0:00:02 > 0:00:03Welcome to the Cornish coast.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Our journey starts in Saltash, where, since Saxon times,
0:00:40 > 0:00:45the geographical border split Devon and Cornwall across the banks of the River Tamar.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50As the railroads were opening up the wild west of America,
0:00:50 > 0:00:53the same thing was happening here in the wild west of England.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57In 1859, the year Billy the Kid was born,
0:00:57 > 0:01:02Brunel, the great railway pioneer, was opening up the gateway to Cornwall
0:01:02 > 0:01:05with this magnificent bridge across the Tamar.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10It was a huge engineering feat, taking 13 years to complete.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12No-one had seen a bridge like it.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14It was a glimpse of the future.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18For the first time, Cornwall was connected to the main line network.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22Over the following decades, it brought trade and tourism.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Outsiders flocked to the newly-fashionable Cornish riviera.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42Look at this... "Looe, for ideal homes and holidays."
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Can't miss that!
0:01:47 > 0:01:50On the way to Looe, it's classic Cornwall all the way.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05Looe is built around its harbour and river estuary and divided into two halves.
0:02:05 > 0:02:11It's always been the quintessential picture postcard on the grand tour of Cornwall.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14It says here, in this 1960s brochure,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17"The new visitor, within 24 hours of arrival,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21"seems to be subconsciously absorbed into the atmosphere of holiday peacefulness
0:02:21 > 0:02:24"and England seems a thousand miles away."
0:02:26 > 0:02:31Romantic idyll it may be, but there's more to Looe than tourist-brochure banter.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33It's Cornwall's second-largest fishing port,
0:02:33 > 0:02:39and according to top chef Rick Stein lands some of the freshest fish in the UK.
0:02:43 > 0:02:44Dovers and monk mix!
0:02:46 > 0:02:47This is Looe Fish Auction.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51We're on the skates. First lot, here we go!
0:02:51 > 0:02:55It's a highly-charged atmosphere using the latest auctioneering technology,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59with buyers from all over Britain vying for today's catch.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Quality doesn't come cheap.
0:03:01 > 0:03:07Today, the most expensive one I've bought is extra-large turbot, £170 for one fish.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11- Wow! Is that a typical price in here?- It can go higher than that for turbot.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13But why do you come to THIS market? Is it a good one?
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Purely for quality, really. We buy in several other ports -
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Newlyn, Brixham and Plymouth - but this one is the best for quality.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25They go out in the morning, they land in the evening, we're buying it,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27and it's on the counter within 12 hours.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31This market's one of the most competitive in the UK,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35and its success is down to the fact that boats only go out for a day -
0:03:35 > 0:03:37day-boat fishing.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42At other ports, the bigger boats can be out up to a week.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49The freshness just can't complete with the quick turnaround of Looe.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54It may be an accident of nature, but it's created a unique opportunity.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57The port is so small and the harbour so shallow
0:03:57 > 0:03:58it can only take day-boats,
0:03:58 > 0:04:05so it's the limitations of the harbour that have created Looe's greatest asset - super-fresh fish.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11So, how would I spot that this is truly fresh fish?
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Well, look at the haddock, I mean, how stiff is that? Look!
0:04:15 > 0:04:20- Slimy...- Right, so slime's a good sign?- Slime's a good sign.- Uh-huh.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23So if it's really floppy, does that mean it's...?
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Yeah, unless it's pre-rigor mortis,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29which probably takes to become rigor mortis, maybe five to six hours...
0:04:29 > 0:04:33- After it's caught.- ..and then from stiff to really floppy's not good.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36The herring, people buy them when the eyes are all red.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Well, it takes a day or so to become red.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41I mean, look at the mackerel!
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Line-caught. You can always tell,
0:04:44 > 0:04:45by the damage around the mouth.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Right, OK. Why is line-caught better than something out of a net?
0:04:49 > 0:04:54Fish is less stressed, and fish doesn't drown, so it makes the meat far superior.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57The gills are lovely and red and clear.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00- Right, so there's still oxygenated blood near them?- Yeah.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03- You sound as if you love these things.- Oh, it's a passion!
0:05:03 > 0:05:06After the fish has been auctioned to the highest bidder,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08the next stage is distribution.
0:05:08 > 0:05:15Steve Farrar is a fish merchant and middle man, but trying to get a moment with him isn't easy.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18- No, we haven't, Richard. - No, we've got no brill.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23- There's some nice turbot... - I've a large turbot and monk. D'you want any monk?
0:05:23 > 0:05:2790% of the fish in Looe ends up going abroad.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29I want to know why.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Why is so much of it being exported?
0:05:33 > 0:05:37The fishing industry's simple - it's a question of supply and demand.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39You've got to send it where the best price is,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41or you're out of the game.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44So the Continent is prepared to spend more
0:05:44 > 0:05:46for the fish that we don't generally see?
0:05:46 > 0:05:51Yeah, for fish you don't generally see in the shops, quite often it's because it's gone abroad.
0:05:52 > 0:05:58Cuttlefish, squid, turbot - this is quality fish, and we're letting it get away.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Next time you go away to foreign parts, remember -
0:06:05 > 0:06:09you and that fish are probably both on holiday.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21Let's face it, unless you live here it takes a long time to get to Cornwall,
0:06:21 > 0:06:25which is why there's often the view that it's isolated and remote.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28But that depends on your point of view.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30We're on our way to Falmouth,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32whose association with the sea
0:06:32 > 0:06:35made it more cosmopolitan than London in the 18th century.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48Falmouth has been a major commercial and military port since the 1700s.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51But it wasn't just a trade hub.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53With 25 foreign consulates
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and nationalities from around the globe arriving daily,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59it was an international communication centre.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08This is where the unbearable news of Nelson's death reached England.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10They heard it here first.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14200 years ago, Falmouth was THE place to be.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16But why Falmouth?
