0:00:10 > 0:00:12Tower Bridge control. Tower Bridge control.
0:00:12 > 0:00:13BEEPING
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Can you confirm your name, please?
0:00:15 > 0:00:17This is Coast.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29As islanders, it's in our blood to reach out and explore.
0:00:30 > 0:00:36Sails up, gears in motion, and 30 miles to the open sea.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I'm following in the wake of our coastal pioneers,
0:00:42 > 0:00:49seafarers who left the land in search of oceans of opportunity.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52And the team are on voyages of exploration too.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58Tessa is telling a Pilgrims' tale, where explorers go wayward.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02How did a group of illegal stowaways
0:01:02 > 0:01:05come to found the most powerful nation on earth?
0:01:06 > 0:01:08And why did they head here,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11to Amsterdam, before America?
0:01:12 > 0:01:16And Andy's in pursuit of cod, exploring the deep.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19I'm searching for the solution to
0:01:19 > 0:01:23a question that's easy to ask, but hard to answer.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25How many fish are in the sea?
0:01:29 > 0:01:33This is The Explorers' Coast.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37MUSIC: "Coast Theme" by Alan Parker
0:02:06 > 0:02:09For centuries, explorers set sail from the capital
0:02:09 > 0:02:11to make their mark on the world.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14This Explorers' Coast
0:02:14 > 0:02:17offers glimpses of glorious voyages gone by.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22A replica of Drake's Golden Hind -
0:02:22 > 0:02:26the first English ship to circumnavigate the globe.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33The Cutty Sark - a super-fast clipper built for global commerce.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38She ran trade routes that early explorers pioneered.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44And, surprisingly, that spirit of exploration
0:02:44 > 0:02:47still thrives on this highway to the sea.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55I've hitched this lift to meet modern-day explorers,
0:02:55 > 0:03:00soon to embark in the wake of heroic seafarers of old.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09It's a personal passion of mine
0:03:09 > 0:03:11to walk around our coast, as you may know,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14but circumnavigating these isles by sea
0:03:14 > 0:03:18has captivated intrepid explorers for millennia.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21It's a nautical tradition that proudly lives on.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27Our earliest explorers relied on muscle power.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32Can these crews match our ancient ancestors?
0:03:32 > 0:03:37Remarkably, they're trying to row right around Britain.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39This is going to be a wild ride.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50This is what it was always like leaving the Thames
0:03:50 > 0:03:52at the beginning of an amazing voyage.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54You waited till the ebb tide
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and you got sluiced down towards the ocean.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01You can feel the power of the river willing you on your way.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Soon, the tide will propel
0:04:07 > 0:04:09the rowing boats to sea.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13Turning the corner
0:04:13 > 0:04:15on the south coast,
0:04:15 > 0:04:16the rowers will follow
0:04:16 > 0:04:20in the wake of paddle-powered explorers from the Bronze Age...
0:04:23 > 0:04:26..braving the same deadly reefs at Land's End.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Pressing on to the Irish Sea,
0:04:31 > 0:04:36they'll struggle like Celtic oarsmen of old.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42As our crews reach the Scottish coast,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44they'll row in seas
0:04:44 > 0:04:46ruled by Viking explorers.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53On the home shores of Captain Cook and Admiral Nelson,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56our rowers must pull together,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59as did heroic life-savers of the east coast.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Coming full circle,
0:05:05 > 0:05:07our explorers will have rowed
0:05:07 > 0:05:10themselves into history.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13That incredible voyage lies ahead.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17Now, they're almost ready to leave the capital behind,
0:05:17 > 0:05:21for a month or more, in tiny craft.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Well, it's very confined in that cabin
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and that's putting it politely - it's absolutely minute!
0:05:27 > 0:05:29And when you crawl in, then -
0:05:29 > 0:05:32you really do have to crawl - after a rowing spell,
0:05:32 > 0:05:34you're really tired
0:05:34 > 0:05:36and you don't get much rest in there
0:05:36 > 0:05:39because the boat is pitching from side to side.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41Just movement the whole time,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44there's actually no physical rest at all.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46And this is just the Thames!
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Well, good luck, guys,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53and row safe.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55- Cheers.- Bye.- Bye.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Exploration begins with fond farewells
0:06:01 > 0:06:04that our coast has witnessed through the ages.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07SHIP HORNS BLARE
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Can these explorers prove their mettle
0:06:16 > 0:06:18and match up to ancient mariners
0:06:18 > 0:06:21who propelled themselves around our isles?
0:06:23 > 0:06:282,000 miles on the oars - an odyssey from millennia ago.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Whoa!
0:06:33 > 0:06:34While they're all at sea,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38I'm going on my own journey by foot.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41I'm following the forgotten explorers
0:06:41 > 0:06:44who first navigated our treacherous coast.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Epic voyages that not only shaped us as a people,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51but revealed the shape of our mysterious shores.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57And, of course, our exploration of the explorers' coast
0:06:57 > 0:06:59is a team effort.
0:07:01 > 0:07:07Tessa is going back 400 years for a voyage to new worlds.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11She's embarking from Boston, Lincolnshire,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14on a pitch-dark night.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22It's winter,
0:07:22 > 0:07:27the year of our Lord 1607, on the shores of Boston.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34A desperate group are fleeing from religious persecution.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37100 men, women, and children are gathered here,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40seeking illegal passage to a new life overseas.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44But they're betrayed.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49DOOR THUDS AND LOCK CLICKS
0:07:49 > 0:07:52The captain has double-crossed the illegal emigrants.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56They're captured by the authorities, who throw them into this very cell.
0:07:56 > 0:07:57DOOR THUDDING
0:08:00 > 0:08:04These explorers in search of religious freedom
0:08:04 > 0:08:07were in fact the Pilgrim Fathers.
0:08:07 > 0:08:08MUSIC: "The Star-Spangled Banner"
0:08:08 > 0:08:12The founders of what would become the United States of America.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18And as every American knows,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22their founding fathers set sail from Plymouth, England,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25on board the good ol' Mayflower.
0:08:25 > 0:08:26MUSIC STOPS RAPIDLY
0:08:26 > 0:08:28But hang on a minute!
0:08:28 > 0:08:29The Pilgrim Fathers,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32when they were attempting to leave Boston, weren't on the Mayflower,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35and they weren't heading for America -
0:08:35 > 0:08:37they were off to Holland.
0:08:37 > 0:08:38BICYCLE BELL RINGS
0:08:42 > 0:08:47We know that... because of this man...here.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50William Bradford.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52He was one of the would-be escapees,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55and he kept a journal.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57In it he wrote -
0:08:57 > 0:09:00"We resolved to go to the Low Countries,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04"where we heard was freedom of religion for all men."
0:09:04 > 0:09:09So, if Holland was where they intended to set up home,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12how on earth did they become blown off course
0:09:12 > 0:09:16and end up founding modern America?
0:09:16 > 0:09:20To understand that, let's begin with where they came from -
0:09:20 > 0:09:22the tiny Nottinghamshire village
0:09:22 > 0:09:27of Scrooby, with its own historian Sue Allen.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31So, Sue, tell me about this place called Scrooby.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Well, you've probably never heard of it,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36but everyone knows where Sheffield is,
0:09:36 > 0:09:37and if you just travel
0:09:37 > 0:09:40east into north Nottinghamshire
0:09:40 > 0:09:43- you'll find this tiny little speck. That's Scrooby.- Oh,
0:09:43 > 0:09:48it is weeny and there's no sea. It's landlocked!
0:09:48 > 0:09:50This is rural Nottinghamshire.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54They clearly weren't seafaring types,
0:09:54 > 0:09:58why where these villagers so keen to leave?
0:09:58 > 0:10:01It's all down to religion.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Our group were Puritans,
0:10:03 > 0:10:08the Church of England was too Catholic for their liking,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10and because they made a stand
0:10:10 > 0:10:13and wanted to leave the Church of England
0:10:13 > 0:10:15that was a no-no.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17The head of the church was the monarch,
0:10:17 > 0:10:22if you go against the monarch it's almost treason.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25So they have no option but to turn towards the sea.
0:10:25 > 0:10:26To go across the sea.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33The Puritans resolved to put their faith in Protestant Holland.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Their story is taught to children
0:10:38 > 0:10:41but that chapter's often skipped over.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48Remember we last left them in prison in Boston in 1607.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53The book tells us that they were released and sent back home
0:10:53 > 0:10:56and told NOT to flee again.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58But they didn't obey.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Their next voyage was successful.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10By the grace of God the Pilgrims had been delivered to Amsterdam.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19In 1608, they'd set sail from the Humber Estuary,
0:11:19 > 0:11:23but the English villagers didn't find the bustling business hub
0:11:23 > 0:11:27of Amsterdam to their Puritan taste.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30So the group set off again to Leiden...
0:11:33 > 0:11:36..a city not of commerce, but of ideas.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40The explorers in search of religious freedom,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44settled happily into the university town of Leiden...
0:11:45 > 0:11:47..and set about
0:11:47 > 0:11:51doing what they did best.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Antagonising the Church of England.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Have a look at this pamphlet, it's signed by William Brewster -
0:11:58 > 0:12:01one of the Pilgrims' ringleaders - and it's a debate about
0:12:01 > 0:12:05whether to split from the Church of England, heretical stuff.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09But pamphlets like these could be safely printed here in Leiden
0:12:09 > 0:12:13and sent back to England to stir up discontent.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16The city seemed heaven-sent.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20But being an immigrant in someone else's country wasn't easy,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24and after ten years it looked like Catholic Spain might invade
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Protestant Holland.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Time for the English Puritans to move on.
0:12:30 > 0:12:36The Pilgrims set sail from Holland in 1620, next stop America.
0:12:37 > 0:12:38Well, OK, not quite.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Next stop, Southampton, and from there
0:12:42 > 0:12:44they set sail for America
0:12:44 > 0:12:48in a ship called the Speedwell.
0:12:48 > 0:12:49Confused?
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Well, a few days into their journey,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53the Speedwell sprang a leak.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55So they had to go back to Plymouth,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57where they transferred onto
0:12:57 > 0:12:59a new ship called...
0:12:59 > 0:13:00the Mayflower.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02This time, the next stop
0:13:02 > 0:13:04for our intrepid explorers
0:13:04 > 0:13:06really was...America.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09# I like to be in America
0:13:09 > 0:13:11# OK by me in America
0:13:11 > 0:13:13# Everything's free in America... #
0:13:13 > 0:13:18Even troublesome Puritans were welcome in this new English colony.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22But not all the women and children made it to the promised land.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25THEY CHATTER IN DUTCH
0:13:25 > 0:13:27- Hello, Ria.- Hello, Tessa.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31'Ria Koet and her family are descendants of Mayflower
0:13:31 > 0:13:33'passenger Moses Fletcher.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38'Moses died in America before his own family could join him.'
0:13:38 > 0:13:41His family stayed in Leiden
0:13:41 > 0:13:43and they stayed, and stayed,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and stayed many generations. And so now,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49we are living here in Holland in Leiden, all in Leiden.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Do you wish you were American, or are you happy to be Dutch?
0:13:53 > 0:13:57No, I am very happy to be a real Leiden woman.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02And Leiden sons. Yes, we love Leiden and I stay here.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04But, of course,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07if we go really far back in history, you are in fact British.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10- Yes.- Well, long live the Dutch.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13- Thank you very much.- Thank you. Bye.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17The Pilgrim Fathers have left a living legacy in Holland,
0:14:17 > 0:14:22but they also took a surprising tradition from Leiden with them.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28A tradition we think of as quintessentially American -
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Thanksgiving.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Every year since 1574, Protestant Leiden has held
0:14:36 > 0:14:41a community feast to give thanks for the defeat of Catholic Spain.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45The Pilgrims took the Dutch ritual of Thanksgiving
0:14:45 > 0:14:50across the Atlantic, and it's come full circle.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55Now every year, Leiden celebrates American Thanksgiving.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57ALL: One nation under God...
0:15:01 > 0:15:05The Pilgrims left Britain and headed east to Europe,
0:15:05 > 0:15:07but they ended up going west to America.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11It was the beginning of our special relationship with the New World,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14and the rest, as they say, is history.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Britons looked longingly across the ocean
0:15:28 > 0:15:32long before the Pilgrims made their voyages.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36We've explored our own seas for millennia.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41Before sail it was paddle power.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Now six teams are reliving the experience
0:15:46 > 0:15:49of Britain's early explorers.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Whoa! He's literally right under the boat.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54There he is.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00They're trying to row right around our isles.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04That's the White Cliffs of Dover.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06That's not bad, is it?
0:16:07 > 0:16:11They've chalked up the first major landmark,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15but some 2,000 miles of struggle lie ahead.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19I've got five blisters on my hand already,
0:16:19 > 0:16:21and it's only day two.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25They hurt quite a bit, so I've got to wear these giant gloves.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Our 21st-century explorers
0:16:32 > 0:16:36soon discover determination isn't enough...
0:16:37 > 0:16:39..if your luck runs out.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46Electrical failure means this crew lose radio and navigation.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Their voyage is over.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Soon, more boats call for help and drop out.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03Only two crews are left,
0:17:03 > 0:17:05trying to row around Britain.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10A voyage of exploration
0:17:10 > 0:17:14facing the fierce waters off Portland Bill...
0:17:16 > 0:17:18..the whirlpool of the Corryvreckan...
0:17:21 > 0:17:23..and the tidal races of the Pentland Firth.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Wayward explorers must also be wary of sandbanks.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35- This is the fourth time we've done this today.- Fourth time.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Fourth time we've...run aground.
0:17:39 > 0:17:45And open seas usher in sea monsters unknown to ancient explorers.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49That's quite a big beastie. Be a bit of a wash after that, Josh,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- do you think?- Maybe a splash. SHIP'S HORN BLARES
0:17:54 > 0:17:57With so many hazards to navigate,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00no wonder seafarers worry about exactly where they are.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11That's why lighthouses were a welcome sight for explorers,
0:18:11 > 0:18:15both a comfort and a warning.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19Mariners' lonely companions for centuries,
0:18:19 > 0:18:24bright beacons of hope, staking out our edge.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29But what about before the lights, in the dark nights of ancient history?
0:18:31 > 0:18:36Before charts, no-one knew the shape or position of our isles.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40To see how, 2,500 years ago,
0:18:40 > 0:18:45a Greek explorer first put us on the map,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47I'm basing myself in Cornwall.
0:18:51 > 0:18:57Around 320BC, a seafarer from the Mediterranean landed here,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00a man who literally penned our isle into existence.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14This remarkable seafarer was
0:19:14 > 0:19:18embarking on a circumnavigation of our isles that would become
0:19:18 > 0:19:23so legendary his story would be retold for generations.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26His name was Pytheas the Greek,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29and he's one of my greatest heroes.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37He was an explorer eager to discover the fabled "Tin Islands" -
0:19:37 > 0:19:40the mysterious lands where the ancient Greeks sourced
0:19:40 > 0:19:42tin in the Bronze Age.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46A voyage to uncharted territory
0:19:46 > 0:19:49that Pytheas named "Prettanike".
0:19:49 > 0:19:54The exact details of Pytheas the Greek's odyssey have been lost,
0:19:54 > 0:19:58but he left a series of measurements that would eventually allow
0:19:58 > 0:20:04our isles to be mapped, and as a map man that's what excites me the most.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07Like navigators before him,
0:20:07 > 0:20:11we know Pytheas looked to the skies for guidance.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14But not just the distant stars,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16he used the sun too.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25Pytheas travelled with an instrument called a "gnomon".
0:20:25 > 0:20:29A stick much like a sundial, the gnomon cast a shadow
0:20:29 > 0:20:31when raised vertically in the midday sun.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Imagine I'm the gnomon.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38The further south we travel,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41the higher in the sky the sun is at noon
0:20:41 > 0:20:43and the shorter the shadow.
0:20:43 > 0:20:44The further north we travel,
0:20:44 > 0:20:49the lower the sun is in the sky at noon and the shadow lengthens.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53By looking at the length of the shadow cast by his stick,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57his gnomon, Pytheas could get an indication of how far north
0:20:57 > 0:20:59or south he had travelled.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02But it was only an indication.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08To convert shadow lengths into a precise position on the globe
0:21:08 > 0:21:11would take some clever calculations.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Mathematicians cracked the code that would help them
0:21:14 > 0:21:17to convert the measurements of the sun's shadow,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19taken by Pytheas the Greek,
0:21:19 > 0:21:24into that critical navigational tool - lines of latitude.
0:21:27 > 0:21:33Lines of latitude run round the earth parallel to the equator,
0:21:33 > 0:21:36a measure of how far north
0:21:36 > 0:21:38or south you are.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44Latitude is crucial to making maps.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49Using Greek trigonometry of angles,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51and the shadow lengths from Pytheas
0:21:51 > 0:21:53for latitude,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56early map-makers went to work.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Without even visiting Britain, scholars could use
0:22:01 > 0:22:07Pytheas's raw data to plot the location of our isles.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11It had taken one epic voyage and some pretty epic brain work,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15but finally Britain could be marked on a map.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19And what a map.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Classical scholars pieced together a remarkable picture of our isles,
0:22:23 > 0:22:29that endured for centuries, using stick measurements and maths.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Cornwall was big in their minds,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34revealing its importance to explorers,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37but Scotland needs some work!
0:22:41 > 0:22:44After thousands of years of effort,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46we've mapped every inch of the globe.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49But most of the planet still remains a mystery.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55The oceans are explorers' biggest challenge.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59And Britain leads the way,
0:22:59 > 0:23:05as scientists try to discover how many fish are left in our seas.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10To explore this conundrum,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13experts embark from Ullapool.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Andy Torbet is joining an underwater mission
0:23:18 > 0:23:22that's been under way for over half a century.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Like generations of scientific explorers before me,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I'm setting sail in search of fish.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35I've signed on with the Scotia,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39a research vessel that studies fish stocks in Scottish waters.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49Time to cast our nets into a stretch of water
0:23:49 > 0:23:52that's been explored with scientific precision.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59Every year the same procedure, but every year a different catch.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Since the 1950s, they've been comparing catches year on year.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Concerns about fish stocks are nothing new.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12The numbers of our nation's old favourite,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15cod, have been falling for decades.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22I've got here the logbook from the 1960s with the records of hauls.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27And finally a crew's report with comments like -
0:24:27 > 0:24:32"Whiting was fairly numerous at all stations, cod was rather scarce".
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Scottish scientists are old hands at counting fish.
0:24:36 > 0:24:401956 saw the first purpose-built vessel.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42And here she is.
0:24:42 > 0:24:43The SS Explorer.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53The Explorer's pioneering voyages provide clues to how today's
0:24:53 > 0:24:57scientists try to forecast fish stocks.
0:24:57 > 0:24:58For the first time,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02age-old techniques were married with hi tech.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Now, the Explorer is washed up in Edinburgh
0:25:10 > 0:25:11somewhat the worse for wear.
0:25:12 > 0:25:18Helping to restore her is scientist and old shipmate John Dunn.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22The Explorer was very, very strongly built,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25and I would quite happily, in the day,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28have gone anywhere in her, and indeed did do.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34All of our fittings and fixtures were good quality.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37The phones were very heavy Bakelite.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41The Explorer was right up there with the best.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47This equipment from another age did point the way to the future.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51She was one of the very first fisheries' research vessels
0:25:51 > 0:25:53anywhere to sail with a computer.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59It had quite large pieces of valve-operated machinery
0:25:59 > 0:26:02and ticker tape, and it had a teleprinter chattering away,
0:26:02 > 0:26:07but it did manage to deal with huge amounts of data,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11which otherwise had to be done by hand, and number-crunched by hand.
0:26:13 > 0:26:19It was the start of something which revolutionised everything.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Computers are now at the heart of our fish forecast,
0:26:23 > 0:26:26processing data dragged up from the deep.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32Detailed measurements are recorded and fed into computer simulations
0:26:32 > 0:26:35which help predict likely fish stocks.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40For biologist Coby Needle, a crucial factor in their analysis
0:26:40 > 0:26:42is the age of the fish we've caught.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48To determine the age we take out the otolith,
0:26:48 > 0:26:50or one of the otoliths from the fish, which are
0:26:50 > 0:26:52ear bones. So you go in through the gills
0:26:52 > 0:26:54and pull out the otoliths that way.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58We then cut the otoliths in two, slice it down the middle
0:26:58 > 0:27:00and look at them under a microscope.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04And otoliths are very much like tree rings - every year the animal
0:27:04 > 0:27:08lays down another bony ring onto the otolith, so you can essentially
0:27:08 > 0:27:12count up the rings and work out from that how old that fish was.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15This meticulous research
0:27:15 > 0:27:18will help set the all-important fishing quotas.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24The catches landed by trawlermen
0:27:24 > 0:27:27are also fed into the computer models.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29But these guys have their favourite fishing grounds,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33and they stick to the areas with the largest stocks.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39In contrast, the Scotia trawls all around Scottish waters,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43helping build up a better picture of fish populations.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47As a survey vessel, we need to fish in areas both where
0:27:47 > 0:27:50there are a lot of fish and also areas where there may have been fish
0:27:50 > 0:27:51in the past - in the '50s and '60s -
0:27:51 > 0:27:53but there are no longer fish any more.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56If we were running a commercial fishing vessel,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59we wouldn't do this operation here, we would go where the fish are,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01but then you might get an overly optimistic impression
0:28:01 > 0:28:03of how many fish there are in the sea.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09The latest findings do indicate
0:28:09 > 0:28:11some recovery in North Sea cod stocks
0:28:11 > 0:28:15as co-operation between scientists and trawlermen deepens.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21We may never be sure about the future of our fish but,
0:28:21 > 0:28:24thanks to this exploration of the deep,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27we're not completely in the dark.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53We're charting a course around our explorers' coast.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03On epic voyages, adventure becomes a way of life.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09Muscling their way around our shores,
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Jason McKinlay
0:29:11 > 0:29:16and Josh Tarr fall into a shipboard routine that explorers
0:29:16 > 0:29:18over the centuries would recognise.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27How are you feeling, Jase?
0:29:27 > 0:29:29Can't see you, mate.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34They've got to work with the sea to make it their home.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39Which means housekeeping.
0:29:42 > 0:29:43Washing clothes...
0:29:47 > 0:29:48..and themselves.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56After weeks away from loved ones,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59Jason's suffering in Scottish weather.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05Roughly halfway round Britain,
0:30:05 > 0:30:07they've struggled to reach Skye.
0:30:11 > 0:30:16But it's pausing for reflection that gives explorers the greatest pain.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21Like adventurers of old, it's not what they endure,
0:30:21 > 0:30:23it's what they leave behind.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26I miss my kids and my wife terribly.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Sarah really understands what I'm like deep down, and this
0:30:29 > 0:30:32is going to be good for us, not just good for me in the long run.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34She builds up a lot of Brownie points doing this, by the way.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38I've just had to sort of get used to it
0:30:38 > 0:30:40and accept that's part of him.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43I know that if he's not doing these challenges
0:30:43 > 0:30:44he's a misery to live with.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47So I knew what I was letting myself in for when I married him.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06Josh and Jason have learned to rely on each other.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15The bond they've forged has brought them to a key turning point.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17KLAXON BLARES
0:31:17 > 0:31:21The joy of reaching the coast off John o'Groats
0:31:21 > 0:31:23means they're heading south.
0:31:26 > 0:31:31Now, each stroke takes them closer to the finish at Tower Bridge.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36If they do make it, they'll have done it together.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43But some explorers fail because they fall out.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48On the trail of travelling companions who famously went
0:31:48 > 0:31:51separate ways, I'm in Falmouth.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03200 years ago, an artist adventurer came to this coast,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05a young man with a grand plan.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11That entrepreneurial explorer became the country's most ambitious
0:32:11 > 0:32:14landscape artist - William Daniell.
0:32:16 > 0:32:21In 1813, William Daniell began a mighty project.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28Before photography, Daniell planned to depict the majesty of our coast.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34He created over 300 illustrations.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38An explorer's guide.
0:32:38 > 0:32:39From Ilfracombe...
0:32:45 > 0:32:46..to Fingal's Cave...
0:32:48 > 0:32:49..and beyond.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54Artworks to be sold in a series entitled
0:32:54 > 0:32:56"A Voyage Round Great Britain".
