0:00:40 > 0:00:45If you really want to know about the tug of love between Britain and France over the Channel Islands,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48there's one place you've got to go... Les Ecrehous.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53A spectacular island group just eight miles off the French coast.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58There's no regular boat service, so you've got to improvise.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Slide the boat in.
0:01:02 > 0:01:03OK.
0:01:11 > 0:01:17Local kayaker Derek Hairon is an old hand at this six-mile paddle to Les Ecrehous.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22So, is this crossing a sort of sea kayaker's Mecca?
0:01:22 > 0:01:27It certainly seems to be. We do see a lot of people from all over the world coming to Jersey to kayak.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Also, all round the Channel Islands.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Shall I be first?
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Yes, I think you'd better be.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Well, I feel just like Captain Cook making first landfall in Australia,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48out of a slightly smaller boat, right enough, but I don't think this is
0:01:48 > 0:01:51really my colour.
0:01:51 > 0:01:57So, if you give a minute, I'll change into something more appropriate.
0:01:57 > 0:02:03Les Ecrehous is little more than a granite reef but it looks like a toy town by the sea.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06These dolls' houses were originally fishermen's huts.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11The accommodation might be Spartan, but the setting is idyllic.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18The downside? Well, there's no running water, so you have to bring your own.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22And there's only one toilet, so you get to know your neighbours rather well!
0:02:22 > 0:02:27Strange, then, that this wee place was the scene of a diplomatic incident.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31In 1994, French fishermen and a small group of militants
0:02:31 > 0:02:34mounted an invasion of Les Ecrehous.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Their plan - to claim exclusive fishing rights
0:02:37 > 0:02:41in the surrounding waters and to demand the return of Les Ecrehous to France.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43CHANTING
0:02:45 > 0:02:52Of course it wasn't a real invasion - there were no guns, fighting or genuine unpleasantness.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54In reality, it was more of a publicity stunt.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Threats of repeat action never really materialised.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02So obviously, it didn't turn into another Falkland Islands or anything.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13These islands have been loyal to the Crown for over 800 years.
0:03:13 > 0:03:19In 1953, Britain's sovereignty was upheld by the International Court of Justice.
0:03:22 > 0:03:28The French did win guaranteed fishing rights, but the dispute was always about more than business.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36Pierre Muzzard was one of the fishermen on the "invasion" committee.
0:03:36 > 0:03:42Does it cause you pain thinking this belongs to
0:03:42 > 0:03:44Britain rather than France?
0:04:01 > 0:04:05As a Frenchman, do you feel a real personal connection to this place?
0:04:23 > 0:04:29But while everyone seems to love Les Ecrehous no-one actually lives here, not full-time anyway.
0:04:29 > 0:04:35Jersey fishermen use a couple of the huts, the rest are kept as holiday homes and weekend retreats.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Suzanne Blackstone owns one of them.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Hello, Neil.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43How are you doing?
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Good to meet you.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43It's a wee bit special here.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Oh, it is! A very special place, yes.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50How much does this place mean to you?
0:04:50 > 0:04:53We've been coming ever since I was a baby.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56My brothers too and my children also.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00It means everything to me. I dream about it in the winter and...
0:05:00 > 0:05:02- Really?- Yes.
0:05:02 > 0:05:08When the invasion happened did you know in advance that they were coming?
0:05:08 > 0:05:14Most hut owners came out that weekend if they could to make sure the windows weren't broken.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16The State sent policeman.
0:05:16 > 0:05:22On the day of the invasion, more policemen were sent over
0:05:22 > 0:05:28and we had two burley policemen linked around each and every flagpole around the island.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32- So the flagpoles were really the issue?- They were. There were, yes.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36And does it still feel British?
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Most certainly it feels British. We feel very strongly about that here.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45Even with the French boats coming in - a huge number of Jersey boats come too.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50- So the French are the visitors and the Brits are the residents? - Indeed. Indeed.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04For me, this handfuls of rocks seem to represent what Channel Islanders are all about.
0:06:04 > 0:06:11Les Ecrehous may have a French name, they may even be within spitting distance of France,
0:06:11 > 0:06:16but for Channel Islanders, they're British through and through.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23The odd dispute with the neighbours aside, there's plenty of
0:06:23 > 0:06:26breathtaking shoreline for everyone to enjoy.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34I'm Sue Daly and I'm an underwater photographer.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38I've been diving here in the Channel Islands for the past 18 years.
0:06:38 > 0:06:45The advantage we've got here, above water and under water, is that we're that little bit further south.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50We've got some of marine life that you won't see, or you'll rarely see, around the British mainland.
0:06:53 > 0:06:59Even in this really shallow little bay here, there are an amazing variety of things to see.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02One of my favourites is a tiny little prawn that lives among
0:07:02 > 0:07:07the tentacles of a beautiful green and purple snakelocks anemone.