0:07:16 > 0:07:23By 1690, years of war with France had made getting news and supplies in and out of Britain difficult.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Falmouth, unlike Dover and Harwich,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28was far enough from the French coast
0:07:28 > 0:07:30to make it safe from their interference.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32But ships were still vulnerable out at sea.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40The solution was the packet ship.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Lightly-armed brigs designed by the Royal Mail,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44they were small but they were fast.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Crucially, they could outrun the notorious French privateers.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51For 150 years, government mail, bullion,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54and VIPs from every corner of the globe
0:07:54 > 0:07:57were picked up from and dropped off in Falmouth.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00The shape of the port may not have changed much,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04but at the time it was a melting-pot of shipping agents, adventurers,
0:08:04 > 0:08:09merchants and refugees. It was THE main link to the Empire.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12It wasn't unheard-of for news to hit the local paper here
0:08:12 > 0:08:16before it was rushed up the road, what's now the A30, to London.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19The headline might not be absolutely genuine,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21but the paper really is The Falmouth Packet.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28It was the sea that brought prosperity to Falmouth.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Fish for the table, exotic imports from abroad,
0:08:32 > 0:08:34but this came at a price.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40The coastline is littered with thousands of wrecks.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47The Manacles, just off The Lizard, with its submerged rocks,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51has caught out even the saltiest sea dogs.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55You might not spot it at first glance,
0:08:55 > 0:08:57but on the horizon there's a marker,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01a spire that has come to the rescue of many a sailor.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Miranda Krestovnikoff takes a closer look.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07BIRDS CAW
0:09:11 > 0:09:13There's been a church here for hundreds of years,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17an important landmark for sailors trying to navigate a course
0:09:17 > 0:09:20through those notorious rocks down there.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24In fact, the church has given its name to the infamous rocks below.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28The Manacles Reef gets its name from the Cornish, Maen Eglos,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31meaning "church stones".
0:09:33 > 0:09:37- BELL TOLLS - Unfortunately, even this divine landmark
0:09:37 > 0:09:39couldn't keep every passing boat safe.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46This graveyard alone houses over 300 victims of shipwrecks.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Many of the lost souls buried here
0:09:51 > 0:09:53come from just a single tragedy,
0:09:53 > 0:09:59the sinking of a large passenger and cargo ship that was on her way to America in 1898.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01It was called The Mohegan.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05This memorial stone marks the spot
0:10:05 > 0:10:10where many victims of the Mohegan wreck were put to rest in one mass grave.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16A wreck is a human tragedy and Nature shows no mercy,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20but what she takes with one hand she gives with another.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27The lost ship is slowly transformed into a new piece of the Cornish coast.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Paul Naylor, marine biologist and underwater photographer,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36has been exploring the remains of boats like The Mohegan for over 15 years.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Now, the site that we're diving is a really popular site in the UK.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42What makes the wreck of The Mohegan so special?
0:10:42 > 0:10:47The Manacles are special anyway, cos the currents bring in all the food
0:10:47 > 0:10:49for a wealth of animals,
0:10:49 > 0:10:55and The Mohegan wreck gives even more habitat for the animals to live in and live on and attach to,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57so it's just fantastic life.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01The vast amounts of plankton here form the basis of the food chain,
0:11:01 > 0:11:06sustaining many species and giving the water its distinctive green colour.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13Over the last 100 years, the combination of passing time and strong currents
0:11:13 > 0:11:15has stripped the boat bare.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20All that remains are the large rusting metal plates which formed the basic structure.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23There's so much wreckage lying around!
0:11:23 > 0:11:27It's a big wreck. Look at those huge boilers.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30The ship is now covered with dead men's fingers,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34a rather morbid name for an eerie reminder of the boat's fate.
0:11:34 > 0:11:40Hundreds of little individual polyps make up the colony of the dead men's fingers,
0:11:40 > 0:11:46and they have this sort of gelatinous skeleton instead of the hard, stony skeleton of reef corals.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50They're really pretty with all their tentacles out. They look really feathery.
0:11:52 > 0:11:53Soft corals like these
0:11:53 > 0:11:57are amongst the first long-term settlers on a wreck.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59All these little nooks and crannies,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02every one has got something living in it.
0:12:02 > 0:12:08It's like the posh coffee-shop effect. Once the sponges, soft corals and anenomes move in,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12you know the neighbourhood is being gentrified.
0:12:12 > 0:12:18The initial pioneers, like keelworms, who pave the way for these more colourful inhabitants,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21are soon lost in the forest of fast-growing algae,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24and all that's needed for the underwater city to start growing
0:12:24 > 0:12:30is a little rust or a scratched surface for the different colonisers to attach themselves to.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Oh, look! Sea fans!
0:12:33 > 0:12:36They're beautiful.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40The pink sea fan is a protected species.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43It grows at right angles to the current,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46so that each individual polyp that makes up the colony
0:12:46 > 0:12:49has the maximum potential to catch food.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53These huge sea fans on The Mohegan show the wreck's age.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56These corals can only grow a centimetre a year,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59so some of these colonies are over 50 years old.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06As we move away from the wreck, other species start making an appearance.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10The rocks are like the old historic heart of a town.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15This is where you find residents that have lived here forever.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19Jewel anenomes produce dozens of little clones of themselves,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21creating distinct blocks of colour.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26I've found a crab! You can see its mouth parts going.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31I remember my first dive. Somebody put one of those on my head. I was a bit scared.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Divers in The Manacles attach great mystique to the wrecks here.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42It's easy to understand why. Nature has adopted and then adapted them
0:13:42 > 0:13:46to become an integral part of the underwater landscape.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49It's Cornwall at its natural best.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk