You're going to walk along it initially.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36Further down, it gets a bit more rounded
0:37:36 > 0:37:39and if you want to get down on your backside, that's fine.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41This is where the rope technique gets interesting.
0:37:41 > 0:37:42A bit more alpine.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45If you fall off one side, I go off the other side,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48then we counterbalance with the rope. That's the idea.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51I think we'd better make sure that doesn't happen.
0:37:51 > 0:37:52- Just stay on the crest.- Yeah.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56Jeepers!
0:37:56 > 0:37:58This is something else.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01I used to slide down banisters as a small boy,
0:38:01 > 0:38:03but this beats all the banister-sliding I've ever done.
0:38:18 > 0:38:19Right.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22That may not have been very elegant,
0:38:22 > 0:38:25but it's still a technical issue now, which is getting up that.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27Shall I wait here, John?
0:38:42 > 0:38:44I really cannot believe this is happening.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48Standing on top of the Cioch.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52Unbelievable.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Oh!
0:38:58 > 0:39:01Do you fancy a swordfight(?)
0:39:01 > 0:39:02NICK LAUGHS
0:39:02 > 0:39:06Look at that! There's the coast.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08All the way. Fantastic Outer Hebrides.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10Unbelievable!
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Do you know, I reckon this is the most astounding spot
0:39:13 > 0:39:16- I've ever trodden on in the British Isles.- Mm.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18I think it really is.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20- It feels almost...- Sacred.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23I was just going to use that word. It's a sacred place.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26Yeah. I think amongst climbers, places like this are special.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28I can imagine Collie taking his friends up here,
0:39:28 > 0:39:32sitting here with bottles of wine and having a picnic and talking,
0:39:32 > 0:39:33looking out to this view.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35It's, er...it's kind of special.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41I think Victorians are meant to shake hands at a moment like this.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43Well done, old boy.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45Thank you, trusted guide.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48- Well done. - Thank you, John, very much.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53Such moments of great joy are short-lived.
0:39:53 > 0:39:58But the friendship of the men who were the first to stand here in 1906
0:39:58 > 0:40:01endured for years.
0:40:03 > 0:40:08Englishman Norman Collie went on to explore mountains around the world,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11but climbed on with John Mackenzie,
0:40:11 > 0:40:15always returning to renew the bond with his Scottish guide.
0:40:16 > 0:40:21I can empathise, having made my own bond with my guide, John Lyall.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24Together, Mackenzie and Collie
0:40:24 > 0:40:28explored these mountains year after year.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33That is until 1933, when John Mackenzie died.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40His friend Norman Collie was a private man,
0:40:40 > 0:40:44not used to public displays of affection.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48But Norman penned an obituary for John. He wrote...
0:40:48 > 0:40:51"There is no-one who can take his place.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56"Those who knew him will remember him as a perfect gentleman.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59"One who never offended by word or deed.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02"He has left a gap that cannot be filled.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05"There was only one John."
0:41:11 > 0:41:17When he retired, Norman Collie left England for his beloved Skye.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20He lived at the Sligachan Hotel
0:41:20 > 0:41:24where he'd stayed on his first visit some 40 years before.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Norman commissioned a portrait
0:41:27 > 0:41:29of his climbing companion John Mackenzie.
0:41:30 > 0:41:35The picture kept him company in the hotel during his final years.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39Norman Collie would sit alone in the window,
0:41:39 > 0:41:42looking up at the mountains he'd shared with his friend.
0:41:42 > 0:41:47A partnership reunited when Collie died in 1942.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52In the tiny cemetery at Bracadale at his request,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55Norman lies next to John Mackenzie.
0:41:55 > 0:42:00The joy they found in the mountains of Skye is with them for ever.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18Pushing our limits brings us all a sense of freedom.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Reaching the edge of the land facing the sea,
0:42:26 > 0:42:29earthly concerns evaporate.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36Resorts remind us of childish joy.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42LAUGHTER
0:42:44 > 0:42:48In days of youth, summer was one long game.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54And they're still happy to play along at Bognor Regis.
0:42:57 > 0:43:02Every summer, a puzzling site takes shape on the beach
0:43:02 > 0:43:07when they line up for Bognor's most barmy event.