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Today, originals hang here at Falmouth.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Daniell's work captures the coast of 200 years ago,
0:33:08 > 0:33:12spectacular and ripe for exploration.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20But part of the picture is missing.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23Daniell didn't take on his epic voyage alone,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27he had a companion, now almost forgotten,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29a writer named Richard Ayton.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35Ayton's words were meant to accompany Daniell's drawings.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40They set off in the year 1813.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44The first location - Land's End.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50And here is Ayton's description.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55"This western promontory presents a very grand and striking scene;
0:33:55 > 0:33:59"the rocks hang about it in huge, disjointed masses
0:33:59 > 0:34:04"and are tumbled together in magnificent confusion."
0:34:04 > 0:34:08The scene is exhilarating both in words and in picture.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13Daniell's illustration shows a lighthouse.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19That original lighthouse has since been demolished.
0:34:20 > 0:34:25William Daniell's partnership with his writer wouldn't last either.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30To see why, I'm retracing their footsteps
0:34:30 > 0:34:33with artist Charles Newington.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38We're picking up their route at Portreath.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Daniell was inspired by what he saw in Portreath.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55And, two centuries later, so is Charles.
0:35:00 > 0:35:05I'm fascinated to see what you're selecting from the view, Charles.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Just what Daniell would've been doing.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09Daniell was hunting for
0:35:09 > 0:35:12the beautiful view all the time, and, um,
0:35:12 > 0:35:14this one rather does it for me here.
0:35:14 > 0:35:19OK, this wonderful hillside here with the great bite taken out of it
0:35:19 > 0:35:21and this extraordinary sort of nose
0:35:21 > 0:35:23in the middle. It's fantastic.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26He was bringing the beauty,
0:35:26 > 0:35:27the diversity of the coast
0:35:27 > 0:35:32and celebrating it in a way that it had never been celebrated before.
0:35:32 > 0:35:33Yes, you've got it, I think.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36There was nothing like it before.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38He produced the ultimate,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42best travel guide to Britain you could imagine.
0:35:44 > 0:35:45200 years ago,
0:35:45 > 0:35:48full-colour reproductions of Daniell's pencil sketches
0:35:48 > 0:35:52took painstaking effort, back in his studio,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55using the aquatint process.
0:35:56 > 0:36:01Copper plates were coated in fine powder to give a textured finish.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05Beeswax was applied and burned to blacken.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10The original pencil drawing was placed on top.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15Pressing transferred an imprint of pencil graphite.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21Those lines were then hand-etched into the copper.
0:36:24 > 0:36:25After an acid bath,
0:36:25 > 0:36:29the ink was applied for printing onto high-quality paper.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39Repeated steps built up the full hand-coloured image.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45That laborious process was expensive.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50The artist desperately needed wealthy buyers.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53But his writer, Richard Ayton,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55was interested in the poor, not the rich.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01Ayton's passion for gritty reality
0:37:01 > 0:37:05was spelt out in their trip to the tin mines at St Agnes.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11Ayton gives us an account of their arrival.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16He wrote, "There was no water in the harbour,
0:37:16 > 0:37:19"so that we were obliged to land on the rocks.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24"The cliffs above us were strangely shattered,
0:37:24 > 0:37:27"and hollowed into innumerable cavities
0:37:27 > 0:37:29"by the best of all hole-makers,
0:37:29 > 0:37:33"the Cornish miners".
0:37:33 > 0:37:34Look at that.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36And here are those holes.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41This working landscape was ignored by the artist,
0:37:41 > 0:37:43but not by the writer.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48With no illustration to see the industry
0:37:48 > 0:37:50that captivated Ayton in 1813,
0:37:50 > 0:37:54we have to rely on photos from much later.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59I'm with local historian Roger Radcliffe.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05It is really quite a miserable kind of place,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08you've got smoke, tin stamps here working.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11So the noise was something that you have to appreciate.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14The stream would be running nearly black
0:38:14 > 0:38:17at times, with this, tainting the bay.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20Back then, it really was quite a grim place to work,
0:38:20 > 0:38:24and I don't think it's any mistake that we don't have
0:38:24 > 0:38:26a nice illustration of St Agnes.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28I think it was pretty ugly at that time,
0:38:28 > 0:38:30and that's what we've got to think of.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37Ayton's words painted the grim picture
0:38:37 > 0:38:39that the artist Daniell ignored.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44Daniell planned hundreds of luxury prints.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49Each new stretch of the journey around Britain had to be
0:38:49 > 0:38:53paid for by sales of the PREVIOUS volumes.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59But Ayton's writing on the workers' plight risked alienating
0:38:59 > 0:39:02the rich buyers Daniell relied on.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06As the voyage continued,
0:39:06 > 0:39:09their accounts grew further and further apart.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17Before they were halfway round our coast, sketcher and scribe split up.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23We don't know if Ayton jumped or was pushed,
0:39:23 > 0:39:25but the artist wrote him out of the picture.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Daniell, taking over the writing duties himself, says,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33"Mr Ayton's account of the voyage is to be
0:39:33 > 0:39:37"considered as terminating at the close of the preceding volume."
