0:00:05 > 0:00:09- Haul away, guys. ALL:- 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 > 0:00:21A unique Great Guide to our coast.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29But this is a guide beyond anything you'll find in your average
0:00:29 > 0:00:34tourist brochure - a guide crammed with local knowledge,
0:00:34 > 0:00:38amazing discoveries and stunning secret spots.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44Coast and our expert crew have spent over ten years navigating
0:00:44 > 0:00:47this ever-changing natural wonder.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55And now, we're bringing it all together and more to give you
0:00:55 > 0:00:57the ultimate guide to our coast.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02We've selected eight stretches of British coast.
0:01:04 > 0:01:11North, south, east, west and some of the best bits in between.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Each week, we'll be taking to the sea
0:01:16 > 0:01:19in a remarkable array of boats and ships.
0:01:19 > 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 > 0:01:30- Andy, fancy seeing you here! - ..momentous events...
0:01:30 > 0:01:34This is Britain's most deadly shoreline.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37..secret spots and surprising stories.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40There's no denying that there's a charge to be had from holding
0:01:40 > 0:01:42something like this.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47A brand-new view of our coast with all the inside info you need
0:01:47 > 0:01:51to enjoy these shorelines like a local.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Haul away, sailors! Haul away!
0:01:55 > 0:01:57This time, I'm heading for the Channel.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05- This is Coast...- The Great Guide.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38England's south-east coast,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Britain's front line,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45where chalk cliffs have withstood invaders,
0:02:45 > 0:02:52natural defences bolstered by stone and steel forts to protect
0:02:52 > 0:02:56the Thames Estuary and the ultimate prize - London.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03In the capital's heart, next to Tower Bridge, sits a warship.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Towering over me is HMS Belfast - some size when you see it
0:03:10 > 0:03:11from the water.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13She was commissioned just days before
0:03:13 > 0:03:15the outbreak of the Second World War and,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19after sterling service in defence of the realm, she now sits as
0:03:19 > 0:03:23a reminder of a war that brought Britain to the brink of invasion.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29From that conflict, the Coast experts have found
0:03:29 > 0:03:32extraordinary stories for our Great Guide.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37We've got flames 40 feet in the air, black noxious smoke coming up,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39covering the beach, even going over the cliffs!
0:03:40 > 0:03:44If it was to go "boom", how big a boom would it be?
0:03:44 > 0:03:45It would be a big bang.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47LOUD BANG
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Once, we defended it grimly.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Now, the south-east shore reaches out to the world.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01In our Great Guide,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05we'll see how a mountain of goods grows night and day.
0:04:09 > 0:04:15I'll be hopping on and off boats, old and new,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18on a journey from the Thames to the sea.
0:04:18 > 0:04:24We're exploring a coast that's both a gateway and a defence.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28This is our Great Guide to the South East, our front-line shoreline.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33I'll embark from the capital,
0:04:33 > 0:04:38stopping to explore the mega port at London Gateway,
0:04:38 > 0:04:44on to Ramsgate's historic harbour and then Dover Castle.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49On my journey, I'll compile our Great Guide from
0:04:49 > 0:04:52a wider canvas of stories that stretch all the way
0:04:52 > 0:04:55from the heart of London to Hastings.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02My voyage begins on a very wet day in London.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07I'm hitching a ride towards the open sea with the Marine Policing Unit.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12These guys patrol along 47 miles of Thames 24/7.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17A beat that takes in HMS Belfast.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Seeing such a big ship in Central London poses
0:05:21 > 0:05:26a question for our guide - is the capital really on the coast?
0:05:27 > 0:05:30They say, if in doubt, ask a policeman.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34- Are these guys really coastal coppers?- Absolutely.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37We police 47 miles of tidal Thames and that tidal range is
0:05:37 > 0:05:41nearly seven metres every time the tide comes in and goes out.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45- We've seen dolphins, we've seen seals, up into Central London. - Really?
0:05:45 > 0:05:47It's funny to think that we're on the coast here,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51the Thames being a tidal river, bringing the sea to the city.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56It's a dangerous piece of water and it can travel at something like eight knots, 9mph,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59through some of the tight sections throughout London.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03London's tidal highway once brought ships to the capital,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06laden with cargo from around the globe.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Caribbean sugar.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Chinese tea.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Norwegian ice.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25And we celebrate London's Dockland history in our Great Guide.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Mark Horton found a surprisingly close connection that
0:06:31 > 0:06:35generations of Eastenders had to the coast,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37just a pebble's throw from the Tower of London.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44Amazingly, this is where London has its very own beach.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47# I do like to be beside the seaside... #
0:06:47 > 0:06:51It was created in the 1930s for the working classes
0:06:51 > 0:06:53by dumping sand on the foreshore.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Martha Snooks and Ted Lewis remember coming to the beach
0:06:57 > 0:06:58as a special treat.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02My dad and grandad was dockers.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05That's the sort of family I come from.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11We thought it was the seaside. Our mums told us it was the seaside.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Mum, she nearly believed it herself, that it was the seaside.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Bless her. She did. Yeah, she did.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21That was exciting to us.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24We'd go home with a windmill or something,
0:07:24 > 0:07:25or one of those paper umbrellas.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30We'd put them out and we'd think, "What a lovely day we've had," you know?
0:07:31 > 0:07:34# Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside
0:07:34 > 0:07:35# Oops, I do like to be... #
0:07:39 > 0:07:42The Lost Beach of London goes into the Great Guide
0:07:42 > 0:07:45we're compiling for the south-east coast.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57I'm with the Thames Police,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00powering past the Tower of London toward the sea.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09London's wealth was built on its docks,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11carved into the capital's heart.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16These quaysides were only abandoned when modern container ships
0:08:16 > 0:08:18grew too big.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25But the city's been left a legacy by its old dockyards - their maritime police.
0:08:27 > 0:08:33These coastal coppers on the Thames can claim to be the world's oldest police force.
0:08:33 > 0:08:39Established in 1798, that's 31 years before the Metropolitan Police.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44The first police force - they had to be in our Great Guide.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50The Thames Police used to patrol the docks in rowing boats.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Now, they outpace the squad cars.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03This particular boat is a Tiger 37.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06It has a speed range of up to 45 knots, nearly 50mph.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10- So, much faster than London traffic. - Absolutely.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15You normally associate London police force with like sirens and vehicles.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18It's very different down here on the river, I'd imagine.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21It is. The Metropolitan Police are around 30,000 cops.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23There's 63 of us that are able to work on the river.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27It's kind of a bit abstract, really, to think of a police force floating on the water.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30- It must be quite a job. - Best job in the world.
0:09:32 > 0:09:38The Thames is a working river that's worked hard to clean up its act.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42# Dirty old river, must you keep rolling
0:09:42 > 0:09:46# Flowing into the night... #
0:09:46 > 0:09:50Water quality is the best its ever been.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57For our Guide, we've picked a new riverside nature reserve at Mucking Marshes.
0:10:00 > 0:10:06Remarkable because this used to be one of Europe's biggest landfill sites.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Ten years ago, it was a dump.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16The green transformation of this trash heap earns it
0:10:16 > 0:10:18a place in our Great Guide.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25A steady stream of barges used to bring one-fifth
0:10:25 > 0:10:30of London's rubbish to Mucking Marshes for landfill,
0:10:30 > 0:10:34but operations manager Lucy Mancer managed to see the brighter side.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39It's hostile, in terms of the environment,
0:10:39 > 0:10:44but it's a nice place to work, in terms of people and things to do.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51Each of our containers holds around about 12-14 tonnes
0:10:51 > 0:10:56of compacted waste. We get 20-30 containers on a barge.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Working here at Mucking can be very dusty, a bit dirty,
0:11:06 > 0:11:07and occasionally a bit smelly.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Ten years on, landfill has become nature reserve.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18120 acres of marshes and mudflats
0:11:18 > 0:11:22that are home to protected birds and rare insects.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25The rubbish buried under excavated soil
0:11:25 > 0:11:28from London's tunnelling projects
0:11:28 > 0:11:31now a peaceful haven on the busy river.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37The Thames is my highway to the sea.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43This is our Coast Great Guide to the South-East.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48On my voyage to compile extraordinary locations
0:11:48 > 0:11:53for the Guide, familiar London landmarks like the Thames Barrier pass by.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04But I'm seeking a newcomer to the coast.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06A massive building project
0:12:06 > 0:12:10that lies beyond the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17As I make my way out to Dover, my next stop is London Gateway,
0:12:17 > 0:12:22where the capital now welcomes the world's biggest ships.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31A whopping 95% of the UK's international trade
0:12:31 > 0:12:33is carried by ship.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Around £700 billion worth and counting.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45It costs tens of pence to import a pair of jeans from Asia
0:12:45 > 0:12:47and about £2 for a television.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54To drive costs down, container ships get larger and larger.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00How can our ports cope with the new mega ships?
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Need a bigger boat? Build a bigger dock.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07Welcome to London Gateway.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18I'm jumping ship to explore this colossal project.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25In total, the site is twice the size of the city of London.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31The shiny new quayside sits on 30 million cubic metres of sand
0:13:31 > 0:13:33dredged up from the estuary.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37It's built out the shoreline by 400m.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43How did they redevelop this stretch of coast on such a massive scale?
0:13:49 > 0:13:52We were there from the very beginning.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58Five years ago, Nick Crane was at London Gateway.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03To get the mega ships in meant digging an underwater channel.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06# London calling to the faraway towns... #
0:14:06 > 0:14:10This is Marieke, a dredger laying the foundations
0:14:10 > 0:14:15for a brand-new port, the first of its kind for 20 years.
0:14:16 > 0:14:22This ship is sucking up 12,000 cubic metres of sand and gravel
0:14:22 > 0:14:24from the estuary every day.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31The Marieke is a giant vacuum cleaner,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34clearing a channel in the bed of the Thames.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38A passage deep enough to accommodate supersized container ships.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48This dredged material is being pumped on to an ever-growing
0:14:48 > 0:14:50artificial island.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Eventually, it's going to be a wharf some two miles long for
0:14:54 > 0:14:56loading and unloading ships.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01That was the start of the dock five years ago.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Fast forward to now and a whole new stretch of coast
0:15:05 > 0:15:07has been created here by man.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12The monster cranes to unload the container ships,
0:15:12 > 0:15:17even they arrived by sea, after a three month voyage from China.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Each 2,000 tonne crane was floated into place.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28The cost for the whole site is £1.5 billion.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35Because the goods from sea trade touch all our lives,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38we've put this new stretch of coast in our Great Guide.
0:15:40 > 0:15:46Chief executive Cameron Thorpe is thinking big for his new mega dock.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48All of our berths are capable
0:15:48 > 0:15:51of handling the largest container vessels afloat.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Now, ships are 400m long, they need deeper water, and for example,
0:15:55 > 0:15:56on the 1st of January this year,
0:15:56 > 0:16:01we handled the fullest container ship ever - 18,601 containers,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04and if you stacked all of those containers on top of each other,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07it would be more than five times higher than Mount Everest.
0:16:07 > 0:16:08And it came in on one vessel?
0:16:08 > 0:16:11One ship bringing all of those containers.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15It called at five ports in China, it called at Singapore, and then straight into UK,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19and that just shows how important the UK market is to world trade.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23The south-east of the UK is the largest consumer market in Europe
0:16:23 > 0:16:26by disposable income. We have a port that can service that need,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29as well as servicing the rest of the UK as well.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32I'm staying for a while to explore
0:16:32 > 0:16:35how containers get from ship to shore.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40I'll discover the skills needed to master a mega crane,
0:16:40 > 0:16:47but before I go aloft, exploring this harbour
0:16:47 > 0:16:50reminds me of a little curiosity from another dock
0:16:50 > 0:16:53I can't resist adding to our Great Guide.
0:16:57 > 0:16:58A brick wall like no other.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Some 200 years ago,
0:17:04 > 0:17:10Sheerness harbour received unexpected, live cargo.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Stowaways on a ship full of masonry from Italy.
0:17:16 > 0:17:22Now, these bricks at Sheerness house Britain's only family of scorpions.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27And the offspring of those Italian scorpions
0:17:27 > 0:17:29now have a British admirer.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Hi, I'm Bex and I'm a scorpaholic.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35I've been fascinated by scorpions since I was
0:17:35 > 0:17:39a teenager and been hooked ever since.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43I'm here to see Britain's only colony of scorpions,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46but I've got to wait for the sun to go down.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50I'm using a UV torch cos scorpions glow under ultraviolet light
0:17:50 > 0:17:52and I think I've just spotted one.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Definitely an adult.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Probably out looking for something to eat.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00It is pretty cool though, having scorpions in the UK.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04They are a member of the spider family.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08They have got eight legs, not six. They eat woodlouse.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11They're ambush predators, so they will just sit and wait.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15I think I'll put this one back before it legs it.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Bye, little fella.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29I'm exploring how they manage the nonstop flow of containers
0:18:29 > 0:18:32at London Gateway,
0:18:32 > 0:18:37a new £1.5 billion concrete stretch of shoreline.
0:18:41 > 0:18:46To pay back its huge investment, London Gateway runs 24/7.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50The real business end of this enterprise
0:18:50 > 0:18:53are the cranes and their operators.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59To see the mega port from their perspective, the only way is up.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03What a place!
0:19:05 > 0:19:07How many cranes have a lift?
0:19:09 > 0:19:10Not a bad commute to work.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15Off to visit the driver.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Ooh. I don't know where button number three takes you.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21It says authorised personnel only.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24I think that's when you explode out of the top of the crane!
0:19:25 > 0:19:30I've been told that when the lift stops, there's going to be a jolt.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36- Hi there.- Hello.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40- My name's Tess.- I'm Ricky. - Nice to meet you. How are you doing? - Nice to meet you too.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42That is glass, but I presume we're allowed to stand on it.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Yeah, there's a grid. Oh, my goodness!
0:19:44 > 0:19:50- This is quite terrifying actually. How high up are we?- 60m.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53- Do you ever get a bit nervous?- Nah. You get used to it after a while.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56OK, so what are you looking at down there?
0:19:56 > 0:19:58I'm picking these containers up here
0:19:58 > 0:20:01- and I'm going to load them on that ship.- OK.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09And you've got this, like a big claw is holding on to the container.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12- Basically, yeah.- And that red light - what does it say?
0:20:12 > 0:20:14That tells us it's locked on.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16- And then come over the ship... - Right, OK.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19- Oh, my goodness! We're right out to sea now. - That's it, yeah.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23- We're right on the end of the crane at the moment?- No, we can go a little bit further.- Can you?
0:20:23 > 0:20:26- We're not going to fall off the end?- No, we're not going to fall off the end.- OK.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30- It's like some weird computer game, isn't it, really? - A big computer game, yeah.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33You've even got the levers with the coloured buttons.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37The cranes are the biggest in Europe.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Your depth perception's got to be that bit better,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43- so you don't make mistakes.- And now, you're going to plop it back down?
0:20:43 > 0:20:47- Plop it back down. - Makes me feel a bit sick. Do you feel a bit sick, looking down there?
0:20:47 > 0:20:51- No, like I say, you do get used to it.- What's it got in it?
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Oh, you don't know. But they can come up to 30 tonne.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Obviously, where we've got the tandem spreader,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58we can pick two of these up at the same time.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Ricky, I was really looking forward to the view today and I know
0:21:01 > 0:21:04the weather's against us, but I think you also need
0:21:04 > 0:21:06- to get a window cleaner in. - I'd say so, too.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08- Can't see much out of them, can you?- No!
0:21:10 > 0:21:14Ricky's got his work cut out, with the largest ships
0:21:14 > 0:21:16each as long as four football fields,
0:21:16 > 0:21:21delivering over 18,000 containers for unloading.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Big numbers count here at Gateway.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28It's plain to see the prosperity the sea can deliver,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31but as we bring you the Great Guide to the south-east coast,
0:21:31 > 0:21:33there's another story.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37This shore's also been at the front line of fighting off invasion.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41To explore that history of conflict,
0:21:41 > 0:21:46my Thames journey will take me onward from London Gateway to Dover.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51Just off my route is a wartime relic impossible to ignore - a shipwreck.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58Three mast tops poking up in the water give away the wreck below.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05A sunken ship surrounded by warning signs for a very good reason.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09This wreck is a potential time bomb,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12full of munitions from the Second World War.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21In 1944, an American cargo ship packed with bombs
0:22:21 > 0:22:24sank off the south coast during a storm.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Now, more than 70 years later, hidden below the water,
0:22:30 > 0:22:35the hold of the wrecked vessel is still packed with 1,400 tonnes
0:22:35 > 0:22:37of high explosives.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Too risky to move, the USS Richard Montgomery
0:22:43 > 0:22:46is Britain's most dangerous shipwreck,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49sitting in Britain's busiest estuary.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51And she's in our Great Guide.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Neil went to discover what would happen
0:22:57 > 0:23:00if the Richard Montgomery were to blow.
0:23:01 > 0:23:02The wreck's just there.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06You can see her masts, sticking out of the water just there.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10- And she was fully laden with... - Fully laden with explosives.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15- All sorts of spectacular fireworks. - Lots of things that go bang, yes. - Right.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Stevedores were able to unload the rear holds of the wreck,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22but the front still contains a bewildering array of corroding bombs.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26If you look at, say, a 1,000 pound bomb,
0:23:26 > 0:23:28which was their standard big bomb
0:23:28 > 0:23:32dropped from a heavy bomber, she's got thousands of them on board.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36500 pound bombs, thousands. If you leave them there, they're fine.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38The water keeps them cool, keeps them happy.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40There are some more dangerous things on board.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42There's cluster bombs,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45which were actually loaded with fuses inside them.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Because of the difficulty in clearing the wreck,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49it's been left where it sank.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53If it was to go boom, how big a boom would it be?
0:23:53 > 0:23:55It would be a big bang.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58It's a big if, but if the worst were to happen...
0:23:58 > 0:24:00EXPLOSION
0:24:00 > 0:24:04..the explosion would equal the force of a small atomic bomb.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08Government experts estimate that the blast would throw debris
0:24:08 > 0:24:113,000m into the air and a subterranean shockwave
0:24:11 > 0:24:14could damage buildings up to 3km inland.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18The seismic jolt would be measurable around the globe.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Any explosion is extremely unlikely.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Whilst the wreck sits securely on the seabed,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30the safest thing to do is leave it there.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Regular scans by the Maritime And Coastguard Agency
0:24:35 > 0:24:39reveal the Richard Montgomery is still largely intact.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51The south-east coast keeps more wartime secrets
0:24:51 > 0:24:53than any other stretch of our shoreline.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58We hunted for an enemy submarine 100 years old.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06In the First World War, 3,000 Allied ships were sunk by U-boats.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11After 1918, most U-boats were scrapped.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18We found an amazing survivor of the Great War for our Great Guide.
0:25:21 > 0:25:22On the River Medway,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26naval historian Nick Hewitt went to discover what remains.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42That is absolutely amazing.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Sitting here for 100 years.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56So I never thought I'd get the chance to touch a U-boat,
0:25:56 > 0:26:00and that's still pretty impressively intact steel plate.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04It's hard to imagine, now, because it's just sitting here and
0:26:04 > 0:26:09it looks so decayed and quiet and peaceful, in a funny sort of way.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12When these submarines were handed over to civilian scrap merchants,
0:26:12 > 0:26:14the deal was that they had to be demilitarised,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16which involved removing the conning towers,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18removing the torpedo tubes, obviously,
0:26:18 > 0:26:20so that it was completely harmless.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24I'm standing on a U-boat!
0:26:24 > 0:26:25HE LAUGHS
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Here in the Medway, just about 40 miles from London,
0:26:30 > 0:26:34the only wrecked U-boat you can see from British shores.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45This is Coast Great Guide to the South-East.
0:26:47 > 0:26:48To discover hidden stories,
0:26:48 > 0:26:53our expert team have scoured this shore for over ten years.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56But if you were on a whistle-stop tour,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00what are the unmissable, must-see sights
0:27:00 > 0:27:02to say you've seen this coast?
0:27:06 > 0:27:09This is our flying visit to the south-east.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15This is where I've come from.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17The coast in central London.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24It might be Britain's most expensive real estate,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28but the dramatic skyline is there for anyone to enjoy.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Not far downstream is Canary Wharf
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and the O2 Arena,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41originally built for the millennium celebrations in 2000,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45now served by boats from central London.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50The Thames meanders its way to the sea.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Commuters crossing at the QE II Bridge,
0:27:55 > 0:27:59where two road tunnels also run under the water.
0:27:59 > 0:28:05Combined, they make up Britain's busiest estuary crossing,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08with around 50 million vehicles a year.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Further down the river is London Gateway.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17This is where the Thames estuary really begins to open up,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20and seaside resorts start to take precedence.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23On the north coast, you find Southend-On-Sea,
0:28:23 > 0:28:26which sports the world's longest pleasure pier.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31It stretches for nearly a mile and a half,
0:28:31 > 0:28:33with its own train line.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Why build such a whopping pier at Southend?
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Nick Crane's kind of question.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44The answer lies in Southend's geology.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48More than a mile of this slippery stuff
0:28:48 > 0:28:52lies between the water's edge and dry land.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58Until the pier was built, large passenger boats
0:28:58 > 0:29:03carrying Londoners out of the city simply sailed straight past.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06John Betjeman describes it perfectly.
0:29:06 > 0:29:11"The pier is Southend, and Southend is the pier."
0:29:16 > 0:29:19And on the southern shore, here's Whitstable,
0:29:19 > 0:29:24where Neil discovered an odd competition with oyster shells.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26Oh, my goodness. It's Moby Dick in there.
0:29:26 > 0:29:27OK, down the hatch.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34Hereabouts, the children don't make sandcastles.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37They build something called a Grotter,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40tottering towers made from oyster shells.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45No-one's quite sure how it started, but their construction
0:29:45 > 0:29:49usually coincides with the ancient feast day of St James in July.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54At the end of it, these miniature shrines are offered up to the sea
0:29:54 > 0:29:56to be washed away by the tide.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05And further along, almost on the tip of the south-east, is Margate.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10At the end of the beach is the Turner Contemporary,
0:30:10 > 0:30:12a modern art gallery,
0:30:12 > 0:30:15on the site where artist William Turner used to visit
0:30:15 > 0:30:17in the 19th century.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26Heading south from Margate,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30a chalk line starts to draw along the shoreline.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34If you carry on, there's a must-see sight,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37a favourite of the Coast Great Guide.
0:30:37 > 0:30:38Dungeness.
0:30:43 > 0:30:48A pebble heaven that's decidedly otherworldly and odd,
0:30:48 > 0:30:52where a lighthouse sits next to a nuclear power station
0:30:52 > 0:30:54and visitors come by train.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57Miniature train.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03When they arrive, there is a rather weird world to explore.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11Little fishing shacks sit next to abandoned railway carriages.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16Looks like this one's had a few mod cons attached.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22So here we are in the railway carriage.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25All aboard the train now leaving Platform Dungeness. It's fantastic.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27That's correct, yes.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29How much do you know about this original railway carriage?
0:31:29 > 0:31:32It's an 1880s non-smoking first-class Pullman
0:31:32 > 0:31:34from the New Cross line.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37So once upon a time, this was chuntering through suburban London?
0:31:37 > 0:31:38Absolutely.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43At the end of our front-line coast is a site
0:31:43 > 0:31:45that's synonymous with invasion.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48Hastings. 1066 and all that.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54Just beyond is the final stop for our flying visit.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56The De La Warr Pavilion,
0:31:56 > 0:32:01a modernist masterpiece from 1935, now an arts centre
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and one of the largest galleries on the south-east coast.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11But if you only do the unmissable sights,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14then you're missing so much.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24On my journey to Dover, the next port of call will be Ramsgate
0:32:24 > 0:32:27for a tale of desperate rescue in the Second World War.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32A conflict that's left other remarkable sites dotted around
0:32:32 > 0:32:36the south-east shore, as the Coast team discovered.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42When Hitler occupied the French coast,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45he eyed his chance to invade across the Channel.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50But some inventive minds were busy devising secret plans
0:32:50 > 0:32:52for our defence.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58Going into our Great Guide are three visionary men.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03Each pioneered a remarkable scheme to combat invasion.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Three Coast experts investigated.
0:33:10 > 0:33:15First, from the 1930s, the sound mirrors at Denge.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Massive concrete walls to reflect the sound
0:33:19 > 0:33:23of approaching enemy bombers, built before radar.
0:33:24 > 0:33:30An early warning system to hear the enemy planes before you saw them.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Nick Crane led a team with listening gear.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37I'm getting something! I can hear it!
0:33:37 > 0:33:39And some spikes.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42I can't hear a thing without them on.
0:33:42 > 0:33:43Definitely the Tiger Moth.
0:33:43 > 0:33:44PLANE ENGINE
0:33:44 > 0:33:47There it is! Right above us, at last.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53- Tucker's machine beat the human ear by a long way.- Yeah, it did.
0:33:53 > 0:33:54That was fantastic.
0:33:58 > 0:34:03William Tucker worked for over 20 years perfecting the sound mirrors.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05But virtually overnight,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08the invention of radar made them obsolete.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13You can visit these elegant structures.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15They sit on a nature reserve,
0:34:15 > 0:34:19and the RSPB have arranged guided tours to this protected site.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25The next site for our Great Guide?
0:34:25 > 0:34:29Another innovation to defend against air attacks.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32Six miles off the coast near Whitstable,
0:34:32 > 0:34:36the Red Sands forts from the Second World War.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39Anti-aircraft guns positioned on the towers
0:34:39 > 0:34:42shot down enemy planes over the sea.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47The forts were the brainchild of this man, Guy Maunsell.
0:34:51 > 0:34:52Assembled on land,
0:34:52 > 0:34:58each 750 tonne tower was floated out and dropped onto the seabed.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03An ingenious design that Neal experienced.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11Every now and again, you can feel the whole thing move,
0:35:11 > 0:35:14and that's because 750 tonnes or not,
0:35:14 > 0:35:19the strength of the fort comes from the fact that the legs can move,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22they can settle into the constantly shifting sand,
0:35:22 > 0:35:25and they can roll with the waves and the wind, much like a tree does.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30They say that even if one of the legs was blown out,
0:35:30 > 0:35:34the individual tower would still remain standing.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37I don't really fancy trying that, myself.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42You can see the forts from the sea.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44Although there's no public access,
0:35:44 > 0:35:48plans have been "floated" to turn them into a luxury hotel.
0:35:51 > 0:35:57Our final invention was tested in 1940 at the White Cliffs,
0:35:57 > 0:36:01a desperate Second World War plan to fight a German invasion.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08Lord Hankey led the top-secret Petroleum Warfare Department.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10His idea?
0:36:11 > 0:36:14Set the Channel on fire
0:36:14 > 0:36:17and engulf the enemy landing craft in flames.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22Scientists set about testing the scheme.
0:36:23 > 0:36:28Engineer Dick Strawbridge saw how they planned to make the sea burn
0:36:28 > 0:36:30with a mix of petrol and oil.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36- So it's a cocktail?- Yes.- Right, OK.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40What's happening now is this petrol, as it burns, it generates heat,
0:36:40 > 0:36:45and that heat is absorbed by the oils,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48and they will start to vaporise and burn as well.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50- The water is bubbling.- Yep.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53Wow.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57That's the actual water turning into steam and bubbling out.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Yeah. The sea on fire.
0:37:02 > 0:37:03The tests worked.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05They were even filmed,
0:37:05 > 0:37:08so scientists could study the weapon and make adjustments.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16This was fire on an unprecedented scale.
0:37:16 > 0:37:17Just imagine it.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19We've got flames 40 feet in the air,
0:37:19 > 0:37:22black noxious smoke coming up, covering the beach,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24even going over the cliffs.
0:37:32 > 0:37:37Lord Hankey, master of fire, made his flaming sea scheme work.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42But fortunately, the Channel never did burn in anger.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44The invasion never came.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52Yet stories of wartime struggle still swirl around this shore,
0:37:52 > 0:37:54as I'm about to discover.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01This is the Coast Great Guide to the South-East.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11On my journey from London down to Dover Castle,
0:38:11 > 0:38:12I've arrived at Ramsgate.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19I'm here to meet an improbable hero of our front-line shore.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21Not a person,
0:38:21 > 0:38:22but a boat.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29This small port played a pivotal part in saving Britain
0:38:29 > 0:38:30in her darkest hour.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37On 27 May 1940, the Admiralty contacted boat builders
0:38:37 > 0:38:39around the south-east coast.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43It was a frantic search for small craft
0:38:43 > 0:38:45to rescue the British Army at Dunkirk.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49Operation Dynamo had begun.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53A struggle so vital to the fate of a free Britain,
0:38:53 > 0:38:56it must feature in our Coast Great Guide.
0:38:57 > 0:39:02Some 700 private boats were pressed into military service.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05They became known as the little ships.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11How did the little ships help save
0:39:11 > 0:39:13the British Army and Britain at Dunkirk?
0:39:14 > 0:39:17Here's one of those heroic craft.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20- Hello!- Good morning.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22- Permission to come aboard, Vice Commodore?- Absolutely.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Simon Palmer is Vice Commodore
0:39:25 > 0:39:28of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships,
0:39:28 > 0:39:32and owner of this motor yacht, Hilfranor.
0:39:32 > 0:39:38How did this pleasure cruiser become a battle cruiser?
0:39:38 > 0:39:42Douglas Tough, who had a boat yard in Teddington on the Thames,
0:39:42 > 0:39:46he was instructed to gather little boats to take them down the Thames.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49And the Hilfranor was picked up there. They were given maps,
0:39:49 > 0:39:53and each of the boats was issued with an Admiralty compass.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55I do know, however, that one of the boats
0:39:55 > 0:40:00was issued with the Daily Telegraph road map of Europe,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02so that they could find Dunkirk.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06The little ships assembled in Ramsgate...
0:40:09 > 0:40:14..whilst at Dunkirk on the beaches, the British Army were trapped,
0:40:14 > 0:40:16surrounded by overwhelming German forces.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21The Allies fought valiantly,
0:40:21 > 0:40:24but their only hope was rescue from the sea.
0:40:25 > 0:40:30But why did the mighty Royal Navy need little ships like Hilfranor?
0:40:32 > 0:40:35Because these troops were being taken off the beach,
0:40:35 > 0:40:38the little ships could get right in,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41so that the troops could clamber aboard straight from the beach
0:40:41 > 0:40:43and they would then ferry them out to the larger vessels.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49The little ships took Allied troops a few at a time
0:40:49 > 0:40:52to bigger craft offshore,
0:40:52 > 0:40:56a seemingly impossible rescue.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59Saving the army would take days.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06The Luftwaffe's air attacks were relentless.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12Eventually, Hilfranor's luck ran out.
0:41:15 > 0:41:20She was attacked by a German Stuka dive bomber.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22A couple of bombs came either side of her,
0:41:22 > 0:41:26and they cracked her ribs and she began sinking.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29So she was then abandoned on the beach.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33And the story goes that some really desperate troops bailed her out,
0:41:33 > 0:41:36got the engines going, got her floated and,
0:41:36 > 0:41:40bailing all the way, came back to Ramsgate
0:41:40 > 0:41:45only to sink about two miles over there on the Goodwin Sands.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49And then she was rescued and pulled in by a minesweeper.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52- So a real struggle in the face of adversity.- That's right.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59Against all odds, in just eight days, in total,
0:41:59 > 0:42:04an astonishing 338,000 Allied troops were rescued.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06A third of a million men.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14Winston Churchill hailed it as a "miracle of deliverance."
0:42:16 > 0:42:21Well, Churchill spoke on the day after the operation came to an end,
0:42:21 > 0:42:24on the fourth of June, one of his most famous speeches.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28And that was only a few hours after the last vessel
0:42:28 > 0:42:29had come back from Dunkirk.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33We shall fight on the beaches,
0:42:33 > 0:42:35we shall fight on the landing grounds,
0:42:35 > 0:42:39we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
0:42:39 > 0:42:41we shall fight in the hills.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43We shall never surrender.
0:42:48 > 0:42:53Most of the life-saving little ships came from the south-east coast.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58Many were fishing boats, traditional craft like those at Hastings.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07Today, you'll still find small boats holed up on the shingle.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13This is home to Europe's largest beach-launched fishing fleet,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16which lands Hastings a place in our Great Guide.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25In summer, the fishermen target a sustainable catch of Dover sole.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30To snare the flatfish, they use special nets,
0:43:30 > 0:43:32as Miranda Krestovnikoff discovered.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38- This is one of your trammel nets, then?- Yes, this is a trammel net.
0:43:38 > 0:43:39How exactly does it work?
0:43:39 > 0:43:42Fish comes swimming along near the bottom,
0:43:42 > 0:43:44goes through the larger outer mesh,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48hits the inner mesh, and then that forms a pocket behind the fish.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50It's like a system of traps.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54Flatfish are most active when it's dark,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57so the trammel nets have to be left out overnight.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04We're off to check the nets for Dover sole,
0:44:04 > 0:44:05and it takes a while.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08Each boat is painstakingly launched using ropes,
0:44:08 > 0:44:10winches and bulldozers.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23It looks as if they've hardly caught anything.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25In fact, with their trammel nets,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28they've managed to target exactly what they were after.
0:44:28 > 0:44:29Flatfish.
0:44:32 > 0:44:37Working with the rhythms of nature in small boats with specialist nets
0:44:37 > 0:44:39doesn't bring in a huge catch.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41But it has brought other benefits.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47Fish stocks here have remained healthy,
0:44:47 > 0:44:49in some cases increasing.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53Which means the ancient beach fleet of Hastings could be here
0:44:53 > 0:44:54for the long haul.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04I'm on a journey to Dover for our Coast Great Guide.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09I've boarded Hilfranor,
0:45:09 > 0:45:13one of the little ships that helped rescue the British Army at Dunkirk.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20Nearly eight decades on,
0:45:20 > 0:45:23Simon Palmer treasures this historic craft.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28It's a real honour to be an owner of a Dunkirk ship.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32The hero is the ship, we are merely the custodians.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36And we try to remind people of the Dunkirk spirit,
0:45:36 > 0:45:38and everything that happened in 1940.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43To honour the sacrifice of those at Dunkirk,
0:45:43 > 0:45:47the owners of the little ships gather their craft for reunions,
0:45:47 > 0:45:52poignant events that have a special place in our Great Guide.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58We go back to commemorate every five years,
0:45:58 > 0:46:01so the last time was in 2015,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04and we meet up every year at the time of Dunkirk,
0:46:04 > 0:46:07and the vessels will come from all over the country
0:46:07 > 0:46:10and we'll spend some time and we have a service to commemorate
0:46:10 > 0:46:12those brave men who gave their lives.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15How many vessels still exist?
0:46:15 > 0:46:16Do you know what the survival rate is?
0:46:16 > 0:46:21We think about 700 little ships went across,
0:46:21 > 0:46:25and we think there's about 120 ships left.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27But not all of them are seaworthy.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30When we go across to Dunkirk, we have about 50.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36I think it's so apt that the little ships like the Hilfranor
0:46:36 > 0:46:38still brave the seas in all weathers,
0:46:38 > 0:46:41and are not kept as dusty museum pieces.