0:43:07 > 0:43:12This is the Jig It Challenge.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16A puzzle-off to complete a 1,000-piece jigsaw
0:43:16 > 0:43:18racing against the tide.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23Who can finish their picture
0:43:23 > 0:43:27before the waves dash their dreams of victory?
0:43:27 > 0:43:32Rising to the challenge are newcomers Kim and Gareth Morgan.
0:43:32 > 0:43:33The first-timers have trained hard
0:43:33 > 0:43:37in their bid to complete the puzzle and beat the tide.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43Standing in their way, the reigning champions
0:43:43 > 0:43:46Lynn Halcome and Claire Fitzwilliam.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49Let the puzzling commence!
0:43:49 > 0:43:54Three...two...one.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57SIREN WAILS
0:43:57 > 0:43:59Begin! And the very best of luck to you all.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02- We're working on the edges first. - Just try and get the edge there.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09I tend to do the top and Claire tends to do the bottom.
0:44:11 > 0:44:12So we don't get in each other's ways.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15- How long have we being going? - Half an hour.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Yeah.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19That's a cod.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22I'd say the tide is coming in quite quick now.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27As well as wet feet, beach puzzling requires speed,
0:44:27 > 0:44:31concentration and rock-solid tactics.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35We've got some rocks prepared so we can weigh down our pieces of puzzle.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38It's a race against time now, so...
0:44:38 > 0:44:40Well, we've done the outside. Oops!
0:44:42 > 0:44:46But as the champions race ahead, the sea surges in.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49N-o-o-o-o-o-o!
0:44:49 > 0:44:50No!
0:44:50 > 0:44:52Please, I'm going to cry.
0:44:52 > 0:44:53They're lifting their tables up!
0:45:05 > 0:45:07Are we allowed to ask how the champions are actually doing?
0:45:07 > 0:45:10- They're out. - They're out?- Yeah.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12Right. Go on. Let's go.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15We're going. Yeah, we're going. We're going.
0:45:17 > 0:45:22As the rising tide stops play, it's up to the judges to decide
0:45:22 > 0:45:25who's got the most pieces in their puzzle.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28And the winners are...
0:45:28 > 0:45:30the Misfits!
0:45:30 > 0:45:33Who wants this?
0:45:33 > 0:45:37The champions reign again. But all's not lost.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40We didn't win the jigsaw, but we won the fancy dress.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43Yeah!
0:45:43 > 0:45:46It's been a day and a half, but we've thoroughly enjoyed it.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58We're on a journey to explore the pursuits
0:45:58 > 0:46:02that give us pleasure at our seaside leisure.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06Here on the south coast, we love to steam around the shore,
0:46:06 > 0:46:08swallowing up the sights.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13But sometimes the most exquisite joy
0:46:13 > 0:46:16is found when we stop and stare.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18Then the views do the talking.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23SEABIRDS CALL
0:46:28 > 0:46:32This glorious shore makes our spirits soar.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35But how do we capture its beauty?
0:46:38 > 0:46:42It's a question they've been trying to answer in St Ives.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49Professional artists struggle to depict
0:46:49 > 0:46:51the fleeting light of St Ives.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54But one gifted amateur succeeded in creating
0:46:54 > 0:46:57extraordinary portraits of this coast.
0:47:00 > 0:47:05A lust for the artistic life that has Ian intrigued.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09I'm lucky enough to be a professional poet.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11Describing the world through words.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13Around here, though, they prefer paint.
0:47:17 > 0:47:22Artistic folk get great joy soaking up the sites of St Ives.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31One of the most remarkable painters around here who died some 80 years ago
0:47:31 > 0:47:34and still stands out from the crowd is this man, Alfred Wallis.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36He was only 4ft 6 inches tall!
0:47:36 > 0:47:38I like him already.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41And this is one of his pictures, String of Boats.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43An amazing evocation of this harbour.
0:47:43 > 0:47:45He was just an ordinary bloke.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47He used to make his living as a fisherman.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49Didn't give two hoots for the art establishment.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54Alfred's fame came from a happy accident.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59A gentleman artist strolling through St Ives in 1928
0:47:59 > 0:48:02discovered Wallis working by candlelight.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09Now his humble paintings hang in grand galleries,
0:48:09 > 0:48:12like here at Tate St Ives.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15They capture a child-like joy of the coast.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26But are they as simple as they seem?
0:48:28 > 0:48:32The gallery's artistic director is Martin Clark.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34What does he reckon to Wallis' primitive style?
0:48:34 > 0:48:37He's often talked about as a kind of naive painter,
0:48:37 > 0:48:40or that the images are very child-like.
0:48:40 > 0:48:42And I think it would be wrong to dismiss that
0:48:42 > 0:48:44or see that as a criticism in some ways.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46In some senses, that's its strength.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49And I think, you know, children do have a way of looking
0:48:49 > 0:48:52and connecting with objects and with images and with the world
0:48:52 > 0:48:55which often, artists are trying to get back to.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58Painters respond to that and can see that sophistication
0:48:58 > 0:49:01and the other people that respond really well to his work
0:49:01 > 0:49:03and connect with it are fishermen.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09Maybe seafarers find in these simple pictures
0:49:09 > 0:49:12a straightforward connection with life on the waves.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16After all, Alfred Wallis had been a fisherman himself.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22So, what made him pick up the paints?
0:49:22 > 0:49:26Alfred abandoned the sea after meeting Susan Ward.
0:49:26 > 0:49:28This is Susan later in life.
0:49:28 > 0:49:33They married in 1876 when Susan was 41 and Alfred was just 20.
0:49:35 > 0:49:40But after a long and happy life together, Susan passed away in 1922.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47Left alone and lonely, Alfred began to turn in on himself.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50Wallis became a recluse.
0:49:52 > 0:49:54Here he is in the doorway of his house.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56Hiding away at home aged 67,
0:49:56 > 0:49:59Alfred began to paint for the first time in his life.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04They said he turned to painting for company.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07And I've got a letter here that he wrote to an art dealer in 1936.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09And this is word-for-word as he wrote it.
0:50:09 > 0:50:14"I am self-taught, so you cannot me like those that have been taught
0:50:14 > 0:50:18"both in school and paint. I have had to learn myself."
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Alfred never had an art lesson in his life,
0:50:23 > 0:50:27yet his work was coveted by eminent collectors in the 1930s.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32It might look like child's play, but is it?
0:50:34 > 0:50:36Welcome to our school kids.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41They're aiming to capture the scenes of St Ives that captivated Wallis.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45Joining the kids are surfers and lifeguards who know the sea.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53And some older folk, silver surfers,
0:50:53 > 0:50:57closer to Alfred's age and experience of life.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01Will any of these novice painters reproduce the world of St Ives
0:51:01 > 0:51:03with the same style as Wallis?
0:51:04 > 0:51:07- Just get it on.- Just get it on and get the job done, I reckon.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11- Try and get a bit of emotion, motion of the ocean.- Yeah, I get that.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13We look at the sea every day. It might...
0:51:13 > 0:51:17I don't know, it might show in our paintings that we are quite good.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19But looking at Harry's right now, I don't think it is.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24Many of these would-be Wallises
0:51:24 > 0:51:28have settled on a scene that Alfred constantly re-imagined in his work.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35This lighthouse, Smeaton's Tower.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37We'll unveil their artwork later,
0:51:37 > 0:51:41but their pleasure at the easel is already on display.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48Wallis desperately needed that joy from his painting.
0:51:50 > 0:51:51After his wife Susan died,
0:51:51 > 0:51:55Alfred suffered crushing loneliness and paranoia.
0:51:56 > 0:52:00How did pictures of the sea help him recall happier times?
0:52:02 > 0:52:04I'm meeting artist Eric Ward.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08Eric is the great-grandson of Susan Ward, Alfred's wife.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14I have a letter here that he sent
0:52:14 > 0:52:18saying that he always painted inside.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20It's a very interesting letter, this. It goes...
0:52:20 > 0:52:21"I never see anything.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24"I send you now it is what I've seen before.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28"I've had to learn myself. I never go out to paint.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31"Your friend, Alfred Wallis."
0:52:32 > 0:52:36So sad that he just sits inside and yet the memories were all there.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40Because he spent so many years doing things on the water,
0:52:40 > 0:52:42these things soak into you over the years, don't they?
0:52:44 > 0:52:47Old Wallis, he marinated his work for years, didn't he?
0:52:47 > 0:52:50Because he didn't start painting until he was 67,
0:52:50 > 0:52:54until perhaps the memories had had time to bed down.