0:07:07 > 0:07:14As far as I know, this is one of the southern species we get here that isn't found on the British mainland.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17My favourite piece of behaviour that I've seen,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21and probably the hardest thing to film, are the dragonettes.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26In June and July the males do this really wonderful courtship display.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31They are like little peacocks. They parade in front of the females, they flash their fins.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33They are absolutely irresistible.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36If I was a fish, I would definitely be impressed.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43We get another species here that isn't found at all on the British mainland
0:07:43 > 0:07:45which is a type of mollusc called an ormer.
0:07:45 > 0:07:51It is only found here in the islands and around the adjacent coasts of France.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55One we get here in the bay is black-face blenny.
0:07:55 > 0:08:02The male does this wonderful mating dance around the female before she allows him to mate with her.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06And we've got some wonderful corals here.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11The fan corals are the big orangey pink ones which reach across the current.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17I think my favourite has got to be the sunset corals.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26There are a lot of people in Britain who are divers, or who would
0:08:26 > 0:08:29like to dive, but they never dive in our own seas and it's a shame.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33They think its going to be too cold or too murky, there won't be anything to see.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37You've just got to give it a little bit more time and know where to look.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40You're missing out on so much otherwise.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03The tiny Isle of Sark, just nine miles off
0:09:03 > 0:09:07the coast of Guernsey, is one of the smaller inhabited islands.
0:09:07 > 0:09:14Accessible only by foot passenger ferry, it's a 45 minute crossing to reach the craggy outcrop.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20When you get here, there are no cars, no rush.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25Just a tractor and trailer to take me up the 295 foot high hill.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44- Hello, there.- Hello.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Can I have one of these bikes for the day?
0:09:46 > 0:09:52Yes. Just try that for size. We can adjust the saddle as required.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53It's been a while.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Oh, yeah. It's all coming back to me.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00It's like riding a bike!
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Sark has escaped the hustle and bustle of modern-day life.
0:10:11 > 0:10:17Its resident population, around 600, enjoys a rather tranquil and peaceful existence which
0:10:17 > 0:10:22has hardly changed since the first families arrived here 500 years ago.
0:10:29 > 0:10:35Joining Sark, the main island, to Little Sark, is a razor-edged isthmus know as La Coupee.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39What a spectacular connection!
0:10:39 > 0:10:42For generations, children from Little Sark had
0:10:42 > 0:10:47to crawl on their hands and knees to avoid being blown over the edge on their journey to school.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57You're not allowed to cycle across here, and you can see why.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00One good, strong gust of wind and you'd end up in France.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03That's a 300 foot sheer drop.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06And in the old days these railings weren't even here.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10These ones were added by German prisoners of war in 1945.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Thanks to their labours,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15the perilous journey across La Coupee is no more.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Today, it's still a breathtaking place.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40From container ships to ferries,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44boats of all size criss-cross this narrow waterway day and night.
0:11:47 > 0:11:54To us, it's the English Channel. If you're French, it's "La Manche", meaning the sleeve.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Interesting that they don't call it the French Channel!
0:12:02 > 0:12:07Managing the 500 ships which navigate this stretch of water each day
0:12:07 > 0:12:13depends on close co-operation between Dover Coastguard and their French counterparts.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21But relations with our coastal neighbours haven't always been so cordial.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Nick Crane is on a journey back to darker times.
0:12:29 > 0:12:36Over 60 years ago, at the beginning of the Second World War, the Germans had occupied Northern France.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42From their commanding positions on the French coast over there,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45the enemy was able to strike at passing convoys
0:12:45 > 0:12:48not just from land but from the air as well.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52I've got a recording here from a BBC wartime correspondent
0:12:52 > 0:12:57reporting live from Dover on 14th July 1940.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02REPORTER: Now the Germans are dive-bombing a convoy out at sea.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06There are one, two, three, four, five, six, seven German dive bombers,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10Junkers 87s... There's one going down on its target now.
0:13:10 > 0:13:11Bomb... No, missed the ships.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13He hasn't hit a single ship.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17There are about ten ships in the convoy but he hasn't hit one.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19EXPLOSIONS
0:13:19 > 0:13:21There you can hear our anti-aircraft going at them.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25There are about ten German machines dive-bombing a British convoy
0:13:25 > 0:13:27which is just out to sea in the Channel...
0:13:28 > 0:13:30That's absolutely incredible.
0:13:30 > 0:13:36This was just six weeks after the evacuation of Dunkirk.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41For the seamen trapped down there on the Channel, it must have been absolutely terrifying.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45This was a suicidal bottleneck!
0:13:46 > 0:13:51In July 1940, the 21 miles between Dover and northern France
0:13:51 > 0:13:54was the frontline of our war in Europe.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57It became known as Hellfire Corner.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01You might think that merchant shipping
0:14:01 > 0:14:05would have avoided the Channel but it became more vital than ever.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10Most people will have heard of the Transatlantic convoys.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15But this little book tells another extraordinary story
0:14:15 > 0:14:19of something that came to be called the indestructible highway.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24I'm off to meet Nick Hewitt from the Imperial War Museum.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28He's been researching the role of the convoys during this crucial stage in the war.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30- Hello, Nick.- Hello.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Can you tell me why it was that these ships were running
0:14:33 > 0:14:36the gauntlet through the English Channel just here.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38This is all about strategic resources.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43What we've got is things like coal that are vitally required on the south coast of England and the only,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47not just the easiest, but the only way to move them is by sea.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50And to get there in the most efficient way possible
0:14:50 > 0:14:55- means forcing them through this incredibly narrow, dangerous strip of water.- Between here and France.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00But why not just put all this coal on lorries and take it through the inner part
0:15:00 > 0:15:05of Britain overland, out of sight of the German air force and out of range of coastal batteries?
0:15:05 > 0:15:07The land movement infrastructure,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11the rail and road network, can't cope with that volume of material.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14The south coast ports need 40,000 tons of coal a week.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19That would take more trains and more trucks than Britain has and a far better developed road
0:15:19 > 0:15:22and railway network than the country has at this time.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25So you're saying we had the ships already. We had the sea already.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30You can't actually damage the sea unlike you can a canal or a railway line or road.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34- Absolutely.- So it was actually the least difficult option.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38And it's Britain's lifeline. It's the way we know. It's how we know how to get things around.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42We move things by sea because we're an island. It's the way we've always done it.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47Who were the men on these ships that were running this incredibly dangerous blockade, effectively?
0:15:47 > 0:15:53These were a wonderful mix of people. The merchant ships are small, old, colliers and coastal vessels.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56These are manned by the men of the merchant navy.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57These are experienced sailors.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02These are grizzled seafarers who'd spent their careers going around Britain's coastal waters.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07Their escorts, the Royal Navy warships, are not your greyhound destroyers and big battleships.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10These are things like armed trawlers, motor torpedo boats,
0:16:10 > 0:16:12ancients warships from the First World War.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16These convoys of merchant and naval ships
0:16:16 > 0:16:20were part of a large supply network which sailed around our coast.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27They're a forgotten navy, aren't they?
0:16:27 > 0:16:31It wasn't just batteries from the French side or bombers that were trying to attack them.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33This point here, this narrow strip of water.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36They're facing everything the Germans can throw at them.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39They're facing coastal batteries of long range guns, based there
0:16:39 > 0:16:42on the French coast which can not only hit the convoys, but Dover!
0:16:42 > 0:16:46They're facing fast motor torpedo boats known as e-boats which come out at night.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50They're facing, during the summer of 1940, the whole of the German air force.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55Pretty much everything as they come through this narrow belt. It wasn't called Hellfire Corner for nothing.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00This was probably the most dangerous strip of water in the world in that summer of 1940.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05During the Second World War, over 500 convoys,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08some in excess of 30 ships, sailed through the Dover Straits.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13The command centre for the Straits was beneath Dover Castle,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16a labyrinth of underground passages and rooms
0:17:16 > 0:17:19which became the centre for military operations.
0:17:19 > 0:17:26What happened down here remained a closely guarded secret for more than 40 years.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30The Navy, the RAF and coastal artillery were all co-ordinated
0:17:30 > 0:17:34from plotting rooms like this, now preserved as a museum.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40What's not open to the public are the tunnels below.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Margaret Kennedy was one of the Wrens working on the teleprinters
0:17:44 > 0:17:50sending and receiving signals vital for the deployment of the wartime convoys 60 years ago.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Oh yes,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55I remember this.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58- This are very steep stairs, Margaret.- They are steep.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Of course I was much younger, it was nothing - you could hop down here!
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Well this is much, much bigger than any other...
0:18:11 > 0:18:16- It's massive. - It was a big room and they had lots and lots of teleprinters.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Then we had a teleprinter switchboard which went off this room.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24What were you doing down here with your teleprinter machine?
0:18:24 > 0:18:29We were sending signals all over the country and they would signal us.
0:18:29 > 0:18:35We took them inside and gave them to the appropriate officer in charge.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37Sometimes would they we in code?
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Sometimes they were in code.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43We didn't worry about what they actually meant. There was always someone there to do that.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48We did used to know if there was a convoy coming through.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53We used to try and get to the cliff edge and pray for them.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56How did you know a convoy was coming past if you were sitting down?
0:18:56 > 0:19:00You weren't actually told but when there's a lot of people and a lot going on...
0:19:00 > 0:19:03It gets round.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05That there's a convoy out in the Channel.
0:19:05 > 0:19:10Yeah, and one or two of the Wrens would maybe have a boyfriend on board one.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14You know, it made it a bit...
0:19:14 > 0:19:18- Very anxious.- Oh, very, very...
0:19:18 > 0:19:22As long as they got through that was the main thing.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27This was just one of a network of command centres around the country
0:19:27 > 0:19:32controlling the indestructible coastal highway.
0:19:32 > 0:19:39The Dover convoys may not be as well known as the Atlantic convoys. Yet they too bore the brunt of attack.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42The Nazis failed to drive them from the Straits.
0:19:42 > 0:19:48The merchant seamen and their escorts became a lifeline for our nation during wartime.