0:39:42 > 0:39:46After departing from Land's End, it took ten years for Daniell
0:39:46 > 0:39:50to complete his masterwork - A Voyage Round Great Britain.
0:39:54 > 0:39:59Now two centuries old, the volumes inspired generations of explorers.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05Industry given an artistic gloss.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11And landscapes rendered with romantic splendour.
0:40:13 > 0:40:18His epic voyage saw William Daniell elevated to the Royal Academy.
0:40:19 > 0:40:25But writer Richard Ayton left his best work behind him on the coast.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30In 1823, the year Daniell completed the journey
0:40:30 > 0:40:34they had started together, Ayton died.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39A forgotten explorer for the truth.
0:40:45 > 0:40:50It's easy to think that days of exploration are over, but not so.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Epic journeys are still taking place
0:40:53 > 0:40:55and new heroes are in the making.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01Our earliest explorers would pay tribute to these crews,
0:41:01 > 0:41:05who've tried to match their exploits
0:41:05 > 0:41:09propelled by muscle power.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11Like those seafarers of old,
0:41:11 > 0:41:15they'll return with tall tales of the sea.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17We went up north into Scotland,
0:41:17 > 0:41:18behind us was a Force 8 gale,
0:41:18 > 0:41:22and that took us nicely all the way down to the Corryvreckan Gulf -
0:41:22 > 0:41:24the home of the notorious whirlpool.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27Lucky for us we didn't actually get too close to it,
0:41:27 > 0:41:29so that helped us slingshot across to...
0:41:29 > 0:41:33- We rowed over two of them. - Little ones but not the big one.- No.
0:41:35 > 0:41:36Oh!
0:41:36 > 0:41:38Oh, Jase, look.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45Now one boat's almost come full circle around Britain.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50After 2,000 miles of struggle they finish first,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53in a record time for a four-man crew.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57CHEERING AND HORNS BLARING
0:41:57 > 0:42:0226 days, 9 hours, 9 minutes and 4 seconds.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08An achievement explorers from any age would be proud of.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11Come on, let's hear it, boys! Yeah!
0:42:11 > 0:42:13Well done, lads.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17The adventure's not quite over though.
0:42:18 > 0:42:2215 days later, I'm on the Thames.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27Not many wait around for those in second place, but we do.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30For me the greatest explorations
0:42:30 > 0:42:33are not necessarily about coming first,
0:42:33 > 0:42:37they're about not giving up, pressing on, taking your time
0:42:37 > 0:42:40and coming home with the story of a lifetime.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46Josh Tarr and Jason McKinlay have explored the edge of our isles,
0:42:46 > 0:42:48the only other crew to finish.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56It took 41 days,
0:42:56 > 0:42:58the quickest time ever for a pair.
0:42:58 > 0:43:02With muscle and sinew they've written their names
0:43:02 > 0:43:03into the record books.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06WHOOPING, WHISTLING AND APPLAUSE
0:43:06 > 0:43:10Explorers come and go, but their legacy lives on,
0:43:10 > 0:43:15their indomitable spirit has shaped our island's history.
0:43:15 > 0:43:21This is The Explorers' Coast and it's been one heck of a journey.
0:43:21 > 0:43:22CHEERING
0:43:22 > 0:43:26BOAT HORN BLARES
0:43:31 > 0:43:32Fantastic!