0:52:55 > 0:53:00His fishing days long gone, Wallis trawled his memories of the sea.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03Intense portrayals of long-lost joy.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05The coast of his imagination.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12I'm no artist, but what moved Wallis to paint
0:53:12 > 0:53:14has moved me to write.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17It's called Soaking In.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20Held in the sea's grip
0:53:20 > 0:53:23Spat from the sea's lip
0:53:23 > 0:53:26String of boats like a line of washing
0:53:26 > 0:53:28Like on a beach in the old days
0:53:28 > 0:53:33Washing, flapping like fish in a Wallis painting.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39Alfred's world has hooked me in.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42But has he given inspiration to our amateur artists?
0:53:47 > 0:53:50These are the artworks St Ives produced earlier today.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56So, what's it like now to see it in the gallery?
0:53:56 > 0:53:58Pretty amazing.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01It just looks absolutely amazing,
0:54:01 > 0:54:03just to have my artwork hanging up in the gallery.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07- I've been calling it a sphinx. - I know.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09Earlier on, didn't somebody call it a dog?
0:54:09 > 0:54:11Somebody called it a dog. But in actual fact,
0:54:11 > 0:54:14- it's the Smeaton's Tower.- Yes.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17As with Alfred Wallis,
0:54:17 > 0:54:20the local lighthouse shines out from these works.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23But the styles are very different.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30The art establishment recognised Wallis as a singular talent.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35For these amateurs, what makes painting worthwhile
0:54:35 > 0:54:37is the joy of doing it.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43Sadly, the same couldn't be said for Wallis.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49Capturing the essence of this coast on canvas
0:54:49 > 0:54:51brings a great deal of joy to many people.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55But it brought no solace to the tortured soul of Alfred Wallis.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02He cared little for the meagre money the dealers paid for his work.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08He became preoccupied that some locals resented his fame,
0:55:08 > 0:55:10believing he must be making a fortune.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20I've got one of his last letters here that I'd like to read to you,
0:55:20 > 0:55:23written to art collector Jim Mead.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26"I'm thinking of giving up the paints altogether.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29"I've nothing but persecution and jealousy.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32"If you can come down for an hour or two, you can take them with you
0:55:32 > 0:55:36"and give me what you think they're worth to you afterwards.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40"These drawers and shops are all jealous of me."
0:55:41 > 0:55:45And that, with all its misspellings and bad grammar,
0:55:45 > 0:55:48gives you the idea of a man at the end of his tether,
0:55:48 > 0:55:52for whom painting in the end, perhaps wasn't enough.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55And yet he's left us such a fantastic legacy.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02As Alfred gave up painting and his passion for the sea,
0:56:02 > 0:56:06he gave up his trouble with the ache of life, too.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09In 1942, at the age of 87,
0:56:09 > 0:56:11Alfred Wallis died in poverty.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15Alone and abandoned in the poorhouse.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23I'd like to think that the image of this Atlantic seascape
0:56:23 > 0:56:26that Alfred clung onto for so long inside his head
0:56:26 > 0:56:28was with him at the end.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31The final picture for his long voyage to that eternal sea.
0:56:47 > 0:56:52We're exploring pursuits that bring us joy on our coast.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57My journey has brought me to Scotland's Western Isles,
0:56:57 > 0:57:02where I've conquered the Cioch to find my new favourite view.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07Do you know, I reckon this is the most astounding spot
0:57:07 > 0:57:10that I've ever trodden on in the British Isles.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12And it was worth every blister.
0:57:16 > 0:57:20This has been a real pleasure cruise, and it's not over yet.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26I'm on the way to one of my favourite natural wonders.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30This is one last sight I've just got to share with you.
0:57:34 > 0:57:38Many say it's better to journey than to arrive.
0:57:38 > 0:57:44But some destinations bring a special joy all of their own.
0:57:45 > 0:57:50The unbridled beauty of Loch Coruisk is picture-perfect.
0:57:57 > 0:57:59Nestled in the heart of Skye,
0:57:59 > 0:58:03this cauldron of water stirs the soul.
0:58:09 > 0:58:15How can your spirits not soar where sea and mountains meet?
0:58:15 > 0:58:17We're blessed to have so many sites
0:58:17 > 0:58:21of such stunning beauty around our shores.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24Discovering the ones that have a meaning for you
0:58:24 > 0:58:26is the real joy of our coast.
0:58:34 > 0:58:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd