0:00:06 > 0:00:09Oh, my gosh. Heave, two, six, heave...
0:00:12 > 0:00:15We're back, at the very edge of our isles.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18But now, we're on a whole new kind of adventure.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22A unique great guide to our coast.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28But this is a guide beyond anything
0:00:28 > 0:00:31you'll find in your average tourist brochure.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34A guide crammed with local knowledge,
0:00:34 > 0:00:39amazing discoveries and stunning secret spots.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44Coast and our expert group have spent over ten years
0:00:44 > 0:00:47navigating this ever-changing natural wonder.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55And now we're bringing it all together - and more -
0:00:55 > 0:00:58to give you the ultimate guide to our coast.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02We've selected eight stretches of British coast.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08North, South, East, West,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11and some of the best bits in between.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Each week, we'll be taking to the sea
0:01:17 > 0:01:20in a remarkable array of boats and ships.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23We'll have a completely fresh perspective on the coast.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26We'll seek out charismatic characters...
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Andy, fancy seeing you here.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31..momentous events...
0:01:31 > 0:01:34This is Britain's most deadly shoreline.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36..secret spots...
0:01:36 > 0:01:38and surprising stories.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40There's no denying that there's a charge to be had
0:01:40 > 0:01:42from holding something like this.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46A brand-new view of our coast,
0:01:46 > 0:01:50with all the inside info you need to enjoy these shorelines like a local.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Pull away, sailors, pull away.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58This time, I'm heading for Cornwall.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03This is Coast.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05The Great Guide.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37400 miles of epic shoreline...
0:02:39 > 0:02:40..craggy coves....
0:02:42 > 0:02:43..sand and surf...
0:02:45 > 0:02:48..and towering ruins of the tin trade.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Classic Poldark country.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Welcome to Cornwall.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06With more than five million visits a year,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09the Cornish coast is high on any bucket and spade list.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15For ten years, the Coast team have sought out stories
0:03:15 > 0:03:17unique to this shore,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20revealing a treasure trove of Cornish history.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22They're solid old buildings, aren't they?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24The thing is rocking, basically, on that wall.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26That's why the walls are so chunky.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29We've searched the deep sea for secrets...
0:03:33 > 0:03:36..and experienced Cornwall's wild waters.
0:03:37 > 0:03:43This passage of water is notorious for its heaving seas.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46I'm beginning to know why.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Now we're back, seeking out the very best Cornwall has to offer
0:03:50 > 0:03:53and exploring what makes this coastal county unique.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56This is our Great Guide.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03I'll be making my own voyage,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05stopping off at some stunning sites for our guide.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Popping onto different boats to get tips from the locals.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14Stop it every so often, then jerk it on the way down.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17You're testing the different depths, all right? OK.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22I'll embark from Looe, voyaging down to The Lizard
0:04:22 > 0:04:26and on to Porthleven, our most southerly port.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Along my journey, I'll compile our Great Guide,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34drawing from the pick of Coast discoveries
0:04:34 > 0:04:37over the years from right around Cornwall.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42The best, from the River Tamar, to Tintagel Castle.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45My journey begins at the port of Looe.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Tourists say it's the fishing villages of Cornwall
0:04:50 > 0:04:52that draw them here in their droves.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54And it's not hard to see why.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59People pour into Looe for a taste of Cornish culture.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Oh, yeah, and the fish.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06There's a tradition in Looe that the small commercial fishing boats
0:05:06 > 0:05:10also take out tourists to try their hands at angling.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16A truly Cornish experience for our Great Guide.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20The chance to enjoy the coast and catch supper, too.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22That's my first voyage.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Hi. All right? Good to meet you. How do I get on?
0:05:26 > 0:05:30'Meet Mr David Bond, licensed to fish.'
0:05:30 > 0:05:33What a cracker of the day we've got, hey? It's beautiful.
0:05:35 > 0:05:36Take your lifejacket. How does this work?
0:05:36 > 0:05:38At the front this bit, yeah?
0:05:40 > 0:05:42At other ports, with bigger trawlers,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45you can't go out on the working boats.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47But at Looe, the boats have to be small.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50That's because the harbour's exceptionally shallow,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53completely drained at low tide.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56So, Looe can only take small boats
0:05:56 > 0:06:00which leave and return on the same day.
0:06:00 > 0:06:01Ideal for tourist trips.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08This dayboat fishing also makes the village's fish super fresh -
0:06:08 > 0:06:11the other reason Looe's on our Great Guide.
0:06:13 > 0:06:14It was ten years ago that Neil
0:06:14 > 0:06:16got the local knowledge.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19So, how would I spot that
0:06:19 > 0:06:22this is truly fresh fish?
0:06:22 > 0:06:23Well, look at the haddock.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26I mean, that... How stiff is that? Look.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Slimy. That's a good sign. Slime's a good sign?
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Slime's a good sign. Uh-huh.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33So if it's really floppy, does that mean it's gone...?
0:06:33 > 0:06:35Yeah, unless it is pre-rigor mortis,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38which probably takes, to become rigor mortis,
0:06:38 > 0:06:39maybe five to six hours.
0:06:39 > 0:06:40After it's been caught?
0:06:40 > 0:06:44And then from stiff to really floppy is not good.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Cornish fishermen land over 40 varieties of fish -
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Britain's most diverse catch.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58Looe Market is kept stocked by small commercial fishing boats, like this.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03I'm hoping to get the chance to pick up some professional tips
0:07:03 > 0:07:04for line fishing.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09On these voyages, you get to see the coast like a local.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11Just what we want for our Great Guide.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15When my skipper is not taking out tourists,
0:07:15 > 0:07:20he hunts down the premium catch of any Cornish fishermen - turbot.
0:07:22 > 0:07:23They're a difficult fish to catch
0:07:23 > 0:07:26and that's why they command such a good price,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29and also, you know, restaurants love turbot.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32I've got a picture here. This is one...
0:07:32 > 0:07:35This is the biggest fish that we had the day before yesterday.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36Good turbot.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38It's like...diamond shape almost, isn't it? Yeah.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40It's about a seven or eight kilo fish.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44That actually dwarfs your hand. Doesn't it? It's extraordinary.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46They're a massive flat fish.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48You know, the biggest one we've had so far this season
0:07:48 > 0:07:50was, like, 14 kilos.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55So, one fish could be 200 quid.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59That's like fishing for gold. Yeah, it's big money.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05To land a turbot, you need special nets and skill.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08But anyone can try their hand at line fishing.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11It's a sustainable catch
0:08:11 > 0:08:13and there's local know-how for the novices.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Right, what do I do? Just wind it?