0:46:45 > 0:46:50My voyage on Hilfranor has brought home the mighty wartime achievement
0:46:50 > 0:46:51of these tiny boats.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56But now, as she returns to Ramsgate,
0:46:56 > 0:46:59the final leg of my journey is on foot.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15Our guide to the south-east wouldn't be complete
0:47:15 > 0:47:17without a walk on the chalk.
0:47:20 > 0:47:25The high spot of this coast, from land or sea.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31Even on a day like today, no mariner could miss or mistake
0:47:31 > 0:47:34this outstanding white line drawn in chalk.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37These cliffs contain secrets to explore.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41We dug deep into the chalk for the Coast Great Guide.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50It's a surprise that England and France were once linked by land.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57To begin when the water rushed in and the white cliffs were born,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00you've got to go back over half a million years
0:48:00 > 0:48:02to when an ice age was ending.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08Nick Crane and geologist Rory Mortimore
0:48:08 > 0:48:13did some time travelling back to the birth of the English Channel.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18If you were here, say, 600,000 years ago,
0:48:18 > 0:48:20you'd have been able to walk on chalk downland...
0:48:20 > 0:48:23- All the way across there. - ..all the way across the Channel.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25And how was the Channel formed?
0:48:25 > 0:48:27By a cataclysmic geological event, Nick.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29A very spectacular event,
0:48:29 > 0:48:31what we call a mega-flood.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36That mega-flood started as a trickle through a chalk ridge
0:48:36 > 0:48:38that spanned the Channel.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42This ridge was holding back a colossal lake,
0:48:42 > 0:48:46fed by meltwater from glaciers across northern Europe,
0:48:46 > 0:48:49and soon to become the North Sea.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53When the chalk gave way, it was catastrophic.
0:48:56 > 0:48:58It must have been a very extraordinary event,
0:48:58 > 0:49:00a very dramatic event,
0:49:00 > 0:49:03and would have happened in a very short space of time.
0:49:03 > 0:49:08That would have isolated Britain from Europe for the very first time.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14In that geological divorce, we shared the chalk with France.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17Across the Channel are the white cliffs of Normandy.
0:49:24 > 0:49:25Just as on our chalk coast,
0:49:25 > 0:49:30the sea constantly nibbles away at the crumbling French cliffs.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34At La Porte d'Aval,
0:49:34 > 0:49:37the waves have worn away a wonderful arch.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40You can see why it's described as an elephant
0:49:40 > 0:49:43dunking its trunk in the sea.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46On both sides of the Channel,
0:49:46 > 0:49:50the chalk puts on a spectacular show.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52It's such an outstanding feature,
0:49:52 > 0:49:56it begs a basic question for our guide to this coast.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59The White Cliffs stand out along our southern shore,
0:49:59 > 0:50:02but what exactly is chalk?
0:50:04 > 0:50:06Funny to think these crumbling cliffs
0:50:06 > 0:50:10are actually made up of microscopic sea creatures,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14countless tiny chalk shells compressed together.
0:50:16 > 0:50:21The cliffs built up over millennia, but they're eroding fast.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23What's eating away at them?
0:50:24 > 0:50:30To assess the threats to this national treasure for our guide,
0:50:30 > 0:50:35Nick dropped down to the chalkface, braving the elements.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39Too late to go to the loo now.
0:50:43 > 0:50:44OK.
0:50:46 > 0:50:47Well, once you go over the top, Rory,
0:50:47 > 0:50:50you get a completely different idea of what chalk looks like,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53cos above, all you're doing is walking on grass.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56You've got no idea of the complexity and wonder of soft rock.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00- Of the beautiful white chalk, absolutely right.- It's fantastic.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02So what type of chalk is this?
0:51:02 > 0:51:04Round here, we call it Seaford chalk.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07It's about 70, 75 million years old.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11And the sea's a white surf bashing against that seaworn chalk.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13- Yes, indeed.- Very beautiful.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16But also very destructive.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20From here, it's easy to see how the waves and weather
0:51:20 > 0:51:22eat away at the soft chalk.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27But these cliffs have another, much more surprising enemy.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31These limpets graze on the algae that's on the rock
0:51:31 > 0:51:34when the tide is up. But when the tide goes down,
0:51:34 > 0:51:37they go back to their original resting places, and they secrete
0:51:37 > 0:51:41an acid so they can create a space and attach themselves to the rock.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44And that is actually dissolving away the chalk.
0:51:44 > 0:51:45So these little critters
0:51:45 > 0:51:48are actually sabotaging the White Cliffs of the English Channel?
0:51:48 > 0:51:49I'm afraid they are, yes.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56Eaten by limpets, battered by waves,
0:51:56 > 0:51:57cracked by ice.
0:51:57 > 0:52:02The chalk is on the front line of a constant battle against erosion.
0:52:02 > 0:52:07But it keeps the surface fresh, clean and sparkling white.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16My cliff journey's coming to an end.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19I'm closing in on my destination
0:52:19 > 0:52:23that, for most, marks the beginning of a voyage.
0:52:23 > 0:52:24Dover.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29With 13 million passengers a year,
0:52:29 > 0:52:32and 9,000 freight vehicles a day,
0:52:32 > 0:52:35Dover's the world's busiest harbour.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42And since 1994, you can travel under the sea.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46But the idea of a tunnel goes back much further.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54It's the forgotten remains of the Victorian Channel Tunnel
0:52:54 > 0:52:56that are in our Great Guide.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02- Very forensic. - Yeah.- Like a crime scene.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05Civil engineer Richard Storer showed Neil
0:53:05 > 0:53:07how far the Victorian tunnelers got.
0:53:10 > 0:53:11All right.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14It's hidden away at the end of a ventilation shaft, and apparently
0:53:14 > 0:53:18we need all this protective gear just to get in there.
0:53:19 > 0:53:23Mind the floor. All right, so this is it.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25- Oh, look at that!- This is absolutely amazing, isn't it?
0:53:25 > 0:53:26Unbelievable.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29It's been here for about 130 years.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32It's perfect. It looks like a modern job.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35For some reason, I was expecting it to look hand cut.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39Oh, no, no, it was cut with a machine. Like a big drill.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43And the beauty of it is it's unlined, it's just the bare rock
0:53:43 > 0:53:44that you can see.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47It just shows the strength of the chalk,
0:53:47 > 0:53:48the integrity of the chalk.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54Have a look at this. A bit of original graffiti.
0:53:54 > 0:53:55Oh, that's fantastic.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57This tunnel was...
0:53:57 > 0:54:01- Was begun...- I think he had difficulty spelling "begun", because...
0:54:01 > 0:54:06- Spelling's not his strong suit. - No. In 1880.- A date!
0:54:06 > 0:54:07And a name, William Sharp.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10And a name... How much better is that than a brass plaque?
0:54:10 > 0:54:13It's wonderful. Absolutely amazing.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18But in 1882, the government closed the tunnel,
0:54:18 > 0:54:20worried an underground link to Europe would weaken
0:54:20 > 0:54:22the defence of our front-line coast.
0:54:27 > 0:54:31The shortest sea crossing to France has always been closely guarded.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35Dover's defences are known as the key to England,
0:54:35 > 0:54:39and this is the country's largest castle.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44A stone fortress has stood here for nine centuries.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48But there's a much older historic treasure,
0:54:48 > 0:54:53from an age when Britain was the outpost of a foreign empire.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59Sitting next to Dover Castle is this,
0:54:59 > 0:55:00the Roman Pharos,
0:55:00 > 0:55:02or lighthouse to you and me.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04It's a towering achievement,
0:55:04 > 0:55:07and well worth a place in the Coast Great Guide.
0:55:08 > 0:55:13Built almost 2,000 years ago following the Roman invasion,
0:55:13 > 0:55:17Roy Porter from English Heritage is now keeper of the light.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20- Roy, this is staggering.- Indeed, it really is, isn't it? Yeah.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24- Yeah. Lovely to meet you, by the way.- And you.- I was so distracted.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27- Is it really original Roman? - It really is.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29I mean, we're so used to seeing Roman remains in this country
0:55:29 > 0:55:32which are about, you know, four foot off the ground, aren't we?
0:55:32 > 0:55:34And here we are, standing in front of this huge,
0:55:34 > 0:55:3612 metre high Roman structure.
0:55:36 > 0:55:37And most of it really is Roman.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40I mean, this must be one of the tallest Roman structures in Britain.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43It's the tallest Roman structure in Britain.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45Topped with a little bit of 15th century masonry,
0:55:45 > 0:55:48which was part of the belfry for the church next door.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50We commonly associate Dover with its castle,
0:55:50 > 0:55:52but not so much with the lighthouse.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56Well, the lighthouse was one of two at Dover, and they appear to
0:55:56 > 0:55:59have been located on either side of the entrance to the Roman harbour.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03You have to recall that this area was as strategically important then
0:56:03 > 0:56:05as it was in subsequent centuries.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08It would have been a place for trade, and so the lighthouses here
0:56:08 > 0:56:11were there, basically, to guide ships into the harbour.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13So it's the tallest Roman structure in Britain,
0:56:13 > 0:56:16and it's the only surviving Roman lighthouse?
0:56:16 > 0:56:17Yes, that's right.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21Gosh, that is a strikingly fresh colour, that rust brick, isn't it?
0:56:21 > 0:56:23It really is. You can see the pink,
0:56:23 > 0:56:25there's some pink mortar next to that.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27Looks positively 1960s, doesn't it?
0:56:27 > 0:56:29It does. I can assure you it's not.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31It really is Roman brick.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34And you'll find that there are Roman bricks used in all the arches
0:56:34 > 0:56:38of the openings, and there are layers of brick interlacing
0:56:38 > 0:56:41the masonry, as you go up the building, sort of tying it together.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43It's just an exquisite little number, isn't it?
0:56:43 > 0:56:44It really is, yes.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47- It's like walking back in time. Can we go inside?- Yes.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51Gosh, this really is something else, isn't it?
0:56:51 > 0:56:52Pretty spectacular, isn't it, really?
0:56:52 > 0:56:54You get a real sense of the scale from inside.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56That's partly because what you're seeing
0:56:56 > 0:56:58is this big empty vessel, today.
0:56:58 > 0:56:59But what I want you to imagine
0:56:59 > 0:57:01is you're standing underneath a series of timber decks.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03If you imagine climbing a series of ladders
0:57:03 > 0:57:05- to get to the top of this building...- Yes.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07..at the very top there would have been a platform,
0:57:07 > 0:57:08where there would have been a brazier,
0:57:08 > 0:57:11and it was that burning brazier which provided the lights
0:57:11 > 0:57:13which guided the shipping into the harbour.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15And it must have been a big fire.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17Cos if you want to make an impression out at sea,
0:57:17 > 0:57:19and you're wanting to penetrate fog or something,
0:57:19 > 0:57:20you need quite a blaze.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23You need quite a blaze, and you need it to be fairly high as well,
0:57:23 > 0:57:26so that people can see it from some distance out in the English Channel.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28So, we're very lucky, in fact, to have a structure like this.
0:57:28 > 0:57:29Phenomenally lucky.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33And I think it fully justifies the statement made by
0:57:33 > 0:57:35the famous archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler, who said
0:57:35 > 0:57:37this was the most impressive Roman building north of the Alps.
0:57:37 > 0:57:38- Did he really?- He did.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43Our Roman invaders who built this lighthouse
0:57:43 > 0:57:46went on to establish Londinium,
0:57:46 > 0:57:48where I started my journey.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55The tidal Thames brought in their trading boats.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00Now, the world's biggest container ships dock
0:58:00 > 0:58:02within striking distance of the capital.
0:58:05 > 0:58:10On this shore, it's been a story of commerce and conflict,
0:58:10 > 0:58:15where sites of desperate defence are preserved...
0:58:18 > 0:58:22..and there's a precious reminder of Roman conquest.
0:58:26 > 0:58:30This Roman lighthouse has stood proud for two millennia,
0:58:30 > 0:58:33an ancient beacon that brought ships safely to shore
0:58:33 > 0:58:38and now an outstanding sight in our Great Guide to the South-East.