0:08:15 > 0:08:17What you're doing is, if you stop it every so often
0:08:17 > 0:08:18and jerk it on the way down,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20you're testing the different depths, all right? OK.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23They could be up under the boat, they could be near the bottom.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26If you've got fish on, it'll either stay slack, all right?
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Because the fish is swimming upwards and taking the weight of the lead,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32or you'll feel it wriggling either way. All right? Right.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Jiggy jig. You're doing well.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43Well, according to Dave, it requires quite a bit of patience.
0:08:45 > 0:08:46'Or luck.'
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Dave, have I got one? Can you feel it?
0:08:51 > 0:08:54I'm thinking it doesn't feel like there's a lead on there,
0:08:54 > 0:08:56so it must be swimming with the line. Wind it on.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57I'm winding, I'm winding.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02I'll tell you what, those two birds, the seagull and the fulmar,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05are extremely jealous.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Oh, yes! I have a fish on the end of my line.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Aye-aye, skips, look at that! There's loads of them! Quick!
0:09:12 > 0:09:14We've got to get them in! Do I just flick them on?
0:09:14 > 0:09:17Yeah. Whoa! Right... Whoa!
0:09:17 > 0:09:19THEY LAUGH
0:09:19 > 0:09:21What are they? They're whiting.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24I was going to say, they're not mackerel. They're whiting.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26You look suitably impressed. I've caught some fish.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28That's supper solved, isn't it? Yeah! Exactly.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30And they are very nice fish to eat.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Landing fish on a big scale needs the right gear,
0:09:44 > 0:09:47and that's not just the boats -
0:09:47 > 0:09:49it's what the sailors wear.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51A classic Cornish garment,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55the fisherman's jumper, had to feature
0:09:55 > 0:09:57in our Great Guide to this coast.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02In the 19th century, Cornwall was home to
0:10:02 > 0:10:05a contract knitting cottage industry
0:10:05 > 0:10:07making jumpers for export.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11To unpick how the fishing village of Polperro
0:10:11 > 0:10:14became the contract knitters' capital,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17who better than wool enthusiast Ruth Goodman.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20The Cornish coast to this day
0:10:20 > 0:10:23still echoes with the click-clack of knitting needles,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26so I've come along to pick up a few tips
0:10:26 > 0:10:30and to learn something more about how this fantastic fun pastime
0:10:30 > 0:10:32grew out of hard graft.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Fishermen throughout the UK were always recognisable
0:10:39 > 0:10:41by their hand-knitted jumpers,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44and in the 19th and early 20th centuries,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48making them was, for some, the only way to put bread upon the table.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54I'm casting off with Mary Wright,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57who wrote a book on Edwardian knitters.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02Mary knows the work that went into creating these coastal classics.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Knit-frock is the term used in Polperro.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Don't say jumper. Never say jumper.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09But I can say gansey. You can.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11And you can say jersey. And I can say jersey. Yes.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13And if I'm in Polperro, I can say knit-frock. Knit-frock.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16THEY LAUGH
0:11:16 > 0:11:20This little village has its own knitting vocabulary.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24These streets were once awash with women working on their knit frocks.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Women enjoyed being outside.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31The light was better,
0:11:31 > 0:11:33the social life was better, they could see people,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35and people who live in the villages
0:11:35 > 0:11:37say that you could hear the clack of the needles
0:11:37 > 0:11:39before you turned the corner.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41KNITTING NEEDLES CLACK
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Polperro's knitting was strung out all around the coast...
0:11:50 > 0:11:52..worn for centuries by seafarers.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55And some still swear by it today.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00I'm meeting Barry Mundy, a fifth-generation fisherman.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08I see you're wearing a gansey. Was that just put on for us today?
0:12:08 > 0:12:11No, no, I wear that every day. Really? Yes.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14It's well over 30 years old. Really?! Yes, yes.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15It keeps you warm. Yeah.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19It's got that oily texture to it, so it's showerproof.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Right, so the water just sort of stands on the surface
0:12:21 > 0:12:23rather than soaking in.
0:12:23 > 0:12:24Yes, that's right.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32So, as a man who's won a gansey for 30 years... Yes. ..can you make one?
0:12:32 > 0:12:33Um...
0:12:34 > 0:12:36I think I'd struggle, I think.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39This is my beginners' knitting pack. Yeah.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43So, we're going to go through the back of that loop towards there.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Yeah. Then, around the needle. Yes.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51And then...through.
0:12:51 > 0:12:52OK. And slip it off.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Well, let's have a go. Let's have a go. Right.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59It's through there. That's the one.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02And... A round loop. ..around there.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04And... By George...
0:13:04 > 0:13:05Oh, you took an extra stitch. Oh!
0:13:05 > 0:13:08You've just made it bigger. You've got a double now. Oh!
0:13:08 > 0:13:11I think I'm better at the old net mending somehow.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Oh, you'll get the hang of it, you're not bad.
0:13:13 > 0:13:14And it is men's work, this is.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Knitting used to be one of those things that everybody did,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21men and women both, in order to earn a living.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24The trouble is, if I get too good at this,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27my wife is going to want me to...to knit her a guernsey.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37This is our great Cornish guide.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43We'll find the most spectacular surf spot,
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Cornwall's number one cove...
0:13:47 > 0:13:49..and we'll discover what it's really like
0:13:49 > 0:13:51living the coastal dream.
0:13:52 > 0:13:53The next stop for me, though,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56will be the site of a forgotten shipwreck.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02I'll be heading to Dodman Point, for a tale of tragedy.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05But first, there's a story on the northern shore
0:14:05 > 0:14:08that we couldn't leave out of our Great Guide.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11On the north coast,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15there's a unique treasure hidden in the granite cliffs - tin.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20They are abandoned and derelict,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24but these proud stone buildings have made this landscape
0:14:24 > 0:14:26a World Heritage Site,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29putting Cornish tin mines on a par
0:14:29 > 0:14:33with the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.
0:14:33 > 0:14:34Why?
0:14:36 > 0:14:40The epic tale of Cornish tin stretches across four millennia.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44So vast that, for our Great Guide,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48three Coast experts will trace the tin mine story
0:14:48 > 0:14:50from ancient beginnings
0:14:50 > 0:14:53onto our earliest sea trade
0:14:53 > 0:14:55up to the invention of steam power.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58A mega-history crucial to Cornwall.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Our tin odyssey began with Neil,
0:15:03 > 0:15:05looking back to the Bronze Age.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13And Cornish tin was the vital ingredient
0:15:13 > 0:15:19of Europe's Bronze Age swords for 1,500 years or more.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Throughout the Bronze Age,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25ancient armies relied on the Cornish coast
0:15:25 > 0:15:27for the raw materials of battle.
0:15:27 > 0:15:28Hiya, Neil. Hello.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31To see why, I'm meeting Neil Burridge,
0:15:31 > 0:15:35who still practices the age-old art of forging bronze weapons.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38I've just got the fire going, just starting to warm up.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40As the temperature rises,
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Neil prepares a mould made of stone so we can cast our own bronze sword.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49So, that's it. Oh, I'm so excited.
0:15:49 > 0:15:50Hold there. OK.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Inside the fire is a crucible containing the two metals
0:15:54 > 0:15:56that together form bronze.
0:15:56 > 0:15:5990% copper will make our sword flexible,
0:15:59 > 0:16:0310% tin will make it hard, with a cutting edge.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Heated to 1,200 degrees Celsius, we're ready to pour.
0:16:09 > 0:16:10That's good. Wow.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Oh, look at that.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Wow, even that's a beautiful thing.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Look at the colour of it.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28My first sword.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31What I'm going to do is take the clamps off it now.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35If we try to move it too quickly, it'll snap. Right.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37And if we leave it too long in the moulds,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39it'll get stuck in the mould and it won't come out.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43So, it's a bit like Excalibur, really. It sure is.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Give it a little wiggle.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49I can feel it, so you should be able to draw it out very slowly,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51but don't...drop it.
0:16:59 > 0:17:00Wow!
0:17:01 > 0:17:02Look at that.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07That's how you draw a sword from a stone.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Bronze Age swords relied on tin.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20It's a very rare metal found hardly anywhere in Europe outside Cornwall.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Thousands of years ago,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27Bronze Age tin traders made hazardous voyagers from Cornwall
0:17:27 > 0:17:29to ancient Greece and beyond.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Britain's ancient tin traders used these Cornish seas
0:17:36 > 0:17:38as their superhighways.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44But what kind of prehistoric craft carried tin from this coast?
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Discovering those ancient boats for our Great Guide was
0:17:49 > 0:17:53a nautical mission from Nick Crane, in Falmouth.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Archaeologists excavated the remains of a boat
0:17:56 > 0:17:58that had been buried in mud since the Bronze Age.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02That's 2,000 years before the birth of Christ.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06And now this extraordinary piece of prehistory has been resurrected.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12At the National Maritime Museum, Cornwall,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16they've built a life-size replica of that Bronze Age craft.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Now, for the first time, historians can experience
0:18:24 > 0:18:28how Britain's earliest-known boat handles.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31And row.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Row.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Pretty hard work. These paddles are cut with bronze tools
0:18:37 > 0:18:40from solid pieces of ash,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43and they're very heavy, so it's pretty physical.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48There's evidence these tiny Bronze Age craft
0:18:48 > 0:18:51made voyages to rival our oceangoing liners.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58These remarkable boats propelled us into the age of metal,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02earning their place in our Cornish Great Guide
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Also going into the guide
0:19:06 > 0:19:09are the most remarkable remains of Cornwall's tin mines,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12these 19th-century stone buildings.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20In the Industrial Revolution, they sprung up around the Cornish coast.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Now only their shells remain.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33By 1860, half the world's tin came from Cornwall.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35The boom in this metal was thanks to
0:19:35 > 0:19:38a remarkable steam-powered invention.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41To keep mine workings dry,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45they invented water pumps driven by steam.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49An innovation that goes into our Great Guide for its global impact.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Specially-designed buildings to house Cornish steam engines
0:19:54 > 0:19:57spread right around the world,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59as Dick Strawbridge revealed.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02Look at this picture from Australia.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Mine workings from Down Under.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08If you note, it's a stone building with an arched door and windows.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12And beside it there's a big chimney, obviously for the boiler.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16This is the Cornish original. Built 50 years earlier.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18From Australia...
0:20:18 > 0:20:20to North America.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22You'll see copies of the Cornish engine houses
0:20:22 > 0:20:23throughout the world.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28The buildings all look alike,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31because they were made to accommodate similar steam engines
0:20:31 > 0:20:33used to pump water from the mines.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Anthony Power, from the Botallack mine,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43is going to show me how a steam engine fitted snugly inside
0:20:43 > 0:20:44its engine house.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Look at this. Boy! They are solid old buildings, aren't they?
0:20:48 > 0:20:49Fantastic, aren't they?
0:20:49 > 0:20:51You can see why they have lasted such a long time.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54It's amazing, isn't it? What's the layout in here?
0:20:54 > 0:20:56We've got the cylinder here. You can see these four bolts.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58You've got a massive, great cylinder here.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Steam pumped into that.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Activating the piston inside.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03The piston rod going up and down.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Then, attached to this end of it is the beam.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08The beam pivots on the wall in front of us,
0:21:08 > 0:21:09the massive wall in front of us.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Then, half the beam is on the outside of the wall.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13So, the thing is rocking basically
0:21:13 > 0:21:16on that wall. That's why the walls are so chunky! Absolutely.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18They are really solid. Yes. Yeah.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21These dramatic Cornish landmarks are the tombstones of giant
0:21:21 > 0:21:25pumping engines that proudly epitomised the age of steam.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Cornish miners became victims of foreign competition from
0:21:37 > 0:21:41copycat mines, with their own workings closing down.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48But the extraordinary history of tin, spanning millennia,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52is why this stunning landscape is now a World Heritage Site.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59The tin mines lie mostly on Cornwall's north coast.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02My journey is along the southern shore.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06I'm heading towards Dodman Point and a forgotten shipwreck.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Then a unique Cornish treasure on The Lizard.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14And onto raging storms at Porthleven.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21Travelling by boat lets you see the Cornish coast with fresh eyes.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24It reveals so many well-hidden gems.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Places like this. Mevagissey.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32A picture-perfect, archetypal Cornish coastal fishing village.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36Needless to say, it's absolutely mobbed with visitors in the summer.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40No sooner does one sight recede
0:22:40 > 0:22:42than another comes into view.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48On a voyage like mine, sightings of sea life are a treat.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52But snorkelling is the best way to get up close.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57It's not just seals or even dolphins...
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Sharks love Cornish waters.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07With basking and blue sharks and even rarer mako sharks
0:23:07 > 0:23:08on the prowl.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14They share the waters with red-legged hermit crabs
0:23:14 > 0:23:17and fragile stalked jellyfish.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23Sea creatures who need to cling on, find a home on shipwrecks.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27There is one particular wreck so rich in life
0:23:27 > 0:23:31it is worthy of its own place in our Great Cornish Guide.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38At the Manacles reef,
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Miranda Krestovnikoff explored the passenger ship, Mohegan,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45which has spent a century on the seabed.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54The combination of passing time and strong currents
0:23:54 > 0:23:56has stripped the boat bare.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59All that remains are the large rusting metal plates
0:23:59 > 0:24:01which formed the basic structure.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05The ship is now covered with "dead men's fingers",
0:24:05 > 0:24:09a rather morbid name for an eerie reminder of the boat's fate.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15And all that's needed for the underwater city to start growing
0:24:15 > 0:24:18is a little rust or a scratched surface
0:24:18 > 0:24:21for the different colonisers to attach themselves to.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Oh, look! Sea fans!
0:24:25 > 0:24:27They're beautiful.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31The pink sea fan is a protected species.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34It grows at right angles to the current,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37so that each individual polyp that makes up the colony
0:24:37 > 0:24:40has the maximum potential to catch food.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44These huge sea fans on The Mohegan show the wreck's age.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47These corals can only grow a centimetre a year,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50so some of these colonies are over 50 years old.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54As we move away from the wreck,
0:24:54 > 0:24:56other species start making an appearance.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Jewel anemones produce dozens of little clones of themselves,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04creating distinct blocks of colour.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Divers attach great mystique to the wrecks here.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12It's easy to understand why.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Nature has adopted and then adapted them to become an integral part
0:25:16 > 0:25:18of the underwater landscape.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20It's Cornwall at its natural best.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Shipwrecks adopted by nature -
0:25:29 > 0:25:30a bittersweet story.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34New hope spawned by misfortune.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40But it's a forgotten maritime disaster that's the next stop
0:25:40 > 0:25:41on my voyage.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44I'm approaching Dodman Point -
0:25:44 > 0:25:46a place of tragedy.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53The skippers on this shore have to be wise to every kind of danger.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55With razor-sharp reefs,
0:25:55 > 0:25:56strong currents
0:25:56 > 0:25:58and swirling waves,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02the Cornish coast can snare the most experienced sailor.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05And wreck the sturdiest vessels.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Our Great Guide to Cornwall reveals a grim record.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13This is Britain's most deadly shoreline.
0:26:13 > 0:26:19The Cornish coast has claimed around 6,000 wrecks since records began
0:26:19 > 0:26:20700 years ago.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27In the long history of Cornish wrecks,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30I've arrived at the site of one of the most tragic.
0:26:31 > 0:26:3350 years ago,
0:26:33 > 0:26:37a party of holiday-makers put their faith in the wrong boat.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43This is the Darlwyne. Looks lovely, doesn't she?
0:26:43 > 0:26:47In fact, the Darlwyne was an accident waiting to happen.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49On a day trip around this coastline
0:26:49 > 0:26:51that went disastrously wrong.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56It was the summer of 1966.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01The Troggs were riding high in the charts
0:27:01 > 0:27:03the day the Darlwyne set out.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09# I want to spend my life with a girl like you
0:27:09 > 0:27:11# Ba-ba-ba-ba... #
0:27:11 > 0:27:14She was laden with young people and families.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Bound for a fun day out at Fowey.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20A quintessential little Cornish port
0:27:20 > 0:27:22with something for everyone.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27For those 1960s day-trippers who had arrived aboard the Darlwyne,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31Fowey would be their last happy memory.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37On the return trip, the weather turned.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Their boat vanished.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44All 31 men, women and children on board were drowned.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47They were mainly holiday-makers, staying in the same hotel.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51The tragedy tore families apart.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Raymond Mills died,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57along with children Janice and David.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Their mother, Beryl, survived. She had stayed behind at the hotel
0:28:02 > 0:28:04with their youngest daughter.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Then, aged three, Lisa was afraid of the sea.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14So, why is this tragedy forgotten?
0:28:16 > 0:28:20It happened on 31st of July 1966.
0:28:20 > 0:28:26Just one day after Bobby Moore had lifted the World Cup for England.
0:28:26 > 0:28:27CROWD CHEERING
0:28:27 > 0:28:31'And the crowd, they're going to tear Wembley apart!'
0:28:32 > 0:28:36Britain started a party for a triumph still celebrated
0:28:36 > 0:28:3750 years on.
0:28:39 > 0:28:40But in Cornwall,
0:28:40 > 0:28:43seafaring communities were consumed with grief.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54The wreck of the Darlwyne was never found,
0:28:54 > 0:28:58but it's thought she lies somewhere near here, Dodman Point.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00Or its older name, Deadman's Point.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07This is the official Board of Trade enquiry into the tragedy.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10There is one passage that I found particularly difficult to read.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14On the recovered bodies, they found four stopped watches.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17One of them, just a child's watch.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20And you can see here - a lady's watch stopped at 8.20.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24Another lady's watch, 9.17.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26Child's watch, 9.19.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29It's really heartbreaking stuff.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37Half a century later,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40relatives still mourn the loss of the Darlwyne.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43For years, it has been a private grief
0:29:43 > 0:29:46overlooked by the rest of the country.
0:29:46 > 0:29:47But at the time,
0:29:47 > 0:29:51the impact on Cornwall could not have been more acute,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54as the dead were brought into Falmouth harbour.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57One of the search crew was David Barnicoat -
0:29:57 > 0:30:00a teenager in 1966.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03David. Hello, Tessa. Pleased to meet you.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05Welcome to the Falmouth lifeboat.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08Young David was an RNLI volunteer,
0:30:08 > 0:30:10who will never forget what he witnessed.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Bodies had been reported off Dodman Point.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18We got on the scene at about 9.30.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22We picked up our first body shortly afterwards.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26It was the body of a girl from Blackpool, a 14-year-old girl
0:30:26 > 0:30:28called Susan Tassell.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32The helicopter from Culdrose flew over
0:30:32 > 0:30:34and directed us to the first body.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38Then, 20 minutes later, we came across the second body.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42We didn't know at the time that it was a local girl from Mylor,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45called Amanda Hicks, who was 17.
0:30:46 > 0:30:52We brought both the young ladies on board and laid them out on the deck
0:30:52 > 0:30:55and covered them with blankets. How heartbreaking.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58It was quite emotional, yeah. Cos you were just a young lad yourself.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Susan Tassell was only four years younger than me.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05And the other young lady was a year younger than me.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07So, it really struck home to me.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10On the way back, we could actually see one more body
0:31:10 > 0:31:14and, when we went alongside it, the buoyancy of the body was such
0:31:14 > 0:31:15that when we went astern it sank.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18It was quite emotional to see this body in slow motion
0:31:18 > 0:31:20going down through the water.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22Awful.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24When you were bringing the bodies back,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27the Queen Mother was here having her birthday.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Yes, the Royal Yacht Britannia was anchored just in the entrance
0:31:30 > 0:31:32to the harbour off St Mawes.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34And I think I'm right in saying it was
0:31:34 > 0:31:36the Queen Mother's 66th birthday.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39And as we came around St Anthony's Head in the lifeboat,
0:31:39 > 0:31:44the coxswain - Bertram West - told us all to take up stations
0:31:44 > 0:31:47along the lifeboat. And we all stood to attention.
0:31:47 > 0:31:53And as we steamed in past Britannia, normally you dip to the Royal Yacht,
0:31:53 > 0:31:55but the Royal Yacht dipped to us.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59There was an officer on the bridge. He saluted.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02The White Ensign came down. And we came by.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Then, when we came past the dockyard, all the men on the ships
0:32:06 > 0:32:09took off their cloth caps as we went by.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11I have here some footage,
0:32:11 > 0:32:13if you could talk me through it.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18This is the lifeboat Crawford and Constance Coneybeare.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24You see the coffins going on board the lifeboat.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33And then, they were landed ashore, to the local funeral directors
0:32:33 > 0:32:34and taken away.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42And what was the impact of this on the local community?
0:32:42 > 0:32:46The euphoria surrounding the World Cup was fantastic, then on
0:32:46 > 0:32:52the Monday morning, the whole of Cornwall was plunged into despair.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56Of course, August in Falmouth, the height of the tourist season,
0:32:56 > 0:32:58people didn't really want to go out on the boat.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00It did have quite an effect.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03Very sombre mood in Falmouth.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07CROWD SINGS HYMN
0:33:17 > 0:33:20The enquiry discovered the wrecked boat didn't have
0:33:20 > 0:33:22a passenger licence,
0:33:22 > 0:33:24wasn't seaworthy
0:33:24 > 0:33:27and lacked life-saving equipment.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29Following the loss of the Darlwyne,
0:33:29 > 0:33:33safety legislation was reviewed and the rules tightened.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41The tragedy may be forgotten, but its legacy lives on.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57This is Coast's Great Guide to Cornwall.
0:33:58 > 0:34:03The Coast team have scoured the Cornish shore for over ten years,
0:34:03 > 0:34:05discovering hidden stories.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10But if you don't have that long, what are the unmissible
0:34:10 > 0:34:13must-see sights all around the Cornish coast?
0:34:15 > 0:34:17Here's our Flying Visit to Cornwall.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24To begin your Cornish adventure,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26cross the River Tamar.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29Brunel's Royal Albert bridge.
0:34:33 > 0:34:35Then you're into classic, craggy coves
0:34:35 > 0:34:36like Kingsand,
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Polperro
0:34:39 > 0:34:42and Gorran Haven.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45If you like to see a classic sailing ship,
0:34:45 > 0:34:48you might be in luck here at Charlestown.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52The harbour was once the hub for the china clay industry.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54But no more. As Nick discovered.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58Charlestown has reinvented itself for the heritage industry.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01It's the home port for a fleet of square riggers
0:35:01 > 0:35:03that often star on our TV screen.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Further round is The Lizard.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09The mainland's most southerly point.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16Beyond that, a centuries-old site of pilgrimage,
0:35:16 > 0:35:19the heavenly St Michael's Mount.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23Crowned with a medieval church and castle.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29Following the rugged shore, there is a wonderful surprise.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32A theatre carved in the rock.
0:35:32 > 0:35:33The Minack.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37A site that still brings Neil out in a rash.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39Stage fright.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41I've never felt so ill in my entire life.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43I think I will break my own leg.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:35:47 > 0:35:50Then, there's Land's End,
0:35:50 > 0:35:52England's most westerly point.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56A coast rich in myths,
0:35:56 > 0:35:59with legends of submerged cities,
0:35:59 > 0:36:00underwater bells
0:36:00 > 0:36:03and Camelot.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06We can't reach Land's End without a mention of these lovely
0:36:06 > 0:36:09little outcrops about 30 miles offshore.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11The Isles of Scilly.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13Or the Scillies.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15But never the Scilly Isles.
0:36:15 > 0:36:16Don't be silly.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23The voyage out to the Isles of Scilly can be a rollercoaster ride,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25as the Atlantic rolls in.
0:36:27 > 0:36:33This passage of water is notorious for its heaving seas,
0:36:33 > 0:36:40a reputation which has given this little ship the nickname...
0:36:40 > 0:36:42The Great White Stomach Pump.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46And I'm beginning to know why.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53The voyage rewards you with a small slice of Paradise.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55A cluster of little islands.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58And Caribbean-class beaches.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03Then, you are on to Cornwall's north coast.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07And tin mine territory.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09See it for yourself.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11The setting for Poldark.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17Onto St Ives - a Mecca for artists.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20No coincidence it's home to the Tate gallery.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24The area here around Padstow
0:37:24 > 0:37:27has become a bit of a foodie destination.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30Ten years ago, we met young Michael Mallet.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32Still, a trainee cook.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36I just can't believe I'm here. I still can't believe I'm here really.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38In a few years' time, I want to be a famous chef.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40That would be really great.
0:37:40 > 0:37:45Since then, Michael has cooked in Italy, Egypt and Australia.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48Now he's back, combining cheffing and surfing in Cornwall.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55Beyond Padstow, there's an outstanding rocky outcrop -
0:37:55 > 0:37:58Tintagel Castle.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01Said to be where King Arthur was conceived.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04A legendary stop on any Cornish tour.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08But if you only do the unmissible sights,
0:38:08 > 0:38:10then you're missing so much.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14Follow us for the fuller picture.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24This is Coast's Great Guide to Cornwall.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29I'm hunting for a vital piece to put in our guide.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32Something uniquely Cornish.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34It's rock.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36Very special rock.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39To get close to this craggy coast,
0:38:39 > 0:38:40I've swapped boats.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45On my voyage along Cornwall's southern shore
0:38:45 > 0:38:48my next port of call is the Lizard Peninsula.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54It's virtually the only place on mainland Britain
0:38:54 > 0:38:57with the particular geological marvel I'm seeking.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04The Lizard is famous for Serpentine - a kind of green rock.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07The Cornish have been working with it for centuries,
0:39:07 > 0:39:09but it actually took a visit from Queen Victoria
0:39:09 > 0:39:12and Prince Albert for it to really take off.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14They upped anchor on the Royal Yacht near here,
0:39:14 > 0:39:16in a place called Mounts Bay.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18And they took away with them
0:39:18 > 0:39:20a couple of pieces of the polished stone.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23Of course, the locals were quick to claim royal approval
0:39:23 > 0:39:26and the Serpentine souvenir industry was born.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31A rock with the royal seal of approval?
0:39:31 > 0:39:34What makes Cornwall's Serpentine so special?
0:39:38 > 0:39:39I'm at Coverack harbour,
0:39:39 > 0:39:43to explore the geological secrets of Serpentine.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46Hi, Tessa. Welcome to Coverack.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Robin, I gather you're going to explain... I am.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53Rock doc Robin Shail from the University of Exeter
0:39:53 > 0:39:56has sourced an appropriate Coast souvenir.
0:39:56 > 0:40:01Here is your own special... Piece of Victoriana. Indeed, yeah.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04Look! It is quite handsome, isn't it?
0:40:04 > 0:40:07A Serpentine lighthouse.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09What is the green here?
0:40:09 > 0:40:11What is the green, in relation to the red?
0:40:11 > 0:40:12The Serpentine is green.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16The reds that we are seeing here are actually due to iron oxide.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19Polished, the rock reveals its true colours.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23But there is more to Serpentine than souvenirs.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26Even behind us, we have got rocks making up the harbour wall.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29All of these are examples of Serpentine.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31It's actually a rock type. What, this is Serpentine? Yeah.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33Is it? That's Serpentine there, yeah.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37What I've got here is actually an example of a boulder off the beach
0:40:37 > 0:40:39which is made of Serpentine.
0:40:39 > 0:40:44It looks pretty non-descript, but if I pour water over the surface,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47then it kind of brings it alive a little bit more.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50And we can see that we've got the red colours in particular.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53This kind of rusty orange colour that we're looking at?
0:40:53 > 0:40:56Yeah, and one of the reasons for this - they react with water.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59This is, if you like, rust that's being created, iron oxide,
0:40:59 > 0:41:01as these minerals change.
0:41:01 > 0:41:02So, what is Serpentine?
0:41:02 > 0:41:05The Serpentine that we see here is actually
0:41:05 > 0:41:07a rock that comes from the Earth's mantle.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09Pretty unusual, these rocks here.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11What does that mean, the Earth's mantle?
0:41:11 > 0:41:14The mantle is actually the layer immediately below the crust.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16We sit on top of the crust. Yeah.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19The crust here is about 30km thick.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21The mantle sits directly below the crust.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25So, generally, we just don't see the mantle at the Earth's surface.
0:41:25 > 0:41:26Well, how did it get here?
0:41:26 > 0:41:28Well, that's the story of plate tectonics.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31This little bit of mantle that we see preserved in The Lizard
0:41:31 > 0:41:34is a little flake, as continents have collided.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41It may be a little flake in geological terms, but The Lizard
0:41:41 > 0:41:45has 25 square miles of very rare rock.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Rock that should be buried deep in the earth.
0:41:49 > 0:41:54360 million years ago, The Lizard was left high and dry,
0:41:54 > 0:41:58as massive tectonic plates bashed together.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03That happy accident created a coastline like no other.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08A genuine geological gem in our Great Coast Guide.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14The crashing together of continental plates millions of years ago
0:42:14 > 0:42:17has left a legacy on this course.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21A craggy outcrop of treasures from deep below the Earth's surface.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Now exposed to the elements,
0:42:26 > 0:42:31the rock reacts with sky and sea to stain the shore with colour.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33Green, gold and red.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38Here at Kynance, one of Cornwall's most stunning coves,
0:42:38 > 0:42:43it's a great place to sample the Serpentine as nature intended.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05Craggy coves are a jewel of the Cornish coast.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07But it takes more than a pretty face to get
0:43:07 > 0:43:10a place in the Coast Great Guide.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19The bathers at Porthcurno are probably oblivious
0:43:19 > 0:43:23as to why this stretch of sand demands an entry in our guide.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28It's not for its undeniable beauty, but its history,
0:43:28 > 0:43:30as Neil discovered.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33That secluded little beach down there
0:43:33 > 0:43:35conceals a fantastic secret.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38It's where, 130 years ago,
0:43:38 > 0:43:40Britain was wired up to the world.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45A network of cables stretched from under this beach
0:43:45 > 0:43:47around the globe.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51Mary Godwin knows the story. Cables from here
0:43:51 > 0:43:53went to South America, Africa,
0:43:53 > 0:43:56through the Mediterranean, to the Far East, Hong Kong, Australia -
0:43:56 > 0:43:58the whole world.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00And they all come in at this little beach?
0:44:00 > 0:44:02There are 14 cables coming in here, yep.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08So, are we talking about telephone cables?
0:44:08 > 0:44:11No, we're not talking about the telephone.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13We're talking about the telegraph.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15The telephone hadn't even been invented in 1870.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17These were telegraph cables,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20whereby messages were sent in a version of Morse code
0:44:20 > 0:44:24and translated into letters of the alphabet at the other end.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27By the 1860s, they were looking to lay these long cables,
0:44:27 > 0:44:31linking distant parts of the empire and Porthcurno...
0:44:31 > 0:44:35The cable to Bombay was the first link, the spine, if you like,
0:44:35 > 0:44:37of the connections for the British Empire.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41MUSIC: Rule Britannia
0:44:41 > 0:44:43The Imperial cables from Porthcurno
0:44:43 > 0:44:47linked Britain to the furthest outposts of the Empire and beyond.
0:44:47 > 0:44:52Communication before took weeks. Now, it was virtually instant.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56And it all comes into the cable house. This hut! Yes!
0:44:57 > 0:45:00Yes, this plain-looking little building and...
0:45:00 > 0:45:02Oh! Look at that!
0:45:02 > 0:45:06You can see them physically coming up through the floor.
0:45:06 > 0:45:07Bilbao.
0:45:07 > 0:45:08Scilly.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12Newfoundland. How fantastic. Yeah.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17Cables were big business and investment was huge.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21It was the new information highway.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24But just as Britain was busy wiring up the world,
0:45:24 > 0:45:28at the start of the 20th century, along came wireless technology.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi was busy making history
0:45:32 > 0:45:33just a few miles from here.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40This is where the first Transatlantic wireless message
0:45:40 > 0:45:43was sent, at 12.30 on 12 December, 1901...
0:45:44 > 0:45:48..1,800 miles across the Atlantic, to Newfoundland.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54The age of wireless communication had arrived.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02Now, if you arrive at Poldhu, on The Lizard,
0:46:02 > 0:46:06you can visit the site of Marconi's message across the ocean.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12This is our Great Guide to Cornwall.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24I am bound for Porthleven, our most southerly port.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29What is life like here, at one of Britain's stormiest spots?
0:46:31 > 0:46:34I will hear wild tales from the aftermath
0:46:34 > 0:46:37of Hurricane Hercules in 2014.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44As I journey towards Porthleven, the next story for our guide
0:46:44 > 0:46:46is found on the north coast.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53The Cornish coast has long inspired painters,
0:46:53 > 0:46:56something we discovered when we visited its artistic capital,
0:46:56 > 0:46:57St Ives.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03The light of St Ives is famous for inspiring renowned artists,
0:47:03 > 0:47:05like Barbara Hepworth.
0:47:07 > 0:47:11But it is an unsung amateur artist, a simple fisherman turned painter,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14who put St Ives into our Great Guide.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21Alfred Wallace only started to paint aged 67 when,
0:47:21 > 0:47:25following his wife's death, he became a recluse.
0:47:27 > 0:47:32Alone, untutored, he painted these memories of his time at sea.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36His pictures are now highly prized.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48But could painting save Alfred Wallace
0:47:48 > 0:47:50from his battle with depression?
0:47:53 > 0:47:57For our Cornish Guide, Ian McMillan went to St Ives
0:47:57 > 0:48:01to explore the artistic struggle of the former fisherman.
0:48:01 > 0:48:06Alfred's fame came from a happy accident.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11A gentleman artist, strolling through St Ives in 1928,
0:48:11 > 0:48:14discovered Wallace working by candlelight.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19Now, his humble paintings
0:48:19 > 0:48:24hang in grand galleries, like here at Tate St Ives.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27They capture a child-like joy of the coast...
0:48:32 > 0:48:35..but it brought no solace to the tortured soul
0:48:35 > 0:48:37of Alfred Wallace.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44He cared little for the meagre money that dealers paid for his work.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49He became preoccupied that some locals resented his fame,
0:48:49 > 0:48:52believing he must be making a fortune.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00I have got one of his last letters here...
0:49:02 > 0:49:03..that I would like to read to you,
0:49:03 > 0:49:06written to art collector Jim Eade.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08"I am thinking of giving up the paints altogether.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11"I have nothing but persecution and jealousy
0:49:11 > 0:49:15and if you can come down for an hour or two, you can take them with you
0:49:15 > 0:49:18"and give me what you think they are worth to you afterwards.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21"These drawers and shops are all jealous of me."
0:49:22 > 0:49:27And that, with all its mis-spellings and bad grammar,
0:49:27 > 0:49:30gives you the idea of a man at the end of his tether,
0:49:30 > 0:49:33for whom painting, in the end, perhaps, wasn't enough...
0:49:33 > 0:49:35and yet he has left us
0:49:35 > 0:49:37such a fantastic legacy.
0:49:37 > 0:49:44As Alfred gave up painting and his passion for the sea,
0:49:44 > 0:49:48he gave up his struggle with the ache of life, too.
0:49:48 > 0:49:49In 1942,
0:49:49 > 0:49:51at the age of 87,
0:49:51 > 0:49:53Alfred Wallace died in poverty,
0:49:53 > 0:49:56alone and abandoned, in the poorhouse.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05I'd like to think that the image of this Atlantic seascape,
0:50:05 > 0:50:08that Alfred clung onto for so long inside his head,
0:50:08 > 0:50:09was with him at the end.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13The final picture for his long voyage to that eternal sea.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26As we compile our Great Guide To Cornwall...
0:50:27 > 0:50:30..we are rediscovering a decade of stories
0:50:30 > 0:50:32from Coast's team of experts.
0:50:33 > 0:50:35Leaving The Lizard Peninsula,
0:50:35 > 0:50:39I am voyaging to Porthleven, a harbour battered by storms.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45While back on the northern shore, the famous surf also finds a place
0:50:45 > 0:50:47in our guide.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50The Cornish surfing scene
0:50:50 > 0:50:53is centred around the sands of Newquay.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05Fistral Beach has wonderful sands
0:51:05 > 0:51:08and is sheltered the from the worst of the wind.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14It is this beach, one of Europe's premier surf spots,
0:51:14 > 0:51:17that has rolled into our Great Guide.
0:51:19 > 0:51:20Alice Roberts got some tips
0:51:20 > 0:51:23from specialist surf photographer Lucia Griggi.
0:51:25 > 0:51:29How do you take the ultimate holiday snap of the perfect wave?
0:51:30 > 0:51:33The conditions are fairly medium today. The wind's onshore,
0:51:33 > 0:51:35so it's a little bit choppy and messy,
0:51:35 > 0:51:37but we can still do a lot in this
0:51:37 > 0:51:39and it makes it even more fun, really.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48The surf's up and soon I'll be out there, trying to take a picture.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52'Lucia uses a digital SLR camera
0:51:52 > 0:51:55'cocooned in a waterproof case.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57'Now, it's time for my crash course
0:51:57 > 0:51:59'in underwater photography.'
0:52:00 > 0:52:02Presumably, in order to get a good picture of the wave,
0:52:02 > 0:52:05I have to be down level with it? Yeah, you need to be level
0:52:05 > 0:52:07with the surf or the wave - whatever you're shooting.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10So, right now, there's a wave coming and you're going to get down
0:52:10 > 0:52:12and hold on to the right-hand trigger point,
0:52:12 > 0:52:15and you'll shoot as it starts curling towards you.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18OK. And keep them down low. And there you go. Perfect. Now!
0:52:20 > 0:52:22'Are we having fun yet?
0:52:24 > 0:52:26'Believe me, it's harder than it looks.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29'The waves hit you with incredible force.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35'In fact, a metre-high monster is roughly equivalent to
0:52:35 > 0:52:38'a ton of weight walloping you.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44'It's a real challenge to hold on to the camera as the waves hit me
0:52:44 > 0:52:47'and try to take some decent snaps at the same time.'
0:52:53 > 0:52:55Wow! That's brilliant.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58And I love the super-wide angle of the fish-eye.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05My pictures put me back in that moment, at one with the wave.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07Worth getting wet for.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19Whether you are in the sea or riding high on the waves...
0:53:19 > 0:53:21here in Cornwall, it is the feeling
0:53:21 > 0:53:23of the wind and the water on your face.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27That is what makes these waters so appealing.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32For visitors, messing about in boats is part of Cornwall's charm,
0:53:32 > 0:53:36but locals have to keep a weather eye on the sea.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38When storms barrel in,
0:53:38 > 0:53:41skippers need a bolthole to berth their boats.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45I am heading to a harbour of refuge.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47The wild frontier of Cornwall,
0:53:47 > 0:53:50it has to feature in our Great Guide.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56Straight in front of me, and looking pretty inviting, is Porthleven.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58It is my final destination
0:53:58 > 0:54:01and also happens to be Britain's most southerly port.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09Most of us stay home when gales blow in but, for some,
0:54:09 > 0:54:12it is an opportunity to marvel at an angry sea
0:54:12 > 0:54:14in a magnificent setting.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20The perfect spot to sit out a storm.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28So we are just arriving in Porthleven. You can see,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31right on the seafront, there is a clock tower.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34It is a classic Cornish view but, in fact, keen watchers of the news
0:54:34 > 0:54:36might recognise this particular clock tower
0:54:36 > 0:54:38from unhappier times.
0:54:43 > 0:54:45This harbour faces south-west,
0:54:45 > 0:54:48so it is in line for some of the worst weather.
0:54:48 > 0:54:50The recipe for a perfect storm.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03Knowing wild seas are guaranteed,
0:55:03 > 0:55:05what is life like here?
0:55:07 > 0:55:12The most severe gales in living memory hit Porthleven in 2014.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18I've never seen it like this
0:55:18 > 0:55:21and I was here when we had that storm in '89-'90,
0:55:21 > 0:55:24when we lost a road. It was nowhere near as bad as this.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26This is just horrendous. To discover the impact
0:55:26 > 0:55:30of those winter storms, I have lined up a couple of locals -
0:55:30 > 0:55:33harbourmaster Philip Ward
0:55:33 > 0:55:36and Natalie Williams, a coastguard volunteer.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40So, looking at the harbour from here, where did the storm come in?
0:55:40 > 0:55:43It was a south-westerly and it came straight in.
0:55:43 > 0:55:48One particular wave hit that wall at the right-hand side
0:55:48 > 0:55:52and this wave went up... I remember shouting to people -
0:55:52 > 0:55:55I was on duty down at the bottom of the hill -
0:55:55 > 0:55:58and I was shouting at people to keep back. I could see it sucking back
0:55:58 > 0:56:00and I knew it was going to come in big, and it did.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05There is a very famous photo.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08In fact, there is myself and another guy from the coastguard team
0:56:08 > 0:56:10just stood next to the restaurant there.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15And looking up at this unbelievable wave
0:56:15 > 0:56:20that was just full of seaweed and wood and all sorts.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22I was like, "What is in that?!"
0:56:22 > 0:56:24It was just crazy.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26It was like something from a film. It was phenomenal.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29And, Phil, that must do a lot of damage, doesn't it?
0:56:29 > 0:56:31It does do a lot of damage.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33These roads we are standing on and the quays we are standing on
0:56:33 > 0:56:36were awash. People had parked their cars here.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38They do park their cars there and they get washed away. Yeah.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40They get actually washed away?
0:56:40 > 0:56:43Well, they get washed around and then we managed to get them out
0:56:43 > 0:56:45and get the boats out within three days.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48We took nearly 40 boats out within three days.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51It must be quite a, sort of, schizophrenic place to live.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55In the summer, it must seem really picture-perfect and ideal
0:56:55 > 0:56:58and, in the winter - smash! Yeah. It's great. Do you love that?
0:56:58 > 0:57:00Yeah, I absolutely love it.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02And were you born to it? Were you born here?
0:57:02 > 0:57:05Yeah, yeah, definitely. When we were kids growing up,
0:57:05 > 0:57:08if there was a storm coming, we would all be revved up and want
0:57:08 > 0:57:11to come down here and have a look. You're an adrenaline junkie!
0:57:11 > 0:57:14Totally! And you have had it all your life? Yeah. I love it.
0:57:14 > 0:57:15I love it down here.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18I love the sea, the smell, the noise, the power.
0:57:18 > 0:57:23But I like today - the calmness. Yeah, every day is a different day
0:57:23 > 0:57:25in Porthleven, when you look out at sea.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30Whatever the mood of the Cornish coast,
0:57:30 > 0:57:32the visitors just keep coming,
0:57:32 > 0:57:35from the earliest tin traders to the tourists of today.
0:57:38 > 0:57:39Touring with our Great Guide...
0:57:41 > 0:57:44..at Looe, we took in a classic fishing village.
0:57:45 > 0:57:50On the north coast, the World Heritage history of tin.
0:57:50 > 0:57:55On the southern shore, the natural splendour of Serpentine.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00And we rode the famous ferry to the Isles of Scilly.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04All around the Cornish coast,
0:58:04 > 0:58:06stunning landmarks rose up to greet us -
0:58:06 > 0:58:08rock, sand and surf.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12Truly, a shoreline to savour.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19Whether you are on the water, in it or just walking beside it,
0:58:19 > 0:58:21you can't beat the Cornish coast.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24And now we have explored some of its highlights,
0:58:24 > 0:58:25it's over to you.